This Prologue is unedited because I am not sure if I want to continue with the story, please refrain from giving it dislikes because of the bad grammar and spelling.
Canterlot. Her magnificent beauty is only matched by her rulers, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. For millennia, the princesses have guided their people, from the smallest act of inspiration, to a glorious banner of hope and prosperity. But on this, that prosperity was threatened by a newly forged alliance. The purpose of this alliance is a shady one, but in time, all foul things reveal themselves for what they truly are...
In a location far away from home, the Princesses have embarked themselves to a gathering of the leaders of the world. Where Minotaur Warlord, Gryphon Emperor, The Changeling Queen and the saddle arabian sultan, await their arrival.
After several hours of travel, The princesses find themselves arriving at the Emperors castle. With several flying guards, awaiting their arrival, they let the royal chariot pass through the armada of gryphons.
"It has been ages since we have last layn a hoof behind these walls." Luna commented, taking in the sight of a grand castle built from golden-brown granite stones. It was truly a sight to behold, as it was even bigger than Canterlot castle; however, the city outside was much smaller and impoverished. "A lot has changed..." She spoke as she glanced down below at the gray, empty streets.
"Stay focused, sister, We do not know what This Emperor of his time, wishes to talk to us, and if he is anything like his previous predecessors, it is best that we brace ourselves for whatever that may happen." Luna didn't agree with her sister's cold notion of ignoring the misfortunate, but she did comply and took one last glance at the town before joining up with her sister. As they approached the gates to the courtyard of the castle. A decorated gryphon arrived to greet them.
"Greetings Princesses of the Sun and Moon. My emperor is expecting you by the courtyard, along with the other rulers." He spoke with a sense of respect and dignity. "Follow the path and you should not have any problems meeting up with them."
Celestia was a bit surprised, she had expected that a group of guard would escort them to the meeting. "Will you not accompany us?"
The guard shook his head. "As a sign of respect and trust, no guards will be following you. The entire court should be emptied and we trust that you will not have any issues along the way."
Celestia gave the guard a simple nod. "Very well, thank you."
***
Far away from the castle, a clan of human huntsman were back from a successful hunt. Their fellow clansman were carrying the food that would be used to feed their families and friends. Amongst the skilled hunters, was a middle aged man, who had experience, wisdom and scars of battle in his body. A respected man amongst his village, the hunter bore three giant scars on his chest; amongst hunters, such a mark was a sign of fortune, strength, and experience.
Arriving back home, with the children of village running to greet their fathers and older brothers, as well as the women happy to see their men return in one piece. All of the children were overjoyed to see them returning with a delicious dinner. The women went back to their previous business and the men carried their bounty to the clan elder. Letting the others stay outside of Elders hut, Ogoun stepped inside. His friends were more than willing to let him take all of the glory. As he entered, he dragged with him the bull that he had killed with a spear. "The chieftain will be proud of you, Ogoun. Once again you have made your clan proud, I dare even say that the other chieftains of the west are envious of your skills."
"I am humbled by your words Elder Narad, I offer our village this mighty bull as tribute. May its blood make us stronger and its head fortune for another hunt, another day." He knelt dragged the ox with all his strength, only a few yards, letting the elders get a better look at it.
The elder rose his hand. "You have done enough for today, you are free to do as you may for now."
Ogoun slammed his chest before leaving the hut. When he came outside, he saw that his friends went in after him to prepare the meal for tonight's feast. He took a good look at his village, the women were taking care of their children and some were skinning leather from previous hunts, so that it can be used as clothing or blankets during the cold nights, some were working hard on remedies and elixirs that could cure poisons from snakes, heal wounds or Talk with the spirits. Ogoun was proud of himself and with a smile, he took out his spear that was jabbed in the ground and made his way to his own hut.
***
The Princesses arrived at the courtyard and saw the white granite table that was large in comparison to their dining hall table. A slight frustration crept as Celestia saw the Changeling queen sitting at the round table. Luna did not harbor the same level of hate towards the changeling, though she still did give her a mean look as she tried to take over Canterlot during her nieces wedding.
The changeling queen is renowned for her tactical superiority. Give credit where credit is due, she is a feared ruler. Ruling over several thousand changelings who serve one hive mind and able to communicate with each other telepathically gives her an edge with her kin behind her. The queen herself was a powerful magic user, blessed with immortality and a hunger for emotions that she can drain from her victims.
Warlord Bloodaxe is a warrior who recently challenged his predecessor and won. He had a unique arctic white fur, with crimson markings all over his body. His eyes shimmered with the same blood red color as his war-paint. Though short in his time of rule, he was by far the largest minotaur Celestia had ever seen, almost 2 meters in height. Its a good chance that this one will rule for a long time until he is assassinated or if his age catches up to him.
Sultan Aziz, the ruler of the Saddle-Arabian horses. A foul, stuck up, sexist pig who sits on the world’s wealthiest land. While the sultan lives a luxurious life, anyone else below him and his royal guard are left to die on the streets. The land had a draught and a serious famine going through their land. The sultan couldn't care less, his eyes was set only on the Titan stone that could be mined underground. a rare ore that once melted down, will give a rich warm glow to it, making it the most shiniest and expensive metal in the world. There has been some rumors about its enticing glow, it could turn one to madness if one has a weak mind.
And lastly, Emperor Skytalon, a fierce gryphon with gray feathers and black fur, he ruled over his people with an iron fist. Once, the gryphon empire was forged in the furnace of extinction, when their land was affected by several natural disasters, such as a magical storms, earthquakes and several tornados, the gryphons found themselves at the brink of extinction. But the scattered clans banded together and from one brave gryphons determination they survived and founded the gryphon empire. The brave gryphon was made the first emperor and for several hundred years, his line ruled with a sense of Justice, strength, honor and most of all, freedom.However...The gryphon empire is but tragic shadow of its former self.
Sitting down between the Warlord and the emperor. The princess await for whatever the emperor had to say.
"Welcome everyone, I am pleased that you all could make it." He spoke with elegance. "Now that you all have arrived, I shall tell you the purpose of this gathering." There were no objections, so he continued. "I had been pondering the past month. I've realised that we all are respected leaders of our nations and that we do what is best for our land. Firstly, I'd like to address the elephant in the room. With the Canterlot invasion that was staged a few years ago, I understand that there has been a concern amongst the princesses of sun and moon. I also feared once or twice that my kingdome could also come under siege by-"
"Get to the point Skytalon!" The fierce warlord's dark voice collapsed into his speech.
The emperor was not offended by the Warlord's lack of patience, but he also didn't want to waste his time with formalities. "Very well." He took a moment to mentally edit the speech that he had prepared. "To ensure that our rule remains absolute, I suggest that we create an alliance."
"By what means will our rule remain absolute?" Sultan Aziz asked.
"Should one seek to invade another, or should the subjects ever rise to overthrow their ruler, the ones in the alliance will come to their aid and quickly disassemble the threat." Emperor Skytalon answered.
"You wish to create a bloodpact?" Warlord Bloodaxe intervened. "Why would I ever need your help, I have am the strongest of my kind and my armies are the fiercest in the world. We have little to fear from the rest of you!" He exclaimed.
"Like I said, this will ensure your rule, I must agree that you are the largest Minotaur I've seen in my days, but should a group or a revolution occur, They would be quickly disposed of, You can never be certain when it comes to underlings."
"And if we do not wish to partake in this pact? We have nothing to fear from our subjects, they worship and adore us as their sovereign." Luna now spoke.
"I agree, but if you are not a part of this pact, then we will not send aid should for example, one of us invade."
"Is that a threat!?" Celestia now stood up from the table in outrage. "Did you invite us across the great sea to ask us to join you or be destroyed?"
"Of course not, but it will leave you exposed. What you gain from this alliance is more then you can hope to lose. The only price to this alliance is that each must give in to the resources that are scarce to the other. For example, the changelings are low on their source of food, we will allow them to feed from assigned gryphons from my empire. Say the royal guards of the sultan does not meet his required strength, Warlord Bloodaxe will send experienced veterans to his service. and the sultan lacks any farmable land, you could grant him a small patch of Equestrian farmland to use it to grow crops and send it to Saddle arabia. But please, take your time and consider this."
***
Ogoun returned to his hut and saw that it was empty, unusual. He saw that several pots were empty and mauled herbs in a bowl. Yet there was no sign of his daughter. He quickly left his hut and made his way towards one of the village women working on remedies. "Aravar, have you seen Haoma?"
The young woman nodded. "She went into the forest to gather viper weed for her healing balm, She thought that you or the men could use it after returning from the hunt."
Ogoun crept a smile as he was proud of his daughter. Even if she isn't a hunter like her father, he was proud that she was contributing to the clan, she turned out to be quite the shaman. "I shouldn't have any problems finding her then, I'll see you at tonight's feast."
Ogoun made his way into the forest and started looking for his daughters tracks. He quickly find her sizeable tracks and started following them. There weren't that many dangerous animals in the forest, but even then, she was smart enough to evade anything that could potentially hurt her. After a few minutes of tracking, he finally saw her. a young girl who was humming to herself a melody in her head. "Haoma!" He called out. She instinctively turned around and saw her father.
"Father!" The young girl was embraced with a hug as her father carried her up from the ground. "How did the hunt go?" She asked with a glimmer of curiosity in her eyes.
Ogoun chuckled. "You should have seen it Haoma, your father caught a fully grown bull, this will be enough to feed the entire village!"
"How did you catch it? did you use poison darts?"
"No, I cornered the beast and killed it using only my wits and spear." After boasting about his catch, he remember why she was out here in the beginning. "Say, Aravar said you were making a healing balm for those who were injured. Do you still need to find viper weed? I can help you find it if you want?" Haoma anxiously nodded with a smile. Ogoun put his daughter down and let her follow him as he was wandering the forest. "The trick to finding Viper weed is to look for the bloom tree, at its base the viper weed grows strong and sheltered from any who might step on it. and the tree's sap is what nourishes it." They made their way deeper into the forest, to find the Bloom tree.
***
The royals sat down at the table once more. They had all come to a decision regarding where they stand. "Your terms are acceptable, I, Warlord Bloodaxe will join this pact!" He slammed his chest in sign of respect.
"The hive mind finds your alliance a beneficial action, The swarm will assimilate into this alliance." Queen chrysalis spoke with an amused smile. She looked at the Celestia with a teasing smile. Knowing she would become invincible to any claims of retribution that Celestia might have.
"I, Sultan Aziz, agree to the terms set forth by the Emperor Skytalon. The wealth and strength of Saddle Arabia is here to aid when needed." Now it was the princesses turn to talk. They've had an hour to think about it. Would Equestria be held hostage to an alliance that could at any point attack if it chooses to? Or will their people become the feeding pit for changelings. As a leaders, the princesses did the best decision for their subjects. The answer was obvious.
"We've considered your offer, Emperor Skytalon, and we deem this alliance unnecessary for us, our wealth is secured and our magic will keep our borders safe, our subjects worship us and we have nothing to fear from them. I thank you for the offer but we will have to decline it." Luna spoke for her and Celestia.
A minimal change in the Emperor facial expression could be seen. their decision was clearly something he did not want to hear. "Very well then. This meeting is adjourned."
***
Ogoun had been searching for the bloom tree for quite a while now. His daughter right behind as they went on their little search, they had finally found the tree. A lushes white tree with pink pellets, and at its very base, a light blue flower with the pellets of a dragonfly. Ogoun carelessly stepped up towards the tree and started picking the flowers. When he had a handful. He turned around and dangled the flowers to his daughter. "An easy catch." He joked. As he took his first step to go back, A clicking sound could be heard, the next thing he knew, was a the loss of balance as a net dragged him up towards the very same tree that he had just approach. Panicking, he desperately tried tear open the net.
"Father!" Haoma called out. She ran towards her father to help him get free.
"Haoma, Run! Go to the Village!" He cried out, hoping his daughter would get to safety instead of trying to save him. She did not listen. "HAOMA, DON'T!" This time another net caught the young girl, one that did not send her up in the tree like her father. This one came from the tree tops. Haoma tried to get the net off her, but it was too late before a group of armed gryphons dropped down and pointed their weapons towards the young girl.
"Looks like we've gotten ourselves quite the catch today!" One of the gryphons spoke, the one obviously in charge of this whole encounter. "Restrain them and bring them to the cart!" The gryphons quickly grabbed a hold of Haoma and started binding her hands and feet. Ogoun however was knocked out with a blow to the head. While unconscious, they cut him down and he fell straight towards the ground. "Todays a good day!" He spoke out with a dripping enjoyment to it. "I'll easily find a buyer for this big one in the Minotour lands and this small one-" He stopped as he knew that she was worth a lot. "The small one will easily be sold to a rich noble who wants a pet to their family." They quickly loaded them onto a cart and flew off to the distance, back to the city of Gryffindar
Author's Note
If you want me to continue with the story, please like, favorite and comment on the story. Likes are more preferred.
(UPDATE)
I have decided to continue the story, Though I will need an Editor and time to write the next chapter. I will do my best to try and release chapter 1 Highest Bidder the 25 th april.
