MLP GW2 crossover (beta writing)

For countless years now, Claw Island has been the Lion Guard’s last and best line of defense against the Risen soldiers of Zhaitan and the undead, Orrian Armada and had held fast for almost as long as Lion’s Arch had been resettled.

 

And today was the day the Elder Dragon’s onslaughts would see it fall. The fight had been hopeful at first, three rising names in Tyria had arrived with their respective mentors and their respective orders to aid in defense of the island fortress. In less than an hour, turrets and mines had been set up, every able bodied soldier stood ready and at arms, and the first wave of necromantic horrors had been easily obliterated the second they came in cannon range.

 

Then the sun blackened from a great shadow, and every head in the fort turned skyward just in time to witness Tequatl the Sunless, one of the hellish champions of Zhaitan smash down the walls with ease and corrupt more than half of the island’s defenders into it’s own, Risen minions who turned on their former allies without hesitation or mercy. With a nightmarish cry it summoned  the armada’s second wave. Within in five minutes of the dragon champion’s appearance, Claw Island had fallen, just not everyone had left yet to formalize this. And they wouldn’t leave, not until the last ship had set sail. And given their situation it seemed unlikely they would even have a chance to leave.

 

“Alright, that would be the last ship, everyone, let us expeditiously translocate gluteus

out of here!” A rather dry voice shouted, belonging to a grey skinned, diminutive of the asuran people as he loosed another wave of illusionary clones to die in his place.

 

A human man of dark skin and equally dark eyes and swathed in all concealing, red robes spoke up over the shrieking horde. “That’ll be easier said than done, they’re all over us!” His words wavered and skipped as he seemed to flicker in and out of the battlefield, appearing in a flurry of sword and knife slashes before disappearing again.

 

“Unless you can bring the three wounded I have here with you in any escape plan, I will stand here till my last breath!” A powerful alto voice resonated from the unstoppable mass of heavy armor, horns, claws, and fur and reverberated again as she brought her shield high and it cracked the air with a flaming blue sphere around the charr and her wounded wards which drove back the hordes and reflected all missiles back upon their casters.

 

Out from beyond the barrier’s cover, a small army of horrible creatures of flesh and bone charged their undead kin. They tore at flesh with teeth, pierced it with spines, or for the largest of the abominations began to merely tear the risen apart limb from limb. “Asura are geniuses, I’m sure he can think of something to save us all.” Whispered another woman cloaked in tatters and bones, what little of her face that could be seen revealed waxy, green, and sharp features and one of her amber eyes concealed by white, literally, leafy locks.

 

Joining the sylvari’s creations was a powerful, though young, bear which seemed to form an odd tag team with the large flesh golem in bringing down a mighty abomination while hundreds of dozens after dozens of arrows flew arched up into the twilit sky and came down with the might of lightning. “Well in that case, any bright ideas?” Asked a gigantic man in furs, hide, and woad. “Because if you need more time I don’t think we can give you much more than we’ve already had!” The Norn shouted to his smaller contemporary while nocking another fistful of arrows and sending them into the hordes.

 

“I cannot work in these cacophonous conditions, so I guess we will just have to die unless you bookah can get me some silence-” The gray skinned goblin blinked when suddenly a reprieve came as the four others pooled their strengths and created a short term haven and cast their expectant gaze on him. “Oh, well, that is much better, thank you. Now then...” And then the undead redoubled their efforts, pushing the group back.

 

The necromancer’s minions carried one of the listless wards of the charr, while the guardian herself took another, the ranger’s bear dragged a third, and the ranger lifted the asuran mesmer onto his back where the scholar lazily sent clone after clone to blind the horde while he meditated. Altogether, just as promised, they found themselves in a last, desperate corner of the remains of the fortress. The sylvari deadpanned when seconds after sending her minions back into the fray, they were returned in a shower of bones and sundered sinew. “So. About those bright ideas?”

 

The asura gave half a glance down and then back. “They were building a gate here.” He noted in a voice that could barely be heard as the survivors began to struggle with greater depredation against the ever-more ravenous, Risen swarms till the stench of waterlogged corpses began to overwhelm them before sloughing hands ever did. The whole time, the mesmer remained calm, finding himself ‘in the zone’ so to speak, and ideas upon ideas came to him after he had hopped off his fellow defender and began to trace the incomplete runes.

 

“Here! Over here!” A warbling voice declared from a rotting asura before they’re head was cleaved from their shoulders by a phantasmal swordsman. “Agent!” The norn began shouting desperately as his combined healing spring with the sylvari’s well of blood was proving to help them only so much. Adding gravity to the situation Tequatl the Sunless shrieked as it returned from its futile chase of the ship.

 

“This is a good death... Good enough at least.” The lioness commented stoically while putting away her shield and mace in favor of the heavier hammer, and wielding the audacity to actually rush through the hordes and slam it into the zombie dragon’s face before it could corrupt them into Risen. The beast turned it’s head to retaliate, and then paused and looked past her.

“Ah, ha! I got it!” The asura cheered while a fuschia light began to fill the stone platform they had all gathered upon and rapidly grew intensity. For a few precious moments, the laws of gravity were defiled on a mass scale as anything that wasn’t bolted down or weighing over half a tonne began to helplessly levitate up into the crackling air which overtook the odor of rotting flesh in place of ozone. “Okay, maybe I don’t have it.”

 

And then Claw Island blew up, right in Tequatl’s face, and for kilometers, Tyrians could see the light of the island, towering up into the sky, beyond the sky and into the stars. The shockwave of the blast sent ripples through the air which made an audible ‘snap’ as reality strained. Along with the mutilated corpses of some less fortunate Risen, and for one startled group of sailors, the corpse of a smoldering abomination.

 

In the ships that had fled the Island, and for much of Lion’s Arch, many would maintain for years after what would be known as the “Big Pink Pillar of Doom” incident that they could faintly hear a voice of such condescension, it could only belong to an asura, followed by at least four other voices scattered into the aether. What these voices said are rumored to have gone as followed: “Aha! I knew it all along!” and “Urge to kill, rising!”

 

Somewhere, beyond the sea, a magnificent kingdom rose from a land of plenty. It was almost a different world from the wartorn, weary, and dragon blighted lands of Tyria, a land as different as day is to night. The grass was greener, the waters fresher, the sky clearer, the sun brighter, the nights more beautiful, and the people, literally, more colorful. And the centerpiece jewel of this magnificent crown was a beautiful city which rose from the highest mountain tops at the heart of the continent. Spires of immaculate white marble, shining gold, and regal orchid formed the city’s skyline, while aquamarine tiles of glazed and painted terracotta paved the streets.

 

And from the highest tower of this palace, stood radiant and regal, a Princess of a the purest white coats and a flowing mane the colors of the sunrise did gaze upon her domain with eyes of (coincidentally) Tyrian and did sigh with contentment. She was more than just some monarch of political power, the magic she wielded was a gift to her people and was a fair measure of their happiness and love for her.

 

Deciding to enjoy the day she had brought, she walked closer and closer towards the ledge of her balcony, climbing the railings with her forehooves, and leapt off with her eyes closed. Her body cut the air, horn first in free fall until she felt the approach of the ground and flashed wide swan-like wings which she rode back up to the vaults of heaven. Her royal guard would be furious for her flippant whim to simply fly by herself without the royal chariot, but the day felt so nice on her coat, the rush of crisp, mountain winds felt so good through her mane, how could she resist the call of the sky which the unicorn and pegasus citizens below works so hard to clear.

 

The thought made her sigh once again. “My little ponies...” She whispered as if in a dream, truly, she was a blessed ruler, for with Discord sealed in stone, and her apprentice and her friends bearers of the Elements of Harmony, Equestria would truly never want for peace.

 

A loud shockwave of noise nearly sent the Princess careening to the pavement of her city and the sonic boom nearly deafened her. At first she searched for the sight of a shatter light spectrum but instead witnessed in the distance a great pillar of pink light, The Sun Princess’s blood went cold and her heart stopped then and there.

 

What was this light? Had harm come to her kingdom?

 

As her eyes traced the beam to it’s earthly roots, her pupils dilated to pinpricks.

 

Had something befallen her student?

 

Wasting no time she ignored her pegasus guards urgent cries of “Your highness!”, “Princess Celestia!”, “Your majesty!”, and several other endearments to call her back, but she was already soaring down from her mountain city towards a town she had blessed for settlement long ago. In a flash of light she appeared in the center of town, all around she could see her ponies in, literal, blind panic as the light made it difficult to keep one’s eyes open for long. She felt some relief as the apparent explosion and seemed to have done little harm to the town, but the pandemonium this event had brought would likely end with someone hurt.

 

How did that spell Luna discovered go again. The immortal Princess focused her magic into her alabaster horn, the magical excess magical energies becoming a golden aura around it which soon turned to pitch. With a wordless incarnation and a twitch of her neck, Celestia dimmed the blinding light to a far more tolerable level, and among other rare events, spoke out in her Royal Canterlot voice. Quite different from her sister’s sheer power, hers had more of a resonating quality which allowed her to soothe the frightened citizens.

 

“Everypony, please, remain calm, the Royal Guard will be here soon, I wish for all of you to head towards the train station and await them there!” As if on cue, she noted the fastest of her pegasus guards finally gliding down before her, despite their weariness, their discipline still saw they bow before Celestia (a quaint gesture she wish ponies would stop doing sometimes) and keep their backs straight and necks high. “Your highness, please, it’s not safe here-”

 

She politely cut the guardscolt off. “Exactly, Concorde, there are citizens gathering at the train station, I need you four to help escort them, and be ready to load them all onto the train in an orderly fashion in case evacuation is needed.” Corsair spoke up “But Your Highness, what about you?”

 

“I promise you, come what may, I will be fine, and I am certain another wing of guards will be here shortly, I need to hurry and ensure my faithful student’s safety.” She had let slip a lot more emotion into that than she had meant to, but Celestia couldn’t care less about decorum right now.

 

“Indeed, you have our word as well, praetorians.” Came a booming voice followed by the descent of a dark blue mare of eves, her wings folding to her side as long legs extended and touched ground. “Leave this investigation to your princesses, your task is to safeguard the ponies of the kingdom.”

 

The two parties went their separate ways, Celestia and Luna moving towards the location of the Golden Oaks Library. After moment of silence, they began to notice the light itself dimming on it’s own to which Luna commented: “Such strangeness. Such a powerful blast and visible light, yet the town suffers no damage, and the ponies are no more blinded than a bright summer’s day.”

 

Her solar counterpart nodded in agreement as the library came into sight and could see deep scorch marks rutting the field not far from the, literal, treehouse. It was to Celestia’s relief and Luna’s curiosity when a familiar lavender unicorn stepped out to greet them, though with none of the formality Luna had heard Twilight Sparkle was usually prone to when dealing with her sister.

 

The sun regent was quick to embrace the smaller mare in her forehooves, a gesture her student returned. “Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna, I- Well, I guess you saw, I mean how could you not? And then there was the explosion, I at first thought Rainbow Dash was practicing a new trick or something and I was going-”

 

“Twiligh’?” A drawling twang belonging to a blonde, orange coated mare cut in from behind. “Oh, howdy, Princesses! Uh, Twi, you told them yet ‘bout ‘em? ‘Cause Ah don’ mean ta bother but we one of our guests is in fer it bad.”

 

“About who? Who is hurt, Twilight?”

 

“Uhh... Princess Celestia, Princess Luna... I think you both need to see this.” The librarian led the two taller mares inside where they found a gathering of the six mares who represented the Elements of Harmony, Spike, Twilight’s assistant, and two strange creatures who were sprawled out on sets of blankets and pillows.

 

The larger creature was a powerful-looking, shaggy beast covered in pale, bloodstained fur with missing patches. Their head seemed vaguely feline with a short, messy, mane-like crest of tawny brown running from his crown down the back of his neck, and, strangely, had two sets of listless ears and four dull horns and features that seemed to be sagging with age. Perhaps most alarmingly, this creature seemed to be missing one of its clawed arms.

 

The second was a smaller creature of more lithe build with dark skin and black mane, a round head but with a flatter face than a pony’s.

 

Both were wearing similar red outfits or leather and cloth that had been tattered, bloodied, and burned in various places and dented golden plates and accents.

 

After taking this all in, Luna spoke first. “I do not think these creatures are from the Everfree.”

 



A butter-yellow pegasus with soft pink mane ran a hoof gently along the larger creature with a tense expression, knitting her eyebrows tightly over blue eyes. “I couldn’t care less where they’re from, they look like they need our help.” Fluttershy whimpered. “This one is suffering from blood loss, lacerations, first and second degree burns, puncture wounds, broken bones, and I think he has internal bleeding and some of his wounds may be infected.” The Element of Kindness listed off in growing distress, she then walked over the smaller one. “And this one is suffering from lacerations, puncture wound, burns, frostbite...” She trailed off in a whimper and shook her head as tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. “I can’t help fix this, they’re going to-” The older princess gently placed a calming, gold sheathed hoof on the mare.

 

“I will do what I can to help them, Fluttershy.” Luna then cut in with a smile. “Nay. We shall help them.” The two regents turned to one another and nodded, drawing on the arcana in the air around them and focusing it through their helically patterned horns. The energies of the night and day wove together and encompassed the wounded creatures in the soft hues of dusk and dawn, and ultimately permeated their beings.

 

From their bodies, greenish black ichors were drawn out in thick threads as disease and poison were purified. Wounds both within and without closed, burns soothed, and necrotic patches of flesh were revived. Celestia now winced at the next part though Luna remained resolute.

 

With an audible, and sickeningly wet ‘snap’ bones were popped back into place, and both creatures woke with a screaming start.

 

“I told, I will tell you nothing!” The smaller creature shouted through shut eyes and clenched teeth.

 

“Speak for yourself! I cheated on my engineer exams when back in my old Fahrar and I was the one who planted those stink bombs in the instructor’s desk! And I call my artificial arm Fists McGee!” The larger creature retorted while suspended in the air.

 

“Please! Calm down, we are not torturing you, you both were suffering from broken and dislocated bones, we were only trying to help.” Twilight assured them and added her own magic to the Princesses to numb their pain.

 

The two creatures slowly opened their eyes and looked around and blinked. “Tybalt...” The smaller creature turned to his larger companion who only said in a dumbfounded voice “I’m seeing them too...” and then began looking around again. “Alright... Who said that? Who is casting magic?” The smaller one asked while surveying the situation.

 

“That would be me.” Twilight spoke up. Another moment of silence.

 

“Tybalt...” The smaller creature turned to his larger companion, who only said in a dumbfounded voice. “I heard that too...” after a moment he spoke again. “What are you?”

 

A rainbow blur whirled around them briefly and met the one called Tybalt eye to eye. “Yeah, that’s our question for you. I mean are you guys from the Everfree Forest? You know anything about that light and explosion? Did you guys do that?” The aptly named Rainbow Dash all but assailed the creature with questions only for her white, unicorn friend to speak. “Rainbow Dash, honestly, these people just recovered-”

 

“Are recovering. They’re not fully healed.” Princess Luna added to which Rarity only nodded with a bob in her curling mane. “Thank you, your highness, are recovering and you don’t even ask them how they’re feeling? Where are your manners?”

 

“Actually, it’s fine, really, I mean we’re both just as confused as you.”

 

“And we’re... In a lot of pain, (“Sorry.” Celestia whispered sheepishly”) I can’t feel my legs right now. And I’m missing my arm.” He then looked behind him. “Aw, geez, and my tail’s missing too. I’m running out of limbs.”

 

Twilight spoke again, her voice sparked with mild interest. “We put it over there by the rest of your stuff.”

 

“And I guess since you’re hurting, that means no welcome to Ponyville party...” A pink mare added a bit dismally as the Princesses slowly began to set them down. Tybalt needed to at least sit while his darker companion landed on his feet, hissing momentarily before insisting he was fine. “Alright, now for twenty questions. We go first-”

 

Rainbow Dash cut in again. “Hey, that’s no fair, you guys probably blew up the town and that Tybbles- (“Tybalt.”) Tybalt, right, whatever, was carrying all those gadgets and gizmos and has a freaking metal arm!”

 

“We must admit, we too, are curious about the circumstances of your arrival as well as your nature. We are a sovereign kingdom and this light seems to have been an attack.” The moon regent commented when Twilight’s exuberance had her jump close to Tybalt. “And I would love to know about how your mechanical arm works. I’ve never seen such a well crafted prosthesis before that operates without magic!”

 

“And I wanna know what kind of flavors you guys like so that when you’re better I can get you the right kind of ice cream cake to celebrate you two coming to Ponyville-” Pinkie Pie was the one cut off by a risen hand. “Alright, alright. I guess we’ll answer the big one’s first. My name is Hast Aquilia, and this is Tybalt Leftpaw. I am a human from the Kingdom of Kryta and he is a Charr from Ascalon, a formerly human kingdom.”

 

“It was charr before it was human you know.” Tybalt smirked to his partner.

 

“And it belonged to the forgotten before that.” Hast returned before Tybalt picked up the exposition. “Our two people, charr and humans, had been at war for a long time until recently.”

 

“What changed?” Celestia asked, tilting her head. “I’m getting to that, just hold your horses- Uh, no offense.”

 

“None taken.” Almost the entire room responded.

 

Hast explained further. “What happened was that the Elder Dragons awoke. Humans had dealt with Dragons before in their original homelands of Cantha, and there was even Glint the Dragon prophet. But none of them were quite like the Elder Dragons. As each one awoke, disaster fell over the continent of Tyria. Each stands the size of a mountain, each one’s very presence corrupts the people and land it flies over or sets claw on, and each one seems to want the death of all life in Tyria that is not them. The dead rose in their wake, the living were blighted, and all suffered, human, charr, sylvari, asura, norn.”

 

The room was filled with stunned, almost horrified silence from the equine natives. “So anyway though, I like chocolate myself, how about you, Tybalt?” Tybalt shook his head and made a face. “I can’t stand chocolate, that always upsets my stomach. I would say I’m more of a vanilla guy, but honestly, apples are my favorite.”

 

“So just how did we get here? I think I blacked out or something.” The charr asked rubbing his head where he could still feel welts even the magic had not erased, prompting the human to snap his fingers. “Oh, that’s right! We were making our last stand on Claw Island (“I remember that part.” “This is for them.” “Right, got’cha.”) as it was being overrun by Zhaitan- an Elder Dragon’s undead forces. Tybalt and myself had remained with six others to help the injured and wounded escape the island, and then an asura happened and did something that apparently sent us here. I can’t say we didn’t ask for that, so, yes, I apologize, but we are the cause of the explosion. So that brings us to now. So, next set of questions?”

 

After another of stunned silence in which Spike quietly slinked away from the heavily armed strangers in hopes of avoiding mistaken identity, Applejack was the first to speak. “Ah also like apples.”

 

Tybalt’s drooping ears perked and his lips curled into a smile. “Really? Know where I can get a nice mug of cider right now? I actually feel a bit dry.” His partner spoke up. “You know, I actually could go for a drink too, the asura mentioned something about an incomplete asura gate.”

 

“That explains a lot, those things always leave me thirsty.” The fellow lightbringer muttered when the younger royal sister spoke. “Visitors, it is clear circumstances beyond your abilities hath brought you far, and destiny may have been what brought you before us. Pardon our rudeness and suspicion and allow us introduce ourselves in kind. We are princess Luna and this is our elder sister, Princess Celestia, we are the diarchs of these lands which thou find yourselves in.” She smiled and both regents spread their wings to give the full, royal welcome. “And the two of us welcome you to the Kingdom of Equestria.”

 

As a round of more formal introductions was shared between the Tyrians and Equestrians, elsewhere in the lands, mildly smokey asura salvages the remains of his two golems into something to carry and unconscious norn warmaster on the farside of the mountain of Canterlot. Deep in the feared Everfree, another norn stalks the underbrush alongside his ursan companion, between the two they traded the burden of an injured sylvari as they sought aid. And in a bubbling bog not far from the Everfree, a female charr in heavy armor and white crested sylvari calmly walked away from a freshly dead hydra.

 

All the while, in regions unknown, a rotting, mutant hand rose up alongside a thousand others in a distant, blighted field.

 

“Death... Good...”



“So whereabouts would you say we are?” Asked the lioness charr, her heavy armor clanking softly as she marched with her sylvari companion whose laconic response was “Lost.”

“Very helpful, thank you.” The guardian said in a voice dripping with sarcasm only be met with the necromancer replying “You’re welcome.”

 

“Argh! This is driving me nuts! We survived the Risen, just survived some weird, hydra-like thing, and now we get to die in some forsaken swamp, and my only company is Miss Sunshine and Daisies!” She began to rant to no one in particular, arms flailing the whole speech when out of the blue, the sylvari spoke. “My name is Morrigan.”

 

“So she has a name!”

 

“You could have asked.”

 

“Well, my name is Vasquez Fortress-”

 

“I did not ask.”

 

“Argh!”

 

The two Tyrians trudged aimlessly towards the north, Vasquez repeatedly trying to make conversation and the sylvari shooting it down with single word answers (even as a response to things that did not warrant them) or, at most, minimalist sentences.

 

“So what, what’s it called? Cycle are you born in?”

 

“Dawn.”

 

“Really? Aren’t dawn cycles supposed to be friendly and outgoing? You’re kind of reserved and quiet, aren’t you?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Do you know where we’re going?”

 

“No.”

 

“So what’s it like being a necromancer?”

 

“Necromancy.”

 

“Could you say more than one word per-sentence or something?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Okay, let me try this again, will you please say more than one word per-sentence?”

 

“Perhaps.”

 

“ARGH!”

 

“Need help gettin’ across there?” A high pitched voice asked which broke Vasquez from her frustration. They had come to a riverbank, not so wide they couldn’t swim, but the current made it unwise. And sitting in a large raft, secured from wildly drifting with a few lengths of rope, were a trio of small equine-like creatures. The apparent speaker was a yellow one red mane done up in a pink ribbon and flanked by an orange, winged one with a wild purple mane and a white one with curling pink and purple mane.

 

Before Vasquez could answer, the three ‘fillies’ screamed as Morrigan summoned one of her sinew horrors and ordered it to cross the river where it promptly was swept off to it’s ‘death’ by the current. Looking up from this experiment the sylvari called back “Yes.” to the still terrified, juvenile, horse-things

 

Vasquez buried her muzzle into her palms briefly while flicking her tail with agitation. “Morrigan, you have never dealt with cubs before at all, have you?”

 

“No.” She deadpanned.

 

Turning her attention back to the girls, the guardian made several attempts to calm them. None of them worked. Letting out an exasperated breath, she assured Morrigan “I’ll be right back” and leapt half the river’s length before vanishing beneath the currents.

 

The fillies screamed more as someone apparently just leapt to their death.

 

From the water’s depths, ethereal chains lashed themselves to the raft and began to ‘reel in’ until a sopping wet claw broke the shifting surface and seized the deck, pulling up more than two hundred pounds of soaked golden fur and black and white steel armor.

 

The fillies screamed even more as they witness an apparent return from the dead.

 

“This is your fault! I wanted to check out the explosion but you two said we had to show commitment and now we’re gonna die!” The orange one screamed with her small wings flared. With a frustrated groan and her patience gone, the charr drew in a deep breath and exploded in fury and cobalt flames. “STOP SCREAMING!”

 

The force of her yell startled the birds, nearly knocked the trio off their feet- hooves, but after her shout, the only sound around them were the fluttering wings of dozens of birds and the river’s rapids. “Thank you, girls.” the crusader said with a relieved smile, the first she had worn since Claw Island. “Pardon me, but I’m afraid I must commandeer this vessel to grant my friend passage. Apparently, she can’t swim even though she doesn’t have fur or wear anything heavier than lingerie.”

 

“The water is cold.” The sylvari protested without raising her voice or tone. “And Vigil casters wear less than I.”

 

“Don’t care!”

 

The trips to the opposite shore and back were largely uneventful, and when the last one had stepped onto dry land (or as dry as land can be with a dripping wet charr leaving small quagmires in her wake), Vasquez smiled and gave the girls a pat on the head. “Thank you for letting me borrow your vessel, it’s quite well constructed. Now, if I could please ask one more favor of you, would you three mind telling us where the nearest settlement is and we’ll be on our way.”

 

“Hold on!” The white one spoke up on a squeaking voice and a single foreleg pointed accusingly at them. “You both need to pay the toll to get across!” The orange one nodded when the yellow one added with a satisfied look. “That’ll be one bit each, please.”

 

The scholar and crusader blinked and looked to one another, and for once, Morrigan initiated the reply. “What is a bit?”

 

“One of these babies!” The orange one proudly declared and revealed a sack of gold coins which made the charr panic. “I don’t keep gold pieces on me! Who does besides murderous hobos?”

 

The sylvari quirked an eyebrow while easily producing a gold coin of her own of Tyrian print. “Cheapskate.” She taunted when the three small equines pushed out one hoof each towards a nervous Vasquez. “Well? Are you gonna pay up? Or do we have to toss you into the river?”

 

“This isn’t a service! It’s extortion!”

 

“You made it on your own the first time.”

 

“Not helping, Morrigan!”

 

“I had not meant to.”

 

“Well if ya ain’ got bits, what do ya have?”

 

Kneeling down and sighing, the lioness soldier produces a few dozen silver and copper coins for the scrutiny of the girls. Despite the lack of value, they seemed astonished. “Whoa! What’s this writing on the edges? What’s it say? Where did you get these?” The winged one said while hovering with excitement when the white one spoke up. “And where are you from that’s so poor you still use silver and copper coins?”

 

The charr decided to exercise diplomacy despite her returning annoyance. “Well, how about you lead us to the nearest town and we’ll-” She paused and looked at Morrigan who just stared right back. “Okay, I’ll tell you all about it.”

 

“Are ya’ll some kind of royal guard?”

 

“Actually we are non-government organization super-military powers.”

 

Vasquez cut in once again. “Well, let’s start with where we need to go and maybe a around of introductions along with just what the heck are you things?”

 

“We’re not things! We’re ponies! And I’m Sweetie Belle.”

“Ah’m Applebloom!”

“And I’m Scootaloo!”

The horned one, the bowed one, and the winged one introduced sequentially before leaping into the air. “And we are THE CUTIEMARK CRUSADER RIVER BOAT CAPTAINS! YAY!”

 

“Your eye is twitching.” Morrigan commented, it as an act Vasquez had to manually stop with a claw.

 

“Anyway though, the nearest town from here here is Ponyville! Hey, an’ if ya’ll are new to the area, we might get our Cutiemarks in tour guides!” Applebloom’s amber eyes lit up along with her friends at the last part, leaping up again they shouted. “CUTIEMARK CRUSADER TOUR GUIDES! YAY!”

 

“Your other eye is twitching.”

 

The trek to this ‘Ponyville’ was a bit of a long one, thankfully, they refrained from further shouting and the two groups traded questions. Well, rather Vasquez traded questions with the Cutiemark Crusaders, the charr was eager to learn the lay of the land (apparently they were in a place called “Boggy Bottom Swamp”, near the “Everfree Forest”) and the local populace, while the Crusaders were eager to hear everything about Tyria.

 

Despite the promise of a tour of Ponyville it was not lost on either Tyrian that they seemed to go from swampland to strange forests rather than any rural township. “So, this Ponyville, didn’t you say it was founded on cleared land and not in the middle of the woods?”

 

“Yeah, but if ya want the full tour of Ponyville, ya gotta meet Zecora! ‘sides, if anypony’s ever heard o’ this Tyria ya’ll ‘re from, then she’d know it!” Applebloom merrily state, the alien companions though were more than a bit skeptical. “And maybe she might know a way back! And maybe Princess Celestia can be convinced to let Equestria join the fight against the dragons! We could join the Vigil and be the Cutiemark Crusader Crusaders!” Scootaloo added with increasing excitement when Sweetie Belle butted in with her cracking voice. “No! Look at Morrigan’s robes! We have to join the Durmond Priory!”

“But ah wanted all o’ us ta join tha Order o’ Whispers.” Applebloom said sadly before Vasquez decided to avoid another migraine. “So who is this Zecora anyway?”

 

“Well, she’s a zebra, they’re kinda like us but they got all these strips an’ stuff.” Applebloom painted the racial profile. “Uh huh, okay, go it.” The charr encouraged. “And she lives in the Everfree Forest in this tree hut thing where she brews potions and stuff! Kind of like Twilight but but a zebra.”

 

“Yeah, got the zebra part already.”

 

“And we all used to think she was a really scary, evil enchantress but she’s actually really nice. Kind of like Morrigan but Zecora talks in rhymes instead of never talking at all.”

 

“Funny.”

 

“We’re here!” The earth pony filly announced as she gestured to a clearing in the dark woods, in the center of which grew a wild-looking tree with branches that sagged low from which glass trinkets and baubles hung and roots arched high over the ground. Above a door set within the thickest part of the trunk hung a strange looking tribal mask.

 

“Inviting.” Assessed the plant woman which the guardian nodded to in agreement. The Cutiemark Crusaders charged ahead with zeal and each knocked one hoof on the door. It swung open to reveal a mare with a black and white mohawk and black striped grey coat with a swirl pattern on her hindquaters, likely the famed Zecora.

 

“Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, what a pleasant surprise though I must say I was not expecting you.” The mare greeted in rhyming couplet as the fillies beamed at her. “Heya, Zecora! We wanted ta introduce ya to some new friends we made while bein’ river boat captains!” The zebra’s blue eyes widened with a bit of curiosity before the trio stepped aside and gestured to the two aliens, the larger of the two gave a small wave. “This here’s Vasquez and Morrigan, they say they’re somethin’ called a Charr an’ a Sylvari, which apparently means cat an’ plant person. But anyway, they say they’re from Tyria. Ever heard of it.”

 

Zecora’s eyes narrowed and gestured them to follow her in. “Vasquez and Morrigan,” she said as she stepped inside. “These non-Equestrians are welcomed in. And your lost home I know have, I have heard from it recently.” As all five stepped inside, Vasquez with a bit of trouble due to ponies not having such large guests, the charr gasped while the sylvari remained inscrutable as the two met familiar allies from Claw Island. “All recent news, from this norn and his wounded, companion sylvari.”



“You’re late.” The norn smirked looking up to the charr and conscious sylvari. “You guys know eachother? Were you like in some big hero adventuring group back in Tyria?” Scootaloo asked, her head whipping between the two parties while jumping up and down. “Zecora, how’d you find these guys? An’ what all have ya heard ‘bout Tyria? Did you know they’re bein’ bullied by big dragons?” The zebra mare placated Applebloom with a smile and explained. “The story is not long or complex, I was simply out collecting ingredients for hypnotics. But as I began to uproot some Mandragora, I thought I noticed blood stains on the flora. Following the trail, I found a sylvari frail, and this norn in need of medical tonics.”

 

“And we’re glad you found us when you did. I had already had to deal with those wooden elementals without Bjorn’s help since he was protecting Seiran here.” The ranger thanked and turned his attention to the Crusaders. “To answer the orange one’s question, not exactly. Did you tell them about Claw Island.” Vasquez nodded in response. “Then you know that these two weren’t alone during it’s last stand. But if more than a few of us survived...”

 

“Then Equestria’s fate is now in question, if you four survived, then so did the Risen.” Quoth the zebra mare. The fillies though just began to grab the legs of their new ‘friends’. “Can we hunt them with you? I promise we’ll listen to whatever you say!” Sweeties squeaked with excitement only to be cut off by the charr guardian’s hard stare. “Then you’ll listen to us and take us to Ponyville and then go to your homes. We need to contact this Princess Celestia or Luna somehow and warn her immediately.”

 

The earth pony and pegasus began to whine but the unicorn just gained a wry smile. “Well, I don’t know... We might have just forgotten the way now.” Much to the Crusaders surprise, before the other two could join Sweetie Belle Zecora gave a harsh, disapproving glare. “How could you extort our travelers, Sweetie Belle! They are protecting you from the horror of war and mean well! Do you know understand what all is at stake? The threat of the Elder Dragons is no fake! They poison the world with their existence alone, they will corrupt us into undead, crystal, ice, or molten stone. This evil will one day extend into The Mists, where all spirits go to be lost or for bliss, but the Dragons would see it become engulfed in darkness.”

 

The three conscious Tyrians blinked, even Morrigan showed genuine surprise on her face while the Crusader fillies seemed to have been thoroughly shamed as the zebra mare grabbed her cloak. “Gather your things and friends, everypony and everyone, we must reach Twilight’s assistant or this battle against Zhaitan will never be won.”

 

The full party (plus one unconscious Sylvari riding on the back of a bear) found themselves from the Everfree’s underbrush to the streets of Ponyville in seemingly no time at all. Only a small number of ponies were out and about and each the Tyrians definitely turned heads towards the group, a few shouted and fled.

 

“Welp, a group of alien races arrive in a world populated by sapient equines...” Vasquez began to assess when the ranger concluded on a more on optimistic note “It’s good we’re being noticed. Our arrival will surely bring the attention of the local leaders.”

 

“Far be it from me to comment, but this is not a new world, merely a new continent.” Zecora corrected, causing everyone to halt.

 

“Pardon?”

 

“You may think this land is on a world which orbits a distant star, but the truth is, from Tyria you are not nearly so far.”

 

“How?” Morrigan asked as they slowly resumed their pace when they noticed the library in sight.

 

“An’ how much more do ya know?” The yellow filly spoke up, her eyes growing wide.

 

Before the zebra could supply and answer, a flock of ivory white pegasi followed by a small herd of unicorn stallions, their horns blazing with magic. “Hold it right there! This area is off limits to the public!” the apparent captain warned while leveling a spear at the group.

 

“Um, isn’t this the public library?” Scootaloo interjected. “Since when has the library been closed off to the public?”

 

“Since approximately two hours ago when an unknown light appeared nearby. The light has since vanished but Princess Celestia and Princess Luna remain within the library in the company of Twilight Sparkle.” The guard answered while his cohorts took formation and attempted to intimidate the group away as a living wall of steel and stallion.

 

It did not work so well on the Tyrians since the average pony only came up to the stomach of Morrigan, while the norn and charr just towered over everyone like small buildings.

 

“Hey, don’t look at us. You want the asura for that.” Vasquez protested while trying to appear as non-threatening as a two meter tall felinoid in spiked full plate armor and carrying a warband’s worth of weapons could.

 

“‘Asura’?” The golden armored pegasus asked quizzically before another charged up and snorted.

 

“Enough of this insanity, you need to vacate these premises or face the consequences!”

 

This thread was very hard for the Tyrians to take seriously when the three conscious ones seemed prepared to invade the whole kingdom. To the credit of the royal guard though, it just made them dig their hooves deeper.

 

“Shall I?” Morrigan stepped up to offer, the norn nodded, not seeing Vasquez rapidly shaking her head and waving her arms in protest.

 

And then the sylvari called on a small legion of undead horde, sending the Cutiemark Crusaders back into a screaming fit, the guards on the attack, Seiran rousing in a panic and falling off the bear and slinging elemental spells in a blind frenzy, and Zecora plus the remaining Tyrians to plant their faces in their palms (or their anatomical equivalent, and groan).

 

“What is meaning of this?!” A powerful voice resonated with enough force to stun the smallest members of the group and halt the Royal Guard. Stepping out with a narrow and shimmering gaze like the full moon’s light, storm winds whipping dangerously around her from her sparkling crested shoes to her night sky mane was Princess Luna, a name even those unfamiliar with her knew it had to be.

 

“Guards, didst these aliens lay hand upon ye?” Her crisp voice demanded only to be answered instead by Vasquez, quick to point her finger at Morrigan and shout: “It was her! She summoned the bone minions, the blood fiend, the bone fiend, the shadow fiend, and the flesh golem! Not me! Or him. Or the poetry spouting horse, or the kids, or anyone else. Take her, but I’ll warn you, getting words out of her is like wringing blood from a stone- Yeowch!” She yowled when one of the bone minions ran up and bit her ankle.

 

“Hey! It’s you guys!” A familiar voice called and turned to see a familiar human walking out from the, literal, treehouse, shortly followed by an absolutely radiant, alabaster winged unicorn.

 

“These are friends of your then, Hast?” Princess Celestia asked, reguarding them briefly and ran over to help Seiran once the red swathed man confirmed this.

 

“Luna, Guards, stand down and help me tend to this one.”

 

“What- What’s happening? Is this the Mists? This doesn’t match anything the Priory’s recorded, and... Why is almost everyone talking horses?” The sylvari magister asked in a state of more than a bit of confusion.

 

“Well, to make a long story short, we’re alive and an asura did it.” Hast commented as he soon joined the Princesses in helping tend to the magister.

 

The Priory scholar immediately ‘ahhh’d and nodded as though this was a very common and valid explanation. “Well, cherry then! But what about Claw Island.”

 

“Lost.” Morrigan stated as more from the library began to pour out.

 

“But not to the Zhaitan and the Risen!” The guardian cheerfully pointed out. “Or if they did claim it, all they’re claiming is a few rocks sticking out of the Sea of Sorrows.”

 

“What a dreadful name!” Rarity gasped as she followed Twilight.

 

“Yer tellin’ me, partner, so how’d a place earn a name like tha Sea o’ Sorrows, anyhow?” Applejack asked as she stepped out to stare at the gathering.

 

“It began with the Kingdom of Orr sinking into the sea, and then it got worse.” Hast explained when Luna cleared her throat.

 

“We believe a round of introductions are in order, be there more who hath come from thy wartorn lands?”

 

“Actually, I don’t see the one responsible for getting us here to begin with