Chapter 5: Calm… Sort Of
Thanks to Twilight's warning, nopony was left unconscious by Trevor's entrance. That's not to say, however, that nopony freaked out.
Trevor could sense a tinge of amusement from his mind companion as each pony handled his entrance in their own way.
The blue pegasus, Rainbow Dash was it, had shot straight for the ceiling screaming and ended up clinging like a cat there, despite the fact that the pony had no claws.
Trevor could tell that the white one, Rarity, was using every ounce of her will not to scream as she stared at him wide-eyed.
The tan earth pony with the hat, Applejack, was now taking what seemed to Trevor like a fighting stance; head and front lowered, hind quarters raised. She looked determined; scared, but determined. Trevor's mind companion seemed impressed by this act of defiant courage, though there wasn't really anything to defy just yet.
The pink one, however, did something that Trevor never expected. After staring at him for a few seconds, as Trevor thought they all would, the hyperactive pony had suddenly bounded straight towards him. With a cry of surprise, Trevor found himself laid out on his back with the pony, Pinkie Pie if he remembered correctly, standing on his chest. When he looked up, all he saw was the large, sky blue eyes of the pink pony, full of wonder.
"Wow, you look really-ealy cool. Are you an alien? I hope you're an alien and not a monster; aliens are sooooooo much cooler than monsters. I wish I had known you were coming so I could have given you a super-duper alien party. There would have been UFO balloons, and stuffed little-green-ponies, and- Oh! Can I call you Mr. Alien?"
Somewhere very far away a young man by the name of Hibiki sneezed.
All the other ponies, including Twilight and Fluttershy, were holding their breaths from the moment Pinkie Pie had tackled the Traveler, fearing that the larger being would tear their dear friend apart in a fit of rage.
However, the opposite happened.
Trevor laughed.
"Well, aren't you the energetic one?" Trevor said as he playfully ruffled the pink pony's poofy mane.
"Yep, that's me. My name's Pinkie Pie." By now, everypony else had released their breaths with sighs of relief. Rainbow Dash even got the courage to leave her perch on the ceiling and glide back down to sit with the rest of her friends.
"I'm sure you will have a better time looking me over if you could let me get up," Trevor said, his smile never leaving his face.
"Oops! Heehee, sorry, silly me," Pinkie Pie said with a giggle as she stepped (hopped?) down from the Traveler's chest. Trevor in turn brought himself back to his feet, reminding the guests of just how much taller he was than them.
Twilight took it upon herself to introduce the rest of her friends to the Traveler.
Twilight cleared her throat to gain everybody's attention before saying, "Trevor, I would like you to meet Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and you just met Pinkie Pie."
Trevor already knew their names thanks to his mind scan of Fluttershy, but he knew it would be rude to interrupt the purple unicorn.
"It is a pleasure to meet all of you," Trevor responded in turn. He then focused his attention towards the tan earth pony with the Stetson hat.
"I am told you are the pony responsible for growing this town's main food source," Trevor said, more in an inquiry tone than a statement. He held up the apple he still had in his hand for an example.
"Uh, well, ah wouldn' say it's tha town's main food source, but ah do tend to tha apple grove, if that's what ya'll mean," replied Applejack, a little nervous talking to the stranger.
"It is, and I would like to say you do an excellent job. These are by far the best apples I have ever had the pleasure of eating."
Applejack was taken aback by the compliment, not quite sure how she should feel about this situation.
"Uh, thank you kindly."
During Trevor's engagement with Applejack, Rarity went over to Twilight after she saw something that was a little out of place, besides the Traveler himself.
"Twilight, darling, why is Spike's bed on the bottom floor? Didn't he always sleep with you in your room?"
"Oh, that," Twilight replied, "it was in my room, but… how should I say this… a serious accident almost happened."
"Serious accident? Whatever do you mean?"
Twilight could see Rainbow Dash talking (more like gloating) to Trevor about how it was the pegasi's job to keep the weather in control, which had the Traveler quite interested. Twilight, however, brought her attention back to Rarity in order to answer her question.
"Well, you see, when Spike first saw Trevor, he didn't take it as well as you did."
"Well I can fully understand that he would be terrified, but what did he do?"
"…He feinted."
"Well I am certain that couldn't cause too-"
"At that very spot," Twilight pointed her hoof at the edge of the upper level of the library.
Rarity's eyes widened as she came to a realization.
"Oh, I see. Yes that would be dangerous if he fell."
"He did."
The white unicorn's eyes widened even more with shock.
"What? But how can that be. Spike is sleeping soundly right there in his bed… unless…"
Rarity couldn't bear to finish. Twilight realized what Rarity was thinking and immediately spoke up.
"Oh, no, he is sleeping. He's not… you know…"
Rarity breathed a sigh of relief before saying, "Oh thank goodness, so you were able to catch him in time."
"Actually, I didn't. Trevor did."
"Trevor?" Rarity exclaimed with surprise.
Twilight nodded.
"Well, so long as the little squire is safe and sound," Rarity said, still looking at the Traveler with suspicion.
Twilight's revisit of that moment brought a concern back to her mind.
"The thing is," Twilight continued, "the way that he caught Spike was so… weird."
"How so?" Asked Rarity, intrigued now.
"Well, it was like he used magical telekinesis, but without magic."
Rarity gave Twilight a look of confusion before saying, "Is that even possible?"
"Honestly, I don't know. But whatever it is he did, he saved Spike's life with it. Oh, by the way, it's common knowledge that only unicorns can use magic, besides the Princesses, right?"
"I assume that is a rhetorical question," Rarity replied with a 'are you really asking this?' look.
"It is, but Trevor there has just proved that knowledge wrong."
Now Rarity was really shocked. "Wait, are you implying that… he can use magic?"
"Exactly, I saw it with my own eyes."
"And you are absolutely positive that he didn't use magic to save Spike?"
"Absolutely; there was no use of magic what so ever."
Rarity was dumbfounded by the entire situation. "This…he…everything is just so strange."
Twilight giggled lightly remembering what she had said to the Traveler not so long ago.
"Yes it is. He said that he would explain it all once everypony got here. I should probably remind him."
With that, both unicorns trotted back towards the center of the action. Trevor had taken a seat at the couch and was getting a rundown of the Apple family tree from Applejack when Twilight interrupted.
"Sorry Applejack, but Trevor here has promised me that he would explain a few things once you all got here, and I for one am very anxious to have a few answers."
Both Trevor and Applejack turned towards the two unicorns. It was at that moment that Rarity noticed something about the Traveler that she hadn't previously.
"Oh my…" breathed Rarity as she stepped closer. "Your eyes are absolutely breathtaking. Such divine elegance in such little space. Oh, but your current apparel just does not match your eyes in the least."
Trevor looked down at his modest belongings which consisted of blue work jeans, black industry boots and a white t-shirt, all of which looked worn from travel.
"I simply must craft you something that's as elegant as your eyes," Rarity continued.
"That's not really nece-" Trevor began but was interrupted by Rainbow Dash
"Wait, that's clothing, I thought that it was just part of you"
Trevor shrugged while everypony else, save Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, rolled their eyes.
"Rarity, I'm sure that you can make him something but right now I would really like some answers," Twilight said with a hint of irritation.
"Oh, of course darling," Rarity replied.
"Alright, everypony get comfortable, this is going to take a while." Everyone did as Twilight said.
"Ok," Twilight began, "first things first, where are you from?"
Trevor took a little time to think before answering, "A long ways from here; most likely a completely different galaxy. If memory serves me right, the galaxy I am from was once known as the Milky Way."
"Well that thar be an odd name for a galexy," commented Applejack.
"I suppose so. Anyway, it's not called that anymore."
"Then what's it called?" asked Twilight.
"Hard to say, it's broken up now. Most of it is called the Imperium of Man, another part of it is called the Tau Empire, and there are some parts of it with names I don't understand."
"Imperium? Could you please elaborate?" Rarity asked next.
"Well, let me think... The Imperium of Man is a large empire that spans a great deal of the galaxy and is made up primarily, if not completely, by humans like me."
Pinky pie seemed to get excited by this bit of information.
"Wow, so there's, like, a ca-jillion of you guys across an entire galaxy? That's so neat!"
"As interesting as that sounds," Twilight said, "I still have more questions that need answering. For instance, how did you get here if you live in another galaxy?"
"Through something called the Warp."
This gained the Traveler many confused looks as Twilight asked, "Explain, please."
"Well, the Warp is also called the immaterium. It's an alternate reality that borders our own. The Imperium uses the Warp to travel great distances in little time. Warp travel, in a way, is the only reason that the Imperium still holds together. I myself use the warp to do what I call a 'jump' between vast distances. The farther the jump, however, the harder the toll on the body. It will be sometime before I will be able to do a jump like I did to get here again."
"So, you basically used teleportation. Amazing." Twilight concluded.
"I'm sorry, but for once I'm having trouble keeping up," blurted Rainbow Dash.
"I'll have ta agree with yah thar," commented Appljack.
Rarity tried her best to explain it to them so that the two athletes could understand.
"Basicly, he uses a different plain of reality to teleport himself."
"Whatever ya say, surga'cube," said Applejack, not feeling any less perplexed.
"So, how do you use this Warp? Is there a type of devise you have?" Twilight asked next.
"Well, normally a large engine would be required to use the Warp. However, I am anything but normal, and the only engine I need is my mind. My mind is developed to the point where I can interact with my environment freely. Other humans where I come from would call me a psyker."
"Interesting. In what ways do you 'interact' with your environment?"
"Well, you witnessed it yourself when I caught Spike there when he fell." Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy's eyes went wide with surprise as they had not known of this event.
"So that's why… but still, how is that possible without magic?" Twilight asked, "There had to be some power source you used."
"There was, and it was the Warp itself. My mind affects my environment because I can access the Warp. The Warp itself, in a way, is pure energy. Your magic is actually very similar to warp energy, which may explain why I can use magic."
"You can do magic, too?" exclaimed Pinkie Pie. "That's so AUSOME."
"By Celestia," breathed Twilight, her mind whirling, "an alternate power source other than magic… the implication are just, immense."
"I happen to have a question, now," spoke Rarity. "How is it that you can speak our language?"
The other ponies nodded in agreement to the question.
"Well, this is where I have to make a confession. You see, my mind can not only interact with my environment, but also with other minds. Fluttershy was the first sentient being I met when I came here, so I looked into her mind in order to learn your language and customs."
Many jaws would have hit the floor had they not been attached to their respective owners' skulls. Fluttershy's face in particular was turning bright red as she began to contemplate what the Traveler could have found within the recesses of her mind.
"That also explains why I knew your name, Fluttershy," Trevor continued. "However, I only accessed your most basic knowledge. Whatever secrets you hold are still with you. Either way, I apologize; the mind is the most sacred part of any living creature."
Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief while Twilight's mind was theoretically bouncing about in her skull.
"Wait; hold on for just a second, I need to process this."
"So, uh, are you reading our minds now?" asked a very worried Rainbow Dash.
"No, there is no need," answered Trevor. "I should note, however, that the minds of unicorns are much stronger than the rest of pony kind. As such, it is much more difficult to use my powers on them without being detected."
"Well that's a relief… I suppose," commented Rarity.
'You seem to be omitting one important detail,' Trevor heard in the back of his mind.
'And what might that be?' Trevor thought back.
'ME!'
'I really don't think that their questions require you as an answer.'
'And yet I am the main reason you can use you powers without the threat of demonic possession.'
'Seems to me that I am already possessed.'
'That's beside the point, why aren't you telling them about me?'
'You're my ace in the hole, remember. If things go bad I need a secret weapon.'
'Huh, always leave it to you to think tactically.'
Trevor was brought back to reality by the voice of Twilight.
"Trevor?"
"Hm?"
"I was asking you something."
"Sorry, could you repeat it."
Twilight sighed before continuing, "Is it possible for any other humans to come to Equestria?"
"Well, I suppose it is possible, though they would have to know of this place first. Most humans don't like using the warp without a specific destination in mind."
"So did you know of Equestria before coming here?"
"Honestly, no. I use warp travel at random. It keeps things interesting."
"Not to butt in or anythang, but aint that a mite dangerous?" asked Applejack, now starting to grasp the conversation.
Trevor merely replied, "Sometimes."
"Why would that be dangerous?" asked Pinkie Pie, who had been surprisingly sitting still the entire time.
"Cause if he teleports wrong, he could find 'imself in tha middle of a manticore pit," Applejack answered.
'Wouldn't be the first time it happened,' commented the voice.
"Oh," both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash said.
"Another question," Twilight went on, "when you use the warp, what repercussions do you go through?"
"I would think it would be the same as your magic; it takes a little toll on both the body and mind as the body has to supply the mind with the required sustenance in order to function."
'Heh, that's only part of it and you know it,' said the voice within Trevor's mind.
'They don't need to know that,'
It was at that moment that Trevor actually noticed how tired he was. With all the new sights he had been seeing and this land's peaceful nature, he forgot it had only been a mere few hours since his long range jump, which as he had said takes a huge toll on the body. He decided to let his exhaustion be known.
Trevor yawned, surprising the ponies, before saying, "Sorry, I'm just a little tired from the jump that got me here."
"Ah, I see," said Twilight, seeing that the sun was getting low through one of the library windows, "Well, you've answered the most important questions that I had. Now all we need to do is decide you sleeping arrangements. Does anypony have any suggestions?"
"Hey, can humans walk on clouds?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Uh, no."
"Then my place is out of the question."
"I could take him in," Rarity said next, "I do have an extra room in my shop that he could use."
"That would be fine, but how far is you shop?" Trevor asked.
"Oh, it's just down the main road a ways," Rarity answered.
"Well with all due respect, I would rather not leave this tree while there are still other ponies active in town. I'm a little concerned on how they would react to me."
"Oh… well that's perfectly understandable of course."
Twilight saw the disappointment in her friend and knew why she had volunteered.
"Don't worry," Twilight said in as comforting a tone as she could, "you can take Trevor's measurements tomorrow after he's gotten some sleep."
Twilight looked over towards the Traveler.
"In the mean time, you can stay here. I do have an extra bed in my room."
"Thank you. That would be fine."
"Um, Twilight…"
"Yes, Fluttershy?"
"I need to go home and make sure that all the animals are fed."
"Sure Fluttershy, go on ahead."
Fluttershy then gave her farewells before flying through the library door and off in the direction of her cottage.
"Twilight," Rarity spoke next, "do you have any extra scrolls I could use?"
"Sure, Rarity, just a minute."
Twilight trotted over to her writing desk where she telekinetically pulled out a sheet of paper from underneath it. Rarity took the paper with her own telekinesis, placed the paper on the desk, and then used the quill and ink that was lying on the desk to start drawing while occasionally looking at Trevor. Twilight could see over Rarity's shoulder that she was in fact trying to draw an outline of the Traveler's figure to the best of her ability, which was actually pretty good.
After Rarity finished her drawing, she rolled it up and held on to it through her telekinesis.
"There." she said, "Well I'm off to my shop to see if I can put down some designs for Trevor's new outfit, farewell."
"Ok, but nothing too frilly," Trevor spoke up.
"Of course not, I understand that you wish to keep your masculine features," Rarity said as she exited the library.
"Is she always like that?" Trevor asked when the white unicorn was out of earshot.
"Yep, that's Rarity for ya," answered Rainbow Dash, "Always wanting an excuse to make some new clothes. She is a dress maker, you know."
"Really, I would have never guessed," spoke Trevor, doing quite well in hiding his sarcasm.
"Well," began Applejack, "when ah came here, I left Bic Mac wid some of tha apple hauling. Ah bettah go back to tha orchard and help him wrap it up."
"Ok dokie lokie," said Pinky Pie as she waved goodbye to the tan earth pony. Then she perked up.
"Oh, you know what I should do? I should go back to Shugarcube Corner and make plans for a huge party so that all of Ponyville can get to know you. It's going to be so fun!"
Before Trevor could protest, the pony was out the door in a pink flash.
"Uhg, I can never get over just how fast Pinkie Pie can move when she wants to," groaned Rainbow Dash.
"Actually," Twilight said after seeing Trevor's worried face, "that might not be such a bad idea. It would give us a chance to introduce you to the town in one go. That way we don't have to hide you in secret all the time."
"If you say so…" replied Trevor, the picture of a mob of ponies with torches and pitchforks still strong in his mind. It would not be the first time something like that happened.
"Anyway," Rainbow Dash said with a stretch, "I better hit the sack early if I want to get my training in tomorrow."
"Training for what?" Trevor asked.
"For the day I join the Wonderbolts, of course. They're the best fliers in all of Equestria and I, being the best flier in Equestria, plan on joining them."
"Uh huh, well good luck with that."
"Please, a pegasus of my skill doesn't need luck. See ya." And with that, the blue pegasus was out the door leaving behind a lingering stream of rainbow which took a few seconds to fade out.
"Huh, quite an interesting group you have," commented Trevor to Twilight.
"Yea, I thought the same thing when I first came here, but you get use to it."
"How long have you been here?"
"About a two years or so."
Trevor took another look at Spike and thought, 'How can anyone sleep like that?'
"Anyway, you probably want to get some sleep," Twilight said.
As if on cue, Trevor yawned before saying, "Yea."
"Alright, then follow me please."
Twilight led the Traveler upstairs to the upper part of the tree-library where he could see a bed with a star covered blanket, presumably Twilight's, and a second, much simpler bed across from the first. Unsurprisingly, this area also had several bookcases carved into the walls. When the two of them approached the spare bed, they immediately noticed a problem.
"It's a bit… small," Trevor pointed out.
"Heh, right," Twilight said as she realized that the bed was designed for a maximum of two ponies, not a human.
Trevor thought for a moment when an idea struck him.
"Hey, what can you do with the magic that you have now?"
"Well, any number of things. Why do you a-" Twilight stopped mid question as she started to catch on to the Traveler's thought process.
"You want me to make it bigger with magic?" Twilight asked.
"If that's at all possible." Trevor replied.
"Of course it is, I just need to use one of the enlargement spells I saw a while back."
'If I was any more immature, I would have found that statement funny,' Trevor heard in the back of his mind.
Trevor ignored the voice as he watched Twilight do what she did best: use magic. Twilight shut her eyes in concentration as her horn began to glow a purple hue. In seconds the bed took on a similar glow. Shortly thereafter the bed began to grow with what sounded like the creaking of wood.
'Huh, magic may not seem as powerful as warp energy, but is capable of doing things that warp energy could never accomplish,' thought Trevor. 'Now do you see why learning magic could be beneficial to us?'
'Ok, so it may give us a few tricks up our sleeves, big woop.'
'A "few tricks" can sometimes be the deciding factor between life and death.'
When the creaking sound had stopped, the bed was three times its normal size, which was perfect for the Traveler. Trevor looked over towards Twilight who looked like she had just taken a brisk morning jog. She looked a little more tired than before, but not by much.
"Thank you, Twilight, now I am very interested in magic. Is there any way you could possibly teach me about it?"
Twilight looked at the Traveler with a surprised look on her face.
"Me, teach? I don't know, I never taught anything to anypony before."
"I'm sure you would be a natural at it."
Twilight blushed slightly at the compliment.
"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try…"
"Excellent, could we start tomorrow?"
"So soon? I, uh, suppose we could."
"Great," said Trevor as he sat on the bed and began to unlace his boots.
"By the way," Twilight said next "what do you call those?"
"What these," Trevor held up one of his hands.
"Yea, I forgot to ask."
"They're called hands"
"Hands…" Twilight muttered as she played the alien word over in her mind. "Interesting."
Trevor by now had finished untying his boot and was now taking them off. He decided to keep his socks on, as well as the rest of his clothes, as he scooted himself further onto the bed.
"Well, Twilight, it has been a most interesting afternoon."
"Yes it has," Twilight agreed.
"I have to say that I am very grateful for your hospitality."
"Oh, it was my pleasure."
"Well then, good night."
"Good night," Twilight replied.
Within seconds of his head hitting the pillow, exhaustion overtook Trevor as he slept silently.
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Twilight watched as the Traveler slept for a few minutes thinking how, dare she think it, cute he looked when he slept, like a puppy in her mind.
Twilight shook her head of those thought as more important business had to be done. The purple unicorn trotted back down stairs and approached her writing desk. When she did, she took out a blank scroll, sat it on the desk, took her quill from its ink pot, and began writing.
'Dear Princess Celestia,
Today I have made a very exciting discovery. There is intelligent life beyond our world, and I have met one. He calls himself the Traveler but prefers to be called Trevor. He is part of a species that call themselves 'humans' and says he came from a completely different galaxy. But the discoveries don't stop there. I have discovered that he is capable of using magic and he has even requested that I teach him. I am very excited as this could be the start of a new friendship and I will have a pupil of my own. Not only that, but he is also what his species calls a psyker, which means he can use telekinesis and look into other creatures minds without magic. He has also told me about something called the Warp, an alternate reality that borders on our own. He says that it is the Warp is what supplies him with the power to use his abilities and is also how he was able to transport himself across entire galaxies. Though he is much bigger than the rest of us, he is very kind. I hope you may have a chance to meet him. I am including a diagram of him so that you may know what he looks like.
Sincerely
Your most faithful pupil,
Twilight Sparkle'
After Twilight had set the quill back in its pot, she began to concentrate her magic as she etched a picture of the Traveler into the paper from her very memory. After that, she added a picture of herself as to show the size difference between her kind and his. Once that was done, she rolled up the scroll and sealed it with a red wax seal. She was about to put it aside for Spike to send it when he woke up, but then an idea struck her. She picked up the quill again and with the scroll still in tow, she trotted over to the sleeping baby dragon.
Luckily for her, Spike happened to be sleeping mostly face up. Twilight used the quill's feather area to delicately tickle the young reptile's nose. Spike's face instinctively scrunched up as he began to inhale.
"Ah… Ah…Ah…"
Twilight then put the scroll in front of the baby dragon's now open mouth.
"AHCHU!" Spike sneezed in his sleep, sending a blast of green fire from his nose. The fire immediately ate the scroll in a matter of seconds and the ashes, mixed with a few magic sparkles, flew out a nearby window. Spike merely sniffed and continued his unabated slumber.
Twilight new the message would reach the Princess, as it had always done so countless times before.
With that done, Twilight returned to the book that she had been studying before this entire event had occurred. She thought she should get some more reading done before she went to bed herself.
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Trevor opened his eyes to see pitch black. At first he was confused, but only a moment later did he realize what was happening, and groaned in irritation.
"You can bitch all you want, but we need to talk," said an all too familiar voice.
Trevor turned around to see a familiar being, one he had seen many time before during his sleep.
The being looked a lot like him and could have been an exact replica, had it not been on fire.
The being had its arms crossed and was looking at Trevor intently with eyes red as fire and alight with pure energy. It wore no clothes which only revealed a body made of a fiery alloy as red molten metal seethed and flowed through visible crevices within the alloy itself. From the being's left hand dripped an unending flow of simmering blood.
"I hope there is a good reason for this little counsel," said Trevor, letting his irritation be known.
"When the hell has there not been?," replied the being.
Trevor sighed and nodded his head in agreement.
"Whatever it is you want to say, best say it now so that I can sleep in peace."
"Listen, we have been doing this for a long time now, and have gone through some serious shit along the way, but what you're doing now is just downright embarrassing."
"And why is that?"
"Because your stooping down to the level of a bunch of four legged, brightly colored mini faggots!"
Trevor let out a sigh of frustration at his companion's unneeded hate.
"They are kind, intelligent beings who deserve just as much as we do."
"Hah, yea right, we could crush every one of them if we wanted to, magic or no magic."
"You may want to, but I don't, and I have the final decision."
The being growled at this, but then said in defeat, "Fine! Do what you want with them! But that's not the only thing I have you here to discuss."
"Oh?"
"There's a shit storm coming, I can feel it. One of the biggest fights we have ever had is approaching."
"How is that possible, this place is the most peaceful we have ever come to. The only fight I could see happening is if you decide to cause mayhem."
"Oh it won't be me causing the mayhem, believe me. I can smell it: murderous intent is on the wind, and it is focusing towards this location. Something out there does not share your views of these ponies, and it is coming with the intent to kill."
This bit of news had the Traveler worried more than usual during his little "chats" with the being that resided within the back of his mind.
"Are you sure?"
"I am positive," said the being, raising its bloody fist above its head, "Blood will be spilt here or my name isn't Kaela Mensha Khain!"
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Somewhere to the east of the Everfree Forest lied a plain of badlands; desolate and seemingly uninhabitable. Yet beneath this seemingly deserted land thrived the Diamond Dogs. The Diamond Dogs are a race of intelligent canines gifted with opposable front paws. Though their large forearms in comparison to their shorter back legs give them a very ape-like appearance, they still hold the main features that make them dogs: large ears, muzzle, whiskers, fur, tail, and many with the trade make drooping upper lip that most canines share.
The Diamond Dogs call themselves thus because of their constant instinctual hunger to hoard rare gems. It is because of this that the Diamond Dogs live primarily underground, though they still require light to see. Within their homes the Diamond Dogs have constructed a complex series of tunnels and mines that only they would know how to navigate. During their evolutionary process, the Diamond Dogs learned not only how to construct these tunnels, but also how to collect, smelt, and forge metals such as iron. Soon after, they discovered how to create steel, which they now use on a daily basis. The Diamond Dogs used the metal to create mine carts, support beams, and even armor and weapons such as spears.
Because the Diamond Dogs live underground in such a desolate location, they have no real contact with the rest of Equestrian society. As such, most ponies of Equestria are completely unaware of the Diamond Dog's existence. It would have stayed that way, had a certain newly converted unicorn not paid them a visit.
Rex, alpha of the Diamond Dogs, was busy checking the income of gems by their main stock pile, and was disappointed by what he saw. The mine carts that arrived where hardly even a third full, and most of the gems they contained were small, dinky even. These gems didn't even deserve to be added to his already gem encrusted collar. Rex was not the strongest Diamond Dog, but he was by far the cleverest, and it was for this reason that he was alpha. His fur was dark grey and his over bite hid most of his upper lip. Rex also had the strange mutation of having almost reptilian like eyes. His cropped ears stood upright from his head and he wore a leather vest, also encrusted with a few gems here and there.
Rex used the light from the many torches that hung on the walls to check the contents of each mine cart that entered the gem stockpile, each as disappointing as the first.
"This is ridiculous," commented Rex in his raspy, goblinish voice as he turned towards a work dog that had brought in one of the mine carts. "Why are we getting so little gems?"
The work dog shrugged while saying, "We just aint finding them like we used to."
Rex sighed in frustration while he rubbed his eyelids with one of his large paws. It had been like this for quite some time now, ever since they tried to get the "cooperation" of that white unicorn that was an expert gem finder. Rex shuddered as he remembered the horror that unicorn unleashed on him and his kind. All the talking and the complaining and the whining and the noises, it gave Rex a headache just remembering it.
Then Rex heard different noises. They sounded like one sided arguments coming from some of his guard dogs, only for the speakers to suddenly go silent. Rex exited the gem stockpile and headed through the tunnels towards the sounds to see what all the hubbub was about. What he saw both surprised and horrified him.
Several of his guard dogs, all equipped with armor, helms and spears, laid in a broken mess, unconscious. Several were bleeding from the nose or mouth while others were missing teeth, all of which had large dents in their armor or helms. What shocked Rex the most, however, was in the middle of this carnage stood a unicorn, her mane was darkened silver, her coat a dark blood red and her eyes even more so. Her cutie mark looked like a warped and twisted stick with an eight pointed star at the end. Her very presence seemed to reek with awe inspiring fear.
"Ah, are you the alpha of this little pack?" she spoke, her voice sounding like a sugarcoated blade.
"M-maybe, who's asking?" Rex replied, trying to keep some form of dignity as others of his pack where watching.
"Somepony who wishes to give you a generous offer," She replied coolly.
"Offer, what are you talking about?"
"Don't you feel somewhat… unaccomplished down here, stuck with digging in the dirt beneath the hooves of Equestria?
"Uh…"
"While the world up there lives on, completely oblivious to your existence, you rot down here, trying to scrounge whatever pretty pieces of rock you can."
Rex was starting to get angry at the unicorn for her bantering.
"Wouldn't you like to change that?" the unicorn asked next.
"Wha-"
"Why not face the light of the sun for a change? Why break your backs digging for gems, when you can simply take them from those who have no use for them?"
Rex stopped and began to think on this before saying, "If we do, we will be hunted as thieves by the ponies."
"Ah, but what if you were the hunters?"
"Huh?" Rex replied with a look of confusion.
"You can be the hunters for once. You can show Equestria that you do not fear them. Through Khorne's favor you can become powerful."
"Khorne, who the heck is that?"
The unicorn chuckled a very dark, crazed chuckle before saying, "Khorne is a true god, not like the week Princesses that the rest of ponykind worship. Khorne is the master of strength and most powerful of the Chaos gods. He is ever seeking new warrior to share his gifts with, new warriors to amass glory in his name. He can give you the power to put those self righteous Equestrians in their place."
Rex began to like the sound of this, but was not ready to give in just yet.
"How are we supposed to believe you?"
"Well, I suppose a demonstration is in order," the unicorn said with a sinister smile. She then went over to a nearby boulder that the Diamond Dogs had had difficulty removing for some time. The boulder itself was roughly four times the size of the unicorn that approached it. Said unicorn merely put one hoof under it, and then lifted the boulder from the ground as if it was paper.
The Diamond Dogs that were witness to this were completely awestruck by this show of strength, including Rex. Rex knew about the magic of unicorns, but did not witness any such thing from this unicorn; neither her horn nor the boulder glowed with the tell tale signs of magic.
"This is the power granted by Lord Khorne!" the unicorn proclaimed. Then she did the impossible. The unicorn brought the large rock forcefully down on her horn, and shattered the boulder into gravel.
After shaking her main free of rubble, the unicorn than said, "My name is Bloodmane, and through me, you too can step into Lord Khorne's good graces! You too can wield this power! Do you wish for the power to bring your hated enemies to their knees!"
A large cheer arose from the Diamond Dogs that had gathered there, after the cheer subsided, Rex stepped forward and said,
"I think I can speak for everyone here when I say that, yes, we too want this power."
"Then all you have to do," said the unicorn that was once Trixie as she stepped closer to the alpha until their muzzles were almost touching, "is speak the oath."