21 Ghostgate, trek through the Ash Storm
"RAINBOW, GET IT!" shouted Applejack.
"I'M DOING THE BEST I CAN, AJ!" Rainbow shouted back, launching a streak of lightning at their foe, but the attack seemed to only provoke it further.
The abomination had swooped down from the peak of a nearby hill and attacked them on sight. Its bipedal body was a light purplish blue in color, with lethal taloned feet, large webbed wings, and piercing red eyes beneath a head of dark purple hair done up in a long ponytail. Its appearance had taken the expedition from Equestria completely off guard, and worse...
"Easy, Pinkie darling," said Rarity soothingly. She, Fluttershy, and Spike were grouped around Pinkie’s crouched form, bathing her in golden light. Luna stood watch as Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow held off their attacker.
"It... it hurts so much..." gasped Pinkie, tears of intense pain flowing from her blue eyes.
"It's alright, Pinkie," said Fluttershy reassuringly, cringing as she saw the three claw marks marring Pinkie's chest from shoulder to shoulder, leaking crimson blood, her experience telling her that they weren't deep enough to be life threatening, but they were undoubtedly painful. "The claws didn't penetrate very deep, our Restoration should have you patched up in a second.
Pinkie's eyes were still full of pain, but a stalwart trust in her friends still remained beneath her agony, pushing her to have faith in them.
"What in tarnation is wrong with this varmint?" asked Applejack with frustration, her fireball only managing to garner the winged abomination’s attention.
Twilight tackled her out of the way just as clawed fingers rent the air where she once stood. "Winged Twilights have great immunity against magic," she explained quickly from atop her friend.
Applejack and Rainbow blinked.
"WINGED WHAT?" they both asked.
"Nevermind the similarity," said Twilight hurriedly, while the three of them regrouped. "Normal Destruction isn't working, we will have to take drastic measures."
"Drastic?" inquired Applejack.
"What's that mean?" asked Rainbow.
But the Winged Twilight was already bearing down on them again, sprinting for them on it's two foreboding legs.
"Everypony, choose a Shout!"
They had no time to argue even if they wanted to.
'GAAN LAH HAAS'
Applejack's Thu'um struck the Winged Twilight in the form of a luminous purple cloud, staggering it and sapping its strength.
'KRII LUN AUS'
Twilight's Thu'um was purple in color too, the Winged Twilight screeching in pain as more of its strength ebbed away.
'VEN GAAR NOS'
Weakened by being struck by two shouts that destroyed strength and health, the Winged Twilight was too weak to resist being swept up in Rainbow's cyclone. It twirled in the air as the cylinder of wind carried it away, thrashing futilely, its wings of no help. At last, its trip came to an end when the cyclone dissipated... and deposited it's passenger in a puddle of molten lava a few yards away.
Applejack, Rainbow, and Twilight covered their ears as a high-pitched squealing assaulted them, but kept their eyes trained on the thrashing figure in the glowing orange puddle. Eventually, the orange rippling ceased, and the Winged Twilight's lifeless body lay floating in the lava.
"PINKIE!"
All three quickly joined their other friends behind Princess Luna, adding their Restoration to her recovery. Finally, the gouges in her pink flesh rippled and knitted together, Pinkie's tears stopping as she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Pinkie darling, are you alright?" Rarity asked worriedly.
Pinkie felt her chest, giving the reformed skin a firm pat before adopting her trademark grin. "Right as rain."
They all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Think you can continue, sugarcube?" asked Applejack.
"Psst, please Applejack, it takes more than a scratch to make the Pinkinator quit," said Pinkie with bravo completely contradictory to how she was a second ago.
"But, you seemed so miserable," said Fluttershy. "It's understandable considering how excruciating a wound like that can be."
"Bat lady didn't play fair," said Pinkie, scowling in the direction of the lifeless monster and punching her hooves out threateningly. "Now I know to look out for big meanie pants that rely on sucker punches."
"Despite her goofy demeanor," said Luna, ("What do you mean 'goofy' I have never been more serious.") "Madam Pie is correct, we must be more vigilant from now on."
With that they resumed.
"Twilight?" said Fluttershy as she walked abreast with her marefriend. "What... what was that anyway?"
"It was a Winged Twilight," answered Twilight.
"WINGED TWILIGHT?" inquired seven other voices.
"Yeah yeah, don't rub it in," said Twilight irritatedly, "Winged Twilights are lesser Daedra, who serve the Daedric Prince Azura."
There was a collection of gasps, with Fluttershy surprising them all by throwing a nasty look at the dead Winged Twilight as they strode past the lava puddle.
"I should have known," she mumbled, "who else would command such an abominable creature."
The others looked to one another.
"It doesn't bother you that we killed it, Fluttershy?" asked Twilight
"Yeah, you came unglued when we killed the Cliff Racer," said Applejack.
"This thing isn't a sweet woodland animal," said Fluttershy. "I sensed nothing but contempt from this thing, contempt for everything not affiliated with the one it serves."
Once again, Fluttershy's abilities of communication were revealed to have new depths. She discerned that from just being near the Winged Twilight.
This kind of thing had been occurring ever since Princess Celestia had alerted them to the danger Equestria was facing two days ago. Giant, one eyed worms that flopped towards you and tried to spray green gas in your face, huge shiny beetles that breathed fire, and huge hulking green bipedal monsters, Morrowind was infested with beasts that they had never imagined. And to make matters worse, Fluttershy was unable to pacify them, just like the Slaughterfish, resulting in a trail of dead creatures behind them.
If there was any good news, it was that their current location was surrounded by rocks and hills, making it relatively easy to mask their presence from any people that might be in the area. The only time they came across sentient locals was two nights ago, with them hearing a distinct pattern of impacts behind them. Despite the need for celerity, they took refuge in the shadow of a nearby ledge...
...Just as a dark brown pillar impacted the road where they had once stood.
Trailing it up with their eyes, the ponies and baby dragon beheld that it wasn't a pillar, it was a leg... one of six.
A huge, hulking creature was striding down the road the Equestrian travelers had decided to follow, despite the danger of encounters. Its body was highly shelled, its six legs easily supporting it's intense weight, two arms held out in a praying mantis-like fashion aiding in keeping the creature balanced. A tarp canopy was strung over an indention in the shell of its back, and six figures sat comfortably in the shade as a seventh stood before a collection of flesh grooves in the shell.
He touched one (like a train conductor manipulating controls) and the Silt Strider let out a low-pitched call before leaving the path, stepping over the small, surrounding hills like they were just small rocks in the path. Eventually, the behemoth was swallowed up in the foggy distance, its steps growing distant. After a good minute of silence, Twilight and her friends resumed.
But in a way, the encounter with the Silt Strider rejuvenated them; there was something about the majestic beast that made them calm, despite the situation. Maybe it was the fact that something so big could be so gentle.
Unfortunately, the day after the encounter with the Winged Twilight brought on the first real stress of this venture.
In the dead of night, a rustling awoke the inhabitants of an invisible tent, and an investigation revealed the culprit... culprits.
What Twilight identified as a Nix-hound, Guar, Alit, and Kagouti were brawling with each other outside their tent. The tent’s invisibility vanished as soon as the flap moved, and it became apparent what the fight was about. A fight over food.
The Nix-hound noticed the equine figures poking their heads out of their shelter of fabric and pounced, only for the Guar to clamp its jaws over its hind legs, the Nix-hound pinching its pincers in pain. The Alit tried to make a move, but met a head butt from the Kagouti, the shelled sail on its head meaning it had an advantage. The ponies became increasingly worried.
Not only were these some of Morrowind's fiercest predators, it was more than likely that the sound of their brawl would attract more attention.
But before anything could be decided, the creatures tripped over each other... tumbling into the tent.
It was pandemonium. The creatures could not decide whether to attack each other, or claim their prey. But before anything overly concerning happened:
'KAAN DREM OV'
The Thu'um washed over the beasts in a wave of glowing blue mist, and just like that, all became still. The ponies and baby dragon watched as one by one, the intruders untangled themselves, stood up, and like canine contestants in a dog show, walked single file out of the tent and out into the night. Flabbergasted, they all turned to the source of the Shout.
Fluttershy sat trembling.
But before anyone could praise her, she doubled over and sobbed uncomfortably. All this time, she had forgotten about Kyne's Peace, all those creatures they had had no choice but to slay, when she could have pacified them all with but a word.
It took several minutes of consoling from her friends to get Fluttershy to calm down, after all, they hadn't thought to use that Shout either.
The next day saw the rocky terrain flowing by them as they followed the instructions the Oghma Infinium had provided. They had contacted Princess Celestia the night before for an update on Equestria's situation, but she said she only sent the first letter half an hour earlier. Time, it would seem, was still flowing differently between the two worlds and their timelines, but it would not last forever. Eventually the gap between them would shrink... until Equestria's time flowed evenly with the Third Era of Nirn.
The next hurtle came in the form of another Ash Storm, but after a day and a half and no sign of letting up, Twilight had to consult the Oghma Infinium. The answer was both a good sign and a fact that unsettled them to their cores.
The only time an Ash Storm continually blew was near the very heart of it all, in the region of Red Mountain.
That could only mean the Nerevarine was already somewhere near his foe, Dagoth Ur, but for what reason, they didn't know. Maybe the Nerevarine had already located the Tools of Kagrenac, and was on his way to finish the job. Whatever the reason, the Equestrian party still felt it was best to track the Nerevarine down.
But the Blight was barring their path.
Thankfully, Twilight, ever the bright one, came up with a solution. The Oghma Infinium had informed her of an enchantment that the people of Morrowind developed that could protect against Corprus, and how to apply it to objects. While normally applying enchantments to something in the Nirn way of doing things required a soul gem, Luna was able to use her alicorn magic as a substitute, and soon one piece of each set of armor had a resist Corprus spell attached, and after letting Luna recuperate, they could finally resume.
But Blight or no Blight, a sandstorm was a sandstorm.
"Ooh, this is killing me," whined Rarity for the umpteenth time, holding a hoof before her face in a futile effort to shield herself from the crimson winds.
"Twilight already cast a spell to keep the sand out of our eyes," rebutted Applejack in annoyance. "What more do you need?"
"While I do appreciate our friends’ effort so far, this dreadful wind is sure to chap my glorious lips," moaned Rarity, while Applejack rolled her eyes in annoyance. "And despite how gloriously fashionable it is, this helmet is sure to ruin my mane."
"You think you got problems?" snapped Rainbow, "at least the wind hasn't grounded your wings."
"Rarity doesn't have wings, Dashie, you do," Pinkie remarked.
Rainbow scowled. "Uh, that was my point."
"Enough," said Luna sternly, "none of us find joy in this, but it's what must be endured." She turned to Rarity, "I am most regretful to your majestic mane, Miss Rarity, but remember, our armor is the only thing that protects us from Dagoth Ur's vile disease. Without it, we would surely wind up like poor Miss Lis."
Rarity shuddered, unable to stop herself from picturing herself with those cancerous welts.
"Yeah, there wouldn't be enough makeup in all of Equestria to cover that up," snarked Rainbow, reading Rarity's expression.
"And Miss Dash, while the weather conditions being unfit for flying is unfortunate, it's for the best you remain close to the group," Luna said to Rainbow next. "You are immune to the Blight as long as you wear your armor, but the obscuring gales could cause you to get lost. And it is very possible that you could wind up in a settlement of the people of this world by the time you found your way out."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it, Princess," said Rainbow, instinctively crossing her hooves in irritation, but forgot she wasn't flying and without her forehooves to support her she took a face plant right into the ash covered ground, a fact that Applejack found most amusing.
But the third hurdle came to be both a hindrance, but at the same time fascinating.
"Ugh, girls..." said Fluttershy in her timid voice, pointing ahead to something that was glistening in the distance. "What is that?"
They cautiously moved towards it as whatever it was was revealed to be huge, trekking over hills for a better vantage point, and what they saw was like nothing that they had ever seen.
Giant towers dotted the landscape as far as the eye could see in either direction, giant cables connecting them. And filling the space between each tower was a translucent wall of rippling blue light, its glow carrying through the red wind quite far before finally being swallowed up in the distance. Mouths open in awe, the ponies and baby dragon slowly approached the magnificent structure.
Luna lit her horn, and her expression became even more transfixed. "Such power... what is this?"
"I've read about this," said Twilight, craning her neck to look up at the looming wall of light. "This must be The Great Ghost Fence!"
"The what?" They all asked.
Twilight smiled, it was bothering her less and less to have to explain things to them.
"When the Tribunal returned to the Heart of Lorkhan to recharge their Divine power, they found Dagoth Ur barring their path, more intimately attuned to the Heart than even they dared to be in the beginning." Twilight turned to the Ghostfence, almost like she could see its history reflected in its shiny surface. "Knowing that they were no match for this mad god, the Tribunal pooled their remaining Divine energy and coupled it with the spirits of the deceased (her audience collectively gasped) to erect the Ghostfence, a powerful magical structure to contain both Dagoth Ur and the Blight within the borders of Red Mountain."
"Hey, I remember now," said Rainbow excitedly, "without the Ghostfence, Dagoth Ur's Blight would have spread all across Vvardenfell long ago, but the longer Dagoth Ur remains connected to the Heart, the more his power grows and the Ghostfence weakens. Soon it won't be able to contain anything."
Twilight stared at Rainbow, proud that she remembered that.
"Ooh, sparkly!" Everyone turned to see Pinkie proding the Ghostfence giddily.
"Wuh oh!" said Applejack worriedly, trotting closer and poking the Ghostfence herself. "Now how do we get past this confounded contraption?"
"Duh," said Rainbow, twitching her wings. "The Princess, Fluttershy, and I will just fly you all over."
"Not a wise course of action, Miss Rainbow," said Luna, "the Blight storm has yet to recede."
"According to egghead here, it's never going to," rebutted Rainbow, "and it's not far to fly."
"We still shouldn't take the risk," said Luna, "and besides, who knows what may come along while you are transferring us over."
As if to prove a point, almost a dozen Cliffracers flew overhead, but luckily they remained oblivious to the Equestrian party below.
"Well... what do we do then?" asked Rainbow.
Luna tapped her chin in contemplation, staring at the nearby Ghostfence. Her horn lit up and she vanished in a teleport.
"Princess, wait...!" said Twilight in a futile attempt to stop her.
A blue orb suddenly appeared against the wall of the Ghostfence, ripples spreading across its luminous surface. Suddenly, the ripples reversed, receding back into the blue orb of light. Then Princess Luna was violently ejected from the orb and sent sprawling across the ground.
"PRINCESS!" Twilight and the others screamed, rushing to her side as she picked herself up.
"Don't fret, my friends, I am unharmed," said Luna, rustling her feathers. "I had a feeling that wouldn't work, but I thought it best to test it."
"Twilight?" began Spike, now that they knew that their Princess was unharmed. "What do we do? We can't fly over, we can't teleport past it. What else can we do?"
Twilight tapped her chin. There was a solution, she could feel it. Then it came to her.
"I got it," she said determinedly, "The Ghostfence, in simplistic terms, is still a fence. There's a gate, the Ghostgate."
"Really?" said Fluttershy.
"Yes, and judging from our location, I'm pretty sure it's this way, and not too far," replied Twilight, pointing her hoof.
They followed Twilight's intuition, and sure enough, after a slight detour that thankfully had no encounters, they arrived at what appeared to be the epicenter of the Ghostfence. The Ghostgate was a grand structure consisting of two towers and two bulbous round buildings on either side of a huge, extravagant arch, an iron fence situated in the center. A triangle switch stood upon a small pillar before it all.
They cloaked themselves with invisibility and approached the switch, predicting such a place had to have lookouts. Gently, Twilight flicked the switch with her magic, and the Ghostfence opened, grating as it lifted up into the ceiling of the grand arch. Another switch opened another gate at the opposite side, but closed the direction from where they came.
It was obviously meant to be a one way trip.
---
Tunipy Shamirbasou looked down from her camp as Ghostfence opened.
She could have sworn she could see horseshoe prints heading off in the distance, but the Blight storm was so thick it was impossible to tell.
---
With a flash, seven equine figures and a small reptilian appeared in the rocky terrain that made up the area around Red Mountain.
"Oh, come on!" said Twilight as she held the Oghma Infinium in her magic.
The wind was so strong that even in Twilight's telekinesis, the Oghma Infinium's pages fluttered haphazardly, so badly that it made it impossible for Twilight to get her bearings. "I have no idea how to proceed. We must find a calm spot, so I can gather information on where we go from here."
"Why don't we just ask that guy for directions?" asked Pinkie, heading off in a seemingly random direction.
"Please Pinkie, who would be out in this? Besides we aren't supposed to..." Twilight paused her speech as she saw there was indeed a figure in the distance. "PINKIE, WAIT!"
"Excuse me, sir, but so you know where...?" Pinkie was yanked back over to the group by a pink aura.
"Pinkie, that is a..."
Twilight was cut off by an aggressive groan.
They all looked up to see the ash colored bipedal figure bearing down upon them, a stream of multicolored light orbiting its body.
"SCATTER!" screamed Twilight.
They heeded her warning, diving in opposite directions, just in time to dodge a colorful orb that impacted the ground where they were. A cloud of red luminescence rose up, followed by streaking electricity.
"Twilight?" inquired Applejack, who lay closest to the purple unicorn. "What in the hay is this varmint?"
"An Ash Slave," explained Twilight as she scrambled to her hooves. "Deranged abominations brought to life by Dagoth Ur's dark power."
"He can do that?" Asked Luna.
"Explain later," said Twilight as the Ash Slave singled out Rarity and Pinkie Pie, casting another of its twisted spells which the pony duo barely dodged.
"EVERYONE, CHOOSE A SPELL?"
Reacting more than acting, Rainbow channeled a lightning spell, Applejack a fireball spell, Rarity a reflect spell, Pinkie Pie a poison spell, Fluttershy a weakness to fire spell, Spike an ice spear spell, and Princess Luna stuck with her trademark alicorn beam. By chance, the Ash Slave chose Rarity as its target and with a brilliant twinkling, the multiple layered spell bounced off the petite unicorn and struck its caster.
Stunned by its own attack, the Ash Slave was helpless to stop Twilight's next move.
Rather then use her own destruction spell, Twilight strained her original Equestrian magic and teleported her friends in a circle around the Ash Slave. Whether through coincidence, or team work through their bond of friendship, they all let loose their spells at once. They covered their heads as an explosion of destruction consumed their foe, a pained grunt being the only retaliation it could afford.
When all was clear, the Ash Slave lay motionless.
Panting from exertion and adrenaline, they all struggled to get back in an even state of mind.
"Everypony..." gasped Twilight, "we have to be careful. This close to the source of the Blight, the only thing we will encounter, most likely, are creatures infested with Corprus, or Dagoth Ur's minions."
"Like a towering pile of rotten flesh?" asked Pinkie.
"Exactly, Pinkie..." Twilight blinked frantically at her then followed her line of sight.
A huge, hulking, humanoid creature with the entire left side of its body swelled up and covered in red sores staggered towards them, groaning wetly as it closed in.
Most of them widened their eyes in terror, but Rarity...
"AAAAAAAAHHH!!!" She grabbed Applejack and almost choked her to death as she clung to her.
And Pinkie Pie...
"ICKY ICKY, EW EW EW EW EW, STAY AWAY FROM US, MISTER NASTY!" Pinkie took a deep breath and exhaled:
'FUS RO DAH'
Maybe it was because Pinkie was 'royally freaked out', for lack of a better term, but when the Lame Corprus was struck with her Thu'um, it was not only blown back, its rotting carcass disintegrated before it hit the ground. But none took notice, for it didn't escape them how 'similar' those growths were.
"By the stars!" mumbled Princess Luna. "That's going to be Miss Lis?"
It wasn't really a question, they all knew it to be true...as well as the fact that all of Equestria was in this kind of danger, too.
"There's no more time to waste!" said Rainbow, "we gotta get moving."
"Forget following directions," said Twilight, glaring at the illegible passage of the Oghma Infinium. Biting her lower lip, Twilight strained her horn, and a light from the Oghma Infinium flew from the pages to its tip and hung there. Sweating in consideration, Twilight cast a spell she had learned in Apocrypha.
The orb of light at her horn spread out and jutted off into the distance, forming a stream of luminous mist that sped off out of sight.
After regaining control of her breathing, Twilight noticed that the others were looking from her to the stream of light she had conjured. "Clairvoyance spell from Nirn, with a little bit of Equestria thrown in."
Deciding not to question, they followed the luminous trail as it zigzagged into the distance.
---
‘THUMP THUMP’
‘THUMP THUMP’
‘THUMP THUMP’
Back in Equestria, things were not looking good.
“The thrumming is increasing in tempo,” remarked Cadance nervously.
Celestia nodded and turned her attention to the sky as it continued to ripple along with the beat of the heart of a long dead deity.
“Twily, hurry please!” said Shining Armor as he embraced his fearful bride to be.
---
"You're uglier than Flim and Flam's apple cider!' Applejack shouted at the latest monster that crossed their path:
'KRII LUN AUS'
A purple shroud engulfed the Ascended Sleeper, and after being bombarded by this powerful group it could take no more. Its extravagant robe dissolved, and a head once adorned by tendrils became a desolate skull resting atop a pile of ash.
"Another one down for the count!" snarked Rainbow. "Awesome finishing blow, AJ."
Nodding her head in thanks, Applejack, along with the others turned to the destination the clairvoyance spell had led them to. It was another Dwemer ruin, built into the side of a mountain. This one was even more foreboding than Mzahnch, its steam shooting towers groaning, and decrepit metal walls darkened with age.
"Oh poo," moaned Rarity, "I was so relieved to be spared entry to the last of these dreadful places we stumbled upon. Should have known better than to think I was in the clear."
"Have no fear, Rarity," said Applejack reassuringly. "Me and Rainbow trounced the last place, this will be no different. And you can count on me and Rainbow to cover your hindquarters if things get ugly."
"Aw yeah!" said Rainbow.
"And you can count on me as well, Rarity," said Spike.
"While I appreciate the support, I didn't come on this venture to be dead weight," said Rarity, flipping her golden helm. "I intend to do my part, no matter what we encounter in this dreadful place."
GROAN
Twilight had opened the ancient doors, and looked up at the structure one last time, before giving her friends a look of worry, one they returned. Despite Applejack and Rainbow Dash's bravado, they all knew full well how perilous this situation was. They were bound to encounter something in here that was going to be less than friendly.
But this is where everything was to come to a focal point. The Nerevarine was in this building, according to the Oghma Infinium, and if they had any hope of keeping Equestria out of the mad god’s clutches, they needed his assistance. And as far as they knew, he needed theirs.
With a deep breath to combat the foreboding feeling festering in their souls, Twilight and her friends delved into the dark depths of the ancient Dwemer ruins...
... into the heart of Vemynal.
---
Inside, their anticipation and dread only increased when Twilight's clairvoyance spell petered out and died.
"What happened, egghead?" asked Rainbow nervously.
Twilight tried to cast the spell again, but her horn only trickled little sparks. "Something nearby is interfering with my magic." She gave them all a worried look. "Something of unparalleled magical power."
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie gulped.
Vemynal wasn't much different than Mzahnch in appearance on the inside, with metal hallways and glass cylinders along the walls to provide luminescence. The major difference was despite the mechanical background noise, not a single mess of pipes or cluster of grinding cogs were visible. The rooms they stumbled upon were home to only basic furniture.
"Oh, how drab," moaned Rarity as she dusted off a desk with her armored fetlock, "didn't these Dwemer people have any sense of fashion or beauty?"
"They were a people of industry and scientific advancement, Rarity," explained Twilight. "And Morrowind was the heart of their scientific empire. Though I have heard that Dwemer dwellings in other parts of Nirn have at least some elegance worked into their design."
"Still..." Rarity looked around the unassuming room with disdain. "Would it have been too much to add a colorful curtain or other elegant tapestries? A little elegance to the environment can do wonders for the mind, especially the overwhelmed, anxious mind like a scientist."
"You know this how, Rarity?" asked Applejack, her left eyebrow arching up until it disappeared under the edge of her Daedric helm.
Rarity put on a smug smirk. "Applejack, darling, I will have you know that my clientele consists of more than just fashion enthusiasts. Why I have designed decorations for almost every education facility in Equestria; visually soothing so as to ease an overworked mind."
"Ugh, this is all very impressive, you two," said Rainbow, finally able to get airborne now that they were out of the ash storm, not that it made much of a difference inside. "But we do have more pressing concerns other than the dull taste the Dwemer had in decorations."
That was true, so with one last disgusted look, Rarity trekked with her friends deeper into the ancient place. Without Twilight's Clairvoyance, they would have to search one room at a time. And what they found was death.
An Ash Slave, a hollow faced creature that Twilight identified as an Ash Zombie, and another creature she called Ash Ghoul, the Equestrian party came across all these creatures, lying motionless on the floor.
It wasn't pretty, especially for Fluttershy.
"What happened here?" inquired Applejack as she kicked over the corpse of another Ash Slave, revealing the horizontal slash on its chest.
"It looks like someone, or something rampaged through here," said Luna, her war experience giving her insight on how things had transpired.
"We all faced these Ash bullies before, and it took all we had to beat them," said Pinkie, looking at a slain Ash Ghoul and shying away. "What could have done this to so many?"
"Especially in a closed space with so many," said Rarity.
"Come on, it's obvious who could be this bad-flank," said Rainbow giddily, looking at the carnage with slight unease, but also greatly impressed.
The others looked at each other in confusion, but Spike picked up on what Rainbow was suggesting.
"You mean the Nerevarine?" he asked, scratching his head beneath his Ebony helmet.
"Of course," replied Rainbow, "who else could be awesome enough but the legendary hero of the Third Era of Nirn?"
"Is it possible?" asked Luna as they continued down the hall. "Could this Nerevarine be skilled enough to slay so many vile monsters on his lonesome?"
"Well, Nerevarine was the most phenomenal warrior for his time," said Twilight as they arrived at the next door and opened it with her magic. "And the Nerevarine was said to be even more powerful, due to the enhancing capabilities of Corprus..."
Twilight immediately slammed the door shut again as soon as she looked inside, propping her back against it with a frightened look.
"Twilight, darling, what is the matter?" asked Rarity, her and the others sharing a look of concern.
Twilight blinked at them nervously, "uh, whoever it was missed one..."
The door exploded open with a blast of green, sending Twilight flying into the opposite wall were she smacked her head hard, falling to the floor with a pained groan.
"TWILIGHT!" shouted Fluttershy and Spike, rushing to the fallen unicorn's side.
Rainbow and Applejack dropped their looks of worry for a look of rage, gazing into the room looking for whatever dare attack their friend. An Ascended Sleeper stared back at them, its tentacles twitching threateningly. But Rainbow and Applejack only had one thing on their minds.
"Oh no you didn't," said Rainbow, shaking with rage. "OH NO YOU DIDN'T!"
"You're going to pay for that, you little sidewinder!" shouted Applejack.
The Ascended Sleeper grunted, a ball of electricity orbiting its body. It never got a chance to cast the spell as something hard and pointy impacted its abdomen, Rainbow Dash having sped in and rammed the pointed top of her Dwemer helmet right into its body. The beast's great strength prevented it from being pushed back, but it was enough to break its concentration on the spell, which faltered.
But Applejack had yet to add her piece.
The farm pony galloped at their foe just after Rainbow Dash rammed into its abdomen, twirling on her foreleg and jutting out her hind legs just as Rainbow pulled away. She delivered a powerful buck that sent the Ascended Sleeper through an ancient Dwemer table and into a wall. It slumped motionless to the floor.
"Hah, that'll teach you to mess with our friends..." Applejack was interrupted as a fireball impacted her face and sent her flying across the room.
"APPLEJACK!" said Rainbow...and another voice.
"You'll pay for that, you brute," Rarity came bounding into the room, a transparent sword of blue flame appearing before her. Mimicking Applejack's move, but performing it with elegant grace, Rarity twirled on her hooves and bucked her sword. Rainbow Dash was shocked at the sudden grit of her fashion designer friend, but saw her chance when Rarity's sword impacted the Ascended Sleeper in the chest just as it finished righting itself.
It caught the blade in its hand before it hilted, but it still staggered in pain as the sword tip sunk into its body.
"CHEW ON THIS, CREEP!" Rainbow sped forward, thrusting out her hind legs and impacting the pommel of the sword with all her might. The ethereal blade was forced all the way in and with a bellow of pain the Ascended Sleeper dissolved into dust, its bleached skull falling to the ground.
All was still.
"APPLEJACK!" shouted Rainbow and Rarity frantically, rushing to their friend's side.
Applejack waved them off as she stood. "Don't y'all fret none, I'm alright. Takes more than that to keep me down." She looked out the door worriedly. " I'm more concerned about Twilight. She ain't built as sturdily as me."
All three exited out into the hallway to see Spike, Pinkie, Luna, and Fluttershy gently guiding her to her hooves. She looked shaken, but relatively unharmed. Her Stalhrim helmet had saved her life.
"Anypony else notice the similarity between these things and Hermaeus Mora's Seekers?" commented Spike nervously as he remembered the appearance of the Ascended Sleeper.
The others blinked, the creatures were similar in appearance.
"It's not what you think, girls," said Twilight, "Hermaeus Mora is more than untrustworthy, but he would never be affiliated with a false deity like Dagoth Ur."
After a little more doting, the group eventually found their way down to a deeper part of the ruins, before a door that no doubt led further into the earth. They had found nothing but that Ascended Sleeper so far, so it could only mean the Nerevarine was further in.
Along with whatever other horrors were contained in this place.
---
In Vemynal, Hall of Torque, another pile of dust along with a bleached skull greeted them. They shook a little, but at least this one was already dead.
"Alright, girls," Twilight turned to her friends, "I think it best we stay here for a second and scan with our Detect Life. After the run-in with the Ascended Sleeper, it's best not to take risks."
"What about Dwemer creatures?" asked Rainbow, "they don't show up under detection."
"I don't think that's going to be an issue, Rainbow," said Twilight, "from what I can tell, Dagoth Ur has made this place into some kind of base. He would have had to have cleared out the Dwemer automatons so all these minions of his could inhabitant this place."
That made sense to all of them.
Craning their necks, they all looked around for any sign of purple twinkling in their vision. Nothing appeared for awhile until they all looked ahead at the one place they thought would have been too simple. Straight ahead.
"There," said Applejack, pointing to the door across the room.
"We all see it, darling," said Rarity.
Indeed, a single bipedal figure glowed from beyond the door, and judging by the angle, slightly beneath them. No other lifeforms registered, and according to the Oghma Infinium, the Nerevarine was here.
Could it be?
Cautiously, they opened the round door and found their way into a room with other doors branching off. Four pillars stood in the center, surrounding a drop to the floor below. A luminous red steam floated up.
They slowly approached and looked down. The steam came from a huge bed of hot coals, with some kind of suit of armor standing in the middle. It looked like some sort of shrine, a foreboding, twisted shrine.
Movement from the shadows brought their attention, and the owner of the twinkling cloud they were following stepped into the light. They gasped. This creature was almost identical to the creature they saw on the beach with the dead Argonian's.
"Twilight," said Princess Luna, looking to her sisters pupil. "You said Nerevar was a Dunmer, right?"
"He was, yes," said Twilight. "But several accounts of the Nerevarine were lost. There's no record of who or what he was."
"Come on, Twilight, this has got to be him," said Rainbow excitedly, hovering over the drop, much to the others' distress. "Hey Nerevarine, we have come to..."
A fireball missed her by a hair.
"WHOA, HEY?" gasped Rainbow, gazing down in irritation. "Take it easy buddy. We're here to..."
"Rainbow, get back!" Twilight seized her friends in her magic and pulled them away, "Everypony get back."
"Twilight, whatever is the matter?" asked Rarity worriedly.
"That isn't the Nerevarine!" said Twilight, much to their shock. "That is an Ash Vampire!"
Rainbow gasped. "For real?"
"What is an Ash Vampire?" asked Princess Luna, the others wanting to know as well.
"Dagoth Ur's most powerful minions," said Rainbow, beating Twilight to the explanation. "Unlike the other creatures he commands, these bad guys are his actual relatives, ancient members of the House of Dagoth that he resurrected with his power."
"Land sakes," gasped Applejack, the idea of resurrecting dead family members shaking her more than the others.
"But... but where is the Nerevarine?" asked Rarity frantically.
"Yeah, these things aren't pointing anything else out to us," said Spike, showing his wrist band.
"Never mind that now," said Applejack with a scowl. "If that varmint down there is in league with Dagoth Ur, and one of his more powerful buddies, we need to deal with him lickity split."
"AJ is right, we can't leave this guy alone," said Rainbow.
Despite how important it was for them to find the Nerevarine, Twilight agreed with them.
"Alright girls," said Twilight as she joined them and the others followed suit. "Ash Vampires are second only to Dagoth Ur himself, so we need to finish this quickly. Forget normal spells, they most likely won't do any damage. We need to use the Thu'um."
They agreed, each picking a Shout in their heads.
"Princess Luna, please try to block anything he might throw at us with a powerful force field," said Twilight to the Princess, who nodded. "We should probably hit him one after the other. We can do more damage that way."
"I'll go first," said Applejack. "Nothing is more important than family, no one uses it like this. Not even a God."
"Hey, I wanted to go first," said Rainbow, but was immediately scolded by the others.
They arrived at the ledge again and the Ash Vampire readied another spell.
"Your going down, freak," said Applejack:
'GAAN LAH HAAS"
A purple mist washed over the Ash Vampire as Applejack's Thu'um struck it from above. It staggered and almost fell, but wasn't down yet.
"My turn," said Rainbow, rubbing her hooves together.
But Rainbow would never get the chance.
With a resounding thud, the ponies and dragon above watched as the Ash Vampire froze in place, a green mist accompanied by a rushing noise washing over it. A figure suddenly appeared before the Ash Vampire, clad in a light tan suit of armor covered in spikes. It held what they first thought was a bow, but then noticed it had no string and the points were tapered to the point of lethality.
They watched as the figure raised the silver, crescent shaped weapon again and struck, wincing as it gouged a slash into the Ash Vampire's chest. Whatever power was holding it still expired at that point, and now that it was free, it lashed at its armored foe. The attack was dodged as the armored figure rolled across the floor, the wall the Ash Vampire hit instead crumbling under its strength.
A slash from the crescent weapon cracked the Ash Vampires knee at the joint, and the ponies and baby dragon above winced as it fell out over on its back, but it made no noise other than a low pitched moan. That left the armored figure with the opening they needed. Springing up to its feet quickly, the armored figure raised its weapon and plunged one of its tips down.
Into the Ash Vampire's chest.
The Equestrians gasped in horror as the gray monster reached for the ceiling pitifully, before going limp. They were speechless. They had intended to slay this thing themselves, true, but this...
And not only that, whoever this armored figure was, they were skilled. Speaking of which, they saw it remove its weapon from the Ash Vampire's chest and sling it over its back. It then knelt down and began rummaging through what little clothing it wore, removing something from the waist of its rags.
"Oh, that ruffian!" moaned Rarity. "It was a horrid abomination, but who robs the dead?"
"Yeah, that's mean," said Pinkie, shaking her head at what she had witnessed.
"Mmhmm," whispered Fluttershy, not as recovered, but still appalled by such an act.
A flabbergasted gasp from Twilight drew their attention.
"Young Twilight, what is the matter?" Asked Princess Luna.
"Yeah Twilight," said Applejack, watching as Twilight's pupils almost shrank to nothing. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"
Twilight watched as the armored figure rose up, clutching something in its hand. It was a small bronze hammer will a rounding head, a luminous rune adorning either side. The gauntlet it was clenched in didn't match the one on the other side, being a dark brown, made of some kind of metal, unlike the rest of the suit, and twinkling with a magic aura.
"Equest... Nirn to Twilight?" A blue hoof waving in her face snapped her out of it.
"Twilight, you're scaring us," said Fluttershy.
"Yeah Twilight, what has freaked your frizz?" asked Pinkie.
Twilight gave all her friends a look of intrigue. "Girls, that hammer..." She pointed to the figure below, the others looking to the hammer it held. "That's Sunder, one of the Tools of Kagrenac." They all gasped,"And that gauntlet is Wraithguard, the instrument designed to protect against the lethal side effects of the other two Tools."
They looked at Twilight, then slowly looked below, Rainbow practically trembling.
"Twilight, does that mean...?"
"It's very rude to linger in doorways," said a wise but gravelly voice. The Equestrians jumped in surprise when the figure below looked up at them. "On second thought, I'll come to you, my work here is done anyway."
They watched as an armored figure rose from the drop astride purple ripples. It settled before them, and gazed down at them. It was unsettling to be under its gaze, especially after what they had just witnessed, but something held them in place.
"I really must thank you," the gravelly voice said from under the helmet. "That bastard has had me pinned down for days, if you hadn't come along I am unsure if I could have overcome him." Sunder was presented to them. "And you have helped me retrieve Sunder. Your efforts may have just saved Morrowind."
Luna was able to throw off her silence first, walking up to the figure who was at least a good head taller than her, to say nothing of the others. "Are you the one known as the Nerevarine?"
The figure looked at her.
"I thought I heard speech from you all before, but wasn't sure till now." It looked to the rest of them. "How interesting, horses that can speak."
That gave them a reason to drop their shock and unease.
"Hey, we're not horses, we're ponies!" said Pinkie.
The figure seemed taken aback. "My apologies, ponies."
"And I am a dragon," said Spike.
"You're not an Argonian?" asked the figure with genuine curiosity.
Spike face-clawed. "Why does everyone think that?"
"Please, answer my question," said Luna sternly but patiently.
The figure paused, before taking a breath. "A prisoner born on a certain day to uncertain parents would be sent to battle Dagoth Ur. The supposed reincarnation of General Nerevar."
The figure removed its helmet, a cascade of raven hair fell to shoulder length, the ominous red eyes of a Dunmer peering out of a dark, youthful, feminine face.
"Some call me the Nerevarine, but I prefer my true name. Sarian."
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Eh, so the Nereverine's a woman... who cares... Dagoth Ur is going down.
10012609
What I think makes MLP so great is that women run the show
So it was a history that the Equestrians helped Nereverine in her quest.
The best part is that it can't possibly be intentional, because G1 Twilight was closer in coloration to Twilight Velvet.
To be fair, Unrelenting Force does inflict damage in addition to its massive knockback.
Fun fact: while Wraithguard is obviously the easier path, the game's mechanics don't actually stop you from being able to facetank the "side effects" she mentions.
Wait a minute... can you become a vampire in this game? I know you can in the next two installments, and it would give them a chance to detect what's currently wrong with Spike.
:(
Can you please make the dragonborn male please
Didn't this used to be complete?
10012865
While your at it make him an Argonian Shadowscale.
Oh nice. I forget about the crescent but good weapon choice. Also i like the turn of a female nerevarine.
10012715
You can. There's even a quest to reverse the transformation.
10012912
this is a sequel
10013292
I don't
10013626
I noticed.
i am loving this.
10013970
Thank you
10012622
Hey man. You wanna know what I just found out about the tools of Kagrenac. Turns out they weren’t really weapons. They were forge tools. Sunder was a forge hammer, Keening was a chisel, and wraith guard were basically like a blacksmiths gloves meant to help get a good grip on the tools and protect from forges heat. I know this fact isn’t much, but you gotta admit it does fit with what we know about the Dwemer and their machines, and for all we know that probably what Kagrenac made them for.
I know it's way too humerous (and T-rated and not dangerous dangerous) but whenver I hear of Sheogorath I think of this webcomic (T-rated Webcomic)