The Odyssey of Xheda

"We had come to recognize them as the Bane of Gods,
and though we had sought to remove them from this delicate world,
we could not force them to perish;
He could only bind them"
- Flarewing, The Alicorn of Flames

The Equestria that is known now is far different from the Equestria known in the past, a timeline lost to the books of history, a time before Discord's ascension to the throne and inevitable downfall to the sisters, a time before Sombra's tyrannical rule over the Crystal Empire, a time before even the first changeling lord set hoof upon the surface; it was a time when the Gods were locked in battle with a ferocious enemy.

What green there was to the fields of Equestria was now ash and decay, its trees, its rivers, its serene beauty washed away in the darkness of death and ruin; beasts of dog, pony, gryphon, of all creature-like shapes had begun to converge upon a mountain that penetrated the heavens, their bodies ashen dark and cracked with violent red magic, radiating a collective of hatred and the desire to destroy everything in their waking path. All that had remained in their path was the very haven of the gods; The Sanctuary of the Alicorn.

Atop the mountain sat various marble structures and small gardens hanging over sides, small fountains spouting colorful jets of pure magic into various pools had been laid apart from each other to supply a constant of magic around and through the sanctuary. Drawing from these fountains of magic, three alicorn had managed to stave off the ruinous beasts below without permanency to their actions; Flarewing, the eldest, bore an orange coat and a mane and tail of pure flame, draped around his neck as it danced along blackened armor. Prism, the second eldest, shined brilliantly with a tan coat and a mane of crystal particles, blinking and shimmering gently with the sunlight. And finally, the youngest and god of magic, Arcanius, stood between the two with a white coat and a mane and tail of blue and surging electricity, violet armor set firmly to his neck, body, and legs. Flarewing was the first to address his siblings.

"We are confronted by an epidemic, brother and sister. As much as we have tried, the Wrath-Born only continue to converge towards us," Flarewing growled, his wings unfurled and the tips of his feather traced the air softly with small flames. "If we do not act soon, then all that we have striven so hard to create will vanish into the winds of time."

It was then that Prism spoke up, "What can we do? These monsters have proven to be ever ambitious towards the ruin of everything that is within their reach. Set them ablaze, strike them with magic, cut them down, and yet they only come back in bigger droves than before!" The sister spoke with worry in her voice. "We have let the spirits of harmony down...we have failed them."

And at last, Arcanius was ready to speak, a spark of ambition jetting across his eyes, "No! I refuse to allow these beasts to ravage the lands any longer! Even if I must do the unthinkable, if it is a means to putting an end to these monsters! Then I will take the cause upon myself!" Arcanius stamped his hoof hard into the ground, a spear had formed at his side, of gold and divine steel, sparking with lightning from end to end.

"Arcanius, I understand where your heart does lay, but listen to your mind as well! What you speak of is madness! Without you, then this world would fall apart, magic binds these lands, this world together in a spiral! If you perish, then the spiral will get out of hoof, Equestria could very well be destroyed!" Flarewing snarled at his little brother, unwelcoming of the idea of martyrdom. Prism could only nod her head in agreement with Flarewing.

Arcanius looked upon his siblings and nodded, "I understand your concern, brother and sister, but please do not worry." He smiled and put a hoof to his chest, "The spirits of harmony have chosen me for good reason, and should my death come, then I am prepared to ensure that Equestria will survive without me."

Arcanius gently reached out to his brother and sister, taking their hooves in his and then he smiled softly, "All I ask is that you trust me to do the right thing." With the look of ambition in his eyes, Flarewing and Prism knew that could not sway Arcanius from his decision. As they released Arcanius's hooves, the younger brother spread his wings far and immediately took flight towards the very peak of the mountain, a trail of divine lightning trailed at his back hooves and tail; Arcanius quietly eyed his spear and held it close to his chest, feeling its power course between him and his weapon, "Magnus, I have released your power once upon a time...I must now do it again. Equestria must once more be swept clean..."

Ever so slowly, the Wrath-Born had begun to ascend the mountain, sinking their claws firmly into the exterior of the massive spire of rock; from above. Flarewing and Prism descended and flew over them, their horns glowing brightly and their spells conjured; Flarewing called forth boulders of blazing magic, rolling down the mountainside and toppling over their ashen assailants, while Prism conjured up spires of crystals to jut outward, throwing off and penetrating the Wrath-Born within their vicinity. Yet as much damage as they have tried to deal to the Wrath-Born, it had come to no avail, the beasts pulled themselves up and climbed over their fallen comrades as though they were immediately forgotten.

Prism had cried out to her brother, "It is no use! They proceed without fail! Flarewing, what shall we do?" And she received no reply from her elder brother; No enemy had ever baffled Flarewing, no conflict he could not handle, no problem he could not solve, and here before him, presenting itself, was a situation he could not fix himself. Flarewing kept to himself out of the Wrath-Born's reach, out of ideas and, soon enough, out of time. "We cannot do anything, Prism...we can only pray Arcanius will pull through and save us." Flarewing spoke quietly and turned his head towards the heavens, towards their brother floating in the sky.

Arcanius floated with wings spread far apart, his spear held above his head and his body stretched vertically, softly gritting his teeth as his chest pounded with various colors of magic, flashing violently and rippling energy across the sky, forcing the clouds back with each pulse. A sudden gasp flew forth from his mouth and a gemstone had formed in front of him, glowing softly and emitting a soft, colorful light, "In you, I gift the element of Kindness." One by one, Arcanius endured a great pain in separating a vast portion of magic into various gemstones, bringing forth Loyalty, Generosity, Honesty, and Laughter. Finally, Arcanius released a soft breath and removed the final portion of his power and imbued it to the final gemstone, "And you...I gift the element of...Magic." The alicorn now had but one last task: to ensure that the Wrath-Born would not succeed in their conquest.

Falling from the sky with his spear held close, Prism and Flarewing watched in shock as their young brother descended into a dead drop towards the surface of equestria, Magnus pointed towards the ground and violently radiating divine lightning, trailing downwards with great velocity. Arcanius released his final breath into a roar of might and, upon meeting the ground, plunged Magnus deep into the soil, releasing a world wide wave of divine energy, sweeping across the lands and forcing the Wrath-Born to fall backwards; as the massive ripple traveled over the surface of the world, pushing across the oceans and blowing up deserts, it had caused an audible snap of magic as it reached its center point and begun its travel back towards where Magnus had been plunged, now pulling the Wrath-Born forward forcefully. What had started as a ripple had then became a tower of magic, pulling Wrath-Born tightly together in the vast pillar and trapping them inside; to the despair of Flarewing and Prism, Arcanius had trapped himself inside with them, likely as he intended. Arcanius panted quietly, his wings and body had begun to slowly burn, trapped in the confines of his compressed enemies, yet even still the young god smiled, albeit weakly, but a smile nonetheless.

"The Elements are safe, Flarewing and Prism will carry on in my stead...and the Wrath-Born are stuck with me until the spell resolves itself." Quietly, Arcanius closed his eyes and hung his head in silence, allowing the world to recover, to prosper and start anew; The Changeling Lord would rise and release his daughters upon the world, Sombra would rise and claim the Crystal empire, Discord would be hailed as a tyrant and Nightmare Moon would be banished to the moon. With time, Nightmare Moon would return to Luna, Discord would be toppled not once but twice, The changeling Queen Chrysalis would be thwarted and Sombra would once more taste defeat at the power of the crystal heart; time passing with each event, with each happening of the timeline, the spell is chipped away at, housing the eager beasts.

It was clear, Magnus's spell was coming close to its resolve, it was clear that darkness would soon come back to Equestria!

The Wrath-Born are returning!

The Bane of-

--

"Xheda! Stop reading the bloomin' book and come down f' breakfast!" A rough female voice shouted into a wooden room.

"Coming!" A young changeling spoke up and put down a hard cover book on his bed, hopping from his bed and running out his room. To his young mind, the passages of the book were nothing more than a means to a doorway of imagination, but had he the wisdom of the gods, he would soon come to realize that passages were far more than a story; The spell is nearing its resolve and the Wrath-Born are nearly free.