And So It Begins
In a land far far away lies the kingdom of Fiore, a small peaceful nation of seventeen-million and a place filled with magic, but you already know this tale and one you've probably heard many times. Well allow me to tell you a new tale, a tale about a land even farther away and filled with even more magic. I'm speaking of course about the magical land of Equestria. A continent that lies far to the north of Fiore, and like Fiore, magic is used in everyday life. From simply making life easier to being used in many forms of work and leisure, but if there's one thing magic is best known for in Equestria, it would have to be the numerous guilds that call the vast land their home. One particular guild stands out above all the rest, a guild whose name has been heard far and wide through the land, not for their success as a guild, not for the powerful mages brought up within the guild, but rather for their fierce determination that no other guild seems to possess, a guild simply known as, Breezy Horn.
Our story begins with a young aspiring mage who goes by the name of Twilight Sparkle, who under the orders of her mentor, has set out to find a town known as Ponyville. She doesn't quite know the reason yet, only that she's to meet someone important there. What she's not aware of is the fact that she is destined great things.
The city of Canterlot. The capitol and one of the largest cities within Equestria. This luxurious city is home to the some of the highest members of society and the single largest population of wizards in a single place. While it was at one time the home to Equestria's royal family, the throne now sits empty, leaving most of the capitol in turmoil. More importantly though, this city is where our story begins.
Just outside of the city's large walls stood two very eager wizards, a sister and a brother. The older of the two being a purple-haired young woman, adorned in a shirt and vest with a personalized skirt reaching just above her knees. Standing next to her was a green haired boy clad in almost all purple, from his shorts to the hooded coat he wore, he was also the young woman's adoptive younger brother.
" Today is finally the day, " The purple-haired girl seemingly spoke to no one in particular as the golden sun's rays beamed down upon her face.
" This young woman is Twilight Sparkle, an extremely talented aspiring mage to be, who's always eager been to learn something new about magic ever since she was just a little girl. Don't let her appearance fool you though she's more than just intelligent, shes quite capable of taking care of herself, however she often finds herself by things of her own interest. "
" The day we go meet the mystery person that Celestia told us would be waiting , " Twilight said. She might've not known who she was supposed to meet, but if her mentor told her to do something then she was more than eager to accept the request.
Her younger brother on the other hand wasn't as eager, what with having been woken up before sunrise. " ...Yeah I'm totally excited too...so excited that I could just pass out from all of it... "
" This young man is Twilight's younger brother who goes by the name Spike. He's quite the bundle of energy, although he detests most forms of transportation. Despite being the younger of the two, he was just as well versed in the art of magic as his sister.
The boy was so tired that he could hardly keep his eyes open, but knew if he didn't he'd never hear the end of it from Twilight. She took notice and began gently rubbing his head while giving a caring smile, " Don't worry Spike, you can get all the sleep you want on the wagon ride there. "
Spike suddenly put his hand over his mouth, " ...Please don't remind me that we'll be going by wagon... "
Sweat dripped down Twilight's forehead, " Oh yeah..that's right you don't like riding in wagons. I'm still not sure as to why you don't though. "
The young wizard shook away the feeling of nausea before adding onto his sister's statement, " ...Wagons, Trains..the occasional horse and buggy...if it's got wheels and moves I don't like it.... "
Twilight gave a slight giggled and pulled her brother into a hug, " Just shut your eyes and get some sleep, by the time you wake up we'll have already reached Ponyville, she spoke reassuringly to him.
Spike let out a small sigh of defeat and leaned his tired head on his sister's arm, " Whatever you say Twilight...say...why do they call it Ponyville anyway? "
That was a question that Twilight herself had asked herself many times, even the numerous books she read yielded few answers. " I'm still not sure Spike, maybe there's an abundance of equine within the town and they simply named the town after it, " although it wasn't the best assumption, at the moment it was all she had to go on.
" That's a dumb reason, " Spike bluntly commented on his sisters guess.
" Hey! " Twilight couldn't believe that Spike called her assumption dumb. " I'd like to see you come up with something better mister opinioniated, " she turned her head slightly and pouted a bit.
Her brother let out an exhausted yawn, " Can't...Too tired, maybe later. "
Twilight rolled her eyes and rubbed her brothers head, when suddenly the wagon that would take them to Ponyville came into view. " There it is, hey Spike it's he- " but when she went to get his attention she quickly noticed that he was sound asleep. Twilight could only sigh as she lifted his unconscious body into her arms, " What am I gonna do with you. "
When the wagon finally pulled up next to them Twilight quickly took notice of the driver's appearance. He was tall man wearing rather normal clothes but what unnerved Twilight the most was the straw hat that concealed his face from view. " Twilight Sparkle? " he only spoke her name, only adding onto the uncomfortable feeling Twilight had developed.
" Uh...Yeah, I'm Twilight, " she hesitantly replied. He didn't say anything else, only motioned with his covered head for her to hop on in.
The driver whipped the reigns of the large boar like creature that was attached to the wagon, causing it to start moving forward. " Pardon for scarin' ya miss, I was told by the woman who hired me to keep mah face covered, " he spoke in a deep, but polite voice, easing Twilight greatly.
She gave a small smile as well as a small nod, " It's alright, I mean it's not every day you get picked up in a wagon by a tall guy wearing a large straw hat. "
" Eeyup, " he simply responded.
Twilight decided that with nothing better to do, she'd just look out the window of the wagon and watch as the landscape passed by them. The still-young mage had spent the majority of her life within the walls of Canterlot and rarely had chances to see much of the outside world. For her to see so much in such a short time was a dream come true for her, " We'll be able to see so much of the world now that we're not confined to Canterlot anymore Spike, " but as she waited for a response she remembered that he was sound asleep. She could only shake her head and sigh while rubbing his head, " I guess it's a good thing you're sleeping, otherwise you'd be getting sick all over the back of the wagon. "
" Your little brother hate cart rides? " the driver asked her.
Twilight nodded, " Yeah, for some reason he get's motion sickness real bad on them. We've seen doctors about it but nothing seems to help him, just sleep. "
The driver gave a light chuckle, " Sounds like this feller I know, "
" Someone you know get's motion sick like my brother? " Twilight curiously asked.
" Eeyup, " he replied with the same simple response.
" You're not a man of many words are you? " Twilight had picked up on the fact by how little he spoke during the drive.
" Eeyup, " it was the same response, perhaps something Twilight should get used to during the ride.
Unbeknownst to the three travelers, three sets of greed filled eyes watched the wagon from atop a nearby rock formation. " Look at that boys, a carriage from the "illustrious" city of Canterlot, " the figure in the middle spoke while looking through a pair of binoculars only to pass them to another shorter figure.
" Boss there's gotta be all sorts of goods and loot in that wagon! " the smaller of the three said with manic enthusiasm.
The larger of the three took the binoculars from the smaller one before soon shaking his head, " Passenger...not loot. "
A big grin crept up on the one in the middles face, " A passenger carriage you say, why think of the ransom we could get for someone from Canterlot. "
The smaller of the began jumping in place, a wild look in his eyes, " Let's do it then!! "
Back in the safety of the carriage, Twilight found herself staring out into the distant horizon as she took in the sights. " It all looks so amazing when it's not in a book, " she thought out loud. However something caught her attention, something that shouldn't be where it was, " ..What in the world..? " She could have sworn she was looking at the moon, but at this time of day such a thing was preposterous.
Waiting in bushes alongside the road, not too far from the oncoming wagon, the three mystery figures readied themselves to make their move. " Alright boys here comes the carriage, remember to go when I go, " the two nodded in agreement before readying themselves.
It wasn't long before the carriage began passing by, to which the leader of the three gave the order, " Now you two!! " the three leapt out with their hands held in identical ways, creating magic circles. " Stone Make: road block!! "
Twilight's focus was completely absorbed by the lunar oddity in the sky, " ..It's so stra- WAH!! "Twilight as well as the driver was completely caught off guard as a literal block of stone shot up from the ground, sending the carriage into the air and crashing into the ground.
The suddenness of the impact had left the young woman unconscious and incapable of defending herself. The three assailants hastily rushed towards the tipped wagon and opened it, quickly spotting the unconscious Twilight. " We hit the jackpot boys, this little damsel has got to be worth something! "
The larger of the three lifted the unconscious girl from the wagon and threw her over his shoulder, whilst the smallest shook fearfully, " Let's hurry boss she wasn't alone in there! " They all three agreed before comically rushing off, leaving a trail of dust behind them.
Right after the trio took off a small groan came from within the cabin of the carriage followed by the smaller of the two travelers popping his head out of the wagon. Spike looked around with a rather confused expression, " What the heck happened...? Hey wait a second..the wagon stopped.. " A large grin formed on the green haired boy face as he jumped out of the carriage, " I'm free!!! Twilight I'm free!! " However when he didn't get a response he knew something was wrong, " Tw-Twilight??? " Nothing but panic ran through his mind when he saw she was absent, " OH NO TWILIGHT'S MISSING!!! " He grabbed his head and began frantically running back and forth.
Another groan came from the wrecked wagon, this time it belonged to the driver. Spike saw the hat-wearing man struggling to pull himself up and quickly rushed to him, " Hey guy are you OK?? " the young mage said as he pulled the grown man from the flipped mode of transportation.
" E-eeyup.. " The man said as he pulled himself up with the help of the boy. The driver took notice of how quickly the boy had recovered despite how sickly he had appeared during the carriage ride, " You really do remind of this feller I know. "
Before Spike could respond he quickly noticed he was lacking the bag he had with him the whole time, " Oh man! He's never gonna forgive me for this!! " Spike hastily jumped back into the carriage before picking up his bag. He wiped his forehead and let out a sigh of relief, " That was close...he's still asleep. "
However a sudden rustling within the bag, instilling the boy with sudden panic. And without warning a white cat with a big black spot over the right half of it's face popped out of the bag with an angry expression on his face. " What's the big idea!!!! " it shouted.
" This little ball of joy is Spike's best friend Rex, a talking cat with a bit of an attitude. Having been found by the boy at such a young age the two have been inseparable ever since, however this doesn't stop them fighting from time to time. "
Sweat ran down the boys head as he bowed apologetically to the cat sitting in his bag, " I'm so sorry Rex don't be mad! It was an accident! "
The cat pulled himself out of the bag and looked at the boy, still looking rather angry, " How can I not be mad when you're tossing me around like luggage!! "
" ...Well you do ride around in my bag like luggage... " Spike mumbled.
" I heard that!! " Rex shouted
Spike furiously shook his head, " We don't have time for this Rex, Twilight's missing! "
" Well why didn't you say so in the first place grass head! " the cat said with an intended insult.
Shaking off the insult, Spike started heading off in no particular direction, " Let's hurry then! "
Rex climbed up onto his friends shoulder, still slightly irritated over being treated like carry-on earlier. " Do you even know which way to go? "
Spike froze in his tracks, nearly falling onto his face, " ....maybe..? "
" Then try using your nose and while you're at it, your brain! " the cat shook the young mage's head comically before the two took off in another direction.
The driver couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the two set off, " Eeyup, just like those two back home. "
Nearby Inside of a Not-So-Inconspicuous Cave
The sound of bickering could be heard throughout the poorly hidden cave, each of voices reverberating against the walls of the cave until finally reaching the ears of Twilight Sparkle. Twilight sat up while rubbing her head, the sound of the argument wasn't doing anything for the splitting headache from the carriage crash. "What's with all the noise... " her eyes scanned the surroundings, she quickly took notice of the stone cage she was in before searching for the source of the bothersome noises.
It wasn't long before she found the culprits, a group of three bickering bandits. She couldn't help but watch in slight amusement as the three argued like a couple of children, " I told you we ransom her for a hundred thousand! " the one in charge exclaimed.
The taller of the three criminals shook his head with a grunt, " ...Too much, not worth it. "
" What do you mean not worth it! She's obviously worth something! she had her own carriage!! " the leader stomped his foot as he continued to get angry.
" ...Not worth that much. Half at most, " the larger crook explained with few words.
Twilight could only tilt her head in confusion, she understood the situation she was in, but hadn't felt as if she were in any danger. " Um, excuse me? Are you two going to just stand there and argue or are you going to let me go? " she asked.
The head bandit turned towards the sound of her voice, his eyes widened by surprise, " Sh-she's awake! " he quickly began glaring at his smaller companion, " You idiot! I told you to keep an eye on her! "
" S-sorry boss..I was too caught up watching you guys fight... " he shamefully admitted.
" You three don't get along very well do you? " Twilight asked in a confused tone.
This caught the three off guard, " O-of course we get along! We'd have to in order to keep our reputation, " said their leader.
" Reputation? " Twilight repeated, even more confused than before.
" Yes our reputation as the greatest bandits around! " they quickly stood side by side before doing ridiculous poses, " Because we are!! "
" The Diamond Dog Bandits!!! " they shouted in unison.
Sweat dropped from Twilight's forehead as she watched the three, " Who are these clowns? " " Sorry, but I've honestly never heard of you before, " she admitted honestly.
The three fell face forwards upon hearing that their own captive had no idea who they were, " How could you have never heard of us! We're the most infamous bandits in this valley! "
" Well, " Twilight began to reply, " It's not exactly a big area, and you three are the only other people I've seen here. "
Her response caused the three to freeze up, " ...My pride...It's been ruined... " The leader profusely cried comical tears as he laid out flat on the cave floor.
" Um...sorry about that, " Twilight gave an apologetic smile as she spoke, " But could one of you three let me out now, I need to get back to my brother. "
The leader of the diamond dogs shot back up, he was tired of listening to her mouth, " That's enough! No we will not let you go, you are our hostage! Isn't it obvious by the cage you're in?! "
" You mean this? It's just a crummy cage made out of rocks, " she ran her finger across one of the bars, letting small bits of dust and rock fall as she did.
" C-c-crummy!!! " the three exclaimed in unison.
" ....But we made it with our own magic... " the smallest sulked at the girl's comment.
The condition of the cage got Twilight thinking, " You know you probably don't have to let me out after all, " her statement got a sigh of relief from her captors, only she wasn't finished speaking. " Because with such a shabbily made cage I could probably break out on my own with ease. "
The leader began snickering, " You? Break out!? Hahahahah! " his snickering turned into full on laughter, to which his companions joined in on. " We'd love to see you try, cause the only way you could even dream of getting out of our "crummy" cage would be if you were a wizard. "
" Yeah and we bet that you weren't one! " the smaller of the three added on.
Twilight could only smile, " I wonder, have you boys ever heard of a star mage before? " she asked innocently.
" A star mage??? " they repeated all at once.
The leader looked at the other two then back towards their captive, " What the heck is a star mage? "
Twilight's smile turned into a small grin as she held her hand forward, " I'm a star mage. " " Constellation Summon: Bow of the Hunter, Orion! " a magic circle formed before her hand, pulling light towards it and creating a shining bow made of magic energy.
" ...B...b..boss....Sh-she is a wizard!! " the smallest criminal panicked.
This time Twilight held out her other hand creating a second magic circle, bringing forth the same light that made the bow, this time making a shining arrow, " Here's a little demonstration boys, " she smiled before pulling the arrow back in the bow, " Shooting star arrow!! " she released the bow's golden string and released an arrow of magical light, one that tore right through the cage and went flying right towards her would-be captors.
" Boss what do we do!! " the two bandit's were panicking as the arrow shot towards them.
But before their leader could give an order the arrow shot by them, seemingly doing nothing at first, " Hah! you misse- " the bandit was cut off as a line of magical energy shot up past them, creating a small explosion and sending the crooks sky high.
Twilight blinked a few times before realizing just what she did, " O-oops...I think I put a little too much into that, " she sheepishly grinned as sweat dropped from her forehead.
" Twilight I'm coming to save you! " she heard from a familiar outside of the cave.
" Spike? " she stepped out of the remains of her prison and walked towards the mouth of the cave.
When suddenly her little brother jumped into view, his fists coated in a bright green magic, " Don't worry Twilight your little brother is here to....rescue....you...? " he stopped himself right as he was finishing his "heroic" entrance, only to finish by pointing at his already free sister.
She pulled him into an apologetic hug, " I'm sorry for worrying you Spike, I would've been out sooner but those three just wouldn't stop acting like little kids, " she let out a giggle before walking out of the cave.
Rex simply walked up to his wizard partner. Great annoyance could be seen within his glare, " I thought you said she was in trouble grass head! "
" I never said she was in trouble I said she was missing! Clean out your ears you overgrown hairball! " Spike retorted.
" Hey you two quit fighting and hurry up before the wagon driver get's impatient and leaves without us! " Twilight called out as she walked off without them.
The duo's eyes widened, " Wait for us!! " they cried out in unison.
However the driver would do no such thing. Using the spare time he was given by the young mage who went to search for his sister, he had managed to fix the wagon up, at least to the condition so they could reach their destination. He smiled when he saw the three enter his eye view, " Hurry along now ya'll three, the town ain't much farther. "
" Wait Twilight! I changed my mind I'll walk! " Spike suddenly announced before trying to run off past the wagon, only to be grabbed by the back of his coat and dragged towards the wagon, " Twilight please!! "
" Ya'll ready? " the driver asked.
Two of the three nodded and climbed back into the wagon, much to Spike's dismay, and they were off again, this time without interruption. Once they passed into the town Twilight caught a glimpse of a sign with the words " Welcome to Ponyville " written in big letters, " Ponyville? why's it called that? " she asked the driver while rubbing her unconscious brother's head.
" We don't really know, just sorta got that name, " the driver replied.
A smile came to Twilight's face, " Ponyville, " she repeated, " I like it. "
The wagon soon stopped once they had reached the center of the town. Twilight picked Spike up and the bag that Rex was resting in and stepped out of the wagon, and standing before her was a large building built out of a massive old tree. Atop the building sat a large decorative sign with the name " Breezy Horn " printed onto it. But before she could say anything, her eyes landed upon the last person she had expected to see, her teacher who was looking at her with a loving smile. " Celestia! " Twilight gleefully called out and ran towards her.
The multi-colored-haired woman covered her mouth and let out a slight giggle, " That's Master Celestia now Twilight, Welcome to Breezy Horn. Your new guildhall. "
Elsewhere in a Dark Corner of Equestria
While Equestria might be home to many legal wizard guilds who help those that request them, there exists another type of guild, dark guilds. Dark guilds are those that exist outside the rules of the Equestrian wizards council and openly take jobs that would be otherwise banned or simply not allowed within an official guildhall. These jobs can be as simple as theft to something as heinous as an assassination, but those who attend these dark guilds care not for the consequences of their work, so long as they get paid in the end.
Of of these illegal guilds is one known as Crow's Murder, while not as infamous as other it still has gained a slight reputation within the local towns surrounding it.
Outside of the seemingly run down and decrepit guildhall stood a tall cloaked man with a much smaller figure floating above his head. " ...So, this is the rat hole, " the man said in an unamused tone of voice.
" Seem's like it, " a smaller voice replied.
As the cloaked figure made his way to step foot into the hall, one of it's members stepped out, obviously drunk as shown by the mug in his hand and deep redness in his cheeks. " H-hey pal...this is Crow's Murder's territory..."hic" unless your looking to get your ass handed to you..you better take a hike. " The man didn't move, only stared at the drunkard, " Oh I get it.."hic" you're wantin to join us...Well too bad!...We aren't accepting anyone...especially not some freak... "
The cloaked man gave a toothy grin as he began walking forward , " Then I guess it's a good thing I didn't come here to join your sorry excuse for a guild. "