The Western Kingdom (One on One)

(Spot taken by RobinHood)

You walk into a tavern known as The Sleeping Dragon late in the evening to relax. The tavern is very famous due to its award winning services and food and drinks. While the tavern attracts many pony’s from hundreds of miles around, not much is known about its owner and founder. He doesn’t like to talk about himself in public unless it was a meeting or to his employers. The tavern is located on a long straight stone road cutting straight through the Everfree and leading towards the almost completely destroyed kingdom of Ellion, the kingdom that used to be one of the worlds superpowers nations that the Ryborian’s inhabited.

You sit down in the corner holding a photo of the owner, a pony named Venquis Razona. You came to this tavern under the orders of Princess Celestia directly. She needed him for something that would destroy what is left of both the kingdoms, or whatever is left of Ellion after the Black War. A maid comes up to your table and asks if you would like an order. You refuse politely and ask for the owner to see him. Once she leaves your table, she walks upstairs and then returns a short time later with the owner. While years of settling down peacefully have taken a toll on him, the owner is extremely well built and has a ludicrous amount of magical power. His mane is jet black with red stripes going across it at times and is currently wearing formal clothing. His eyes are red and his coat is slightly lighter than Equestrians have.

You introduce yourself and begin to speak about why the princess wants to see you, immediately.

 

Venquis raised an eyebrow at this stranger before continuing. "The Equestrian Princess wants to see me." He started before continuing as he then lowered his voice to that Cobra could only hear. "Between you and me, nobody here knows who i really am. Your kind almost wiped us out and Prince Galaxy was intent on doing so, it was fear that caused you to attack. So unless i can get a completely honest answer here about the Princess not being like Galaxy, then i will not leave my tavern. However, tell me about this apparent force that will destroy our kingdoms, all i know is that the are some large empire from across the ocean based on our people's ancient customs. I dont really have much details, even for a person such as myself..."

 

"Just allow me to get my stuff, i shall be down shortly." Venquis said as he then left the table and went back upstairs where he remained for several minutes. When he came down, Venquis was dressed in a old Ellionian black leather duster which was adorned with the symbol of the Ellionian star, a symbol that represented great power and respect from his society where only the most noble and influential were allowed to wear it. He also packed a saddlebag with basic supplies and another set of armor.

But one thing set out the most from his new apperance.

At his side was a beautiful sword with symbols across it's blade. It was shaped like a katana and was expertly forged, it shown sign's of being forged with crystal, star metal and various unknown metals to create something that appeared to be indestructible. There was also snakeskin leather for it's grip to allow the user to have maximum grip and the sword itself was extremely light, possibly the lightest any trained swordsman had ever carried. The sword was actually a Ryborian Spell-Sword, a special type of sword that only the Ryborians themselves could make. Other races, including the Equestrians have attempted to recreate the sword but have failed every single time. The spellsword allows spells to be cast and to be amped up in power. When in the right hands, it could turn a single Ryborian solider into a one man army as long as he could hold out against the enemy.

Venquis then went thowards one of his employes at the counter. "I might never return here. So while iam gone, you will take over the tavern and all the busisness that comes with it." Venquis said. "I trust you Lemon, and hopefully you can trust me..."

"Dont worry sir, i understand. I thank you for letting me have such an oppotunity and i grant you good luck on your travels." said the bartender.

"As so do i. I will see you again someday to thank you in the long run." Venquis said before he turned to Robin. "Now that's over and done with, shall we get going?"

 

(Sorry. I kinda lost my train of thought.)

Venquis and Cobra traveled across Equestria encountering barely any resistance at all, and any that they did come across were delt either through blood or word. It has been a very very long time since Venquis has traveled this far into Equestria, the last time being to escape the Black War but that caused more harm than good. Venquis also didnt unsheathe his sword once throughout the entire trip,keeping it to his side at all times just incase Cobra figures out it's design. The last thing that Venquis wanted were Equestrian Unicorn's running around with their own makeshift spellswords slaughtering anything in their path. While it felt like a long trip, they arrived at Canterlot much quicker than they expected.

As he was walking through the town, he noticed that the civilians were pointing at him and looking in a mixture of amazement and caution of this stranger. The last time a Ryborian had come to Canterlot was the Palace Massacre by the Lone Assassin almost 300 years ago. The crowd made a path for Venquis and Cobra, treating them almost like royality as they made it into the palace courtyard.

The guards had the same reaction as the civilians, but their obvious factor was that they were armed. The guards still had to maintain their jobs, but seeing a Ryborian made them extremely cautious and tried to stay way as far as possible.

Eventually, they made it to Celestia and Luna. With the presence of a Ryborian, the amount of guards in the room were almost tripled to ensure their safety. Venquis bowed before her to show her the respect. It was one thing to bow before royalty, but for a Ryborian to bow thowards royalty was extremely rare as only Ryborian royalty or noble's bowed. He waited for the princesses to address him as he listened patiently.

 

Cobra saluted with his wing as he stood before the princesses. He then stood with loyalty and nobility as he also waited for the princess’s speech.

“Glad to see that you can make it Cobra, and even better to see that our guest has arrived safe and sound.” Celestia said. “So this is the famous Venquis Razona that we have heard of. I would just like to say that it’s an honour to meet a Ryborian in person, especially one of noble descent.”

“And it’s an honour to meet you to Celestia” Venquis politely responded. “Shall we get to business then? Why do you require my services and what exactly is happening over in the West?”Venquis asked.

Celestia liked this Ryborian, he seemed to be well informed. Not to mention that he is polite, clever and extremely dangerous. According to his dossier, bandits attacked him armed to the teeth and he defeated them with his bare hooves. “I see that you are well informed, Ryborians have always been known to have knowledge to things that we should not know. Well, according to Equestrian folk legends anyway....” Celestia then coughed to clear her throat

“During the past thirty years, Equestria has discovered a new continent named Ardelan (The continent in my book’s real name, Ellion was actually this mysterious continent). Since its discovery, we have set up colonies across its coast lines which have prospered from trade and this continent’s vast resources. However, we encountered various races that have a tribal society. One of them however has reached some level of civilization development, but are on the complete side of the continent, which is enormous. As i have said, we have prospered with these races and the griffons and zebra have joined these settlements in friendship.”

“And i assume that this is where it get’s bad?” Venquis said

“Correct. Many of these settlements have gone silent, reports of an enormous army have attacked these settlements and have almost reached our main ports. These ports head directly towards our kingdoms. Seeing how you and your people are trying to rebuild and repopulate and that we have achieved peace, these invaders plan to completely take over every kingdom until the world is under their banner. They are a slavery based kingdom, with mares being sold into slavery and stallions serving as soldiers. We have no knowledge about the leader and who they exactly are, but this is bad. We have called you to stop this invasion.”

Venquis thought about it for a moment and smiled about his answer. “I’ll do it, but assuming that I will survive these upcoming events i will need either an army or a really good team. I will try and rally support for the fight against them there and here if possible. And when it is done, i will ask one thing from you...”


“I would love support for this, it seems that you and me actually know how big this could get. And what do you want if we all survive?” Venquis then looked around to make sure that he would not make anypony in here angry.

“I want a cure for the Seventhium....” The guard’s draws dropped and drew their swords just incase he would take an answer by force. Celestia and Luna both nodded at eachother and looked back at Venquis.

“The Ryborians have suffered enough, you will get your cure when all this is over. Seeing that you have accepted, head towards Fillydelphia. There is a ship which will take you there, good luck Venquis and may your travels be safe ones....” Celestia said.

“And yours as well.” Venquis said. The knowledge of the Seventhium going to have a cure made Venquis possibly the happiest Ryborian on the planet.

 

"I appreciate your partnership Cobra, having a partner around always make the trip more worthwhile." Venquis then looked at Celestia and asked her something. "Will it possible to get support before we leave, such as armies and so forth?" he asked.

"I don't know yet, but i will do what i can and rally up support. Oh, and take this device." Celestia then levitated this mirror similar to a tablet and gave it to him. "It's in it's prototype stages, it is basically a magic based communicator based on ancient Ryborian design that will allow us to talk on different parts of the world. Reports say that it's possibly century's or maybe thousands of years ahead of it's time, it can also store memory's like memory orbs can." Celestia added. "Whenever i have a news to report to you from this continent, i will send you a message through this about your assets and allys."

"So this device allows for an almost face to face communication. This will come very useful." Venquis and Cobra then packed the strange mirror away and said their farewells. Not only did they immediantly have the support of Equestria on their side, they have other kingdoms waiting to be enlisted by Celestia. In the meantime, they left for Fillydelphia and stopped in Ponyville to gather supplies. Venquis still managed to gain attention for him being Ryborian, but nowhere near as high as it was when he was in Canterlot.

However, they encountered somepony there.

 

The figure was a light pink pegasus with a sky blue mane who was wearing a brown robe. She looked innocent and happy, but sometimes appearances dont tell you the whole story. "I came under orders from Celestia herself. You must be the Ryborian and duelist, my name is Lance Sapphire and i came to assist you in your journey. Don't worry if i don't look trusting, the princess known me and she will tell you yourself when she sends you a message." She spoke with a western accent, indicating to Ven that she must have come from a western town like Appleloosa.

Venquis looked at the stranger but could tell that she wasnt lying. "Welcome aboard. My name is Venquis and behind me is Cobra." The group then introduced themselves with eachother until Ponyvile residents began to yell of three merc's coming into Ponyvile, looking for a particular Ryborian in general. The three merc's were dressed well but armed poorly. Venquis could instantly tell that these hunters lacked the skill for their profession.

"We have been looking for you Ryborian, it turns out somepony has put a fair price on your head. Any last words?" the leader said. While the residents of the town were terrified, Venquis began to laugh loudly before looking at Cobra and now Lance and simpily saying. "I got this one, just sit back and relax." He then turned around to talk to these wannabe's.

"You guy's honestly call yourselves mercenary's? Hah... during the Black War the presence of a Ryborian Spellsword would make anypony like you and including Equestrian Royal Guards wet their pants. Give up while you're ahead and maybe you will live to tell your grandchildren how you met a Ryborian." Venquis joked.

"What did you just say? How dare you talk to us like that, we are the best there is." Said one of the merc's.

As soon as the mercs,civilians and group blinked their eyes, Venquis appeared right behind them and walked back to the group. While amazing the crowd, it terrified the merc's. "You would simply be a nuisance who takes job's to earn money. Leave now before i will make you by force." Venquis said deeply. The mercs began to leave until one of them turned around and ran back charging at Venquis. As he screamed his war cry, Venquis simply punched him so hard that it sent the merc sailing towards his buddy's over a hundred meters away. The force of the merc hitting his friends managed to knock two of them out cold with the leader being the only one left conscious. While this again amazed the crowd, the merc leader was absolutely petrified. He picked up his friends on his back and ran out of the town screaming. The crowd cheered for this mysterious group and helped them with whatever supplies they could take within reason. Lance wondered how Venquis could hit somepony that hard and move that fast until she realized that Ryborians were much stronger and faster then Equestrian's. Once done, the group then left and made it to Fillydelphia two days later.

 

Venquis watched the scene unfold as he seen this unicorn stranger get beaten by Cobra. He doesnt know much about dueling, so he was going to assume that this was a swordart or a disipline style for combat. He watched Kaiba jump into the sea to retreve his sword while he walked off with the rest of the group towards a large boat that was docked nearby.

 

The trip took the heroes over three months, including stops alongside small island ports located literally in the middle of nowhere and the vast ocean that covered the distance from Equestria to Ardelan. Venquis got to know Cobra and Lancer better as they spent most of the trip talking to each other or doing various jobs on the ship to maintain it, he also got to bring up more of his experience during the Black War. While he did not reveal who he was before the war, he simply said that he was "Somepony signifigant."

After many laughs and having a good time in general, they made it to a town to see it florishing. After the reports that they have heard of this mysterious force from the west wiping out towns like these, they must not have been reached yet. Venquis noticed that the colonists here are more edgey, thinking that their days would be numbered soon. When Venquis pulled out the mirror, he noticed that Celestia had called him as her apperance appeared clear as day.

"Everypony here seems really tense. Is there any resistance protecting them from these invaders from the west?" Venquis asked. Celestia scratched her head and got a note out. "There seems to be three different races here that are holding out against them, chances of success for turning the tides are slim but possible. We have gained the support of the Zebra and Griffon races here as well as many others and we are currently building a defense line." She responded.

Lancer looked around at the town. It was a sizable town,possibly the largest one for miles and the tallest building was a church located in the middle of the town. She luckly for the heros had many friends here who would fight with her, the duelest and the Ryborian for their freedoms at a heartbeat. All they had to do was travel to a place called Crystal Coast where her friends lived and all they had to do was gain the support of the other small empires that reside here.

But then she thought that they should help the towns people. "Cobra, your call. Do you want to go to Crystal Coast and get help for the fight or see if we can fix things up here?"