//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Entry // Story: Equestrian scrolls II: Return To Nirn // by Sanguine Eyes //------------------------------// The smokey red and black orb glowed with a menacing aura as a third of it glowed purple, a third glowed blue, a third gold. Together three voices in one command as wings spread and horns glowed "OPEN!" The gate sizzled before tearing open with a massive blast of its dark powers. "This is it Twilight, I have faith you will make the right choice but keep in mind what happens if somepony gets hurt... I will not tolerate losses in this new world of yours...." Celestia's voice was the seeped in warning and firmness. But Twilight's mind was focused to a fine point. She would NEVER let this go wrong. "Guards! on the ready!" Twilight's horn flared as her magic bolstered itself as she folded the power back on itself to amplify her grip as her powers swept through the sigil stone and into the mirror. Fist there was nothing, then the air grew deathly cold before the whole castle rumbled and shook. Twilight's jaw locked as she strained, her teeth gritting and sweat became apparent on her brow. "How exactly did she say this worked?" Cadence whispered to Shining armor before he glanced back. "It was very hard for me to understand but I think I got it... she explained that each world in relation to time is like a boat in the ocean, in order to cross from one into the other you have to hold both still and close the gap to the point where you can easily see the other boat above you, then you have to line up the mast perfectly with the other one then cross over from one to the other. Unfortunately that is just the part about making sure its POSSIBLE to cross over. She is opening the portal to a place called the deadlands, which she explained was like Tartarus only... a LOT worse...But she is going to remove the castle that we enter into from that plane of existence...She says it will scar the space there but in the grand scheme of things it will be like removing a single drop of water from the ocean, its not going to do very much damage at all." Cadence seemed a little uncomfortable. "So... shes lining up the... um.. 'masts' now?" Shining nodded just as a loud crackled sounded from the gate and Twilight let go. Standing back she gestured to the mirror. "Into the Citadel, the Daedra will show no mercy. They are close to mindless and what they do have within them is simply the desire to end your life, do NOT spare them." The guards poured in quickly. Nervous yet ready, they had trained for this and trained hard. As the last of them began to move she too joined in leaping into the mirror, Shining Armor quickly followed and almost wished he hadn't. The air was so thick and hot he could hardly breath. It felt like he was at the foot of an erupting volcano. Had he been more focused on the adrenaline and less so on his curiosity and concern about Twilight he would have been less taken back. The guards were rushing about sliding on all four hooves in search for everything, but the dark and twisted looking castle was empty. Three pairs of whooves pressed on the old door closing it firmly as other guards rushed back down the stairs. Twilight kept her eyes open and focused. "The citadel is empty princess...I cant find anything...but up here is the chamber I thing you were talking about." Twilight nodded firmly and glanced back, singling out a guard with a hoof point she barked her orders. "Go back through the gate and get Celestia and Luna... tell them to bring the device... and the Sigil stone!" The guard nodded and rushed off as Shining armor made his way up to Twilight. "goodness... is it always this hot in here?" Twilight glanced at him and nodded "I have only been here twice before.... and both times it was just as bad or worse..." Her memory flashed back to the pain, the burns and barely surviving the trip. She was thankful that this time the portal was opened on such a high level instead of just spike whispering a triggered word that revived the previous magic that bound the gate. She remembered the terror and blaring pain from being sucked into the gate while it was opened on such vague weak power. She shook her head tossing the memory aside as she watched the gate open and both Luna and Celestia entered looking about with caution and worry. Luna held the Sigil stone and Celestia the 'device'. Twilight quickly moved over and guided the box into position. Simply on the floor as close to the center as she could manage, which was rather difficult with a massive gaping bladed hole as a centerpiece for the citadel. She gave the box a firm tap with her horn before double checking to see if everypony was there. She had no idea what kind of problems passing through the gate while she did this would cause. "You!" She telekinetically gripped the Sigil stone and tossed it to one of the guards. "Take that up top and put it on the pedestal. Trust me you will know it when you see it, but hurry the longer we are here the more likely we are to get.... HIS... attention" The guard dashed off quickly and Twilight waited in suspense. Suddenly the whole castle began to tremble, then shake violently before she slammed her hooves into the device. With an ear shattering crackle gravity simply vanished and everypony started to float about. "It worked!!!! The citadel is no longer in normal space... Quick Luna Celestia help me move it" Both the other princesses were willing but a little confused. "Twight?... um... where exactly?" Luna's hoof was held out in question and her head cocked to the side in a reminder that Twilight had not explained EXACTLY how this part was supposed to work. "Whaaa!! ok ok... um... um... ok... well.. ah! UP! UP! Up in relation to the castle's current position, we just need to get as far away as possible as fast as possible." Twilight's horn quickly began to glow followed quickly by both Celestia's and Luna's. The sensation of movement without any physical effects flooded the room. Gravity was still clearly absent but the sickly feeling of moving too fast hit everyone like a train. Shining Armor's hoof came up to his mouth and his cheeks bulged right before one of the other guards quickly turned him around and pushed him further away in fear of wearing the captain's latest meal. Their senses overwhelmed with both the sensation of movement and the deafening silence of what seemed like it should be sounding like a meteor crashing and lack of what felt like the laws of physics. All of the guards were sent into a panic. The events unfolding around them contributed to the problem but for the most part their eyes were on the three princesses. Their power flared up so high the strain on them was blatantly clear as even a small leak of blood trickled down from Twilight's nose as her horn looked like it was actually smoldering. Then came the screams. Twilight's strain erupted into a pained low growl that graduated into a tight lipped howl as she tried to overpower the strain through rage and determination. Luna's voice rang out in fear as she noticed the same thing as Celestia who only opened up in a war cry that sounded off with her redoubled efforts when she could feel the massive power quickly gaining on them. What was first a whisper in her ears at the fringes of her soul was a booming voice blaring in rage and anger. "TRESPASSERS...TRESPASSERS AND THIEVES. YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME..." The voice of Mehrunes Dagon had an exceedingly powerful effect on the moral of the guards who trembled in fear for their souls. They all could almost feel the four arms of the Daedric God reaching out to reclaim what they had just stolen. With a blast of golden light and with the voice of a wrathful God Celestia bellowed her war cry. Her answer to the great evil that demanded the lives of her sister, her friends and her subjects. "NO!!" Though soon as if it was inevitable darkness claimed them all. ----------------------- Shining armor stirred, his eyes were almost painful to open but never the less there he was staring at something he could not place. Not that he did not know what it was but simply it appeared to be something so far beyond his comprehension. Still floating he gazed at it and it gazed at him. "You should not have come...and you certainly should not have stolen ...You should have waited..." The voice was male but he could feel that it was something wiser and more powerful than anything he had ever known before. "Wh... who are you?....what are you?" The Unicorn groaned as he shifted. Everypony was completely still and unmoving, even the princesses. To his knowledge and immediate observations he was the only one awake; or for that matter alive. "I am the architect.....I watched you enter.... and watched you try... and I watched you fail. Oddly you for some reason....you did not fail like the others... strange mortals... and their oh so valued powers..." "I don't understand..." He looked harder trying to comprehend what he was looking at but it was so far beyond him that all he could do was feel foolish and lost. "You don't need to...you are the only one... and even now you are lost... but perhaps... yes... I will show you the way...but... you will do this for me..." Shining Armor squinted in confusion as the being reached out and touched him. All he could see was the massive storm of ash and heat of a volcano, then a rotting hunk of flesh. But something was very important about it. He did not have the slightest clue what he was being shown, though he was certain it was of the most dire importance. "What am I seeing... what is going on?" A panic began to move in his heart, he was forgetting something, he was not paying attention. Something was wrong. It was all too silent. "Celestia no... no... NO...." He seized in his pain and sorrow before the being gripped him in its indescribable hand. " deliver it to me and I will show you the way..." Shining's eyes forced back the tears and he nodded. "Anything... ANYTHING... I will do it...please... just...please..." Suddenly the sound he was forgetting the sound of which not hearing caused him so much dread returned. The beating hearts and mouths drawing in air of the once lost souls of every last pony in the room. He could feel the movement again as the light of Aetherius flooded in and suddenly there was a massive crash that threw everypony about. Twilight shot up with a shout. "Aetherius!!!! quick we... um.. we... where are we?..." An extremely foreign noise leaked in aside from what sounded like crumbling stone. As they awoke seeing the device broken and melted they could hear something familiar but something they thought for a moment they would never hear again. ".... are we in Equestria?...." Twilight rushed over to the door and pushed it open only managing to stare blankly into the space beyond. Right in front of her there was a babbling brook and just beyond that whistling and chirping birds in the early morning light. She could just vaguely see the two moons in the sky. ".... we... we made it... we are here... Celestia!! we are here!" The white alicorn stood up, her whole body ached and creaked in pain. Luna followed suit but appeared to be in even worse shape. Celestia honestly wanted to chew Twilight out, go back and close the gate for good. She had not quite explained just how powerful the Daedra were nor how offended they would be when this part of the plan would take place. But something odd fell over her like a calmness and relief. She did not know why but there was a blessing upon them. They were no longer trespassers or thieves. "Twilight... it's beautiful... this is ... this is the land you spent those years in?..." Before a response could be made the mirror flared up and a far FAR too cheerful Pink earth pony hopped in followed by everypony else who simply tripped up and fell into a large pile of candy colored pony with looks of concern plastered about their faces. "Twilight!!! Im so happy well I was so worried but now Im so happy!..." Spike came through the mirror next hopping on top then over the other four ponies piled up who quickly untangled and started to walk about. The guards all stood firm as reinforcements wearing grim faces entered through the mirror. "Ahhh... home sweet Skyrim..." Spike chuckled looking back at everypony else then hopping up to Twilight's back he nudged her. "Everypony in Equestria is freaking out... you guys have been gone for like five days...." Twilight's eyes shot wide and she tore the soul gem from her bags to look at it. "that CAN'T be... the anchor didn't slip at all. We would have had to have been all out for five days... how can that be right?" Shining Armor held back his experience with the unknown entity in hesitation and with a feeling that for some reason he was not supposed to tell them that they had all just died. "Well the mirror just popped back up and working... so we came through... Im sure everything will be fine...but hey the plan worked... congrats Master wizard princess..." Spike nudged Twilight who smiled away the tears welling up in her eyes. She would make everything right now, return the love and kindness given to her. She would find her lost friends and recreate the love and care they all shared. Standing tall and straight Twilight steadied herself before the guards and the princesses as she triggered the seal and transformed into a human. "Alright everypony.... remember the training... remember the warnings...and for the love of love DON'T WONDER OFF!" She looked back out at the lush forest and cold air meeting her face. It smelled like she was around riften, perhaps further west, peeking out she could see the throat of the world up high to the northwest. Her gaze settled firmly on the north, and she smiled.