//------------------------------// // Sleipnir 3 - Threats // Story: Lost in a New World // by KingBrony //------------------------------// "Roddel, are you okay?" Rana's voice pierced through the darkness, waking the soldier up. They were both laying near a campfire in the middle of the woods. Roddel tried to stand up, but his hoof ached him, causing the Sleipnir to groan in pain and collapse. The army sat nearby, in silence in wake of the failed attempt to take the ponies' castle. Many of the soldiers were disappointed and disgusted that they lost to the beings they eat, while others cursed their inability to handle cold weather. Roddel, on the other hand, thought about the castle that they laid siege to. It was a beautiful place made of crystal, with each building glistening in the sunlight. He was proud of what the ponies accomplished after all those years, and felt remorse that he played a part in trying to bring it down. He remembers being right at the front lines, leading the charge. They took the ponies unawares, striking when the weather was warm. Using their magic, the ponies put up a good fight - they ended up winning, after all - but it was only after the bright beam of light that moved the sun did the Sleipnir have to retreat. He was on the ground when it happened. Fighting off a group of ponies near what he presumed was the town square, a sudden beam of light shot out from the top of the castle, aimed at the sun. The extreme amount of magic contained within caused many of the soldiers to be caught off-guard, and allowed the ponies on the ground to strike in retaliation. Roddel, fully captivated on the beam, switched his power to flight and joined his brothers in the sky. Kings Thuun and Falchion loomed over the sky, barking out orders to the stallions and mares who followed them. "Break through their defenses! Get the pony on the castle!" Falchion's roars shook the sky. Sleipnir scrambled towards the top of the tower, eager to get their hooves on the great source of magic. Roddel floated up to provide cover support. Various beams of magic flew in multiple directions, with one pricking Roddel's side. "Ouch!" He belted, but not before a large source of magic suddenly filled the air. Roddel saw a giant swarm of flying pigs appear around the top of the castle, causing the Sleipnir to crash head first into them. The Sleipnir captain, at first confused by what was going on, soon realized that it was some sort of magic, but not of ponies - the aroma that filled the air was much different. Upon closer inspection, Roddel saw a figure floating in the sky, just underneath the castle peak. It was a Draconequus, Roddel could tell that much. So they are still alive, he thought to himself. The mortal nemesis of the Sleipnir, Draconequus control the powers of chaos, undoing the order built by the Sleipnir. In response, Sleipnir are able to correct the chaos of the Draconequus. The result is that they constantly go back and forth, with no one group ever having complete control over the other. At least, until now. Roddel looked around to see if there were any more Draconequus around. Only the one was present, it seemed. "Use your power to undo the chaos!" Roddel yelled out to some soldiers down below. A dozen beams of light aimed at the pigs shot up from below. Some of the swine began to dissolve, but more appeared in their place. The struggle back and forth between the Draconequus and Sleipnir made Falchion grow angry. "How dare you defy the ultimate beings!" Falchion roared as he flew towards the Draconequus. Before his blow could connect, however, the Draconequus disappeared. A cloud made of some pink substance appeared and started flying around the kings. Falchion shot a beam of light at the cloud, but another one appeared soon after. "What is this foolishness!?" Thuun roared. "Are you a true Draconequus? With these...cheap parlor tricks? What have you been doing for the past ten thousand years!?" The Draconequus seemed to have not noticed that the kings were speaking, instead conjuring up more and more ridiculous tools to fight. At last, Falchion raised his voice even more. "ENOUGH!" He said, moving a giant hoof right towards the Draconequus. The blow connected, and the Draconequus flew down to the ground. Turning his attention back towards the beam of light, Falchion lunged up. At that moment, the air changed. It grew much colder, and Roddel felt as if time had stopped. The Sleipnir around him all started falling from the sky, unable to keep their flying abilities active. Roddel himself began to fall as well. He looked up at the two kings: they seemed to be struggling to stay in the air. It was at this moment that Roddel could finally see the origin of the beam of magic: it was a pony. She was a purple creature, with wings and a horn. It reminded Roddel of Princess Nova, the pony he had taken care of before the Sleipnir were all sealed away. The pony that sat at the top of the castle seemed powerful, Roddel noted. He instinctively reached for the trinket around his neck and touched it with the tip of his hoof. Falchion let out a large roar. "Retreat!" He barked before using the last of his strength to fly south. The other Sleipnir followed suit - at least, those who could still move. Roddel, as hard as it was, managed to muster up enough energy to get away from the freezing city. It was the coldest he has ever felt. The soldier barely escaped the dangers of the cold weather before he passed out. *** Roddel sat next to the campfire, his hoof holding the small trinket that was given to him by the kings. It was a tiny thing, only able to be worn around a pony's neck. He saw no use for it, but couldn't bear to throw it away - something about the trinket drew him towards it. Was it his memories of Princess Nova? Was it the contempt he had for his kings? Roddel wasn't sure. Rana sat next to him still, looking over his wounds. When Roddel rose up, she suddenly said, "You're still injured!" "I'll be okay," Roddel groaned, walking away from the campfire. "Just need to take a walk." Many of the Sleipnir who were still okay retreated back to the main castle to find help, while others remained behind to tend to the wounded. King Thuun flew back as well, leaving Falchion here to protect the group. Roddel saw him perched at the top of a small hill. He stared at the sun hanging in the sky. He seemed to be chanting something as Roddel approached. "My king," Roddel said, bowing his head. Falchion continued staring at the sun. "Funny," He said. "We used to be able to move the sun. Now, we can't even do that; apparently the ponies have inherited that duty. Pathetic." "Isn't there a spell or something that could -" "The three things we never had complete control of: defeating the Draconequus, adapting to cold weather, and moving the sun. Sure, we could raise and lower it when it was time for the night sky to appear, but we could never move it anywhere we wanted. That's what that pony did." Silence. "My creations have done okay for themselves. I'll respect that. But, their time is at an end. I will not be defeated by those filthy animals. They are nothing more than mine. They wouldn't be here without me." "Maybe the times have just changed," Roddel spoke up. Falchion stopped his pondering and turned slowly towards the captain. Roddel saw a look of contempt in King Falchion's eyes, but also a look of desperation. "It's either us or them." He said coldly. "Roddel, your loyalty is with the Sleipnir, am I correct?" "This one lives to serve." Falchion nodded. "You are one of my top soldiers, Roddel. You have been for many years. But, even you must know your place in some matters. Leave me." Roddel bowed and turned away, walking a few steps before turning back to the king. Falchion returned to chanting at the sun. And you must know yours. *** A week had passed since the Sleipnir retreated from the battle against the ponies. Falchion and Thuun stayed cooped up in the newly-renovated castle on the hill. New Valhalla, as everypony had started calling it. In the time since returning, the Sleipnir have managed to build up new lodgings near the castle, and in various other locations in the land. The pony ruins were avoided, as the Sleipnir preferred to build in brand-new locations, with New Valhalla being the only exception. Falchion wished to keep his castle where it always was - at the top of the world. Things seemed to return to something that resembled the Sleipnir's old way of life. But Roddel knew otherwise. The damage had been done, and they sat atop of the bones of the previous dynasty. Everypony that Roddel talked to seemed to be adjusting to their new lives comfortably. It was Roddel's fault that the Sleipnir were sealed away so suddenly, but he seems to be the only one aware of that fact. The Sleipnir believed it to be the fault of the ponies, the beings that Falchion created to harvest their magical energy. That rhetoric was good enough to keep the Sleipnir united against the ponies, and unaware of the truth - which was good for the captain, at least for now. Roddel's daily life became somewhat repetitive at that point as well: wake up, do a quick lap around the castle to get reports from the night patrols, eat breakfast, do some training, attend the daily briefing, eat lunch, more training, another lap around to brief the guards, eat dinner, go to bed. As a knight Roddel was trained for such menial tasks, but he felt out of place and knew it wasn't right. Some nights he would talk with Rana before going to bed. They would bring up things from their foalhood, like school or taking the journey to Valhalla. Roddel longed for those days once again, where everypony lived in peace. The days with his king - the true king. "How do you feel about things now, Rana?" Roddel asked her one night. He wasn't sure if he ever stopped to ask about her feelings after they returned to the world. She looked at him and gave a sigh. "It's sad." "Why?" "You look so troubled all the time. I know what happened back then...and I know it's troubling you so much. I can't live happily knowing you are carrying such a burden." Roddel didn't remember the last time he cried, but he felt a tear run down the side of his face. "I appreciate you being with me all this time, Rana," Roddel spoke softly to his friend. She smiled back. I will do anything to protect you. "If only there were a sign that things will change. A new opportunity..." ********* "Griffons?" Falchion's voice filled the planning room. He stood at the head of the table alongside Thuun, with Roddel and a few other Sleipnir guards making up the rest of the attending party. The Sleipnir giving the daily report came from the east, scouting the areas to come up with any information on the Sleipnir's domain. He was lanky, but Roddel knew his speed was unmatched. He spoke in a nasally voice; Roddel thought he was gasping for air each time he spoke. "Yes...I heard some reports from the Sleipnir I sent across the ocean. A huge swarm of Griffons are coming right this way!" The griffons were around during the Sleipnir's time. They stayed off to the east, far from Valhalla, so Roddel never heard of any news regarding conflict between them. "The griffons must be coming here to claim the land after the ponies lost control of it," Roddel offered his counsel. "So we fight them," Falchion smiled. "We don't want to keep our soon-to-be guests unsatisfied with their visit! We need to show them around!" he turned to the other Sleipnir in the room. "I want you to assemble a group and scout around for a place to hold our 'welcome party'." The Sleipnir saluted. "Sir!" they shouted before exiting the room. "We are the dominant rulers of this land," Falchion turned to everypony remaining in the room. "If the griffons want to learn about us, then they are free to come and die. Let this be a sign to the ponies up there in that castle as well - a sign to everypony who doesn't know who we are yet!" Roddel saw the malice in Falchion's eyes as he spoke so passionately about the inevitable battle. "Dismissed!" Falchion spouted. Roddel bowed and left the room. Fighting the griffons? From what Roddel remembered of the griffons, they didn't possess any magical abilities. If this rumor were true, then they would be walking into a slaughter. Were they that foolish? The Sleipnir would be welcoming them with open hooves before they pull the rug right out from under them. Roddel didn't want to witness something so barbaric, but as the head of the guard he would be expected to be leading the charge.