Legacies of the Fallen

by Lightning Spear

Chapter 2: Royal Diplomacy

The principle of give and take is the principle of diplomacy - give one and take ten.

- Mark Twain

As they walked into the throne room, the newcomers marveled every inch of the castle's majestic architecture. The guards occasionally glanced at them out of curiosity, but most of their attention fell on Lucatiel and Eduard as they were carrying massive swords which could easily cleave their bodies in two with one swing. This was complemented by Eduard's heavy armor and assortment of external weaponry, which gave him the appearance of a walking armory. But they knew there was nothing to be afraid of as one of their leaders were with them and they outnumbered the newcomers by three to one...or at least that's what they thought.

"Before we begin, I would like to re-introduce myself. My name is Princess Celestia, Princess of the kingdom of Equestria. Should you be wondering, you are currently standing in our capital city, Canterlot," Celestia stated. Her mystically flowing multi-colored mane was an alluring sight to behold for the newcomers who quickly turned their sights away after she finished her statement.

"Equestria? A name quite fitting actually," Eduard mused. "I am Ser Eduard the Steadfast, of Drangleic."

"I am Rosabeth of Melfia, Your Majesty."

Lucatiel took off her mask. "I am Lucatiel of Mirrah, Your Majesty."

The three gave courtly bows to the Sun Princess.

"Ser Eduard the Steadfast, based on your title; I assume you are a knight?" Celestia inquired
.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Lady Lucatiel is also a knight, while Lady Rosabeth is a pyromancer," Eduard said.

"Someone who specializes with the art of manipulating fire? Very interesting. It has been a long time since I last saw a pyromancer, as the last one in our land died centuries ago." Celestia smiled. "Now I believe all of you are wondering how the scroll you possessed brought you here, yes?"

"Pardon me, Your Majesty. But do you know about this particular scroll we are discussing right now?"

"Yes. A long time ago our parents realized that there were countless worlds in various timelines and realities which inhabitants may require a fresh start. Now they were not capable of reaching each and every one of them as that would be an overwhelming burden to bear; but they had another solution which could give some of them a chance to start their new lives here," said Celestia. She took a moment, letting the information to sink in. And then, she continued.

"Using a combination of various arcane arts, they created a powerful spell which could only be used by those with pure hearts. They engraved the spell's incantations in various displacement scrolls and scattered them throughout in hopes that one day, those who received the scrolls may begin their new lives here. You are not the first of your kind to arrive here, but it has been centuries since your kind first arrived here. He was a good and honorable man. If I am not mistaken his name was Salaman...the late pyromancer I mentioned earlier."
"Ah, so I assume Your Majesty already know what we are," Eduard stated.

"Indeed, but I do not know who you are. But worry not, we will have plenty of time to talk later," Celestia said. "In the mean time, I shall grant you and your companions quarters within the castle, your needs and amenities will also be covered. For now, you are only allowed to stay there and await my summons. You will also be under supervision."

"My sincerest gratitude, Princess Celestia," Eduard said. "On the behalf of my companions, we greatly appreciate it."

"It is the Equestrian way to be kind and tolerant, Ser Eduard. Please do not do anything unfavorable here," she said.

"You have my word, Your Majesty."

"Do you have anymore questions for now?"

"Your Majesty, I have a question," Rosabeth said.

"Ask away, Lady Rosabeth," Celestia replied.

"What are you really?"

"I am an alicorn. We are the rarest, but also the most powerful among ponykind. We are able to harness the magical powers of the Unicorns, the flight abilities of the Pegasi, and the strength of a good, true heart of an Earth Pony," Celestia explained. "Is that clear, Lady Rosabeth?"
"Clear as day, Your Majesty. Thank you." Rosabeth smiled.

"Your Majesty." Lucatiel raised her hand.

"Yes Lady Lucatiel?"

"Your Majesty said 'our parents'...so, I assume you have brothers or sisters?" asked Lucatiel.

"Yes, I do have a sister; her name is Princess Luna, co-ruler of this kingdom. She is at rest now from her night court session, although I believe you will meet her soon enough." Celestia smiled. "My court is going to be back in session soon, Captain Lightning Spear will escort you to your chambers. That would be all, good day."

The three once again bowed before her, before proceeding to the throne room's entrance where a large, robustly built unicorn guard was tidying his short-spiky electric yellow mane before putting on his helmet. He looked like he was waiting for them. The unicorn possessed an orange coat, which was partially exposed from his armor's slits, short-spiky electric yellow tail, with blue eyes matching the blue plume on his helmet. And finally, he possessed some sort of marking resembling a spear imbued with lightning on his...thigh. Celestia also possessed similar marking, but her's resembled the sun itself; maybe Eduard will ask about the markings later. He was also armed with a large longsword, presumably a greatsword for a pony's size, which was sheathed on his back.

"Captain Lightning Spear?" Eduard asked as the group approached him "Why does his name sounds like my favorite miracle spell?" he thought.

"Ser Eduard the Steadfast I believe?" Lightning asked, "and his companions of course. I will escort you to your chambers, when you are ready."
"Of course Captain, lead the way."

---

The humans followed Lightning Spear as they walked through the castle's lavish yet elaborated maze of guarded hallways and stairs. Every once in a while they saw non-guard ponies such as, maids tending to the castle grounds, dignitaries, politicians, and other castle employees, but for the most part it was always guards. But regardless of their professions and status, every pony seemed to give them 'the look.'

"Don't mind them," Lightning said as they turned right on a corner. "They will get used to you all eventually. Just give them some time."

"We are used to it Captain," Eduard replied. "Where we came from, having someone looking at you in a strange manner without killing you first, is a blessing."

"Drangleic, yes? It must be hard living at such a place." Lightning replied.

"Yes, knowledge of combat is a must if you want to survive. The primary principle of living in Drangleic is kill or be killed," Eduard said grimly.

"In the past that is true, but I am sure civilization is returning to Drangleic once more thanks to Ser Eduard here," Lucatiel said while patting the knight's shoulder. Eduard was about to retort, but Lucatiel shushed him by patting his shoulder again.

"Impressive, then we should talk about your endeavors some time. Maybe with a big glass of something strong. " Lightning chuckled.

"Count me in." Lucatiel smiled underneath her mask.

And then, they continued chatting as they strode through the halls. Rosabeth's studious mind perked up as she began to ask various questions about the city, the castle, the ponies...pretty much everything, to which Lightning answered with complete fluency. Soon, they arrived on a set of moderately yet fittingly decorated double doors.

"We're here." Lightning said as he opened the door for them. "Come, let me show you the things you need to know about your room."

---

For them, the room was more fitting to a king's chamber than that of a guest's, as there were various luxuries and facilities that they were not able to enjoy or seen in Drangleic and it's surrounding lands. The room was a medium sized bedroom. There were three separate beds, each enough to fit a human being, another set of double doors which led to a balcony revealing a picturesque view of the valley they seen earlier. There was also a private bathroom with magic-based appliances, much to Rosabeth's excitement. A fireplace was also there. There were also fancy candleholders with unlit candles in multiple places. Numerous paintings and tapestries hung on the walls; recounting events of times long passed or just abstract paintings. In addition, various furniture such as a large wardrobe and dressers were placed in multiple spots in the room...all exquisitely made with fine craftsmanship.

"Now that you know about your room, do you need anything else before I go?" Lightning asked.

"No, thank you Captain," Eduard said.

"If you say so. One more thing...call me Lightning, forget my rank in situations like these." the unicorn chuckled.

"Then you can call us by our names, in situations like these," Eduard said.

"Then I shall let you rest, good day." Lightning saluted before exiting the room and closing the door behind him.

With that, the humans chose their beds and began to disarm themselves. Rosabeth took off her hat, boots, and satchel before grabbing a towel and bathrobe from the wardrobe and stepped in to the bathroom to take a bath.

Eduard took off his Black Knight Greatsword along with its scabbard from his back and placed it against the wall next to his bed. He took off the rest of his weapons and placed them beside his large blade. Then, he took off his helm and stripped his armor, revealing his green padded defensive jacket and trousers, arranged them neatly from helmet to his boots before observing them. His armor was practically worn as he didn't get the chance to repair his armor set back in Majula as the scroll rush didn't let him to do so. He reached for his satchel, took out a pouch of repair powder, and started sprinkling them all over his armor set and gears of war, causing every dent, scratches, and all other forms of damage to vanish instantly.

Lucatiel was already taking off her armored vest before arranging them neatly with the rest of her gear, leaving her white long-sleeved undercloth and brown trousers. Eduard passed her the rest of the repair powder before arranging his armor pieces by improvising a coat hanger stand into an armor stand. Lucatiel smiled as she began sprinkling the golden powder all over her gears, causing the same effect.
Moments later, Rosabeth walked out from the bathroom, wearing a bathrobe and drying her hair with a towel. Even the size of the bathrobe were baffling as they could fit a human being, but after Eduard asked a passing guard about this, it seemed that it was a form of luxury for the richer ponies here in Canterlot.

"Eduard?" Lucatiel asked as she stored her vest inside the wardrobe.

"Yes?" Eduard mumbled as he stood on the balcony, observing the breathtaking view of Equestria's nature.

"Do you think it is all over now? That we can now live normal lives here, without having to worry about our safety in each passing day?"

Eduard walked back in to their room. "Well, for now...it is. We are being treated very kindly even though we are strangers to this land.
However, we cannot trust these ponies too quickly. I do not want for them to witness the horrors our weapons and magic could bring...but should there be any threats to our safety, I am giving you full freedom to defend yourselves by any means necessary. Any objections?"

"I cannot argue with that," Rosabeth said while sitting on her bed, Lucatiel also agreed on that. "But now I am very curious about this Salaman...if they keep any records about him and his pyromancies, I can learn so many things about primordial pyromancy!"

"Hold on there little sister, you are starting to resemble that old paledrake." Eduard laughed before climbing onto his bed.

"Whose soul you claimed after you defeated that giant spider...Freja was it?" Lucatiel inquired.

"Yes, and how does Shalquoir refer to him?"

"Oh it's like that awful traitor long ago..." Rosabeth mimicked Shalquoir's signature tone when she told them stories around the Far Fire, and the whole room exploded into laughter. Moments later, the laughter died down. The humans reclined on their beds, letting their minds and bodies to rest after the struggle they have been through. Moments later, Rosabeth began to snore in an audible yet lovely manner.

"Is she asleep?" Eduard asked before yawning himself. Lucatiel inspected Rosabeth who was lying on the bed next to her's and nodded.

"Feeling tired, Eduard?" Lucatiel asked as she approached his bedside. "There are no hollows nor bloodthirsty brigands here."

"You will not be needing my shoulder again?" Eduard smirked, Lucatiel returned the smirk before landing a kiss on his forehead, much to his surprise.

"I will not." she winked. "Now go get some sleep," Lucatiel said before climbing onto her own bed and soon dozed off as well.

Eduard reclined back on his bed and gazed at the ceiling before fatigue took over his body.

---

It was already at dusk when the humans woke up from their sleep. The light of the setting sun shone through the windows, painting the room with an ethereal orange glow. Refreshing blows of the afternoon winds swept in through the balcony and cleared the humans of their drowsy state.

"Peaceful is it not?" Lucatiel asked while walking to the wardrobe in order to retrieve her vest before quickly putting it on.

"It is...it might take us a while to get used to this," Eduard said while sitting on his bedside. "Rosabeth, we used to practice at this hour yes?"

Rosabeth chuckled before drawing her Estoc with her left hand from her magic satchel and conjuring her pyromancy flame on her right hand.
"Care for some practice now?" she smirked while brandishing her Estoc at him.

Before Eduard could answer, there were three knocks on the door. Rosabeth quickly extinguished her pyromancy flame, put away her Estoc, and went to the bathroom to get dressed.

"A moment please," Eduard said as he answered the door. In front of the door, stood Lightning Spear...still clad in his armor. The Royal Guard Captain gave Eduard a salute which he was still baffled about...but at least, he knew it was a form of salute.

"And I thought we are in an informal situation." Eduard laughed. "Please, come in."

Lightning thanked him and stepped in to the room.

"Good evening, ladies." the unicorn greeted both Lucatiel and Rosabeth. The two greeted him back.

"So what is it? I assume this not our time for a drink?" Lucatiel asked.

"No, unfortunately. But we will get to it sometime." Lightning smiled. "Princesses Celestia and Luna have requested a private dinner audience with the three of you. Don't worry it's not an uptight formal event. There will be just the five of you, chatting and dining. I will escort you when you are ready."

But before Lightning left the room, an idea popped in his head. "Hang on a minute. In exception of Rosabeth, the two of you would take a century to clean yourselves up. Now close your eyes."

"For what?" Eduard asked.

"Just do it!" Lightning said as he charged his horn with magic. The two did that, and with a burst of yellow light, Eduard and Lucatiel looked like they were ready for a coronation. Looking fresh, tidy, and clean. Even their clothes seemed like they were made yesterday.

"That was a shower spell." Lightning smiled. "Very helpful for us guards. Now, shall we?"

"Give us a moment to put our boots on, then we shall go," Eduard said.

---

Once again, the humans navigated the castle's lavish yet elaborated maze of guarded hallways and stairs. Unarmed and unarmored. It was nightfall, and the moon's rays shone through the large stained glass windows, lighting up the hallways in a spectrum of colors conjoined by the orange glow produced by the chandeliers above.

"You are not wearing your mask," Edward commented as Lucatiel did not wear her mask on their way to the dinner. She and Rosabeth also left their hats in the room.

"I will not be needing it now." Lucatiel smiled beautifully, complementing her already beautiful complexion. "Is there something wrong?"
"No. In fact, you look lovely." Eduard smiled. Lucatiel's cheeks reddened at his remark.

They noticed that the guards changed. Instead of the white-coated ponies in golden armor who guarded the halls during the day, these night guards possessed dark gray coats, tufted ears, and cat-like vertical slits for pupils. Most even possessed bat-like wings. Like all guards before, they eyed the newcomers as they walked.

"Who are these guards? They look...different." Rosabeth asked.

"They are Princess Luna's guards, a branch in the Royal Guard forces. The Night Guard. Instead of guarding during the day, the Night Guards, as you can see for yourself, guards the night," Lightning explained. "They are most active at night and can see very well in the dark, which is why they are fit for their jobs."

"Fit? You mean 'perfect'?" A night guard with bat wings stepped forward from his post as the group passed by "Captain Lightning Spear." the guard saluted.

"Captain Nightshade." Lightning returned his salute. "I am not a Night Guard, you know better."

"Guiding our new guests I see." Nightshade smiled. "Greetings." he greeted the humans, which they returned.

"Now, I would like to stay and chat but the Princesses called for us," Lightning said. The two snapped quick salutes before Lightning and the humans continued their travel.

"Very well. Oh, and Lightning?"

"Yes?" Lightning stopped in his tracks, looking back at Nightshade.

"About that drinking game, was it a tie last time?"

"How can we both know? We were drunk!" Lightning chuckled before continuing his walk with the humans.

"Sounds like fun. Maybe we should join that game sometimes," Eduard said.

"You have never tried Equestrian Ale do you?" Lightning smirked. "Lets see if you can still stand after a glass or two."

Eduard smiled and the group continued in silence, navigating through the castle.

"We're here," Lightning said as they arrived on a large set of large lavishly decorated set of double doors. The waiting guards opened the door for them and Lightning stayed outside.

"You are not coming?" Rosabeth asked.

"The Princesses asked for you, and it's not a formal dinner so you will not need me to announce your arrivals." Lightning winked. "Go on then."

As the humans walked in, they noticed that the room was a very large decorated banquet hall with large windows overlooking the beautiful gardens just outside. The main table stretched nearly as long as the room itself and was empty except for the very end of the table where Princess Celestia and another mid-night blue alicorn sat with multiple plates of vegetarian meals in front of them. But for the humans, they were paradise compared to eating rotten food or drinking dull Estus in an everyday basis.

Seeing the Princesses, the humans bowed.

"Greetings." Celestia greeted them. "Thank you for joining us tonight. However I have to say, all of you certainly look different."

"Princess, we do not see the necessity to wear our suits of armor nor carry our weapons as we see there are nothing to fight against here. I hope our relations can remain pleasant during our stay." Eduard smiled.

"As do we. Please, have your seats." The humans walked to the table and took their seats. "May I introduce Princess Luna, my sister, and co-ruler of Equestria."

"Greetings, and welcome to Equestria." Luna smiled. "My sister told me about all of you, so I believe introductions are unnecessary. Now, all of you must be hungry. Please, enjoy your meals."

And then, they began to eat their meals. During the dinner, the humans subtly observed how the alicorns used their magic to eat with the most primarily used being levitation; but nevertheless, they kept on eating before soon finishing their meals. Seeing this Celestia levitated a bell before ringing it in mid-air, and before they knew it, servants walked into the room and took away the used dishes, glasses, cutlery, and other forms of tableware from the table. Moments later, two mare unicorn servants entered the room. One brought in a jug of wine and five corresponding glasses, neatly arranged on an exquisite silver tray in her magic grip; while the other one brought in a brown-covered book with golden linings, complemented by a bottle of ink and a quill dipped in it, with a similar manner. They elegantly put the items on the table, bowed, and left the room.

"Please excuse us, I believe you are not accustomed with our ways. As I have mentioned before, we are also able of harnessing the magical powers of the Unicorns. This horn is not for show." Celestia laughed.

"Actually, we are rather impressed," Eduard said. "It is pleasant to see that magic could also be applied other than combat purposes. In our world, such spells are rare." Celestia stood up to pour the wine into the glasses but Eduard stopped her politely.

"Please Your Majesty, allow me." Eduard smiled. Then, he poured the wine into the glasses and distributed them to those seated on the table. After he was done, they thanked him and took a sip from their glasses. Then, Celestia tapped the book with her hoof and the book magically opened with the ink-dipped quill floating just above the paper.

"This magic note book will record everything you say, so we may later store it in our archives at the Royal Library. I hope you do not mind," Celestia said.

"Not at all Your Majesty." Eduard smiled.

"Now, where were we? Ah yes. I suppose, you are hinting that most of the spells used in your world before are combat oriented?" Luna asked.

"Exactly, Princess. However, there are also non-combat spells such as spells used for healing or auxiliary purposes."

"Can you perhaps demonstrate these spells now?" Another question from Luna.

"Forgive me Princess, we do not have the necessary catalysts as we left them in our quarters, nor the appropriate place as our spells can be very destructive," Eduard explained. Lucatiel and Rosabeth also voiced their agreement.

"That can be arranged later, Luna. Do not rush everything." Celestia intervened, seemingly to break her little sister's uncontrollable burst of curiosity. Luna slumped back to her seat, letting the sense of rationality sink to her mind. "Please excuse her, Ser Eduard...Luna's curiosity could get ahead of her sometimes."

"It is of no problem Princess." Eduard smiled before taking a sip of wine from his cup.

"In any case, what can you tell me about your homeland of Drangleic?" Princess Celestia inquired.

"That could be a very long story, Princess," Eduard said. "I am afraid our tales will just bore you."

"Nonsense, we have a lot of time and are very curious about your homeland. Is it not for this very reason we are having this talk after all?" Celestia smiled.

"If Your Majesty says so." The knight smiled before turning to Lucatiel and Rosabeth with a smirk, which made them realize that this conversation would be anything but short.

"At the dawn of Drangleic, the great King Vendrick crushed its former inhabitants and built the kingdom on the souls of the four Old Ones. With the help of his elder brother Aldia, Vendrick made Drangleic into a prosperous and powerful nation..." Eduard began his story.

"Here we go again..." Lucatiel rolled her eyes.

---

"And that is how you put an end to the curse..." Celestia concluded. The jug had already been emptied of it's content, yet the conversation continued. For their sake, the humans avoided going into the harrowing details of their endeavors as remembering them too much would only burden their minds and possibly breaking the Princesses' sanity.

Lightning Spear had taken Rosabeth back to their room as the strong wine knocked her out halfway through the story.

"I cannot guarantee that will be the end of the curse. What I did just restarted the cycle of Light and Dark. A new kingdom may rise and prosper, but one day...it shall fall as well. Just like Drangleic. Anything that has a beginning also has an end...no flame, however brilliant, does not one day splutter and fade. But then, from the ashes, the flame reignites, and a new kingdom is born, sporting a new face. It is all a curse, destined to play out over and over again," Eduard said grimly. For the Princesses however, the knight's words were not just a statement for it was what they learned and lived through.

"It sounds like a terrible place to live in." Luna sighed sadly. "I wish no offense to any of you...but we are happy you found that scroll."

"We just want to live the rest of our lives in peace, Your Majesty," Lucatiel said. "I - We are done with bloodshed."

"I understand," Celestia said. "We shall speak again tomorrow, preferably with a less serious topic. Now, all of you need to rest. Goodnight Ser Eduard, Lady Lucatiel." The Sun Princess smiled.

"Goodnight Your Majesties." Eduard returned her smile and bowed with Lucatiel before leaving the banquet hall.

When they got back to their room, the two found that some of the candles were lit and found Rosabeth sound asleep on her bed...mumbling something about fireballs. Near the main table, they found a tray with a jug of water, three glasses, and a white phial containing some sort of potion inside. On the tray, there was also a note written in a small piece of paper, which to their surprise, was written using alphabets they understand.

"Should there be hangover, mix a bit of potion with water." - L

"We have plenty of common fruits to rid us of the effects...but I suppose there is nothing wrong with trying," said Lucatiel while climbing onto her bed.

"I suppose...but honestly, I do not feel anything," Eduard replied while also climbing to his bed. "Other than the Princesses, Lightning is the nicest of ponies we have known so far...if it was the other way around, I am not sure what will happen to them."

"True, but it seems now we are the ones ending up in their land. In a land as peaceful as this, I do not think we will get into a fight anytime soon. Just like I said before, I want to keep on living the rest of my days in peace. To keep on living no matter what," Lucatiel said as she inspected the tiny message inscribed on her blade before putting it down in its place.

"Is that what you promised your brother?"

Lucatiel nodded.

"It is getting late...today has been a very long and strange day for all of us. We should rest," Lucatiel said. With nothing left to say, the two went to sleep. However, various thoughts kept them from sleeping properly that night.

---

The humans woke up at dawn. It was a very peaceful morning for them as the biggest incident was Rosabeth vomiting in the bathroom due to her hangover, but with a glass of potion Lightning gave them last night, she was back to normal.

"I guess I still need to get used to alcoholic drinks..." Rosabeth said as she slumped back to her bed. Lucatiel handed her a glass of water, which she took and drank.

"Everybody have their moments." Eduard chuckled as he patted Rosabeth's shoulder. "You will get used to it."

That morning brought them fresh winds and the most spectacular view of sunrise they had ever seen in their lives as the celestial object rose over the mountains at the most perfect perspective. After early morning preparations, they were already busy tending to their weapons, armor, and equipment. Rosabeth spent the morning on her bed, reading a thick book titled "Equestrian History and Culture" which she read out loud to herself, Lucatiel, and Eduard who were excising and cleaning tending to their weapons respectively so that they may at least have a description about the new world they were living in.

"So, Princess Celestia is the one who controls the sun, Princess Luna controls the moon, and therefore days and nights respectively?" Eduard concluded.

"Yes. And the markings we saw on the ponies' flanks are called 'cutie marks'. Which magically appear on a pony's flank once they have discovered their special talent in life," Rosabeth said cheerily. "I wonder what caused Lightning's cutie mark to appear..." she wondered.

"And the most powerful magic in Equestria is the magic of friendship? Which are currently being controlled by six mares? What are they called again...Elements of Harmony?" Lucatiel added.

"Yes, and yes. They have bested great obstacles, some of these threats were so great, that it could doom Equestria should they fail. Together, they restored Princess Luna from her evil self, a being of darkness known as Nightmare Moon. Saved Canterlot by repelling an invasion by shape shifting creatures known as Changelings, reformed a being of chaos known as Discord, and banished an evil magic-draining being known as Tirek," Rosabeth said out loud. "These are just some of their greatest achievements, and I am sure they will accomplish more in the future. But for me, their greatest achievement is to preserve their camaraderie no matter how bad the circumstances."

"While also doing many great things for that matter." Lucatiel chuckled.

"But didn't we manage to do many great things as well?" Eduard smirked.

"Yes, but they achieve these things without killing a single soul. Is it not better if we could do things that way?" Lucatiel replied.

"Mmm hmm...but our world does not work that way."

"Regardless, it would be a great honor if we can meet them!" Rosabeth chirped. And then, there were three knocks on the door. Lucatiel answered the door and Lightning walked in with a large food cart and what seemed like a half-eaten floating flower sandwich in his magic grip.

"Now would you look at that, I thought this is supposed to be kitchen work rather than guard duty." Lucatiel chuckled.

"The Princesses appointed me as a liaison between you and the Royal Guards which means we will be seeing each other much more often." Lightning smiled. "Eat up, Princess Celestia personally ordered me to show you around the castle. Afterwards, you will have full freedom to roam this castle and it's grounds. And if I am not mistaken, there will be special guests for you later."

"And who are these special guests?" Eduard asked.

"I thought you like surprises." Lightning smirked before taking a bite of his sandwich.

---

Everfree Forest, Ponyville's Outskirts

A hooded figure, clad in nothing but black awoke in the Everfree Forest. He found it strange as the last thing he remembered, he was reading the incantations of an old spell scroll he found earlier in the Shaded Woods before tossing it into a bonfire to get rid of it, as the scroll did not imprint new spells in his memory. His mentor told him to be careful around spell scrolls and to treat them with respect, but his frustration told him otherwise. And now, he ended up in the strange forest.

The figure got up, and observed his surroundings with his piercing green eyes...

"This is definitely not the Shaded Woods..." The figure mumbled to no one in particular. He noticed that all of his weapons and equipment were with him and completely intact. He wielded a black and white shield decorated by intertwined serpentine dragons on his left arm, and a peculiar black staff with a twisting body on his right hand, giving it an impression of two interlocking black serpents. He also possessed an old yet very durable lightning imbued straight sword sheathed on his belt, a total of four rings were attached to his two fingers on his left and right hand respectively, and of course, his trusty magic satchel.

He was still uncertain, whether the forest he was standing in was merely his dream or not. To prove it, he punched a nearby tree and pain seared through his fist. Convinced he was not dreaming nor dead, he proceeded to walk away as his honed instincts guided him to do so.

Author's Note:

And that's how it's done!

Again, a big thanks for XIII Hearts for editing this chapter.

For those of you who don't know or perhaps forgotten about Dark Souls 1, Salaman the Master Pyromancer is a mentioned character there. As his final fate was left to our speculations, I decided to make him the first human who arrived in Equestria by the scroll.

Actually, that displacement scroll idea may seem quite cliche at first...but let me know what you guys think in the comments!

Also, I want to tell you...GREEN LIGHT to OC submissions ! Think of the most badass character from DS2 or pony OCs you can think of . Please include his/her biography, backstory, powers and abilities, personality and etc. Send your OC to my PM and I'll let you know later whether your OC is approved or not. For now I am still looking for heroes, but villains are also accepted.

That's all from me for now, hit that thumb's up and star button if you like this story, and please do tell me your thoughts in the comments because I really wanna hear out from you guys .

See you in the next one guys! Lightning Spear out!

Comments

[XIII Hearts]

I'll have to look tomorrow, but I'll go through either my PS3 copy of DS2 (if I can find it), or my XBOX One version as they both contain characters that have completed the main story and are pretty well equipped.

[Lightning Spear]

7332739 that's alright man, take your time.

[miraak]

Drem yol lok when can i expect more of this scribe?

[XIII Hearts]

7369707 Can you repeat that in a more comprehensible form?