It was at times like these that King Magnus Platinum The Third was grateful for his father’s honesty in teaching him what to expect when he became a king. Mainly that everypony always complains to you about everything. While he did love his kingdom, his subjects, and his duty as the supreme leader of Faust’s chosen race, the amount of hassle that came with it from the power hungry nobles, war hawk military, and greedy merchants was sometimes too much. ‘If it wasn’t for the fact that my mane is already silver, I swear I would be getting grey hairs,’ he thought as his military advisor, Duke Crosseye, continued his rambling.

“-furthermore, I fail to understand why we need to even lower ourselves into helping one of the worst criminals the world has ever seen!” Duke Crosseye shouted with some of the few hairs remaining on his balding head falling off from the stress. The brown unicorn’s military outfit, which he wore even after his retirement from active service, was starting to showcase his sweat from his armpits. “In case you didn’t read your history, Your Majesty, Lord Tirek didn’t just attack Equestria, but all magical lands, including ours! It’s a miracle he was defeated by Equestria before his forces managed to establish a serious strongpoint on our shores!”

“I am well versed in history, Crosseye. I seem to remember I was always better in that subject when we were growing up,” King Magnus Platinum stated, rolling his eyes. He poured a glass of water for his friend and levitated it over to him. “The point is that by rescuing Tirek we will gain an ally. One that we need in the upcoming war.”

“I am not debating that war with Equestria is inevitable,” Duke Crosseye replied, taking the glass and taking a few sips. “But why should we ask for allies from not only an inferior and soulless race, but also one we know has a habit of betraying allies?”

King Magnus sometimes cursed the propaganda driven narrative his country had held for the past thousand years. It was no secret that most of the population of Unicornia believed they were the superior race of not only the three races created by Fausticorn, but also all the races created by the gods. King Magnus was no idiot. If unicorns were the superior race then why hadn’t they conquered the world yet? They had not even come close to the territory the old Dragon Empire once had during the days when Septum Cain still had his body. Queen Platinum, his great ancestor, believed that the nation of Equestria would collapse into civil war with all three races fighting each other, but they had preserved. They had defeated great foes from King Sombra to Tirek. Twice they had been given the powers of the Creator Gods in the form of the Elements of Harmony to defend their homes. Not even the priests could deny the Creator Gods were infinitely better than Fausticorn. The honest truth, though he would never say it in public, was that Equestria’s vision of a united nation for the three races had succeeded and prospered well with the ruling of the alicorn princesses.

Of course, no nation lasts forever, and times of weakness always come. Equestria might have come out alright during such times like the Age of Discord and The Rebellion of Nightmare Moon, but sadly Unicornia couldn’t strike at those times. Now, however, with civil war looming over the Progressives and Traditionalists, the time was ripe to strike Equestria soon.

“Because war is coming,” King Magnus answered, sighing as he gazed upon the nearby map of the world. “Equestria and Unicornia have never gotten along due to our ideological differences. So long as one of us exists, we cannot co-exist until one gives in. It is inevitable. While I have faith in our military and technological superiority, there are a few factors we must take into account. Primarily, The alicorn princess, Discord, and their allies.”

“And you believe Tirek is the answer to those three problems?” Duke Crosseye asked, raising his eyebrows. “Didn’t the two alicorn sisters defeat him before he was banished to Tartarus?”

“They were about even in power,” King Magnus answered, levitating a book and flipping it to a page that showed the battle between the two super powered beings. “They clashed many times, but neither was willing to gain the upper hand. It wasn’t until Tirek’s brother betrayed him that they manage to successfully defeat him. Besides, we have an alicorn princess of our own.”

“Yes, Majesty Blueblood,” Duke Crosseye muttered, sipping his water. “But the princesses have years of experience. No offence to your future daughter-in-law, but it would take a long time for her to come close to their power.”

“We’re currently looking for something that will boost her power. Quick enough for her to become equal to the princesses,” King Magnus answered, smirking as he thanked his ancestors for the notes about that particular object. “Rest assured that should we find it, she will be near-unstoppable.”

“Fine, but even if we were to have the means to eliminating the princesses, what about Discord? In case you haven’t forgotten, he managed to seal away a god.”

King Mangus had to wince on that one. The news that not only had Discord been released from his prison caused chaos in their own borders, but that he became Equestria’s friend and ally, despite the numerous crimes he had committed all those years ago, sent shockwaves around the world. If rumor was correct, the entire horde of dragon clans became that close to declaring war on Equestria, but cooler heads prevailed. They may have been a divided race of barbarians, but not even the dragons would forget the crime of Discord sealing their god away and causing the collapse of their great civilization.

The Age of Discord was still a nightmare even taught today, and most thought Equestria was only playing with fire by keeping Discord as a friend. Rumor had it he was close to one of the Elements of Harmony, but what was to stop that friendship if something happened to her or when she finally kicked the bucket? “Professor Petrie has assured me that it's possible to copy Tirek’s magic draining ability. I don’t know how he intends to do it, but if there is anything that stallion is good at, it’s creating scientific miracles.”

“I suppose that maniac is good for something,” Duke Crosseye muttered with a shiver. “I don’t trust that guy. Nor do I trust Tirek.”

Neither did King Magnus, but Professor Petrie was a man with a brain that only came once every thousand years. It was because of him they had the special sphere armor that only the best of the best soldiers could wear. A suit of armor not only able to protect from the most deadly of blades and magics, but to increase the physical and mental abilities of the soldier as well. Combined with the omni-cream, call mirrors, and more, the stallion kept inventing and experimenting without stop. Of course, the... rumors of his behavior and tastes couldn’t be ignored. Especially when no assistance of his lasted for more than three years at most or at least a week before never being heard from again. Upon meeting the genius personally, King Magnus felt his spine turn to ice in fear. Behind those eyes and the glasses, one could see the fires of brilliance and insanity as one giant flamestorm.

“I don’t trust either of them, but Professor Petrie will work for us provided he is free to do his... experiments.” King Magnus shivered and sighed. “But if he can create a way to neutralize the chaos spirits’ magic, it will be worth it. As for Tirek, I expect him to betray us at some point, which is why we will betray him first when we get the chance.”

“So, we’re going to waste our own stallions and mares in arms to regain a country that has no use for us?” Duke Crosseye grumbled.

“Tirek has promised to repay the costs of the war when he comes into power. While it is a wasteland, the centaurs do have quite a treasury from their years of mining. Not to mention he has agreed to be the vanguard for the invasion force when the time comes. He's determined to get his revenge,” King Magnus answered, before leaning forward. “But it also gives us something that we desperately need: allies.”

“... fine I’ll give you that,” Duke Crosseye muttered. “Not much of an ally all things considered. Especially when he turns his eyes on us.”

“For now, his eyes on on his homeland and Equestria. We’re far from his list of targets, and we’ll take care of him before that happens,” King Magnus pointed out. “Despite being technologically superior to most nations, we lack any allies of our own. Even the minotaurs refuse to trade with us, and they trade with everyone. Equestria has not only the Crystal Empire and Saddle Arabia, but also have an alliance with the changelings and griffins, a trade agreement with the minotaurs, and are in opening talks with the kitsune who’ve we had bad enough luck already in our history in dealing with them.”

If there was one nation Unicornia feared, it was the damn samurai kitsune of Kyukyo. Twice they had decided to try and invade with a grand armada and twice they suffered the worst naval defeats in their history. The first time they tried, nearly all of their ships were wiped out in a great typhoon, and what few ships that survived were destroyed by the kitsune navy. Eighty years later, Queen Aqua Platinum The Second, a grand commander of ships in her own right, rebuilt the navy into an even stronger force to try again. This time they managed to land a vanguard invading force, but faced heavy resistance from the samurai foxes. Had the main naval force arrived with their troops the tide would have turned, but, by all rights a miracle or nightmare depending on who you asked, another typhoon had wiped them out, including Queen Aqua Platinum, whose body was lost to the sea she thought to have mastered. Believing it was a gift from their goddess, called a kamikaze, the kitsunes forced the Unicornian navy to retreat again. Since then, no other invasion force was ever tried in the last three hundred years, but they had never forgotten.

“Leaving the minotaurs and kitsunes out of it, Equestria will have the aid of at least four other nations by their side. It’s suicide to go at them alone, thus the centaurs will help us with Tirek in control,” King Mangus said. “Besides him, there are other allies we can use to our purpose..”

“Such as?” Duke Crosseye asked.

“The so called bastard princess of Queen Chrysalis is still trying to claim her right as the Queen of the Changelings, despite them getting rid of the monarchy and caste system. I don’t know if its true or not, but I don’t care. Allying with her will at least force the changelings to focus on their own problems. They are a new nation adjusting to their new society; they won’t be able to assist Equestria with much. The griffins are still having to deal with the yaks and their ever present invasions. They’ll never ally with us since they hate all non-yaks, but if we can provide weapons and supplies, we can at least delay the griffins from helping Equestria.”

“And Saddle Arabia and The Crystal Empire?”

“No plans for them for now, but we’ll think of something. We still have a few years before its time to get serious,” King Magnus stated.

Duke Crosseye sighed and shook his head. “You seem to have this all planned out. And yet here I am just arguing with you.”

“I value your opinions, because at least you don’t kiss my flank like some of my other advisors do,” King Magnus said with a smile before the door to his office was knocked on. “Come in!”

Strolling inside was a mare with bright yellow fur and her long dark blue mane flowing behind her like a wave of ocean water while making the silver crown on her head look more beautiful. Her diamond like eyes gazed upon her husband as Duke Crosseye got up and bowed before her while Magnus gave a large smile upon seeing his wife. “Hello dear, I was hoping we could talk.”

“Of course, Stormy,” King Magnus got up and nodded to Duke Crosseye. “Mind leaving us, old friend?”

“Of course, good day your graces,” he said, bowing once more before leaving.

“I take it he came to complain about the Tirek situation?” Queen Stormy asked, walking over to the water pitcher and filling up a glass for herself.

“I think I’ve convinced him, but he has me worried about how others are going to take it,” King Magnus answered, sighing. “Some of the more xenophobic nobles will think I’m ruining tradition by doing this. I already am in hot water with them for agreeing to allow the passage of the new slave laws and allowing my son to marry an Equestrian born noble. Even if she is an alicorn of a pure unicorn bloodline.”

“That girl is a born prodigy,” Queen Stormy said, smirking. “I was worried about tying her to our son, but I’ve seen the way they look at each other. They care about each other which I haven’t seen since... well...”

“Us?” King Magnus answered as he took his wife into his embrace and smiled at her. Staring into those diamond eyes that sparkled in the light. The sparkles that made his heart a slave to his mare ever since he was sixteen. “I seem to remember that you couldn’t wait to have me not long after we met?”

“Not my fault stallions are a sucker for a swish of the tail.” She placed her lips on his and moaned as they felt each other up. “Our fathers were furious to find us already in bed together...”

“Not my brother. He won that bet from your sister,” Magnus chuckled as he stopped and looked into his wife seriously. “Do you think I’m doing the right thing? Marrying our son off to Majesty?”

“Do you like her?” Queen Stormy asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I do, it’s her father I hated.” King Magnus sighed, rubbing a hoof through his mane. “I respected the stallion, but to betray his own son? His wife? That speaks of an ambition that knows no bounds.”

“The stallion has been dead for years and with him his ambition,” Queen Stormy answered, rolling his eyes as he nuzzled her love. “As good as his brother is at the game, he doesn’t have his ruthlessness, nor does Majesty. She’s just a child, and children can easily be molded. Besides, Silversteel loves her and will have no other. He’d rather go unmarried for life if he can’t have her.”

“True,” King Magnus agreed, thinking of how happy his boy looked when he stared at his future wife-to-be. He loved his son too much to hurt him. “I just worry...”

“You only worry getting our son to be ruler of an empire, I’ll handle those old sticks in the mud,” Queen Stormy whispered, kissing her husband on the cheek. “Thanks to the help of the Bluebloods, we have enough blackmail, evidence, and plans with added backup plans. I don’t know how they do it, or who they have working for them as a spy master, but they are good. If it keeps everypony having their knees bent to you and not somepony else, I don’t care about the methods.”

“Who else would they turn too?” King Magnus asked, smirking.

The door slammed open which nearly made the royal couple jump, but upon seeing who it was the queen sneered. “Speak of the devil...” she whispered.

“My King and Queen! Did I capture you at a bad time?” a red mare dressed in a pure red gown with a red mane with yellow stripes asked. Unlike the king and queen, who wore a simple gold uniform and blue gown with little jewelry, the newcomer was covered in jewels that would make a dragon's mouth water. If a stranger were to meet her, they would think she was the queen, or even a princess, yet the only jewel she did not have was the crown.

“We were just having a private conversation, Princess Dahlia,” Queen Stormy replied, her tone quickly turning emotionless. Yet if Dahlia had any response to it she didn’t show. “What do you want?”

“I just wanted you to know that your nephew, Prince Sterling, has arrived back on leave. It would be kind of you to see him,” Princess Dahlia said, smiling.

“I’ll see him at dinner tonight,” King Magnus answered calmly.

“Surley, you would want to see your nephew who has been gone for so long? He has missed you dearly,” Princess Dahlia said, sweetly.

“That’s very kind to hear, but sadly I am busy with matters of state. When I am finished I will look for him or see him at dinner. Now please go, Sister-In-Law. My wife and I are busy.”

“Of course, I’ll see you both at dinner. Until then.” She bowed and then left with the door closed behind her.

“Goddess, does that mare think I’ll ever love that rock hearted son of hers,” King Magnus moaned as he rubbed his temple. “And I’m sure he’s not pleased to see me either.”

“Well, what do you expect? She wants her son to be king,” Queen Stormy answered, rolling her eyes as she snarled at the door.

“My brother may have had children before me, but by right of law my child comes first, and I will not let that stubborn, emotionless, and uncaring bastard become king if I can help it,” King Magnus answered, standing up with a growl. “He has no feelings whatsoever. He didn’t even cry at Onyx’s funeral. Just stood there and stared into nothingness like he didn’t want to be there!”

“Why your father ever paired her with your brother, I will never know..”

“My brother was a good stallion who deserved better,” King Magnus growled as he thought of his younger brother, the deceased Prince Onyx Horn. If there was anypony who King Magnus trusted, it was his brother who had been his best friend and ally in his starting years after their father died of old age. The only reason his brother even had to get married was because of duty, but Onyx and his wife could never really get along. At least in private. More than once had his younger brother complained to him about how his wife was doing things without him knowing or putting herself between him and his children. He barely had time to be with his son and daughter before his unfortunate death from an automobile accident. It was the cruelest thing Fausticorn had ever done to him, and he didn’t pray to her for months until his wife ended up with a foal. It was a damn good thing too as legally, until he had Silversteel, Onyx was technically his heir to the throne, and when he died, that became his son, Sterling. A stallion who seemed cold to everypony, even family, and looked to not even care about matters of state save for military related actions. When he wanted to into the force, King Magnus gave his full blessings if only to never deal with him for awhile. “His daughter is even worse. I swear if she was in charge of the treasury, we would go bankrupt in three days...”

“Well, you know the best way to prevent any worries, right?” Queen Stormy said, walking over to her husband before nuzzling his neck affectionately. “Have another child... or two?”

“Are you insinuating that I only sleep with you because of your ability to give children?” King Magnus whispered, grinning.

“Is it working?”

“I’ll show you how much tonight...”

***

Princess Dahlia was not one to be ungrateful for the blessings she had in her life. Her family had been rich and influential enough to influence court thanks to her father’s political connections and talents. So talented that he was able to marry her off to a prince of Unicornia. The jealous looks all her friends had during her wedding day was enough to make her feel like a goddess that day with all the attention on her. It was a feeling that only stuck around as she continued to live in the royal lifestyle. The way many tried to win her favor, ask her needs, and even some were willing to kill for her if she asked. Dahlia was careful on how to use her position, even in the royal family there was no screwing up unless you wanted the game to crush you.

Her father taught her all there was about the game they played. How one was to rise as high as possible while leaving a legacy behind you. For Dahlia, she wanted to have one of her own blood to become the next ruler of the kingdom, but sadly, she had one obstacle in her way: Prince Silversteel.

For the longest time, Queen Stormy had been without a child even after ten years of marriage. Many told King Magnus he should get a new wife at the time in fear she was barren, but he refused because he actually loved her. At the time it didn’t matter to Dahlia. She had given birth to two children who had become the heir and the spare without her having to do any of the dirty work. She even whispered to her foolish husband that maybe he should make an attempt to play for the throne with his brother unable to have an heir. That lead to the first and only time he ever slapped her. Oh, their marriage wasn’t a happy one for sure, as they only married for duty. Prince Onyx’s problem was he was too loyal to his brother and thus a hindrance to her plans. So she made sure that her children were raised by her as much as possible without Onyx interfering. If she couldn’t get him to side with her, then his children would have to do. Thankfully, she didn’t have to deal with him anymore thanks to the accident, and she could avoid getting married again by playing the grieving widow who still longed for her husband’s touch.

He wasn’t even that good in bed anyway, Princess Dahlia thought as she walked through the halls to her daughter’s bed room while dismissing her handmaidens. She had told Eden Joy to get here about two hours ago and only now had she finally returned from the one place her daughter practically lived in: The Grand Mall. Opening the doors to her room, Dahlia raised an eyebrow over the near dozens of large bags filled with clothes, jewels, and other accessories that was bound to lead to another argument with the king over her spending.

Meanwhile, her daughter was lying on her bed while chatting on her Call Mirror in a sparkling purple and ivory dress with a necklace of pearls around her neck. Even Dahlia had to admit she looked good with her pink coat and silver-redded swiring mane. “-and he told me that it's something that the slaves celebrate or something. Honestly, that guy may have a cute face and butt, but he’s way too nice for his own good. Being polite to the slaves? Caring for their traditions and holidays? What are we, Equestrians?”

“Joy, could you turn off the Mirror? We need to talk,” Dahlia said, crossing her hooves.

“Ugh, fine. I’ll call you later, Sandy,” Eden Joy ended the call before looking at mother with an annoyed expression. “Whatever we’re going to talk about can we hurry it up? I got, like, a date in three hours.”

“Cancel it. We’re having dinner with the family tonight,” Dahlia said before raising her hoof to prevent her daughter from opening her mouth. “And this is not up for debate. You’re brother is home from the military, and we’re going to look like a united family for him. That’s final.”

“Ugh, fine!” Eden Joy huffed before crossing her hooves. “But if this guy happens to be my destined lover and I miss my chance at being with him it's your fault. Anyway, why is even here? I thought he left to get away from all of us.”

“Trust me, I’m wondering the same thing,” a deep and dull sounding voice said from the entrance before closing the door behind him. If there was one good thing about Sterling that nopony could deny it was that he had all his father’s looks of black fur and silver mane. He was all Onyx save for the red eyes of his mother and her ear shape. His cutie mark was that of a sword stuck to a stone, reminding a few of the tale of the Unicorn King Albion who was said to be the greatest ruler of the original unicorn homeland long before Equestria and Unicornia were ever made. To Dahlia it meant that her son was destined to rule in her eyes. Walking over, he pecked his mother on the cheek before staring at her sister. “Back at the base things were so quiet and peaceful I almost forgot the sound of your voice.”

“Oh go get KIA’d,” Joy responded, sticking her tounge out.

“Enough, both of you. I swear you two haven’t grown up at all since you were in diapers,” Dahlia responded before activating her horn and putting silencing seals around the room to avoid being overheard. “Now, we need to talk about our family’s future. More specifically, our future in getting the crown.”

“Still haven’t loss sense of your ambition I see, Mother,” Sterling responded as he walked over to a wall and leaned on it. “I thought you finally realized we’re never going to get the crown. Not with Prince Silversteel alive.”

“Which begs the question why you haven’t just had the stupid brat killed already,” Eden Joy stated while she summoned her filenail. “Just poison his oatmeal or shoot him in the head already and put that stupid crown on my brother so you can stop talking about. Or if he doesn’t want it, I’ll take it.”

“First off all, think with your head. Assassinating someone, especially a prince, is no easy task, and you know how protective his parents are. He always has at least one Royal Knight with him and testers for every meal. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want Sir Morning Blade to come after us and stab us in our sleep if anything were to hint us back to the prince’s death,” Dahlia stated, shaking her head. “No, the prince is untouchable for now... but soon he won’t be.”

This got her children’s attention. “How so?” Sterling asked.

“I can’t tell you. All you need to know is that their will come a time when the prince will face his end eventually, and we will have to be ready to take advantage of it,” Dahlia said, smirking.

“How do you know this?” Eden Joy asked.

“I have a... new friend I met who knows things. Things that not even the Royal Family knows, but there is one thing that is required for us. An agreement of sorts.” She turned to her son with a smile. “When the prince dies, you will marry Majesty Blueblood.”

It was rare to see her son show emotion, but in this case she couldn’t blame him. His mouth had actually dropped a little as he stared at her with eyes as wide as dinner plates. “W-what?”

“You heard me,” Dahlia stated as she walked over to her son and stared at him straight in the eye. “You will marry Majesty Blueblood. Her family will agree to it just to keep their daughter as queen, and we’ll agree to it so we have alicorn blood in our family bloodline. It’s a win-win, but more so for us.”

This made Sterling blush while Joy started laughing like crazy with tears coming out of her eyes. “Sterling is going to marry the Equestrian?! Oh, that’s rich! He’s eight years older than her!”

“Have I no say in this?” Sterling muttered, lowering his eyes, but his mother forced him to look at her. “I don’t want to marry her. I don’t want to be king. I just want to be a soldier.”

“Then be a good soldier and obey your mother. This is your destiny, my son.” She slowly hugged him and smiled. “You will make a good king. I believe in you.”

Sterling sighed before slowly pushing her away. “I seriously doubt your claims will come to pass, mother, but should my cousin perish and I am left with no choice, I will become king, but only for duty’s sake. Not for you.”

“And Majesty?” Dahlia asked.

“... only if she agrees to it,” Sterling answered before heading towards the door without a second word. He opened it and closed it behind him.

“He’ll get over it. He always does,” Eden Joy muttered, rolling her eyes. “Hey, wait, what am I going to do?”

“I thought you never ask,” Dahlia said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a potion bottle. “You will invite the queen to tea every week.”

“Mom, she thinks I’m an idiot.”

“And that’s why she won’t suspect you. Now after the third week you are going to pour this into the tea of the queen to ensure that she has no more foals.”

“Is it poison?” Joy asked, taking it with her telekinesis.

“In a way yes. It will only kill you if you take too much, so be sure to drop only two drops it,” Dahlia said as she walked over to her daughter and narrowed her eyes. “Two. Drops. Only. You will do this for the next few years-”

“YEARS?!”

“Yes, years!” Dahlia repeated. “This is a potion the zebra’s use to prevent pregnancy, but prolonged use of it can ruin a mare’s ability to have children. So long as you use two drops every week or so in the next few years, the queen will be unable to have anymore foals. And should she be get another one, I have a backup that will kill the foal in the womb.”

“Let me guess, another potion from the mud hut living barbarians?” Eden Joy asked.

“No, that one you can get anywhere in Unicornia,” Dahlia stated as she handed it off to her daughter. “Now I’ll see you at dinner.”

Dahlia made her way out of her daughter’s room and continued down the hall, praying to Fausticorn that her children would do the right thing. If her new ally was right, and she had little doubt, the prince’s funeral would be held in a few years with her son left as the heir to the throne. Majesty Blueblood would marry her son and give birth to a child while the king and queen perish from heartbreak. She would be the new mother of the king and the grandmother of a future king.

When the time game for her to be buried in the tombs, she would leave a legacy of her own behind. Afterall, this was the game. You play it until you win or die.

Author's Note

Yes I am a fan of Game of Thrones why do you ask? But yeah, happy new year everyone!

As always, please help out at the AssassinationVerse TV Tropes page: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/TheAssassinationOfTwilightSparkle