The Odd Visitor to Equestria

"Come on Emon, we should go."

"Welik we are a Mage and a Templar, we do not go to social events, not unless we have joined the Wardens or have helped the nobles that are throwing the party for our benefit."

"But we are trying to blend in, and this is a great opportunity to observe the culture of these people.”

“It is also an opportunity to get ourselves in trouble because we don’t know what to do.”

“Emon it is a month and a half away, think it over, besides you’ll be fighting withdraw for most of that time won’t you?”

“I doubt I’ll change my mind Welik, besides we have no formal attire for the occasion.”

“Oh please it won’t be hard to find ourselves the attire from the locals.”

“And do you have the money for this attire.”

“You know I keep a fair amount of gold and silver in my portion of the Fade.”

“And you know that is illegal, Welik.” Emon said bluntly, “I cannot allow you to use this gold or silver.”

“Fine, very well, but tell me how do you intend on getting the attire?”

“I don’t want to go remember.”

“Then I will Figure it out myself” Welik spat at him.

“How’s Emon doing” Welik asked the guard to his room.

“He won’t stop babbling about someone he calls Marith, who is he?”

“Marith was the mage who took him in when he was five, it make since that he would be talking about his family at this time. Templar’s often talk about those who they treasure the most when they go through lyrium withdraw.” Welik explained to the guard. “May I go in?”

“No, he is getting violent, I’m sorry I was ordered to keep ponies out if he got violent.”

“Very well then, he’s got two weeks before the Gala, and the withdraw should end in about a week. I’ll be coming back every few hours to check on him.”

“So how bad did I get Welik” Emon asked Welik.

“You tried to escape ten times, sent four guards to the hospital, broke three doors, your bed, two windows, the wall, and last but not least took up arms agents Princess Luna.”

“But you stopped me.”

“How did you remember that?”

“I didn’t, I was guessing that based on your behavior around her.”

“What are you implying Emon.”

“I think you know what I’m implying Welik, nadas lath asha? (You love her?).”

“So what if I do, we both know that it wouldn’t work out.”

“Both? You mean you and Luna?”

“No, you and me.”

“So she hasn’t returned your affections then?”

“Oh we flirted a little, but that is just harmless flirting.”

“Is that what she thinks?”

“I don’t know, probably.”

“Well Looks like we’re going to the Grand Galloping Gala.”

“Don’t toy with me Emon.” Welik spat at him.

“I’m not toying with you this is a chance to observe the culture of this realm.”

“Well looks like I won’t have to go without you.” Welik beamed.

Emon arched his eyebrow “I would have figured as much. But you realize I wouldn’t have let you go, it’s above your station.”

“Well now that, that is settled we need to get you your attire. Don’t worry, the Princesses had some clothiers take your measurements why you were going through withdraw.”

“So you already have what I’m going to wear to this Gala”

“Well there are a few choices to go through. We should get you ready, the Gala is in three days.”

“Tell me, why you are so obsessed with this Gala?”

“Emon I’ve always wondered what the nobles did at these sorts of things, sure it’s not a Ferelden ball but, it’s the next best thing to it.”

“Well you had it all planed out didn’t you.”

“I always do.” Welik smirked.

Welik was in ah as he looked at the grand ballroom. He was amazed by the decor and the ponies. Emon was impressed by the sheer number of ponies that where here “Well this was a good idea”. Emon said as he looked toward Welik, but Welik was staring at Luna.

“Well looks like I was right.”

“Shut up Emon, now’s not the time.” Welik said angrily. Then he looked back at Princess Luna, he thought she was gorgeous, sure she was corrupted once but so had he. Then his mind flashed back to that dark time in his life, he pushed the thought away. Then Luna looked at him, Welik turned away shyly.

A million thoughts went through his mind. Did she like him with his beard trimmed, was his outfit nice, was it even right to attempt to court her.

But Luna wasn’t the only one who saw this, Princess Cadance noticed as well. She leaned toward her husband “you want to hook another pair up”.

“Sure, but who this time?”

“Luna and that stallion she has been stealing glances at since the Gala started.”

“You sure that’s a good idea”.

“Yes she told me how she visits him in ponies dreams a lot, and that he has the ability to travel from dream to dream like her”.

Shining Armor pulled out a top hat and put it on. ”Got it, what’s the plan honey.”

“You’ll go rig the music, when I see you start heading for him, I’ll get Luna to follow me, and we’ll meat up around there” she said pointing a little left of the center of the room.

“OK, and when we meat up”.

“The band will begin to play a slow song; we’ll dance away leaving the two of them there. If all goes well the stallion will ask her to dance”.

Shining Armor went into the crowd. Princess Cadance followed him with her eyes and as soon as she saw him move away from the band she turned to Princess Luna and began to speak “Luna would you follow me please”. Luna nodded stealing a glanced at Welik; she saw that he was talking to a stallion with a top hat.

Princess Luna followed Princess Cadance through the Gala when she saw Welik talking to the stallion in the top hat; a realization came over her as she saw the stallion in the hat was Shining Armor. The music began to slow down, Shining Armor and Cadance began to dance away.

Welik was surprised to see the predicament he was in; if he didn’t know better he would have thought Lust had planed the whole ordeal. Oh well this wasn’t the first time he was in a jam like this so he did what he always did, he bowed at Luna and addressed her “Princess Luna, it looks like some pony wants us to dance so… May I have this dance?”

Luna was surprised by this reaction but accepted his invitation to dance. As they danced Welik asked her “Who was the Princess and stallion that matched us up?”

She answered him “that was Princess Cadance and her husband Shining Armor.”

“Have I met them before?”

“They were both there when you came through the vortex”

“So, what is she the princess of?”

“She is the princess of love.”

Welik got a frown for a second then it faded “sorry it’s just that that I’ve always had a problem with beings of love.”

“You mean like Lust?” Luna asked.

“Yes and no, Lust extends to more than love but that is a central part of her, you see.”

“I think so” Luna replied.

“You know Luna, Lust put an idea in my head that by the day seems mo and more like it can become a reality. But then I learned about your past.”

Luna’s heart was racing, and then she heard the last part. “What do you mean my past?”

“Well I learned from Pinkie Pie’s dreams that you were once Nightmare Moon, a scourge that was banished to the moon for a thousand years.”

Luna’s heart sank as she feared she was about to have her heart broken all because of a bad mistake made a thousand years ago.

“And that’s when I knew that Lust was right.”

Luna looked up “what?”

“Well you see Luna we all have a past and ours are very similar, you see…”

A unicorn mare walked up to them then said in an odd but familiar voice “I need to talk to you”. Both Luna and Welik assumed she was talking to Luna. Welik stepped back. “No Welik I was talking to you.”

Welik was taken aback “do I know you?” he asked tentatively.

“Yes and no, Welik I need to talk to you in private”.

Welik didn’t like the sound of it and said “I have no secrets”.

“We both know that’s not true.” That was when it hit him; Welik knew why this mare was familiar.

In an angry voice he said “come with me to the balcony, and where is the other one hiding?” He turned toward Luna “you can come if you want.”

As the three of them went to the balcony Emon watched them with suspicion, “what are you up to mage?” he muttered to himself.

Then an earth pony mare approached him, “do you want to dance” she asked him. He had not expected the question.

“Sure.”

Out on the balcony Welik turned towards the unicorn mare and spat “what are you doing here, how are you here, and where is the other one hiding,”

Luna was confused “what is going on Welik?”

“You remember Lust don’t you Luna” Welik said with misdirected annoyed.

“Don’t talk to me like that” Luna replied sternly.

“Forgive me I’m just annoyed by Lust here inhabiting the body of this poor pony. Speaking of which, you still haven’t answered my questions.” He shouted at Lust.

“Fine Welik, I’m here to warn you, I possessed a pony to do this, and he’s coming out the balcony door in three, two, one.” As soon as she has said one, the door opened and a unicorn stallion wearing a tux walked out and asked Lust “did you tell him yet.”

Welik turned toward the unicorn stallion and asked “Valor, is that you?”

“Yes” valor replied.

“Now what is so important that you needed to ruin this night just to tell me?”

Lust began “We were just wondering dreams when we…”

Valor interjected “Her not me.”

Lust continued “Fine, I sort of, kind of, may have made a single Darkspawn in this land, and it may have started spreading its blood.”

Welik was quiet; Luna wasn’t sure what was going on. Then Welik began to speak “you mean to tell me that you unleashed the Darkspawn on this land!” he had begun speaking but had ended shouting, he continued shouting “where did you get darkspawn blood, who did you infect, and why did you do it!?!”

Lust was quivering, but she answered his questions “from…”

Welik cut her off “Never mind I already know, continue with the rest!”

Lust continued “A farmer at the edge of Equestria, and it was an accident.”

Welik looked at her with such distain that she couldn't look at him. “I haven’t forgotten about you Valor, your only job is to keep Lust in line and you failed.”

Valor stood his ground “No!! My only job is to keep Lust from tempting mortals. She is free to do whatever it wants when she isn’t tempting mortals.”

Welik stared daggers at him “I don’t care if she is tempting mortals or not, your job is to stop her from causing trouble in general.”

He turned towards Lust “how many darkspawn are there now?” Welik asked her swiftly.

“One hundred twenty-seven, twenty-eight now” She said terrified of what was to come.

Welik started “what…” but he tailed off. His brown fir was getting pail and parts of it were falling off; his beard was growing fast and was getting white as well. His pupils where expanding but his irises weren’t the blackness was covering his eyes. His teeth were sharpening. The black outline of a sword was appearing on the ground in front of him.

Suddenly the door to the balcony slammed open as Emon charged Welik. Emon landed on top of Welik and punched him in the face trying to knock him out desperately. Emon shouted “I will not let the Darkspawn General escape his prison ever!”

Luna was confused and Lust and Valor were just watching. Then Valor grabbed Emon and threw him back “that’s enough Emon, he’s out!”

“Valor what are you doing here? I thought you were freed from the statue?”

“I was but I was bound to Welik. A spirit cannot exist out of the fade without a vessel, Welik was that vessel but in the short time I was using Welik as a vessel, I was bound to Welik through spirit.”

“So may I assume this is the other spirit we helped get out of that cat?”

Valor looked at Lust, then back at Emon, Valor nodded “yes she is.” He said bluntly.

Emon began to ask “why is the Darkspawn General breaking out of him?”

“Emon” Valor started “I’m afraid that there are some darkspawn here in Equestria.”

Emon’s face fell “how many” he said as he started to quiver. So many memories of the last blight where the Grey Wardens had killed the archdemon, so many dead after the smoke cleared. Emon was terrified.

“One hundred fifty-seven” Valor said slowly.

“How many special Darkspawn?” Valor asked with a whisper.

Valor replied “Including you and the General, twelve.”

“What types?” Emon asked petrified.

“Seven emissaries and three shrieks” Valor replied.

Luna was shocked but she finally broke free from it “What just happened?” she asked. Emon and Valor had forgotten that she was there at all. They both looked at each other and back at her.

Emon explained “You see Welik here has a dark past. During the last blight on the land Welik had become a Hurlock, the lowest form of Darkspawn. But Welik wasn’t content with being a foot soldier; he impressed the archdemon by leading a darkspawn army that had lost its emissary into a village and one the battle. Then in the battle with King Cailan’s army the general was killed by a warden and Welik took charge of the horde and won the battle for the Archdemon by killing the King…”

Valor picked up as Emon was having a hard time continuing “After that battle the new General attacked a chantry outpost where Emon was turned into a Hurlock soon after Emon was turned into a Hurlock Vanguard who served the general directly. Welik lead a campaign all across the southern half of Ferelden. They where there when the Archdemon died, and Welik was strong enough to take control of his body and used the husk of the Archdemon to come up with a “cure” for the darkspawn. It turned out that it was a temporary cure, now whenever Welik senses darkspawn he can turn into the Great Darkspawn General agents his will, if he doesn’t have the cure on hand he will turn. And he doesn’t have the ability to make it here.”

Emon looked towards Welik, who was unconscious on the ground having been knocked out by Emon. Welik looked like he was halfway through his transformation back to himself. Emon turned towards Luna “what shall I do with him?” he asked her.

Luna called some pegisus guards over to carry him to his room, lock him in and guard it.

Emon turned towards Valor “You and the other one need to leave these vessels.”

Valor turned towards Lust and said “Shall we.”

Valor and Lust hosts’ eyes started to glow blue and red respectively. They both got so bright no pony could look at them and then they suddenly stopped. “Where am I” the unicorn mare asked.

Emon said suddenly “at the Grand Galloping Gala, now hurry inside you don’t want to miss anything.” He opened the door and pushed them both inside.

Emon turned towards Luna “ok, forgive me but, you have a Gala to attend. Please don’t mention what happened out here until the Gala is over, I don’t want to spook the nobles. I’ll leave the Gala to watch over Welik; after all it is my job.” At that Emon ran into the ballroom and disappeared into the crowd.

As Luna entered the room Cadance walked over to her and started to walk beside her ”So how were things with that stallion? You two were out there a long time” She asked Luna.

Luna replied “is name is Welik, and he’s fine.”

Cadance asked “what happened out there?”

“Nothing at all” Luna answered somewhat sadly.

“Are you sure?” Cadance asked worried.

“What you did was nice Cadance.” Luna said and then walked away.