You Are A King
_________________________________________________________________________________________
You are a king. You rule the land for thousands of miles. Your lands are so vast that it takes many moons to cross them in a hurry. Your kingdom is great and mighty. Tall mountains, vast forests, mighty rivers, and huge plains belie its might with their majesty. It is fitting that your realm is grand and beautiful, for it awes visitors and reminds subjects of the power of its king. Equestria is a magical country, but nothing in it can compare to your kingdom. A single wood of yours would engulf the Everfree Forest. Any one of your mountains can shroud the overblown hill of Canterlot in shadow reaching beyond Ponyville. One of your great rivers could be mistaken for a moving sea. Your steppes are so vast that the amber grasslands of Zebricy look like dusty meadows. And then there is your palace, your sprawling castle the size of a great city. It is built of immense stones, granite, the bones of the earth itself knit together and carved out to provide you a worthy home. Its keep, your tower – your temple, extends far into the sky. All these things attest to your glory. Foreign rulers would prostrate themselves before you. It would inspire pride in your subjects and fill visitors with awe, if you ever had any.
You are alone. You have been alone for a very long time. You are a king. You are king of nothing. For all your regal pride, you have no subjects. For all your territory, you do not enjoy it. There is no one to till the fields. There is no one to conquer the mountains. No boats sail in the waters. Nobody wanders among the trees. No earth pony, no pegasus, no unicorn, no griffon, no zebra, no donkey, no wolf, no dragon, or any mortal has ever even glimpsed your realm.
You have not been outside in a long time. Not for millennia have you visited another land. It has been even longer since anyone last visited yours. You have not left your temple in days. You have not left your tower in weeks. You have not visited any of the thousands upon thousands of rooms and courtyards of your palace in months. It has been years since you last left your fortress for the metropolis surrounding it. Not for decades have you journeyed out into the desert. It has been centuries since you last crossed the desert. Of course, thanks to you, it is an eternal maelstrom of whirling winds and circling storms of sand, dust, and rock that bring death to anything in their path. You have not left your kingdom in a thousand years, technically. Your dreams set you free.
You are ancient beyond all others. You are powerful as you are old. You have no peers. You are supreme.
You spend a lot of time sleeping, or more accurately, trying to dream. You do it to pass the time. You do it to remember how things used to be. You do it to escape. And when Luna feels generous, she obliges your desire. When she is not, you remember that nightmares are dreams, too.
You lay down on your wonderful bed. The night is quiet, so quiet as to be loud. Things are always this way, except for when the weather breaks the tranquility. You can hear the wind pushing dust in the next room. This is of no concern for you, so you close your eyes and wait for sleep to come, hoping for a nice dream.
You are standing on rocky outcrop. All around you for as far as your eyes can see is nothing but green. You feel the wind flowing through your mane, causing you to smile. You hear a flutter of wings behind you from above, drawing nearer rapidly. You turn around to greet whomever it is. You recognize them immediate and smile. “Good day, Celestia.” The mare lands and smiles.
“Thank you, Vortex,” she says. “I have not been doing this for very long.”
You smile back at her. “You’re doing fine,” you answer.
“This is all new to me. Ponies have markings which indicate their talents, but never before has anypony held such great responsibility and such power.”
“I wouldn’t say that; I have always maintained the heavens…”
“Luna and I are still untested, and it taxes our powers to the limit each time we perform the change.”
“True, but there is a lot which has not yet come to pass. This land is a young, wild place, and only few have yet come from the three tribes. They shall need our guidance, carefully.”
“Yes, Vortex,” Celestia replies. “We shall guide the ponies along the path to enlightenment.”
“To greatness. We alicorns shall show the way, and with control of the sun, the moon, and the heavens, they shall listen.”
Celestia gives you a look for just a split second and then says, “Be careful, my friend, that you do not place your vanity ahead of the good of our subjects.”
You sigh back, “I won’t, Celestia.”
“Good. Luna and I are in agreement that we shall do whatever is necessary to protect our little ponies from any enemy, no matter the cost.”
You laugh, “Noble, but perhaps foolish. I am the most powerful alicorn of all, Celestia. I move this planet through space and maintain the very atmosphere itself with my magic.”
She does not seem impressed by your statement of fact. Instead, she shakes her head slowly. “Don’t forget, Vortex, that we are all equally important, and that none of us has unlimited power. Take the example of my friend, Starswirl the Bearded. While he is the most powerful magician to date, even he could not overcome his college alone.”
“Why are you telling me about a mere mortal unicorn?” Celestia does not answer you. Instead, she sighs and shakes her head. Silence ensues until you ask, “Tell me, how is little Luna.” Celestia bristles at the diminutive.
“Luna is fine,” she responds. “She has some trouble with her role, but she is learning. I still worry about her…”
The dream pauses and clouds of fog suddenly materialize. Your consciousness asserts itself over the half-awake dreaming self. You feel anger as you note a familiar presence. “Luna, why do you intrude upon me? Why can you not allow a king peace in his own dreams?”
Luna appears before you. For a pony thousands of years old, she still looks like a gangly teenager, having never reached the graceful maturity of Celestia or the grand perfection of yourself. She speaks, “Thou shallt take heed to address me as princess, Vortex.”
“That’s King Vortex to you,” you growl.
“You are only the king of nothing.” Although you try to ignore the barb, she is queen in dreams, and she knows that it stung.
“I am a king!”
“No, you were a king. Not anymore.”
How dare she insult you? This bitch, this upstart, this weakest Alicorn, a mere princess dares to talk to YOU, the king, like this! You bellow, “I am a king! Behold my kingdom, princess. Behold my palace. You and Celestia have nothing to rival it; you don’t even have your own palace. But mine… Its glory matches my supremacy. I alone am master of this domain!”
Luna ruffles her feathers at you and replies, “You alone.” You go to reply, the feeling of words rise in your throat, but you decide to say nothing as Luna turns and walks away into the fog.
You are lying down on your bed. Your bed is big enough for you and several courtesans to play around and then afterwards lie together all sprawled out. It has luxurious red and gold covers, sheets, and pillows. You sleep upon a mattress filled with the finest Chechneyan cotton. The frame is carved from solid pieces of oak. All your linens are silk and your pillow is filled with Pegasus down feathers. The night is very dark, but you can see in the dark. Angry thoughts buzz around your mind. How dare that princess disrespect a king – the nerve! And you were once HER king! Not just any king, but her king.
The bed feels hot, so you stand up and go for a walk around your bedroom to cool off. Golden slippers cradle your hooves and soften the sounds of your steps on the mahogany floor. One entire wall of your chamber is occupied by a gigantic mirror. You see your reflection it in. You are tall and muscular; you remember being taller than any pony, even Celestia, and that was not counting your horn. In the old days, all royal venues were made specifically to accommodate your size. Your golden coat is visible, even in the darkness. It is wrapped in a silk robe colored Tyrrhenian Purple, save for your silver-feathered wings. Your long, pointed horn is ringed by a splotch of silver fur at its base while small stripes of silver mark your cheeks. Your scarlet and royal blue mane flows in a manner imitated by Celestia’s. Your tail is a long, cascading thing of dueling strands of black and white. Most captivating of all, since you know it to be true, are your large, vividly green eyes and their slit pupils. You pause and look yourself in the eye. Your face has a slightly hollow appearance and the eyes do not help. Surely this is because your magnificence distinguishes you from those lesser alicorns and mortals with just a single glance. Still, something about them causes your gaze to linger just a little too long before you glance aside and draw your head back. Reaching up with a hoof, you pat the silver markings. You are never fully comfortable with them. You smirk with satisfaction that your body has endured the millennia well.
Walking away, you look up at another wall. On it hangs a portrait of you, Celestia, and Luna. You were so splendid back then, pure gold from muzzle to tail. It must have been sometime prior to Nightmare Moon, because Celestia’s mane was solid pink and Luna was there. You were in the throne room of the first palace not long after consolidating your rule of Equestria. Celestia and Luna sat in two adjacent thrones while yours was behind theirs and higher up. Banners with your seal, three alicorns one facing left, one facing right, and one looking directly at the viewer, were hanging throughout the hall.
You look away. It’s time for more sleep. You lie down on your bed and close your eyes. It takes a while, but you eventually drift off into slumber.
You fly with Luna and Celestia through a clear sky. Far below you, the farms looks like plaid squares and the ponies look like little ants scurrying around on them. You lead the flight over to a particular mountain pass. You know what to look for. It is late spring, but the cold of the mountains means that snow has a tendency to stick around. You are looking for a dark streak cutting between the two great mountains, the Gates of Equestria. You call back to the princesses, “Celestia, Luna, do you see anything which looks like it has been cleared to form a path?”
“Nay,” replies Luna.
“Vortex,” shouts Celestia through the wind, “Let’s look deeper into the mountains before giving up.
The decision is instantaneous in your mind. “No need; nopony came last year when our subjects cleared the path, and only few came the year before that.”
“Vortex, our ponys’ numbers increased significantly last year.”
“So what? Mortals reproduce quickly.”
Celestia counters you. “Many of the newcomers were adult ponies.”
You begin to feel anger bubbling up in your chest. Luna adds, “And not just pegasi.” You look around, checking for any other fliers in the sky, but you find none flying even half so high or a quarter as quickly as you. You are soaring over the Crystal Mountains. The loftiest peaks are still miles far below you.
“There are still far more ponies in the old country than there are here, Vortex.”
“Well, Celestia, it doesn’t seem to me like they want to come here.”
“Perhaps they have found other ways to Equestria. That is not inconceivable, is it not, sister?”
Celestia breaks formation and looks you in the eye. “Do you remember the promise we made to the ponies of the old country?” She is stern.
“Yes, I remember. We promised to keep the path to Equestria open during the warm months, provided that they still continued to come in significant numbers.”
She shakes her head. “No, we promised to leave the path open for as long they wished to be connected to Equestria.”
“And that means only as long as more than just a handful attempt the journey every year. Do remember that Windigos and exploit our open border to bring their doom here. Other things can come uninvited.” Celestia falls back into formation. You feel satisfaction as the white Alicorn remembers her place.
Luna said, “Sister, should we open the path again?”
“Not yet, Luna,” Celestia said. “We should only do so once we find the shortest route.”
They are disrespecting you. “For the last time, we are not opening the path! I forbid you!”
Luna declares, “You are not the king of us, Vortex. If thou will not assist us, then we shall do without thy aid.”
“I stand by my sister, Vortex. We shall honor our agreement with the old country, whether you approve or not.” There is silence behind you for a few seconds. The absence of wingbeats causes you to look back. You see two alicorns gliding below you. The sight ignites the anger in you – not enough to provoke you, but enough to guarantee that you will remember this. This is not the first time they have disrespected you or disagreed with you, but this is the first time that they both defied you. Even though you are not their king and have no legal authority, you are still so much more powerful than either of them, thereby granting you natural dominance over them. The mortal ponies are so much smarter in this regard and never give you any trouble, for they know what that means. You will not forget this, and you swear that if the day ever comes when you can become king over them, you shall do it, for they will respect your authority, one way or another.
Your eyes open again in darkness. Your stick your teeth between your teeth and press down, feeling a bit of pain. You are free from Luna’s domain for the moment. Angrily, you slam your hoof down on the covers. Will you see any good dreams tonight? You think of getting out of bed again, but decide against it for all the good it will do. The more time you spend sleeping, the more time for good dreams and the more time for oblivion, so the less time you must spend awake as you wait for the darkness to pass.
Before you close your eyes again, you reach for your magic to stir the layered soup of gasses around the planet. You pull some of the dense parts over you, soon noticing that the princess’s silvery light becomes much dimmer. At the same time, you gather up some chaotic elements and loose them towards the place where you know those two bitches have made their home. You huff, feeling some twisted satisfaction as you repay Luna for her meddling. Let her suffer through this long night.
Your mind feels hazy but calmer. With the moon obscured by your will, you gradually make out a fog around you. You scan around quickly, only to see the faint silhouettes of your chamber reassure you that everything is under your control. You let out a happy sigh.
You do not know if things happen instantaneously or if you only just come aware that there is a dark figure standing in the fog. You look at the figure. Its shape is unmistakable. You snarl, “Do you appreciate it when another’s domain encroaches on your own?”
For some reason, the figure comes into focus only now. It is Luna. She stands just close enough for your to take in the whole view of her from where you lay. She replies, “Do you not comprehend the limits of your own domain? We can no more overrule each other than rain can fall upwards. This is not the first time you have forgotten this.”
You try to answer, but you suddenly find yourself staring at a strange beast made of a grotesque array of body parts from myriad animals. This is a confrontation, a reckoning between you and it, with all of Equestria at stake. You must win; you must overcome. You just can’t have come this far just to fail! No mater what, you must force this foe to change his strategy. The future, your future glory, your claim to power all depend upon you winning this fight. If you win, you shall be the savior of Equestria and your reign will be heralded as a golden age. If you lose, you may never get to rule Equestria, or worse, you will have to live with not being the greatest force in Equestria. It cackles at you in a very condescending way as it floats effortlessly above the ground, “Congratulations on giving me so much trouble over the years, it really has been so hard to deal with a few ponies here and there having predictable weather and normal laws of physics. Honestly, all this runaway chaos gets so boring sometimes that there’s nothing quite like setting things wrong again.” You feel the emotion, outrage. It makes you heart beat fast and your blood flow hot. After years of subverting this thing’s reign of terror and organizing resistance at every turn, how can it just laugh at you?
“Don’t flatter yourself; you’ve been running ragged just to keep up with me. For one named Discord, the self-proclaimed master of chaos, I was expecting more.” This is a lie; you have been losing, badly. You strut up a step closer to the draconequus and proudly puff out your chest. You know this is a gamble. Yes, you are the mightiest Alicorn ever, but Discord is a draconequus and a master of a force that defies comprehension. But even he will recognize his place, given the proper motivation.
“On the contrary,” replies Discord, “I have found all this to be quite invigorating. Thanks to you, I can just keep on creating chaos here forever. I really must thank you, who are you?” This monster knows exactly how to get under your skin with infuriating ease. You must not let this inferior abomination play you.
You declare, “I am King Vortex, the mightiest Alicorn of all and the master of Equestria!”
“Oooh,” Discord coos, spontaneously magicking a golden crown and an ermine cape into existence and hangs them on himself, strutting around. “You’re a king? Where’s you’re crown?”
Blast, he’s perceptive. “I have no need of a crown. My very body has splendor enough to suffice.”
Discord suddenly turns very somber. He looks at you and says, “I am so sorry, your majesty. Let me show you the proper respect.” You feel something push you down onto a stool as he conjures a floral pattern curtain and a metal bucket from thin air and then sets them about your head and shoulders. “There, an outfit fit for a king of nothing, sire.” Mockingly, Discord bows down before you, then contorting his body between his legs to look you in the eyes and blow a raspberry at you. The nerve! You feel your jaw tense up. No, now is not the time to lose your composure, not when you have just one chance to awe this trash with your superiority.
Discord’s eyes focus on your face and you quickly still your justified anger. You cast aside the mock regalia and stand back up into a regal poise with your head held high. No use in trying to wow this creature with parlor tricks. You never boast, but you know that this one display of your power never fails to bring even the stoutest of dissenters to their knees. “Not bad for a lizard, but allow me to show you a true display fit for a king.” Your horn lights up as you reach out into the heavens above to clear a column. You allow the sun in full splendor to shine upon you an then refract all around to bathe you in a rainbow. Meanwhile, you send a small jolt of your power into the upper atmosphere to capture just a sliver of its radiance. A small aurora appears behind you, its ghostly waves of color and light giving you an ethereal appearance.
Discord widens his eyes in awe and offers an applause. He throws himself at your hooves and bows down completely prostrate. Excellent, he is coming to understand, just as you knew he would. “Spectacular, my liege, truly I cannot contend with one such as you,” he cries. You allow no more than a hint of a smile to show.
Now it is time to make your move. You apply magic to your already impressive voice to give it a supernatural, booming quality. “Now you see me as I truly am. I am King Vortex of Equestria, the mightiest in Equis. I am the mover of the heavens. I am order! Arise, Discord, and fear not, for I can grant you your heart’s deepest desire.”
Discord grows quiet and knelt. His demeanor is strangely serious. “But, your highness, what can you, the king of order, and me, the master of chaos, offer one another?”
You conceal your surprise. You hadn’t considered that question. No matter, you had him exactly where you wanted him. You disguise your thoughts as a dramatic pause. You answer, “Join me, and you shall never want for lands to fill with chaos.” Discord gives you his full attention. You swear that you see him lick his lips. “You can have respect and power – lands to do with as you wish, with as much or little order as you please. It shall be the law of the land that you are to be respected and none shall dare to cross you, lest they incur my wrath. I know you, Discord, and this is what you truly desire.”
Discord scratches his chin thoughtfully. “Indeed, you’re right, King Vortex.” It is so gratifying to finally be addressed as king as you rightfully deserve.
“I am always right,” you reply. You see a tiny glint in his eyes, but you ignore it.
The draconequus only stays still a moment longer and then stands up. “I agree.”
“So therefore it makes sense for you to join me.”
“But what fun is there in making sense?” WHAT!? Suddenly, a deluge of something thick and sticky crashes down on your head. “I hate to tar you as naïve, oh king, but a king of nothing cannot offer me anything, let alone try to convince me to accept something so boring as order. You see, what I crave is absolute freedom, freedom to do as I please and wreak chaos unrestrained. Sure, the power and respect thing sure is nice, but you’re a fool to think that I’d ever give up being free for anything. Oh, and Lord Tirek told me that his brother blabbed all about some pretender claiming to be king.”
You try to contain yourself, but absolute rage explodes through every fiber of your being. HOW DARE HE DISRESPECT YOU LIKE THAT!? You will make him pay! You roar, “So be it! If you reject my offer, then I shall dethrone you by force!” The ground quakes. The sky darkens. Your horn blazes with energy. Nothing has ever opposed your might and won. “BEGONE!” Discord freezes in terror, realizing only too late his mistake. No mercy! You rear up on your hind legs and come crashing down as you unleash a catastrophic blast of pure energy at the miserable creature.
The blast slams into Discord like a thousand exploding stars. Your fury drives you to destroy, kill, and erase that twisted draconequus with everything you have. When your power slackens, you end the beam to find that everything has been destroyed for miles around and a ghastly gorge has been torn down right into the rock, a scar in the land itself from your wrath. You pant heavily, sweating but satisfied. There is no way anything could have survived that; problem solved.
Just as you are about to fly off, you have raucous laughter coming from behind you. You snap around to see Discord reclining on a couch and disinterestedly picking his way through a box of chocolates. He looks lazily at you and says, “Good show, good show.”
“YOU! How did you --”
“Honestly, you had me almost slightly worried a teensy little bit there until you hit me with order magic.” Discord put his grotesque arm around you like a teacher addressing an insolent student. “You see, Vortex, king of nothing, I am a being of chaos, and your order magic only works on things that play by its rules; it can’t bring harmony to anything out of whack. Nice try, though.”
You break free of his grasp and shout, “I don’t need order magic to beat you! I am superior!” You rear up for another energy blast, just as Discord fires one off at you. Your two beams collide. You give it everything you have. Your beam throws back Discord’s. You glare at him as fear fills his eyes. “You may play by your own rules, but plasma is still plasma!” You give it a final push. An explosion of unbearable heat smashes into you. Screams come from your foe. He disappears in radiant, white light. You have spent much of your strength, but there is no way he can get out of this one. You have won. You are the strongest. You are superior. You are the king.
Suddenly, the burning radiance disappears with more laughter. “Nice try, but you should know by know that we embodiments of primal natural forces are unkillable.” Unbelievable, he isn’t even a bit tired!
You flare up again despite your fatigue. “I’ll get you!”
“Oh I’m sure you’d love to, but I’m afraid you won’t get the chance. It’s been fun, but toying with you is boring compared to the chaos I could be spreading. And since I won, I guess that makes me the king, doesn’t it?”
This is your final gambit. You must get Discord to focus on something other than generating rampant chaos. You must get him to adopt a strategy that makes him predictable and vulnerable -- one that gives you time to escape to regroup so you can use what you’ve learned to take him down. You cannot give up now, or everything you’ve done, and all your plans for the future of the ponies under you, will come to nothing. “Yes it does, Discord.”
He leans in close. “Say it.”
Never have more bitter words ever been forced from your lips. “You’re king of Equestria now. You’ve defeated me and proved yourself the superior being.” Discord sets himself up on a throne.
“Splendid! And since there are no threats to my rule, I’ll just –” This is your one chance!
“Not so fast, Discord. Your rule is far from secure.”
“And pray tell your dear king all about these threats to his esteemed self.”
You swallow your pride. “You are the ruler of Equestria, but there are other lands not even I commanded. Somewhere, in an orderly realm outside your own, are the seeds of your undoing.”
“Are you going to tell me or not?”
“Certainly, my liege. There are two other alicorns. I don’t know where they are, but they aren’t in Equestria, because they know your weakness, the one thing that can take you down.”
“I see. I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve got to go make sure that nothing can ever challenge my chaos again!” At last, the draconequus flies off, streaking into the horizon in a minute. Weary, you push yourself onto your hooves and start trying to get out of there. Your wings are trapped shut by the tar Discord poured on them and your magic is too spent to even teleport. But you’ve made it out, barely. You tell yourself that you’ll get him next time. If you, the supreme being of Equis can be countered, then a monster like him definitely must have a weakness somewhere, just waiting to be discovered and brought to bear against him. Then you’ll take back your pride and the land will be yours, since those other two won’t be around to take credit for the victory, since they hid like cowards.
Suddenly, Discord appears in front of you. There is such playful malice in his eyes. His lips curl into a toothy grin. No… Discord says, “I’m sorry I didn’t take care of you sooner. Here, have a ball, former king of nothing.” Discord snaps his fingers and a ball and chain appears around your legs. You try to dispel it, but your magic is no good against his. The chains are too tight for you to wriggle out of. In your head, you scream that this cannot be happening, that you, the mightiest alicorn of all, a being unmatched in power, the eldest of the planet, have lost to an overblown prankster! How could this have happened? You are superior. You do not know defeat. There has never been anything beyond you. But in your heart, you know that this is reality. This is it; you’ve been defeated. Celestia and Luna were right to not seek open battle with Discord. And now you pay the price. Now you’ll never be the undisputed king of Equestria! And if they rescue you, they will see that not only did they defeat a foe greater than you, but that you are also weak. The humiliation is unbearable. If only you would die right now. If only you could awaken from this nightmare!
Everything freezes. The fog is back again. You already know what this means. You snarl, “What is it now, Luna? Need I send you a gale?”
“I see that you can still stare lessons in the face and never recognize them.”
You shout, “There was no lesson in that nightmare, you witch!”
Luna gives her mane a disinterested flick. “Then there is nothing that you would learn.”
Tell me, do you remember the defeat of Discord?”
You groan. You know that you will have to endure this pointlessness again if you want to get back to your sweet sleep. “Yes. I was not there, but you have shown me it many times in dreams.”
Luna nods. She says, “How did it happen?”
You answer, “You and your sister used the Elements of Harmony to counteract his chaos magic and turn him to stone.”
“Yes, but how did we get the chance to use them on him?” Luna points with a hoof. You look to your right and see the old dream playing again through the fog. There is Discord sitting on his throne. Celestia and Luna walk up to him and exchange some words. The draconequus laughs as the alicorns deploy the Elements of Harmony and turn him to stone in a hurricane of rainbow light. The space beyond the fog goes dark and Luna raps the ground with her hoof to get your attention.
“I am the only reason why you could defeat Discord. If I hadn’t gotten him to change focus and tricked him into giving away his one weakness, you would have never liberated Equestria, let alone defeated him. I am the one who started his downfall. I was not there only because you needed me to keep his forces off you while you went to confront him.”
Luna shakes her head again. After a pause, she asks, “Do you remember the defeat of Lord Tirek?”
You get a glint in your eye as you declare, “I defeated him all by myself! He was no match for my power. You two and your Elements of Harmony could not match even him. I personally sealed him away in Tartarus to ensure that he would never trouble my kingdom again.”
“Tirek returned and was defeated by six ordinary ponies, even though he had taken all the magic of Equestria for himself.”
“What?” You gasp as you find yourself lying uncomfortably in bed, facedown in the pillows. You take a few minutes to untangle yourself and cool off. Alas, the daytime heat of the desert weighs heavily upon you as it stays in the stonework of your castle and continues to radiate, making sure that your palace never experiences the frigid nights of the open desert. You have only a few, small windows scattered high around the wall and one large skylight window arranged in an intricate fractal with a central hub of clear glass surrounded by spades of a kaleidoscope of colors. The moon is directly above you. You get out of bed and begin pacing your chamber again.
Your thoughts focus on Luna’s last words to you. What did she mean by Tirek returning to Equestria? How could he have escaped Tartarus from his cage? There were no keys to steal. There were no lockpicks to fashion. No enchantment could have opened the cage, let alone have been cast by Tirek. There were no others to open the cage for him. And Cerberus, the monster hound you yourself had chosen and trained for the task of guarding the gates of hell against attack by outsiders and escape by the damned, would never ever leave his post or lose diligence even for a moment in a million years. She must be lying.
However, you remember a time in the recent past where you sensed an enormous disturbance in the magic of the world. You have always been attuned to the world, but not even you had ever felt something within many orders of magnitude to it. You would have soon gone to investigate it had it not subsided just as suddenly as it began. Luna would sometimes send you dreams to inform you of major events, but there was absolutely no way that there could have been truth in the dreams of Tirek’s return. It had to be a fantasy; not even you could have escaped Tartarus, stolen all of Equestria’s magic, and even defeated Discord, especially only to be defeated by a few lowly mortals, considering that they needed you to defeat him last time when he would have been far less powerful, although he could not have rivaled your might, even if he did take all of Equestria’s magic for himself. You tell yourself that if it had been real, then Luna and Celestia would have come begging you for help.
Either way, it matters not to you. Recent is a relative term. Given that not even you know your true age, only that you are ancient beyond all others, perhaps even millions of years old, this fantasy could have been invented anytime from just a few days ago to three hundred years ago. And now that you are thinking of how Tirek returning would have absolutely demanded your attention.
You look upon your magnificent portrait again. You look so powerful. You were the chief protector of the realm, so you dealt with whatever threatened Equestria. It was all just as well, since you have always been the most powerful being alive, and you had to protect your subjects, because what kind of king doesn’t protect his subjects? How are they supposed to serve you and love you if you don’t make sure that they are safe and fully appreciate your power?
Your coronation was the greatest day of your life. You can remember it perfectly. You yawn and return to your bed.
You stand on a great platform just in front of three thrones. You are flanked by Celestia and Luna. The great hall of the palace is packed with cheering ponies. Banners hang from the walls and ceiling. musicians play bombastic music on horns and trumpets while great stallions pound away on huge drums, creating booms which reverberate throughout the great hall. You cannot do anything to suppress an enormous smile. Celestia and Luna smile broadly, but you are positively beaming.
A gong crashes. A bearded unicorn in a pointy hat with bells walks up the aisle as he is escorted by earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi soldiers. He levitates three plush cushions, each with a crown on it. One is golden, large and pointed with seven spikes, each crowned with a different gemstone -- one diamond, one sapphire, one ruby, one emerald, one topaz, one amethyst, and one onyx. Another is a tiara, smaller and less ornate, made of grey-white platinum and studded with gold and sunstone. The last is the smallest, little more than just a circlet. It is made of black obsidian. The band is inlaid with moonstones and silver. The unicorn climbs up the stairs and onto the platform.
You kneel before him, hardly daring to breathe. This is the moment you have been dreaming of for so long. After this, you will never need to kneel again. The scene goes silent and the unicorn raises his voice. “I, Starswirl the Bearded, by the power vested in me by the E.U.P., bestow this crown upon Vortex the alicorn.” You feel the weight of the crown as it is magically placed carefully upon your golden head. You close your eyes as Starswirl goes over to your right. He again says, “I, Starswirl the Bearded, by the power vested in me by the E.U.P., bestow this crown upon Celestia the alicorn.” A few seconds later, Starswirl crosses over to your left side. For the third time, he recites, “I, Starswirl the Bearded, by the power vested in me by the E.U.P., bestow this crown upon Luna the alicorn.” Starswirl then returns to standing in front of you. This is it! He asks, “Vortex, do you accept the grave responsibility placed upon you to govern Equestria fairly and justly, to protect it against all threats, and to advance the prosperity of our nation?”
You shout, “Yes! I accept!”
“Very well.” Starswirl moves back to Celestia. “Celestia, do you accept the grave responsibility placed upon you to govern Equestria fairly and justly, to protect it against all threats, and to advance the prosperity of our nation?”
She answers immediately, “Yes, I accept.”
“Very well.” Starswirl returns to Luna. “Luna, do you accept the grave responsibility placed upon you to govern Equestria fairly and justly, to protect it against all threats, and to advance the prosperity of our nation?”
There is a brief pause before Luna replies, “Yes, I accept.”
“Very well.” Starswirl returns to center of the platform, a step below your throne. He raises his voice one final time. “Arise, Vortex, ruler of Equestria. Arise, Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria. Arise, Luna, co-ruler of Equestria.” You shoot up immediately, grinning, your chest stuck out. “Equestria, hail your news masters, Vortex, Luna, and Celestia.” You open your eyes amidst a storm of cheers and shouts as the musicians give a great swell of music. You see the great Starswirl the Bearded and every single pony in the audience bowing down before you.
“Hail! Hail! Hail!”
You open your mouth and step forward to proclaim, “I am King Vortex. I speak to you now, ponies of Equestria, to proclaim the dawn of a golden era! The struggles of the migration and the invasions are in the past thanks to we three alicorns. Know that it is us who shall lead the way and know that I, King Vortex, will lead you to glory! Princess Celestia and Princess Luna shall aid me in this endeavor. Know that we will prevail. Join me and we will become the greatest nation of all!”
The fog comes back for a moment. Why can’t Luna just let you have a nice dream for once tonight? When it clears, you see Celestia glaring into your eyes. “You sit on your throne, Vortex, because our little ponies trust you – not because God gave you a chair.”
“No, princess, it is because they finally realize that they need a great stallion like me to lead them. After all, I defeated Tirek and brought peace to Equestria.”
“WE defeated Tirek together, Vortex. Remember that Discord was not defeated by any one of us.”
You give Princess Celestia a stern look and reply, “Well, Princess Celestia, nopony saw Discord fall. Many witnesses saw me cast Tirek into Tartarus. It makes sense that they would want their hero to lead them.”
Princess Luna walks in with a determined look on her face; she’s definitely heard everything. She pleads, “Sister, King Vortex, please remember that it took many years of diplomacy to reach this day. Let us not destroy it before the end of its first night.” You and Princess Celestia both stop to look at her. She elaborates, “These are but the first hours of our first day as joint rulers of Equestria.” She first meets your eyes and says, “I do not approve of your presumptuous grab for supreme power by proclaiming yourself king.” That little fool – fine talk coming from the mare who almost threw it all away. She then looks to her sister and addresses her much more softly. “Sister, we were chosen to lead the ponies of Equestria because they trust that the alicorn sisters of harmony, and the alicorn of order, can together create a stable, just government to promote their best interests. Let us not repay their trust by coming to blows from the very first moment the opportunity presents itself. We must live up to their hopes. There will be time to discuss politics later and reach agreements for how we will manage the country and make our policies. That time is not now. Please, it is late. Let us take this up in the morning when we are rested and our tempers are cooled.”
The fog returns. You hear Luna’s voice say, “That was the first time that Celestia and I understood your true nature. We did our best to be reasonable with you for the sake of our little ponies, but hindsight tells us that we were likely fated to forever cross swords.”
You growl back at Luna’s hazy silhouette, “I knew back then that you would betray me.”
“We swore to protect and serve our subjects.”
“I did everything to make the ponies great.”
Anger radiates from Luna. “No, King Vortex, you only acted to make yourself great, even at the suffering of your subjects.”
“You always held me back?=, Why could you not let me achieve the glory I am worthy of? You never allowed me to carve out an empire in Equis. You never let me have heirs or take consorts, while you and Celestia go about naming princesses and princes left and right!” Your righteous anger peaks. “And why are you, Princess Luna, lecturing me, King Vortex, about noblesse oblige when you were the one who tried to destroy the world in an eternal night because you didn’t get enough attention?”
Nothing. Did you overwhelm her with the weight of her own damnable misdeeds? Luna just stands there and looks at you. Her face is so tired. She barely opens her mouth. “Because I know that you realize that you are all to blame for your own troubles. You simply will not admit it because your pride and vanity cloud your mind just as surely as the darkness clouded the mind of Nightmare Moon. Reconciliation is always available, Vortex. You can be exalted again. You do not need to be alone. I should know. I was once just like you.”
You snort, “Lies!”
Luna replies, “Vortex, I have tried constantly since my return to help you. Why will you not accept our aid?”
“I have no need of your help, you insolent bitch! I am the most powerful being in Equis. I am so ancient that I remember millennia before you or your treasonous sister were even born! I am a great and proud rightful king; I have no need of your help – only your respect!”
Luna pauses, glaring at you like the dog she is. Then, her glare softens into a grimace. She spits at you, “You have nothing but your pride, Vortex, king of nothing. And you will have nothing more unless you overcome your own vanity. I have nothing else to say to you. I shall leave you and your pride alone.”
You wake up panting and sweating. The darkness is still unbroken. Your emotions are turbulent. You stamp around your chamber until you finally climb back into bed. You lie awake without nought to do but wait for the dawn; another night has been spoiled by that obnoxious princess. When Celestia finally brings the sun to your kingdom, the day is quiet. Just like the night, it is quiet enough to be deafening. Every night and day shall be the same. You are a king. You are king of nothing.
Author's Note
This has been my entry for the Most Dangerous Game contest. I hope you enjoyed it and don't want to murder me too badly for uploading a 2'nd person alicorn OC fic.
Support me on Patreon.
