Crusade
‘Twas the year 1500, the year when I went to war. I was about 20, the son of a great warrior, who had fought against the Griffons. Our princesses, Celestia and Luna, had made a declaration.
“A scourge is plaguing our pure lands of Equestria!” Princess Celestia announced to a large crowd of stallions, who cheered when they heard their mighty princess talk.
“What is this horrid plague?” A fellow warrior asked Princess Celestia.
“Dragons!” Princess Luna declared, her royal voice echoing through the walls.
“What are dragons like?” I asked.
“Well, I’m glad you asked...” Princess Celestia responded happily.
“Dragons breath the most evil fire, their tongues are forked, their eyes are red as fire, and from tartarus they came!” Princess Luna answered, causing the crowd to chant in favor of our princesses.
“How shall we handle this problem?” A stallion asked. A grin appeared on Princess Luna and Celestia’s faces.
“We shall send them back to where they came from!” Princess Celestia declared, “Who’s with us?!”
“We are! We shall destroy the scourge of Equestria!” The stallions, myself included, chanted with confidence. We were each given an enchanted sword, made from the strongest of moon-rock, said to bring an enemy’s death quicker.
A few hours after the announcement of war, I decided to quickly visit my dearest father, who was once a great warrior. I showed him my new moon-rock forged blade, asking me where I had gotten the sword.
“I must leave, I will do battle and join the dragon slaying” I told my father, “Let them come at me with their full strength!”
“I see...” My father sighed.
“What is wrong, my father?” I asked him, confused. My father was a warrior, retired now. Why would he not want me to fight the scourge of Equestria?
“What are these dragons like?” He questioned me.
“Dragons breath the most evil fire, their tongues are forked with swords, their eyes are red as blood and fire, and from tartarus they came...” I explained, trying not to imitate Princess Luna. My father chuckled slightly at my explanation and went to me. He seemed almost glum when he spoke his next few words.
“Son, treat thy enemy as if they were your son" My father told me, “Keep that in your heart”
“I shall” I lied. I didn’t know what he meant by that at all.
I returned to my barracks, waiting for instruction. It was a reward to see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna approached us to give us our orders. Princess Luna looked at me, sizing me up.
“You shall go to the largest red dragon’s cave to the north of the citadel” Princess Luna ordered me.
“Yes, madam!” I responded, saluting her before I went to pack my bags. I had decided to bring along my magic sword, a shield made of diamond, a couple of bits for food, and an amulet, worn by mother and given to me when I was born.
The next day, I was on the trail of the evil dragon. I had reached a small town, called Philadelphia. I bought some cheese, a loaf of bread, and a few apples for my journey. I asked a few ponies around the small town about dragons, and they told me the same things I’ve been told by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.
“Dragons breath the most evil fire, their tongues are forked, their eyes are red as fire, and from tartarus they came!” One of the town mares told me. I asked a few others, including a cook and a blacksmith. They both told me the same thing. I now believed that dragons were truly evil!
I had reached a tall mountain, and I could hear a mighty snore coming from the top of the mountain. I knew this was the place where on the of largest scourges in Equestria lived. The climb up the mountain was treacherous and perilous, and I knew that great danger would await me at the peak.
When I had reached the cave where the beast dwelled, I had finished half of my loaf of bread, ate all of my cheese, and only one apple left. I had to ration my food for the trip back down.
I had entered the cave of sin, taking care not to make any noise as to wake the accursed dragon. I moved a few steps into the cave, when I stumbled upon the mighty dragon, which was napping. Its scales were a deep shape of purple, its tail was sharp, its wings were mighty enough to destroy a whole village. I approached the dragon, getting on top of its soft underbelly. Before I could slay this mighty beast, I had to say a prayer first.
“I thank you, Princess Celestia of the sun and Luna of the moon, to allow to slay this foul creature and send it to tartarus!” I chanted, swiftly thrusting my moon-rock sword into the dragons underbelly.
The dragon roared, throwing me off it’s horrid body. It cried and bellowed as red blood gushed from its wound. It would take a few minutes before the evil dragon would fall.
“I have slayed the scourge of Equestria!” I cheered victoriously, pulling my sword from it’s underbelly.
However, as soon as I began to leave the abyss of sin, I heard a small whimpering sound. I wondered what that sound could be, so I turned and looked. What I saw was a dragonling, clinging to it’s parents corpse. I had made the connections, and realized what happened. The dragon was protecting it’s dragonling...
I ran from the cave, tears flowing my eyes. I finally had figured out what my father's words had meant. I should have listened to him...
Many years after those events, I had married a fine mare and had a son, who would grow up to be a warrior. One day he returned to me.
“I must leave, I will do battle and join the Draconequus slaying” My son told me, “Let them come at me with their full strength!”
“I see...” I sighed, trying not to remember what happened that night.
“What is wrong, my father?” My son asked me in a confused tone.
“What are these Draconequus like?” I questioned my son.
"Draconequus breath the most evil fire, their tongues are forked with swords, their eyes are red as blood and fire, and from tartarus they came...” My son explained. I chuckled slightly at his explanation and went to him. He noticed that I seemed almost glum when I spoke my next few words.
“Son, treat thy enemy as if they were your son" I told my son, “Keep that in your heart”
“I shall” He lied. He didn’t know what I meant by that at all.
The next day, my son was off to his barracks. I could only pray that my son would not make the same mistakes as I did so long ago...
(The End)
Author's Note
This was dark...and when I said "Me" It was in first person. I was too lazy to name the character. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed my first tragic story. Please give me feedback, I would love to improve.
