Ponyville DxD

by Naughty_Ranko


Life 1: Welcome to Ponyville - Part 1

Life 1: Welcome to Ponyville

Part 1

My name is Spike. I'm a dragon. I'm also the number one assistant of Equestria's newest princess, Twilight Sparkle. But we're not living in a castle. As has been the case for the past few years, we live in the Golden Oaks Library in the small town of Ponyville. Last night Twilight got a letter from Princess Celestia and has called all her friends together, the Elements of Harmony.

Normally I'd be happy to spend time with Rarity, who I secretly have a crush on, but right now my eyes keep darting nervously back and forth between Twilight and the spot where I hide my helmet and extra pillows for emergencies.

“Maybe it's because I haven't fulfilled my royal duties,” Twilight says to nopony in particular. She's been freaking out ever since the letter came.

“Calm down, sugarcube,” Applejack tries to soothe her. “What exactly did the letter say?”

Since Twilight is trying to get her breathing under control, I answer while scratching my head. “There really wasn't much to it. It simply stated that Princess Celestia and Luna would be coming here with some important guests and that the reputation of the royal family and Equestria itself is at stake.”

“That doesn't sound so bad,” Rainbow Dash states bluntly.

“BAD?” Twilight yells. “Didn't you hear? It's about the reputation of the royal family! It must be because I've failed in my duties!”

“Darling,” Rarity cuts into the tirade. “How could you have possibly messed up? You haven't been a princess that long.”

Twilight rushes up to Rarity and stares at her in horror. “Maybe I missed a deadline. Do princesses need to get recertified at regular intervals? Maybe she's bringing these guests to give me a test. Is it a written test or a practical exam?”

A pink earth pony is bouncing up and down excitedly. “That sounds like fun!”

“It's not fun, Pinkie!” Twilight snaps at her friend.

“Aww.”

Applejack draws closer to me and whispers in my ear. “So, be honest with me here. Do we need to worry about her uprooting the library again?”

I shake my head. “I dunno. I haven't seen her this upset since she became an alicorn. But if she does blow, I think the library is gonna be the least of our worries, because it's only gonna be ground zero. We might wanna put together an evacuation plan for Ponyville as a whole.”

“Calm your fears, Twilight Sparkle,” a new voice says from up high. “This isn't about you.”

When I look up, I can see a pony with dark blue colors standing in the open window. Everypony gasps. “Princess Luna!” Twilight says and begins to bow. The rest of us follow suit.

“Hello, everypony,” the Princess says calmly as she spreads her wings and glides gracefully to the floor. “Please don't bow to me, Twilight. We are equals, after all. And that goes for the rest of you, too. We'll soon do battle alongside each other once again, after all.”

“Battle?” Fluttershy squeaks, going even paler than usual.

Luna grimaces. “Forgive me. I misspoke. The reason I came ahead of my sister and her visitors is precisely because I saw her letter to you. She clearly exaggerated the importance of her visit and I know how some of you can get flustered at such things.”

Twilight tries to laugh it off with a blush. “Who? Us? I wasn't worried.”

The Princess of the Moon gives her a sidelong glance and smiles. “Do not try to fool me, Twilight Sparkle. I saw the nightmares you had prior to your coronation.”

“You swore not to tell,” Twilight says with a gulp.

With a chuckle Luna answers. “My lips are sealed. Though who would have thought THAT would be the greatest fear of the Element of Magic?”

I suppress a laugh. I know exactly what she's implying, because sometimes Twilight talks in her sleep. But if I were to say it out loud, she'd make me dust shelves for the rest of my life.

Luna greets all of us in turn and then singles out Rarity. “How have you been doing since the incident?”

“Very well, your highness. I appreciate all your help in the matter. It has truly been a relief to have somepony to work it out with.”

The smile on Luna's lips has turned sad. “I've been through it myself. It's the least I can do and, truth be told, I have benefited from it also. Until recently I couldn't talk about it to a mare who has been in the same situation.”

They're referring to the Nightmare Rarity incident from a few months ago. For a time it seemed like we would lose Rarity to the Nightmare forces. I don't know what I would have done. But even after Luna and all our friends rescued Rarity, it was hard for her to cope with it. She was having recurring nightmares about it for weeks afterward. I've been told that Luna started to visit Rarity's dreams every night to help her deal with the trauma. That can't have been easy for her, since she has her own memories and regrets from her time as Nightmare Moon.

I'm just glad we got Rarity back and if there's one good thing that came out of this ordeal, it's that all of us have gotten a little closer to Luna. To us she's no longer just the co-ruler of Equestria, she's also a friend. I've made a vow on my personal dragon code since then. I would follow Princess Luna to the end of the world, if she asked me to. Because she's the saviour of the mare I love and that's a debt I can never fully repay.

“So what exactly is the reason we've been all called together?” Twilight finally asks.

“You said something about a battle,” Fluttershy adds, shivering. Seems like the freak-out baton has been passed on to the yellow pegasus.

“It's not so serious, I assure you. I've been asked to participate in a game.” Luna frowns. “Well, it's more like I've been volunteered by my sister. You'll get a proper explanation in due time, but for right now you can think of it as a mock battle. I do apologize that Tia dragged you into this without asking.”

“Well, how do you think about this?” It's Applejack who wants an honest answer, of course.

The Princess smiles. “Hm, I was a little upset that she went over my head like this and I have been contemplating staging an accidental solar eclipse during the next Summer Sun Celebration to get even. But truthfully I am intrigued. Since I participated in the Summer Wrap-Up Festival, I've been interested in games of any kind and this Rating Game sounds like a good idea in principal.”

“How so?”

“It was originally conceived as an exercise to replace real battle experience. The Elements of Harmony are Equestria's first line of defense and although all of you have proven capable under crisis conditions, practice makes perfect. I think that's what was on Tia's mind, when she picked you to support me in this.”

Twilight nods. “I see. That might be a good thing.”

“Perhaps. But I wanted to make sure first. All of you, would you lend me your help and follow me for this adventure?” For some reason she looks really nervous as she asks. Is she afraid we might turn her down?

Naturally it's Rainbow Dash who speaks up first. “What kind of a question is that? Of course we're with you, Princess! Lead the way!” Everypony happily nods their agreement, even Fluttershy.

Luna breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you, everypony. I knew I could count on you.” Then she turns toward me. “How about you, Spike? Will you lend me your strength?”

I'm taken aback. “M-me?”

She nods. “I'm gonna need seven servants for this game and I've been led to believe the opponent also has a dragon in their ranks.”

I gulp hard. This is bad. I've met other dragons before and they were always bad news. I can't possibly match up to a fully grown dragon. As I'm thinking about this, I glance over at Rarity. She's looking at me with worry. Is she thinking the same thing? But this is Princess Luna asking. I've already made my resolve, so I stand up straight. “If you think I can be of any use, I'll do my best.”

“Then it's decided. Together we'll participate in the Rating Game. I'll be relying on all of you to win.”

“Well said, little sister,” a serene voice says from the doorway.

Everypony bows at Princess Celestia's arrival. I sure wish Twilight would get that lock fixed. I've lived among ponies my whole life, but at times their inability to knock before entering a room completely baffles me. Then again Celestia can be like that, popping out of nowhere without announcing herself.

“It's good to see you getting your team spirit up already. Then I'll introduce you to our guests.”

When she steps aside to allow the three others in her company entry, my eyes go wide. I've seen these creatures before, on the other side of the magic mirror.

“Humans!” Twilight and I blurt out in surprise simultaneously.