The two humanoids and the crowd of ponies just stared at each other for a minute, the humanoids looking at the ponies with confusion and curiosity, and the ponies look at them with more fear than curiosity. After that minute was up one of the ponies screamed “RUN!” and the entire crowd went into a panic.
“Did one of them scream ‘run’?” Skoruligr asked.
“I believe so.” J’zargo replied flatly.
The humanoids just watched as the crowd of ponies all ran recklessly in apparently random directions, running into each other, and tripping on anything and everything they could.
“They are panicking; don’t you have a shout that calms them?” J’zargo asked.
“Kyne’s peace, it should work. Kaan… DREM OV!” Skoruligr replied with his Kyne’s Peace shout, however all it accomplished is make him shout unnaturally loud and create a thunderclap, scaring the ponies even more. “It didn’t work, I think these… horse things are sapient, that shout only works on animals.”
Talking sentient colorful equines… Most men would have a mental break down at this, but to the two Tamrielians this was just another Tuesday (or Tirdas as it was called in Tamriel, but whatever.). All the weird adventures they had been on had prepared them from having a mental shut-down, but instead they just stood there wondering what in oblivion they had gotten themselves into this time.
That is when Skoruligr noticed a flying rainbow blur approach him from his left at impressive speeds, not having enough time to defend himself from it before it’s front hooves collided into his side. Which did little other than make him stumble and J’zargo stabilized Skoruligr before he was able to fall down, Steel platemail with thick fur padding tends to keep one well protected from the hooves of a pony half your size. When Skoruligr found himself in a stable stance he looked down at the rainbow-maned cyan Pegasus pony before him.
“Hey you! You lookin’ for trouble tin can?!” She said in a very tomboyish voice while taking an aggressive stance.
“what.” Skoruligr said flatly.
“You heard me! Are you looking for trouble?!” She ended that sentence with a quick buck in the middle of Skoruligr’s breastplate, this time without the added momentum of her dive it barely pushed him back a quarter of an inch.
“J’zargo suggests you leave now, unless you would like to be electrocuted.” J’zargo threatened.
“Easy J’zargo, we aren’t here to figh-“Skoruligr was interrupted by another swift buck, this time in the head. “You know that doesn’t do anything when I am wearing this armor right?”
A rope tied into a lasso then found it’s way over J’zargo’s head before falling down to the middle of his torso and tightening, pinning J’zargo’s arms to his chest. Skoruligr looked over to J’zargo and saw the lasso binding his arms and the orange pony about 15 yards away responsible. Skoruligr went behind J’zargo and unsheathed and raised his sword, getting ready to bring it down and sever the rope when that rainbow maned Pegasus leaped into his side mid-swing. Skoruligr was in an instable stance at that time and so he staggered sideways before losing his footing, as he fell his sword got tossed several feet away and onto the dirt. Applejack’s tugging finally managed to make J’zargo fall down unto his back and Skoruligr rolled to his feet and stood up. Seeing the rainbow one was about to charge he prepared his voice.
“fus… RO DAH!” He shouted at the rainbow mare in the middle of her charge causing her to fly backwards 20 feet and into a house, crashing right through the walls. He wanted to avoid doing such a thing, but he thought the best thing to do was for him and J’zargo to get out of there as soon as possible.
“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack called out. As she was distracted with her friend’s well-being Skoruligr took hold of the rope and yanked it from the earth pony. Even if she was paying full attention Skoruligr would’ve won, as it would happen being huge has it’s advantages. Before he could loosen the lasso around J’zargo he noticed his sword had taken a soft blue glow and began levitating, so he lunged to it and held unto the hilt and pulled it downward with all his weight, all 400 pounds of it. The alabaster unicorn responsible could not handle so much weight with her magic so the sword was quickly released. Skoruligr headed over to J’zargo and quickly released him from the lasso.
“Not exactly according to plan. We should begin advancing… away from here.” Skoruligr said and he and J’zargo began to flee.
“Oh naw ya don’t!” Applejack yelled and lunged at them, only to be stopped by Skoruligr’s shield. She was deflected off and received a mouthful of dirt. Skoruligr then got tackled by a full speed Rainbow Dash and she began punching him in the back of the head with her hooves with no effect. J’zargo tried to pull her off but that just got him a stomping to the stomach (Again, no effect with all that heavy armor, you’d think she would have figured that out by now.). Tired of his situation J’zargo channeled a light amount of electricity though her, not enough to cause any real damage but enough to make her let go and allow J’zargo to toss her to the side. That actually electrocuted Skoruligr more than it did her, which to J’zargo was a bonus.
“Thanks for trying to fry me, now let’s… OH FOR TALOS’ SAKE!” Skoruligr said after he recovered. Once he got up he noticed that the town had finally scraped together what would barely pass as a militia. There were about 50 ponies of all three types wielding various household items in their mouths that they were apparently planning on using as weapons. Their “war faces” where laughable and a quite adorable, but for some reason absolutely terrifying. Spearheading the hastily developed defense force was a purple coated unicorn with… you know what? Forget that noise. You know who it is, it was Twilight Sparkle. Beside and slightly behind her was Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie and they were quickly joined by Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Their spirits bolstered by numbers they all began to charge.
“Faas.. RU MAAR!” Skoruligr released his Dismay shout at the stampede, sending a crimson wave of energy throughout the herd causing them to stumble and then flee in terror as soon as they could.
To the two Tamrielian’s surprise the mane six in front stumbled, but did not flee. Not even Fluttershy turned tail and ran (Though normally you don’t exactly need a Dragon Shout to scare her off, she remained brave thinking the Tamrielians were a threat to her friends.). This revealed that they were more powerful than Skoruligr or J’zargo could have ever expected. When the six recovered they turned to look at the chaos behind them with shocked looks on their faces as they watched all those ponies flew in absolute terror, though they did not succumb to it, they too felt the urge to flee. Seeing that intimidation was out the window, that they could probably not out-run the quadrupeds, and that bringing them harm would not be a good idea, Skoruligr decided to make an attempt at diplomacy despite the less-than-ideal circumstances.
“You did not flee. That means you are stronger than most of your kind, most of MY kind even! Your bravery and willpower are both quite commendable.” When Skoruligr said that, the mane six looked back over to him. Most of them stayed uneasy, staring at the two with confused but angry looks while in an aggressive stance, Pinkie was being Pinkie with her seemingly inattentive smile and Rainbow Dash had a smug, proud smirk because the compliments to her bravery and willpower. Skoruligr continued “But this is all just a misunderstanding. I and my colleague have not come to harm any of… whatever it is you are. We arrived due to a portal having… unforeseen results. We came here seeking help, but will be on our way if that’s what you would like, though if you are felling kind you could perhaps tell us where we are so maybe we will know what direction to go.”
The ponies, wary it may be a trap, did not let down their guard (Though it was hard to tell if Pinkie was ever on her guard). Twilight stepped forward and prepared a sleep spell to use on them. Her horn and the two Tamrielians began to take on a purple glow and Twilight closed her eyes and focused. Every few seconds she would peek out to see that they were both clearly awake. After 30 seconds of that she squeezed her eyelids shut and put all she had into the spell and kept that up for about 40 seconds before tiring out. She ceased the power flow and fell on her haunches panting and sweating. She looked over to the Tamrielians to see them completely unaffected by her efforts. “I don’t get it. How are they awake?” Twilight said as soon as she could catch her breath enough to speak.
Pinkie Pie hopped up to Twilight and said cheerfully “Oh Twilight silly! That spell only works on targets level 25 and below! They are both TWICE that level!” After she said that, everyone there exchanged looks, Pony to Pony, Tamrielian to Tamrielian, Pony to Tamrielian and vice versa, all mentally asking for an explanation for what she said before they all shrugged and gave up.
Skoruligr saw he would not get any information out of them and sighed “I can tell we have overstayed our welcome, we’ll just be going to… not here.” The two Tamrielians turned to leave, But a Bright yellow light shined behind them and they turned to look. It was a large flying golden chariot pulled my ten muscular Pegasus royal guards. In the chariot were the two princesses of Equestria, Celestia and Luna. Seeing the Two large, regal alicorns and the dozen armored praetorians made the Tamrielians tense up. “And we were just about to be able to leave.” Skoruligr said with a resigned sigh from the further complications.
The two princesses got out of the chariot and the 10 royal guards unlatched themselves from the chariot and went into a protective arrowhead formation in front of the sisters. The mane six bowed before the royal sisters as twelve new arrivals approached the mane six and the two Tamrielians.
“Twilight Sparkle” Celestia began “You and your friends must come to Canterlot Castle immediately; there is a great threat to Equestria that needs your attention. Your chariot awaits.” She motioned to the huge chariot and the six immediately trotted to it and hopped on. Celestia turned her attention to the two Tamrielians “And as for you two, your arrival at this moment cannot possibly be a coincidence. You both are coming with us.” Her horn began to glow and Skoruligr and J’zargo both were enveloped by the same golden glow, they were both lifted into the air from her telekinesis. Harmlessly floating above the ground they both moved with the princess towards the chariot, Skoruligr didn’t like this. He was Skoruligr Ulfrsson, Dragonborn, Slayer of Alduin the World Eater, Harbinger of the Companions, Annihilator of the Dark Brotherhood, Liberator of Skyrim, He had slain so many Dragons he lost count! All that he was subdued and by a pretty white horse-princess…
“Great” Skoruligr mumbled “Just another adventure in the life of Skoruligr Ulfrsson!” he said unenthusiastically.
“What have you gotten J’zargo into now?” J’zargo asked.
Skoruligr considered using the Thu’um to escape, but decided it would be futile unless he was planning on killing everypony there. When everypony was onboard the chariot and all the guards took their positions they took off into the sky towards Canterlot.
“Hey, your royal highness?” Skoruligr said several minutes after they took off. Both of the royal sisters looked over to him. “The white one. What is your name?”
Celestia paused for a second before answering. “I am Princess Celestia.” She said with caution, she could tell he was up to no good.
“Celestia, got it. Well anyways you should invest in a new coat color; White makes your flank look big. I just thought you should know.” He said smirking, though you couldn’t tell with that helmet on. Most of the ponies were shocked, Twilight and Rainbow Dash were furious, Pinkie giggled, and Luna fought to hold back laughter.
“See? I told you so ‘Tia” Luna said snickering. Celestia looked at her sister shocked and angry. Her cheeks turned hot pink and her horn’s glow intensified. She cast a spell replacing Skoruligr’s mouth with a zipper; you couldn’t see it because the full helm but every pony recognized the sound and knew what happened. Celestia then kept looking forward and tried her best to keep a straight face, almost imitating one of her guards, but couldn’t do anything about the blushing.
“Worth it.” Skoruligr thought. Nothing was said for the rest of the ride after that point.
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Once they arrived to Canterlot Castle, the royal sisters and the mane six went into a huge atrium whereas the two Tamrielians where taken by the guards elsewhere and stripped of their gear. The room they were in was about 20 feet by 15 feet large and the walls, ceiling and floor were made of plain slate blocks. The entrance as a heavy iron door and the room was bare except the two chairs the Tamrielians were tied to that were a bit too small for them. They sat there for an hour before the two princesses came in. They all just looked at each other in silence for a few minutes before Celestia began.
“Can we get your names?”
“Skoruligr Ulfrsson”
“My name is J’zargo.”
“Now, what kind of creature are you two?”
“Your worst nightmare… I jest. I am a man, a nord of Skyrim to be exact.”
“J’zargo is a Khajiit.”
“I’ve never heard of those.” Celestia said
“I’ve never heard of tiny, talking, colorful horse things. We should form a club or something.” Skoruligr said.
“We’re ponies. Now where are you from?” Celestia inquired.
“Quick and to the point, eh? Skoruligr said
“We are from a land called Skyrim, We got here when my colleague decided it was a good idea to go through an experimental portal he knew little about, which he THREW me through!” J’zargo answered.
“Never mind my companion here, this is what REALLY happened; I was testing out a new ingenious means of teleportation that I singlehandedly developed, but it was so incredibly mindboggling powerful that we went much further than any mere mortal could have fathomed. Also, I wouldn’t have had to throw him through if he wasn’t such a milk drinker about it and had a little sense of adventure.” Skoruligr “corrected”.
Celestia let them bicker for a few moments before interrupting. “Skoruligr Ulfrsson was it? I would like to know something about you.” Before she could actually ask her question he interrupted.
“I am Skoruligr Ulfrsson, I have long red hair, a full beard, and vivid cyan eyes you can just get lost forever in. I enjoy frequent pilgrimages up the 7000 steps of High Hrothgar. There is this dragon who comes to me when I call his name to help me defeat my foes, but sometimes when J’zargo isn’t around I get lonely so I call him just to talk, that just makes him mad though and he flies off. My hobbies include smithing, being a better swordsman than anyone else ever, dungeon diving, making villagers nervous by using the Thu’um in their presence and ignoring the guards who tell me to stop, making fun of those same guard’s knee injuries, dragon-slaying, and provoking the Thalmor by making fun of them in front of their faces. I know this might break your heart ‘Tia, but I really don’t think this will work on account of whole ‘We don’t even have the same amount of legs’ thing. Plus I really don’t think I’m ready for a relationshi-“
“Enough!” Celestia stomped a hoof on the ground and stopped him before he could finish, clearly irritated by his foalishness. After taking a moment to regain her composure she continued. “We have reason to believe you have something to do with recent events involving a powerful and ancient foe. We will speak with you further when we have learned more.” The two sisters left the room, with Celestia hardly hiding her frustration.
The two Tamrielians sat in there for about 10 minutes before Skoruligr spoke up. “Now is as good of a time to break out as ever.”
“That would only serve to make matters worse.” J’zargo said.
“Nonsense. This place seems to be having a problem, and what are we? A couple of problem solvers, that’s what. Besides, what better way to gain their trust and eternal gratitude than saving the realm?”
J’zargo sighed. Being Skoruligr’s follower could be a pain sometimes, but in the end they were both loyal to each other. Not only did they form a friendship tempered in blood, J’zargo had grown far more powerful accompanying Skoruligr in his quests than he ever could at the College of Winterhold. J’zargo eventually learned it was just best to go along with it. Thankfully the Equestrians didn’t know that J’zargo could use magic, so he quickly incinerated the rope bind around his wrists. He then used his now bare claw-hands to cut through the rope around his upper chest, a quick and easy feat with his razor sharp claws. J’zargo was then able to use his hands to release his feet and then Skoruligr. Skoruligr could have used his Thu’um to get out, but they didn’t want to alert the guards… yet.
The four guards realized something was wrong when the smelled… smoke. Sure enough when they turned around they could see smoke rise from the cracks of the iron door. They immediately opened the door and the first guard in saw two things.
1. The chairs were on fire and empty
2. Skoruligr’s fist, a split-second before making contact with his schnozz.
That punch sent it’s victim flying unconscious right into a wall. When Skoruligr stepped out of the room he was greeted by another guard ready to buck him in his now-unarmored stomach, but right before he delivered the kick Skoruligr hit him right between his rear legs with a left jab, making the guard tense up and cancel the kick. With the back of that guard’s head vulnerable, Skoruligr threw a haymaker with his right fist into the back of the guard’s cranium. That left a fist-shaped dent in his helmet and made him do a half-frontflip into the other dispatched guard against the wall, joining him in unconsciousness. Before the third guard could make an attack of opportunity against Skoruligr he felt a (Relatively) small shock from J’zargo, while the guard was stunned by electricity J’zargo took that chance to snatch off the guard’s helmet and bring it back down on it’s owner’s head like a club. The helmet smacked against the top of it’s former wearer’s head, causing him so smack his jaw on the marble floor hard, making him the third to be knocked unconscious. The fourth and final guard saw he had no chance, and fled down the hall. The quadruped ran fast, but not as fast as a tempest.
“WULD!”
Skoruligr dashed with great speed by using his whirlwind sprint shout, not only catching up, but getting ahead in the blink of an eye. The fleeing guardspony tried to dodge, but Skoruligr reached out and grabbed him by the jaw. He then lifted him up so they could see each other eye-to-eye.
“Evening, good sir! Could you perhaps direct us to where our equipment may be kept?” Skoruligr asked.
Overcome by fear, the guard completely forgot about the whole “undying loyalty to the crown” thing and broke out a nervous smile. “Second left down the hall, it should be the fifth door on the right!” he hastily said.
“Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.” Skoruligr said before throwing the poor pony against the wall, leaving all of the guards unconscious. The two Tamrielians made sure the guards were in no mortal danger and that the burning chairs wouldn’t burn the whole place down (They were the only things in there and the whole room was made of slate, so it was fine).
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(Skoruligr’s POV)
When we both got to the room we were directed to, we saw that our gear was indeed in there, as well as a scholar studying our belongings. We interrogated the scholar to find out all we could about the trouble in Equestria.
We discovered that there disturbance in the very nature of this world at about the same time we created that portal. That for a moment the essence of this plane of existence clashed with ours, and for the entire duration the portal was up the magic of the world was disrupted to the point of being unrecognizable. It was only for a few seconds, but that was enough for disaster. An evil spirit of chaos named Discord was released from his seal and was once again devastating this land. He escaped after being sealed from these “Elements of Harmony” once before, but was sealed once again using the unbridled force of the elements, meaning this time it was for the rest of eternity and there would be harmony across the land forever… Well that’s how it would’ve happened if it weren’t for that blasted portal of mine.
“J’zargo, there is an evil being in these peaceful lands causing chaos wherever he goes. It is because our… No, MY actions this is happening and is thus my responsibility. This is MY fault, but I need your aid. If you would join me, we must get ready immediately. Discord has no place in these lands.”
“There is no need to the theatrics, you already know my answer.” He replied. That darn cat. He never did appreciate a heroic speech.
“Good, let’s hurry then. Discord must be stopped.”
End of Chapter 2
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Hey guys! That’s the end of this chapter, hopefully the next will either be sooner or bigger. This one would have been sooner but I got over 2000 words in and didn’t like it, so I restarted it and when in a new direction. Any constructive criticism or advice will be much appreciated. Be sure to tell me if I should use first person, third person, or third person with first person at certain parts?