"Ugh, what a headache," Raika moaned, rubbing the back of her head as she realized exactly where she was.
Despite there being the freezing winds of Skyrim, which didn't have any effect on her, the beauty of the land before her was enough to make her forget about all the troubles they had gone through to get there. From what she could see from her vantage point there were two paths in front of her, leaving her to decide if she should move to the left or to the right. There were plenty of trees, patches of grass scattered around the walkways, and even a mound of ground that was covered by a bunch of clouds. Even the air seemed lighter than it had been in Skyrim and Raika enjoyed every smell that she could get.
"So this is Sovngarde," Raika continued in awe, "I can see why the nords revere this place as much as they do."
"Yes, this is definitely better than what the Orc's have to deal with," a voice to her left said, causing her to look to the side and find a orc warrior standing there, "The Ashpit isn't the best place to spend one's afterlife, but thanks to my service to the Nine Divines during the Oblivion Crisis I was only there for a few minutes. I wasn't exactly welcomed with open arms by the nords here, but after their lord Shor told them about me and what I had done they seemed to warm up to me. When I heard that Alduin was coming here and that the Dragonborn wasn't too far behind I requested a leave from the mead hall to help aid you in case the World-Eater had anymore tricks in his arsenal."
"Wait, but that would mean..." Raika said, realizing exactly who was standing beside her now.
"I am Rend Org'resh," the orc said, bowing slightly to her, "known throughout all of Cyrodiil and other provinces as the Hero of Kvatch. It was I who found Martin Septim, recovered the Amulet of Kings by killing Mankar Camoran, and protected Martin long enough for him to summon the Avatar of Akatosh and restore the boundaries between Tamriel and Oblivion. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Raika Snow-Heart, the Last Dragonborn."
"I've heard bits and pieces of your travels over the last few weeks," Raika replied, her earlier awe returning in full strength, "but none of that compares to actually meeting you in the flesh."
"Only one person could have told you about me at this point in time," Rend remarked, eying the opening that Raika had come out of and wondered if his friend was following her as well, "and that was someone from another world..."
Before he could continue the opening flashed and someone else emerged from the other side, but where Rend was expecting another nord he came face to face with something new. Standing at full height, matching his own height and then some with the long horn, was a white coated mare with what looked like a three colored mane, though she didn't look like the horses he was used to seeing when he had been alive. This mare was wearing a suit of golden armor and carried a weapon, though it took him a moment the large white wings that rested near her side.
"Oh?" the mare said, staring down at herself, "I'm...surprised. I did not think that I'd be back in this form before I returned to Equestria."
The opening flashed a second time and a smaller mare tumbled out of the light, only this one had a light blue coat and mane that was spilt between two other colors of blue. She rubbed her head before she realized that she was also back in her original body, and then stopped when she noticed Rend standing next to Raika. Rend would have said something, but just as he was about to open his mouth the opening spat out yet another arrival, only this one caught him by surprise. This one was a stallion, though, unlike the other two, he wore a suit of steel armor, a lush red cape attached to the back, and a crown that rested on the top of his head.
Then the opening flashed one last time, only when Rend noticed exactly who had come out of the light his breath caught in his throat, which he cleared almost immediately. He recognized the dark blue coated mare anywhere, complete with the swirling mane that looked like it had stars all over it and was wearing a suit of silver armor. He even recognized the ebony battleaxe that she carried, recalling only one person who used a combination of silver armor and an ebony weapon.
"Nightmare Moon?" Rend asked, causing the mare to look at him with wonder in her eyes, "Wait, forgive me. I just remembered that, after quite some time together, you preferred to be called by your original name, Princess Luna."
"Rend Org'resh," Luna commented, not believing her eyes, "Its...good to see you again..."
"We can catch up later," Rend replied, snatching his weapons from beside the wall, "Alduin has summoned a soul snatching mist that's been eating dozens of lost souls, but from what I've seen the souls of his former soldiers are lurking in there to kill whoever isn't already dead yet. In the off chance you guys made it this far Alduin wanted his hidden soldiers to kill you so he could devour you."
"I'll clear whatever mist gets in our way," Raika commented, drawing her own weapons, "Guys, I hope you can keep up, seeing how you haven't been in your Equestrian forms for some time."
Before anyone could object to her choice Raika charged down the path and blasted the mist away with her Clear Skies shout, though they followed her without delay. Celestia and Luna followed overhead, keeping watch over them as they made their way through the mist and Raika continued to blast the mist away. As they made their way through the mist Rend was quick to slice any risen spirit that reached out for them, sending them back into the black mist that Alduin had summoned them from. Eventually Raika came to the split in the path she had seen from the staircase, choosing to go to the right with the rest of her group following on her tail.
They passed by the stone formation Raika had spotted, rounded the corner without a pause, and continued until they came to what looked like a giant bridge. A bridge, Raika noticed, that looked like it had been crafted from the bones of at least three dragons and had a giant nord, literally a giant nord, standing in front of it.
"Ah, the last Dragonborn," the giant said, watching Raika's group approach while Celestia and Luna landed beside them, "escorted to the Whalebone Bridge by the Hero of Kvatch. I am Tsun, Shield-Thane to Shor. He bade me to guard this bridge and watch all those souls who meet their ends in battle. I am also charged to judge all those who seek entrance to the Hall of Honor. Now, why should I allow you entry to the Hall of Honor?"
"I would say the Right of Birth," Raika proclaimed, not exactly sure what she should say to make him welcome her to her destination, "I am the Last Dragonborn."
"Ah! It's been too long since last I faced a doom-driven hero of the dragon blood." Tsun commented, staring at her companions, "Now, living or dead, by degree of Shor, none many pass this perilous bridge till I judge them worthy by the warriors test."
Before Raika could respond Tsun pulled out his battleaxe and brought it down where she was standing, causing her to roll to the right and bring her swords down on his back. She expected her weapons, enchanted with different abilities, to cut through his thick muscled back, but all she ended up doing was cutting two light wounds on his back. Tsun pulled his weapon back and swung at her again, causing her to duck and watch it pass where her head had been not a few moments later. Raika thrust her swords forward and cut some more light wounds onto Tsun's chest, wondering how she was going to wound him enough to prove herself.
"Enough," Tsun said, causing Raika to pause, "I see that you are driven to your doomed fate, so I will allow you passage to the Hall of Honor and meet the heroes who battled Alduin in the past. Your friends will have to wait here, least they want to try their, um, hooves at fighting me. Rend Org'resh, of course, is free to follow you in, as he had the freedom to do so."
Raika, not wanting to make the giant nord attack her again, sheathed her weapons and began the walk across the bone bridge, with Rend staying behind with the others. Once she crossed the bridge she approached the giant doors, watching the large guards just stand there and stare at her with unblinking eyes. As she pushed open the doors she found a most wondrous sight, dozens upon dozens of the dead feasting and sharing stories with each other. And there, standing near the front doors of the Hall of Honor, was a nord that Raika remembered from the stories that Jarl Ulfric told her countless times.
"Ysgramor of the Five Hundred," Raika said in awe, realizing that she was meeting legend after legend the longer she spent in Sovngarde, "It's an honor to meet someone like you."
"Three await you Dragonborn," Ysgramor commented, clearly brushing her off, "to loose their fury upon the perilous foe. Gormlaith the Fearless, glad-hearted in battle; Hakon the Valiant, heavy-handed warrior; and Felldir the Old, far-seeing and grim."
Raika recognized those names almost immediately, as she had heard them when she had viewed the past by using the Elder Scroll to learn the Dragonrend shout. She spotted the three warriors standing next to each other, though she then noticed a fourth person standing next to them with an air of power around him. She recognized the robes he was wearing and realized that the person was none other than Jurgen Windcaller, the first master of the Greybeards. Now she stood a chance at defeating Alduin, if her Equestrian friends chose to let her fulfill her destiny alone.
-------------------------------------------
"Okay, so you were telling the truth," Rend commented, staring at Luna while trying to stroke her mane, "When you told me that you were from another planet and that you had a completely different form I half believed you. I could easily believe that you were from another planet, but when you said you were a pony, an Alicorn you called your race, I didn't know if I could believe that one. Now that I can see the real you I can see that you were telling the truth, though I'm finding it incredibly hard to even touch your mane."
"Benefit of being an alicorn," Luna chuckled, "eventually you get one of these manes and it lets others know that you have power and responsibility on your shoulders."
"Tell me about these two," Rend said, beckoning to Trixie and Sombra, "I know you never mentioned the mare before, but that stallion keeps striking me as someone who bares some heavy memories in his heart."
"Well Trixie is an Illusionist who has some skill in battling magical creatures," Luna said, noticing that she still carried the mask from earlier, "Why, when we were approaching the portal Trixie managed to fight and defeat one of Alduin's Dragon Priests, the one named Nahkriin, before we could enter Sovngarde. Sombra is my sister's husband, though their wedding day was ruined by a being known as Discord, who is currently still trapped in Equestria. He's been battling his darkness ever since he's been here, and so my sister and I have been helping him keep himself in check. Now, after all the time we've spent, he's back to the way he was in the past, so there's no way of him reverting back to his darker self. Plus, if it ever came to it, he's capable of critically wounding or even killing whoever gets in his way, such as critically wounding the World-Eater."
"And that's your sister?" Rend asked, eying the white mare that was standing next to Tsun, "Wow, even from here I can feel the intense power that she commands. If you control the Moon and she controls the Sun I'm pretty sure that she could burn all of your foes alive without any of them seeing the attack coming."
"We're not into abusing our powers like that," Luna said, laying her battleaxe in front of her, "but we've managed to use the bare minimum of our powers when we've fought alongside Raika..."
"Wait a minute..." Rend said, something clicking in his mind, "Did you say that Sombra critically wounded the World-Eater? Isn't that supposed to be the Dragonborn's job?"
"Well," Luna began, knowing how odd this was going to sound, "Sombra has the ability to call upon crystals and uses them however he wishes, so when we were waiting for Raika to finish reading the Elder Scroll he set his magic in place. When Alduin arrived and Raika grounded him Sombra was quick to release his spell, summoning the crystals out of the ground. Alduin was wounded in both of his wings before Sombra impaled him on one of the largest crystal pillars I have ever seen him use in all the years I've known him. It went right through Alduin's core, so I find it amazing that the dragon managed to break the crystal AND escape with a gaping hole in his body."
"So the Dragonborn is the only thing that can kill him," Rend remarked, his eyes heading back to Sombra in wonder and a small amount of terror, "Well then, I hope she can find something, or someone, that can aid her in defeating the World-Eater, because I don't think he's going to wait much longer."
Celestia, who had been merely watching her sister speak with her oldest friend in all of Tamriel, gave a light chuckle as Tsun tried to touch her mane. Apparently the giant thought he could physically touch her swirling mane, but then looked slightly disappointed when his hand simply moved through it and back. Sombra, on the other hoof, was simply sitting near the edge of the mist, though when she saw that his horn was barely lit she realized that he was working his magic into the surrounding area. In the off chance that Raika needed additional help, or Alduin called him out to crush him, Sombra was getting ready to impale the dragon so Raika could kill it.
"Your husband seems to be planning something," Tsun commented, watching the magic around the stallion work, "I do not know what these 'crystals' of his are or how they'll come out of the ground, but I do hope that, if he ends up using any of them, that he takes them away with him."
"Sombra is always planning something," Celestia remarked, knowing the truth better than most ponies and people in all of the two worlds, "even when my sister and I had to put the evil inside of him down I could still see glimpses of the strategist that he was. It makes sense that he'd have some plan in place for dealing with Alduin, in the off chance that Raika calls to him for aid in dealing with the dragon. Course, there's always the slim chance that Alduin will forget about Raika and call out Sombra for revenge, just to smite the one who dealt him such a terrible wound to begin with."
She would have said more, but then she heard the roar of an angry dragon and knew that Alduin was getting impatient, as if he was merely waiting for Raika to emerge from the Hall of Honor. Almost as if the roar had summoned her Raika stood by Tsun's side within seconds, though three ancient warriors rushed passed her and stopped before the mist. Each of the warriors carried a single weapon, but as Raika approached them Celestia noticed that her enchanted blades were ready to deal a fatal blow to the World-Eater.
"Come now, Clear Skies," Gormlaith said, facing the mist as Raika joined them, "We will drive back the Enemy's mist and bring him to justice this day."
The Clear Skies shout escaped from the mouths of four Masters of the Voice, the combined power tearing the mist apart and scattering it from the area in front of them.
"Ven Mul Riik!"
Raika had never heard those three Words of Power before in her short time of being the Dragonborn, but the moment they sounded the mist suddenly stitched itself back together, leaving a veil of mist before them once again.
"Again!" Gormlaith shouted, readying herself for a second volley, "We shall drive back our Enemy's power and show him that we cannot be defeated so easily."
Again the Clear Skies shout sounded across the valley of Sovngarde, shattering the mist into more pieces than the first time and clearing the area for the most part. Raika waited a moment, wondering if Alduin would come to do battle with them or just summon his mist again.
"Ven Mul Riik!"
Again Alduin spoke the three Words of Power and again the mist stitched itself back together, only this time Raika noticed that the mist seemed to be ready to be dissolved completely.
"Once more!" Gormlaith shouted, preparing for the World-Eater's arrival, "Once more and we'll shatter the Enemy's mist completely."
Raika grunted and they shouted together, though this time the mist completely scattered and left the area before them bare, but before they could cheer for themselves they heard Alduin's roar. The four of them stood there, watching Alduin appear in the distance before he landed right in front of them, though he just stared past them before staring at Raika.
"I have a request, Dovahkiin," Alduin spoke, his voice heavier than it had been before and Raika knew what had caused the change, "I would request a fifth member of your followers to fight against. I seek revenge against the one you call 'Sombra'."
"Its your funeral then," Raika smiled, knowing that they had the World-Eater right where she wanted him, "Hey Sombra, Alduin wants a rematch from High Hrothgar. Care to give him what he wants?"
Sombra smiled and dashed forward, enjoying the feel of the ground beneath his hooves, passing Raika and her friends in a matter of seconds before approaching Alduin. The dragon, expecting another crystal to shoot out of the ground like the last encounter, pumped his wings and burst into the sky to escape the stallion. As expected several crystals shot out of the ground, reaching towards the dragon until they stopped halfway between the ground and himself. Alduin smirked and opened his mouth, allowing a gout of flames to descend upon the people below him, but what he failed to account for was Sombra's ability to travel through the shadows.
Sombra stepped onto Alduin's back, though Raika had followed him by using the shadow gate that had been summoned in front of her, and the two of them struck without pause. Raika buried her blades into Alduin's back, causing him to roar in pain, but when Sombra struck by burying a crystal spike in the side of his neck he lost his balance. Before Alduin hit the ground Sombra grabbed Raika with his magic and traveled through another gate, appearing beside the three warriors without a scratch on them. When Alduin hit the ground the three warriors rushed forward, shouting the Dragonrend shout the moment that Raika commanded them to do so.
"My teeth to all your necks," Alduin shouted, preparing to blast them all with another flame shout.
Sombra, knowing that the dragon would attack them again, pounded the ground with his hooves and activated the magic he had sunk into the ground, willing the crystal spikes to rise. The ground shook for a moment before a crystal pillar shot out of the ground and tore through Alduin's right wing, though several long spikes grew around the area of the wounds exit. He had seen how Alduin had escaped from the previous encounter and had planned even more for this fight than the previous fight. Before Alduin could move a second pillar struck his left wing, binding him to the ground for the moment, yet not stopping the flow of magic that his shout would bring.
"You cannot stop me joor," Alduin smirked, the flames building up his throat.
That was before a third pillar shot out of the ground and pierced his jaw, running through the bottom of his giant mouth and coming out of the top of his mouth. The sheer pain of the attack managed to cut off the flame shout and Alduin tried to destroy them, but Sombra's extra crystals prevented the pillar from being destroyed so easily.
"Sorry about that," Sombra smiled, nodding to Raika, "but it isn't my place to destroy you. That honor belongs to Raika."
Alduin, not even bothering to remain still, managed to somehow shatter the wing pillars and raised himself upwards, pushing the boundaries of his mouth pillar to the limits. Sombra, noticing the change, willed the ground to open and another giant pillar broke out of the ground, rushing towards Alduin's chest and pushing through the barely healed wound with ease. Alduin coughed and blood rained on the five around him, though none of them seemed phased by the fact that a seemingly immortal and invulnerable creature was impaled and bleeding before them.
Raika, knowing that the time was coming, raised her blades and approached Alduin, allowing the edges to cut some light wounds into his scaled hide. Alduin seemed to cough the more wounds she inflicted on him, but all Raika did, while the warriors continued to hack at the lower part of his body, was lightly cut him. Before she got distracted by the wounds she had inflicted Raika leapt at Alduin's heart and buried her blades in his heart, allowing the enchantments to work their magic. All they seemed to do was smolder and burn in his chest, but they were the only weapons that she carried with her at that point.
"Raika," Trixie shouted, tossing her sword towards her, "use the Magistrate and end this fight."
Raika caught the legendary sword, leapt onto Alduin's neck, drew the shining blade without a moment's delay, and ran the blade clean through Alduin's scaled neck. At first Raika didn't think the legendary weapon would do anything to such a giant beast, but the moment the blade was through it all blood began to pour out of the wound. Alduin's body began to violently shake, causing Raika to leap off his back and run to the others to watch what happened, before smoke began to emit from his body. Then, just like the other dragons, his body began to burn and the crystals holding him down were broken almost immediately, allowing his body to raise to its full height. As the scales shattered into dust his ancient bones began to break under the pressure of his soul escaping its mortal shell and scattering to the heavens.
Raika noticed that, despite having no connection to her world, a small fragment of Alduin's soul was somehow absorbed into the Magistrate, a weapon that belonged to another world.
"The World-Eater...is dead?" Gormlaith asked, unsure of what to make of the situation, "Our fight was not in vain?"
"Shor will gladly welcome you back into Sovngarde when you die Dragonborn," Tsun commented, having never moved from his position near the bridge the entire time, "Just tell me when you want to leave and I will gladly teleport you back to Tamriel."
"Wait...is that a pony?" Felldir asked, staring at Sombra, "How did a pony get into Sovngarde to begin with?"
"We used a portal in Skuldafn," Sombra easily answered, noticing Felldir run his fingers through his moving dark mane, "In Skyrim our bodies are that of the local nords, but when we stepped through the portal it returned us to our original forms. I'm guessing that, whenever we return to Skyrim, we'll revert to our nordic forms for the brief moment that we'll be there. Now that Alduin is dead I'm sure that we'll be returning to our home world and the citizens that...we left behind."
"Can...can I brush your mane?" Gormlaith asked, staring at Trixie's mane and realizing that it wasn't like the others manes.
"Um...sure?" Trixie said, not sure what to expect as she felt Gormlaith's hand brush through her mane.
"I guess we'll be here a while," Raika said, collecting her enchanted weapons before returning to where the others were standing, "I guess we can relax for now before we return to Tamriel."
"Actually, you'll be returning to Tamriel now," Tsun commented, magic swirling around Raika and the Equestrians, "Shor wants you out of Sovngarde until the day that you die and rejoin the blessed feasting."
Before Raika could say a single word whatever magic Tsun used on them snatched them and took them back to Tamriel, causing her to see the same light that she had seen when they had entered the portal to get into Sovngarde.