Magic is the divider. It separates and creates inequality between all. A world with magic, is a world that will never truly know peace.
-The First Book
Flash thought that today would be like any other normal day. Just standing guard in front of a door and letting the day pass on. Of course today was anything but normal. It started with the sudden appearance of the small griffin army which had gathered at the entrance to the empire. Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor went to go check it out while leaving Flash in charge of watching Flurry.
It wasn't until the Crystal Heart shot a beam of magic at the Griffin wearing a strange yellow suit that things instantly appeared off. That's when the unthinkable happened. The Griffin, the one wearing the yellow suit, was pushing the beam back. With magic of his own.
His magic eventually reached the Crystal Heart and it shattered at though it were made of glass. Then came the gut wrenching crack in the Palace's structure. The very building itself groaned as it slowly began to tilt. Flash acted on instinct and quickly grabbed Flurry to ensure her safety. Thankfully, Princess Cadence, along with most of the unicorn royal guards, were able to set the building back in place. Flash ran onto the balcony and to his horror saw the destruction of the city.
Multiple columns of smoke drafted into the air from the fires which had broken out. Ponies running and screaming in terror as they were chased by Griffins who now wielded deadly weapons. When Flash caught sight of Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor, his heart sunk.
The Griffin wearing the yellow suit stood over the two broken royalty, towering like a powerful God. Flash wanted to do nothing more than to swoop down and help them. But a single look at Flurry Heart reminded him that her life was still in danger.
"That room right there. That's the only one we haven't check yet, so she's gotta be in there."
A voice, one that most likely belonged to a griffin. Flash could tell because of its accent. He looked to Flurry Heart once more, and made up his mind.
With his wings spread Flash took off to the sky, putting as much distance between him and the Empire. But he didn't get far enough it seemed.
The Griffin dressed in the yellow and black suit appeared in front of him and demanded Flurry. Flash refused, saying he would rather die. The Griffin said he would happy to oblige. The Griffin drove Flash to the edge of a cliff with jagged spikes at its bottom. His wings were broken, the Griffin had him cornered, there was no way out.
The Griffin offered to spare Flash if he gave Flurry Heart to him. Instead of taking his offer, Flash jumped off and aimed for the part of the ground which didn't have any spikes. He would die from the fall but Flurry would live, and as long as that would happen he didn't care if he lost his life.
It was then that a brilliant light, one of gold and blue, shot down from the sky and sunk into his chest. The light shined through his entire body, intensifying with each passing second, and three words were spoken by a voice inside his mind.
Flash Sentry, you would save another life even at the cost of your own. YOU ARE WORTHY!
Time itself had come to a slow current, stretching seconds into hours. The entire area around Flash became grey and void of color except for him. He began to panic, thinking that he had died.
Calm yourself Sentry.
The voice inside his head spoke. It sounded robotic, or rather, emotionless, like it had once belonged to a living creature.
Flash tried to speak but no sound could be heard.
You can only speak through your mind in here Sentry.
Flash thought it strange but did so anyways, he thought and it was heard.
Where am I? What are you? What's going on? How did I get here? Is Princess Flurry Heart alright? Did I leave the oven on this morning?"
Millions of thoughts trampling over others filled the area with sound until Flash made them cease.
Clear your mind. Focus on one thought and speak it.
Flash did as instructed, instead of spilling out all of his thoughts at once only one came out.
"Is Princess Flurry Heart safe?" Was what the thought asked, and the voice responded.
The child is still in your forelegs, safe and sound.
Flash let out a sigh of relief before releasing his next thought. "What are you?" It asked.
I am an Element of Atlas, the Guardian, and I have chosen you, Flash Sentry, as my host.
"Why me?" The new thought asked.
You value others lives over your own. You would sacrifice your own life if it meant someone else's would live. This is what makes you worthy of being the Guardian, what makes you worthy of my power.
A new thought presented itself, and asked "Where am I?"
Technically we are in your subconscious, processing each thought faster than a millisecond.
"You said I have power. What kind of power?"
The power of magic. This power is used to shield and protect others from harm and danger.
Under normal circumstances I would teach you, but now is not the time. For now I'm going to have to give you a quick, short detail of your power by uploading it to your memory.
"So its kinda like a shortcut."
In a word, yes. Only this is gonna hurt.
Gideon stood before the cliff baffled, his mind incapable of processing what had just happened. He offered the Pegasus his life in return for the Alicorn child. Gideon never planned on killing the child, nor did he plan on killing anyone in the Crystal Empire. All he wanted was to rise up from beneath the ponies boot and show them that the Griffons do not bow before anyone. He wanted them to know what it meant to fear them,
Not this.
*KA-BOOOOOM!!*
A pillar of gold magic with multiple blue rings rising up on it shot into the air, its brilliant light practically blinding Gideon. The pillar's reach grew higher and higher as it soared, piercing through the sky and beyond.
"When those in need of protection
Know that I will answer the call
With my brilliant shield of light
I will protect you all!"
A voice from the pillar spoke, its words loud and booming with strength as the pillars light became even brighter.
Far from the Crystal Empire, in the east, there is a majestic forest named Redwood Forest. In the very heart of the forest, isolated from the other redwood trees, there is an oak tree which towers at 1,000 feet in height and its roots extended to every edge of the forest. The tree was known by many as the Great Tree, a symbol of nature's true might. Redwood Forest was home to a race known as the Deer, creatures who had minor resemblance to ponies but were entirely different. Unlike the ponies, the Deer culture is revolved around nature. The Deer worship nature like a god, and they respect all of nature's gifts. Their homes are inside the trees, their food is grown wildly and not tampered by farming, and they treat each other as equal.
The Deer have no king or queen of any sort. Their is a group of leaders known as the High Council who govern and suggest ideas that would better suit the community, but there is only equality among the Deer, no one is better than the other. Even the High Council is comprised of normal Deer, but the true power lies within the population itself.
The Deer are incapable of using magic of any kind, in fact, the Deer have their own views on magic. Ever Deer worships nature as a god, as such, every Deer reads and learns from the "First Book". A book with the history and knowledge of nature. In the very first page it reads,
From Nothing came the Stars, from the Stars came the worlds, from the worlds came nature, and from nature came life. Nature was the first to wield magic, and from her power she created trees as our homes, crops as our food, and water as our very being. Nature asked nothing more than for all creatures to treat and respect each other as equal and friends. But the Ponies committed a sin, a sin that they and their descendants and those to follow from their descendants will carry with them forever more.
The "Original Sin" as it was later called, was when the Ponies stole magic and learned to use it themselves. Magic, caused separation among the ponies, dividing the once pure race into three new races. One of flight, one of strength, and one of magic. Other races soon followed, some gaining the power of flight, others the power of strength, but only the Ponies were the ones who could wield magic among the other races. Appalled, the Deer wanted to fight against the Ponies, to show them that they had done wrong and that their was still time to be forgiven.
But nature denied the Deer the idea of war. She told the Deer that the Ponies, while they did steal from her, were still capable of good. She told the Deer that magic is not the true evil, but rather those who wield it differ between good and evil. The "Original Sin" does not refer to the Ponies stealing magic, but that they have caused evil with it.
The Deer will never possess magic, as the risk for becoming evil is to high. Magic is a divider, it causes war, distrust, inequality, and hatred. Magic should only be wielded by nature, as she is the true good in this world. We will not fight the Ponies as they must learn their wrongs themselves, but that does not mean they are incapable of forgiveness. We will treat all the races as our equal, as that is the way nature created us to be.
These very words were being read right now by a stag with light brown fur, blue eyes, and short antlers. He sat on a stool with a hard cover book titled "The First Book". Sitting in front of him on a round carpet was a group of fawns ranging from boys to girls. They were in a library, surrounded by shelves of books which had been carved from the inside of the tree.
The stag closed the book and addressed the group, "any questions?" He asked.
A fawn raised his hoof and after getting permission from the stag spoke, "why did the Ponies steal magic?"
That question seemed to be on everyone in the group's mind. The stag wasn't surprised, he asked the same question the first time he read from the First Book as well. "The reason the Ponies stole magic was because they desired power. They led their greed consume them and as a result they became seperated and distant from one another."
Another hoof was raised and the stag called on whoever was raising the hoof, "how come magic is evil?"
"You're asking the wrong question." The stag pointed out. "The question isn't 'why is magic evil', but rather the question is 'why does magic create evil', and the answer is because magic leads to separation. When we were first created all of the races were equal in appearance, knowledge, and strength. It was magic which had destroyed equality and caused the races to change."
Another hoof was raised and called on, "if that's true, how come the Ponies aren't our enemies?"
"The Ponies were never our enemy, even after they stole magic we still see them as our equal. As we always will. One day the Ponies will rid themselves of their magic and when that happens we will all be equal." The Stag answered. "Any more questions?"
Silence.
"Great, then your homework will be to read pages 2-10, I expect you all to have them memorized by tomorrow. Now go outside and play." The Stag smiled as the group packed up and left.
The Stag did so as well, leaving and heading off towards his home. Receiving warm greetings from neighbors and local residents. Midway towards his house the Stag decided he would go for a stroll through the woods. The Stag walked deep into the forest, some of the roots belonging to the Great Tree visible above ground before trailing back down.
The Stag came across the edge of a cliff, where he walked to the end and gazed at the magnificent beauty of the forest beneath him. He admired the work of nature for a long period before something caught his eye. Something very tall.
A pillar of white light, a large distance away but still visible from the Stag's location, shot into the air. The Stag watched as multiple objects, each a different color, escaped the pillar and soared across the sky. Then the pillar faded away into nothingness, but before it did two objects could be seen. One bright white, the other pitch black. The two objects soared in the opposite direction of the other, the white object soared in a straight line until it curved and changed its direction.
By the time the Stag understood where the white object was heading it was to late. The white object sunk into the Stag's chest, causing his body to glow. Bright beams of white light shined from his eyes and open mouth as three words echoed in his mind.
Forester, you value all life on this earth. YOU ARE WORTHY!
The pillar of golden light with blue rings around it slowly faded, Gideon's sight slowly returning. To his surprise what he saw next shocked him.
It was the Pegasus, only now he wore a golden armor that covered his entire body with blue spots on the joints. The Pegasus' once broken wings were now repaired and completely engulfed in a blue magical aura. In his foreleg was Flurry Heart, somehow sleeping.
Gideon opened his mouth to speak but before he could utter a single phrase, the Pegasus closed the distance between him and Gideon, and in his hoof a ball of blue magic appeared. The ball collided with Gideon and created a massive shockwave which sent Gideon flying backwards. He bounced off the ground three times before rolling to a stop.
He stood up, not hurt but definitely frazzled by what had just happened. Gideon looked to his right, where the Pegasus now stood and spoke,
"You're like me, aren't you?" Gideon asked. "You received an element which has given you powerful magic. But your element isn't like mine, it's different isn't it?"
The Pegasus remained silent.
"Tell me Pegasus, do you know what a 'Duell der Schwerter' is?" Gideon asked, using his magic he created a sword with a steel blade.
The Pegasus continued to remain silent, despite his hidden face, Gideon knew that the Pegasus was glaring at him.
"I'll take your silence as a no." Gideon assumed. "Allow me to explain. 'Duell der Schwerter' in your language means 'duel of swords'. In Griffon culture, we were the first to discover iron and because of that discovery we were the first to create and engineer swords. Over time we created a tradition known as 'Duell der Schwerter', a duel between two sword wielders."
Gideon used his magic once more and created a steel blade sword which he tossed towards the Pegasus. The sword flipped a couple of times in the air before its blade sunk into the ground. The Pegasus looked between the blade and Gideon.
"I'm offering you a deal, Pegasus." Gideon offered. "Defeat me in this duel and I shall take myself and my troops away from the Empire. But if I defeat you in this duel, then you must surrender Flurry Heart to me and will not give aid to the Ponies. Do we have a deal?"
The Pegasus looked to the sleeping baby Alicorn and a golden aura bubble surrounded her. The bubble lifted into the air and stayed in midair as the Pegasus approached the sword and took it into his hoof.
"I accept your duel." The Pegasus said, skillfully wielding the blade.
"Excellent, we start the duel by declaring our name while paying our respect to our opponent. Like this." Gideon showed his example by taking a bow and introducing himself. "My name is Gideon, Prince of the Griffon Empire. May you prove to be a worthy challenger." Gideon stood up and frowned when he saw that the Pegasus was not bowing. "This is the part where you declare your name while paying your respects."
"Respect?" The Pegasus spoke as though he had been offended. "You attack my home, imprison my Princess and Prince, broke my wings, put Princess Flurry Heart in life-threatening danger, and you expect me to just respect you and pretend none of that happened?"
"I can assure you, I never once had any intention whatsoever to harm Flurry Heart, or anyone in the Crystal Empire." Gideon said.
"For a Griffin, you're a terrible liar" The Pegasus stated.
Gideon's left eye twitched as he suppressed his urge to attack the Pegasus in a bloody rage. "I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that, and ask you nicely to do as is required for the duel."
The Pegasus didn't want to, it felt like he was addressing Gideon as his friend and they were just playing a common game. But the Pegasus lowered his head and upper body as though he was bowing before quickly rising and addressing his name.
"My name is Flash Sentry. I am apart of the Royal guard." The Pegasus said.
"Flash Sentry huh? Well then I wish you luck against me." Gideon said, pointing his sword's tip towards Flash. "Oh yes one more thing, Magic is strictly forbidden. If I see any sign of you using magic of any kind I will have won the duel automatically. The same principle goes for me." Gideon said, his yellow suit disappearing.
Flash did as he was requested and his gold and blue armor faded away. Gideon smiled in appreciation as he readied himself for battle, Flash did the same.
"Are you ready?" Gideon asked.
"Whenever you are?" Flash answered.
"The let us begin." Gideon declared as both he and Flash charged towards the other.
On the floor of the Crystal Empire, Lexus sipped from his cup of tea calmly and casually. Acting as though everything that had transpired was nothing to worry about. In front of Lexus was every citizen of the Crystal Empire, tied up and restrained by the Griffin's surrounding them. Both Cadence and Shining Armor glared at Lexus as he continued to drink from his tea.
"Are you sure you don't want any tea?" He asked the two, offering two cups of tea.
Both Cadence and Shining Armor looked down at the cups before responding. "It'll be a cold day in Tartarus before we accept anything from you." Cadence spat.
"You probably poisoned the tea for all we know." Shining added.
"Poison! In tea?!" Lexus said, appalled by the thought. "What kind of soulless monster would do such a thing?!" He demanded, pulling the two cups back to him.
"What about that time when Princess Aurora poured laxative into your tea Lexus?" One of the Griffin guard's asked.
Lexus frowned upon recollection of the memory. "Like I said, 'soulless monster'." Lexus said, taking another sip.
A chuckle arose from the Griffons, leaving the Crystal Ponies confused.
"I hope you understand that we meant no harm by this little...assault my nephew took on this place." Lexus said. "I, personally, stayed out of this battle while it went on. But I made sure that Gideon, and his soldier's, did not kill anyone. Even if it was Celestia's nephew."
"Its Princess Celestia to you!" A Crystal Pony among the group spoke up, receiving a slight jab from a spear and a demanded hush from the one who wielded it.
Lexus took another sip of his tea, "she won't be Princess for long."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Cadence asked, sounding worried.
"Did you not see what has just transpired here?" Lexus asked, gesturing to everything around him. "My Nephew brought down the Crystal Empire in only an hour. Imagine what he could do if he invaded Canterlot?" Lexus asked rhetorically before continuing, "and it's not just my nephew you need to worry about. I can feel large spikes of magic all over the place, magic that compares to my nephew's power, and that magic is spreading all across the world. Surely now you know the truth."
"What truth?" Shining Armor demanded.
"The truth that your reign is ending." Lexus answered with a smile. "That those who you have kept under your boot are going to rise up and fight you. Just as we have done today." Lexus said, taking a sip from his tea while not breaking eye contact.
"Lexus, Prince Gideon has returned." A Griffin said. "Along with the Alicorn child and a Pegasus."
Lexus stood up and turned around, where he saw his nephew Gideon and the Pegasus Flash Sentry carrying Flurry Heart land in front of him. Gideon had a scowl on his face, one that looked to be a mixture of anger and disappointment. Flash shot Gideon a look before he walked forwards and spoke to his soldiers.
"Release the Crystal Ponies and return to the ship." He ordered. "We're leaving."
Looks of shock and surprise appeared on the faces of the Griffin and Ponies faces. Except for Lexus who, after taking another sip of tea, calmly said, "'bout time, I swear I can feel my eye sockets burning with every second I look at this place."
A Griffin soldier stepped forward and asked for an explanation, "your Highness...you're joking right?"
To show his seriousness, Gideon approached Cadence and removed the ring inhibitor from her horn, and did the same for Shining Armor. Once their bonds had been undone, and Gideon's back was turned to them, Shining charged up his horn to deal a blast of magic at Gideon. Before he could, Flash grabbed his horn and slowly shook his head, as if he was advising against his attack.
Once the Griffins understood what they were supposed to do they freed all of the Crystal Ponies and marched towards their airship in silence. After everyone had boarded, the propellers spurred to life and the anchors which kept the ship grounded were undone. With nothing keeping the ship bound, it took flight.
From the deck, Gideon locked eyes with Flash's as the airship flew further and further from the Empire. Once the Empire could no longer be seen Gideon turned around, wanting nothing more than to head to his bed and sleep. But as he turned around, he met the disapproving gaze's of his soldiers, and the usual calm look of his uncle.
"Sorry about this Gideon, but the crew and I have to know why you ordered them to retreat." Lexus explained. "Otherwise you're gonna have an unhappy crew amongst you."
Gideon ignored their request and approached the metal door which led below deck. "I don't want to talk about it." He said under his breath.
He opened the door only for it to be instantly shut by one of his soldiers. "Sorry your Highness. But we want an explanation right now." The soldier demanded, keeping his aggravation suppressed.
Gideon looked to his soldiers and sighed, knowing full well that they weren't gonna let him leave without an explanation for his actions. "Very well, you better take a seat cause this'll be a long...and embarrassing story." Gideon said taking a seat on the deck. His soldiers did the same while his uncle remained standing.
"It all started when I chased after Flurry Heart. I ran into the Pegasus guarding her, I got him to the edge of a cliff where I offered to spare him if he gave Flurry Heart to me. Instead he jumped off and in doing so, somehow got magic like me. One thing let to another and I challenged him to a 'Duell der Schwerter', with an added rule that neither of us could use magic."
Gideon continued with the story. "When we clashed sword against sword, i took the offensive, putting all of my strength into each blow. But Sentry-the Pegasus had a very strong defense, one that I could not break. He would try to catch me off guard and then strike. Each time he did so, I dodged of he missed. There were times when he had struck me, such as a slight graze or a small pierce. After some time had passed Sentry made a deep cut on my left claw. I had raised my sword ready to strike but I stopped when I had noticed that he had dropped his sword." Gideon explained. "Purposely." He added.
"At first I was confused, then I thought he was forfeiting the duel. But when he said that he had declared himself the winner of the duel I thought he was pulling some kind of trick. It wasn't until he told me to look at the cut he had made on my left claw that I discovered the truth." Gideon held up his left claw for everyone to see. "To my surprise, there was no cut on my claw yet I knew that Sentry had made one. I then understood why I had lost the duel."
"Your magic had healed your wounds." Lexus stated.
Gideon nodded. "Per our agreement, if any of us uses magic it would count as an automatic disqualification for he who uses it. And since I had used magic I lost and had to honor the deal I had made with Sentry. Which was to free the Crystal Empire and leave."
"Why did you challenge the Pegasus to a 'Duell der Schwerter' anyways?" A soldier asked.
"We were equal in magical power, I could feel it. Fighting on those terms would only end in a stalemate. So I thought a 'Duell der Schwerter' was the best course of action." Gideon explained.
The crew discussed amongst themselves before looking back to Gideon.
"After some discussion we've decided to forgive you for your actions. Even though they cost us the Crystal Empire." A soldier spoke. "Go get some rest your Highness."
Gideon nodded as he exited below deck. After he had left the crew got to work on maintaining the ship, tending to the balloon's pressure and the ropes keeping it attached to the ship. While the crew did their job Lexus observed in silence. He ceased his observation when a grey hawk with a metal cylinder strapped to its back.
The hawk was a messenger bird, bred to travel to a certain location or to a certain someone. Lexus upended the cylinder on the hawk's back and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. After unrolling it, he read it and reread it. A smile of satisfaction on his face. He rolled up the piece of paper and addressed the entire crew.
"Griffins, good news." He said holding up the letter for everyone to see. "We've just been requested by the Emperor to return home. Gideon's banishment is over!"
The entire crew burst into cheers and cries of laughter upon hearing the news. Everyone on the ship was happy, everyone that is, except for Lexus. Because when he looked at the letter his smile turned into a frown. Not because the letter said that Gideon and the crew were to return home, that part was true, it was that the letter wasn't sent from the Emperor, Gideon's father, but if had been sent from Gideon's sister.
Aurora.