After finishing my rounds, I would always head into the surrounding city in order to relax for the night. Sometimes I would find a nice place to eat, while other times I would find a place to take a nap. If I was needed, I would always be ready to go back into action.

Most of the time I would go alone, but one night I found Rana wandering the streets as well.

"Rana!" I called out to her.

She turned to face me. The look on her face was one that friends who had never seen each other in a long time would have. Ever since I took the Royal Guard Captain position, I began spending less and less time with Rana. As skillful as she became in her training over the years, I knew that she had really come all the way here with me so we could be together. I figured it would be painful for her to not be able to spend time with the one she gave up her simple life for.

Thus, it was no surprise that she galloped towards me and ensnared me in a hug. "Roddel, it's been so long!" She blurted out.

We decided to get dinner together at the Hay Barn, a popular place in Valhalla for getting food. We sat at a table under the stars, overlooking a small lake. The castle walls towered in the distance.

It had been a long time since I was able to spend time alone with Rana. The only time I would interact with her would be if I had orders to give to the other soldiers, or if I happened to pass her in the hallways. She had never gone out on scouting missions, mainly since I didn't want her to be in danger out there. The Draconequus had ceased attacking us since the keys incident, but I didn't want to be too careful. I could tell that Rana was disappointed that I didn't let her showcase her fighting skills as much, but she never said anything about it.

"I'm sorry," I said suddenly.

"For what?"

"We don't get to spend time together like this anymore...I've been too focused on my duties."

"It's your dream, though, right?" She responded. "Ever since you were a colt you wanted to be a member of the guard, and now you're living that dream. I'm happy for you."

Silence.

"Besides," she continued. "Thanks to you, we're in a time of peace right?" I thought about what the High King told me...I didn't want to worry Rana, so I nodded in agreement.

"I'm happy seeing you be happy." Rana finished, giving a small smile. "Of course, it wouldn't hurt to have time like this once in a while."

While she spoke, all I could think about was that filly, the first pony. How it popped its little head out of that box, and was eaten by King Falchion...I also thought about the tensions that rose between the kings, and the Key to Order that was bound to me.

"Roddel?"

I snapped back. "You were spacing out for a minute. Did you hear what I said?"

"Uh, yeah." I lied.

"That's good..." Rana sighed. "Hopefully you'll do it."

Going along with whatever she was talking about, I nodded. After finishing our meal, we decided to take a look around the city. At this time of night, the candles were lit all over the city. It was a warm environment that reminded me of our home village. Fillies ran around playing while mares and stallions conversed and laughed. I had been so preoccupied with work that I never paid attention to the Sleipnir in the city who we protected. Walking through the city, I finally opened my eyes up to what I was protecting.

There was one cart full of heavy bags that we walked passed. I saw a colt try to pick a few up, struggling to get them on his back. "Would you like some help with that?" I offered.

"Oh, no thanks," The owner of the shop came out. He placed a hoof on his son's shoulders. "We can't possibly ask you to do this petty work. I would pay, but we need to keep as much coin as we can because of this famine. If only there were a way I could get some free labor from sompeony..."

I didn't understand what he meant; it was no problem for me to lend a hoof. "You'd rather have somepony who is made for this work...and work for free?"

"Do you know somepony?" The shop owner looked at me. "I heard that King Falchion was working on a way of doing something like that...a pony or something? Anyway, I heard it from one of the guards. If he can go on with it, it would be so easy to get work done!"

Rana looked at me. "What is he talking about? What is King Falchion doing?"

I guided Rana away from the shop. "Don't worry about it," I didn't think that the word about Falchion's experiments would get out so easily; I would have to reprimand the one responsible for this. I didn't want to worry Rana about the details of what went on in the throne room that day, so I quickly ushered her back to the castle. Rana gave out a yawn as we walked. "We should head back." I said, holding her up.

"But, we won't be together like this again for a while..." She began to doze off.

"Don't worry," I comforted her. "Tomorrow, we can go out again."

The High King called for an emergency meeting. All six kings made their way to a conference room. It was smaller than the throne room, with a hexagonal table situated right in the center. All six kings took a seat, with me as the only guard standing inside. Nopony else was allowed to be in or near this room. Whatever the reason was, I knew it was extremely important. To make matters even more interesting, the six Keys to Order were on the table, glistening before all of us.

"The reason I called you all here," The High King began, "Is because I have decided what we will finally do with the Keys."

"Have you reconsidered my proposition?" King Falchion was the first to speak. "I assure you that it won't take too much effort to mass-produce those ponies."

The High King sighed. "No, King Falchion. We are going to destroy the Keys." The other kings began to speak among themselves.

"You can't mean to do that?" King Rowan spoke up.

"The Draconequus have stopped attacking us since that incident." The High King replied. "We have no more need for them. The order has been restored."

"What if they attack us again?" King Falchion slammed a hoof on the table.

I have been talking to their leader for some time now," The High King said. "We have come to a negotiation. They will stay in the north, leaving us alone, so long as we destroy the Keys. And I agreed. The long hostilities between our two races will be over...we will finally live in true peace!"

"And you are trusting their word?"

"I trust their word more than others..." The High King looked right at King Falchion when he said this, causing Falchion to grimace. "All we need to do is to use our creation powers to unmake the Keys." He looked at me for a second, prompting me to remember that I was bound to his key.

"Come now, Falchion. Stop this foolishness: creating ponies or whatever you wish to do. The balance is kept right now. Go through with this, and I assure you that nothing will change."

Falchion put his head down. "Oh...but I want things to change."

King Falchion's key began to glow, causing the other kings and myself to freeze. King Samwell, King Drear, and the High King were frozen as King Falchion, King Thuun, and King Rowan all disappeared.

In another second, the three came back, with each one standing behind a king. I tried to call out and move, but the hold on me was too great. One more second, and three giant blades appeared, with two of them piercing through King Samwell and King Drear. They collapsed onto the table, dead.

"K-King Falchion...." The High King tried to speak out. I was too horrified to try and continue struggling. The keys that belonged to the kings began to glow, as if the Sleipnir they were bound to was changing.

"I did some research," Falchion said. "If you kill the one connected to the Key, the Key becomes free. Then, anypony can come along and claim it. I am now bound to three of the six stones, and I will now claim the fourth.

The sword pierced through the High King. I tried to scream, but it was no use. He looked at me for a second before closing his eyes and collapsing onto the table, along with the other dead kings. King Falchion, King Thuun, and King Rowan all stood as the remaining kings.

I stood in horror as my king died in front of me. His vision is coming true, I thought to myself. I looked at the King Falchion, who waited in anticipation for the key to be transferred to him.

However, none of the stones began to glow.

"What?" King Falchion asked as he looked at the stone. "It should have released its bond...I see." He looked right at me. I froze in place.

"Clever king..." King Falchion laughed. "He transferred the bond to you. I guess we could make this work."

I was released from the spell and collapsed to the floor. "What...what did you just do!?" I yelled.

"Quite simple. I conjured up a sword and stabbed it through-"

"No, I mean WHY?"

King Falchion laughed. "You heard him." He said. "'We're going to be in an era of peace.' Ha! Peace is the last thing we need. What we really need is for everypony to fear us. We have the power of creation. We have the power of the Keys to Order. Why throw it away? We will be unstoppable!"

King Rowan continued. "We had been planning this for a while now. Kill the kings, and...blame it on the captain."

I couldn't believe it. "Me?"

"Unfortunately, you were the one who became captain." King Thuun responded. "We noticed how close you were to the High King. It would be easy to insinuate that you wanted control of his power, the power that everypony knows about, and you attempted to kill all six kings for it. The three of us, as a result, would kill you and claim that we had to protect ourselves."

I tried to run, but the spell caught me again. King Rowan laughed as he held up one of the blades. It's over for me, I thought to myself. "Are you going to try and tell somepony about what happened? Who would believe your word against three kings'? I'm sorry to see you go, but-"

"Wait."

King Falchion's voice emerged. "We do have a surprising development. He has been bound to the stone."

I spoke up. "Just kill me and take it then," I was prepared to die along with my king. They planned to kill The High Kings, two of the low kings, and put it all on myself.

King Rowan turned around. "Well, you heard him. We should just kill him and be done with it."

A pattering of hooves came closer to the room as King Thuun spoke up. "Do it." My heart sunk.

Suddenly, the doors burst open. Royal Guard came flooding into the room. "We heard a commotion. What is - !"

Before anypony could respond, King Thuun pointed towards King Rowan. "Detain this stallion! He took three of the six kings' lives!"

King Rowan dropped the blade. "Wait, it wasn't-" The soldiers snared him with their spells, compounded with King Thuun's spell. As strong as King Rowan was, he couldn't compete against the power of another king. They dragged him out of the room quickly, leaving me alone with King Falchion and the dead bodies.

"I have a proposition for you." King Falchion walked right up to me. "We will spare your life, but you must use the power of the key whenever we need you to. If you try to tell somepony what happened here, we will claim you were a conspirator and have you killed."

"If you just kill me now, then you'll have all of the keys. There's nothing you wouldn't be able to do."

"All the more reason for you to not try and get yourself killed. You want to see the new world with me, right?" An evil smile came across the king's face.

King Rowan was charged with murders of King Samwell, King Drear, and the High King. Both King Falchion and King Thuun testified to this, using their influence to push the verdict. The kingdoms became split over what really happened. Many of the soldiers who had bust in testified to seeing a blade in King Rowan's possession...which, coincidentally, was the only blade recovered from the room. The amount of evidence against King Rowan prompted everypony in the kingdoms to believe he really did do it. He was sentenced to execution. King Thuun was the one to do it.

Instead of simply hacking off King Rowan's head, King Thuun went a different way. He took out his Key to Order and used it to channel his creation power. He created a means to kill King Rowan instantly. The crowd looked on in a mix of happiness and horror as the fourth of six kings died. When asked for his last words, the king simply replied, "Have fun in your new world."

Of course, that meant the bond of Rowan's key went to King Thuun.

The kingdoms went into a state of chaos soon after that, fighting and arguing over what direction the kingdoms would be going in now. Those who had lived under the slain kings were unwilling to be ruled by the surviving kings, especially those who had turned against their own as the famine ensued. Several expressed doubt that King Rowan really committed the crimes he was killed for. Many threatened to rebel against the throne. Both King Falchion and King Thuun took residence in Valhalla in order to settle affairs.

I maintained my position as captain of the Royal Guard, although now I was serving under King Falchion and King Thuun...All I could feel was guilt; the High King was killed and I couldn't do anything about it. I am being selfish by giving in to the remaining kings' demands. All I know is that I must not hand over the key to them, although they are blackmailing me in order to get my cooperation. If I die and let them take the key, then I will have failed the High King. I cannot let that happen.

The biggest change, along with the change in authority, is the fact that King Falchion immediately decided to put more research into his "pony creation". With the keys in his possession, he will be able to continue that gruesome project...