Prologue: Shade Of Fear

Disclaimer, I do not own the Inheritance cycle, or My Little Pony, they belong to Christopher paolini and Hasbro

Wind howled through the night, carrying a scent that would change the world. A tall, lean Thestral-like creature lifted his muzzle and sniffed the air. He looked like a normal pegasus except for his bat-like wings and horn.

He blinked in surprise. The message had been correct: they were here. Or was it a trap, He wouldn't put it past those accursed Unicorns. He weighed the odds, then said icily, “Spread out, hide behind trees and bushes. Stop whoever is coming… or die.”

Around him shuffled twelve Diamond Dogs with short swords and round iron shields painted with black symbols. They resembled dogs, if dogs were Bipedal and had an unusual obsession for gems. The Diamond Dogs hurried into the brush, grunting as they hid. Soon the rustling Quieted and the forest was silent again. The Thestral peered around a thick tree and looked up the trail. It was too dark for any Pegasi or earth pony to see, but for him the faint moonlight was like sunlight streaming through the trees; every detail was clear and sharp to his searching gaze. He remained unnaturally quiet, al long pale sword floating next to him. A wire thin scratch curved down the blade. The weapon was thin enough to slip between a pair of ribs, yet stout enough to hack through the hardest armor.

The Diamond Dogs could not see as well as the Thestral; they groped around like blind beggars, fumbling with their weapons. An owl screeched, cutting through the silence. No one relaxed until the bird flew past. Then the monsters shivered in the cold night; one snapped a twig with his heavy boot. The Thestral hissed in anger, and the Diamond Dogs shrank back, motionless. He suppressed his distaste-they smelled like a leech field- and turned away. They were tools, nothing more.

The Thestral forced back his impatience as the minutes became hours. The scent must have wafted far ahead of its owners. He did not let the Diamond Dogs get up and warm themselves. He denied himself those luxuries too, and stayed behind the tree, watching the trail. Another gust of wind rushed through the forest. The smell was stronger this time. Excited, he lifted a thin lip in a snarl.

“Get ready.” He whispered, his whole body vibrating. The tip of his sword moved in small circles. It had taken many plots and much pain to bring himself to this moment. It would not do to lose control now.

Eyes brightened under the Dogs Thick brow, and the creatures gripped their weapons tighter. Ahead of them, the Thestral heard a clink as something hard struck a loose stone. Faint smudges emerged from the darkness and advanced down the trail.

Three ponies advanced down the trail, one was white, one was blue, and one was a brilliant lavender. The pony in front had a blue mane, with a strip of a lighter blue running through the middle. His cutie mark was a Starburst with a shield behind it, with three stars on top of that shield. The pony in the back had a light blue mane, with a strip of very light blue running through the middle. Her cutie mark was a crescent moon with a wand with a star on top of it. She carried herself with a air of arrogance, as if she was better than any and everypony. The one in the middle, however, that was his target. Her mane was a dark purple, with a strip of pink running through it. Her cutie mark was a six sided starburst. She had saddlebags with a suspicious lump in them, and she kept looking at it, as if to reassure herself that it was still there.

One of the Unicorns spoke quietly, but the Thestral could not hear what was said. The mare answered, and her guards switched places. The blue mare took the lead, her horn glowing, ready to attack anything that would show its faces. They passed the Thestrals' hiding place and the first few Diamond Dogs without suspicion.

The Thestral was already savoring his victory when the wind changed direction and swept towards the Unicorns. They snorted with alarm and wheeled around and galloped away.

The mare surged forwards, leaving her guards far behind.

“Twilly!!” The white stallion yelled. Forsaking their hiding, the Diamond Dogs stood and released a stream of grey arrows. The Thestral jumped out from behind the tree, yelling,

“Garjzla!” A bolt of red flashed from his horn towards the lavender mare, illuminating the trees with a bloody light. It missed her by inches.

The Diamond Dogs’s deadly arrows quickly brought down the other two Unicorns, their blood pooling in the dirt. As the Dogs rushed to the slain Unicorns, the Thestral screamed, “After her!! She is the one I want!” The canines grunted and rushed down the trail.

“Shiny!!!” The mare yelled as she saw her dead companions. She took a step towards them, then cursed her enemies and galloped into the forest.

While the Dogs crashed through the tree’s, the Thestral flew up to the top of a piece of granite that jutted above the forest. From his perch he could see all of the surrounding forest. He lit up his horn and uttered, “Boetq istalri!” and a quarter mile section of the forest exploded into flames. Grimly he burned a quarter mile section after another until there was a ring of fire, a half-league across, around the ambush site. The flames looked like a molten crown resting on the forest. Satisfied, he watched the ring carefully, in case it should falter.

The band of fire thickened, contracting the area the Diamond Dogs had to search. Suddenly, the Thestral heard shouts and a course scream. Through the trees he saw three of his charges fall in a pile, mortally wounded. He caught a glimpse of the Unicorn running from the remaining Diamond Dogs.

She fled towards the craggy piece of granite at a tremendous speed. The Thestral examined the ground twenty feet below, then jumped and landed nimbly in front of her. She skidded around and sped back up the trail. Black Diamond Dog blood dripped from her sword, which was floating in her magic aura.

The sharp toothed monsters came out of the forest and hemmed her in, blocking her only escape routes. Her head whipped around as she tried to find a way out. Seeing none, she drew herself up with a brave face. The Thestral approached her, allowing himself to enjoy her helplessness.

“Get her.”

As the Dogs surged forwards, the Unicorn pulled something out of her saddlebags, which fell to the ground. In her aura was a large, royal purple stone that reflected the angry light of the fire. She raised it over her head, lips forming frantic words. Desperate, the Thestral barked, “Garjzla!”

A ball of red flame sprang from his horn and flew towards the Unicorn, fast as an arrow. But he was too late. A flash of purple light briefly illuminated the forest, and the stone vanished. The red light smote her and she collapsed.

The Thestral howled in rage and stalked forwards, flinging his sword at a tree. It passed halfway through the trunk. where it stuck, quivering. He shot nine bolts of energy from his horn, which killed the Dogs instantly, then ripped his sword free and strind to the Unicorn.

Prophecies of revenge, spoken in a wretched language only he knew, rolled from his tongue. He mashed his teeth and glared at the sky. The cold stars stared back, unwinking, other worldly watchers. Disgust curled his lip before he turned back to the unconscious Unicorn.

Her beauty, which would have entranced any mortal pony, held no charm for him. He confirmed that the stone was gone, then lifted the Unicorn, and teleported them away, leaving the forest to burn.

I just wish to confirm that I am using the map of alagaesia, Equestria is now alagaesia, think that if the 3 tribes found a different continent, one full of magic, wonder and Dragons. They named it Alagaesia, and all the towns from Eragon are now the names in my book, I just wanted to let everyone know that

Here is a map in case you wish to see the entirety of alagaesia:

Chapter 1 Discovery

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Disclaimer, I do not own the Inheritance cycle, or My Little Pony, they belong to Christopher paolini and Hasbro

AppleJack knelt in a bed of trampled reed grass and scanned the tracks with a practiced eye. The prints told her that the deer had been in the meadow only a half hour before. Soon they would bed down. They were her targets. The deer needed to stop eating the food from their farm, Sweet Apple Acres. They were facing hard times, everypony was hungry, but that didn't give you the right to steal somepony elses food.

The sky was clear and dark, and a slight breeze stirred the air. A silvery cloud drifted over the mountains that surrounded her, its edges glowing with ruddy light cast from the harvest moon cradled between two peaks. Streams flowed down the mountains from stolid glaciers and glistening snowpacks. A brooding mist crept along the valley floor, almost thick enough to obscure her hooves.

AppleJack was fifteen, less than a year away from marehood. Her emerald green eyes glinted in the semi-darkness. A hunting knife was strapped to her right fore-hoof, she used it for hunting, but not in the sense you would think. she was an earth pony, she was a vegetarian. She used it to skin creatures she killed and sold the hides. A gruesome job, but it helped the farm survive. A buckskin tube protected her yew bow from the mist. She carried a wood frame pack.

The deer had led her deep into the Spine, a range of untamed mountains that extended up and down the land of Alagaesia. Strange tales and ponies often came from those mountains, usually boding ill. Despite that, AppleJack did not fear The Spine, she was the only hunter near Carvahall who dared track game deep into its craggy recesses.

It was the third day of the hunt, and her food was half gone. If she did not fell some of the deer, she would be forced to return home empty handed. Her family needed the money that AppleJack generated from her hunting activities, for, without that money, they could not afford to buy the things they needed to survive the winter.

AppleJack stood with quiet assurance in the dusky moonlight, then strode into the forest towards a glen where she was sure the deer would rest. The trees blocked the sky from view and cast feathery shadows on the ground. She looked at the tracks only occasionally; she knew the way.

At the glen, AppleJack strung her bow with a sure touch, then drew three arrows and nocked one, holding the other two in her other hoof. The moonlight revealed twenty or so motionless lumps where the deer lay in the grass.

AppleJack slowly crept closer, keeping the bow ready. All her work of the past three days had led to this moment. She took a last steadying breath and-an explosion shattered the night.

The herd bolted. AppleJack lunged forwards, racing through the grass as a fiery wind surged past her cheek. She slid to a stop and loosed an arrow at one of the bounding deer. It missed by an inch and hissed into the darkness. She cursed and spun around, instinctively nocking another arrow.

Behind her, where the deer had been, smoldered a large circle of grass and trees. Many of the pines were bare of their needles. The grass outside the charring was flattened. A wisp of smoke curled in the air, carrying a burnt smell.

In the center of the blast radius lay a polished purple stone. Mist snaked across the scorched area and swirled insubstantial tendrils over the stone.

AppleJack watched for danger for several long minutes, but the only thing that moved was the mist. Cautiously, she released the tension from her bow and moved forward. Moonlight cast her in pale shadow as she stopped before the stone. She nudged it with an arrow, then jumped back. Nothing happened, so she warily picked it up.

Nature had never polished a stone as smooth as this one. It’s flawless surface was a royal purple, except for thin veins of green that spiderwebbed across it. The stone was cool and frictionless, like hardened silk. Oval and about a foot long, it weighed several pounds, though it felt lighter than it should have.

AppleJack found the stone to be both beautiful and frightening. Where did it come from? Does it have a purpose? Then a more disturbing thought came to her. Was it sent here by accident, or am I meant to have it? If she had learned anything from the old stories, it was to treat magic, and those who used it, with great caution.

But what should I do with the stone? It would be tiresome to carry, and there was a chance it was dangerous. It might be better to leave it. A flicker of indecision ran through her, and she almost dropped it, but something stayed her hoof. At the very least, it might pay for some food, she decided with a shrug, tucking the stone into her pack.

The glen was too exposed to make a safe camp, so she slipped back into the forest and spread her bedspread beneath the roots of an upturned tree. After a cold dinner of bread, cheese, and apples, she wrapped herself in blankets and fell asleep, pondering what had happened.

The Dragon Riders: Book 1

by Thunder Quill

Prologue: Shade Of Fear

Chapter 1 Discovery