Strangers in a familiar world

by iMan203

BattleReady

A week of preparation went by. The royal warriors and lunar guards had arrived and had stayed in a vacant motel for the time being. Ay of the soldiers that couldn't get a room there stayed at the mansion or with somepony else. The last 4 days had been spent training with the soldiers and the diamond dogs, after proper hygiene had been achieved for the cave dwellers. Even the leaders took part in the cause. They were there to fully support their own soldiers and all of the others, news of the goblin army had turned them into determined, honorable dogs. Bronze Hammer had returned from sweet apple acres with a fresh supply of zap apple jam, but didn't stop working for long. He went straight to the forge the next day to help arm the surplus of soldiers we had. Our original uniform for guard duty was going to be inefficient on the battlefield, so Bronze was given a large amount of strong metal by the diamond dogs, who didn't care for metal in their cave. We were each crafted a special set of armor, similar to the regular soldiers, but differentiating to show leadership in our clothing. I had woken up this morning, thinking it was going to be another day of training, but I had been wrong before.

As I walked out the door of our mansion, I went around to the other soldiers to ready them for today's training. As I walked past the library, Twilight had stopped me in the road. I would've stopped at her residence, but I thought it was much too early to wake her. I was wrong again. Twilight had been looking for me that morning with important news.

"I'm so glad I caught up to you! I have wonderful news for tonight!" She said excitedly.

"I'm sorry Twilight, but I really don't have the time for any dating for the while, I'm much too busy." I frowned.

She giggled, "is that all you think about when I talk to you about something? I was going to say the dragon migration."

"Perfect timing, I'll be able to confront the dragons to see if any would stay and fight for us." I said eagerly.

"Exactly, it'll be tonight at the edge of town, on the north hill." She informed.

"I'll be there, after setting some time aside from training." I said.

"You better, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity! Considering the chances of a dragon migration at our time of need." She smiled.

"You're right, I'll go talk to the others, see if anypony can take my position in training the soldiers." I said.

Later that day I had met with the other three, and explained to them the dragon migration. They came to an agreement on the roles of each pony for training, and I had the day off. I had no idea what I was going to do today. The dragon migration was tonight, and I had an entire day off. I guess I really did have time for a date. I was walking to Twilight's library, when I heard an unusual sound. It sounded almost like a factory, but I could hear it was getting closer. I saw smoke in the distance and started trotting to the distraction. There was a large machine on wheels, with all different sorts of contraptions and gizmos spinning and cranking as the machine moved down the street. I knew who it was. Time to run the Flim Flam Brothers out of town...

"Stop! In the name of the Ponyville guard!" I shouted.

"Ah, brother! Look! Just the pony we were looking to talk to!" Flim had said.

"Yes, of course! We've come by to offer our services in this war of goblins and ponies!" Flam shouted.

"Or you can turn around and go back to where you've come from. Nopony here is interested in your business! Not after the cider incident." I chuckled.

"We thought you might say that, but now we've created a contraption that isn't to compete!" Flim said.

"Yes, yes! This beautiful machine here is going to add to your army! It is easy to function and has the capability of 30 trained soldiers!" Flam explained.

"A machine made to systematically kill in a quick and simple process?" I asked.

"Yes, sir!" The two unicorns said in unison.

"Ah, yes. You two truly sicken me." I said flatly.

"What? Why the sad response? We thought this would surely come in handy, fighting an army of tough little green men!" Flim smiled.

"Neither of you understand the concept of humanity, there isn't much to go around in war, and when you use such a machine, even on goblins, there is no righteousness. It's man slaughter!" I explained.

"Right, right! Well this is surely going to be the war of the ages! If you don't want to accept our offer..." Flim started.

"We'll move onto the next best paying customer!" Flam exclaimed.

"You wouldn't dare... Supply machines to kill your own kind?" I said in disgust.

"Oh, but we would!" They said in unison.

"It's better to be on the winning side!" Flim started.

"Than to be DEAD!" Flam exclaimed.

"Uh huh. I see. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end you both right now." I said flatly.

They both laughed, as if it was a joke, "you? End us?! I don't see you with a supreme killing machine anywhere for miles!"

"You're looking at one right now. I can flatten you and 50 of those machines without breaking a sweat." I challenged.

"Well, it looks like we're going to challenge Ponyville again, brother!" Flim shouted.

"Right you are! It feels good to be on the winning side this time around!" Flam exclaimed.

"Just back out now, before anypony gets hurt. It'll be for your own good." I warned them with a grave expression.

"And miss out on such a profit from war?! I think not!" Flam said.

"It'll be your own funerals." I said.

And at that, the two brothers said their goodbyes and started off, of course I remembered that I'm not just a guard anymore, so I placed them under arrest for challenging the royal army and myself. They of course resisted arrest and floored it into the Everfree forest. I didn't chase after them because it would be much more satisfying to snap their necks and grind their bodies in their own contraptions. All is fair in love and war. After that uncomfortable encounter, I went to see Twilight. I explained to her what had just happened, and she shared the same look of disgust as I did.

"They really said that?!" Twilight said in shock.

"Yeah, they've already gone into the Everfree forest to negotiate with the goblins." I said gravely.

"Aren't you worried what might happen if the goblins come across such a weapon?" Twilight asked.

"Not one bit worried, if I know machines, its that they aren't usually prepared for battle on their first design. The machine has a system for killing, there's going to be an easy system for destroying." I explained.

"Well, if you say so..." Twilight looked worried.

"Well I have the day off, what should we do until the dragon migration?" I asked.

"Well, its still early out, and the migration is tonight. We could always go for a picnic out in this spot I know of out in the south field." Twilight suggested.

"Sounds good, is it going to be a walk? Or a hike...?" I asked.

"Well, its definitely a hike, but there are plenty of sights to see on the way out." Twilight giggled.

"Alright, lets go!" I said.

"I'll grab a basket, we can stop by sugar cube corner for a lunch to pack." Twilight said.

We went out the door and toward sugar cube corner, I was carrying the basket, following Twilight down the road. We only just started walking, and I had a gorgeous view to see in front of me. Twilight scolded me for such a remark about her flank, but I could see her blush slightly. We continued to walk, Twilight now at my side to keep me from staring. I know she wouldn't mind it at the library or somewhere more private, but we were walking through the town and it was a bit embarrassing for Twilight. At least she felt it was. I knew that most ponies wouldn't notice, but some would catch on eventually, I guess it's for the best. We arrived at sugar cube corner to get a lunch from Pinkie. As we opened the door, I had received a few stares of approval from other ponies enjoying lunch. Everypony in town knew about Twilight and I. Giving a small smile, I went back to ordering.

"Pinkie Pie? Are you ok back there?" Twilight asked, listening to the jumbling of pots and pans everywhere.

"I'm fine today! It's just really busy around here at lunch time! What can I get for you?" Pinkie asked from the kitchen.

"We were looking for a packed lunch for a picnic out in the park today, if it isn't too much trouble for you." I said.

"Of course not!" Pinkie Pie walked out of the kitchen, "anything for you two! I'll whip up a special lunch for a romantic park date!" Everypony gave a glance to us after such an outburst from Pinkie.

"Alright, we'll be waiting here, I'll give you the basket for you to pack." I handed the basket over the counter, and Pinkie went to work.

"This is going to be fun, we haven't been able to..." Twilight was cut off.

"Done!" Pinkie popped up from behind the counter with a full picnic basket.

"I'm not going to even question that logic, I'll just pay for the lunch and leave." I said flatly.

"Alright! You two have fun out there!" Pinkie winked.

The basket was weighed with food, at least I think it was food. I hope it was just food. I didn't need any awkward moments on our last date for the next few weeks. I'm actually hoping that I can get this date just right without any screw ups, our first perfect date. We got to the park entrance and started walking, we were able to talk a bit and enjoy all of the wonderful sights. There were ponds and a river, with a waterfall at the end. The trees were all magnificent and tall in the morning sun, filled with song birds and furry little animals. It looked as if Fluttershy had come and organized everything for us while we walked this path. When we reached the waterfall the hiking began, it was a rocky incline down the side path. I had taken the basket down with no trouble, one leap and I had reached the bottom in tact. I went back to the top to help Twilight down, taking her hoof and bringing her down the rocks slowly and steadily. We walked along the river for a while, enjoying the view in the small valley that the river has created. After a few more minutes of walking, we reached an opening, into a small field surrounded by tree line and open to the sun. I took the basket and removed a large blanket from the items. Twilight had chosen a smooth spot on top of a hill and had laid the blanket out square with her magic. We both took a spot on either corner of the blanket with the picnic basket in the middle. We immediately started eating the wonderful sandwiches and cookies Pinkie had prepared in remarkable time. As I looked deeper into the basket I noticed there were two thermoses labeled for each of us. I gave Twilight her labeled thermos and took mine. Inside of the jugs were our favorite milkshakes, kept cold after a long hike through the park.

"This is perfect, we finally have a date that wouldn't be spoiled by any disturbances." I said.

"Yeah, we're finally alone out here in this remote spot of the park." Twilight replied.

"I bet there's nopony out here for a mile around." I smiled.

"You're probably right, its such a hidden spot." Twilight said.

"We could do whatever we wanted out here, nopony would judge." I said charmingly.

"I see where this is going." Twilight giggled, "let's just wait until after lunch."

"Alright, if you insist." I kept eating with a smirk on my face.

After we had eaten the majority of the snacks packed away, we laid in the sun, enjoying the moment. I had packed up the leftovers and moved the basket to the side. Twilight leaned to look at me as I rolled across the blanket towards her. We found ourselves in each others arms, all alone. Our lips were locked before I even realized what was happening. I kept kissing, and Twilight kissed back. As our kiss broke, I continued up on her muzzle, then to her forehead, until I ran my nose along her horn.

"Hey! Stop that!" Twilight giggled.

"What, are unicorns ticklish in that area?" I asked playfully.

"No, just a bit sensitive." Twilight winked.

"Oh, so you're saying... That if I did this..." I ran my tongue around the base of her purple horn and up the side. I could feel her shiver in my arms and moan into my chest.

"Ok... That's enough, save it for tonight." Twilight mumbled.

"Oh, but why should I? We're all alone out here. We could really enjoy ourselves before I leave for a while." I said.

"I just don't feel comfortable doing... This... Out in the open." Twilight looked around.

Just as I went in for another taste of Twilight's horn, a rainbow streak flew overhead. Twilight jumped back and stood up to see what it was. I knew exactly who it was, no other Pegasus has a rainbow streaked mane flying at high speeds. Rainbow Dash had landed on the edge of the field and turned to see Twilight and I on a picnic blanket.

"What're you two doing out here? The park is about a mile that way." Rainbow pointed in the direction we came from.

"I'm aware of this, but I just wanted a quiet spot for the two of us this afternoon." I said.

"Ohhh, I see what's going on here! You've definitely come to the right spot, this is my best napping area! Nopony knows about this spot but me! Well, us, I guess." Rainbow said disappointedly.

"It's alright, we're only here for the afternoon, I doubt we'll be back any time soon." Twilight said.

"Alright, well I'll go find another quiet spot to rest at, you two can continue your love session now." Rainbow said with a dirty smirk on her face.

Rainbow Dash flew off in the direction of the park that we came from. Twilight and I went back to snacking and relaxing, even though Rainbow Dash pretty much spoiled the moment. I still got a couple of sweet kisses from her, and returned the favor more than enough. The sun had started to drop in the sky, it was late afternoon. I picked up the basket with the blanket and all packed away neatly and we started our walk back to Ponyville. Getting up the waterfall was a lot tougher than going down, so Twilight had just flashed herself to the top. I had no problem doing it on my own, with a couple of large jumps I was up with Twilight and started walking again. We left the park late in the afternoon. I returned the picnic supplies to Pinkie Pie and went back to the library with Twilight. As we were walking back, almost to the front door, Tiki crashed down behind us. He was going off about the goblin camp, fear in his eyes.

"3 square miles! Deep in the Everfree!" Tiki was panic stricken.

"Well, Glimmer wasn't kidding about mass amounts of warriors... And it's all one camp?" I asked.

"Well, no, but its mostly cleared forest with campsites dotting the landscape, they're clearing their way to the tree line with all of the soldiers they have!" Tiki yelled.

"Well, we'll be set to fight back against whatever they have, if tonight goes as well as I plan." I said.

"What's tonight? What are you planning to do? Are you going to level the camp?!" Tiki's eyes widened.

"I mean, I always could level some of the camp, but that wouldn't work out too well in the long run. There is a large dragon migration tonight, and I plan on speaking with the beasts, to see if they will fight for our cause." I explained.

"Oh yeah, you can speak dragon, right? Because you're half dragon?" Tiki asked.

"Um, beside the fact that dragons can comprehend perfect English, being dragon blooded will help." I chuckled.

"Whatever, as long as you don't get burnt to a crisp." Tiki said jokingly.

"Well, we better prepare, it's getting darker out and the dragons will be flying overhead at moonrise." Twilight said.

Tiki flew off to continue patrol and help with the rest of the day's training. Twilight brought me inside. She was scrambling to grab all different sorts of instruments to record data from the migration. Spike was standing near by with a red wagon, collecting all of the stuff and organizing it into the wagon. I was lingering through the library, waiting for Twilight to finish packing. After what felt like hours of organizing, the sky had darkened and we set off for a high point Twilight had marked. This point was a pristine landing spot for dragons on their migration. If any dragon landed, I could approach it and speak to the heard.

We started walking for the mountain, with the migration beginning as the sun was setting. Smaller dragons flew overhead with larger ones to follow in the distance. Bursts of glowing orange flame were seen through the air like a lightning storm. Mighty roars that shook the ground could be heard all through the sky in the dark. I had never been in the middle of such an event, but I knew something wasn't right, something was off. After a long hike, we were half way up the hill and the sky was only illuminated by the moon and fire of the migrating dragons.

"Something isn't right, I can feel it." I said, concerned.

"You're right, there are far too many dragons in one area, something has them flustered to leave Equestria." Twilight observed the sky.

"I can feel it too, the migration shouldn't been happening for two weeks." Spike's dragon sense was telling him something.

"You two stay here, I need to get their attention, none of them have started to land yet. They're all going to fly overhead and away if I don't do something." I sprinted up the rest of the mountain as fast as I could.

As I reached the top, the largest of the dragons were flying overhead, none of them bothering to stop on such a perfect perch for the night. Something was truly wrong with such a migration, and I needed answers now. I inhaled for a large burst of flame into their direction. I didn't know if it would cause any harm to the dragons, but I knew it would grab their attention to the perch. I released my breath, and the sky illuminated a bright, fiery blue shade, all the dragons within the area of Ponyville were illuminated, and had turned to face the mountain. The flames danced from my mouth and engulfed the largest of the dragons. It was the hottest blast I had ever pulled off, my mane actually singed from the fire, the sand in the crater crystallized to glass, and the boulder next to me had melted from such an intense heat. Any plant life in the crater's area had been vaporized from atop the hill. I really hope there weren't any animals on the top at the time, I certainly knew there weren't any now. The sky had darkened once again as the blue flames came to a halt. Dragons everywhere circled the hilltop crater and the largest one had landed on one of the rims. I was hidden behind the rock I had half melted, readied for a fight.

"Who wields the power of the ancient? Step forth and express your power once more!" The greatest of the dragons announced, his voice shaking the very earth.

"It is me, I'm here to talk, I have questions to be answered." I stepped forward behind the rock, letting a blue flare into the air to linger for illumination.

"A pony? How is this possible?" The dragon chuckled.

"It matters not the form of which is taken by the ancient power, his true form will take place when he discovers his core energy." One of the other dragons said.

"This doesn't concern me right now, I'm here to ask the questions. Why has the dragon migration been upset? What troubles you?" I asked.

"The goblins are coming to power, we will leave Equestria and return in 50 years when the fighting has ceased." The eldest said.

"So you do not fight back? You do not challenge the goblins to defend your homeland?" I protested.

"What you say is true, our home is at risk, and the treasure each one of us had stored is endangered when we leave, but the sake of our lives are preserved by avoiding war." The eldest explained.

"We can change that, stay and fight with me, I plan to crush the goblin resistance. I cannot do it without you, though." I stated.

"Why should we stay and fight? The goblins being raised by the infamous Blunt Will can surely overpower a dragon without question." The eldest dragon explained.

"A dragon? A single dragon? Of course they could, but what about a group, a heard such as the one that is migrating now?" I argued.

"You make a good point, but our kind is not recognized for power in numbers, we do not work as a team." The eldest had stated.

"Who ever said that an old dragon can't learn new tricks? Besides, this isn't just your land, this is our land. This land belongs to all the creatures of Equestria. One kind cannot rule this land solemnly, especially a brutish species such as goblins." I said.

"Your pony kind has done a perfect job of doing so!" One of the younger dragons yelled.

"This is true, but the ponies are only... Invasive. They are not brutal and unforgiving like such a species as goblins." The largest dragon protested.

"Enough! What is your opinion on such a matter, ancient one?" The eldest had asked.

"Ancient one? What are you speaking of?" I asked.

"Your core flame is induced with magic. A second source of magic has tampered with your core and released the spiritual energy of your core flame, I presume?" The eldest asked.

"You presume correctly, but are you saying that I wield my own magic, and not just an enchantment?" I questioned.

"Of course, the magic that tampered with your core released your magical capability. You wield power that only an ancient one can wield." The eldest explained.

"Well, sorry to put a damper on your story, but I'm not completely part of this world, I was only warped into Equestria weeks ago." I explained.

"What?! You do not carry blood of the ancient ones?!" The eldest was surprised.

"Sorry if I was imposing on anything, I'm just here to recruit for an army." I started to back away, before things got ugly.

"A new era has arose! A new dragon lord has appeared in Equestria!" The eldest dragon's voice bellowed through Equestria.

"A NEW ERA HAS AROSE!!!" Every dragon within the migration had echoed this in unison, other dragons across the land could be heard repeating the same phrase.

Every dragon threw their head to the sky and loosed a massive blast of fire. Bursts of flame could be seen by dragons emerging from everywhere across Equestria. Without thinking, I released a ball of blue flame that exploded through the air and danced bluish sparks through the sky to mix in with the others. the blue flame overtook all others and shimmered like the galaxies. It looked as if new stars were being created into the sky. Thousands of dragons circled the area and began to praise this event. I had no idea what was going on, nopony had provided me with an explanation, and I really hoped Twilight had an old book on the subject to explain what was happening.

"We will fight for you! Every one of us! The goblins shall not rule over the new era! The dragons will rise again and conquer the land!!!" The eldest had bellowed through the night sky, followed by the appraisal of thousands of deep, bellowing voices of the other dragons in the distance.

"Wait! We cannot be so brutal as to conquer everything in Equestria! This makes us no better than the goblins!" I protested.

"What do you suggest happen then? You are the creator of this new era of time, you govern what is right and what is wrong, my lord..." The Eldest had bowed his head to my presence.

"The ponies will not be hurt. things will change, but the ponies will not be degraded because of this event." I commanded.

"I approve of your decision, working with the ponies in unison is a wise move, but others will not agree so easily." The Eldest explained.

"Blood will be spilt then. To protect what I love, and to form our new age of time!" I had shouted, and the dragons had appraised my command.

Fire was spewed all through the air, the migration was brought to a halt, and each dragon took refuge in their homes. Others who lived farther away stayed in the company of their brethren. From my command, the way of the ancient beast had been changed. Most enjoyed this change, they saw how the ponies could work and harmonize together. They wished to accomplish the same before, but the lore of the original rulers had prevented such acts of "soft feelings." After about an hour of ceremony, Twilight had approached the Eldest dragon and I at the top of the peak.

"What just happened? I haven't seen anything of the sort in all my life! Twilight was bedazzled by the show of the century.

"I'm not exactly sure what to make of it myself, but everything will be explained in time." I said.

"Yes, please, let me start from the beginning. This may take a while, so prepare yourself." The eldest dragon spoke.

There was a time, before Celestia and Luna, before Sombra, before Discord. It was a great and vast land of mountainous rock and lava, the surface temperature boiled with rage and power. Only monstrous beasts roamed the planet. There was no sun or moon, the only light source was the blazing fires of rage and chaos. Over millions of years, feelings and emotions started to take form and shape the land and the creatures. Dragons came into form. Bonds of friendship and trust were made, along with evil and hatred. Thousands of years allowed for other feelings to branch off from these original emotions. Everything started to take shape, the earth cooled and life existed among the beasts of the land, sky, and oceans. Somewhere in this time, an extra force of each combined element spread across the land and gave it meaning, reason, and emotion. This force was magic. From the magic grew life from the sun, which had slowly appeared over the thousands of years before. Plant life filled the planet, along with small furry animals. The dragons had viewed this land as a utopia of perfect existence. As the land took form from the magic, there were selected individuals who wielded the power of magic, and became stronger from it. These individuals were selected by the force itself for their wits and responsibilities, although not all of the selected members were truly good. Aside from their differences, each selected individual came together as a council to govern the land with the almighty power. With such power, they created beings to live among their land, such as ponies. The sentient beings of magic had disappeared into the land as they completed their job. The creation of ponies marked the beginning of the Discordian era, and so recorded pony history continued from there. Dragons continued their strict way of code while history unfolded over the next couple thousand years.

Twilight had burnt her quill down to a point, after rushing down as many notes as she could about the story. She would have to make a note to Princess Celestia about her discovery. Me, on the other hand. I had to figure out my strength and what my existence really meant. I'm the most powerful being in Equestria, I just have to find my strength. This had to wait though, I had a goblin resistance to crush.

Comments

[iMan203]

3034987 xD thanks a lot, I don't have trouble with writers block. I have a unique style where I just write on the spot, no planning, no thinking. It's lead me to some pretty crazy stuff, which only leads me to write more. I have like 3 more separate books planned for this little series I got going right now.

[Kodie]

Oh my god. He's a dragonborn
It's so awesome Have a moustache