//------------------------------// // The Village Beyond The Hill // Story: Spike: The Dragon Princess // by IndiBrony //------------------------------// The distance Twilight had covered had been substantial. The Dragon Realm, even from this distance, remained the largest focal point on the horizon. The deep red rocks of volcano spread out over a vast distance, leading to the edge of the forest. The deep green leaves of the forest spanned the rest of the landscape. To the side of the volcano was a small mountain range. A river streamed down the side of one of the higher peaks, leading into the forest. It twisted and turned until it passed under the hooves of the purple Princess, leading directly towards the power levels that remained on the screen of the scouter. The nervous alicorn hovered slightly above the tree line. The trees thinned as they climbed a steep hill which stood between herself and her destination. Twilight found an appropriate open space between the trees to set her hooves down, and her mind began to tick over, calculating the possibilities that lay over the mound of dirt and rocks. The ground was moist. Twilight's hooves left prints in the mud with each step she took. Her heart started to beat at a frantic pace as she forced her way up to the top. Keeping herself low, the Princess peered over toward a quaint little village at the foot of the hill. Surrounded by a low stone wall, there were tiny hut-sized houses made from clay and straw, a marketplace selling food and other goods to the locals. Behind them - towering above it all - was a castle made from cobblestone, surrounded by a deep moat, and behind that sprawled out several acres of farm land. She observed the locals carefully. They didn't look like big, hard brutes who could overcome the entire Dragon Realm; they looked peaceful. The creatures were bipedal. Their bodies were bereft of hair on their faces and hands, bearing their pale skin, and were draped in simplistic wool garments. The Princess observed their children playing in the mud and the adults mulling around the busy market, trading goods and services. There were guards standing by the castle gates, but it wasn't obvious if there was any activity present behind the tall stone walls. The scouter's screen was too clustered with power levels to clearly define exactly where they were coming from. Twilight figured the best way to get a clearer picture of the scene would be from the air. The purple alicorn beat her wings, lifting herself off of the wet ground and high into the air. She soared as high as she could without having the scouter lose its bearings. Twilight was high enough that her wings touched the clouds. The scouter still picked up the activity from the ground below, but still the levels were too clustered to provide her with any meaningful data. Her only option now was to approach the village. The Princess dive-bombed toward the farm land behind the castle, opting for speed as she had no chance of concealment in the air. She swooped down into the cornfields, believing it to be her best bet at remaining covert. Twilight trotted lightly through the corn, making as little noise as possible. She'd recognised a flaw in her plan immediately as the corn was too tightly packed to give her a decent look ahead. She would have to rely on her scouter readings to lead the way. The most dense readings came from the village, but there were also a few readings coming from behind; she figured those readings were coming from the farmers. The cornfields seemed much larger from within than they did from the sky; they seemed to take an eternity to navigate. The castle did, however, begin to come into view as she looked up into the sky. Her light trots almost turned into a crawl; moving crops would be easily seen from any guards looking down from the castle. Thankfully, though, there didn't appear to be any guards posted on the top of the walls. As she slowly pushed through the last few stems of corn, an opening appeared. The Princess found herself in a small section of open field on the edge of the farm. A small wooden fence lined the fields, and beyond that, the castle's moat. It would only take a single pair of wandering eyes to spot her in the broad daylight. It was at that moment, however, that a buzzing from the scouter distracted her attention. She couldn't make anything out, but the Element of Magic did at least attempt a response. "Cadance?" she whispered loudly. The pink alicorn's response sounded like nothing more than mere white noise. "Cadance, where are you?" Twilight questioned. "Brrzt-brr-zz-drr" Twilight figured she could locate Cadance on the scouter. Unfortunately, the power level readings were still too clustered to define any individual reading. Her only chance of communicating was to hope that Cadance was closing in on her location and that the signal would improve enough to send a clear message. The next few seconds took forever as she waited for Cadance to get closer. "Twrr-lrrt? Drr-rr-Twrr-lrrt. Rrvrr." "Cadance? Can you hear me?" "Rrm rrrdrr rr. Wrr-rr-brr." "I can't understand you. Just keep heading north. I've found the village of the Heroes." Twilight explained, hoping that Cadance could make out her messages a bit clearer. "Rr-srry, crn yrr say thrt agrrn?" "I said I found the village. Keep flying north. The whole village is hidden in a kind of valley behind a big hill. Follow the scouter." "Rr think rr crn herr you now. Are yrr pickrr me up?" "You're still coming through really fuzzy, but I can hear you!" Twilight squee'd, completely unaware of her surroundings or how loud her voice had become. Suddenly, the clanking of metal grabbed her attention as she had been surrounded by villagers wearing heavy metal armour and pointing spears in her direction. The scouter blipped, showing a clear indication of their power levels. They were all in the higher end of double figures. "Have you spoken to them yet?" Cadance asked. Twilight didn't react, like she hadn't heard Cadance's message, as her mind was now completely focused on the sharp, pointed heads of the spears all aimed directly at her. "Twilight, can you hear me?" ... "Twilight?" Cadance's concern showed in her voice "Twilight!" she shouted. "I don't think we're welcome here..." Twilight's voice quivered. "Just hold on, Twilight. I'm almost there." "Well I don't think I'm going anywhere just yet... take your time." Twilight laughed nervously. For a moment, the scene fell almost silent. The only noises that could be heard came from the wind, the rustling of the cornfields in the breeze and the occasional clanking of metal. The Heroes slowly spread along the line of the cornfields to ensure Twilight made no attempt to escape the way she had come, rattling their armour. Amidst all these sounds came a rustling. A rustling of leather and distinct sound of feet impacting the soft ground. "Greetings!" a voice bellowed. Twilight pivoted around to face the origin of the call. Approaching her was a Hero with no armour, but instead was draped in fancy garments. The uniform consisted of a white, form-fitting Napoleon style jacket, complete with navy blue buttons and tassels hanging from the shoulders. On his back he appeared to carry a sword inside a red, leather scabbard; the strap of which pressed against his chest. His trousers matched the white of his jacket, complete with two navy blue stripes which travelled up the sides of his legs. He wore black leather gloves, and matching boots which had been dirtied by mud from the damp ground. His curled hair was also jet black and was long enough that it swayed majestically in the cool afternoon breeze. Even with the awkwardness of walking on moving, squelching mud, he seemed to glide as he walked; his posture was impeccable and his presence was unrivalled. He opened his arms wide and grinned at Twilight, "A pony!" he exclaimed. "Such a rare sight around these parts, and an alicorn, no less!" his every word was expressed through exaggerated movements of his arms. He stood face-to-face with the Princess, staring down into her eyes as she was merely a few inches shorter than him. "Am I right in my assumptions that we've been graced by the presence of royalty?" Twilight stared back into the eyes of the well-dressed Hero, trying hard not to feel intimidated by him. As he was so close to her, the scouter could pick out his power level. 'Over four hundred?' she thought - much higher than the glimpses of the two-figure readings she'd noticed from the majority of the others. "Yes. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm the Princess of Friendship in Equestria." The Hero turned away and bellowed with laughter. "Friendship?" he chortled, "You ponies are so bad at it that you need someone to dictate how it's done? Astonishing!" he sniggered. "Yes, I mean it's only right that you should fix your shortcomings. Tell me, Miss... Sprinkle-" "Sparkle!" Twi snapped. "Sparkle..." his eyes rolled "What do you know of our kind?" Twilight paused, puzzled. "N-nothing." The Hero nodded his head, taking in a deep breath, "Of course. Do you even know what we're called?" Twilight hesitated with the answer, despite knowing it, "Heroes?" The black-haired gentleman cocked his head, unsure of how Twilight had come to that conclusion, "That's a new one." he admitted, wagging his index finger in her direction "No. We, as a species, are known as 'humans'. We were once prevalent, but your ever wonderful Princess Celestia made sure that it wouldn't last. There are only a few hundred colonies like ours left. Long story short; you were right to assume that your kind are not welcome here, which leaves me with one simple request: leave. Leave now and we will allow you to leave with your life." Suddenly, Twilight's plans of peace-talks were blowing up in her face. She couldn't come so far to simply walk away. "I came here in the name of peace. You've been destroying the Dragon Realm and I came to help stop the fighting." "The Dragon Realm? You mean to say you're working alongside the dragons?" he chuckled, "Ponies and dragons working together?" he reiterated. "Well, then, I guess that changes things," he conceded. Twilight briefly sighed in relief, until she witnessed him draw his sword from its sheath, steadying it just inches from her muzzle, "because now I'm going to have to kill you."