Six strange creatures in Equestria

by sykko

Across the desert and down from the steppes

In the desert outside of the oasis town of Somnambula, a dust storm raged. Even with the combined efforts of the local pegasi weather teams and unicorn mages to keep the storm under control, errant dust clouds still blew into the town, choking and blinding any ponies who were still outside. Several dust-covered pegasi landed in the center of town and others took to the air to take their places. As the pegasi shook the dust from their coats, teams of ponies ran forward with buckets and canteens of water.

Bright Wind plunged his head in the bucket of water to wash the grit from his eyes and snout, then took a canteen and opened it, taking several gulps from it. "That is one Tartarus of a storm.", he said gasping after swallowing the last mouthful of water, "They weren't joking when they said this is a century storm." He gestured to a nearby pony, "Send a message to the local guards, there's things out in the storm, couldn't make out much, just a few shadows. I'm hoping that it's just some ponies that got lost in the storm and not something worse. Though I think we'll find out in a couple of hours as it's starting break up."

As the storm began to slowly breaking up, the figures that the various weather teams could be made out. They watched as the pony-like figures stumbled and shambled along the ground, while others flitted through the air. A weather team pegasus approached one of the shambling figures. In a flash of black flames, the pony-like figure transformed into a twisted and warped changeling of Chrysalis' brood and leapt on the pegasus sinking its sharp teeth into the pony. Several other changelings dropped their disguises in flashes of black flames and leapt on the unfortunate pegasus, within moments they finished ripping the last of the flesh from the pony, leaving behind a bloodied skeleton. Teams of unicorns pooled their magic to throw up a shield over the town.

The remainder of Chrysalis' brood dropped their disguises, several stalked outside the perimeter of the shield while others battered their twisted limbs into it. Sever armored guardsponies carrying spears, crossbows and javelins hurried up to prepare for the defense of the town. The guard captain gave a quick count, thirty of Chrysalis' changelings in total, but there were probably more concealed. He quickly fetched a piece of parchment, a quill and a pot of ink and hastily wrote up a request for reinforcements.

Bright Wind, who had checking the perimeter of the shield for cracks or breaches pointed a hoof out across the desert and shouted, "Look!" The guard captain and several twisted changelings all stared across the desert, squinting. In the shimmering and dancing air of the hot sands could be seen a bipedal creature, wrapped in dust-stained robes, slowly walking towards the town of Somnambula. Several of the changelings hissed as they flew off towards the figure.

Five of the changelings landed in front of the figure, while four others flitted in the air above it. "Go home upright!", the lead changeling hissed.

The upright turned its cloth-wrapped head looking over the nine changelings, black irises ringed in gold silently studied the nine figures. A cloth-wrapped hand pushed back of the edge of the dust-stained robes, revealing a bronze khopesh, a steel shamshir and an iron jambiya. While resting one hand on the hilt of the shamshir, the upright gestured for the changelings to leave with the other hand.

The lead changeling laughed before launching itself towards the upright. With a flash of steel and a spin of its body, the upright drew the shamshir, cutting the changeling in two. Its feet never stopping moving, the upright twisted and spun into the other four changelings, the sharply curved sword biting deep into each of the twisted creatures, cutting them apart. The remaining four changelings swooped down from the air at the spinning upright, only to have their heads fall cleanly onto the sand. The upright quickly cleaned the sickly green blood from the blade of the sword on a sleeve of the dust-stained robes and charged forward in a crouching run, letting out a trilling cry. The remaining changelings of Chrysalis' brood snarled as they rushed towards the upright.

With several shouts and whoops, the town guard rushed the rear of the twisted changelings. Crossbow bolts and javelins cut down a dozen warped creatures as the first few of the guards clashed with the changelings. The upright spun as the shamshir effortlessly cut through three changelings. The remaining changelings finding they were fighting a loosing battll, took to the air to flee, only to be cut off by the weather team pegasi and crushed underhoof.

Cleaning the last of the changeling's blood off the blade, the upright returned the shamshir to its scabbard and began unwrapping the cloths around his face, revealing dark brown skin, wavy black hair and eyes with black irises ringed with gold. "Thank you.", he said in a heavy accent.

"What is your name good sir?", the guard captain asked smiling.

"Dhahabi Eazm. Could you help me? I need to meet the two sultanesses of your land." He pulled out two small plaques, one gold, one silver, both depicting and alicorn, the first with a stylized sun above it, the second with a stylized moon above it.

"That's Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.", the guard captain said, "There's a caravan leaving for Ponyville tomorrow, you can find your way to Canterlot after that. You must be tired after your long journey, come and rest at my place, I have plenty of food and water."
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Orodes Kurgan scaled the cliffs on the mountain range that separated the southern steppes of his homeland from Equestria, an ancient two-handed sword and spear strapped to his back, the heavy brigantine armor draped across his shoulders. Hand over hand he ascended, fingers digging into each crack, leather-bound toes grasping the rock face, slowly the outcrop above came closer. Gasping for air, he drug his exhausted form onto the outcrop after hours of climbing. He adjusted the pointed fur cap on his head, pulling it lower over his sandy blonde locks and rose to his feet.

Orodes Kurgan took one last look back out across the steppes, the grassy lands rolled on for miles to the horizon. His hazel eyes drew to the lone mountain in the distance, the sacred mountain where his father laid buried, the same mountain his gods lived on, the same mountain the sword he carries was given to him by the blue furred queen of the skies. He held his hands together in a silent prayer and bowed several times. Pulling an ancient map out, he unrolled it and traced out the path through the cave complexes in the mountains. Turning, he began making his way through the cave complex.

Starlight Glimmer entered the outskirts of Our Town accompanied by Trixie, week ago she had been sent a letter by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to await the arrival of an upright, the very same upright she feared seeing. She leaned over to Trixie, "You know that I love you Trixie and I should have said yes to you asking me to marry you all those years ago, but..."

"I understand now as then Starlight.", Trixie interrupted, "You aren't one for marriage. I was originally hurt, but the great and powerful Trixie understands that you aren't into marriage."

Starlight sighed as she rolled her eyes. "That's not why I said no Trixie." She showed the letter to Trixie. "After Twilight and her friends had revealed me as the fraud I was, I fled to the steppes on the far side of these mountains." She swallowed, feeling like there was a rock lodged in her throat. "There was a tribe of uprights that live on the steppes called the Kurgans who found me nearly dead from thirst and they took me in. You have to understand that I was stupid and angry and was wanting to hurt anything." She took in a shaky breath. "Once I was strong enough, they took me to their sacred mountain, that's when I found out that there were more alicorns than just the princesses. In my anger, I stupidly lashed out and killed the chieftain of the Kurgans and several of their tribe."

Trixie gasped. "Don't tell me a Kurgan is coming here?", she said, her voice full of concern.

Starlight hung her head. "Yes. If it's who I think it is, then he is coming here and he'll probably want to take my head. Rightfully so." A tear ran down her cheek. "He was just a young thing, but I still remember the anger and rage in his eyes over my killing of his father. So of course I ran. All the way back to Equestria, blaming Twilight the whole time like an idiot. Now it seems that the last of my sins have come back to bite me in the flank."

"Well if this Kurgan tries to do anything to you, the great and powerful Trixie will stop him!"

No Trixie.", Starlight said, "If he comes to take my head, I want you to do nothing. If you got hurt, I could never forgive myself."

Trixie sputtered, "But..but...mmmph!"

Starlight cut Trixie off with a kiss. "Just know that I love you and I always will."

Starlight and Trixie walked on in silence. "What is this?", Starlight asked checking out a hoofprint with a layer of frost covering it. She looked in the direction the hoofprint lead off in, "This isn't good." She and Trixie hurried towards Our Town.

Orodes continued on for days through the caves, stopping only to rest and refill his water skins at the places where clean water dripped down through cracks in ceiling. Reaching the mouth of the final cave, he looked over the map and began looking for the ancient natural stone bridge. Finding it, he noted that it had collapsed, running his fingers along the cracks, he found spots where the stone had been scored by magic. Holding his hand over his eyes, he looked out across the gap and saw small curls of smoke and the peaks of a few roofs. Rechecking the map, he ran his finger along the valley that sat on the edge of the badlands.

"Hello there!", a voice above drawing Orodes' attention. Looking up he saw a stallion on skis with a light gray-coated filly on his back. "The name's Double Diamond and this is my daughter Fresh Powder. Are you you an upright like lord Irontoothson?" Double Diamond looked at the collapsed bridge, "Sorry about that, we had to take up the planks ever since Starlight found some strange tracks."

Orodes tilted his head. "Starlight? Is she a light purple horned pony?"

Double Diamond chuckled. "Sounds like you already know her." He nudged the filly on his back. "Fresh Powder, go get you mother and tell her we've got a visitor."

"Aww! But I'm all warm and snuggly."

"Yes you are, but unless our new friend here has a plank hidden him, he's not going to be able to cross the gap."

Fresh Powder hopped off Double Diamond's back and fluttered her little wings, flying off. "You'll love Night Glider.", Double Diamond said, "She makes the best hot cocoa."

After several minutes Fresh Powder returned with Night Glider. "Is this our guest Double?"

"Yes it is sweetie, could you help him across the gap?"

Night Glider flapped across the broken bridge and extended a dark gray leg, "Hold on tight." After Orodes had grabbed on, she began flapping back.

Double Diamond slid down to the bottom of the slope and kicked off his skis. "I didn't get your name friend."

"Hello Orodes Kurgan.", Starlight said walking up, "You're looking well. You've grown up."

Orodes narrowed his eyes. "Starlight. Though you look less insane with rage than the last time I saw you."

Starlight lowered her head and slid over a boulder with her magic. Laying down, she laid her head on the boulder and said sadly, "I cannot undo what I have done to you, your tribe or your father. All I can do to make it right is offer you my penance and my head. All I ask is that if Trixie lashes out at you in anger, please don't hurt her."

Double Diamond and Night Glider looked at Orodes, then back to Starlight. "What's going on here?", Double asked.

Starlight said remorsefully, "After I fled here all those years ago, I wound up on the steppes where the Kurgan tribe took me in. In my stupidity and selfish anger, I lashed out and killed his father. My final sins have come back to me and now I await his people's justice." She closed her eyes and braced for the cold bite of steel.

Orodes walked over and knelt by Starlight, laying his hand on the side of her head. "Why would I kill you? The horned pony who slew my father appears to have died long ago. Rise, there is no vengeance that does not breed vengeance."

Starlight looked up at Orodes, tears in her eyes. "That Starlight may be dead, but her ghost still hurts me."

Orodes pulled Starlight up from the ground and held her tight to him in an embrace as she cried onto his shoulder. "When I find the ghost that harms you, I will banish it. Though my anger still burns, I forgive you."

"Thank you.", Starlight sobbed.

A shout of alarm from Our Town drew all of their attention, Orodes rose to his feet and ran to the village. A frozen body of a long dead pony shambled slowly down the center of town, frost spread across the ground from its hooves. Trixie and three other ponies stood their ground, legs shaking.

"St-stay back monster or the great and powerful Trixie will have to deal with you herself!", Trixie shouted trying to mask her fear as she held a smoke bomb in one hoof. "Get ready everypony!", she shouted only to notice that she was by herself. She threw the smoke bomb down down on the ground, when the smoke quickly cleared it revealed Trixie galloping towards an alley.

Orodes rushed forward pulling the spear off his back. Thrusting the spear downwards, it pierced the body of the undead pony with a loud crack. He let the haft of the spear go as frost spread up it. The frozen undead creature pushed forward, pulling the spear spear still lodged in its body from the ground. Orodes pulled the two-handed sword from his back and swung it into the neck of the frozen creature, loping the head off. Swinging the sword around again, he lopped its legs off, then split its body in twain. Planting the point of the sword from the ground, he pulled the spear from the remains of the undead creature. "Bring oil and fire!", Orodes shouted, "Quickly! Before it pulls itself back together!"

Several ponies brought out vials of lamp oil and a torch. Orodes poured the oil on the frozen remains and stuck the torch to it. As the flames licked across the frozen dismembered corpse, a bluish-white specter leapt up from the flames, howling as a brief wave of cold spread across the town. It circled a few times above the town before flying off towards the horizon as fast as it could.

"What was that and why did a windigo fly up from the flames?!", Starlight shouted as she ran up.

"We don't have a word for it, but when we encounter any of them we destroy them as fast as possible before they can consume any life.", Orodes said as he put his weapons away, "If these things are here, then that means a necromancer is in the land. I must get to your queens of the sky and warn them. Maybe they can get a Rimewalker to help slay them."

"You mean Harald Irontoothson?", Starlight asked.

Orodes turned in surprise. "A Rimewalker is in your lands?"