//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8 
// Story: The Forgotten World 
// by KingBrony 
//------------------------------//

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.