After a half a day of walking after getting off the train, Twilight enters the undiscovered west, deep within the land of Humans. Despite all the rumors of the humans' hostility, she was very optimistic about the journey. The land was beautiful with flora surrounding the paths she trotted. Some of the flowers were so pretty she took a second to illustrate them in one of the many journals she brought along. She walks deeper and deeper into the land of the humans, so long that night begins to fall. As Celestia's sun sits, she is about to stop for the time being and set up camp, until she notices something in the distance. It's a bright, flickering light shining through some bushes up ahead. curiosity sits in and she has to investigate.

She steps closer towards the light, her hooves trotting on the path till she hears something that causes her to freeze, voices. A lot of voices could be heard coming from the source of the light. She slows her pace and tries her best to soften her hoof steps. She gets right up to the bushes and just barely peeks through, there they are, Humans. A lot of Humans. There were tents everywhere with humans in full knight armor everywhere. The source of the light was a campfire just a few feet away from her. Their armor was impressive, it covered every part of the human body, protecting it from anything, she sketches quickly how the armor looks in her journal.

There, at least 5 or six knights were around the campfire, conversing with one another. They were talking in a language mostly unknown by ponies, but Twilight isn't most ponies. She recognises the dialect and begins searching through her books trying to identify the Language as they spoke. It sounded bizzare, yet oddly familiar. She could tell by the way they spoke, that it was romanticized.

"Notre heure est venue mes frères. Notre matriarche prépare ce raid depuis deux semaines. (Our time has come my brothers. Our matriarch has been preparing this raid for two weeks.)" Said one of the knight. Finally, Twilight identifies the language, French. The knights were speaking French.

Twilight then starts to scan the book to try and identify some of the words spoken. She was able to translate a few words she heard being "Frustrated" "Methods" and "Matriarch." However, two words stood out, "War" and "Raid." After identifying enough words, she was able to understand what these humans were about to do, it's a raid party. She listens in to see if she could get any more info on these humans.

"Le moment venu, nous tuerons ces salauds et brûlerons leurs maisons." Said another knight.

"Kill... and burn houses?" Twilight translates.

"Ces chiens obtiennent tout ce qui leur arrive! C'est pour leur attaque contre notre village il y a un mois!" said another knight.

"Attack a month ago?... This is a revenge raid!" Said Twilight a little too loud.

"Ca c'était quoi!? J'ai entendu une voix! (What was that!? I heard a voice!)" Yelled one of the knight. Many of them stand up, and the distinct sound of unsheathing of blades is heard. The hair on Twilight's back stands on end and her heart rate increases. She grabs her books with her magic and quickly darts off. She spots a huge oak tree and without hesitation starts climbing it. She clings onto a branch and looks down below. Three Knights step through the bushes with their swords drawn, looking all round for the source of Twilight's voice.

"Je ne les vois pas, si c'était notre ennemi, leur armure serait trop lourde pour qu'ils s'enfuient si vite. (I don't see them, if it was our enemy, their armor would be too heavy for them to run away so quickly.)" Said one of the knights.

"Nous aurions aussi entendu le bruit des armures. (We would also have heard the sound of armor.)" Said the second.

"Quelqu'un était ici, regarde un livre. (Someone was hear, look, there is a book.)" Said the third as he picks up one of Twilight's forgotten books.

"Crap!" Twilight whispered to herself. It was a Ponish dictionary. The knights begin to look through it, they look at eachother confused, obviously not recognizing the language.

"Ha... Haar-Mon-Nee?" Said the knight trying to sound out one of the words. "Quelle langue est-ce? c'est allemand? (What language is this? Is it German?)"

"Non, ça ne ressemble pas du tout à l'allemand. (No, it doesn't sound like German at all.)" Said the second knight, pointing to the words in the book.

"La matriarche doit le voir, nous avons peut-être été découverts par l'ennemi. (The matriarch must see it, we may have been discovered by the enemy.)" Said the third knight. The knights turn and walk back through the bushes, taking the ponish dictionary with them.

"No... oh no! I need to get my book back!'' Said Twilight. She begins climbing up the tree, hoping to get to the very top to see the entire camp. Once she makes it to the top, she is amazed by what she sees. The Camp was huge, there had to be at least 100 tents. What stood out the most was in the center of camp, a tent that was almost 3 times bigger than the other tents. She was lucky to have spotted it, because she noticed the three knights from before entering it. She watches the tent for a bit and after a while, the three knights walk out, without the book. Ok, so that's where she needs to go to get her book back. One problem, the camp was huge and crawling with humans. Getting to the center and getting out would be a problem. She had to wait till it was dark before she even had a chance to get the book. She decided to wait in the tree till most of them had gone to bed. She pulls out her journal and begins writing in it.

Entry Number 4: I cannot believe I have gone and done this, this was reckless even for somepony like Pinkie. I had come across my first group of Humans, it seemed like a war camp. From the rumors I heard of Humans, they are military experts and are far more skilled in combat than any other creature. Standing at approximately 6 feet tall and with their hands being able to grip their weapons is no surprise. I tried listening to these Humans to try and Identify which of the three regions they come from. From their language I believe I found the French tribe of Humans. I listened in more and discovered their reason for camping out here, to my surprise I alerted three of them. I was forced to hide but left my Ponish Dictionary to be discovered. They took it back to their camp and I must get it back. I can't let the Humans know I am here just yet. If the Humans are as territorial as most say they are, I won't be able to get in a single word to them before... Well, I don't want to think about that! I must get the book, Celestia help me!

Twilight then puts the journal back in her saddle bag and waits for the night to get darker. She waits around 3 hours, by this time all campfires have been out, and the humans have entered their tents for the night, except for a few number of them guarding the camp. Twilight climbs down to the ground, she looks at the bush and takes a deep long breath to calm her nerves before stepping through the bush. She was at the campfire where the knights were talking. The fire was snuffed but still smoking. She slowly makes her way deeper into the camp, her body close to the ground. She sees a guard coming her way, so she hides behind some barrels. The smell of alcohol emanating from the barrels was strong, maybe that could hide her scent. How good are human noses anyway? Best not try and find out at the moment. The guard walks past without any thought of any intruder at the camp. Twilight sneaks back out and continues on her way to the center tent. The ground was muddy as Twilight, leaving hoof prints in them. She is so close to the tent, she could see one of the flaps was already open. She looks left and right, no guards. She quickly dives into the tent, hoping to Celestia nopony saw her.

Inside the tent was a cot with a chest next to it, with a large table in the very back. The table is taller than her, ontop was a candle and what appeared to be her book. Funny thing however, the bed was empty. She sighs thinking that whoever's tent this is, they are on guard duty. She walked towards the table, she had to get up on her hind legs just to see what was on top. She puts her front hooves on top of the table and examines it. There was a large map on the table, it mapped the whole area of the Undiscovered west. On the top of the map said "Carte Patriam '' Twilight couldn't help but smile, the whole area is mapped. How she wanted to steal this map, but such an act could alert the Humans once it was discovered missing. She grabs her book with her teeth, and just before she was about to turn and leave, a voice is heard.

"Donc, vous venez enfin équin, pour votre livre. (So, you finally come equine, for your book.)" Said a female voice. The hair on Twilight's neck stands on end. Slowly, Twilight turns around to see who it was. To her horror, a Human was standing just behind the folded flap of the tent, as if she was expecting Twilight to come for the book. The female's armor was drastically different from the others. The blue color was much darker, she had spikes on her pauldrons, and her helmet was in the shape of a human skull. And yet, her sky blue eyes shone through the helmet like gemstones. she lets the tent flap drop, revealing her claymore, it was almost doubled the size of Twilight, with spikes in place of her hand guard. Twilight begins to panic as she thought this would be the end of her life, right here, right now. The Human female steps closer in an intimidating way.

"Tu n'aurais pas dû venir ici mon poney, ne sais-tu pas que ton espèce sera accueillie avec effusion de sang? (You shouldn't have come here my pony, don't you know your kind will be met with bloodshed?)" Said the human in a deep, but still feminine tone. Twilight goes back to all fours on the ground and cowers, her book drops from her mouth and she shield her head with her hooves.

"P-p-please dont hurt me! I-I-I j-just w-wanted my b-book back!" Cried Twilight almost in tears. Her please was only met by chuckles. The Human female stops directly in front of Twilight who cowers at her metal boots. The female then stabs the blade into the ground next to Twilight, causing her to jump and then cowar more. She shook as if she was in a blizzard, terrified for her own life.

"... You creatures are entertaining." Said the Human in perfect Ponish, but with a french accent. Twilight's eyes widened, shocked to see that even one human knows Ponish. She looks up at the towering human staring down at her.

"...Y-you can understand me?" Asked Twilight, in a more than surprised tone.

"You believe me to put stupid?" Said the human, her helmet hiding her expression.

"N-NO! O-o-of-of Course not!" Said Twilight. The human then starts to laugh.

"So amusing." Said the human. She grabs a chair next to the table, pulls it closer to her and sits down. Now that she wasn't as tall, she was less intimidating. But she kept the skull shaped helmet on, preventing the intimidation from completely subsiding. Twilight slowly begins to stand up straight, as straight for a pony that is. The sitting human was now only a foot taller than her as she now turned her body around completely to face her.

"What are you doing here equine? Don't you know your kind is not welcomed here?" Said the human.

"I...I know that. But, times are changing and my kingdom wants to reach out to the humans, extend our hooves of friendship to you." Replied Twilight. Seeing how the human's eyes never changed made her feel like that statement meant nothing to her.

"My dear lost little pony. If the three human tribes can't even get along with each other, what makes you think we have any interest with you and your kind?" Replied the human in a cold tone.

"Interested? Well... You're speaking my language for starters! You had to have shown some interest to learn it." Said Twilight. The human chuckled in response.

"Sound argument pony." Said the human. She then reaches up and surprises Twilight by reaching for her helmet. She slowly takes it off, revealing her face. The first human face she has seen since arriving here. She had bright blonde hair that fell to her shoulders upon taking off her helmet. her cheeks were rosey and her skin was clear. She was young, almost too young for a soldier. She then rests her helmet on the hilt of her sword that was sticking straight out of the ground and looks at Twilight.

"Je m'appelle, My name is Léone" Said the Human.

"...I'm Twilight." She replied. "Why... Why are you being so nice to me? If ponies are not welcomed in your homeland, Then why are you treating me so nice."

"Despite how many of my men would like to prove you right, not all humans are bloodthirsty monsters." Said Léone. "Some of us more educated humans know the importance of diplomacy."

Twilight sighs in relief, knowing that she wasn't about to be cut in half. However, she doesn't fully let her guard down, Léone is still armed, and she would be surprised that she has already taken lives with that sword. This was a raid party by the way.

"That's a relief. That's such a relief. Then how about a formal introduction." Said Twilight trying to stand as regal as she can, but ends up exaggerating it. "My full name is Princess Twilight Sparkle." Léone's eyes widened.

"Princess huh? Très intéressant." Said Léone, a soft smile forming on her face. "I am Princess Léone Trompeur, War Maiden of the Fluer-De-Lis Army. I serve my Father, King François Trompeur in the destruction of our enemies."

"A fellow princess! This is so exciting! If we form a friendship, maybe you people will listen to us and form peace between our kingdoms!" Twilight sat on her haunches and taps her front hooves together excitedly.

"You may have a point Princess. That sounds so good to me." Said Léone. She then stands up. "Tomorrow I will announce to my men of this, and we can begin step one of our new alliance Princess."

"Fantastic!" Twilight gives her a huge smile. She was only here to observe, but now it seems that forming an alliance with the humans was already happening! It was almost too good to be true.

"Are you hungry Princess? May I get you something to eat?" Asked Léone. Twilight now realizes she skipped dinner because she was inside the tree.

"Well... I am a bit hungry. I brought food with me in my travel bag." Twilight takes off her saddlebag and was about to open it.

"Please, I insist. Try our Human food, if you want to learn more from us." Said Léone.

"You know what, that's a good point. What do you have?" Twilight stomach growls, though she was eager to try something new from the humsans.
"We have salmon steaks, pork chops, and chicken broth." Said Léone. Twilight literally feels her stomach turn. Meat, disgusting.

"Bleh... no offense, but we ponies don't eat meat." Twilight was trying her best to maintain a polite additude.

"My apologies. The only other thing we have available is porridge." Léone lowers her head.

"That sounds good." Said Twilight. Léone Approaches the tent flaps and whistles. Very soon one of the guards are at the tent's opening.

"Oui mon Liège." Said the guard.

"Apportez-moi un bol de porridge et une bouteille de mon meilleur vin. (Bring me a bowl of porridge and a bottle of my best wine.)" Said Léone.

"Ma... Ma matriarche. Quelle est cette chose là?" Asked the Guard while pointing at Twilight. Twilight, feeling a little uncomfortable, looks down at the guard's feet, not wanting to look him in the eye, She didn't need a book to know what he said, "What is that thing there?".

"C'est mon invitée. Maintenant, fais ce que je dis. (She is my guest. Now do as I say.)" Léone said quite sternly.

"...Oui Madame." Said the guard before exiting. It only took the guard about 5 minutes to retrieve a bowl of porridge, and by request of Léone, a bottle of wine. Léone takes both and dismisses the guard and turns back to Twilight, setting the bowl down in front of her.

"I also have a spoon for you, but I fail to see... how you... will... use it?" Léone's voice trailed off as Twilight uses her magic to take the spoon gently out of Léone's hand. She then begins to eat the bowl of porridge. It was bland but filling, and Twilight was in no mood to complain. Léone sits back down, intrigued by the magic. She reaches for two glasses on the table and then opens the bottle, she then sniffs the aroma coming from the wine. "Ah La Fleur Petrus, exquisite." Said Léone as she poured two glasses of wine. she takes one and sips it, offering the other to Twilight. Twilight takes it gratefully and takes a sip.

"Mmm... Delicious. what kind of wine is this?" Twilight licks her lips and examines the wine in the glass.

"It's a Merlot, one of the best of its kind." Léone took another sip, savoring the flavor.

"It's really good. Thank you!" Said Twilight with a smile.

"It pleases me that you like it." Said Léone as she finished her drink. She stands up once again and picks up her helmet. "Pardon my rudeness, but I have some duties to take care of. Please feel free to sleep in my tent Princess, we can discuss our cultures tomorrow."

"Thank you for your Generosity Princess Léone. I honestly cannot thank you enough. No other pony has ever gotten this opportunity before!" Said Twilight excitedly.

"Nor has any Human. Please don't wait for me to come back. I could be up all night." Said Léone as she puts her Helmet back on. The helmet was still very intimidating to Twilight. Léone soon steps out of her tent. she can be heard talking to someone, probably more guards. Twilight couldn't make out what she said as it was in Léone's language. Twilight soon finishes her bowl of porridge and her glass of wine, and then neatly places the dirty dishes on the table. She pulls off her sleeping bag that was on her saddle bag and lays it out. Thankfully, there was no mud in the tent. Twilight's head was a little dizzy for some reason, almost too dizzy. However, she snuggles in her sleeping bag with a smile and pulls out her journal once again and begins scribbling.

Entry Number 5: Wonderful news! I encountered a human who can speak fluent Ponish! This is amazing! Her name is Princess Léone, that's right, PRINCESS!!! My first ever meeting with a human, and it was with a diplomat. I was expecting this trip to be much worse. I almost feel bad about my assumptions though. Léone was so nice, but all the stories I have heard from previous explorers have either been bad, or worse. Heck, some explorers haven't even returned at all, or have returned in more than one piece. Maybe what we have been told was wrong about humans.

That was all she could write before her dizziness was almost too much. Was it the wine? Was it that much stronger than the kind back in Equestria? She closes her eyes and trying to fight the dizziness before slowly slipping into sleep. The next thing she knew, she was being woken up by Léone. She was still in full armor, and the sun was just barely peeking over the horizon.

"Princess Twilight, please, I need you awake." There was some urgency in Léone's voice.

"P-Princess Léone? What time is it?" Asked Twilight. The dizziness was now very faint compared to when she fell asleep. Outside she could hear a lot of movement.

"It's early, I need you urgently." Léone nudges her to try and get her to stand up.
"For what?" Twilight asked, slowly getting out of her Sleeping bag.

"I want to introduce you to my army, so that they all know not to hurt you. After all, your kind isn't welcomed here, remember?" Léone warned, turning to face the opening of the tent.

"Of-of course... I understand. I would like to meet your army... army... WAIT! I almost forgot! This is a raid party! I heard your soldiers! I almost completely forgot! Your army is wanting to raid a nearby village!" Twilight sprang up from the ground and looks up at Léone.

"Mon amie, you are mistaken. I promise you, we are not raiding a village, we are raiding the scum who raided our home first." Léone turned to look at Twilight, her brilliant blue eyes shining like diamonds through her helmet.

"What? What do you mean?" Twilight raises an eyebrow.

"My home, the Kingdom of Gallia." Said Léone "Is at war between the other two kingdoms, Germania, and Italia. A few weeks ago, the dogs from house of Drachenkopf, in the land of Germania, attacked our village and stole our food, our livestock, and some of our people. We are on our way to get them back."

It was too early in the morning for a bomb to be dropped like that to be dropped on Twilight. She knew the Humans were quick to war, but an all out war between all three kingdoms? To her, this place needed friendship more than ever. She rubs the sleep from her eyes and looks back up at Léone.

"Ok, I want to help in any way I can. Help you and all humans unite in friendship. War is a terrible thing that only brings suffering. With friendship, you can find peace." Twilight began to preach.

"Exactly my idea. When I introduce you to my men, I'll have them understand this goal, and humans can enter an era of peace. Come Princess." Said Léone. Léone Leads Twilight out of the tent. Knights were all over the place, they towered over Twilight. Some look down at her and are shocked to see her. Some act like this is their first time seeing a pony before. She gets closer to Léone out of fear of being stepped on. Léone leads her to a wooden platform resembling a stage and ushers her to join her. With a loud whistle, all the knights stop in place to look up at Léone. Now all of them can see Twilight, and many didn't have their helmets on, and Twilight could see their disgusted faces.

"Attention, les sujets les plus fidèles!" Léone began to speak, her words were in French, so Twilight was left oblivious to what she was saying. Her knights look at each other and begin discussing amongst themselves. Twilight watches them intently, she then remembered she forgot her books, she has no way of translating any of Léone's speech. "Avec le poney Princess, notre glorieuse conquête de toutes les terres peut commencer!" The knights start smiling and smirking, some even let out a few cheers. "Je vais la forcer à révéler ses secrets de magie, et nous triompherons ! VIVE LA MAISON TROMPEUR!!!"

"VIVE LA MAISON TROMPEUR!!! VIVE LA MATRIARCHE!!!" All the knights shout and thrust their swords in the air, repeating the phrase over and over again. Twilight couldn't help but smile, they all looked happy. She didn't know what was said, but every single knight was cheering for their Princess.

"Maintenant, réduisez ce village en cendres en guise de message à Johannes Drachenkopf! Pour Gallia! Charge!" Said Léone as she thrusts her sword into the air. Her Knights then charge, running past her and out of the camp, yelling and chanting in rhythm.

"Wow Léone, that was incredible! What did you say to them?" Twilight looks up at Léone who takes in a large breath.

"Exactly what I told you earlier. You are here to end all the wars in our land, and usher us into a world of peace and kindness." Said Léone, again her helmet hiding her expressions.

"Wow! This is exciting! Here one day and I may have already started to end age old conflicts! This is almost too good to be true!" Said Twilight with the biggest.

"Yes... almost." Léone softly chuckles to herself. "Come, we have much to discuss. In my war tent, we shall begin the process of integration by sharing our cultures."

"Oh Yes! I have many questions!" Said Twilight as they were led back into the tent. Léone grabbed a second chair for Twilight and set it in front of the second chair. Twilight quickly sits down and uses her magic to levitate a pencil and a notepad.

"May I start with the questions?" Asked Twilight.

"Of course Mon Amie." Replied Léone. Twilight smiles wide and her eyes sparkle. her cheeks even start to hurt by how much she is smiling.

"First question, What do you call this land? For us back home, we just call it the undiscovered west as no pony has been able to properly identify anything from here before being chased off." Twilight asked, writing down her question on the pad.

"We call this land Patriam." Said Léone as Twilight begins writing down her words. "In the land of Patriam there are three Kingdoms. There is Germania, home of the Allemands. They are brutes and will attack anyone on sight that is not one of them. The second is Italia, They are just as bad as the Allemands. They are quick to anger and will attack anyone they don't recognize. Finally us, the Kingdom of Gallia. We have been under the thumb of oppression from the other two kingdoms. We fight to for justice and we fight to survive." Twilight has a weird look on her face as Léone spoke. She had a strange case of Deja Vu. The way Léone spoke about the other two kingdoms, it was identical to the three pony tribes before they united. This both excited and saddened her. She hoped the similar situation could be resolved in the same way the Pony tribes did, on the other hoof, all the wars the humans fought, all their deaths would make negotiations difficult.

"Ok, What about your History? How did your 3 kingdoms form?" Asked Twilight.

"Truth be told, we were all united once. All under one Kingdom." Léone answered.

"You were? What happened? How long ago was it? Please don't spare any details." Twilight continued to scribble down notes.

"The Kingdom was called Regnum Patriae. From the old language, it means Kingdom of the Fatherland. It's also where we get the name of our land. Patriam, Patriae. Patriae turned into Patriam, which means Country in the old language. When the kingdom fell, we decided to keep the name to describe all the lands." Said Léone as Twilight wrote down every word. "The last king of Patriae was King Hadrianus. He was a tyrant, working our people to the bone. He was a descendant from House Drachenkopf, a noble Germanique family. Then a traitor by the name of Carlo Santamano, of House Santamano of the Italias, slade the tyrant king. My descendant, Thierry Trompeur, was the Thane of the throne. He tried to stop Carlo, but was severely wounded. This sparked outrage between the three tribes. before a new king could be crowned to seek peace, all out civil war began, and Patriae split and ceased to be."

Twilight wrote down every bit of the story, it was an enthralling story. The story seemed to be taken right from a novel, a story of betrayal and pain. It was poetic in a way. Somepony who saw himself as a liberator, brought war instead. That's when Twilight's ear began to twitch. She could hear something, far in the distance, it was high pitched. She turns her head in the direction she could hear it. only the wall of the tent stood there.

"What... What is that." Asked Twilight, leaning to the side to look at the entrance of the tent.
"What is what?" Léone never moved an inch.

"That... noise. It sounds like it's coming from outside the tent... it sounds... it sounds like..." Twilight tried to pinpoint what excatly the sound was.

"Don't worry about it, it may be some birds that are not native to your land. Please, ask me another question." Léone was quick to advert her attention. Twilight slowly turns back towards Léone and sighs.

"Ok, Well, my next question involves magic. Do humans use magic?" Asked Twilight, part of her mind was still focussing on the noise.

"Both yes and no. We cannot harness magic like you seem to be doing, levitating that pencil. What we have is far different. Instead, we have literal pools of pure mana. We are unsure where they came from, or how they were made, but these pools are full with liquid mana. With these pools, we can use them to enchant our armor, our weapons, and artifacts. but if we ever dip any part of our bodies in without protection, it literally causes us to turn to ash." Léone explained.

"Interesting, I've heard of magic pools. We have one in Equestria that allows you to clone yourself. But this sounds different, It does sound like a pool of raw magic. But humans sound like they are unable to bear the magic, destroying your bodies. Interesting!" Twilight was fully distracted once again and continued her notes. Léone then leans forward as Twilight was writing. Twilight then looks up, her eyes meeting Léone's as she still wore her helmet.

"That's enough about my land for now, may I inquire about your homeland now? Your land, your kingdom, and your history?" Asked Léone.

"Of course, how rude of me. I believe it's your turn to ask me about my culture now." Said Twilight. Léone asked the same questions Twilight asked earlier, how Equestria was founded by Clover the Clever and the other pony tribes, she tells her about the Changelings, the Griffons, the dragons and the other creatures back home. She talked about Celestia and Luna and their history. But all the questions were leading up to the big one, the main question Léone wanted to know.

"Tell me Twilight, how is your race able to use magic? It seems very powerful, and you can use it without any problems." Léone leans forward a bit more closer. she was eager to know.

"Not entirely true, magic is complex." Said Twilight. "Inside every creature is magic, think of it like your soul. It is in your body, swimming around inside you. Unicorns, and Alicorns, are able to extract the magic with our horns, and perform spells with them."

"All creatures have magic dwelling within them huh? And your horn gives you access to this magic?" Léone crosses her arms and she leans back in her seat.

"Yes, but magic is everywhere. Not just inside creatures, Magic is in nature, and inside our world itself. With our horns, which is essentially just a large bone in our skulls, we are able to draw the magic out. Think of it like a lighting rod, The Horn hones in on Magic, allowing it to manipulate, cast, or even redirect magic." Twilight levitates her notepad once again for emphasis.

"Interesting... very very interesting." Said Léone with a smirk, but it was hidden by her helmet. As they were wrapping up, one of Léone's knights burst into the tent.

"Ma Matriarche!" Said the knight, he was covered in blood, this caused Twilight's eyes to widen.

"Pourquoi nous dérangez-vous? Why are you disturbing us?" Said Léone coldly.

"Mes excuses, mais le village a été anéanti. Nous sommes prêts à retourner au château de Pierre Noire!" Said the Knight. Léone stands up still facing Twilight.

"The village has fallen? Mareilleux." Said Léone. "Commencez à emballer, nous partons immédiatement"

"Wh-what’s going on?" Asked Twilight.

"We are heading back home, to Blackstone Castle, my home." Said Léone.

"Your home. Sounds great. I'll head back to Equestria myself. I will send a letter to you to have you knights escort me and a larger party on my second expedition." Twilight was begining to pack up.

"Or you can come to my castle with me, we shall have a feast." Léone offered, but twilight had to respctufully refuse.

"I'm so sorry Léone, but this expedition was only meant to be 2 or 3 days. I need to start heading back before my friends start to worry." said Twilight. Léone stood quietly for a moment as she watched Twilight gather her things and put on her saddlebag. Léone then reaches behind her.

"Very well, then at least accept this, as a gift of our new friendship." Léone then pulls out a ring. It had a bright red jewel encrusted on it, with the Fluer-de-lis symbol on it.

"Oh wow Léone! It's pretty, but I can't accept it, I have no gift for you." Twilight looks at the gorgeous looking ring.

"Then bring one on your way back. Please, I insist." Léone held the ring out closer to her.

"Well... ok." Said Twilight. Her horn began to glow as she was about to pick it up.

"Allow me, please." Said Léone. She approaches Twilight and gently slides the ring on her horn. "Beautiful."

"Geez, thanks Léone, I will treasure this ring!" Twilight smiles at her. "Bye for now Léone!"

"Bye." Said Léone as Twilight walks past her. Twilight opens the flaps of the tent with her hoof and steps out. Almost immediately as she steps out, three knights stand in front of her, with their weapons drawn and blood all over them. Disturbed, Twilight tries walking past them but one of them quickly gets back in her way.

"Arrêtez racaille de poney! (Halt pony scum!)" yelled the knight.

"Huh? I'm sorry sir, I can't understand you. I am taking my leave with Léone's blessing. Talk to her about it." Said Twilight as she tries stepping around him.

"Je t'ai dit d'arrêter!!! (I told you to halt!!!)" Yelled the knight even louder, using his foot to forcefully kick her to the ground.

"OUCH!!!" Twilight yelled landing in the dirt. "HEY! What gives!....oh... my..." More knights surround her with their weapons drawn, getting closer and closer to her. "L-L-Léone! Help!" Slowly, Léone steps out of the tent and sonders her way to Twilight, but she doesn't interfere.

"Y-Your soldiers! Tell them to back away please!" Begged a terrified Twilight.

"I'm sorry Princess, but I cannot do that." Léone spoke coldly. Twilight's eyes widen and her heart quickens its pace.

"What... what do you mean?" Twilight looks up at Léone with her large and sadened eyes.

"Unfortunately Princess, you are our prisoner, and we cannot allow you to leave." Léone chuckles darkly. Twilight feels her heart go into her throat, she looks all around her for a way to escape. She then closes her eyes and tries to focus, she attempts to teleport away from the knights but... nothing happens, she is locked out of her magic.

"What! Why can't I teleport!? Why can't I use magic!? Why can't.... THE RING!" Yelled Twilight in realization, looking up and towards her horn.

"The enchanted ring actually." Léone took a step closer to her. "Hommes, attrapez-la et enchaînez-la." Two knights step forward and forcefully grab Twilight, picking her up. They then put Shackles on her feet, preventing her from getting away.

"Why Léone!? I thought we were friends!?" Said Twilight now tearing up.

"There is a lot about me you do not know Twilight." Said Léone as she approached a now sobbing Twilight. Her skull helmet nearly inches away from her face. "We are not good humans. Au château, et n'ayez pas peur d'être dur avec elle." Said Léone as she turns her back on Twilight. "To the Castle, and don't be afraid of being to rough with her."

The two knights holding her then take her around the back of the camp, they throw her into a cage forcefully. Twilight stands up quickly and tries to charge them, but she is then punched hard by one of the knights. The punch was hard, causing her vision to go blurry and knocking her to the ground. She shakes her head and immediately gets a headache. She slowly lifts her head with a groan, then the two knights walk away. She could hear crying and voices next to her. She looks over and sees a bunch of other humans in cages, but these were not knights. They had old mid century clothing, most of them were women and children. They were bruised, muddy, and bleeding. Twilight couldn't believe what she was seeing. One woman looks at her, she holds a child in her arms and she scoots closer to the bars and begins talking through her tears.

"Bitte! Hilf mir bitte! (Please. Help me please!" She begged in a completely different language.

"I'm... I'm sorry... I don't understand you." Twilight said in defeat.

"Sie müssen uns helfen! Bitte! (You must help us! Please!)" She begged again. Twilight sighs defeated and then lays her head down. She couldn't understand what the human was saying. Tears then begin to flow from her own eyes. How could she be this stupid to let her guard down around the humans. She heard the rumors and thought that was all they were, rumors. She now knows she was wrong. She knew this was all too good to be true.

Author's Note

Huge heads up, I use the names of real life countries here and use them in my fic, please keep in mind that this though this is a made up setting even though I use the names of real countries. Its a lot more convient that way for me. I don't have time to make up a whole new country with a corrisponding language. Thank you for understanding. I mean no offense if you are from these countries.

Updated on 10/9/2023