Friends, Equestrians, Countrymen

“Yer did what?!” Applejack brought a hoof down on the table, which rattled the plates set upon.  Her eyes seemed to emit flames, as she stared at her brother.

Granny Smith and Applebloom peered through the door for a moment, before the elder mare guided the younger away from the conflict that was bound to take place.

“Now AJ, if ah didn’t speak up they would have rioted and that would have been no good for anypony, especially with the princess there.” Big Mac said in a calm tone, as he packed a few more thing in bag.

“But they took Ma, and Pa!”

Big Mac turned to her, his eyes full of sorrow. He just walked over to a cabinet

and opened it. “Ya think ah don’t remember that.” He said as he moved a few thing around in the cabinet, then he stopped. “Do ya think Ma, and Pa would want me to let them take ya and do nothin’?”

Applejack remained silent, as Big Mac pulled out their father’s gladius from the cabinet. The emblem on the hilt was of an apple tree. Its scabbard was made of ironwood, tipped in silver. This and their mother’s helmet were some of the only things they had of their parents. He walked past her without another word.

Applejack watched as Big Mac left the room. She turned to the table and slammed both hooves down upon. “Curse the empire, and Tartarus take the royal family!” She growled, slamming her head against the table’s hard surface.

“Yum” Pinking groaned delightedly as she licked a huge bite of frosting from her hoof, the same frosting that was supposed to be on the cake. “Hm… need a pinch more crystal berries.” She thought outloud, reaching over to a nearby crystal counter. She took hold of a plate of Crystal berries, the aroma of the fruit filling her nose with it luscious scent.

“So what is the celebration this time?” A loving voice asked.

Pinkie turned to the pink pegasus who was cutting sugar crystals. “Well, King Sombra totally has this plan to kill Empress Celestia.”

The pegasus bit her lip. “H..how?”

“From what I heard, he has what he calls tools in Canterlot and he been sinking in some kind of powder, and a rune blade.” Pinkie said, recalling how she had changed a few bags of the power out for sugar.

“Who would help him?”

Pinkie thought a moment, “Power hungry ponies, who think they can take the throne and betray the one who helped them.”

“I could have guess that Pinkie.” The pegasus signed.

Pinkie took hold of a frosting knife, and began working on the cake once more, however she knew this was the hardest part as King Sombra had an idea of how everything should be done. The last pony who messed up was thrown to the Diamond Dogs. To this day, she could hear the screams of those ponies in her dreams.

“Oh, could you start frosting the cupcakes?” Pinkie asked.

“Right away.” The pegasus said, hurrying over to the cupcakes.

Pinkie noticed Rarity motioning for her to come over,  “Oh, Cadance darling could you be a dear and cover for Pinkie as I need to have a word with her?”

“Sure, don’t be too long.”

Pinkie left the room and found Rarity waiting, a look of despair on her face. Had King Sombra order her to craft any other elaborate crystal, or had he flirting with her again? “Why the long face?”

"Oh It's nothing Dar-, No it is something..." Rarity bit her lip.

“What did King Sombra not like his new robes?”

Rarity looked down, “No, he adorn them, but he seems to have something in mind for me, it could be he want to use me as bartering chip-” Her face took on a look of despair Pinkie had only seen a few time before. “He could sacrifice me to his dark gods, or the worst thing of all” She shivered “make me his queen.”

Pinkie leaned in close, looking around for wandering eyes. “You could try to escape to the Griffon Kingdom.” She whispered.

Rarity looked in thought for a moment. “I wouldn’t even cross the border before his Obsidian Guards caught me, especially with Sweetie Belle. As I could never leave her in this brute's grasp.”

“There’s one way, the Black Frost.”

Rarity looked at her, as if she had gone completely mad. “You can’t be serious, no pony has ever emerged from that place dear.”

“You mean other than the Rune Knights?”

Rarity shook her head. “Pinkie no pony has seen a Rune Knight in years.”

“Well the last one was twenty years ago,” Pinkie tipped her chin, ”If I recall right she hide a map somewhere near the outskirts of the city.”

“And how do you know that dearing?”

“Oh, that easy I know her.” Pinkie smiled.

She was in a stately room, marble columns held up a lofty roof that towered above her, the whole room was done up with a darker marble than what she was used to, from what she had read, she assumed it came from the black frost area.Twilight was fighting every instinct in her body to bolt, The couch was soft, the air cool, and her companion and host rambling. Twilight rolled her eyes for the eighth time as the prince over exaggerated yet another story.

"With a roar!" He exclaimed, "He charged into the fray of crystal knights, his sword swinging. Nothing could stand under my Uncle, Heavy Hoof," He paused, as if to commemorate the memory, "Fierce blows. Only at one point did he risk losing, as a hundred of the fiercest knights overpowered him at once."

Twilight only remembered five, but she wasn't the one telling the story either.

"Blow after blow, chop after chop my uncle fought out from under their blades. Finally, he was free!" Silver Fire almost rose caught up in the enthusiasm of the story he was telling, his hoof coming down hard upon the table. Twilight caught her crystal chalice in her magic as it teetered.

"Heavy Hoof charged away from the bodies of the stallions who had threatened to take his own life, and back into the fray! The battle was hot, first one side seemed as if it were to win, then the other.”

“But my Uncle Heavy Hoof, pales in comparison to my grandfather!” Silver Fire rose. “There he was facing the terror of the iron mountains, Prince Swiftwind.” Taking hold of a spoon and he began to waving it as if it was a sword. “With a smarc my grandfather charged the Griffin prince.”

“Swiftwind swung his great hammer,  my grandfather dodge right and left.” Silver Fire head moved side to side. “But the prince’s hammer was slow, and my grandfather had won many races,” He smirked. “Which made it a trivial matter to remove Swiftwind’s head for his shoulders!” The spoon was swung as if it was the sword that sliced through his neck of the Griffin.

Twilight wondered how much longer this agonizing torture, by this pompous patrician go on. If she wasn’t the princess of the empire, she knew full well she would be groaning and most likely would have been slamming her head upon the table by now.

“Which leads me to how my grandfather conquered the city of Ironhold.”  Looking at the position of her mother’s sun, Twilight could tell she has been trapped here for over three drooling hours, and by how Silver Fire loved to talk it was going to be many more. Well could be worse she guessed, BlueBlood could be here as well.