Chapters Centuries before the first kings or queens took the throne, before the pegasi, unicorn and earth pony tribes had traveled from the old country to Equestria, the frozen north was an icy hellscape. There was no break from the cold. It chilled the very blood inside you. With each fell breath you felt the life being sucked out of you by the relentless frozen air. The creatures that lived there were just as fierce. Ice Worms, dragons as tall as mountains and just as imposing that breathed death from their maws and great grizzly snow wargs twenty feet tall, able to kill ten ponies with a single swipe of their claws. But these and many more beasts paled in comparison to the windigo, horrible faded spirits that would drive ponies into hatred and madness and steal their very souls.
It was hard to believe that in such a place as this, there were any ponies at all. True, many of them fled south to seek some sort of refuge from the terrors that plagued them, but a small number of them stayed. A few ponies imbued with magic, braver than the rest, saw determined to tame the wild beasts and monsters that so frequently devoured and tormented their kin. These were no ordinary ponies. They faced impossible odds, fought beasts that no other pony thought possibly to obtain victory over. No, these were no ordinary ponies, they were heroes.
I remember the heroes of old so well, ever since my uncle Reighloph told me about them. Yol’mier, the mare unicorn who charged horn first into a snow warg den and fought every single one of them single hoofedly to save an entire village that was doomed to be dinner. Maul Silverhorn, the unicorn who with his mighty hammer, managed to be the first unicorn, the first pony ever seen to defeat an Ice Dragon. Many more, all whom had fought against certain doom to make safe the land that would become the Crystal Kingdom.
By the old gods I do remember those stories. I remember it almost like I was there, imagining what it would be like to be next to Orin Stormcaller when he defeated the windigos, just imagine what it was like to be face to face with such a horror, such a monster. Any pony in their right mind would turn tail and run, but these few had something special about them. They had something in their blood that told them to face the challenges that were laid before them rather than run from them. They had something inside them that set them apart from other ponies. They were heroes.
When at last the heroes of old had laid waste to their foes, they made safe the land of the north and with their magic. They even changed the frigid weather to make way for a warmth of like the northern ponies were not used to. These heroes used their magic to turn the once deathly ice of the north into warming crystals and create a home for the northern ponies. They called their new kingdom, “The Crystal Kingdom”. These first heroes became the kings and queens of the land. The citizens of this empire were so patriotic, so grateful and so full of love for their kings and queens that they too felt a certain heroism within themselves. This heroism and love made it’s own magic and the ponies of the north became crystal ponies. The hero queen Ophelia created the crystal heart, which would both serve as a symbol of their unity and love as a kingdom, protect the empire itself and create a shining beacon of light throughout the rest of the world.
I remember this story just as clear as day. I remembered those wonderful, special ponies that made our empire. I often try to think of what was going through their minds, what they felt and what drove them. More than anything, I wanted to know what it took to become a hero. What would it take to make me a hero?
“Where are all the heroes now, uncle?” asked the young prince.
“They’re gone for now little Oscar, gone until the day we might need them again.”
As time went on the old hero kings and queens also grew older. Their role in the Crystal Kingdom became less and less. Each proceeding king, or queen, that shared the blood of greatness held less power, instead sharing it with the crystal council, a democratically elected house of ponies. Over time these ponies would eventually make most of the important decisions about the Crystal Kingdom; the laws, the judgments, heath, progression, the land and more or less everything. The king or queen at my time had the lovely job of opening congressional hearings, closing congressional hearings, giving important sounding opinions in reports and attending royal events and openings and such occasions that seemed to be met with increasingly less patriotism and enthusiasm as the years went on.
And then I was born. As the last member of the royal bloodline; I was born Prince Oscura Sombra the third. My parents were very old when they gave birth to their only son, they were lucky to have one at all. They died when I was very young of natural causes. I neither hated, nor love them. I simply could not have any strong feelings to them, as I had no memory of them. To me they were a large, somewhat imposing picture on the entryway wall. Of course I did wonder about them from time to time. Reighloph told me that my father would be proud of me; to have such an energetic, eager and rambunctious young lad.
My old uncle Reighloph was always my father to me. He was a strange old pony, a little round at the edges at that, but jolly and kind. He was all the family I had in the world, but that was plenty for me. Aside from a handful of servants, Reighloph looked after me for my young life. It was a fond time for me, a time that I enjoyed. I remember every night Uncle Reighloph would read me stories about the old heroes and tell me of their great deeds. When I got older yet, he even entertained me to teach me some of the old combative magic ways. “Teach me to be a hero!” I would say to him. He always told me what good hero, a strong warrior and a loyal soldier I was.
I loved him and I loved being the Crystal Kingdom's little hero, play fighting with imaginary dragons and fighting imaginary monsters. Occasionally I even saved imaginary damsels in distress. I always knew somewhere deep in my heart that I could be a hero just like the ones Uncle Reighloph told me about, I just knew it. As a child there was no fantasy of heroes, or old tales. They were as real as the sun and the moon, as day and night. The monsters, the greatness and the legends were truths that I held close to my heart.
When I was just eight years old I had the pleasure of taking a visit to a very young nation that had formed to the south of us. I wasn't sure exactly how it had formed at the time, nor did I probably care much, but I do remember my uncle telling me that it was ruled by a pair of wonderful sister princesses. At that thought I was as giddy as could be, a pair of princesses, damsels that needed rescuing, just like in the stories! I looked forward to the trips, as one of the few responsibilities of the royal family was as emissary.
Equestria was a very different place than the Crystal Kingdom to say the least. Mountainsides were not covered in gleaming gemstones, winter snowfall did not threaten every boundary. The weather was somewhat sporadic and not as well managed as ours and the buildings were small, fewer and much less lustrous than our own. But out of all of that, what I really remembered was the royal greeting we received. Even though they were still a small and struggling nation, they managed to throw us such a welcome. There were fireworks and so many well decorated royal soldiers! I got in trouble more than once playing with their armor and spears. But what I remember most are the two princesses, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. What a glory they were to behold. They were the closest thing I had ever seen in person to the old heroes of my stories, and the ponies of Equestria all loved them so much. They showed such zeal, such admiration for their princesses, never questioning them, always following their careful guidance.
At this very young age I met each of them. I didn't find it a bit strange that they were taller than most ponies, they were heroes after all. I was a bit afraid of Princess Celestia at first, as she was the older sister, taller and more imposing. But she proved to be kind and motherly to me, always bowing before me and calling me “little prince”. I remember giggling at this, always trying to act as professional and dignified, even at such a young age around her. I wanted to show that I could be a hero just like her after all. I liked Princess Luna more. She was not as formal or as imposing as her older sister. I remember always looking forward to visiting Equestria each year, so I could play with Luna. We would always play around the Canterlot fields, play fighting, reenacting old battles from Uncle Reighloph’s stories. A couple times she even played the damsel in distress and let me rescue her.
She was the only other pony to ever call me “Oscar”. “Silly little Oscar…” she would say. I loved her smile, and I loved to make her giggle at my foal-ish ways. I loved making her happy and the time I spent with her. Here was this lovely and powerful hero of a pony, but she still looked so sweet and young. What a wonderful friend to have! Being as young and naive as I was, I thought of her as a sister at that time. Of course when I grew older, I would think of her much less as a sister. We couldn't visit every year of course, as Equestria had quite a hoof full of it’s own problems with managing a rapidly growing nation. But it was nonetheless one of the more memorable and joyous memories of my childhood.
As grew older the fantasies of my childhood began to lessen. When I was sixteen my uncle Reighloph died of natural causes. This saddened me deeply, but he was bedridden for some time before his death and he made sure that I promised not to let his death affect me. Even in that dim hour he was always smiling at me and still read me those old tales that he used to when I was a foal. The days after he died I felt my heart begin to drop. When I tried to remember him I could never once think of anything melancholy about him. He was always smiling away at me, laughing his big, jolly laugh, that made his belly jiggle. He was always there for me, teaching me what was right and wrong and he taught me how to be a hero. Never once was he ashamed of me or was he disappointed. As much as I tried to continue my despair for him, I could not. I could not let my uncle down. I knew that wherever he was, he was in the halls of heroes and he would still smile and be happy.
Eventually, I entered into stallion hood and I left my despairs behind me. At a young age, certainly younger than any other prince before me, I took up the duties of the opening Chairpony at the crystal council. I did not take much interest in the politics that were laid before me, not simply because I did not play much of a part in them, but also because they were very much boring to me. I appeared to be removed and disinterested most of the time I appeared in the council or in the news reports. My royal duties aside from the council usually consisted of going to fancy balls, looking pretty and well dressed, waving to the crowd and smiling in a dignified manner and of course giving my opinions on whatever subject or celebrity was in the news at the time. Although the crystal ponies approved of me, their interest in the political leadership of the kingdom was distant at best. They were simply content to get along with whatever newest fashion craze or hot issue was in the news and consider themselves lucky to get away with as little of the bureaucracy of the kingdom as they could. There seemed to be so few crystal flags flying outside of homes and inside the mouths of excited little crystal colts and fillies.
Since the start of my new duties, I hardly ever got to visit Equestria. But at the age of 22, I took my last visit there. I was astonished to see how much the new kingdom had grown in only a few short years. And instead of the ponies losing their zeal, it seemed only to have grown as well. They had built a beautiful city atop of the high Mount Canterlot. It was not quite as shimmering as the crystal tower, but it was still a marvelous sight to behold. I was greeted just as always with the regal Princess Celestia. She was always so polite to me and to her own subjects. Even when one of them did not show the proper courtesy, she simply smiled at them and gave them a royal pardon. At this age, I began to notice something about the princesses. The older Princess Celestia seemed to command all of the important decisions in Equestria. All of the guards bore armor, similar to her mark and whenever the citizens spoke of their glorious, leader, they praised Princess Celestia.
Luna was always there of course, standing off to the side, shyly nodding and smiling to the citizens. Oh yes, Luna; I no longer could play fight and take place in our imaginary foal-ish adventures with her. Being as old as I was, I felt… strange feelings for her. It never came up much as I didn't know quite what to make of it. But we did smile some at each other, share tea time with awkwardly little conversation. I did ask her just once, as subtly as I could, why she didn't take a bigger part in the leadership of Equestria. It was a valid question of course. For all practical purposes she was still a goddess of the land, an all powerful Alicorn and just as strong as her sister as far as everyone knew. When I asked this all she did was giggle, telling me how her sister was far better suited to these things than she was and that she was perfectly happy having some time to herself. I wasn't quite sure that I believed her, but I did nod politely to her as she gave me the oddest look. When I left Equestria that year I did not know that that would be the last time I would see her in a positive light.
Time passed and the once colt hood fantasies of being a hero were fading fast. There was absolutely nothing special or spectacular about what I did, not in the least. The only thing heroic about my deeds was my heroic ability to keep my eyes open during council sessions. Eventually I started to accept my dreary, uneventful fate. Perhaps I would not become the hero I so desired to be. It was strange that how just a few years from that time the heroes of old were so real to me, their lessons and their deeds were law. What was in those pages and what was on my uncle’s words were as solid and as real to me as the sun and moon. They were faded now to me, blurred like a fantasy or an abstract concept. I could just as well have said that they were like the mind of the gods, who could say? I could not simply give up and leave of course, I had my duties to attend to. No matter how meager, or boring, or pointless, I was still a prince of the Crystal Kingdom, if anyone still remembered it.
Sometimes I thought about Equestria. The young nation had grown so fast in so little time and its citizens held such enthusiasm, such undying loyalty for their country and their two supreme leaders. They were exemplary ponies in their eyes, paragons and examples of perfection. Whatever happened to that zeal in the crystal kingdom? Whatever happened to little foals waving their flags around, telling their mommies and daddies that they wanted to be a prince or a princess, or a brave knight when they grew up? Where did all of that go? The crystal kingdom those days were slow. Everything was always held up in the council flow, years worth of backed up issues that needed careful, dreadfully slow debate needed to be worked through, change came ever slower, if it came at all. I remember one time I even petitioned to help Equestria with supplies when they were still growing. Of course the princesses bowed and thanked me politely. That inquiry, no matter how simple and no matter how plentiful of supplies we had, never made it through the council.
I knew that it would only be a matter of time, perhaps it would take a century, maybe a little less, until Equestria would surpass the Crystal Kingdom in size and splendor. The bickering and long debates of the old ponies of the crystal council would eventually grind us away to nothing and any sensible crystal ponies would eventually move away, probably to the prosperous nation to the south. It wasn't all that bad, surely. I was a prince after all. I did look forward to the yearly reenactments by our small group of crystal guards. And perhaps… there was something to look forward to about being a king, namely finding a princess. This was to be my fate then. The somewhat boring life, but certainly not a bad life. It could be worse, right? I had come to accept this, more and more as time went on, knowing and applying to my mind the solid fact that nothing interesting would happen to me as my time as a leader. Just as I began to feel this acceptance, everything changed.
Next Chapter: The Swarm
In our kingdom there were five great cities, along with many more smaller towns and villages between them that expanded to our boundaries. Four of the cities were rather close to each other, all of them near the center of our land. The fifth was the furthest to the north and had a large naturally forming icy wall arch that guarded it’s northern edge. It was the city of Shimmermist. It was by no means the largest of the cities in area or population, but it was still a very lovely, developed settlement, filled with it’s own unique snowy decorated, crystalline structures. I knew the place very well actually, as I had visited there many a time when I was young. My uncle even had some land there. It was an exemplary, beautiful city in the north that was somewhat quieter than the rest as it did not partake as much in the hype of media stories, or the rush of fashion and entertainment that the other cities had. Shimmermist was the first city that fell.
When they first came, they thought it was a rain cloud, a large, spotted rain cloud, but this was unusual in an of itself. There was hardly rain in this season and the weather was always very well controlled in all of our cities. But this cloud came quickly and ominously. It grew closer and closer and crystal ponies began to panic. All they could do was wait as it dawned upon them. As it approached ever closer, they could hear it, the sound that no cloud no matter how stormy or dark should make. It was a buzzing sound, a great,and terrible ear shattering buzzing sound that roared towards them, growing louder and louder the closer it became. As the demonic roar, the freight train like roar of buzzing came near, they could now see little black dots growing larger as the cloud approached them. It was at this point that they could see with their own eyes, that it was not a force of wind that pushed this cloud but it was a massive number of creatures that approached them.
They landed, and we saw them. They were insect-like creatures, gruesomely similar to a pony in size and shape, but they couldn't be further from my beloved crystal ponies. Their bodies were not at all like the plush, shimmering coats of the crystal ponies, no, it was a hard, armor like carapace, that was black, blacker than when you close your eyes, on the darkest of nights. Their limbs were disfigured, full of holes, and sharp edges. Their wings were... not proper, they buzzed, and were thin, like the wings of a locust. Perhaps the most terrifying part of them was their eyes. They showed a horrible ghastly green color that was without white, without any hint of of a soul. But they were deep, beautiful in their own way at first, but great and terrible. I remember looking into them, hypnotically as they were. If you stared deep and hard enough into their depths, you could see it. A deep, dark black hole, with a great monstrous, bottomless hunger. And those eyes were looking at you.
When the few guards and soldiers that stood in the city had been dealt with, the insect monsters rounded up the citizens, brought them into the center of the town. We received reports of this days later, of which I did not believe, not until I would see them for myself. What was written on paper did not do justice to the horror that I would witness in years later. Every one of them, biting, clawing at them, hissing, roaring, and tearing through the houses. They took every one. Every stallion, every mare, every filly, every colt, and every elder. They herded them into the open, like cattle.
That is where they consumed them. They were not so kind as to eat their flesh though, oh no. Instead, they consumed their goodness, their light. The happy thoughts, and the love was sucked out of them, through the vampire teeth of the equine insects. It was a horrible processes that felt like dyeing. And it did not all happen at once, no, it was like the pain of loss, of losing what you loved most, slowly. The insects took their precious time too. After Shimmermist fell, it took months for them to drain the life out of every one of those poor souls.
Not more than a handful managed to escape the feeding and bring the news of what happened to us. When I think about it now, I believe that those few were simply allowed to escape in order to tell the rest of the empire what was in store for them. The news itself was such a shock to me, my mind could barely comprehend it. The Crystal Kingdom had been attacked by a massive army of unknown creatures. This was no ordinary, everyday celebrity politician royal banter, or on-goings of the doldrums; this was a work of a storybook nightmare. That is when I saw the survivors of Shimmermist. I rushed to them when I heard that survivors were in the castle infirmary. What I saw nearly brought me to tears, for it was the saddest sight I had ever seen. These were not my brilliant coated, lively, happy crystal ponies. They were dead inside, their eyes were so cold, so grey. I looked into them, and I almost felt that my own love had been sapped from me. My heart wrenched for them, and I was brought to my knees at the sight.
This was the first time that I saw ponies die with my own eyes. I watched, as their eyes faded, the happiness taken from them, and replaced with nothing. Shining Clover, Jubilee Crescent and Tree Dancer. Those were their names. And I watched them struggle through each moment of breath. There was nothing wrong with them, not physically, the monsters never directly killed anyone. But their souls had been taken, their joy, their happiness and they had lost all will to live. Each breath was such effort for them. Each beating of their heart took so much work, so much effort just to continue on. Until eventually, they lost all hope and gave up that effort. I watched each of those three ponies die.
I did my only duty that I could do and I kept the Crystal Council sessions open longer and on all days, no break for any holidays or special occasions, the nation was in a state of emergency. Just as I was instructed and prepared to do. I gave them a speech, telling the crystal ponies that we had suffered a terrible loss at the hands of a previous unknown monster, but that everything was being done to be sure that such a tragedy would not take place again. I felt wrong saying this, and I had no idea what would be done, or could be done to survive. The council passed laws, here and there, little things, to try and keep ponies safe. They had walls fortified around the capital city, and sent out patrols around the smaller villages, as there were many towns and settlements besides the five great cities, or four as it were.
I kept sitting there, opening sessions, listening to hearings, looking at those foolish old ponies as they argued and bickered every day. They were scared but even as they were, they used the process of the council to do all they could. What were they doing? Where was the army? They used what few troops we did have to hunker around the main cities, sending out occasional notices, and reports to the outer villages. They even sent one poor scout to try and reason with the black monsters to see if they had any demands, or to see if a treaty of a sort could be made. They sent him back to us in a consumed state. Suffice to say that was reply enough that even the council could understand.
Reports came in as months dragged on in fear. The creatures were not satisfied with the population of Shimmermist. Their numbers grew, and they were spreading south. Northern villages and cities were beginning to go dark. The council, plagued with fear, could do nothing to stop the onslaught of the creatures. Even as I implored them, as I begged even, they would not hear me to rescue our northern villages, they abandoned them callously, trying to save what little forces we had to protect the main cities.
The pieces were set, and the game was almost up. The Crystal Kingdom was set to fall and all of it’s inhabitants would be consumed by demons. Someone had to do something. The crystal ponies didn't need a democratic council of withered old ponies. They needed a hero.
Next Chapter: When A Hero Is Needed
“I move that the council name me as general of the Crystal Army, for the purpose of pushing back the invaders, under my leadership!” shouted the Prince.
The council came to a silence, all eyes of the older ponies looking upon Prince Sombra. He had not interrupted the council like this since he was but a colt. Even then it was only on accident. Eventually, Gilder Greenhoof, the council speaker , cleared his throat, speaking up in his grizzled old voice, “Prince Sombra… the council has not yet recognised the chairpony of the session to speak…”
“The council MUST hear me! The invaders have been moving farther and farther south as each month passes. Every day more of our citizens are having their lives stolen from them! Every day more ponies die and we do NOTHING about it!” The Prince looked at them, angry, and determined.
“This is a challenge that the kingdom has not faced before, Chairpony … Prince Sombra, we have been working for some time now to bring our forces to the center, to evacuate villages and towns, and to gather resource-”
“Working?! What exactly have we been working at, and where exactly has our… ‘work’, led us? It’s led us to more dead citizens and it’s left the invaders closer to our doorstep each day that passes! We have sat here and waited for them to come and take us. I’ve studied the tactics and the combat techniques of old heroes all my life. Let me put this knowledge to use! Under my command, I can take the fight to the monsters and push them off of our land! We can-” this time, it was Prince Sombra who was interrupted
“Studies of ancient mythology are hardly a portfolio for modern combat tactics!” the speaker said, raising his voice, or rather, raising it louder than he had thus far, “If we send the last of our armies forward we could be sending them straight into the maw of our enemy, leaving our capital cities, the heart of our population, completely defenseless!” he took a moment to sigh, pausing and looking over at the other council members before he calmed down and looked to Sombra, “We’re all scared here, Prince Sombra, for the continuation of the Crystal Kingdom and for each and every individual pony. But we cannot allow ourselves to lose faith the democratic process that we have spent years to build and fall into tyranny! If we fail to stay civilized, then we lose everything the Crystal Kingdom stands for and the invaders may as well have already won…”
Sombra looked down, and then back up at the speaker. “Then what is our masterful plan? How do you intend to defend those citizens against the monsters?” he asked, disgruntled and agitated.
The s peaker clasped his hooves together, “The council is prepared to fortify the city, as we have been doing. We have more than enough resources and troops to hold a well-fortified position. If I should remind you, the crystal capitol has never once fallen to an enemy,” he added slyly.
“And what of the ponies north? The ones that still live, and the towns and villages that are out of our communication range? What does the council intend to do about them?” a sked the Prince intently.
Speaker Greenhoof paused, looking confused for a moment. He turned to each side, looking to the other council members. At this, Prince Sombra slammed his hooves on the table, and he abruptly left. This was also a first for the council.
The fools, the old fools, all of them! What about the ponies of the north? How could he not talk sense into them? How could they not see the error in their ways? I had read about battles like this so many times before. To think that they could live indefinitely in the capital city was nothing short of pure fantasy. Even to believe that they could live there for a prolonged period of time was madness. Without fail, every fortified position in history had fallen. All an enemy needs is time, resources and enough desire to take a position, and they will take it, even if it is by starvation. If the crystal ponies would not be dragged out and sucked dry of life, they would be starved out, at the stubbornness of the council.
My moment of anger was interrupted when I was contacted by an old acquaintance of mine. Marvin Guile. Guile had been a small time councilor, never being very popular, or political in nature, but I often talked with him. We shared a similar hobby of interest in our old time reenactment battles. Marvin was the councilor of a small, older, but very patriotic district of the empire. He shared my dislike of the slow and tedious procedures of the kingdom and was one of the very few ponies, the only pony really, on the council that I could call a friend. On this day in particular, we had another thing in common, our dislike of the Council Speaker.
The Council Speaker held a great deal of power in the crystal council, chiefly of which, he decided which matters were brought up when and acted as the judge of past, and any future ordinances that should come to the council. Unlike the rest of the council members, the Council Speaker held his position for ten years, instead of five, like the rest of the councilors. Also unlike them, the speaker was elected by the council members, and not by the crystal ponies themselves. Up until that day, I had never thought much about Speaker Greenhoof at all. I had only known him to be very methodical, and to follow things exactly by the book. I also knew him for being rather slow, and having a sort of old, grizzled voice, as well as a very boring tone.
Even in my anger I remember what Guile told me, “You’re going to want to return to the council procession tomorrow…” he said, with a very slight smile. I asked him why of course he only said, “Trust me…” with a wink. Of course I would go the next day, expecting them to make me apologize for my outburst or something like that, but I would instead find myself a surprise and an opportunity of the likes I would never think would present itself to me. I would be given a chance to be a hero.
“The council will recognize its chair pony, Prince Sombra… will you step forward please?” said the old speaker pony. Of course, curiously, the Prince did so. Speaker Greenhoof pulled out a parchment from his desk, and looked it over briefly before looking back to Sombra, “The council has recently been brought to light on a certain legal document that was not previously considered. A loophole if you will.” He lowered his head, staring down at Sombra as he said this. “In this law, it states that ‘in times of dire emergency, a head member of the royal family and his personal guard may engage in operations for no longer than sixty days, to directly serve the interests of the crystal kingdom and its citizens. ” The speaker put down the parchment, taking off his glasses, and looking again to Sombra. “It seems that you have the complete legal authority to do with your own royal guard as you wish… in accordance with the law, with, or without the blessing of the council. ” He rest ed his hoof on his chin for a moment , sighing yet again. “But in this case, you do have the blessing of the council to partake in any operations that you may wish. If you should find yourself successful, and your military tactics should be as victorious as you claim, then the council will… consider you for the position of general…”
Prince Sombra stood there dumbfounded. He was doing everything he could not to burst out in cheer. He stuttered for a moment before gathering himself to speak, “I promise to the council and to the crystal ponies that I will not fail. I will prepare my guard and take our lands back!” He said this with such enthusiasm, that some of the council members began to applaud lightly, a few of them even stood up. Sombra looked over to Greenhoof, “I leave the closing of this council to the speaker, I have much work to do…” he said with a devious grin. With that, Sombra knelt before the council and took his leave. Before exiting, Marvin Guile gave him the slightest of nods.
My excitement was rather quickly dampened. As soon as I had left the council hall I assembled my royal guard outside of at the castle parade grounds. I knew many of them by name, and up until now I had never had a problem with them. After all their only real job was to look nice and disciplined. They were not ready to kill, or be killed for their kingdom. Some of them still had a hard time carrying their spears. Now that I looked at them with an eye for what they would be doing, they looked like the sorriest excuse for half-flanked soldiers I’ve ever seen. They would need to be whipped into shape, and fast. Before I could begin though, teaching them all that uncle Reighloph had taught me in those old books, I would have to frighten them, for I could not have those who would turn away from fear in my company, only those who would turn towards it. I remember what I told them.
“Guards, ponies, citizens of the crystal kingdom, you swore an oath to your prince and to the citizens of the crystal empire. You swore, just like I did, to protect them, and keep them safe from harm, so that they may live happy, and free. Right now, we are facing monsters, beasts in numbers beyond counting that ravage our kingdom. They show no mercy and no remorse. They devour ponies from the inside out, and leave nothing but grey corpses in their wake. By all means, I, just like you should have a mind to turn tail and run in the face of such a foe. But I will not! I will NOT turn away from an enemy, no matter how frightening, that tries to hurt my subjects, I will NOT turn away from ANY foe that would dare to threaten my ponies, and crosses into my lands, that my forefathers… YOUR forefathers fought, bled, and died for! But alas… going headlong into such an enemy will be nigh impossible, and will be met with such fears, and such horrors that I cannot begin to describe and do them justice. I do not have the heart to force any pony, no matter the oaths he took in time of peace, to undertake such a task. Therefore, I as your prince offer you this; anypony who does not wish to partake in his position as guard will be pardoned. He may return to his home, and family without consequence, and I will think no lesser of him. If you choose to stay, I will push you through the hardest training you have undergone. Your body will scream in agony, and you will beg me to stop. Those of you who make it through training then be thrown into battle where I cannot promise that you will return to your families. What I can promise is that you will be given the opportunity to be the only hope that this kingdom has, all of it’s ponies, all of it’s families to survive.”
I trained with them. I ran, I fought, and I performed just as they did. But alas, I had already experience, with my drills. My skills where only honed further as I trained, and prepared myself to fight. I felt bad for my guard, I had to discipline them, had to make it hurt, know all too well that as much as it may hurt now, a mistake in battle would cost them their lives. To my surprise, many more ponies, outside of my guard decided to conscript into the royal guard. Even with this, many did not make it through the training. I pushed them, and pushed them, and pushed them until most of them had broken. When they had, I built them back up, and I turned their soft, fragile bodies into hard, sleek, coordinated killers.
It took almost two months of training until I finally saw it in their eyes. I could hear it in their voices, and see it in their eyes that they were ready. Many had dropped out of the training, only a hundred or so actually made it through. But damned if they were a hundred of the finest soldiers I had ever seen. Their spears sang through the air, their swords cut through pure crystal structures, and their bodies moved in sync, like one deadly, beautiful instrument. We were ready.
It was not a moment too soon either, as we had heard that the northern small city of Bright Town had come under attack. We were waiting for this call. We packed up our weapons, and our armor. Guile had presented me with something from the royal archives, “Achilles” kings blade, crafted and used by the very first king of the empire. It was a glorious sword, with a royal purple handle, and silver pommel, and a diamond blade, touched with a streak of blood red, to symbolize the fallen, lost to preserve the kingdom. I sheathed my blade on my back and mounted the wooly elephant with the rest of my soldiers.
We would leave, and arrive in dawn, so the insects would still be visible, but we would at least have some cover of surprise. As we neared the town, I looked at my men to confirm my own feelings. I felt my skin crawling, my muscles twitching and my blood warming. We were going into battle. We may not return alive. We may have the lives sucked out of our bodies, or worse. We might all die in just over an hour. By the gods, this was better than christmas! I could feel it, my own blade, it ached to tear through my enemies. This is what I longed for, this is what I dreamed of, combat, fighting the monsters to save my people. It didn’t matter if I died today, because I knew that if I died it would be fighting for the kingdom, for the ponies that I loved.
The wooly elephant, for whatever reason was mostly ignored by the insects. It barrelled quickly through town, carrying the long carriages behind it. We flung the cloth of the carriage open and poured out, spears at the ready. We could hear the buzzing around us. The hissing of changelings, and the crying of ponies sounded. I looked on the ground, and there was a pony there, she was clawing at the ground, trying to escape something in the darkness behind her. The insect was growling, and had it’s fangs dug into her. I rushed towards it, and the insect bared it’s fangs at me. For a moment, I thought I might freeze up. The changeling rushed towards me and before I could blink, my sword was drawn and it was impaled right through the monsters mouth. I pulled the sword out, and flicked it, spraying its blood off of the blade, this was it. This is what I hungered for.
“MAKE SAFE THE CITY PONIES!” I cried out. The soldiers spread out, and the insects moved in, flying in from above to dive upon us. As they came, Achilles swung, and devoured them. One to the left, one to the right. They may have been terrifying, but their bodies were just as frail as ours and bled just as easily. I spotted a small wooden schoolhouse, monsters were surrounding it, trying to claw and break their way into it. One broke the door, and dove inside. Another followed him, but I pulled him back and dove my blade straight through his back. I fought them off and jumped into the school house. There was one insect on the ground, wiggling in his last breath as crystal fillies beat him to death, and a very angry school teacher wacked him with an iron frying pan. One filly looked at me in surprise, “Is that you… Prince Sombra?” he asked in awe. I smiled at him, with blood strewn across my armor, “Good work young soldier, now help your classmates, get outside and into the wooly elephant carriage. Quickly now!” I told them.
Again and again, blade met changeling blood, piercing, and slicing through them like butter. They came upon us by the thousands, but we were too great a force to be reckoned with! We could hurt them, we could kill them! Soon, we spotted a great swarm coming towards us. It looked great enough to overwhelm us, but it stayed behind as a single individual came towards us slowly. This monster was unlike the others, it was nearly a foot taller than myself, it had a eerie dark colored mane, and its eyes, although a ghastly green, did not hold the same soulless look that the others had. Strangest of all, this one spoke, in a chilling gnarled voice, although underneath it, I could hear a females voice, “Who dares to harm my children?” she came closer to me, her swarm following closely behind her, “Well well well, the crystal ponies actually have some fight in them, that’s good. It was growing a bit boring, devouring them without any fight at all… you’re going to be the most fun of all to devour…” she said, looking straight at me.
My soldiers lined up, facing the impossibly large swarm before them, “Stand your ground men… do NOT like them advance on the civilians!” I cried out, my eyes still fixed on the female leader. I approached her slowly, her insects hissing and clawing towards me, but remaining still, “Who are you, she devil?” I called out to her.
She grinned a fanged grin at me, “I’m glad you asked, I am Thorn, the youngest sister of the Changeling Queens-” she motioned behind her, “-and this is my brood. Perhaps you’d like to get better acquainted with them? Kill the soldiers and everyone else my children! But leave this one to me, I want to taste him…” she cried out.
There was no way we could survive, not against such a numerous horde. But I would be damned if I was going to let this monster walk away alive after killing so many of my men, after all the crystal ponies she has hurt! The swarm rushed forward, around me, but before they could I charged, sword first at the changeling queen. This surprised her, as she flew up, out of the way. She fired a green charged bolt of magic at me, which I was able to knock away with my sword. From her position in the sky, I couldn’t get to her, and she kept firing her magic bolts at me, I couldn’t keep this up, I had to bring her closer. I jumped as high as I could and pulled at her hole filled leg with my magic, using all of my magic to slam her into the ground. Then something I did not expect happened.
“No! Wait please Sombra! It’s me, your princess of the night! Don’t hurt me Sombra… I’ve been cursed-” the pony now before me that spoke was Princess Luna,”-they’ve changed me into some sort of monster… please don’t hurt me Sombra… I love you…” I stopped, and I looked into the eyes of the princess. How could this be? This wasn’t possible… it couldn’t be! I felt something loosen in my body, my heart sank, and I began to feel week. As I looked into her eyes, they flashed green and in that moment I knew exactly what she was doing. With a cry of fury, I raised my sword, and drove it into the chest of the queen with all of my might.
The queen cried out, screeching out like banshee. So much so that it shattered my eardrums. The creature changed back into a queen, and then, her eyes glowed terribly. Her body withered, and fell to the ground dead. I looked around me, and I saw that the swarm began to fall to the ground, writhing in pain before the turned into black dust, blowing away in the wind. A few stray changelings remained and after seeing what befell their brothers, they fled away to the north.
In my first battle, I lay waste to my enemy. I have achieved victory, for myself and for the crystal kingdom! Now I knew how to beat the insects, the changelings. We could fight, we could win. And their hero, Prince Sombra could lead them into battle, and save the kingdom!
“You can’t have my love, but you can have my wrath. And while you’re at it, you can have my sword…”
After the miracle of Bright Town, the council unanimously decided to grant me the title of General and Commander of the Royal Crystal Army. I promoted my guards that I had trained into sergeants, and tasked them all with training the army. They and learned well from my guards, and in no time at all, they too were fit for battle.
There was no time to waste, the enemy was regrouping fast. Cities to the north were pulled back, much quicker, and more efficiently with the work of the army. Despite our surprise attack, they still expected us to stand our ground and wait for them. They would be unpleasantly surprised yet again. Before the could organize, I would command our troops to spearhead north again.
We caught them off guard, trying to set up their insectoid hive south of shimmermist. There had to have been at least fifty thousand of them and there were only five thousands advance troops at my back. I nearly felt sorry for them. We charged into their position, and tore them asunder. I was truly a master, my sword was my brush, the ground was my canvas, and red was my color. It spilled, it splattered, and it splashed everywhere my hungry blade swung, and sang in the air. The changelings were relentless, hissing and clawing at us. It was pathetic. Their only one advantage was their numbers, but against our skill it meant nothing. Now the tides were turned. Every step we took forward, every strike we made didn’t slow us down, it only made us stronger. It served to invigorate us, making us hunger for more of the beauty of combat, the satisfaction of destroying our enemies.
Without even taking a moment to breath, the rest of the army was taken, head on into Shimmermist. The old city had since been turned into a disgusting, horror of a changeling hive. A sickening, organic, black and green fleshy material had grown over the structures. Whatever this bubbling mass was, it smelled alive. From the hive poured the elite changelings. They were bigger, stronger and faster than the usual changeling spawn, which was perfect. We were getting a bit tired of slicing through them like butter and were eager for something a little more challenging.
After we had laid waste to their elite, the real swarm poured on us. Not just from the hive itself, but from all areas of the occupied north. We were really making quite a mess of them, so much so that it was getting difficult to hold our stance without slipping or tripping on some bit of changeling. None the less, their numbers were coming without end, and despite all of our battle prowess, we were only mortal. Myself and my guard pushed into the hive as fast as we could, knowing exactly how we would have to end the onslaught onto our army.
We dove past as many of the changelings as we could, the thicker the swarm became, the closer we came to our destination. We galloped deep into the dark lair of the queens, slicing open elite black guards as they blocked our way. The fleshy walls grew darker, the lights grew dimmer, and very soon, there was only a handful of of my own guard following me, the rest had fallen back, blocked by combat with too many changelings. Then the lights went out completely. Whatever grotesque cavern we were in was eerily silent. My horn lit up, but it was too late. Our arms and legs were held back by strong changelings and our spears and swords knocked down. We struggled violently before we saw what laid before us.
Three tall, terrible changelings came towards us. They had wings like fire, and eyes to match them, practically dripping with that glowing green corruption of souls and love that they had consumed. Their fangs were long, their horns longer. Their bodies were gnarled with thick, black armor.
I looked to them with the ferociousness of a grizzly wolverine. These were my real enemies, these were the ponies who were responsible for the deaths of all of my crystal ponies. They were behind it all, all of the hurt and pain they had caused. More so, these monsters had the audacity to invade my lands. I struggled and snapped, roaring out at them, despite the strong, hole filled hooves that held me back.
One stepped forward, chuckling darkly as she looked at me. I could feel that sinister voice echo throughout my entire body, “Give me your love… little prince… ” She opened her fanged maw, and slowly, pressed it into my neck. I cringed, despite the fact that there was very little pain in the teeth piercing my skin. Behind her I could see her sisters were doing the same thing to her guards. My rage was replaced with fear, as I could feel deep, pounding pulses throughout my soul. With each pulse, I saw a vision before my eyes, each one as clear as day. I saw myself as a colt, playing with my Uncle Reighloph. I saw Princess Celestia, fair and wise. I saw Princess Luna, Strong and kind. I even saw images of myself as a colt, playing with my parents, such memories that I thought were long gone.
The pulses grew stronger and I grew weaker. With each palpate of magic, I could feel pieces of myself being torn away. It was sort of like I was slowly forgetting everything that had happened in my long, love filled life. And what would be left if all of that was taken away? I tried to feel that happiness, but it was so difficult of a feeling to hold onto. What was easier though, was anger. This monster was trying to take away everything I loved, my very love itself. I would not let her, if she wanted to take my soul away, my memories, she would have to kill me first.
“You can’t have my love…” I said, shivering from weakness, cringing through my spite filled jaws. I looked over, my guard was fighting the draining just as hard as I was. And his hindhoof was just next to my sword. He looked to me and I looked to him. We knew what to do. I looked back at the queen, “You can’t have my love… but you can have my wraith… and while you're at it, you can have my sword!” the sword was thrown just right into my grasp, and with all of the strength I had left in me, with all the rest of my rage, I drove the blade up into the dark queens chest.
With that surprise, the changeling elite loosened their grip on the soldiers and with lightning speed, they picked up their spears, and stuck the changeling queens with them. The elite fell to the ground, hissing and writhing in pain. The queens themselves, seeming to take a moment to realize the gravity of their fall all stepped back, then they shrieked out, just like the other queen had before. They had enough strength in them to push us all to the ground with their magic. Then as they writhed and cried out, the ground beneath us began to quake. The organic, fleshy substance that covered the walls and floor of the cavern bubbled, smoking and drying up, before it crackled and turned to dust. Just as this happened, we could hear a loud stomping, and a cheering above us. We had done it.
After a two year assault on the Crystal Kingdom, we had finally beaten back our foes, and made safe the Kingdom. I had done my duty not just as a Prince, but as a King, as a hero. I’ve become the hero that Uncle Reighloph had taught me to be. I was really a hero! I looked to the few remaining guards that stood by my side and we had ourselves a hearty laugh, then a cheering as he clasped hooves, shouting our victory, cheering down to our enemies in hell, letting them know who they dared to mess with!
As we started to walk out of the cavern, I heard a small crackling noise behind me. The men went forward, and I turned my sword towards the noise. Out from a dark tunnel rolled a small little creature. She was about the same size as a little filly pony. Her hair was a dark green colored, and her eyes were bright. She bore the same black shell as the changelings, but it was softer, and unarmored. She had two little clear packs on her back, that I wouldn’t know just what they were until later. The little creature skittered up to the center of the room. She looked over the bodies of the three dead queens and let out a little sniffle, then began to whimper softly.
It became clear to me know that this must have been the youngest of the changeling queens. And what lie on her back were two, admittedly cute, little white changeling larvae, still tucked away in their fluid filled egg sacs. None the less, this was still a changeling, my enemy, the same race of creatures whom had killed so many of my ponies in such a horrible manner. I walked up to her slowly. She saw me coming as I lifted my sword above my head. I had to kill her of course. I would give her a swift justice, much less of a courtesy than her kind had awarded my ponies. She looked at me, gasping quietly as she crouched down, whimpering some more as she looked at me with those big green eyes, shaking with terror. I looked into her eyes, and I had no doubt that this was just another one of their tricks. My arms were weak, I lifted up my sword yet again, ready to give this dark little monster justice. But alas, I would not.
I put my sword into the ice and I knelt down to the changeling princess. I looked at her sternly and I spoke, “Changeling, your kind has devoured countless numbers of my ponies, in a death so wicked and cruel I can hardly imagine it. I have slain your sisters, as it was their numerous hordes that tormented my ponies. And my all rights, I should do the same to you. But I will not… I am allowing you to leave this place with your life, and the lives of your children. But you are never to return to the Crystal Kingdom again, and you are NEVER to threaten it’s ponies… Do you understand me?”
The little changeling girl looked at me shocked, hardly able to believe that she was still alive, let alone being given the chance to leave. She nodded to him, and I flicked my hoof at her. The changeling skittered away and that would be the last I saw of her. Of course I did think that she might someday return and raise her own changeling army. And by that logic, and all other logic I should have killed her. But in that moment before I dropped my sword on her neck, I remembered what my Uncle Reighloph had told me, “What makes a true hero, isn’t from knowing how to swing a blade, that’s easy, anypony can do it. No, what makes a true hero, is knowing when to keep his blade sheathed. A true hero knows when to be merciful.”
Many of my soldiers had fallen, but many still remained. They all cheered, all with smiles a mile wide, patting my shoulder, and shaking my hooves! I was nearly brought to tears at that. After all, these weren’t just my soldiers, they were my brothers. We had spilled the same blood in the same snow, fought to protect the same kingdom. Not only that, but they helped me realize my dream of becoming a hero.
My Chief Lieutenant approached me and gave me a gift, something that he and all of his men had worked on for me. It was a crown made of swords! A bit of a garish looking thing, certainly not fitting for a prince. But I saw it as a symbol of their loyalty, of the ones we had lost, and of our comradery. I placed it on my head, and wore it with such pride, the soldiers went wild with cheer as I flaunted the beautiful crown! I loved these men, like they were my own brothers, my own children, and now I could finally take them home safely.
They carried me nearly the whole way back to the crystal capital city. The grand doors opened and there were crowds of people in the streets, all of them scared, not knowing if their doom was arriving. The city, although large had more ponies than normally, it was packed with members of other cities, and villages and towns from the north. I stood up, on just a small platform of the city and shouted, “Ponies of the Crystal Kingdom, the changelings have been defeated… we are victorious!” They looked at me with amazement. A pony approached me, by the look in her eyes, I could tell that this was a mare who had been fed on my changelings, and barely survived, “Sombra has… defeated the monsters…he has SAVED! He has saved the Crystal Kingdom!” she shouted out, happily, and almost hysterically. The entire crowd burst into cheer.
“All hail Prince Sombra! ” said one, “Neigh! He’s no prince, he’s the Crystal King! Long live King Sombra!” he shouted, and soon they all followed! “Long live the king! Long live the king!” My eyes were so wide, so full of joy. This time, I really was brought to tears. The crystal ponies finally learned to love their country again, they learned how to have faith, in themselves and in their leader. Uncle Reighloph, Mom, Dad, Princess Luna… I’ve done it… I’ve become a hero. I’ve never seen the crystal ponies so enthusiastic, so full of zeal! I had saved them, I had really done! Maybe the Crystal Kingdom didn’t have to fade into boringness and monotony, maybe there was hope for us after all! “Long live the King! Long live the king! ” They kept shouting. I looked at them wide eyed. I was used to idle waving from celebrities, but this… was this what it was like to be a real hero, a real king? I raised my hoof nervously, and those tens of thousands of crystal ponies all burst into cheering. It was beautiful, the crystal ponies, the Crystal Kingdom… My Crystal Kingdom…
Marvin Approached me, “Your highness… the council has requested your presence…”
Civil Unrest
The stark contrast that I was met with in the council chambers was troubling. It was Marvin who first stood up though and started to applaud. The other councilors followed suite. The speaker Greenhoof even started to give a light clap before he spoke, “From your victory… Chairpony and Prince Sombra…” he began in his usual weary, old tone of speaking; you could hardly tell that his entire kingdom and every crystal pony in it had just been saved, “...This 882nd Crystal Council does recognize your…” he looked around for a second, as if to hesitate “...your heroic deeds that did so make safe our fair country. If the Chairpony would approach the speakers bench?” he asked.
I could tell he wasn’t enjoying this. Normally this would bother me more but the relief from war being over and the love that the ponies had just shown me made me care little. I stepped forward and the speaker placed a medal around my neck, made of the purest of sparkling diamonds and gold laced ribbon, “Prince Sombra of the Crystal Kingdom and Chairpony of this Crystal Council, I as speaker of the council, along with the approval of the council do recognize you as Champion of the Crystal Kingdom, the highest honor that I may bestow upon any pony!” I stepped back to my chair and the council began to applaud again.
Once the applause ceased, the council came to a hush. Speaker Greenhoof cleared his throat and brought a parchment to his eyes, “Now to direct the first order of business, the return the command of the 1st Crystal Army over formally to the dictation of the council…”
While I maintained my composure, the audacity of his actions startled me a bit. Here I had come from almost a year of war, from fighting, bleeding and losing my men to monsters and the first thing the council wanted to do was take my soldiers from me? The first thing they wanted to do was take away from me, from the hero that had just saved all of their sorry hides? I did not speak, but someone had the mind to do it for me, “I was under the impression… that his highness did rightfully prove himself a capable leader of our armed forces?” asked my old friend, Marvin Guile.
The Speaker looked a bit peeved at this interruption, but did not overreact, “The Chairpony was to take command of our forces during the time of crisis, which no one here is doubting he handled quite well. However the records will show that the special clause that was written to allow his command was also under the pretense that command would be returned once the threat was dealt it. Now that the threat has been dealt with the Chairpony is to be relinquished his command, as per the clause…” he said in his dreary matter-of-fact tone.
The councilors had a bit of a back and forth between themselves, discussing various legalities that I was not interested in, eventually the speaker redirected his attention back at me, “Would the Chairpony present his badge of military command to the council?” I glared at Greenhoof. Slowly I made my way to the table, keeping my eye on him the entire time. I felt a shiver run down my spine as I let the metal badge clink on the wooden desk before him. It felt almost like an out of body experience, like I was conceding to defeat.
“Does the Chairpony conclude this council session then?” asked the speaker to me, he hid it well, but I swore I could see glee in his eyes.
How low I had fallen, how badly I have been beaten. And by a bunch of squabbling old ponies. He wanted me to say it just to feel superior to me. He wanted me to know that despite my status, however glamorous, was only good for uttering a few words, which signified little. My teeth cringed at the bitter old pony. There was an awkwardly long silence. He was about to speak again before I did, “This council session is concluded…”
There was a crowd awaiting me when I left the chambers, followed by cheers. It wasn’t as big as when I first came back, but it was still quite a sight to behold, “Our king has returned!” said one, “All hail the king!” said another. One even shouted, “Noble warrior king, how does our council thank you?” The question stung my defeat like salt to a wound.
My hoof raised to the crowed and I spoke, “My crystal ponies! The council has presented your… prince with the highest award they could give, the title and honor of the Champion of The Crystal Kingdom!” I waved it in front of them, it was but a second place prize, but they cheered none the less, “As the Council has agreed… I am to relinquish my duties as General, and return to my duties as Prince and as Chairpony of the Council…” I gulped. There was a look of disbelief among the crowed. Before they could interject, I continued, “Together, we have achieved a remarkable victory. We have proven to the world once more that the crystal ponies are strong! And that together, there is no enemy that can overtake us! Let us forever remember this day as the day that we stood up to the forces of evil and not only held our ground, but we pushed the blight of darkness back and sent it to retreat!” I set down the diamond medal and raised my sword triumphantly, bringing the crowd into another roaring cheer. I looked back into the ponies and I saw how much they loved me.
I would sulk that night. I was a hero King was I not? Why couldn’t the council see it? What is it that I was missing? I had done everything that my uncle had told me to do and yet this foolish old pony could not see it! As much as I grew angry with them, I knew that there was little I would be able to do about it. I took a deep breath and my boiling frustration began to simmer. I was only a mere twenty six years old. The minimum age for a King to be crowned was thirty five. It wasn’t such a long wait after all. Besides, the kingdom needed to rebuild itself after the miserable defeats we had suffered in the beginning of the war. Why, in nine years time we could have our northern cities rebuilt, at which timeI could finally be crowned king.
Perhaps my mind would have been settled with that, but just as began to grow comfortable with my situation, I heard a knock on my door and was visited by my old friend. I remember this conversation clearly.
“That was a very uplifting speech you gave this evening, your highness…” said Marvin Guile, before taking a kneel before me.
“You never need kneel before me, my old friend. What can I do for you?” I answered him with a kind smile. Truly I had not forgotten what he did for me before my campaign. Indirectly he was responsible for helping me to save the kingdom.
“I could not help but sense some trouble in his majesties tone during his speech. I would voice my thoughts but, I do not want to be out of line…” he said as he stood back up.
“Please, if anyone has earned the right to speak their mind it is you!,”
“I believe the council nearly monstrous for stripping you of your military rank… with all due respect your majesty.” He said this rather calmly.
My head turned as I pretended not to care, “It is in the councils power to do so, as is written in the law.”
“Odd how the same law that allows councilors to take your control away, was written by the councilors themselves…” he said raising a brow at me.
I began to take my armor off, looking over all of the scars that it bore. I did not quite yet take heed to Marvin’s words. But he would not give up so easily, “That is of course what the councilors are there for, to make the laws,” I countered.
He gave me a nod, “That is true your majesty. Perhaps though, the council sometimes requires a bit of... persuasion to do the right thing… from time to time that is,” he added. As I did not reply, he came to me, setting a hoof on my shoulder, “I would only ask that his majesty does everything he can in his position of Chairpony. He may not have the favor of the council, but the crystal ponies still love him.” With that Marvin politely excused himself from my chambers.
This actually did give me a bit of relief. Perhaps the speaker did have a head over me in the council, but I was still Chairpony and I still had the crystal ponies on my side. What did he mean by “everything I could” in my position? Don't I always do that? What more could I do as prince? It’s not like I could physically force them to do anything I wanted, they were the law of course. Not just the law, but the law that the crystal ponies had elected. I did not think they would need any sort of “persuasion” to do anything either. The war and panic was over. They would get things done, albeit they would take their sweet time doing it.
The next few days in the council were met with awkward silences. I grew tired of it, so I took a few absences as my days as Chairpony to help with reconstruction. It hardly seemed like I made a dent in the work due to the sheer massiveness of it. But to my surprise there were reporters all around documenting my work. I was glad at least that my meager effort would give the ponies a great morale boost. I needed this after the weary days at the council.
The following day, on the day of sundering, the council would have their normal weekly holiday away from session. It was only by chance that I should glance over to the paper and see the stories that were written. The largest article was on how the council had proposed to raise the crystal pony gem tax by twenty percent. Their reasoning of which was to “pay for damages and construction efforts that took place in the capital city.” Articles on the next page went on to explain how the council had stripped me of my military ranks. Supposed I had been “verbally assaulted” and “threatened with the removal of my royalty.” On the next page the paper painted a brighter picture as it showed me helping out with construction.
As much as I thought this would make me happy, this did not. In fact to the contrary I was a bit upset at this. I was firstly upset that the paper had made false statements about the council. My first thought was to go straight to the paper and find out where exactly they got this information. However, as I readied myself and went to the castle entrance the answer would present itself to me.
With the slightest hint of a grin, Marvin said to me, “So… did his majesty catch the article in the paper this morning?”
My eyes squinted as I quickly formed a hypothesis of what had happened. I looked to the paper, then back to him, “Councilor… how did the paper get this information?” I asked him cautiously.
Marvin mischievously smiled, “Well… they must have gotten from within the council of course…” it was obviously driving him mad not to admit it. Luckily he wouldn’t have to.
I sighed and shook my head. I went back into the castle, practically dragging Marvin in with me, “Marvin, you can’t go and say things like this, most of these things aren’t even true!”
Marvin grunted a bit at me, “Your majesty, with all due respect, they are not entirely untrue…” He looked quite frustrated this time as he sat down, “The council DID take your position away. And we both know that Greenhooves would take away your crown if he could. And then there’s the tax…” he said the last part more solemnly.
“But there was never any law proposal to spike the taxes…” before I could finish, Marvin sighed and handed me a scroll. Right there, plain as day was the council’s proposal to raise the crystal pony gem tax. Signed by the speaker himself.
“They wrote up and made the proposal in your absence. They knew you would object to it,” he said with a heavy heart.
I lost my breath for a moment, dropping the scroll, “Then this is my fault?”
Marvin rushed to me and placed a hoof on my shoulder, “Your majesty no! Not at all! You took a leave of absence to serve the crystal ponies better. The council used your absence to take advantage of them.”
I shook my head in disbelief, “No… no they wouldn’t do this. They couldn’t!” I cringed at the realization, “What can we do against something like this…” There was an immense feeling of hopelessness against me. A horde of monsters I could take, but politics?
Marvin held my shoulders once more. He picked me up and looked at me deeply, “The ponies are the ones who vote for the councilors your majesty. Elections are in just one year. That’s why I went to the paper! As long as we keep the crystal ponies on our side, we can make sure that only good, honest stallions and mares are elected into the council house!”
I stood up and dusted myself off, “How can we do that? We don't even know which ponies will be running next year…”
“It doesn’t matter. As long as each council electorate promises to follow the right path, the ponies will vote for them. Then we can ensure that the empire does not fall to weakness again!” he said to me inspiringly.
I shook my head slightly, looking a bit confused at him. And oh, how naive I was, “But… to what end?” I asked, “How do we know that the new council won’t become as weary and self serving as the last one?”
At this, Marvin looked a little nervous. He waited until we reached my chambers and close the doors behind us. We were now outside of the ears of any castle servants, or guards, “Because I believe that you are the only one who can lead this nation, King Sombra…” he said looking to me, “I’ve always been disheartened by the bickering and bureaucracy and corruption of the council. I’ve seen it since my youth and yet I have never been able to do anything about it. You had only a small ounce of power, with that you managed to save the entire kingdom from the brink of destruction! I know you can lead this nation your majesty. You HAVE to. I fear that if you don’t… the council may lead it to ruins… ” he gulped in saying this to me. His words were skating a very fine line between mere thoughts and ideas, to treason. And yet he said them with such conviction. Marvin was thought of some what of a sly pony. But even I could usually tell when he was being mischievous. I saw no sign of waiver, no faltering in his conviction as he said this to me.
It took me awhile to fully wrap my head around what he was saying to me. I could be… the sole leader of the crystal kingdom? A sudden rush came over me, I felt dizzy. For the first time since I was just a colt, leading our kingdom to greatness was not just a fantasy, it was within the realm of possibility. A part of me still clung to the past, “But I… I’ll still become king in nine years time…” I tried to protest.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen in nine years your majesty. For all we know, they may no longer see fit to have a “king” or a prince around by then. They already know that you want their power, and they will stop at nothing to maintain theirs, even unto the ruin of the crystal ponies. Or what if…” his eyes widened with fear as he looked to me, “What if they attack again? We won’t be ready this time… and the council, knowing that you covet the position will surely never give it back to you, not even in a situation most dire…”
I did not know how to answer him. All of this was quite a weight to bear. Before, becoming a king seemed so easy, so joyful. Now it was more work that I could think of. I really had to think about it now. Could I handle the responsibility? I wouldn’t be leading an army, or a battalion. I would be leading a nation. He saw the look of uncertainty on my face and gave my shoulder a pat, “Let it rest on his majesties mind. For now I would only implore that you do not stay quiet during council sessions. You still have power and say in the council meetings, do not forget that my lord.” Marvin knelt before me, before leaving my chambers swiftly.
That afternoon I would find myself starting the next council session. There was no mention of the paper. I was beginning to think there would be no mention of the taxation either, but it was voted on at the very end. Then the floor came to me. Greenhooves called for me as he usually did, “Does the chairpony conclude this council session?” he asked hastily, as if he had somewhere more important to be.
There was another long pause. This time I did not flinch or waiver in my contemplation, “I’m afraid not Speaker, I still have a few questions about the reconstruction taxation clause.”
Greenhooves paused for a moment before he shook his head, “Chairpony, the period of legislation and conjecture on this clause took place on…” I interrupted him.
“Unfortunately, I was pre occupied on that day… Speaker…” I shot him a dark look before I spoke again, “What exactly is the ‘pre-war allocation tax’?” I asked him clearly.
Greenhooves fumbled with his words for a moment, “The ahh hmm… I don't exactly recall what that specific line entailed. However I do remember that this WAS discussed on the day of the chairpony's absence… Ah yes, the speaker recognizes councilor Ruby Dust!” he said pointing to another old mare counselor, relieved to think the issue would now be closed.
Councilor Ruby Dust fixed her glasses before looking to the speaker suspiciously, “I do not remember any mention of a ‘pre-war allocation tax’, this counselor is going to have to withdraw her vote for the reconstruction tax clause until further notice,” she said with finality.
A few more councilors began to speak up, some of which began to withdraw their votes. At the end of all of this, Greenhooves was face hoofing, eventually he motioned to me, “Fine, fine as you all wish… Without seventy percent vote, this council does not vote to enact the reconstruction tax during this session. A further addressing of the budget of reconstruction will be legislated on at another time!” he sighed as he looked to me.
“This council session is now formally concluded…” I said calmly. At long last, I had gained victory over Greenhooves.
On the way out, there were more cheers for me. More articles of how I had triumphed over the council. I had saved the crystal ponies not once but twice! First time from terrible monsters and the second time from a crippling tax! Just with the slightest bit of effort I was able to do this! Maybe I really could do this! Maybe I really could become a king! Not just any leader, but a real leader that the ponies would love, just like how the Equestrians loved their dear leaders! By the old gods, my dream was slowly but surely becoming realized.
In the coming months, crystal ponies and news articles began to be more vocal in their displeasure of the council. Election months came around and more and more districts of the city began to elect true, honest councilors that would serve the interests of the ponies. Greenhooves was still the speaker, but his power was waning. I could smell it in the air. The ponies of the Crystal Kingdom wanted, no, they needed nothing less than a revolution. They were tired of the slow, monotonous procedures. All they did was make more paperwork and less progress. They wanted a leader, a hero! They wanted some pony that they could love and worship. They needed a king. And I would be their glorious leader. I would be their king.
Next: The Descent
"I know that this is the end. I have no friends, I am loathed, I am defeated and I am broken. This surely is where I will die. Is this how a king dies? Is this how a hero dies? Where did I go wrong… Jauffrey, Reighloph, what did I do wrong?"
He moves forward, his body is broken and without the horn that makes a unicorns inner light shine, he wanes. He is weak now and falls, sinking into the mud beneath his hooves. There is water falling beside him, like the crying sky, rain.
"I did everything I was supposed to do, didn't I? I fought for my country, tried to make them all better. I defeated our enemies, but they still hated me, they still loathed me. How could they? I was a hero after all, I was a king, a savior! Why did they hate me?!"
His hooves scrape through the mud, trying to drag him back up. His bones ache, his body trembles. He lays back down, his heart starting to flutter, beating slower and slower with each passing minute. Fire still burns within him, but it is fading.
"I have think back now, try and think about what I did wrong. Uncle Reighloph, you told me about those heroes of old, this isn't how they ended."
He turned over to his back, breathing in labored breaths as he gathered air, forcing his lungs to cry out against their protests, “Where did I go wrong!?” he shouted into the raining air, echoing throughout whatever land he was in.
"This is surely where I will die. But I won’t die a hero, I’ll die a villain… but that’s not how I wanted it to be. I wanted to be a hero. I remember. I remember..."
