The battle of the everfree forest had been won and the scourge was forced to retreat back to trottingham yet even as the soldiers drank their ale and danced around the fire, Twilight and her friends confronted Pendragon about his recent behavior involving the lich and what she overheard during their duel.

"I suppose you know why I brought the others here?" She asked her friend who chugged down some cider to settle his nerves.

"So you heard what happened during the fight and want the others to know as well right?" He responded as Twilight gave a simple nod of the head.

"You all remember how I said Prince Arthas never returned from Northrend right? Well that wasn't entirely true."

"What do you mean?" Spike asked as his friend looked at all of them.

"It was twenty years ago."

Lordaeron Twenty Years Ago

The city of Lordaeron was abuzz with excitement when they learned that not only was the leader of the undead defeated but it was also at the hands of Prince Arthas himself. Having heard of this news, the king ordered a celebration to be held in his sons honor and for the bells to signal his return.

Arthas marched through the crowded streets of the city with his face hidden by a hooded cloak along with two others who were believed to be his personal guard and as he approached the main gates of the castle he stopped for a moment to see the citizens showering him with flower petals from above, one such petal fell onto the princes hand and it was beautiful yet as he looked at the simple gift he sneered under his hood and tossed the petal aside before marching into the throne room where his father King Terenas awaited.

"Ah my son. I am glad to see you home after all this time!" The king said with pride as his son knelt before him holding the sword Frostmourne but as the king spoke Arthas heard nothing save for the whispering voice of the blade itself telling him.

"You no longer need to sacrifice for your people....you no longer need to bare the weight of your crown, I've taken care of everything."

At that moment the prince marched up to the throne with the blade ready to pierce his fathers heart much to the kings dismay.

"W-what is this? What are you doing my son?!?" King Terenas asked in shock as his son whispered.

"Suceeding you father." Those were the last words Arthas spoke to his father before staining the throne with his blood while making a grim declaration to the people of Lordaeron.

"This kingdom shall fall!! And from the ashes shall arise a new order that will shake the very foundations of the world...."

Twilight and her friends were horrified when they learned the truth of Arthas and the fall of Lordaeron while Pendragon just stared off into space swirling what cider was left in his mug.

"After he murdered his father, Arthas simply let the kingdom weaken until the undead returned...the rest you know is history."

"So you're saying...the prince betrayed your kingdom because of that sword?" Twilight asked still in disbelief.

"That blade destroyed what sanity the prince had, It drove him mad! But that's not the tip of the iceberg."

Pendragon then began telling him of The Silver Hands struggle with the undead after the kings death.

Fall of The Silver Hand

While he was still a squire, Pendragon journeyed with a group of his fellow paladins to intercept a large scourge force on their way to plunder the tomb of the royal family but what he didn't know was that they were being lead by Arthas himself. The knights fought valiantly against the scourge but were eventually overwhelmed until only Lord Uther was left.

"Your father ruled this land for seventy years...and you've grounded it to dust in a matter of days!" Uther had never been so ashamed of his former pupil as he looked at him leading the very creatures he once swore an oath to destroy.

"VERY dramatic Uther." Arthas responded in a nonchalant manner.

"Now give me the urn and I promise your death will be quick."

"The urn contains your fathers ashes Arthas! What? Were you hoping to piss on them one last time before you left his kingdom to rot?!?" Uther was outraged by the fallen princes behavior as Arthas gave a short chuckle saying.

"I didn't know what it contained, nor do I care. Either way, I'll get what I came for."

Slowly, Arthas drew Frostmourne from its sheath as he prepared to do battle with his former master. The fighting was fierce and tense with the powers of light and dark clashing against one another and for a brief moment Uther saw an opening in the princes defense but he hesitated and could not bring himself to strike down his former pupil, Arthas however took this opportunity to run his blade through the paladin with one quick thrust that ended their duel. The prince then ordered his minions to plunder the tomb for their prize and what riches they could find, this was the final betrayal for Uther.

"I hope there's a special place in hell for you Arthas!" The paladin wheezed as he felt the last of his life fading.

"We'll never know old friend. I intend to live forever."

As a final insult, Arthas dumped the ashes of his father in front of his dying masters eyes before filling it with a pile of rotting bones belonging to a necromancer that the prince slew himself. Arthas then vicously ripped the sword from his masters chest and left him to die on the cold soil now stained with his blood unaware that a young squire had witnessed the tragic event.

That squire was Pendragon.

"The order fell apart after that. The lords who once supported us said we were no longer necessary and demanded that we disbanded. Most of us just ignored that and continued to protect the people, myself included." The paladin then chugged what cider was left before slamming the mug down.

"Now darling we understand why you would be so upset but that is no reason to throw away your life so recklessly." Said Rarity patting his shoulder.

"Rarity is right, we're your friends aren't we?" Twilight asked knowing that questioning their friendship would be a sensitive subject yet instead of getting angry Pendragon looked at them straight in the eye and answered.

"Of course you are."

"Good. Now let's stop sitting around and PARTY!!" Yelled Pinkie with a blast from her party cannon as she lead the girls out the door with their friend following. The moment they stepped outside music and laughter filled the air as the soldiers danced and sang around their campfires, it was a sight Pendragon had not seen in many years.

"Hey Dash! How about a drinking contest?" He asked his rainbow haired friend with a smug grin while she eagerly responded.

"Oh it is ON!!"

The two friends sat at the nearest table where they were given two large mugs of cider and once again Rainbow was able to beat her human friend in another drinking contest with her impossible drinking.

As the troops celebrated, Varian and Celestia surveyed the camp from a short distance away while sharing a bottle of wine to help keep them warm from the cool night air.

"Seeing something like this makes me wonder what might have been." The king said with a depressed look as he remembered the fall of Lordaeron before Celestia asked him.

"You weren't there?"

"I was away for a long time Celestia, I couldn't even remember who I was." He sighed recalling one of the most tragic memories in his life as a gladiator while his kingdom was being corrupted from within but what made the memory worse was hearing of how Arthas had given in to evil during the scourge invasion.

"Arthas...if I had only been there when you needed me..."

"He was your friend?" Celestia asked after seeing the saddness in his eyes.

"My first friend..." Varian would say no more and both enjoyed the sound of music that was starting to rise from the camp and it seemed to bring a smile to his face which made Celestia happy.

"I suppose you'll want Pendragon to return home once this war is all over." The princess assumed that was how it would play out knowing that Pendragon had other duties back home.

"He does have his duties as a paladin but I will not dictate his choices in life. Pendragon has served my kingdom well and that is enough for me so if he wishes to stay then I will not object."

"Hm...you are truly a good king Varian. Perhaps when this is over we could improve our kingdoms relations in the future."

"Agreed."

The two monarchs toasted to a future alliance for their kingdoms and were looking forward to a bright future yet while they celebrated, the scourge had amassed another army in greater numbers and leading them was Nightmare Moon astride the mighty frost wyrm; Sapphiron.

End.

Author's Note

Proofread by Thunderbolt Sentinel