Just so you know. Some words will be hyperlinked to media that will add to the story. It's entirely optional of course. Enjoy Chapter 01! The Bannered Mare
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Twilight shivered on freezing hard ground unable to move. Her eyes were shut, while her teeth chattered with every gust of wind that bit into her. Groaning she tried to move but couldn’t. Whether it was because of the cold or because of physical damage she didn’t know, but her muscles felt sore and numb. Gathering every bit of strength she could muster she attempted to move her hoof. That was when she felt that something was wrong, very wrong.
Opening her eyes felt strangely foreign to her, and the first thing she saw had her perplexed. Directly in front of her, no more than a few inches away, was what looked like the hand of a diamond dog, except it had no fur and it was very slender. She tried to move her hoof again, and to her confusion watched as the hand rose shakily off the ground only to fall again. A shot of pain ran up Twilight’s spine, and her heart started to beat rapidly, forgetting all about the frigid cold for a moment. With effort she was able to turn her head and look at herself, and what she saw horrified her. She had no fur. Twilight wanted to scream but found that her voice wasn’t working properly. She wanted to cry but her eyes wouldn’t let her. She was no longer a pony. She was something else.
For a final time, she tried to get up, but the last of her strength failed her. Cold snow gradually blanketed over her, causing the cold to feel even worse. Realizing the gravity of her situation, Twilight dropped from panic into despair. She was going to freeze to death alone as some strange unknown creature without any of her friends loved ones to be there for her.
A low growl came from in front of her. She forced her eyes open again to see three wolves emerge from the bushes around her. They approached cautiously, teeth bared. Two of the wolves left her field of vision, obviously moving to surround her. She wasn’t going to freeze to death, she was going to be eaten alive. At that realization her vision failed her, and so did the feeling to her new limbs. She heard the wolves approach from all sides, before they started yelping and backing away. Twilight could feel a fourth presence around her, something different from the wolves. She could hear them growling louder, barking loudly and snapping their jaws at this fourth presence, whatever it was. The last thing Twilight heard was the ringing sound of metal sliding on metal.
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Meanwhile, worlds away in Equestria. The official time keeper of Ponyville was in for a rude awakening. Time Turner nearly fell off his bed as he awoke to the sound of unnecessarily loud knocks on his front door. The rhythm of the knocking would have been considered polite had it not been applied with the force of an angry Minotaur.
“Blast it all.” Time Turner muttered. Turning over and pulling the pillow over his head. He knew it was futile, but he never did like giving up sleep without a fight. After a moment and a heavy sigh he slipped out of bed and dragged his hooves down the steps of his home to greet his ill timed visitor. On his way he passed up several broken clocks listed to be repaired, photos, relics and a large blue box he had tucked away in a place nopony would think to look twice.
He finally made it to the front door and opened the door fully expecting to give the late night visitor a piece of his mind. Instead he starred in awe as Princess Celestia herself stood in his doorway.
“Doctor.” She greeted with a curt nod.
Time Turner recovered from his moment of shock, replacing his current face of awe to something resembling a warm smile.
“My my my…Princess Celestia herself. Please do come in.” He greeted enthusiastically, making way for the princess of the sun to enter into his home. Minutes later they were sitting in his study while Time Turner served his guest tea.
He took the time to notice the princess’ disposition. She was calm, yet it was forced. Something grave had happened and Time Turner had lived long enough to notice the discipline of a leader trying to remain calm for the sake of her subjects.
After Time Turner poured the princess her share of tea, he sat opposite of her and decided to break the ice first.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of this late night visit?” He asked sitting upright on the couch in a way that was unnatural for any pony to be sitting.
Princess Celestia lifted her eyes to meet Time Turner’s and regarded him for a moment. Time Turner had to stop himself from wincing. He could feel Celestia’s scrutinizing eyes, trying to find any reason not to trust him. After a good, long, moment, she levitated a book up and lay it on the ground in front of her.
“My star pupil is missing, and I believe this is the reason for her disappearance.” Princess Celestia then used her magic to flip the pages until it rested on two blank pages. Time Turner raised an eyebrow, as Princess Celestia described the night’s events. By the time Celestia finished her story, Time Turner was on his hooves, rummaging through his drawers frantically, after he couldn’t find what he was looking for, he dashed into the other room.
“Please help me find her Doctor.”
Doctor Time Turner emerged from one of the side rooms carrying an oddly shaped stick in his mouth. He walked up to the tome sitting on the floor.
“Not to worry…” He replied through clenched teeth. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
Princess Celestia watched him hopefully as the device he held in his teeth whirred to life, seemingly scanning the tome. She watched his face turn from Intrigue to confusion to a look of utter shock. His mouth hung open, allowing the device once held to clatter on the wooded floor. He paused for a moment before picking it up again and scanning each individual page, going back and forth between the pages filled with words and the blank page from which twilight had sung from.
“This can’t be right.” He finally said, letting the device clatter to the floor once more.
“What is it Doctor?” Celestia asked leaning forward, her forced calm giving way slightly revealing a copious amount of concern.
The Doctor slammed his hoof on the book. “This…no…THESE are perfectly normal pieces of paper!”
Celestia resisted the urge to face hoof and instead opted for a raised eyebrow.
“My magic didn’t detect anything strange…”
“Nononononono you don’t understand!” He interrupted loudly, backing away and collapsing onto the couch, sitting in the same unnatural manner he had done so before.
“Ever since I…” He paused, bringing up his forehooves to simulate quotation marks. “…landed. In this wonderful dimension of yours, I have not found a single thing.” He leaned forward to emphasize.
"Not a SINGLE thing, even remotely close to being normal on the scans of my sonic screwdriver.” He said gesturing at the device that now lay at his hooves.
“dirt, birds, oysters, cakes, apples, hydras, you…I mean just by being in proximity to that pink party pony alone nearly fried my TARDIS. This leads to my one solemn conclusion.”
He vaulted off the couch and turned the pages back to that blank page.
“These two pieces of paper in this book shouldn't be here. It CAN'T exist here. Someone or something, somehow and for some reason, placed that page of paper here outside the boundaries of this dimension’s rules.”
The Doctor closed the book and sat on his haunches.
“It was in perfect disguise. But why?” He muttered under his breath.
A moment passed in complete silence, both ancient beings staring at the blank page in front of them.
“Doctor. Where is my Twilight?”
“I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry. But I don’t have the slightest clue right now.”
At this declaration by the doctor, Princess Celestia broke down into tears everybit of forced calm gone. Time turner approached her and threw his hooves around her neck in an attempt to calm her. Celestia reciprocated the embrace, and the two just sat there in silence. Unsure of what to do.
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Twilight’s consciousness stirred. She felt the comfort of a pillow beneath her head and the warmth of a heavy blanket over her body. She could hear beautiful music playing somewhere outside her room and for a moment she thought it was Lyra. For a moment she thought that she was back at the party passed out from having too much cake. But as she opened her eyes, she was greeted by the sight of her new limbs. Her hand was curled up into loose fists ony laying atop the other. Finding that her strength had returned, she slowly picked herself up from the soft, warm, mattress that she was now laying on. She discovered that she was wearing clothes now, albeit minimal they still contributed to helping her retain her warmth.
She took a good look at the room around her. There were no windows, and the decorations were minimal. She ran her hands down her body, trying to make sense of exactly what she was. She found that her coat had not completely gone. Upon closer inspection she realized that she had small amounts of hair emanating from her skin, though they were so tiny that she could hardly count it as a coat of fur. She reached up to her head, feeling that her face had been flattened up considerably. She ran her hands through her mane and brought them up to her eyes. She sighed in relief. Her hair was still a shade of purple, Albeit a darker purple than before, but at least the similarity remained. She noticed that several strands that ran down her face was still pink, as she felt around her head again her heart sank into the pit of her stomach. Her horn was gone. Without her horn she wouldn’t be able to do magic. Twilight thought that she couldn’t feel anymore helpless, never had she been so wrong.
She closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to feel if there was any magic left inside her. For the first time since her awakening she felt a small sign of hope. She could feel that her magic was still there, although it must have taken a different form in this new body.
Before she could investigate further however, the door swung open, and in walked a very terrifying creature. Her eyes were a vibrant, almost glowing, red. She wore a sort of hard armor that covered pale green skin. On her hip was a sword fastened to her belt, which Twilight eyed warily.
“Good. You’re finally awake.” The pale green creature said in such a harsh tone that Twilight couldn’t help but flinch. The being in front of her moved with a calm yet stern stride to the edge of her bed. Twilight backed away, pulling her covers with her until her back was against the wall. The creature gave an amused smirk.
“Scared of me are you?” She asked letting her hand rest on her blade.
“What is your name, harlot?”
‘Harlot?’ thought Twilight. It was then that it struck her. This creature was clothed completely. Whatever race she had transformed into must have thought that those without clothes were immodest. Twilight felt heat beginning to rush to her face, but she fought it back and decided to answer. But surprisingly, she found that it was difficult to talk. She tried to say a full sentence, but they died in her mouth. It took all her concentration to say her name.
“Twa…Twal…Twilight. Y…You?”
The creature raised an eyebrow at her, but did not inquire further about her name or her apparent speech impediment.
“I am Irileth, housecarl to Jarl Balgruf of Whiterun, and to get it out of the way, I am not the savior that saved you from the barrows.”
Twilight relaxed slightly, thankful now that the tension had lessened slightly.
“Nice...meet you…Irileth. Whiterun? Country?”
Irileth threw her head back and gave a large laugh causing Twilight to resume her position of having her back up against the wall.
“Country? You poor girl. Your head has yet to thaw. No. Whiterun is a hold within Skyrim.”
Twilight’s eyes grew wide in realization.
“Sky…rim.” She said in realization. Irileth considered her for a moment before moving to the foot of her bed and picking up a familiar looking tome from the floor. It took a moment for Twilight to recognize the book.
“This was found next to you. I assume it is yours?” Irileth flipped the book opened and scanned the pages. They were all blank except for two pages. On it was written the song Twilight had sung. “The ballad of the Dovakhiin.”
In a moment, the book was yanked from Irileth’s hands by an unseen force. Twilight threw off her blanket now and starred at the book flipping through all the pages without touching them. She Scanned them, felt them out with her magic, detecting nothing out of the ordinary, or any way to send her home, she gave a sigh of defeat and let the book fall on the mattress. Just then she heard the sound of sliding metal and looked up to see that Irileth had drawn her sword.
She was in a defensive stance and Twilight suddenly grew very afraid. Twilight tried to apologize for whatever it did that she did wrong, but again the words died in her throat as she eyed the menacing blade that hovered only a few feet from her face.
“You are a mage.” Irileth growled. Twilight retreated again, not even registering the fact that she still retained her magic abilities which in any other situation would have made her overjoyed. Irileth examined Twilight once more before putting away her blade.
“Forgive me. Years of service to the Jarl has made me…Vigiliant.” She said before moving towards the cupboard. She opened them and pulled out what looked like clothes. She flung them at Twilight.
“Put these on and follow me.”
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Twilight couldn’t stop staring at the sign that hung above the inn. It couldn’t be a coincidence. A rather crude and strange drawing of a pony etched into wood swung in breeze. On top of the pony was a creature similar to Irileth, though somehow Twilight could tell that the creature was a male. On the sign were the words: “The Bannered Mare.”
For a moment, Twilight felt a small glimpse of hope. Were there perhaps other ponies here in this world? Maybe somepony could show her the way home. Before Twilight could think about it too deeply she felt a tug on her robes. She flinched as she turned to face an Irritated Irileth.
“Come with me girl. The Jarl’s time is precious.”
Twilight nodded and followed Irileth obediently, her studious eyes wandering and taking in the sights trying to learn as much of the culture as she could. By overhearing merchants converse she was able to determine that the males in this world were called ‘man’ and that females were called ‘woman.’ She also noticed that not everyone looked like Irileth. There were men and woman of different skin colors and shades of mane. Someponies even looked like reptiles and felines. It was a strange world she had found herself in.
“OH GREAT AND MIGHTY TALOS! YOU HAVE ASCENDED UNTO THE HEAVENS AND NOW RULE US, AS BOTH MAN…AND…GOD! I LOVE YOU!”
Very strange indeed.
Twilight tore her eyes away from the raving man, preaching in front of a large statue and focused on climbing the stone stairs in front of her. It surprised her how easy it was to walk on two legs. Sure she stumbled at first but after only a couple of steps she felt like it was the most natural thing in the world.
By the time she reached the top, the words of the preacher had faded to a distant echo and she was face to face with several guards and a massive door. With a wave of the hand from Irileth the guards opened the door and Twilight was treated to the sight of a massive, hall. She was vaguely reminded of Celestia’s throne room, though this design was much less…clean.
Guards lined the walls, and patrolled the balconies up above. There were tables lined with silverware and goblets, sitting at the center prepared for a banquet. Twilight looked passed these tables and looked at the man sitting upon a throne. He was a middle aged man with blonde hair and a beard to match. His eyes were a piercing blue and he wore a sort of crown on his head symbolizing his authority. His disposition was calm and collected, discussing with another man something that Twilight couldn’t hear, until she got closer.
“Jarl Balgruf, perhaps it would be wise to reconsider your decision to send soldiers to Riverwood.”
“I already told you Proventus. I will not stand Idle and let dragon’s slaughter my people.”
“But Ulfric may see it as a sign of aggression, you know as well as I do that our forces cannot stand against his.”
“I am well aware of the state of our forces Proventus, but still…” The Jarl wasn’t able to finish his thought as he caught a glimpse of Irileth followed by Twilight.
“Ah. I see that our guest has finally awakened.” Jarl Balgruf said maintaining his calm and commanding tone.
Twilight bowed her head low, knowing full well how to show proper respect to royalty. As she raised her head she could have sworn she saw Irileth smirk. If Jarl Balgruf was grateful for this sign of respect he did not show it.
“Do you have a name girl?” He asked, voice neutral.
“Twi...Twilight...” She said, cursing that her voice was still not functioning properly. Jarl Balgruf turned to Irileth who merely shrugged as she replied.
“Whatever happened to her must have damaged her ability to speak clearly.”
The Jarl nodded once and turned to Proventus who Twilight had figured to be his steward.
“We will continue this discussion some other time Proventus.”
“Very well my Jarl. Shall I call for dinner to be served?”
“That would be best Proventus.” Jarl Balgruf then turned back to Twilight, taking a moment to study her from head to toe. Finally he spoke again.
“You are very lucky to be alive girl. If that Red Guard had not found you on his way to the barrows, You would most likely be dead.” Jarl Balgruf paused allowing the gravity of what could have been to sink in. Twilight nodded, not breaking eye contact with the Jarl. Jarl Balgruff gave the first genuine smile Twilight had seen.
“Where are you from?” He asked.
“From…” Twilight managed to croak out but stopped herself. Should she say where she was from? If she told them that she was from another world, would they believe her? Would they even be able to bring her back? And if they could bring her back what would they do with the knowledge of Equestria? Her memory flashed back to Irileth drawing her sword. Twilight did not know if she could trust these beings with the existence of Equestria. She would have to find a way home on her own.
Jarl Balgruf raised an eyebrow and shook his head.
“You don’t remember?”
Twilight was startled out of her train of thought, and shook her head. She didn’t like the Idea of lying but she had to if it meant keeping Equestria safe. Jarl Balgruf sighed and straightened from his relaxed position.
“Well I can’t allow you to wander Skyrim with no memory or no home. You are welcome to stay at Whiterun’s inn; the Bannered Mare Inn. But do not expect to be living freely. You will earn your keep, understand?” Twilight nodded vigorously, feeling grateful and intimidated at the same time.
“She is a very capable mage my Jarl.” Irileth stated, crossing her arms and looking Twilight over once more as if she was about to spring up and attack at any moment.
“I have never seen Telekinesis with such control before. She levitated a book out of my hand and flipped through each individual page as if it were nothing. She’d make a fine assistant to Farengar.”
Twilight couldn’t help but blush at the praise, though in all honesty she doubted she could do anything else without her horn.
Jarl Balgruf stroke his beard in consideration. “An excellent suggestion Irileth, and perhaps when that Red Guard returns he can give more details about how he found you.”
Irileth snorted. “If he hasn’t already been impaled or beheaded by the blades of the Droug’r.”
“You underestimate the young man Irileth. He is one of the few survivors from the attack on Helgen, and he volunteered to enter the barrows with nothing more than the clothes on his back and a single blade. A man as resourceful and brave as him deserves some credit.” Irileth snorted and turned to sit at the banquet tables. Twilight however stood rooted to the spot. She had completely forgotten about the wolves that were about to devour her, and the fourth presence she felt just as she was about to lose consciousness. It suddenly dawned on her that the sliding of metal she heard was the drawing of a sword. If someone had risked their life to save her, perhaps she could trust them after all.
Proventus the Steward walked in followed by a number of servants. Each carrying large plates of fruits, vegetables, bread and….something Twilight had never seen before.
Jarl Balgruf motioned for Twilight to join him at the table, and Twilight moved to sit, suddenly aware of just how hungry she felt. The Jarl bit into a loaf of bread first and was surprised when Twilight levitated a loaf to her mouth and bit into it. He smirked and watched her carefully as he devoured the last of his bread, motioning for a few vegetables. Twilight however didn’t notice that she was receiving so much attention; she was too busy chewing this masterfully baked read. As she finished she turned her attention to the large plate of reddish… something…in front of her. Whatever it was, it smelled delicious. Curious she forced herself to speak.
“What…is…food?” She said carefully, hoping she wasn’t being rude by asking this question to the Jarl.
The Jarl paused just as he was about to take a bite of the red slabs on his plate.
“Deer Meat.” He replied amused.
Twilight froze and gazed in horror at the site in front of her. She wobbled back and forth, eyes unfocused, before face planting into what was left of her bread unconscious. For a moment no one in the room said or did anything. Finally the Jarl laughed .
“By the nine. She is going to be a handful.”