The Archives of Equusweyr

by Coranth

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Other, Romance, Original Character
Length: 18071

A series of snippets from my story, "Short Shorts," about my Author SI, "The Prince" and his domain within the Everfree Forest.

"When Our Prince landed his Weyr in the Everfree, he desired not to be a Prince. This was not to be, however, for Celestia sent us - those whom were dissatisfied with her rule - unto him, to be his Subjects. Celestia in effect made him a Prince, but even in this he defied her. 'Fine! If she wants a Prince, then I'll be a Prince. But I'm doing things my own way, or not at all!' he said. I am Weyrpony Khorvas, Head Archivist of Equusweyr, the Royal Palace of the Everfree Princedom, and herein are the Chronicles of Our Prince and his Sovereign State."

Published 2013-09-05 02:20:03 UTC
Last updated 2017-10-10 00:35:15 UTC

2. Archive #2 - The Abused Foal

I remember the day that our Prince discovered one among us whom was abusing and neglecting a foal. He was, as always, resting upon his Throne within the Nexus; a serene smile upon his face, his eyes closed, as between his hooves he manipulated a glowing, cerulean ball of... well, it wasn't magic. Our Prince doesn't possess magic as the Unicorns do. Instead, he wields Psionic Energy; literally the energy of the mind, of thought itself. So there he was, keeping watch over his city via the Observers joined unto him through the Weyrmind... until one Observer caught wind of something in a house at the outskirts. A memory? A dream, perhaps?

We mortal ponies may never know exactly what the Observer actually saw... but our Prince did. His eyes snapped open, blazing with psychic fire. And then he was rising from his Throne, a hoof outstretched to - tap, tap, tap, tap - gently the muzzles of four of his strongest Templars. Without question they moved to accompany him as he silently left the Nexus. As his Archivist, the Chronicler of His Exploits, I followed him as well. Guided by the directions of the Weyrmind, he and his retinue made their way to this seemingly picturesque house at the outskirts of our fair city. Once there, our Prince touched something on a device strapped to his right foreleg...

Then we were all suddenly shifted inside the house, startling the occupants, a pegasus stallion and his unicorn wife. She clutched a hoof to her chest - near-suffering a heart attack - whilst he went pale. Because our Prince knew. While three of his Templars made to ensure the adults didn't escape or try anything 'funny', our Prince and his fourth Templar made their way upstairs to the room of a young colt. There was no evidence, of course, to suggest that said colt had been abused... or rather, no physical evidence. The colt seemed perfectly fine. But the invisible Observer in the colt's room - watching over him all this time - knew. Through the Observer, the Weyrmind knew. And through the Weyrmind, our Prince knew...

Of the long-healed bruises, made where nopony would see. The broken, and rebroken muzzle, ribs, legs, hooves. The little one's broken mind and soul. That was certainly telling evidence. And our Prince would know, having been an expert on the mind and its abilities and quirks for over 700 years. Of course, the colt's tears and repeated 'thank you, oh thank you!' as he hugged our Prince for all he was worth added to the evidence. In the end, our Prince - wreathing the little colt with his power - set the little one atop the back of his Fourth Templar; then all returned to the ground floor of the house wherein the Prince faced the pegasus, the colt's father.

Not a word was spoken by our Prince, though the look of cold neutrality upon the teal alicorn's face was clear: 'Well. I'm waiting...' At first the terrified pegasus tried to deny everything. Then he attempted to blame his wife which also failed, since the poor unicorn mare - Glittersong by name and kindly by nature - hadn't even known the abuse of her colt was occurring! At this hemming and hawing, our Prince took a single step towards the pegasus stallion, the expression upon his face turning thunderous... and it was enough. Weeping, the pegasus, Stalwart Pride, confessed. Here then was a case of Pegasus Pride winning over being a nurturing Father; Stalwart was deeply shamed that his son had been born an Earth Pony; and shame turned to anger, turned to hate.

For something that hadn't ever been, nor would ever be, the colt's fault. Needless to say, our Prince was not impressed. Stalwart Pride was sentenced the next day; he was escorted into the Nexus wherein he was taken to the Clinic and gelded, cleanly and professionally by the Autodoc. Stalwart Pride's sentence, however, did not end there. Still aching from the surgery as the anesthetic wore off, the now emasculated pegasus was escorted before the Golden Throne to face our Prince, whom sat therein with the colt, Proud Song, at his side. As Stalwart Pride was brought before him, once more our Prince's eyes opened... and this time, he inhaled a breath; at this, abruptly the sound ceased.

All the Ponies of the Court went silent, for our Prince intended to speak, an event that was rare indeed, for our Prince rarely spoke at all, not unless he had something of deeply profound importance to say. Gently, the Prince rested a forehoof upon the colt Proud Song's forehead; then he leaned forwards to rest his other forehoof upon the forehead of the colt's abusive father. Then, his eyes glowing with psychic power, our Prince intoned a single word. "Memory..." he stated. The word was soft, it was whispered, it bore not the slightest hint of malice... but everypony in the court felt the sheer mental power imbued within it - especially Stalwart Pride - as it rolled through their minds like a muted thunderclap...

And then in the blink of an eye, in the beat of a heart, it was done. Sighing through his nose, a satisfied smile upon his lips, our Prince returned unto his rest, leaning back into the rest of his Throne. He was, however, aware on some level, because he often petted, occasionally tickled, and ruffled the mane of the little colt whom cuddled and nestled at his side even as he watched over us all through the Observers that acted as his eyes and the Templars whom acted as his hooves. As for the pegasus stallion, Stalwart Pride... He began to shiver, then tremble, and whimper, and finally wail as he fell to the floor, curling into a ball of shattered pony. Our Prince had shared with him little Proud Song's memories. Every beating. Every bruise. Every broken bone. Every harsh word. Every humiliation. Stalwart Pride experienced, - lived - all of it.

This all was archived by the Weyrmind, of course; and then it was released and shared throughout our fair city. Everypony who possessed a neural transceiver embedded within their spines, everypony joined by that transceiver unto the Weyrmind - all of us - we saw it all. That day, a city gasped, cried, gnashed teeth in furious anger; then we shivered, and held our foals close to us. Foals were precious and not to be abused, the prince had taught us, and we would heed his lesson well for if we did not... he would know. He would always know. And we would suffer the Fate of the pegasus, Stalwart Pride. But... what of little Proud Song? What became of him? Well, he became one of our Prince's most loyal and the Captain of the Templar Guard. But that, my friends, is a story for another time.

3. Archive #3 - Of His Visits To Us, and the Origins of Our City

Contrary to popular belief, Our Prince does not always rest upon his Golden Throne. We often find him tinkering here and there with some system or another in his Palace, the Nexus, and he does walk about for physical exercise and keep his psionic skills sharp through meditation and manipulation of that strange energy. He also eats, though not as much as we - his subjects - do; he exists on a diet of normal food and (I expressed disbelief when I heard this from him) the psionic energies he wields! Despite this, he will never be on par, physically at least, with the Alicorn Princesses of Equestria; indeed, though he possesses psionic power unfathomable physically he is less stronger than the most average of unicorns. Additionally, an ancient - though still binding - oath he took before he came here to Equestria outright forbids him from engaging in combat by any mundane means.

This, then, is why he so heavily depends upon the cloaked Observers, the slow but fearsome Reavers, the small yet powerful Sentries and other formidable technologies of the Nexus called Equusweyr - and, lest we not forget, the ponies whom are his Templars - to protect him as he in turn watches over us all. Yes, I said 'watches' over us all. You see, along with being physically weak, our Prince is painfully shy and reclusive and is most happy when ensconced upon his Golden Throne at the heart of Equusweyr, with the Weyrmind above, the great Khaydarin Core behind, Templar at his call, ever watchful, and little foals playing happily at his feet. There he doesn't mind other ponies being with him for he is in his Sanctum; a place he knows and trusts.

That is not to say he doesn't venture outside Equusweyr; he does, sometimes. Such a thing is a rare sight, and if you envision him as a 'liege lord' striding haughtily out to 'inspect' his city with disdainful eye and sneer at us his subjects in disgust--don't, for you are not seeing him properly. He does not see himself as a Prince; thus when he comes out there is no fanfare, or grand royal parade. On the contrary, his escort - a single Templar, bearing no weapons and clad only in a teal sash embroidered with the symbol of Akilae - appears to coax him to follow, rather than act as an escort! The Prince himself does not walk 'furclad' among his subjects; on the contrary, the clothing he wears is the most spectacular we mortal ponies have ever seen.

A 'triple-loincloth' like garment - called a shendyt by our Prince - drapes over his rear (a hole exists for his tail to exit through), and also covers his flanks that his, well, sheath might not be seen. Covering the shendyt, is golden-metal barding, forged from something he calls Psi-Steel; the result of first manifesting a small amount of the purest form of psionic energy into reality as a solid construct and then passing said construct through a device called a replicator! Atop the barding, our Prince wears a long flowing jade-green, rune-adorned robe, its only modification being the slits cut from it for his rarely-used wings. About his right foreleg there rests a bracer to which a mysterious device is attached and atop his head he bears the 'crown' we ponies made for him, though 'crown' is a misnomer; it is in fact a half-circlet of silver with a crystalline 'cap' for his impressive horn.

Covering the horn as it does would normally impede the casting of magic--not so for our Prince! When the forgers of his crown saw the cap - something, he said, that he had added himself - they scoffed, until our Prince told the craftsponies what the cap was for. The cap, he said, was forged of a special crystal called Khaydarin--a crystal that served only to increase his reserves of psionic energy and strengthen his already formidable power. He demonstrated this. The craftsponies never scoffed at him again... ah, but I ramble. As I stated before, when our Prince ventures out there is no fanfare, or grand royal parade; his escort merely walks, or perhaps guides, him throughout the city, and wherever he goes, the Prince always has upon his face an expression warring between awe and stunned disbelief. He wonders why we built the city for him, I think; that and I believe that he believes he is unworthy of a city so grand.

Of course, it wasn't always so grand. Our fair city began as a small and humble village, unwelcome and unwanted by our Prince, at first. Princess Luna had whispered unto the dreams of those Equestrian Ponies, whom were dissatisfied with her sister's rule, that another Alicorn had appeared... and so we ventured forth to find him. He, however, dwelt deep in the darkest heart of the Everfree Forest; to journey therein just to find a place away from the rule of Celestia... the notion surely was foolhardy, wasn't it? Nevertheless... onward we went. We were only thirty in number, at first; a shabby group of all three pony races, and the journey was difficult. This new Alicorn - whoever he was - did not want to be found! But we persevered... and oddly, the closer we drew to where he dwelt, the easier our journey became; no beasts of the Everfree ever crossed our path and we seemed to be moving as though something was inexorably guiding us with an invisible hoof.

When the final day of our journey ended - and we beheld the sight of the Great Pyramid before us - its golden-steel body and crystal capstone shining in the light of the setting sun - well, we were stunned and awed. What an utterly inspiring sight to see after such a long, long journey! Even better - rather than being an intimidating sight - feelings of warmth and comfort seemed to emanate from the mighty structure. 'Welcome' it seemed to say. Some of us dropped to the ground to give thanks to whoever made home within, whilst others among us took one look at the colossal structure and burst into happy tears. What manner of Alicorn lived in such a wondrous place, and would he emerge from within to greet us? Unfortunately, he didn't at first, and we were deeply saddened. Still, we began to settle within the mighty pyramid's shadow, first erecting tents which eventually became simple log cabins and thatched huts as we found within the Everfree the materials we needed. The pegasi among us even crafted a communal cloud house whilst they of the Earth crafted a communal garden.

And all the while, the Great Pyramid loomed over us, sheltering us within its watchful, protective shadow... and we soon discovered that the colossal structure possessed a power all its own--and that was but the first of its many secrets. Ponies whom quarreled with each other would become confused, wondering why they had done so; then compromise would be reached shortly thereafter. Ponies whom got lost within the Everfree would somehow be able to find their way back home. Vicious animals of the forest who saw ponies as an easy meal would suddenly become confused or lose interest once the Great Pyramid was in sight--or better, they would become docile and tame. Nowadays it's not uncommon for pony families of the Everfree Princedom to have a Manticore, a Timberwolf, or even a Cockatrice as a pet--but back then we all thought it was the most incredible thing!

Those ponies who'd gotten lost but had been 'returned' to us by the Great Pyramid - and those ponies whose lives had been saved from animals by it - soon rebuilt their houses closer to it, and often in the same shape as homage to it. We didn't think much of this at first... but then, one early morn - shortly after our city of tents had turned into a proper village - some of us saw several 'pyramid-blessed' ponies touching the structure's metal walls with their hooves and noses and even leaving gifts of food and other items before its mighty doors emblazoned with the massive icon of a dragon in flight. Once, a pair of ponies even attempted to leave their firstborn foal before the doors, strictly as some sort of sacrificial gift (said 'sacrifice' being the giving up of the foal, not the little pony's death!) but somehow the colossal pyramid reprimanded them and - bowing obsequiously in shame and thanks - they retrieved their foal and the huge pyramid seemed happy again.

Finally - roughly one year and six months after our little village had been established within the great pyramid's shadow, the doors of the great pyramid opened, and at last, our Prince emerged--but one must remember that he didn't consider himself to be a prince, yet. Thus, when he saw our humble village nestled within the shadow of his pyramid home... at first, he was furious! Why, thought he had we come here? He looked down upon us, at the houses we had built and was thoughtful; then he peered up at the cloud house of the pegasi and frowned; then he espied the many pyramid-houses built in homage to his own as well as the various pyramid-motifs here and there throughout the village - on signs, posts, and even some tools and the like - and he turned tail and fled into the Great Pyramid as if he'd seen Nightmare Moon herself!

A few months later, our Prince emerged again from his Great Pyramid but this time he tentatively made his way into our village, his steps slow and unsure--as if he wasn't used to the body that he was born with; as if he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. Closing his eyes, our Prince inhaled a deep breath of the fresh, morning air or at least, he tried to. What he inhaled instead was air laced with black coal smoke from our Smithy, built by one Rusty Iron, an Earth Pony from Ponyville of all places. It was, unfortunately, the beginning of the end for Old Rusty, as we called him... or was it? There was naught wrong with Rusty's wares - he made hinges, locks, nails, fittings, tool-heads... you name it; if it could be forged of strong iron Rusty could forge it and forge it well - but the Prince cared not for this. As far as he was concerned, the Smithy - though situated at the outskirts of our village - was befouling the air about his home and he would have none of it!

His gaze cold, the teal alicorn entered the Smithy - startling poor Rusty whom was busy at work - and spoke to our Earth Pony Smith. We don't know what he said to Rusty, but shortly after our Prince entered the Smithy he emerged from it with Rusty Iron in tow and took our Smith back to his home! The next day, four machines - which we would later come to know as Probes, the Keepers of our Prince's home - headed to the no longer occupied Smithy and proceeded to take it apart stone by stone, until there was nothing to tell that it had ever been there! We all were so utterly dismayed. Why had the prince done this? We would soon find out, for no sooner had the Probes cleared the final remnants of the old Smithy away then they were returning to resurface the ground. Then, we watched in wonder as the Probes appeared to plant four seeds within the ground--but the things the Probes appeared to plant weren't seeds at all, for no sooner had they been planted than four swirling vortexes of light and power appeared where the 'seeds' had been sown.

Thirty days later, Rusty Iron emerged from the Great Pyramid of our Prince--but what a change he had undergone. A powerful spring was in his once arthritic step, he could inhale enormous lungfuls of air without coughing, and he - dare I say it - seemed younger than when he first went in. No sooner had he emerged from the pyramid, then he looked to where his old Smithy had been... just as we ponies all witnessed something that made our muzzles drop open! Three of the swirling vortexes disappeared, leaving behind the most amazing structures we'd ever seen: three enormous cyan crystals which hovered in the air--without magic!--roughly six meters above the ground. Each giant crystal measured sixty one meters tall, had a twenty five meter radius, and weighed almost six hundred tons! Wrapped around the circumference of the central part of the crystals were enormous, golden psi-steel bands. These amazing things, we would learn, were called Pylons and they served only one purpose: to provide near-limitless power to the fourth structure that appeared in their midst.

When that structure came into being, Rusty Iron whooped with glee - he obviously knew what it was - and he made to enter the golden-metal building. Before he could however, several of us ponies intercepted him; we wanted to know what had happened within the Great Pyramid; what was our Prince like; what had he taught the Smith? The answers Rusty gave us made us all wonder whether he'd lost his mind. The Great Pyramid, said he, was no mere building; it was alive with a mind and soul of its own! Within, he'd properly met our new Prince, and he certainly wasn't one of Celestia or Luna's kin; he was rather small and frail for an alicorn--but rather shy and extremely kindhearted. "He was more scared of me than I was of him," stated Rusty. "As he was our Prince, I made to bow before him as was expected when greeting an Alicorn--but he wouldn't have it! He instead bowed to me and apologized profusely for removing my old Forge. But he had a reason for doing that, you see! The Weyrmind - the spirit of his house - had discerned that I would've died in a year from Black Lung!"

At this, we all let out cries of dismay, but Rusty held up a hoof for quiet, before he continued. "After giving me a medical check, our Prince he..." and here, he went silent, almost unable to find the words to continue; only prompting from his overjoyed wife allowed him to keep speaking, happy tears welling from his eyes, to run down his cheeks. "... he set me within a wondrous machine that he called the 'Autodoc' and it... it removed and replaced my heart, lungs, and kidneys, with brand new organs grown from cells of my own body! Our Prince... he... he gave me back my life... I..." At this point he hugged his beloved wife, Featherfall and wept into her mane and she wept with him. More than a few of us, too, found tears welling up in our own eyes and many of us swore fealty to our new Prince then and there despite the fact that we'd never seen him, nor been within his home. What a truly awe inspiring thing he had done for us!

"But that's not all" continued Rusty, once he was able to stop crying. His voice fueled with excitement, he went on. "The Prince took me deep, deep within his home, into the most incredible forge I'd ever seen in all my years. It was huge and intimidating, like nothing I'd ever seen before... but still, a forge was a forge; there was a flame and there were tools for shaping metal. The flame, however, was psychic fire - the energy of thought itself turned unto searing flame - whilst the tools were meant for shaping Psi-Steel; psionic energy turned into matter through force of will alone! 'This place is called the Psi-Forge, and when you learn how to use it courtesy of the Weyrmind, I will have one just like it constructed where your old Smithy once stood. I will gift you with a' - what did he call it? Ah, yes - 'a Neural Transceiver that you might learn the secrets of forging Psi-Steel from the Weyrmind. It's... a lot cleaner than working with Iron.' That said, he did indeed fit me with the Neural Transceiver" - he gestured with a hoof to a device embedded within his upper spinal column - "and then left me to my own devices. And I learned... oh, I learned!"

"What did you learn?" one of us cried.

"My special talent is of course, smithing," Rusty answered, "and combined with the tutelage I received from the mind of the Weyr? Well, my friends... I was soon crafting the most incredible things, shaping that steel as if it were more liquid than solid; it near-literally seemed to respond to my will alone! I made all of the things I normally make, plus other things that I just couldn't before! Once I had learned all I could, our Prince bade me goodbye and told me not to be a stranger. And well... here I am!" With that, Rusty made his way into his new clean 'green' Forge, leaving us to resume our lives. That was when our industry truly got started.

4. Archive #4 - More of the Origins of Our City, and of Us the Everfree Ponies

Our industry began with the Smith, Rusty Iron... but it didn't end there, oh no! As mud-brick, wooden-log, and thatched-roof homes began to be replaced with those of golden forged Psi-Steel, old Rusty became so busy that he needed to take on several apprentices. The Psi-Steel - made from a single block of the true stuff, gifted to Rusty by our Prince and then passed endlessly through a replicator in his new Forge - wasn't just used in the construction of buildings. 'Scrap' (though the small pieces of the wondrous metal could hardly be called such) that Rusty couldn't use wasn't wasted; it was instead recycled by being given to the tinkers and jewelers among us and with it we crafted the most beautiful items. Clocks, clockwork automatons, mechanical toys powered via small cores of synthesized khaydarin, brooches, necklaces and rings, amulets, and mane clips... if it could be made with the wondrous Psi-Steel, you can bet your hooves we made it!

At first, Our Prince was, of course, quite cautious about us all working with the Psi-Steel - he only allowed trade of the golden-metal items within our settlement. To facilitate trade within our fair city, the Prince minted his own special coins; hardened discs of khaydarin which glowed with their own inner light! When I questioned him as to why they did this, our Prince told me that the coins - since they were made of khaydarin - actually absorbed local psi-energy, similar to the Pylons starting to appear about our growing settlement, and the great Power Core of Equusweyr. At this I expressed my alarm - the energies swirling within the Pylons and Power Core of the Nexus were utterly astronomical - and as such I envisioned these coins being used as throwing weapons by unscrupulous ponies. At this, our Prince started to guffaw in silence; shortly thereafter, once he was able to regain control of his faculties, he told me that the amount of psi-energy in each coin was but a drop, enough to create light but little else.

And so the coins were minted. They were called "Psions" and each possessed an image of the Nexus - Equusweyr - on the front with the number of their value beneath (5, 10, 15, 20, etc) and a picture of our beloved Prince upon the back. Of course, as with all things, some ponies did try to counterfeit them... and our Prince let them! I asked him why, and - chortling with mirth - he said (during one of his rare speaking moments), "Each Psion has its own unique psychic signature made by the tiny amount of energy within each coin. Ponies can't duplicate it with magic. The Weyrmind will know, as will I." He was right, and shortly after attempts to counterfeit the Psions began our Prince's Templars crushed such operations as soon as his Observers caught wind of them. Ponies involved were named and shamed.

Later, when we began export of Psi-Steel outside of the Everfree Princedom to the rest of Equestria, our Prince altered the value of the Psion to be equal to that of the more common Equestrian Bit, and made it law that the currencies were interchangeable; Bits could be exchanged equally for Psions, and Psions could be exchanged equally for Bits. With the benevolent hoof of our Prince guiding us, our settlement flourished... but the wonders he showed us didn't end with just Psi-Steel and the beautiful Psion Coins. One day, as our Prince was walking about our City (for then it was a City, though not the grand Metropolis it is today) he asked to partake of the food grown in the thriving communal garden. He was of course, immediately given leave to do so and so he carefully extracted from the garden a single large carrot. After 'washing' the vegetable with an application of his power - with bated breath - we ponies watched as he took a bite of it.

The beatific smile he had upon his face told us everything; we cheered for our Prince loved it. After finishing off the carrot, so pleased with it was he that he softly asked for a table to be assembled and a full meal prepared. Overjoyed we raced to do so; but when the table was assembled and the meal prepared, as the Prince sat down to eat he looked about, a frown upon his muzzle, for there was no one at the table but him. Frowning in dismay, he gazed at the Earth Pony Gardeners - those whom had grown what he was about to consume - and he asked, "Why are you not all sitting here with me? Come, sit with me, and eat what you have made. Noponies are more deserving of this than you. Come; I do not bite!" And so we did. Our bodies aching and damp with the sweat of work, our hooves barely washed - as 'high' class ponies (self-proclaimed high-class ponies, for they certainly weren't nobility) looked on in horror, our Prince ate with us.

At first, we were unsure about him - this finely dressed, diminutive alicorn among us - but he drew us out as it were; he talked to us about that which we loved: the garden. Our Prince questioned us about its origins, and asked how long the garden had been here; then he was asking us about growing techniques, irrigation, harvesting times... everything, and he wasn't just making light of it, either! No... our Prince seemed genuinely interested in everything we had to say. Talk, laughter, and of course drink - Sweet Apple Acres Cider, imported from Ponyville - flowed freely. Soon we all were somewhat tipsy, and that was when our Prince really began to open up to us. Behind his painful shyness, a Pony lonely and wanting genuine friends was laid bare. As it turned out, our Prince was possessed of a terrible biting wit; his ribbing and mocking of 'the noble pony' had us near falling off our seats with laughter. He also was skilled in an unusual self-taught art he called 'beat-boxing'; making drum and other percussive sounds using only his mouth!

We scoffed at this - we'd never heard of such a thing before - until, after much gentle ribbing on our behalf, he let rip a tune, made up right there on the spot! Needless to say... we were shocked into silence--and then, as he hid his head beneath a wing and blushed, we all erupted into thunderous applause! When he was persuaded to 'beat-box' again we joined him, thumping our forehooves upon the table as he belted out the tune! When at last, the meal ended our Prince thanked us profusely; it was the best food and company, he said, that he'd shared in a long, long time. Never had we mortal ponies felt so proud. With that, our Prince retired to Equusweyr to sleep. Little did we know what he had in store for us as thanks...

The next day, with his Templar escort at hoof, our Prince returned to the communal garden whereupon he took several of us Earth Pony Gardeners and returned with us to Equusweyr. Therein, he fitted us with Neural Transceivers and we were welcomed by the Weyrmind. Warmth, love, and comfort was broadcast to us all from the ancient mind of that great ship within... and then, we began to learn! Did we ever! Under the gentle guidance of both our Prince and the Mind of Equusweyr we were taught of plant growing techniques that blew our minds with their implications! We were taught the sciences of hydro and aeroponic growing, taught how to modify plants to achieve amazing things from generation of light, to creation of electrical power and other effects; then it was on to vertical farming, irrigation, grafting, greenhouses and growing seeds where it was impossible and/or they had no right to grow!

Needless to say, our fair city became all the more grand after than, with Psi-Steel buildings being supported by plants or having plants grown within, or plants being grown as the frames to which the metal would be attached. Everywhere was green and gold not to mention the flowers, fruit trees, and vertical farms towering high into the sky. So much food did we grow that we ended up with a surplus, some of which we stored and much of which we sold to greater Equestria, though carefully so as not to disrupt other food producing businesses and ponies throughout. Eventually, some pegasi chose to move from the (somewhat crowded) cloud city above Equusweyr and live within giant 'eyrie trees' that they themselves had grown for that purpose, based on our Prince's teachings! Several generations later, these tree-dwelling pegasi were fondly dubbed 'Treeponies'--and they looked it, too; their adapted bodies were lean with muscle, and all sported great raptor and eagle-like wings and thin, beak-like muzzles! But the wonders our Prince taught us didn't end there, for he taught yet more Earth Ponies - builders, this time - the secret of what he called 'Earth Ships...'

These were amazing self-sustaining 'off-the-grid' homes; they required no Pylons or connection to Equusweyr at all and instead utilized a combination of our own pony magic and solar power to provide electricity whilst heat was generated by the use of 'thermal mass construction.' Water, too, was dealt with; being collected via rain, snow, and condensation, then funneled into a cistern before being used again, and again throughout the house. Some of these Earth Ships were even buried within the earth of the Everfree! Thanks to our Prince, never had we Earth Ponies felt so connected to our land. Still... things weren't all sweetness and light for us. Our Prince wasn't a very 'hooves-on' pony; he merely taught us - set us on the path, give us the tools we needed - and then let us do as we would, only intervening if things we did might lead to harm, of us and the environment. Still... there was one thing he absolutely wouldn't allow.

He would not allow Pegasi to control the weather.

At first, said Pegasi were deeply angered - why could they not do what they had always done in Equestria? - but our Prince took them into Equusweyr and explained exactly why. He told the Pegasi of a time before Ponies, before even the mighty Alicorn Sisters, when there was a "natural order" to the world; when the Sun and Moon rose and set on their own and the animals, seasons, and other environmental things ponies now controlled didn't need pony intervention! Then, said he, came Discord, and soon after, the rising of the Alicorn Sisters. Taking them to a place within Equusweyr called the 'Psiodeck', our Prince showed the Pegasi what he spoke of, and the things they saw blew their minds... The Big Bang, leading to the initial creation of the Universe. Proto-Planets forming from cosmic dust then smashing into each other only to reform again and yet again as endless eons wheeled and passed... until Today. "With the defeat of Discord, the natural order might have restored itself, but now..."

Some pegasi refused to believe it, but those closest to the Prince knew it to be true; to think that by defeating Discord to restore harmony unto the world, the Princesses had instead disrupted their world's 'natural' harmony instead! It was a horrible, near inconceivable thought! Having lived so long within the Everfree Forest, all pegasi of Everfree Princedom now possessed a deep connection to the natural order within... and the thought that they'd been stunting or outright breaking it... and that the Everfree Forest was the only place where this natural order remained... it was enough to bring the Everfree Pegasi to tears. Finally, the two ponies whom were the leaders of the Tree and Sky Pegasi looked to our Prince in desperation. "What are we to do?" They asked. Our Prince, of course, helped them. The Everfree Pegasi, instead of controlling the weather, would become post-ponies and couriers; "first response teams" for medical, fire, and other disasters should they ever occur; stealthy scouts and spies should they be needed; astronomers; and engineers whom would design and build the most advanced space-faring vessels ponykind had ever seen.

As I said... things weren't all sweetness and light for us. Years of living within the Everfree Princedom - being exposed to the 'natural order' of the forest and the incredible psionic power of Equusweyr has changed us; we are to our normal brethren what alicorns are to them, and they look upon us with suspicion and fear, despite the fact we are still ponies; still peaceful stallions and mares of Equestria. Everfree Earth Ponies are 'mammoth tanks'; giants twice the size of a 'normal pony' of Equestria. Not only do we possess tremendous strength, but we have developed... unusual traits. We whom live in Earth Ships beneath the earth have developed hardened, stone-like skin beneath our fur, whilst those of us whom are close to wood have developed fur that is "wood-colored" or even tree-like in texture. Finally, those of us whom live on the grassy plains have developed "green" fur with chlorophyll like abilities; we can absorb sunlight along with eating normal food for energy. Even more fearsome are the Everfree Pegasi, with those of the trees having developed cloven 'hoof-talons' and birdlike wings and muzzles, and those of the clouds possessing element-resistant bodies and other abilities related to the weather they once controlled.

Everfree Unicorns, too, are far hardier than their 'normal' Equestrian brethren; living either within Equusweyr itself or near it in their pyramid homes of homage, they have developed fur that possesses a near-metallic sheen. All Unicorns are trained in basic combat techniques. Some choose to journey further down this path - learning to channel their magic throughout their bodies in order to increase their strength and endurance to unpony levels; then, fitting themselves with cybernetic grafts, and powerful armor, weapons, and technology to become Templar Guard. Other unicorns eschew the path in order to better master enhanced magic! Some among the Everfree Unicorns even possess a "double horn" - literally two fluted horns that spiral around each other to terminate in a single point - enabling them to wield a balanced combination of both magic and psionics.

And then... there exist the Weyrtouched. These Unicorns are particularly frightening to a normal Equestrian Pony for they choose to follow the very path our Prince walks and become High Templar where they replace the 'carbuncle' - the organ responsible for magic - with one gifted by Equusweyr. Once this is done, they no longer are capable of magic, but are able to wield pure psionic power. Once he or she feels they are ready, a Weyrtouched Unicorn will head into the Equusweyr Clinic where he or she will have a pair of vat-grown wings - along with the neural pathways required to use them - grafted unto the body; effectively becoming a pseudo-alicorn, akin to our Prince himself! The golden-furred, winged, Weyrtouched Unicorns are looked upon with awe and reverence by other ponies of the Everfree Princedom for they have chosen to 'ascend' in order to be as close to our Prince as they can be. Unfortunately, Weyrtouched Unicorns are rarely seen venturing outside the Everfree Princedom, for they are often mistaken for true Alicorn Royalty, and Princess Celestia frowns upon them.

5. Archive #5 - Our Prince and the Undead

If there is one thing our Prince cannot abide by, it is the Undead.

You see, our Prince believes that there is an Afterlife for all souls - whether good or bad - and anything that prevents said souls from reaching that Afterlife is anathema; thus he treats the dead with the highest of respect! When we mortal ponies die, for example, he leaves us not in the Earth to rot; he entombs us - with all the possessions we had in life - inside wondrous sarcophagi, within a Pyramid Tomb, close to Equusweyr. Even better, those whom have served Him particularly well - or whom have lived with honour and done much to spread the Magic of Friendship - are entombed deep within Equusweyr itself, in a place he calls "The Hall of the Honoured Dead." The process is thus: when we die, our Prince carefully washes and anoints our bodies with the perfumes or colognes we enjoyed in life; then, after positioning us as if we are merely sleeping, he places about our necks a device called a Stasis Yoke. The yoke sheathes us within a powerful Temporal Stasis Field which completely stills the passage of time; he does this that we might one day live again (and we just might; his medical technology becomes more advanced with every passing year).

The Stasis Yoke does its job so well that - even after thousands of years - our bodies are still as fresh and vibrant as they were the day we passed; we look as if we might wake at any moment! With our bodies in stasis our Prince then places us carefully within our sarcophagi (the inside of which resemble beds more than coffins!); these then are placed inside separate ares within the Pyramid Tomb; these having been done up to resemble a favorite place, or room we enjoyed in life (bedroom, study, den, outdoors, etc) with all our worldly possessions therein. When the Prince first showed me the First of the Pyramid Tombs, I sneered; I believed that it was some grisly, blasphemous thing... but then I saw my beloved Chelsea - a teacher by trade - who'd fallen down a sinkhole...

The 'room' she was in was her study - a place she'd adored in life - complete with all her beloved books, papers, lesson plans within her desk... everything she'd loved in life was here... and so was she! Her sarcophagus was a marvel; a collage of photographs from her life utterly covered the golden metal coffin, and the top end was transparent; I could see her, right there, her eyes closed, at rest. No sign of rot, or decay, or... s-she... she just looked as if she was sleeping! Below the transparent area of the sarcophagus was embedded a PADD - a Personal Access Display Device, and it was keyed to me, that I could view the very story of her life from birth to death in living color. This... it all was too much... I...

Turning to face our Prince, I fell at his hooves and wept but even as I did the teal alicorn hauled me to my feet and embraced me. "I will do the same for you, when your time comes," stated he, softly, "that one day you will live again." Did I believe him? Yes, I did. At his softly spoken words, I wept all the harder. How could he love us so much - that he would do so much for us even when we died? Ah, but I disgress. The Pyramid Tombs are a marvel all their own; thickly armored, guarded by Templars and surrounded by powerful Photon Cannon emplacements; none will ever harm our honored dead. Now... as I stated before, if there is one thing our Prince cannot abide by, it is the Undead. To clarify: he does not hate the Undead themselves; rather he pities them for the souls trapped within the shambling, decayed bodies he believes are in pain or undergoing great personal suffering. To 'kill' an Undead, our Prince believes, is to release the spirit from the body, freeing them from torment.

Thus, our Prince utterly loathes and despises Necromancers who might raise undead servants, cast curses powerful enough to alter the purpose of an undead mind, or affect the dead in other ways. This, then, brings us to the story of the place known as 'Sunny Town.' Our Prince became aware of the place when he was having breakfast with us, his Court, one day in Equusweyr. As he made his way through a bowl of "Cheeri-O's" and read through the "Equestria Daily", a headline caught his eye, roughly three pages in:

"FOAL ABDUCTED FROM TOWN OF PONYVILLE. RESIDENTS SUSPECT SUNNY TOWN OF EVERFREE."

Humming thoughtfully, our Prince read the article the headline preceded... and as he did so, a frown creased his muzzle. 'What is this place - this "Sunny Town" - in my domain? And why do I not know of it?' With a gentle tap, tap, tap, of a hoof against the an armrest of his Golden Throne the court was brought to silence. Then, eyes aglow with his latent power, our Prince softly intoned, "Khorvas, ma 'eylan?" Having just finished off a slice of toast (slathered with marmalade, yum!) I raised my head to look at him and promptly answered, "Yes, m'lord?" Raising a hoof, our Prince beckoned me approach him and with haste I complied; when I was with him, by his side he tapped the headline of the article he'd read. "This place - this, 'Sunny Town' - within my domain. What is it?" he asked. As he spoke, all in the Court felt a chill run down our spines. "It... is known as the Village of the Blanks, your Highness" I replied uneasily. Humming thoughtfully, our Prince blinked and then, "A foal has been abducted, apparently by those of this Village" he stated. "They of Greater Equestria are... terrified... of this place; ergo they are doing naught about it. But we are not the Ponies of Celestia. I would rescue this abducted foal if I can; thus, I would know of this 'Village of the Blanks.' Dispatch some of our Archivists to the Library of Twilight Sparkle; see if she possesses any books about it. Should she have nothing, then have them make for Canterlot and the Royal Archives there."

"At once, m'lord," I responded. Then, pausing for a moment, I asked, "What of Princess Celestia?"

"Inform one of the Archivists to ask Twilight to contact her through Spike" the Prince replied. "It would make things easier for all of us if we could acquire Royal Permission to access the Canterlot Archives directly. I am, however, not averse to doing things... 'Splinter Cell' style... if she won't play nice..." At this, we grinned deviously; knowledge was everything to us, and I certainly didn't mind when the Prince chose to do things 'Splinter Cell' style - via a stealthy Pegasus or a quietly placed Observer - but today wasn't to be one of those times. "Gather your best, my friend, and do whatever you must!" our Prince declared. "We mayn't have much time..." And just like that, the game was afoot! The next day I and my Archivists returned with several books and a couple of large scrolls; the books being filled with what the 'general public' knew about Sunny Town and the scrolls being Princess Celestia's knowledge of the place. After thanking us for our work, the Prince sat upon his Golden Throne to read--and with the Weyrmind assisting him he read fast!

What he read, the Weyrmind read, seeing through his eyes and absorbing the knowledge from his mind via the Neural Transceiver within his spine; then so too did we all as the Weyrmind shared the knowledge with us. As the Prince read - as the Weyrmind, too, read and shared with us... our expressions became darker and darker. And so it was that we all learned of "the Blanks"; a Village of blank-flanked Earth Ponies who'd settled in the Everfree. Led by a stallion named Elder Greyhoof, these ponies believed that 'cutie marks' - the marks that appeared upon a pony's flanks due to the Magic of Harmony, when a Pony found his or her Special Talent - were some kind of curse! The blank flanks feared cutie marks, possibly because they were seen as some sort of slave-brand, or perhaps were thought to be binding, somehow; that when you got them, you were "stuck" doing only that talent for life. Sheer superstition and nonsense it may have been... but the ponies of Sunny Town believed it. The sheer power of their belief was enough that when a young filly named Ruby acquired a cutie mark...

Elder Greyhoof led the entire village to murder her and her family in an effort to remove the 'cutie mark curse.' And lo, it was done; the Blanks burned little Ruby and her family alive by setting their cottage aflame. Upon hearing about it, Princess Luna called down upon the Village of the Blanks a terrible curse that their spirits might never find rest: these blank-flanked ponies would forever border the line between life and death. They would become Undead. By the time our Prince finished reading, our expressions were of rage and his own was thunderous! "Yes, they committed a terrible crime, but the price for it was paid long ago," he hissed, eyes ablaze with psychic fire. "This must not be. We will find them. Set them free." By his will, it would be done. Later, as I, my Prince, and a few of our Templars headed down to what he called the 'War Room' of Equusweyr, with a thought to the Weyrmind he dispatched a fleet of Observers to locate the village.

Within the War Room - a place few of us had ever been - as the Observers zoomed throughout the forest, our Prince convened us about a huge holographic screen built into a grand table. A few of us knew the wondrous device as the "ess-em-aye" but barely understood it beyond that. I, however - being close to my Prince and thus privy to many of his mysteries - knew this to be the "Strategic Mission Interface." This marvelous device enabled viewing of his domain in real time; with it he could not only monitor our fair City through the Weyrmind via Observers, but could make use of the Observers' sensor packages in order to create maps, lightly survey and census our population, monitor the power output and usage of the electro-plants and pylons throughout our fair city, forecast the weather of the forest, and more. This day, however, he used the SMI to push old maps of the Everfree - containing the possible size and location of Sunny Town - to the Observer fleet, and then in real-time we watched, in awe, as they zipped away to find it.

"Psi-Com looks good..." our Prince murmured as he made gentle adjustments with a hoof to the view we were seeing through the fleet's cameras. "Strong signal. Lots of ruins in the Everfree of course, but the Observers have the old maps, and they know to look for a settlement roughly the same size of Ponyville, maybe a bit smaller; though of course, it'll be a decayed ruin by now." The Observers found the village in no time at all, but, "That's... not right," our Prince murmured thoughtfully when Sunny Town came into view. As the cloaked Observer fleet flew over the village, what we all saw on the SMI was no crumbling ruin, but a village thriving and prosperous! "What's 'not right', my Prince?" I asked.

As our Prince rapidly manipulated the SMI with his forehooves, pulling maps, geographical data, and timeline comparisons faster then we could follow, he gesture to the view from the fleet and snapped "That! Sunny Town existed hundreds of years ago; it should be a crumbling ruin by now, but it isn't. Instead we have a typical village; north-south entry exit, everything built around a main square. I don't underst... Oh, horseapples..." Abruptly, his tirade ceased, a chill running down his spine as one of the Observers slowly flew through the town square, catching something in its view. "Observer #7: Halt!" he rasped softly. No sooner had he spoken the order then the Weyrmind transmitted it and the little machine ceased movement; then our Prince swallowed thickly and stated, "Swing forty-five deg-left and zoom; what's that in the center of town square? I want to know..."

No sooner had he spoken the words, the Weyrmind transmitted them and the Observer obeyed... and then, for the first time we all beheld The Obelisk. It was a dark blotch upon an otherwise bright and friendly place; tall and ominous, seeming to suck away the light and life around it. As our Prince saw it, he went pale, his teal fur whitening... and then he was racing out of the War Room, into the deepest parts of the Equusweyr Archives with a cry of, "I need to check something out; give me a shout through the Weyrmind if the Observers find the foal!" An hour later, when he returned to the War Room, the rage and despair roiling within him could be felt throughout. "Have we found our foal?" he hissed through his teeth. "We have m'lord," I replied, gesturing to the SMI. "She is, thankfully, nowhere near the village; she's playing in a field outside of it, on the southern side." Upon hearing this, our Prince sagged with relief, some of his mixed rage and fury leaving him as he stated, "That's the best news I've heard all day. So who have we got missing here..." Approaching the SMI he looked at the displayed data.

GENETIC SCANS COMPLETED

PHYSIOLOGICAL SCANS COMPLETED

MATCH FOUND IN EQUUSWEYR ARCHIVE

... ... ...

NAME: DIAMOND TIARA

OCCUPATION: STUDENT - PONYVILLE SCHOOLHOUSE. HEIRESS - FILTHY RICH BARNYARD BARGAINS

AFFILIATES: SILVER SPOON, STUDENT - PONYVILLE SCHOOLHOUSE. HEIRESS - SILVERWING'S SILVER EMPORIUM

STATUS: ALIVE AND WELL / IN GOOD HEALTH. ENGAGED IN PLAY WITH PSIONIC ENTITY.

"A psionic entity? Observer #1: Switch camera to Psi-Vis and reveal, now!" our Prince barked. Immediately the camera feed from Observer #1 was switched to 'psionic vison' - psychic sight - and the spirit with little Diamond Tiara was revealed. "Adun's Blessed Blade..." our Prince murmured, his muzzle dropping open in shock. "That's Ruby; the spirit of the poor filly who was murdered by Greyhoof so long ago..." A sigh escaping him, our Prince shook his head. "She'll be released when we... deal with the village." As he spoke with a thought to the Weyrmind he summoned more Templars into the War Room along with a single, jet black pegasus. Now, in addition to me and our Prince, there were within the War Room nine Templar - three mammoth Earth Ponies, two Sky and one Tree Pegasus, and one Magic, one Dual, and one Weyrtouched Unicorn - each of them a giant among normal ponies and all utterly fearsome examples of our kind! And then... there was the jet-black Pegasus, the only other 'normal' Everfree Pony apart from myself. He was our Splinter Cell... We listened whilst our Prince laid down what he'd learned. Sunny Town. Diamond Tiara. Everything. When all was said and done, the Pegasus - known only as Silencer - growled, "So, what's the OP?"

"For you?" our Prince responded. "Secure Diamond Tiara. Get her back to her family alive."

"Piece of cake," Silencer growled. "What about the Village?"

"That's where we come in," our Prince replied, gesturing to himself and the Templar, whom visibly straightened. "After Diamond Tiara's secure, we - that is, the Templar and I - make our way into Sunny Town, dispatch the undead as we head toward the town square; once we reach it, I will deal with the Primary Objective, which is this..." With a touch of his hoof to the SMI, the teal alicorn brought up a full screen image of the dark obelisk. Then, turning to face us with somber expression, our Prince said, "This, Mares and Gentlecolts, is a Bloodstone Obelisk. I had a look at a book - yes, an old, leather-bound vellum book - in the Restricted Section of the Equusweyr Archives..." And so it was that our Prince told us exactly what a Bloodstone Obelisk was; and no, I will not print his exact words as Bloodstone Obelisks are dark and vile things. Suffice to say, a Bloodstone Obelisk is a power source housing the essence of a demon, bound by the blood of traitors. Once bound within the Obelisk the demon's dark essence can be used to fuel horrific curses able to effect an area the size of a small village - such as Sunny Town - up to an entire continent; area affected depended upon the size of the Obelisk. Needless to say, when he was finished explaining, we all were taken aback; even the normally stone-cold Splinter Cell, Silencer, was rattled! "... And that's how she did it; that's how Luna cursed them all when Greyhoof murdered Ruby. The curse she fueled via the Bloodstone was an 'Evercurse' - specifically the curse of 'ever living,' ergo, she cursed them all unto undeath."

Peering at the bright, cheerful village, filled with happy, blank-flanked ponies going about their business, Silencer growled, "Humph! They don't look undead. In fact, they seem pretty alive to me." At this, our Prince sadly shook his head. "A deceptive illusion. Under the light of a full moon - which just so happens to be tonight - the truth will be revealed." As he finished speaking, one of the Templar - a mighty Earth Pony named Furinax - pawed the floor with a hoof. "Something on your mind?" our Prince asked. Raising his head, Furinax faced our Prince as he responded, "It... it does not make sense! Why would Luna do something like this; doom these Ponies for all eternity? I... I do not understand..." Though he was one of us - and wouldn't hesitate to defend our Prince and his Princedom to the death if need be - he thought very highly of the Alicorn Sisters, especially Princess Luna, and was hurt that they frowned upon our Prince and his work; our technologically advanced city. Immediately, our Prince moved to nuzzle Furinax and hug the huge Earth Pony with a frail wing; a sight that might've looked quite comical if not for the genuine sincerity and understanding our Prince showed. "She would" said he, upon releasing his embrace, "if she were being corrupted by darkness... or was already deep in it..." At this, Furinax closed tear-misted eyes, shaking his head in disbelief. "Nightmare Moon... oh, Luna, you foal of a Mare..." whispered he; but then he raised his head, his expression hardening. "Very well, my Prince," he intoned. "I shall do what must be done." We all would.

"Good," our Prince stated. "We make ready and move before Sundown."

When the shadows started to grow long as Celestia began to set the Sun, our Prince - recalling the Observer fleet with a thought - gathered the Nine Templar and Silencer then took them all into the Grand Bath Chamber of Equusweyr. In this place, modeled upon bath chambers from the ancient Empire of Roan, our Prince carefully bathed each Templar and the pegasus, Silencer, himself. They tell me that having him do so was somewhat embarrassing but they endured it for they knew he loved them all that much, and never had they seen him so serious. Once all were properly bathed and dried, our Prince led his troops unto the Equusweyr Armory wherein he first anointed them with their favored perfumes and colognes before dressing them in their armors - and in Silencer's case his special Stealth Suit with its triple-lens goggles - all the while chanting blessings and wards of protection against Evil and the Undead in the tongue of Khalani, the ancient language of a people far, far away... Finally our Prince placed upon them their helms (and in the case of Silencer, his goggles) - kissing each pony gently upon the bridge of the snout as he did so - and then, all were ready. A city of somber Everfree Ponies watched them leave.

When they arrived at the outskirts of Sunny Town, it was the time of Twilight; soon the true form of the village would be revealed. They got to work. As Silencer swiftly tranquilized Diamond Tiara then lifted her atop his back and bore her away back to Ponyville, our Prince and his Templar stormed the village... and not a moment too soon! The words of our Prince had been correct; no sooner had Princess Luna's moon risen fully into the sky then the illusion of the bright, peaceful village of Sunny Town was dispelled, revealing a decrepit and decayed ruin swarming with undead. Poor souls. Even as the Templar cut them down with forehoof mounted psionic blades and crushed their skulls with heavy hindhoof tramplers - even as our Prince himself unleashed upon them his wrath via blistering bolts of psychic power, and even as their return blows were ineffective against psionic energy shields and psi-steel armor, from rotted throats and decayed mouth came their cries. "Friendship!" the undead cried. "All we want is friendship!" Do not think of what they did as a glorious battle, for there was no glory in it. Do not think of the undead as our enemies for they were not. They all were suffering souls to whom the Templar could give only temporary release, until they'd dealt with the foul Bloodstone Obelisk in the town square.

Once the last of the undead were dispatched, our Prince and his Templar made their way to the center of the town square whereupon they beheld the sight of the foul artifact in all its glory. Unholy was the Bloodstone Obelisk as it shone darkly in the light of Luna's moon, carved runes filled with traitorous blood writhing and dripping upon its surface. "How are we to deal with it, my Lord?" asked Jormungandr, pawing at the ground with a hoof. "You don't, my friend," our Prince stated solemnly. "I know the way to deal with this, and I must do it alone. Deactivate your armor's aural systems and your Neural Transceivers; what I am about to do must not be heard or recorded by the Weyrmind, for if it is, the Everfree Princedom will die." Without hesitation, they did so; our prince had never guided them astray before and they would trust him in this. The last words the Templar heard from him before external sound and Neural Transceiver shut down were, "Guard me well, all of you, and make sure that I am undisturbed." The Templar heeded his words and closed ranks around him, turning outward to protect him should the undead rise again. Our Prince, meanwhile, sat upon his haunches and entered into a state of the deepest meditation, closing his mind unto the outside world. Then, he began to recite the Seven Words of Akkara; a counter of daemonic making, and the only way to undo or unmake things of daemonic origin.

Do not ask me to print the Words here for I will not; to read them would drive you irreversibly insane. Nor will I describe their sounds for to speak them fragmented and incomplete would result in your dying, frothing at the mouth and bleeding from every orifice. Even though the Templar could not hear them, every decayed syllable wrought from our Prince's throat took a terrible toll on them all; when at last the Prince spoke the final syllable of the Seventh Word and spilled his own blood upon the Obelisk, then there was a terrific *CRACK* before Templar and Prince collapsed, the world fading unto darkness... When next they awoke, they tell me it was to the warmth of Celestia's Sun upon our bodies. Opening their eyes, the Templar got to their hooves--and it was then they beheld a most astonishing sight: the Bloodstone Obelisk - and the Village of Sunny Town that had stood around it - was gone! Nothing remained to prove that either had even existed; where it had been there now was a calm, serene field of verdant, wild grasses. Swiftly the Templar reactivated the disabled systems of their armor then turned to face our Prince... and whinnied in fright. The Words the Prince had spoken to undo the Bloodstone Obelisk and lay Sunny Town to rest had enacted upon him a terrible price. Our beloved Prince lay upon his side, his teal coat purple with blood spilt from every pore, and yet more of the substance dripping from every orifice.

Swiftly the Templar broke open their battlefield medical kits and even as Jormungandr's check of him and cry of "He lives!" brought them hope, they worked to stabilize his condition, for without immediate care he would not be long for this world! As they desperately worked upon him, our Prince's eyes opened, flickered with psychic fire; then through a mouthful of blood he whispered, "Bring me... back... Equusweyr. Autodoc." Then he spoke no more. Once the Templar were sure his condition was stable, High Sister Asheara wept silently as she settled him gently atop her winged back, holding him there with a whisper of her own psionic power to ensure he wouldn't move; then we utterly hauled flank back to our fair City. Rocketing past concerned citizenry who had come to greet us upon our return, we near-bashed through the Gate of Dawn as we made our way into Equusweyr and stormed into the Clinic. Immediately, the horrified physicians therein took him from us into their capable hooves and put him into the Autodoc; from there they would monitor him as the Weyr itself worked on him, assisting the Nexus whenever and wherever needed. We hoped and preyed to the Weyrmind that it would be enough.

6. Archive #6 - The Rejection of The Sisters / The End of His Days of Mortal Waking

It was enough. Our Prince recovered from the terrible ordeal, enough that he could once more sit upon the Golden Throne of Equusweyr. His recovery, however, was far from optimal; indeed there were days when he sat strong and proud upon the Throne… and then there were the days when he appeared so very frail and could barely move to lift his head; when he had to be tended by three Weyrtouched Unicorns whom had declared then and there to be his hoofmaidens during this troubled time. Unfortunately, Everfree City rested for nopony and neither did its oversight; thus the Prince kept up his monitoring of our fair City, though it was fairly reduced, the Weyrmind and Observers handling much of the load and our Prince sending out his Templars only when absolutely necessary.

During one of his weakest days… they – the Alicorn Sisters – came to 'visit', if you will. They did not send an invitation to let our Prince know of their coming to our City. They did not knock upon the great Gate of Dawn and allow the Weyrmind to ascertain their intentions before entry. They did not wait for their presence to be announced before approaching the Golden Throne, upon which our Prince sat with two of his hoofmaidens, clad in sleepwear, practically leaning against them as they petted and groomed his frail form. No… the Alicorn Sisters just… appeared before the Golden Throne, briefly frightening the hoofmaidens and startling the Templars into action! However, as they closed ranks around him – bringing their weapons to bear – our Prince, with the gentlest gesture of his hoof, bade them stand down; he would hear what the Sisters had to say.

Immediately, Celestia and Luna demanded to know what had become of Sunny Town! Why, asked they, had the Curse upon it been lifted? It was then that we all realized that the ordeal of unmaking Sunny Town – the destruction of the Bloodstone Obelisk – had wrought a far greater toll upon our Prince than we'd first thought. His expression resigned and saddened, lines of weariness etched upon his face, he looked upon the two Sisters as if he would see, was seeing, had already seen them--as if he'd seen and done all of this before; as if all was but a lucid dream. And then… then he remembered… The Evercurse. That Celestia had authorized it. That Luna had cast it. That Sunny Town had suffered for it…

Opening eyes ablaze with psychic fire, our Prince inhaled deeply and then - as we of his Court looked on – he unleashed upon the Alicorn Sisters a terrible, blistering diatribe! He did not shout. He did not bark with the voice of the Drill Sergeant. He did not use the so-called Royal Canterlot Voice. Neigh… our Prince spoke with the voice of the Weyr– the Voice of the Weyrmind andall of Us, his Subjects – as he proceeded to verbally tear strips off the Princesses, cursing them up one side of Equusweyr and down the other! By the time he was done poor Luna had fled, wailing in tears, and Celestia was stood there, cringing back on her hooves, her ears flat against her skull and her mane in disarray as if swept about by a gale-force wind! Our Prince, however, would not allow her to regain her composure.

For too long she had come here, lambasting the Prince about our City within the Everfree; complaining of how it ruined the natural state of the forest; beseeching that it be torn down and that we and our Prince should embrace Harmony and the Magic of Friendship—in other words, the more agrarian, old fashioned, primitive lifestyle of Greater Equestria. Mare, please! Celestia was an Elder Mare, and set in her ways. She did not see our Great City for what it was. She saw the Earthships and Skyscrapers … and not how they were wrapped within the Earth, erected between the mighty trees of the forest, or around them, or in some cases used them as supporting. Frameworks. She did not see the wonderous Treeponies and their grand Kelutrals or Hometrees… just mutant ponies housed inside abominations against nature.

She saw Equusweyr not as a technological marvel in itself – a living home with a mind and soul all its own – but as a blight upon her lands to be viewed with suspicion and fear. She saw us, with our great diversity, adapted biologies, and cybernetic connections to the Weyrmind… as mutants and slaves to an unholy machine. Her perceptions of us couldn't be further from the truth! Whilst the Prince and we, his mortal Subjects, are indeed all connected to the machine mind of Equusweyr, said connection is very, very gentle; we exist as individuals yet are all aware of each other as a whole. The Weyrmind enables us a greater level of Harmony than most normal Equestrians will ever know. Via our Neural Tranceivers, Everfree Ponies can – if needed – access any information from the Equusweyr Archives, of which there is a lot!

Additionally, facilitated by the Weyrmind via our Neural Tranceivers, we Everfree Ponies can draw upon each others knowledge and skills instantly without the rigorous hours of repetitive learning. Friends and lovers can share with each other their feelings, thoughts, desires, hopes and dreams in the blink of an eye. When our mortal bodies die, though many of us choose to be entombed by our Prince, still others choose to open themselves fully unto the Weyrmind and upload; transcend the mortal flesh! These ponies – known as the Transequines - live on as digital entities in wondrous virtual constructs, part of and yet distinct from that great machine mind, yet their knowledge, skills, memories and experiences are available to all.

Lastly, the Weyrmind has – is - Memory Eternal; should we forget something or other in our daily lives the Weyrmind does not, and through it we can never truly die; if our mortal lives aren't recorded and archived by it before we pass than, as stated above, we live on within it as digital entities. A saying oft used by we Ponies of the Everfree is "The Weyr remembers,";—because it does. Whatever your thoughts upon this, know that we are not like the – what did our Prince call it? – ah, yes, the Borg Collective… though we can become as such when All think as One, should something draw our ire—and there are certain sub-groups among us who do live and work as Collectives, their bond with Equusweyr as open and deep as can be made. But, I am rambling… As I stated before, Celestia's perceptions of us couldn't be further from the truth—and our Prince had had enough of them! On shaky legs he stood and descended from his throne; then he began to pace back and forth before her. As he did so, terrible music rumbled up from deep within Equusweyr… and then, as we looked on in shock and awe, our Prince began to sing, a song simply called "Walk."

In singing it, in his own way, our Prince - greatly weakened though he was - stood up to Celestia; told her once and for all to stay away from the Everfree Princedom; called her out on her abominable behavior and told her to respect him or "walk"; walk on home! And Celestia? Hissing through gritted teeth, her eyes blazing with the fury of the sun itself… she turned and "walked"—or rather, stalked—away, tail raised in a right snit! When she'd left our City (oh, did the Princedom cheer when that happened) we turned to congratulate our Prince… and found him collapsed upon his side, convulsing. With all haste, we raced him again to the Autodoc - within which he was able to recover – but he would never be the same again. Some part of his mind, neigh, perhaps all of his mind, had been in some way irreparably damaged and his Days of Mortal Waking - when he was as a normal pony, walking among us, talking, living – were all but ended. Some part of his mind was torn open that day when he rebuffed Celestia for the final time; he now possesses even greater power than before if possible, but he is all the more frail. Eyes closed, he sits upon the Golden Throne of Equusweyr - either asleep or in deep meditation - seeing far more than a mortal pony ever should.

He wakes briefly when receiving care from his hoofmaidens; they ensure he is properly fed, that his muscles are exercised so as to prevent atrophy, and take him out into the sun that he might feel it on his pelt. As they care for him, he hums contentedly, nuzzles them, and ruffles their manes. Other times he wakes are when decisions of utmost importance must be made, or in times of emergency, when Things Must Be Done by His Hoof. These times, however, are very brief, and it is always disheartening to see his eyes close again; as if the act of staying awake and with us is so very exhausting. Where he once walked among us as a mortal pony, now he rests upon the Golden Throne, exerting his power and influence through the Weyrmind, his Templars, and we whom are his mortal subjects; thus, our fair City still flourishes, indeed to a greater extent than ever. Alas… our Prince laid low is still the greatest of tragedies, one that might have been avoided, had Celestia and her Sister just left us alone!

7. Archive #7 - Of Fire Sign and the Return of His Waking Days

7. Archive #7 - Of Fire Sign and the Return of His Waking Days

We believed our Prince might remain in this state – mostly interred upon the Golden Throne with only brief periods of waking – forever!Would our beloved Prince ever awaken completely again? It seemed unlikely – so damaged was his mind – and lo, the Everfree Princedom despaired! We, his mortal Subjects, might have remained this way for as long as he sat, frail upon the Throne of Equusweyr—if not for the Mare whom strode into our Everfree City one day as if she owned the place; as though she were merely returning from a long, long journey, rather than visiting our fair City for the first time.

She was a Pegasus of Percheron stock, and if we were giants to normal Equestrian Ponies, then she was truly a titan, utterly towering over even the tallest of us due to being twice the size of even the largest Everfree Pony! Her crimson-orange coat and shocking white mane, coupled with her enormous size, made her appear highly intimidating; thus, we made no move to intercept her (visitors were always welcome in our City and she was no exception). Instead we backed the hell off and watched in awe as she strode up to the Gate of Dawn and waited to be let in. And indeed she was—after only the briefest of psychic scans; as if the Weyrmind had foreseen her coming!

Practically bashing the great Gate of Equusweyr aside - so fast did she enter - the mysterious mare stormed into the Royal Palace and swiftly approached the Golden Throne whereupon she was intercepted by the Templars. As they closed ranks about our Prince and his hoofmaidens, however – brandishing their weapons should they need to protect him – the giant mare showed them no fear; in fact, she stared them down! The Templars would have none of this! Who was this arrogant mare to come before our Prince without showing proper respect? Some moved to intercept her – perhaps to escort her out – but as they did so our Prince awakened. Eyes opening, flickering briefly with psychic power, he bade the Templars stand down with the gentlest gesture of a hoof. Then, softly, he sang:

"… Should've told you... This is no ordinary day.
Everything here will be okay.
She won't hurt me. She'll heal the scars I never show.
She is a fire sign you know.
Now that she's here; won't let me go…"

"Fire Sign?" I queried. "That's your name?" Glancing at me briefly, the titanic mare nodded. "Aye," said she, softly, "it is. Now den…" Returning her attention to the Golden Throne, she moved to our Prince and – as we all looked on with great unease – she murmured, "Let's 'ave a lookit yeh…" and then she did so, humming thoughtfully. A moment later, her brow knit with concern and, with us all looking on, softly she asked of our Prince, "Can yeh open yer mouf, little 'un?" To our surprise, our Prince obeyed her, and when he opened his mouth wide that the mare, Fire Sign, might look within, we all received a great shock! In addition to the normal teeth of an Equestrian Pony… our Prince possessed canine teeth; the teeth of a carnivore!

Upon seeing this, his Templars stepped back a touch, their ears flattening against their heads, whilst the three Weyrtouched Unicorns whom were his hoofmaidens gasped softly with fright, clutching their chests. "Oh, buck up and grow a pair, will yeh?" snapped Fire Sign at our display, rolling her eyes. "Ee's still yer Prince an' 'is teef make 'im no different, now!" She was right, of course. Chastised, the Templars returned to their former positions – guarding him – and his hoofmaidens, misty eyed, returned to tending him, kissing him softly, whispering apologies. Our Prince seemed to understand, for he murmured gently, leaning into their soft kisses, touches and nuzzles.

"Right," barked Fire Sign, once things were back to normal, "I need to talk to 'is Doctors…" And so it was that a pair of rather apologetic Templar escorted the giant mare to the Royal Clinic—or perhaps she escorted them, so small were they in comparison to her. Upon arrival there, Fire Sign queried our Prince's Royal Physicians as to his symptoms and – after hearing all they had to say – she grew thoughtful, gently rubbing her chin with a massive hoof. "So…" murmured she, "you say 'ee only wakes briefly? Dat 'ee seems weak, an' 'as 'ardly any energy?" When the Physicians nodded, immediately, Fire Sign concluded, "Yep. Lack ov iron will do dat to yeh. In short, fellahs: 'ee needs a li'l change of diet. Ee needs meat wiv 'is veg."

At her words, the Royal Physicians faced each other in a state of shock! They had always known that their Prince wasn't a true Equestrian Pony – that he had in fact once been an Extra Equestrian, a member of a species called - [DATA RESTRICTED. ECHELON ACCESS REQUIRED.] – an omnivorous race,from a place far, far away. However, as time went on, the Royal Physicians, and our Prince himself, perhaps… simply forgot that he hadn't ever been a pony. All this time the Royal Physicians had reccommended to our Prince the diet of a normal Equestrian Pony… Could the solution to our prince's ails really be that simple? When asked the question, Fire Sign guffawed heartily!

"'Ow d'you fink my kind got so big?" she asked, once she'd gotten herself under control. "The norf's where I come from; an' dere it's only ice! No grass to nosh on and the like. My kind 'unts Polar Bears and such, an' we eats ovver fings dat would kill so-called 'normal' ponies…" That said, the giant mare grinned revealing a monstrous set of teeth not unlike those of our Prince, and upon seeing them, one of the Royal Physicians, the General Practitioner, fainted whilst the other – a dentist by trade – was utterly beside himself; he was thrilled and wanted so much to examine those whopper choppers! Laughing at his enthusiasm, Fire Sign gently bunted him away with her muzzle.

"Look," stated she once the Royal General Practitioner had been revived, "yoo jus' leave everyfing to me, okay? I'll sort our yer – our – Prince, awright? 'Ee'll be up an' about in no time…" We noted the way she said 'our' Prince. She intended to stay… As it turned out – after a thorough reexamination of our Prince – we found that Fire Sign had been correct in her assessment; our Prince could indeed consume meat, any kind of meat, so long as it was very finely minced prior to consumption. Following this revelation, we decided – just for curiosities sake – to ask an Everfree Pony, as well as a Pony of the Alicorn Sisters to volunteer for an examination.

The results… were astounding: we… we all could include meat as part of our diet, for our stomachs were found to contain many of the same bacteria found in the stomachs of - [DATA RESTRICTED. ECHELON ACCESS REQUIRED] – the race our Prince had once been part of! Upon seeing the results of the exam, Templar Armand nodded thoughtfully, whilst poor Lyra Heartstrings of Ponyville was torn between unease and joy at being closer to the race of - [DATA RESTRICTED. ECHELON ACCESS REQUIRED] – which she loved so much, though she stated that she mightn't actually partake of meat, for doing so was taboo within Greater Equestria. (She eventually changed her mind, due to curiosity, though had to keep her meat-eating secret from her beloved Bon-Bon!)

And so, the revival of our Prince - and the strengthening of us all - began… with a hearty salad, and a bowl of warm chicken broth, as Fire Sign took over his care and slowly, gently, eased her way into his life. As he slowly regained his strength on a well-balanced omnivorous diet, the teal pseudo-alicorn began to wake more, and more, remaining awake for longer and longer periods of time. This heartened us all, greatly, life within our fair City booming as the Weyrmind spread the news of his burgeoning recovery. Of a morning, one could now see the Prince awake and alert upon the Golden Throne with Fire Sign, the mare so tall she actually sat over him whilst he sat 'neath her barrel as he partook of a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs, or 'bangers and mash.'

Of an afternoon, he would partake of a wonderful Cesar Salad with finely ground chicken; then of evenings he would eat anything from roast lamb to lasagne and anything in between! Finally, as Celestia's sun slowly lowered to make way for her sister's moon, it wasn't uncommon for one of the Templar Guard to take a peek into the Equusweyr Sleeping Quarters and see the giant Fire Sign there abed with our Prince, though not in a sexual manner. T'was certainly quite a sight to see though; the great mare curled about our Prince, cuddling him gently against her belly like a foal as she told him a story, groomed him gently, or chewed softly upon his ears.

When at last our Prince regained strength such that he was able to remain awake for an entire day, with Templar escort in tow, Fire Sign took him out into Everfree City. Upon recognizing the teal-furred pseudo-alicorn – set atop the giant mare's back, between her wings, as a mother would carry her foal – those ponies whom saw him spread word. Eventually, the entirety of the Everfree Princedom rejoiced for it was the first time he'd been outside of Equusweyr since the Sunny Town Incident. To many, it seemed like a miracle! That day was greatly beneficial for our Prince as he was able to meet, greet, bless, and thank many of us, his mortal Subjects, for 'sticking with him' and continuing to believe in him.

He was also able to witness how his fair City had flourished—and with all we had accomplished under His Guiding Hoof, even during the time he'd been away, as he put it—he was immensely pleased! We, his Subjects, were as eager to see him, to speak to him, to touch him as he was to do the same to us, and though we mostly managed to curb our excitement upon meeting him, there were a few of us ponies whom got quite boistrous. However, a deathly glare from Fire Sign, along with a sharp retort from the Templars was enough to keep the rowdy at bay. Eventually, our Prince – who was, after all, still regaining his lost strength – became overwhelmed and more than a little weary; thus it was that he, Fire Sign, and his Templar Escort returned to the sanctity of Equusweyr.

8. Archive #8 - Of The Other Races within Our City, and the Forgiving of a Sister

Our Prince has his strength, yes, but his mind is still – and perhaps forever will be – damaged. If you visit him, and he speaks with slow, slurred speech sometimes – or if he seems to 'zone out' and see through you – that is the reason why. Nevertheless… As our Prince's strength increased, so did the length of the trips he was able to take. Having been weak and frail for so long, he was of course unable to walk at first, but aided by Fire Sign – set atop her back like a foal – he was able to get about. Fire Sign – blessed Fire Sign – was so good to him! Accompanied by two of his Hoofmaidens and an ever-present Templar escort (as always), not only did she take our Prince all about our City, but she also took him throughout Equestria such that he was able to broker peaceful trade agreements and forge many alliances

Said alliances were oft with races the ponies of Greater Equestria hadn't considered, such as the Gryphons, the Dragons, and even the Changelings. Why… Our Prince was even able to convince a Changeling Queen, named Amalthea, to emigrate to the Princedom and set up her hive deep, deep below Equusweyr with an Embassy on the surface! He did, however, politely ask that she restrict the hive to a manageable number of Changelings, and that said Changelings employ passive feeding; something to which she readily agreed. Back then, Amalthea and her small hive – comprised of herself and only a few hundred workers and drones – were on the run, desperate to escape persecution from the ponies of Greater Equestria. [Ref. File: Queen Chrysalis Incident.] Now she and her kin are known as the Everfree Changeling Cooperative and she is one of our Prince's staunchest allies. If you come to visit our fair Everfree City, you'll often see members of the Cooperative out and about in their natural forms, fixing, maintaining, and improving this or that. Furthermore, virtually all of them are fully Weyrjoined; the Neural Transceivers Amalthea and her Brood possess have enhanced their 'hive-mind' to such a degree that all may as well be a single entity!

Everyling practically flaunts the latest Weyr Technology, from Bio-System limbs, to cybernetic grafts, to sophisticated armor, weapons and all manner of equipment; even more miraculous is that a sub-group of Changelings within the Cooperative have actually become part of the Weyr. Their enhanced minds serve as additional processing adjuncts and storage repositories for the Weyrmind and the Transequines whom live therein! As I stated above, Gryphons, too were welcomed into the Everfree Princedom, their Emperor having an interest in the secrets of Weyrtech and Psi-Steel. Now, you can find many of them about Everfree City; some live and work in the Gryphon Embassy whilst others live within the heart of our City, and still others have found friends and lifemates among the Treeponies.

Ah, but I am rambling again! It's just… there is so much to tell! The final trip our Prince made – before he was at last able to walk on his own – was to Canterlot, where he apologized profusely to Princess Luna for his behavior toward her and Celestia upon The Day of Rejection [ref. Archive #6]. "We… arrre of… the sssame… hoof," he spoke softly as he sat before her Obsidian Throne, touching her hoof gently with his own "We… are all… pony." Eyes misty, Luna nodded and nuzzled our Prince gently, wondering why her sister had fought against him at all. Then, "A giffft… forrr you," our Prince murmured softly, one of his Hoofmaidens coming forward to present the Equestrian Night Princess with a Neural Transceiver! After returning to Everfree City with us - to have the device implanted and then activated by the command of our Prince and the will of the Weyrmind - Princess Luna became an honorary citizen of our fair city. Princess Celestia... was not pleased...

9. Archive #9 - Our Prince and the Assassin

One day, there came a Pony to Our Fair City from the Outside - Thestral by breed and Assassin by nature - who had been sent by his King that the Prince might be slain such that the Thestral King might sneakily lay claim to what was not his to take. Our Prince's Hoofmaidens stopped the stallion, of course - how could they not - for the Thestral King was vain and hadn't studied Our Prince or even the many, many defenses of our City. As he lay wounded before the Golden Throne, the Pseudo-Alicorn Hoofmaiden who'd brought the Assassin low made then to end his life--but the gentle touch of a hoof to her shoulder stopped her. Disappointed, the Hoofmaiden - whom was a Mistress of Death herself - backed off, allowing Our Prince to approach.

His kind, young-yet-old face etched with pain, the Prince gazed down at the wounded stallion with saddened eyes, a single, whispered word escaping his lips. "Why?"

"Your City," murmured the Assassin, even as the Prince drew upon a touch of his power to heal the stallion. As our Prince helped the would-be killer to his feet, he continued, "My King, Lucius Oraculus, desires your City; to rule it and claim it as his own."

At this, our Prince slowly, sadly, shook his head. "I forgive him -- and you -- for neither of you know what you do," he said to the stallion. Then, he continued, "Your King cannot - will not - have what is not his. Besides... to watch over this place as I do would render a mortal pony mad..."

At this, the Assassin was shocked. "Why?" asked he. It was then that our Prince - through an [ACCESS DENIED - ECHELON LEVEL CLEARANCE REQUIRED] - connected the poor stallions mind to the Master Transceiver; the Neural Transceiver inside his own head. At first, the poor stallion was fine--he heard Equusweyr, and then the contentment of the many Peoples of Our City... but soon, he began to hear Greater Equestria.... the thoughts of all of Celestia's ponies laid bare... as a mare wept for her dead foal as a husband was killed by a manticore as an orphan wished for a home as a noble selfishly gambled his fortune as a grandmare died in her bed as a young colt kissed his marefriend as a couple made love as another couple fought as a mare took drugs as a filly said goodbye to her parents as she left for school as a stallion got promoted as a mare was evicted from her home as a colt watched his mother die of cancer as a filly hugged her parents in thanks for her new pet as a colt wept as his pet died as as as as as as...

The Assassin wept, - he bawled like a foal, unable to take anymore. When at last his cries faded - after our Prince got him a glass of water - he looked at our Prince in wonder. "How... how can you live like this?!" he cried. "Surely... surely you cannot send your Templar Guard to help them all!"

Our Prince shook his head, then "We try... because nopony else can. Whilst we cannot aid all, we can help some, and if not us... then who?"

The former Assassin had no words for that. Instead, he asked, "How... how is it you hear these things?"

"How is it you do not?" Our Prince replied, softly.

10. Archive #10 - The Disgusted Noble

The Equestrian Noble who'd come to visit the Prince had left disgusted.

"A foal?" He cried. "A foal?! And a useless one, at that! How can that foolish so-called Foal Lord rule an entire city when he does nothing but sleep all day?"

Throwing up his hooves, the Noble made to enter Equusweyr Courtyard and then to leave--only to run smack into one of the Templar Guard. "Out of my way!" the Unicorn cried, but the super unicorn soldier didn't budge. Instead, with a shake of his head, the Templar withdrew from his armor a thin disc - the size of an ordinary Equestrian Bit Coin - and then, before the Equestrian Noble could stop him, with lightning-fast reflexes the Templar Guard attached the disc to the base of the noble's skull, where his spine began...

... and then, the Noble panicked - urinating on the ground in fear as he felt the guard's regret/concern - because the terrifying Weyrmind he'd heard about had him now, and all his thoughts were laid bare... "No," he breathed, "you won't have me; I am me; you won't assimilate me..." Alas, it was too late. Then...

"YOU ARE STILL YOU, AS THE TEMPLAR WITH YOU IS STILL ARMAND," came the Collective Voice of the Everfree Peoples. "THE WEYRMIND SEEKS ONLY TO COMMUNICATE, NOT ASSIMILATE. YOU ARE ONE WITH US NOW, BUT YOU WILL SHARE WITH US ONLY THAT WHICH YOU ALLOW; WE WILL NOT SEEK MORE UNLESS IT IS YOUR DESIRE TO SHARE IT WITH US--AND EVEN THEN, WHAT IS PRIVATE TO YOU IS PRIVATE TO US ALL. YOU WISH TO KNOW HOW WE WORK AS A PEOPLE; LET US SHOW YOU..."

... and then, the Noble gasped as suddenly he was Armand, with all his training; then he was a Merchant; then he was a Hoofmaiden, then he was a Changeling, then a Treepony, then, then, then...

"Come back, now," he felt the Voice of the Prince rumble like a muted thunderclap through his very essence, "the first time joined with us can be a little overwhelming. That's it... there you go, now..."

... the Noble inhaled a breath, and sank to his knees, overwhelmed, tears filling his eyes. For an instant that seemed an entire lifetime... he had been the entirety of a City, had been one with the pulse and lifeblood of it in a way nopony had been ever before. The poor noble looked at himself, broken inside. Who needed hooves, when a "hoof" was right there in Armand? Who needed eyes, when Observers were everywhere, and could literally see everything? Who needed armor when your very essence ran through every psi-steel wall, every conduit, even within the Weyrmind itself? Even physical death might be overcome; he'd lived an entire life with the Transequines inside the mind of the Weyr. Education? Download information into your head, or borrow the skills of somepony else whom was all too happy to lend them to you! Major Government decisions which decided how the City was run? A massive Collective Consensus Vote, with the Prince being the Final Voice, then thought turned to action immediately!

"YOUR NEEDS ARE THE NEEDS OF ALL; THE ONLY FRONTIER THAT HAS EVER EXISTED IS THE SELF." Those were the last words the Noble heard; the Collective Voice of the Weyrpeoples faded from his thoughts as the Weyrmind deactivated the Neural Transceiver; then holding the noble so very gently - with great sadness - Armand took the Transceiver from his neck--and as he did so, the Noble whimpered then curled up and bawled like a lost foal. Armand swiftly doffed his armor and moved to curl protectively around the Noble as he wept, wept, wept; the Templar Guard knew what it was like to be severed from the Mind. As the two lay there together, the concern became palpable; nearby ponies, griffons, changelings all converged upon the guard comforting the noble and stopped what they were doing to curl about the pair. As they did this, the crying noble thought he heard their voices in his head one last time...

"You are not alone. You are never alone..."

All was still.

11. Archive #11 - On The Observers

To an Outsider - one whom is not part of our Collective - just the knowledge of the Observers flitting about Our City would be horrifying. Just think of it now: the tiny, golden machines, outfitted with cloaking devices and packed with sensor suites, able to record anything, anywhere, at any time--and, most horrifying: they do! "A City of total Surveillance!" you cry. "Nopony has any privacy!" Wrong. Our Prince and the Weyrmind are aware of the concept of privacy; as such, if it is asked that you not be Observed then it will be so; the Observers are not just 'cold, unthinking' surveillance machines; they - like all technologies of Our City - are alive with wills of their own; if you do not wish to be watched over then they - and others - will leave you be if you ask it of them.

In addition, let's be honest: much of what we all do is of such little importance that no one cares. Our Prince only uses the Observers to lightly watch over his people and - most importantly - to check for occurrences of crime, what little of it there might be, as well as dangers outside Our City in the Everfree. What you, as an Outsider, fail to understand is that being part of Our City means being part of our Collective. As such, you can command any Observer you know automatically is near. Take one with you if you know you're going Outside, somewhere dangerous. Take one with you to record a First Date with your beloved, or your foal's first steps or birthday; but be aware that if you do you might feel a surge of pure joy for the next few days or so as the Weyrmind loves things like this, and you also might receive an Ihan Memory Crystal mailed to your hotel room!

Much like puppies the Observers can be excitable, flighty things; you - as a visitor to our City - might be followed by a small swarm of Observers and, unless fitted with a temporary transceiver, you would not even know it, until someone with a transceiver shoos them away! If you do not like the thought of being Observed the response is simple; either ask the nearest Observer to leave you alone - it will then notify others to do the same - or... do not visit our city. The Observers are NOT cold, ruthless devices of surveillance and control; rather we regard them as the eyes of our Prince, always watching over us--and this, at times, can be quite literal as He is able to see through them whilst asleep on His Throne. Be warned, however, to attempt destruction of an Observer is a heinous crime, as if you manage to destroy one of these sometimes flighty, sometimes very shy little machines, you are snuffing out a sentient being. Once gone, that specific Observer can never be created again; even more so if said Observer's consciousness happens to be one of the Transequines!

Punishment for destruction of the Eyes of Our Prince is most always the immediate transferal of the Observers Consciousness into the mind of the one who committed the crime through an Essence Translator; lest we not forget the ignorant pony who smashed an Observer, only to find that he'd "killed" the shell housing the mind of a gentle, innocent, Transequine filly! His burden was to live with her inside of him for a year. As such they got to know each other, and he ended up weeping for weeks on end because he'd destroyed the mechanical shell of a filly so much like his own daughter, who had died - along with his wife - due to a tragic accident. In the end, when his punishment was done, this Outsider - once the filly's consciousness was removed from him - chose to upload himself into the Weyrmind to be with her still, whereupon he met her Mother and, well... they've been together as a family ever since.

1. Archive #1 - Our Prince and the Filly

The new Alicorn Prince never told us his name. One day, he simply was; the great pyramidal palace, in which he dwells within the Everfree Forest simply appeared one day. He is a Prince - of that we ponies have no doubt - but it is only because we ponies have made him one. His domain is of knowledge; his Princedom one of Science. Around the Palace in which he dwells (he calls it the 'Nexus') the ponies who call him Prince built a great city to rival Canterlot and there... nopony is ever poor. Nopony is ever sick. Nopony ever goes hungry, or fears for the safety of their foals. Crime is a non-issue there, too; invisible machines called 'Observers' patrol everywhere and his Templars - ponies trained by the Prince and outfitted with amazing armor and technology the likes of which nopony has ever seen before - track and pursue criminals relentlessly, for they adore their City and they adore him.

I remember when a pony attempted to find and destroy one of the Princes' Observers. That pony... simply disappeared the next day. From the physical world, and from all pony memory. As I stated, the Prince is only a Prince because we have made him one. Court and Politics aren't at all interesting to him, and mares attempting to curry his favor are simply rebuffed if not outright ignored. Even the Princesses were rebuffed by him. The Prince and Celestia even came to blows, once... before she was forcibly ejected from our Everfree Princedom. The Prince has little time for etiquette; he is honest, though extremely abrupt and blunt; when he speaks to you he stares not at you but through you, his hazel eyes piercing your very soul. Court. We tried to hold a court, once, in what we call his Throne Room at the heart of the Nexus. Few ponies whom attended could speak once they beheld what lay within. There was the Prince's throne of course - we ponies built it for him - but behind it... an enormous sphere of crystal pulsed with cerulean light, like a giant heart. And high above, hovering over the throne and casting an ominous shadow, there was the ship. Not an airship as Celestia's ponies use... but a true ship with power enough to travel between the stars; a hodgepodge thing composed of bits of ship molded and streamlined together.

The Weyrmind, our Prince called it, when we asked him what it was. A robotic vessel possessed of a mind and soul. That Court Day, the Prince almost seemed to be connected to the great ship as he sat upon his throne - at rest, or in deep meditation - lights upon the crown that we had crafted, and he had modified, flickering softly as entire blocks of data, or thought, or thought-data, were exchanged back and forth in an instant. At his feet the foals of the nobility sat and played quietly. Why have the Nobles bring their foals there, you ask? Simply because, the Prince stated that the mind of the Weyr adored foals. Things seemed to be going well. Though he didn't respond to us when we spoke to him, the ears of the Prince did flick this way and that and he nodded or shook his head on occasion; he was listening to us, at least, hearing our voices, perhaps storing our ideas, proposals, news and knowledge of the affairs of the Princedom away for later thought. Then, for unknown reasons... one of the happily playing foals - a little white unicorn filly with a cyan mane - started to cough blood and then collapsed! At this... the Prince's eyes snapped open; then even as the Noble whose filly it was started to scream, even as the Prince commanded her to cease (he hated noise) the teal Alicorn made to summon a veritable army of the Keepers of the Weyr - curious machines he called 'Probes' - and at his command they appeared.

As all watched in awe, a floating bed was constructed, the little filly was placed upon it... and then the Prince was shoving ponies aside, bringing the floating bed with him as he made his way from the Throne Room, to his living quarters above, and then from there into the Clinic wherein the unicorn filly was placed into a great machine he called the Autodoc. There... as the foal's mother and those few brave enough to follow looked on... miracles were performed. An all-seeing eye peered into the filly's body, and then "she's got cancer," bluntly stated the Prince. "Started on her skin then made its way inside to her lungs. Autodoc'll sort it out..." And 'sort it out' the machine did, first injecting into the filly a sleeping agent; then nano-scalpels bloodlessly opened the filly and cut out the worst of the affliction (cue very pale-faced ponies here) before a powerful medicine annihilated the rest. Then, with that done, before our eyes, a powerful beam-device struck the filly, regenerating damaged tissues and closing the surgical wounds. And then it was done. Just like that. This tireless machine had performed in minutes what it took multiple unicorn surgeons hours to do. "There we go," stated the Prince to the foal's mother once all was said and done. "She'll be fine; though she'll be in a bit of pain from the rapid healing once the anesthetic wears off." And with that said, the Prince left before she could thank him, and went to work on an enormous clock within the Nexus, something he called the Sector Timekeeper...