Chapter One
Oblivion
Twilight sat in the old grove and stared off into the distance, not really looking at anything but merely deep in thought as she sifted through fond memories she had with her friends. She remembered Pinkie's smile and bubble cheer, Applejack's hard working and honest nature, Fluttershy's kindness and compassion to all living things, Rarity's generosity to those who were in need, and Rainbow Dash's unending loyalty to her friends. Truly she had been the luckiest mare in all of Equestria to have known her five closest friends.
"Twilight, it's time..." Rumbled a deep voice behind her.
The princess of magic turned her head as her eyes regained their focus, no longer holding the thousand mile stare. Upon recognizing the large scaly face of her one time assistant she smiled and stood to greet him.
"Spike, you're back!" Twilight said as she walked up and gave the large dragon a nuzzle.
"Hey now... it's only been a few days since I last visited you." Spike said bashfully.
"True, but it can get so lonely here..." Twilight whispered.
Spike frowned and looked at the five graves that sat before him. It had already been a decade since the last of them passed, but the wound of their loss was still fresh. While it was tragic to the adult dragon, it was crushing to the Alicorn.
"Well... Shall we?" Spike said, not wanting to spend any more time near such painful reminders of what he had lost.
Twilight smiled knowingly at the pained look in the dragon's eye, "Sure thing Spike, wouldn't want to keep Celestia and Luna waiting."
The two took to the sky and soared over the bustling town of Ponyville. Twilight was once the librarian of the town when it was but a simple village. Over time as the population grew however, the town had decided that a princess should not have to look over its library, despite the arguing by said princess that she loved it there. After that Twilight had begun staying in a manor she erected with her magic that oversaw the town. The children and grandchildren of her friends still visited her from time to time, but over time the visits grew less and less, leaving more and more time for Twilight to study the arcane. After a mere five years of living almost undisturbed she had perfected every spell known to ponykind.
After that, Celestia had asked her what she wanted to do with her eternal life, whether she had any goals left or not. Twilight did not have an answer for her though. Her goal she had made for herself as a foal was not supposed to be so easily reached in her lifetime, it was a goal she was supposed to have striven for until her end. She had not anticipated becoming an Alicorn when she was a filly however.
A few days ago Celestia had once more sent her a summons to Canterlot, one she was only too happy to accept for it meant enjoying the company of two of her closest friends who were still alive. Celestia had sent spike to tell her that upon the night of the summer solstice she was to travel to Canterlot to speak of important matters.
Off in the distance Canterlot was beginning to come into view, the tall castle spires illuminated by the setting sun. Though she was asked to come in the night, she still hated being tardy to anything and found it better to arrive early. As she flapped her wings ever closer the wind blew her mane back as her purple feathers propelled her faster still alongside the dragon who was now several times her size. The sensation of flight reminded her ever more of Rainbow's love for flying.
The purple dragon and princess landed in front of the city gates earning stares from the guards and ponies of Canterlot. Twilight smiled and waved as various ponies bowed and began chatting about her appearance. The display of the alicorn arriving with a dragon escort impressed the onlookers and immediately identified who she was. The gates of the city were opened allowing Twilight and Spike to go through, though they could have flown straight in, they preferred not giving the guards a heart attack.
"Spike, did Celestia mention what she wanted to speak to me about?" Twilight asked looking to the dragon beside her who was taking up the majority of the street.
"Nothing more than I already told you, she said she had one last mission she wanted to give you." The dragon rumbled.
Twilight adopted a perplexed look at this, Celestia had not asked her to personally do anything since she became a princess. After becoming an immortal, she had simply lived her life as if she were a normal mare until her friends had died off to old age. Fluttershy had been the last to go, passing away in the company of her animals in the secluded cottage she loved and called home. Twilight was with her in her final moments, and held her in a final embrace as she exhaled her final breath with a content smile. Fluttershy was the only one of her friends who had never married, too shy to ever meet her special somepony, leaving Twilight as her only pony company in her final years. Like the other four, when she passed, Fluttershy's fragment of the Elements of Harmony transferred into the tiara that symbolized the element of magic. With the final piece once more together as one, the tiara changed its form to that of a necklace, making one whole element.
Twilight wondered as she walked up to the inner wall of the castle and entered the gates, if Celestia required the power of the Element of Harmony once more. As she made her way to the throne room where her once mentor would surely be, she once more adopted the lonely look she had become accustomed to wearing over the past few years.
"Ah, Twilight, we are glad you could answer our sister's summons." Luna said as she approached the princess of magic.
"Luna! It's been so long!" Twilight said as she hurried to and embraced her old friend.
Luna returned the gesture and smiled as she pulled away, "Truly, it has been nigh a year since you last visited. We understand your attachment to Ponyville, but you should have visited more. Thine time there surely must have been lonely..."
Twilight giggled at the concern Luna showed her, "Oh, it isn't so bad. It leaves me with plenty of time to brew over new spells."
"Truly? We would not have believed it possible for there to be spells the Alicorn of magic did not yet know." Luna teased with a giggle.
"Well, there are always new spells to be made. For instance, I recently discovered a way to enchant your eyes to see through shadows as if the darkness itself was sunlight." Twilight beamed happily.
Luna's eyes widened at the notion, "You mean thine eyes can behold what our night usually shrouds?"
"Yes, in fact, the grassy hills seem even more beautiful at night I find nowadays." Twilight smiled as the two entered into the throne room.
"You will need to show us this one Twilight." Luna said with a smile as the two alicorns and the dragon approached the princess of the sun who sat regally on her throne, multi colored mane flowing in an invisible breeze.
"Ah Twilight, you're early. Though It is not unexpected." Celestia said warmly.
"Hello Celestia, how have you been?" Twilight asked with a fond smile.
"Oh you know, busy ruling the kingdom and getting ready for the mission I have for you, should you accept." Celestia said with a sad smile.
"Celestia you don't look so well, is something bothering you?" Twilight said, commenting on the sad smile the princess of the sun gave her.
"Yes, it brings back sad memories..." Celestia said with a sigh.
"What did you need of me?" Twilight asked curiously.
"First before I tell you that, I must tell you a story. You see Twilight, my sister and I came to this land and freed it from its oppressors with the elements of Harmony. You know this part of the story already, but what you nor any other pony has ever been told, is of where we came from. You see Twilight, when Luna and I were much younger, we became the rulers of a far off land. We came into power shortly after becoming Alicorns, but the king we replaced while willing to give us the throne after seeing the good we could do for the land, had a son who felt cheated of his throne. This young stallion harnessed ancient and evil powers much like Sombra did, and overthrew us, banishing us from the land and sending us across the great sea to Equestria here." Celestia began telling her story.
"You mean there is a continent on the other side of the sea? I only ever heard rumors, but nopony has ever managed to sail the entire way across it. They either turn back after using half their rations, or they are never heard from again..." Twilight commented.
"Those that made it merely never returned... whether sunk or captured I know not, but the journey is not a short one. The only way Luna and I made it across was because he tore open a portal and flung us through to this land. Teleportation over the long distance may be the only safe way for now, until we discover how far it is by boat, and if sailing the waters are safe. We dared not return though, for he would undoubtedly overpower us, and perhaps show less mercy this time if the elements failed to work on him." Celestia continued.
"Why would the elements fail?"Twilight asked cautiously.
"Well you see Twilight, the elements only work when its wielders are in perfect harmony. Much like when Discord disabled your friends from harmonizing, he made sure we could not use it against him in his own way..." Celestia trailed off.
"How?" Twilight asked with a wonder filled look.
"He made us fear him. Before he sent us away he revealed our greatest fears to us, and threatened to turn us against one another with his maddening powers. To this day, though there is no proof he has found a way to persist the years, he alone remains the one thing I fear above all others." Celestia shivered.
"So you want me to go there and overthrow him if he still has enslaved the ponies there?" Twilight asked.
"Not quite, I want you to rule there once any threats are taken care of." Celestia said simply.
Twilight simply stared with her jaw slightly hung open. She could not believe her ears, Celestia wanted her to single hoofedly rule a nation? While it was an honor Celestia trusted her that much, Twilight paled at the thought of living a life so similar to her once mentor.
"Now Twilight, I know what you are thinking but hear me say this, you are more powerful than Luna and I together have ever been. I have full faith that you will be able to defeat him if he is still there." Celestia assured the princess of magic.
The words of encouragement pulled the purple alicorn out of her stupor, "Well, if you think so... I believe it should be a simple matter to teleport there if you have rough coordinates..."
Twilight's voice sounded unsure, but she was not the young mare she used to be, and she was well aware of her awe inspiring mastery over the arcane. Celestia smiled as she levitated a scroll over to her once student. Twilight unrolled the scroll and peered at the contents for a moment before looking at Spike with a frown.
"Celestia, you are sending Spike with me as well?" Twilight commented on the contents of the scroll.
"Yes, I believe he will provide much assistance there, and the rest of the scroll should tell you all you will need to know for when you get there. I have spent many years brewing over my own memories with a spell to make sure I got as much detail as I could for you to go by. Remember though that information is already over a thousand and a half years old. For all Luna and I know the change he made to the country has been undone and it is no longer bearing that horrid name..." Celestia finished with a frown.
"Oblivion... Why would he name a country that?" Twilight asked.
"He named it after what he hoped the land would become, in hopes that our sister and us would forget about it and never return." Luna said, entering the conversation.
"So, does he use the same power as Sombra did?" Twilight asked the two other alicorns.
"No, he does not live off hatred and fear. Though he can command them, they are not the source of his power. He wields an ancient and forbidden form of magic that harnesses eldritch energy. He is truly powerful, but not unstoppable." Celestia explained.
Twilight scanned over the contents of the scroll for a moment before she looked up at Celestia with a confused look, "You don't seem to have a name recorded here..."
"That is because he struck it from our memories with his magic. He was a cruel and wise man, knowing that the unknown is more frightening to what you can name. We can't even remember what he looks like, so be careful to give your trust, he could be anypony you meet over there." Celestia explained with a shaken look.
Twilight rolled up the scroll and placed it into a magical pocket in space and time where she could retrieve it once again at will. After safely storing the scrolls she looked up at Celestia with a resolute look on her face, "I will do it, the ponies there should not have to suffer any longer."
Celestia and Luna smiled and the older sister beamed proudly, but Luna suddenly faltered in her smile.
"Twilight, you know you cannot return to live in Ponyville after you take the throne there..." Luna said with a sorry look on her face.
A sad smile adopted Twilight's face as she answered, "Yes, I know... But honestly, in recent years there is not much keeping me there. Everypony is too afraid to be a bother on me to visit, and I have fallen out of touch with them."
"Well then, here's in hopes of you making new and wonderful friends." Celestia said as she and her sister embraced the purple alicorn.
A magical tear in reality opened up, an anomaly known as a portal to those who practice the arcane arts. After stabilizing it, the alicorn of magic trotted through, followed by a large, but still not yet fully grown dragon. The odd pair glanced around the area they had arrived in.
"According to the landmark Celestia had me go to, the Castle should be over..." Twilight trailed off as she gazed out over the top of the hill she stood on.
A city that dwarfed the size of even Canterlot stretched nearly as far as Twilight could see. The local populace could be seen going about their daily lives from here. Pegasi delivered packages and regulated the clouds, while unicorns and earth ponies bustled around the busy streets. Twilight was expecting a slow moving and down trodden populace like she had witnessed in the crystal empire when it first reappeared. But the ponies here seemed content, a few of them clearly even happy.
"I'm not sure we have the right place..." Twilight said looking up to her old reptilian friend.
"I'm not sure if I can fit in those streets... It's too crowded down there." Spike rumbled with a frown.
"Well, can I trust you to keep a lookout up here and wait for me? If I need, I'll call you for help." Twilight said to Spike.
The purple dragon shrugged and nodded. Twilight then flared her wings briefly before taking to the skies and soaring over the city. With her larger wing span than the pegasi, Twilight moved much faster in the air, and this drew attention to her. It did not take long for the pegasi she was soaring past to realize she was an alicorn. Meanwhile the Element of Harmony around her neck was pressed firmly against her, a constant reminder that even though they had passed, her friends would always be with her to give her their love and support.
Twilight noticed what looked to be an ancient castle keep in the center of the city, and she made her way immediately for it. Her horn ignited and she expanded her magical aura to feel the layout of the castle before teleporting inside where she discerned the throne room was.
As she winked back into existence inside of the large spacious room, she noticed something was very strange about this throne room. There was not a single seat that dominated the presence of the room, there were three. The occupants of these three thrones were all staring at Twilight, frowns adorned on their faces. Twilight then looked around her and noticed a severe lacking of guards, the only ponies in the room other than the three on the throne was a line of what appeared to be citizens. Twilight then looked back at the three who had such a dominating presence and noticed there was one of every pony race here. Upon further inspection she noticed their thrones bore images of their races.
"You know it is considered rude to cut in line..." The one sitting in the unicorn chair said in a droll voice. He was a light blue aged stallion with a long white beard.
Twilight seemed perplexed at how the unicorn not only addressed her as if she were a regular pony. Twilight's ears flattened slightly however as she looked back and saw the annoyed expressions on the citizens.
"Sorry, I'm not sure if I have the right city... I was here to liberate the land from an evil pony. But when I got here things were much different than what I was expecting. Now I'm not sure if I got the coordinates right when I opened the portal..." Twilight said in a sorry tone.
"Tell me, what was the name of the land you were looking for? We may as well help you if your goals are as noble as you claim." The pegasus said, A middle aged white mare with a long blonde mane.
"I was told the land had been named Oblivion by the evil king." Twilight said, perking up slightly.
Silence greeted her, the faces of the three had grown stern as if Twilight had told a joke they did not consider funny. Twilight cringed at the looks she was receiving, "Is something wrong?"
The earth pony sighed and ran a hoof through his white mane, his dark red coat did little to hide the prominent muscles he had, "This land has not been called that for over a decade now."
Twilight perked up at this, "Wait, this is in fact the kingdom Celestia and Luna was exiled from?"
"How do you know the names of the rightful rulers?" The unicorn said sharply.
"Celestia was my mentor, and Luna my close friend..." Twilight began.
"So you are a real alicorn then... This land has seen many impostors hoping to take the throne, but the previous king and long time overlord did not allow their names to be uttered. Only the council is ever told their names..." The pegaus responded.
"Wait, what?" Twilight said in a tone unfitting of a princess.
"The law of the land is that an alicorn is to be the ruler, because alicorns are beings of divine will. Every now and then a unicorn who thirsts for the throne will cast an illusion to appear as an alicorn. But as the legend goes, only the celestial sisters know the secret of creating an alicorn." The unicorn explained.
"So... What happened to the king? Did you manage to overthrow him?" Twilight asked in an impressed tone.
"No." The earth pony stallion said in an angry tone.
Twilight adopted a confused look as if a trick was being played on her. She briefly wondered if these three were there to distract her while the king prepared to do battle with her. She visibly tensed and her eyes darted around the throne room looking for traps.
"Now now, he may not have been defeated but he is no longer a threat, so long as we stay out of his business." the pegasus said in an assuring tone.
"You see, twelve years ago the king suddenly came to us the council, the elected leaders of our races, and told us we would rule the land until an alicorn showed up. He mentioned something about retirement and not wanting to be bothered with leading a country anymore." the unicorn said in a tone that clearly meant he thought it was a joke at the time.
"So, where is he now?" Twilight asked with a frown.
"He still is seen every now and then skulking around the streets in the edges of the city. But we suspect he is hiding out somewhere in the forest to the east." The earth pony said with a frown.
"So, he just grew tired of the throne?" Twilight wondered out loud.
"We believe so, yes." The pegasus answered.
The throne room was silent for a couple of minutes as the citizens and the princess pondered over what they had heard. Twilight then heard the sound of a pony clearing his throat and looked up to the frown the earth pony was giving her.
"If you wouldn't mind waiting a few hours while we finish up business for the day, we can get you started on your coronation then." The earth pony said in his gruff voice.
Twilight nodded and stepped to the side of the room and sat herself down as she watched the daily life resume. A young mare, perhaps only sixteen in age now approached the three thrones and bowed before stating her business.
"The outer eastern districts have been dealt with, the beasts from the forest that invaded have been dealt with and I was hoping to cash in the bounty for them." The young unicorn mare said in a resolute but soft voice.
"That was the wyvern incident if I remember. You will receive the bounty for every poison gland you extracted from them." The pegaus said.
The young gray unicorn flipped her mane to the side, the two tones of navy blue and a black stripe covering one eye. She then opened her saddlebags and levitated from inside both pouches a total of sixteen glands.
"My word, how did you deal with so many of them?" The elderly unicorn on the throne exclaimed.
"My father helped me, and sent me to collect the bounty for him." the young mare said with a smile.
"Impressive, though I doubt you seek our approval more than the reward." The earth pony said with a grin as he motioned for a servant to fetch the reward.
After only a minute the servant returned with several brimming sacks of coins and set them before the young mare who traded the glands for them. After putting the reward money into her saddle bags she bowed and turned to leave, casting a quick glare towards Twilight, causing the princess of magic to frown at the display.
After the hours passed, Twilight noticed that over half of the ponies who attended the court wanted similar things. Almost all of them turning in different parts of monsters for reward money, the display made Twilight wonder where all the money came from to give to these bounty hunters. As the last one cleared out of the throne room however, Twilight heard all three of the council members sigh and stand up as they began stretching.
"So... Why are there so many bounty hunters? Are there that many monster problems here in the area?" Twilight asked out of curiosity.
"Not too bad of a problem, and they aren't bounty hunters." Grunted the large earth pony.
"Then..." Twilight began in a confused tone.
"You have probably noticed the lack of guards in the town, right? That is because of how the old king ran things. He thought why have a force of trained ponies defend the weak, when you could simply tell the weak to rely on themselves and each other. Sounds cruel, yes, but over his rule the ponies of this land have become hearty and strong. When problems occur they are handled by the citizens, and if a problem goes unsolved for too long we put a bounty up for it until it is taken care of." The elderly unicorn explained.
"Amazing, so then the money from taxes that would have gone to guards instead goes to the bounty's you put out?" Twilight deduced.
"Correct, and we even have left overs for not needing an army that go towards roads, schools, and public services." The pegasus chimed in.
"I just have one last question though..." Twilight asked in a serious tone.
The three council members shared glances before the unicorn spoke up, "Yes?"
"I want your honest opinion on the old king. I only recently heard of him, and he was compared to different tyrants I knew that only lead their land to ruin. He seems to have made this land prosper however..." Twilight said in a concerned tone.
Thoughtful frowns adorned every face on the council. The earth pony's turned into a snarl while the other two sighed. The unicorn and pegasus shared looks before the pegasus nodded to her elder.
"He wasn't what I would consider evil, mean at times yes, but he mostly seemed to mope about a lot. Though from what I heard he used to be real quick to anger long ago, he only ever got frustrated from my experience though. Only once have I seen him actually lose it, and it was when one of the neighboring countries broke a treaty and attacked the keep here." The elderly unicorn said nodding sagely.
"That was a mess, Steel Hoof here got in his way in an attempt to calm him down when he went for their embassy to destroy it. We barely were able to nurse him back to health and he was merely brushed aside by the king's magic." The pegasus said motioning toward the earth pony stallion who's face grew even angrier.
"Wow, was he that protective of the ponies here?" Twilight asked beginning to think the monster Celestia knew had changed.
"No, he destroyed them when they made the attempt on his life because he did not want to be bothered by having to deal with the politics that the zebras would have brought up. The crater that used to be the embassy is still there as a reminder and a warning." Steel Hoof spoke up.
"Yes, he was definitely losing the ability to care for much of anything and rathered to laze around and practice his magic." The pegasus commented.
Twilight pondered what was being told to her. She found it confusing that the problem had solved itself, and she briefly considered going back to Celestia and telling her that she was not needed in this land after all. But her thoughts were interrupted as the elderly unicorn cleared his throat seeing the look of thought on Twilight's face.
"You may think you are not needed here seeing as the target of your mentor's vengeance is no longer a threat, but the kingdom does still need you. Several parts of the kingdom are threatening to renounce their loyalty to the capitol here. They view the lack of a monarch as a sign of weakness, and without the other city states, we are at threat of invasion. The zebras still hate us, and the bugbear tribes have begun raiding our borders without the threat of begin decimated by the king." The unicorn told the princess of magic.
"So, you need me as more of a figurehead than an actual ruler then?" Twilight asked with a frown.
"Yes, the council was founded three centuries ago to run the country, the monarch is simply there to make final decisions in desperate times, and to defend the whole of the nation." The pegasus replied.
Twilight thought over this for a moment, perhaps Celestia and Luna would not be avenged, but the land did need her here. She might as well finally put an end to her long period of depression and finally once more serve her fellow pony.
"I accept, but I will need to fetch one of my friends. I left him waiting at the top of the hill that overlooks the city." Twilight said warmly.
"Sure, I am Summer Wind, the big lug here is Steel Hoof, and the old man is Frost Horn" The pegasus mare responded.
"So, who is the friend of yours that you left him behind?" Frost Horn asked out of curiosity.
"He is a dragon that I raised when I was young. We have been friends for over a century now." Twilight said with a smile as she thought of Spike.
"Uh oh..." Steel Hoof said, his stern face breaking into a concerned one.
The council members stared at Twilight, causing her to feel uncomfortable. Twilight had a nagging feeling that Spike might be in trouble by the looks they were giving her. Something then clicked in her mind, Spike was a strange dragon that sat on a hill overlooking a city of ponies who were strong enough to fend off monster attacks, and collected bounty money for slaying strong creatures.
"You may want to hurry to his side, if he has not yet been attacked it is only a matter of time since he did not accompany you into the town..." Summer Wind said in a worried voice.
Twilight flared her wings and her horn ignited with its magical aura. Frost called after her before she teleported, "If he is fine bring him back to the keep courtyard, we should be able to figure out a place for him to stay from there."
Twilight then winked out of existence as she transported her matter over to where she left Spike.
Spike yawned as he watched from the distance the movements of the ponies who went about their daily lives. The city had no protective walls, and Spike could not see any guards on patrol. He briefly wondered if this land was actually more peaceful than Equestria that not even the slightest amount of protection for the citizens needed to be offered. For it was clear from where he sat and gazed over the populace that the ponies moved about as if they had not a fear in the world. Pegasi soared swiftly from place to place, and the streets were busy, not a single pony seemed to peer around as if expecting something to jump out at them.
Spike yawned and rubbed an eye as he set his head down on a forearm as he rolled over to his side. Scratching his belly the dragon then gazed behind him into the dense forest where he spotted a few animals that seemed to be content keeping their distance and attempting to hide from his sight.
"Guess a nap wouldn't hurt..." Spike said, yawning once more as he closed his eyes.
As Spike dreamed, memories began to resurface, memories of Discord. The spirit of chaos had not taken well to Fluttershy's decline in health, and found himself unable to be there for the mare's final moments. A decision he regretted still, and told Spike of often. The dragon and Draconequus had become friends as the two of them took up the role of protecting Equestria from threats as the Elements grew older, and though Discord had made friends among the younger generations of ponies that had not heard the stories of the atrocities he had committed, Fluttershy had held a dear place in his heart as his first friend.
"You should wake up you know." Discord's voice rang through the dragon's dream.
"Huh? Discord?" Spike said into the echoing void that was his dreamscape now.
Two yellow eyes and a toothy grin appeared before the dragon, "I know it's hard to keep ones mind off an entity as entertaining as me, but you will be in danger if you do not awake..."
Spike's eyes shot open and beheld a single young mare standing before him. Spike's mind swam with questions in his confused state of being awoken by Discord in his dreams. The dragon and young unicorn stared at each other, and Spike immediately felt there was something wrong with her however. The mare's eyes held neither fear nor curiosity for the dragon, but rather her eyes were filled with a predatory gleam.
The mare brushed her bangs out of her face so that one of her eyes was no longer covered by her navy blue and black mane. Her horn began to glow with a black aura that caused Spike to bolt upright and assume a defensive stance.
"Woah there, can't we talk this out?" The dragon asked holding up his hands in a non threatening gesture.
The mare lifted an eyebrow and spoke in a soft and gentle voice that did not seem to match her words, "Unfortunately words will not get you out of this. There is a standing bounty on dragons who have been terrorizing the countryside, and you my scaly friend will make me a lot of gold."
"Wha- But I haven't done anything! I came to this land just today with princess Twilight, how could I be the dragon you are looking for?" Spike said urgently wanting to avoid getting into trouble with the locals on only the first day here.
At the mention of Twilight the mare's eyes narrowed and the magical aura that shimmered around her horn grew darker, and blacker. The energies had just reached their peak, sending sparks off of her horn as she spoke, "You are not welcome here..."
Before the spell could be fired the mare's horn was snuffed out of its magical powers in a pathetic sounding fizzle. A large white unicorn with a long black mane approached the dragon and mare. Spike dared not yet sigh in relief, because the mare looked as if she had been caught doing something she was not supposed to, the fear evident in her eyes.
As the white stallion drew closer to the mare a look of disapproval was plastered on his face. The mare seemed to shrink under his gaze, and Spike could only stare at the stallion who had apparently come to his rescue. Though Spike was unsure of what happened, because even Twilight did not know a spell to cancel out another's magic.
The stallion's look softened and a kind grin adorned his face as he looked at the mare, "Now now, I keep telling you that if you treat others like that you won't make any friends..."
The stallion's voice was deep, and his words touched the ear as if music. The young mare seemed unfazed by the words however, and merely put on a pouting face.
"Come now my little shadow... Why do you pout at me when you know I only ever speak to you the truth." The stallion cooed as he walked besides the mare and put a hoof around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug.
"Daaad!" The mare whined as she attempted to push the stallion away.
"I apologize for my daughter, she has not yet grasped the understanding that she cannot treat others like that and expect to have friends." The stallion said turning his attention to Spike as the young mare struggled in vain against his iron grip on her.
"Oh uh, no problem. Thank you for stepping in actually..." Spike said with uncertainty.
"Oh my, and such a gentlemen for a dragon. You must have been raised by a very kind pony. Only dragons raised by ponies ever say thank you." The stallion said with a warm smile.
Spike smiled at the compliment the stallion gave not only to him, but to Twilight as well, "Yes she is very kind."
"Is? Oh my, she is still alive then? Judging by your size she would have to be at least over a century old..." The stallion said in an impressed voice.
"Heh, yeah she is getting on in her years, not that she shows it though." Spike laughed, warming up immediately to the white unicorn.
The stallion quirked an eyebrow at this but before he could comment on it a bright light and a snapping sound filled the air as Twilight appeared. The alicorn looked around and noticed the two ponies by Spike, and tensed. She only relaxed a few seconds later when she noticed the friendly smiles Spike and the white stallion had.
"Oh Spike, I'm glad your safe. I just found out that the ponies here defends themselves and attack any threats on sight." Twilight said sighing in relief.
"Ohh, that explains why there aren't any guards..." Spike commented.
"So that is what you meant, you were raised by an alicorn! Fascinating..." The stallion said in wonder.
The white stallion looked down to his daughter who was doubling her efforts to escape. Twilight frowned in recognition of who the young mare was and how even now she glared at Twilight as she struggled for freedom. The young unicorn mare then ignited her horn with her black magical aura and snapped out of existence leaving the stallion with his arm wrapped around thin air.
The stallion merely shook his head and sighed before turning his attention to the princess before him. Twilight sized the stallion up and down, finding herself unable to judge anything about him yet, but she knew he must be very strong to have dealt with so many feral wyverns. Twilight then glanced to his flank to see if his cutie mark would reveal anything about him, but what she saw only perplexed her further.
"Excuse me if you think my question is a bit blunt... But what does your cutie mark symbolize?" Twilight asked.
The stallion followed her gaze to his flank where a cracked black heart that was held together by thorny vines sat, the cracks and the droplets of blood from where the thorns pierced it were a deep crimson. The stallion chuckled and then turned his attention back to the princess with a warm smile.
"It symbolizes my seemingly superpony knack for falling for mares who hurt me." The stallion said in a joking voice.
Spike and Twilight however were not laughing, Spike had not even noticed the cutie mark before and seemed taken aback by it now. Twilight on the other hand frowned in thought.
"So I take it you and your daughter's mother are no longer together?" Twilight asked carefully.
"I only knew her mother for a single night, but at least I got my sweet little shadow out of that meeting..." The stallion said in his musical voice.
"Oh..." Twilight said in somber understanding.
"Well, I should really go make sure she is keeping out of trouble. Plus with the gold we just received I can afford to take her somewhere nice to eat tonight." The stallion laughed as he turned to leave.
"Wait, I didn't catch your name, I am Spike and this is Princess Twilight!" Spike called after the stallion.
Turning his head back towards them he laughed and rubbed the back of his head with a hoof, "Oh my how rude of me. I am Eclipse, one of the very few ponies in this city who's profession is actually bounty hunting."
Twilight and Spike waved as Eclipse left, and the alicorn grinned as she looked up to the dragon, "It seems like we are making friends even on our first day here."
"Yeah, he is a nice guy, shame his kid is such a brat though..." Spike commented.
"Well come on, lets get to the castle at the middle of the city, we need to prepare for my coronation." Twilight said flaring her wings.
"Coro- wait, you mean you already overthrew the evil king?!" Spike said in wonderment.
"No, he apparently up and quit just over a decade ago. Nopony knows why, but he left the throne open for any alicorn that came to the kingdom here." Twilight explained.
"Wow, lucky us eh?" Spike joked.
"Indeed, but come on, I was told to bring you to the castle courtyard so they could lead you to a living quarters that would be able to handle someone of your proportions" Twilight said, poking the dragon in the belly with a hoof.
"Hey!" Spike said frowning at the weight joke Twilight made at him.
The alicorn then took to the air and flew off towards the center of the town. As Spike watched her go for a moment a smile broke forth onto his face. Twilight had not told a joke or even gave him a true smile in years now. This new land and fresh start was definitely what she needed.
"Come on Spike!" Twilight called, causing the dragon to flap his mighty wings and take to the air after the princess of magic.