DUNGEONS,DRAGONS, AND PONIES
CHAPTER ONE: CITY IN TROUBLE
Equestria, land of peace and friendship, ruled by the benevolent Alicorn princesses Celestia and Luna. For a millenia, this land progressed under the watchul eyes of said princesses. One fateful day, monsters raised against ponykind, invading settlements and even large cities. Although resistance from ponies was great, the attacks increased. No one could explain how primitive beings suddenly had the ability to gather in masses and strike, but they knew that something had to be done to keep them under control. This is a tale of four brave warriors travelling from distant lands into the heart of the maelstrom, should they fail their quest, then there is no telling what the fate of Equestria will be...
The warm sun caressed the forest. Three figures walked through it, taking it as a shortcut to the city they were trying to reach. One of them, an orange earth pony fighter in armor, was in the lead, followed closely by a purple unicorn elf dressed in bright green clothing suited for this type of terrain and in the back, a shy cleric pegasus, her yellow coat in contrast with her pink mane and tail. All of them had their weapons held on their belts, saddlebags filled with bits and essential supplies on their flanks. The fighter took a fresh gulp of forest air and exhaled in bliss.
"Ah love forests sometimes. However nothin' beats a warm meal an' a hot bath in the city. It is to die for."
"Please don't say things like that." The pegasus said, blowing a flock of pink mane from her face. The fighter chuckled and hummed a tune while walking. The unicorn took out a scroll from her saddle bag and levitated it in front of her unfolding it using her magic. She was wearing a smile while inspecting it, then rolled it back and set it inside her bags anew.
"If we hurry we might get a chance to converse with the locals about some quests to keeps us busy for the next couple of days. This is so exciting! It's not everyday I get to visit cities myself."
"Heh, well, you sure have been one to think a city is the most important thing in the world, Twilight." The fighter said coyly. "Then again, I thought goin' thru this forest might've been a familiar thing for ya, with you being from one an' all..."
"Yeah...what makes you think I would enjoy every forest just because I come from one, Applejack?" Twilight said a bit annoyed. The pegasus sighed and hoped they would not get into one of their usual conflicts the way they had ever since they encountered the unicorn elf that fateful day during their travels. A sudden rustle from the bushes near got her attention. She blinked and took no heed from it at first, but then the rustle grew more and she decided to break from the group to investigate. Applejack took notice of this and stopped looking at the cleric.
"Fluttershy where in tarnation are you goin'?"
"Oh, I have to know what that noise is, you never know if there's someone in need of help..."
Applejack rolled her eyes and thought that she maybe heard some kind of land creature tangled in the bush or something. She had known Fluttershy the longest of times and knew of her kindness, not only for ponyfolk, but also for animals she tended to when they needed. She and Twilight decided to stop and let the pegasus let her hunger for curiosity be satisfied. In the meantime they both checked their saddlebags to see if they had enough provisions should they decide to visit the city's shoppes to restock. The cleric nosed around the bushes, trying to find the source of its rustling. She was about to give up looking when something jumped at her. With a small scream she retialiated, but the unknown assailant was on her back, trying to wrestle her to the ground. Soon after, two more small creatures appeared from the bushes, both armed with tiny swords and wooden shields. Her companions heard her cry and hurried to her as Fluttershy was now sorrounded by a trio of kobolds. The one on her back straddled and using her mane as reins mockingly turning her head around as the cleric tried to buck him off. The other two laughing and trying to poke her with the end of their small weapons. Twilight and Applejack drew their blades and charged.
"Let'er go you filthy scum!" Applejack screamed ramming on of the creatures with her shoulder. Twilight raised the hilt of her blade at the other, trying to hit his head, but the kobold was fast for her attack and deflected it with its wooden shield, sending him back a few feet. The monsters snarled and charged back at them, leaving their friend alone with the still struggling pegasus. If anything, the ponies had the upper hand with their size advantage and their larger blades, but the kobolds were unusually resilient, not giving up despite their size difference. Even Applejack who has fought an owlbear by herself was having a bit of difficulty with one smaller foe. Twilight did her best not to bring down the kobold she was facing, wanting instead to knock him out. She always thought respect for the living was important, even if said living things would try to kill her. And as af this was of any circumstance, the kobold she was facing had now a murderous look on his eyes, snarling and striking with force no matter how small his blade was against her middle-ranged sword. In the meantime, Fluttershy managed to buck off the offending creature, sending it spinning on the floor. She shook her head and managed to grab her mace as the kobold reached for his own weapon. They soon clashed and joined the fight properly. Applejack gave a swift and strong hit at her opponent's shield and shattered it, leaving an awe struck kobold running away as soon as his means of defense were destroyed. Twilight jumped back, dodging the stabbing motions of the kobold. She took the chance as one strike missed her chest and deflected it with her blade, knocking it off from the tiny hand of the creature. The kobold gasped and hid under its tiny shield, to which Twilight then turned and gave a strong buck with her hind legs, sending him flying to the ground. The kobold defeated, ran away as well, leaving only one more to deal with. Fluttershy was swinging wildly at her own opponent, but the kobold just kept shielding each blow, trying as well to strike back at her. When he noticed that he was the only one left, along with the glare the other two ponies were now on him alone, he gulped and ran away from the cleric, dropping his weapon and shield in a panicked frenzy. Fluttershy kept swinging with her eyes closed, shouting to the now fleeting crerature to stay back. Applejack walked towards her, sheathing her sword in the process.
"Whoa Fluttershy, calm yer fightin' instincts girl! They are gone now."
The cleric stopped swinging once she realized she wasn't hitting anything anymore along with her friend's voice. She opened her eyes and blushed, hiding her face under her mane as she put her mace back in place.
"Um...can we go now please?"
Twilight and Applejack both let out a laugh. They encouraged her friend to continue their journey and soon they were what they believed was the edge of the forest. Twilight double checked the map to ensure that they would make it to the city in time. Applejack moved her head cracking her neck and gave out a sigh. Fluttershy kept looking sideways in case another creature like the ones they faced a while ago would make a jump on her again. Suddenly their ears perked at the sound of someone moaning within the trees. Fluttershy looked towards the direction of the sound, but this time she stood her place rather than blindly going to inspect. Twilight tried to figure out if this was coming from a pony or a creature, but when she heard it again she could actually make out words, even though they were prolonged with the sound of the voice rather than making any kind of language spoken. Applejack looked at her companions for suggestions and the other two nodded in turn.
"Alright, this time we all go togheter to see what's that about..."
They chanced straying from the trail into the side of the forest, and investigated to find the source of the noise. It wasn't long until Fluttershy noticed a pony soldier on his side, a kobold laughing and poking him with the end of his blade. The fiend got knocked by a magic missile shot by Twilight and was sent rolling away to a waiting rock, which he smacked his head and was left unconsious. The trio hurriedly approached the moaning soldier and knelt besides him. Fluttershy took out a canteen and offered water to the pony. After a few gulps, he started coughing and tried to lift his head to see his saviors.
"Don't strain yourself..." Fluttershy said in a concerned tone. She held his head on her hooves and let the pony rest again on the ground. However, the soldier tried to talk to them with his eyes full of fear.
"Monsters...invading the city...please help us..."
Applejack and Twilight both looked at each other. They realized what they faced earlier was probably a faction of what was invading the city. Fluttershy tended to the wounds of the soldier as he gave more information about the situation. Soon, he was left behind at his request, stating that he would try to recover by himself as long as he was relieved some help was underway. They got back on the trail and soon reached the city. They noticed clouds of smoke on several spots from their standing point, and heard small cries of help. They all hurried towards it, their weapons drawn again expecting a fight soon. When they reached the skirts of the citadel, they noticed a group of fleeing civilians, all screaming for help as they ran towards them. The trio stopped abrubtly and tried not to get in their way, moving aside as each pony frantically ran for their lives.
"Excuse me, hey watch it! What're you runnin' from? Hey!"
Applejack futily tried to get their attention but it seemed the ponies were more concerned in running away rather than stopping to give in formation about what they would encounter in the city. Closing her eyes and trying not to get it to her, Applejack motioned her companions to go further into the city. If anything, they found that this part of the city they were on was eerily quiet after the outburst they just seen. Fluttershy felt more uncomfortable than the time she spent walking in the forest, eyes nervously looking around for any monster it might face her. Twilight let her horn glow in an attempt to locate anyone that may be around in need of help. Applejack had her blade steady, a look of determination in her eyes. She was walking past an inn when Twilight stopped and neared the door of the building. She pressed her ear on it, and heard muffled speech from within. Fluttershy stopped just behind her, a look of worry edged on her face.
"Psst, Applejack! I think there might be civilians hiding in here..."
Applejack turned to face the unicorn and neared the door. Looking at her companions she opened it slowly, then took a peek inside. She could not see anyone but did hear the sound of hoarse laughter nearby, along with some whimpers that came from behind a counter. She motioned to the other two to follow her lead inside. They walked silently in the inn and looked around. There were tables trashed everywhere, with bottles of empty liquor on the floor and a few scraps of food along with them. Twilight looked at the corner to notice a trio of gnolls feasting on large ammounts of food and downing bottles of liquor as if it were water. She was about to notify Applejack when one of said gnolls looked up at her, ears perked and a snarl coming from his snout, alerting the others of their presence. They all got up their seats, large axes in their hands and turned to the ponies. Applejack, aware of the situation, gave an annoyed sigh.
"Horseapples, just when I thought things were goin' to get easy..."
The trio braced themselves as the gnolls charged them, axes swinging dangerously at their bodies while their blades countered attacks from the canine-like beings. Applejack had it a bit easier this time, since the opponent she was facing was taller than the last, and she could swing her blade at the shaft of the axe to try and knock it away from the gnoll she was facing. Fluttershy squeaked as her mace deflected the axe everytime it swung towards her neck. Twilight dodged most of the strikes, apting to get the gnoll in a weakspot to inmobilize him and hoping she would not have to bring him down permanently. Applejack scowled at her, trying to let her know not every creature was as nice as she was, especially when said creatures didn't mind killing unlike her friend. The fighter dodged a hit on her own, and with a free hoof, uppercuted the gnoll straight in the jaw. The gnoll was knocked a few feet back, rubbing his chin as Applejack took this to her advantage and charged him. She pushed the gnoll through a window and he landed on his back outside, knocked out as his head hit the hard, stony ground. Fluttershy got pushed back as the gnoll kept striking at her with fury. She flapped her wings and got herself lifted in the air above him. Before the gnoll could bring his axe to slash her in mid-air, Fluttershy brought down her mace on his skull, knocking him outcold. She gave a quick apology to the fallen gnoll before going to aid Twilight with the last of the bunch. Twilight however, sheathed her sword, much to Fluttershy's horror and then the purple pony's horn glowed, her arms stretched to the gnoll. The gnoll stopped abrubtly, head tilted to one side, curious as to what the pony was attempting to do.
"Polymorph others!"
A small cloud enveloped the gnoll and with a whomp! it was trasnformed into a small fox, falling to the ground in all fours and looking around bewildered. Noticing the much larger pony and the fact that he could no longer hold his weapon among other things, he scampered off quickly towards the exit. Fluttershy squealed at the sight of the now cute gnoll turned fox and then raised her mace behind her, hitting the face of the other gnoll who was trying to get up out of his stupor. The gnoll fell back again, his face contorted in a pained expression while stars hovered above his head. The gnoll outside peeked his head through the window and found he was now alone, knowing he had little chance on taking on all three, especially after seeing what they did to his friends, decided to make a run for it himself, cursing the ponies along the way. Twilight closed her eyes, thankful they survived another encounter and walked towards the sounds of ponies behind the counter. She found two adults and a small filly, tied up and their eyes full of fear on them, looking up at her. Twilight untied them and cut off some of the rope using her dagger, letting them up. The grateful victims bowed their heads at her and gave a quick explanation of what was going on. Applejack was the first to speak after what they heard.
"Any idea if there's more of you bein' held by these fiends?"
"As a matter of fact..." the older of the group spoke, "When we tried to hide here, we heard pleads for help near the bridge connecting to the canal. You may find more prisoners there, but I also noticed a big ogre commanding a few kobolds, he might be the leader of the group attacking the city."
The trio exited the inn and headed towards the location the other ponies gave them. Sure enough, as they neared the stone bridge, there were a small group of ponies tied up on the floor. They also noticed a few kobolds and a larger opponent, the ogre the male pony talked about. He stood high, tapping an equally large wooden club on his hands, laughing as the ponies whimpered for their well being. Just as before, the kobolds were amusing themselves by poking them with their sharp blades. Twilight was now seeing red at the sight to the point smoke was coming out of her body. Applejack quickly tapped on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. Twilight blinked and allowed to calm herself as Fluttershy felt relieved she wasn't going to turn into a fireball whenever she got incredibly upset. Applejack pointed at the enemy and led her companions to meet them in another unavoidable battle. The sound of hoofs on the hard floor got the attention of the ponies and the monsters alike, both looking at the heroes approaching them. The ogre gave out a hearthy laugh, swinging his club in the air in anticipation.
"Haw, lookit the brave ones...about time there was some sort of entertainment..."
The kobolds let out a cry and charged the ponies, while the ogre looked in amusement. Applejack, trying to evade the smaller beasts, ran a circle around them, a cloud of dirt enveloping the confused bunch while Twilight and Flutteershy clashed with them. The ogre looked down at the fighter and smirked, getting ready to confront what he assumed was the leader of the foolish trio. He swinged his club at her, missing as Applejack jumped to the side and countered with her blade. She found out that her sword was stuck at the tip of the wooden club, and tried to get herself free from it. The ogre however, found it comical and started swinging his weapon around along with the startled pony. Applejack kept cursing each time she was brought in the air until her blade got free, sending her down with an 'oof' from her mouth. She tipped her helmet up from view and glared at the laughing ogre, who apparently didn't think of her as a threat. Fuming, Applejack got up again and charged anew. She swung at the ogre trying to get his legs, which were the only target she could reach. The ogre countered each blow with one of his own, however Applejack was now careful not to strike as hard as she did before, not chancing another time for the ogre to get her in the air again. The ogre brought down his club on her, but she moved aside, hearing the sound of wood hitting stone. She thought that with that, his club might've splintered, but found out the weapon was as sturdy as it was before he brought it down, realizing how durable it was. She gritted her teeth and took a mental note on not getting hit by it, even if she was wearing armor she would not know if it could absorb the hit of such an opponent. Hearing a scream from Fluttershy behind her, Applejack got distracted and looked behind, allowing the ogre to have a free hit. He swung a fist at her, hitting her on the head and sending her rolling on the floor knocking her out and a dented helmet falling from her head. Applejack laid still. Twilight took notice of this, and turned her head to Fluttershy, who had a couple of kobolds pushing her near the edge of the bridge. However, as soon as she seemed lost to the kobolds, Fluttershy gave herself a boost of confidence and swung madly at them both, mace clashing with their shields and cries of surprise from the fiends as they now were the ones retreating. Twilight paid attention to her opponent and with a skillful flick of her elven sword, knocked the weapon out of the kobold facing her. The monster cowered behind his shield as Twilight ran past him, setting her sights on the ogre who, for some reason, refused to even take notice of her or Fluttershy and was looking in amusement at her knocked out friend. Glaring, Twilight's horn shone anew, preparing a spell. She lifted her glowing hooves as she got ready, and aimed at the overconfident ogre.
"Lightning bolt!"
A stream of lumincent energy struck the ogre, letting out a scream of surprise and pain. His body spasmed wildly as Twilight drained her rage with the bolt on him. A few seconds later, the ogre fell on his knees, dropping his weapon and clutching his chest in agony. He let out a moan of pain for a few moments before lifting his head, glaring at the unicorn who struck him. Twilight hesitated, thinking this would be more than enough to stop him.
"S-stand down! Don't make me do that again! I will!"
The ogre however was now trying to get up, his face having a look of anger instead of amusement. He reached for his club as well.
"That. Hurt. No more Mr. nice ogre for you..."
Twilight swallowed and tried to conjure another bolt or anything with her horn. As soon as she was preparing a spell, the orge was assaulted on his back by a recovered, yet dizzy Applejack, holding him with her lower legs wrapped around the ogre's chest. The ogre tried to shake off the pony, reaching with his free hand at her mane, but Applejack proved resiliant, not letting go as she reached for her blade with her front hooves. Twilight's eyes widened as she realized what her friend was about to do.
"Applejack!" she cried, but Applejack ignored her concerned call, raising the blade high and then bringing it down hard on the exposed neck of the ogre. She drove it almost halfway in his body as the larger foe raised his head with his mouth open in a silent scream. His eyes watered by the pain, he took a few steps closer to Twilight, while Applejack was still holding the blade deep in his back.
"That...wasn't cool..." he said, falling on his face as Applejack jumped off. Twilight's mouth fell agape at the sight, blinking as Applejack was trying to pry her sword loose from the now fallen ogre. She then realized they were the only ones out of the conflict as she turned to check on Fluttershy. Fluttershy however, was panting, clutching her mace and glaring at the couple of kobolds running away in the distance. Twilight gave a small grin at the courage the cleric showed and then walked towards Applejack. She tried to speak to her, but Applejack raised a hoof while holding the sword with the other.
"Save it. It's either kill or get killed, and I highly doubt this here orge was going to give us a chance simply cuz you saw him laughing all the time while fighin' me. Ah'm not proud of doin' this mahself, but what the hay you wanted to do? Turn him into another cute critter?"
Twilight scowled but said nothing. She doubted she could do another spell like that after spending a fraction of her energy with recent encounters. In fact, she wasn't sure if another lighting bolt would keep the ogre at bay, or at least, sent him to the ground without as much as a burned chest. Still, she didn't exactly wanted this result, but she shrugged and helped Applejack getting her sword out. Fluttershy turned away as the sickening sound of flesh was heard when the sword finally pulled out. Instead, she walked towards the tied ponies, who were also looking at the scene with unblinking eyes. They soon were cheering as their bonds were cut and some of them even hugged the heroic trio. One of the ponies, a green mare unicorn with golden eyes gave Twilight a magical ring as a sign of gratitude. She notioned her to put in on her horn, stating that it had a magical effect on weapons, and that it would affect everyone near her when she did. A faint glow enveloped their weapons indeed, as Fluttershy let out a gasp and commented that she could feel the increase of power on her mace. Twilight turned to the pony who gave them the item.
"Thanks...er..."
"Lyra," the unicorn replied. "Thank you so much for saving us, you are welcome to stay in our city for as long as you like!"
The one called Lyra then turned and walked alongside another earth pony mare, cream coat and two colored mane and tail, purple and pink. Twilight heard the name of her friend as being Bon Bon.
Moments later, a royal guard was talking to the trio expressing his thanks for defeating the leader of the raiding monsters. He explained that the royal army as fighting off most of the beasts in main parts of the city, but they could not cover some of the sectors like the one the trio defended.
"Again, thank you for doing this, you could've just walk away without lending a hoof, pretty honorable for you to do this," the guard said.
"Shucks, worth nothin', we could not be idly by and let these scoundrels hurt anypony."
"I agree." Fluttershy said, although she kept hiding behind Applejack as she addressed the guard. Twilight, still contemplating her new item, took a moment to ask the guard about what happened and why all of the sudden this city was under siege.
"I am not sure, really," the guard stated "All I know is that we are not the only ones under attack, we recieved messages of other cities under similar circumstances around the country, although we thought ours would never be under attack, of course look what happened because of our naive expectations."
"Any chance as to who might get an idea of this sudden attacks?" Twilight asked, trying to get as much info as to what she was excitedly hoping to be a new quest. The guard looked to the side and then stared back at her.
"I suppose you could inquire her highness, Princess Celestia about such information, since I heard the capital was among the first defended when the raids began. However, I suggest you take time to get ready since the road leading there is long and much dangerous than before. I am sure you had trouble when you were reaching our city."
To this the trio nodded in unison. They thanked the guard and were on their way, but they stopped when he called to them.
"Wait...before you go to the capital...I have a request to make."
Applejack looked behind her and waited for him to continue. The guard cleared his throat and began to speak.
"There is a fort to the westernmost side of here, I assume the monsters first passed through there before reaching our city. In fact, we did indeed recieved a distressed message of them being outnumbered, but we could not sent reinforcements while we were defending ourselves. We are affraid if there are any survivors by now, so I must ask...will you travel there first and make sure at least some of them survived?"
His eyes were imploring them for help. Applejack looked down, wanting to get things over with, but not wanting to say no for an answer. They all huddled and spoke among themselves on this. After a few nods from both Fluttershy and Twilight, Applejack turned to the guard with a determined look on her face.
"We will do what we can, sir."
"Thank you! I will make sure you get a discount in an inn should you take a small rest."
This made Applejack smile. They went to the nearest inn, one that was not thrashed, and decided to have a meal and a room to recollect their energy. As promised, said pampering came to almost no cost at all, the innkeeper also hearing of their heroic exploits. There was a knock on the door and when Twilight opened it, there was a cheerful looking white coated mare, holding a tray of drinks. She stated it was on the house and bowed to them, walking back to the hallway. Twilight entered the room again and they all shared the bottle with glasses filled to the brim. They all cheered and drank the contents, tasting the sweet taste of berries with a kick of alcohol in it. Applejack sighed contently.
"Ah tell ya, bein' a hero sure pays off."
Soon after, the ponies went straight to a shop and bought a batch of healing potions, some daggers, hammers, oil, and a quiver of arrows for Twilight. Like in the inn, the shopkeeper gave a small discount of his own, stating that one of the ponies they saved was his daughter. The trio exited the shop and headed towards the exit of the city, it was getting dark when they did so, but they figured out they would reach said fort before the sun was completely out. Twilight recommended taking a break should nightfall come, suggesting daybreak to continue to the forth. The others nodded, and were on their way, wondering what they would find on their new assigned mission...
CONTINUED ON CHAPTER TWO: A PEGASUS WITH AN AXE AND A SCORE TO SETTLE