Facet Cut fell for what seemed the twenty-third time that day, smacking his head against the unforgiving rock. He grunted at the impact, but it made little difference over the bruises and aches already mostly covering his body. His mind backtracked to the number and he giggled insanely. As if he was able to keep count in his state.
Struggling from pure exhaustion, Facet pulled himself up off the rock, slowly and deliberately. He didn’t move for a few seconds; he just sat there and took the excuse to rest a little, both his body and mind. His body was already past the point at which short-term rest could help, and his mind wasn’t much better. Sitting amongst the stone his mind flashed back yet again to the past weeks.
First, the war. Against all odds the Crystal Empire had emerged victorious against the Corrupt after such a long period of defeat and destruction. A 5 year long conflict was resolved in a matter of nights. It was a miracle, and the ponies hailed it as such. Their king, Somber Resolve, had congratulated their military on their victory, but everypony else had praised the king as the true deliverer of the Crystal Empire. He had graciously denied such admiration but it hadn’t stemmed the tide in the least bit.
Of course there were skeptics- the kind of ponies who wouldn’t partake in the celebrations. These ponies who had cried out in the streets and later whispered in their homes about how it was too good to be true. “A war that had been deemed doomed won turned and won in a matter of days?” they would say to anypony who would listen until public disapproval escalated enough to keep the skeptics hidden in their homes, too frightened to go out.
Undeterred by these naysayers, the celebration had continued for days until the king had started to reign in the festivities. He had never been one for frivolous enterprise, a side effect of being brought up during times of fear and conflict. Business had begun to return to normal for the first time in years, and ponies reveled in it.
Facet Cut remembered the enemies with utter fear and revulsion. The Corrupt- ponies that had been turned, changed, and twisted beyond recognition- were stamped out completely by the guard until there were none left. The Crystal Empire and its neighboring countries breathed a collective sigh of relief at the eradication of arguably their biggest threat for years. Nopony bothered to question further their motives or origin; they were quickly and quietly swept under the rug and ignored. Ponies chose to ignore the danger in hopes it would go away.
A few weeks after the end of the war and discussion of it was coming to a close is when the king began to act differently. Members of the castle recalled him acting out of character at times- a hostile episode with a servant here, an aggressive statement there. But again, ignorance reigned free; it was dismissed as stress from the lengthy ordeal of wartime rule and the subsequent transition. Time and rest, that’s all there was for it. So time went on.
As time went on, it became clear that the king was not getting better; he was in reality getting worse. Hostility, anger, and maliciousness replaced kindness, wisdom, and peacefulness. Staff would whisper about it, only to have their whispers overheard and be punished, which would only feed more whispers. Rumor spread to the general public until the same thought was in the whole empire’s head- something was very wrong with their king.
It came a head about three and a half weeks after the war’s end. Equestria sent an ambassador in hopes of resuming steady diplomatic relations now that the war was over. The ambassador was graciously admitted by the guards and warmly welcomed by the city and staff. However when the ambassador was led to the king and introduced, the king flew into a rage over the diplomat’s behavior- his refusal to bow and imposing of common introductory gestures as a hoof shake. The envoy was imprisoned immediately and not released for weeks, pending charges.
The castle staff, which was all very distraught over the ordeal and worried about backlash from Equestria, deliberated over what to do. One young mare actually attempted to free the diplomat only to be caught and imprisoned herself. Borderline mutiny erupted at this and the staff demanded that the king reconsider his actions.
The king did.
Facet, who had begun to rise from his position, nearly fell over again at the awful memory. Two days after the imprisonment of the heroic mare, the king emerged from the castle for the first time in weeks. And what a reveal it was- the king was flanked by a royal guard never seen by the public before, all wearing imposing armor and hostile, blank expressions. But nothing compared to the king himself- the stallion had undergone a drastic change from his modest gray coat, black mane, and simple crown. The colors were the only thing that didn’t change, in fact- the king now wore a blood red cloak and steely armor to cover his darkened coat. His mane lost its pleasant streaks of white and became pitch black and seemed to shift unnaturally- as if something possessed it. His crown wrapped around his head with decorative spurs and spikes, his horn was now red and curved, and his eyes seemed to have a tinge of purple. The citizens of the Crystal Empire beheld their king in collective horror- beheld the rebirth of the Corrupt in its worst form.
Facet started walking again, trying to watch his step on the treacherous rocks. Meanwhile his mind churned away, unstoppable now that he had started down this road. The king had announced his revelation to the citizens, over what the true potential of the Crystal Empire was. He said they were all blinded and held back by the existing magic, so, for the good of his people, he announced he was taking the Crystal Heart. Facet remembered the effect the words had had on the ponies- first the stunned silence, and then the desperate disbelief- surely the king was joking, he had to develop a sense of humor at some point, right? Then they had all watched as a member of this new royal guard take the Crystal Heart from its place; the wailing and panic had set in then. All around him ponies cried everything from mercy to threats to pure torment. He remembered on brave soul actually charging the offender, but the pony never even got close. A well-aimed magic burst had struck the stallion dead in the chest, stopping him in his tracks. After a few breathless moments as everypony watched, they all realized he wasn’t getting back up. Ever.
So began the rule of terror. No more was the happy feeling of wartime being over, no more were the smiling faces of ponies everywhere. Even the sky had changed from bright and cheerful to red and imposing to reflect the state of the kingdom below it. King Somber now walked out each morning to view his wretched empire, smiling at the change each time. As time went on his citizens began to mourn the old king, dead as most certainly was. Gone was wise King Somber, and now in his place was cruel King Sombra.
Facet was one of the few to not submit to the regime. Every morning he hid as the guards made their rounds, spending his days in hiding and plotting futile plans of revolution. In his heart he knew they would never come to fruition, but it was the only thing he could do to fight the overwhelming depression he saw in the world around him.
Hope at last seemed to emerge in the form of the Equestrian Diarchy. Long ago agitated by the absence of their ambassador, the sisters who ruled the land sent another to see why his predecessor had not returned. This time they sent a number of guards with him, in case of foul play. Twenty guards went with the ambassador, and four returned, one of them the envoy. They told tales of a land brought under subjugation, where they had been brutally ambushed by dark soldiers who had been thorough and merciless.
Unable to ignore this development and fearing for the safety of their subjects, the two sisters came themselves to what remained of the Crystal Empire. What they found struck them to the core and broke their hearts- ponies in enslavement and despair, a once bright land now desolate, and an old friend of theirs turned utterly wicked. They were forced to act, and that act came in the form of their legendary weapons- the Elements of Harmony. Using these talismans, one of which once belonged to their foe, they vanquished their former friend, turning him into what he was- a shadow of his former self. The shade was lost, disappeared into the plains that the Empire rested in.
And now the story ended, and Facet was once again brought to himself. Everypony he knew had stayed in the Crystal Empire, waiting for somepony to take command and rebuild their broken society. But Facet had refused to sit around in the city, as to him it was haunted by too much despair and sadness. So he had left, and was now on his way… Somewhere.
As Facet walked and mused belatedly to himself, a rumble ran in the ground beneath his hooves, shaking him enough to fall to the ground once more. He couldn’t even be irritated however, given as to what came next.
A sound echoed through the air, a sound like facet had never heard before. It was terrible noise- deep, grating, and filled with finality. Facet would hear this noise echo in his skull for years to come, and it would be his final thought while he lay on his deathbed. When thinking about it in later life, he would attempt to describe it, purely for his own benefit. The only description he could muster was “If despair had a sound, that would be it.”
And so it was. Facet felt the sound reverberate in his bones as he struggled to stand on the violently shaking ground. As he listened he instinctively turned towards where he knew the Crystal Empire would be standing. Even as he turned and wondered what could make the noise, he knew in his soul what it was.
He turned and watched as the Crystal Empire shook. From here he could see the entire landscape as it vibrated and seemed to open up. He looked on as the ground underneath the grand city widened, shaken apart by a force far beyond his understanding. He looked on as the Crystal Empire, his home since he was a foal, began to sink into the ground before his eyes. It was like he was dying- as he watched it sink his mind pulled out random memories of the city; friends and family he knew to be down there, moments from his life growing up. Facet could do nothing, not move or speak as he watched his home sink below the surface of the earth. Finally all that was left was the Crystal Tower. It stood tall and proud even in the face of destruction as it too sank below. With one final, great effort, the chasm seemed to struggle to stay open. Then it closed, thundering the ground with finality. The Crystal Empire was gone, nowhere to be seen.
Facet stood in complete awe and utter disbelief as he felt his body natural crystalized state dissipate, leaving him looking like a normal pony. He could do nothing in the face of what he had just witnessed. He thought of his family, his friends he had left behind, his home. He thought of the last sight of the Crystal Tower sinking below, and he realized that was the last he would ever see of his home.
Finally, he summoned the strength to do something. On the cliff overlooking the expanse where the Crystal Empire had once stood, Facet Cut cried.
Author's Note
Just a short story inpsired by Evening Star's "A Dying World." Whenever I listened to that song i always imagined one lone pony standing and watching this massive, beautiful city sink into the ground, and it always affected me. Yeah I'm that easy to manipulate. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it, and by all means go and listen to "A Dying World" it is fantastic! Thanks for reading!
