Outside, huddled in their houses or under carts or behind trees, ponies around Ponyville watched the grand crystal castle that now housed the newest princess of Equestria, Twilight Sparkle. Their eyes wide with fear as the castle shook, sounds of loud bangs and explosions rocking all of ponyville with it.

After the many times catastrophe that has occurred in Ponyville, from a rampaging dragon and parasprites, to the utter draining of their magic from Tirek had created a sense of paranoia now in the populace. So when the noises of some battle or rampage began to occur within the castle, it was only logical that the ponies about watched in worry of something horrible; some even beginning to pack up and head for the hills.

Still, whatever it was that was happening still occurred within the halls of the castle. And within those halls, waged a battle not seen in a millennia.

Cadence yelped as she felt her shield spell be slammed with the force of a train by another of the purple and red bolts of energy. She felt her fur getting frizzy, and oddly a chill rushing up her spine as if just being near the strange energy was trying to suck the warmth from her.

She saw Celestia standing beside Twilight and Spike, her own shield up to shield from another blast. Luna also stood behind a shield, though she had been pushed back into the wall by the force of the initial blast. In the center of the room, eyes burning with a raw crackle of magic stood the human that they had come to capture.

'I've never seen a magic like this.' Cadence thought as the human swung his arms wildly, hips spinning his upper body in a circular motion.
And with that motion a spinning wheel of fire emerging and following the path of the human's hands. Cadence kept her shield up and felt the heat of the flames wash over her protective spell.

The fires ended abruptly however as the human gasped in pain and staggered, leaning against the shattered remains of the couch.

"Now!" Celestia shouted, her shield vanishing as she directed a basic blasting spell. The amount of magic placed into the spell was not a lot, as it glowed dimly, but it would be enough to incapacitate the human. The blast stuck the human in the chest, causing him to stagger.

"Gah!" The human gasped, gripping the tattered couch to keep steady, only for a dimly glowing blue blast to strike him again and stagger him again. He tottered as if off balance, and suddenly spat up a line of blood from his mouth, onto the floor, staining it a dark red.

Cadence gasped, 'Those blasts couldn't have hurt him, could they?' She thought. Despite the hardness in her aunt Celestia's voice when she had told her of the human and its magic, she knew that no matter what Celestia would never willingly harm another creature.

"Cadence!" Celestia yelled. Cadence looked at the human before steeling herself and preparing her own blast. Though she would weaken it a bit further just to be safe. The human was obviously in pain, and she did not want to take any risk of making it worse. But before she could release the spell another voice shouted, followed by a powerful pulse of a Motion Stop Spell.

"Everypony! Stop!" Twilight shouted, her horn a glow as the spell struck all in the room. Cadence felt her body go rigged as if made of stone, her eyes glanced toward her sister in law in surprise.

Even Celestia and Luna looked at the new princess in shock.

"What the hoof is going on here!?" Twilight shouted, looking at all three of them as she placed herself in front of the human. The human continued to stare at the ground, blood dripping from his lips.

Twilight turned, and gasped as she rushed to the human, "Oh no, Castus are you okay." The spell keeping the human still vanished and the human sagged to the ground in a coughing fit.

Cadence felt the magic that fed the spell die away, and staggered slightly as her muscles finally became free from their arcane bindings. Twilight kneeled beside the coughing human, horn aglow with the tell tale weavings of a spell meant to aid in observing injuries to aid in healing.

"He...oh no...it's like he was burnt inside." Twilight muttered, her voice pained, "I don't think I can fix this."

Celestia took the moment of freedom to calmly approach, straightening her dress. Cadence also approached, watching her aunt in curiosity. Celestia looked down at the human, a look of anger and fear.

But under that seemed a look of pity, and perhaps also sympathy.

"Cadence. See to him, I...must talk with my student." Celestia said, "Luna, help her."

Cadence nodded, as did Luna, and both kneeled beside the human as he coughed more, curling up on the ground. Twilight looked up at Celestia, confused and worried, but she slowly got up and stepped aside with her former teacher; Spike joining with her, clinging to her leg as a child would its mother.

Cadence looked back at the human, and began weaving a spell to allow her to assess the injuries that were causing his pain. Meanwhile, she felt the weaves of the spell that Celestia had taught her before arriving being spun by Luna, who watched the human with a critical eyes as if one was observing a wild animal.

'Why are they doing that?' Cadence thought before turning back her attention to the human.
When she saw the damage to his body, she recoiled in shock.

It was as if his entire insides had been burnt and savaged. He had several points of internal bleeding, it was if a bolt of lightning had struck him from the inside. Buck, this poor creature was literally dying before her eyes!

"Luna, I might need you to share your magic with me. These wounds are extensive." Cadence said as she began weaving spells of healing. While love magic was her strongest point, she was perhaps one of the most adept in health and healing magic in Equestria.

Luna nodded and said, "We understand." Her horn glowed brighter and Cadence felt a surge of extra energy fill her horn.

The human groaned, gasping every now and then as the spells began healing his injuries. He would still be weak, and need days of bed rest before he was fully recovered.

'At least he will be alive.' Cadence thought. She loathed the idea of any creature dying. Especially by such horrible injuries.
When the last of the injuries was cleared, Cadence sagged in exhaustion. Even with the help of her aunt, it had taken a great deal to heal some of the worse wounds.

"It is done. Come, we should bind him now while he still rests." Luna said, weaving a bindings spell around the human and lifting him up. The human groaned slightly, but did not stir much and his eyes remained closed.

"But...yes. Okay." Cadence said with a nod. She added her own magic to the spell aunt Celestia had shown her and began moving the human.

Before they could exit the room, a wide eyed Twilight staring at them, then to Celestia, then toward the human. The doors burst open and ran in Twilights friends.

One, a yellow Pegasus with a pink mane, Fluttershy if Cadence remembered correctly, gasped and ran toward the unconscious human.
"Castus! What happened?" Fluttershy asked, stopping with an ‘eep' when Luna unfolded one of her wings to keep Fluttershy away from the human.

"Do not get to close sweet Fluttershy. This one is of a dangerous and unstable lot." Luna said.

"W-what?" Fluttershy gasped, looking confused.

Celestia stepped forward then, "I believe it will be best....if I explain it to all of you. But for now, Luna and Cadence must take....Castus....away to Canterlot."

"But why? He's just a human." A cyan colored Pegasus said, Rainbow Dash.

"No ordinary can speak my little pony," Celestia said, a sly smirk touching her face for the barest moment, "or wield the world breaking power that this one can."

A look of shock and confusion took girls then, and Luna motioned for her to follow. Cadence nodded and went with her aunt; though she would have liked to hear the explanation that Celestia would soon give. Even what little she knew left her with many questions.

"Do not worry dear niece. We shall fill you in on the full details as we go. You deserve to know the full story." Luna said, as if reading her mind.

Fluttershy had to fight herself to keep from rushing to Castus side. He had appeared unconscious and she worried on why the princesses were taking him away.

'They're taking him.....and I might never see him again!' She thought, shivering in fear as she then directed her attention to Princess Celestia.
"I suppose you all wish to know why we are taking away the human you call Castus. A human I suspect you all call a friend." Celestia said.

"Uh, we certainly would not question your wisdom Princess." Rarity started, "b-but we are rather...curious."

"And...what did ya mean by world breaking power?" Applejack asked.

Fluttershy breathed in a gasp, 'Celestia knows about his magic? But how? What would this mean for him?'

"The one called Castus is I am sure you know, not originally from this world. Discord told me of his....involvement with this." Celestia said.
'Discord? Why?' Fluttershy thought, feeling slightly betrayed by her friend.

"Uh...well, maybe we kinda knew." Rainbow Dash said hesitantly, rubbing the back of her neck.

Celestia gave a slight smile, "You needn't be worried my little ponies. If circumstances were different, I would not have mind this lost human living among us," Celestia's face soon became grim however, "but...this is not the case."

She studied them all intently, and Fluttershy couldn't help but hide herself in her mane from that gaze. Judging her, peering into her soul almost. The others all seemed uncomfortable as well.

Celestia looked at them all before finally saying, "What I am about to tell you, you must swear to never repeat to anyone. This is the highest kept secret of the royal family, known only by myself and my sister originally. If any knowledge of what you will learn this day were to be leaked to the general public, it could create disastrous results that could threaten the very peace thousands have given their lives and more to maintain. Do I have your oaths?"

The girls all looked at each other, and Twilight who merely nodded to them, before looking back to Celestia and nodded.

"Then listen well my little ponies. For the history for which you have been taught...is not the whole story.

...It was many eons ago, before the tribes of ponydom that exist today even walked the world itself. Before many of the creatures that we know even existed. It was a very ancient time, and a very ancient world and in those ages came to exist five great creator races from which all other races would descend from.

The first were the Sauroids and their Saurian servants. They were great and powerful creatures, with arcane might and strength unlike any had seen before. They wielded these magics in connection to their near total mastery of their own genetics. Out of all the creator races they were the most powerful, and ruled an empire that spanned nearly eighty percent of the world. Their empire was divided into three great territories where ruled three great powerful sauroids. The wisest, oldest and most powerful of their kind. But the Greater Saurouds were greedy and avaricious and each desired the others hoard of treasures that they fought each other more often than not, and their reptilian nature made it difficult for them to move into colder regions.

And then there were my ancestors, the Alicorns and rulers of the First Alicorn Kingdom, and it was us who stood as a paragon of civilization in those ancient days; and we that stood as the opposing force against the Greater Sauroid’s machinations of total dominion of the world. Our long lives and great magical strength were our greatest strength to combat this threat. Despite the often numerous engagements and wars between us and the sauroids, our lands were peaceful and prosperous. It was this prosperity and peaceful control that allowed for what would become a power far greater than any the world had seen before, for within the confines of a verdant and isolated valley on the edges of our kingdom did a band of wandering nomads finally settle their roots.

These nomads were humans. They were a recent addition to the sapient races, living in wandering tribal bands. The Sauroids hated the humans, seeing the only as prey and as useful sacrifices to their dark masters. Due to this, many tribes fled north, in the frozen tundra where the saurian could not follow. But for one band, they fled over into alicorn territory. And it was there that they settled, having found a home; rich in food and other resources and safe from the claws of the Sauroids.

Celestia paused, her eyes closed and she breathed a heavy sigh.

"There was much debate on how to deal with our new...guests. Some saw them as refugees, fleeing a hated enemy. They felt we should offer our hooves in friendship and offer them our protection. But, others saw the humans as primitives, filthy and unsophisticated beings not worth the time by a more superior race. That we should push them out before they spread any further. It was the voice of my ancestor, the great king Omniscient, that decided the final fate of the humans."

Fluttershy and the girls all stood silent, the feeling of everything they had been told was coming undone. Twilight herself seemed to be shaking.

Celestia went on, "King Omniscient decided that the humans would be allowed to live in the valley they had wandered into, as he did not feel it right to send away a people who had suffered at the hands of a hated enemy. But he would make it so that they could not leave the valley and enter into further Alicorn lands. He hoped that by this compromise that all sides would be happy, for a time it did. But, he could not have seen the unintended consequences to come in the future."

Years went by as the humans settled in their new home. Calling the land Valhru, or Gift of the Gods, in their language, and the humans became known as the Valhrua. Over time, a few other wandering clans joined the first. The clans eventually settled down in areas of the valley; switching from nomadic hunting to farming. In the course of many generations, the Valhrua grew to populate small farming villages to large towns and more.

For a time, all seemed well. But, all eras of peace must come to an end.

It was in the 600th year of King Omniscient's reign that the peace came to a halt, and begin an era of war that would last for nearly three centuries. During a yearly celebration, and the ritual blessing of the king and queen's first born child, that the Sauroids made a move to conquer the Alicorn Kingdom.

One of the Greater Sauroids, a powerful behemoth named, Slixka-Zhur, sent forth specially bred assassins into the kingdom. These assassins were bred extensively for stealth; and so they passed by patrol and guard with ease. The assassins were as well, blessed with powerful enchantments to aid in bypassing protective wards that guarded the royal family. So it was during the blessing, the assassins struck swiftly like the snakes they were. Their poisoned weapons found the flesh of the king within moments, but before he died King Omniscient managed to cast a spell that slew his attacks; keeping his wife and child safe.

The death of the king was a terrible blow to the kingdom, but it was not the only target of the Greater Sauroid's machination. Other assassins had slipped into the kingdom, each with specific targets. One by one important allies of the royal family, powerful mages, and experienced generals were slain by the saurian assassins; thus leaving the kingdom without their knowledge and strength and forcing young or inexperienced alicorns to take their place. It was the perfect time to commit a military strike.

A great army of saurian soon poured into the kingdom, catching the shocked alicorns off guard. Queen Divine, though wracked with grief, quickly took command, calling up the army. New generals and advisors were appointed, and the alicorns worked to push the saurian menace back. By use of ancient and powerful spells, and eons of magical refinement, the alicorns were able to stop the saurian from falling on them; but the saurian army was so numerous, and lead by sauroid mages of equal strength that the best they could do was reach a stalemate; with many cities left under siege for years.

It was an alicorn general by the name of Golden Light, who would finally bring the stalemate to an end. Though the alicorns were able to match, and even overpower the saurian mages, our long life spans made it that we do not reproduce as much as other races. So the alicorns simply lacked the needed number of mages to allocate to other fronts of the war without placing cities or the capital at risk of falling. What's more, no matter how powerful an alicorn was, they could still die from arrows or blades if caught without a guard.
In order to win the war, the alicorns needed a military force that could face the saurian army in combat, keeping the mages safe to work their more destructive spells in safety. So it was that Golden Light approached the Valhrua for aid.

The Valhrua had grown since their initial wanderings. Their civilization had prospered in the valley, with towns growing into powerful city states that housed tens of thousands of humans, and each ruled by a king. Generally they had fought each other for land and wealth, with the occasional uniting against common enemies such in a loss confederation. But in recent years, things had begun to change.

A powerful warrior by the name of Malak, had recently united all of the city states into a singular nation, becoming the first emperor of the Valhrua. However what separated Malak from other human lords was that he was able to wield magic; but a magic that the alicorns had never seen before. He was able to bring forth columns of fire to strike down upon his enemies, as well as casts bolts of lightning from his hands. What's more, the skills he had seemed to be spreading among the humans, and this caused some concern among certain high standing alicorns alongside the already high population.

Golden Light himself was one of the many who worried on what the valhrua may do next; but the war made any such concerns be pushed aside in the face of destruction. Besides, the level of ability that Malak and his few other mages was limited to simple bouts of destructive force and completely lacking in anything in finesse or skill like the alicorns so Golden Light did see it as much of a threat. And so, it was that he approached the self titled Lord Malak in his capital and entreated him to his plan.

Golden Light hoped to manipulate the Valhruan emperor. He did not have a high opinion of humans, considering them greedy and savage people in comparison to his own. With offerings of jewels and gold, as well as the promise of new lands for his people in the saurian held lands, as well as making it clear that without the Alicorn Kingdom the saurian would descend on his people next, Golden Light managed to bring the Valhrua into the war.

Many alicorns did not feel Golden Lights alliance was proper, some even being openly hostile to the whole thing. But Queen Divine saw the wisdom in it, and crushed any opposition to the alliance. If it aided in bringing the down fall of the saurians and sauroids, she did not care who she made a deal with; but she was not willing to let the humans have free reign in the war.

In the war, the Valhrua would be given weapons and armor by the alicorns, replacing the rather primitive bronze weaponry the humans had at the moment, but the humans would be under alicorn command. Lord Malak himself though, in order to avoid protest, was given a seat on the war council though anything he said was generally ignored.

The war quickly turned for the better for the alicorns. With the human armies distracting the saurian forces, with even their mages offering some aid against the saurian mages, the alicorns were quickly able to end the sieges of their cities and even began pushing the saurians out of their land till they were finally driven out.

However, merely driving them out was not enough for Queen Divine, who was still grief stricken by the loss of her husband, and began pushing into saurian territory, intent on making them never able to hurt her or her people again. The invasion of Slixka-Zhur's domain was a long and terrible campaign. Many alicorn mages and soldiers lost their lives in the battles, but the humans paid the heaviest price. Many commanders were uncaring to the human cost of their strategies, and so the Valhruan soldiers suffered heavy losses.

As the war progressed, Malak began voicing greater protest as to the placements of his troops. He no doubt saw that his people were paying the heaviest share of the butchers bill. But Queen Divine was so intent upon revenge against the sauroids that she ignored his words, and the other generals merely brushed him aside; even making threats toward his life and his people. Malak knew he was bound tightly to do anything, and so his protests soon fell silent.

Nearing the final years of the war, the alicorn and valhruan army had begun the final strike at the last remaining Greater Sauroid. The battle was the most vicious out of any other battle in the war, as the final Greater Sauroid was Sslaxka-Zala; oldest and most ancient of the Greater Sauroids. It was said his terrible multi heads rained various forms of elemental death upon the field that day, yet in the end he too fell as his other kin had before him. After nearly thee hundred years of war, and nearly endless ages of constant confrontation, the Saurian race and their dark masters were finally slain to the last. It was the end of an era, and the beginning of a new one. One that many, hoped would be marked with years of peace.

It would not be so however.

With the Sauroids defeated, the alliance between the alicorns and humans quickly came to an end. However, Golden Light and others did not completely forget the humans. During the war, the humans had greatly increased their skill in their magic, what they called the Wind. What's more, the Valhrua still had many weapons that they had been given, and had learn to use them effectively. Golden Light and others feared that, if allowed to recuperate, the humans could prove a threat in the future.

So it was, without the queens knowledge, that Golden Light and his closest allies, began to plot a way to break apart the Valhruan people. Naturally, their first target was the central leader to the people. Malak.

Despite a century and more of life, Malak still resembled a man of at least thirty years, which troubled many alicorns an lead many to suspect that this might be in connected to the Wind. With a seemingly eternal singular leader, Malak had been able to establish greater control over his kingdom and his people when in the past a humans short lifespan would have made it almost impossible to obtain such control.

Golden Light and others hoped that, if they could kill Malak and his family, it would be enough to disrupt the Valhruan people, maybe even push them into a war of succession. From there they could manipulate events to make it so that any future leader of the Valhruan would be neatly under their hoof.

Golden Light and his allies sent a false message to Malak, asking for a meeting on behalf of the queen to negotiate compensation for the war. Malak had been very verbal in repayments for his peoples sacrifice, so naturally he went with only a small honor guard and his son and heir. Golden Light set the meeting on a holy place to the Valhrua, where weapons were not allowed. Golden Light hoped that the respect that the humans gave this place would allow them an easier time to dispatch Malak.

Malak did appear, and as Golden Light suspected, he and those with him had come unarmed. Golden Light and his follower struck quickly, taking Malak and his followers off guard. The first few Valhruan died as they thrust their bodies between Malak and the attacking Alicorns. One even managed to score a blow with against Malak himself, however the initial surprise was lost when Golden Light and the other alicorns found themselves being torn apart of lightning and fire. Their golden armor and weapons turning to molten liquid in their hooves and on their bodies. All around magic tore from the hands and fingers from the few remaining humans, and Malak himself.

The Valhruan had come without weapons, but they had not needed them.

Golden Light soon found himself struggling against the Valhruan mages. What should have been a quick and decisive strike had now turned into a pitched battle, and while the alicorns had the advantage of skill in their magics, the Valhruan could make up for it in sheer ferocity, tearing the ground up beneath their feet. Eventually though, Golden Light fled, rather than risk death. Though those that had been with him had not been as lucky.

When Golden Light returned to court, the Queen had learned of his schemes. Queen Divine was livid with Golden Light, and ordered him executed. But despite his death, Golden Light had succeeded in one thing. In the battle, he had managed to score a severe strike against Malak before fleeing, thought it had not seemed to have harmed him.

In truth, the wounds Malak had received in that battle had been grave and he had died not soon after the battle was over.
The Valhruan King was dead, but his son had survived.

Queen Divine quickly strove to try and make amends with the new Valhruan king. But the loss of his father, and the desecration of a sacred site to the Valhruan people, made any such attempts a failure. It was only after the last messenger was sent back without his body and the Valhruan forces began burning alicorn villages and towns with siege weaponry and magic that she realized that the only amends that would be made with the Valhrua would be in blood.

Both the Valhrua and the alicorns were both still weak from the war with the sauroids. So original conflicts came to stand stills, but as time progressed, the Valhruan armies began improving on their magical weaponry and began unleashing....other weapons as well.
Perhaps the most potent weapon of all, were the dragons.

Unlike the dragons we know today, these dragons were originally sauroid beasts of war. However the Valhrua had acquired these beasts I can't say. But they had broken the beasts to their will, and now used them as their own war beasts. Over the course of eighteen years, the Valhrua slowly began making gains in the war and pushed the alicorns to the edge.

In the end, the war ended with the destruction of the alicorn capital, and last refugee of the kingdom. The Valhrua had grown to become destructive masters of their magical craft, and combined with the flames of their dragons, reduced the very city to a smolder crater. Many alicorns were put to the sword that day, though not eradicated. In a sense of perhaps ironic humor, The Valhruan king found it would be a humorous fate if the once powerful alicorns were reduced to servants, and so all alicorns that remained were taken captive and made into servant labor.

And so, that began the dawn of the Valhruan Empire.

"For nearly twenty thousand years after, the Valhrua slowly grew to rule the entire globe. They built awe inspiring feats of construction that few unicorns could match today. Powerful artifacts which could work miracles from seeding life in even the most desolate of lands to even travelling the stars it was said. But just as the alicorn kingdom met its own end, so did the Valhrua. Their collapse sent a shockwave of magical energies which changed the very world, creating many of the species we know today. What few fragments of their people survived, became the humans that we know today.

When Celestia finished, Fluttershy stared at her princess in wide eyed shock. The entire tale baffled her, it made almost no sense as it flew in direct confrontation with many of the things she had learned as a filly. Things she had assumed had been historical fact.
Yet here was her princess, trusted above all ponies, saying something to the contrary.

"S..so what does this have to do with Castus?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"It is simple my little ponies. Your friend Castus, can sense and wield the Wind. The very Valhruan magic used in the destruction of the Alicorn kingdom. At his will he can rain fire on towns with just the barest thought, or level entire cities with the crumbling of the earth beneath its stones. As the Valhruan grew in knowledge, the true measure of their magic became more apparent. The strongest mages of the Valhrua at their peak could sink whole continents. I cannot allow such a destructive power to be left unsupervised." Celestia said.

"B-But surely you could teach him? I mean...you seem so knowledgeable in its abilities." Rarity said, though her voice stuttered slightly.

Celestia shook her head, "I know of its abilities...but not how it is used. One must be able to use the Wind themselves in order to teach its use, and the last possible beings who could teach Castus how to control his abilities died eons ago. Even if I could....I do not know if I would."

The girls were quiet, and Fluttershy gulped. Castus, her Castus to have such a power. It frightened her. How could one being wield such a force?

"Princess..." Twilight started, "I-if Castus can't be taught to control his magic...what would happen?"

Celestia frowned, "What little of that I know of is limited. What I do know, is that if he is not taught the proper ways of control. He would die."

Fluttershy gasped, as did the others.

"Die?" Fluttershy said.

"Yes," Celestia said, "The Wind would tear apart his body. His death would be slow and agonizing, and at the worse the possibility that the energies tearing him apart would also tear apart anything around him. Even the most skilled of Valhruan mages had to be careful, least it also happen to him."

"If he can't be taught, what are y'all gonna do with him princess?" Applejack asked.

Fluttershy felt her heart chill and quickly said, "Please, don't hurt him. I know Castus would never want to hurt anypony. Please, he can't control it, he even told me so himself." She didn't know what would be done to Castus, but she had to come to his defense.

"It is not my intention to hurt him. But I will pacify him." Celestia said.

"Pacify?" Twilight asked.

"He will be kept under guard, and a barrier sustained around him to prevent him touching the Wind until a way to severe the connection is developed. There are some old texts that I have that may hold a clue." Celestia said.

Fluttershy felt a relief wash over her. At least he would not be hurt.

"Princess....these Valhrua....I don't recall seeing anything about them in any history texts." Twilight asked.

"Yeah, I mean it all sounds kinda crazy. Something you'd expect to hear from Lyra." Rainbow Dash said.

"It does sound far fetched." Applejack said.

Celestia nodded, "Yes. It does, and it was suppose to stay that way. After the Valhruan Empire finally ended, the alicorns vowed to never let any knowledge of the Valhrua ever emerge again. And so, over the many years we buried their ruins, gathered and locked their artifacts in vaults and temples with the strongest magics, and removed any trace of their presence save for the barest fractions which the legend of Eridu would be born from."

Fluttershy took a slow breath, trying to wrap her mind around the words. Twilight looked to be having a particularly hard time with it, as she was mummering to herself and rubbing her hoof through her mane that made it slightly desleveled.

"But why? I mean, why go through all that?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"To keep the world safe," Celestia said, "Many of the artifacts the Valhrua left behind were exceptionally dangerous, we could not let the newer races be at risk of discovering them and unleash their terrible and often at times unknown powers. What's more....we needed to destroy all knowledge regarding the Wind."

"But Princess...why would you need to keep a human magic from being known about by ponies or others?" Twilight asked.

"Because the Wind was not so....racially specific," Celestia started, "though humans would be born with an innate sense to the Wind, there were others who could learn to sense it even if they showed no magical ability in the beginning of their lives. Some alicorns had even managed to touch the Wind briefly, but the Valhrua slew them always. Could you imagine the calamity it would have been had Tirek known of the Wind and managed to find a way to tap into its powers?"

Fluttershy shivered, as did her friends. All had remembered how powerful Tirek had been. It had only been with the box the Tree of Harmony had given them that had allowed them to defeat him. But...if the level of power that Celestia said the Wind possessed was true....Fluttershy didn't want to think about it.

She just wanted Castus to be safe.

Celestia's horn glowed, and the girls gasped slightly as the damaged room slowly began to refurbish itself. Broken furniture stitching back together and broken crystal reforging into a single whole once more.

"I must now return to Canterlot. Do not worry my little ponies, all will be well. When all this mess is taken care of, Castus will return to you." Celestia said before vanishing with a flash of light.

Fluttershy looked around at her friends, who all looked at each other. Confusion, uncertainty, worry, and hope all mixed among them.

"Dang, this is all too much. My brain hurts." Rainbow Dash said, sitting down, placing a hoof to her head.

"It is rather....sudden. To hear so much, I am still left with questions." Rarity said, sitting at the couch.

"To think the big guy could be dangerous like that. I kinda wish I hadn't been so forceful on him when we first met." Applejack said, rubbing the back of her head.

"Hmmm, I wasn't expecting this." Pinkie said, pulling a small notebook from her mane and looking over something before putting it back in.

"Th-this is just....I mean the ramifications could....that all the history books are...." Twilight stammered, before flopping into the couch beside Rarity, a hoof to her head, "I...it’s just all...too much to take in one sitting."

"Fluttershy, darling. Are you okay? Please sit down." Rarity said, patting on a spot on the couch.

Fluttershy blinked, but nodded. Yes...she...she needed to sit down a moment.

"So um....what now?" Rainbow Dash asked.

That was a good question. What did they do now?

Well, from what it seemed all they could do for now was wait.

Discord fanned himself as he sucked lemonade from a swizzy straw. He hadn't been in such a hot situation in...well ever. The whole fight had been so unsuspected he hadn't had time to think before blinking away.

After all, he didn't exactly want to be at the face of Celestia's temper once she got a hold on Castus. After all, Castus didn't have the years of experience as Celestia did. She would have beaten him no matter what he did.

'Still, now that she has him. What will she do with him?' He wondered.

He had a good feeling she wouldn't hurt him. Celestia could have a temper, but she never would actually hurt another creature. It went against her principals, and Celestia was one to stand by such. So that really left the question open, and Discord hated an open question.

"Hmmm, I wonder." He removed the straw from his lemonade and swirled the drink around as an image of three alicorns slowly began to come into focus.

The first thing Castus felt when he returned to consciousness with a great feeling of exhaustion. He felt as if he had swam the whole length of the Mississippi river, upstream, in the winter. His muscles ached and all he could do was lay on the ground; not wanting to even try getting up.

Even thinking about it made him groan. So instead he merely turned his head slightly to look about his surroundings.

"Well this is new and exciting." He said softly as he looked around the cell he was in.

Another cell. A much quieter one, and reminded him something more of a small apartment study. A chair and small reading table sat in a corner beside a window and a simple white linen covered bed sat at the other end of the cell. A small bookcase sat beside the bed corner filled with an assortment of random titles. At least he had something to read.

"Ah, you are awake." A voice said.

Castus groaned as he turned his head and saw a pink alicorn standing outside the door. She wore a bright pink and turquoise colored dress with cream. The alicorn had a look of concern on her face as she looked down at him. Once more her horn glowed faintly a blueish hue.
"You're muscles will be sore for a time. You had a lot of internal injuries, but you should recover fully in a day or two." The alicorn said.

"I-agh." Castus began before feeling his head throb. Now he remembered. remembered the...the fight. God why had he done that? It just felt...like if it was him fighting, but not him. Like some part of him that wasn't really him took control. God, what was happening to him.

The alicorn frowned, her horn glowed a brighter and Castus felt the headache fade.

"My name is Cadence. I'll be watching you until my aunt Luna comes to take over. We will be taking shifts maintaining your shield for now." Cadence said.

"Shield?" Castus said confused, until he realized something.

The Wind was gone. He couldn't hear its faint breeze against his ears. It was like everything went silent and dead. He felt at that place where the Wind's power lurked, and found himself pressing against something like steel. Castus suddenly felt his heart wail as he tried to batter at the shield, and couldn't make a dent.

'Calm down...calm down....' He thought, as he felt a sudden and unknown fear and panic envelope him. Why was he getting so panicked?
Focus, he had to focus on something.

"I...how long am I going to be held?" Castus asked. No sense in asking why, he was pretty sure he knew why.

Cadence frowned, "I don't know. You won't be hurt though, so don't worry. We just can't take risks with you right now until Celestia has found a way to deal with your....abilities."

Castus looked at her oddly, but before he could say something his stomach growled loudly. He flushed slightly and Cadence giggled, causing him to blush more.

"Some food will come soon. You'll eat all of it mind you, your body will need a lot of energy to recover from the healing I did. I won't be satisfied till I see you eat every last bite." She said with a smirk.

"Thanks," Castus said, then went silent.

"Its...so odd. Hearing you talk." Cadence said.

"Well, that's not surprising. Though if roles were reversed, I'd be surprise seeing a pony talking....and standing on two hooves instead of four." Castus said.

"Yes, that's probably true. Once more you're not from this world entirely. At least that is what aunt Celestia has told me. Discord honestly doesn't think about the consequences of his actions when he should." She said with a aggravated sigh.

"So...ummm...what exactly is Celestia gonna do? To me?" Castus asked.

Cadece pressed her lips in thought but shrugged, "I can't say for sure. She said it would take some time to prepare. What we are worried about though is your magic. So I guess she is going to find a way to cut you off from it to avoid you accidentally killing yourself or others. It shouldn't hurt and once its done you will be free to return to Ponyville and....hey, are you okay?"

Castus was not okay. All he could do was shake, feeling his blood drain from him.

'Cut off. Cut off....cut off!!' He heard his brain scream. He began clawing at the shield with reckless abandon. Desperate in a way he couldn't understand, he had to break through. He had too!

"Hey, look, I know you might be abit scared, but believe me everything will be okay." Cadence said gently, before turning to the sound of a door opening, "Ah, your food is here. Now remember, every bite."

Castus gulped, and slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. He tried to fight his terror, but he still could feel himself clawing at the shield, and the shield holding firm. He watched as what he assumed was a servant by her maid dress, brought in tray of soup, bread, a salad and some utensils. The servant set the tray down at the door and pushed it through.

"Thank you," Cadence said, giving the servant a nod and smile.

The servant bowed and left, giving Castus a glance. Castus looked at the food and felt his hunger begin to outweigh his fear and he devoured the meal with abandon. But even as he ate, he planned.

'Somehow...somehow got to get out.' He thought, though couldn't explain why.

He had to get out. These ponies were trying to kill him!

Author's Notes:

School started, getting use to night shifts and the holidays make writing tough at times. Also I had to really think on this chapter. I still feel it came out not as I full wanted.

I had to give this story a lot of thought as I had to be fully sure now, as we near the end of the first book, where things were going. This story is gonna create a lot of more stories in the universe, which I shall call the Windverse. If you got another name for it let me know :P.

I hope I didn't make alicorns seem evil. They aren't, but pride can make a race do bad things. Especially when in dealings with what it considers a lesser, lower society.