//------------------------------//
// 10: Road to New Sheoth 
// Story: Nightmare Moon Crashes the Oblivion Crisis 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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	The Gates of Madness, upon inspection by both Nightmare and Luna, were identical in their construction, but there was one key difference between them that the two alicorns noticed; they each had a nameplate. The Gate on the left had 'Mania' written in big letters near the bottom of it, while the Gate on the right had the word 'Dementia' written in the same location. Once they had found the door that they were after, thanks to Luna once again, it was a simple matter to find the keyhole that the key Pandora was holding fit into. The trio walked passed the Gates of Madness and opened the way into the larger area that was the Shivering Isles, though they weren't alone as Jayred bolted into the open area and quickly disappeared.

"May he find whatever madness he is seeking," Pandora commented, waving the insane nord goodbye, "Now, let's find our way to New Sheoth and see what's happening in this realm."

Nightmare nodded and walked alongside Pandora as they started down the path to the right, following the same path that the nord had chosen to go down. Luna sighed to herself before following along, having no desire to get lost in a realm she knew next to nothing about with her other personality freely walking around like she was. Before they were able to get a good distance away from the Gates of Madness they came across a large group of small ugly creatures, baring a variety of weapons among their numbers, doing battle with a much smaller group humanoid creatures, wearing black armor that had no stomach protection at all.

Pandora pulled her bow out and drew an arrow, taking aim at one of the small creatures in the way back and letting it loose, where it flew through the air and tore into the creature's heart. Nightmare approached the enemy, who choose to ignore her while they fought the black armored warriors, and swung her battleaxe, taking several of them in the single swing. Luna, on the other hand, flared her wings and landed behind the small creatures, throwing her magic around and knocking several of them into the air before slamming them down into the ground. With the combined efforts of the three of them, plus the warriors they had come across, the small army of creatures was eventually eradicated and their bodies were scattered about the ground.

"Madgod's blessings upon you travelers," one of the warriors called out to them, as the rest of her companions decided to return to wherever their post was, "We were not expecting such a large group of Grummites when we came out here. We have several more locations to check to be sure that they get no closer to New Sheoth, but your aid was most appreciated."

"It was a pleasure my mad friend," Pandora replied, causing the warrior to raise an eyebrow, "We're currently heading to New Sheoth ourselves, so maybe we'll run into more of those creatures. I promise you, if we run into anymore of them then we'll be sure to remove them before they can do any harm."

"The others will be pleased to hear that there is someone else killing the Grummites as well," the warrior continued, though Nightmare noticed that she remained in a neutral expression the entire time, "Walk with our Lord, mortal."

Nightmare watched the warrior walk down the path that her companions had traveled down and eventually she disappeared from their field of view. Luna, having spent the time after the fight checking the corpses for anything worth while, stood up and handed Pandora a large sack of coins. The only other thing she found was a wooden staff, but instead of taking it as her weapon, since she chose not to summon one of her own, she simply turned it over to Pandora as well. Nightmare didn't understand why her other personality wouldn't call her weapon to her side, but all it told her was that she wanted to stay at the back and provide support.

She also knew that Luna was keeping an eye on her, making sure that she didn't turn her godly powers against the people of this world and bring about an Eternal Night in Tamriel. Not that Nightmare wanted to do that to this world when she was trying to save it by stopping Mehrunes Dagon with her companions Rend and Shadow, and likely Pandora once they were done in the Shivering Isles.

"Um...I hate to be the ignorant one of the group," Luna said, noticing that Nightmare was shooting her another angry glance, "but what were those warriors anyway?"

"Dark Seducers," Pandora replied, following the path that she figured would lead them to their destination, "The Shivering Isles is separated into two halves, the left side being called Mania while the second was known as Dementia. Mania is supposed to be a beautiful land of artists and it is said that they are guarded by the Golden Saints, who are basically a golden armored version of the Seducers you just saw. Dementia, on the other hand, is basically a land of danger, where everyone suspects everyone else of doing something wrong and where those people are guarded by the Dark Seducers."

"So why did we choose Dementia again?" Luna asked, following the breton and her other personality, "It sounds like Mania would have been the better place to enter through."

Luna, having spent time and energy raising the moon and setting the stars each night, was as much of an artist as her sister was a hoarder of cakes. She enjoyed creating the night sky, though that love was not given back to her by the ponies she had slaved for, but she wouldn't let herself dwell on the past. She personally liked the sound of Mania, but it was the majority rule that they would be traveling through Dementia, a land, that she noted, looked like it was half dead or just half decaying.

"Oh quit your whining," Pandora said, sighing as she continued down the dirt road, "We'll be traveling through Dementia and that will be the end of this discussion."

Nightmare had to admit it to herself, but she never would have suspected that Pandora would have told her other personality to shut up like that. She cast a look back at Luna and found that she was mildly annoyed by the comment, though it pleased her to find that someone else could shut up the mare that wouldn't leave her alone during their time on the moon. She also thought it was funny that Pandora had done a quick flip on Luna like that, as she had been excited about the idea of another companion, but now seemed annoyed that she was even there.

Nightmare eventually chalked it up to being the madness that Pandora had been inflicted with earlier in her life and decided that her reason was better than searching for a real one.

"Look, I'm sorry Luna," Pandora eventually said, causing the Princess to look up once more, "I've been dealing with this madness inside of me for so long and I, well, have been known to randomly snap at my companions in a cruel fashion. Dementia is a place for people that are much more cruel than I am, which is why I wanted to come here, so I could feel more at home than in Mania. I'm praying that, once we meet Lord Sheogorath, I can have the madness lessened so I can be of further benefit to Rend in our quest to end the Mythic Dawn."

And just like that Nightmare was annoyed that someone was apologizing to Luna, when she had done absolutely nothing to deserve any sort of apology. She sighed and continued down the pathway, knowing that they would eventually reach their destination and eventually meet the Madgod himself. She had to admit something else, of all the Daedric Princes in this world she was more interested in meeting Sheogorath than any of the others, like Mehrunes Dagon for instance. Most of the other Princes sounded like they were dangerous or downright strange, but there was something about the Lord of Madness that made her want to meet him.

They had to work their way around the isles, cutting through the ranks of strange creatures that wanted them dead along the way, before they caught their first glimpse of New Sheoth. It was on the top of a cliff, one that they suspected had an access point from both sides into the perspective towns, and there was a ramp that lead up to the gate that they assumed connected to the Dementia town. As they passed the cemetery they noticed a pair of Dark Seducers guarding the ramp, which told them that they had to be near their destination and that they were close to meeting the Madgod.

As they passed by the guards Nightmare heard one of them mention something about the town they were entering being called Crucible, which gave her a name to where they were going. When they entered the town they noticed that everyone, those that weren't guards, were glaring at the rest of the citizens like they had something to hide. It was there that they learned that the other side of New Sheoth, the Mania side, was referred to as Bliss and that the Palace was connected to the two halves of the city by two doors, which happened to be at the top of a large pair of stairs.

Once they made their way up the stairs and passed through the doors they found themselves in the exterior of the palace, where the two halves of the Shivering Isles, including some strange pale crystals, merged in seemingly perfect harmony. The palace itself was protected by two guards, one being the familiar Dark Seducer they had seen outside while the second was a Golden Saint, though there were three doors. Upon asking one of the maids they learned that Bliss was ruled by a Duke, named Thadon, and that Crucible was ruled by a Duchess, someone by the name of Syl. They also learned that the two rulers were basically the underlings of Lord Sheogorath, which meant that if he told them to do something they had better well do it.

With this information tucked away they pushed open the middle door, the palace door, and entered the large chamber where the throne room was supposed to rest. Even the throne room reflected the dual nature of the Shivering Isles, though the carpets and different colored flames weren't the objects of their attention. Their eyes were drawn to the man that was sitting on the throne, wearing a purple suit with a golden color tucked in certain places, with short white hair and a white beard on his face, though he was tapping his cane as he wanted for something to happen.

"NEW ARRIVALS!" the man shouted, coming to a sitting position as the three approached the throne, "I do love new arrivals. A shame about my Gatekeeper though. I could just tear your intestines out and strangle you with them. I suppose an introduction is in order. I am Sheogorath, Prince of Madness. And other things, but I wont be speaking of those. But you have made it further than anyone else that has come before you, mostly because of your unfair advantage, and so I have a little something for you."

A necklace appeared before Pandora, who simply snatched it out of the air and put it around her neck, as to not offend the Daedric Prince they were standing before.

"NOW, your likely wondering why the lot of you are here," Sheogorath continued, nearly shouting at them despite how close they were to the throne, "I have need of a champion, of someone who can save the realm from total destruction. Save the damsel. Slay the beast. OR die trying. A change is coming to the Shivering Isles and everything changes in time. Even Daedric Princes. Especially Daedric Princes. I speak of the Greymarch, and you lot are going to help me stop it. The details aren't important at the moment, but don't worry, we'll get back to them later on.

Now, I have need of you lot to do an errand for me. Its an important one if I'm sending my Champion and her fetching companions to complete it, but then again everything I tell you will be important. The lot of you are going to Xedilian, a little spot of mine that I enjoyed visiting from time to time that has fallen on hard times. Your going to go there and reactivate the place, so we can take care of any unwanted pests that would seek to enter my realm and do my people harm. I have a book for you to read on the operations of Xedilian, and don't forget the Attenuator of Judgement, you'll need that as well. And don't forget, you can always ask Haskill about whatever your doing. Not only is he a snappy dresser, but he always has an answer for everything."

"I live to serve, my Lord," the breton, the one Pandora spoke to before coming to Passwall, said, though he seemed uninterested or neutral at the moment.

"Now, my sweet Pandora, I have some words for your companions before you go," Sheogorath said, turning to face Nightmare and Luna, "I have not felt the presence of an Equestrian in my realm for quite some time, not since Discord decided to visit me and share in my hospitality. Seeing how you two will be helping Pandora out, and how you've separated into two separate beings, I think that it is only fair to restrict your powers until our game is over. Nightmare Moon, the Queen of Knights, you have shown that you enjoy the use of your wings at the cost of not using your magic, so I shall be sealing your magic and horn away until we're done. And Princess Luna, Caretaker of the Night, I have seen only magic from you, so your wings and flight shall be sealed as well, just to make things fair."

Nightmare and Luna grabbed at their chests as Sheogorath's magic washed over them, Nightmare's horn shrinking until it was gone while Luna's wings all but disappeared. The pair of them were taken aback, they had no idea that such powerful magic existed in this world, but they knew they should have expected something from the Madgod. When the magic was over they slowly stood up and faced each other, wondering why they suddenly felt like their fates were intertwined in more ways than one.

"And for an extra kick I've taken your immortality as well," Sheogorath roared in laughter, just as the their faces paled as they realized what he had done to them, "so if one of you dies, then the other falls as well. Have fun my dears!"