//------------------------------//
// 15 
// Story: Slave of Eternity 
// by Secrets and Lies 
//------------------------------//


(15)






In about an hour’s time, it would turn nightfall. Yellowed and orange sheets of light wavered through the foliage and shown upon the underwood below. The sun’s rays gently pressed through the oversized leaves above, brightening their hues to warmer colors. Shadows from the wooden giants around the group had grown longer over the past hour. A wind whistled through the leaves and trees below, eventually confronting Zachary’s sweat-covered face. It was comforting, getting that little bit of relief. He would have stopped and looked about the mysterious, sunset-toned forest around him–it was quite beautiful–but he had no time to stop and rest.
He, along with the rest of the draconequine, had been walking for hours on end, leaving no time for long breaks. The tribe would stop for a few minutes to change weapon hands or hooves, do their business and other things, but would proceed to go on shortly after. They had shot and killed many game animals, all of which were unfamiliar to Zachary. Most of the hunting trip’s day, after the encounter with the Cervians, was spent in silence. Roren wasn’t much of a talker, and neither was Zack for that matter.
Zack would have assumed that at this rate they would have made it to Equadeus Arx by now. A day ago, when he spotted the hill top from afar, he swore he could have ran through the forest to it in a matter of hours. Either they were taking a longer way around, or they had just forgot about Zack’s request. When that thought occurred, he asked Roren when they would reach the castle and if they had taken a detour or not.
“We have taken the old road. Not a direct passage to where your request lies, but a safer route. If one were to have gone straight where you had planned, you would have ended up in the Black Mire. By morning, we will have made it to the castle, but we shall camp tonight.”
Zachary stressed, “Can we not travel by night?”
“I do not believe anyone would like to travel these woods at night. Even I do not know everything that lurks in my home realm. I did not know you were in these woods until yesterday. So what other wizards and oddities would you think stumble in these woods every day?” Zack fell silent. It was no use arguing with a twelve foot tall, bipedal, chimera and his two dozen warrior kin.
After a few minutes, the tribe finally stopped and began to make camp. While some pitched tents, others gathered firewood in the forest around them. Some began the process of skinning the game animals and placing their meats in certain carrying pouches which repelled the smells of the raw foods. Others gathered water from the forest while some, like Roren and Zachary, did absolutely nothing. Zack was still tied by the wrists and asked if he could be let free for the night. Roren asked Eldian and he agreed on doing so.
As night approached and as the sun dipped below the horizon, something odd began to happen in the forest. The giant berries that the forest was filled of began to glow like large lanterns. As the night grew darker, the fruits of the trees grew more vibrant, lighting the forest all around them. The campfire the draconequine started was not nearly as bright as the berries far above them. They lit every nook of the forest in a warm, orange light. Zack was taken back by this and was thrilled at such splendor and beauty. Not only were the large berries lit like blazes, but he could begin to see giant, bioluminescent bugs of all sorts crawling about the trees. They glimmered, glowed and flickered throughout the forest in an array of colors. It was frightfully wonderful in Zachary’s eyes; Roren could see this and felt glad for Zack. He wasn’t sure if he had seen the small wizard smile yet or not.
The only real reason for the campfire was for the warmth, which a handful of draconequine and Zack camped around. Many of the successful hunters of the day slept in tents, but the one’s who did not kill an animal for the tribe slept outside on mats, which wasn’t too bad being that the night was rather cool and peaceful. Most of the draconequine fell asleep quickly, and Zack was on the verge to do so as well. They all had been walking and hunting all day and their tired bodies brought them to a peaceful sleep in no time at all. Roren sat himself down on a mat beside Zachary. Zack himself was on a mat much larger than him, which he throughly enjoyed being how tall he was as a human and how most of his beds were cramped due to his height. The draconequus crossed his arms behind his head and peered upward. There was a gap in trees above, revealing the star lit sky and a magnificently bright, full moon.
Roren pointed a single claw upward, straight at the moon and asked, “Wizard, is it not strange how the moon has been appearing?”
Zack took notice and replied, “What do you mean? It looks normal to me.”
“It isn’t though, Wizard. The moon has been full for the past week, and never has it been this bright.”
A flood of memories pounded upon Zachary’s mind when Roren mentioned the moon and its appearance. Luna’s last words to Zack, and the looks she gave him formed in his mind like a screen before him.

        “I shall make the moon as bright and as full as I can for you every night until your return, so you can safely navigate through those lands.”

She stayed true to her word, and she still cared for him from such a long ways away. He wondered if he would ever look at the moon again and not think of Luna.
Zack softly spoke back, his eyes still skyward, “You’re right, Roren...”
Roren simply rolled to his side away from Zack and began his short trip to the dream world. Zack wasn’t sure why he didn’t persist to talk about the odd celestial event above them only they made note of, but he didn’t care. He had new things to think about, things concerning colorful ponies. Those important things he had invested so much time and thought into these past couple of days; but now that his mind was at rest and didn’t have to worry about being killed, he could reevaluate his situation.
It all came down to a choice whenever he would return: Luna or Pinkie. The choice he was now thinking of he believed couldn’t be the choice the Emerald Lady had told him about, this was–by far–less dangerous and life threatening, but the choice between the two mares still weighed heavily on the lonely man. He couldn’t believe it at first, he was beginning to have feelings for an animal, though after six years in Equestria, it didn’t seem that strange at all. The line between Earth’s version of an animal and Equestria’s version of a sapient being was erased as soon as he flickered into this universe.
He contemplated the two options. Pinkie was the first he met in Equestria, the one out of a handful of ponies that he believed would have helped the strange, otherworldly creature he was. She showed him that there was more to life than what he believed and stood up for him on numerous occasions. Oh, the adventures they went on; the ones accounted for and the ones unaccounted for. He had watched her grow to become a beautiful mare, but now having a relationship with her, he could sometimes imagine the little filly still in her. At some points, it just didn’t seem right to go through with it. Even though he never truly had any feelings for her, after their kiss and goodbye, he began to think more about her in that way; and eventually, he too quickly grew feelings for the pink mare.
Then there was Luna. She, to Zack, is vastly beautiful, more so than Pinkie in his eyes. Though Pinkie was cute and attracting, Luna was all attracting and could relate to serious matters with him. He couldn’t talk sense into Pinkie or have a down-to-earth conversation with her if his life depended on it. Luna listened–Luna had a grasp on what Zack was truly dealing with. Even though they had only spent a few weeks together, (and most of those weeks were spent in silence) they both had grown attached to one another. She was the first to show her feelings obviously, then, like his thoughts on Pinkie Pie, he had grown greatly attracted to her. 
Both the mares stuck out in his mind, one could not surpass the other. Their options weighed the same and he was still in the mess they both had created. He believed that if neither of them would have kissed him, especially in the same twenty-four hour period, things would be different. In fact, he would have still believed in staying single all the rest of his life. Perhaps he would start a garden when he got back home, Zachary liked that idea; however–back to pony matters–he couldn’t imagine marrying one or even mating with one.
He stopped at that moment, he didn’t want to picture that just yet. He started to wonder about the mare dominance in Equestria, almost a five-to-one scale relating to mares to stallions, maybe more. Concerning the mare superiority in numbers and in high ranking jobs, he pondered if it was ritual for the mare to ask the stallion out, or even in extremes as to asking for one’s hoof in marriage. Before long, Zack was thinking about interspecies relationships and how common they were, ignoring that he had been staying up hours on end in the night, staring blankly into the multitude of illuminating and distracting things about the forest. He eventually drifted off to sleep, and not once did he think about what tomorrow held in store. How he would fight for his life for the sake of his own. What horrors lay dormant in the mysterious and deathly halls of Equadeus Arx? Zack never thought about it as he counted pink ponies hopping over a white, picket fence





        He awoke rather suddenly, as if pushed by an external force. Zack rose up calmly and scanned his surroundings. He was still in the Firelight Woods and still around the campfire with five other draconequine. It was still night and the glowing luminescence around him shimmered ever on. He would have gone right back to sleep, not even looking about his surroundings if not for the manner in which he was awoken by. He knew something woke him and it wasn’t himself. 
A strange light, a different light could be seen in the far edges of the forest. A white light shown through the brush and blackness, and Zack could tell that this was something quite different from the rest of the shining woods. His eyes were still blurred from his interrupted sleep and were also not adjusted to the dark. He couldn’t make out what it was, but he had a funny feeling it was watching him.
He slipped his shoes on and proceeded to get himself upright onto his feet. His eyes had adapted a bit more to his surroundings and he squinted to see what was looking at him from the distance. He was a bit taken back by what he saw. Amidst the forest was the pony from his dreams, the undefinable, speechless mare. A white and shinning pony with the flowing, golden mane gazed upon him. Its amethyst eyes pierced through the shrubbery and shadows as they appeared like spotlights in the distance. He knew that the mare only came in his dreams or hallucinations, so he kept his attention and guard on their extremes.
Zack stepped over a few sleeping draconequine and made his way away from the encampment. Without any weapons or tools, he boldly went into the forest, following the streams of light the phantasmic pony gave off. He clumsily hit a few branches in the dark and nearly tripped over a large arthropod he didn’t want to look back and see. As Zack grew closer, the mare would walk away from him, as if luring him like bait. Zack had a fond trust in this mysterious being. He wasn’t entirely sure why he gave it his trust, but did so without thinking too much about it. As he continued through the night-laden world around him, a muffled voice came through a large thicket to his left which acted like a wall between him and where the voice originated from. He stopped his progress because he swore the voice he heard was somehow familiar to his ears. Zack placed his arms in the wall of bushes and tried to pull the leaves away to see what was on the other side. He heard the voice again, this time, it was a bit easier to hear.
“You’re not afraid of me,” is what it said. Zack finally opened the bushes far enough and stuck his head through; and what he saw was quite alarming. He saw himself leaning up against a tree in a high branch. On his lap was a much younger Pinkie Pie, and the two were having a very recognizable conversation.
Pinkie grinned and replied to Past Zachary’s comment, “Nope, not after what you did and said last night! I really want to thank you, Mr. Zack. After all, you did save my life.”
“Well... you’re welcome, Pinkamena,” Past Zack replied with a smile. Present Zack was left speechless at what he was witnessing.
“How is this happening...” he thought as he watched the past events unfold in front of him from a third perspective.
Pinkie continued, “You don’t have to call me that, my sister’s call me Pinkie Pie!”
“Well,” Past Zack commented, “if you’re Pinkie Pie, and I'm Zachary...” His hand slowly lifted from the tree branch and made its way over, pointing directly at Present Zack. “...then who is that.” Both Past Zachary and Filly Pinkie turned their heads slowly over to Present Zack. Present Zack said nothing, but was merely frozen in terror.
“What... in the world... This didn’t happen... this definitely didn’t happen.” 
Past Zack and Filly Pinkie gave him a very cold, grim look. An appearance that was absence of the word, ‘comfort’ in every sense. Malevolence grew in their eyes, unnatural anger burned in their hearts towards Zachary as they silently stared at him. Present Zachary finally broke free, pushed the shrubbery back in front of him and backed away, blocking his view. As he stepped rearward, his foot caught on a root and he was sent falling backwards towards the ground. It wasn’t a very painful plummet, since he landed in the grass, but it still shook him up a bit. His eyes were closed from the fall, and when he opened them again, somebody was bent over staring at him. That somebody was a human, and that human was a girl.
She said, “You know, it’s not very smart to be meddling with your past memories.” As soon as he knew who it was, he shot up off the ground and pointed an intimidating finger at the woman. 
“Caroline,” Zack fumed, “Err–no. You’re not Caroline... What do I call you?”
“Well ‘howdy-do’ yourself! You can call me Zack, or Caroline, or your conscious. We’re all the same.”
“You are not the same as Caroline.”
“And you are not the hero of Arteria.”
“...What do you want?” She simply smiled in response. She then spun around, letting her white Summer dress and velvet hair encircle her as she proceeded to walk away from Zachary. He followed behind her and began to press her with questions.
“What was that I just saw? That was a past memory, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” she replied back in a huff of annoyance. “Yes, it was a past memory. I look over those and study them, because whenever you yourself think about doing something stupid, I knock on your mind’s front door and tell you what you’re about to do is stupid. And do I get any thanks? Never.” She then hopped up on a toppled log and threw her arms out, balancing herself as she walked. 
Zack climbed after her and continued, “What’s happening? Is this a dream... or some hallucination?”
“This, my dear Zachary, is a first.”
“...I beg your pardon?”
“You are experiencing a void tear... without out all the pain.” Zachary stopped on the log, thinking about what she had said.
“So... this is reality... but you’re not real.”
She turned swiftly, pressed up closely and uncomfortably against Zack and said seductively, “I’m as real as you want me to be.”
“Okay,” Zack replied angrily, pushing her away, “back the hell off. I know for a fact I’m not a narcissist in any way.”
“That was a joke, we all know you like ponies now in that way.”
“So,” Zack said, diverting the conversation to something more relevant, “Why is this happening? Is there any reason? And is there a reason you choose the form of my ex-girlfriend instead of... I don’t know... someone else?”
“Firstly, yes, there is a reason. I, well, you, brought yourself here in this state. I, I mean, you, need to talk to yourself, at least a part of yourself that can have an actual conversation... with yourself... And secondly, I could choose any form, heck, why choose one form.”
Suddenly something behind Zack spoke, “When you could use two?” Zachary spun around and saw, for the first time in six years, his brother. He wore the same clothes Zack remembered him last in and couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Jason?”
“No,” he sneered back, “you again, stupid.”
Caroline joined Jason back on the ground across from Zack as Caroline said, “We’re both you. Your subconscious is split now in four ways.”
“But three are the best...” Jason finished, “Team Three high-five!” He threw up his hand in front of Zack, but Zack denied the gesture.
He asked, “You said three, right?”
Caroline replied, “Four first,”
“Then three,” added Jason.
“Right,” continued Zachary. “so... who is the fourth?”
Jason coldly replied, “That, would be the void tear,”
Caroline commented, “Precisely, Jason. But something fills the void tear. Something is trying to get inside you that shouldn’t be there.”
“Which is,” Zachary asked the two.
Both replied simultaneously, “Alwaid.”
“Yes,” Jason remarked, now placing his hand on top of Caroline’s as if the two were a couple, “and he’s doing a terrifyingly good job at poisoning your mind.”
Zachary denoted, “But... he hasn’t.”
Caroline chuckled, “But he has.” She turned to Jason and asked him, or herself, (however way you look at this situation is practically correct).
“Jason,”
“Yes, Caroline?”
“What is the best type of poison?”
“Why that would be the poison that kills you the quietest and painfullest way, of course!” Zack remained silent, thinking over the situation.
He then asked, “Why would Discord want my body though? He has all the power he needs in his original form.”
“Well, let’s weigh the options here,” Caroline started.
“Pro:,” Jason began, “You are the Master of the Spiritax, A.K.A., The Prevailer. The only weapon known in this world to kill spirits, which Discord is.”
“Con:,” Caroline added to Jason’s list, “You are tiny and pathetic in this world and can barely use magic, which is quite common here it seems. You are a tad overweight and have daddy issues. You are also very unreliable and not a quick thinker.”
“Hey,” Zack spouted with rage. The two silently chuckled as Jason continued after Caroline.
“Pro: He fears you because of this. He believes you could overpower him. Even though he is trying to penetrate your mind constantly, he cannot read it, giving you the element of surprise.”
“Con:,” Caroline began again after Jason, “As soon as he sees that there is an opening in your mind and that the poison known as the void tear has reached a potential advantage over your mind, he will take it by force.”
Jason added to Caroline’s ‘con’, “He will insert his spirit into yours, and there will be no way you yourself could overpower him. He would win by default, and use the Spiritax to kill other spiritual invested beings in Arteria. Two of which happen to be the rulers of Equestria.”
“The faster you get the Catalyst Stone, the better.”
“But we believe that tonight you should learn the truth.”
Zack, puzzled, echoed back, “The truth?”
Harmoniously they replied “The truth.”
Jason and Caroline added to each other’s sentences one after the other, “The truth about Discord.”
Jason continued again, “The truth about Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.”
Caroline commented, “Because everything Roren said about the birth of Alwaid was, in fact, true; but not all of it is what it seems.”
Jason added, “You were lead to that holy place in the woods for a reason.”
“A relic of a wood carving.”
“But Roren had stopped us.”
“But it was not simply intuition that guided you to that drawing in the tree.”
“Something called you to it, an old magic. There is more to that silly carving than meets the eye, Zachary.”
Zack butted in, “How do you–how do I know this exactly?”
Caroline pleasurably answered, “You don’t.”
"Yet,” included Jason with a half smile.
“But you will.”
Caroline asked Jason, “By the magic of friendship?”
“No, actual magic.”
They both threw their hands in front of Zachary and pushed him backwards. Zachary immediately slammed into a tree and shut his eyes in pain. When he opened them again, his visual conscious was gone. He turned around to see that they had pushed him into the same tree he came across earlier that day. The tree with the carvings in them of the two alicorns and Alwaid. He wondered how he even wandered this far, at least a few miles away from the current encampment.
“They–well–I brought myself here for a reason,” he figured. “And according to them... the truth is in this carving.”
He approached the darkened tree and placed his hand on the tree face where the carving was. He ran his fingers over the indention, following the lines in which the drawing was made from.
He mentally repeated, “Through magic... Through magic...”
Even though he didn’t have the Prevailer on him, he tried to draw magic from within himself, as if the weapon was there in his grasp. He placed one hand flat on the carving and focused. He wasn’t sure if he was producing any magic or not–visually he wasn’t. He tried to push up the magic energy through his hand, but he believed that he wasn’t succeeding.
On the verge of quitting, he began to hear something odd in front of him. The tree was making a noise, which sounded as if it was ripping from the inside out. He put his hand down and stood back. The enormous tree then split in two before him in a tremendous cracking rupture of a sound. Each half moved over the ground to their sides, still staying upright in the process. Between the tree opened a daylight-bright gateway, almost to another world it seemed. The rays of sun shown through over Zack and in the darkened forest behind him, which occurred between the now split tree. The two pieces stopped moving across the ground, and the forest fell silent again. A narrow door to another world was revealed before Zachary. A blanket of sunlight fell over him, almost blinding him. He approached cautiously.
He poked his head through the elongated doorway. From the new world’s appearance, it didn’t seem like a new world at all, but only Firelight Woods in the day time. He stepped completely through, now a bit less afraid. He noticed that his body was now semitransparent, giving off a static ebbing effect. A light then slowly grew around Zack, and he was lost again in a blinding light. Zachary seemed to have ended up in a strange state where perspective was greatly enhanced. He couldn’t move his body on his own, but it effortlessly moved where he wanted to look. He was no longer bound by gravity and had become an invisible, omnipresent being. What he saw now was the forest brush, just the greenery in day time. He felt like he was waiting on something to happen, so he let himself be and waited; believing that his instinct was right to wait and watch what was going to soon happen.



  
        
        In the still greenery of the Firelight Woods, something swiftly sped across the ground. A single draconequus, a nimble and slender warrior, chased a multi-colored wild fowl between the trees and shrubs. With long bow in hand, he whisked arrow after arrow towards his prey while trailing each shot as fast as he could. With a swift turn around a large tree base, the draconequus lost sight of his meal. He panted, trying to catch his breath. He had been pursuing the large game fowl for hours, but it seemed that this time, it had gotten the best out of him. He leaned up against the tree and placed the bow around his torso.
He patted his face dry of sweat, letting his tongue hang from his maw in the process. He wasn’t too ashamed of his loss, for it was hardly a meal to him. The day was still new and he had many more hours of hunting he could accomplish. Alwaid was an optimist and saw the light of good in any situation. He laughed at his misfortunes even when he had realized the game bird had outsmarted him. He, a fierce warrior and superb huntsman from the Draconequine race, outsmarted by an oversized pheasant. He couldn’t wait to sit around the fire tonight and tell his friends of his wild chase through the woods with no results that followed.
It was in no time at all that he heard the faint cracking of leaves and sticks beyond his sight. Another game animal was in his midst it seems. The eager hunting fever pumped through his veins again as he took the bow off of his back and slipped an arrow out of his quiver. He could tell the prey wasn’t too far, just a few dozen strides from his position. The only hindrance which blocked his view and path was a few toppled logs with large sheets of green vines and moss that had grown across them. He carefully crept towards the dead trees, making sure each step was as silent as the last. He found a small spy hole burrowed through the dead bark where he could mostly see what was on the other side. Alwaid had already placed an arrow on the bow string and was ready to pull back and release it. Once he reached the logs, he peered though the crack in the wood to see what his game was. 
What he saw however was no game animal he had ever seen. A strange creature who walked on all fours could been seen in the distance, looking up at the far tree’s foliage, almost mesmerized by it. Alwaid had to get a better look at this creature, but was too afraid he might startle it if he left his spot behind the log. It was an elegant being, and from its looks and behavior, was nothing like the wild animals he had encountered before in these woods. The being seemed intelligent, and not only was it a land mammal, but it had wings as well. Its coat was white as the purest river stones, and its mane and tail were long and in a beautiful pink hue, similar to that of a sunset’s. He spotted that something seemed marked on its hind–a tattoo of sorts–resembling the sun. Its eyes though, its eyes were the pools in which Alwaid had been tossed into. He was bewitched by them, gleaming rarities as grand as the most sacred jewels of his village. They shimmered brighter than the purest amethyst, he was sure that nothing of mother nature or the olden gods his village believed in could produce such magnificence as this creature that stood before him.
He wasn’t sure how long he had sat there behind those logs. He didn’t want to move, leave or ever stop gazing upon the creature. He hadn’t felt like this before, cursed by an other-wordily beauty seemed like a blessing to Alwaid. He thought that he might never get this opportunity again in his life, so carefully he continued his transfixion and continued to receive the inner bliss it unknowingly bestowed upon him.
The goddess of a being looked up once more, peering high above her. Alwaid wanted to follow her gaze to see what she was looking at as well. Though when he did look up, he nearly had a heart attack at what he saw. He didn’t know there was something watching him the entire time. A small, black creature, wide-eyed and beaming with a white smile stared down at the draconequus. He was beyond startled by its sudden appearance and was unsure what to do. It appeared like a smaller version of the creature he was looking at–perhaps its child even. Though it was completely black besides its darkened blue mane and tail that hung a bit over its face. It said nothing to him or made any noise, it just breathed heavily and excitedly in its presence. 
Alwaid looked to see where he had left his bow and quiver, and as he looked back, both the small and the large mares had spotted him. The beautiful, white equine was looking over the log and had noticed that the draconequus had spotted his bow. The horn atop her head began to glow and in a split second, a magical dart was fired at Alwaid. The blow struck him hard, and at that moment he quickly backed away from the log, not sure what to do. The white one beckoned in a language he couldn’t understand as she continued to discharge bolt after bolt of stinging magical energy. All Alwaid could do was run, so he hastily grabbed his belongings and took off into the forest as far as he could. He knew he would regret it and would have loved to explain that he was peaceful, but it seemed he could not do so from the circumstances that presented themselves before him. He couldn’t communicate with the beings, and now they hated him thinking he was hostile. He fled deep into the forest, to a place in the woods where he had never been.





        The young warrior found himself in a strange area of the woods, a site of toppled ruin of an older place. The forest had grown nearly all around the ancient relic of the old castle. Massive stone blocks and rusted, iron barriers lie scattered about; the remains of its foundation was nothing but half of an open building. Alwaid was told to stay away from such places like these in the forest. He had been told stories about the old kingdoms that once thrived here, forging magical weapons to fight never ending wars; and when all had died out, all that remained were their crumbling castles and their treasured artifacts. A quote from the Chief Lord rang through his ears: Where old dungeons and strongholds lay, evil spirits chant and stay.
Such old tales–Alwaid believed–were told to the young of the tribe to scare them, keeping them out of the woods. He had only stopped to rest here, for he had no time for exploring. He knew he was far away from the two creatures and could now catch his breath. He sat himself down on a large, moss covered white block and wiped the sweat from his brow. He placed his paw down next to him on the rock without looking, and by doing so, he felt something strange where his paw had fallen. He looked over to see that there was a bulge beneath the moss, a place where the stone was not suppose to rise at. He swiped his paw across the moss to reveal what was underneath it.
When the moss was torn away, a strange head of a stave was revealed. The staff looked as if it was carved from a blackened tree; a strange metal twisted around the top of it and imprisoned a ruby-red stone. The strange object was very enticing to the eye, and Alwaid had to get a closer look at its craftsmanship. He took the staff in hand and pulled it off of the block’s remaining vines and moss. The weapon felt soothing in his grasp, as if it was made for his touch alone. Upon placing both hands on it, the jewel at the head of the staff ebbed a blood-colored radiance for a short moment. He dropped the staff immediately and the gleam from the gemstone hid away.
A cold, unsettling breeze blew through the forest over Alwaid’s location. A sudden urge of terror was set inside his body. Along with the old stories his elders of the tribe had told him, he had all but forgotten one to tell when an evil spirit was in your midst: A cold wind will blow and a burden in your heart will grow. A noise from the wind itself grew to words which Alwaid could understand. The words spoken were colder than the wind that blew about him.
“The Prince has come...” Alwaid remained quiet, not because he didn’t want to speak, but because he couldn’t from the fear that overcame his body. The voice in the wind murmured, “You are the Prince, the one that fell...”
Alwaid finally spoke up in a stammer, “I-I don’t know what you are talking about. I’m not a Prince. My name is Alwaid from the Tribe of Dracanos. I mean you no harm, Spirit of the Wind. I will leave in peace from your shrine and will never come again.” Alwaid sat up and began backing away from the crumbled fortress remains.
The spirit spoke out again, its voice echoing throughout the woods, “Do not leave, Alwaid. For I have seen greatness in you.”
Alwaid stopped and replied with hesitance, “Greatness?”
“Yes... mighty hunter of the woods, greatness. Your destiny, you do not remember it, but you will be great... I can unlock this power you hold behind in the shadows of moons ago.”
It continued, “Do not be afraid, for I am a humble spirit and once roamed these lands much like you do today. I was once a great king myself, an equine once destined to bring equality to my lands. However, some opposed me and toppled my reign. Through the inner workings of my lost magic, I have saved my soul in this magical artifact you once held and became an everlasting spirit. You have awakened me from my long slumber, and I wish to reward you for doing so. I see into your soul that you have fallen in great fondness for the white alicorn of the forest, though your mind is burdened. What do you desire?”
Alwaid’s fear had receded and he spoke up at once, “I... I cannot speak their language and I truly wish to communicate with them and understand them.”
“This... this can be given, however, you must promise to preform a simply task for me.”
Alwaid inquired back in a feeble tone, “Yes?”
“Bring me the youngest alicorn, the black pony. I know it will take some time to gain their trust, I understand. But, you mustn't forget. Bring her here, to this very place. That, is all you must do. For I am a humble entity with little needs.”
Alwaid asked, “May I ask why you need her?”
“Do you not trust me? Do you not wish to be with these beautiful creatures? I promise, I will not harm her. I am a spirit of the other world, bound by the promises of mortals such as yourself. Do this, and you shall be also rewarded again.”
“...Understood.”
The staff glowed again and a whisk of faint, magical energy swirled outward and into the mouth of Alwaid. He gasped for breath as it entered him and in few seconds, it was done. Though Alwaid didn’t feel anything different, he trusted the nameless spirit.
The spirit said, “I have given you the ability to communicate and understand the ponies. You will find the alicorns east of here. Now go, fulfill your wishes, and do not forget to fulfill mine when the time comes.”
“Yes, I will remember.” Before Alwaid left, he turned once more and asked the invisible spirit, “Do you have a name I may call you by in the future?”
“Why yes. When I was mortal, they called me... Tirek.”





        Alwaid did as he was told and followed east through the forest. The trees along his path acted as a vibrant and natural glen of swaying leaves. This area of the woods were thick and he had some difficulty traversing the land. He had no clear idea as to how far he would travel east, but assumed it wouldn’t be too much further. He came to an opening in the forest where the sky and sun were clear and visible. A bending creek snaked through the sweeping, open area; its waters were clear enough to see the multitude of stones which made up its bed. He walked towards the water’s edge, feeling more parched now than he did before seeing it. Alwaid removed his bow and quiver full of arrows and tossed it to his side as he dropped to his knees. He lowered his head into the creek and soaked his perspired head and neck, taking gulps of the cold river water in at the same time.
As he rose his head back up, he soon discovered that what the spirit Tirek said was true. Near the edge of the forest lay the white alicorn, resting underneath the shade of a high-rising oak. She was sound asleep and appeared to be entirely alone. Before Alwaid could even smile at his discovery, he heard loud sloshes and splashes in the creek bend afar. His attention turned towards the smaller, black alicorn pony, blissfully playing in the water. She hopped and bounded about, trying to catch minnows with just her hooves. Her cute innocence befuddled Alwaid’s reasons as to why Tirek would even want this filly.
The pony stopped hopping immediately when she took notice of the studying draconequus from afar. She stood in the shallow stream staring oddly at Alwaid as her mane and tail ends flowed in the water. The filly began to walk closer to him, rising her legs high above the water before stepping ahead. Alwaid remained still and allowed her to approach. She came within a few meters of him, still standing in the creek and giving Alwaid the most curious looks. Alwaid remained locked into her blue eyes; the two were curiously examining one another’s strange bodies.
The filly titled her head and brashly said, “Hello again. Who are you?”
He finally understood their speech and returned her question with the over-exciting answer, “Alwaid!”
“That’s a weird name.”
Alwaid paused, and asked gently, “Do you have a name?” She took a moment and thought, biting her lip and looking away from the draconequus. 
She replied, “Luna, I believe.”
“You believe? You mean you don’t know?”
A missile of concentrated energy erupted between the two. Alwaid reared back as the attack hit the water and turned instantly to an orange steam. Luna yelped in fright and dashed out of the creek. Alwaid looked over to see the older alicorn was awake and standing menacingly before him. Rage burned in her eyes, the same rage she felt when she thought Alwaid was going to harm her sister.
“Wait! Stop! I mean no harm,” he beckoned out as he reached his arm out towards her. She cocked her head back in surprise. The magic illuminating from her horn faded away as she eased her body.
She uttered in surprise, “You can talk?”
Alwaid assuringly replied back with a smile, “Yes! Yes I can talk!”
“Why didn’t you talk to us before?”
“...I was afraid,” Alwaid lied.
“Well,” continued the white alicorn, “I’ve seen plenty of your type tramp and stomp through the forest, and even have listened to your type bark about to. I didn’t know your kind were able to talk in our language, or if your kind were even smart enough to communicate.” Luna held back her giggling as the older sister smirked at the draconequus. She looked over at his bow and arrows on the ground beside him and asked in a fiery tone, “So why do you have that killing weapon over there? I’ve seen your kind shoot death from afar with that same device... You weren’t trying to hunt us, were you?”
Alwaid grabbed his bow and retorted back cautiously, “Oh, no-no-no. I would never!”
“Then why do you have that?”
“I can... I use it to make fires.”
The older alicorn chuckled and responded, “Nice try, but I know fires can only be started with magic. Isn’t that right, Luna?” Her sister looked up at her and nodded with agreement.
"No wait... stay here!” Alwaid ran into the forest and came back out with a smile bundle of twigs and branches. He neatly placed them on the ground in a pile as he knelt over them. He tangled a firmer stick into this bow string and placed his foot on the side of the burn pile. Alwaid then made a rapid sawing motion with the bow and in a few seconds, smoke began to rise from the twigs. When he saw this, he got down on his stomach and began to blow into the pile, growing the flames. 
When he successfully preformed this, he leaned back on and stated, “And that’s how we make fire.”
The flabbergasted older unicorn replied, “Preposterous! I can’t belie–What form of sorcery is this?”
“No magic, just friction.” Even though he proved to her that the bow wasn’t meant for harm, (or that it wasn’t meant for hunting anymore), she still didn’t fully trust him.
Her mood changed back to a more hostile tone as she continued, “Well, what do you want, and why are you following us if you mean no harm?”
“I...” Alwaid hesitated, making as less eye contact with the beauty as he could, “I want to learn more about you... you are the only ones of your kind in this forest... and it fascinates me.” Her eyes opened wider and a doleful expression soon followed.
“We’re the only ones of our kind?”
Alwaid, puzzled, replied, “I haven’t seen anything like your kind here in this forest before, and I have lived here all my life. Do you not have a family?”
Luna came into the conversation, “We just woke up one day, that’s what Celly says.”
“Yes,” the older one responded, “Me and my sister have been lost in these woods all our lives. Hiding and running from the monsters in this forest.”
Alwaid replied with sympathy, “I’m sorry to hear that...”
The white alicorn looked back up at him and roughly remarked, “Well you might as well be!” Alwaid didn’t expect that response from her as his sorrow for her slipped away. She added, “Because from now on, you will be our slave and protector!”
He stammered back, “S-slave! What do you mean?”
“I know you feel pity for us, so you will defend me and my sister from the monsters in these woods... and make fire and camp for us!” Luna hopped up and down joyously at what her sister demanded from the draconequus.
“I will do no such thing!”
Luna chirped back in response, “You will or you will be killed!” Her horn glowed spastically and at a fair distance away, a large bush burst into a blazing inferno. Alwaid’s jaw dropped in utter fear as the white alicorn gave him a devilish smile.
He asked her, “Why do I need to make the fires when your sister can do that?”
She waved a hoof at him and replied, “Oh, she couldn’t do that again. She’s still has no real control over her magic; but still, I have magical reserves I need to keep in case of an emergency. So since you are the hunter, you will provide our necessities until further notice.” Alwaid couldn’t believe it, he was being taken prisoner by two females. He wasn’t sure what to do, but for some odd reason, he didn’t really mind his enslavement that much, even if they were just kidding.
Celestia raised her head and called out, “Now come with us, good sir... um”
“Alwaid. My name is Alwaid of–”
“I am Celestia, and of course, you have already met by spontaneous sister.”
Luna skipped over to Alwaid and demanded, “Since you’re our slave now, can I ride on your shoulders? I’d be fun since you’re so much taller than my sister!” 
Alwaid smiled and happily agreed to. The three then walked out of the opening in the woods together. Alwaid offered his servitude towards the alicorns. Not because of their situation or that he found the older one attracting, but because he felt a strange connection to them. They felt like long lost family to him and that he had known them forever.





        The three companions set out through the forest farther than any had been. With no clear direction as to where to go next, they continually ventured out across the Firelight Woods. Every night, Alwaid would set up a rudimentary camp for the three and each night they would bond closer to him. Days turned to weeks, and soon they had decided to see what was beyond the forest. Through their travels to the edge of the woods, fierce creatures often attacked the trio. Luckily, Alwaid was able to fend them off and the three could continue their journey. In a few months, they had reached one edge of the forest. A red and rigid landscape sprawled out before them. Spires of rocky mounts littered the harsh land and a charcoaled stained sky bloated out the sun. Today, this land is known as, ‘The Fringe’.
They hadn’t ventured too far into these lands until the three were surrounded by masses of dragons. The realm they crept into was soon discovered to be overpopulated with these often flying, fire drakes. It was no use communicating with them and the three made a mad dash back into the forest. Now a new goal was planned to travel to the other side of Firelight Woods. Luna devised the plan and it was soon set in motion.
Alwaid had grown close to both Celestia and Luna. He was their protector, their pillar of strength, and most importantly, their only friend. Alwaid knew only a few days past when he left with the sisters that he could leave whenever he wanted to and they actually gave him the choice. He remained however, he felt obligated to help them at the time, and through that decision, it prompted a growing friendship between the two. His love for the white alicorn remained concealed behind the many veils of friendship, but he never once let go of it. He planned to make the friendly relationship between him and Celestia prosper, he wanted her to grow fond of him, and he wanted her very much so.
Months turned to a year as the three finally made it to the other side of the forest. The woods died out here as they came to a blackened, flat world ahead of them. The ground was of thick stone, volcanic rock cracked over the surface which stretched out like a massive puzzle. No greenery grew here, much like The Fringe. Here, however, was a never ending fog. A thick blanket of bone-chilling clouds laid mystery throughout the unforeseeable terrain. Once they stepped out of the forest to get a better look at the new world, the sounds of the forest quickly died off, and the silence of the blue and gray lands brought forth an unnatural horror. They never once stepped hoof in that land any further and proceeded to turn back into the lively forest behind them. No true name was given to this place, but some refer to it as, ‘The Desolation’ or, as a more appropriate title, ‘The World’s End’.
A new scheme was planned by Luna once again to stay in the forest. Adventure still flowed through her though, so she decided that they all should scout out the many rivers and creeks in the forest, following them to their sources. Alwaid and Celestia usually had no say in the matter, but that was fine. The draconequus did miss his family and tribe sometimes, often homesickness burdened him. The feeling that these two alicorn sisters gave him however, the sense that he had known them quite longer than a year, pressed him still. He couldn’t lay a claw on it, but they felt much more like a family to him than he had ever had. Thus, he continued to travel with them. He had given up his home long ago, and now these two lovely fillies were his new kindred.
Years overtook them all, and the sisters grew into fine, adult mares. When Alwaid had met them, he was already at his peak of height and age, so he had hardly changed in appearance. Not only did the sisters change physically, but their magic flourished far greater than he could imagine. They both were powerful in the ways of magic and he would have feared them if they didn’t treat him like the older brother they never had. Luna did this substantially, Celestia, however, began to develop an interest in the draconequus, one he began to notice as well.
A day came when a great storm blew through the forest. A massive hurricane, bringing thunderous booms, powerful winds and torrential downpours overcame the woods. Luckily, Alwaid had time to find a cave and the three made camp in it before the storm hit. The realm around them had darkened exponentially as they waited out the storm. It seemed that they were going to be staying here for the next day and could not proceed with Luna’s grand scheme for adventure. A fire was started from a minuscule amount of timber found near the back of the cave and the three dried themselves close to the fire. It was approaching night soon, but surprisingly, the future Princess of the Night had fallen asleep early near the fire, worn out from the frantic day of running from the storm to the cave.
As Alwaid returned from the back of the cave again, still searching for a few more pieces of wood to burn, he noticed Celestia lying in front of the cave opening where it was still dry. She was looking out across the forest, watching the thunderstorm relentlessly persist to beat down over than land. Alwaid joined her and sat down close by the alicorn. The patter of rain against the face of the cave was soothing to the ears and the slosh of blowing trees and howling winds seemed to harmonize with itself. The two fell silent for a while, enjoying the sounds of the storm around them.
Celestia suddenly spoke up in a soft tone, “Alwaid... do you know what it’s like to feel alone?” Alwaid was quiet. Her eyes fell upon him and she asked him again with more sincerity, “Do you?”
He looked back into her eyes and answered, “Yes... but not like you and your sister feel.” He took the words right out of her mouth as she clasped her lips together. She turned her head to look back out into the storm and began speaking as if to herself.
“It haunts me, day and night. The same question continues to follow me, ‘Am I alone in this world? What is my purpose? Why am I here?’ My life is shrouded in mystery... So many riddles plague my existence... Is there a destiny for me and Luna?”
Alwaid offered his thoughts aloud to her, “I believe we all have a destiny, even if it can’t clearly be seen at the moment. I use to believe that my life was already planned ahead before me. That I would stay in my village, hone my hunting skills... start a family and carry on my bloodline... grow old and die with my family around me–that’s what every male wishes in my village.” He turned toward’s Celestia to try and make eye contact with her as he proceeded, “But you changed that.” Her eyes finally met with his.
Alwaid continued, “I once thought I knew my destiny myself. I once thought I knew how my life would play out, until I decided to follow a different road, and by doing so, it has made all of the difference.” She was speechless as she took his words into consideration. He digressed back saying, “I know you feel alone, and I can’t say much of anything to make you feel better about it; but I can tell you this:” He then laid his tail over her back and moved a little closer towards her. “As long as we stay together, we’ll never be alone in this world.”
She stared up at him into his eyes; a confident smile formed on her face and a light of hope sparked in her heart. Celestia moved closer to Alwaid and leaned into his shoulder for comfort. The rain poured ever on into the night as they held one another.





        Months past after the storm and still the three continued on to venture out into the world. Celestia and Alwaid were still very affectionate with one another, but kept their feelings secret between each other and Luna. Everything seemed perfect in their world. Never a boring day was set in their horizon–adventure and an endless hope drove them forward.
A day came when the three decided to make camp early. Celestia–surprisingly–wanted to do this, as well as gather firewood and food for them to eat. Alwaid couldn’t complain about the change in his plans and he let her do all of this without a disagreement. Luna, still a bit on the wild-side, persuaded Alwaid to come with her to do some last-minute exploration. He and Luna set out into the forest, only to be away for a few minutes.
Luna trail-blazed ahead of the draconequus as she shouted aloud, “Come on, Alwaid! This way!” She used her magic to push through the heavy brush and hopped over plenty of puddles and logs. Eventually, Alwaid had lost track of her and wondered where she had ran off to.
A loud voice rang through the trees towards him, “Come over here! I found something!” Alwaid followed the path to where her voice had originated from. After a final heave to push away the bushes in front of him, he found himself in an opening between the forest. There he spotted Luna gazing at the thing she yelled at Alwaid to come and see. 
Alwaid walked up next to her and said, “Interesting find. You found some ruins of an old castle it seems.”
“Pretty neat find, huh?” She then got a galloping start and jumped up on a large, white block to get a better view of her surroundings. She commented, “This old castle seems different than the ones we’ve passed before. I can’t put a hoof on it, but I know something is different.”
“Looks like another heap of ruins to me.” He nodded his head in the direction of camp and said, “Come on, I bet your sister has food cooked for us by now.”
She smirked and replied, “Alwaid, Alwaid, Alwaid... Always thinking about food when there is a world to explore!”
"I guess I can’t help it,” he said while shrugging. He pointed at himself and laughed, “This fatty has to eat, unlike you guys. I never really understood why you two have to eat anyways if you say you can live without food?”
“It feels good to eat and have something in your stomach!”
“Well, fair enough. Now come on, let’s go back.” 
Alwaid turned to leave the area, but before he could enter back into the woods, Luna called out, “Hey Alwaid, what’s this?” He turned and noticed that Luna was levitating something in front of her that she had found. When he realized what it was, his eyes widened with horror. It was the staff he found years ago–the deal he made with Tirek completely slipped his mind. He approached Luna quickly, grabbed her by the hoof and yanked her away.
“Hey, what’s the big idea?”
“We have to leave.”
“Now? What’s the matter?”
“We have to leave, now! Quickly!”
The old voice in the wind came over the forest again as fast as it did the last time, saying, “You have found her, Alwaid the Oblivious Prince.” Luna broke away from Alwaid’s grip to approach the weapon she left behind. The staff now floated in the air before the two without the aid of any visible magic.
Alwaid commanded Luna with a ferocity in his tone that she had never heard before, “Come back here now, Luna! It isn’t safe!” She disobeyed and approached the staff. With each word Tirek spoke, the staff’s headpiece gem faded in a blood-soaked light.
The spirit spoke out, “Time is nothing to me, Alwaid. You have fulfilled your promise and you owe no debts to me from this moment onward.”
“No! Wait,” he beckoned out towards the stave, “take me! Take me! Whatever you are going to do Luna, do it to me instead!”
Luna turned back towards him and inquired with a bit of fright in her voice, “What do you mean? What’s going on?” She began to step slowly away from the staff. Is a sudden moment, a ray of energy flowed out from the staff’s gem like a torrent of red water. The dark magic engulfed Luna and she was tangled in its grasp. He slowly rose the alicorn up in the air between the stave and Alwaid.
“Yes,” growled Tirek with pleasure, “she will be the host in which I will endow myself in. You should be thankful, young alicorn.”
A beam of magical, white light sailed through the forest and struck Luna’s bondage. The spell which ensnared her dissipated and she fell back to the ground. In a moment’s notice, she raced behind Alwaid and from the forest ran Celestia. 
She asked Alwaid, “What’s going on?” What is that?”
Tirek spoke forth, “Yes, Alwaid, tell them. Tell them of how you begged me for the ability to speak and understand the alicorns. Tell them of how you promised to bring the black alicorn here as payment.” The alicorn sisters turned towards Alwaid in shock. 
He stammered back, “N-no, No! It’s not like that! I didn’t know!”
Celestia, in a voice that burned with rising anger, questioned him, “You were going to sacrifice my sister to this... this spirit?”
“I... Celestia... no... Please believe me, I...” Alwaid’s tone quivered with dismay. He didn’t know how to tell it to them in this matter. 
The voice in the wind broke Alwaid’s attempt to explain himself, “Alwaid was the servant of Tirek, and now he is free of his debt. Though now in my grasp is an even more powerful alicorn. An equine I could use as my vehicle for destruction. Embrace your new lord, Celestia!”
Another stream of evil magic shot forward from the gemstone, but this time, towards Celestia. Alwaid made an attempt to deflect the blast and threw himself in front of the beam. The magic struck Alwaid and burned a deep gash through his chest as he fell over holding his wound. He lifted his hands to reveal a mass amount of blood along with burned flesh and fur where the magic had struck him.
“Alwaid,” Luna cried as she knelt over to aid him.
“No,” Tirek raged as he drug the draconequine’s body away from the two mares and lifted him up into the air. “No one obscures my plans, Alwaid! The next blow will be fatal!”
The gem atop the staff began to burn with a fierce glow. Celestia and Luna stood still, horrified to move for fear that they might be killed in an instant. Something–however–happened that they did not expect; the gem’s light began to fade away, but Alwaid remained frozen in air, still bleeding abundantly from his stomach.
“No...” Tirek slowly whispered, letting the syllable of the word spoken linger. He then chuckled coldly and said with more energy, “No... I have a better idea. I will let you live, but because you tried to intervene with my plans, you shall suffer greatly. I will give you back your long forgotten memories... but do not think that when you remember and regain your hidden powers within yourself that you will overtake me. I will give you the gift of chaos, the first and greatest power in the universe. I will madden you, and you will be unstoppable and uncontrollable. And it will please me.”
A new, blue stream of magical light enveloped Alwaid. It flowed like a ghostly river around him and soon it entered into his eyes, letting forth a blazing brilliance that shined like two suns. That was when Alwaid remembered. He remembered the spirits, he remembered his father, the King, and his mother, the Queen. He remembered the hatred that burned in his heart as he split his mother into two separate beings which he then flung to the world below. He remembered the great battle he had with the King, and he too was driven to the world. His otherworldly powers, locked deep inside of him came forth again. Immense and great they were–terrible powers swelled inside of him. His new memories, the ones spent in his village and with the alicorn sisters began to fade, and soon, they had dissolved to nothingness with no chance ever to remember them. The wound on his stomach began to heal from Tirek’s dark powers.
Before he could finally recuperate and retaliate against Tirek, Tirek sent another powerful wave of dark magic over him, an uncontrollable and unavoidable torrent of raw energy that consumed his mind. He became crazed, vile, insane. His perception of the world began to warp around him, the poison that entered his mind took full effect and he had lost himself. Tirek dropped him back towards the earth with a thud; and at that moment, the staff slowly became faint against the world and it entirely disappeared. All that remained was the howling laughter that Tirek gave as it echoed throughout the forest. The alicorn sisters were still stiff with fright, not sure if Alwaid was even alive anymore. He lay face down in the grass, motionless and without a breath.
Luna finally called out in an unsteady tone, “Al-waid... Alwaid?”
A blinding crack of lighting filled the area. Smoke billowed from the place Alwaid lay and the clouds darkened above their heads. From the black smoke rose Alwaid, bellowing deeply in spasms of laughter. The alicorn sisters could not hide their fear-ridden faces as they stepped back in terror.
Alwaid bent over towards them, pointed a finger at them and mockingly stated, “You should see the looks on your faces!” Their fear soon turned toward questionable looks as they weren’t sure what was going on.
Celestia asked in sympathy, “Alwaid... what has happened to you?”
The draconequus gave a look of concern and questioned, “Alwaid, who’s the Alwaid you speak of my dear lady?” His attention was diverted as he said, “Oh my, this place is so peaceful that it’s disgusting, ‘blehh’!” At that statement, he closed his eyes and snapped his fingers. From the ground spurted walls of fire and giant candy canes. It began to rain a chocolate substance and the leaves of the trees formed into colorful balloons. He looked over his creation and breathed steadily “Ah, this is so much more lively than the past forest!”
Luna shrieked out, “What are you doing? Stop!” The draconequus floated over to her and zipped her mouth close with a zipper that seemed to have come from no where.
“Alwaid,” Celestia cried out. Upon seeing her, he grabbed her by her unicorn horn, snapped it off and used it to scope her hair into a bundle of pink cotton candy.
“I’m having the most delightful time! Aren’t you girls?”
“Stop it, Alwaid! Give me my horn back! Give it to me now!” Alwaid stopped, seeing that his memory refreshed in his mind as to who these two alicorns were exactly. He snapped his fingers back and everything went back to normal in a flash of light. The draconequus put his hands together, letting his claws touch one another.
He looked over the two and said, “I remember who you two are now.”
Luna replied, “Yes! You remember!”
“I remember that you ruled over me... you and the King mocked me and scolded me as a lesser. I was nothing... and I wanted to be something... but you didn’t believe I would do anything to bring you two down... But I did,” he ended with a malicious smile.
Luna’s vibrance of hope fell back as she hesitated, “...What? What do you mean? Who’s this King? We never made fun of you on purpose!” The disillusioned Alwaid walked over to Luna and Celestia in a calm manner. 
“I could kill you, you know? Right now in fact. But what fun is a game without any players?” He didn’t realize it at first, but Celestia’s eyes began to fill with tears. Celestia mewled in sadness and rage, not knowing which to cling to.
Celestia sobbed, “How could you turn your back on us? I loved you, Alwaid! You were the world to me! You gave me hope!” The draconequus turned towards her.
His serious impression was erased with a faint smile as he responded, “Well I hate you... I hate you both for what all has happened... but I won’t kill you–today. I’m going to have some fun first with some old friends of mine. Don’t get in my way though, and don’t think you are a match for me; for if you do try and stop me... you will die.” He shot up into the air and waved back at them saying with joy, “Toodles!” With another snap from his fingers, he was gone.
Luna turned towards Celestia and prompted, “We have to go to his village! We can fly there! I know he’s going to want to seek revenge on them, I could see it in his eyes!” Celestia didn’t respond, she merely looked away from her sister. “Please,” Luna begged, grabbing her sister by the shoulders and saying, “he is still family to us, we can help him!”
“He’s no longer family, he’s next of kin to chaos now.”





        In the Firelight Forest rested the village of Dracanos, home of the Draconequines. It was near sundown and the village was preparing for a feast. It was quite lively at this time as everyone had a job to do and preform. The city itself was at peace in this hour, but the hour grows near towards a more darker time in the draconequine’s history. From the forest’s edge sauntered Alwaid with a blissful smile on his face. The people he passed immediately recognized him and stuttered his name in disbelief.
“Alwaid... It’s Alwaid, everybody! He’s returned! Oh, praise the Foreseer, our beloved Alwaid has returned after so many years,” the draconequine cried out.
Alwaid smiled and waved as he made his was to the large fire pit in the center of the village that served as a gathering place. The villagers followed him, wondering as to why he didn’t stop and where he was going. He finally made it to the front of the fire pit when he stopped and rose his arms above his chest, flicking his fingers and stretching them.
He whispered to himself, “Looks like the fire’s dying... I better do something about it.” 
He quickly shot his arms up into the air. The fire then burst into a raging inferno, it skyrocketed towards the tree’s foliage above in a pillar of sheer flame. Anyone near the fire was instantly burned alive from the sudden force of the heat. The flame’s climbed high above the village and lit the trees above and around the town a blaze. Dracanos was painted in vivid oranges and reds as Alwaid laughed in delight at the sight of his long lost power. Falling timber–lit in flame–crashed downward on the village below as its denizens scattered like cattle about. 
War horns were blown aloud and the soldiers and huntsmen secured their weaponry. They now saw Alwaid as a threat and wasted no time aiming and shooting him with their bows. Alwaid saw this and placed his hand in front of himself. Mere feet away from his body, the barrage of arrows stopped in flight. With a snap of his fingers, the arrows turned to giant pencils. He then flipped the pencils around, erasers facing the warriors. With another snap, the arrows shot forward and struck the warriors from which they were sent from. The large pencils did not bounce off of them however, but the erasers tore through them, splitting their bodies in half as if dragging an eraser across a line on a paper. All who shot at him had fallen.
Alwaid began to levitate and fling broken timber that had been lit by the blaze at anyone he spotted. He couldn’t contain his laughter as he threw and crushed all draconequine he spotted; even the children were not safe from his onslaught. When he couldn’t spot any others alive or moving, he began to search the burning village frantically for survivors. He then found them, his own family. A large group of draconequine varying in age and gender had huddled beneath the Chief Lord’s Longhouse. He approached them with a smirk a child might give when about to step on a bug.
“Please, Alwaid,” the matron cried out, huddling her family close. “Why are you doing this? What are you, Alwaid?”
Irritated, he replied, “I no longer am the Alwaid you raised, mother! I am the epitome of chaos! I am Discord!”
“You are Alwaid,” yelled a voice from behind him. “And you always will be!” He turned and locked eyes with Celestia. Both alicorn sisters stood side by side, their horns glowing vibrantly with raw magical energy on the verge of release.
Luna reached out a hoof and cried, “You are near to us, Alwaid! We can help you still... I forgive you!”
Discord snickered and replied, “Well isn’t that cute?” He then swiped his hand in front of him. Both sister’s had no idea that he had been levitating a burning log from afar and as his hand moved, the log followed. Before they could react, both were struck by the massive, burning piece of timber. Discord laughed with amusement as he watched the bodies of the alicorns fly like rag dolls across the village. Celestia slammed into the side of a building as the log rolled over the lower half over her body. The timber’s fire had been extinguished when it had hit the ground and rolled, but the damage it gave her nearly knocked her out. She couldn’t concentrate as she began to lose focus, her magic was useless to her now. Discord casually walked up to her and bent over.
“Tisk-tisk,” he breathed with disappointment. “I thought you would be a challenge... I didn’t even use an ounce of my magic to affect you. I just had to slap you around, that’s all.” He rose back up, standing tall over the fallen alicorn. He gripped his hand in front of him and a surge of dark magic ebbed over his fist.
“Your time in this life has ended, sweet Celestia. And now–” He silenced himself at an odd moment. He looked up in the sky, as if searching for something as the magic that he held in his fist faded away. Celestia didn’t know what he was searching for, but soon enough, she felt something–something familiar. A presence of some kind she had known of before, but it had been a long time she had felt it. Thunder began to echo in the distance–the strange, rhythmic bass grew louder over time. Discord looked off high into the forest, above the trees and narrowed his eyes.
“The King...” he seethed in a murmur. He screamed skyward, “Reveal yourself!”
A great shadow fell over the village as soon as Discord ceased talking. His sight met with Celestia’s again, his hostile eyes glimmered with the fires around them. In a sudden moment, a large beast fell towards the earth and rose high above the village itself when it stood on its hind legs. A great, deafening roar was given by the monster behind them, yet Discord was unfazed entirely. After the beast’s rumbling voice came to a halt, the draconequus turned to meet his maker.
“My King, my King! Oh, how time flies when you’re having fun!” Discord began to approach the massive, purple and green dragon. Luna limped over behind Discord to aid her sister as he was turned.
“Quick,” whispered Luna to Celestia, “we have to leave! We can’t do anything here!” She used the last remaining ounces of magic stored up in her to lift the log and roll it away. She placed a foreleg around Celestia’s shoulders and began to help walk her sister to the forest’s edge.
The great dragon spoke in a voice as old as the forest and as fierce as the fire around them, “My Prince, you have evaded my sight long enough. The great spirit Tirek, former wielder of the Rainbow of Darkness, has given back your memories. Though you persist on revenge and hatred when you could have lived a life of immortality with us, ameliorated and loved.” As the alicorns hobbled near the forest’s edge, Celestia stopped and turned to watch. Luna did as well while both shed tears for their former surrogate brother.
The dragon continued, “Son of whom, tainted with the blood of your people and intoxicated by discord, your pride shall set like the ending day. For I am Om, wielder of the Dawn Fire and Lord of Arteria. Suffer.”
Om opened his maw spat forth a flood of emerald flame. A fire so great and concentrated that it was blinding to the eye. The entirety of the vast Firelight Woods, from border to border, was lit in a burning green brilliance that could been seen from the furthest corners of Arteria. Celestia and Luna shielded their eyes from the blast as they also tried to hold on to the trees around them. In ten seconds of the continual inferno, Om ceased his breath and the fire faded; not once burning anything around him that he desired to be lit by it. What remained of the area Discord stood in was a smoldering, black rock which was the earth below. The flame was powerful enough to create a crater where Discord was, and that spot today is another holy relic in the village of Dracanos. Om took in another breath and created a gale of wind that shimmered with magical energy. The wind blew through the village in a gentle cyclone, smothering the flames on the buildings and in the trees. Om, with great strides, turned his mass towards the alicorns and met face to face with them.
“I... I am the first, and I am the last. I have seen the birth of this galaxy and many others alike. I have always been, I am always being, and I will always be. The universe has named my being Om. I am Om, the Great Dragon Spirit of this and many dimensions you cannot comprehend in this form of flesh and bounded mind.”
He turned to each and continued in his slow articulation, “Celestia... Luna... your destiny shall unfold in due time. However, the world is not ready for the rise of your kind.”
Celestia spoke up, “You mean there’s more of us?”
“Indeed. And you two shall rule over them. The race itself is growing, yet you must abide here in the Firelight Woods. Your time will come though, but be ever so patient.”
Luna asked, “Did you... kill Alwaid?”
He hummed in a low tone and replied, “I cannot kill him... nor could he kill you. A spirit cannot murder another in this physical form, and by the divine it is written. I have sent him to Tartarus, there it will take one millennia for him to escape, you must stop him when he does. Use the Elements to turn his body to stone, and then you must wait one more millennia for his true demise.
However, know this: spirits can die by other means. A sword and staff, home in Equadeus Arx, has moved throughout the lands, gaining blood upon their name. These two weapons, brothers to one another, have the powers to rid you of your existence. Be wary in future times.”
Om looked upward into the smokey night sky and concluded, “I must depart.”
“Wait,” cried Luna. Om looked down and gave his attention towards the tiny alicorn. She expressed her sorrowful gratitude, “Thank you... Will we ever see you again?”
Om closed his eyes and replied, “You will, but you will not remember me. Another fate will come though, and he will have a greater destiny than all of us.”
Luna questioned, “And who is this?”
“A Son. A Slave. A Savior.” 
At that last word, he unfolded his mighty wings and took towards the darkened skies. He gave a last, victorious roar as he flew off beyond their vision. The alicorn sisters returned to the forest and the draconequine began their long reestablishment process.
Day break had come and the sisters still limped far through the forest. They had both stopped at a large tree to rest and tend to their wounds. 
Celestia looked over at Luna and said, “If Om says we are going to forget him... we are also going to forget this event.”
She then turned to face the tree. She magically hovered up a sharp rock off of the forest floor and began to carve something into the tree. Luna watched in silence as she quickly drew the two of them and Discord. After she finished, she charged up her horn with magic and placed a powerful spell on the carving. She stepped away when she finished and smiled at her masterpiece.
Luna asked, “What did you do exactly?”
“I created a memory spell. We can come back whenever and review our history just by using magic.” Celestia looked out into the forest and sighed. Tears began to form in her eyes again and Luna approached to comfort her.
“Come on,” Celestia sniffed, wiping away the tears, “let’s keep walking.” The two continued on into the forest as a great light encompassed Zack’s view once more. The memory had ended.
Zack opened his eyes and found himself in the beautifully lit forest again. He soon discovered he was no where near the tree, but when he turned, he saw the firelight of the draconequine’s camp in the distance. He flopped down on the forest floor, astonished and enlightened. He sat still, rethinking and taking all of what he had witnessed into his mind. So many questions were answered to him and it was hard to comprehend everything he had just experienced.
All that he could emit was, “Wow.”