The pressure wave slammed like a fist, and nearly sent Reman to his knees. Jureg was fast, for a man wrapped in steel, but Lynette was slightly faster on the draw. With the press of a trigger, a silver bolt flew into the face of the Nord's steel battleaxe and while the projectile wasn't that big, the impact was enough to make Jureg flinch for a split second. Which, coincidentally, was just enough time for Reman to get in a solid punch to the jaw. The magicka-charged fist sent a jolt of electricity through the taller man's central nervous system, a short paralysis that wouldn't last more than an instant.

Jureg swung his ax with one hand, a blow meant to put distance between the two melee fighters. Of course, he completely ignored the archer, but more importantly, the Nord gave no mind to the bolt Lynette had already loaded. The sharp missile imbedded itself in the warrior's upper arm, but Jureg had definitely had much worse. With a mighty battlecry, the blonde berserker launched himself in full force at his Imperial foe, swinging his ax with bone-shattering strength. It was all Reman could do to block the powerful attacks with his sword, the Skyforge steel held marvelously well against the assault. But the lycan was hardly perfect.

A powerful swing went in below the Imperial's reach, and the two-handed weapon crushed the side of his breastplate. Nords were the strongest of the races of men, and second only to Orcs if one factored in the elves and beastfolk, the force Jureg put behind his ax lifted the comparatively small human off the ground. Reman crashed into one of the shallow pools around the walkway, unhurt, but stunned, and it took a boot to the ribs to wake him from his daze. Lynette launched a third shot, this time it was aimed at the back of the Nord's knee, though it only punched through the armor of his calf. It was then that the Stormcloak supporter realized that the woman was a serious threat. The spin Jureg put himself in was enhanced by the hand that clamped to his shoulder, causing him to do a full three-sixty.

A steel-wrapped fist crashed into his cheek, courtesy of the werewolf with the winning smirk. The Skyforge blade came around, and landed under a junction in the Nord's armor, creating a shallow cut between two ribs. Reman slammed his forehead against the taller man's nose, and shoved as hard as he could. Given the power boost of lycanthropy, the Imperial only slightly weaker than Jureg, physically speaking, and the Nord was sent to the ground. The werewolf was on him in a flash, pummeling without regard for his hands or his victim's life.

Reman's beating was stopped by a dagger in the neck.

@#@#@#@#@#@#

“So Glade is... ?” Luna didn't really know how to react to that revelation, it wasn't really something one expected.

“Pregnant, yes.” Renoir, however, had seen a fair number of strange things in his time, not as many as the alicorn, but the relative harshness of Nirn made up for the quantity. This wasn't even the first lycan pregnancy he'd worked with, but it was the first case of inter-species breeding involving a werewolf that he'd heard of.

“Is it a foal, or a human?” Fluttershy was amazed by this, being an animal lover, the complexity of the situation was very intriguing. Whichever the offspring turned out to be, it would be well cared for, that much was certain.

“Too soon to tell, I only knew what was going on by the thing's magicka signature.” The vampire had no trouble referring to his friend's unborn heir or heiress, it was his default term for anything he couldn't identify. The mage wasn't that uncaring of an individual, even if he was a bit off the deep end.

“The baby already has magic?” The thought confused the Princess of Night, most unicorns didn't develop the use of magic until after birth. Then again, it was sired by one of the strangest allies Equestria ever had, so it may have just been a prodigy.

“Not quite, all living things have some amount of magicka, even plants, but thought is needed to use it.” Renoir was back to his nonchalant self, he even relaxed on the stone table, casually waving a hand through the air as he spoke. “It felt like a mixture of Reman and the local magicka reservoir.”

“Will it be a werewolf, too?” Fluttershy was a bit worried, though not about anypony being hurt by the growing embryo, rather, she was concerned for its future. Transforming once a month would be very damaging for the baby's social life, and children need friends their own age.

“Yes, unfortunately, but symptoms won't present themselves until it reaches pubescence.” It was one of the things Hircine was thankfully merciful about, the Huntsman let his hounds have a normal childhood, well, normal enough. For a moment, Renoir wished that Molag Bal would take a lesson in mercy from his fellow Princes, but the King of Rape was set in his ways.

“Will it be... infectious?” The Element of Kindness also knew about lycanthropy's vehicle of transmission, and only now would she have any fears of it. It gave the yellow pegasus a bit of relief and an equal amount of worry when the vampire shrugged.

“There aren't any records of someone being turned by a born werewolf, but most people don't know such a thing even exists.” Renoir didn't really know what unique trait made lycans transmit their curse, but there may have been some mutagen in the saliva, or some magical curse that casts when someone is bitten. But, in truth, there wasn't enough to go on, not even a real hint to it. “But, I think we're getting ahead of ourselves her. Will the two of you keep it under wraps until Reman and Glade know?”

“I don't see why, but I won't say a word.” Fluttershy was able to understand the need for discretion, but she didn't know why it was important to keep a mother from knowing that's she was pregnant.

“Fine, but don't delay for a moment after Reman arrives.” Luna could feel a headache coming on, things were definitely going to get more complicated.

@#@#@#@#@#@#

Pinkie Pie was having a lot of fun playing with Gummy in the ruins, the many hallways made hiding easy, and the game so much more satisfying. But, running through the same dozen or so corridors got boring after a while, and the alligator found a way to make things more interesting. At the first chance, with the Element in sight, the toothless reptile climbed into a large pipe, and disappeared into the murky darkness. Seeing her pet go in, the party pony stuck her head inside, and called to her cold blooded friend.

“Gummy, you know better than to crawl around in dark places.” Seeing no other way to reach the alligator, the Element of Laughter did what she did best: the unexpected. With a slight hop, the pink maned mare launched herself down the bronze tube.

@#@#@#@#@#@#

Reman would have made a noise of pain, if his windpipe hadn't been closed by the iron blade. On instinct, the lycan pulled the dagger from his neck, and immediately applied pressure to the bleeding wound. He jumped off Jured, his heart pounding from shock, and every pulse sent a fresh rush of crimson liquid between his fingers. The Nord was quick to make use of his newly found freedom, and attacked in the way that maximized damage.

“Fus!” Another burst of wind knocked Reman's hand from his wound. A small river of blood ran from the lycan's neck and over his armor. In the time it took for Jureg to stand, Lynette had already prepared her next bolt, and the Imperial was focused on unsettling his enemy. The werewolf collected a handful of his own blood, and used it to slick his hair back, leaving a scarlet streak over the top of his face. All the while, Reman hadn't taken a breath, but his windpipe was rapidly regenerating. When the Stormcloak supporter was on his feet, a silver bolt punched a neat little hole through the back of his armor, right next to his spine.

The Imperial charged his target, one hand grasping a sword, the other full of his own blood. The lycan adopted a new tactic, and favored thrusts over chops or slashes, but he was only using it as a means to get near the Nord. Jureg slammed the shaft of his ax into the Skyforge blade,knocking it from any position to attack. However, that did not stop the smaller man's bloody hand from landing on the only injury that was made by him, that shallow cut on the warrior's side. When blood touched blood, a charge jolted through the Nord's body, and being this close to the heart, it was enough to cause a full system reset. A throaty yell ripped through the taller human as Reman threw both of them into one of the pools, and was muffled by water overtaking his face. The magical electricity was amplified by the rush of conductive liquid, and was able to fully envelop the Stormcloak wannabe.

“That's enough.” Lynette put a hand on the Imperial's shoulder, enough to make the man stop. Reman pulled his hand back, static cling made his victim's neck stick to the inside of the lycan's palm, but the Nord fell beck into the water with a loud splash. Jureg's chest rose and fell slowly, the so-called Dragonborn was still clinging to life, just barely. With a rush of magicka, the lycan shot out a hand, and a bolt of lightning exploded an urn next to a wall.

“That felt too good.” Sparks still arced over the man's arm, but his magicka backup was cured, a pleasant haze was settled over his mind, a battle afterglow. On a deep level, Reman was relieved that Lynette had enough of a heart to stop him from finishing the Nord off, even if it may have been a mistake, the Breton wouldn't stand for torture.

“Let's just get out of here.” The archer didn't like this room, it just felt wrong to be here. With a nod, the Imperial followed his lightly armored friend.

@#@#@#@#@#@#

Twilight really didn't know what to think of the book, partially due to the fact that the first thing the book did was deny its own existence. In fact, the opening lines claimed that all that is, was, and ever will be is just an idea, a thought. The tome also claimed that one could permanently alter the fabric of space and time, all by making a convincing argument to the unknown forces that govern what is, for want of a better word, real. After the, rather confusing, introduction, the book calmly went about destroying everything Twilight had been raised to believe, and worse, it provided reasonable evidence to support its claims.

Just as it was trying to teach her to do, it had altered her perception of the world for a few moments, if ever so slightly. At that eureka moment, Twilight fully understood that she knew absolutely nothing about how Nirn functioned, nor anything about its magic. If basic textbooks on the subject were confusing, how had Reman been able to move so far? Of course, the Imperial had used summoning magic, not spells to alter the world, so the practices would be worlds apart. But, Twilight quickly decided that to use Nirn's magic, one had to insane, or a prodigy. The Element of Magic smiled to herself, she was ready to show this book who was in charge, and there was one solid fact that supported her claim.

The lavender mare was nothing short of a prodigy, with a tiny hint of crazy for flavor.

@#@#@#@#@#@#

Summer Glade wasn't a mare that wanted much from life, just a career, a family, and a nice, quiet retirement. However, she did want to know why the Ring of Hircine failed her earlier, why she had been asleep for so long, and why she was still transformed. Those didn't have to be answered in order, but it would be appreciated if they were. The werewolf had actually tapped her claws on the ground in boredom, closets didn't have much in the way of entertainment, and she had just opted to stare at her hoof... claw... paw... thing. Yeah, just call it a thing for the moment.

A growl overtook her stomach, she'd skipped breakfast, and her internal clock said that it was close to dinner. That knowledge would do her no good, not while she was locked in this room, and it wasn't like she could ask for food. Or... maybe she could, the werewolf merely had to be clever about it, think outside the metaphorical box. There was a slot in the door, she'd seen Luna look inside two separate times, but she quickly shut it behind her. Glade wasn't chained or bound in any way, so she could still reach the door, not like her clever plan needed much effort. The lycan tapped her claws on the bronze door, and heard somepony's hooves approach.

When a pair of eyes appeared in the slot, Glade motioned to her mouth with a claw.