Chapter 1: Prelude of war
It was the day of the Grand Galloping Gala. Twilight Sparkle had become a princess 3 years prior. And on her suggestion the Gala had been turned into a time for not only nobility to meet with the royal family but royalty from other countries were invited as well. This had improved Equestria with many alliances but, there was one country that had never accepted the invitation. That was the land of Utopia. The land was inhabited by griffons, dragons and many more but equines had been forbidden from ever setting hoof there. The first time the dictator of Utopia had been invited he had sent the messenger back with his two left legs torn of and a letter shoved down his throat that told them to never send an equine to Utopia again. Ever since, they had sent the invitations through magic in hopes of one day making the mighty nation into an ally.
Utopia was founded nearly 900 years ago. It started out as a small country which made it a target for some of the larger nations. But Utopia's military power meant it quickly rose to become one of the largest nations on the planet. After 300 years of conquest, the country entered an era of peace and closed its borders to outsiders.
So it was a surprise for the princesses when they received word that the ruler of Utopia was willing to join them at the Gala.
And so, three creatures exited the train that had taken them to Canterlot. One was a young dragon by the name of Gabriel. He had quickly risen in the ranks of Utopia's army and was one of the most respected corporals but his drinking habit made him somewhat unpredictable. The other was a griffon by the name of Drake. He was one of the oldest residents of Utopia and the ruler's oldest friend. He was brought along as a diplomat. And finally there was a tall, bipedal cloaked creature. His name was Krieg and he was the lord of Utopia. His black cloak hid his face, prevented anything but his red eyes and black, skull shaped lower face mask from showing during the night. They made their way through Canterlot to the castle getting all kinds of looks.
The displeasure over the dictator's presents was highly noticeable, especially among the representatives of The Griffon Democracy. Before the griffons formed their democracy, they were the second largest country only after The Republic of Dragons but their constant wars with Utopia landed them as the fourth largest after Equestria and Utopia claimed their spot.
Princess Celestia was greeting the guest on the staircase in. She was mere moments away from trading place with her sister so she could enjoy the gala when Krieg and his two companions arrived. She smiled a happy smile when she recognized the symbol of Utopia on their clothes, an Ouroboros with two crossing swords within the circle. She walked down the steps to greet him.
"Welcome to Equestria lord Krieg. I am princess Celestia, co ruler of this land." She said with a happy voice. She knew that if she could get the second largest land on her side, nothing could stop her from starting a war with the griffons and increase Equestria's power. What she didn't know, was that Krieg could read the mind of any living creature.
She extended a hoof for a friendly shack but was shocked when he slapped it away, reveling the black armor he wore underneath his cloak. Many diplomats could only stare in shock while the royal guards prepared to attack Krieg. Celestia rubbed her hoof before looking at Krieg with furrowed brows.
"Well that was rude. I would have tough that even a dictator would have some manners." She said. Krieg merely snorted at her before speaking.
"One who ruled a kingdom for one thousand years after banishing her family is telling me about manners? Surely you jest." He said in a hard voice. Celestia looked at Krieg with shock clear on her face. Thinking he was referring to the official story of Nightmare Moon's banishment, she put on a neutral face.
"Let's not talk about some think so far back, let's just enjoy the festivities." She said, hoping that the harder tone she used would unnerve Krieg. As Krieg didn't back down, they entered a sort of staring contest.
Princess Luna arrived and upon seeing her sister trying to stare down another creature she had never seen before, she rushed over to break it up before it resulted in an international incident. As soon as Krieg laid eyes on Luna, his whole body seemed to relax.
"Sister, I take it this is Lord Krieg of Utopia?" Luna asked. The stern look she got from her sister made her cover and while only Drake and Krieg noticed it, it made Krieg willing to kill Celestia.
"That is correct sister; now let us give him some space. We wouldn't want to keep the other guests waiting." And with that, the rulers left each other alone. Celestia went to socialize with the other guests while Luna took her sister's place greeting guests. Krieg and his men went around for a while but after a while, Krieg went into the garden for some fresh air.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy was enjoying herself with the few animals she had befriended. She noticed some birds on a branch she hadn't noticed before and flew the short height to greet them.
"Oh, aren't you simply the cutest little things." She said.
"They truly are something special." A voice said, shocking her. Then the birds flew away and she felt how she was being observed. The glance felt like an apex predator sizing up its prey. That's when she noticed that the birds hadn't been on a branch, but on one of Krieg's armed, outstretched fingers. The cold gaze from his red eyes unnerved her but she didn't feel like she was in any direct danger.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't notice you there, I'm sorry." Krieg chuckled at how the yellow Pegasus apologized twice to him.
"My name is Krieg, the warlord and dictator of Utopia." He said. Fluttershy immediately flew down and bowed to him before introducing herself.
"My name is Fluttershy, from Ponyville."
"Ponyville?" Krieg said, his many years of only caring about his own land had meant that he had not heard of any city build after Utopia's founding.
"Oh yes, it's a small town not too far from here." Krieg couldn't resist the smile he had under his mask. He could hardly remember when he last spoke to someone so polite. After a while, Princess Luna came out to the garden and saw Krieg.
"Lord Krieg!" Krieg and Fluttershy turned towards Luna as she ran up to them. Just as she was about to talk, a commotion could be heard from inside the palace. Krieg's gaze turned hard and as he walked towards the palace, the plants and grass around him started dying.
As soon as he entered, he saw Gabriel, drunk of his ass, hitting on princess Cadence.
"Gabriel!" Krieg's voice resonated through the great hall. Gabriel turned to face Krieg and smile a drunken smile.
"Heeey boss, look what I found. Wouldn't she make a fiiine breeding horse, riiight?" Krieg's eyes became black and the whole palace became cold.
"Do you truly mean what you are saying?" Krieg asked in a near demonic tone. In his drunken state, Gabriel didn't pick up the hostile signals and nodded his head.
"Yeeeah, a fine piece of tail like-!"Gabriel didn't get the chance to finish as his head was suddenly cut in half.
"Utopian law number 4, paragraph 6; No citizen of Utopia shall have a sexual relationship with an equine unless granted permission by the ruler. Failure to comply with this law is punished with instant death." Krieg walked to Gabriel's corpse and picked it up by the neck. Then, the dragon burst into blue flames and when they finally died down, the only thing remaining of Gabriel was a pile of ashes. Everyone, except Drake, stared at Krieg in fear. He turned and walked out into the garden again.
After that, Krieg spent the rest half-hour in the garden alone. Then Luna came out with two glasses filled with punch. She extended one to Krieg and while he accepted, he didn't drink.
"It's not poisoned." Luna said. She had finished her glass almost instantly. Krieg looked at the contents and finally removed his mouth guard. Luna couldn't suppress the gasp when she saw the scars running from the corners of Krieg's mouth to his ears. Krieg downed the punch in one go and suddenly turned around.
Behind him was prince Blueblood. He was quietly studying Krieg before he held his head high.
"Ruler of Utopia! I challenge you to armed combat!" Krieg smiled and for the first time, the pure malice he projected through his stance was shown on his face.
"Very well equine, I accept." Blueblood felt his blood run cold but he didn't back down. He knew that if he could defeat someone who was rumored to be undefeatable, it would skyrocket his popularity with the mares.
A wide selection of dull swords was brought out. Blueblood picked up a dueling sword while Krieg studied the blades in front of him. After a while he turned to the guard who had brought the swords.
"Am I allowed to use my own sword as long as it's dull?" The guard nodded his head and Krieg once again smiled an unnerving smile. He brought his left hand to his mouth and let out a whistle. He raised his right arm and suddenly, a gigantic zwiehänder sword came crashing down into his hand. Krieg swung it around a few times using only his right hand. Everyone stared in amassment of his strength.
Blueblood, figuring that Krieg couldn't swing the sword to fast, launched himself at the dictator. It was the last mistake he ever made. Krieg lifted his sword and quickly brought it down on Blueblood. The impact made the dirt fly up and when the dirt clouds finally separated, Blueblood was on the ground, smashed in two. The fear the rest felt for Krieg grew and the sword disappeared. The only one who didn't show any fear was Shining Armor. He walked up to Krieg and tried to stare him down.
"Krieg of Utopia, you have killed a royal of Equestria! I am placing you under arrest." Krieg studied the unicorn before smiling a smug smile.
"How can I help it if you unicorns have such weak bodies that you can even survive a little tap from a zwiehänder? Besides, it was armed combat, which he had challenged me to; I can't help it if he decided to drop dead."
Krieg's words made Shining see red. He braced himself and charged up a magic beam that he fired at Krieg's head. It hit head on but when the smoke cleared, Krieg stood completely uninjured. But Shining's attack had knocked off his cloak, letting his mid-back, black hair with white highlights free. Everyone looked in fear while Krieg smiled a wicked smile.
"In armed combat, death is natural. However, attacking a foreign diplomat like that can only lead to one thing." Celestia felt her blood run cold as Krieg's body burst into blue flames. And as he disappeared, he said three words that would come to define the coming times for the whole world.
"This means war"