League of Equestriaby FreudTasticChaptersPrologue: A New worldChapter 1: A Common EnemyChapter 2: Portal Mishaps; Part 1Prologue: A New worldThe cold, grisly winds blew across the city streets of Noxus, the second greater of the two city-states of Valoran, as clouds gathered in the distance, warning of a coming storm. The citizen who lived in the slums just outside the city gates and moat were struggling to find cover under their rags, or in one of the many shacks that covered the ground. In the inner city, a man was seen skulking around clad in steel blue and brown robes, his ‘cloak’ split off into multiple sections with blades tipping each one of them. People seemed to fear him as he passed by, and rightfully so, since he was no one other than Talon, one of the most trained elite assassin in all of Noxus. The Blade’s Shadow was on a delivery mission this time however, as he had an envelope in his hand, as he made his way up the granite mountain which made up most part of the inner city, up towards the High Command building, a grand fortress in its own rights. The guards, as usual, demanded to hear about his business to High Commander Jericho Swain, to which he informed them he had a letter of crucial importance. And if they hadn’t believed him, which they did anyway and let him pass… well, he’d have a few stabbings to trace back. Smirking under his cowl, he ventured into the fort’s gates, and into the grand meeting/dining hall, which was vast and dome-like in appearance, with a massive long table at the center. On the other end sat the Master Tactician in question, casually sipping on a cup of wine while his pet raven, Beatrice, was perched upon his shoulder and ripping the body of a dead mouse apart, the six-eyed avian cawing loudly as Talon appeared. Swain tiredly raised an eye to the assassin as he scowled. “And what business do you have with me this evening, Talon? Be quick with your words, I was about to enjoy a nice, quiet meal.” “High Commander Swain…” Talon began as he reached for the envelope, pulling it out of his robes as he handed it to the commander. “I bring good news from LeBlanc and her sorcerers. She has informed us that she has finally found a way for us to expand our power without having to break the laws the Institute have put up after our little… aherm, ‘dispute’ at their base of operations.” Swain chuckled darkly as he remembered that event; It had indeed been a dispute. And oh, so grand too! Demacia and Noxus had once more gotten into a very big discussion about which kingdom was the greatest, but this time, another topic had been brought into light; which was the greater kingdom to rule Valoran when the Institute no longer had power? Of course, both sides rooted for no one else than themselves, so therefore, both Demacia and Noxus disconnected themselves from the Institute’s rules all together, breaking their Champion contracts as well as making sure that the Institute had nothing to say in the matter. But, as predicted, the Institute still put their noses into business that was not theirs, and made a law that was global for all of Valoran; That Champions from Demacia and Noxus were not allowed to meet, under any circumstances. Meaning, they could not go into war, since most of their Champions would be a key point in their victory. A quite bothersome law, but they could face dire consequences if they broke it. “Ah, so the illusionist finally brings some progressive news to our halls, huh? That is indeed a good start.” Swain smirked under his robes as he unfolded the letter and began to read it. His eyes peered slightly over a few words as he narrowed them to read the fine prints, Beatrice leaning onto her master’s side to check he didn’t miss a line or two, cawing whenever he did. She was an annoyance sometimes, but for an old, scrawny man like Swain, she was a good companion and partner, as stubborn and determined as he was. His dark chuckle was heard as he finished the letter, putting it onto his table as he looked over to Talon with a solemn nod. “Inform LeBlanc to proceed with her spell at once.” “Oh, I will…” A feminine cackle was heard as from the shadows strode LeBlanc in person, smoke fuming from her form as she had without a doubt been listening to the whole conversation without ever being detected. So great was the power of the Deceiver. “I hope you do not mind my advances, High Commander Swain, but I have already put my sorcerers to work, and we should have the portal up in no time.” Swain’s eyes narrowed in slight distrust and anger when LeBlanc nonchalantly stepped in from the shadows, Beatrice letting out a series of loud caws before she was calmed down by her master. “LeBlanc… I would advise you that eavesdropping is not a very honorable act, especially not in front of your ruler.” He sneered, standing up as he looked her over. “But I suppose that it is forgivable this time around… continue with your work at once!” LeBlanc nodded solemnly as her commander barked at her, giving him a slight sneer back as she disappeared. Swain sighed as he sat down again, Talon bowing before he left the hall. His intents were clear. Noxus would rise to power. And nothing, not even the Institute of War, would stand in their way. -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- A young, blonde girl with a set of light plate armor was seen skipping along the roads of Demacia as she was delivering her own news to her superiors. Naturally, the Lady of Luminosity had lessons to take at this hour of day as she still was a mage in training, but she had important news for his older brother. Reaching the barracks of the Dauntless Vanguard, the elite soldier troops of Demacia, she went into the building and found her brother – Garen Crownguard – surrounded by his men as they were all discussing about the Institute’s new law, most of his men being infuriated by it. “My soldiers please remain calm!” Garen demanded as he tried to get his men in order. “We all know the new laws of the Institute of War are somewhat bothersome to our current situation with Noxus, but I promise you one and all; those scoundrel dogs will pay in blood for what they have done to our lands over the centuries! Not a single of their soldiers will remain standing once we are done with-“ “Brother! Big brother, I have a message from the Light Council!” he heard the juvenile, jet chipper and light tone of his younger sister, Luxanna “Lux” Crownguard, as she made her way through the bulk of armor and muscle that was in her path and up to her big brother, smiling at him as always. “I need to show it to you right away, brother!” Garen gave her a light smile back, before he looked back towards his soldiers and ushered them back. “Return to your duties, soldiers. I have a message to take care of.” He ordered them as he then followed Lux, ruffling up her blonde hair a bit as she giggled. “Ah, Lux… it does my heart good to see you in times like these… you still doing your studies?” “Yes, big brother… I’m doing all I can to become the best Light Mage in Demacia.” She smiled at him as she straightened her hair out a bit, before reaching into a satchel on her side, pulling out a letter from it. “But I have more important news than that, brother. Look at this report I got from the other Light Mages!” Garen took the letter and neatly unfolded it, before he read it, his eyes scanning over it rather quickly, but got quite a bit of it as he then wore a proud smirk on his face. “By the Crown Prince, this is indeed great news!” he exclaimed as he then folded it back and gave it back to his sister. “This will definetly be a good way to turn this in our favor, as I am sure our enemy will have found a similar way to reach this new world. Speaking of the crown prince, have you informed him about this as well?” “Not me, but a few other of the mages said they’d inform him immediately.” Lux proclaimed as she took the letter back and stuffed it into her satchel. “Brother… are you sure this is right? I mean, invading another world just to continue struggling against Noxus. I just think that… it’s kind of unnecessary to spread our conflict into other dimensions. It will not only be bad for us, but for that world as well! They might be peaceful, and don’t want war in their realm! What if we’re just-“ “That has been taken into concern, Luxanna.” A loud voice was heard above them as, trudging up to them with his great lance and golden armor, was Jarvan himself, the Crown Prince of Demacia. Lux instantly curtseyed for her crown prince, but Garen merely smiled and saluted him, being a childhood friend of the towering man. Jarvan nodded once to Garen’s salutation as he then looked down at Lux. “Your concern for this new world’s well-being is taken into note, Luxanna. However, if we allow the dogs of Noxus to infect their realm with their iron-fist rule, do you think that they will be better or worse off than if we intervene?” a short silence was heard from the Lady of Luminosity as she did not know what to say, but Jarvan chuckled softly. “I understand, it’s a tough decision. But we shall make sure to damage as little of their world as we can. I promise, Lux. Now, please join with your fellow mages. I’ve been informed they will start creating the portal as soon as they can.” Without a word of protest, the light mage nodded as she rushed off. Jarvan sighed, standing next to Garen. “This will be a troublesome fight… one which will be taken to grounds we’ve never been to. But we will prevail, in the name of my father, the king.” “Indeed… how about the other factions?” he then asked. “Bandle City, Piltover, Freljord… Ionia? I am sure that once this reaches her hears, Poppy would be more than happy to assist with a band of Yordles. As for Piltover, Freljord and Ionia, I am not sure, but our allies should not be taken out of the equation.” Jarvan nodded once to this, but then shook his head. “I think it’s best if we held them out of the equation for this time, Garen. This is between us and Noxus. Gather your Dauntless Vanguards. We will leave immediately as the portal is up.” He said, and as Garen nodded, they both recited Demacia’s anthem; “Demacia; now and forever.” -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- It was a rather quiet day in Ponyville for its inhabitants as everypony were minding their own business, going on with their errands and preparing for a rather big celebration. It was the celebration of Princess Celestia’s 30th year as the leader of Equestria, and everypony had something to do. Everypony… except Twilight Sparkle. The violet unicorn was trying to do something, but found herself to be too panicked about her teacher’s arrival to Ponyville to actually focus herself to do something, as she was dashing left and right inside her library to try and find something she had recently discovered. So far, she had not done any interesting research, and it felt like a big problem for her. “Oh my gosh, there has to be something that hasn’t been gone into detail yet!” she begged as she tried to find anything, just anything, that she could go into detail with. Meanwhile, her assistant Spike couldn’t help but to snicker a bit as she was rushing back and forth. “Oh quit it Spike, and help me find something!” she scowled at him, and he shook it off as he began to look around too. “Sorry Twilight, but you just look so funny when you run around like a headless hen!” he teased with a little laugh, looking through the tomes and books in her shelves. “You really need to learn to categorize your books better, Twilight! I mean, Pinkie Pie can find books easy as that, but neither of us can! I just find it weird that-“ “I know Spike, let’s… not berate on that subject anymore, okay?” she demanded as she just wanted to keep away from that subject due to embarrassment. She just sighed and kept on her search. Just then, there was a knock on the door as Twilight asked Spike to open it, and when he did, Derpy Hooves was just outside, smiling stupidly like always as she brought out a newspaper entitled “Equestria Daily”. “Daily newspaper!” she called out giddily, before she flew off again. Spike sighed and said a quick ‘thanks’ before she was off, sitting down as he thought he had earned some rest, and read through the paper quietly… until one topic caught his eye. “Holy Guacamole!” he called out as his tail stood on attention. “Twilight! Come out here, you got to see this!” as if on cue, the violet unicorn was by his side, as he held up the article. She gasped a bit, seeing the title of it, and the text beneath, which she read out loud; Strange Creatures Seeks an Audience with the Princess! Celestia remains quiet of the details Earlier today, a strange phenomenon occurred as what seemed to be a giant gate of light appearing right outside the borders of Canterlot, and out of the portal stepped at least fifty-two strange, bipedal creatures with tall bodies, bulky armor and sharp swords, except for one of the possible leader beings, who appeared more feminine and had a numerous amount of apparatuses on her body. The creatures asked for an audience with ‘the world’s current political leader’, which in turn is our beloved Princess Celestia, and despite being the day of her celebration, she agreed on their terms, and they are now holding a meeting in Canterlot’s halls as we speak. The Solar Princess, however, keeps further journalists out of the discussion, and the only thing we’ve heard so far is from the Moon Princess Luna, who comments; “I am sure my sister does what is best for our country. I cannot comment further.” Twilight felt a lump grow in her throat as she read it. Strange bipedal beings asking for an audience with Celestia? This sounded like trouble. What if the creatures’ intents were no good? She had to find out! “Spike, we’re going to Canterlot. Stat!” she said as she stormed out of the library, her dragon companion running after as quick as he could. Just then, they were met up by Rarity, and while Spike was swooning over her like usual, Twilight saw her serious expression. “Rarity! So, I guess you read it too, didn’t you?” “How could I not have?” she said with an exasperated tone. “This is disastrous! If those creatures are allowed near Ponyville, who knows what’ll happen!” “I know, and that’s why I’m going to Canterlot. I want to be there to see what my teacher will do about it.” Twilight replied as she looked around, seeing all the other ponies being busy discussing the headlines. “I wonder where the others are…” “Well, Fluttershy was barricaded in her cottage, I saw. Looks like she doesn’t want to be a part of the discussions, or she is just scared like usual.” Rarity said as she thought a little more. “I haven’t seen anything of Applejack or Rainbow Dash, either…” “Hey guys, did you see the news!?” came a shout from above as said cyan Pegasus dove down to them, floating about in the air. “I wonder what those creatures are that I read about! They sound awesome!” “I’m not too sure about that, Rainbow…” Twilight mumbled. “Look, I just want to find out about what’s going on right now, so I will be teleporting anyone who’s willing to join me to Canterlot. Dash, if you wanna join us you could just fly there. I bet you know the way.” She smiled as Rainbow nodded with a salute. “Rarity, I suppose you’re the only one wanting to follow for now? Since Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie seem to be busy otherwise.” “Well, I… I have to look after my boutique!” the pristine white unicorn explained. “What if they come here unnoticed! I cannot let them raid my store!” Twilight just nodded as it would be easier to teleport just herself and Spike. “Alright then, I’ll get back as soon as I know more.” She said, and Rainbow Dash was already flying off to Canterlot. “Spike, grab hold of me.” She said as the dragon obeyed, her horn glowing white as they disappeared in a bright flash. She had to know what was going on, and more importantly… What would Celestia’s verdict be? -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- Author's Notes: Do not expect me to update this too quickly. I will do my best to write on it whenever I can, but don't try and rush me with chapters. This, I plan to be my biggest project so far, so it will naturally take time. Like and favorite if you enjoyed it, and leave a comment if you wish! Chapter 1: A Common EnemyPrincess Celestia was sat on her flanks at the royal round table as on the opposite side sat the two visitors who had so desperately sought an audience with her, smiling politely over to them even if she was a bit… concerned of what such strange, bipedal beings had to do in her world. One of them was a giant, almost, dressed in bulky, thick armor with blue and yellow designs, a white sash along his waist, and a massive sword with a golden hand guard. The other was more sleek, and feminine with a red cape over a black, skin-tight outfit, wielding all sorts of ammunition, apparatuses and gear on several belts and satchels on her body, with a miniature crossbow strapped onto her right wrist, and with a larger one on her back, while red goggles covered her eyes. They were nothing like the Solar Princess had seen before, but she kept her manners as she cleared her throat a bit. “So, allow me to ask again…” she spoke up, as the both beings snapped their attention up to her. “Exactly what is your business here in our beloved Equestria?” “Well, as you may have understood earlier… Princess…” Garen spoke up, still a bit confounded that this world was ruled by… animals. Ponies, none the less! “We are here on strict business from our home world, as our nemesis nation from said world will probably have invaded this world as we speak. It is of high importance that we get to know as much of this world as you can teach us, and fast, so that we may pin-point the location of their base of operations, and vanquish them! We have about five months to do so, before we have to depart, otherwise our influence here will become too great.” Celestia nodded. This Garen seemed to be a man of reason, as much as he looked like a warrior. “I understand, and I will allow you to stay for as long as it is necessary. I am sure your influence here won’t disturb us.” She spoke softly. “And, what are your names again? And race, none the less. We have never seen beings like you two in Equestria.” “We’re humans. I am Garen Crownguard, head of Demacia’s Dauntless Vanguard.” Garen introduced himself. “My name is Vayne. That’s all you need to know, pony.” The female one, Vayne, spoke in a more harsh tone as she was fidgeting with her wrist-attached device. Celestia seemed to keep a close eye on this one. She seemed suspicious to her eyes, both with her clothing style and her behavior. “Right… so where you two come from, this ‘Demacia’, are there more of your kind?” Celestia then asked. “Oh yes, indeed there is.” Garen nodded. “But I believe that this kind of idle chatter can wait… for now, we need to make sure that Noxian troops have not invaded this world. You see, our kingdoms have had quite a dispute in the later years, but due to a change of events, our kingdoms were not allowed to interact with one another, and thus hindering the wars that goes on between our countries. Naturally, Demacia is happy with the peace we now have, but we are resting uneasily from the idea of Noxus going onto other worlds like yours to spread the same evil and fear they have unto us. So, without delay, we sought up this world and hoped to aid your kind… but I must say, no offense, that I never thought this world would be inhabited by… talking, colorful ponies.” He tried not to sound disrespectful, and keep up a mask of politeness, but Celestia just chuckled and briskly shook her head. “None taken, Sir Crownguard.” She said dismissively, yet dryly, before she got off her seat and walked up towards the one and only window in the hall. “But you can rest assured, the lands of Equestria and beyond are perfectly fine in terms of protection and soldiers. We have more than enough to stand against an army.” She spoke with a firm belief in her tone, knowing that not only her country, but the countries abroad, would be able to stand against invasions and attacks of any kind. It was her duty as a princess to put belief in her fellow ponies and possible allies. Just then, the doors barged open as a white colt, Shining Armor, rushed inside. “Princess Celestia! Apologies for the interruptions…” he eyed the two humans in the room for a bit, not knowing who or what they were, before he turned back to his princess. “But we just received an urgent message from the southern lands of Boardor! They’ve been invaded!” “What?” Demanded the Solar Princess in a shocked, yet firm tone. “Explain yourself, Shining Armor.” “Of course, M’lady.” He nodded, calming down a bit before delivering his report. “Your highness, we received the report just recently. According to Chieftain Pork Chops, Boardor is under heavy assault from strange, bipedal beings, much like those two…” he narrowed his eyes towards Garen and Vayne. The two of them, however, knew what was happening. “Noxus.” They both spoke in unison, before Vayne took over. “I should’ve known those cowardly dogs would strike sometime…” Garen, however, turned to Celestia. “Where is this ‘Boardor’ located, princess?” he’d demand, as her horn suddenly glowed a bright white as a parchment flew up from a nearby basket and unrolled itself, revealing a complete map of the world. “This is a map of Ponyland… the world you are in now.” She explained, pointing with her hoof to the south, where there was a land divided into two parts, one marked out with volcanoes which probably was a burning wasteland, and the other which looked like a tundra landscape. “Here, just at the edge of the Scorched Lands, is Boardor, home of the boars and ursine people. Their peoples have always been at peace with each other.” Garen overlooked the map as he saw some of the strangest geography he’s possibly seen in his life as a captain, and the names of the cities, countries and landscapes did not help his distress. But he overlooked Boardor, and then saw where Equestria was. “Damn it, it is too far away from here! Those scoundrels are either very cowardly, or very smart to place themselves further away from us.” He said with a slight sigh of frustration. “Very well. I assume that we will have to travel a bit then… but we will need men to fight Noxus, and we only brought fifty…” he looked up to Celestia. “Ma’am, with your allowance, I will set up a camp somewhere here in Equestria with my men, as we try and contact our homeland for reinforcements. We’ll need to build a temporary outpost in your lands as well. I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but we are left with no other choice.” Celestia weighed the decision she had to make now. If what Garen said was true about the Noxian people… then they would have a hoof-full in dealing with them. But she knew it had to be done. She nodded. “Permission granted. Consider us allies, Sir Crownguard. You may settle down with your men for as long as-“ “Celestia!” another voice piped up as near the door, a bright flash was seen before Twilight Sparkle stood there, with Spike on her back as she noticed Celestia, the two alien beings, and her brother Shining Armor. She gave her brother a brief ‘hello’ before she rushed up to her teacher. “Celestia, you can’t be serious! What if these two are just as bad as the other ones! They might be tricking us!” just then, she’d feel the chilling touch of metal to her neck as a crossbow bolt was barely nudging her, Vayne aiming her wrist weapon to her neck. “How dare you compare us to the mongrel hides of Noxus, you imbecilic foal.” She demanded with venom in her tone, but Celestia frowned as her horn glowed brightly in warning, and the Night Hunter sneered while she removed her weapon. “I would appreciate that you do not aim your weapon towards my beloved student, Miss Vayne.” The Alicorn demanded, and then turned to nuzzle the violet unicorn. “You can rest assured though, Twilight, that these two are not of the same agenda as those who are invading Boardor. They are our allies… which I am sure we can rely on.” She shot a glare at Vayne, who instantly gave the princess one back, before Garen went between them. “Alright then, that’s enough.” He demanded. “Now we need to contact our home to see if they can bring building materials.” He looked over to the purple unicorn beneath him. “Princess Celestia. You said this is your student, no? Would she be able to assist in linking another portal to our world?” “What?” Twilight stammered a bit. “I am not sure if I could do that, sir… I’m still a student, so-“ “I trust that you can do it, Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia said with a soft smile, making Twilight gasp a bit as she looked up at her teacher. “After all, you are my beloved, faithful student, and you are the inheritor of the Element of Magic. I am most certain you will be able to assist Miss Vayne and Sir Crownguard. I have matters to attend to myself right now, so I will have to excuse myself for putting you through it…” “No, it’s fine Celestia…” Twilight smiled shyly as she nodded. “I understand, these will be pressing times… I will do what I can.” Just then, a echoing ‘Incoming!’ was heard as a window crashed, and with a booming crash, Rainbow Dash barged into the room, knocking over the table and a few books from their shelves as she had Fluttershys flying around her head before shaking herself back to her senses. She had a sheepish smile on her face as she looked around at the others. “Ehehe… sorry.” She said meekly, and while Garen and Vayne just mentally groaned at the sight of more ponies, Celestia just chuckled. “Looks like your friends are eager to help too, Twilight…” -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- “You smell like… bacon!” A childish, yet sadistic giggle was heard as suddenly, a huge torrent of flames filled the battlefield of Boardor, the porcine soldiers of their homeland squealing like… well, stung pigs as the flames grilled their stubby hair and roasted them alive, some of them still running around and burning while most of them had dropped dead by now, and amongst the charred remains was a very small, humanoid shape, skipping around while swinging something in her hand. It was revealed to be a purple-haired girl with green eyes, a purple and pink school-girl outfit, and with a stuffed teddy bear in her hand. She was giggling and cackling with a sadistic tone as a handful of flames were lit in her unoccupied hand as she glared over at the soldier boars that were still alive. “Tibbers say you need to burn… Tibbers want you to go to he-“ “Now now Annie, don’t use such foul language…” a hissing tone was heard as from behind her, a naga creature slithered up, its scales as green and shimmering as Annie’s eyes as she had the appearance of a cobra, her eyes pure white and her fingertips ending in sharp claws, her tail rattling as she hissed. “Thissssssss calls for some more… rational methods.” Rearing her head backwards, she suddenly lashed it back forward, regurgitating and spitting out a foul mass of liquid venom, the purple liquid coating the ground like an acid pool as it slowly spread; any boar inside of it slowly being drenched and utterly melting inside its grasp. The naga woman let out a hissing laugh of amusement as she watched the pigs squeal and beg for their lives while their hides and flesh were searing asunder in her poison. “Aaw, Cassie! I wanted to play with them! Meanie…” Annie frowned as she crossed her arms, but the naga, Cassiopeia, merely pat her head a bit as she slithered ahead of her. “Oh now, don’t put a pout on that face girl.” She said with a sweet, almost motherly tone as she and Annie moved ahead. In front of them was a large set of tents and carts, most likely telling that the Boardor people were nomads by nature, and all of them were razed and lit ablaze as squeals and screams of panic were heard. “There’s more havoc to break…” she snickered with a slight hiss, and Annie just giggled as she seemed to be excited to burn more things, before she went on with Cassiopeia. -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- “D-Damn you… you won’t get away with this… monsters!” one of the greater boars, the only one standing in the camp by now, was coughing and grunting in pain as he had numerous wounds on his big, bulky body, but he stood firm on all his four feet. He was wearing iron mail armor with over-lapping metal pieces, and a horned helmet on his head as it indicated his role as chieftain of his tribe, and in his mouth he held a battle-axe weakly, his eyes fixated upon the two men standing in front of him; One of them was a towering giant, at least 7 feet tall with bulking, thick plate armor, a red cape flowing behind him, and a massive battle axe, even bigger than his own, held in one hand as it was on the ground, stained in blood. The other seemed a bit wilder and care-free, with wild brown hair and a long mustache which framed his grinning mouth, a simple fur vest and shorts, with matching boots, and in each hand he wielded peculiar axes; Each of them had a circular hand guard with a handle in the middle of it, and both of them had two blades, one which had popped out on command almost, and both of them were spinning wildly around the handle as he made small hand movements while holding the strange weapons. “Heh, I never knew that pigs could squeal AND talk, heh…” the one with the spinning axes grinned as he tossed one of them up into the air, catching it, and resumed spinning it. “This is one heck of a crazy world we ended up in…” “Quite so, brother. But it is still much more fun to dispose of these creatures than our prisoners…” the other, taller one smirked as he’d lift his axe up on his shoulders. “Y-You monsters!” The boar grunted again as he tried standing up firmer, but was finding he was too weak to do so. “You act as if killing my people is… s-sports! You are… barbaric! Too cruel to be real!” the one with the spinning blades just cackled a bit. “Wow, this guy for real? I mean seriously…” he stopped his blades from spinning, the secondary blades on each axe folding in with a loud *CLICK*. “No matter, wherever there’s carnage, there’s Draven!” he temporarily holstered one axe to a belt on his waist as he neatly folded his hair backwards, before taking it back into his hand. “And Draven does it all… with style!” “Quit your antics already, brother. Now is not the time for being childish.” The other demanded as he locked his eyes upon the chieftain. “You were a poor chieftain in life… perhaps you will do better with your people… in the afterlife.” He raised his giant axe, and just as the boar below him issued a mighty battle cry, trying to ignore every single ounce of pain in his body to rise and strike the man, his guillotine fell upon him in the form of the human’s battle-axe, a loud chop being heard into the crimson skies as the chieftain’s life ended. Meanwhile, the human named Draven smirked at seeing his older brother execute the poor creature. “Hehe… looks like the boys will have some pork tonight.” -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- Author's Notes: I promised the preview of the Blood Brothers, and here you go! A short one, I know... but it will be better as it progresses, I promise. If any of you have problem thinking of where the locations are, please use the Map I linked in the description as a means of guidance. Sorry if the chapter was short, also, I will try and improve on that. Chapter 2: Portal Mishaps; Part 1“So, what exactly is it you want me to do again, Sir Crownguard?” Twilight Sparkle asked as they stood on a great, open field just outside of Ponyville, the same field that Garen and his men had appeared on when Lux and her Light Mages opened the portal on their end. “We need you to assist in opening a portal to our home-world, Miss… Sparkle, was it?” he asked, a bit uncertain since these ponies’ names all sounded the same to him. “Yes. Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight repeated with a smile. “Well, I am sure I could assist in opening one, but I need some time to fully pin-points its location. Plus I also have to be careful as to how I open it, or it might open in a totally different location than right in front of me. I’m still practicing on these portal spells…” she said as she then closed her eyes, focusing for a while as her horned glowed with a pristine purple light, shimmering for a little bit as Garen and Vayne could definetly feel the magic power simply radiating around her form for a bit. The air tensed around her, and she was almost floating off of her hooves with how much she was trying to focus the spell, and finally… it all stopped. Twilight fell down on her front legs, panting a bit as the spell had exhausted her quite a bit, but once they’d look up… “H-Huh? But… where’s the portal?” she asked. Indeed, it was no portal in front of them. Just… thin air. “Oh, buck it… I must’ve not focused its position enough…” “It’s alright, Miss Sparkle. We have time, even though Noxus have begun their invasion. I know their stratagems from old times…” he muttered. “They’ll most likely sit it out now, and enjoy their victory. While it will give us time to focus on the portal spell, we’ll still have to move quickly afterwards. So please, try again when you can.” Twilight nodded as she smiled meekly. Garen seemed like a very understanding, calm person. But she wondered, what had those other portals she opened done? Who had gone through them? She hoped no one evil had gone through them. -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- Rainbow Dash’s House Up in her cloud-shaped house over Ponyville, Rainbow Dash yawned slightly as she woke up from her beauty sleep, rubbing her purple-red eyes slightly. She was groaning a bit the moment she sat up, stretching out her wings as a few cracks were heard as they got in place. “Maaaan… I don’t wanna go up today…” she groaned for herself as she shook the sleep out of her head, before looking around her room. Everything was just its normal, boring way… great. Stepping out of her bed and stretching her back as well, she decided to get some practice for her usual agenda; applying for a spot with the Wonderbolts. “I wonder which stunt I should practice on the most…” she muttered to herself while she was walking towards her door, but failed to notice somepony… no, someone sitting right in her window. It was only after she had passed through her front door that she seemed to notice, and she perked up instantly, rushing back in to see… nothing. Wait, wasn’t there someone sitting at her window just then? Or had she just… she shook it off and decided it was just morning grogginess playing tricks on her head. But as she turned around again… “Yo.” “Aaah!” shrieking, she tumbled back and fell on her rump awkwardly, before looking up at the thing that had startled her. It was probably around 5-6 feet tall or so, with light skin and blonde short hair on its head, and blue eyes. Its outfit was just… weird, though. Blue jeans with black shoes over its feet, and then a white t-shirt just below a brown jacket, a glove on one hand, and a mysterious gauntlet with a sapphire lodged into the back-hand section of it on the other. It had goggles on its head as well, resting on top of its blonde hair. Rainbow had never seen such a creature before, and while she was initially frightened by its sudden appearance, she quickly frowned, flying up and floating right in its face. “Now what in the hay are you doing in MY house?!” she demanded, staring the creature down. “Whoa, take it easy!” the being now seemed to be the one startled, which did bring out a self-satisfied smirk from Dash, but he was just nervously chuckling and rubbing the back of his head with his gloved hand. “I didn’t know that someone lived in this place… even less a… multi-colored… horse.” Frowning even more, Rainbow now rammed her head against the creature that had so rudely, yet oh-so blissfully unaware, insulted her. “I am NOT a horse!” she told the creature. “Can’t you see I’m a pony? And even more-so, a Pegasus! Honestly, somepony should check your eye-sight! But I guess you just got dazzled by the sight of the magnificent Rainbow Dash in the first place! Heh, yeah!” she puffed out her chest proudly, but the being just… stared at her for a while. Then he suddenly held his stomach, as if in pain, but he… laughed!? “H-Hahahahaha! Hahaha, seriously?! Rainbow Dash? H-Hahah! What kinda name is that!” Rainbow’s pride sunk quicker than the Titanic as she just gawked at being laughed at so openly by a being she had never seen before, left eye twitching for a bit before her features turned into that of anger. Growling, teeth baring, she dashed right for him and, at close range, head-butted him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him for a while as he was sent onto his back, coughing a bit and patting his chest roughly with his fist. “Don’t you dare make fun of my name, two-legger!” she scowled at him, as he was just coughing and trying to stand up. “M-Man… that was quick. Heh… didn’t see it comin’.” He said with a slight smirk, turning to face her again. “You got spunk in ya, girl. I like that. And even if you’re a horse, pony, Pegasus, what the heck ever… you’re cool in my book.” He picked something out of a pocket, which appeared to be a coin of foreign value, as he flicked it up into the air with his finger, before catching it mid-air. “What was your name again?” Rainbow was a little shocked about how this creature was so… lax about everything. So calm and still making jokes like that after have being head-butted. Now not a lot of ponies knew about it, but Rainbow Dash admired those that could take a beating and still stand up and make jokes about it. She smiled faintly at him. “Rainbow Dash.” She said, but frowned a bit as the being still tried to stifle a slight chuckle. “Hey, knock that off! It’s not funny with you laughing at my name! What if I should laugh at your name, if you have one, that is!” “Hehe, sorry, sorry… I can’t help it, but… where I come from; people usually don’t call themselves ‘Rainbow Dash’.” He chuckled, and she tilted her head a bit. What kind of strange ponies did not have names like theirs? If he even was a pony that is… “Well, might as well tell you my name, then. I’m Ezreal. Spelunker, cartographer, treasure hunter and relic scavenger extraordinaire!” he remarked as he’d bow for Rainbow Dash in a sort of mocking, playful manner to the mannerist move he made. “Ez-real?” Rainbow said as she tried his name on her tongue a bit. It was… hard to pronounce. But not too hard of course. She was Rainbow Dash, after all! “Yup, that’s my name, and don’t wear it out!” Ezreal chuckled a bit as he’d leap up on a nearby cloud, it holding up his weight as he’d lean back on it, smiling as he looked up at the clouds. “Man, this place has a nice view… almost like home in Piltover…” he muttered a bit, as he’d dream himself away for a while. Rainbow Dash tilted her head again as she tried to understand what in the name of Equestria he spoke of, but decided to leave it be as she just smiled, flying up to him as she’d lie down on the same cloud, looking up as well. “Yep, it’s pretty sweet, heh!” she’d snicker a bit, already getting along with him, it seemed. “Just livin’ up here with the clouds, lazing off all day…” “Heh, now you’re sounding like me on a day without work!” Ezreal pointed out with a chuckle. Rainbow looked over at him with a quizzing look. Did he live in the clouds too? “Well, I don’t really know how I ended up here to be honest. I was just preparing for another expedition, when this huge rift appeared in front of nowhere, and swallowed me up! Next thing you know, I’m sitting here on a cloud… talkin’ to a pony! Weird, huh?” Rainbow frowned once more. “You’re making it sound like a bad thing, y’know.” She told him as she rolled onto her belly, and sat up as she looked down at him. “So, what did you say you were again, as a profession?” Ezreal sat up as he turned to face her. “I’m an explorer.” He smiled cheekily. “And the best there is! I’ve discovered tons of treasures, tunnel systems, ancient ruins, and the like back where I’m from.” He suddenly began fiddling a bit with his gauntlet, which made Dash curious as she leaned in to look. “Here, check this out!” he then pressed down the sapphire on top of the gauntlet, and it glowed brilliantly before a light shone out of it, the light forming a miniature… city of some kind, with strange designs and houses unlike anything Rainbow Dash had seen before! It was floating on a big platform in the sky, and every now and then, small figures which seemed like really cool-looking balloons flew around and about, before disappearing. But as Dash tried moving her hoof to touch the city, it simply went right through, and it began to fizzle and become blurry, which scared her slightly. “Agh! W-What the hay?!” she exclaimed, but Ezreal just chuckled and did the same, showing it was nothing bad. “Heh, don’t worry, it’s just a holographic image.” Rainbow was about to ask what it was, but he began to explain. “See, it’s a little nifty device that allows me to project and create images of things. It’s sorta like a camera that displays the pictures for you. If… you know what a camera is.” “Of course I know what that is!” Rainbow said, now being even more impressed at Ezreal’s explanation. “And that is so. Totally. Cool!” she did a backflip in the air and hovered in mid-air for a while before descending again. “You’re kinda energetic, y’know that?” Ezreal laughed for a bit, but he thought it was cool, too. To meet this pony, that is. He had just thought ponies were for girls… then again, he had been given the ‘Honorary’ title of Most Girlish Dance in the League, so… oh, what the heck! He had a lot more to show her! “Alright, wanna see something even cooler now? Well, this here…” -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- Fluttershy’s Cottage Just outside of Fluttershy’s cottage laid the forest of Everfree Forests. It was a forbidden place for most young ponies, as inside the woods, terrible beasts roamed freely, such as manticores and cockatrices, and should not be stepped into without a proper companion or guide. However, sometimes, there is always somepony who boldly travels into the woods… only to never be seen again. However, there had landed something in the Everfree Forest today, thanks to Twilight still messing up her portal spell a few times more than she’d expect herself to. The being was small, almost reaching pony height, as it was scuttling through the forest, a quiet sobbing being heard from its being as it walked. “W-Where am I? T-This is not the Rift…” he sniffled, as he then saw a small sign that said; “E-Exit of Everfree Forest… t-to Fluttershy’s cottage… h-huh? W-Wonder who lives there… hopefully someone nice…” the being then moved away, following the direction of the sign as he hoped to find someone nice to tell him where he was.
Prologue: A New worldThe cold, grisly winds blew across the city streets of Noxus, the second greater of the two city-states of Valoran, as clouds gathered in the distance, warning of a coming storm. The citizen who lived in the slums just outside the city gates and moat were struggling to find cover under their rags, or in one of the many shacks that covered the ground. In the inner city, a man was seen skulking around clad in steel blue and brown robes, his ‘cloak’ split off into multiple sections with blades tipping each one of them. People seemed to fear him as he passed by, and rightfully so, since he was no one other than Talon, one of the most trained elite assassin in all of Noxus. The Blade’s Shadow was on a delivery mission this time however, as he had an envelope in his hand, as he made his way up the granite mountain which made up most part of the inner city, up towards the High Command building, a grand fortress in its own rights. The guards, as usual, demanded to hear about his business to High Commander Jericho Swain, to which he informed them he had a letter of crucial importance. And if they hadn’t believed him, which they did anyway and let him pass… well, he’d have a few stabbings to trace back. Smirking under his cowl, he ventured into the fort’s gates, and into the grand meeting/dining hall, which was vast and dome-like in appearance, with a massive long table at the center. On the other end sat the Master Tactician in question, casually sipping on a cup of wine while his pet raven, Beatrice, was perched upon his shoulder and ripping the body of a dead mouse apart, the six-eyed avian cawing loudly as Talon appeared. Swain tiredly raised an eye to the assassin as he scowled. “And what business do you have with me this evening, Talon? Be quick with your words, I was about to enjoy a nice, quiet meal.” “High Commander Swain…” Talon began as he reached for the envelope, pulling it out of his robes as he handed it to the commander. “I bring good news from LeBlanc and her sorcerers. She has informed us that she has finally found a way for us to expand our power without having to break the laws the Institute have put up after our little… aherm, ‘dispute’ at their base of operations.” Swain chuckled darkly as he remembered that event; It had indeed been a dispute. And oh, so grand too! Demacia and Noxus had once more gotten into a very big discussion about which kingdom was the greatest, but this time, another topic had been brought into light; which was the greater kingdom to rule Valoran when the Institute no longer had power? Of course, both sides rooted for no one else than themselves, so therefore, both Demacia and Noxus disconnected themselves from the Institute’s rules all together, breaking their Champion contracts as well as making sure that the Institute had nothing to say in the matter. But, as predicted, the Institute still put their noses into business that was not theirs, and made a law that was global for all of Valoran; That Champions from Demacia and Noxus were not allowed to meet, under any circumstances. Meaning, they could not go into war, since most of their Champions would be a key point in their victory. A quite bothersome law, but they could face dire consequences if they broke it. “Ah, so the illusionist finally brings some progressive news to our halls, huh? That is indeed a good start.” Swain smirked under his robes as he unfolded the letter and began to read it. His eyes peered slightly over a few words as he narrowed them to read the fine prints, Beatrice leaning onto her master’s side to check he didn’t miss a line or two, cawing whenever he did. She was an annoyance sometimes, but for an old, scrawny man like Swain, she was a good companion and partner, as stubborn and determined as he was. His dark chuckle was heard as he finished the letter, putting it onto his table as he looked over to Talon with a solemn nod. “Inform LeBlanc to proceed with her spell at once.” “Oh, I will…” A feminine cackle was heard as from the shadows strode LeBlanc in person, smoke fuming from her form as she had without a doubt been listening to the whole conversation without ever being detected. So great was the power of the Deceiver. “I hope you do not mind my advances, High Commander Swain, but I have already put my sorcerers to work, and we should have the portal up in no time.” Swain’s eyes narrowed in slight distrust and anger when LeBlanc nonchalantly stepped in from the shadows, Beatrice letting out a series of loud caws before she was calmed down by her master. “LeBlanc… I would advise you that eavesdropping is not a very honorable act, especially not in front of your ruler.” He sneered, standing up as he looked her over. “But I suppose that it is forgivable this time around… continue with your work at once!” LeBlanc nodded solemnly as her commander barked at her, giving him a slight sneer back as she disappeared. Swain sighed as he sat down again, Talon bowing before he left the hall. His intents were clear. Noxus would rise to power. And nothing, not even the Institute of War, would stand in their way. -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- A young, blonde girl with a set of light plate armor was seen skipping along the roads of Demacia as she was delivering her own news to her superiors. Naturally, the Lady of Luminosity had lessons to take at this hour of day as she still was a mage in training, but she had important news for his older brother. Reaching the barracks of the Dauntless Vanguard, the elite soldier troops of Demacia, she went into the building and found her brother – Garen Crownguard – surrounded by his men as they were all discussing about the Institute’s new law, most of his men being infuriated by it. “My soldiers please remain calm!” Garen demanded as he tried to get his men in order. “We all know the new laws of the Institute of War are somewhat bothersome to our current situation with Noxus, but I promise you one and all; those scoundrel dogs will pay in blood for what they have done to our lands over the centuries! Not a single of their soldiers will remain standing once we are done with-“ “Brother! Big brother, I have a message from the Light Council!” he heard the juvenile, jet chipper and light tone of his younger sister, Luxanna “Lux” Crownguard, as she made her way through the bulk of armor and muscle that was in her path and up to her big brother, smiling at him as always. “I need to show it to you right away, brother!” Garen gave her a light smile back, before he looked back towards his soldiers and ushered them back. “Return to your duties, soldiers. I have a message to take care of.” He ordered them as he then followed Lux, ruffling up her blonde hair a bit as she giggled. “Ah, Lux… it does my heart good to see you in times like these… you still doing your studies?” “Yes, big brother… I’m doing all I can to become the best Light Mage in Demacia.” She smiled at him as she straightened her hair out a bit, before reaching into a satchel on her side, pulling out a letter from it. “But I have more important news than that, brother. Look at this report I got from the other Light Mages!” Garen took the letter and neatly unfolded it, before he read it, his eyes scanning over it rather quickly, but got quite a bit of it as he then wore a proud smirk on his face. “By the Crown Prince, this is indeed great news!” he exclaimed as he then folded it back and gave it back to his sister. “This will definetly be a good way to turn this in our favor, as I am sure our enemy will have found a similar way to reach this new world. Speaking of the crown prince, have you informed him about this as well?” “Not me, but a few other of the mages said they’d inform him immediately.” Lux proclaimed as she took the letter back and stuffed it into her satchel. “Brother… are you sure this is right? I mean, invading another world just to continue struggling against Noxus. I just think that… it’s kind of unnecessary to spread our conflict into other dimensions. It will not only be bad for us, but for that world as well! They might be peaceful, and don’t want war in their realm! What if we’re just-“ “That has been taken into concern, Luxanna.” A loud voice was heard above them as, trudging up to them with his great lance and golden armor, was Jarvan himself, the Crown Prince of Demacia. Lux instantly curtseyed for her crown prince, but Garen merely smiled and saluted him, being a childhood friend of the towering man. Jarvan nodded once to Garen’s salutation as he then looked down at Lux. “Your concern for this new world’s well-being is taken into note, Luxanna. However, if we allow the dogs of Noxus to infect their realm with their iron-fist rule, do you think that they will be better or worse off than if we intervene?” a short silence was heard from the Lady of Luminosity as she did not know what to say, but Jarvan chuckled softly. “I understand, it’s a tough decision. But we shall make sure to damage as little of their world as we can. I promise, Lux. Now, please join with your fellow mages. I’ve been informed they will start creating the portal as soon as they can.” Without a word of protest, the light mage nodded as she rushed off. Jarvan sighed, standing next to Garen. “This will be a troublesome fight… one which will be taken to grounds we’ve never been to. But we will prevail, in the name of my father, the king.” “Indeed… how about the other factions?” he then asked. “Bandle City, Piltover, Freljord… Ionia? I am sure that once this reaches her hears, Poppy would be more than happy to assist with a band of Yordles. As for Piltover, Freljord and Ionia, I am not sure, but our allies should not be taken out of the equation.” Jarvan nodded once to this, but then shook his head. “I think it’s best if we held them out of the equation for this time, Garen. This is between us and Noxus. Gather your Dauntless Vanguards. We will leave immediately as the portal is up.” He said, and as Garen nodded, they both recited Demacia’s anthem; “Demacia; now and forever.” -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- It was a rather quiet day in Ponyville for its inhabitants as everypony were minding their own business, going on with their errands and preparing for a rather big celebration. It was the celebration of Princess Celestia’s 30th year as the leader of Equestria, and everypony had something to do. Everypony… except Twilight Sparkle. The violet unicorn was trying to do something, but found herself to be too panicked about her teacher’s arrival to Ponyville to actually focus herself to do something, as she was dashing left and right inside her library to try and find something she had recently discovered. So far, she had not done any interesting research, and it felt like a big problem for her. “Oh my gosh, there has to be something that hasn’t been gone into detail yet!” she begged as she tried to find anything, just anything, that she could go into detail with. Meanwhile, her assistant Spike couldn’t help but to snicker a bit as she was rushing back and forth. “Oh quit it Spike, and help me find something!” she scowled at him, and he shook it off as he began to look around too. “Sorry Twilight, but you just look so funny when you run around like a headless hen!” he teased with a little laugh, looking through the tomes and books in her shelves. “You really need to learn to categorize your books better, Twilight! I mean, Pinkie Pie can find books easy as that, but neither of us can! I just find it weird that-“ “I know Spike, let’s… not berate on that subject anymore, okay?” she demanded as she just wanted to keep away from that subject due to embarrassment. She just sighed and kept on her search. Just then, there was a knock on the door as Twilight asked Spike to open it, and when he did, Derpy Hooves was just outside, smiling stupidly like always as she brought out a newspaper entitled “Equestria Daily”. “Daily newspaper!” she called out giddily, before she flew off again. Spike sighed and said a quick ‘thanks’ before she was off, sitting down as he thought he had earned some rest, and read through the paper quietly… until one topic caught his eye. “Holy Guacamole!” he called out as his tail stood on attention. “Twilight! Come out here, you got to see this!” as if on cue, the violet unicorn was by his side, as he held up the article. She gasped a bit, seeing the title of it, and the text beneath, which she read out loud; Strange Creatures Seeks an Audience with the Princess! Celestia remains quiet of the details Earlier today, a strange phenomenon occurred as what seemed to be a giant gate of light appearing right outside the borders of Canterlot, and out of the portal stepped at least fifty-two strange, bipedal creatures with tall bodies, bulky armor and sharp swords, except for one of the possible leader beings, who appeared more feminine and had a numerous amount of apparatuses on her body. The creatures asked for an audience with ‘the world’s current political leader’, which in turn is our beloved Princess Celestia, and despite being the day of her celebration, she agreed on their terms, and they are now holding a meeting in Canterlot’s halls as we speak. The Solar Princess, however, keeps further journalists out of the discussion, and the only thing we’ve heard so far is from the Moon Princess Luna, who comments; “I am sure my sister does what is best for our country. I cannot comment further.” Twilight felt a lump grow in her throat as she read it. Strange bipedal beings asking for an audience with Celestia? This sounded like trouble. What if the creatures’ intents were no good? She had to find out! “Spike, we’re going to Canterlot. Stat!” she said as she stormed out of the library, her dragon companion running after as quick as he could. Just then, they were met up by Rarity, and while Spike was swooning over her like usual, Twilight saw her serious expression. “Rarity! So, I guess you read it too, didn’t you?” “How could I not have?” she said with an exasperated tone. “This is disastrous! If those creatures are allowed near Ponyville, who knows what’ll happen!” “I know, and that’s why I’m going to Canterlot. I want to be there to see what my teacher will do about it.” Twilight replied as she looked around, seeing all the other ponies being busy discussing the headlines. “I wonder where the others are…” “Well, Fluttershy was barricaded in her cottage, I saw. Looks like she doesn’t want to be a part of the discussions, or she is just scared like usual.” Rarity said as she thought a little more. “I haven’t seen anything of Applejack or Rainbow Dash, either…” “Hey guys, did you see the news!?” came a shout from above as said cyan Pegasus dove down to them, floating about in the air. “I wonder what those creatures are that I read about! They sound awesome!” “I’m not too sure about that, Rainbow…” Twilight mumbled. “Look, I just want to find out about what’s going on right now, so I will be teleporting anyone who’s willing to join me to Canterlot. Dash, if you wanna join us you could just fly there. I bet you know the way.” She smiled as Rainbow nodded with a salute. “Rarity, I suppose you’re the only one wanting to follow for now? Since Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie seem to be busy otherwise.” “Well, I… I have to look after my boutique!” the pristine white unicorn explained. “What if they come here unnoticed! I cannot let them raid my store!” Twilight just nodded as it would be easier to teleport just herself and Spike. “Alright then, I’ll get back as soon as I know more.” She said, and Rainbow Dash was already flying off to Canterlot. “Spike, grab hold of me.” She said as the dragon obeyed, her horn glowing white as they disappeared in a bright flash. She had to know what was going on, and more importantly… What would Celestia’s verdict be? -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- Author's Notes: Do not expect me to update this too quickly. I will do my best to write on it whenever I can, but don't try and rush me with chapters. This, I plan to be my biggest project so far, so it will naturally take time. Like and favorite if you enjoyed it, and leave a comment if you wish!
Chapter 1: A Common EnemyPrincess Celestia was sat on her flanks at the royal round table as on the opposite side sat the two visitors who had so desperately sought an audience with her, smiling politely over to them even if she was a bit… concerned of what such strange, bipedal beings had to do in her world. One of them was a giant, almost, dressed in bulky, thick armor with blue and yellow designs, a white sash along his waist, and a massive sword with a golden hand guard. The other was more sleek, and feminine with a red cape over a black, skin-tight outfit, wielding all sorts of ammunition, apparatuses and gear on several belts and satchels on her body, with a miniature crossbow strapped onto her right wrist, and with a larger one on her back, while red goggles covered her eyes. They were nothing like the Solar Princess had seen before, but she kept her manners as she cleared her throat a bit. “So, allow me to ask again…” she spoke up, as the both beings snapped their attention up to her. “Exactly what is your business here in our beloved Equestria?” “Well, as you may have understood earlier… Princess…” Garen spoke up, still a bit confounded that this world was ruled by… animals. Ponies, none the less! “We are here on strict business from our home world, as our nemesis nation from said world will probably have invaded this world as we speak. It is of high importance that we get to know as much of this world as you can teach us, and fast, so that we may pin-point the location of their base of operations, and vanquish them! We have about five months to do so, before we have to depart, otherwise our influence here will become too great.” Celestia nodded. This Garen seemed to be a man of reason, as much as he looked like a warrior. “I understand, and I will allow you to stay for as long as it is necessary. I am sure your influence here won’t disturb us.” She spoke softly. “And, what are your names again? And race, none the less. We have never seen beings like you two in Equestria.” “We’re humans. I am Garen Crownguard, head of Demacia’s Dauntless Vanguard.” Garen introduced himself. “My name is Vayne. That’s all you need to know, pony.” The female one, Vayne, spoke in a more harsh tone as she was fidgeting with her wrist-attached device. Celestia seemed to keep a close eye on this one. She seemed suspicious to her eyes, both with her clothing style and her behavior. “Right… so where you two come from, this ‘Demacia’, are there more of your kind?” Celestia then asked. “Oh yes, indeed there is.” Garen nodded. “But I believe that this kind of idle chatter can wait… for now, we need to make sure that Noxian troops have not invaded this world. You see, our kingdoms have had quite a dispute in the later years, but due to a change of events, our kingdoms were not allowed to interact with one another, and thus hindering the wars that goes on between our countries. Naturally, Demacia is happy with the peace we now have, but we are resting uneasily from the idea of Noxus going onto other worlds like yours to spread the same evil and fear they have unto us. So, without delay, we sought up this world and hoped to aid your kind… but I must say, no offense, that I never thought this world would be inhabited by… talking, colorful ponies.” He tried not to sound disrespectful, and keep up a mask of politeness, but Celestia just chuckled and briskly shook her head. “None taken, Sir Crownguard.” She said dismissively, yet dryly, before she got off her seat and walked up towards the one and only window in the hall. “But you can rest assured, the lands of Equestria and beyond are perfectly fine in terms of protection and soldiers. We have more than enough to stand against an army.” She spoke with a firm belief in her tone, knowing that not only her country, but the countries abroad, would be able to stand against invasions and attacks of any kind. It was her duty as a princess to put belief in her fellow ponies and possible allies. Just then, the doors barged open as a white colt, Shining Armor, rushed inside. “Princess Celestia! Apologies for the interruptions…” he eyed the two humans in the room for a bit, not knowing who or what they were, before he turned back to his princess. “But we just received an urgent message from the southern lands of Boardor! They’ve been invaded!” “What?” Demanded the Solar Princess in a shocked, yet firm tone. “Explain yourself, Shining Armor.” “Of course, M’lady.” He nodded, calming down a bit before delivering his report. “Your highness, we received the report just recently. According to Chieftain Pork Chops, Boardor is under heavy assault from strange, bipedal beings, much like those two…” he narrowed his eyes towards Garen and Vayne. The two of them, however, knew what was happening. “Noxus.” They both spoke in unison, before Vayne took over. “I should’ve known those cowardly dogs would strike sometime…” Garen, however, turned to Celestia. “Where is this ‘Boardor’ located, princess?” he’d demand, as her horn suddenly glowed a bright white as a parchment flew up from a nearby basket and unrolled itself, revealing a complete map of the world. “This is a map of Ponyland… the world you are in now.” She explained, pointing with her hoof to the south, where there was a land divided into two parts, one marked out with volcanoes which probably was a burning wasteland, and the other which looked like a tundra landscape. “Here, just at the edge of the Scorched Lands, is Boardor, home of the boars and ursine people. Their peoples have always been at peace with each other.” Garen overlooked the map as he saw some of the strangest geography he’s possibly seen in his life as a captain, and the names of the cities, countries and landscapes did not help his distress. But he overlooked Boardor, and then saw where Equestria was. “Damn it, it is too far away from here! Those scoundrels are either very cowardly, or very smart to place themselves further away from us.” He said with a slight sigh of frustration. “Very well. I assume that we will have to travel a bit then… but we will need men to fight Noxus, and we only brought fifty…” he looked up to Celestia. “Ma’am, with your allowance, I will set up a camp somewhere here in Equestria with my men, as we try and contact our homeland for reinforcements. We’ll need to build a temporary outpost in your lands as well. I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but we are left with no other choice.” Celestia weighed the decision she had to make now. If what Garen said was true about the Noxian people… then they would have a hoof-full in dealing with them. But she knew it had to be done. She nodded. “Permission granted. Consider us allies, Sir Crownguard. You may settle down with your men for as long as-“ “Celestia!” another voice piped up as near the door, a bright flash was seen before Twilight Sparkle stood there, with Spike on her back as she noticed Celestia, the two alien beings, and her brother Shining Armor. She gave her brother a brief ‘hello’ before she rushed up to her teacher. “Celestia, you can’t be serious! What if these two are just as bad as the other ones! They might be tricking us!” just then, she’d feel the chilling touch of metal to her neck as a crossbow bolt was barely nudging her, Vayne aiming her wrist weapon to her neck. “How dare you compare us to the mongrel hides of Noxus, you imbecilic foal.” She demanded with venom in her tone, but Celestia frowned as her horn glowed brightly in warning, and the Night Hunter sneered while she removed her weapon. “I would appreciate that you do not aim your weapon towards my beloved student, Miss Vayne.” The Alicorn demanded, and then turned to nuzzle the violet unicorn. “You can rest assured though, Twilight, that these two are not of the same agenda as those who are invading Boardor. They are our allies… which I am sure we can rely on.” She shot a glare at Vayne, who instantly gave the princess one back, before Garen went between them. “Alright then, that’s enough.” He demanded. “Now we need to contact our home to see if they can bring building materials.” He looked over to the purple unicorn beneath him. “Princess Celestia. You said this is your student, no? Would she be able to assist in linking another portal to our world?” “What?” Twilight stammered a bit. “I am not sure if I could do that, sir… I’m still a student, so-“ “I trust that you can do it, Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia said with a soft smile, making Twilight gasp a bit as she looked up at her teacher. “After all, you are my beloved, faithful student, and you are the inheritor of the Element of Magic. I am most certain you will be able to assist Miss Vayne and Sir Crownguard. I have matters to attend to myself right now, so I will have to excuse myself for putting you through it…” “No, it’s fine Celestia…” Twilight smiled shyly as she nodded. “I understand, these will be pressing times… I will do what I can.” Just then, a echoing ‘Incoming!’ was heard as a window crashed, and with a booming crash, Rainbow Dash barged into the room, knocking over the table and a few books from their shelves as she had Fluttershys flying around her head before shaking herself back to her senses. She had a sheepish smile on her face as she looked around at the others. “Ehehe… sorry.” She said meekly, and while Garen and Vayne just mentally groaned at the sight of more ponies, Celestia just chuckled. “Looks like your friends are eager to help too, Twilight…” -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- “You smell like… bacon!” A childish, yet sadistic giggle was heard as suddenly, a huge torrent of flames filled the battlefield of Boardor, the porcine soldiers of their homeland squealing like… well, stung pigs as the flames grilled their stubby hair and roasted them alive, some of them still running around and burning while most of them had dropped dead by now, and amongst the charred remains was a very small, humanoid shape, skipping around while swinging something in her hand. It was revealed to be a purple-haired girl with green eyes, a purple and pink school-girl outfit, and with a stuffed teddy bear in her hand. She was giggling and cackling with a sadistic tone as a handful of flames were lit in her unoccupied hand as she glared over at the soldier boars that were still alive. “Tibbers say you need to burn… Tibbers want you to go to he-“ “Now now Annie, don’t use such foul language…” a hissing tone was heard as from behind her, a naga creature slithered up, its scales as green and shimmering as Annie’s eyes as she had the appearance of a cobra, her eyes pure white and her fingertips ending in sharp claws, her tail rattling as she hissed. “Thissssssss calls for some more… rational methods.” Rearing her head backwards, she suddenly lashed it back forward, regurgitating and spitting out a foul mass of liquid venom, the purple liquid coating the ground like an acid pool as it slowly spread; any boar inside of it slowly being drenched and utterly melting inside its grasp. The naga woman let out a hissing laugh of amusement as she watched the pigs squeal and beg for their lives while their hides and flesh were searing asunder in her poison. “Aaw, Cassie! I wanted to play with them! Meanie…” Annie frowned as she crossed her arms, but the naga, Cassiopeia, merely pat her head a bit as she slithered ahead of her. “Oh now, don’t put a pout on that face girl.” She said with a sweet, almost motherly tone as she and Annie moved ahead. In front of them was a large set of tents and carts, most likely telling that the Boardor people were nomads by nature, and all of them were razed and lit ablaze as squeals and screams of panic were heard. “There’s more havoc to break…” she snickered with a slight hiss, and Annie just giggled as she seemed to be excited to burn more things, before she went on with Cassiopeia. -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- “D-Damn you… you won’t get away with this… monsters!” one of the greater boars, the only one standing in the camp by now, was coughing and grunting in pain as he had numerous wounds on his big, bulky body, but he stood firm on all his four feet. He was wearing iron mail armor with over-lapping metal pieces, and a horned helmet on his head as it indicated his role as chieftain of his tribe, and in his mouth he held a battle-axe weakly, his eyes fixated upon the two men standing in front of him; One of them was a towering giant, at least 7 feet tall with bulking, thick plate armor, a red cape flowing behind him, and a massive battle axe, even bigger than his own, held in one hand as it was on the ground, stained in blood. The other seemed a bit wilder and care-free, with wild brown hair and a long mustache which framed his grinning mouth, a simple fur vest and shorts, with matching boots, and in each hand he wielded peculiar axes; Each of them had a circular hand guard with a handle in the middle of it, and both of them had two blades, one which had popped out on command almost, and both of them were spinning wildly around the handle as he made small hand movements while holding the strange weapons. “Heh, I never knew that pigs could squeal AND talk, heh…” the one with the spinning axes grinned as he tossed one of them up into the air, catching it, and resumed spinning it. “This is one heck of a crazy world we ended up in…” “Quite so, brother. But it is still much more fun to dispose of these creatures than our prisoners…” the other, taller one smirked as he’d lift his axe up on his shoulders. “Y-You monsters!” The boar grunted again as he tried standing up firmer, but was finding he was too weak to do so. “You act as if killing my people is… s-sports! You are… barbaric! Too cruel to be real!” the one with the spinning blades just cackled a bit. “Wow, this guy for real? I mean seriously…” he stopped his blades from spinning, the secondary blades on each axe folding in with a loud *CLICK*. “No matter, wherever there’s carnage, there’s Draven!” he temporarily holstered one axe to a belt on his waist as he neatly folded his hair backwards, before taking it back into his hand. “And Draven does it all… with style!” “Quit your antics already, brother. Now is not the time for being childish.” The other demanded as he locked his eyes upon the chieftain. “You were a poor chieftain in life… perhaps you will do better with your people… in the afterlife.” He raised his giant axe, and just as the boar below him issued a mighty battle cry, trying to ignore every single ounce of pain in his body to rise and strike the man, his guillotine fell upon him in the form of the human’s battle-axe, a loud chop being heard into the crimson skies as the chieftain’s life ended. Meanwhile, the human named Draven smirked at seeing his older brother execute the poor creature. “Hehe… looks like the boys will have some pork tonight.” -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- Author's Notes: I promised the preview of the Blood Brothers, and here you go! A short one, I know... but it will be better as it progresses, I promise. If any of you have problem thinking of where the locations are, please use the Map I linked in the description as a means of guidance. Sorry if the chapter was short, also, I will try and improve on that.
Chapter 2: Portal Mishaps; Part 1“So, what exactly is it you want me to do again, Sir Crownguard?” Twilight Sparkle asked as they stood on a great, open field just outside of Ponyville, the same field that Garen and his men had appeared on when Lux and her Light Mages opened the portal on their end. “We need you to assist in opening a portal to our home-world, Miss… Sparkle, was it?” he asked, a bit uncertain since these ponies’ names all sounded the same to him. “Yes. Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight repeated with a smile. “Well, I am sure I could assist in opening one, but I need some time to fully pin-points its location. Plus I also have to be careful as to how I open it, or it might open in a totally different location than right in front of me. I’m still practicing on these portal spells…” she said as she then closed her eyes, focusing for a while as her horned glowed with a pristine purple light, shimmering for a little bit as Garen and Vayne could definetly feel the magic power simply radiating around her form for a bit. The air tensed around her, and she was almost floating off of her hooves with how much she was trying to focus the spell, and finally… it all stopped. Twilight fell down on her front legs, panting a bit as the spell had exhausted her quite a bit, but once they’d look up… “H-Huh? But… where’s the portal?” she asked. Indeed, it was no portal in front of them. Just… thin air. “Oh, buck it… I must’ve not focused its position enough…” “It’s alright, Miss Sparkle. We have time, even though Noxus have begun their invasion. I know their stratagems from old times…” he muttered. “They’ll most likely sit it out now, and enjoy their victory. While it will give us time to focus on the portal spell, we’ll still have to move quickly afterwards. So please, try again when you can.” Twilight nodded as she smiled meekly. Garen seemed like a very understanding, calm person. But she wondered, what had those other portals she opened done? Who had gone through them? She hoped no one evil had gone through them. -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- Rainbow Dash’s House Up in her cloud-shaped house over Ponyville, Rainbow Dash yawned slightly as she woke up from her beauty sleep, rubbing her purple-red eyes slightly. She was groaning a bit the moment she sat up, stretching out her wings as a few cracks were heard as they got in place. “Maaaan… I don’t wanna go up today…” she groaned for herself as she shook the sleep out of her head, before looking around her room. Everything was just its normal, boring way… great. Stepping out of her bed and stretching her back as well, she decided to get some practice for her usual agenda; applying for a spot with the Wonderbolts. “I wonder which stunt I should practice on the most…” she muttered to herself while she was walking towards her door, but failed to notice somepony… no, someone sitting right in her window. It was only after she had passed through her front door that she seemed to notice, and she perked up instantly, rushing back in to see… nothing. Wait, wasn’t there someone sitting at her window just then? Or had she just… she shook it off and decided it was just morning grogginess playing tricks on her head. But as she turned around again… “Yo.” “Aaah!” shrieking, she tumbled back and fell on her rump awkwardly, before looking up at the thing that had startled her. It was probably around 5-6 feet tall or so, with light skin and blonde short hair on its head, and blue eyes. Its outfit was just… weird, though. Blue jeans with black shoes over its feet, and then a white t-shirt just below a brown jacket, a glove on one hand, and a mysterious gauntlet with a sapphire lodged into the back-hand section of it on the other. It had goggles on its head as well, resting on top of its blonde hair. Rainbow had never seen such a creature before, and while she was initially frightened by its sudden appearance, she quickly frowned, flying up and floating right in its face. “Now what in the hay are you doing in MY house?!” she demanded, staring the creature down. “Whoa, take it easy!” the being now seemed to be the one startled, which did bring out a self-satisfied smirk from Dash, but he was just nervously chuckling and rubbing the back of his head with his gloved hand. “I didn’t know that someone lived in this place… even less a… multi-colored… horse.” Frowning even more, Rainbow now rammed her head against the creature that had so rudely, yet oh-so blissfully unaware, insulted her. “I am NOT a horse!” she told the creature. “Can’t you see I’m a pony? And even more-so, a Pegasus! Honestly, somepony should check your eye-sight! But I guess you just got dazzled by the sight of the magnificent Rainbow Dash in the first place! Heh, yeah!” she puffed out her chest proudly, but the being just… stared at her for a while. Then he suddenly held his stomach, as if in pain, but he… laughed!? “H-Hahahahaha! Hahaha, seriously?! Rainbow Dash? H-Hahah! What kinda name is that!” Rainbow’s pride sunk quicker than the Titanic as she just gawked at being laughed at so openly by a being she had never seen before, left eye twitching for a bit before her features turned into that of anger. Growling, teeth baring, she dashed right for him and, at close range, head-butted him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him for a while as he was sent onto his back, coughing a bit and patting his chest roughly with his fist. “Don’t you dare make fun of my name, two-legger!” she scowled at him, as he was just coughing and trying to stand up. “M-Man… that was quick. Heh… didn’t see it comin’.” He said with a slight smirk, turning to face her again. “You got spunk in ya, girl. I like that. And even if you’re a horse, pony, Pegasus, what the heck ever… you’re cool in my book.” He picked something out of a pocket, which appeared to be a coin of foreign value, as he flicked it up into the air with his finger, before catching it mid-air. “What was your name again?” Rainbow was a little shocked about how this creature was so… lax about everything. So calm and still making jokes like that after have being head-butted. Now not a lot of ponies knew about it, but Rainbow Dash admired those that could take a beating and still stand up and make jokes about it. She smiled faintly at him. “Rainbow Dash.” She said, but frowned a bit as the being still tried to stifle a slight chuckle. “Hey, knock that off! It’s not funny with you laughing at my name! What if I should laugh at your name, if you have one, that is!” “Hehe, sorry, sorry… I can’t help it, but… where I come from; people usually don’t call themselves ‘Rainbow Dash’.” He chuckled, and she tilted her head a bit. What kind of strange ponies did not have names like theirs? If he even was a pony that is… “Well, might as well tell you my name, then. I’m Ezreal. Spelunker, cartographer, treasure hunter and relic scavenger extraordinaire!” he remarked as he’d bow for Rainbow Dash in a sort of mocking, playful manner to the mannerist move he made. “Ez-real?” Rainbow said as she tried his name on her tongue a bit. It was… hard to pronounce. But not too hard of course. She was Rainbow Dash, after all! “Yup, that’s my name, and don’t wear it out!” Ezreal chuckled a bit as he’d leap up on a nearby cloud, it holding up his weight as he’d lean back on it, smiling as he looked up at the clouds. “Man, this place has a nice view… almost like home in Piltover…” he muttered a bit, as he’d dream himself away for a while. Rainbow Dash tilted her head again as she tried to understand what in the name of Equestria he spoke of, but decided to leave it be as she just smiled, flying up to him as she’d lie down on the same cloud, looking up as well. “Yep, it’s pretty sweet, heh!” she’d snicker a bit, already getting along with him, it seemed. “Just livin’ up here with the clouds, lazing off all day…” “Heh, now you’re sounding like me on a day without work!” Ezreal pointed out with a chuckle. Rainbow looked over at him with a quizzing look. Did he live in the clouds too? “Well, I don’t really know how I ended up here to be honest. I was just preparing for another expedition, when this huge rift appeared in front of nowhere, and swallowed me up! Next thing you know, I’m sitting here on a cloud… talkin’ to a pony! Weird, huh?” Rainbow frowned once more. “You’re making it sound like a bad thing, y’know.” She told him as she rolled onto her belly, and sat up as she looked down at him. “So, what did you say you were again, as a profession?” Ezreal sat up as he turned to face her. “I’m an explorer.” He smiled cheekily. “And the best there is! I’ve discovered tons of treasures, tunnel systems, ancient ruins, and the like back where I’m from.” He suddenly began fiddling a bit with his gauntlet, which made Dash curious as she leaned in to look. “Here, check this out!” he then pressed down the sapphire on top of the gauntlet, and it glowed brilliantly before a light shone out of it, the light forming a miniature… city of some kind, with strange designs and houses unlike anything Rainbow Dash had seen before! It was floating on a big platform in the sky, and every now and then, small figures which seemed like really cool-looking balloons flew around and about, before disappearing. But as Dash tried moving her hoof to touch the city, it simply went right through, and it began to fizzle and become blurry, which scared her slightly. “Agh! W-What the hay?!” she exclaimed, but Ezreal just chuckled and did the same, showing it was nothing bad. “Heh, don’t worry, it’s just a holographic image.” Rainbow was about to ask what it was, but he began to explain. “See, it’s a little nifty device that allows me to project and create images of things. It’s sorta like a camera that displays the pictures for you. If… you know what a camera is.” “Of course I know what that is!” Rainbow said, now being even more impressed at Ezreal’s explanation. “And that is so. Totally. Cool!” she did a backflip in the air and hovered in mid-air for a while before descending again. “You’re kinda energetic, y’know that?” Ezreal laughed for a bit, but he thought it was cool, too. To meet this pony, that is. He had just thought ponies were for girls… then again, he had been given the ‘Honorary’ title of Most Girlish Dance in the League, so… oh, what the heck! He had a lot more to show her! “Alright, wanna see something even cooler now? Well, this here…” -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- Fluttershy’s Cottage Just outside of Fluttershy’s cottage laid the forest of Everfree Forests. It was a forbidden place for most young ponies, as inside the woods, terrible beasts roamed freely, such as manticores and cockatrices, and should not be stepped into without a proper companion or guide. However, sometimes, there is always somepony who boldly travels into the woods… only to never be seen again. However, there had landed something in the Everfree Forest today, thanks to Twilight still messing up her portal spell a few times more than she’d expect herself to. The being was small, almost reaching pony height, as it was scuttling through the forest, a quiet sobbing being heard from its being as it walked. “W-Where am I? T-This is not the Rift…” he sniffled, as he then saw a small sign that said; “E-Exit of Everfree Forest… t-to Fluttershy’s cottage… h-huh? W-Wonder who lives there… hopefully someone nice…” the being then moved away, following the direction of the sign as he hoped to find someone nice to tell him where he was.
