The Forgotten World

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Epilogue

Chapter 1

I...I am writing this down now, before it is too late.

My name is Roddel, and I am a captain of the Sleipnir Royal guard. A lot of things have happened in the past few months, and I fear that I will not have much time left. If that is the case, I want to leave behind something, so that anypony who picks it up will understand...and be warned. Perhaps it would make more sense to start from the beginning...

I was born in a small village to the south of the Sleipnir capital, Valhalla. My parents were in charge of a small sweets shop, known as the Candy Corner. The shop was pretty popular in our village, with many villagers visiting the shop throughout the day. My parents both wanted me to take over the family business one day and continue creating our signature sweetcakes.

However, I had another goal in mind. Ever since I was a little filly, I wanted to join the Sleipnir Royal Guard. I wanted to serve under our High King, protecting him, the Royal Family, and the other Sleipnir in Valhalla. The guard is very well-known for breeding an elite class of fighters and protectors. They get to travel all over the land, see new places, and even stay in the castles. It was that kind of life I wanted: one where something new would always be waiting for me.

Before I go any further, you may be wondering what a Sleipnir is. If that's the case, then my predictions were right, and our race really did disappear from this world. We, known as the Sleipnir, are a race of eight-legged horse beings. We have been around for thousands of years at the time I write this. I am also assuming that a pony would be the one to read this; ponies started to appear only very recently, and if what I fear will happen does happen, then the ponies will become the dominant civilization in this land.

Now, I don't know if all ponies have magical powers, but the Sleipnir possess a similar magic. Unlike you ponies, who can be divided up into unicorns, earth ponies, and pegasi (At least, that's what I've heard some of the higher-ups call you), we Sleipnir are all the same. We all possess magical powers, although it may vary from Sleipnir to Sleipnir. We have these markings on our flanks, representing a letter from our alphabet. I really do hope our language carries over into whatever world is going to be left behind, since I'm writing in it right now. Anyway, these letters represent different magical spells we can use. Some Sleipnir are powerful enough to know multiple spells, changing the appearance of the flank mark in the process. Unfortunately, I only have one power: increasing my own strength. Spells can range from things like combat and battle, to things like housework and simple color-changing. Sleipnir are born without any powers, and have to find out what they are one their own. It is usually an exciting thing to find out exactly what your one special spell is. And I can only imagine what it would be like for somepony to discover he or she has a second or even a third spell.

For most of my young life, I grew up during a pretty big famine. The Sleipnir have many enemies, you see, so most of our resources go to our soldiers. The regular Sleipnir living day-to-day lives were hurt pretty badly by this famine, so many sent their children off to join the guard in order to bring home some money. However, the Sleipnir guard is somewhat hard to actually get into, so many of these children get sent back, while some others desert because of the amount of work it takes to maintain a good position. Our village was not extremely affected by the famine, although there were some food shortages from time to time. Since my family runs a sweets shop, you could imagine the rough patches we went through along the way. If I were able to become a guard, I would be able to help my family a little more in these aspects.

Anyway, my life in the village was simply that: finding out what my special power was. It happened at school, after a Royal Guard came in to talk to us about the Sleipnir Kingdom. There are five current kings, all serving under a sixth, High King. While the High King lives in Valhalla, located in the center of our land, the other five kings have castles spread out all throughout the land. my village falls under the jurisdiction of the High King himself, so he is the only one I've really respected and looked up to.

The guard went on to watch us during recess, to see how we interacted in front of our peers. I did what I always did and played ball with Rana. She lived in the house right next to me and would always come over to get sweetcakes for her parents. Rana found out pretty early on what her special spell was: levitation. She found out after accidentally throwing a ball too hard and almost hitting a window. She used her power to stop it and float it back towards her. Ever since then, she's kept at it and made her spell even stronger, even being able to lift Sleipnir twice her size.

While we played, one of the other fillies came up to us. "Look at the babies playing ball!"

It was Tomok, the oldest in our class and a school bully. His spell was speed, and always used it to take advantage of other fillies. What's worse is that he always liked making fun of spell-less Sleipnir, such as myself.

"Roddel, maybe we should go." Rana started saying, but Tomok pushed her aside.

"Oh, I'm sorry to disturb you," Tomok said with a smirk. "Roddel might have been about to discover his spell!"

"What do you want, Tomok?" I asked him, holding my ground. It was no secret that I wanted to join the Royal Guard. Tomok wanted to as well, and always rubbed it in my face that he would be chosen over me.

Tomok got right to the point. "Well, the day has finally come. We can show the guard over there which one of us is better qualified to become a guard." I looked him straight in the eyes, seeing my own reflection in his pupils.

"You want to fight?" I asked him. By this time, the other fillies gathered around us. Tomok and I would always fight like this in the past, with me losing every time. As a result, I've been labeled the class weakling. It didn't help that I would only play with Rana during recess. In order to avoid being bullied by Tomok, the other fillies would take his side. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Sleipnir guard staring at us.

"Are you worried it won't be a fair fight?" Tomok replied, looking at my blank flank. "I'm starting to think that you'll never get a spell anyway, so it doesn't matter to me. The guard over there will see my skills and let me join the Royal Guard."

Looking back on it now, Tomok was just a showoff and a spoiled brat, and his bullying was completely pointless. I just hated him so much, though, that I would always fall for his schemes.

"You're on." I said.

Tomok didn't even give me time to get ready as he disappeared from my sight. I knew he used his speed and would hit me from behind, so I rolled to my left. As I predicted, Tomok fell forward right onto the ground. The others began cheering for Tomok, helping him get back up. Only Rana's voice cheered me on.

"Why, you..." Tomok said as he got back up. He disappeared again, but this time I didn't have time to respond. I felt a hoof buck me in the side, and I fell to the ground. It wasn't the first time Tomok has beaten me up, so I was used to the pain.

"I knew you just got lucky last time," Tomok said as he pounded into me again. My head hit the ground, shaking all of my senses. He soon stopped, turning his head to face the crowd. I could see some of the other Sleipnir staring and trying to hide their laughter. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I was picked on by everypony; it just happened to be me instead of somepony else.

At this point, I had grown completely tired of my life. Every day was the same, from enduring Tomok's hatred of me, and everypony else's hatred only so Tomok wouldn't target them, to doing nothing but make sweetcakes at home and play with Rana. I wanted something more. I wanted nothing more than to become a Sleipnir Guard, to train and become stronger.

Stronger.

That was when I received my spell. A great, purple light appeared on my sides, giving me the spell. I instantly felt the power flow through me, as I threw Tomok right off of me. He landed somewhere with a thud, giving me a chance to get back up.

"I..I can't believe it." Tomok didn't know what to say, but he soon disappeared again. This time, I didn't move at all. I felt a hoof on my side again, but I stood my ground. It felt like a blade of grass brushing up against me. In response, I jumped back to see Tomok's hoof slide forward, barely missing his target. Turning around, I bucked my opponent. I could sense that Tomok was hurt by the hit as he cried out and fell to the ground. That was the hardest I had ever hit anything, and it felt awesome. The crowd fell silent as Tomok lay on the ground. Slowly, the crowd began to move in my favor as Tomok picked himself up. The look on his face was one of embarrassment.

"Do you think you've won?" He spat at the ground and charged right at me. This time, he didn't use his speed spell, instead relying on brute force to try to save his reputation. It was too easy. At this point, I was feeling the adrenaline rushing through my body. I knew I had wanted to be a guard for a long time, but I've never been in a true fight before today. This feeling was the greatest, though; I never wanted it to go away. I actually let out a small laugh as I stepped to the side and brought my front hooves up to knock Tomok away. I could see him struggle to get up again, but in the end he collapsed, unable to continue on.

At this point, the crowd was actually laughing at Tomok. "Why were we ever intimidated by him?" I could hear from them as I stood tall in my victory. By this time, the teacher finally got to us and broke up the gathering. Both Tomok and I were scolded again (This wasn't the first time this has happened, although it was the first time I actually fought back, and wasn't the one who was beat up in the end). Tomok said nothing to me the entire time, and went right home after class was over.

I was on my way back to my own home with Rana when we were stopped by that guard. He was standing on the side of the road, right in front of my parents' shop. When we approached, he looked right at me and smiled.

"Are you here to arrest Roddel? That fight wasn't his fault!" Rana cried out, but the guard placed a hoof on her shoulders.

"Don't worry, it's not like that," He replied. "In fact, I wanted to say I was impressed by your skills. By your spell." He looked me right in the eyes as he said it. I did always wish for a combat-related spell. Something like that would definitely get me into the Royal Guard for sure. And now that I finally received my spell, I was ready to pursue that dream at all costs. Anything to give me that great feeling I had when I fought Tomok. "When you get a little older," He continued. "You should definitely consider going out for Royal Guard training." Those words were exactly what I wanted to hear.

"T-thank you!" I stammered as he walked away. Rana stood right next to me, giggling before going on ahead.

"Your dream might just come true." She said to me. I nodded, even more confident in my own future. If I had only known then what I would be getting into, I would have convinced myself to end up taking over the family business instead...

Author's Note

Something I feel I need to note: This story is more about giving a general idea of what happened during this time in order to provide a general back story to my other stories in this series, instead of being a detailed stand-alone story.

Chapter 2

A few years had passed since I learned my spell. Tomok stopped bullying the others after that fight. It turns out that the Royal Guard had talked to his parents about the bully he was, and they responded by punishing him. His relationships with the other foals didn't really get any better, but nopony followed him around as much as before. Oh well, I guess.

Unfortunately, I was never able to learn another spell. My strength spell was all I knew, and needed. I was soon able to use it to lift wooden supports for building and assist everypony in the village with random chores. Every day after school, I would also practice in my backyard. This became my routine: whenever I had free time, I would be in my yard training. The targets I had set up were some Draconequus figures with several hit points scattered all over.

Oh, I guess I should talk a little about the Draconequus, should I? Well, It's best to think of our relationship with them as a ying and yang. Where they are beings of chaos, we are beings of order. Our spells are used to create peace and balance, while the Draconequus use their powers to create a little chaos. It's not that they use the powers for evil purposes, but it does become an annoyance to the Sleipnir sometimes. They mainly live up north in the snowy mountains, which are nearly impossible for Sleipnir to live in. Our magic doesn't work well in cold climates, so we avoid the north as much as we can.

Anyway, I was practicing on the dummies in my yard when one of them started levitating. In a panic, I ducked as it flew right over my head, bristling against my mane. After hearing it fall to the ground, I heard a familiar voice laughing behind me.

"Rana..." I said, getting up to see my friend standing over the dummy.

"You've done nothing but train recently!" She said. I had been focusing so much on preparing to enter Sleipnir Knight training that I began playing with Rana less and less. While I saw Rana at school and walked home with her sometimes, I usually left her alone as I trained by myself. I felt a little bad for neglecting her, but we both knew this was my dream.

"I'm sorry-"

"I'm volunteering to join them, you know."

"Wait, you are?" She had never shown any interest in joining the Royal Guard before, so this came to me as a surprise. When I looked at her for a reply, she only blushed and looked down. Before I knew it, a purple light surrounded me, lifting me into the air. Rana used her spell to bring me right to her.

"My levitation might come in handy for them." She began in a low voice. "Besides, we said we'd be friends forever, right? If you leave me behind to go to Valhalla, how can we play together every day?"

"This is a pretty big decision," I said. "This isn't fun and games. Training for the guard is serious-"

"Who said I wasn't serious?" Rana stopped smiling and stared right into her eyes. I could tell she was not playing around anymore, and she really meant it.

I laughed. "If you want to, I wouldn't mind. Whatever you want to do in your life, I'll support you. I'm just saying that it won't be easy, you know."

A giant smile came across Rana's face. "I'm glad to hear that!" She exclaimed as she gave me a hug. "And don't worry, if you train me, then I'll be sure to get in!"

"Ok then, you better get ready!" I said back. I went to my shed and pulled out a set of throwing daggers, giving them to Rana. "...Try using these to hit the targets. We could start with that."

Rana immediately lifted one up to her face. Her reflection in the blade prompted me to see a different side of my friend. A smile came across her face as the blade lunged forward, hitting the target right between the eyes. It happened to suddenly that I had no time to react.

"Wow...that was amazing!" I exclaimed.

"That...felt pretty good!" Rana said. I could tell she had the same feeling I had when I fought Tomok. This feeling, while I didn't know how to describe it, was something I craved.

Rana threw another one. This one was not as good of a shot, instead hitting a non-vital part of the Draconequus arm. I expected as much, but Rana still had that fire in her eyes.

"If we train like this, you'll be ready in no time."

Soon enough, it came time for me to pack and head off to Valhalla. New recruits are placed into training camps two times a year. With recent tension between the Sleipnir and the Draconequus, they have added a third camp in order to accommodate even more soldiers.

The farewell party was sad, indeed. Rana and I were pretty well-known in the village, so most of the villagers came to see us off. I saw the faces of everypony who had come by the store for sweetcakes and who I would pass by on the streets every day. I even saw Tomok somewhere in the crowd.

My parents gave me a hug. "Don't get carried away, Roddel." My father said to me, handing me a small box. "Don't open this until you become an official guard." He winked at me.

"I love you guys. I'll keep in touch!" I said to my parents before turning. Rana had finished saying goodbye to her little sister and her parents.

"Ready to go?" She asked me. I nodded. Our village was located within the High King's jurisdiction, but Sleipnir soldiers rarely come from our village. Therefore, those who do are seen as heroes. Looking back, I figured that that was what Tomok wanted too. I had no interest in becoming a hero: I just wanted to serve the High King. If being a hero is what can help me achieve that, then I shall become a hero too.

The journey itself took about a week. Our village is located on the outskirts of the High King's province. Many roads stretch from one side of the land to another, with all of the large roads leading to the center: Valhalla. Rana and I were well-equipped with supplies for the journey. Sometimes, I would pester Rana and ask her to just levitate us over to the capital, but she didn't have enough stamina for that. It was fine, though, since the scenery was beautiful.

I had never left the village before, so you could imagine how amazed I was to finally see the outside world. Since Rana had been to Valhalla once for a family reunion, she was the one who led us there. Our village is surrounded by a dark forest, which I have explored to its fullest extent, but it does not compare to the rolling hills we passed by, or the giant, beautiful lake right next to them. The way the sun glistened off of that lake is something I will never forget, and something I wish to see at least one more time.

One night during the adventure, Rana and I decided to stop right underneath this giant tree. I spotted it from a distance earlier in the day and decided it would be where we would stop. When we got there, I noticed that it was an apple tree. I'm not a big fan of apples, but I figured it would be nice to not waste all of our travel supplies. I ended up climbing up to the top of the tree, dropping a few down for Rana to catch. I accidentally hit her in the head with one, making her get pretty angry.

"Roddel?" Rana asked me after we finished our meal.

"What's wrong?" I could tell she sounded worried about something. She looked at the ground for a second before continuing.

"Do...do you think we'll both make it into the Royal Guard?"

"Of course." I didn't need to think about that one. I wasn't going to let all of the training we went through go to waste. Granted, they did not accept everypony that walked in wanting to be a guard, but there was no way I would let that happen. It would be very disappointing to our village if we didn't make it after all.

"Do you think you won't make it?" I asked Rana. She tensed up when I asked her.

She blushed again. "That's not it!" She stammered, trying to get back on her hooves. "I just didn't want you to lose your guard, is all..." I knew she was lying. We have been friends for far too long for me to not understand her.

"Rana..."

She looked at me and smiled. "You always see when I'm lying...The thing is, I just want to make sure you're okay. If I don't get in, how will I know if something happens to you?"

"But you will get in." I reassured her. We made a good team and knew each other very well. If she wants to support me this much, I have to do my best to support her too. My loyalty will never falter.

I knew we were getting close when I saw something huge pass over the two of us. Looking up, I saw him: The High King, soaring across the sky. He was massive! The Sleipnir are around the size of regular ponies and stallions, but the kings use their spells to make themselves much, much larger. As a result, Valhalla is a gigantic castle, something you cannot miss. I saw the direction the king flew and immediately made out the giant towers of the castle in the distance, on the far side of the lake. A small cliff sat right next to the castle; well, in comparison to the castle at least, it looked small.

"We're almost there!" Rana called out as she galloped forward. You might be wondering how hard it would be to have eight hooves, but I feel that it makes things much easier. We use six of the eight to move most of the time, with our front-most hooves available to grab things. It seems silly, but that's just how we are.

I quickly felt insignificant as we approached the huge gates. I don't know if Valhalla will still be around by the time you read this, but I'm fairly confident that you will not have seen anything as large as this castle. The gates were a bright purple and gold, with the Sleipnir emblem protruding from the center. Six gems were fit in a pattern on the door, signifying the five kings and the High King.

We stood there, looking clueless for a while before a Sleipnir guard appeared in front of us. "What business do you have in the castle today?" He asked us. Rana jumped a little when he appeared, but I kept my ground.

"We're here to become guards." I said frankly.

He looked at us for a moment before letting out a short laugh. "Very well. Open the gate!" He called up to the guards in the adjacent tower. A loud click echoed around us before the door began swinging open. Inside the castle grounds was even more beautiful than I had expected. The streets were lined with gems of many different colors. Sleipnir stallions, mares, and fillies littered the streets, moving from house to house, from shop to shop. The castle itself sat in the center of the complex, still as giant as ever. I could make out the High King's throne room from the gate, as a landing platform on one side of the castle seems to lead right into it.

"All trainees are to report right to the throne room by sunset. You two are lucky to have made it in time." The guard told us before floating back up to his post. I took a look at Rana.

"You ready?"

Rana nodded as we galloped to go meet the High King.

Chapter 3

I seem to be running out of time...I need to finish this before it happens. Hopefully, I'll be able to get to it soon. I am writing this on a tree stump in the middle of a field. It's dark except for the light coming from...well, I'll get to all of that later.

Anyway, the Valhalla throne room has to be at least the size of my village, if not bigger. One massive golden throne sits on the far side of the room, in front of giant stained-glass windows. To the right of the throne is an open platform used by the High King. Statues of Sleipnir are scattered throughout the room, each in a heroic pose. The floor itself is some kind of purple-tinted marble.

A number of Sleipnir were lined up in front of the empty throne; the King was apparently away on business. Rana and I took a spot on the side closest to the open platform. When I took my spot, the others looked at me with a repulsive look. I looked awkwardly back at them before a loud voice filled the room.

"I think that's the last of the new recruits for today," A Sleipnir appeared to our left, walking in front of every one of the recruits. He took a long look at each of us before moving on to the next one.

"You all have your reasons for wanting to join the Royal Guard, no doubt. However, we will only take those who we see fit."

"We filter out our recruits through training sessions. The first of which will be tonight, after sunset. You are to make your way to the training yard behind the castle. We start promptly at sunset, one hour from now; you are free to roam Valhalla before then. Dismissed!" The other recruits in line all snapped up at this, while Rana and I were busy focusing on the giant throne that lay before us.

Rana and I decided to take a look around the castle. Paintings were hung on the walls, of many important Sleipnir. The six kings show up frequently in them: King Falchion of the western lands, King Thuun of the southern deserts, King Samwell of the eastern shores, King Rowan of the dragon lands, King Drear of the northern tundra, and the High King. These six have been the only kings we've had, as far as I know, so they were pretty well-respected and used to running the kingdom. The lands themselves used to be separated into six different kingdoms, but the High King was able to unify them all under one ruler. Even better, he did it without any war. Even a violent place like Falchion's kingdom came to terms and joined, although I still hear bad rumors about them. When the famine came about, King Falchion did little to support his people, instead using his resources to strengthen his borders and his army.

"They look so strong," Rana said as she glanced over the paintings. I stared at the one of King Falchion for a while, as if trying to read his mind. It gave me a bad feeling as I turned my gaze.

"Let's keep going," I said to her as I continued down the hallway and went through a doorway. We found ourselves outside, right at the training yard. There were other soldiers there, sparring and attacking training dummies. Many of them used their powers to control weapons or swing faster. I pictured myself among them, training my skills and fighting alongside other members of the Royal Guard.

A Sleipnir from the line was in the middle of the yard, trying to ask the guards if he could train with them. He was larger and more muscular than I was, with a symbol on his flank that I was not aware of. The other guards, however, were not impressed as they ignored his request.

"You are all just scared that I can beat you!" He shouted before turning to look at me.

"Maybe you should wait until sunset," I was tired of seeing this guy prance around thinking he was an equal to the guards.

"Is that an invitation?" He walked right up to me and stared right into my eyes. I felt my hooves tremble, but I held my ground. He was all talk; I could tell by how he presented himself: his shoulders were raised, his head towered over my own, and he had this smug grin on his face.

"Enough," The captain who addressed us in the Throne Room appeared. We both stepped back. "There'll be plenty of time for that later." I felt the Sleipnir back off of me as the captain approached. "Don't tire yourselves too early."

One of the training dummies was open, so I made my way to it. It looked and felt similar to the ones I trained with back at home with Rana. I did my usual routine on them: I would start by gauging the distance between myself and my opponent. I would then move side to side and make my way as close as possible. One roll to the side and I'll aim my blade for a very specific location on the enemy. I managed to hit it right on the side this time.

"Let's see you try that on a moving opponent," That Sleipnir from before called out. I ignored him as I backed up to repeat the process.

Sunset came not long after. By this time, the other guards had finished up and left the yard to the recruits. I had worked at the dummy for a small amount of time before handing it off to Rana. She used her daggers to attack the dummy. I could see the speed in her throws as she failed to miss a single blade.

"My name is Hal, and I am captain of the Royal Guard." The captain called out to the trainees. During my training sessions with Rana, we had read up on some of the past captains. Captain Hal was one of the nicer captains, although he was unforgiving in battle. His most famous battle was during the Rainbow Charge, which took place in the mountains to the northwest. From what I read, the Captain led his soldiers through a snowstorm and managed to defeat the enemy. His leadership skills are unquestionable. And he was hand-chosen by the High King.

He stood in front of us in his full suit of armor, holding his helmet at his side. "The way this will work is simple: After a brief warm-up, I will split you into pairs. Each pair will spar for five minutes - that means no fatal moves or trickery! I will evaluate the pairs, and determine who will stay. The ones I elect will be put through our training program. The reason for this is that I want to see what you already know, and to see who is fit to be called a guard."

We were all paired up. I didn't get paired up with Rana, instead getting the jerk Sleipnir from earlier. Pairs were called up, one at a time, to spar. Captain Hal would walk around the fight, studying each one carefully. When the time was up, he would yell for the next group to come in. Rana did well during her spar, causing her partner to trip up multiple times. Since we obviously couldn't harm our opponents, Rana had to make do with keeping a floating wooden spear around her instead of her trademark daggers.

Before long, it was my turn. He stood across the yard from me. Both of us held wooden spears. I could feel the smooth wood under my hoof as I prepared to fight. To my left was Rana, who had a smile on her face. She mouthed, "you can do it!" As Captain Hal called for us to start.

In an instant, my opponent charged right towards me. I ducked my head as the spear darted right above me. I rolled to my side in anticipation of a low sweep, which he tried. For most of the match, I could only dodge his swipes and charges. I could tell that his magic had something to do with speed, but I was able to keep up with him for most of the match.

"Come on, what kind of soldier ducks and dodges! Fight like a Stallion!" He taunted.

A large figure flew high in the sky, right over us. My opponent looked up to see what it was; I used this opportunity to activate my strength magic and land one good whack, sending him flying across the yard. The crowd around us immediately burst into laughter as Captain Hal gave a nod of approval. At this moment, I finally turned to look up at the sky.

In the distance, I could see him - The High King was making his landing. He floated majestically through the sky (we don't have wings, just magic to make us fly or levitate.), followed by numerous other giant Sleipnir behind him. I assumed these to be the other five kings of the land. The High King landed on the large runway outside of his throne room as the others landed one by one after him, shaking the ground even more with their loud thuds on the platform. I was able to catch a glimpse of the High King staring down at our match before he continued into the castle.

"Roddel, was it?" Captain Hal called for me, snapping me back to the situation.

"Yes, sir."

"Good job." the captain leaned in to talk in a low voice, away from the range of the others near us. "Lots of our soldiers have the mindset of that guy over there: all power and brute strength, all offensive. It's refreshing to see a swift-moving Sleipnir."

"Thank you, sir." I replied. He laughed and called forth the next pair.

After the last pair finished sparring, we all made our way back to the throne room. Upon seeing the doors open this time, we were greeted by the six Sleipnir Kings, all finishing up a meeting. The five shrunk down to a smaller size while the High King retained his giant, majestic form.

"I hope the training went well, Hal?" The High King's voice echoed through the room.

"Yes, my lord." Hal bowed. "I already have selected the ones who are fit to move on to the next round." He turned to us, who were all standing in one line. Without further word, he began listing names.

My name eventually came up, as was Rana's. She looked at me when her name was called, her eyes glistening. I let out a smile myself, but stood still.

"If I called your name, please step forward." We took our steps. "Congratulations, you have been selected to move on. For everypony else - this is not the end! May you train harder and come back stronger!"

The Sleipnir I faced earlier was not called. He shot me a quick look of scorn before leaving the room with the others, but I paid him no mind. All that mattered was that I would be able to continue to prove myself fit as a member of the Royal Guard.

The High King looked down at the remaining Sleipnir - about a dozen or so. "There is only one reason why you are here: to serve our land as Royal Soldiers. To keep order, to restore balance, and to go down in history. I hope to see all of you in suits of armor."

One of the five kings trotted up to each of us, handing over a badge and a cloak: the mark of a trainee. When I received mine, I could barely maintain my excitement. The feel of the silky fabric and the cool touch of the badge are feelings I will never forget. This was only the beginning, but I was too narrow-minded to care.

"Training will continue tomorrow," Captain Hal pointed out. "Come, I will show you to the resting quarters."

The quarters were actually small and cramped. Mares and Stallions slept in different areas, of course. I had a corner room in the northern part of the building. Beds were lined up against the walls, with a small wooden chest at the foot of each bed. I did not have too many belongings with me, so I didn't mind.

Being able to share this all with Rana was amazing. During our first night in Valhalla, Rana and I found a nice place where we could sit and look up at the stars. It was a small rooftop on the southern side of town. Lights were on all around us as the sounds of mares and stallions filled the air. There was a small breeze as I lay down, amazed at what had transpired earlier in the day. "I'm glad I'm able to be here with you," She suddenly said with a smile. "This beats living a dull life at home, that's for sure!"

"You thought our adventures were dull?" I asked in jest.

"Of course not!" She laughed. "Ever since we met, we've had fun...." She grew quiet for a moment. "...Do you remember?"

You might be wondering how we first met...it was actually the worst first impression I had ever made. Even more than that, it was....well, I won't say it now. I was playing soldier with another colt during recess when Rana came up to us, asking to play. Rana was always a quiet filly who didn't have too many friends. She usually just kept to herself. She was really smart, though, so she did get picked on a few times by the others.

Being a typical colt, when she came up to us, we brushed her off. In response, she stuttered a bit, but turned to walk into the forest by herself. "I'll...I'll show you!" She yelled back as she disappeared from my view. "I'm just as good as you colts!" I had never heard her say something like that before, so it came as a shock to me. Looking back on it, I figure she must have gotten tired of being alone and wanted to do something daring for once...However, instead of going after her, I just returned to playing. When recess was over, she didn't come back. I offered to go and look for her, thinking she had just fallen asleep or something.

In the forest, I called out her name. "Rana! Are you here?" My voice echoed through the dark trees as I moved farther into the forest. Suddenly, I heard the roar of a Manticore and the scream of a filly. Thinking it was Rana, I ran towards the voices. Sure enough, she was huddled at the base of a tree with a Manticore looming over her. I picked up a nearby stick and charged right in. I whacked the manticore, causing it to turn its attention towards me.

I had never been in a situation like that before, so I dropped the stick in response. As much as I thought I was a strong colt, I was still a kid in the end. The manticore brought a claw up and knocked me to the side before turning back towards Rana. She screamed again; the manticore had slashed at her side. I got back up and tackled the beast, staggering it for a bit. With its full attention on me, I began to feel something overwhelm me...the same feeling I would later get when I fought Tomok. The adrenaline rush that fueled my strength. Even without a spell, I was able to knock the manticore into a nearby tree. In the meantime, Rana called out to me, telling me to lure the manticore to a nearby river.

Making it to the water, I jumped over and taunted the manticore. As it began to jump towards me, I saw something fall from the sky, hitting it right into the water and carrying it downstream. Rana had user her levitation spell to drop a small tree on the manticore. I looked at her, who began to smile before falling over. "Are you okay!?" I called out, rushing to her side. "We got it.." She said before passing out. She wasn't hurt too badly, but fillies were not used to this kind of action. I carried her back through the forest when some adults finally found us. Rana was taken away and cared for, luckily.

I didn't know her that well at that point, but I still felt guilty. I caused her to wander off. Even worse, I let her get injured when I was right there with her. I couldn't protect her. Something inside me changed. I vowed to myself that I would get stronger, to protect anypony who needed it. Ever since then, Rana would always stick around me. We were always together, whether it was exploring caves, climbing trees, or even just working at my parents' shop. She made it her goal to get stronger too, which makes her getting into the Royal Guard that much more important. I still don't see her as a soldier, but she's been doing her best to prove everypony wrong and show that she can make it.

A shooting scar raced across the sky. "Oh, make a wish!" Rana said, closing her eyes. I did so, thinking of the one thing I wanted most in the world.

"Did you make it?" Rana asked after a few seconds. I nodded. "Good. My wish is that we can stay like this forever. To carry out our dreams and do whatever we want in this world. What did you wish for?"

*********

And so, a few years passed. Rana and I completed training easily and perfectly. During the guard coronation, we were given our full suits. I wore mine proudly as I stood in line with the others who had passed. Rana looked great in hers as well as she stood next to me. We were first assigned castle duty with occasional field work. When it came to fighting, I was always one step ahead of my opponent. Many of the other guards believed in brute force and straightforward attacks. I was a more mobile Sleipnir, instead using my strength when they would least expect it. I quickly began to rise in favor with the other guards, Captain Hal, and the High King himself.

One day, I came back from a field mission and reported my progress in the throne room. While I was on my way out, the High King stopped me. "Roddel, if I may have a moment." I turned back and saluted as the other Sleipnir left the room. King Falchion stood in the room next to him, as if he wanted to hear what the High King wanted to say. Honestly, I never liked King Falchion. Something just felt off about him. He was always standing next to the High King during meetings, and would always be the first to whisper something in the High King's ear. All he cared about was gaining favor and power. As our lands became stricken with famine due to the amount of food and supplies sent for the war effort, Falchion did little to soothe the problems of his Sleipnir. However, they remained loyal to his cause due to the influence he maintained. It was a disgusting sight, but it was not my place to say anything.

"King Falchion," the High King said. "If you could leave us alone as well."

The king looked at me. "...As you wish." He bowed and made for the runway, flying off into the distance. Soon, it was just me, the High King, and Captain Hal.

"What can I do for you, my lord?" I bowed my head.

"Please, rise." the King said in his calm voice. "I wanted to tell you that I was impressed with what I've seen you do over the years. Every day, you're training in the yard. Every mission, you're right out in front. You even take castle duty seriously and with enthusiasm. I've never seen another like you. I hope to see good things from you in the future."

I was speechless. "T-thank you, my lord!" I bowed my head. "I hope I get an opportunity soon to show my true worth."

The High King gave a gentle laugh before making his way out of the room. I turned to follow when Captain Hal stopped me. "Wait, Roddel." I stopped in place and saluted. "Before you go, I do have a mission you might be interested in."

"The High King told me to gather those I feel are competent enough to handle the mission. It's along the northern border, for a fight against the Draconequus."

Chapter 4

Our relationship with the Draconequus has been pretty rocky recently. In short, they've been putting pressure on the northern borders. With the way the famine's been, most of the food supply ends up going towards keeping the Draconequus away. Their chaos has been reaching various parts of our own kingdom as well. Normal excursions and scouting missions used to only serve as border protection. This time, it was different...

"We are going to make the first move." Captain Hal spoke to the Sleipnir chosen to take the journey. "The High King has given permission for us to attack near Magic Hollow. In fact, all six Kings will be overseeing this mission as well. If we succeed, there will surely be some good things in store for all of you."

I'm not sure if Magic Hollow will still be around by the time you are reading this, but you probably think the place sounds...well, nice and magical. The truth is that it is a haunted forest that runs as far north as the snowy lands and the northern border, and as far south as the deserts near the southern border. They are unclaimed by the six kingdoms, essentially becoming a free-area. There are countless tales of Sleipnir fillies and colts wandering into the dark forest and never returning, or somepony losing a lover to the darkness. Although, some of these stories were just old mare's tales to scare the young ones.

And we were going to fight the masters of chaos in it. If it were anypony else, they would have hid at home and refused to go. But we were soldiers: the Sleipnir Royal Guard. We had been drilled during training to never fear. To always be tough and loyal. Rana was not part of the group selected to go, instead being appointed on castle duty. She was disappointed, but wished me luck out there.

The fact that the High King would be coming with us as well made me even more determined to keep my loyalty. As I slowly rose up in the ranks, the High King kept his eye on me. While the other kings paid no heed to my accomplishments, however big or small, the High King always praised me. He was much kinder than the lower kings. Never putting his own needs before the needs of his kingdom, the High King was adored by everypony.

Well, almost everypony. As a member of the guard, I had the privilege of standing in the throne room during the Kings' meetings. Some days it was all economical talk: food allocation due to the famine, taxes, education, or something else that was not particularly exciting to listen to. The biggest topic was handling the sweeping famine that crushed all of the land. Ponies were starving in an effort to give our soldiers enough supplies to continue the battles. If we were to relax our borders, the Draconequus would invade our territory and make things even worse. As much as it pained me to think about that. However, most meetings were spent on border patrol, spell maintenance, disputes with griffons, or attacks on us by the Draconequus. During these meetings, the High King had a different opinion than the lower kings. Often, one of the other kings would offer an excursion to battle and destroy the griffons and Draconequus, conquering their lands and taking their resources. To gain more power and influence in the world.

The High King would always respond the same way. "You cannot hope to maintain balance by eliminating your enemies. Without them, there is no balance to be kept. Darkness is the absence of light. What would darkness be if there is no more light? What about death, if there is no more life? Without enemies, what would we have to measure our strength and willpower?"

However, when the time came, the High King would take whatever action necessary to preserve the kingdom, even if it meant fighting the Draconequus. Their chaotic ways are counter-productive to the order the Sleipnir try to uphold in the land, and it needs to be stopped. The kings have discussed multiple times what they would have to do in order to fight back the Sleipnir.

"We need more power! Our own spells alone are not enough to solve our situation." King Falchion would always bring up during a meeting. "I'm sure you've heard the rumors about Magic Hollow, about the strange occurrences that happen there. The strange magic that flows from deep within. If we can lure the Draconequus to the forest, we might be able to take advantage of that power. We might find the key to victory."

And so, that is how we ended up attacking from the Hollow. Right on the border between King Falchion's territory, Drear' territory, and the Draconequus lands, our station was set up. The guards would protect the border and clear up any surrounding chaos, while the other would venture into the forest, at Falchion's request.

Everything was quiet for the most part. Some chaos clouds would appear, which our magic users would make disappear right away. It was pretty boring at first, until the clouds began to get larger and larger. It took more and more soldiers to destroy the clouds, eventually reaching the point where we could do nothing to stop them.

It was at this point that the Draconequus appeared. I had never seen in real life before. They were weirdly-shaped creatures, with limbs from different animals. Honestly, it was disgusting. Captain Hal gave the orders, and our soldiers charged into battle.

The way we usually fought against the Draconequus would go like this: the Draconequus start by using their powers to conjure up random objects to throw around, which we would use our own spells to get rid of. We would then respond by using our weapons to attack, which they would counter by turning them into flowers or something ridiculous. We were too equal for each other to effectively crush the opposing side.

Captain Hal led the charge as we went right into battle. My own spear was turned into a flower before I was able to hit a Draconequus. He stuck his tongue out at me in response. I activated my spell to quickly push him back into a couple of his allies. A soldier from behind me used her own spell to return my spear to me.

We were soon overrun: our spells and powers were simply not enough to match the Draconequus. With just a snap of their fingers, our weapons would disappear and we would be sent flying in every direction. Captain Hal had had his share of victories and losses against the Draconequus, but even this was too much for him to handle. The adrenaline rush I usually got in battle was gone, leaving me to my own strength.

"This is bad!" I shouted after dodging a sticky cloud. "We need to get the Kings!"

"We cannot abandon our posts!" Captain Hal shouted back. He used his own powers to quickly disarm a Draconequus.

"We will lose if this goes on!"

Captain Hal hesitated for a second. "Fine! Retreat into the forest!!" We had a backup plan, in case we were outnumbered during the battle. If something bad were to happen, we would lure the enemy into the forest, letting the rumors and mysterious power of the forest do its work. In addition, we would try to not get ourselves killed in the process. Captain Hal did not believe in trickery during a battle, but in this situation, we had no choice.

The plan seemed to work. The dense forest prevented me from seeing anything else around besides Captain Hal, who was retreating deeper into the forest. If we could find the kings, this battle would be over: their combined power would surely drive the Draconequus away.

We made it to a clearing when strange things began to happen. A blue light filled the air as we moved on, with the trees and ground all lighting up in bright colors.

"Where are we?" I asked as we stopped in the middle of the clearing. The ground began to shake, leading me to think an earthquake was coming. However, the source seemed to come from the trees themselves. Captain Hal kept his spear handy in case something were to come out and attack.

"Watch out, Roddel." He said to me as we stood back-to-back. Right then, a bright white light flashed in the air, blinding the both of us.

I opened my eyes to find myself standing in a white room. There was nothing else in it except for myself and Captain Hal.

"This is..." My voice echoed, even though the room seemed endless.

"The room of creation."

The High King's voice emerged from above. I looked up to see the six kings, all formed in a circle. They all held stones in front of them, as if they were chanting some sort of spell. In the center, some kind of magical ball began to appear.

"What is this?" I asked, in awe. I had never seen something that looked so magical and real at the same time.

"This room is a representation of the Sleipnir power," Captain Hal began. "Those who are in the presence of a large amount of magic will be able to see it. To be more specific, a combination of Sleipnir power and magic must be present in order for this room to appear. They say that anything can be created in this room." The white light flashed again as I found myself back in the forest.

A great explosion hit the forest, blowing away many of the trees and knocking us up and away. I managed to grab hold of a tree branch as the shock wave attempted to pry me off. Captain Hal, however, was too distracted and flew away with the other trees. Looking up again, I could see that magical ball again. The six Kings were surrounding it, still chanting. Beams shot out of the thing, traveling in every direction. My grip on the tree eventually loosened, and I flew away.

I came to a few hours later, being found by one of the surviving soldiers. I was found under a pile of debris and uprooted trees; the area of the forest we were in was completely destroyed, leaving a huge crater that dug into the earth. We gathered ourselves before learning of the true damage that had happened.

I found the six kings soon after, still carrying those stones. "What....what happened?" I asked them.

The High King looked a little upset, but as he was about to speak, King Falchion answered first.

"We found it! We found the answer to our problems. Here. They were hanging from a tree in the Hollow, glowing as we approached." He held his stone up for me to see. There was a marking on the stone that I couldn't make out. It didn't look special at all, but I had seen the power it held.

"This is the key. When you use these stones together," King Falchion continued. "It appears to amplify the power of the wielder...It made our creation magic stronger. The Room of Creation, which an average Sleipnir may never see in his lifetime, which a king may see only once, was formed just like that. We created a magical bomb. Did you see that power!?" King Falchion looked pleased with himself, while the High King looked even more distraught. "The keys to order; that's what we should call them."

Many Draconequus and Sleipnir were killed during the explosion. While collecting the bodies, I found Captain Hal. The initial shock wave had knocked him into a tree head-first, killing him on impact. The soldiers' morale was down after learning of this great loss...a loss because of those stones. I didn't expect Captain Hal's story to end like this; I was ready to go on more missions and serve under him more. Any surviving Draconequus had fled the scene as fast as possible, leaving us to clean up the resulting mess. The Kings explained that the stones were found at the base of a giant tree. The tree itself gave off some kind of magical power, with the stones believed to have come from the tree in some way.

I...I couldn't believe it. That power was incredible, but it caused a lot of destruction. It killed our captain.

"It got the job done." King Falchion declared during the next meeting, after we had made the journey back to the castle. "The keys to order are our secret weapon against chaos. And lucky, too. This tree is one-of-a-kind, and these six stones were the only ones hanging from it." All six stones were placed on a giant table in the center of the throne room.

"I forbid it." The High King declared. "The power is too great when put together like that. Who knows what would happen if-"

"This is our ticket to winning!" King Falchion rose his voice. "True power, right under our hooves! And you wish to cast it aside? We won't get anywhere without them, and you know it!"

"Enough." The High King stayed firm. "We will keep them, but only as a means of defense. For now. Each one is bound to each of us." As he stared at his stone, it began to glow brighter. "They are not to leave this castle otherwise. Is that clear?"

Falchion scoffed and bowed. The meeting ended with high tensions between the kings as they returned to their respective kingdoms.

"The final matter to attend to...appointing a new captain." The High King said with a grim voice after the last king left. "Captain Hal was a great soldier. He served for a long time, bringing up the greatest soldiers under his tutelage."

"Who will you appoint, your highness?" I asked.

"I have already chosen." The High King responded. "You, Roddel."

Chapter 5

My name is Roddel. And I am the Captain of the Sleipnir Royal Guard. I was given this opportunity by the High King himself, after the tragic loss of our former captain, Hal. There were others more qualified than I was to be the captain, but he chose me. He trusted me. However, I only have this position because of Hal's death. He died from a magical explosion caused by the Keys to Order. My dislike for those stones rivaled that of the High King.

On my first day as captain, I immediately approached him on the throne. "My Lord," I bowed. "I must ask; why did you choose me? There are many other qualified Sleipnir in the ranks to take over such a position - "

"Roddel," The High King cut me off. "You are aware of the special power the six kings have?"

I paused. "Yes. Divination."

"The power to see the future. The power to make prophecies." The High King shrank down to my size and began to walk onto the runway. I followed him. The runway had an amazing view of most of the city. You could see almost anything from there. I looked down in amazement before looking up into the sky, far beyond the clouds. "It may be perhaps the greatest power we have. By knowing what will happen in the future, we can be better prepared to face it...or change it. However, there are limits to the power. The visions of the future come to us randomly; we have no control over what we see and when we see it. Prophecies, while we have more control, take a very large amount of our power. The last prophecy I made, in fact, may have been about half a century ago."

"But," I interjected. "What does this mean?"

"In my last vision, I saw you as the captain of the Royal Guard." The High King walked to the edge of the runway. Standing behind him, I realized why I was chosen: the High King saw me as the captain.

"Me? Really?"

"However, while you wore the armor of the captain, the world you were in was very different. Much destruction and suffering. You were leading a battle against other Sleipnir. Other beings were by your side, although I could not make out what they were."

I didn't understand. A battle against other Sleipnir? Are we going to be in a civil war soon?

"I fear that something terrible will happen in the future. Something that may be out of even my hooves. But, you will be there to fight against it. My only hope is that you are on the side of justice. That is why I made you captain now; because it is your fate."

From that moment on, I would always be with the High King: During his meetings, accompanying him on trips through the land, or even to visit the location of the Keys to Order. As great as it felt to be in my position, I ended up seeing Rana less and less. I wanted to talk to her about how things were going, but I never had time.

After the incident, the High King declared that the stones would only be used when the time calls for them, and to be placed in a vault when not in use. It was the best way to prevent the power of these stones from taking over our better judgement.

The lower kings began to change after that as well. Every time King Falchion would come over, he would demand to see his key.

"It is bound to me. We have the right to use them!" He would offer, but the High King always denied.

"As long as I am the High King, we will never use these to destroy. Only to protect." And the discussion would end.

"Roddel," The High King spoke as we took a look at the stones one day. "I fear we have found something we shouldn't have."

The stones all shone brightly in the room, as if they were asking to be used. I felt myself being drawn to them as well, and I was not even bound to the Keys.

"You saw the power they contained...in one fell swoop, we could destroy all of the Draconequus and anypony who chooses to oppose us...as a result, we would grow power crazy and terrorize the world until there is nothing left. The world would end, leaving only us to pick at the remains. Who knows how long it would be until we turned on each other at that point?"

I understood what the High King meant, but I did not know why he was saying this now.

"Roddel," The High King turned to me once again. "I had another vision; the other kings may plan to take this power for themselves."

"They can't!" I protested. "The stones are locked in our vault!"

"They will do whatever it takes. I can see it in their eyes...especially Falchion...But, I have a plan. And this is where you come in."

The High King wanted me to do something for him? Something about controlling the other kings?

"I will give my key to you. You will be bound to it, not me. Should something happen to me, they would not be able to take that key without destroying you too. And they won't, because you have the Royal Guard on your side."

I didn't understand what was happening. "You can't possibly mean that...they will kill you? What exactly did you see in your vision?"

The High King didn't respond. "I cannot expose them now, because I do not have evidence. Also, even if I did and they were dealt with, I may lose the support of their kingdoms. The vision of you leading the Sleipnir may be coming soon, but I would like to prevent that as much as possible."

"And they cannot possibly mean to kill you without losing the support of the entire kingdom! Surely there is somepony you can trust?"

"You, Roddel. I only trust you. You've seen them during our meetings and how they always ask for more power, or to destroy the Draconequus completely. They are destroying the very order we were sworn to uphold. Power is not order."

The High King picked up one of the six stones. It began to glow purple as it floated into the air.

"Wait," I continued. "Why me? Why give it to me?"

"You will just have to trust me back." The High King said. I looked into his eyes. There was something he was not telling me.

"Did...did you make a prophecy?"

Since prophecies require a great deal of power, they are not performed very often. Even then, the results were only sometimes accurate and were only guidelines, giving us an idea of what would happen if we didn't do something about it.

"I saw another vision; one where I am killed and the keys are used to bring ruin on the world...so, I came up with a plan. I created a prophecy: When the world reaches a dark time, one key will shine brighter than the others. Great power will emerge, and all darkness will be sealed away. If I give you my stone, you must use it in the event that I do not make it. Prophecies to save one's self are not very accurate...the best I can do is sacrifice myself to save the world. Hopefully with this, the future will be changed."

The stone began to glow as the High King raised it into the air. "I hereby transfer my bonds with this key to Roddel."

The purple light enveloped me, and I felt something warm all over. The lights went away as quickly as they came, leaving the two of us alone with the stones once again. This time, however, I could feel a stronger connection with the key.

"It is done. I will not change my mind. Everything happens for a reason, even if we need to make that reason ourselves." The High King said before turning to leave the room. I followed him out, looking back at the vault one more time before it was closed.

"Make no mention of this to anypony." The High King told me. "Things will be a lot different around here, I'm sure of it."

*********

"...And we could call them ponies."

I stood in shock as I listened to what King Falchion offered during a meeting one day. He had proposed that we use the power of the keys, as well as our creation magic, to "create" a new being, a being filled with a fraction of the magic we possessed. This would supposedly fix our food shortage, as well as provide us with an added boost due to the magic.

The other kings stood silently as they heard King Falchion give his speech.

"Absolutely not!" The High King echoed, shaking the throne room. "You want us to create beings so we can eat them? Are you mad? I will not allow this! You cannot create these 'ponies', you hear me?"

King Falchion smirked. "Oh, but...I already have."

The throne room doors opened, with two soldiers from Falchion's kingdom walking in with a rather large box. They placed it down in the middle of the room and removed the lid.

Out popped the head of a small figure. It looked just like us, except that it only had four hooves. It was a purple thing, with a dark blue mane and a weird marking on its flank. It had big, purple eyes and a great smile as it tried to take everything in for the first time. The weirdest thing about it was the small, horn-like thing emerging from its forehead.

The other kings gasped as the little creature, no bigger than a filly, jumped out of the box and lost its balance due to its weak legs. It gave out a little cry as it tried to pick itself up.

"I give you, the first pony. I shall name her Dawn Star."

"H-how did you...?" The High King was in shock to see what was before him.

"Of course, this one isn't perfect. Not by a long shot. I only used my own powers for this one." Falchion slithered towards the pony. One thing was for certain: I could smell the magic coming from it. The creature, which I presumed to be female, had a strong scent of magic coming from it, and it made me hungry. Now, I've never eaten another living thing before, but I have eaten balls containing magic power before. We made them all the time at our shop. And this creature seemed to have more magic than an entire month's supply of those balls.

"Don't tell me you plan to..." The High King began.

"Not unless you want to try first!" Falchion laughed before growing in size and picking up the little creature. It looked like a small doll in his large hooves. The big eyes stared up at the king, unknowing of what was going to happen to it.

In one move, King Falchion dropped the pony into its mouth. As he did, I heard the tiniest squeal coming from the creature, with gasps coming from all over the throne room.

"Oh, that feels refreshing!" Falchion declared. "Once you get past the crunchy stuff, you can feel the magic kick in."

"Enough!" The High King's voice towered the rest of the chatter in the room. "You cannot just kill creatures like that, not in my throne room!"

"It is a perfect supply of food and magic. Besides, we are creating them...you don't know how long it took to get something with the largest amount of magical potential. Inanimate objects and traditional foods would not work. And once I began creating living creatures, the first few came out deformed. It is a sacrifice that can mean our survival!"

"No. If I catch you with another one of those ponies, I will see that you will never make another move like that again. Get him out of my sight!"

"You will regret this..."

"Is that a threat?"

"No...it's a promise." I was the only one who heard Falchion utter this as he took his leave. The other kings began to filter out as well, eventually leaving me, the High King, and the box in the room.

I made my way to the container that held the first pony. It was a tiny thing, too tiny even for that pony.

"It was a living, breathing creature..." I said, trying to process what had happened. "And he just ate it. Just like that."

"And he wanted to use the keys to make more..."

I couldn't help but picture the tiny pony that was in this room just a few minutes ago. It looked so happy, so lively, so unaware of what its purpose in the world was.

"I fear the world as we knew it will be coming to an end...much sooner than I thought previously."

High King Sleipnir suspended King Falchion from continuing his "pony creation" work, officially declaring that he would declare war on the western lands if any more progress was made. As a result, the inhabitants of the western lands grew more resentful towards the rest of the kingdom. Things were not looking good now, and the Draconequus had nothing to do with it at all. Before we knew it, the six kingdoms would soon fall apart.

Chapter 6

After finishing my rounds, I would always head into the surrounding city in order to relax for the night. Sometimes I would find a nice place to eat, while other times I would find a place to take a nap. If I was needed, I would always be ready to go back into action.

Most of the time I would go alone, but one night I found Rana wandering the streets as well.

"Rana!" I called out to her.

She turned to face me. The look on her face was one that friends who had never seen each other in a long time would have. Ever since I took the Royal Guard Captain position, I began spending less and less time with Rana. As skillful as she became in her training over the years, I knew that she had really come all the way here with me so we could be together. I figured it would be painful for her to not be able to spend time with the one she gave up her simple life for.

Thus, it was no surprise that she galloped towards me and ensnared me in a hug. "Roddel, it's been so long!" She blurted out.

We decided to get dinner together at the Hay Barn, a popular place in Valhalla for getting food. We sat at a table under the stars, overlooking a small lake. The castle walls towered in the distance.

It had been a long time since I was able to spend time alone with Rana. The only time I would interact with her would be if I had orders to give to the other soldiers, or if I happened to pass her in the hallways. She had never gone out on scouting missions, mainly since I didn't want her to be in danger out there. The Draconequus had ceased attacking us since the keys incident, but I didn't want to be too careful. I could tell that Rana was disappointed that I didn't let her showcase her fighting skills as much, but she never said anything about it.

"I'm sorry," I said suddenly.

"For what?"

"We don't get to spend time together like this anymore...I've been too focused on my duties."

"It's your dream, though, right?" She responded. "Ever since you were a colt you wanted to be a member of the guard, and now you're living that dream. I'm happy for you."

Silence.

"Besides," she continued. "Thanks to you, we're in a time of peace right?" I thought about what the High King told me...I didn't want to worry Rana, so I nodded in agreement.

"I'm happy seeing you be happy." Rana finished, giving a small smile. "Of course, it wouldn't hurt to have time like this once in a while."

While she spoke, all I could think about was that filly, the first pony. How it popped its little head out of that box, and was eaten by King Falchion...I also thought about the tensions that rose between the kings, and the Key to Order that was bound to me.

"Roddel?"

I snapped back. "You were spacing out for a minute. Did you hear what I said?"

"Uh, yeah." I lied.

"That's good..." Rana sighed. "Hopefully you'll do it."

Going along with whatever she was talking about, I nodded. After finishing our meal, we decided to take a look around the city. At this time of night, the candles were lit all over the city. It was a warm environment that reminded me of our home village. Fillies ran around playing while mares and stallions conversed and laughed. I had been so preoccupied with work that I never paid attention to the Sleipnir in the city who we protected. Walking through the city, I finally opened my eyes up to what I was protecting.

There was one cart full of heavy bags that we walked passed. I saw a colt try to pick a few up, struggling to get them on his back. "Would you like some help with that?" I offered.

"Oh, no thanks," The owner of the shop came out. He placed a hoof on his son's shoulders. "We can't possibly ask you to do this petty work. I would pay, but we need to keep as much coin as we can because of this famine. If only there were a way I could get some free labor from sompeony..."

I didn't understand what he meant; it was no problem for me to lend a hoof. "You'd rather have somepony who is made for this work...and work for free?"

"Do you know somepony?" The shop owner looked at me. "I heard that King Falchion was working on a way of doing something like that...a pony or something? Anyway, I heard it from one of the guards. If he can go on with it, it would be so easy to get work done!"

Rana looked at me. "What is he talking about? What is King Falchion doing?"

I guided Rana away from the shop. "Don't worry about it," I didn't think that the word about Falchion's experiments would get out so easily; I would have to reprimand the one responsible for this. I didn't want to worry Rana about the details of what went on in the throne room that day, so I quickly ushered her back to the castle. Rana gave out a yawn as we walked. "We should head back." I said, holding her up.

"But, we won't be together like this again for a while..." She began to doze off.

"Don't worry," I comforted her. "Tomorrow, we can go out again."

*********

The High King called for an emergency meeting. All six kings made their way to a conference room. It was smaller than the throne room, with a hexagonal table situated right in the center. All six kings took a seat, with me as the only guard standing inside. Nopony else was allowed to be in or near this room. Whatever the reason was, I knew it was extremely important. To make matters even more interesting, the six Keys to Order were on the table, glistening before all of us.

"The reason I called you all here," The High King began, "Is because I have decided what we will finally do with the Keys."

"Have you reconsidered my proposition?" King Falchion was the first to speak. "I assure you that it won't take too much effort to mass-produce those ponies."

The High King sighed. "No, King Falchion. We are going to destroy the Keys." The other kings began to speak among themselves.

"You can't mean to do that?" King Rowan spoke up.

"The Draconequus have stopped attacking us since that incident." The High King replied. "We have no more need for them. The order has been restored."

"What if they attack us again?" King Falchion slammed a hoof on the table.

I have been talking to their leader for some time now," The High King said. "We have come to a negotiation. They will stay in the north, leaving us alone, so long as we destroy the Keys. And I agreed. The long hostilities between our two races will be over...we will finally live in true peace!"

"And you are trusting their word?"

"I trust their word more than others..." The High King looked right at King Falchion when he said this, causing Falchion to grimace. "All we need to do is to use our creation powers to unmake the Keys." He looked at me for a second, prompting me to remember that I was bound to his key.

"Come now, Falchion. Stop this foolishness: creating ponies or whatever you wish to do. The balance is kept right now. Go through with this, and I assure you that nothing will change."

Falchion put his head down. "Oh...but I want things to change."

King Falchion's key began to glow, causing the other kings and myself to freeze. King Samwell, King Drear, and the High King were frozen as King Falchion, King Thuun, and King Rowan all disappeared.

In another second, the three came back, with each one standing behind a king. I tried to call out and move, but the hold on me was too great. One more second, and three giant blades appeared, with two of them piercing through King Samwell and King Drear. They collapsed onto the table, dead.

"K-King Falchion...." The High King tried to speak out. I was too horrified to try and continue struggling. The keys that belonged to the kings began to glow, as if the Sleipnir they were bound to was changing.

"I did some research," Falchion said. "If you kill the one connected to the Key, the Key becomes free. Then, anypony can come along and claim it. I am now bound to three of the six stones, and I will now claim the fourth.

The sword pierced through the High King. I tried to scream, but it was no use. He looked at me for a second before closing his eyes and collapsing onto the table, along with the other dead kings. King Falchion, King Thuun, and King Rowan all stood as the remaining kings.

I stood in horror as my king died in front of me. His vision is coming true, I thought to myself. I looked at the King Falchion, who waited in anticipation for the key to be transferred to him.

However, none of the stones began to glow.

"What?" King Falchion asked as he looked at the stone. "It should have released its bond...I see." He looked right at me. I froze in place.

"Clever king..." King Falchion laughed. "He transferred the bond to you. I guess we could make this work."

I was released from the spell and collapsed to the floor. "What...what did you just do!?" I yelled.

"Quite simple. I conjured up a sword and stabbed it through-"

"No, I mean WHY?"

King Falchion laughed. "You heard him." He said. "'We're going to be in an era of peace.' Ha! Peace is the last thing we need. What we really need is for everypony to fear us. We have the power of creation. We have the power of the Keys to Order. Why throw it away? We will be unstoppable!"

King Rowan continued. "We had been planning this for a while now. Kill the kings, and...blame it on the captain."

I couldn't believe it. "Me?"

"Unfortunately, you were the one who became captain." King Thuun responded. "We noticed how close you were to the High King. It would be easy to insinuate that you wanted control of his power, the power that everypony knows about, and you attempted to kill all six kings for it. The three of us, as a result, would kill you and claim that we had to protect ourselves."

I tried to run, but the spell caught me again. King Rowan laughed as he held up one of the blades. It's over for me, I thought to myself. "Are you going to try and tell somepony about what happened? Who would believe your word against three kings'? I'm sorry to see you go, but-"

"Wait."

King Falchion's voice emerged. "We do have a surprising development. He has been bound to the stone."

I spoke up. "Just kill me and take it then," I was prepared to die along with my king. They planned to kill The High Kings, two of the low kings, and put it all on myself.

King Rowan turned around. "Well, you heard him. We should just kill him and be done with it."

A pattering of hooves came closer to the room as King Thuun spoke up. "Do it." My heart sunk.

Suddenly, the doors burst open. Royal Guard came flooding into the room. "We heard a commotion. What is - !"

Before anypony could respond, King Thuun pointed towards King Rowan. "Detain this stallion! He took three of the six kings' lives!"

King Rowan dropped the blade. "Wait, it wasn't-" The soldiers snared him with their spells, compounded with King Thuun's spell. As strong as King Rowan was, he couldn't compete against the power of another king. They dragged him out of the room quickly, leaving me alone with King Falchion and the dead bodies.

"I have a proposition for you." King Falchion walked right up to me. "We will spare your life, but you must use the power of the key whenever we need you to. If you try to tell somepony what happened here, we will claim you were a conspirator and have you killed."

"If you just kill me now, then you'll have all of the keys. There's nothing you wouldn't be able to do."

"All the more reason for you to not try and get yourself killed. You want to see the new world with me, right?" An evil smile came across the king's face.

*********

King Rowan was charged with murders of King Samwell, King Drear, and the High King. Both King Falchion and King Thuun testified to this, using their influence to push the verdict. The kingdoms became split over what really happened. Many of the soldiers who had bust in testified to seeing a blade in King Rowan's possession...which, coincidentally, was the only blade recovered from the room. The amount of evidence against King Rowan prompted everypony in the kingdoms to believe he really did do it. He was sentenced to execution. King Thuun was the one to do it.

Instead of simply hacking off King Rowan's head, King Thuun went a different way. He took out his Key to Order and used it to channel his creation power. He created a means to kill King Rowan instantly. The crowd looked on in a mix of happiness and horror as the fourth of six kings died. When asked for his last words, the king simply replied, "Have fun in your new world."

Of course, that meant the bond of Rowan's key went to King Thuun.

The kingdoms went into a state of chaos soon after that, fighting and arguing over what direction the kingdoms would be going in now. Those who had lived under the slain kings were unwilling to be ruled by the surviving kings, especially those who had turned against their own as the famine ensued. Several expressed doubt that King Rowan really committed the crimes he was killed for. Many threatened to rebel against the throne. Both King Falchion and King Thuun took residence in Valhalla in order to settle affairs.

I maintained my position as captain of the Royal Guard, although now I was serving under King Falchion and King Thuun...All I could feel was guilt; the High King was killed and I couldn't do anything about it. I am being selfish by giving in to the remaining kings' demands. All I know is that I must not hand over the key to them, although they are blackmailing me in order to get my cooperation. If I die and let them take the key, then I will have failed the High King. I cannot let that happen.

The biggest change, along with the change in authority, is the fact that King Falchion immediately decided to put more research into his "pony creation". With the keys in his possession, he will be able to continue that gruesome project...

Chapter 7

A few more years had passed since four of the six kings were killed. King Falchion and King Thuun, who began to call themselves the Big Two, ruled over the kingdom with iron hooves. The power of the keys were used by the kings to fight the Draconequus in multiple places. While we still couldn't invade their territory, we did destroy them at the border.

Of course, several factions still loyal to the slain kings rose up in rebellion, claiming that the direction the kingdom was heading in was not what the former kings wanted. Suffice to say, these rebellions were squashed quickly and quietly. And I was the one who had to do it. None of the other guards knew about it, but I was sent to go on private "missions" in order to keep order...any my life.

The kings had me right where they wanted me. If I were to speak out, I would quickly fall prey to the supporters of the Big Two, even though I was captain of the Royal Guard. They...they made me kill other Sleipnir in cold blood. Silence the rebels. Kill innocent mares and fillies in order to "maintain order". Not once did I enjoy it, and I would always cry after the deed was done. It was against what I wanted when I desired to join the guard. Killing our enemies was necessary, but killing mares and fillies is not.

Multiple times, the Big Two attempted to invade surrounding lands, beginning with the Griffon Empire to the far east of us. They didn't even see it coming as the stones activated to create a meteor shower, taking out a good portion of their civilization. Even though we could have won, the kings decided to back away as the land was not suitable for Sleipnir. They just killed as many as they could and left...The remaining griffons have been hostile to us ever since. If they are still around when you are reading this, you'll probably understand why they don't like our kind. As creations of the Sleipnir, I'm sure they will be hostile towards you too.

The biggest and most terrifying thing, though, was the pony creation experiments that King Falchion continued. The first "finished" pony, made with the power of all six stones, was a weird one. It had a horn like the previous one, but it had a pair of wings as well. I could feel the magic flowing in the creature; it was much more than the previous one. King Falchion then gobbled it up, growing satisfied from the magic rush that it would give him.

When Falchion made the announcement that these ponies existed, there was such a big reaction. Falchion trademarked them as a source of labor, as well as food and magic. Everypony who wanted one would have one for a price...these Sleipnir were starving and suffering, but the king still tried to make a profit by "helping" them out.

For a while, he would mass-produce ponies in this way. Thousands and thousands would be created, to be given to the public as livestock or free labor. During the creation, things might happen that cause some of the ponies to not grow wings, or horns, or neither. Only the ponies with horns contained magical power, with the "rejects" either thrown away by King Falchion, or given to the public to do as they please. A majority of the Sleipnir simply used them as slaves or pets. It was very hard at first for the Sleipnir to eat the horned ponies, but many grew used to it. It would be just like eating sheep, or cows, or pigs. Sleipnir did eat meat, but not as much as they did after ponies were created.

The royal guards were given ponies to consume as well, whenever we would request them (As gruesome as all of this was, King Falchion never actually forced anypony to eat the ponies. The Sleipnir were just too attracted to the magic to resist the temptation. Besides, he was much more interested in gaining magical power for himself). When Rana heard about these ponies, she immediately began to care for them as precious little fillies, as if they were one of us. She was appalled at the thought of eating them, instead playing games or talking to them. As a "present" for everything I've done, King Falchion even gave me a little filly.

"Here is your treat." He said.

This filly was one of those winged and horned ponies. It was a half-purple, half-white pony, with a light blue and pale yellow mane. There was a marking on its flank that had both the sun and moon on it. King Falchion later told me that these markings worked similarly to the Sleipnir's powers, although only ponies with horns had magic.

"I won't eat it."

"Then give it to somepony else. Keep it as a pet. Tear its little legs off to see what happens. I don't really care what happens to it now; I can just make more." He said coldly. I left the throne room with the filly, who looked around at everything with big-eyes.

I returned to my room and gently placed the pony on the table. She stared at me, tilting her head. I could smell the magic emanating from her, causing the power within me to surge. This smell gave me a familiar feeling - since I was close enough to one to figure it out, I finally realized it: this was the same feeling I felt when I did battle. The adrenaline rush, the craving for fighting, was the same as the craving I have for the pony's magic. If I devoured this pony here and now, I would gain a large rush of magic, causing my creation and strength powers to increase tremendously. I figured that if I did it, I could gain enough power to overthrow the king. I did have a key in my possession, after all.

That was when I decided: I was going to eat the pony. She stumbled around on the table, laughing and making noises that I thought were similar to the noise other animals make. I placed a hoof on her back, pushing her down onto the table like a knife being dug into a cake...or a piece of meat. She let out a gasp as she dropped and looked up at me. Tears came from her eyes as she stared right at me. I had her pinned forcibly in between my hoof and the table. I knew I was hurting her, and she knew it too.

Seeing the look in her eyes, something came over me. Immediately, I released my grip and saw her relax a little. Soon after, she jumped off of the table, trying to fly away.

"Wait, don't go!"

Her wings fluttered, but she couldn't maintain flight. She fell to the floor with a cry before retreating to a far corner of the room. There, she huddled and whimpered.

I slowly crept up to the pony, who cried and whimpered even more as I got closer. I will tell you now: I have never eaten a pony in my life, and I hopefully never will. However, I did come very close with this one. "I won't hurt you anymore." I said softly to her. She didn't understand me, instead trying to wipe her tears away. I heard her stomach rumble. I turned to find some food to give her, and found an apple. I held the fruit out for the pony and said nothing.

She looked up at me, cautiously taking the apple in her mouth. She chewed a bit and swallowed as a smile grew on her face.

"I think I'll name you...Nova." At hearing that, her ears pricked up. The terror in her didn't go away, but she did relax a little more. I couldn't help but notice how regal this one looked. The colors on her matched the colors of day and night. "And you look like royalty...like a princess. That's it! Princess Nova."

"Nova! Princess Nova!" She giggled, repeating her name over and over again. At least she understood me that time...wait, she understood me? Afterwards, she began making more noise, except now I realized that it must have been some kind of language. I was amazed; I didn't know these ponies were capable of speech, even though it's not a language I know. It made me wonder how much power went into creating these things. King Falchion had said that in order to maximize the magical power, he had to make it as sophisticated as possible.

I began to speak to her in my own language, trying to point at objects and say their names. I wanted to try something out and see how she would respond.

She began talking in her language again, saying what I assumed to be the name of those objects in her own language. I spoke again.

"Apple. This is an apple." I said as I held out what remained of the apple.

"A..po. Appo?"

"Close enough." I began to laugh. She laughed as well.

These were intelligent beings that King Falchion made. And he wanted to eat them. To eat sophisticated beings, capable of speech, capable of laughing and crying.

Whenever I would bring that up to him, he would always say that since he created them, they can never achieve the level of sophistication that Sleipnir have. And somehow, that justified killing and eating them.

That's when I knew I had to save them. Save them from being simple pets or an afternoon meal. King Falchion had to be stopped. As long as Sleipnir walked the Earth, there would never be true peace. Not anymore. These ponies were brought into the world. They deserve to live in it as well. That won't be possible if the Sleipnir continue to seek more and more power. The Sleipnir had to be stopped. The Big Two had to be stopped.

I was the only one who could stop them. This is what the High King would have wanted.

Somepony knocked on my door, causing Nova to jump. "It's me!" Rana's voice called out. I went to open the door.

She trotted right in, holding another pony. It was a colt, with only a pair of wings. "Oh, you got one too!" Rana said as she looked at Nova. Noticing the horn, she looked at me again. "You don't plan to..."

"Never." I interjected. "Rana, we need to talk." I closed the door and sat down.

"What's the matter?"

"Are you satisfied with how things are now? How the world is? What they are doing to these ponies?"

"Why do you ask? King Falchion is just trying to make life easier for us, especially after-"

"Rana, Falchion was the one who killed the kings."

"What? That's crazy King Rowan was-"

"You know I was there with them." I stood up. Rana's flying pony was talking to Nova in their own language. I went over to the window. "They blackmailed me into doing what they want. You remember the rebels that were sprouting up ever since that day?"

"Yeah. Their campaigns didn't work out in the end, right?"

"No...I was forced...to deal with them."

Rana gasped. "You...killed them?"

"I didn't want to!" I quickly turned around. "If I disobey them, I die. If I die, this world will surely end. It's my fault that everything is what it is now: the experiments, the ponies, the increased seek for power...You've noticed it too, right?"

I explained to Rana how the Sleipnir in general have began to lust for more power. The ones who have eaten the ponies, the ones who gained that magical rush, now crave it. The Kings have been able to do whatever they want thanks to the power of the keys. If things continued the way they are, our kingdom would fall apart and the world would lose all of its balance.

"Then, what do we do?" Rana said quietly. I looked at the ponies.

"We have to defeat the Big Two. We need to defeat the power-crazed Sleipnir. We need to free these ponies who are being used as pets - no, slaves. They are living beings, just like we are. They were made, and now they live in the same world we do. But, the Sleipnir crave that magical power. I can feel it now, as much as I am trying to hold myself back."

"Well, can't we just get rid of the ponies and return to normal?"

"King Falchion would never allow that. They all want that magical power, something only ponies can provide. It's too late now. Either things continue as they are, or we do something about it."

"And that would be?" Nova looked up at the both of us, giving us a big smile. That was the final straw.

"We need to get rid of the Big Two."

"That's impossible! They are much too strong!" Rana said.

I looked down at the two ponies. These two beings were created by the keys. Nothing is impossible.

"We have something that can help. The Keys to Order. We can use them to create a place to seal the Big Two away. To kill them if we need to. We can restore balance slowly if they are gone."

"Roddel, that sounds a little...extreme. How can you even use their power, anyway?"

"Something else I haven't told you...I control the High King's key."

Silence.

"What else have you not told me?" Rana said in a serious tone.

"What?"

"We are friends, Roddel! We told each other everything, no mater how awful it was! You...you killed innocent Sleipnir, you control part of the power that is killing the Draconequus...I know we haven't talked much since you became Captain, but..."

"Rana." I placed a hoof on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner. We could have found a way to avoid this."

"...So, we take the other stones and seal the kings away. Then what? Many Sleipnir are still attracted to the pony magic."

"Worst case would be...seal all of the Sleipnir away. Look at the ponies." The two of them were laughing and smiling. Nova flapped her wings as Rana's colt laughed.

"There seems to be no malice in them. They have a chance to make their own world - a peaceful one. It may be too late for us."

"You would die to give them a chance to live?"

"Yes."

"You've changed, Roddel."

I looked at her. "How so?"

"You would never have said this before...you would have been all for keeping the Sleipnir alive and proud."

"Sealing us all away doesn't mean we would die...for all we know, we could be placed in a new world."

"How do we know this won't happen again?"

The ponies were looking up at us, trying to figure out what we were saying. Even if we went to a new world, what would stop Falchion from simply making more? The ultimate goal might be to kill him, after all...

"It won't."

Chapter 8

This is it...the final stretch. Now, we get to the events that have happened in the past few days.

Looking back, I made many mistakes. I never expected the outcome of my plan to be like this. But, I think that it was worth it.

I knew for a fact that my loyalty with the High King would never be broken, even after his death. It was my duty to protect him, and to protect the world that he envisioned: a world of peace. Factoring the creation power we have, the Keys to Order that can amplify that creation power, the corrupted kingdom we live under now, the ponies created by our King to be used as slaves, it all came down to one solution.

...The world cannot be at peace as long as the kings live in it. Not anymore. Brand me as a traitor to the Sleipnir, but I will continue to stand with the ponies. With the beautiful, delicate creations that don't deserve the fate they currently have.

You may be asking why I decided to abandon my own race. It's because of how I see the ponies: never once did I see a pony with a malicious face, or any kind of evil intentions. They were all so happy and playful. Nova, for instance, was always laughing and jumping around whenever we ate together. They were brought into a world full of hate and a loss of order. They deserve happiness, to live happily as a result of our mistakes.

Slowly and secretly, I formed a plan alongside Rana. A plan to steal the Keys to Order, un-bind them from the Kings, and then kill the kings using them. I would then use the keys to create some kind of portal to enter another world, and send the Sleipnir though it, breaking the portal after that is done. It sounds impossible, I know, but the Keys to Order can help create reality. The ponies would live in this world, the real world. We would find another world to inhabit. Starting over, we may be able to return to our old ways in a new world. And forget about this one, the world that we have nearly destroyed in our lust for power.

As a result of the many rebellions and fighting that had occurred after the kings were slain, much of our land was destroyed. The kingdoms were in open war with each other, with Valhalla trying to keep them all united. The Draconequus took this opportunity to take over, knowing that we had too many problems on our own to try and use the Keys to stop them without making things worse. The ponies slowly escaped their captivity, becoming fugitives and wanted targets. The Sleipnir didn't want to give up such a valuable food source, and declared that all ponies were to be captured if found. It didn't help that I had secretly found a way to free the ponies and release them into the wild, to hide from the wrath of the Sleipnir.

And my village...well, it was destroyed during one of the rebellions. The Kings decided to use the keys to destroy it, as a means to test out a new creation. Well, it worked. I had to stand there and use my key to help destroy the village I was born in, the village Rana was born in...our families were gone. Our friends were gone. I had nothing left except Rana and my job. And my job was controlled by the Kings who killed the one Sleipnir I am loyal to.

I cried myself to sleep that night, only to be woken up in the middle of the night by Nova. She was sleeping at my side, cuddling up against me. She could tell how sad I was. I did manage to teach Nova some of our language. She soon understood most of what our history was like, but she never looked angry or sad when she heard about the reason she was brought into this world. I expected her to be disgusted with herself, or us, and turn against me. But, she never showed that at all.

"We all deserve to live in harmony." She said to me. "Maybe there's another reason we are here, too."

With that, it was time to bring my plan into fruition. As Royal Guard Captain, I had access to the location where the Keys were kept. King Falchion and King Thuun believed that I would never betray them, so I was able to fool them into thinking that I was on their side. They began to trust me more, like how the High King trusted me - still trusts me.

Rana and I made it to the vault with Nova and Rana's ponies. She had started to collect a few in order to care for them. She had two winged ones, naming them Pegasus and Bolt. She named the horned one Corn, and the two wingless/hornless ones Bella. We brought them along because it would be easier with 6 different wielders. There were two guards on duty that night.

"Captain Roddel," One of them said. "What brings you here at this time?"

"We're here to relieve you both." Rana said. They looked at each other before looking back to me.

"Are you sure it's okay?" They asked in unison.

"Yes. Take the night off. That's an order."

"Yes, sir." They saluted and walked away. I was so glad I was the captain of the guard at that point.

The stones shone in the darkness. I managed to locate my stone, feeling the power coursing through it. There's no going back, I thought to myself. "If we do this, I don't know what will happen..."

"It will be okay." Rana placed a hoof on my shoulder. "If you think the world will be better off without us, then I'm fine with that too."

I placed my hoof on my stone, doing my best to feel the connections that the other stones have. As if they were tangible, I could see the colors emerge from the six stones, all going in different directions. One color connected right to me.

"Okay." I said. "It's time."

But, nothing happened.

I looked around, expecting the colors to all converge on me. But, none of them budged.

That's when I remembered what King Falchion said: "Only the wielder can transfer the bond."

We can't do it after all...

I bent my head in defeat. If I can't break the bonds, then there's no way this plan could work. The world would continue to go the way it was going now, except the Sleipnir will now hunt down the ponies I helped free. They will be killed, and the Sleipnir will lust for even more power. Whoever would oppose the King and his ways would be killed. The Draconequus would be killed. The world will lose balance, lose harmony. All is lost.

Nova walked up next to me. She had gotten bigger in the few months she had lived with me. I did my best to resist the magic that coursed in her, and did my best to hide her from others who craved that magic. Looking back, I think that it is pretty funny: pony magic is like a virus to us. We crave it like it like we will die without it. It's turned us into power-crazy monsters. But the ponies aren't like that. For some reason, they were different.

Different.

A thought occurred to me: Falchion deliberately made the ponies different from the Sleipnir in order to justify eating them and thinking of them as lower-level beings. They were not Sleipnir. They were not bound to the same rules we are.

There was one more thing I wanted to try.

I picked up one of the other keys and gave it to Nova. She looked at me with a puzzled look for a moment before slowly taking it. The key began to glow, with the color that emanated from it directly connecting to her.

It worked!

"Nova should now be bound to this key." I said before handing another key to Pegasus. He held it, and the same binding process happened to him.

"How does that work?" Rana asked, unsure of what was happening.

"There is something about the ponies that exempts them from the rules of the keys." I said, trying to figure it out myself. "I guess that the magic within them is different from ours...probably why we crave it so much instead of craving the magic of other Sleipnir. And that magic reacts with the keys differently."

After giving the other stones to Corn and Bella, we were left with one last stone to transfer: Falchion's original stone. Corn, Pegasus, Bella, Bolt, and myself held the other five. I gave the last one to Nova, to see if she could hold a second one - she took it in easily.

With the six stones in our possession, I took a sigh of relief. Now, the second phase of our plan would kick in. We made our way to the throne room with the six keys. There were two things we had to get done right now: kill the kings, and use the power to create the portal.

We were halfway through with creating the portal when I heard a roar from inside the castle: Falchion knew that the stones were missing. We're not ready to fight them yet. I quickly thought of a plan to kill the kings, as time was running out. I was going to tell the ponies to run away, when Nova looked at me.

"You hide. We'll take care of it."

I wanted to refuse, but she stood firm. I nodded and took Rana to hide up above on one of the giant pillars, watching below.

The doors to the throne room burst open, revealing both King Falchion and King Thuun. Both looked very angry as they quickly ran to the center of the room. The four ponies stood their ground. I tried to use this opportunity to look for a chance to strike. Since they didn't know I was there, I would have the advantage. Two quick strikes, and this would all be over.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?" King Falchion roared as he attempted to step right on the ponies. However, they were able to move out of the way. They began to speak in their own language, which none of us understood.

"Shut up. SHUT UP!" King Falchion tried to bite down and eat the thieves, but he missed. In an instant, the stones all began to light up. The ponies, as well as myself, began to glow as well. Oh no, I thought. If the portal is made now, then the kings would be pulled in. And who knows if I would be able to get the drop on them after that point.

Then, I saw it. We were in the white room. The Room of Creation. The ponies all knew what they wanted to make, but it took my power as well as theirs to make it happen. What I saw appear before us was a seal, some sort of portal. Both Sleipnir kings seemed to be drawn to the portal, which quickly and violently dragged them in. King Thuun blew right into it, followed by King Falchion.

However, he stretched his hooves out, preventing himself from being swallowed up. His mark began to glow as he began chanting.

"If that's how it will be, then I'm not going without one more creation: a prophecy:"

The world will be inhabited by ponies, who's rule will conclude with the reign of two sisters. And the world shall end in fire. From it, a new world will be born in its ashes. A world of tragedy, of fear, and of an unclear future...only to be cleansed by the ancients who used to roam this earth. Such is the way life on this planet will go.

The words echoed through the air as King Falchion was sucked into the portal. Soon, Rana began to feel the effects of the portal as it began to drag her away as well.

"Rana!!"

It was no use. She slipped right off of the pillar and right into the portal. The effects of the portal began to extend beyond the throne room. As I held on for my life, I could see other Sleipnir being pulled in from Valhalla, causing the portal to grow in size. The throne room began to crumble under the weight of the portal. The ponies looked on, knowing what was going on. Nova looked at me and frowned, but I nodded. It was for the best.

However, the effects of the portal didn't affect me, probably due to my connection with the stone. I jumped down from the pillar and ran over to Nova. She hugged me as I met her.

"Do you have to go too?"

"I do." I said calmly. "...The mission failed. It all happened so fast; the kings still live. I can't leave them alone." The magic sensation filled the air around me as I tried to fight the urge. Even as I write this, I am fighting it.

Thousands of Sleipnir were dragged into the portal as it grew bigger and bigger. The ponies were not affected by it, but they did have to escape the collapsing throne room. We ran out together.

In the distance, I saw the castle fall down. The city near it collapsed in as well, to be replaced by the giant portal, which grew and grew. I knew it would be a matter of time before all of the Sleipnir were sucked in...this was not what I wanted at all, but it was the situation we were given. If we had to go this way, then it would be for the better.

The portal did stop growing after a certain amount, but the Sleipnir pulled in didn't let up. I was amazed at how much power the ponies had from the stones: it seemed far more powerful than anything the Sleipnir could have come up with.

I knew that if I were to relinquish my key, I would be pulled in as well. And I had to give up my key: the portal wouldn't close until all traces of the Sleipnir were gone from this world. The keys seemed to be much safer with the ponies anyway. I had to be erased from this world, but I wanted to leave something behind first. Something that would let the future generations know of how your world came to be. And thus, I am writing this now.

"Nova." I turned to my little pony before I started writing my memoir, my journal. She looked up at me, with tears in her eyes.

"Don't go." She cried.

"I have to." I replied. "It'll be much safer once we're all gone. It will be a happier place, without anypony lusting for more power...just promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"Take these stones and destroy them. Bury them if you have to. Make sure nopony finds them ever again."

"I-I will!"

"Good filly." I said, placing a hoof on her shoulder.

Once I finish writing this, I will give my key to Nova. I suspect that I will be immediately pulled into the portal after doing so. It's weird: I don't know what will happen to me once I hit the other side. Will I die? Will I find another world? The only way to find out is to let it happen.

Of course, after finishing, I just realized that you ponies might not be able to read this language...oh well, if somepony can, then that's good enough for me.

Cheers,

Captain Roddel
156th captain of the Sleipnir Royal Guard
Don't worry about fate. Embrace it, as if it were your own foal.

Epilogue

My name is Nova. Princess Nova.

I am writing this to tell the future generation of ponies that we live on.

Our lives were given to us. We don't know how or why, but we live here. That is all that matters.

And it is all thanks to six magical stones. I will call them the Elements of Harmony from now on, since each stone has played a different role in bring harmony to our world. While what came before us is important, what will happen to us from now on is just as important.

These stones have been buried deep in a forest. I was told by somepony special to me that they may be too dangerous and may destroy the harmony we have now. I have checked on the stones from time to time: it seems that a tree is growing from them.

We are ponies. There are four different types of ponies. They were named by him, based on the names we were given: The winged ones were pegasi, horned ones were unicorns, while regular ponies were earth ponies. He didn't have a name for me, who has wings and a horn.

We don't know much about this world. It was given to us as a gift. Therefore, we will learn, and make it our own. It will be a long journey ahead, but I feel that we can manage.

We also have something referred to as magic. Only the horned ones have it. It has proven to be a very useful thing, so hopefully we will be able to learn more about how it works and what we can do with it.

No matter what happens in the future, I hope we will always be able to live in a world of peace and harmony.