Chapter 1
The Goblin in Black
Princess Celestia shot upright from her bed in a cold sweat, her eyes widened in fear. After a moment of heavy breathing, she ran over to the window, throwing open the blinds with her magic. Her violet orbs scanned the horizon for anything amiss, but found nothing. She breathed a sigh of relief, the premonition had yet to come true. But when would it?...
The door to her chamber creaked open, and in stepped Princess Luna. "Sister?" she asked. "What troubles you tonight?"
"Another vision, sister," replied Celestia. "This one perhaps the most troubling of them all..."
"What did you see?"
Celestia turned to face Luna, worry and dread having conquered the princess's features entirely. "I saw war."
Luna's eyes widened. "A-a war? With whom?"
"The goblin kingdom. They will come to us with intentions of conquering equestria, and soon."
Luna shook her head. "That cannot be. The goblins never attack unless provoked, it's not in their nature. And we have done nothing to them."
"I don't know, sister. All I know is that it will happen, my visions have never lied before."
Luna took a deep breath and released it to keep her anxiety from overtaking her. "So, what do we do?"
Celestia turned back to the window. "Send out a summons to all of the kingdoms leaders. Tell them to drop whatever they're doing and meet here as soon as they can. We need to prepare for the invasion, and every second counts."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to send a letter of my own..."
---
Across the plains of Equestria, a train sped down the tracks towards Ponyville. Inside, ponies of all shapes and sizes conversed, wandered and slept. But the lead car was nowhere near this casual.
The residents of the lead car stared in a mix of awe and terror at the unusual passenger sleeping in his chair. The figure was bipedal, for one, and was clad in a pitch black overcoat and a black wide brimmed hat. Because of his attire, it was impossible for anypony in the car to discern who or what this was sitting with them. One pony was so anxious, that she called for a train worker to try and convince him to leave the car. The worker walked up to the sleeping giant and gently prodded him with his hoof. "U-um, sir," he said. "I'm sorry to say, but your presence is kinda disturbing the other passengers. Could you kindly move to a different car?" The lump of black stirred. His crossed arms parted, revealing bright green, meaty hands that travelled up to his hat to push it out of the way of his face. His lizard-like eyes scrutinized the pony beneath him, and his mouth, filled with jagged teeth, let out a sigh. The worker, meanwhile, was freaking out internally, because he was staring down a full blown Goblin! And he didn't look very happy that he just woke him from his nap.
The pony winced when the goblin reached into his pocket, but when he opened his eyes, he only saw an envelope being handed to him. The worker took the letter, opening it and reading the contents inside. His eyes widened as he processed the words on the paper. With a deep breath, he handed the letter back to the goblin, nodding. "My apologies sir, I was unaware of your special status." The goblin simply grunted and returned to his nap.
With a sharp hiss, the train pulled to a stop in Ponyville station. The goblin in black stepped off of the train, pulling out a map of Ponyville from his coat pocket. After finding the best route to his destination, he folded the map, placed it back where it belonged, and made his way downtown.
Needles to say, he got some weird looks from the townsfolk. He paid them no mind. However, one pony made herself nigh impossible for him to ignore.
"HI THERE!" shouted Pinkie Pie, who bounced up in front of him."oooooh,you'reagoblin,I'veneverseenagoblinbefore!ItisjustSOOOOOnicetomeetyou!Whatdoyoudoforfun?Youlikeparties?Ilikeparties,butthenagain,WHODOESN'TLIKEPARTIES?!AmIright,oramIright?" As pinkie continued her tirade of adorable insanity, seemingly teleporting around him, The goblin readied his hands, waiting for the right moment to strike. In a flash, he reached out and grabbed Pinkie in mid air. Small trails of smoke came from his hands, as if he had caught a bullet. Gently, he set Pinkie Down, patted her on the head, tipped his hat to bid her goodbye, and continued on his way. "Wait," she said. "What's your name?"
He looked back at Pinkie with a small smile. "Xanadu," he said in a gruff, but oddly soft voice.
---
Xanadu's walk led him through the park. He didn't need to, really, but he wanted to admire the sights of this town for a bit before having to get down to business. He stopped when he felt a small object roll into his foot. Looking down, he saw that it was an apple. His attention was then drawn to a small yellow filly near the apple. Applebloom stood shaking like a leaf, which only made more apples fall off of the small cart she was dragging behind her. While Applebloom had never seen a Goblin before, she had heard what they looked like, and this one fit the bill perfectly. Xanadu sighed, reaching down to pick up the apple. Kneeling down on one knee, he placed the apple back on Applebloom's cart.
He was about to gather the rest for the filly, but a new voice interrupted. "Hey!" shouted Applejack, who ran up in front of her sister, leaving her own cart behind. Applejack's fierce demeanor vanished for the briefest of moments when Xanadu stood up, dwarfing the orange mare.
But she quickly regained her composure, glaring daggers at Xanadu. "W-what are you doin here, Goblin?" she asked.
"Business," he replied with a shrug. "You, uh, dropped some apples the-"
"I got 'em" Applejack interrupted, gathering up the fruit and placing them on Applebloom's cart. "Now, uh, get on with ya business, please, I can take it from here."
"Very well," Xanadu replied. "Good day." With that, he continued off.
Applejack heaved a sigh of relief while Applebloom looked up at her sister. "Sis, that wan't very nice o' ya," she said.
Applejack sighed, knowing she was right. "I-I'm sorry Applebloom, but if you heard the things I've heard about Goblins, then you'd understand." Maybe this Goblin was on the up and up, but Applejack wasn't gonna take any chances until she had proof...