//------------------------------// // Sleipnir 1 - Ten Thousand Years // Story: Lost in a New World // by KingBrony //------------------------------// Canterlot. Rather, what remained of Canterlot. The once shining capital of Equestria, the home of the princesses and all of the noble ponies, was nothing more now than a ruin. The towers had fallen, leaving debris and rubble all over. The main halls were dark and damp. The ponies who had lived and worked here were all gone. Now, something else took their place. Roddel, captain of the Sleipnir guard, stood on the roof of a tower as he saw the two Sleipnir kings devour the princesses. The two kings were known as the Big Two among the other Sleipnir; ever since the two kings came into power, Roddel had always been their main knight. They would lead, and Roddel would follow. He had no choice. Many of the lesser Sleipnir began chasing the ponies throughout the castle. Some decided to teleport a few around just for the fun of the chase. Roddel despised these Sleipnir. They never took anything seriously and killed for the mere fun of it. It was nothing like the old days, back when the Sleipnir actually acted as the beings of order. He stood idly as the Sleipnir began to take control of the castle. Some ponies were captured and placed into the dungeons, while others were either killed, eaten, or simply let loose to escape into the world. Soon enough, the lively ponies were gone, leaving the Sleipnir alone in the Canterlot Castle. "Roddel." A female Sleipnir's voice was heard from the sky. Roddel looked up to see Rana hovering above him. She was a foalhood friend of Roddel; they both joined the guard at the same time, in what seemed like another world. She continued. "You have that look on your face again..." Roddel turned to look back at the courtyard. "It's nothing." His voice was cold and detached, but Rana knew better than that. Roddel remembered back to when he was just a colt; Rana was always asking him about things, or wondering how he was doing. He then remembered what happened that day, when they were all sealed away. "You should look around the castle once more." Rana frowned. "Fine. Don't fall off of that tower, now!" She laughed as she floated away, her mane flowing in the wind. He looked back to see what the smaller Sleipnir were doing. They were screeching and fluttering around, just like the untamed beasts he thought they were. It was common knowledge that the larger a Sleipnir was, the more intelligent he or she would be. As a medium-sized Sleipnir, Roddel found the smaller ones frustrating to keep in line and deal with. They wouldn't do what they were told; however, he also disliked the larger Sleipnir because they didn't care about it. The two kings were not the kings he loved to serve, but it was too late to do anything about it now. "RODDEL!" A voice boomed from the sky. It was one of the Two Kings: Falchion. He was the king with more power, as well as the largest Sleipnir of them all. He floated above Canterlot alongside Thuun, the smaller of the kings. Roddel saw him as more of a lackey than a king, but Falchion was a true force to fear and obey. The Sleipnir captain floated up to meet Falcion. "This one is here to serve." He said while bowing his head down. "Now that those filthy ponies are out of the way, I can finally restore order to this land." Falcion's voice was dark and booming, pausing every now and then. Roddel scoffed at the word order. It was true that the Sleipnir were beings of order, but Roddel knew that that was no longer the case. The Sleipnir were not the beings they used to be, and Roddel knew exactly why that came to happen. "I can't believe I created these things." Falchion sighed. It was true. In the past, King Falchion had created the beings known as ponies today. What started out as an experiment grew into the creation of a new race. The ponies were treated as slaves, pets, or food while the Sleipnir had roamed. Once they disappeared, the ponies were able to come into their own in this world. It was Roddel's fault that they did disappear. He hatched a plot with a group of ponies, who used the Keys to Order to seal the Sleipnir away. Roddel also planned to murder the kings, to prevent them from continuing their forceful reign. He failed. And now the Sleipnir have returned to take everything back. "They are my creation. Nothing more. What I can create, I can destroy. They...they think they can rebel against me? Stealing the keys and banishing us? Did they think it was over? No...no, they will pay." "For now," Falchion continued. "Take a rest, Roddel. I need your energy for what I plan to do..." The look in Falchion's eyes were not calming at all. Roddel bowed again and floated back down to the courtyard. It was a mess: tables were thrown everywhere, food was spread on the floor, and the remains of ponies littered the once peaceful area. Roddel took a small stroll through, staring at the bodies and carnage. They still trust me, Roddel said to himself as he watched Falchion float away. It was Roddel's fault that the Sleipnir had been sealed away in the first place, but he knew it had to be done. However, Falchion believes that the ponies were behind everything, which is good for Roddel. He has no plan of action now, and must go along with the kings until another opportunity might open. But, without the keys, he had no idea what to do. Furthermore, Falchion wishes to punish the ponies now for something that happened during their own time - for banishing the Sleipnir in an attempt to remove them from the world forever. The Sleipnir had been scattered around the world after falling from the sky like meteors. The Big Two were able to rally them up and began to attack, targeting Canterlot Castle. They knew nothing of the world they lived in now, but they could smell the magic. The magic that came from the ponies. They craved it. Roddel still didn't know what caused this craving, but it was destroying them and clouding their judgement. Roddel found a quiet place to take a nap. The screams of the ponies had died down, leaving the Sleipnir with a fairly quiet atmosphere to sleep in. Much of the castle was destroyed already, but his fellow Sleipnir have taken it upon themselves to further destroy everything in sight for the fun of it. Nothing seemed to remain of their civilization, instead finding a civilization stemming from the power of King Falchion. Ponies were never supposed to exist, so the Sleipnir decided to enslave them once again. All the captain could dream about was what happened that night, when a portal opened up and dragged all of the Sleipnir in. After relinquishing his tie to the key, he finally fell victim to the portal, he found himself floating in some kind of sub-space. He began to accept that he would stay there forever when a light appeared, engulfing all of the Sleipnir. The captain then found himself in the middle of a crater, back in the world he had just left. It did not feel like much time had passed, but in reality it was over ten thousand years. The Keys....where are the keys? Roddel's eyes shot open. The sky was a shade of orange, as if the sun and moon did not rise and fall anymore. Back in his day, the duties of setting the sun were with the Draconequus, while the Sleipnir were tasked with rising it. Roddel then noticed that there were no Draconequus around either. Were they all wiped out? Did the ponies get rid of them? Did the dragons? So many questions, and no time to answer any of them. Outside, both kings were standing in front of a bridge. "I think we'll have the Sleipnir spread out. Everything's open game for them now. It'll be easier to clear the ponies that way." He heard Falchion saying. When Roddel approached them, King Thuun spit something out of his mouth. It was a small, red gem in the shape of a lightning bolt. "What is that?" King Falchion asked. "It was probably something that rainbow pony was wearing...got stuck in my teeth." Thuun laughed. Roddel looked at the object with a sideways glance. "Do you want it?" Falchion joked, picking up the object. The king tossed it to Roddel, who caught it in his hooves. "It looks expensive, but it's not my style." The king sighed. Roddel felt an attraction to the object, but could not detect any power or magic coming from it, as if whatever it was connected to is no longer around. It was slimy and wet from being in King Thuun's mouth, so the captain went to wash it in the nearby stream. It shined brightly when he finished as he proceeded to hang it around his own neck. It was a tiny trinket, so he forgot about it as he made his rounds. Finding himself in the ponies' throne room, Roddel saw a group of regular Sleipnir crowded in a corner of the room. They were not members of the guard, but they were all big. He could hear the whimper of a mare - a poor pony. She was speaking a language he didn't understand; similar to what his previous pony pet Nova spoke. He only heard the Sleipnir laugh in response. "Look, she can't even talk right! How long have they had to get smarter?" "I don't know, but it doesn't seem to have been enough." "Let's just kill her and get it over with! I'm tired of these dumb ponies!" One of the Sleipnir's marks lit up as the mare was lifted into the air. She tried using her own magic to break free, but it was no use. The spark that came out of her horn filled the air with that scent - the one that the Sleipnir all craved. In response, the Sleipnir all let out a gasp and licked their lips. "I can't take it anymore! Stop!" Roddel shouted. The Sleipnir all turned to see the captain standing there. "We're just having some fun," One of the Sleipnir said while the one lifting the mare began to rise and drop her rapidly. The mare screamed in response. "You're hurting that mare, you know!" "So?" The words were so blunt that they made Roddel step back. "Yeah, I mean didn't King Falchion make these things anyway? I guess that means we could all make them if we wanted to. If something happens to this one, we can just whip up another, right?" The group began to laugh in response. The mare looked right into Roddel's eyes. Tears began to drop from her face as she spoke in her language again. "Of course," Falchion's voice came from behind Roddel as the king slithered up next to him. "We may not have the keys now because of these ponies, but once we get them back, we will take our rightful place in the world once again. Do to that pony what you wish, gentlecolts." As the Sleipnir turned to the frightened mare, Falchion spoke up again. "Unless, Roddel wants first bite." Everypony turned to the captain. Falchion placed a hoof around Roddel's shoulders. "Because, as a fellow Sleipnir, you hate these silly creations of mine and what they did to us, right?" Falchion's eyes were like daggers, stabbing right through the facade Roddel had put up. Roddel looked down. Everypony was silent for a few moments. "...Fine." The captain finally spoke. He turned to the mare, who stared back with pleading eyes. He tried to fight it, but the smell of magic filled his mind. Delicious.