From the Dawn of Time we came, moving silently down through the centuries. Living many secret lives. Struggling to reach the Time of the Gathering, when the few who remain will battle to the last. No one has ever known we were among you...until now.
“Spike? SPIIIIKE?! Are you ready?” Twilight called. She always had to give her little buddy a shout to hurry along. It was like she was always waiting for him. And today was no day to be late. Today was the Pumpkin Festival. In Ponyville, the Pumpkin Festival was a celebration of the fall season and of pumpkins.
“I hear you Twilight!” Spike yelled from the other room. “I have to get my Pumpkin Fest gift ready for Rarity!” Twilight smiled and shook her head. Nopony gets or gives gifts during the Pumpkin Festival. This was just an excuse to give Rarity a gift.
“And what did you get her lover boy?” Twilight asked as Spike came into the room. He had an orange gift bag with a golden bow on top.
“It's an orange gem I found a few weeks back. They say, when you look at it in the sun, it shines like a wildfire!” Spike always got excited when he gave a gift to Rarity. Every time he thought, “This time for sure! This time, I'll win her heart!” Twilight rolled her eyes.
“Well if you're ready, we can get to the festival.” Twilight motioned to the door.
“I have my gift, my love for Rarity, and money for snacks. I'm ready!” Spike rushed out the door. Twilight smiled and made her way out. But she stopped, she had a weird feeling in her stomach. She looked around the library, maybe she forgot something. But she didn't. This was a different feeling. She shrugged and made her way out the door.
On a hill overlooking Ponyville stood a griffon in dark leather with a sword sheathed at his side. He traveled all across Equestria, looking for creatures of a special brand. Here, in this small little town, someone matched that brand perfectly. He smiled.
“Finally.” He began walking towards the town.
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The Pumpkin Festival was in full swing. The town was decorated in oranges, reds, and golds on houses, stores, and public areas alike. There were stands that had costumes one could buy for Nightmare Night, stands for pumpkin and fall treats. Pumpkin Pie, Spiced Apples, Candy Corn, Pecan Pie, Apple Cider, and Caramel Popcorn. And all the games a pony could play was astounding. There were classics of course, “Pin the Tail On the Pony” for example, and other games just for the Pumpkin Festival were there like, “Rolling Pumpkin”, “Leaf Search”, and “Guess the Weight of the Pumpkin”. For kids, it was a magical time. For adults, it was still a magical time.
Twilight, in a way, was rediscovering her childhood. Most of her life was spent in front of a book or listening to a lecture. She loved it of course, but the Festival brought out many childish feelings. She walked with Spike through town seeing everypony being especially happy today. The Cake Family and Pinkie Pie were selling all of their delicious baked goods, the Apple Family were showing their apples in all of its glory. Twilight and Spike went to the Apple booth where Applejack was selling her goods.
“Howdy Twilight! Howdy Spike! Care for some Caramel Apples?” Applejack asked.
“But of course, two please.” Twilight said with a large smile. Applejack nodded and hoofed over two Caramel Apples to Twilight and Spike.
“So, how are yah liking the festival Twilight? I think it's the best one we've ever had.” Applejack wasn't kidding. It seemed like everything was going right. The weather was perfect. The sun was beaming, yet the air was cool. The ponies at the Festival were in a good mood. Even the grumpy ponies had some sort of smile on their face. And the decorations were absolutely perfect. The colors were stunning, yet subtle.
“Applejack, if I said it was perfect, it still wouldn't be enough to describe the Festival.” Twilight took a bite out of the apple. It was delicious. “And this makes it all the better. Right Spike?”
“Right! And-” Before Spike could finish, he spied Rarity across the Town Square. “Rarity! I have something for you!” He yelled and rushed off to Rarity.
“Guess you lost him for the day Twiligh',” Applejack smiled and rose an eyebrow.
“I guess I did.” Twilight's good mood was brought down quite a bit. Every time she went to explore something new, she experienced it with Spike. Applejack placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder.
“It don't matter Twi'. Why don't you explore for a bit? As soon as mah shift is done, we can hang out.” Twilight smiled and hugged her friend.
“Thanks Applejack, when are you done?” Twilight asked.
“About six hours from now.” Twilight's smile disappeared that was when the festival ended. “Short amount of time right?”
“Yeah,” Twilight replied, “It could be worse.” Twilight walked into the festival. “I'll meet up with you here alright AJ?” Applejack smiled.
“Sounds like a plan TS!” Both Twilight and Applejack stared at one another. “I thought that nickname would have worked out.”
“It's okay Applejack, 'Twi'' and 'Sparkle' just work a lot better. I'll see you later!” Twilight walked into the festival and disappeared.
So, the purple mare thought, what is there to see? The answer to that question was, “much”. There were Vendors of all kinds, but what tailored to Twilight's tastes? Ponyville wasn't that magical of a town, and it seemed like only a few ponies were interested in books like she was. What's that? Twilight spied something that stood out from all the vendors. An antique vendor. That's funny, Twilight thought. Why haven't I noticed an antique store before? She asked a few idling ponies if there were any antique shops in Ponyville. They either didn't know or didn't care. It was an antique shop after all. Well, Twilight thought, who am I to question a good thing. Let's browse! Twilight beamed. She skipped into the store, with happy thoughts of what she was going to see inside.
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On the edge of town, the Griffon drew closer to his prey. Ponies, seeing the Griffon, hid from the scary monster. He smiled. The ability to instill fear into others was something he was very proud of. Years of practice helped of course. A small Earth Pony approached the Griffon.
“Ca- can I help you s-sir?” the scared equine asked. The Griffon's smile disappeared.
“You can get out of my way for starters. And then you can tell me where one can stay for the night.” The pony moved out of the way.
“Head to the, 'Lambert', they have good pr-pr-prices.” The Earth Pony pointed east from their spot.
“Good” the Griffon growled. He made his way over to the hotel. The ponies that he passed quaked in fear. It wasn't just his appearance that they were scared of, he was just a bad feeling. Something that clashed with who they were. Something disharmonious, and that frightened them.
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As Twilight entered the store, she could tell that there was a lot of magic in this place. The antiques here weren't just the old pot or porcelain bunny your grandparent had. From what she had studied, these pieces were from all across history. Statues from the time when Discord was in charge over a thousand years ago. Tools from Earth Ponies that lived in the Arctic under eight hundred years ago. But something caught her eye that stood out from the rest. Weaponry. There was a whole side of the shop that was dedicated to swords of all things. In the land of Equestria, the land of Harmony, there was rarely a time where the ponies needed weapons. She marveled at the weapons, but something stopped her from continuing. Something in her gut, something told her that someone was close.
“Something catch your eye miss?” An unknown voice asked. Twilight jumped and turned around. Behind her was a white stallion Pegasus with a ginger mane.
“Yes actually. These weapons, they're incredible.” Twilight looked back at the swords. They did have a certain appeal.
“Ma'am, don't take this the wrong way, but you seem like the bookish type, what interest would you have in uncivilized tools such as these?” The stallion asked.
“I appreciate all forms of history. And believe it or not-” Twilight picked up a sword with her magic and unsheathed it. She swung it around with precision, taking care not to hit anything in the shop. The colt had a smile on his face, it had been a while for him to see a pony use a sword like that. “I do have some training.”
“Where did you receive your training?” the colt asked.
“From Canterlot. I'm Twilight Sparkle, student of Celestia. And Librarian of Ponyville.” Twilight said with a smile.
“Not THE Twilight Sparkle? The hero?” The stallion was interested in the mare in his store now. “I suppose learning the art of combat is necessary after those last few crises eh?”
"Actually, I learned it when I was younger. I felt that the sword was like a pen, and it could be used to do good things.” The stallion smiled.
“Well, I hope everybody shares that philosophy with you Miss Sparkle. Allow me to introduce myself,” The stallion shook Twilight's hoof “my name is Nash.”
“Very nice to meet you Nash. Swords aside though, you have a very impressive collection here.” Twilight looked all around the store. “Are you an archeologist?”
“No, no I've developed this collection over a very long period of time” Nash said confidently.
“But you don't seem much older than me. Did you start at the age of one?” Nash chuckled a little bit.
“Something like that.” Twilight laughed with Nash. She continued to look around until she saw a hieroglyph, depicting a battle.
“Where did you find this?” Twilight examined the old depiction. “This looks almost two thousand years old.”
“Two thousand, one hundred and forty eight years actually. Give or take.” Twilight frowned a bit.
“Do you have a reliable source?”
“It's accurate, don't worry about it.” Nash walked next to the art. “But you're wondering about the story aren't you?” Twilight nodded. “Well, back then, all the powerful creatures were looking for the top dog spot, and Celestia won it. She claimed victory through combat.”
“Between you and me, I honestly haven't seen her as the combat type Nash. Every time I've seen her fight, she hasn't exactly proved to be the most formidable. That's not to say that she isn't powerful or amazing, just not a violent person. And from what this story says, she should be a great fighter” Nash shook his head.
“She's getting rusty then. Maybe she should practice her combat a bit more like us and ate a little less cake.” Twilight chucked.
“What do you mean we? You can't lift a sword.” Nash walked over to the swords.
“That's where you're wrong scholar.” He placed a harness on himself. “You see, this contraption allows me to pull a sword from it's sheath, twist it, and use it for combat.” He picked up a blade of Neighpanese origin and used his device to ready himself. Twilight nodded approvingly.
“That's not bad. But I bet I could beat you in a sparring match.” Nash raised an eyebrow.
“You're getting pretty competitive there. I thought that 'Rainbow Dash' one was the hot head?”
“It's not everyday you meet another pony who knows how to use swords. And I'd rather do something fun than just wander around alone.” Nash gave a big grin.
“Alright Ms. Tough Pony. Meet me near the Everfree in an hour. Take any sword you like and I'll meet you there.”
“You're on Nash. I'll see you there.” Twilight inspected the wall of swords and found a similar blade to Nash's and made her way out of the store. Nash chuckled and started closing up shop.
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Elsewhere, the Griffon was set up in his hotel room, preparing himself for battle. He pulled out his sword, a claymore, cleaned it, and then practiced. A slice, a stab, a parry, and a block. He readied himself for battle. Battle against someone that would help him win the Prize. He sheathed his sword, and dressed himself in a cloak. It was nearly dark, and all the ponies would be around bon fires and watching fire works. It was the perfect time to make his move.
“Soon,” he said to himself. He left the room, and followed his senses to his opponent.
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Twilight was in the spot Nash talked about. Since her time in Ponyville, she never had the chance to practice combat. At first, it felt like it wasn't necessary. But after each encounter with a villain such as Nightmare Moon, Discord, or the Changeling Queen, it felt like she needed to be able to defend herself with more than just magic. After all, magic didn't do any good against Discord or the Changelings. And Nightmare Moon overwhelmed her with magic. She needed a tool that she could trust. It wasn't mightier than a pen, but it did its job well. She picked the blade up with her magic.
It was like sliding into a sock, she remembered all the moves, everything she learned from the Canterlot Guard when she had the chance. She loved the whistle of the blade when she swiped the air. So much went into it. The technique, the preparation, the engineering of the blade. It was a pleasant blend.
Suddenly, she felt that same feeling she had in her stomach from earlier. It wasn't a feeling of forgetting something, it was a feeling of closeness. Like someone was invading her space. She turned around looked toward a hill. On it, was a cloaked figure, a figure who had a sword in claw, and gave off a murderous demeanor. She stepped back.
“Who are you?!” Twilight yelled. She raised her blade in defense. The Griffon smiled.
“Your executioner!” He ripped off his cloak and flew towards Twilight. He swung his sword horizontally, going for Twilight's head. She ducked and knocked the Griffon's blade away. The Griffon grunted and took another swing at Twilight. Twilight raised her blade in defense once again, but the strength difference was all too clear. With one strike, Twilight was knocked on to her back. She tried to get up but before she could, she was locked on the ground by the Griffon's foot. Twilight struggled and struggled, but to no avail.
“Struggle all you want pony, your life is mine!” The Griffon took his sword and stabbed Twilight in the chest. She screamed in pain, dropping her sword. “You feel the pain don't you?” The Griffon sneered. “I love watching my victims squirm.” He raised his blade up again. “But. there can be only one!” As he was about to swipe Twilight's head off, he was stopped by a rock hitting his head.
“WHO HAS THE PAIR TO-?” Before he could finish, another rock hit his head. He scanned around the landscape, and saw another pony in the darkness. “SHOW YOURSELF COWARD!” The pony stepped into the light. “You.” Twilight looked up in pain and saw the newcomer.
“Nash?” Twilight asked.
“I'm Calm Air McCloud of the clan McCloud.” The Nash said with a thick Scottish accent. “And you're attacking my sparring partner.”
