Author's Note
This story was written more than a year ago. It takes place sometime after the happenings of Melodies of Friendship and before The Crytal Faire.
Huge credits go out to Echowing who helped turn one of my first attempts in writing into a real story.
The cost of the crown
Lyra smiled contentedly. It was a nice and warm summer evening, she was pleasantly worn out from a day of sightseeing and fun in Canterlot with her friends and they actually managed top notch seats to watch the ceremony of day's end from the park just outside the royal palace.
Lyra had slumped down on a bench in her usual way, her upper body upright against the backrest of the bench and her backhooves stretched out under her, slightly hanging over the ledge of the seat. Everypony told her she looked strange sitting like this, but she found it far too comfortable to change her habit. It also made it easier to hold her lyre while playing, although she could use her magic for that to be honest.
The mint green unicorn smiled to Bon Bon, her best friend since the very first moment they met and now her special somepony. The cream coloured earth pony had decided to lay down on the soft grass of the park instead of the bench, her legs tucked nicely under her body. She was looking towards the palace already, waiting for the princesses to arrive. Lyra smiled and with her magic picked up on a daisy from a batch of flowers. The white flower glowed golden in her magic grasp and hovered towards the mare unnoticed, then slipped into her blue and pink mane. Bon Bon now turned her head and smiled to Lyra with a faint blush which earned her a giggle from Octavia and a grin from Vinyl Scratch who sat on the grass with her.
Lyra just smiled back and looked at the last of the friends sitting next to her on the bench. Crystal Note also had an unusual way of sitting down, always upright on her haunches with her forehooves straight before her and flat on the ground, her head slightly tilted up and her gem shaped eyes darting around curiously. Today she also had her guitar strapped on her back, as she usually carried an instrument with her these days.
Lyra remembered how Octavia once had compared the crystal pony's pose with a begging dog . At that, Crystal Note had just wagged her tail and looked up while opening her turquoise eyes as wide as she could in a perfect imitation of puppy eyes. Octavia then blushed deep red and the other ponies of they'd all had been rolling on the floor in laughter, including Vinyl.
The five friends had taken the early train to Canterlot this morning. Octavia was doing some official stuff as head of the recently founded Ponyville Music Ensemble and the others decided to tag along. Lyra, who had grown up in Canterlot, offered to show her Ponyville friends around while Octavia was busy, before they would meet up again for lunch.
Lyra and the others had lots of fun exploring the streets of Canterlot, especially Bon Bon who knew barely more than the Canterlot Train Station. Vinyl and Crystal Note followed in their usual silence and listened to Lyra's stories and Bon Bon's questions.
When they had first met and spent some time together, Lyra felt very uncomfortable with the crystal unicorn not talking at all and mostly answering in nods and shakes of her head, if at all. But after a while she had found out that Crystal Note was always listening very closely and patiently. When she talked, she managed to find the right words for Lyra. Or the right song to make her feel better. They two ponies grew close after a while and when the crystal pony had come up with the idea of a mixed music ensemble, Lyra had been the one gathering ponies with a talent or interest in music to participate.
Even Bon Bon had decided to join in. After some encouragement from Crystal Note, the earth pony had even sung a solo for the first time. Lyra smiled at the wonderful memory as it had been the day she had finally found the heart to ask her best friend forever to become her marefriend forever.
Lyra had led her friends through the streets of Canterlot for a while when Vinyl's tummy reminded them it was lunch time. They made their way back into the centre of the city. At some point, Crystal Note had stopped to look at a very old house in the backend of a quiet street. Lyra noticed her sad expression while staring at the house, but when Bon Bon called after her, Crystal Note just turned around and ran after her friends.
Lyra would have worried and asked if she was okay, but she knew her friend well enough to realize this was something she wouldn't like to share. The crystal unicorn had been hit by the same curse as the entire Crystal Empire and vanished for a thousand years after the tyrannical King Sombra had been defeated. It was common knowledge that the evil king had treated his subjects like slaves and forced them to work and fight for him by using dark magic. Lyra completely understood if anypony going through such things would rather be silent about it. Even today, years after the Crystal Empire had been freed from the curse.
Besides, Lyra noticed the crystal mare still sparkled in the sunlight, which meant whatever sad memory she might have, it hadn't been so bad to throw her out of balance.
It was well known that crystal ponies and their magic was influenced heavily by their emotions. When they were sad or afraid, their coats turned dark and dull and their posture lost all energy and drive. When they were happy though, the crystal ponies shone and sparkled like their entire body was made of purest gems glowing with an inner light.
Of course, those were the extremes and the crystal unicorn had shown there were states in between as well. Lyra had seen both states on her friend before and a couple of minor changes in her coat colour and eyes, but it still made her and everypony else stare fascinated every time it happened. Maybe that was the reason why most crystal ponies decided to stay in the Crystal Empire amongst others of their kind all the time.
Right now Crystal Note was her usual sparkly self, just like when they had met in the restaurant with Octavia for lunch. She had managed to get a few concerts arranged with the help of none other than Lemon Hearts, one of Lyra's best friends from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. The two former classmates hugged tightly and then amused the whole table with tales from their time as students, including some hilarious stories about Twilight Sparkle.
The crystal unicorn still had that happy sparkle in her gem shaped eyes as she watched the park get more crowded with ponies. Lemon Hearts had told them about the new ritual of the Princesses to do their celestial magic on their respective balconies for everypony to see. The ceremony of day's end wasn't as big as the Summer Sun Celebration or the Winter Moon Festival but still a memorable sight. That's why the five friends had decided to stay a little longer in Canterlot and watch.
Lyra's tummy grumbled which gave her a soft giggle from Crystal Note and a look from Bon Bon. The mint green unicorn sighed and looked at the Royal Palace
"I wish I was a princess sometimes. Things would be sooo much easier."
Bon Bon rolled her eyes
"Just because you're hungry!"
"Well, yeah. I would have gotten a seat at any restaurant for sure if I was a princess. Not that we would have needed it anyways. I heard Princess Celestia has a team of bakers standing ready for her orders anytime of the day. Just imagine girls - you could call in the middle of the night and a few minutes later, delicious cake, fresh from the oven!"
Lyra gave out a longing sigh as she felt her mouth watering at that thought alone.
Octavia laughed and Bon Bon put her hoof to her forehead. Vinyl just grinned.
Crystal Note had fallen silent after her first giggle and now wore a thoughtful expression, staring straight ahead. Lyra had seen that look before. If things went as usual, the crystal unicorn would shake her head next and then return to smiling and watching silently.
Lyra was very surprised when she instead heard the soft and timid voice of her friend
"I don't think I'd like to be Princess Celestia. It's a scary thought."
Four heads turned to the crystal mare who just kept looking at the balcony with the emblem of the sun engraved into the white marble.
Bon Bon gave her friend a confused look and asked
"Why scary though? I mean, the workload of a Princess sure is a lot with handling the sun and audiences and meetings and what not. But it's not like she's doing it all alone, I mean there's three other Princesses helping her."
Crystal Note nodded
"Sure, now. But what about a thousand years ago? Princess Luna had just been banished for a couple of years back then and Princess Celestia was suddenly all on her own. Can you imagine how sad and lonely she must have been? And just then, the Dragon Lord decided to attack the boundaries of Equestria and the Princess had to deal with border skirmishes. I've read that over 500 ponies died during the attacks and about the same amount of soldiers lost their lives while fighting back the dragon invasion."
The other ponies found themselves listening to the soft voice of her normally reticent friend. Lyra found the words stroke a cord inside her, though she didn't like the feeling of sadness added to her growling tummy, so she asked
"Okay, that was a terrible event. But what has that to do with Princess Celestia and being scared?"
Crystal Note sighed deeply
"Whenever soldiers or guards are sent out, it's by order of the Princess. The Princess knew some of her soldiers would die, but she had to send them to war anyways. She knew she would survive but they maybe wouldn't. I don't think I could live with that knowledge and still smile every morning."
Bon Bon rested her head on her forehooves and whispered
"That's horrible..."
Lyra and Vinyl nodded but Octavia looked at her crystal friend and spoke with her trademark accent
"You're spending far too many hours reading those books on history, Love. Those days are long gone and time heals all wounds, even the wounds of a Princess."
Crystal Note looked down at the earth pony and her turquoise eyes shimmered in the fading light of the sun
"I've been gone for a thousand years. I just want to know what I missed in that time. And there was a lot. The griffon attack 350 years ago. The civil war in the eastern kingdom half a millennium ago. The bloody rebellions a hundred years after Nightmare Moon. Even during the siege against King Sombra, Celestia had to send her soldiers out and knew only a lucky few would return."
Octavia closed her eyes
"As terrible as that may sound dear, but those were soldiers who willingly served the crown. They knew the risks and took them to protect their country and their people, even if it meant to face death."
Crystal Noted nodded and bowed her head down
"That is right, and those ponies were nothing less but heroes. But does that alone make it easier to be the one who sent them into danger? I'm not sure."
The crystal unicorn gave out a small sob
"I don't know if I could be the pony who had to send ponies to their death and even banish her own sister to the moon and then smile for her people the very next day. All for the sake of Equestria."
Octavia now fell silent and looked at the ground and Bon Bon actually blinked away a tear. Lyra didn't really like the depressing mood and tried to change the topic
"I admit I never thought about it this way. But it's such a nice summer night and we're about to see the Princesses. Shouldn't we just enjoy the peaceful times we have instead of thinking about bad things in the past?"
Crystal Note's head dropped when she heard her friend and she apologized with a barely audible voice. Lyra sat up and gently nudged her shoulder with her hoof
"Hey, it's not like that! What you said was right and important. But saying it out loud is just a lot to handle at once."
The crystal unicorn tilted her head and after a moment of thinking nodded. Lyra smiled and looked back to Bon Bon to cheer her up but the cream coloured earth pony was already watching her with a proud smile. Lyra blushed and smiled and rubbed the back of her neck with her hoof.
After some minutes of silence, the four ponies looked up again when they heard a soft melody, as did most of the other ponies around them. Crystal Note had picked up her guitar in her hooves and was now plucking a slow melody on it, very soft and a tad melancholic. The soft music spread out through the park and some more ponies gathered around the group of friends to listen while watching the balconies for the Princesses.
Crystal Note played for a while longer, always repeating the same melody but with slight adjustments each time until she seemed satisfied.
Then, the doors of the balconies opened and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stepped outside, standing tall and proud in regal poses, their manes waving in an unseen wind. They spread their wings in unison and waved to the ponies present.
Princess Celestia looked up at the sky and Lyra could see the bright golden glow around her horn as the sun travelled the short distance to the horizon and slowly vanished, bathing the Palace and the park in golden light that slowly turned orange, then red and finally faded.
When the sun was almost gone, Princess Luna called forth her magic with a blue glow around her horn. At the same pace the sun's light faded, the darkening sky was filled with stars, only a few at first but soon the entire sky was filled with tinkling dots of light and beautiful constellations. Finally, the moon rose up from the opposite side of horizon. It was only the small sickle of the waxing moon but as soon as it took its position in the night sky, the stars glowed and sparkled in mesmerizing beauty.
The ponies watched the display on the sky and once the moon was in position, they cheered and called the names of the Princesses. Lyra smiled and waved back as the Royal Sisters rose their hooves again. She blinked as the Moon Princess flapped her wings and flew up to join Princess Celestia on her balcony. They exchanged a few words and then looked down at the park. Lyra almost got the impression they were staring directly at her.
She turned around to ask Crystal Note about it, but the mare was still staring at the sky. The twinkling stars seemed to reflect on her silvery-white coat and made her look even more crystally. The gem shaped eyes shone in the light of the moon, then Crystal Note smiled and closed her eyes.
Lyra had come to know that expression as 'the inspiration face' and closing her eyes could mean only one thing.
Crystal Note lost no time to prove Lyra right.
The crystal pony started to sing softly. Her voice was now louder, clear and bare of all the uncertainty she had earlier. She matched the tender melancholic mood of her melody with her crystal clear voice and sung along to the sound of her strumming:
The stars are very beautiful above the palace walls
They shine with equal splendour still above far humbler halls
I watch them from my window but their bright enchanting glow
Reminds me of the freedom I gave up so long ago.
Like always, Lyra found herself captivated by the voice and the song of her friend. She knew she would not be the only one as the cheering around her faded away and more ponies walked closer to hear the crystal unicorn as she continued singing
The royal circlet of bright gold rests lightly on my brow,
I once thought only of the rights this circlet would endow.
But once I took the crown to which I had been schooled and bred,
I found it heavy on the heart, though light upon the head.
Lyra noticed a serious of gasps and mumbles go through the crowd that had formed but she didn't bother to look away from her singing friend. After the talk they just had and the display of the magic of the Princesses, the song managed to get her thoughts imagining herself as a Princess again, but the melancholic voice prevented her from getting too giddy about it this time.
With a thoughtful look on her face, she listened to the sound of the guitar. A minute passed before the musician sung another verse of her song
Although I am the head of state, in truth I am the least,
the true queen knows her people fed, before she sits to feast.
The good queen knows her people safe, before she takes her rest,
thinks twice and thrice and yet again, before she makes request.
Lyra nodded involuntarily as she conceived the meaning behind the words. Of course being a Princess was a lot of responsibility, but she never realized how much they really impacted on the Princess' life. At least not until her friend put it into a song. The mumbling now had stopped and a quick glance showed her how much of a crowd Crystal Note had already attracted with her song.
Of course the crystal pony didn't notice and kept her eyes closed while she sung with her clear voice
For they are all my children, all, that I swore to defend,
it is my duty to become both queen and trusted friend
and of my children high and low, from beggar to above,
the dearest are my Heralds, who return my care with love.
The dearest are my Heralds, swift to spring to my command.
Who give me aid and fellowship, who always understand
that land and ponies first have needs that I may not deny
so I must send my dearest friends to danger - and to die.
The mumbles returned to the crowd but they were barely more than whispers to not interrupt the songstress. Although the crystal mare had fallen into a very old choice of words, more fitting maybe a hundred years ago or even farer back, the crowd had by now grasped the meaning of the song. They didn't wonder why a pony would sing about their Princess, but Lyra could hear the surprise that the Princess would be placed in such a sad song.
Usually, songs about Princess Celestia told about her glory and the victories she achieved during her rule. Everpony knew that there were other ponies involved in the battles, but those ponies who had fallen for Equestria and its Princess often remained forgotten in the shining glory of the heroes who returned victorious.
Again it took a few minutes for Crystal Notes to find the words and continue
A friend, a love, a foal, it matters not, I know indeed,
that I must sacrifice them all if there should be the need.
They know and they forgive me - doing more than I require,
with willing minds and loving hearts go straight to grasp the fire.
The mumbles died down again and Lyra had to blink away a tear. The ponies who fell in battle, even their families and friends, all their grief could be tracked back to the order of Princess Celestia. Of course it was for the sake of Equestria and the benefit of all ponies. As Octavia had said, time heals all wounds and ponies forget their grief eventually, life was too short to loose it to sadness entirely after all. But what if you are immortal like Princess Celestia?
She now realized why her friend didn't want to be the Princess. She felt sad just by listening, but having to feel this every day? No cake in the world could make that right.
The crowd was fully silent now, equally lost in their thoughts. She turned her head and looked at her friends. Her eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped when she saw the ponies who had joined the crowd but she remained silent as the song's final verses were sung
These tears that burn my eyes are all the tears the queen can't shed,
the tears I weep in silence as I mourn my Heralds dead.
Oh gods that dwell beyond the stars, if you can hear my cry
and if you have compassion,
let me send no more to die!
and if you have compassion,
let me send no more to die!
Crystal Note repeated those last words once more, then brought the melody on her guitar to an end as well. She opened her eyes again and threw a shy smile to her friends like she usually did when she sang a song for the first time. This time though she noticed the big crowd and looked around nervously. Most of the ponies now carried sad expressions and some even wiped away tears.
Lyra gently nudged her with her hoof and pointed towards the crowd. The crystal unicorn looked into the direction and her gem shaped eyes opened wide in a mix of disbelieve and anxiety. Lyra noticed the colour of her coat changing from its usual silvery-white to a pale grey. She couldn't blame her friend to be nervous.
In the back of the crowd two tall forms stood out from the other ponies. The two ponies sat with their long legs folded under themselves, their heads up high in a regal pose. Their horns shone gently in the light of the moon and their wings were folded comfortably on their flanks. A blue mane with sparkling stars in it and an ethereal aurora-coloured mane waved in an invisible breeze.
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna sat in between the other ponies, their attention on the songstress and her song. Once the crystal mare had opened her eyes, their gazes found hers.
Princess Luna's eyes seemed to glow in the light of the stars and moon, her expression held the indication of a smile. Princess Celestia's white colour made her stand out even in the soft lights from the stars and she wore her kind and serene expression.
Slowly the Princess of the Sun sat up on her haunches and started clapping her hooves in applause, followed right away by her sister. The ponies in the crowd blinked as if awakening from a trance and joined in, expressing their appreciation.
Crystal Note just stared for a minute longer, then she hopped off the bench and bowed down before the Princesses in a well practiced motion, touching the ground with her forehead and the tip of her horn. She kept her head low and the guitar held in her hoof. As she bowed, the colour of her coat changed again, starting from her horn and flowing down her body. The pale grey turned into a pearly white hue and more crystalline, catching the light of the moon around her in a sparkly display. Her mane crystallized as well and changed from yellow to the colour of citrine.
The ponies in the crowded gasped, but Princess Celestia just smiled and stood up. With only a few steps she stood in front of the songstress and gently touched her head with her hoof
"Please rise, Crystal Note."
The crystal unicorn looked up surprised at the kindness in the Princess' voice and stood up as ordered, her gaze shifting between the Princess of the Sun and her sister who now had joined her.
Lyra wondered for a moment how the Princess would know her friend's name, but then Princess Luna spoke as well
"Our dearest thanks to you, Crystal Note, for a song with such emotion and none less beauty. It's been a while since we heard music this marvellous."
The crystal pony blushed so hard that her cheeks took the colour of rubies and mumbled in her shaky and timid voice
"Thank you, your Highness. I'm glad you liked my song, even though it could never compete with the beauty of your starry sky, especially tonight."
Now Lyra saw a faint blush on the Moon Princess' cheeks and her sister giggled and winked to the mare before her
"I guess the old saying is true after all: It takes a beautiful mind to both appreciate and inspire beauty."
Crystal Note's blush stayed strong and she carefully strapped the guitar on her back again, just to give herself a moment to not look directly at the Princesses. Princess Luna used that moment to compose herself and exchanged a glance with her sister. They both nodded and the Princess Luna spoke again
"We were about to enjoy a late dinner before my sister retires for the day. Would you like to join us? I'd like to learn more about your song and the meaning of it. Of course your friends are welcome as well."
The crystal mare was stunned for a moment. Lyra was the first one to process what she just heard and hopped down from the bench. She stood beside her for support and to whisper as quietly as she could
"Royal cake!"
Princess Luna laughed softly which made Lyra blush. Crystal Note smiled and her coat sparkled in the moonlight as she bowed deeply
"It would be our great honour, your Highnesses."
Princess Celestia smiled and nodded to the five friends from Ponyville
"Wonderful. Shall we, then?"
She turned around and headed towards the palace with long and slow strides, matched by her sister. Crystal Note followed quickly with Lyra and Bon Bon on her side and Octavia and Vinyl right behind them.
The ponies opened a path for them to pass through and then stared as the small group made the short way to the entrance of the palace. They watched them walk through the doors and then started talking about the song, the songstress and the Princesses.
By the time the Princesses and their guests reached the dining hall, the words of the song had already been spread from pony to pony and into the city of Canterlot.
