A Thousand years of Pain.
"One thousand and eleven years." The aged gargoyle said to himself. "It's been one thousand and eleven years today since I did what I did. And what do I have to show for it?"
If anyone else had heard him when he said it, they would've told King Scorpan exactly what he has to show for his actions over the millennium. He has established peace between the land of Equestria and his own kingdom of Tambelon. Had his older brother Tirek, the original heir to the throne, become king, then Equestria would likely have been nothing more than a forgotten name. Scorpan also would've lost many friends he had made during his first visit.
But throughout the past 1000 years, there have been times when Scorpan had regretted his choice of betraying his brother and stopping his quest for power. The friends he had made one thousand years ago have indeed become nothing more than forgotten names. Even now, his difficult to obtain, but well deserved powers, have allowed him to outlast even his own subjects overs the years. He has grown old. He has grown miserable. He now consistently regrets many of his choices. Even the ones he knew were the right choice.
He may now rule a kingdom that is fiercely loyal to him, but he is still haunted by the loyalty he had for him brother. After all these years, Tirek is the only name that he never forgotten. Tirek's voice is the only one that he still hears in his head after all these years. Out of all of the things Scorpan has done, good or bad, betraying his older brother is the one thing Scorpan regrets most of all.
"Guards. Please send him Commander Grogar and High Priest Unogrand. I would like a word with them." Scorpan ordered.
"At once, my king."
Scorpan's word was the guard's command. If Scorpan wanted it, it would be brought to him. It sickened him though that the one thing that he wanted to be given to him the most could never be obtained. In the meantime, having his top advisors be brought to him would due. He didn't have to wait long, but Scorpan's age made it hard to tell. He slowly raised his head up to see his most trusted generals.
One was a tall and bulky blue goat like creature with many war scars on his chest. He also had a large horn on the left side of his head, but the right side horn had broken off halfway. He didn't have even the smallest smile on his face, but he didn't hesitate to bow down to his king
The second was equally tall, but much thinner brown cyclops who wore a large white gown that covered all but his head and arms. Much unlike the goat, he did have a warm smile on his face, and the lone horn on his head did not suffer from any injuries. He too bowed now to his king.
The blue goat spoke up first with a gruffy voice. "You majesty. What's the emergency?"
"None, Commander Grogar." Scorpan answered. "I merely wish to have a friendly chit-chat with you and Unogrand."
"I don't wish to speak out of terms, but it's irresponsible to call someone like me out from training the new recruits simply to chit-chat. Please be quick."
Unogrand, the cyclops, responded to Grogar with an magnificent and booming voice. "Now Grogar, there's no reason to speak like that, no matter who it is that called upon us. As for you, my liege, what would you wish to talk about?"
Looking to his guards, Scorpan raised his hand and made a gesture with his fingers, ordering them to leave him and his advisors alone. As soon as the last of the guards had left, Scorpan grabbed a nearby cane, slowly got up, and approached Grogar and Unogrand.
"Commander Grogar. High Priest Unogrand. As the head of our land's military and the bishop of our people's church, I must know. Has there ever been a point in your lives where you've done something that you wish you could take back?"
Grogar and Unogrand each looked confused. Their king had never asked such a question during their service to the royal family."
Unogrand answered first. "The church of Hydia only wishes to help others, whether they are members of the church or not. As I only follow the rules I've been given, I see no reason to doubt my actions.
"I have no regrets either." Grogar claimed "Every action the military takes, every battle we enter, and even any lives we take, are all for the good of Tambelon. I could be a war criminal, but I will never regret fighting for my country."
Scorpan sighed. He hoped that his advisors would've understood his question, but he forgot how young they were compared to himself. Regardless, Scorpan was desperate to have someone to talk too, so he continued on.
"Remind me, Grogar. Just how old are you again?"
"Sir! I will be Twenty-nine this October."
"Ah, twenty-nine." Scorpan said with a small smile. "Such a young age for one to become the head of my military when you're about half of Unogrand's age.. You really are a prodigy. Much like my brother."
Tirek's name was pleasant to Unogrand's ear. "Yes, the tale of your brother is sad, but inspiring. Even with such a craving for Equestria's magical powers, he still followed the church's rules by not killing a single pony. That doesn't condone for his terrible behaviour, but I still can't help but feel impressed."
The naïve and brutal Grogar made Scorpan smile a bit, yet the kinder and older Unogrand was ironically the one who made him frown once more. He should've known by this point that talking to his advisors wasn't the same as talking to friends. He slowly turned back to his throne as he got ready to give up.
"Imagine committing a crime that bothered you for your entire life time. Let it be something that you've once promised yourself that it would be the last thing you would ever do. Then, imagine having to live your life ten times over while regretting that choice."
Once again, Grogar and Unogrand were confused by their king. As far as they knew, they were asked the same question that they were asked before, but simply with a different spin on it.
"Of course you wouldn't." Scorpan said as he sat down on his thrown. "You could live your lives ten times over again, and you wouldn't know what it's like. But I suppose that between the three of us, only one of us has lived past one thousand. Maybe if either of you have wanted to see their only brother during that time, you'd understand."
"But we don't understand, my liege." Unogrand explained. "Please. Tell us what's bothering you."
As the king of Tambelon, Scorpan was required to be strong before his peers. Even a hundred years ago, he could've done that easily, but he began to feel that he's been ruling the kingdom for a hundred years too long.
"Perhaps it would be better if you talk about this with someone closer to your own age." Grogar suggested. "Surely, you aren't the only one older than a thousand years."
"Ah, Yes. Princess Celestia." Scorpan said. At that point, he immediately forgot about his subjects and started to think about the alicorn who surpassed him in age. He rested his chin on his hands as he began to think deeply. "She's actually far older than I. Celestia has even suffered similar misery after banishing her sister, Princess Luna.."
For a moment, Scorpan thought that he had found one to talk to. However, he knew that even Celestia wouldn't fully understand how he felt. At last, he stopped feeling sad. Instead, the thought of Princess Luna enraged the old gargoyle, causing him to slam his fists onto the arms of his throne. Even with his old bones, he delivered a powerful slam.
"Why should Celestia reclaim her sister after one thousand years? Why must I let Tirek rot in a prison cell? Is it wrong that I want a chance to make amends with MY sibling? What exactly made Nightmare Moon easy to save and not Tirek? What will it take to bring justice back to Tambelon?"
The questions Scorpan kept asking had no easy answer. Both of his advisors feared that trying to calm their king down would end in pain. As young as Grogar and Unogrand were when compared to Scorpan, they knew that he had the means necessary, whether by his own power or with the royal guards, to be dealt with by confused master.
So, Grogar and Unogrand slowly and calmly approached their king. They heard his cries, and they each came up with an answer. They both hoped that Scorpan's rage had burnt out.
First, Grogar, the military representative spoke. "If you truly want Lord Tirek back home, I am confident that our soldiers can trump Equestria's royal guards. We can breach their borders, cross their land, and open the gates to Tartarus in less than a week. But I will not act unless you give the official order to me and my troops."
Then spoke Unogrand, the representative of Tambelon's faith. "We are all to love and care for ourselves and our families above all else. That is what my church believes. However, we also know when seemingly good intended purposes can cause more harm than good. I will not object to war if it's for our kind, but I must remind you that many innocent pony lives may be lost, and that's something the church will NOT condone."
Grogar and Unogrand each gave each other an angry glare. Each offered their king a conundrum. Either he start a battle that could lead to bloodshed to bring his brother home, or he makes the selfless choice sacrifice once more and live with the eternal pain. Scorpan didn't like either one of the choices.
"That will be all, you two. You're both dismissed." Scorpan ordered.
"Then what will you have us do with the ponies?" Grogar asked.
Scorpan didn't answer the question. He merely waved his hand and ordered for his advisors to leave. They gave each other one more nasty glare, then turned around and head for the throne room's gate.
"Our king will never allow such senseless violence." Unogrand whispered.
"If you think that, then you really don't know his pain. Grogar whispered back.
The goat beast and the cyclops slammed the gates behind them as they left Scorpan alone. He hoped that he would've been given better help, but found that he had gone back to the same problem that he had before. He was all alone again.
"Has it really been that long since I've made a friend that I could count on? One who's words I could trust?"
Sure, he has made many friends in the past who could've fit the bill, but by the time that the next century pass, the friend would pass on. By the century after that, he would already forget them altogether. He wasn't bother by that idea as losing friends was a natural cycle in life. It simply happens.
Still, there was one friend that he made sure to never forget. Even with his old age, he could forget his name, but as long as he had the face of the young unicorn he met all those years ago in Equestria imprinted on the stain glass window in his castle, he would never forget his deeds. The unicorn was Scorpan's first real friend. Even Tirek wasn't exactly friend material. Scorpan loved his brother more, but even though the unicorn was partly responsible for Tirek's imprisonment, he couldn't stay mad.
This wasn't the first time Scorpan has had all of these thoughts stuck in his head. He was always sadden for his brother, angry at the princesses, then calmed by his now nameless friend. And after all that, he would finish his thinking process by looking up at the window and ask the same question.
"Old friend. What do YOU think I should do?"
Author's Note
Anyone who's read my stories for a while have noticed that even when I write a serious and even heart breaking story, I'll at least add a dose of comedy to it. This time, I tried something a little different.
Think I did an already job at a sad story? My idea was to put Scorpan in a issue that had no right answer to it.
I'll be back in a few days from Anime North, and once I get back, I'll be sure to reply to any comments you may leave. Hope you enjoyed this little read.
And for my Ace Attorney readers (Sorry. I've been neglecting that story and I have no good excuse for it. It's still my top story priority.)
