Rise of Chaos
Chapter One
The morning sun was shining brightly as Luna ambled along the mountain forest path with her sister, Celestia. The air was crisp and clear on this spring day, perfect for a stroll on the small dirt track that ran into the mountains surrounding Canterlot. The birds were chirping in the pines, while both the stream and Celestia bubbled along merrily.
“Oh, Luna, isn’t it wonderful? We both have our Cutie-Marks now! I knew we would get them eventually. Just like Father said we would, but, ooh! Think of it Luna, someday we will be able to raise and lower the sun and moon all on our own, without Father and Mother’s help. And then…”
Celestia continued chattering, not at all concerned with Luna’s silence for the past fifteen minutes. As the two meandered along the trail, Luna noticed something off to one side of the path some ways off.
“Tia, what’s that, over there?”
“Over where?”
“Over THERE,” Luna said exasperatedly, pointing to where she saw a small figure laying halfway behind a bush. “What is that?”
As they drew closer, Celestia screwed her face up, concentrating on trying to determine what this creature was. “It’s like a pony, but all weird and strange. I mean, what’s with its one antler?” she said, utterly baffled.
The creature had the body of a pony, but the hands of a lion and an eagle, the feet of a lizard and goat, and the tail of a dragon. The two sisters sat down next to each other, trying to work out what to do. They had never seen anything with the likes of this creature before. The creature began to stir and mumbled, “King… V-v-versos…”
“Why is he saying Father’s name?” Luna wondered aloud. “Huh. Well, he doesn’t look well at all. Maybe we should take him back to the palace with us, since he did ask for Father. Right, Tia?”
“Alright,” agreed Celestia.
Together, the two princesses lifted him up with their magic and set back along the trail to the royal palace.
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Flames shot high into the air, as screams of terror and pain split the night air. Vague shadows were cast unto the ground from the fires, showing a terrible massacre as dragonfire and claws rent villagers from Cordan’s tribe to burnt shreds. He could do nothing as he watched his village being destroyed before his eyes. Screaming, he tried to run, thinking that he might, in some way, be able to save his family from the carnage. But a force held him back; Cordan was tied to a tree, unable to move. He struggled against his bonds; tears streaming down his face, while all those he loved were slaughtered around him, the ground slowly soaking up their blood.
“Noooooo!” The cry rang throughout the chamber as Cordan woke from his horrendous nightmare. He sat up, breathing heavily, with his pillow wet with tears. His limbs were entangled in blankets. Becoming fully awake, he looked around the room in which he lay. It was a simple place with four stone walls, as well as a stone floor and ceiling. A small window sat in the center of one wall, a wooden door on the wall opposite.
Curious as to where exactly he was, the young draconequus slipped out from under the covers and padded across the cold floor to the door at the far end of the room. He gently pushed the door open, grimacing as the rusty hinges creaked loudly. After first peering out to discover that the other side was a long hallway, he stepped into the corridor, hoping to figure out just where he was and how he got there.
No matter where he was, Cordan knew he had to get out and travel to Canterlot Castle as quickly as possible. His family depended on it. Flashing back to his dream, he shuddered to think it a reality. When his father sent him to the king, dragons had been attacking his tribe for some time, but with all the warriors and his father using their magic, there had been little difficulty refuting the dragons’ attacks. However, the threat of attack, should anypony leave the village, had made it impossible to reach any sort of food source. Stores were dwindling, and Cordan’s father could not be spared to plead for help from Equestria’s king. So, Cordan was sent under the cover of night to reach the king, and get the help they so desperately needed.
He walked for days, hiking through the wilderness and snows of the high peaks above Canterlot. The trek had taken its toll on him; by the sixth day, Cordan had reached a forest, but was completely out of food and water, and unable to acquire any more. His father could have easily summoned rations from thin air, but Cordan’s magic had yet to manifest itself, and he found himself in dire straits. The last thing he remembered was collapsing by the side of a road, his strength utterly gone. And then he had awoken in the small stone room.
Cordan pushed the past from his mind, determined to figure out just where exactly “this place” was. Tiptoeing down the hall, he continued past doorway after doorway until he came to a spiraling staircase. Figuring that there were likely more ponies on the lower floors, he began circling down the stairs until the stairs ended, meeting the ground.
The end of the stairs opened into another hallway, and listening carefully, he could hear raised voices from a room down the passage. Intrigued, Cordan crept along until he came to the door from which the yells originated. When he peered through a crack between the frame and door, he was astonished by what he saw. He was staring into the throne room of Canterlot Castle! King Versos sat upon his throne, with his wife, the Queen Eara, seated on a smaller throne to his right. A plainly terrified soldier stood before them, quivering in his armor as he delivered the latest report to the king.
“...And, Your Majesty, we were successful in defending Manehattan however, we did sustain, rather… sizeable losses.”
“Exactly how many of our troops were lost, soldier?”
“We, umm, lost all but two brigades, Your Majesty.”
“Horsefeathers! We’ve lost too many good soldiers in this war already, and none can be spared from anywhere else in Equestria to reinforce Manehattan should those blasted dragons decide to attack again! Begone!”
The king swept from the throne room, heading straight toward the door behind which Cordan had watched the whole proceedings. Hurriedly, he scrambled back from the door; just in time to not be crushed as the king slammed the door open.
After the king disappeared down a turn in the hall, Cordan crept into the throne room, blindly crashing into Queen Eara the instant he turned into the room. “Your Majesty! I’m sorry! I had no idea you were there! I’m… I’m,” Cordan tripped over his words.
“Little one, it is perfectly fine. There is no need to apologize,” the queen replied with a benevolent smile.
Cordan, after being stunned that the he was being addressed by the queen, remembered why he was here in the first place. “Oh! Your Majesty, I have a request for you, if you could spare anyone. to please send help to my home. Dragons are attacking my tribe, and I think they’re all starving. Soon they won’t be able to fight any more. My father sent me to come here and get help, and I can’t let him down. My whole tribe will die if I do…” Cordan’s face fell while he said his last sentence.
The queen looked down at him, her gentle smile becoming filled with sorrow. “I did not want to be the one to tell you this, little one. As soon as my daughters brought you into our palace, a company of pegasi soldiers was sent into the mountains. We expected your arrival meant something had gone awry within the draconequus tribes. I am sorry, little one, but your tribe… they are gone. Our soldiers were too late. I am truly sorry.”
Queen Eara continued to speak kind condolences to Cordan as she walked him back to a palace room, but he heard none of them. He had sunk too deep into his misery. For the first time in his life, he was utterly and truly alone.
