The Sixth King

“First things first,” the Prophet began. “Read any prophecies of mine you like. Just know that I intentionally wrote them very vaguely because of timey-wimey stuff.” He snorted. “Heh. ‘Timey-wimey’. Quite possibly my favorite phrase; I learned it from a show where I’m from. Anyway, basically, I could change the course of history with my predictions, and I’m not supposed to. Things would be very bad if I did.” He stayed silent for a few minutes, and we arrived at a door. It looked identical to every other door in this seemingly endless hallway. It actually is endless, in a way. Walk long enough down the hallway and you’ll appear at the other end. While interesting, it was a fact I hardly needed to know. Trust me, it’ll come in handy. I mentally sighed.

The Prophet opened the door to reveal a lavish throne room. “This one is a portal to the actual throne room. It only works if it’s me or one of the Six opening it. Once we trust you more, I’ll teach you how to add people to the list.” He smiled apologetically as he walked towards the throne. “In the past we’ve had a bunch of bad Judges.”

At the word “Judge” a memory arose of a voice saying something about being summoned as a one, but it faded too quickly to remember anything else.

Don’t worry about it. That memory’ll come back eventually.

“Deck it out as you please. This is your castle now. Feel free to rennovate the castle as much as you want, but make sure to keep the two doors I showed you in the same place. Nothing else needs to stay the same.”

Very well. I looked at the architecture and decided that, once I had time, I would indeed be renovating it. The Prophet ducked around me and walked back through the door, and I followed him.

Before I could enter, a massive explosion shook the castle. In less than a second, the Prophet was back out of the door eyes ablaze with dark magic. “Who dares disturb the castle of the Prophet?!” he shouted, at an incredible volume.

A deep rumbling voice carried the answer. “My name is Fireflight, mortal, and I dare disturb it because I have a right to this land.” At his arrogance my anger flared and my eyes turned a blood-red color. I gathered my power. Careful, kid. You don’t want to damage the castle.

With a thought, I teleported myself and the Prophet up to the roof, and we saw a massive dragon flying towards us.

“Ah, so you have decided to show your puny selves?”

I responded. Thou wouldst call us mortal? I let out a sound like a laugh, but morphed and destroyed by anger. Bow before the Sixth King, dragon, and pray I do not take thy life.

The dragon looked taken aback, shocked that any would dare resist it. “I bow for no mortal! Move, or you will die along with your pretty castle!”

And why wouldst thou destroy my home, dragon?

“Because it is in my napping spot!”

I suggest leaving if thou wouldst rather live.

“Hah! You think that because you speak bold I fear you? Think again, boy!” He opened his maw to breathe fire and I, remembering Five’s warning, magicked his jaw shut and removed his ability to breathe fire.

I control more power on a whim than thou canst summon with all of your compatriots. Leave now, dragon, and I shall consider letting thee live. I teleported onto its head and said into its ear, My glove kills all it touches, and I think that thy disregard for others suggests you would rather die than live humiliated. Thou mayest choose. Wouldst thou rather die, or be sent back to your home, wingless, magicless, and blind?

The dragon landed in front of the castle and stared at me. “Prove you can do what you say, mortal. Then we shall talk.”

Humiliation it is.

I teleported in front of him and reached out with the Scythe, changing it back to its normal form. For thy blatant disregard for the rights of all sentient beings, I sentence thee to lose thy wings, thy magic, and thy sight. I ripped off the dragon’s wings and sealed the wounds, then cast an enchantment so they would not regrow. I ripped out the dragon’s magic and sealed it in a crystal which I pulled from the ground. Lastly, I used his distraction of pain and confusion to walk up to him and stab him in each eye, blinding him. I cast the same enchantment to prevent healing on each eye.

Thy punishment has been dealt. Go home, dragon, and never bother the living again. I teleported him into the mountains, assuming he would be able to find his way home or, perhaps, find a new one.

The Prophet, who had been curiously silent this entire time, was smiling. “Good job. That’s your first sentencing. I know that big bastard; he’s terrorized this land for some time. Pretty decent punishment for that.”

I did not know his past.

“At some level, you did. You knew what a fair sentence to give would be, and you gave it.”

How?

“It is what the Judges can do. For now, that and one other will be all you can have. The second you must discover on your own. Once you ascend, you’re pretty much a god.” He paused and thoughtfully looked up. “Actually, on this world, you’ll literally be a god. There’s a religion centered around the five highest ranking Judges and you.” He grinned at me. “I may have helped come up with it, by making a few carefully chosen prophecies.”

Why am I included in your list?

“For reasons you’ll learn when you ascend, or guess at earlier. I can’t actually tell you outright, but I can give hints.”

Very well. I accepted that I probably wouldn’t discover a lot about my role as a “Judge” for quite a while. While it frustrated me, I controlled the annoyance and decided to let the issue go.

Good on you, boy.

I was still holding the dragon’s magic in a crystal in my palm. Where should I put this?

“That’s something I can tell you! I’d recommend keeping that somewhere safe until you ascend, then you can use it for some pretty badass stuff.”

Very well. Is there already a vault in the castle?

“Yeah, it’s in this world, too.” He turned and began moving in another direction. I wondered how long it had taken him to memorize the castle so well that he could instantly start heading towards anywhere I mentioned.

Actually, this is maybe the third time he’s been here. It’s magic.

I decided not to care why - Good choice - and followed the Prophet. We arrived at the vault without more incidents and my companion pressed a hoof to the door. For a moment his hoof glowed in the magical spectrum, then the door itself glowed in visible light. It seemed to dissolve and the Prophet stepped through and revealed a surprisingly large room with metal walls.

The walls were solid metal and enchanted to resist anything and keep everything inside safe from harm, even if the entire vault were shaken.

Impressive, eh?

I carefully placed the crystal on a shelf, which turned out to be cushioned. Its light dimmed slightly and I walked back out of the vault, then waited as the Prophet recreated the door. He faced me, and I asked, Where now?

He grinned. “Now we visit the sisters.”

He charged his power and teleported us to a small house, where the two other ponies he’d been with were laying down, talking. The teleport was silent, and they did not see us appear.

“Are you sure? I know that your dreams have come true before, but--” said the lighter one - Again, Celestia - said.

“Yes, I’m sure. I mean, it’s obviously not as strong as the Prophet’s--”

The Prophet chose then to reveal our presence. “My what now?”

Both sisters jumped to their feet and bowed. The Prophet made a noise in his throat halfway between a growl and a hiss. “I’ve told you two a thousand times, don’t bow! I’m naught but a foreseer.” He glanced back at me. “Unless you were bowing to my companion, in which case you’re probably right to do so.”

No, you would not be. I shall not have anyone bowing to me until I have earned it, I said.

“Oh, right, you’re a humble one!” He grinned again. The sisters stood up. “Sisters, meet Six. Or Azrael. I’m not really sure.”

Azrael.

“Right! Azrael. Anyway, great guy so far. Hasn’t perpetrated any genocides, started global wars, or even killed anything besides a tree that he brushed with his Scythe before he knew what it did. Overall, better than the last two we had.”

Luna spoke. “So we don’t need to worry about him going mad, like Chaos did?”

Celestia shot a glance at me. “Luna, he’s in the same room as us. It might not be best to be so insensitive.”

I was beginning to regret not having a face with which to express emotions. You might get one later, boy.

I mind not. Speak as you would without my presence.

Celestia smiled weakly, before saying, “Alright, then.”

Though I am curious: Who is this “Chaos”?

The Prophet grimaced. “The last one of your kind to arrive here. He went mad and tried to take over the world; he was forcibly ascended by these two with what they call the Elements. Pretty vague, if you ask me, but no matter. Anyway, he called himself a god, which isn’t strictly true, and got turned to stone. He’s probably being punished, and another one of him is being found.”

Celestia spoke. “Didn’t you say that this one would be more stable, because Death is less active than Chaos?”

“Aye, I did.” He turned to address me, saying, “You’re pretty much the physical manifestation of Death magic. These two are a race created by Harmony, who’s already ascended, and Life, who’s decided not to ascend yet.”

Thou speakest of ascension a lot. What is it?

“Basically, you accept your inheritance of being a god. I can’t tell you the details.”

I shrugged again. It seemed that my lack of knowledge about ascension would continue for a while. It will indeed.

So, why did I need to speak with the sisters?

The ponies in question had been staring at the Prophet and myself as we spoke. “Right!” said the earth pony. “These two are going to become shockingly important for this world. I’d recommend becoming friends with them. Plus, they could use your help in building a place to stay. This one’s cursed. Don’t ask why.”

I didn’t, and agreed to help the sisters build a home. The Prophet grinned happily, before disappearing.

Luna sighed. “It’s really creepy how he does that. Teleporting silently…”

Celestia nodded, before she glanced in my direction. When she realized I was still there, she jumped in surprise, before quickly calming herself. “Weird,” she muttered, “I kinda forgot you were there.”

‘Tis unimportant. No it isn’t. Well, it may be, but for now we can work on building a home. I have little experience with it, other than putting up a simple roof, but I will help as I can.

“Where?” Luna asked suddenly.

What dost thou mean?

“Where did you ‘put up a simple roof’?” she clarified.

In a clearing, to cover a few scrolls.

“Can we see it?”

Very well. I teleported us all to the clearing, in view of the sturdy but ugly lean-to erected over a boulder.

“Why did you build it over a boulder? It won’t rain hard enough to flood.”

Objects are easier to enchant than areas. Try picking up one of the scrolls.

Celestia’s horn lit up with a golden aura and the same color covered the scroll. Celestia concentrated, and nothing happened. She looked puzzled for a moment, before pouring more strength into attempting to lift the scroll. Still, nothing happened. Luna, meanwhile, was watching and struggling not to laugh at Celestia’s series of humorous facial expressions as she continued to try -- and fail -- to lift the scrolls. She switched to another, but had the same results. I calmly walked over to my scrolls and picked it up by the length of a finger, then offered it to her. She easily picked it up, and hurled it back at me in anger. I easily caught it with telekinesis and gently set it back upon the rock.

“How can you hold it against my magic?! I’m by far more powerful than anypony on this planet!”

And do I look like a pony to thee?

Luna couldn’t hold in her laughter any longer. For almost thirty seconds she laughed, and with each one Celestia’s anger grew.

To be truthful, I know not the limits of my power, or how it can be used. Were it to come to a battle between us, you may win because of your superior experience.

“I doubt it, from what the Prophet told us,” Luna said, matter-of-factly. “You use a different kind of magic, and it’s a lot more deadly.”

I took a step back in surprise. And why would I wish to kill thee?

“Well, we were talking about a battle, right?”

And still I would not kill either of you. Perhaps wound, yes, but never kill, not without good reason.

Celestia broke in. “As fascinating as this is, can we not talk about killing each other?”

Very well.

Luna sighed. “Sister, you know the only thing I’m good at is fighting. Does it not make sense that I would wish to speak of it?” Her language was becoming more archaic.

“I know, Luna, but we do have something to do.” Celestia turned to me. “So, where should we build our home?”

I knot not.

“How did you find this place?”

I wandered for a few hours and stumbled across it.

Celestia stared at me. “Oh.” She turned and walked towards Luna. “So, ready to go wandering?”

I realized that I hadn’t spoken with Eir yet today, and it was nearly sunset.

Sisters, give me a few moments. I must speak with another friend.

Luna looked up at me, faintly surprised. “Go ahead. You don’t need to ask permission.”

I thought it would be polite.

And with that, I teleported back to Eir. She was pacing behind her desk and didn’t notice my arrival. Eir, why are you pacing?

She, quite literally, jumped a meter into the air in shock, and when she landed -- somehow not falling -- she glared at me. “I was pacing because I thought you’d abandoned me! It’s my job to keep track of you and make sure you don’t go completely insane, and I thought I’d lost you! If I had, I would ha--”

I cut her off by raising a hand. Eir, if I do go mad, there would be no way for thee to stop me. I would rather have thee desert and be a coward and live than be a hero and die. I lowered my hand slowly.

Eir nodded. “Either way, it’s my sworn duty to keep an eye on you.”

I understand, but do not fight me. Speak to me instead. I kneeled before her. But do not attack me.

She nodded, and I heard a throat clear behind me. “Now that you’ve finished that touching moment,” said Xor from behind me, “you and I need to talk, Six.” Eir gasped in shock as his body rippled. He stood on his hind legs and transformed into a creature, much like me, but instead of a black robe and wings, his were white. His hood, instead of being filled with darkness, was filled with a brightness that somehow didn’t extend past the edge of the hood. He extended a bony hand and said, Name’s Life. You know me as Five. Pleasure to meet you.