Crumbling Castles

Dear King,

We have received word of your attack on one of our transporters. She was a young griffon, Sedina Bali, who many held dear to their hearts. We respectfully remind you that we inform all of our griffons to stay clear of the castle, however reports of the incident say that you did not so much as even give a warning before firing. This is a clear disregard of our agreement and has been taken with great hostility amongst our members. Myself and the members of  my group will not be transporting anypony else up the mountainside until you have taken action to correct your mistake.

If no action is taken in three days time, then you are to consider yourself at war with the Bali clan.

Godina Bali

She was beautiful.

She had smooth pink fur the color of cotton candy, and a mane that was mint green like the tasty inside of a cabbage. Her eyes a deep blue, not much unlike my own. Her hooves were merely an off shade of her fur, and barely noticeable. Rays of moonlight shone through the strands of her long curly hair as we ran back up the steps to get out of the rain. I know it's rude, but I couldn't help but stare as I followed behind her. For one of the earth pony commoners, she looked fairly clean. Her mane needed brushing, but I felt it added to the effect of her elegance. Reaching the top of the steps, she guided me through a series of cramped alleyways. We passed ponies hiding in boxes, gutters, and even some under houses with raised foundations. She stopped at one small stone house and quickly pulled out her keys to unlock the door. Opening the door we stepped inside, wiping our hooves off on the welcome mat and shaking our fur out.

She shut the door and locked it, she hung up the key and we waited for a minute while we both caught our breath.

I caught my breath first, "Thank you for getting me out of that rain." I said.

She took a couple more seconds to catch her breath before she responded, "You're welcome, please sit down, I'll grab us some coffee."

"Oh no you don't have to do that," I responded, "You've already done enough."

She tilted her head in the cutest way I've ever seen, "Surely you're freezing after getting soaked like that, I know I am! I insist."

Well with a voice like velvet, it's hard to argue against, "Well, if you insist."

I sat down on a chair in her living room as she disappeared behind a doorway. Now that I had a moment I began to look around. The front door was in the corner of the living room, up against the front wall of the home. On the same wall sat one window right beside it, surely to see who was at the door. Beside the window was a small loveseat, and then the corner of the house where the fireplace was. Then on the adjacent wall to the loveseat, was a picture of the pink mare eating an apple under a tree. She seemed overjoyed by something, but it seemed like a normal day in the picture. Underneath the picture was the chair I was sitting in, and to my left was a small table in the corner of the room. On the other side of the table, up against the wall opposite the door, was a large couch that took up the entirety of the wall. Above the couch was some more pictures of the mare doing various things, one of her cleaning dishes, another at a family (or friends?) dinner. All of which she seemed very happy in. On the left side of the couch, in the corner opposite the fireplace, there was a doorway that the mare exited through, butted up against the corner of the wall. The next wall, it was just covered in pictures of landscapes, except for one doorway directly opposite me in the center of the wall. There was a curtain hanging over it and the room was dark so I couldn't see in. Though through the door the mare exited, I could see what looked like a kitchen countertop, so that must be the kitchen. So I am to assume that the other doorway leads to the bedroom and in turn, the bathroom. A very small, but comfortable living space for one pony who has a lot of company. In the center of the room was a large wooden coffee table.

After my examination of the room, the mare returned holding a tray in her mouth that held two cups of hot coffee, a bottle of cream, and a cup of sugar with a spoon.

She set the tray down on the coffee table and took a seat on the couch to my left. We both added cream to our coffee along with two scoops of sugar each, and took our first sip. Letting out a sigh of relief in unison as the warmth filled our cold bodies.

"So," She began, "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Malum, I'm Olivia Buldovum."

Such an elegantly beautiful name, "Nice to meet you Mrs. Buldovum, I'm Rex Ma-" I stopped for a minute, "How do you know my name?"

"That's actually Ms. Buldovum, but you can just call me Olivia. As for your name, I was expecting you, although not until tomorrow!" Olivia explained, "You see, I work for the king down here in the Earth district. As a matter of fact, I'm his only worker in the Earth district."

That explains it, "Oh so you were supposed to meet me at the gate to let me in, but you weren't expecting me until as early as tomorrow?"

She replied, "Yes we assumed you'd take a day to pack up and leave your home first."

"I was already packing up when I got the letter," I explained, "The Crystal Empire expanded into my town, so I made my leave then and there."

"Oh well that explains your early arrival." She responded, "I'm sorry for everything that happened today, normally things aren't this crazy."

I hadn't forgotten about the griffon, "Do you know her name?" I asked.

"Sedina, Sedina Bali." She answered, "Daughter to the leader of the Bali clan of griffons that help transport passengers up the mountain. I have no doubt that today's events will see that stopped."

"Why did they fire? Why did this all happen?" I asked.

She replied, "You see, there is another griffon clan in a nearby valley that wanted this mountain long ago before we settled here. However, with the aid of pegasi warriors, we were able to take this mountaintop and form the skybound kingdom of Bresux!"

Curious, I continued, "Why? Why take away this mountain from those griffons?"

Olivia answered, "An ancient legend says that this mountain is blessed, and that any kingdom that sits upon it will prosper and have a high quality of life. So needless to say, King Bresux wanted nothing more for his people than the best, so he took the mountain."

"And made the griffons his transport service?"

"Not the ones we took the mountain from, no. That was the Jut clan, a clan of savage warriors who knew not what they had landed upon. The Bali clan is not associated with them whatsoever. However, being that the Jut clan will send warriors at random to attack the castle, we are on constant guard, and any griffon flying in range is normally considered hostile. However, to try and prevent incidents like today, we are supposed to fire arrows as warning shots before...before the..." Olivia had held a professional tone the entire time, but her voice quivered as she tried to explain the giant metal crossbow.

"It's okay, I understand." I assured her.

She cleared her throat, "Sorry, although I do whatever the king asks of me, I do not always agree with it."

I decided it was best to stop talking about Sedina and griffons and move on to something more comfortable, "Where were those pictures taken?" I asked, pointing towards the pictures of landscapes on the opposite wall, "They look beautiful."

Olivia blushed deeply, "Those are paintings I've done."

My eyes went wide, "Surely you're kidding? Those are as detailed as a photograph! How did you learn to paint like that?"

Olivia hid behind her mane, the most adorable thing I've ever seen, and shifted her rump to the side so I could see her cutie mark. It was a camera with a paintbrush and a cooking mitt behind it, "I'm talented in photography, art, and cooking!" She shifted her rump back and looked at me with curiosity in her eyes, "What about you? What's your special talent?"

My ears drooped as I removed my saddlebags to reveal my bare rump. I frowned at embarrassment, "I've never had a cutie mark and I probably never will."

Olivia put a hoof on mine, "It's okay, if you haven't found it yet then it must be something extraordinary!" She said, eyes shining like a child looking at a piece of candy.

I moved my rump back and got comfortable again. I was about to ask about when I'd see the king, but then I noticed that she hadn't removed her hoof off of mine. I began to get a swelling feeling in my chest and my heart rate picked up.

Olivia removed her hoof from mine, "Are you gonna be okay?" She asked.

Realizing she thought I was freaking out from embarrassment, I quickly reassured her, "Oh yes I'm fine, just a little embarrassed is all." God I must have looked like a fool.

Olivia stood up, "Well, you've got a big day tomorrow. We have to get up bright and early to get you processed into the arcane district."

"Arcane district?" I asked.

"The kingdom is split into 4 districts," She explained, "We're currently in the earth district, if you want to call it a district, most everypony calls it the slums because that's what it actual-" She stopped herself, "Sorry, another thing that I disagree with. Don't mind me."

Was there a lack of freedom of speech in this place? I said, "There's no need to apologize, you have your views and you're allowed to express them."

Olivia frowned, "Yes well, those who disagree with the king don't last very long in his service. Quite frankly, working under him is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"I thought you said this was the slums? Who would want to live here?" I asked.

Olivia bit her lip, "N-nopony..." a tear streamed down her face.

Oh no, now I've messed up, "I'm sorry, I'm just having a hard time understanding. I'll leave it be. I apologize."

Olivia wiped the tear and took a stern pose, "No, there's no need to be sorry. Everything's okay."

There was silence for a few moments, I could hear the rain hitting the roof.

Olivia sighed, "We're in the earth district, next is the arcane district, where mostly unicorns stay and work. They work on taking care of any paperwork and monetary needs the kingdom has, as well as a plethora of shops and pubs to keep the populus happy. Next is the cloud district, which holds the military barracks on the east wall, along with the main plaza where most airborne activity comes in and out of the kingdom. This includes trade, recon, and training missions that the pegasi military force take on. Past that, at the highest point of the mountain, is the gold district, housing the king and his servants, along with the royal family."

We sat in silence for a second longer.

Olivia started, "Perhaps it's time we rest. Tomorrow's a big day."

I paused, looked her in the eyes, "Olivia, are you okay?"

Olivia looked down, "I'm living the best life I can under the king's service." She looked up and smiled, "How can it get any better?"

I looked at one of the pictures on the wall behind her, her smile was much brighter in those pictures. I looked back at her, "Why did you just fake a smile to me?"

Olivia's expression dropped, "What?"

I gestured to the pictures, "You see those photos. You're smile is much more brilliant than the one you just gave me."

Olivia looked at the pictures, then back at me. Her face seemed like she just saw a ghost.

"Olivia," I pleaded, "If something's wrong please tell me. I just want to help."

Olivia's body shook as she jumped up to hug me. I could feel tears streaming down my back off her face. She sobbed violently as she tried to control herself. She cried on my shoulder for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, she calmed down and sat back down.

Wiping tears from her eyes, she said, "Thank you, it means a lot that you care." She adjusted her mane a little bit and looked at me, "Living conditions are downright awful here. I've been robbed, attacked, even had ponies make...horrible...sexual remarks towards me."

I started, "Oh my god, I'm sorry. I didn't realize-"

"But I've got it good!" She shouted, "I get food rations weekly from the inner walls! Everypony else is left out here to starve! No water, no food, they get what the environment gives them, and what they can buy from vendors who appear every now and then."

"Why not just leave?" I asked.

"We can't." She replied, "The griffons are only tasked with bringing ponies up, not back down. King Bresux says that if you can't get down by yourself, then you shouldn't have come up to begin with."

"Are you serious?" I asked, "Surely he didn't say that exactly."

"I heard it with my own two ears, Bresux views earth ponies as scum." She replied.

I was shocked, "Doesn't he know I'm an earth pony?"

"Probably not," She answered, "but you're clearly important to him. Once he learns you're an earth pony, hopefully it will make him realize that not having wings or a horn doesn't make you any less of a pony."

I was astonished, a racist king? How could this be? This wasn't right, and when King Bresux plans to give me this "great fame" he promised me, I plan on exposing him as the horrible pony he is.

I said, "So, does this mean he views you as...scum...too?"

Olivia looked away, "No..."

"Then...why are you an exception?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

"Because," Olivia replied, "I'm the daughter he disowned."