Maris, the city of romance. Everypony who's a romanticist love to call it that. Everypony else love to go there because of all of the delectable nourishments and appetizing refreshments, the famous monuments, stores, hotels and much more. But most of all, they love to listen to the harmonious bells of Ponre Dame, a wonderful church in all of Maris that some ponies go to whenever they want to pray or ask their Lord for help or guidance. As we go through the everyday life town of Maris, we hear a voice singing.
"Morning in Maris, the city awakes
To the bells of Ponre Dame
The fisher pony fishes, the baker pony bakes
To the bells of Ponre Dame"
As the camera zooms through, a pony was fishing on a side of a bridge while another pony, wearing a baker's outfit, came out with bread and put them where the others are outside.
"To the big bells as loud as the thunder
To the little bells soft as a psalm
And some say the soul of the city's
The toll of the bells
The bells of Ponre Dame"
It wasn't long before the camera came up to a wagon, where foals were watching a show happily. Inside the wagon was a fuchsia stallion that's performing for the children of Maris. The stallion was a unicorn that had black hair and he wore a purple hat with a yellow feather, black gloves, a crimson mask, and an outfit that's indigo, yellow and crimson.
"Ah, listen to those bell chimes. They're beautiful, no?" The stallion asked proudly in a French accent as he listened to the ringing of Ponre Dame's bells that were heard by him and the foals, "So many colors of sound, and so many changing of moods." But then, the performing pony smirked as he leaned a bit towards the foals as he added, "But of course you know, they don't ring all by themselves."
"They don't?" A nasal voice asked in surprise. It came from his assistant, which was a colt that is like a miniature version of the performing stallion.
"No, you silly colt." The male pony replied. He pointed his hoof towards the top of Ponre Dame as he explained, "Up there, high, high in the dark bell tower, known to all ponykind as Ponre Dame, there lives a mysterious bell ringer, so mysterious, it could never be seen. Who is this creature?"
"Who?"
"What is it?"
"What?"
"And how exactly did it come to be there?"
"How?"
"Hush!" scolded the fuchsia stallion as the foals giggled when he whacked his miniature self with a stick.
"Oww!" The assistant groaned in pain as he rubbed his head.
"And Mystifier, that is moi, will tell you." The magical stallion smirked before he spoke mysteriously, in a storyteller fashion, "It is a tale, a tale of a pony...and a monster," As Mystifier grinned almost wickedly, he continued to sing.
"Dark was the night when our tale was begun
on the docks near Ponre Dame"
Years ago on a snowy night, four ponies and a bundle were traveling by boat. They were trying their best not to be seen, for you see, they were Earth ponies despised and hunted by the authority of Maris, led by the most hated of them all. One of them, a mare that looks like a reversely-colored Cheerilee, was trying her best to calm her baby as to not alert the authority by the crying.
The second pony looked a lot like Time Turner with the colors of Shining Armor.
And the third pony looked like Big Macintosh, but with Applejack's colors and a different apple cutie mark, and he wore a brown cowboy hat that looked just like hers.
"Shut it up, will you?!" The white Earth Pony said in concern.
"We'll be spotted!" agreed the Applejack-colored Earth pony, worried that the authorities could ambush them at any moment.
"Hush, little one." said the female Earth Pony, trying to calm her child down.
"Four frightened ponies slid silently under
The docks near Ponre Dame"
They got off of a boat and approached a seller. Another pony reached out a hoof. He looked similar to Braeburn, only with the colors of the Flim-Flam Brothers with a matching outfit.
"Four guilders for safe passage into Maris!" The pony said, concerned.
Without warning, however, a spear strikes the stick in the pony's hoof. The group looked around and was horrified to see that they were surrounded by many guards and soldiers, which came out of nowhere, and surrounding the group.
"But a trap had been laid for the ponies
And they gazed up in fear and alarm
At a figure whose clutches
Were iron as much as the bells"
The group turned and gasped as they see a sinister figure coming out of the shadows. It was a purple male zebracorn with dark purple stripes, green eyes, a bright purple mane and matching tail. He wore a dark purple outfit that looked similar to the Wonderbolts', but it also had a matching vest and long cape. The horn on his head was really sharp and pointy, which makes it another reason why he is intimidating.
"Judge Fordyn!" The Shining Armor-colored Time Turner cried in horror.
Yes, it was Judge Fordyn, the one most feared in Maris and the city's Minister of Justice.
"The bells of Ponre Dame"
"Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy)"
"Judge Fordyn had longed
To purge the world
Of vice and sin"
"Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy)"
As Fordyn glared at the Earth ponies with hatred, the guards chained and cuffed most of them. Only the female Earth pony remained freed. The Cheerilee lookalike looked frightened as the Earth stallions get taken away by the guards of Maris. She held onto her baby protectively.
"And he saw corruption
Ev'rywhere
Except within"
"Bring these Earth filth to the palace of justice!" hissed Fordyn evilly.
"You there, what are you hiding?!" asked a guard rudely as he saw the baby in the female pony's saddlebag.
"Stolen goods, no doubt! Take them from her!" Fordyn ordered.
"She ran," said Mystifier grimly.
The reverse-colored Cheerilee pony wasted no time. She ran as fast as she could, holding her young baby. Fordyn narrowed his eyes as he chased her. Fordyn was not going to let an Earth pony escape from him. He was feared and hated for very good reasons. The female Earth pony slid a little and ran the steps as Fordyn was almost upon her. Before Fordyn could get too close, the distressed female pony, with all her strength, jumped over a steel fence. She sighed in relief. She saw Ponre Dame and ran to it. She knew those who claim sanctuary there was welcomed by the church and could not be touched by the authority of Maris, not even Fordyn.
"Dies irae, dies illa (Day of wrath, that day)
Solvet saeclum in favilla (Shall consume the world in ashes)
Teste David cum sibylla (As prophesied by David and the sibyl)
Quantus tremor est futurus (What trembling is to be)
Quando Judex est venturus (When the Judge is come)"
The pink pony arrived at the door and pounded on the door as she cried out, hoping someone could hear her, "Sanctuary! Please give us sanctuary!"
She turned and gasped in horror. Fordyn had got by the fence and ran towards her. "Found you!" he hissed.
The scared female pony tried to run off, but Fordyn got close enough for him to use his magic to seize half of the baby's blanket. Fordyn then bucked the Cheerilee lookalike maliciously, resulting in the mare to let go and for her to hit the steps too hard. She stopped moving. She was now dead.
That should teach that Earth filth a lesson, thought Fordyn, knowing he rid the world of an Earth pony. Just then, he heard the baby cry as he asked in confusion, "Hmm? A baby?" He opens the blanket up to take a look. But after looking, Fordyn gasped in horror as he saw a baby green dragon, causing him to yell out, "A dragon!" In fact, he closed the blanket up so he could stop looking at this so-called 'unholy creature'. Fordyn around looked for a way to destroy the dragon. This baby must not grow up to be someone who will cause him trouble! He doesn't need a mystical monster running loose! Fordyn saw a well nearby and an idea came to mind. It might not be the most honorable thing to do, but to him, it was the only way. He walked to the well. All he needed to do was drop the baby and that would be it. Using his magic, he held it over the well, planning to rid the world of it like he did the Cheerilee lookalike. Suddenly…
"STOP!!!"
"Cried Lord Evangelus." Mystifier said with a grin.
Indeed, the person who stopped Fordyn from killing off the child was an alicorn as tall as Celestia, maybe even taller. He was a golden yellow alicorn with bright blue eyes, and he had a long gold mane with bright yellow streaks and a long yellow/golden brown tail. He wore a silvery white-plated chest armor, silver bracelets with bright blue jewels and slightly dark yellow shoes. He also wore a white cape that was attached to his armor. He had a bible cutie mark on his flank. His name was Lord Evangelus, the ruler of Maris and the lord of the Ponre Dame church. He saw what Fordyn did from the balcony on the top of his church and was not happy about it one little bit. So he decided to stop the Minister of Justice before he committed yet another murderous act.
"This is an unholy demon! I am sending it back to Tartarus, where it belongs." Fordyn stated cruelly.
Evangelus, however, would have none of it as he kneeled down next to the dead mare as he sang now.
"See there the innocent blood you have spilt
On the steps of Ponre Dame"
"I am guiltless. She ran, I pursued." Fordyn protested. Who does this alicorn think he is, claiming that he is guilty of anything?
"Now you would add this child's blood to your guilt
On the steps of Ponre Dame"
"My conscience is clear!" Fordyn snapped. Even if he doesn't have any guilt, why should he be concerned about his own?
"You can lie to yourself and your minions
You can claim that you haven't a qualm
But you never can run from
Nor hide what you've done from the eyes"
On 'eyes,' Evangelus sternly pointed behind Fordyn, who turned and saw the statues that were all around Ponre Dame. Now, Fordyn was frightened. If he didn't know any better, he could suspect that these statues were glaring at him in disapproval and accusation. One false move could cause him to face the consequences.
"The very eyes of Ponre Dame!"
"Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy)"
"And for one time in his life
Of power and control"
"Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy)"
"Fordyn felt a twinge of fear
For his immortal soul"
Fordyn grew more frightened as he spotted a statue of a mare holding a foal. It looked like the statue was glaring at him, most likely hating him for what he had done. Lightning strikes there. Fordyn knew then he could not kill the child, even if he wanted to.
"What must I do?" Fordyn asked in worry.
Evangelus then picked up the Cheerilee lookalike's dead body. He intended to give her a proper burial. After all, even if she was an Earth pony, she was still a child of the lord.
"To make up for this deed, take the child, and raise it as your own." Evangelus stated sternly.
"What?! I'd be settled with this misshapen..." Fordyn stopped a bit. He was a respected member of the authority and if he was seen taken care of this creature, he would lose what he gained through fear and the usual. Of course, he had no other choice. But how to make sure he was not seen with this...this demon? Fordyn then came up with a solution. "Very well. But let him live with you, in your church."
"Live here? Where?" asked Evangelus.
"Anywhere." Fordyn then took a look at Ponre Dame. Where could he put the child so he would be easily hidden? As he thinks this, he started to sing himself.
"Just so he's kept locked away
Where no one else can see"
Looking up, the purple zebracorn saw the bell tower, and then, Fordyn got an idea as he said, "The bell tower, perhaps. And who knows? You, our Lord, work in mysterious ways." The purple zebracorn then looked at the baby as he continued to sing with a smirk.
"Even this foul creature may
Yet prove one day to be
Of use to me..."
Mystifier continued his story back in the present as he performed a little puppet show for the foals as usual. He held a puppet of Fordyn holding the child as he said, "And to make sure Fordyn would remind the child how no one cares for him, he gave the child a cruel name. A name that means Loneliness...Somadina!"
As the puppet show continued, the young baby now grew up to be a dragon the same age and size as Spike, who rang the bells as Mystifier finished his song.
"Now here is a riddle to guess if you can
Sing the bells of Ponre Dame
Who is the monster and who is the pony?"
"Sing the bells, bells, bells, bells
Bells, bells, bells, bells
Bells of Ponre Dame!!!"
As the song came to a close, we go from the puppet show to the bell tower as the actual bells ring loudly in the tower. We see the mysterious Somadina ringing them as he did since the day he knew how. As the bell rang on, the title appeared...
The War in Maris
