I can feel a large hand shaking my shoulder, trying to wake me up. Groaning, I crack open my eyelids to find the giant frame of Iron Hoof looking down on me. “Come on Storm, wake up. Dinner’s ready, and there are a few things you need to know before we enter the city.”

With a sigh, I push my little hands against the wooden floor of the wagon and haul myself into a sitting position before looking around. We’ve stopped in a large clearing of sorts surrounded by trees that seem to go on forever and are almost tall enough to touch the clouds. Right smack dab in the middle of the clearing is a large black wall that is almost as tall as the trees surrounding it. A large set of wooden double doors is directly in the center of the wall with quite a few individuals standing around it.

Throwing my hands in the air, I stretch my sore muscles and let out a huge yawn to chase away the call of sleep. Blinking, I look to the back of the wagon and see that everyone is crowded around the burning red and orange campfire already. Stumbling to my hooves, I walk over to the edge of the wagon before jumping off, spreading my wings, and running through the grass to join the group.

Racing over to Mom, I sit down between her and Gale, waiting for someone to pass me a bowl of food so I can start eating. “Are you alright staying out here, my little whirlwind?” I hear Mom mutter in my ear. Looking at her, I nod my head with a grin on my face.

“Relax, Reader,” I hear Gale say behind me. “I won’t let her out of my sight.”

“But what if-”

“We’ll be fine.” Gale says, cutting Mom off with a little steel in his voice, “Perfectly fine. Honestly, you worry way too much when we have to come here.”

Mom is silent for a time before sighing and turning to the fire. Gale hands me a grey bowl full of brown soup and a spoon before turning to Iron Hoof beside him. “We have everything ready for tomorrow?” I hear him ask the massive minotaur sitting on a stump.

“Yeah, as soon as they open the gates in the morning we’re good to go.” Iron Hoof starts as I eat, “We’ve got the twenty bottles of antivenom for the griffin contract, which will get us the fifty wingblades to complete the order for the mercenary guild on the border. We’ve got the ironbark staff we’re using for tribute, and Bob knows a few groups that will pay through the nose for our little secret.”

“How much are we looking at for this round?”

“If everything goes according to plan? Two hundred.”

I pause for a moment with the spoon halfway to my mouth before turning my head to Iron Hoof, “We’re only getting two hundred bits for this?” I ask with a frown. I’ve seen some of the numbers that our little family deals with, mostly when I look over the large minotaur’s shoulder when he thinks he’s alone and writes everything out. A three digit figure doesn’t exactly seem impressive when I’ve seen him doing math with five and six digit figures.

Iron Hoof snorts and looks at me with an amused expression. “Add a few more zeros, Storm.”

“...Ohhh…” I say before turning my attention back to my soup.

“A few more zeros on what?” I hear Snow ask as I eat my dinner.

“If everything goes according to plan we’re making out with two hundred thousand.”

“Really?” I hear Snow ask in a disbelieving tone.

“Yeah.”

“The egg is worth that much?”

“Well what do you expect? They are some of the most powerful individuals on Terra. To get an egg from a nest you would have to kill the parents. How many individuals do you know that are able to kill a full grown dragon?”

“...Touché.”

“So, we’ve got all our goods ready for tomorrow. Treble, are you going to need anything for the next two days?”

The grey earth pony shakes her head slowly. “Just leave us some paper, quills, and food. We can take care of the rest if we need it.”

“Can you tell us a story?” I cut in before Iron Hoof can respond. I can see him roll his eyes before chuckling. Looking around, I can see everyone else is waiting on his answer as well.

“Alright, I guess the rest can wait until morning, what do you want to hear about?”

“Uhhh… What about, ‘The First World’?”

“Ahh, so you want to hear about the gods, ehh? Ha! Well have I got a story for you.” Iron starts as the flames of the fire seem to dim in response to the story beginning. “It all starts on a planet known only as ‘The First World’, but make no mistake, this was not a planet of peace and love. Eight races roamed ‘The First World’, where every day was a struggle for survival. Even though the world seemingly tried to kill them every step of the way, the races supported each other and thrived on it.

“The Zebras supported the races by discovering ways to help the ill and the weak survive and grow stronger, their shamans discovering how to cure even the deadliest of diseases. The Ponies found that they could grow food from the earth and clean the air and the water that threatened to kill the races. The Minotaurs created shelters for the races so they could protect themselves from the elements.The Diamond Dogs dug into the world and harvested the precious minerals found there needed to build the structures to protect the races. The Griffins explored the world and guided the other races to new lands to expand their influence. Finally, the Buffalo, the Yaks, and the Dragons defended the other races against forces they couldn’t.

“It might sound like a utopia to some, and it might have been for a while, but nothing good ever lasts. No one knows what started it, but the races began to turn on each other. Personally, I believe it was the Griffins-”

“Heeeyyy,” Gale said in an annoyed tone.

“Oh be quiet, you wanted a story just as much as everyone else here so stop complaining. Now where was I? Ahh yes, for you see, while the world might be a very large place, it does not go on forever. With no new land to settle, the Griffins quickly found themselves fighting over the known land. Resources began to dwindle as the races continued to grow in number, and when faced with the choice of self preservation or supporting each other, the races became selfish, believing themselves to be more important than their neighbors. The end result… was war.

“Alliances were formed and bloody battles were fought. The difference between the war on ‘The First World’ and the wars in Terra’s history… Is that there was no death toll in what many call, ‘The First War’, instead death was measured in percent of the population left alive.

“Every race fought until they were nearing extinction, and it was only after both the Buffalo and the Yaks were both completely erased from the world did ‘They’ step in.

“On the battlefield of what was supposed to be the final confrontation between the races, seven figures appeared in a blaze of light. The ground beneath them heaved and the air shook with their power, the races fell to their knees as the seven figures looked down on them in disdain. They never revealed themselves before that moment, but the races knew as they looked upon the figures that they were their gods and goddesses.

“The seven figures declared that the war was over. There was to be no more bloodshed, and that they would lead the races themselves if the races could not be trusted to…

“The thing about gods… is that they reflect the race they represent. It did not take long for the gods and goddesses to start fighting among themselves… A war among the gods and goddesses of ‘The First World’... It paints a terrifying image, does it not?

“It didn’t come to that however. No, that would have been too simple. Instead an eighth figure appeared…

“This being… marked the beginning of the end.

“The gods and goddesses of the races met with this being, asking why it was in ‘The First World’... It laughed. It laughed at them.

“Naturally the gods and goddesses of the races took offense to this and demanded to be shown the respect they deserved…

“The being looked at the seven gods and goddesses and asked them a question.

“‘Do you really deserve respect? I for one don’t think so, after all, you really are just pitiful excuses for gods.’

“They engaged the being in combat, determined to silence it once and for all…

“It was a long battle with neither side gaining the upper hand… Until the Zebra goddess made the mistake of stopping for a moment.

“The being chained her in the air, unable to move in that moment. It appeared before her as she tried to free herself and promptly made her vanish.”

“Like… poof?” I ask, making a expanding motion with my little hands.

“Poof.” The minotaur agreed, mimicking the motion.

“The being summoned a monster in her place and with that the fight was two against six.

“The fight went downhill for the gods and goddesses after that, and soon afterwards the being made another of their ranks vanish and summoned another monster in its stead.

“With their numbers down to five, the gods and goddesses devised a plan to ensure that the races would stay safe even if they fell to the being.

“Two of the remaining gods and goddesses stayed behind in order to buy the other three time. The two Pony goddesses known as The Sisters and the Diamond Dog god gathered the races, and in the most impressive display of power ever recorded in history, The Sisters opened a door to another world.”

“Ummm, Iron Hoof?” I start in a curious voice.

“Hm?”

“What are Diamond Dogs?”

The minotaur chuckles a little and scratches the back of his head. “Well, you know them as ‘The Damned’.”

“Ohhh… That doesn’t make sense though, ‘The Damned’ serve ‘The Mad God’, don’t they?”

“Well if you allow me to finish the story it would make sense.”

“...Sorry,” I mumble, looking at the ground.

Iron Hoof sighs. “Now, where was I? ...The remaining gods and goddesses gathered the races and opened a door to another world. Unfortunately, not everyone made it. The two gods keeping the being’s attention were trapped on ‘The First World’ and the Diamond Dogs were left behind… condemned by their own god for their greed.

“The Sisters and the Diamond Dog god locked the path to ‘The First World’ behind them beyond a giant set of doors later named, ‘The Gates of Tartarus’. Many believe that the three divine beings are still keeping a vigil over the Gates, in the center of Everfree, to ensure that the being known as ‘The Mad God’ does not come to this world.

“And that… Is how the world we know as Terra was born.”

The group is silent for a time before we all start clapping. Iron Hoof stands up and takes an exaggerated bow, “Thank you. Thank you, really you’re too kind.”

With the story over, our little family unpacks the sleeping bags from the wagon. Bob and Gale are picked to be the lookouts tonight, and looking up at the star filled sky, I am quickly lulled to sleep.

“Good morning!” a voice says in a cheerful manner above me. Groaning in response, I flatten my ears against my head and roll away from the voice. For my efforts I am rewarded with a poke just beneath my ribs that almost makes me giggle. Cracking open my eyelids, I see Treble standing over me with a smile on her muzzle and a bowl in her hands, “Come on sleepyhead, breakfast is ready.”

I scrape the crust out of my eyes and crawl out of my sleeping bag before taking the bowl from her and standing up, ruffling my wings in the cool morning air. Looking around, I see that the wagon is gone and Mom, Iron Hoof, and Bob are nowhere in sight. Gale is sleeping against a tree, Octavia is writing something on the stump Iron Hoof was using yesterday, and Snow is putting out the campfire by kicking dirt on it.

“They’ve already left, Storm.”

“...Aww,” I mumble in disappointment.

“Oh don’t be like that,” she says, patting my back right between my wings. “We have two full days with just the five of us. Now eat your oats, we have a long day ahead of us and I want to see how your math is coming along.”

“Alright,” I mumble as Treble walks off. My shoulders slump at the thought of having to multiply numbers all day long. Staring into the oats in my hands, I tilt the bowl left and right, watching it snake from side to side as I throw off the last remains of sleep.

‘...Why can’t we wait for Iron Hoof to get back so he can teach me about numbers?’

Author's Note

Writing this chapter, I realized just how large this world is going to be, and unlike my other two stories I actually have the next three chapters planned out.

...This is going to be a wild ride to say the least.