As the Knights followed Twilight Sparkle through the town, the citizens got their first proper looks at their newest visitors. The Knights took notice, for they could hear the whispers, the hushed words that were spoken.

"Andrew…" Samuel growled. "Won't you say anything?"

"Not yet." Andrew replied. "They are in fear for themselves, I can see it in them. To act now would make this worse."

"Agreed." Leah nodded. "However, I cannot shake the feeling of their eyes upon us."

"It shouldn't be much longer." Turris said as he looked ahead at Twilight. "She said she lives here, so where might that be?"

"Right here." Twilight said, motioning to a building that left the Knights spellbound. It was a crystalline tree, made from palest blue gems and trimmed with yellow and pink marble.

"Huh, not what I was expecting." Turris shrugged. "In we go, I suppose."

As they entered and sat down on the floor, Twilight raised an eyebrow at them.

"Why are you on the floor?" she asked. "Wouldn't the couch be more comfortable for you, seeing as you're wearing all that armor?"

"It is no matter." Andrew said, removing his Loran helmet. "We thank you for your hospitality. Anyway, what name is this realm known by?"

"Equestria." Twilight said. "Specifically, in the realm of Equis. Where are you from?"

"Ashfeld." Andrew said. "The home of the Knight Legions, such as our own Tidal Legion."

"How many are there?" Twilight asked.

"There are some prominent ones." Turris said. "The Iron, Sun, Royal...they've mostly been taken over by the Blackstones, thought."

"Blackstones?" Twilight cocked an eyebrow. "Are they friends of yours?"

"The Blackstone Legion are not allies of ours." Andrew said. "They are led by the Warmonger Apollyon. She is...the reason we came to this realm."

"What happened?" Twilight asked, fetching paper and writing instruments.

"That'll take a while." Leah said. "But I suppose we can tell you."

"It began many hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago." Andrew said. "Ashfeld once knew peace in those times. We were not warriors, but merchants, artisans, men of peace. A great cataclysm came, and tore our land and the lands of our neighbors apart. Every volcano sent out fire, the water turned black...this turned all our kind to the ways of war."

"The Knights, Samurai, and Vikings began to fight each other." Samuel continued. "And thus began one thousand years of war. Except for us, that is. We safeguarded what remained of peace inside a sea-fort near the borders of Samurai land."

"There, we would wait." Turris said. "The Samurai who used to inhabit the fort didn't really need it anymore, and seeing as we did them a favor, they gave us the fort in return."

"What did you do?" Twilight asked.

"Their leader, a Kensei, was gravely ill from a disease the Samurai healers had never treated before." Andrew said. "I came to them under a flag of truce to give them the medicine they needed. The Kensei, Shoutarou, recovered and gave us an old sea-fort once used as an outpost as thanks. Then, the Samurai returned to the Myre, leaving us for good."

"We knew it was only a matter of time before the other Legions would find us." Leah said. "So we isolated ourselves, waiting for the right time to emerge. Fate had other plans."

Twilight nodded, silently asking them to continue as she wrote in a pad of paper.

"Years later, the Warmonger Apollyon came to us." Andrew said. "She asked us to join her Legion, the Blackstones. They were Knights who believed in Apollyon's message of everlasting war. We...declined."

"Two days later, she besieged us." Samuel sighed. "Soon, the four of us were at that was left to defend the sea-fort. On the third day, we challenged Apollyon to a trial by combat. She accepted, but she wanted to fight all four of us."

"Did you...win?" Twilight asked.

"No." Andrew said. "One by one, she ended our lives. The last thing I saw of Ashfeld was her Legion burning the sea-fort before we woke up in this realm. We were journeying to find shelter when we encountered the three young ones we would save. The rest I believe you know."

Twilight stopped writing, and looked away.

"Well, I'm sorry for my initial welcome." she said. "Can I introduce myself properly? I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle, Alicorn of Friendship and Magic."

"Well met, Princess. I am Andrew, Leader and Warden of the Tidal Legion." Andrew replied, though he was surprised at Twilight's title. "My lieutenants, Turris, Samuel, and Leah."

"Nice to meet you all." Twilight said. "I'll let you stay here in my Castle for now, or at least until we figure out what to do going forward. I will need to alert Celestia that you're all here, though."

"Who is that?" Leah asked.

"Princess Celestia and her sister Princess Luna are the rulers of Equestria." Twilight said with some pride. "She's also my mentor. With luck, she'll know what to do."

"Our thanks, Princess." Leah nodded. "Now, shall we find a place to rest for the night?"

"Sure thing." Twilight waved her hood. "You can remove your armor if you want. Nopony here will attack you, you have my word."

"I would ask otherwise of you, but I thank you for your offer." Andrew said. "We'd like to keep our weapons and armor close at hand, though."

"I can take care of that easily." Twilight said. "Follow me."

As the four of them followed her to a spacious, empty room, Twilight conjured four sleeping bags and four large chests using her magic. As she set them down, Andrew came forward, the others were too stunned to speak.

"What sort of power was that?" he asked.

"It's called Magic." Twilight replied proudly. "Does your kind not use the magical arts?"

"Certainly not any kind that we know of." Turris replied. "Thanks again."

As Twilight left the room, the Knights began to remove their armor and place it in the chests, though they kept their weapons close by. As they soon laid down to rest, Andrew looked out a nearby window at the stars. He let the sight fill his eyes as he drifted off to sleep alongside his fellow Knights.

And in the distance, the sky began to lighten, signalling the coming of the dawn.

Author's Note

Update!

Next time - The first day in Ponyville, and further introductions.