The Warrior From Azeroth

The day after the encounter in Everfree, Twilight presented the shard of Frostmourne to Celestia and told her of the hooded figure they encountered, Pendragon recognized him as one of the cultists who attacked his ship the night before he arrived in Equestria.

"I am glad you brought this to my attention, rest assured I will have the shard placed under heavy guard and I'll even have Discord place a few enchantments on the vault."

"Who's Discord?"

"That would be moi."

Pendragon turned around to see a strange serpent like creature hovering behind him. The human jumped back and prepared to do battle when the girls suddenly held him back.

"Chill! He's with us!" Rainbow dash scolded him while holding back his hammer. Pendragon darted his head back and forth for a moment before finally lowering his guard as Fluttershy introduced Discord to her human friend who seemed to be examining him from head to toe like he was looking at a strange painting.

"You must be the one the girls are talking about oh and I thank you for keeping my DEAR Fluttershy safe! She's my best friend you know?"

"Uh...you're welcome."

"Well I'll see you all later tonight!" Discord said before poofing out of the room.

"What's happening tonight?" He asked as Rarity began clapping her hooves in excitement.

"Oh you are in for a treat darling! Tonight is the biggest night in Equestria; The Grand Galloping Gala!"

Twilight explained to her human friend that the Grand Galloping Gala was a special event that celebrated the Union of the three pony tribes of Equestria and was held each year in Canterlot and only those who were personally invited by the Princess could attend, she then told him of her first night at the gala with her friends and how it didn't go as well as they had hoped but the story seemed to entertain Pendragon nonetheless.

"This gala sounds like some party, I hope you girls have fun." He said with a smile when Spike burped up a scroll holding a golden ticket before reading it aloud to the others.

"Hear ye, hear ye! Princess Celestia of Equestria cordially extends an invitation to Sir Pendragon of Azeroth for tonight's Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot!"

A smile of satisfaction appeared on the humans face as he retrieved the ticket and left to prepare for the event.

That Night

The entire castle was abuz with excitement as nobles from all over Canterlot gathered for the biggest party in Equestria. Aside from a chance to meet with Princess Celestia and the elements of harmony, the nobles had come to see the human who had washed up on their shores and who was also chatting with Twilight and her friends.

Pendragon was dressed in a formal outfit that was kept in his chest and with a few personal touches from Rarity it would have been the perfect suit had it not been for the sword he had kept strapped to his waist.

"Really dear, must you wear that?" Rarity asked after noticing a few nobles staring at him.

"I believe in being prepared." Pendragon took a sip of wine before heading to a buffet table where two ponies of the Canterlot elite were dining on a few horderves and whispering among themselves.

"Hmm deviled eggs huh? I always wanted to try these." Pendragon said aloud before gulping one down, at first the taste was delicious but then an intense burning sensation began to build up in the humans mouth as he took deep heavy breaths before chugging down his entire wine glass in front of everyone.

"By the light, that was spicy!" He shouted as the nobles laughed. A unicorn wearing a monocle and fancy suit approached the human with a glass of water, still chuckling from the spectacle he just witnessed.

"Forgive me my boy, we couldn't help ourselves. I am Fancy Pants and this is Fleur." Fancy apologized while handing him the glass of water to soothe his burning tongue, The human greeted the mare with a kiss to her hoof which seemed to impress her before introducing himself.

"It's a pleasure sir. I am Pendragon of Stormwind."

"We've heard about you and your adventures with Princess Twilight and her friends. Is it true you took down a hydra?"

"Not alone I assure you."

The human spent most of the evening chatting with a few other nobles before rejoining his friends at one of the tables.

While the party went on a dark figure crept through the shadows towards the royal vault where the shard was kept under heavy security, the figure appeared before the door when several elite guards surrounded him in a circle of spears.

"Halt intruder!"

One of the guards lifted the hood to reveal an elderly ram wearing a necklace that carried a glowing green skull.

"Foolish mortals..." The stranger whispered in a sinister manner before launching out a green mist that began suffocating the guards, one however was fortunate enough to escape and ran to warn the princesses after witnessing his fellow guardsmen turn into shriveled, dried up husks.

Back at The Gala

The party was in full swing when.

"INTRUDER!! Intruder in the vault!!" The guard ran into the ballroom completely frantic with fear. Pendragon was the first to try and settle him down as he began to scream.

"They're dead! They're all dead!"

"Calm yourself man! What happened?" The human said in a stern voice while glaring into the guards eyes and he clearly saw the terror in them.

"A-a stranger came into the vault! H-he used some kind of green magic that just...SUCKED the others dry!!"

Pendragon ran towards the exit to see a green glow coming from one of the castle towers followed by the dying screams of the guards.

"Your majesty keep everyone in here! Make sure nobody leaves this room!"

"Pendragon wait!" Celestia called out but the human was already headed towards the tower.

When Pendragon arrived he came upon a gruesome sight, it was just as the guard said. The bodies of the other guards had been sucked dry of all their fluids making them look like corpses that had been buried for years with only the green mist of the fel seeping from their mouths and amongst the carnage was the vault doors ripped open like a tin can, the human cautiously entered the room with his sword drawn as he looks around for signs of the intruder.

"HI!" A squeaky voice called out making Pendragon flinch but thankfully he recognized who it was.

"Pinkie?!? What're you trying to do? Gimme a heart attack?!" He whispered angrily as she apologized, the other girls ran into the vault after seeing the massacre outside and were also told to keep quiet while they looked around for signs of the intruder described by the guard but all they seemed to find were more corpses.

"Who could've done this?" Twilight was horrified by the sight when one of the corpses suddenly sprang to life, making her scream. The other bodies soon followed as a green glow filled their eyes and their teeth slowly turned to fangs; they had turned into the walking dead!

One of the creatures cornered Twilight before being blasted by her magic while others were cut down by Pendragon, the fight was quick and easy with the zombie soldiers being so slow but to make sure they wouldn't rise up again Pendragon used the power of the light to burn their bodies while saying a prayer to grant them peace and it was after that moment that the group heard the slow clapping of hooves as a red eyed ram appeared out of the shadows.

"Well done! Well done indeed."

"Who are you?"

"Oh my! Where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. I am Grogar." The ram said with a hint of arrogance as he bowed before the human.

"I was told that one survived the shipwreck. Good help is so hard to find these days."

"You sent those men to kill my crew, you stole the shards!!"

"Clever boy." Grogar began circling around them while the ponies prepared to attack but their human friend advised against it after witnessing what happened to the guards.

"Why did you attack us? Who is your master?"

"Oh I think you already know that boy."

Grogar removed his cloak to reveal he had a cutie mark of his own; A dark star with three skulls nailed into it followed by two scythes with hanging lanterns crossed over, it was a symbol Pendragon recognized all too well.

"Enjoy your happy lives Equestrians for they will soon end. The damned stand ready." The ram broke into a maniacal laugh that sent the human over the edge as he lashed out in pure anger but before Pendragons sword could hit its mark, Grogar vanished in a flash of green fire with his laugh echoing into the night.

As the flames died down, The human noticed that the sword he was carrying had split in two thanks to the force of his swing hitting the floor and for a moment all was quiet until Princess Luna flew in from a shattered window along with a few night guards.

"I saw the flames! What happened?" Luna asked when Pendragon answered in a foreboding voice.

"The Cult of The Damned..."

The Next Day

Princess Celestia had ordered a private council at Twilights Castle to discuss last nights break in but the news had already spread throughout most of Equestria with many of the citizens had begun blaming the arrival of the human for these recent attacks and though it did seem harsh it was indeed true. The council was taking place in the map room where Pendragon was introduced to Twilights personal student; Starlight Glimmer.

"Now let's get down to business. Pendragon. When Grogar revealed his mark you seemed to recognize it."

"I did. That mark belongs to The Cult of The Damned, they are a group of necromancers whose soul purpose is to extinguish all life and they are the Lich Kings most deadliest agents."

"But Twilight said you killed the Lich King." Starlight replied as he nodded in acknowledgement.

"True but that doesn't mean he can't come back. Since his death, the cult has been tirelessly working to bring him back on account of their new king doesn't follow their agenda."

The group was puzzled by what he said until he revealed a dark secret about their victory against the scourge.

Before the Lich King was defeated, Pendragon and his commanding officer learned that if the Lich King were to be defeated another would have to take his place or the undead armies of the scourge would rampage across the land until nothing was left and in the short time after that they discovered one of their kingdoms heroes; Bolvar Fordragon who was thought to have perished had been revived as one of the undead but had resisted the Lich Kings influence and after the Lich Kings defeat he agreed to bear the burden of controlling the scourge. A truly noble sacrifice.

"After that, the shards of Frostmourne were taken along with the former kings body. That's all I can tell you for now."

Celestia understood why he would withhold any more information and decided not to press the matter and proceeded to the next issue of the meeting: Pendragons knowledge of The Light. Many of the nobles in Canterlot believed that it was unfair for him to possess such power and demanded that he teach it to the Royal guards or even the princesses but Pendragon explained that the light is a gift not given so easily for one must be virtuous and pure of heart in order to receive its blessing.

"There's only one way to find another who can wield the light."

"How?"

"A tournament."

End.