Author's Note
This story is contained in my book "Dash Tries to Win Your Heart and Other Short Pony Stories"
If you have interest in purchasing this non-profit book, check out my online store at this link: http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?contributorId=1662371
And So Our Story Begins
While swords of men clash outside of it's secure walls, the Hall of Trandor is silent. Queen Chystonia sits on her throne, staring at the entrance to the place of celebration. Her twelve armored guards stand still, swords drawn and ready for battle.
Screams and grunts of warriors permeate the cracks of the stone walls. The battle is almost over and it is not in the favor of the Trandorians. One guard at the front of the pack shakes in his leather boots. His eyes hold fear. He isn't ready to die. His eyes dart around the room, unsure of what to do.
Then, silence. The uncomfortable silence before the storm. The silence where there's only the sound of your heart beating and dull, high-pitched white noise.
WHAM!
The doors to the hall buckle under a strong force. The guards jump and prepare themselves.
WHAM!
"I want him alive," says the Queen.
The guard gulps in terror. Then, with one last crash, the doors swing wide, revealing the hero of our story.
You.
You are a fierce, powerful warrior that's feared as far as words can be carried. The slaughterer of villages. The owner of vast riches. And stealer of hearts. Today, Trandor is your prime target and all is going according to plan. Not that you really had a plan. The plan kinda went like this.
Swing your axe.
Don't get hit.
Repeat until nobody fights.
Steal, eat, and become satisfied.
Not necessarily in that order.
You raise your axe as you count the guards in the room as they charge towards you. Twelve. Child's play.
You duck and lunge towards your assailants, your blood-soaked axe of war prepared to cut down those who stand in your way. The leading guard raises his sword to strike, but you dodge to the left before he can swing. As you dodge, you turn your whole body, using your body weight as additional force for your attack. The axe cuts clean through his frame as you head towards the next two guards. They hesitate, caught off guard by your brutal onslaught.
A dire mistake. The last mistake they'll make.
With another swing, there are two less guards with good heads on their shoulders. One charges forward, sword quickly heading towards your face. You move the handle of the axe to block his attack. The slice ricochets off of the handle and the guard loses his balance. Using the butt of your weapon's handle, you pound the guard's forehead and he falls to the ground. Holding the axe with one arm, you swing in a full circle behind you, causing large gashes into three that try to get the jump on you. The three fall down as five guards remain close to the Queen.
You turn to the Queen, eyes focused and expression powerful.
"You know who I am," you grunt.
"I do," Queen Chystonia replies. "You are the warrior with no name. The one who brings to destruction to villages and towns for entertainment."
A smile curls on your face.
"Then you know what I am here to do."
"Yes," she replies coolly. "But I will not allow you to harm more of my people."
The woman steps forward, her black garbs trailing behind her.
"Is that so?" you laugh. "How you intend to stop me?"
She raises her hand to the emerald pendant around her neck as her eyes flash a brilliant shade of green.
"By using the magic that's been passed down through our tribe for generations."
The jewel glows a bright lime light that fills the whole room. The sudden shine blinds you, and you attempt to cover your face.
"What is this magic?!"
"Equius! Solarum! Enterium!"
The light focuses down to a singular point in the center of her jewel. She points at you as the lime green light bolts towards you like lightning. You eyes grow wide in surprise, but you can't even catch your breath before the attack envelops you. You can feel your body become weightless and hover in the air, but the light is too bright to see anything but white. Shutting your eyes, you try to shut out the burning sensation that saps your muscles of energy. Then, gravity pulls back on you and you fall to the ground.
But instead of dirt or stone, your face comes in contact with soft grass. You groan, trying to push your body to rise to its feet, but it's no use. You try to open your eyes, but even your eyelids won't cooperate with you. The world around you becomes quiet and gentle, covering you like a blanket as you slowly lose consciousness.
When you come to, you hear the gentle breeze of the wind rustling through the trees. The soft caress of the grass under your palms. You open your eyes and attempt to take an inventory of your current body parts by wiggling them.
Arms. Check.
Hands. Check.
Feet. Check.
Legs. Check.
The most important part. … Still got it.
Stretching your muscles, you roll over and groan away some of the aches and pains.
"O-oh! Oh dear. Ohhh dear. Why did it have to be me?" a voice says.
You sit up quickly, searching your surroundings for your trusty axe, but find it nowhere. Looking around, you notice there anyone else around either. But what you did find, was bright.
Everything was bright. Everything.
The world was imbued of pastel hue that was hard on the eyes. You turned to find a miniature horse behind you, with a flowing purple mane and. Wait. Wait just one moment. Could it be?
Have the legends of old come true?
"A unicorn," you mutter under your breath. "Surely the fates have smiled upon me on this day."
"O-oh! You know how to talk!" she says as she approaches you.
You quickly raise your hand and slap the shit out of the evil beast in front of you.
"YOU SPEAK THE TONGUE OF MAN?! BACK AWAY FOUL DEMON!"
"Ooow! Hey! What's the big idea, mister?" whines the white unicorn. "I don't know where you come from, but we tend not to assault our welcomed guests. This is hardily a proper way to treat a lady."
You raise your fists for battle.
"You have caught me on a merciful day, wretched beast. I seek revenge against the Queen Crystonia of Trandor. Point me in the right direction and I may spare your life."
She looks at you in confusion.
"Trandor? What? I've never heard of a-"
"Of course! How could I be so careless! You are surely a spy for the Trandorians!"
Her eyes dart around and she takes a step back.
"This was -not- what I signed up for," she whispers under her breath.
"Little did you know that I have seen through your clever ruse and now you shall pay the price!"
You charge toward the horse as she raises her hooves to strike. Dodging to the right, you evade her grasp and leap upon her back. She whinnies in surprise and tries to buck you off.
"It's no use to resist! You will take me to your leader!" you shout.
Finally, she stands completely still and sighs.
"Fine. I was going to anyway. But could you at least get off of me?"
She turns her head to look back at you, her gaze as hot as thermite.
"You are my new steed. Now ride!"
She turns her gaze forward to a small town in the distance.
"You have got to be kidding me."
"RIDE!"
You pull on her hair like reins.
"I WILL MURDER YOU IF YOU TOUCH MY HAIR!" she screams.
You let go of the hair. She stares back at you angrily.
"Hmph," she grunts, before taking slow, laborious steps towards the village.
The steed is clearly not meant for long range travel. She will require breaking in and training. However, she will lead you back to the Queen of the Trandors. Which will allow you your revenge. Or, she will lead you to a trap. Which will only delay the inevitable.
"So, what... sort... of animal... are you?" the horse asks, breathing hard under the strain
"I am the warrior of no name! Surely my reputation proceeds me?" you proclaim.
"Uhm. I'm afraid not. Sorry. Is that some sort of sporting nickname? I've never quite been into sports, darling."
"AH! YES! The best sport. The sport of blood! The sport of seeing your enemies kneel before you and-"
"Ah! Say no more. You're one of those... Oh, what's the name? Hockey! Hockey players. Much too violent for my tastes, dear. Now if you were into fashion-"
"Silence, steed! I grow tired of your voice."
"Well excuse me. You could at -least- be kind enough to ask me by name."
"Speak your name, Equine!"
"My name is Rarity," she says.
"This name is too sensitive for a war-horse," you assert. "Your name shall be Dawnbringer."
"Wait. Wha-"
"Silence, Dawnbringer! The village approaches. We dare not tip off the locals with your annoying, high-pitched voice."
Rarity shakes in anger, muttering under her breath as she continues to strain under the weight of your body. The clay and straw houses pass by in careful rows. Many other differently colored horses pass by on your quest, but to your surprise, none are colors of horse that you've grown accustomed to.
Instead of brown, white, or black, they are all sorts of colors and certainly much smaller than what you've seen in your travels.
What was this curious place, filled with so many ponies and unicorns?
And then, you gasp, digging your heels in the ground to stop Dawnbringer in her tracks. She groans.
"What?!"
"Shhh," you shush her.
Could it be?
"What in the world are we stopping for?"
"Stay here," you say bringing a hand to her ear. "I'll be back."
"What on earth are yo-"
You begin scratching behind her ear.
"Oh. Ooh. Ooooh. Yeah. Okay. Take your time. I-I'll be here. Doing. Things."
Retracting your arm, you begin to tip-toe towards your target. Surely, this is the alpha of the pack. Unicorns were certainly not uncommon here, but this was the first you had seen of this beast. The legendary pegasus. If you could tame this animal, you could take to the skies and bring doom from above. It's the perfect companion.
And one, with carefully tucked wings, walked in front of you, unsuspecting of your presence. You tip-toe toward the yellow pegasus carefully, hold your breath to attempt to shroud yourself.
Many of the other town's inhabitants stop to watch as you stalk your prey. Almost there. Just a second. Aaannd.
You leap toward the pegasus and tackle it to the ground. With a loud shriek, the beast underneath you calls for help in its native tongue. You wrap a hand around her muzzle and laugh in triumph.
"Resistance is futile! You are now mine to do with as I please! I am now your master! The sooner you give up, the sooner I will release you!"
The pony goes quiet as Dawnbringer gallops up to you.
"Get off of poor Fluttershy!" she commands.
You release her muzzle as the beast whimpers.
"O-oh. Uhm. I-it's okay, Rarity. I-I knew this would happen some day. S-some animal wouldn't try holding it in anymore and would... well. Uhm. I just hoped it wouldn't be so... public," she replies.
Dawnbringer's mouth hangs open.
"O-oh. Too much information?" she asks.
"I don't think I want to tame this horse anymore," you say, rising to your feet.
Fluttershy looks up at you and pouts.
"Dawnbringer, back to the course."
"B-but..." Fluttershy stutters.
"We'll just keep this our secret, darling," Dawnbringer says. "I have to bring this... uhm. Warrior, to Twilight."
"Oh. I see," she says following in tow with the unicorn. "Why is he calling you Dawnbringer?"
"Long story, darling."
"I have time," a pink horse says.
You have no more than seconds before the pink mare is within inches of you. An ambush! You should have known! Leaping off of Dawnbringer, you spring into attack mode. You tackle the pink mare and the two of you go rolling through town, struggling for control. Grabbing two of her hooves, you pin her to the ground, her puffy mane covering her face. She giggles loudly and lightly kicks her legs.
"That was fun! Do it again! Do it again!" she says.
"Pinkie!" Dawnbringer calls. "Are you hurt?"
"Psh. Are you kidding me?" she says as you land punch after punch into her face, making squeaky noises. "Gummy has harder bites than this."
One of your punches makes a sickening crunch.
"I just forgot the third grade!" Pinkie calls out to her friends.
"Get off of her!" Dawnbringer calls to you. "She's not here to hurt you!"
"Oh?" you ask your steed, "Then what is she?"
Dawnbreaker looks to Fluttershy and this 'Pinkie' with unease.
"They're... uhm. Escorts. Yes! They are our escorts to our leader."
You look back down to the pink horse, who widely grins back at you.
"Fine, but you should know I never pay for services rendered."
Pinkie and Dawnbreaker eye you in confusion, while Fluttershy raises her hoof.
"Uhm, I'm totally okay with that. Uhm. You know, if-"
"MOVING ON!" the unicorn shouts over her friend. "At this rate we may never reach Twilight."
"Ah! Now that is a fitting name for a leader! So full of mystery!"
You let go of Pinkie and reclaim your spot on Dawnbringer's back.
"Could you PLEASE stop riding on my-"
You scratch her ear. Her expression changes to a blissful content and loses her train of thought.
"Onward!"
"Yeah, sure," Dawnbringer says.
Fluttershy's mouth scrunches and she stares at the ground, feeling left out. A large crystal castle appears in the distance as two more horses approach your escorts.
"Woah!" says a blue pegasus. "Rarity, what's going on?"
"It's a long story," she says.
An orange horse chuckles to herself.
"Now there's a story Ah'd pay fer. I never knew you were into those sortsa things, Rare."
"Can we please not do this right now, Applejack?" Dawnbringer growls under her breath.
"Are you kidding me?" the blue pegasus laughs. "This is classic! You look like you're going to butcher a village."
"Of course she does! She is Dawnbringer! Destroyer of souls!"
Rainbow looks to Applejack.
"Wait, I thought Celestia brought the sun."
"Dash. Please. The sooner we get to Twilight, the sooner this is all over with," Dawnbringer sighs.
Out of the corner of your eye, you see a lighter tan horse with gray hair.
"AH HAH! I knew I was being tricked!" you scream, pointing to the other pony. "That there is the village elder! She surely must be the leader of this village!"
Rainbow looks to her and shrugs.
"Oh. Nah. That's just Mayor Mare. She doesn't really do anything important."
"Now Rainbow, just because Princess Twilight calls most of the shots, doesn't mean that Mayor Mare isn't the leader anymore."
"Oh, come on! Name, like, three things that Mayor Mare does that Twilight doesn't?" Rainbow asks.
The girls think hard as they approach the castle.
"I guess she cuts the tape on new things on Ponyville," Applejack suggests.
"Aaand Twilight does that now," Rainbow says.
"Well, whenever monsters attack, she organizes the rebuilding projects.
"Ooooh! Oooh! Twilight does that now too!" Pinkie says.
"This 'Twilight' sounds like the true ruler of HorseTown!"
"Well, Mayor Mare still technically calls the shots in Ponyville," Dawnbringer says.
"Twilight just does everything for her," Rainbow replies.
A silence falls between the group as you cross the bridge to her castle.
"You don't think that Mayor Mare misses being important, do yo-"
"We're here. Doesn't matter right now," Rarity grunts, trying to remain standing. "Can you -please- get off my back already?"
You dismount from your steed and give her a quick scratch behind the ear.
"Ooooh. That's better than the spa."
"Gross," Applejack says.
"Uhm. I-I can still be your steed Mr. Warrior," Fluttershy says.
You approach the doors of the Castle, which stood tall and was constructed of crystals of all sorts of hues. Raising your fist, you pound the door three earth-shattering times. You stand tall, waiting for the leader of this town to grace you with her presence. This, Twilight. Queen of the speaking equines. Surely she must know where Queen Chystonia lies in wait, recovering her forces for war.
The door opens slowly as you prepare yourself for the beast. Your hands ball into fists, ready to strike at the throat. Six on one. An easy fight.
Instead, a purple horse with wings and a horn exits the large castle.
Somehow, you weren't sure what you expected.
"Oh. Well. Hello. I see you finally woke up. Thanks for watching over him, Rarity," Twilight says.
"Dawnbringer," everypony but the unicorn responds.
Dawnbringer groans in anger and looks away.
"Uh, what?" Twilight asks.
"Don't question it. It's her life now," Pinkie says.
"I seek the village of Thrandor, Queen Twilight. Would you assist me in my quest?"
Twilight looks up at you with an expression of utter bewilderment.
"Thrandor?" she asks. "And, I'm not a Queen. I'm a Princess."
"But are you not the ruler of this domain?"
"Well, I mean, Mayor Mare technically says what's okay," Twilight says.
"Thank you!" Applejack replies.
"ENOUGH!" you shout, silencing the ponies. "I seek Queen Crystonia! I must have my revenge!"
Twilight takes a step back.
"Wait, Queen Chrys... Queen Chrysalis? Revenge?" she says.
Rainbow Dash's eyes light up.
"Wait! You're seeking revenge against them?" Rainbow asks.
"Yes. I had nearly completed my quest to conquer their village when her spell of green light transported me to this place. However, everything has such different names and appears so different! I'm not sure if I even exist in my own world."
Rainbow looks to Twilight with a huge smile.
"Sorry, uhm. Brave adventurer? I can't do that. If you're going to go kill-"
"Twilight. Wait," Rainbow says. "I know you're about to do the right thing here."
Twilight looks at Rainbow, unsure of how to react to her friend.
"Uhhh," Twilight says.
"Now, I know it's crazy, but hear me out. This dude looks strong. Like, really strong."
Fluttershy raises her hoof.
"R-really strong..."
Pinkie nods in agreement.
"I can't feel my face!" she adds.
Twilight looks to her friends, looking more and more confused.
"How about we send this guy to Chrys and let him, you know. Take care of the bad guys," Rainbow says.
"Rainbow!" Twilight says.
"Oh come on, Twilight! They're a constant threat to Ponykind! Plus, I mean, it's not like we don't already know their hive is about 500 miles west of here."
"Rainbo-"
"THEN THE PATH IS SET!" you exclaim. "Now is my time to destroy Thrandor and claim my revenge."
You turn to your trusty steed and place a hand to her face. She looks almost repulsed by your touch, but is too scared to shy away.
"This is where we must part ways, Dawnbringer," you say, trying not to show the sadness in your face. "This is your home and where I'm traveling, you cannot follow."
"Well, I mean, I really didn't want-"
"This quest, I must do alone," you interrupt, rising to your feet and taking a few steps away from the horses. "I will never forget you, Dawnbringer."
She sighs as you blink away a single tear. You take one step forward.
"Waaaaait!"
You turn to find the pink one, approaching you.
"Here!" Pinkie says. "It's dangerous to go alone! Take this!"
She hands you a medium length sword, much like the kind you've grown accustomed to, but a bit lighter. It will take getting used to, but it will allow you to strike down your foes for the crime of still being alive. "Thank you, Pink One! The Bringer of Swords," you answer.
Turning west, you set forth on the road to the west, ready for whatever may be in your way. Ready to strike down your foes. Ready for revenge.
The six girls stand in front of Twilight's castle, looking at each other in confusion.
"So. Dawnbringer?" Twilight asks.
Rarity groans and turns to her boutique.
"We are NEVER speaking of this again!" she growls as the rest of the girls laugh.
Twilight sat in front of a blank page of paper. Her face was scrunched in confusion.
"How in the world am I going to tell her?"
The princess looks to her quill and lifts it into the air with her magic. She dips it into the ink and ponders her message carefully. Twilight presses her quill to the paper and speaks as she writes.
"Dear Princess Celestia. I have good news! I believe I may have dealt with our problem of the Changeling Hive. However, the bad news is that I believe we may have accidentally broken a few... teensy-weensie... Equestrian laws of war. So, whenever you get time, we should have lunch. Or something. You know. No rush. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."
She stares at the paper.
"Oh!"
"P.S. Sorry I keep using the student signature. It's still a habit."
Twilight nods with a smile.
"Nailed it. Spiiike! Can you send a letter for me?"
