Azeroth's Skies

by TerrabreakerX

The Wrathgate Beckons

"I will admit it: I did not truly believe it possible that you would succeed," Kilix said to Twilight. His tone was distracted, his eyes fixated on the sight of the spiderlord before him. "When A'zak brought you to me, I expected you would fare no better than the Horde soldiers had. How very wrong I was."

The nerubians had arrived a short while after the traitor king's fall - and they had done so in force. A throng of twenty of their battle-hardened warriors, their bodies encased in worn, tested armour, had burst their way into the chamber, clutching malevolent sharp daggers and wicked-edged, ready for a battle that would never happen.

They had been too late to make a difference, but this didn't seem to be bothering them in the slightest.

"I can't blame you for doubting us," Twilight said. She gestured over to the side of the platform where Fluttershy still stood, speaking to the spider who had saved the day - praising him, thanking him. "We'd be dead right now if not for them."

"Hadronox's role in this will not be forgotten. We will learn from your friend's example. He will have pride of place as the valiant guardian of our people that he always truth has been."

"I think he'll like that," she replied.

"It is DONE!" A'zak exclaimed, approaching Anub'arak's body, having first attended to organising his troops, to secure and guard the pit against amg reinforcements that the Scourge might send to avenge their leader. His many eyes shone just a fraction brighter as he basked in the fall of such a personal foe, his body almost shaking as if he was barely able to contain his excitement.

"Hey guys," Rainbow called out. Twilight turned at the sound to see her friends and Memoria returning from scouting along the passage which the nerubian leaders had promised would lead back to the surface - the long way around. "Look what we found!"

"Treasure!" Pinkie beamed.

"There wasn't anything worth taking, for me," Memoria added, her hands empty where the others' were not. "And I'll say it now - I'm not carrying anything back to the camp."

Twilight looked at A'zak, unsure of how he would react to this plundering of potentially sacred objects. "Are you happy with this?"

"We have no use for the hoard of the traitor king," A'zak said. "He accumulated items in his lair that he took from those who challenged him, but scorned and defiled relics from our home. His spoils are yours for the taking. You have more than earned them."

"I'm bringing this," Rainbow lifted up what she was carrying for them to see: a wickedly sharp dagger covered in cobwebs. "I reckon Rarity might be able to use it. I didn't see anything else down there that looked useful to any of us, but there's a whole bunch of stuff if you want to take a look."

Twilight shook her head. "I'll trust your judgment," she said, then turned her attention to Pinkie, and what she was holding. "I see you picked something up too, Pinkie?"

"Yep!" her friend chirped back. She still wore her mace at her waist, but now carried a staff that she had clearly purloined from the fallen spiderlord's vault. It was roughly the same height as Twilight's, that Emmy had gifted her back in Stormwind, but was mostly made of black iron and tin, with arcing, decorated wings, and it looked to weigh at least double the amount of the one owned by the mage. Despite this, Pinkie seemed to have no trouble at all twirling it around and up in the air like a baton. "I can feel the extra power this staff has - watch!"

She tossed it high in the air and caught the middle of the rod at the very apex of her grasp. The group - save Memoria, who had realised that Pinkie was about to grant them a demonstration of her abilities, and wisely backed away - was blanketed in a sudden, radiant storm of confetti and... spider webs?

"I'm gonna keep it!" she finished gleefully.

"Great..." Twilight replied, wearing a toothy smile that was as genuine as she could muster as she pulled the webs from her hair. She was torn between being supportive and trying not to be too encouraging. The webs are going to get very old. Very fast.

The possibility that anything left in the traitor king's hoard was cursed had crossed her mind, but seeing Pinkie weave her own light-bound embrace across the group eased Twilight's mind somewhat. Though... I'll get Emmy to take a look at them, just in case.

It was time to go.

"Your names shall be recorded in the extensive history of our people, humans," A'zak said. His attitude toward them had improved immeasurably upon their defeat of his great foe, and he punctuated the statement by dropping into something that resembled an attempt at a bow.

"We will not forget this," avowed Kilix. "You have given back our hope and granted us the opportunity to rebuild. Should you be passing through these lands once more, you may call on us, and we will aid you however we can."

Fluttershy finished her goodbyes last of all, having the most to say. Hadronox had suspended himself on the pit's cave wall, positioned so that his head was level with the platform. She reached up and whispered to him, resting her hand gently on his face as he clicked and chittered softly.

And then at last she too was done. They stepped lightly across the last web bridge and into the tunnels that led to the surface, the wind of victory at their backs.

---

Their return to the camp from the caves of Azjol-Nerub was far less riotous than their return from the beach with Emmy.

For one thing, they didn't materialise halfway in midair and land in a crumpled heap this time. It took them a few hours to walk back, but the journey was uneventful - a welcome reprieve after a tumultuous day. They marched up to the camp's boundary as dusk fell, proudly bearing their spoils and the piece of Anub'arak's husk they had been permitted to take, and found Applejack and Rarity there, first to greet them.

Azuresteel later said that she had only just begun to worry that something had gone awry with the patrol when a sentry burst into her tent and informed her that the group was back, and there was something that she needed to see. She had joined Emmy - who had been drawn forth from her own lodgings by the growing commotion - and together had met the triumphant group as they reached the moonwell, proof and prizes in hand.

Any thoughts that the commander might have given to reprimand disappeared like snow melting in the warm sun as she learned what had transpired, and realised the importance of the group's deed. A great feast was duly held that night to celebrate, and their five names were the toast of the camp.

Two weeks passed, and things once again settled into a solid routine of sentry duty, rest and... little else.

Threats from the west quickly dried to a trickle. With the blue dragonflight driven from the gardens and the beach to the south, and the Scourge having been decapitated to the north, the route from Valiance Keep had never been safer.

Most at Star's Rest appreciated the respite, but this languid period had the greatest - and worst - effect on Memoria, whose contentment from the triumph over one of the Lich King's greatest lieutenants lasted about a week. She found little to amuse herself in the woods surrounding the camp, and her rage at the boredom grew in proportion with the length of their inaction.

Applejack and Rarity, under the care of Pinkie and the camp's other healers, finally recovered in full, and both went back to work. The warrior in particular approached her duties with gusto, determined to prove that she was back to her full potential. At the same time, she didn't overwork herself; didn't neglect the chance to recuperate, and became a regular fixture by the camp's largest fire, spinning tales with Rainbow about the two's adventures in Dun Morogh, and hearing from the night elves and passing soldiers about their own travails in return.

Twilight herself returned primarily to her work as Azuresteel's adjutant, splitting her time between helping the commander with her growing, never-ending pile of paperwork and "monitoring" Emmy. In truth, the former mage-hunter needed no such oversight - her loyalty to the Alliance, and to Stormwind, was absolute. They simply worked as friends, cataloguing the various artifacts brought to the camp, learning their secrets, and testing each other's understanding of the principles of magic - together.

And if there was one other routine that Twilight consistently observed, it was her meetings with Fluttershy. These took place every few days, sitting beside each other in silent contemplation - until, two weeks after their return from Azjol-Nerub, her friend spoke.

"How I've felt," she began slowly, like every single word took all the strength in the world to muster. "How I've been these last few months. It hasn't just been about Wilder. It's been about Captain Greenskin."

Twilight listened. She said nothing, passed no judgment, offered no comment.

She just... listened.

They were sitting at their usual spot, with no-one to disturb them. The air was tranquil and still, with no howling gale or burgeoning storm to disrupt them- unusual but not unheard of in these woods, like the trees and nature itself knew the importance of what Fluttershy had to see, and wished to hear her too.

"I killed him. I took his life. I was angry at the time, angrier than I've ever been, but... that's no excuse," she continued, punctuating each pause with a rattling deep breath. "I'm not sure I know who I am anymore. I picked up this bow, I've tried to learn this skill so that I could protect everyone, and the undead we've been fighting have been the perfect targets, but...

"I've just wanted to keep away, from our friends, from everyone we meet... and from animals. I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to form a connection with an animal, ever again."

"I wasn't sure I deserved to."

A single tear rolled silently down each cheek as she finished, bowing her head.

And then Fluttershy's face, wracked with grief and shame... slowly melted into a reluctant smile.

"And then I saw Hadronox, and he was just..." Words briefly failed her, but Twilight understood.

"Our time together was so brief," she continued slowly, "But he reminded me of something I'd forgotten - that the ones I care about can be strong, and their strength can make me stronger too.

"Everyone's strength... your strength," she continued, meeting Twilight's gaze with her own aquamarine orbs. "When you and Pinkie had faith in me, it was just... everything. It made that feeling of shame, of failure, just a bit more bearable... even if I still carry it with me now."

Now, at last, was the right moment to speak.

"I can't offer you closure, or promise you solace forever from these thoughts," she murmured. "I wish I could promise that the feeling will go away. I know it's not the same, but I still feel the weight of Edwin VanCleef's death. What I did. What I failed to do."

She too trailed off, choosing her words so very carefully, and now it was Fluttershy's turn to wait, and to listen.

"I'm not sure my burden will ever go away. I can't promise that yours will either. But I think... maybe it's better that they don't. Not entirely. It's terrible that these things happened at all, but maybe it's better that we carry our ghosts with us, that we don't forget them, that the pain and the regret doesn't disappear completely... so that they can help us to learn, and to grow, and to overcome. It isn't a good thing. "Good" doesn't come into it. But perhaps it's better than the alternative.

"You accomplished an amazing thing in that cave. You saved his life, our lives, and countless others. I'm so proud of you," she said, not for the first time, then added softly, "And... I think Wilder would be too."

Fluttershy looked at her for a long time - and then leaned forward and buried her face in Twilight's shoulder, wrapping her arms tightly around the mage's waist.

Twilight held her close, feeling her friend tremble in her arms, and gave no thought to anything else.

---

Later that same day, Twilight hurried from her tent towards the camp's eastern edge to attend a summons from Azuresteel.

This, itself, was somewhat unusual. The commander rarely left the centre of the camp in the afternoon, as it had become the most common time for new orders from above to arrive by bird, messenger on horseback, or, most rarely, by portal. The messenger who had made Twilight aware of Azuresteel's request had no context to give her, save that the order was urgent.

She couldn't fathom what it could be about, so pushed herself to run just a little faster - a feat made slightly more challenging by one of the Dragonblight's frequent blizzards, slowly brewing above her head.

She heard the context, or at least part of it, before she saw it - the furious sound of an Alliance siege engine, idling but ready to go at any moment. Rounding a particularly large tree, she saw the tank and Azuresteel standing beside it, her distinguishing green hair and purple pauldrons setting her apart from the bronze of the machine and the surrounding frozen landscape. With her was a man clad in standard-issue silver and blue Stormwind army plate, who stood a foot shorter than the night elf even in boots, and who Twilight had never seen before. He held a sheath of papers in his right hand and a quill in his left, and was hunched over slightly in an effort to shield these items from the intensifying inclement weather.

Azuresteel acknowledged Twilight as she approached and saluted. "Thank you for joining us, lieutenant," she said. "Carry on, captain."

"I'm to take anyone extra that you've got, to the Wrathgate," the man was saying. "Anyone you can spare, beyond your standard complement of sentries. Can I have a number please of those who you can contribute, ma'am?"

Azuresteel didn't reply immediately, which surprised Twilight. It was a question with a relatively straightforward answer. "We have six soldiers from Stormwind forming a support squad, with an additional attached death knight from the Knights of the Ebon Blade," the commander said, eventually. "Led by Lieutenant Sparkle, here."

The man looked at the paperwork he was carrying. Scribbled a quick note, his quill scratching into the parchment. Another look back up. "You have a platoon camped here? They will need to be directed forward also."

"No," she replied. "They departed on a week's exploratory patrol to the west two days ago, launched in the wake of the death of Anub'arak."

More quill scratching. "Very well," he said, when he had finished. "The support squad will accompany me in the siege engine. If you can summon them now, ma'am, we'll leave immediately."

Leave? Immediately?

"...If I might offer a word of protest, captain..." Azuresteel said. "Those who make up this squad have participated in multiple high-risk excursions against our enemies in the Scourge and the Blue Dragonflight over the last few months. Two of their number have only recently recovered from injury. They are long overdue to be rotated out of the line, and I have already authorised their transfer to Dalaran for three weeks of rest. Given the extenuating circumstances, can they not be exempted from this mission?"

The captain smiled thinly. Azuresteel outranked him, but he carried a message from someone much higher than her - someone who she would be expected to obey.

"The Highlord was very clear about the importance of this mission. We need everyone that we can get. I have my orders," he repeated, like a trump card, as simple as that, like it was the end of the matter.

And it was.

"So you do," the commander sighed. "And so do I. You'll have your seven - but they will need half an hour. You can hold here for that long." She waited for an objection, and when none was presented, turned her attention to the waiting mage. "Lieutenant Sparkle - with me."

Twilight followed in her wake, hurrying to keep up with the night elf's lithe, ground-consuming stride. They left the captain standing at the sentry post, and walked back to Azuresteel's tent. She went in first, and stood behind her desk, jostling the papers, looking for something. Twilight hovered just within the tent's entrance, parsing through what she had just learned.

Perhaps it's for the best that we're not stagnating in one place, she decided. I haven't received much information about the Wrathgate from briefings, but I know it's to the north.

"Unfortunately, I knew that would be his answer before I even asked the questions," Azuresteel said. "And I even expected his attitude. Staff officers for high-ranking generals can be quite... demanding."

"Ma'am?"

"I'm sorry, Twilight," Azuresteel said, again surprising the mage. The commander was a fairly serious woman, and while she was supportive and caring of those under her command, she also maintained a certain degree of formality. In the month that they had worked together, it was the first time she had actually addressed Twilight using her forename, instead of "Lieutenant Sparkle" or just "Lieutenant".

"I can't shield you or your squad from this. You will have to go to the Wrathgate."

"I'm afraid I'm not very familiar with the Wrathgate, ma'am," Twilight said, suddenly feeling a little on edge from the way Azuresteel was acting. Was it just that she was sorry to see them go... or was it something else?

"That's no surprise," the commander replied. "Aside from its location in the north; the fact that it represents an entry point into Icecrown Citadel, and that it is heavily defended, the actionable intelligence we've had available to us up until now has been limited, as our patrols were instructed to give it a wide berth. Only in the last week or so have Command pushed significant resources towards it from Wintergarde Keep, and I understand that our Horde counterparts at Agmar's Hammer have done this same.

That sounds positive... Twilight thought, now a little reassured despite the continued uncertainty. If both the Horde and the Alliance are cooperating on this, or at least moving together, then we can't just be rushing into this without a plan.

"It now appears that our leadership has decided to make its move. I cannot give you a briefing, as I have not been told myself what your mission entails, and you have just received everything I know about your destination." A twitch of annoyance passed across Azuresteel's face. "I'm sure that the captain will provide you with the information that you need on the way, if this is as important as he says.

"I can, at least, give you this." She held out a writ sealed with red wax, and the mage took it. "It authorises you and your women to three weeks of leave in the city of Dalaran. I only pray that you have the opportunity to take it, once your mission is complete."

"I... thank you, ma'am."

"Would that I had arranged it just a few days earlier," the commander sighed.

Their goodbyes were once again a speedy affair.

There were few at the camp who knew them well. Applejack and Rarity had spent the most with the camp's regular inhabitants but had not built up the strongest of connections, and most were too busy to come out and see them, or were out on patrol. They simply gathered up their equipment, packed their bags, and made their way to the rendezvous point at the edge of the camp.

Emmy, at least, emerged from her tent to wish Twilight well, and gave the other mage the news that she would be returning to Stormwind soon - her father having finally negotiated her return through the proper channels. The two exchanged a hug, and a promise to see each other again soon.

Memoria was the last of the group that Twilight was able to pass on their new orders to, and her reaction was - oddly - the happiest that she had ever seen her former friend. Having nothing to pack, the death knight had practically run towards their waiting transport, like she simply couldn't wait to leave.

And though they were not as enthusiastic as Memoria, none of the rest of the group protested their new orders. In truth, though the camp had become familiar to them, it was not home. They had found rhythm and routine; some measure of safety, and the opportunity to make a difference... but no true rest, or the desire to stay there long term.

A new mission represented uncertainty, but also a new journey, and a change from routine - a routine that, in truth, had begun to make them feel like they were stagnating. If they were ever to find a way home, then stagnating was the last thing they wanted to be doing.

The promise of three weeks of leave in a city after the mission was complete helped to sweeten the deal, too.

"I'll ride up front with the driver," the captain told them once they were all assembled. They had yet to ask his name, and he, in turn, had yet to tell them. "The journey will take roughly three hours. You'll be briefed on the plan once we arrive at our encampment near the Wrathgate."

"Yes, s—" Twilight started to say, but he was already walking off to the front of the siege engine, talking to its dwarven driver.

"Cheery sort, he seems," Applejack said.

Azuresteel watched as they squeezed into the back of the vehicle, stacking their light packs by the hatch, finding space wherever they could to stow their weapons. It was a tight fit for the seven women, especially with three who had heavier armour and larger equipment, but they managed to make do.

"I don't have enough time to express our gratitude for what you have accomplished at Star's Rest," she said, a pained look across her face - one of... disappointment? Concern? "I wish I had more. But I will just say this - thank you."

"Wheels up!" A voice called from the front of the tank. It was time to go.

"Good luck, everyone," Azuresteel said quietly. They all saluted - save Memoria, who didn't care - and she returned it, as the ramp closed shut, and they were away.

---

Of the few modes of transport that the group had experienced in this world so far, it was safe to say that the siege engine was quite low down on the list in terms of comfort.

The benches inside the rear compartment were pure metal; no back support, and painful to sit on. They were crammed in alongside spare ammunition, packs and other supplies. There were no sources of light besides a single lantern and the small, blue streaks of Memoria's gaze, forcing everyone's eyes to take the time to adjust to the darkness. The vehicle moved under the power of its massive, noisy engine, bouncing and jerking along on massive great wheels which made for a very bumpy ride.

All expense had apparently been spared on comfort in favour of armour, firepower, and some measure of speed.

They wiled away the first hour or so with idle conversation, straining to hear each other over the roar of propulsion. Eventually, the conversation turned to their destination, and what lay on the road ahead.

"So this is like, an entrance to the Lich King's castle?" Rainbow asked.

"Apparently," Twilight replied. "I've only been passed very limited information on it, but it's one of two ways into Icecrown Citadel, the seat of his power. It's much more accessible to us than the other way from the north, in Icecrown itself. Presumably we have some kind of base or hold nearby."

"What do you think they'll have us do when we get there?"

"Sentry duties, maybe?"

"Maybe they'll have us throw a party!" Pinkie suggested, producing her new weapon in her left hand, and somehow managing to avoid thumping Fluttershy at her side as she did so. "Good thing I've been practicing my confetti—"

"Not in the back of the tank—!"

"Some would find your enduring naivety to be endearing," Memoria said harshly, breaking the silence she'd maintained since they had boarded the tank. "I don't. This will be a battle, and we'll be dropping straight into it."

She seemed oddly certain of that to the mage. Too certain. "You can't know that for sure."

Memoria chuckled. "They wouldn't have us rushing over there like this for anything less. As a support element, we'd have gone to Wintergarde first, to muster there. We wouldn't have the luxury of time to fortify an encampment in the shadow of the citadel for more than a few days. No - there will very soon be a battle at the Wrathgate, and we will be taking part, mark my words," she repeated. "What's more - I find it very unlikely that we will all survive it."

There was a heavy pause as the other six exchanged uneasy looks.

"There's no need to be morbid, dear," Rarity said.

"That's right," Twilight agreed. "Even if we do end up in a fight, we've been there before. If all of us work together, and look out for each other, we'll be okay."

Memoria laughed and removed her helm, the sound transitioning from a metallic dirge to a bitter chill as she did so.

"None of you have been in a battle in this world, have you?" she asked, and continued on before they could object. "I mean a real, real battle, not the kind of skirmish that we've seen together so far. Not just a fight against a single foe, even one as mighty as a dragon or the traitor king, or your pitiful platoon against a few minions. Not firing from high atop battlements against a foe that can't shoot back.

"A battle. The kind of battle where armies of hundreds, of thousands, are set up by generals in rank and file, where one defends a keep, or a fortress, or a place that matters to them. The kind of place where people will die to defend... or be forced in unlife to do so."

The sound of the engine diminished just a little as the siege tank slowed, the driver negotiating a particularly hazardous bit of terrain. For now, Memoria could be heard clearly by everyone in the tank's rear compartment, and they were hanging off her every word.

"You haven't fought such a battle... but I have. At Light's Hope Chapel, I rode as part of an army of ten thousand to crush just three hundred defenders. We killed one hundred men, and lost thousands of our undead. You can't imagine the carnage. The bloodshed. The smell. The horror that I delivered, and that I relished in.

"It matters very little what you, as a group of six, do out there. It matters even less what you, as individuals - weak as you are - are able to accomplish. You work as part of a greater whole, and you may just end up swept away by the tide.

"That is the kind of environment that we're going into today... except the horrors are on the other side. And every one of us that falls is one more soldier added to their side. They will grind us down, because that is how the Scourge fights. That is how the Scourge wins. Our only, slim hope is to kill the Lich King before he kills us all, or at least force his retreat.

"Not all of us will survive this battle," she repeated, now wearing a wicked grin. "But I am sure that I'll enjoy it."

They barely had time to contemplate the true horror of her words before—

"INCOMING!" their driver cried out.

—there was an unholy screech, an almighty bang, and they were hurled around the tank as it came to a sudden, crashing halt.

---

Twilight groaned as she came back to her senses. The impact from the crash, or rather where the crash had sent her flying into the siege engine's solid mental interior, had left her seeing stars, and she could feel a headache already forming beneath her temple.

Something had brought them to an unexpected stop. Something... hot, she thought, steadying herself on the back wall of the compartment and realising that it was now very, very warm.

"Everyone okay?" she called out. She received a chorus of assenting voices in response, which wasn't very helpful, but could just about make out that the others were all upright and moving.

"Get the back open!" Rainbow shouted. Applejack was closest, and smashed her fist into a quick-release button near the top of the door. The hatch juddered, then swung open, allowing the cold embrace of the frozen storm into the rear compartment.

They hurried out, trading the dimly lit interior of the siege engine for the dinge of a typical Northrend midday, and its accompanying blizzard. They all nursed bruises and scrapes, but these were little trouble for Pinkie to resolve, and it was of great relief to the mage that they were all once again unharmed.

It was only then, seeing her friends and Memoria pile out, that Twilight recalled that they had not been alone in the tank.

"We need to check on— ah..."

The front end of the siege engine was almost entirely gone - a charred, smoldering wreck. There was no obvious sign of the captain or the driver, but the smell of burning flesh joined that of blackened, superheated metal.

Another screeching roar sounded from above, and they all reflexively ducked. Something was moving amongst the clouds above - something very large, and fiery, its darkling blaze only partially visible through the dense weather cover.

"What in Equestria's name was that?" Rarity asked.

Twilight dredged through her memory of the maps that she had studied of the Dragonblight, and hit on a possibility. "There's a shrine south of the Wrathgate, a place of rest for the black dragonflight. They aren't known to be very friendly..."

"We need to move," Rainbow replied, chancing nervous glances at the sky.

As much as she hated to put them in more danger, it was time to rely on those with skills in tracking and scouting to see them through. "Fluttershy - go that way, Rarity that way," Twilight pointed in opposite directions. "See if you can f-find somewhere we can be safe - but s-stay close!"

Her friends nodded and disappeared into the storm.

"No! No, no, no!" Memoria raged. She stood still next to the remains of the tank, observing it furiously. "We're so close!"

"We should seek shelter!" Twilight urged. "This b-blizzard is—"

"NO!" Memoria shouted back, rounding on the mage. "You can seek shelter if you want. I have had enough distractions. Enough diversions. Missed opportunities! I am going to the Wrathgate without you."

"No! We need to s-stick t-together if we're g-going to survi—"

"You need to stick together. You rely on each other, but only because you are all weak. You are mortal, and you feel the cold.

"All thanks to you, I am not, and I do not. And I will not be held back by your weakness when I am this close to my revenge! I will not have it!"

She strode away into the blizzard without another word. A flash of darkness heralded the arrival of her steed, and that was the last they saw of her.

Come back! Twilight tried to shout, but the words did not come. Her throat, already raw from yelling to be heard in the tank, and now over the storm, simply refused to say them.

And perhaps she knew, deep down, that they wouldn't make any difference.

Memoria would be all right on her own. Twilight had five of her friends to worry about.

"What're we going t-to do?" Pinkie asked. "We'll f-f-f-freeze out here!"

"T-think we can maybe use the t-tank for something?" Applejack asked, hunting for a solution. "Maybe s-salvage it?"

Twilight shook her head. "The f-front compartment was v-vaporised by the dragon's f-fire and the r-rear was compromised w-when we c-crashed. It's useless t-to us now!" Rarity chose this moment to return, and the mage called out to her, "Did y-you f-find anything?"

"Nothing, darling!" Rarity shouted back. "Just t-trees and s-snow!"

"E-everyone!" Fluttershy reappeared, and they huddled around to hear what she had found. "I c-could b-b-barely see three f-feet in f-front of m-me," she shivered. "B-but I, I think there's a c-cave over t-there! I haven't s-scouted it y-yet, but—"

"We'll t-take it!" They had no choice. Dangerous it might be, but they had never been outside in a storm of this intensity before, even on the darkest of nights in the tundra. Their options were clear.

Take the chance and hide, or freeze to death.

They accompanied Fluttershy the short distance to the opening she had seen. The entrance was so small that they had to crouch to proceed, barely able to fit their backs and bulkier weapons through - and couldn't possibly know how tight and narrow it would become, or how deep it would ultimately go... but still, they had no choice.

Applejack took the lead, raising her sword and shield in the cramped conditions as best as she could, and the others followed her into the darkness.

---

Two figures stood atop a nearby cliff, unseen by those lost below, but able to observe them nonetheless. Impossibly, though the blizzard covered the land for miles around, it left their vantage point entirely untouched: like the very snow itself knew to give it a wide berth. Like it knew, through magic or some other artifice, that important things were about to happen.

One stood slightly taller than the other. His ears were long, his skin was tanned, like he had spent a great deal of time in the desert, and his eyes blazed with a soft blue light. His hair fell low across both sides of his head, and he wore the rest in a ponytail that reached down his back. He wore a set of dark robes that ended at his waist, and greeted the cold weather with a muscular bare chest marked with a strip of golden scales up to his neck. Despite his meager attire, he did not shiver from the surrounding cold. His eyes gazed out into the air, at nothing in particular - or perhaps things that only he could see.

His companion appeared better dressed for the climate, equipped with a white greatcoat that blended superbly into the snow around them, beneath which sat a tight-fitting, armoured black suit. His face - not quite young, but not yet old - was marked with a purple brand on his neck that ran below his cheek, and his eyes were a pale silver. Unlike the first, he was armed, bearing a metal blade of a most unusual design, and stood peering down at the frosty land below.

"They've just entered the cave, seeking shelter from the storm," he relayed to the first.

"Good," the first replied. He took a step forward to the edge of the cliff in order to see the cave more clearly, and raised his right hand.

Golden dust cascaded from his fingertips, like the sand from an hourglass. It flowed into and around the cave, and where it passed, the blizzard faltered, replaced by the same stillness experienced at the top of the cliff.

"They are in my hands, now. My magic will safeguard them at this critical moment, when they would otherwise surely perish. They will be unharmed in time's embrace, though they will experience visions... which will, unfortunately, not be pleasant."

"And me?" The blade-bearer asked. "I assume that you did not request my presence on this little excursion for the fun of it. What part do I have to play here?"

As if orchestrated by his companion, great rifts erupted on the ground and in the air below the rift, humming and pulsing with energy. The type of magic that powered them was not dissimilar from that used by the dark-robed figure, yet somehow... different.

"There are a number of misguided souls who will attempt to interfere with what must be done," The robed figure sighed, as the portals rippled and the image of shapes, of living beings, began to approach from their depths. "They would have the future unfold a different way, but the timeline they would uphold will have only the most disastrous consequences for Azeroth. What we do here, in this moment, will safeguard the timeline - the one, true timeline - that offers our world its best chance for survival."

"Your role, in short, is to protect me - and those resting in the cave - by any means necessary," he finished.

"I understand," the blade-bearer grimly replied.

Author's Note:

Who could these mysterious strangers be?

Thanks all for your reading, and for your comments, likes/favourites, and continued support!

Comments

[Nosoni]

Not sure about his companion but the first guy is a Bronze Dragon, Specifically the most important Bronze Dragon, Nozdormu
So now I'm curious why his attention is on our young heroes cant wait for next update

[random reader]

Oh wow, so these mysterious strangers are trying to create a future where the world is not repeatedly consumed by gamer's insatiable appetite for more content?

[The Chronicler]

Hmm... So I'm guessing Twilight and Co are being written out of the Wrathgate incident, and a bronze dragon is tinkering with... something. Retconning the Blizzard timeline? Minimizing the ripple effects that the Equestrians have caused? Perhaps what they've done so far, particularly with Anub'arak, will cause things to play out a little differently and now Norzdormu needs to do damage control.

[Kiue Jin]

11657034
Personally, I don't think Norzdormu is doing 'damage control' in the sense that the girls are a problem. I believe he can see that their actions are to the benefit of the one true timeline and thus needs to be safe guarded.

I'm more curious as to what the Infinite Dragonflight wish to prevent the girls from doing. Because there are times when the Infinite act in a manner to stop a disaster, but which is important in the sense that greater misfortune would happen if it didn't occur (Stopping the original invasion of the Horde or preventing the Culling) but they also can act in a manner that's less questionably moral (from a certain view point at least) such as Thrall escaping and forming the New Horde. I wonder which approach the Infinite are going for.

[Reese]

"Applejack asked, hunting for a "Maybe s-salvage it?""
Some text appears to have gone missing here.

Well! Some interesting developments there! :D
Thanks for writing!

[TerrabreakerX]

11662191
Well spotted, and now corrected - thanks!

[CommanderApplejack]

Finally caught back up, and with my limited knowledge of wow i'm looking forward on where you take this next ^-^