Tales of Dark Souls

"Who's Sir Alonne?" Rainbow Dash asked in curiosity. "His name sounds kind of goofy."

"I bet you wouldn't say that to him, face-to-face." Tim mocked the cyan mare.

"I would!"

"Wouldn't!"

"Would!"

"He'd cut you to pieces!" Tim retorted, pretending to slice away at Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah right." Rainbow Dash said sarcastically. "I bet he's as slow as you are." She mocked.

"Hey, flying is easy Dash." Tim said as he smirked at her. "Landing is hard. But I bet you know all about safe landings, don't you?" He mocked, making her face heat up.

"I swear if you don't take that back I'll--."

"Watch out girls, she's going to explode!" Tim laughed, grabbing his belly in joy and laughter.

"Could you please tell us the next story?" Twilight asked as she rubbed her temples in defeat. "You two are like foals."

"Right." Tim said. Clearing his throat, he spoke up. "A man is defined by his ambitions. Before The Iron Crown, all the young lord had, was an iron will. Little known and un-established, the lord held some power, but he wanted a kingdom to match his pride. So with ambition alone, he raised an army and threw his entire might at the kingdom of Venn. Venn was not a desirable region. Even so, the lord lost much to acquire it. He rested this small throne from its previous owner, and became the king. This act left him ineffabled, he had sacrificed everything for this kingdom. And was discovering that ambition without wisdom, is like a bird, without wings. How could he hope to hold this kingdom? Ambition had inspired his subjects to action, yes. But ambition alone cannot run a country. It cannot substitute the qualities a ruler needs. The king was shortsighted, he knew little, and his story would have likely ended here. But then, from the East, a powerful warrior came. A man wielding a bewitched sword so powerful, it was unknown if he controlled the blade, or whether the blade controlled him. This man was: Alonne."

"Wow, now this might get interesting." Rainbow Dash said as she nudged Applejack. "Right?"

"Yeah, a blade controlling the one who's wielding it? Boy, that's scary!" Applejack replied.

"That's the spirit!" Tim said as he continued his story. "Sir Alonne stands apart from the characters in our stories. The others are defined by their wants and their ambitions. But Alonne has none to speak of. Thus it's impossible to say why he came to this land. Or what he saw in the king. Perhaps he thought he was destined for great things. Or perhaps they became like brothers. Whatever his desires, Alonne decided to serve the shortsighted king. His wisdom was a light in the darkness. And the king was reborn as a powerful ruler."

"With wisdom and pride, Alonne and the king did a great many things. Their rule was defined by their strength and the kingdom was shaped by their union. The king's army was revolutionized under Alonne, the men mastering Greatbows and slender blades, wielded in an Eastern fashion. The king, as many kings before him, found himself enraptured with fire. And all it represented. He appointed a master of Pyromancy, a man named Eagel, who would grow on to grant fire, a will of its own. Eagle adored his bull-headed king. And was awarded a great ornamental Minotaur helm. The Minotaur, half men half bull, would come to symbolize the stubbornness and beastial strength of the king and his kingdom. For even with Alonne's council, the king remained shortsighted and reckless. So, like a bull, he charged ahead. Savoring his momentum. To sustain his country, the king sacrificed the land. Past the hunting grounds, in the copse. In a place called: Harvest Valley. The king exploited the land here so thoroughly, poison seeped from the earth. But it mattered not. The stubborn king posisted, adapting his workers, and driving the slaves ever harden. The bounty of all found here was high. So the kingdom became wealthy and well supplied. Within the valley, great relics of times long passed were uncovered. Kingdoms from long ago. Sunken, forgotten to time. A warning existed here, but the king was blind. He did not seek to learn from it, from passed kingdoms buried beneath the earth. Rather, he intended to profit from their passing. And so, when the scorching iron sceptre was found. And everything changed."

"So, the king was a stubborn as he was before?" Rainbow Dash asked. Tim nodded his head as a reply, making her sigh. "That's stupid. He finally gets help, but he's still as stubborn as before."

"With heat you can fuel, create, destroy. It's one of the simplest forms of energy and thus it's one of the most useful. With this artifact, the king of Venn revolutionized his kingdom. Smelting iron became trivial. The king now had no bounds to what he could create. Iron becamemelted, shifted and was bought under his control. As if he controlled the forces of life and creation. The kingdom's warriors were equipped in iron armament, bulking great suits of armor were brought to life. The king curated a palace made entirely of iron. And some legends even say, that he tried to create a dragon out of iron. Driven by the same fated lunacy as the kings before him."

"Presiding over his great age, the iron king knew unparalleled power. None could stand in his way, and any who would try would be crushed under his might. Be that as it may, the iron king still faced challenges. All the iron in the world, could not cure the treacherous undead curse. But not for lack of trying, on the king's part. He sought to chackle and imprison all undead in iron. Converting the copse into a hunting ground, and prison were undead, not animals were the prey. It seemed fruitless however, and the hollowed undead continued to multiply within the ranks that were hunting them. In his rage, the iron king built a great circular colloseum to torture the undead. They were ritually released from their cells to be run down by The Executioners Chariot. Unable to escape, and unable to die. The punishment for offending the king's might was harsh.  Even if undeserved, these things became reflections of the king's conceit. Hallmarks of his reign. At this moment, a terrible woman who would be his ruiness queen, set course for the kingdom."

"And then, at the peek of The Iron King's rule, his friend walked away. Alonne was gone, his distaste left unspoken. The king was alone. How had Alonne dared to leave him?! The king's might was iron! His right to rule unchallenged! He could not suffer the indignity! Would not! So he tracked his old friend to a far off keep. He saw that Alonne had brought some of the king's own men with him. And enposted them as guards. Knowing the king would come after him. But The Iron King had grown powerful, and Alonne's knights were no match for his might. At the top of the tower, Alonne waited for his king to meet him. Once the question the king might have asked was: Why? Why had Alonne left him? But he had been king for a long time. And his arrogance had grown. So when the two men clashed, their tires were forgotten. They had come far together, ever since the days when The Iron King was just a small lord on a small throne."

"Alonne had helped him become the man he was today, and he paid dearly for it. For once, Alonne would have avoided every blow. But now it was the king who overwhelmed the teacher. Alonne took his own life in the end. Dying with honor, instead of to the king's hand. The memory that we experience, doesn't end with Alonne's death; as you would expect. The king walked into the room that stood beside of Alonne. And what he saw there would steel this memory in his mind, forever. In this room, Alonne had kept the king's old throne. A reminder of the king's humble origins. It keeps sake from the time he had traveled to the king's land, offering his servitude and friendship to the man who would become The Iron King. The memory ends here. Man's ambition allows us to take flight. On ambition's back, we reach greater hights. And kingdoms are elevated alongside the man. But if man looks back, and sees not where he has been, then on which path does he travel? The Iron King had lost his way, and now he had lost a friend and mentor as well. From this point onward, we see evidence that this event has broken the man. After Alonne departed, the king named his knights after Sir Alonne. For they were loyal to him, more than The Iron King. He took Alonne's armor back to his home, enshrining it, and locking it below his current, towering iron throne."

"His Pyromancer Eagel had experimented with giving fire a will of his own. And the king had become a depth at infusing suits of iron with souls. Now, towards the end of his rule, he crafted one more. A terrifying suite of black iron. That would come to represent the demons he now held. It's implied he infused it with Alonne's soul, for the demon he created took on the combat style of his old friend. Battling with inhuman leaps into the air, and the ability to infuse its sword with fire, by plunging it in to its belly. Just like Alonne had done. It's unclear what happens next. There are some that said that the earth spouted fire, with The Smelter Demon arising from the flames, says that the shortsighted king was incinerated by the creature with one swing. And his castle his castle devoured in a sea of flames. The other side says that the king hurled himself into the magma, perhaps in agony over what he had done to his friend. Though, in the end, the queen of ruin arrives. And finds no king, or country. The shortsighted king had sunk below the scorching iron. And his iron rule sank with him."

"Aaaaand done!" Twilight said as she finished scribbling on yet another piece of paper. "Another great story, Tim!"

"I have to say, this one was really good." Rainbow Dash said. "But didn't cry."

"Rainbow Dash, there are still a lot more!" Tim replied as he looked at Spike. "Maybe another dragon story."

"Awesome!" Spike beamed in joy.