//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3: Testing 
// Story: Equestrian scrolls II: Return To Nirn 
// by Sanguine Eyes 
//------------------------------//

	“Oh my goodness would you just stand still!”

Rainbow Dash let out a mix between a shriek and a gasp as Twilight bathed her in magic. Her coat was still a beautiful cyan blue but her body was slowly transforming to fit the strange clothes Twilight and Rarity had made. Her ears still flinching and twitching as she near panicked from her muzzle shrinking. Her bones gently and magically shifting. Her Pelvis curving as her hips shifted into a downward angle, allowing her bones to support her internal organs at an upright angle. To put it simply Rainbow was turning human and freaking out about it.

“WHAAAAAA MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP! WAIT! WAIT! JUST WHAAAAAA!!!” She flailed in her position suspended in the air. A human Applejack and Rarity failed to hold in their laughs as they watched. Pinkie smiled brightly hopping happily about.  Fluttershy hid under the table shivering as at the center of it, human Twilight with one hand held up to hold Rainbow Dash in place above the ground. And the other focusing her power into the pin she disguised as a simple seal, which she placed behind the ears of each of the girls. It was exceedingly difficult to do without any filled soul gems. But so far it was working well enough to make Twilight smile, at least while she was not holding Somepony still.

“For the love of Talos! You're as bad as Fluttershy!” The magic flared brighter and finally a fully human Rainbow dash plopped onto the ground in front of them. First and foremost as everypony was laughing, Rainbow was desperately spinning about grasping behind her freaking out about the loss of her wings.

“I told you, they are gone while you are in this form, but the magic still is inside you, you will find you are excessively light weight and still very fast heck you can probably still even stand on clouds. This spell took forever to get right and even longer for me to perform on you girls…” She peeked back at rarity who slowly levitated the training blocks that Twilight had given her to practice with. “All our magic is still here, it’s just much harder to grasp. Almost like if it’s still there just coming from a much greater distance. Don’t worry you will get used to it.” She smiled and moved to Pinkie next who happily stood waiting to change. Her change was oddly much faster than the others and had the tradition existed within equestrian or Tameriel the vision of Pinkie changing would have made her want to try and splash her with holy water.

“Hey… um Twilight?” Twilight looked back at an only slightly concerned Applejack. “Who is Talos?... you keep saying it. Is she like the human or whatever that moves the sun on Nirn?”

Twilight snickered and looked back as her hand reached out. Fluttershy’s body glowed with the same soft purple light and she scrambled about like a frightened cat on polished wood floors before being locked into place above the ground as Twilight began to work on her transformation. “Talos was a human man, supposedly he was so righteous and powerful he basically became a God. He is the primary God worshiped by the Nords and in life he was the founder of the septim empire which still ruled a significant amount of Tamriel when I was there.”

“So… he's one of the.. um.. Nine?”

“Yes he is the ninth.” She smiled, the whole Gods and Goddesses bit bothered her, she had no doubt that the deities on Nirn were real, heck she had actually met two Daedric Gods. But in the end, she was far more comfortable with a somewhat deity like Celestia. Though after all she saw in Tamriel, Celestia seemed far less benevolent and all powerful. Unlike the Daedra and Aedra of Nirn. She personally witnessed Celestia take on injury, fatigue and even in at one time she had seen her get a cold. It bothered her, the difference between immortal superpower and actual divine rule. She was confident as always that Celestia and Luna were good hearted people with right in their hearts and a great love for their people. But she could not help but think of the false Tribunal when the three Dunmer leaders abused the heart of Lorkhan to become immortal. Had her wings been out, she would have looked back at them in wonder of just how similar it might actually be. What was becoming is what always raised questions in Tamriel. and long standing doubt. There was a very big reason Twilight never mentioned how most of Equestria viewed Celestia and Luna to be Gods, in fact she almost always left out the whole shifting the sun and moon. She did tell Ra'Shala who chuckled for days after that, so it was an informed decision to not bring that up with Taara or Baldir while silently researching the way things were in Tamriel to avoid being laughed at more.

"So... uh... which of these nine controls the Sun and which one controls the moon?" Rainbow had only just started to get over the no wings in this form, but she was still plenty uncomfortable trying to stand on two legs like the others were. Everypony in the room was thinking it so she decided to distract herself and ask the big question.

"...moons"

"Um.. pardon?"

"Nirn has two moons, Massar and Secunda, they both orbit Nirn without anypony moving them. I know its kinda hard to grasp but they move on their own and nopony can change them.... well... perhaps maybe the elves of the summerset isle... Taara said that apparently there was a big scare where the moons just up and vanished for a few years or something. When they finally came back, the elves said they were the ones who did it. Taara was not really sure what was going on but she said that seeing it was the Thalmor , it was probably a publicity stunt to get other nations to like them and no one really knows why the moon's vanished."

"um... does the sun go around on its own too?"

Twilight chuckled and with very little effort the now nearly hyperventilating human fluttershy plopped on the ground wide eyed refusing to move. "Nirn doesn't actually have a sun the same way we do. Theirs is no so much actually a star, the sun there is where Magnus escaped back into aetherius after the other Aedra were trapped in the physical world, tricked by Lorkhan. and Nirn actually goes around that"
The words were followed by blank stares and confusion.

"Ok... so who in the hay is Lorkhan?"

"And Magnus"

"And were the other Aedra angry for being tricked?" Fluttershy had just been on the road to recovery looking up with that last question. Twilight nervously smiled trying to find an easy to explain it.

"um... ah... yes the others were very angry with him... and um... they ah.."

"Banished him?" Her pink hair swayed, as she got to her knees looking up at Twilight, was hope in her eyes that not everything on Nirn was filled with death and violence.

"Um.. y..yes yeah um he was banished and nopony ever saw him again..." She had a feeling that she would from here on wait until Fluttershy was no longer in the room before she talked history again. "Well in other news..." she cleared her throat and put on a half smile. "That is everypony, get up and walk around, get used to the forms, it will make it a little safer for us to enter towns when we are like this, that and once you are done here meet up with spike, he will cover the... um.. stuff I am not good at"

Twilight closed her eyes and dove deep into thought and meditation as energy boiled around her, her soft violet glow turned to a bright aura and there was a harsh snap hiss before she opened her eyes in Canterlot. Trying not to show how drastically it drained her or how painful it was she allowed herself a moment to rest before stepping further into the darkened corridors. "Celestia?... Celestia?"

There was a soft clicking sound and a 'oof!' before she heard Celestia laugh. Shadows shifted and out walked a fully human Celestia. Her  hair still majestic and flowing as a beautiful pure white silk gown hugged her features making her look more and more like something divine. "Twilight, I am impressed, I have not seen such advanced spellwork since Starswirl the bearded." she extended her arms inspecting every inch of her flawless skin. Twilight wondered if she was just inspecting out of curiosity and admiration of the spell, or if Celestia had a little extra pride in how beautiful she was.

"Sister I don't know if this is right...these shoes feel too tight" Luna stepped out from where Celestia had came from, but quickly fell flat on her face. Unlike Celestia's human form which appeared to be moderately of breton descent with a touch more of Nord. Luna looked almost like if she was half Dunmer and half Redguard. Darkened and smooth skin, her hair tied in a simple braid down her back. However it was very difficult for Twilight to focus on this as it appeared that Luna had absolutely no finesse or grace in human form. Stumbling about, tripping and falling Twilight flinched at every tumble.

"Um... Luna perhaps you should try barefoot first...."

"Nonsense my fair Twilight. We are royalty and we must keep up appearancES!!" She tripped on that last part and  with a fume of anger. Her magic flared up on the seal she appeared to have placed over her fingernails and suddenly she was an Alicorn once again. With an elegant design over her right front hoof and a beautiful dark blue dress. "Confound this spell, Sister I will get the hang of this... Stop smiling I know you're laughing this up" Celestia facing firmly away from Luna, eyed Twilight as she barely contained her urge to giggle.

Celestia, I was going to come and help, I can still but honestly I am very impressed to see that you two managed to fully comprehend the magic..."

Celestia smiled warmly as Luna mumbled very unlady like things under her breath. Celestia was not so concerned anymore but still a little moved to see how much Twilight had grown. She had yet to hear Twilight even once refer to her or Luna as 'princess' Celestia or Luna. Granted if she were to be honest with herself it was a relief. It was nearly nauseating to hear people groveling and brown nosing or treating her like a God when all she wanted was to be with her people, knowing that she would not have a natural end to her life, but she still had a soul and as such desired to be treated like everypony else from time to time. "Come now Twilight, I am thousands of years old, yes those spells were advanced but surely you should know by now I can still impress the oh so majestic and powerful Princess of Friendship."

Twilight blushed a little, happy that some things had not entirely changed. Celestia reached out and gently touched Twilight's cheek. "You have grown into such a beautiful and wise mare... I am proud of you Twilight...."

Twilight smiled happily. "Thank you Celestia... I did have a good teacher, both then and now" Their quiet smiling time was interrupted by a soft clattering of things being tipped over.

"No... no Cadence I think I have it, maybe... yeah I don't goodness how did Twilight manage this?..." Out from the same spot came Shining armor, his human form rather well muscled, his shoulder length hair still plenty blue as he stood there with Cadence still looking over the spell trying to see if they had done it properly. Obviously Shining Armor had volunteered to be the first between them to test it out. "Ah Twily.... how do I look?"

A mad blush covered Twilight's face as she instantly looked away, Celestia just glanced and laughed before moving in back to help an angry Luna with the spell again. "Shiny..... you didn't read the directions before the spell did you?"

"Um...well I browsed, they were not that important right? I mean the spell worked, your older brother can still pull off some advanced magic, cool right?"

"The directions.... THE VERY FIRST THING ON THE LIST..... PUT ON SOME PANTS BEFORE THE TRANSFORMATION!!" She remained looking away as the confused Shining armor looked down.

"Oh.... ohhhhhhhh... I thought things were a little more pronounced....oh... OH!!! OH CELESTIA I'M SORRY SIS... AND... OH CELESTIA!!!! YOUR MAJESTY I AM SO SORRY!!!"

Blaring bright red he  dashed back into the darkness undoing the spell, Celestia's laughter could be heard in the next room as Cadence firmly pressed her hoof against her forehead. She did want to ask a few questions but the moment was a bit ruined and she promptly turned about and left hoping to talk to Twilight another time.

"Celestia?... do you have any spells for erasing memory?"

Celestia's laughter only grew as she strode back in. "Twilight I am sure you will be fine, just tell me what exactly I will need for my role in this plan of yours..."

Twilight shook her head and rummaged through a nearby cupboard stopping only for a moment to see if Celestia objected before she removed the wine and instead of using the glass she simply chugged for a few seconds straight from the bottle. "Well...give me a sec..." She knocked back her head again downing more before she sat down hoping  it would kick in and she could forget what she saw or find something stronger that would make her forget faster. "When they came here, they took up pony forms, well.. um Taara did, but I was just thinking we should do the same. When I get in there and we settle everything, we will secure a link to solitude and you can meet the new high king. As effective ruler of this country you will represent. And as an act of goodwill offer favorable trade for the first six months. That usually gets attention. However, do not act like it is your bargaining chip. The nords favor wisdom and power over the persuasion of coin. Avoid any such mention of your duties with the sun or Luna's duties of the moon. Specify yourself as Leader of Equestria and less so as princess of the sun. Trust me on this. They do not take it well if you try to explain our culture to them too quickly."

Celestia nodded and gestured for Twilight to continue.

"Ok, now in general, Nords don't trust magic very much. So try and leave the impression that you are far more traditional of a leader upon a hereditary rule. If they hear how old you are they will get uncomfortable. Only vampires, dragons and Daedra are that old and show up places. Be bold when you speak, the nords are not bullies but they certainly don't like pushovers. Nor do they admire hesitation. To them, a leader must be able and willing to fight in the name of his or her people at the drop of a hat. Long histories of conflict with spell casters and elves fills their land. As such expect them to act more like Griffins or Minotaurs. Well with a little more caution and reservation than outward boldness. Not to say that they are not bold, but to say that they may become aggressive and possibly even hostile if they suspect that something will not benefit or perhaps endanger their people. Taara SHOULD be there with us when you address the High king so she might be able to do a lot of talking and dig us out of any big holes we find ourselves in."

Celestia let out a soft hum before turning to Twilight. "And what of this high king himself?"

"His name is Ulfaar Stormcloak, His father was a legend to his people, and he has been, something of insignificant. His mother was a blacksmith named Hermir strong heart, apparently Taara was responsible for bringing them together, long story short on this is that Ulfric his father was killed when his mother had only just given birth to him a week before. If my math is right and the anchor sets properly, then he should be about seventeen years old when we get there, he should still be a little inexperienced and relying a LOT on the council of his peers and his thanes. Just smile, be polite but firm, make a good offer to show good will and he should be a little more trusting, though I have a feeling you will have to convince his Thanes you mean well for him, as they will be a tad defensive seeing he is so young and not fully used to waving such authority around." Twilight's eyes tilted up and to the left trying to recall anything else she remembered from the one time she had ever met Ulfaar. He was a very respectable young man, though plagued by those around him expecting to fill the shoes of his father. He seemed to curse his every waking moment as the "Unremarkable high king" However, his thanes were great supporters of Ulric before his assassination and as such they valued the bloodline that belonged to the name Stormcloak, and as such they would fight tooth and claw to ensure that the boy became as much like his father as they could manage.

"I'll go see if I can help Luna, if you see Shiny can you make sure he is wearing pants before you tell him where I am?"
Celestia laughed and nodded as she stood and twirled about working the finesse of two legs instead of four.


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Fluttershy and Rarity sat off to the side, one complaining it was scary, the other complaining that it was brutish and she would have no part of it, of course Rarity seemed almost shocked that Spike had so quickly dismissed her so quickly when she said such. At the moment he just watched for about a minute before voicing a halt and stepping in and looking about.  "Applejack! keep that shield up and until you strike hide your knuckles behind it. The last thing you want is your fingers cut off before you get the chance to fight back. Shield just past your chin and bend those knees. Rainbow.... Shor's bones girl it's a fight not an acrobatics display. Yes we are impressed but the guy who stabs you when you are trying to double spin and backflip WON'T!"

Rainbow scoffed. "Bleh oh come on nopony is faster than me, I can feel it. Like I'm one with the swords" She struck a pose before Spike sighed, flipping the wooden sword in his claws left then right popping down over her thumbs making her drop her Training swords with a yelp. Then a soft hop and he bopped her over the head raising a bump under her brightly colored hair.

"Congrats oh fastest swords in Equestria a two foot tall lizard just killed you, pick up your swords and stop trying to show off. I figured you of all of us would take to combat the fastest, never honestly for a second thought it would be Pinkie who showed the most promise."

Pinkie happily bounced and zigged and zagged about so fast and randomly that even the seven years of honed skill Spike had could not properly judge which direction the practice sword would strike from not to mention the oddly massive amount of power behind it. It almost made him angry that she would have so much natural talent while his more ego boosted time as a member of the legendary companions gave him a significant amount of experience and confidence, even if at first the entire idea was a joke just as Baldur's grandchildren still ran about the place slashing their toy swords too and fro. Though eventually they too joined,  Hajmir actually fought in the battle to free Equestria right beside Spike on Odahviing’s back. But here comes a Pink pony who has never seen a sword in her life and had about two minutes of experience with opposable thumbs and she cornered him in five moves. He almost wanted to try and take her down a notch and raise a few bumps on her head but again he was reminded that perhaps he spent too much time with the dragons and at Jorrvaskr.

"You two keep doing your thing... and keep it simple. Learn the simple then you can take it up a notch Rarity!... I'll keep sparing with Pinkie. But you and Fluttershy have got to learn SOMETHING. It's not a good idea to have no idea how to defend yourself while walking around in Skyrim. And no, you will not likely be able to talk your way out of ANYTHING if you get caught by bandits." He didn't wait for her to respond, As he came about and made a quick rush at Pinkie. Who happily clacked the training sword against his. In a way he was surprised. Being away for so long had changed him in far more ways than just skill and power. He remembered going through what Twilight teased him as Rarity withdrawals. In truth his crush drove him crazy for the first year but as he trained and received his first sword. As he learned of the proud and powerful heritage of the dragons, he didn't mind so much. Until he finally found himself just not interested. He started to get a little sweet on Miri, Hajmir's brother but one glare from Baldir was enough to be certain that he would rip him apart and eat his soul in a second if he even opened his mouth in question on the subject. So back he went to being just, not interested.

His sword clacked rapidly as Pinkie had to step back for a moment. She was far too fast for it to make any sense. He could see her using a hammer or axe to great effect. The unforeseen strength and speed with her facial expression would be utterly unnerving for most. Though much like the other four he was unsure if she had it in her to end someone's life. He still remembered how shaken Twilight was after the whole Evanwor incident. He too was a bit shaken and took time away from both dragons and Jorrvaskr to spend at Twilight's side. He could not imagine how somepony like fluttershy would react, if she had to kill someone in self defense. His mind churned a bit and tossed the idea out. She would be far more likely to choose to die and then apologize for getting blood on the bandit's sword.

His sharp eyes noticed Pinkie's lead foot move back too far, she was off balance. Hiding his grin, he lunged forward for the kill shot. But instead was rewarded with a sudden shock. His vision swam with stars and he stumbled back before falling onto the ground. She did not make a mistake, but a preparation. "Pinkie.... only you would decide to headbutt a dragon... and only you would succeed in that venture..." He smoothed his clawed fingertips over the aching shaking skull still rattling atop his shoulders.

He stood shakily and was about to choose whether to try and shake it off and continue or to sit down and let Fluttershy just worry over him for a bit. He may consider himself an adult but he was not above letting somepony leisurely feed and pamper him for a bit while he recovered from a Pinkie Pie headbutt. Though the third option opened up quickly as there was a heavy flash leaving scorch marks on the crystal like ground of Twilight's castle. "BLAAAAAAARRRRFFFF!" Scorch marks and now Shining Armor's puke."BLAAAAAAAAAARRRRFFFFF!" And now Twilight's puke. annnnnd she's drunk.

Twilight waved, more of a half sentient 'Imma pass out over here' wave than a happy 'hiya' wave. She then proceeded to quickly leave the room and venture into her private quarters.

"Hey Shining?...why did you puke?" Spike stared out at the human form which still stumbled about trying to find his balance on two legs.

"Never... teleported that far before... I think... I think Twilight only knows how to teleport herself that far....b...b..BLAAAAAAAARRRFFF!!!!"
Spike gave a not so amused glance as the others looked on in semi horror. before Shining wobbled over to the wall beside them. "The... whew... the portal... it opens in 3 weeks...well that is the schedule anyway... I'm supposed to stay here to teach and learn human form combat... and..." He held up a hand as his other came to his mouth as he breathed in deeply trying to steady himself. Spike just sighed.

"I'm not cleaning that up"