“आम सहमति के पर पहुंच गया कर दिया गया है.”

“हम एक समझौते पर पहुँच गए हैं.”

“हम वापसी करेंगे.”

“…..”

For a moment, there was nothing.

“खुला.”

There was a tremble in the air as the word left his lips. The nature of the world around him buckled under its weight, but stood fast, protesting the sudden change.

Within the three realms, from the Astral to Tartarus, there had been laws set down by Faust herself that all were compelled to obey. And every creature, no matter how large or small obeyed these laws. But this law… this would obey him.

“खुला!” he commanded again.

His voice carried long and far and shattered the stillness. All shook with a violent spasm as a black and pulsating hole was torn in the planar boundary of reality.

He watched, serving as their gatekeeper, as they stepped through, one by one. Some were eager, others afraid, but all were determined. His brethren all had their different purposes for coming, but they had come together for this. He could not fault them. He was among their number. He kept his sentinel watch and held the door until the last set of hooves vanished into the rift.

And then he followed.

“… एक बार पृथ्वी पर फिरते …”

Falling.

Arcon was falling.

He did not know when he realized this. It may have been a second since he stepped into the rift, it may have been an eon. But when he opened his eyes he realized he was falling from an impossible height. The world below was a smear of colors spinning in every direction as he tumbled through empty air.

He was aware of so many new things. A million, a billion heartbeats thrummed in sync beneath him. All the three realms were in his gaze. The leylines, coursing rivers of golden light, stretched across the firmament of the globe like a spider’s web. He knew all.

He was all.

He looked down at himself.

His mind nearly shattered.

A trick of the light, an abstract thing of unbelievable angles. His mind burned with fire and he screamed in terror and exultation. He turned away, focusing on the ground below, but he could still see it, in his mind. It had burned its way through. He was terrified of himself, he realized. He was an idea, or the hint of an idea, or the memory of something he had never known, or the shadow of all these things, their inverted reflection, on a still lake at night.

He couldn't be real, Acron thought. His mind struggled to put all into words, to understand what had been so clear to him before. How could he have been real before this? It... he had had no substance. No weight. He had had mass, Arcon remembered, his embrace stretching impossibly wide, but behind the mass there had been no depth. It made no sense. How could he be real and make no sense?

He tried to look at himself again, at his body of fractured proportions and broken reason, but it was long gone. Replaced instead were sandy fur and plumage, and the hot flesh and blood that coursed beneath that was all too real.

He was impossibility made manifest, the formless given form, and he fell though the sky in fire, accompanied not by the roar of the very air set aflame, but the last whispers of a song’s echo.

“…चेहरा…”

It is only when Arcon breached the atmosphere that he realized how quickly he was moving. The wind buffeted his wings so violently he feared they would be torn from his body. It was like stepping from a calm shelter into a maelstrom of shrieking wind. He was tugged violently into the current, the force pulling, pushing and tossing him in every direction as unseen forces battered his body.

For a moment, the pain was swept from his mind while he tried to process all the things he could see. Lush, green forests. Windswept deserts. Towering mountains capped with ice and snow. The blue trails of rivers, winding their way to lakes and seas.

Equestria.

His lungs took great heaving breaths, the first of many as plummeted to the landscape alone. He pumped his wings, desperately trying to gain purchase as gravity reeled him closer and closer to the ground below.

He sped over a bustling metropolis, than a magnificent castle built into the side of a mountain, then finally a small village at the edge of a forest, and vast deserts. A long stretch of brown and jagged peaks stretched into the distance.

He was directly over the jagged mountains when their peaks rose up to meet him. There was an overwhelming burst of pain, a great explosion of heat and sound, and Arcon was aware he was yet again falling. A body newly born shattered the mountainside, and with it, every bone in his body. Rocks clipped at his skin and face as he tumbled into the free-fall abyss down its slope.

If he crashed again this time, he knew he would die, or even worse, lose precious time trying to heal himself. Time he could not afford to waste on such trivialities.

His horn, a brilliant cone of power shone briefly and dozens of chains, thick and dark, came unbidden from the air around and bolted themselves into the rock face. More wrapped around his limbs and midsection and abruptly halted his descent. The alicorn’s body jarred at the sudden snapping and his restraints dug into his skin.

It was enough. He dangled viciously above the mountainside, held aloft by the chains. His momentum still carried and almost threatened to still smack him against the rock. The chains receded, further anchoring him in place. At last, the violent swinging receded into a gentle rocking and Arcon gave a sigh of relief.

Relief.

A curious thing, given his current situation. So many new sensations. He looked at himself once more. Shards of rock had embedded into the barrel of his chest and midsection, and small rivers of golden ichor snaked down his face.

“How tedious,” Arcon scolded himself. He had yet to so much as touch the surface, and has already met a delay.

With a metal command, the chains evaporated into wisps of black smoke and dropped the god onto a rocky outcropping. He rose to his slender legs, and his harsh wind whipped through his black mane.

His body had already begun to heal him, forcing out the foreign detritus and congealing fresh skin. Growth of feathers and skin pushed forward, freed from the layer of newly formed epidermis. Arcon stretched his great sandy wings and stretched, marveling at the acute ache that remained deep within the joints. This was most certainly something that would take some getting used too.

Arcon stared out beyond the barren wastes. In the far off distance, pinpricks of light shot across the sky and others joined this world.

Across Equestria, ponies stopped and looked to the sky in amazement. The tiny lights had become a fireballs, trailing smoke and dust as they sped silently overhead.

None saw the signs. None knew of their return. But all would know their wonder in due time.

The following concussions were tremendous; a series of deafening booms cracked the sky as onlookers fell to the ground, hooves pressed to their bleeding ears. Flashes of light exploded in the distance as each of his brethren fell, one by one.

Arcon stood and looked at the land before him.

Nothing lived here. Nothing grew. The land was barren. The rocky solid was nothing more than a thin layer of ash and dust. A sea of desolation that stretched as far as the ring of mountains to the Northwest. Dust storms churned in the distance, a smirl The alien landscape was all the more ominous under the red haze that drifted through the foul air.

Arcon smiled and sat down on his mountain.

Yes.

This would do nicely.

Welcome to In Nomine! I'm your GM and God of Doors and Locks, Dawnscroll. Now, the first post you folks will make is essentially your entrance into Equestria. Once everyone is cleared, we'll move onto step two which will be discussed in the OOC. Remember, this is your entrance, not the three months afterwards.

My advice is to listen to this RPG's Unofficial theme song while you write!

There was a time when the world itself sung all three verses. A time when the song reverberated throughout the lands itself, when the wind whistled the tune while blowing through the trees of the forest. A time when the mountains moaned the lyrics, the falling boulders rumbling the chorus as loud as they could.

Once, the birds sang and flew around, hunted down by the eagles and falcons. The mouse scurried away under the foliage only to be caught by the watchful owl.

That time is no more. The world has fallen into chaos without the guiding hoof of chaos incarnate. It was a mindless slaughter. Ponies, grypons and changelings alike murdered each other left and right without rhyme and reason. They fight because the sisters of the Second Verse have gone elsewhere.
Do they not see that they still live? The Sun and the Moon are still in effect, night and day as well as the seasons are still in effect; the world is still turning and yet they dispute, claiming that they are gone or worse. They’re short sighted and blind. If Celestia and Luna were truly gone, then the world would be less, if at all.

Where they are, not one of us know. But the Children of the Third Verse know that they live and thrive somewhere. The problem is that they do not know where that is.

To stop this meaningless slaughter where nothing good comes out of it, to find the missing sisters and to let the ponies know and believe in us again is why we now descend onto the mortal plane. Or, most.

Several stars streaked across the sky, the heavens themselves throwing the burning projectiles across its black canvas with the stroke of a brush. They burn across the sky, leaving a trail of both magic and fire in their wake.

Little do the onlooking mortals know that what they witness is not the burning of meteorites or stars falling. The stars they saw were the gods of the third verse descending upon the mortal plane for whatever reason they saw fit. Some wanted to rule, some wanted to mend, others wanted to build. Each and every one of them had a goal of their own,

One such star streaked across a vast forest, the velocity of the star causing the leaves of the trees to rustle and whistle a short tune of the third verse.
As the goddess within the falling star neared the ground, the wishes that was aimed at the falling star came. She heard them all, but could neither answer nor grant any. She heard wishes of health, of wealth and victory. There were those who wished for the death of their enemies, those who wished for miracles to have their loved ones back to full health as they lay on their deathbed.

And then there were the wishes that the goddess regretted the most that she could not grant; the wishes so pure that it tore her to not be able to answer them. Those that wished for the chance to have children were the ones that caught her interest the most, the ones that she wanted to grant. While her domains were not of those, it was still ones she treasured and saw as pure enough to grant had she been able to.

The trees of the forest disappeared and was instead replaced with large fields of grass and rolling hills, a village appearing in the horizon. The goddess within tried to angle herself so that she would land near it, but not directly on top of it. While the death of mortals did not particularly bother her, the idea of killing anything other than her prey did. There was no reason to their deaths, no way with which their death would serve to help others. It would only cause misery.

Seconds became minutes as she constantly neared her target destination.
She eventually came close enough that she sped across the houses of the village and crashed not two kilometres from the edges of the settlement.

It took a while for the goddess to regain her bearings, to get her mind to act in tandem with her body and her thoughts aligned with each other. There were so many new things; smells and sounds. Her usual ‘hiding place’ in the godly domain, were the vast grassfields or the lush forests. She wasn’t used to the sound of multiple ponies chatting and shuffling, asking questions and expressing fear and doubt as to what was happening.

Wait... ponies?

The goddess lifted her head and looked around, seeing that she had made a crater in the middle of a large hill, spanning sixty metres in diameter. One the edges were ponies, looking at her through the smoke that still rose from where she had landed. Her brows knit together in a small frown. She couldn’t help but wonder why she wasn’t immediately bowed to. That was how it-

Her train of thought stopped as she realised two things, one being that she was currently lying down with her legs tucked beneath her in the middle of a crater with smoke and dust that still obscured the vision to her, the other being that it had been eons since she had last visited Equestria.

Figures. Mortals tend to forget things over the generations.

She stood up to her full height and spread her majestic wings. A single flap downwards brought her airborne, spreading them out to either side and tilting them, allowed her to glide slowly down to the edges of the crater where the ponies created a place for her to land, their faces filled with confusion and awe.

As she landed, one thing quickly became evident to the ponies surrounding her; She was an Alicorn. Some few bowed, some frowned, though the vast majority just stared at her in silent wonder. Despite the obvious damage done to the landscape, the alicorn goddess herself had not a speck of dirt on her. Her aqua green coat was as immaculate as ever, and the two braids that made up her mane and tail had nary a hair out of place.

“Are you a Princess?” A young voice asked from behind her. Turning around she saw a small colt, hardly having reached his first decade in life.

“I am not,” she answered, her voice both firm and kind at the same time. “I am Theá Éri̱mo, goddess of the Hunt, Wilderness and Wild Animals. The world is in chaos and I have come in the attempt to restore it.”

“But... You look just like a Princess!” The colt insisted. “You have wings and a horn! Only the princesses have that, or so my mom and dad tells me”

Theá could not hold back a chuckle at the colt’s demeanor. “Might the ones you call the princesses be Luna and Celestia?” The colt nodded. “Those two are goddesses themselves, they are those of the second verse and my older sisters.”

The colt looked up at her in confusion, then shrugged and trotted back to a mare whom Theá assumed was his mother.

The goddess looked around and smiled as she noticed the amount of ponies bowing to her had increased at her announcement of being a goddess. Or at least, more bowed when she looked at them.

“Rise, there is no need to bow.” She smiled, this was only the first few minutes in the mortal plane, but she seemed to have already garnered her a small following of mortals, even if they were only a hoofful.

Theá is the goddess of wild animals, sentient beings. She's probably been in touch with their minds and watched them. I think it's fair to say that she isn't surprised by having a body.

Falling…

A meteor fell like any other from the skies, gravity taking its toll on her form.

What am I? Do I.. Actually have a gender?

Knowledge slowly seeped into the falling star, each tidbit of information refreshing her mind like no mountain spring evewr would.

Tethys. That was my name. The falling star recalled with a smile.

Tethys was acutely aware of the rushing air that surrounded her being, brief flames surrounding her form in her warpath towards the ground. She had just broken through the cloud layer, the ground vaguely noticeable to her when she started to have a few flashbacks, brought through several noticeable landmarks.

A decidedly smaller blue Alicorn standing towards the Ocean blue, next to a crimson-maned Alicorn that dwarfed her in size. All that needed to be shared was a small smile as the smaller of the two started to jump in excitement, her small wings flapping to make her hover slightly.

A shipwrecked crew of trading vessels, all of their faces drawn in depression as they looked at a cracked set of nautical equipment, most of it in several pieces. The outline of a pony, blurred in its image, pointed in a certain direction then faded. The prayers she felt from that day still warmed her very heart today.

The rage she felt as she stared upon a wounded dolphin deep in the sea, a spear in its ribcage causing it to be crippled, but not dead. She did the honours as the spear went further in by ways of a glowing horn. Tears sprung at her eyes, but they dissipated into the salty seawater. She looked up, anger etched onto her face as she held the spear in her hoof, looking up to a fishing boat.

Her coat had shaded to a more green colour as she stood over the body of a dead Alicorn-

She had to force the memories to stop as she continued her darting towards the ground. Doing some quick calculations in her head, she figured she was going to slam straight into what used to be Zebrahan desertland. It seemed to be much more split now, the desert seeming much more dry, yet the coastline seeming much more green.

Tethys’ had a deep founded respect for the Zebras, for their tribalistic but frugal lifestyle. The fact that they also respected the ocean itself was much of a blessing during the olden times.

So she made an effort to move her trajectory, to the center of the ocean, her homeplace, her domain.

Soon, all she could see was rippling blue consuming her vision, rapidly approaching by the millisecond.

Next thing she hears is nothing but the dulcet sounds of calmly moving water past her ears. A small amount of force she could sense behind her as she once again felt the ocean in the back of her mind.

Still some residue force behind her from the long fall from the heavens, Tethys spread out her wings to turn around in mid-water, beating them once more as she ascended back to the air where the geyser she formed was still in the air, falling slowly to the ground.

She once again breached through the water line as she flew up through the column of water she had formed. She reached the apex of the geyser as she levelled out her wings, barely flapping the large wings on her sides to stay in midair.

She smiled calmly, nothing but the ocean’s delicate waves to keep her company. “It’s good to be home.” She mumbles, looking far into the distance to try and discern where she was exactly.

From her place in the air, she noticed the large wave she had created in her arrival. Chances were, it would break long before it reached landmass, but the tide would be ruined for days to come.

She smirked slightly. Back into old habits already, she mentally chided herself as her horn glowed in power, her natural affinity reaching out to the ocean for power. Slowly, the circular wave shrank into the sea, before turning into a delicate wave.

Activating a bit of her magic, Tethys’ searched for the nearest landmass. Given an immediate direction, she slowly glided over towards it, in no particular rush to get to her destination. Ages awaited her, the slow progress of time barely a care of hers.

As her flight became monotonous, she let her mind freely wonder once more.

Tethys stood alone in a field of snow as she looked up to the skies, unnatural snow clouds littering the stratosphere. She frowned as she continued wading through the cold white crystals. Inwardly, she wondered why she wasn’t assigned control of the weather.

A heated discussion between the Ocean God and a faceless Alicorn, curses being thrown back and forth. The weather was unnatural, but he had no play in the matter. One final curse was thrown at him before the blue Alicorn turned tail and left.

She watched carefully from the ocean as the clouds overhead dissipated into nameless magic. A breath let loose that she never knew she held. She looked past the wisps of cloud that remained, looking to the stars.

A final conversation between two blue Alicorns. One was befitting of the moon, the other of the ocean. They hugged, before the keeper of the ocean faded into mist, a small light hanging in midair for a second, before shooting up into the skies. A faint twinkling showing a star.

Four long legs touched down on soft sand. She sighs, breathing in the tainted air before beginning to roam. A soft black cloak covered over her back, giving off the impression that she was an Alicorn no more, no wings to be seen. To all others, she would seem a very lanky Unicorn. A rarity, but no impossibility. Her smaller stature in comparison to her brothers and sisters would hopefully help, but she best keep herself inconspicuous.

The moon began to rise over the horizon, bringing a nostalgic smile to Tethys’ face. Oh, how she wished to see its keeper once more.

Sounds tugged at the edges of her peripheral hearing. She turned her head and found a small group of fellow roamers, though they did not hide themselves under false fallacies of cloaks. They wore their black and white stripes with honour befitting of their race.

They hailed her over and began to question her unusual appearance. Tethys’ merely smiled and deflected each comment with a carefully placed lie.

Her attention was diverted. In the back of the small travelling party, there stood a olden mare and a small colt of a Zebra held under her legs. Tethys sensed great promise in his eyes, but she decided to hold off on it. He wasn’t ready. Not... Yet.

After the Zebra’s had disappeared, seemingly frustrated with the lack of answers she was getting from her. Tethys’ simply smiled calmingly, like the night-time shore and walked past them all.

She continued to roam the deserts, her coat turning from her signature ocean blue to a more mossy green as days weathered on and on. She merely listened in on people’s conversations, gaining valuable knowledge that would be prudent to not know as days morphed into weeks, and weeks into months. It was not time for her own reveal just yet.

It never had been.

Xerihan laid on one the rooftops of Trottingham, resting after another successful assassination. The mask on his face was a soothing influence, keeping his face obscured from those who would use it against him.

His target that evening had been a religious leader that was stirring the populace to action against the Cult. He had lasted maybe a week, before it had been decided he would not be worth the trouble. They had sent in Xerihan, and now the problem was resolved.

"The Guidon of Joy..." Xerihan mumbled to himself, a soft grin on his beak, invisible to the world. This is the life. No worries, just easy pickings as I work for the Cult and party every other night. It's a wonder I had almost stayed in the gryphon army...

He gazed at the stars, wishing that he was back in the mountains. The sky there was so much clearer, away from the light pollution spewing out of the cities. As it was, Xerihan could only make out a few of the brightest stars.

A glimmer caught his eye. High above, he could see multiple streaks across the sky, dozens of shooting stars falling to the ground. The gryphon grinned. It’s a pony tradition to wish upon a falling star, correct? Heh. I wish this life would never end. It’s honestly too good to me, but I plan on staying here forever. He continued to watch, noticing the stars getting closer and closer to the ground. …Aren't they supposed to disappear after some point? Burn up and fade?

The shooting stars continued down, eventually disappearing behind the treeline and the horizon. “Odd...”

Xerihan looked skyward again, the phenomena already out of his thoughts. Suddenly, he had an idea. He leaned up, grabbing a satchel from his pockets. Opening it, he saw one of his oldest companions:

“Salt.” Chuckling, Xerihan grabbed a pinch of the drug and lifted his bronze mask. He quickly sniffed up some, letting the all-too familiar rush hit him like a soothing tide. He sighed, putting the satchel away and lowering his mask once more. For several minutes, there was peace.

Soon enough, there was a creak to the gryphon’s left. Xerihan glanced over, and saw his two oldest friends arguing about something again as they walked up and out of the trap door.

“Ricket, leave the boss alone. He prefers to be left in peace after an assignment.”

“Yeah, I know him well too, you arrogant stiff. But this is important.”

“I don’t think this is a good idea.”

Xerihan sighed before calling out, “Would you two stop bickering? What’s so damn important that you have to interrupt?”

He sat up, looking at his visitors. One was his buddy from the gryphon army, who had decided to join him in the Cult: Ricket. A lean gryphon, typical face and features, and a hot shot with the bow and arrow. The gryphon could be hotheaded, and was as blunt as rock. But he was loyal, and had a mind for the tactical.

The other visitor was his subordinate, a pony that followed the same doctrines that Xerihan did: A fellow Jester by the name of Snap Freeze. A skilled earth pony by any standards, he had made a name for himself for both his unflappable demeanor and dedication to duty. It didn’t hurt he could lower another pony’s body temperature just by being in contact; too slow to work in battle, but a very useful interrogation tool. The blue stallion was the first to speak again, voice muffled by his mask. “Sorry, boss. But something’s come up, and... well, we do need you sooner rather than later.”

Ricket nodded. “Yeah. As in, it has the Cultists downstairs running scared. You need to check it out.”

Xerihan shook his head, fully standing up. “Just as I was getting comfortable... alright, show me.”

The motley crew of allies walked back down into the building, unaware of the events that would change their lives in the next few months.

On the First Day, Mortals were given Clarity, and with it then means to exist. They were given Souls, a power unlike that ever seen before in the Cosmos. With it, the Souls brought these creatures the power of thought, the secret of true Sentience. They could feel love...and they could feel hate.

On the Second Day, an Irrevocable Poison was released into the Mortal World.

This Poison brought disparity, it gave mortals a hunger that could not be quenched. It denied them the comforts and security they once had. They questioned their existence, lost and seeking a purpose they never truly needed, but wanted to justify their lives. The Poison, was hunger in the purest sense. It forced them to seek food, food for not just the body but for the Mind and the Spirit and of the Soul. It was a hunger which could not be culled, it was a thirst which could not be quenched, and it was a dream which could not be achieved. This Poison left the Mortals Hollow, and despair reigned over the lost creatures.

On the Third Day, a Mercy was granted to these lost creatures. In the form of Two Alicorns. They descended from the Heavens above in Ages past and granted the Mortals a sustenance which quelled their unending hunger and returned to them their sense of purpose. The Alicorns of the Sun and the Moon became the shepherds for this lost flock and a new power was born in this new time.

The Elements of Harmony.

It was an Age to where prejudices and wants did not exist, to where all were satisfied with what they had and worked together to preserve the tranquility and purity of their world. And so, for countless generations did the Mortals live in peace, free from the Darkness as their benevolent rulers watched over them. Truly, it was a Paradise on Earth.

But then they vanished.

Without a warning the once Merciful and Kind Sisters disappeared from the face of the world, leaving their Flock behind to fend for themselves.

A Hunger soon returned, and with this Hunger, came Disparity. And Chaos, ruled over the Mortal world once more.

__________________________________________________________________________________

From high above the Mortal Realm, another Star fell from the night sky. Unlike it's fellows it glowed with a greenish aura and instead of falling sideways like most stars this appeared to be shooting straight down towards the earth below. It's brothers and sisters could feel it's arrival fast approaching, signaling that the God's descent from Heaven was happening en mass.

An unnatural feeling soon would creep into their minds and crawl across their newly formed flesh as something...wrong fell from the Realm of Lords. As though it knew it didn't belong there the Star rocketed towards the Everfree forest, burning darkly in the night sky. Only Arcon would know for certain of the identity of this God as he disappeared deep within the tree-lining of the great forest. For this God was an older God, worshiped in an Age long passed only to be forgotten as time ticked on without him. The Chaos of this world had stirred him, and the desperate pleas of mortals had awoken him.

Marrowrot had come.

First off, nice to get started people, really looking forward to it. I would suggest we add music to when we feel it's appropriate, just to compliment the moods that we create for when we feel the moment suits it. Also Crazyface you look absolutely ecstatic with every post you make XD.

All over Equestria, the cracks were heard. From the The Griffin Kingdoms to the Wasteland. Even as far as Starswirls abandoned Laboratory in the Everfree forest. Though in such an unoccupied landsuch sound were rarely heard. Due to the convenient fact the He was deep in the Laboratory, when the cracks sounded his eardrums were not destroyed. Though that did not stop the tremor that shook through the entirety of the abandoned Lab. What was once a stroke of luck had turned into a death sentence.

Feeling the tremors his head shot straight up, hoping, willing the roof above him to survive the tremor. Unfortunately it was for naught, as when he looked up the first bit of debris fell from the ceiling. If it was not for his reflexes he would have become a pancake as he rolled to the side to avoid the debris.

Knowing now that there was no chance of the Lab NOT coming down on his head, he took off at a sprint to hopefully reach the stairs in time and escape what seemed to be his tomb. This time luck was on his side as once he had made it to and up the stairs a chunk of the wall collapsed on them. Not stopping to think he continued with trying to escape the grave the planet was digging for him. Making it up the stairs that lead to the outside of the empty tomb, he spotted his pack laying near the door, right where he had placed it. He galloped as fast as he could to his pack and grabbed it in his teeth, not bothering to place it on his shoulder, as doing so would slow him down for longer than running with it in his teeth would.

As he escaped through the door looked up as a bright flash came from the sky. He stopped to stare as the, what looked like meteorites, plummeted to Equestia.

Well looky there. It seems we aren't as alone as we thought. Eh Shield? Stated the voice in his head.

I never thought we were... I just hoped that I was wrong, Blade.

Hearing a crack from his left, Shield reached up his right hoof to the blade on his back while looking for the source of the noise. As he turned his head left he spotted in the bushes a set of glowing green eyes.

Shit. Shield thought to himself as he drew his blade. It just had to be a Wildling now didn't it?

OOOOH. LET ME, LET ME!!!! I WANNA COME OUT AND PLAY! Blade complained in Shields head.

SHUT UP AND LET ME NOT HAVE US DIE!!! Shield scolded him.

Just then the Wildling charged, Shield not wanting to be caught defenceless quickly drew his blade. In one swift motion the Wildling jumped at him, and in a move just a swift he ducked to the side and swung his blade, severing the Wildling in two. With a flick of his blade the Wildlings blood was gone and off of the blade.

Walking up to the dead Wildling, he took its two halves and placed them back together. He then folded its fore hooves across its chest and shut its eyes. As he placed stones over the body, he whispered. I am sorry that this had to happen. maybe now you may find the peace you deserve. In nomine Celestia. May vos reperio pace.

I still don't understand why you do this. They're dead, and they're freaks. I doubt anything cares.

I care. Looking to where the "meteorites" had fallen Shield finally makes his decision. I think we should check out what in Equestria those Meteors were.

FINALLY. We get to have some fun.

In that case, let's get going then.

After Shield finished putting the final touches on the grave, he started the long trek to try and find out what caused the tremors that nearly killed him.

Am I allowed to use different colors for my characters? It makes telling them apart so much easier. As well, holy crap. I had to actually think for me to be able to come up with a way to not be OP, but not loose my ears.

IT BEGINS.

Today was the day

The day I get the Dual Star, making me an honorary asset to House Moon and Star

Glass Goal looked upon the room filled with food, conversation, and a small stadium at the end of the room. The slave ponies in sexual attire were serving food to the royals with their usual forced positive disposition so they wouldn't get tortured. He idly stood back on the wall waiting patiently, watching intently for any abnormalities. Having no objective to work on, Glass felt oddly bored out of his mind. All those ponies enjoying themselves with those frivolous masks and their lewd clothing made Glass feel sickened, especially since it was his coronation.

Hmmph, it does not matter, the ceremony will begin soon and it will end this charade

A green-tinged unicorn mare who was obviously drunk, clumsily trotted up to the small stadium. She went towards the magical microphone and everyone went near the stadium, including Glass.

"Aaaagh, Allright! Let's get this... thing started! Yea!", Two slaves who looked beat-up and hurt carried the stone pillar that held the Dual Star.

"Uh... Ok... is it up? Alright... Uh... Where were we? Oh yea! Glass Goal! Get over here!" Glass stood from his seat and trotted to the stadium where he climbed up the short stairs and made it beside the drunken mare while every pony stomped the ground.

A sudden explosion was heard and a powerful quake shook the very room they were all in. Some unicorns crashed in to the table serving the food, others flew off and hit the wall, knocking themselves out. The Stadium's metal hinges broke off from the power of the quake and crashed right on top of the drunken mare killing her instantly. Glass Goal jumped out of the way from impact and landed on a slave that served food. He stood with a smile and clambered out of the pavilion ignoring the injured and the helpless.

Something interesting has happened! An attack from another House? What could it be? Oh I can't wait to see!.

He ran through the hotel's double doors and looked through the window that had a good view of Canterlot, to notice a massive crater with smoke emanating from its interior, making it quite hard to see what hit the earth. Excitement filled Glass's mental gourd and he ran and ran all the way through the hotel until he went down the stairs. He exited the hotel and ran to the crater until he found a mass of ponies circling the smog.

A cold breeze spread through the trees, weaving along their trunks, whispering their eerie song with each rustle of leaves. An owl stood in one of those branches, adding the occasional ululating coo to the strange murmur. Its eyes were large, taking in the vista of the tranquil forest, head twisting reflexively and in increasingly eerie ways whenever it perceived movements from the forest floor.

Eyes so wide, so sharp in their apparent awareness, that one would be convinced that the owl possessed a deep understanding of everything that took occurrence in the world around it. That it could feel the strangely charged atmosphere of Whitetail Woods that night, the oppressive air, dense in its anticipation, that told of the strange, or as some would say, miraculous events that were about to take place. That if it were to crane its apparently inarticulate neck upwards, those eyes would find those shining stars falling to the earth below and understand exactly what they truly were, and exactly what their presence entailed.

Alas, the truth is that, large as those eyes were, they were no symbol of awareness in part of the owl, but rather how its eyes were meant to be, and that even if it were to gaze to the starry night, it would be completely uncomprehending and unconcerned of what it saw, unless one of those stars were heading in its direction.

The truth is that, as much as many a culture's perceptions that an owl could symbolize wisdom and intelligence, that we may attribute such virtues to that particular animal, what little entertained the owl's brain that night was focused on filling its empty stomach, and wondering just where were the small rodents that so often left their hideouts at night.

The answer came in the form of a tremor that shook the branch out from under the bird. All the other animals had known something would happen. They had vacated the area, knowing that to remain close invited danger. For power draws power, and that night, power was thrumming in the air. The wise are quick to avoid such encounters.

The bird rose from its perch, letting out a frightened cry as it left the tree. No comprehension dawned in those perceptive eyes. The owl could see nothing wrong, nothing new that accompanied the tremor. Just outrage at the sudden interruption of its routine.

The truth is, owls are, more often than not, terribly stupid.

*

Eyes opened to darkness, and so couldn't track the path the owl took away from his position. He blinked repeatedly, the motion seeming strange to him, and confusion soon made itself known in his mind.

Mouth opened, lungs contracted, and out came a deep, flowing voice that had not been heard in this world for millennia. Of course, a groan came first.

“Oh... I don't remember ever being blind. Then again, it has been so long... I suppose it is rather appropriate, if one were to think about it.”

As if to answer him, a breeze picked up, carrying the eerily deep black mane away from his features with unnatural ease. With a measure of relief, charcoal eyes set on handsome features came to focus, the earthen colors resolving before him and transforming into recognizable shapes. A forest. He had fallen in the midst of a forest.

He began pulling his legs under him, dark gray coat rippling over the lean muscles as he began to slowly straighten his limbs until he was brought to full height. It took him another moment to register that the peculiar, dull feeling that currently throbbed throughout his body was actually pain. It had been a rough landing, he decided. It had been a long time since he had last felt anything like this. Almost long enough for things like that to feel... new.

He also wondered at the odd, constricting sensation in his throat. A memory resurfacing, he took in a gasping breath and marveled at how the cold night air flowed into his lungs. Tingled inside him. He held that breath as long as he could before releasing it. Another breath, slower this time, air filtering in through his nostrils, and was awed by the many scents that littered the atmosphere.

The next sensation he rediscovered, however, was not pleasant at all. Likened almost to a physical tug to his horn. And even in his disbelief, he managed to recognize it. It had the taste of his power after all, the magic that kept any other being from witnessing his fall, or from noticing the destruction upon his landing, for indeed, even if no one could see anything beyond forest, he was currently standing in the middle of a crater.

The power was eerie, deceitful, as if it would slip out of his grasp if he lowered his guard. And then? Why, he wasn't sure. It might help the him of its own accord, or it might consume him the moment it was released. The feeling of his own magic had always bothered him, but time had given him few answers beyond the ones he had given himself.

A summons. It seemed impossible, that ponies would remember him, that they had sensed his approach, but the tug was there, unmistakable. Brows knitted in irritation. He had never liked worshippers, at least his own, and had held to the hope that he had been completely and utterly forgotten like so many other gods. Yet it seemed he was still tied to this world in that most bothersome of fashions.

Wings unfurled, the black tipped feathers shivering in the cold air, almost as in anticipation. He faced in the opposite direction of the summons. They had waited thousands of years, they could wait a few days. At that very instant, Ignos Edgewalker, God of the Unseen, had other things in mind.

Power engulfed him, and none could see the Alicorn speeding away towards the northeast. As he moved away from his landing, the illusion wavered, and finally disappeared, revealing the uprooted trees and large indent that occupied the newly formed clearing.

All of reality shook under the hooves of the pair of regal, vaguely equine shaped beings as they stood on a trail of condensed light, looking across the fields. There, in the distance so far, yet so near, a black, gaping hole in the endless sky that acted as the canvas for all things.

"He has succeeded?" The younger asked, clearly torn between horror and wonder.

"And the realms have not shattered. I am almost disappointed." The elder of the pair nodded, her tone clipped and measured. "And off they go, rushing into the realm of mortals without any respect for what such an existence entails."

"And we should join them, Mother." The younger urged hopefully. "It is long since time we returned from wince we came, back to the mortal coil. As least 'we' belong there, unlike the Godlings."

"This argument again, Alphadonsia?" The elder shook her head, although there was no sense of dismissal in her tone. "You have made it since you were but a filly, it holds no more true now than it did then."

"The Fifth Herd has wandered the stars for long enough. Have we not paid the price for our ancestor's transgressions? You once forbade me from slipping though the crack made by the unicorn's attempts to breach this realm, but we cannot ignore this chance." The younger bade, motioning to the obsidian black gate. "We can aid them, guide them..."

"Regain what we once had."

"Mother...no... that is NOT what I am saying!"

"They act as foals, in need of a firm hoof. If that is all, then perhaps..." The elder Astral Pony tapped her chin, the gears of her mind turning at the concept. "Perhaps your argument now has merit... perhaps It is time they received the guidance they so crave from those far more 'qualified' to understand them than the would-be divinities."

" You think yourself 'above' them, Mother?"

"Well... yes."

"Then you misunderstand my sentiment. But this is no time for debate, the door shall soon close! If we act quickly, we can muster the herd and--"

"You are correct; there is no time. Migrating with the Herd is not an option. The Gatekeeper would never allow us past him in masse . His foresight may be short, but his memory is long. "

"Then I shall go myself!"

"Oh my darling child. This is no time for misguided optimism."

"But--"

"Stay with the Herd, Alphadonsia, and await my summons. We know that the barriers are not so solid from the other side. From within, I can find a way to breech them as we have seen in the past... and allow our kind to return."

"Mother! Wait! You cannot--"

The younger mare stopped, shaking her head as she felt the presence of the far more potent Astral Queen slip away, speeding along the paths at the speed of starlight towards the gaping open wound in reality.

"For all of your wisdom, Mother... you are still not wise." Alphadonsa, now acting Lady of the Astral, shook her head in an admission of defeat before she turned to walk back though the Mists... wondering not for the first time what could have been if she had found the courage to disobey the commanding matron of her herd those years ago.

Mammoth beings had collected around the gap in the barrier that was intended to separate the titans of old from the mortal realm. In this place where power and stature were measured equally, the single, simmering silver light that danced among them was able to evade the notice of those that could, in this place, set her back with but a thought.

Foals, all of them.

They had never known anything save their endless power. They had no concept of the confines in which they would soon find themselves. They were as they had been for eons untold, seperate from the mortals... unaware of the limitations that their exodus woulld impose on them all.

They couldn't comprehend the idea of being grounded, having that nearly unlimited power suddenly blocked off because the nature of physical reality would not allow them to tap it. They didn't know the true meaning behind pain, suffering, and the limitations that were imposed by mortality.

Limitations that her kind had transcended regardless of their still living nature.

In the Astral, the place her kind had long since tamed and made their home, these titans still looked down on her... on her kind, with almost the same patronizing conceit as they did the mortal ponies they were now so eagerly attempting to reach.

With the fields leveled in a realm where their godly essence would be confined and limited, they would learn...

Yes... they would learn.

Now, as the Gatekeeper was distracted, apparently straining to keep open the door that should not have been, the small silver star darted out from under the shadows of these titans and into the world that await below.

In many ways, she was fortunate.

Any other mortal creature would have been utterly obliterated as they attempted to emulate the far larger and more visible falling stars that were raining down over Equestria that night, capturing the attention of every astronomer and magister with an eye trained towards the heavens. And while the descent had been far from pleasant as her form burned and smoldered, her sudden, sharp impact into the ground was averted as the bright purple dome came rushing up at her.

With a perfect reference to the zone of impact and feeling the heady tingle of magic running over her form as she came closer, the Astral Pony maintained enough of her faculties to time a sudden shift in her mass, her fluid form suddenly rushing forward as a conductive astral energy ran over her, her form vanishing from sight to reappear just past the magical dome and angled towards a flattened, grassy plain just within the grounds of the palace.

Her impact was far less of a boom than a splat, leaving no crater as a rather small amount of viscous, silvery fluid splattered across the grass, drawing far less attention than the massive impacts being observed in the distance.

Silence reigned for several moments, the silvery goo dripping off blades of grass as it pooled in the Canterlot Gardens before a slight moan vibrated though the air, the bizarre, semi-translucent goo moving of it's own volition as it attempted to pool itself together, forming a puddle in the center of the garden just slightly smaller than a wagon wheel.
After a moment to regain her awareness, the Astral Pony attempted to rise, upward, but then immediately collapsing on itself.

The Astral Pony winced in pain as already felt her form decaying, being pulled apart by the whims and physics of this material plane. At full strength, she could have resisted it better, but in her current state, there was little chance that she would be able to keep her will from fragmenting and breaking apart as the astral energy bled away from her fluid form.

She needed something to hold onto... something solid and physical to hold her together as she recovered.

And, she realized, a short distance away, surrounded by a beautiful stone pavilion was just the thing. Forcing herself to crawl along the ground as she struggled to maintain her cohesion, the creature of the Astral wordlessly approached the pavilion, paying no heed to the plaque set at eye level as she quickly drew herself up the stairs and to her target sealed within a beautifully transparent crystal sarcophagus.

Herein the beating heart of Equestria resides, enshrined forever in the hearts of all true Equestrians to see.
Stolen from those who loved her most.
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza
May she know peace forever more.

Oleander Blosssom jerked awake, her mind foggy with the remains of sleep. Her entire body ached to go rest for for the next few hours, today the trader she was with crossed into the zebra lands, infested with monsters as they were. The wandering tribes were more than willing to trade for pony goods in exchange for what they believed useless rocks- that, and they always seemed to be fascinated by her, how many unicorns did they see with zebra stripes on their front half? She guessed the answer was not to many.
At least they didn't try to lynch her every second chance they got, though as to whether it was fear of her, or they considered it rude to throw spears and torches at guests she was still in the dark about.

As she pondered over how many manners a wandering tribe could accumulate, she noticed several of what seemed to be meteors streaking through the night sky. She wasn't to surprised, the general atmosphere had possessed an air of expectancy for the past few days, something she normally wouldn't have paid much attention to. Yes, there were battles and bloodshed every day, but as she gazed at the meteor shower, the air took on an auspicious quality, and she remembered an old tale her father had told her when she was naught but a young filly. A legend passed down generation to generation, it spoke of life beyond this world, in a place far away, inaccessible to the mortals of this planet. It was here, the legend told, that the brothers and sisters of Celestia and Luna dwelled, among other beings.

Initially she had passed it off as tribal superstition, much like her mother, who was quite the scientific unicorn.

But now she questioned her earlier opinion, something about these meteors was different, they didn't burn up for one thing, and they possessed a mystic quality to them uncharacteristic of rocks from space.

Deciding the frightful old merchant would be fine for a few hours with the other guard, she quickly stole across the flat ground, towards the sea, its invigorating aroma beckoning her nearer.

As she drew closer to the ocean, her excitement only grew, she did not understand, but somehow the ocean seemed to be anticipating something, and the tension passed on into Oleander. She could only wait and see what was the caused of this wonderful, mysterious sensation.

In a rare moment of foresight, she glanced up, expecting to see the same light show as before, yes, the meteors were still there. However, there was a new addition, one of them appeared to be getting larger, and changing course.

Hmm, that was odd, why was it getting lar... "Oh buck." Was all she could force out before running like a madmare for the ocean, or rather, a large dune that she hoped would absorb at least some of the shock of impact. Five seconds passed. Ten. Fifteen.

Oleander glanced up, the meteor had changed course, heading for the ocean, a few miles out. Well good, now she could die from a tsunami instead of jarring, bone crushing annihilation. Neither of which seemed particularly pleasant.

As she watched the meteor slow, coming more in line with the ocean, her jaw hit the sand when she what was contained inside.

A tall slender mare opened her wings, flying gracefully over the ocean, towards the land a little ways from where Oleander lay watching. Her mane was a brilliant sapphire, and her dark olive green coat seemed to reflect the ocean she flew over.

All in all it was one of the most beautiful sights she had ever seen. And here she was, little Oleander Blossom, actually watching, no harsh scoldings to get back in line, or to go back to wherever she came from.

The auspicious moment was interrupted when she noticed the mare alighting on the shore, donning a black cloak, before beginning to walk inland, but not before encountering a wandering zebra tribe, likely the ones they had come to trade with. She looked at them for a bit before setting off again. Seemingly unaware she had acquired a stalker, one who's mind was in turmoil, only one clear thought pervading through the murk- "The legend is true!"

Its ok for me to (attempt to) follow the goddess of the ocean, right? I couldn't really think of any other way to get Oleander into anything exciting with the time I have

Also, this is my first RP, so I hope I dont suck too badly...

There was falling. That's how it starts. There was falling, and then there was noise, a loud annoying noise of wind running past an ear or two. Maybe annoying isn't the right word, maybe constant? Doesn't really matter, there was still more going on right now. The light, the light came in then. It was bright, and hard to see though eyes that were squinted to fight the wind force, the noisy wind force. The cold, so very cold.

Well this is a swimming start. First experience in this new world and I have no idea whats going on.

"Time to get back in control."

It was then that the new alicorn spread her wings, it was useless though, the unused wings just flung back in the mighty wing. Sure the body had the strength, but the owner didn't have the muscle memory, no earthly experience. It would take only a day or two to learn, but that time wasn't available to her, now was it?

Well orientation wasn't too good. Might as well said: 'Hay! Want to go to Equestria?' and then off you go. No real telling of what to expect or how to get there, and maybe most importantly if this was a one way trip. That last part might just get figured out sooner then what she wants, if things keep going this way. That wouldn't be good. What would be the point of going if you're just going to smash into the ground right off the get go?

"I want to see the world! Not the hard ground. So work wings, work!"

She forced her wings down, and they went down. She forced her wings up, and they shot up in the wind again. Clearly this isn't going to do anything.

What was that other flying like thing that pegasi do? It's like flying, but not really.

"Oh, gliding!"

She spread her wings again, this time only placing them half way out. The wings wobbled a little at first, but the alicorn was confidant she could work this out.

"Come on. Come on."

After a few precious seconds she got the wings to stabilize and with that achieved a, somewhat, controlled flight. The alicorn gave herself a good hearted smile. This is what it was about. Feeling flight, feeling the Earth's air, this is why she chose to come here. The feeling that she had just conquered a problem that could have had horrible consequences. Her feeling of satisfaction was lost as she fully opened her eyes. All that falling had made a bit of an issue. A fast approaching, and unavoidable issue.

"House. House! House!"

The alicorn guarded her face with her front legs just before she smashed though a window. There was a brief moment of a mare screaming and a sharp pain course though her body, particularly her forelegs, followed closely by another smattering of glass and then the howling wind again. The alicorn peaked out from behind her forelegs. Was it over? What was happening next? What she saw was not what she had hoped for.

She hit the street with a roll head over hooves. The only thing that stopped her was the building on the other side.Now she lay with her back to the wall, her head on the street and her hind legs hanging over the rest of her.

She felt pain, and a lot of it. That was new. When do you get pain in the astral plain? She smiled ever so slightly. It might not be the most pleasurable, but pain was why she was here too. Pain is there to tell a mortal that they have done something wrong, and to do better next time.

Learn to fly. That will be the first thing I get done here.

She opened her eyes. When did she close them? She saw ponies. All of them circled around her. They looked horrified. they stood there, some shuffled in place, but all of them had their gobs hanging wide open. Why are they looking? Was this just as new to them as it was for her?

The alicorn let her back hooves fall to the ground, and bent herself over to stand back up. She turned around to get a better look at the ponies. They had all stepped back. Some had closed their mouths, others had taken off their hats.

It was getting awkward. The alicorn felt swore all over, and she knew that she was bleeding somewhere, but she couldn't look away from the ponies. So they all just stood there, her and the ponies. The silence is what got to her. A thought about dropping a pin crossed her mind, just to add something new to this. If she had wanted things to be quite then she would have stayed behind. Time for something, anything, to happen.

"Hello?"

The ponies jumped back, and so did the alicorn.

"Okay..."

She noticed that most of the ponies' eye were shifting from her horn to her wings.

"So... Is this how you welcome most ponies? Hehe."

A joke. I wonder if it was any good.

No one laughed. Some looked scared almost. Then something weird happened. One in the front bowed. Then another one followed it, and another one after it. Soon all of them were lower then the already small alicorn. She frowned.

"That's not what I meant..."

There was a tug at her hoof. She looked down. A little filly, no older then four, stood there looking up at the alicorn.

"Are wou the pwincess?"

The Alicorn was taken back by this. That was by no means the plan. There was nothing that made her qualified to lead anyone, or anything even. But the idea of finding a leader for this nation at war had no escape her completely.

The alicorn spoke to the little filly, softly and kindly as she could.

"No, but I will help find her."

She looked back up and addressed the crowd, smiling sheepishly.

"So. Anypony know where I can get a jacket? I'm a little chilly."

Sorry for being straight forward, and a bit long, but I have literally no idea what happened in half of your posts. Being abstract and artsy just isn't my style, and I can't do it.

The city of Appleloosa had started out as a frontier settlement out in the middle of nowhere that was kept alive by its farming industry. Since the war began it had been selected to be the capital of House Earthborn by Applejack herself and had thus benefited immensely from the war. No longer merely a farming community and now the capital of industry of Equestria itself, Appleloosa was one of the most advanced fortress cities that had ever been brought into existence by mortal hooves.

So when what could be safely called a giant ball of fire from the heavens itself slammed into what was only by good fortune an empty street in the middle of the night with a boom that was heard and felt almost city wide, it was rather understandable why many normally brave and calm ponies freaked the hell out for a time.

After a brief period of time in which calmer heads had made it clear to the more panicked ones that they were not under attack, ponies gathered around the site of impact out of curiosity. It was a rather sizable crater that would no doubt have to be repaired before the street could be used normally again, but what drew the eye was the large, black metal mass that was currently sitting in the middle of it.

It was clearly some sort of space chunk of metal that had crashed into the ground, but those who saw it felt... inspired by it. Deep seated urges to try their hooves at creating artworks with stone and metal brought themselves to the forefronts of minds. Many ponies of all backgrounds and tribes who saw the stone simply slipped away silently from the crowd, already making plans to work on small, part time projects they hadn't felt like doing before.

Before the dawn the strange metal rock would be loaded up on a cart, on route to the large forges of Appleloosa to be examined and tested greatly for its properties before deciding how to best use it. It would be days before the blacksmirths were confident enough to try melting the metal down.

................................................................................................

The forges of Appleloosa never slept. Around the clock regardless of rain, snow or shine the fires that dead metal was cast into and reborn anew burned brightly and molten flows cooked the very air itself. Even at this late hour the ponies who worked in shifts to take advantage of the fact that fire never grew tired moved around like ants maintaining their hive.

In a currently lowly populated section of the forge a large crucible was left idle, filled with the magma like liquid substance that was going to be experimented with to discover what role in construction it was best suited for. Without the fanfare and impact that the other beings from the heavens had taken with their entrance into the world, a pony like head slowly began to raise from the vat of molten bronze.

Within seconds the whole head was out of the main pool of beautiful liquid flame and glancing around with eyes that burned red and yellow skin that looked as flowing and dangerous as a lava flow. Heat radiated of the being as he continued to raise more of itself out of the vat. What began as just a unicorn's head was joined by a body with a pair of wings that glowed just as painfully bright and hot as the rest of it...him.

Climbing out of the vat completely and allowing himself to drop a little ways onto the cool ground below, if anypony had been around wearing the needed equipment to look at this strange alicorn like being without feeling their eyes burning would have noticed the strange way that the figures front left and back right legs appeared to have been put on backwards.

With neither ceremony or ritual the strange molten alicorn turned to his side and crab walked towards what had clearly started life as a bathtub but had been converted to forge use and filled with cold water. Dunking his legs in one at a time and filling the very air itself with boiling hot steam, the alicorn bent down and submerged himself completely under the water. After about ten seconds the tub had been emptied of water and the area was truly rich with steam.

Anvil rose to his hooves, spreading his wings for the first time in what felt like centuries and giving them an experimental flap, blowing away some of the steam as he took a deep breath for the first time in eons. Sideways stepping out of the now empty bathtub, the Alicorn of blacksmithing closed his eyes and shivered a little as he experienced the sensation of cold for the first time in ages.

Still, it was not a feeling he could allow himself to focus on for long. Even now he could hear the silently cursing and pleas of those who worked away around him as they hammered and reshaped the world into the way they wished to see it one piece at a time. They were understaffed and behind on deadlines. With a small roll of his shoulders, Anvil grinned as he crabbed walks towards where he felt he needed to go to do the most good.

"Can't just let my little ponies lose momentum now that they've finally started to make progress, can I?" He asked himself softly in a voice that sounded like hammers striking metal and molten steel pouring into a new mold.

Color. This was the first thing Gravitus, Lord of the forces of Gravity, noticed.

Eons upon eons of watching the universe from afar, maintaining everything in its same motion and gravitational field, had kept him from appreciating what his mother had created. All he was able to do was view them as pieces of a machine; doing so bothered him greatly.

He noticed his body next. His body! Gravitus had spent every moment before this spread apart in a nonphysical state spread across the universe, giving him limited awareness. Every being felt him, but he was hardly aware that they were atop the large orbs they called planets. But here, in the mortal plane, he could actually feel the heat exuding from the protective barrier around him to block reentry.

Of course, he could have easily halted himself by stopping the pull of gravity upon him, but this was much too interesting.

It wasn't long before the freshly birthed alicorn was capable of defining the separate features of Earth. Mountains, plains, oceans, swamps; all of them passed by in a blur, but he was still able to see them.

Then he crashed.

The orb collided with the side of a mountain before finishing its course in the middle of a forest. The orb shattered upon the collision, throwing Gravitus out of it violently. He attempted to stop this by calling upon his power, but found himself too disoriented to use it correctly. As a result, he slammed himself into the ground, ending his tumble but unleashing all new pain across his body.

Pain.

It was something the god had never felt before, something so abstract he couldn't even understand it in the Astral Plane.

Perhaps this is how stars feel when their lives are extinguished.

His horn lit up a vibrant shade of purplish blue as he mended his rather minor injuries. It was night at the moment. Gravitus looked around himself in a sort of stupor at the life around him. Life he had never had the pleasure of seeing before. For once, he actually smiled.

The alicorn's horn glowed, but did not find himself floating into the air as soon as it should. Still, it did eventually happen, rising him above the treetops to take stock of where he was.

The first thing he noticed was a large body of water. After that, he saw lights below his sister's moon. So Gravitus changed the direction of gravity acting upon himself and slowly made his way toward them.

---

"D-Dad... who is that?"

Gravitus turned his head up, trying to ignore the source of the voice that had disturbed his view of the ocean. It had been quite beautiful. He chuckled to himself as he realized he was getting more accustomed to the emotions of his body.

"I don't know, but we don't want to mess with him," a second voice replied in a hushed tone. It didn't matter if it was hushed or not; Gravitus could very easily hear him. "Maybe he'll go away if we just leave him be.

The alicorn then turned his head sharply to the left, where a father and his daughter both froze in fear. The male was an earth pony; he looked to be getting old in years. The daughter was a much younger Pegasus, but nearly the stallion's height. She must've been a young adult.

The stallion slowly pushed his daughter back into the door, which she didn't fight against. At least, not until she made eye contact with the alicorn.

The mare slowly pushed her father's hoof away, which made him stare at her incredulously.

She trotted to Gravitus, but stopped several feet away. It was probably his eyes; they didn't reflect light like any normal mortal, a side effect of the warped gravity around the alicorn's coat.

"E-e-excuse me," she stuttered, "W-why are y-you here?"

This Pegasus had a coat of a shade of blue that almost appeared white, a silver-gray mane cropped short, and emerald eyes. She was also missing her left wing. Although Gravitus did not interfere in the affairs of any world, this intrigued him.

"What happened to your wing?" Gravitus turned his body fully toward her and sat with his legs underneath him, as though he was preparing for a story.

The mare, who was nearly scared witless from Gravitus' rather creepy observations, immediately became downcast. "In the beginning of the war," she spoke with absolute clarity, "My family lived in Ponyville. I'd take off a lot, since both my ma and pa were earth ponies. I was just going to be gone for a few hours...

"I... I came back that night after visiting some friends in Cloudsdale. The entire town had been wiped out. I wanted to look for my parents, but my wing was shot near its base." She stopped for a moment and wiped a tear from her eye. "I c-crash landed in the Everfree Forest. Took me a couple of days to get out and find my pa. Ma was... By that time, my wing was infected. It had to be amputated..."

By this point, the mare's father had noticed his daughter was crying. He hobbled over and placed a foreleg around her withers as the tears began to fall from her eyes. "We lost two of the most important things to us that day," the old stallion muttered.

Gravitus looked toward the sky for a moment before looking back at the mare. "What is your name, mare?"

"Winter Sky," she answered uncertainly.

"I will travel this world in search of my sisters, Celestia and Luna. Would you like to join me?"

The mare opened her mouth ever so slightly. She was talking to a god after all. One that had appeared out of nowhere, who's every step and word seemed to weigh as much as the sky itself. It was intimidating.

But when she looked into his eyes, she saw no malice or dark intentions, despite their appearance. Before she could answer, her father interrupted.

"What are you talking about? You aren't taking her anywhere!"

One glance from Gravitus was enough to stop his tirade short and make him sit obediently. "What your daughter does is her own decision. She is not a filly," the god boomed. He looked back toward the filly and waited. If there was anything he'd gained as lord of gravity, it was patience.

"Y-yes, I will. I'll come with you," Winter said slowly.

"Then we shall leave at once," the alicorn said as he stood up.

"Wait, can't I pack my supplies?"

"Supplies? Such as..."

"Toothbrush, some changes of clothes, pillow and bedding sheets, horseshoes, brushes, soap..." the mare trailed off as she noticed Gravitus raised an eyebrow at all of this. "Right, just the essentials. I'll be right back!"

As she scurried off, Gravitus turned his attention to Winter's father. The stallion looked devastated, though Gravitus could only guess as to the reason.

"What is the matter?" Caelus asked in his monotone fashion.

"What's the matter? What's the matter?" He yelled at the object of his anger. "I'm losing the last piece of family I've got to some strange alicorn that shows up at my door step in the middle of the night! Why now? Why Winter? Why couldn't you have gone somewhere else? Why..."

"It was purely by chance that I landed here. I would prefer a partner while I am on the mortal plane and it seems like my offer has sincerely raised her spirits. You believe my motives to be suspect? What if I told you I could heal her?"

"Heal her? You mean her wing? How would you do that?"

"I'm aware of how mortal ponies' magic works. If a pegasus loses a wing, then she will not fly above the clouds anymore. I would require a construct to replace the original limb, but it is quite easy to give her this ability again. Observe."

Gravitus' horn illuminated the area around the two stallions and surrounded the mortal. For all but three seconds, Winter's father glowed a bright bluish purple, before the light dissipated. "Now jump," Gravitus commanded.

Although still suspicious, the old stallion leaped in the air. Twenty feet into the air, actually. He fell down at a snail's pace. "Wha- get me down! I get it!"

The alicorn brought him down as requested. "What is your name, if I may inquire?"

"Dusty Road," the stallion replied. His mane and eyes were the same as his daughter's in color, but his coat was the same color as sand.

"Dusty Road, I will return your daughter at the end of my travels. If this takes longer than I expect, then I will come back for you as well." The old stallion mumbled something in response.

At that moment, Winter Sky ran out of the house, tripping over something that couldn't be seen on the porch in the little light available. On her sides were normal sized saddle bags with her cutie mark on each one. The cutie mark was of a simple camera facing forward with a snowflake in its lens.

"I'm packed and ready to go," the young mare exclaimed as she trotted over to the two stallions.

Just before she reached them, Dusty looked up at Gravitus and whispered, "Keep her safe. Equestria isn't as safe as it used to be."

The alicorn simply nodded in understanding before the mare reached them both. The new duo turned toward the forest after the family had finished their farewells and set off on their quest.

The Ruins of the Wonderbolt Academy. Years ago these islands in the sky had served as the proving grounds of the greatest fliers in the world. However, the academy belonged to a more peaceful time. These legendary islands had become victims of the chaos and bloodshed that befallen the world in the wake of Celestia and Luna’s disappearance. Now nothing of this academy remained save for the debris left over from its destruction.

Far above these ruins, a violently flashing red star had been shining. The landscape of these ruins were awash in a red glow given by this star. As the star grew larger and brighter, it began to resemble less a stationary object in the sky and more a fiery comet, one that was bound straight for the Ruins of the Wonderbolt Academy.

I no longer have a reason to exist in this world. You have eliminated war, the mightiest of monsters have been cast out or destroyed, and all my descendants are long dead. You have built a prosperous kingdom Celestia, but it is one that has no need for someone like me. I request to be released from your service, so that I might leave Equestria and return home.

The great red comet blitzed through the sky, its destructive collision with Gaia below all but assured. The red light of the comet began to spill out across the landscape. To the north where a small fort lay, soldiers hurriedly mobilized in response to the falling celestial object as famers to the south, awoken from their sleep by the great light, held their loved ones close as they looked up uncertainly at this terrifying spectacle.

I know we have quarreled often and disagreed on much, but I want you to know that it saddens me to see you go. You have been a dependable servant, and a good friend.
Firaga, Alicorn of Fire. I release you from my service.

As the massive ball of flames neared the ruins of the Wonderbolt Academy, a rough outline of a great red stallion made itself apparent. His long and wild mane and tail whipped through the air as his form careened through the sky, as if they were but flames themselves that lashed out in all directions. His crimson red eyes appeared to be surrounded in brilliant white flames themselves, as the Alicorn stared intently at the ground he was charging toward.

The figure in the flames was nearly indistinguishable from the fire that whipped around it although its maw appeared to be wrenched open, as if it was roaring at the ground it hurtled towards. The form from within the flames raced downward, memories of the past flowing through its mind. Thought seemed alien to the creature, but emotions ran strong within.

Equestria. EQUESTRIA! I RETURN!!!

The sound of a fiery explosion tore through the sound barrier, as a thin pillar of flame shot out through the sky, covering the surrounding land in a brilliant red glow. A few moments passed before the pillar died out, and complete silence reigned as Luna’s dark night fell upon the land once more.

+++

A nearby platoon of Stormwing Hoplites, some of the finest soldiers that Equestria had to offer, took great interest in this fiery phenomenon and served as the first party to investigate the Ruins of the Wonderbolt Academy. Upon arrival, they found the entire ruins covered in a thick layer of ash and saw many patches of grass seared with a number of small smoldering flames scattered across the landscape.
One young brave hoplite stumbled across a large blackened crater that stretched roughly 20 feet in diameter. As the young soldier motioned for her comrades to come closer, she personally began to hover into the crater.
A gruff voice called out to the lass. “What do you see down there!?”
As the hoplite neared the center of the crater she began to look upon the frame of a large stallion that, like everything else in the ruins, was completely covered in a large layer of black ash.

“It… it looks like a pony sir!”

Firaga’s red eyes flashed open, a warm glimmer of light encompassing his body as he stood up from the sight of his crash, blasting back the layer of ash that had hidden his form. His body stood tall, his bones creaking as they magically healed from the crash. His wings unfurled themselves, releasing a wave of heat that washed over the ponies surrounding him. Firaga raised his head and let loose a low groan as he reawakened from his slumber and his body reacquainted itself with mortality. Firaga then looked down and saw a young soldier dressed in a vaguely familiar looking suit of armor. The soldier’s face was transfixed into an expression of awe, her mouth open agape and her eyes held wide in shock as she stumbled backwards across the hot ground.

A pony has come to greet me? The Alicorn’s red eyes locked onto the quivering soldier before him, as cognizant thought slowly returned to its mind.

I… remember. Pegasus, lords of the sky, and I KNOW THIS ONE! Wait! No…

“One of General Stormwing’s warriors? This cannot be.” Firaga looked up from the crater and saw the frames of dozens of other pegasi, all armed and armored in the same fashion as the lad before him and all draped against the light of Luna’s starry sky.

“General Stormwing is long dead. Why do you wear his coat of arms, and who do you all really serve?” For several tense moments, not a single soul dared to speak up. Firaga stood up and glared at the myriad of eyes looking down upon him, fully expecting to receive an answer once they ceased gawking at him. His answer came unexpectedly from the trembling young soldier that stood with him in the pit.

“s-Stormwing is the name of our House. We are led by f-f-Force Commander Rainbow Dash…” Firaga stared down at this quivering mare. A flicker of interest was growing within him, and he wondered if he might coax more information from her.

“Hmph! Is this Rainbow Dash so arrogant that she thinks herself worthy of adopting Stormwing’s coat of arms?” Firaga flexed his wings and brought his great size to bear down upon the lone soldier. The hoplite shuddered, her fear being palpable to the Alicorn, but to Firaga’s surprise, and utter delight, the mare spoke out against him.

“Sh-She’s an incredible commander! The best in Equestria! No one can defeat her, and no one can stop us!” Firaga glared down at the mare, and smiled. The hoplite’s sudden outburst of courage and indignation in the face of a god pleased Firaga immensely. However, the hoplite’s expression of courage quickly passed as she once again realized who, or more accurately what, she was shouting at and she briefly wondered if his boast would serve as her last words.

Unable to contain his own emotions, Firaga exploded into a loud and hearty laugh, the first he had experienced in centuries.

“Well then! If this Rainbow Dash is so fierce, and this House Stormwing so mighty, then I will certainly have to pay both a visit someday soon!” With that Firaga quickly ascended high into the sky so fast that the many hoplites that flew around him barely had time to react. The Alicorn then unleashed a brilliant light that blinded all eyes that were fixed upon him as he bolted through the air away from the Ruins of the Wonderbolt Academy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmoYLtObCtY

Leaving the hoplites behind, Firaga raced higher and higher before abruptly stopping and gazing down upon the world. He saw endless plains before him, dotted here and there with tiny homes and villages. Off in the distance he looked upon great mountains that scraped the sky that appeared to hold castles within them. Glancing in a different direction, the Alicorn’s eyes widened as he looked upon what he could only describe as a vast ocean of forest. Mesmerized by the mere sight of the world before him, Firaga felt his spirit ignite within him, as if he had been reborn within his own flames.

As Firaga fluttered through the sky, his ears picked up on something that again felt quite familiar. The sound of what sounded like metal clanging against metal was being softly carried upon the wind to the Alicorn of Fire. Firaga bolted through the sky once more toward the sound, and his eyes saw flames welcoming his approach in the distance.

Firaga eventually found himself floating high above what he could briefly make out to be thousands upon thousands of mortals clashing against one another, illuminated by his very own flames. Perching upon a cloud high up in the night sky, flames flickered in Firaga’s very own eyes as he became entranced by the wondrous spectacle that was ongoing before him.

My flames burn strongly down there. Who are they, and why do they fight?
Celestia, pehaps there is again need for me in an Equestria without you.

“Equestria, will always be my true home.”

1454730

In the deepest reaches of the Everfree Forest, there existed a Valley. It was a place in which no sane or insane being would ever go. A place to where the foulest things of the world flowed down into it's infested depths. A place in which all who enter, never escape. A dumping ground for corpses, criminals, the mentally insane, enemies of the state, political rivals, anything that wasn't wanted in the world above was tossed away like trash and left to rot in the disease ridden darkness. The only way to enter and exit the Valley was a small outpost maintained by Everfree, it's grand Ballistas shooting down anything that came too close to the gates of the outpost. It's purpose was never to keep people out but the world's forgotten and forsaken inside.

Swarms of flies and mosquitoes feasted on the exposed flesh of those who dwelled here, the endless buzzing of millions of wings ringing loudly in any creature's ears here. Maggots wriggled in any carcass that would fit them and any rotten flesh be it still connected to someone alive or not was never spared. Leeches invested the thick ooze one would never think to call water

Garbage and wastes from Whitegold's grand city was drained down far far into Everfree's swamps, which eventually flowed into the Depths of the Valley to float in the ever slow inching current.

"Gods on high, please! Hear my pleas!!"

A desperate male voice pierced through the endless rains of the swamp he dwelled in. In the deepest depths of this forsaken place was a small basin in which everything eventually flowed into. In this basin the dark purple water (if it could be called that as it was a mixture of everything foul in this world) no longer flowed slowly, but rather was left to still as it had nowhere else to go.

In the center of the Basin there was the ruined remains of what appeared to be a church, it's bell tower barely standing while the roof had almost completely collapsed in on itself and rotted away in the Swamp's waters. Within the remains of this church there stood the form of a Stallion kneeling over a small bundle on the Church's alter. On the alter was the form of a hairless creature, it's features covered in boils and open sores. It's body lay curled up into itself and it appeared to be horribly malnourished. The body was that of a young Foal, and no signs of life showed from it's deformed form.

"To any God that can hear my voice, I beg of thee! Hear my call!!"

The Stallion shouted out once again to the darkness above, his own figure being similar to that of what was presumably his child. Most of his fur had fallen off, very few patches remained while his mane was extremely short, unwashed in the years he had spent in the living Hell that was the Valley and caked with mud, filth, and blood. On his face several large sores stood predominately while his teeth had for the most part fallen out, a few idle yellow molars remaining. His body lacked any real clothing as it was made up of mostly rags hastily placed together to form some semi-balance of clothing.

Behind him stood the figures of several others Mares and Stallions, there own appearances shrouded by the lack of light save for the torch that was lit to the left of the alter. One could assume though that they themselves were hideous and horribly infested with illness and rot.

"My child no longer stirs from her sleep, my wife's milk has long since run dry and we feed her the best that we can. We keep the flies away from her the best we can, I've gouged my flesh so as the flies would leave her be! But she does not awaken from her sleep! Please!! I beg of thee oh Gods above, bring her from her endless sleep! Please!!"

The desperate Stallion shouted to the Heavens above, his peers looking to one another with steeled gazes. The father continued to stare to the darkness above, the rain mixing with the tears that ran down his cheeks and dripped down onto the form of his daughter below.

He received no answer, his pleas falling upon deaf ears.

"Please, p-please I beg of you, someone... Please h-help her, sh-she is all that we, that I have. Please do not take her away, please! Someone! A-Anyone, help! My b-baby Filly is my only reason for living, oh dear Celestia sh-she's not even-"

The diseased Stallion crumpled on top of his daughter, wrapping his arms around her forms and sobbing openly now, the dark eyes of those around him all staring towards him. Slowly, one withdrew from it's filthy wings a knife, a broken blade with cloth tying it to a piece of wood for a handle. The others did the same, all bringing out small makeshift knives with cold gazes in their eyes.

One took a step forward, the thick slosh of the Swamp's waters soundly loudly over the crying Stallion's frantic pleas to some Divine power. As the figure took another step, he was soon joined by the five others with him, all slowly moving towards the crumpled Father, unaware of their approach.

He had materials. Anything and everything was salvaged when the opportunity presented itself and no one there hesitated once they knew he wouldn't fight back.

Once they all drew close enough, they raised their weapons high above him and prepared to strike. Suddenly, they could hear the sounds of something rapidly approaching, a noise that they have never heard before in their existence in the Valley; the screaming of something heavily falling from the sky. Before anyone could react a burning dark green ball slammed into the waters just behind the church, the force of it sending the Father and his would be killers onto their backs into the thick ooze around them. Steam arose from behind the ruined structure, the Forsaken finding to their surprise that the sludge around them was warming up.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

"............huhuhaahahahaHahahahaHAahaHAAAHAHAAAAAA!!!"

The powerful voice suddenly pierced through the pitter-patter of the rain and the buzzing of the flies, a large explosion of the Plague water forming a geyser behind the Church. As the almost purple waters rained down upon the Forsaken, a cloud of what could only be described as Dark Green concentration of rot and decay could be seen buzzing loudly over the Church. Focusing in on the grieving father who was the closest out of his fellows, the Cloud suddenly bursted forth with speed towards him, slamming into the diseased Stallion in another explosion of filthy ooze.

"At Laaaast!! URHaHAHAahahaHAHAhahaHAhaHaHAAAA!!!"