The gentle clop of galloping hooves in the rain echoed through Wilmingallop, as a tan unicorn raced with bated breath through the night. He entered a building, drying off his wet fur and hanging up his coat. His horn glittered as it levitated an object with a soft hum. Candles flew off of his shelf and a piece of chalk was used to draw a rune on the floor and a rune on his back. He put everything in place. He had just gotten his cutie mark, and he knew that this is what he was meant to do with it. He whispered with a tear and guilty hesitation, “I’m so sorry Waterfall.”
A splitting scream could be heard, and a flash of light came with it.
“Onyx?” A faint voice spoke. “Onyx! Wake up!”
Imperial Onyx woke with a start, looking at Lucky Break who had woke him up.
“Are you alright?! I heard you scream and I got worried. From the looks of it, just a bad nightmare...” Lucky Break spoke, flying above Onyx. “What was it about?”
“Oh, nothing, haha...Just about my cutie mark.” Onyx stepped out of bed, putting on his crown and necklace. Seeing the onyx embedded inside of them made him wince, but at least while it was on him he didn’t have to look at it. “It’s nothing to worry about. But, shouldn’t you be helping with the weather?”
“That job is so boring. You know I’d rather relax at home. Besides, I need to save up my energy for the annual Young Flier’s Competition. I got a good feeling about this year.”
“You have a good feeling about every year. Yet you’ve never won.” Onyx rolled his eyes at the pegasus. “Because you never practice!”
“I do practice! Just...not around you.” Lucky blushed. “Look, I promise I’ll do well this year. Would you consider coming to see me? You stopped after the 3rd year!”
“Fine, fine. I’ll think about it. In the meantime, I need to talk to Pierce Wordsmith about his next novel. He hired me to illustrate.” Onyx put on his hoof rings and opened the door. “You’d better get practicing, Lucky!”
Lucky rolled his eyes and flew out of the door, Onyx gently flying to Pierce’s studio. It was a small apartment, the only one in Wilmingallop he could afford. Onyx had offered to help out but Pierce refused stubbornly, stating that he needed to “find his own path” whatever that meant. Onyx knocked on the door a couple of times, but no answer. He shouted for Pierce and the door opened, almost hitting Onyx.
“I’m very sorry Onyx, I thought you were...Ugh...Jestric Acid. He just won’t leave me alone. Do you have those illustrations I commissioned?”
“I told you, Pierce, you don’t need to commission me. You’re my friend! I can do it for free.”
“Nonsense. I should have to pay like every pony else. Come in, now, and show me those drawings.”
Onyx sighed and walked in, sitting down on the couch which had barely enough space to sit due to the stacked papers and binders covering it. Onyx levitated over the drawings and Pierce took a look.
“These will do just fine, except that the protagonist is supposed to have a hazelnut mane, not chestnut.” Onyx snorted at Pierce and he quickly took back his comment. “N-Nevermind! It’s perfect.” Pierce grinned and stacked the papers on his desk. “Now I’d love to chat with you but I’m rather busy with my writing.” He started nudging Onyx towards the door.
“Wait, Pierce!” Onyx shouted.
“What could be so important that it can’t wait until later when I’m done with this story, perhaps?” Pierce cocked an eyebrow.
“....Nothing.” Onyx turned away as Pierce shut the door behind him.
As Onyx stepped back into the street, he heard the familiar flapping of a pegasus, and it wasn’t Lucky Break.
“Onyx! I’m glad to see you! I’ve been looking for Pierce all DAY, but he doesn’t seem to be home or anywhere in Wilmingallop! Have you seen him?” Jestric Acid got a little to close to Onyx for comfort. “I want to show him my new leggings.” Jestric turned around and showed Onyx his pair of rainbow sparkling leggings. “Like ‘em? I got them from that vintage boutique in Canterlot on sale! I just had to buy them. I’m usually not into fashion but these were perfect.” He laughed. “What’s wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost or something.”
“I’m fine. Pierce...Uh...Isn’t home right now! He’s probably just out of town to get inspiration for his work.” Onyx smiled nervously.
“Then why were you in his house?” Jestric had a very worried expression. “That’s illegal.”
“To, uh, deliver something! He wanted me to draw something for him so I just set it down in his house. I guess he left it unlocked!”
“Uh-oh! That’s dangerous. Didja lock it on your way out?”
Onyx quickly locked it using his magic.
“Yup! Just on my way back home now.” Onyx started trotting away before being interrupted.
“Actually, I’ve been looking for you too! Epee Nacree needs help with battle practice. He’s been more obsessed with sword fighting than usual and wants to learn how to fight “magical threats.” Sounds like fun but I’m not magic, so I thought you should go!” Jestric Acid motioned to his lack of a horn.
“Oh! That does sound like fun. Where is he?” Onyx looked around the town square.
“He’s in the fields outside of town. In the meantime, I have to go talk to Malware about my computer.”
“Got it. Cya later!”
Epee Nacrée thrust his sword against the wood of a nearby apple tree, cutting clean through it. He was having trouble pulling it out when Onyx flew along and pulled it out for him, gently levitating it into his hooves.
“Hey, Onyx. Glad to see you along. I was hoping for some...” Epee Nacrée dropped the training sword and unsheathed his specially blacksmithed rapier, “real training!”
Epee Nacrée lunged at Onyx, being countered by a crystal shield spell. Onyx grinned, shooting a laser beam at his horn at Epee, being reflected by Epee’s blade and back at him. Onyx dodged out of the way.
“Woah! Nice moves.” Onyx projected to Epee Nacrée, who by now was quite a distance away, landing on the ground.
“I’m just getting started.” Epee started charging toward Onyx, catching him off guard and thrust his rapier at Onyx. But unlike the tree, Onyx was prepared.
Onyx froze Epee in place using his levitation magic and threw him into the air. He then shot an energy beam at Epee. Epee twisted midair and barely dodged it, grabbing his sword in his mouth and landing on his hooves. Epee carefully glared at Onyx. Onyx smugly gazed back. Finding a good opening, Epee started running toward Onyx but as soon as he got close Onyx shot another laser. Epee veered right and dodged, throwing his body against Onyx’s and knocking Onyx over. Epee stood over Onyx, sword pointed right at his neck.
“Alright, Epee, you got me.” Onyx rolled his eyes. “But you know I went easy on you.”
“I realized as soon as you used a spell as simple as levitation on me. You could do better. Like an actual freeze ray.” Epee sheathed his sword and stuffed his training sword into his saddlebag, putting it on his back.
“Are you crazy!? I don’t want to kill you!” Onyx worriedly yelled.
“You could always reverse it. You’re magic.” Epee showed a bit of resentment in his last statement. “And an alicorn no less.”
“I know but...I don’t want to even slightly risk hurting one of my closest friends. No. Besides, why are you training so hard these days anyway? It seems like you’ve been training nonstop for the last couple of weeks.”
“Well...It’s confidential royal business. We don’t want everypony panicking.” Epee Nacrée stated firmly.
“I’m an alicorn. Of course I’m royal. Even if those princesses don’t respect me very much.” Imperial Onyx proudly showed off his wings.
“You’re not a real alicorn though. You got your wings and alicorn powers through dishonest means. And I know that you’ve changed since then and you’re in a much better place, but that doesn’t change the fact that it didn’t happen naturally.”
“I guess...” Onyx frowned, pointing his ears down and letting his tail go limp.
“But since you’re my friend I supposed I can tell you. As long as you don’t tell anypony, got it?” Epee stood over Onyx, at least, more than usual, being such a tall stallion.
“Jeez, I got it.”
“There’s a creature that has been in the Dragonlands, and reports say that it has been tricking dragons out of their money and that every bit it eats makes it stronger. Celestia thinks we’re due for an invasion. That thing can convince any dragon to do what it wants with a promise of wealth, whether it delivers or not, and dragons are not ones to mess with.”
“A creature that steals wealth...? That sounds familiar. Too familiar.” Onyx winces.
“Do you think it could be the creature that...you know...” Epee hushed his voice.
“Maybe. What is it called?”
“Well we don’t know for sure, but ponies here are calling it a Mammon.”
“Hmm...Sounds like something Pierce would know. He has been into magic for a long while.”
“Pshh, Pierce? I’m forced to hear about it all day from the princesses, but him? All he does is sit at home writing outrageous fiction. And he’s an earth pony too! What does he know about magic?” Epee fixed his mane into a bowl cut, giggling.
“Well, he has a lot of books, and I’m sure he’d have one on magical creatures.”
“If you’re so sure then you’d better go. I have to head to Canterlot for an emergency royal meeting anyways. I doubt they’ll care if you don’t show up. Sorry.” Epee started heading north.
“What? A royal meeting? Ugh, they never invite me! I’ll be a little late, but let them know I’ll be there for sure.” Onyx took off, as Epee sighed.
Onyx knocked on the door of Pierce’s studio once again, shouting for him. “Pierce! Pierce!! Open this door right now or Celestia help me I will--”
The door slammed open.
“Fine! What do you want?” Pierce growled, baring his teeth at Onyx. “I’m on a tight schedule.”
“I am too, idiot. Do you have any books about magical creatures? It’s kind of important. I need to get to the royal meeting and fast. Specifically, anything about a creature called a Mammon.”
“I’m sure I have some-- Just my apartment is kind of a mess. I have a shelf with some books on magic in my bedroom if you want.” Pierce offered, and Onyx quickly rushed in, trotting into Pierce’s chaotically disorganized room and paging through the books in his shelf.
“This one looks about right, I think.” Onyx opened a book called A Traveler’s Compendium to Ancient and Modern Magical Entities. He looked at the table of contents, flipping to the “M” category and finding the Mammon.
The Mammon was an ancient being, a shapeshifter who mostly took the form of a creature with a buzzard's head and torso, having the legs of a goat like a Satyr. It was said to be able to take any form that would help it gather more wealth, and so beautiful mares were a common choice. The Mammon will stop at nothing to take the wealth of every creature in Equestria, and it is currently unknown how it was defeated. Some suspect Starswirl the Bearded to be the stallion who imprisoned it in Tarturus by using its own tricks against it, but that is only speculation.
"Oh no. This is bad. Really bad. I'm sorry Pierce, I need to borrow this." Onyx took the book as he galloped out. "Oh, and this!" He levitated Pierce's saddlebag with him.
"Hey!" Pierce yelled, attempting to run after Onyx but after a couple steps giving up and sighing, returning to his desk begrudgingly to write.