Prince Sugar Hoof of Equestria

by Furenstein

Rating: mature
Tags: Drama, Original Character, Tempest Shadow, Violence, Slice of Life, Death, Human, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe
Length: 25659

With his land now recognized as part of Equestria, Sugar Hoof is forced to take on a role where his magical experience has no sway, politics.

Claims laid to the southern desert leads to a war between two rival countries, with the newly crowned Prince Sugar Hoof in the middle. With new responsibilities, the dilemmas of nobility, and magical research, the small colt must overcome all challenges, even himself.

Published 2022-08-04 10:40:00 UTC
Last updated 2023-09-05 12:56:08 UTC

Filing Royal Taxes

A warm fire and a bubbling cauldron, there are few things in life as good as these. The cold night air entered through a window as I stirred the cauldron thoroughly. It was almost ready for the experiment to begin, I had all the ingredients finally. My side table was full of jars, bowls, and bottles filled with reagents. Treants stood outside the room, ready for another explosion with shield magic. With a new formula, I was hoping for a miracle.

"32 ounces of chopped sage." I said, levitating the bowl with the parsley over to the cauldron before pouring it in. I was so close last time, and I think what I've done wrong was my overconfidence and lack of a few needed ingredients. The recipe I used last time was, a bottle of liquified anger, Sage, Mandrake, And a Diamond. This time would be different.

"A bottle of life magic and harmony magic mixed together." I levitated the crystal clear bottle over the cauldron and poured the beautiful green liquid in. The mixture turned became a rainbow of hues as the harmony magic settled in the cauldron.

"Two diced mandrakes." Chunks of mandrakes were slid into the cauldron from a cutting board, causing the mixture to billow out smoke that filled the room. Thankfully, most of the most exited through the window while I grabbed a plate covered in finely cut gemstones.

"A peridot for imagination." The mixture glowed a bright yellow.

"An emerald for spirit." Bright green.

"A ruby for passion." Bright red.

"And an amethyst for creativity." Finally, it settled on bright purple.

The potion was done, and it didn't even explode. I was pleased with myself as I grabbed a cup and filled it with the mixture. Steam rolled off the rapidly changing potion and I downed it quickly despite the temperature.

A minute passed, then three minutes, then five, then ten, and nothing happened. "Bah, a dud." I said in annoyance as I dumped the cauldron out. I knew I should've just stuck with one mandrake.

The door to my lab opened, Gilded Spear shoved his head in.

"Sugar, it's time for court." He said, wearing his golden armor.

"Court? What am I being accused of?" I asked, completely understanding that I've done many wrong things and probably deserve jail time.

"No, not that kind of court, come on, I'll explain on the way." He said, gesturing for me to follow him.

"Holding court, what exactly is the point of this?" I asked as I was led to the throne room underground.

"Well, you listen to your subject's grievances, mostly." Gilded explained.

"Rulers listen to their subjects here? Back home they just did what they wanted and killed anyone who disagreed." Well, except for a viking I knew, which you'd think, a viking would be the most tyrannical of leaders, but no.

"I doubt you'll have many pon... I mean, treants, who will actually show up, but even if you don't, there is some mail to go through."

I was shocked, "I've got mail?"

"Of course, you're a prince now, all kinds of creatures are likely interested." He said. Interested. An unpleasant word for such matters.

The throne room did have a few unfamilar treants inside as we entered. Birch, my advisor Elm, my overseer and Poplar, my court wizard stood by my throne, waiting with numerous books and boxes.

"This will take quite a bit, won't it?" I asked, jumping up onto my throne. I hadn't actually sat on it since I returned, The
green cushion was soft and the stone was smooth. The gold that lined the throne shined brilliantly in the green and blue lights of the throne room.

Gilded laughed a small bit, "I'm afraid so."

"Alright, what's first?" I asked, looking over at Birch as Gilded Spear stood in-between Elm and myself.

Birch waved at a treant without a name, prompting him to approach my throne and kneel down.

"Master." He said simply, I inwardly hoped that not all of the treants here would do that. "Few of us can work without thinking of yer coronation. I told me brothers in the smithy that I'd ask if ye've given it any thought. "

"I've chosen to ignore it, even without a coronation, I am still a prince of Equestria, and I find it pointless. There is nothing to gain from a coronation." I said, leaning back on my throne.

He looked upset before bowing his head and saying, "Of course, my prince," before walking away quietly.

I looked at Birch as he left, "A coronation, seriously?"

"You being given the title of prince of equestria, instead of king of equestria, didn't set right with a lot of us. We merely wish to show the citizens of Equestria what they could have under your rule instead of the two sisters." Birch explained.

"There will be no more talk of me taking over Equestria, we are a part of Equestria now."

He cleared his wooden throat, "Yes, master. Shall we continue court?"

I simply nodded, allowing another treant to approach.

A warrior approached, wearing his armor proudly before kneeling.

"Master." He said, yes all of them were going to do this, I realized. "There is talk among the non-treants in your land, that the storm king is superior to you. I ask that you allow us to silence these liars and heretics permanently." Some of the treants behind him agreed with his request.

"No." Killing had it's place, as all things do, you can't kill someone just because they said something about you. I needed to dress up my response though, as I noticed the expressions on their faces. "I must entice these naysayers to my side, and I shall earn more loyalty from my subjects if I help them instead of kill them." I tried to sound like a leader.

"Yes, master." He said, as he stood up and left. Surprisingly, most of the other treants followed him, leaving only one left.

"Please, approach." I ordered.

He went through the same song and dance as the others, "Our home is becoming more known to the outside world, and we fear for your safety." He said, pulling out numerous scrolls. "Me and a few of the other builders have been working on this design for a while." Unravelling one, it appeared like a giant palace in the planet's outer core.

I just wanted to be done with this, there were other things that needed my attention than this talk of coronations and palaces. "Yes, build me a palace in the planet's outer core."

He bowed with a smile and said, "Yes, master." Before he left.

That just left us in there, no more subjects to hear from. "I expected it to take a bit longer." I said, sitting up straight.

Birch didn't allow me a moment's respite though, as two boxes were sat in front of us. One full of mail, and one unopened.

"The unopened one, what's in it?" I asked, and a treant lifted the box revealing a fruit basket. "Fruits?"

"We've already tested them, master. They're clean and safe to eat." Poplar said.

"But still inferior to the fruits grown here." Birch added on.

Jumping off of my throne, I walked closer to the basket and pulled out a card attached to it. "I only thought it prudent that I send a gift to the newest member of the royal family, Signed, Prince Blueblood." I read.

The other Equestrian prince, I had not met him yet, but I knew that I should send something back to him.

I looked back to Birch and said, "send Prince Blueblood some of our finest silks, and some perfume." Birch wrote it down.

By Will of the Prince

I had a lot of letters come in from both the nobility of Equestria, and of foreign countries. Griffonstone, Zebrica, Saddle Arabia, and even one from the storm king himself. His is the one that worried me.

"Master?" Birch asked.

"I've been prince for a day, and I've already been declared war on." The storm king has declared war and could attack from anywhere at anytime.

Nobody said anything, but I still knew what I had to do. I'm to protect Equestria from all that would threaten it as part of my debt to it.

"How many treants are combat ready?" I asked, turning back to Birch.

"three hundred million, far outnumbering the storm king's army." He said, smiling.

"How do you know the amount of soldiers the storm king has?!" I asked, shocked how a tree who never leaves this one location could know.

"The tunnels stretch across the world, master, and nobody suspects a tree of spying." He said.

"I will be busy for a while, I see." I grunted and looked over to Poplar.

"How many researchers can you spare?"

"We work by your will, master. As such, none of us are really working on anything."

"I need two things, I need some of you to go into Equestria and scour the Everfree forest, we never did find what was causing the life magic leak. Take twenty guards to protect you and carry what you find, but bring me every magical item in there."

She wrote it down before asking, "What's the second thing?"

"Explosives, If there's to be a war, we will be unable to go without bloodshed. We must prepare." I had been in many battles, some skirmishes, but never a war.

"Perhaps it's time to summon the knights?" Birch suggested.

"No." I said simply. Summoning the treants have caused enough problems.

All wizards have three thralls, for a life wizard, that's the fairy, the weakest, the treant, the middle, and the knight, the strongest. They go up in cost by how strong they are. A fairy can be summoned simply and they aren't very useful or strong, but they can summoned for basically nothing. A treant requires a tree strong enough to sustain life, and a knight requires a living animal be sacrificed.

Don't get me wrong, The treants have never done anything outright bad... to me, at least. Sure, their mannerisms get a bit tiresome, but they're blindly loyal and obedient. Assuming I don't leave anything to interpretation, all will be well.

"You mentioned I had prisoners yesterday, as well? Ones who no longer wanted to leave?" I asked Birch.

"Yes, master. Shall I call them in?"

"Please."

It only took them an hour to reach the throne room thanks to the teleportation systems around the caverns. They wore bright smiles as they approached and I could tell immediately that something was wrong. Canines and insects entered the room and kneeled.

"You called, my prince?" They said, never losing their smile.

I looked at Birch with a glare, "What did you do?"

"They did not know you, master, so we taught them the same way we learned."

"You let them ingest my magic?" I asked, alarmed.

"Yes, it's proven quite the hit." Birch smiled, thinking this as a success.

"Birch, that kills people back home! Other people are not able to digest another person's magic!" I waved my hoof frantically.

Poplar replied, "We have been looking them over since they arrived, and there has been no signs of weakness or sickness in them, besides the mutation, that is."

"You are not to feed anyone my magic from now on." I ordered, I will soon have blood on my hooves, but I do not want it to be the blood of innocents.

Court ended thankfully, and I had a migraine. Trying to find the secrets of immortality was easier than running this place. Gilded Spear and I relaxed in one of the many bathhouses, with the tub more than big enough to allow both of us to float mindlessly in it.

"Your treants are a lot more violent than I thought they'd be." Gilded Spear said. "No offense."

"None taken, it was my fault anyway, the planet's natural magic threw me for a bit. I didn't anticipate the treants gaining sapience.

"You didn't make them this way?"

"No, when I made the first twenty, they were no more intelligent than mindless beasts, but now... the magic here does something to them. I shudder to think what it would do to the fairies or knights if I tried to make them."

We sat in silence for a minute, enjoying the noises that came from the water.

"So... war." He said, which I grunted at. "What's the plan?"

"I don't have one."

His head rose from the water, "A plan is kind of important, Sugar."

"I've never been to war, All I know about it is that one side kills the other side and whoever is still alive wins."

His head slowly fell back into the water as he resumed floating.

"Even without a plan, you have plenty of treants that can fight, but the storm lands has the most technologically advanced society."

"You like cheesecake." It wasn't a question, ever since I stole the power from the elements of harmony, it began feeding me certain information.

"Yeah... how did you—"

I turned to the treants who stood guard. "Fetch a cheesecake for Gilded Spear." He bowed his head and left.

"You didn't have to—"

I interrupted again, "Would you like a massage too? I'm sure the treants won't mind."

His mouth was held open, "Uuhhhh..." He said dumbly.

With him quelled a bit, it allowed me a chance to think.

"I'm blind out here beyond what my treants tell me and what harmony tells me, I need spies so I can keep up." I started with annoyance. "Plus, I've got a war to plan out, since I've never even been in a war, I'm mostly just playing it by ear." A treant returned, carrying a large cheesecake. I enchanted it with the food enhancements before sliding it over to Gilded.

"Well, I guess I am a little hungry." He said as he took a bite, I looked away to continue listing off all the things I need to do.

"I'm to manage an entire desert, with multiple small settlements here and there. They'll need order, food, water, medicine, I haven't even started manufacturing medicine."

I looked back at Gilded Spear, he sat back on one of the benches at the edge of the pool, the cheesecake now nothing but crumbs and his mouth filthy with cheesecake residue. "Good, I take it?"

"That was the best cheesecake I've ever had." He said wistfully.

I got out of the pool and made my way to leave before I noticed that Gilded wasn't following me. Looking back, I saw him still sitting on the bench.

"Come on, we've got work to do."

"I'll catch up, just give me a second."

"I didn't intend for you to eat the entire cheesecake, Gilded." I turned back to the guards, "one of you, carry him." A treant nodded before going over to Gilded where he sat and picked him up.

Gilded Spear had fallen asleep in the treant's arms. I didn't disturb him, but he was still going to keep me company, even if he was asleep.

"Most nobles and royals have spies, that's completely normal." I said softly as I sat in my laboratory. "A spy... is someone who secretly collects and reports information... the treants are too large..." I thought about summoning a fairy for a second, "A fairy would be too bright."

"I need something small, something inconspicuous, something nobody would suspect as a spy." With my hoof on my chin, I thought about my conundrum before coming to a realization.

"Insects. That's what I need.. they're everywhere, nobody would suspect them." I bolted out of the room to gather the supplies I would need to create my own spy force.

Desert Toil

Small spiders, created from rock and life magic crawled along my body and the room. Treants stood to the side, diligently carving and enchanting more of them.

"Set them to the desert, every home needs one." I ordered.

I'll test these spiders in the desert, make any adjustments I need to, then send more of them to the rest of the world. I'll be the first to know about everything that happens. Nothing will surprise me.

It dawned on me as I scrambled to gather the materials I'd need. I'm a healer, not a fighter, I can't guarantee the safety of Equestria. I can't even entirely guarantee safety to Gilded Spear or Birch. If I want there to be peace, the world must learn to both fear and respect Equestria.

"You'll all need a handler, I suspect. We'll need to keep this whole business under the radar." I said to the spider. It did not respond of course.

I forced the spiders off of me and left the treants to their work. I won't be able to just openly display the spy network I'm building. I'll need to hide it, and what better place is there to hide something, than in plain sight?

"one hundred treants per settlement, four settlements in the desert, four hundred treants all together." Birch listed off out-loud. "Magically enhanced soil for farming, water purifiers, and some enchanted food for gifting." He finished. "They'd be foolish to prefer the storm king after this, master."

" I still don't think it's enough, Birch." I said, doing a horrible job at acting. I cleared my throat before continuing, hoping that it would give me some more confidence. "Infrastructure is important for any nation, and as such, I feel it is important to provide some... services. A postal service and medical care, specifically." Okay, I acted more convincingly there.

"What did you have in mind?" Birch asked, pulling out parchment and quill.

"Have a clinic built in every settlement, I'll pay for the cost, of course, begin growing some medicinal herbs and refining them into proper medicine." I dictated as he wrote, "Make the walls from stone, guard them well, and send ten treants to run each one."

"Yes, master." He said, signing the paper.

"The same for the postal service, have a post office built in all the settlements, send some guards to keep it safe..." I paused for a second, "Build one here above ground too, and don't worry about running the post offices, I'll summon some fairies to do that."

"Master, the treants will have no trouble running these institutions, the fairies are unnecessary." He said, acting a bit odd.

"I know the treants will do their jobs perfectly, but certain jobs require... daintier hands." His eyes widened as I finished. "Look, just don't worry about it, alright? Everything is going according to plan."

"Are you certain you want him here, Princess?" Celestia's secretary, "Perhaps Sugar Hoof should," She stopped to think of a reason. "Stay out of such important matters and get used to his new responsibilities as Prince." She gave a nervous smile at the end.

"The nobility and the griffon delegates are interested in meeting him." Celestia said as the two of them continued walking down the hall of Canterlot Castle.

"He's been a prince for a day, Princess. I urge you reconsider." The secretary begged.

"The delegation from Griffonstone only agreed to this meeting to see him. And as he's our main defender, I need him here, so he can understand and learn."

"Yes, Princess."

Birch sat in his chair in the throne room, a look of despair on his wooden face. The room sat empty and dark, even the beautiful lights had been shut off. No sound could be heard beyond the odd clicking that came when Birch closed his hands.

"Daintier hands..." He looked down at his own hands, his large, strong, wooden hands.

He covered his head with his hand as the scene played over and over for him.

I would have o keep this hidden, so I carved out a room myself, not a very big one, we didn't need a lot of space. I had been summoning fairies, and didn't quite know how many I'd need. One turned to two, two turned to four, four turned to eight, and so on and so forth. They need to run the desert postal service so I'd need quite a few at least.

They were even smaller than I was, and I was awfully small. Each had fair skin, with many different colors for their hair, eyes, clothing, and wings. This was expected, there would be slight changes here as well, back home, every fairy looked identical, all red headed and wearing an orange dress. I could only hope that they maintained some level of loyalty as they did back there. Their wings fluttered as they rose from the ground, yawning and stretching from new life.

"Can you understand me?" I asked them collectively.

"Yes, Sugar Hoof." They replied groggily, filling the room with high-pitched and raspy voices.

I figured I would have to start off similarly to as I did with the treants. My horn lit as I grabbed ahold of the fairies, my magic easily overwhelmed them and they froze.

"Fairies! Hear me and obey! From this day forward, you shall be postal workers, couriers, and mail deliverers!" The spell fell after I finished, filling the room with green sparkly smoke.

"Yes, master." They said as they rose again.

Picking one out from the crowd, I pulled her closer to me, "I'll need you to be in charge of them, as my spymaster."

"You can count on me!" the fairy said as I began going over what I would need her to do in regards to the spy network.

Inside one of the caverns most luxurious bathhouses, treants surrounded Gilded Spear as he was given a full-body massage. It wasn't easy to convince him to take it, but I insisted. His back, forelegs, hindlegs, hooves, neck, and head were rubbed and tended with all the gentleness one would handle a new-born kitten. Thanks to the warmth of the room, and the dim lighting, Gilded was having the most relaxing time of his life.

Another treant stood to the side, holding a tray of desserts, cheesecake being the focus, and a tall glass of fruit juice.

"Gilded Spear, may I ask you something?" The treant holding the platter asked.

"Of course," He said wistfully as he enjoyed the tension leaving his body, "Ask me anything."

"What do you think of the master? And don't be afraid to answer honestly, he's ordered no harm to come to you." The treant asked, preparing another slice of cheesecake.

Gilded Spear's smile shot away as he was not expecting that kind of question. "To be honest, he's... well, he's great when it comes to magic, I'll give him that much. And he defended me when that manticore attacked back in the Everfree forest." He said before fed another slice of cheesecake.

"You and the master... you're friends?" The treant asked slowly.

"Yeah, I guess we are, to some extent." Gilded said, swallowing his desserts.

"What do you mean?"

"Sugar Hoof is closed off, not just to me, to everyone. Even Birch is kept away."

The treant grunted in agreement as more treants began preening and cleaning his wings.

"You and the master talk all the time though."

"About magic... or politics, I don't even really know anything about him."

In the corner of the bathing room they were in, a small carved spider watched and listened. My initial test was a success, the spider could hear and see perfectly, I even had the lights dimmed to test their ultra-vision. Not only that, but the spiders could be used as a looking glass, allowing for me and my fairies to use them for espionage.

I looked around the room and noticed that all the fairies that hadn't left to become postal workers were busy spying through the insects, leaving me to think of what Gilded had said.

There's an entire desert worth of creatures that now depend on me, a war could start any day, I'm expected to attend royal events, and there's still more magical research to do. I simply don't have time for such matters. I can barely afford the time it takes to get to relax with him when I can.

I slinked out of the hidden room and made my way back above ground to prepare for the meeting with Celestia and the griffons.

Griffons

The teleporter had been set up in one of the rooms in Canterlot Castle, allowing easy and quick travel between there and the caverns of the desert. As I entered the clean marble building, a unicorn or earth pony mare greeted me, her name was Raven Inkwell, but her hair was blocking where her horn would be so I couldn't tell what race she was.

"Good, you're finally here." Raven said, clearly nervous. "The delegates arrived a few minutes ago, please, follow me." She said, quickly trotting down the hallway.

I followed behind her but took the time to marvel at the beautiful decorations in the castle. It had not changed much since my last visit, but I was always to nervous to truly get a look at anything. The halls had runner carpets going down in dark pink hues, and fresh lavender hung down from wall sconces, filling the room with a delightful scent. Raven stopped at the entrance to one of the dining rooms and ushered me inside.

The dining room was quite spacious and had a large square table in the center of it.

"Ah, there is the young prince now." One of the griffons turned around to look at me. He was a fit and young griffon with light gray feathers and bright yellow eyes. He was finely dressed too, making me thankful with the knowledge that I was not the only one dressed up.

"He's barely even a foal." Another griffon said, this one a female with light blue feathers and cyan eyes. She wore a blue dress with pearl earrings.

I hadn't thought how I would introduce myself, I probably should've thought of that before I arrived. Not knowing what to say, I said, "Greetings," and nodded my head before moving over to the Equestrian side of the table.

Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, Prince Blueblood, and myself all sat opposite the two griffons.

Princess Celestia sat with her practiced smile, looking as regal as ever. Cadance looked happy to be there, but confused mostly. Princess Luna looked uninterested, and Prince Blueblood looked like he had more important things to do.

"Well, now that we're all here." The male griffon said.

"Yes, let's begin." Celestia said precisely.

"Bandits threaten the border between Equestria and Griffonstone, and no mercenaries will take the job due to how many bandits there are." The delegate explained. "They stick to the roads to rob travelers and passers-by, but we doubt they will stay there too much longer before they search for richer scores."

"You mentioned number, how many bandits are there?" Celestia asked.

"Reports say there are twenty-two, but there could be more." The female griffon answered.

"The plight of commoners is none of our concern." Prince Blueblood said.

The griffon didn't look upset at his words though, "When they grow tired of robbing travelers, they will move further into Equestria or Griffonstone, Equestria is wealthier and has more things to steal."

"But Griffonstone has less guards, and will be easy pickings." Blueblood countered.

"Where are these bandits located?" Princess Cadance interrupted, causing the delegate to pull out a map.

"We've heard reports of these four locations," He pointed to four locations on his map, "being used as safe houses."

"I'm sure we can spare a few guards." Cadance offered, looking up to Celestia.

"We will see about sending some guards to help." Celestia said. "Though it is unusual that you'd bring this matter to us instead of solving it yourselves. Surely there were many griffons who were against the idea."

The male delegate looked away for a second in thought. "Our army is too busy with the east to come back and handle such an insignificant threat." He was lying, something was up.

A mare wearing a black dress with an apron entered the room carrying two trays, one with finger foods, and the other with tea and enough tea cups for all of us. Castle staff poured the tea into the cups and in a few seconds, we all had a cup.

Celestia sipped from her cup happily and said, "Speaking of the east, have you given any thought to our trade offer?"

The female delegate straightened in her seat and said, "We would like to accept the offer, If you send us food, we'll send you steel."

Celestia and Luna were pleased at this outcome.

I finally spoke up, "Is there a lack of fertile land in Griffonstone?"

The delegates did not like my question, and I could see some sweat forming on the male's feathery brow. "Griffonstone is a beautiful country, but with the expansion into the east, we're..." He stopped and looked down in thought. "experiencing difficulties with developing farmland."

I had heard enough, "I shall send guards to clear out the bandits." I said, snatching the map with my magic, much to the confusion of everyone there.

"We were discussing—" I stopped him there.

"Farmland, yes, this meeting can carry on without me, I'm going to round up those bandits." I hopped off my seat and darted out of the room without a second word.

Everyone stared at the door as I left.

"Well, he's a fire brand, isn't he?" The female delegate said.

"You have no idea." Growled Princess Luna.

Back in the caverns, Gilded Spear waited for me by the teleporter. He had spent the last few hours being treated like royalty by my treants so I could get him out of the way while I worked on the spy network.

I entered the room from the teleporter, "So how'd it go?"

"There are bandits attacking travelers on the border between Griffonstone and Equestria, I volunteered to get rid of them." I explained the situation.

Gilded looked confused, "Griffonstone asked for help? Usually they'd let the bandits do what they wanted before risking showing weakness. Griffons are too proud for that."

He followed after me as I left the room in a hurry. "You suspect something is up, too?"

"It does seem a bit strange." Gilded agreed with uncertainty.

"The way those delegates told it, there are twenty two bandits in roughly four locations, I'll take one hundred treants, twenty five per location."

"You're not going to hurt them, are you?"

"Gilded, they're bandits."

"Princess Celestia would want them brought to justice, to serve their sentence, she wouldn't want them dead."

I rolled my eyes, "Fine, I'll take them prisoner." I slowed down a bit but kept going anyway, "For all the good it will do."

Griffon Bandits

The fire crackled pleasantly in our safe house and I pondered my worthlessness. I wish I could help my friends when they go attack a trading wagon, but with my leg in the condition it's in, I don't think that's possible. A twisted and broken lion's paw stood uselessly inside it's make-shift cast. It looked bad, it smelled like infection, and anytime I tried to move, it hurt.

Gwen walked in from outside and took a seat opposite me, "How ya holdin' up, kid?" She asked, concern on her face.

"Same old, same old." I replied hastily, giving her a small smile.

"I was being literal, Greg." She glared back. "Nothing new with your leg, no new pain?"

"No..." I said, looking away.

Gwen got off her chair and approached me, "We'll get the money, Greg."

"I just wish I could help..." Tears were filling my eyes.

"It's okay, you just focus on not getting hurt." She smiled.

"How far along are we, Gwen?"

"Only a hundred bits more, just one more big caravan, then we won't have to do this anymore." She smiled. "We can take you to one of the good doctors in Equestria, not just to the one in Griffonstone."

"No more safe houses?" I asked with a grin.

"No more safe houses, no more thieving, we can all go back home."

She wrapped her arms around me in a warm embrace as I sniffled. While we shared this moment, we began to hear a thundering sound outside, causing her to break the hug. The other griffons woke up groggily while mumbling things similar to 'what's going on?'

Gwen and a few others ran outside and looked around, the thundering grew louder, but nothing was there. "Is it an earthquake?" somegriff asked.

Out of nowhere, vines sprouted from underneath the cave floor, and one of them wrapped tightly around my broken leg. I screamed in pain, falling to the ground as the vine wrapped tighter. Hot tears ran down my cheeks as I saw the vines wrap around my friends' legs too.

Suddenly, the ground opened up violently, and trees, around the size of five average griffons standing on top of each other, lumbered in with the grace of a bull in a plate shop.

"The trees have revolted! Just like in legend!" I heard one of my friends shout as dozens of trees rose from the ground.

Roars of pain echoed through the once safe safe house, all I could think of was, please, let it stop, please. It did not though, I got a front row seat to my friends being beaten.

Gertrude, the cook, tried to escape as a tree stood on her back, crushing her spine under his intense weight. She screamed out as her bones broke and cracked, she cursed the tree, as he hovered his stump above her head. She screamed anew, demanding the tree get off of her, as he lowered his leg on her head, her screaming suddenly stopped as I heard her skull crack. Her eyes turned glassy and one began looking up as the other looked down, then the tree shifted more weight on her head. With a sickening squelch, her eyes bulged before popping out of her head entirely. The worst part, she wasn't dead, I could hear her gasping for breath, her cracked beak opening and closing like a fish.

Gilden, one of the griffons who went out and attacked caravans, was held by the neck by one of the trees. He clawed at the tree's wooden hand, ripping out chunks of timber. I expected him to actually get out, by how much wood the tree was losing, but the tree just leaned forward and held Gilden's neck tighter. Gilden gasped out and began clawing even more for a few seconds before his clawing turned into gentle petting. The tree leaned even closer and held Gilden's neck tighter, with tree's other hand, he held open Gilden's eyelid and watched it. Gilden struggled for a few more seconds before his face turned blue from lack of oxygen, he cried, his eyes turning pink with tears as the tree watched Gilden's eye. A few seconds further, he got to see what he was after, as the light faded from Gilden's eyes.

It was then that I heard Gwen, still outside, "Let go of me! Let go!"

"Gwen!" I shouted as I crawled and hopped out of the room, never letting anything touch my leg.

As I left the safe house, I could see Gwen fighting to get free from one of the trees. It grabbed her neck as it had Gilden, I knew what was coming.

"NO! GWEN!" I shouted as I jumped on my broken leg and darted at the tree with a screech.

A green magic field held me stationary in the air, and I could feel the magic around my neck begin to shift. I expected to go like Gilden, but instead, the magic twisted my neck a full 360 degrees, blood shot from my beak, but with the magic field, it all went back into my lungs.

"Master, the other three locations on the map were searched, but no one else was found." One of my treants explained.

"Good, gather the corpses and bring them to the prisons for resurrection."

The treant raised an eyebrow, "Master?" He asked.

"I promised Gilded I'd let them serve their sentence." I explained back.

The treants close enough to hear me laughed at the prospect. "Gilded is soft, master."

"I would thank you not to insult my friend." I warned, causing every treant to apologize.

I walked closer to the griffon I had grabbed, he was laying outside in the cold night air, surrounded in his own blood, neck broken as he twitched. He was injured before we arrived, a broken leg.

I turned back to my treants, "Bring this one to my lab, I'd like to examine him." I put my hoof on the still warm corpse.

"Yes, master." The treants replied.

I could do nothing but watch as my friend's corpses were gathered. A foal walked out and barked some orders to the trees and Greg's body was picked up with far more decorum than the others. I was sitting in my own waste, shaking in terror, praying to every deity that they did not spot me. They could have my friends, they could have everything we stole, as long as they left me alive!

My relief knew no end when I saw the foal and trees leave. The end of days were upon us, nature was returning to claim it's rightful place as rulers of the planet.

I flew back to Griffonstone as fast as I could, saying the same thing over and over.

"It won't be me. It won't be me. It won't be me. It won't be me."

The Bandits and Aging

The next morning, I hopped off of my bed and made my way to the underground caverns. I did not notice the changes to my body and the treants chose not to inform me. Instead, I went out to the prisons deep below the surface and overlooked the bandits.

They were brutalized to say the least, slaughtered like cattle. Despite this, I did not feel guilty, they were bandits, and they suffered greatly for it. There are some in life who deserve to live, like those ponies in Appleloosa who were tragically killed through my negligence, and there are those who simply don't deserve to live, like these bandits here. I promised Gilded though, I would let them live.

My heart and horn glowed a shining green as tendrils shot into the bodies of the dead bandits, and in a bright orb of life magic and harmony, they rose again. Though I did not heal them of their wounds, I only made them non-fatal. Their bones remained broken, their throats remained cut, their blood remained dry, they were alive and would not be killed, but only barely.

Through whimpers and shuddering gasps, the dead eyes of the griffons looked at me from their chains and grew frightful. I did not care, they would remain here until it was time to ship them to... wherever Celestia wants them. Maybe she'll be fine keeping them here, Greg would enjoy having his friends back.

Speaking of Greg, it was about time I resurrected him.

I went to leave, but was stopped by a treant, "Master, the team you sent to the Everfree has returned." Greg would have to wait.

I was led to a room where a team of treants awaited, and they did not come alone. The room was filled with things taken from the once cursed forest.

I saw a large round orb first, it sparkled like a summer's evening and smelled of daisies. The treants had recently repaired it, if the patch of extra glass was anything to go by.

"The heart of the Everfree?" I asked, the treant nodded. I suspect the owner of this orb once used it as a focusing stone, and through either misuse, or too much use, it became unstable and cracked. Which led to the Everfree overflowing with life magic.

There was a number of other strange things in the room. A large source of silver green water, a book that radiated shadow magic, horrible vines of unknown origin, and even a treant in dog form.

The treant dog looked like it had been abused, it was comprised of multiple different types of wood, of varying different qualities. Some of the wood was good, some of it was dead, whoever conjured him clearly had either no idea what they were doing, or did not care in the least for it's efficiency.

"He would not come willingly, we had to pacify him for transport, master." The treant who led the expedition explained.

"Any idea who conjured him?" I asked, never taking my eyes off the treant dog.

"There's no telling, master, from what evidence we could find, these 'timberwolves' as Equestria calls them have patrolled that forest for centuries."

"Whoever summoned him likely wouldn't mind if I kept him." I said as I lit my horn up.

It was a normal, quiet day in Griffonstone, the birds were the citizens, and the flowers were dead. Very few griffons worked and none did so with much enthusiasm. As such, everyone was surprised when one griffon began tending to the plants around the city.

His name was George, he was a highwaygriff, a bandit. When he left Griffonstone to join a bandit clan, everyone thought he would either return empty-handed, or never return at all, but they didn't expect him to return as he did.

Barely anyone tried to talk to him, which George quite liked, he devoted most of his day to tending to the trees, he would spend all day with the trees. He'd water the trees, read to the trees, kept the trees warm at night, he ran himself ragged for the trees to everyone's confusion and concern. When a griffon finally asked him why he was doing so much for the trees, he'd tell a story of how trees rose from the ground and slaughtered his entire group.

Everyone thought he was insane, and when he explained that a foul and sadistic foal was the leader of the trees, no griffon could keep from laughing at George. George didn't mind though, he knows what he saw, one day the trees would come to reclaim Griffonstone and the world.

"When the trees come, and they see how I'm taking care of their friends, I'll be spared." George would say, warning his fellow griffons, who only laughed at him more.

It was fine that they laughed. George just remembered the night the trees attacked and repeated to himself, "It won't be me. It won't be me. It won't be me."

I entered the throne room while riding on the treant dog. His once ragged and broken frame was replaced by beautiful carved wood, the fractured parts of his body was now one whole, leading to him looking akin to an actual dog that just happened to made of wood. His timber body twisted and morphed as flesh did, but maintained his large canine shape. Around his neck, there was a green spiked collar with a name tag that read, 'Spot'.

Gilded was speechless, and who could blame him, Spot had undergone quite the transformation.

"Suga— I mean, my prince, are you okay?" Gilded asked me.

"I have a bunch of new magical objects to research and experiment with, the bandits have been defeated, the storm king isn't attacking, and I have a new pet, why wouldn't I be okay?"

"You're... a lot bigger now..." He said, looking over my frame.

"Hmm? I hadn't noticed." I said, jumping off of Spot's back.

Now that It was on my mind, I was a bit taller now. "Huh... new-born no more, I guess." I said, looking back at Gilded.

"You've skipped a few years." Gilded blanched at me.

I lit my horn again and began scanning my body for magical anomalies, I found the usual though, life magic, fire magic, death magic, storm magic, shadow magic, harmony magic, and that potion I made yesterday morning.

That potion... hmm... "Yes, I did drink a potion I conjured, I've been trying to create a... special elixir for a few decades now." An immortality potion, not the little half measures or temporary boosts to one's life span like I've been studying over the years, but a true, one and done, live forever potion. I'm a master of life magic, so I didn't think it'd be too hard, but I was wrong.

The only magic effect on me beyond my own magic was the potion, and I was attempting to make an immortality potion that would last forever, and now I've jumped in age. Huh... that's not good.

The Calm Before the Storm

Day 2 After Potion - 10 years old

I sifted through my alchemical notes in an attempt to find out what caused my rapid jump in age.

"You think this could be a repeat effect?" Gilded asked.

"Oh I know it'll be a repeating effect, I built it that way." I poured water into a cauldron so I could attempt to reverse my mistake.

There was no doubt in my mind, Instead of causing a ceasing to my biological clock, I had simply made it start skipping. If I did not fix this, in roughly a week, I'll be as old as I was before I came here, and longer? I'll be dead.

"One mandrake, liquified harmony, an emerald, sage, parsley." I dumped the ingredients into the mixture quickly and began stirring the quickly boiling pot.

"I don't know what to do about this, I've never heard of a potion that causes someone to age quickly." Gilded responded, his ears down.

"There's nothing you can do, I'll need to fix this myself." I said, lifting up a spoon to sample the mixture.

Day 3 After Potion - 30 years old

"I think my potion yesterday just made it worse." I said, pouring through my notes.

"Yeah, you skipped young adulthood entirely." Gilded responded.

I wished I had brought some of my life samples with me. At least then I might be able to afford myself some extra time. To make matters worse, my spies tell me that the storm king is nearly done with his preparations. With my luck, he'll attack either when I'm dead of old age, or when I'm too geriatric to defend myself.

I was thankful nobody had asked for me, my work now is far more important than my princely duties. Though, I was told I was gaining support all throughout the desert. The treants I had ordered to run the newly-built clinics were putting their life magic to good use by providing medical care. Especially since It was free medical care. Most illnesses and injuries can be easily cured through magic, the ones that can't, well I have multiple farms designated solely to medicine, so it's not like it really costs me anything to keep the clinics open.

"Ok, let's try this." I said as I poured three apples, five diamonds, sage, and a bottle of liquified anger into the cauldron.

"How are apples going to help?" Gilded asked.

"I didn't bring any life fruit with me when I arrived here, so I'm working with what I've got."

Day 5 after Potion - 70 years old

The rapid aging potion had not stopped it's effects, and If I could not find a solution soon, I would never be cured of it.

My bones ached as I moved and wrinkles formed across my once tight skin. The dark green of my mane and tail had disappeared and been replaced by a gray.

As it had gotten so bad, I stopped with the potion entirely, and began focusing on magic instead.

"If Life magic and Shadow magic can resurrect the dead, surely it can hold off aging."

"Hold on, can't you just resurrect yourself after death?" Gilded asked.

"How would I? I'd be dead."

"LIke a timer, though. Put like a... delay spell on yourself to activate the resurrection spell after you die?"

I pondered his query while stroking my newly grown beard, "Yes, I could, but I would die again right after, since the thing that killed me has not changed."

"Oh, right." He said simply.

"What little I had learned of harmony magic left much to be desired." I explained, "The princesses explained it's power of banishing and petrification, but knew not of the peaceful effect it had on us that night in the castle bath."

Gilded snickered as he remembered that night. "How did we even get confused? You were just a new-born."

"It made sense to those who didn't know what was going on, you were in the water and I was getting out the soap." I did enjoy it though, it was peaceful, just too friends goofing around. Now though, it seemed as though I would not get to enjoy such things again.

While I focused on fixing the age problem, my treants were finding great success in convincing the desert settlements to support my claim. They travelled to Klugetown and the smaller villages and brought them means to produce their own food and water. As you can imagine, in the desert, this was a boon. All the desert settlements were behind my banner, so much so that I actually needed a banner.

Princess Celestia had a bright yellow banner with an icon representing herself, a sun with wings and a horn. Princess Luna had something similar, a dark blue banner with the moon with wings and a horn. Princess Cadance had pink banner with a heart surrounded by crystals.

I was busy, so Birch decided on the design. A forest green banner with a leaf scorched and cracked by magic. Every town flew at least one.

This loyalty would not matter If I could not find a reversal.

Day 6 after potion - 90 years old

I looked at myself in the mirror and saw a very familiar face. I was by now, one year older than I was when I arrived on this planet. The frail face of a unicorn was held up in a terrible glare as I was fitted by some treants.

In front of me there were notes detailing the storm king, his rise to power, his abilities. He relied mostly on his technological advances and his army, but his true claim to fame was that staff spear of his. It was imbued with divination, storm magic, and I figured if I could get a hold of it, I could not only reverse the effects of the rapid aging potion, but could likely get closer to my goal of immortality.

The treants worked diligently to craft this armor for me, it was similar to the one my soldiers wore, but riddled with enchantments... and made to fit a pony of course. Enchantments of protection, enchantments of healing, enchantments of resistances, water breathing, speed, strength, and whatever else I could fit on them.

I did not have time to mobilize an entire treant army, I would have to go myself. There could be no more waiting, whether I'd still be alive tomorrow is a mystery, this might just be my last day.

I have spent my entire adulthood trying to discover the secrets of immortality. I thought as I put my old green hoof on a picture of the storm king holding his staff spear. Here we are now, nowhere for it to hide, under heavy guard by children too foolish to understand what they hold.

My life's work will be complete. I'll show them what happens when the healer becomes the designated hitter.

Equestrian Trouble, Scientific Advancement

I rose into the sky as an old man and returned to the ground as a young adult. Gray hair returned to it's youthful dark green and the wrinkles along my body had all but disappeared, along with my beard. Only myself and this purple mare remained in the room, the storm king had died from lack of oxygen at some point during my youth spell. Now, I had to get the storm king's staff back home, and lock it up. It was tied to me now, losing it could only spell disaster.

"Now that I have slain your employer, do you intend to get revenge?" I asked upon the now late storm king's throne.

She looked down for a second. "The only reason I worked for the Storm King is because he promised to fix my horn, I had no real loyalty to him."

"Your horn should still function, even in it's broken state. If anything, it has only made you a better diviner."

"I don't know what that is."

"What is your name?" I asked, leaving that old subject behind.

"My name is Tempest Shadow, and I would like to offer you the same deal I gave the storm king, undying obedience in exchange for my horn."

"You left your old king to die, your loyalty is far from undying." I replied.

"If I had stayed loyal, I imagine I would be in a similar state to him." She said, looking over at the storm king's corpse.

She did have a point. Besides, I did have an idea for what to do with her. My treants were... capable, in a fight. The main difficulty anyone would have against me though, is the sheer size of my army. They were slow, but strong, if you were just a bit light on your hooves, you'd have them. Good luck killing one when a few hundred try to grab you.

"What services did you provide the storm king, Tempest." I asked.

"I was to give him the power of the alicorns and help him to conquer Equestria."

"Can you fight?"

"Yes, of course." She said.

"I could use someone who can fight to train some of my thralls, as well as myself."

"You need me to train you and your," She hesitated to say the word, "thralls?"

"Indeed."

"I just watched as you laid waste to our entire island, and from what I read about you, you have an army that dwarfs the entire population of Zebrica, Griffonstone, and Equestria combined, what do you need with personal training?"

"I'm good at magic, I'll say that with pride, specifically life magic, but I'm no warrior. If something were to happen and I lost my ability to cast spells, I'd be defenseless."

She looked up at me with confidence, "I'll do it."

"Wonderful. Now then, I don't suppose the storm king kept an archive, did he?"

"He really did it..." Princess Celestia said.

"I told you, sister. The colt is but a sombra in the making!" Shouted Princess Luna.

"Gilded Spear, why did you not stop him?" Celestia asked with a hint of anger in her voice.

Gilded Spear shivered under Celestia's gaze. "I thought he would just sneak in and take the staff, I didn't know he planned to destroy them entirely."

"He needs to be destroyed, or banished, sister."

Before Celestia could say anything, her horn lit up and a scroll unfurled from it's tip. Giving the scroll, a quick read brought a smile to the mare in distress.

"Twilight and her friends have the elements back!"

"I thought Sugar absorbed them." Gilded said softly.

"The scroll says that they flew right back to them. When he destroyed the storm island, they must've found him unworthy to bear them," She looked down in remembrance for a moment, "Just as they had me."

"So we no longer require him as our protector?"

"No."

Tempest led me to a library that was only mostly destroyed, plenty of books remained though. Books about metal-working, scientific mumbo-jumbo, and general uses for electronics. I never much cared for science, it just seemed like a charlatan's version of magic, in all honesty. I had lost the elements of harmony when I went on a killing spree there, so I would need to restore some modicum of influence with this... trash here. ScIeNcE, Blehg

"Any records or blueprints to how the storm king made his weapons or those warships of his?"

"Yes, by the wall, the fallen shelf." She said.

Lifting the shelf off the ground, unraveled many large diagrams, schematics and blueprints, perfect for what I needed.

"Warship designs, physical weapons combined with magic, I could probably work out everything I need to know from here." I grabbed every book in the place though, no sense leaving anything behind. Sure I'd return here to rebuild, add this island to my own territory, but it would be a second.

"You're going to try and remake his inventions, aren't you?" Tempest asked.

"Yes, I have lost the elements of harmony, I need this advantage."

She nodded, though I could tell she did not understand.

Regardless, we left the storm castle and made our way to the cavern entrance, collecting bodies all the while.

"So, what's up with the corpses, the books I can understand, but do you really need them?" Tempest asked, pointing to the corpses I was carrying in my magic.

"Of course I do, this excursion has only made me more aware of my own flaws, and my treant's flaws, I will need to conjure those knights after all."

"These 'knights' demand sacrifice?"

"Oh don't worry so much, these people are dead, it's better they be given new life than being vulture chow." I had completely stopped caring about the innocent lives I had taken. "A little bit of magic, and they'll be adorable little knights for me."

We had a long walk ahead of us. I couldn't wait to return to the safety of my cavern, and get a nice hot bath. Hopefully Birch and Spot recognize me, but as always, there is more work to be done.

Just Like Old Times

The hot water felt pleasant on my dirty fur as I swam closer to Birch. Birch was just my advisor, of course, one of the first twenty treants, but I must admit, I enjoyed the times when he... well I guess there's no better way to say it, I enjoyed the times he's held me. I felt safe with him for some reason. He and I were in one of the private pools, him laying back on a stone bench, and me leaning against his wooden torso.

"You did it, Master, the storm king is dead. The closest threat to your safety is vanquished, and I've already sent a few hundred treants to put his island under your rule." Birch said, scratching my back slowly.

I didn't recall giving him that order, but it sounded like a good idea. "Good job, Birch." I said, leaning my head under his chin, glad that I was finally able to relax.

Tempest had been given one of the nicer rooms around the cavern entrance, the books I took from the storm island have been turned over to the mage's guild for study. I would do the studying myself, but who can make sense of that nonsensical ScIeNcE mumbo-jumbo? I have more magical work to do, thank you very much. The bodies were placed into a holding cell, I'd fix them up after I was done resting.

I instructed Birch to wake me up in case I fell asleep. For a tree, he was oddly comfortable. The magic every treant is given upon creation would keep him warm. I rubbed my hoof across his side, noting how odd it felt under my hoof.

"Birch, did you polish yourself?" I asked, rising up from his chest and looking him in the eye. Now that the two of us were eye level, he looked vastly different than last time. His bark looked smoother and the collection of leaves that made up his hair and beard looked silkier, as if they were real hair.

"If I am to be your second-in-command, I must look the part and stand out in a crowd." He asked, scratching my mane gently.

"Well, you certainly have the 'stand out' part down." I said, rubbing his face. It didn't feel like wood all that much anymore, it felt kind of like... warm clay? "I may have commissioned the mage's guild to see about some products for treant hygiene."

"Hmm," I pondered his actions, "You may have just given me an idea, Birch, but it will have to wait until another day." Laying back down below his chin, I let my eyes rest.

He wrapped his long branch arms around me and said, "Master, we have around three billion treants now worldwide."

"Do you ever think maybe I have too many?" I asked, I don't even know three billion people.

"Never, master, every treant who lives is another who can work, fight, and die in your place," He straightened his back into a seating position and held me tighter, "Once we reach the trillions, you'll never have to leave again. You can stay here, we can build you a big palace where nobody can ever threaten you, tall and powerful walls, to keep you safe, an—" I put my hoof on his mouth.

"Woah, calm down. Everything's fine." I said quickly, pushing him back into a lounging position.

"Sorry, master, I just don't like the idea of you getting hurt out there." He said, loosening up his grip on my chest.

"It's alright, it's my fault anyway, I'm the one who told you all to defend myself and my home." If I had known they would eventually obtain sapience, I may have reworded it.

"It isn't that bad..." Birch said, his words drifting off.

"I brought creatures to life, creatures that a few months ago would be considered no better than puppets, and I gave them sapient thought, or sentient thought... I'm not entirely sure the real difference." I looked off into the steaming water surrounding us. "I made creatures, and gave them the sole life's goal of defending me. I should've known better, in all honesty."

"Master, it's an honor to defend you. Every treant would defend you until the end of time." Birch said, looking at me a bit sadly.

"Of course you will, I gave you the sole desire to do exactly that." I hated my lack of forethought sometimes. You'd think, as a theurgist, I'd be a bit more patient.

"Regardless." He responded simply, holding me snugly against his chest.

The two of us stayed like this for a while as we enjoyed the peace and warmth. Well, I enjoyed the peace and warmth, I'm not sure if Birch even truly can enjoy peace or warmth. I laid my head back against his chest and thought of what I had. All the magical artifacts and instances from the Everfree, all those corpses to be converted into knights, the life font likely could be activated now that I have a unicorn, I'm sure I could just ask her to cry for me, even if the deal much be changed. Greg still needs testing, the reanimated griffons need returning, I have a dog made of wood now, an alarmingly massive amount of treants who depend on me, and a teeny, tiny citizen pool for whom I kind of exist for, and am a Prince of Equestria.

My eyes opened as I remembered that, am I still a prince? I don't have the elements anymore. Does Celestia know, and if she does, can I expect to be hauled out of the caverns in chains?

Would my treants even let me be put in chains?

No, likely not. They're more likely to go on a rampage against whoever or whatever tried to imprison me. Pony vs treant, Celestia, Luna, and the elements are pretty powerful, but a few billion treants powerful? How many bodies would there even be?

"Master, you're shaking." I heard Birch say as I jumped back to reality.

"This was fun." I said, far quicker than I intended. "I need to get started on those knights, though. So uh, keep up the good work, make more treants, rebuild the storm king's island, all that." I bolted away, I needed something to take my mind off of my endless failures as a wizard.

The Mirror Pool and the Three Gregs

The newly reanimated Greg woke up and came face to face with Greg. Greg looked over at Greg and Greg and panic soon set in. I wrote down my findings on the paper and did a quick medical analysis on the Greg clones.

"What did you say this was?" I asked the researcher who was with me.

"The ponies refer to it as 'the mirror pool', Master. It copies whatever is put into it with only slight degradation." She explained.

I walked back to the table that had been set up for this experiment and overlooked the notes and samples that had been placed there. A line of duplicated feathers stood out, each one slightly worse off than the last.

"Fetch a stone bowl, I would like to test something." I ordered.

"Yes, Master." She said before leaving.

The Gregs glared at me when I approached. "You won't get away with this." They all said in unison, they all looked at each other with existential dread.

"Not only did I bring you back from the dead, I fixed your leg for you. The least you can do is show some appreciation."

"You're the one who killed me though! You and your trees!" The real Greg said.

"A criminal who does not suffer, learns nothing." I explained calmly.

The treant researcher reentered the room with a large stone bowl held in her grasp. She moved to the research table and set it down with a thud.

"What are you planning on doing, anyway?" One of the clone gregs asked.

"Each clone is inferior to the last, slightly, I aim to fix this issue and create a pool of magic that will recreate whatever enters it perfectly. Perhaps even..." I trailed off in anticipation. I could feel the room grow slightly colder and the three griffons begin shaking.

"Well, you see, my magic has started to change as of late. Shadowmancy resides in a place it shouldn't really be able to even enter, and I want to understand it better."

"Dark magic?" One of the gregs whimpered.

"Theurgy can heal and grow, Shadowmancy can corrupt and break, both put together can reanimate far better than necromancy can. I merely wonder what other things the two magics combined can do." I poured the liquid from the mirror pool into the stone bowl and held the real Greg in my magic.

"No, please!" He shouted out, shaking.

"Relax, you'll... well, no you won't. I doubt you'll enjoy this at all." I said, unshackling him from his bindings.

"There has to be a better way. We're not guinea pigs!" He screamed, while I added a mixture of life and shadow to the mirror pool.

"You're a bandit, a common criminal, despite what you may believe, you deserve this." I said, matter-of-factly.

"We only did those things to afford medical help for my leg!" He pleaded, but he was a criminal regardless. So I submerged him into the concoction of mirror pool, life, and shadow.

The griffon bandit was quickly submerged in the mirror pool via magic, he squirmed to get out, but I would not let him. He needed to take in the mixture, fill him, his lungs, shadow and life needed to be him, manifest. Talons tried to climb from the bowl, but my magic held him down as bubbles rose to the surface of the bowl. A few seconds later, there was nothing but silence in the room. The two Greg clones watched as the real Greg died, again.

One Greg corpse became two Greg corpses, which soon became four, I had to be quick. I violently force the four of them into a small box within the mixture, hoping to make room for the life and magic to do it's work. Instead, the magical box inside grew smaller as the four Gregs merged back into one. Soon, life returned to the corpses and a deep guttural groaning rose from the mixture, and I started pushing the mixture deeper into the spot where I was magically holding the gregs. The now foul-smelling concoction drained into Greg's body.

I added an influx of life and shadow magic while I could, turning the silver liquid a greenish-brown. The groaning turned into a wheezing as Greg's body became revealed. His body was coated in a strange metal, leaving nothing but his head and tail uncovered. Even his wings had metal, which were open wide for everyone in the room to see. His once yellow eyes had changed into a purple and green hue, and he slowly rose to his paws.

Greg stood up in the bowl, looking around the room as if for the first time. His eyes were scrutinizing, yet curious, as he snarled. "Where am I?"

"The caverns, you've been here a while." I replied, casting an analysis spell on him.

The metal was his skin, he had nothing under it. The spell revealed that most of his organs were disfigured and mutated, if they weren't removed entirely. Metal caked his organs, and the shadow and life magic had coalesced into his heart, much as my own magic currently is.

He looked at the treant, the two clone gregs, and myself before looking at his metal talons. He clenched and unclenched them repeatedly, analyzing them. "What am... I?" He asked.

"You don't remember what you are?" I asked, keeping my distance in case this was a trap.

"I... I was..." He looked in multiple places on the ground in confusion. He growled in frustration. "Why can't I remember? Who am I? What am I?!" He began shouting.

"Calm down, you're safe here." His basic biology has change drastically, I would need to keep him close and research him. "Your name is Greg, you've lived here your whole life." I used my magic to clutch the two clone's mouths shut.

"Greg. Yeah, my name is Greg." He said, remembering his name at least. "I live here?"

"You live here. We've been friends for years." I would need to make a room for him, make it look lived in. I'll need to keep him busy...

"Sorry, I'm just having a hard time remembering... What am I doing in this bowl?" Instead of answering, I just lifted him out of the bowl and placed him onto the ground.

"You carried it in, slipped, and accidentally ended up inside of it. Must've bumped your head on the ceiling." His brain is filled in with metal, he shouldn't be alive right now.

"Your magic does feel familiar." He said, looking back at the ground.

"I'm sure you'll remember eventually. Why don't we walk around a bit, maybe the rest of the cavern will jog your memory." I levitated a piece of paper and wrote down instructions on a room I needed built before handing it to the treant researcher.

I led the armored Greg out of the room, and was quickly followed by the treant researcher, who headed off to deliver my message to the builders. The two clones were all that remained in the room.

"How about we head to the dining rooms, you must be hungry." I offered, my hoof on his shoulder.

Of Spiders and Fairies

Fairies fluttered throughout the post office of Baleen as Bulkul the fish man entered through the front door aggressively, He glared at the fairies as they went about sorting and preparing to deliver mail. He stomped over to the front desk, a letter in hand.

Ever since Sugar Hoof took over the desert, many new advancements had sprung up. Food and water were easier to get and cheaper than ever, medical care became more common-place, and it was free to all who would bow before Sugar's rule. Even these post offices came up, allowing for everyone all across the desert and beyond to keep in touch. With all these quality of life improvements, you'd think Bulkul would be happy.

Bulkul knew a trick when he smelled it though. The cavern now recognized as the 'Prince' Sugar Hoof's home was the same location where he and Arn had explored a while back. Arn never returned, Bulkul wasn't stupid, he knew his friend was dead, and he knew who killed him.

The head fairy of Baleen floated to meet Bulkul at the front desk and said, "Welcome to the Baleen post office, is there anything we can do to help you today?" In a cheery voice.

Bulkul snarled before remembering himself and handed his letter to the fairy. She hands it off to another fairy who flies off into the back to sort it so it can go to it's proper place.

Another of Sugar Hoof's quality of life improvements, the mail service was free. With nothing else to do here, Bulkul turned to leave.

With the post office being empty say for the fairies again, the head fairy entered the back where the real work was being done. Tunnels, tubes, and cubbies ran every which way. The mail was delivered on time everyday thanks to this series of small holes that only the spiders and fairies knew about and were small enough to use.

"Looks like the king has a dissenter, you girls saw his face." The head fairy said.

"You'd think these lower life-forms would show a bit of gratitude for everything King Sugar Hoof has done for them." Another fairy who was sorting mail said.

"You mean 'Prince Sugar', Blehg!" Another pretended to vomit.

"One day, Equestria will learn who's really in charge. Maybe those high and mighty princesses will get lucky and master will want to keep them for experimentation."

"They're not worthy to be test subjects."

"Girls! You're missing the point here! This letter the fish man wants sent, who's it for?"

A fairy began rummaging through the mail bin before she fished out the fish's letter and gently opened it as to not damage the envelope. "It's to someone named, Capper." She began to read as the other fairies crowded around her.

"He wants to meet Capper in Klugetown, says he wants to hire him for a job that will keep all them wealthy beyond their wildest dreams."

"Capper... capper, capper. I believe he's in jail for theft right now, An Abyssian with a silver tongue."

"I don't care how suave he is, if this job Bulkul wants him for has anything to do with master, I'll ring his neck myself." A fairy stated, pretending to wring Capper's neck.

"Send one of the spiders after Bulkul, and get me a reading on Capper's cell." The head fairy ordered.

A rousing "Yes, ma'am!" sounded through the room with salutes quickly following as fairies flew all around the room in a frenzy.

To nobody's knowledge, a new menace had sprung up all across the world, from Zebrica to Yakyakistan. The only signs that they were there were creatures suddenly experiencing a sense of being watched. In every building, every room, and every street, a new never-before-seen breed of spider had sprung up. It never seemed to sleep or eat, it would just sit and watch for days at a time, taking careful note of all who dared enter it's line of sight. With eyes of a hawk, and ears like a bat, they stalked the world at large.

In hiding, hundreds of fairies would sit together in secluded rooms and never speak. The only noise to be heard was the scribble of quill and parchment. With one eye covered and the other looking into a mirror, the fairies watched through the spider's eyes and made notes of what they saw. What animals were there, what people were there, what did they look like, where do they work, where do they live, what are their hopes, what are their dreams, everything and anything the fairies could find about anyone or anything that they saw.

Sarah, the leader of all fairies under Sugar Hoof watched in pride as her girls worked diligently to fulfill their master's orders. They were bid to run postal services, and run a spy network. With these advancements in intelligence, if anyone tried to threaten their master or his interests, the fairies would know about it before they even tried.

The head fairy of the Baleen post office watched as a fairy approached her with a mirror, "Ma'am, we've got the spider in Capper's cell on the mirror."

"Good work, let's see what threat this silver tongued cat is to the master." The head fairy proclaimed smugly as she peered into the mirror.

The mirror revealed a dark room somewhere underground, you could just barely see the brown fur of the only occupant with the low lighting. Roots and vines held down every limb from his toes to his fingers against the wall as he looked forward vacantly. Despite his head being free, he did not struggle, instead, he remained still. If the head fairy looked close enough, she could see a green pillow around Capper's neck. The cat's eyes were a dull lime green, but all in all, he seemed pleased to be there. The head fairy looked away from the mirror.

"Just as I suspected, he'll be no threat to the master, and I doubt he'll be one when he is let go either." The head fairy smiled as the door to the post office opened, "Alright girls, back to work!" She screamed and left for the front of the post office again.

The Morning After

I didn't want to get up today, my bed was too soft. Still, I had too for many reasons, but the one most important right now: morning court. I had spent a week away from the throne room due to my alchemical mishap, but I had no excuse now. Getting to my hooves, I left the room and headed to the private baths so I could quickly freshen up.

Poplar was waiting for me at the entrance to the caverns, but I was still half-asleep and didn't notice her.

"Master, we've been going through those books from the storm king," She said in a barely understandable tone.

I grunted and kept moving to the private baths.

"We discovered a spell that will be quite useful to you." That was all she needed to say.

As soon as she mentioned magic, my eyes opened and I turned around to meet her. Fighting a yawn, I said, "Mmm?"

After I woke up and had a bath, I wasted no time getting to the throne room. Poplar mentioning magic was like setting off fireworks in my skull, and I was eager to see what magic this world has come up with.

The throne room was full of not just treants, but fairies, and even some desert creatures as well. Fish, cats, rats, and some other creatures. All of them here for morning court I imagine.

I did my best regal walk to the throne and noticed the long list of names Birch had. It seems Poplar's findings might have to wait.

"Bring in the first one." I said to Birch.

"The first courtier, master." Birch corrected.

I cleared my throat, "Yes, the first courtier." I thought courtiers were people trying to court their leaders... oops.

A fish man was called up to my throne and thankfully gave no ceremony, "You destroyed the storm king? But you're just a pony."

My treants grew angry at him, likely for many reasons, "The storm king laid claim to my rightful land, and paid the ultimate price for it." I explained calmly.

With all my treants and fairies glaring at him, he suddenly exploded, "You think just because you found a bunch of living trees, that your some kind've Faust? I know you brainwash the people you imprison!" He was tackled to the ground by multiple treants and tightly bound in roots and vines. "You like to think you're some hero who saved us from the storm king, but you're just another dictator with a big ego!" His mouth was filled with vines as he continued to scream. The treants dragged him out of the room.

With his imprisonment, some other desert creatures fled the caverns, fearing they'd have similar fates. I turned to Birch and asked, "Are you brainwashing people again?"

"No, nothing that foul." I immediately knew that he was brainwashing people. "Criminals must be punished, but we figured you may find use for them, so we refrain from killing them."

"You brainwash them as a form of rehabilitation." I said matter-of-factly.

"It's not brainwashing, just a few drops of your magic mixed in with their meals and after a month, the opinions they had on you and your rule greatly improve. The magic keeps them content and docile as long as they serve you." Everyone was pleased at this statement but me, even the few remaining desert creatures.

"Cut them off immediately! From now on, you are not to add any magic whatsoever to the food or the prisoners!" Nobody liked this statement but me.

"Yes, master." Birch said lowly, "Shall I bring in the next courtier?"

A single nod was given, and a finely dressed cat walked to my throne. While the fish gave no ceremony, the cat went overboard. He bowed far lower than even the treants bow, "My lord," He stated before he dashed in front of my throne and kissed my hooves. I was disgusted, but believe I did a good enough job of hiding it. "It would do me a great honor if you would consider reopening the slave trade." The cat said, never rising from his bow.

I attempted to order my treants to arrest the cat, but no words left my mouth. Instead of being able to speak, I found myself feeling farther and farther away. Then, without input from my brain, my mouth opened, "I shall consider it."

The cat and the rat behind him were ecstatic, "Thank you, oh wise master!" He somehow bowed even lower before turning and leaving with his rat companion.

As they left, the shadow fell back and I had control again. "Birch, kill those two." I ordered, holding my head with a hoof.

Birch left to kill them as I called for court to end early. Everyone left, but Poplar, Elm, Tempest, and Greg. I didn't even notice Tempest and Greg in the room behind all the treants.

"What just happened?"

The pony and griffon approached as Poplar cast an analysis spell on me, "Master, shadow magic has entered the space where your harmony magic used to be." Poplar explained.

"That would explain the recent changes in my bloodthirst." I said as I tried to stroke my beard before remembering that I no longer had a beard.

"I'm heading to the experimentation hall, bring gold and sapphires." I said, and left the room in a hurry.

Poplar and Elm left after, leaving only Tempest and Greg in the throne room. They both watched us leave before looking at each other.

"I didn't know he was a king." Greg said, brushing some sand out of his metal skin.

"He isn't officially, If what those mutated flying things told me is anything to go by, he's just a prince." Tempest explained.

"I don't think he really knows what he's doing." Greg whispered.

"I think he does," Tempest says, staring at the door, "It's just that what Sugar Hoof wants and what his treants want, are usually two different things."

"Hmm?" Greg grunted.

"I don't think Sugar Hoof really wants to be a ruler, I think it just sort've happened. Most likely, his treants built a throne and just put him at the top of it." Tempest explained.

"Why are the treants loyal to Sugar Hoof anyway? He's a pony, and they're trees." Greg asked.

"Why don't we go ask him?" Tempest offered.

Two Equines and a Bird

"I just don't get it, Spike. The elements flew back, why won't they work?" Twilight said.

The Golden Oaks Library had been a major meeting spot as of late, with Twilight's friends meeting here seemingly everyday in order to get the elements to work. No matter what they tried, and they tried a lot of things, the elements would not activate for them. Pretending as if they were stopping Nightmare Moon again, reinforcing their friendship by hanging out, they even asked Princess Celestia and Princess Luna for advice, but nothing worked. This of course, has been a great source of stress to Twilight, and when she stresses, things get messy. Not messy like she gets belligerent, messy as in the the library gets messy. Books are slung about haphazardly, food is eaten quickly and sloppily, leading to spills, not to mention her frantic nature in regards to studying, making it near impossible to sweep or mop in the library. Which has of course, led to the second occupant of the library being stressed too.

"Y'know, You could just ask Sugar Hoof about it." Spike offered with a roll of his eyes as he went about cleaning up the table from breakfast.

"We've been over this, Spike, Sugar Hoof is evil." Twilight stated matter-of-factly. "He destroyed the tree of harmony, stole the elements from us, and somehow managed to weasel his way into becoming a prince."

"He seemed to regret doing it, though."

"Yeah, like that fixes it." Twilight said.

"I'm just saying, he held on to the elements longer than you did, and he was able to use all of the elements on his own, only Princess Celestia has ever done that, and it led to her sister being banished for a thousand years. He might be willing to help." Spike argued.

"Orrrr, he did this on purpose so he can weaken Equestria and take over, which one sounds more likely?" Twilight said with annoyance.

"Wouldn't he have just kept the elements if that was the case?" Countered Spike.

Tempest, Greg, and I were in one of the experiment rooms, I was there to work, the other two, with questions. I was unfortunately quite busy after that, 'I'll think about slavery' garbage, but the other two seemed determined to stall my work.

"I'm sorry, say again?" I asked as I tossed a golden ring down a stone chute in the room.

"I think what Greg was trying to say is, we're curious as to how you managed to get all these treants to blindly obey you." Tempest said, attempting to sound clear-headed while walking on eggshells, left over from her time under the storm king most like?

"I conjured them, of course." I said as I gathered up another gold ingot and began melting it down. "Well, I conjured twenty of them, now I just feed them mostly."

Tempest stood shocked, and Greg stood confused as they waited for me to continue.

"I didn't actually intend for this many treants to be created, it was my own mistake, a mistake I... feel I can no longer fix." Regret filled my voice, "Some creatures broke into my home, I got rid of them, but I needed someone to guard my home since I would have to leave on occasion. I figured if I forced a little magic into a few trees and gave it some power, it would defend my home, and I was right, I suppose."

"Where did you learn how to give life to trees?" Tempest asked.

"The spell I used on those twenty was my own spell, a little thing I worked on to help when gathering reagents, mainly. Over time though, my mindless minions became smarter, and they only grew smarter as time went on. The next day I had thirty thousand treants, my twenty reproduced at an alarming rate." I answered, turning away from the molten gold and looking at the floor in shame.

"But the few I've spoken with only ever speak praises about you, they all love you." Greg said.

"I know, that's a part of the reason I didn't try to destroy them all immediately after I realized I had made a mistake. Do you know how many minions or thralls a wizard like me can have at any one time?" I asked rhetorically.

"As many as you want?" Greg asked with uncertainty in his tone.

"One. A life wizard can only have one thrall, if they summon another one, the first thrall dies. The maximum number of thralls that can be summoned is three, according to the records back at the university, and even then, that's only for master conjurors." I spoke quickly, growing excited to speak about one of my favorite hobbies. "Something about—" I caught myself before I could tell them I wasn't really from their world and lied instead, "Well, I don't know why, but somehow, I, a master theurgist, managed to summon and manage billions of thralls at one time, something I doubt even the combined strength of every conjuration wizard put together could do on their best day!" I stopped and calmed myself down before turning back to the forge and preparing the molten gold for forging.

"You're too proud of them?" Tempest asked.

"Not pride, well, not entirely." I began pounding the gold into a ring shape with a hammer I was holding in my magic. "Research purposes too, this is uncharted territory as far as I know, an entire army, not even from a conjuror, War times would be drastically different. Why send your own soldiers, guards, or citizens to die, when you can summon a few trillion thralls to fight for you?"

Both Tempest and Greg shared a look, "Every decision you've made seems to focus more on magical research and personal comfort," Tempest stated, I could tell she wasn't asking, she was telling, "You never wanted political power, did you?"

The pounding of the hammer stopped and my head lowered. It was silent for a few seconds before I gave them my answer.

"No... I'm a wizard, a good one, too. I spent decades of my life perfecting my craft, I've gotten so good at it, I could make a career off of my skill in life magic alone. I'm no king... or prince... or master."

"Then why not just get rid of your treants, live a quiet life instead?" Greg asked, moving closer to me.

"There are billions of them now, multiple billions in fact. Last night, I think Birch mentioned I have three billion." I said, leading to both Tempest and Greg looking a bit sick.

"THREE BILLION!? YOUR THRALLS OUTNUMBER THE ENTIRE PLANET'S POPULATION!" Tempest yelled.

"I know, I know, I'm working on a way to fix it." I said, rubbing my ears.

"Is that what you're working on now?" Greg asked hopefully, gesturing to the golden horn ring I was forging.

"No, that's for the shadow magic infecting my brain."

I heard a loud sound where Tempest was standing and when I looked over to her, I saw her with a hoof on her face and sitting down.

Author's Note

Hey, tell me what you think of the story so far. Anything you think I'm doing good on, anything you think I'm doing bad on, anything I could improve on?

I'm a bit shy so even If I don't reply to a comment, know that I read and value every single one I get

Onto Tempest

Tempest Shadow, the newly proclaimed yet temporary General of the Theurgist Army, stood on a balcony in the caverns and looked down on her newly formed troops with me . The fallen storm citizens and soldiers had been mutated and changed by life magic. Rabbits, badgers, foxes, mice, bears, and raccoons stood in perfect form in front of their new general. All wore brown and green armor, with a matching green and brown shield and sword.

"So, these are the creatures you want me to train?" Tempest asked, looking over to me. "I thought I'd be training zombies or something, not woodland creatures."

I cleared my throat with a quick groan, "I don't really know the conjure zombie spell, only a death wizard would be taught that." I often disliked my magic school, but there are some things one simply cannot help. "The summon knight spell requires a once living body to act as a vessel, and the magic changes the body into a forest dwelling animal to purify the corpse."

Metal knees and swords pelted ground as the multiple dozen knights kneeled at the sight of me, "Our lives for the Life King!" They shouted in unison.

"Making more thralls will just make it more difficult for you to pull back on the ruler thing you've got going." Tempest cautioned.

"I know, but I need to know how they'll act. If nothing else, it will make for a wonderful study on summoning magic and the differences that a changed environment can have on old magic." I was thrilled at the possibilities. "Oh, and you're going to train me as well, remember?"

"Why do you need training again? You have an army bigger than the planet's population and magic that could probably rival the princesses." Tempest asked.

"Because I'm worthless without my magic, a simple dispel charm could render me useless in combat. I don't know if anyone else even knows those spells, but just in case, I need to be prepared to fight the old fashioned way."

Tempest looked back at her new troops and suddenly felt a bit sad. She couldn't quite place her hoof on why though, she thought she heard the sound of claws on rock approaching her and looked behind her, but nobody was there.

"I had the treants build a training ground for us, got a few obstacle courses set up, some exercise equipment, I wasn't really sure what all we would need to train these guys, but I'm sure we can work it out." I said before noticing that Tempest looked a bit lost.

"My knights! To the training grounds!" I roared down to the knights who saluted in unison and marched orderly out of the caverns.

Many hours had passed since the training started and the sun was beginning to go down. Sweat and sand stuck to everyone's body, but no matter how far Tempest pushed them, they never seemed to break. Running, lifting, sparring, jumping, the knights could handle whatever their trainer threw at them. Which was good, it allowed Tempest time to focus on any students who were lacking in physical skills.

"Sugar Hoof, stand up!" Tempest shouted as she noticed me lying down on the sandy ground.

I couldn't breathe, but I was quite proud of myself, regardless. A five thousand yard run, I never used magic, and only had to stop three times.

"It was only a 5k run, I know it didn't hurt that bad." Tempest said, walking closer to look at her worse student.

I rolled over onto my back so I could look at her without standing on my aching hooves. "I am made for desk work, not physical exercise."

"So what, you're as skinny as you are without any exercise?" Tempest asked, annoyance clear in her tone.

"I am skinny because I am prone to skipping meals." I think the last thing physical I ate was that apple treat Braeburn gave me back in Appleloosa.

"We'll need to work on your diet then, too. Starting tomorrow, you'll eat healthy food so you can start building some physical strength to match your magical strength." Tempest said, I didn't really listen though, It sounded like we were done for the day, which brought joy to my heart.

"But first..." She threw something hard at my head, causing me to groan in pain. When I got up and looked at what it was, it was a shield and sword that matched what my knights were using. When I tried to look over to her inquisitively, I barely had enough time to block as an unstable lightning bolt was shot from her horn directly at me.

It exploded and shot me a few feet back. I almost wanted to kiss the shield when I found out I was uninjured, unlike Tempest. My knights surrounded her, and while I couldn't see her, I could hear her scream as she was beaten.

"Get off of her!" I shouted as I ran over. The knights stepped back as I approached the bloodied and beaten Tempest. "She was just going to test me in physical combat, I wasn't in any real danger." I said as I lit my horn and prepared a healing spell. Her wounds and bruises healed quickly and she soon passed out from the spell's calming effects, and the stress of the day.

"She has been cruel to you the entire time you've been out here, master." One of the fox knights said.

"She was training me, just like she was training all of you, that's specifically why I allowed her to stay here." I explained quickly.

"But that's why we're here, we're supposed to defend you." A badger replied.

I couldn't say anything, I simply turned back to the now unconscious Tempest and knew that I'd have to rethink my strategy.

"All of you, see to the repair of your armor and the sharpening of your arms, then take the rest of the day to rest. Tomorrow, your real training begins." I ordered coldly, as the knights saluted and left just as orderly as they arrived.

As I looked down at the sleeping unicorn mare, I could do nothing but sigh and carry her back to her room with my magic.

Author's Note

Please, tell me what you think of the story, is there anything you think I could be doing better?

Trying Something New

Despite it being late into the night, there were still plenty of treants awake and working. Tempest sat leisurely outside the underground caverns, on top of what she was told, was an enchanted rock. Despite the cold desert night, she was warm, the rock made sure of it, it's enchantment building an invisible bubble of warmth around her. The many treants, fairies, and knights that called the caverns home would enter and leave constantly, a perpetual conga line of movement, though none would speak to her, or even go near her.

Word had spread about her behavior from the training, and none of the thralls were neither impressed nor pleased with her. Despite this, Sugar Hoof had ordered that she not be hurt, and everyone obeyed loyally, as much as they'd prefer to be rid of her entirely.

Tempest Shadow, once a commander under the Storm King, was now a general in the Life King's army. Teach combat to Sugar Hoof and his elite soldiers, in exchange for his expertise in healing magic, that was their deal. She didn't know how long that could take, the soldiers understood with speed that creatures less than a year old probably shouldn't be able to understand, it was their master she was worried about.

It was clear to her after only 50 feet of running that 5k marathon, Sugar Hoof isn't a warrior. The poor stallion was left huffing and panting almost immediately, and what's worse, is that the knights he summoned let him win a race that they weren't even having. Anytime one of them got too close to Sugar, they'd slow down. If Sugar had to stop, they'd go as slowly as they could without alerting him to their intentions and make sure that he would inevitably wind up back in the lead.

After the race, Sugar was left huffing and heaving on the ground, caked in sweat, while all of his knights looked like they hadn't even moved, no sweat, no hard breathing, nothing. It was clear to Tempest that Sugar Hoof wasn't much without his magic.

The sound of fluttering wings and treants trudging hid the noise of metal scraping against the sand expertly, Tempest hadn't realized someone was approaching her until it was already too late. Greg stood out from everyone else, his armor gleamed in the moonlight.

"Hey," He said, "You looked like you could use some company." He reached behind his back and pulled out a bottle of red wine from a sack. Tempest had seen the Storm King's Wine Cellar, as paltry as it was, though she was never permitted to drink any.

"I doubt the treants just gave you a bottle of wine, how did you get it?" Tempest asked.

Greg smiled, "You'd be surprised what you can do with the right connections around here," The metal griffon laughed, "Just a little bit of helping out, and I've already got them building me a pretty luxurious suite around the upper part of the cavern."

Tempest got off from the enchanted rock, a look of shock and concern on her face, "Who did you talk to? What deal was made? Didn't anybody ever tell you to avoid putting yourself in debt?"

The griff laughed, "Relax, a few harmless odd jobs around the caverns," He gave a salute, "A little service to the crown, nothing major. They'll probably just have me help with... digging or something." Greg didn't look concerned.

Tempest's shock had worn off and her concern had lessened, "But, who? Who would make a deal like that anyway?"

Ring after ring after ring was thrown out into a pile on the floor. A big problem with resistance items, they had to be perfect, or they'd be significantly less capable of resisting whatever magic it was being built for. That's why most shopkeepers switched to using machines to fashion the items, instead of making it the old fashioned way.

The ring hovered in my magic as I twisted the metal into the briar-pattern that shadow magic required, If the metal was off by even a centimeter, I'd have to start again. Each ring held a large hematite gem in the center of it, heavily enchanted, to prevent magic from moving away from it's source.

The door to the chamber opened quietly and slowly, as Birch entered with as much ease that a tall tree could. The treant knelt to the floor as I worked.

"Master, I'm sorry to bother you, but there is news from the other kingdoms." He spoke, softly.

That didn't sound promising, "What news do the other kingdoms bring?" I said, not looking away from my work.

"We've received multiple documents from Griffonstone, Zebrica, Abyssia, and Saddle Arabia. Zebrica is requesting aid after an earthquake ravaged their coast, and the other three want to set up trade agreements."

I knew I would eventually have such offers, of course. It's only natural when one kingdom has a lot of wealth or a big enough army, that the other kingdoms would want to start a relationship with it. This gave me a good opportunity to set up a system where I could test the intellect and free-will of my thralls in a safe environment.

"Birch, have a meeting room built behind the throne room with a conference table and... 8 chairs around it." I instructed.

"Yes, master." Birch bowed.

The ring I had been crafting had nearly been done. I put on a monocle and got a closer look to make sure I got the details just right. "Perfect, I got the metal just right on this one."

"Master, if I may ask, what's our stance on foreigners?"

This question came out of nowhere and hit me like a brick, "What do you mean?"

"Some of the documents ask about immigration, and our border policy. I'm not really sure what to tell anyone." Birch looked concerned at this notion.

I guess this is just the type of questions someone who owns a kingdom has to answer. "Immigration? No, we haven't set up a sustainable infrastructure yet. As for a border policy? The desert itself is pretty good at warding people off."

"Yes, master, I'll send this information to the guards along your borders at once." The treant rose and began to leave.

I wasn't even entirely sure what he meant by 'my borders' We're surrounded by water on every side except for one. The only side that borders another place was Equestria.

Rune upon rune and enchantment upon enchantment was cast on the ring, causing it to shimmer and spark in a rainbow of hues. After It was done, an iron and hematite ring glistened brightly in the green lighting.

"One ring of shadow resistance, crafted and enchanted to perfection." The ring slid onto my horn smoothly and was melded into place once it reached the base. In an instant, I could feel the shadow retract, vacating from my mind and hooves as it returned to the source it pollutes, my heart. Once someone learns shadowmancy, there's no true way to remove the stain it leaves, but with this, I should have a clearer mind.

Almost immediately, I felt happier and held my head a bit higher. After a long day of work, it was finally time to relax. Maybe I'll even eat some physical food for a change.

Author's Note

Tell me what you think of me continuing this story, now that I no longer have the pressure to finish it immediately.

The Favored Son

Birch felt joy in his wooden heart as he looked at his charge, his master, in the hot tub that was developed in his suite. In Birch's opinion, Sugar Hoof worked too much, and deserved to not only take a small break, but a permanent one. As is right, he knelt quietly at the side of the hot tub.

"Master, It is good to see you taking it easy." He spoke softly, hoping to not hinder his master's relaxation.

Sugar Hoof sighed with contentment and said, "Thank the builders who built it for me."

As always, Birch would obey. "Yes, Master. I've also informed the treants guarding the borders of your foreign and border policies."

No response came from the green stallion.

"Everything has gone quiet in your Kingdom, everyone is happy with your rule."

Sugar Hoof slumped in the hot tub and a soft huff was heard, "They're happy because of the brainwashing, not because I'm a decent leader." He said.

"No, we stopped brainwashing people with your magic, master, the people love you genuinely."

There was silence for a few seconds, but Sugar eventually responded, "I never really wanted to rule, Birch. Honestly, give me an office, a decent supply of alchemical ingredients, and let me conduct my arcane research and I'd be happy until the end of time."

Birch's head rose for the first time since he knelt and stared at his master. "But, master, you're the wisest and most powerful being on the planet, everyone should be subjugated to you, there's no better life for them to be had."

"No, Birch. No subjugation, no conquering, no brainwashing, none of that. I'm just a wizard... sure, I'm one of the best theurgists you'll find, but a diviner, pyromancer, or a necromancer could... well... could've, beat me easily. Now that the planet's core is being converted into my own power source, I don't recall anyone being my level." He looked down with concern.

"Maste—" Birch tried to say, but Sugar Hoof cut him off.

Rising from the hot tub, the green stallion turned to face the treant and said, "No, I'm not your master. Just call me Sugar Hoof."

Birch was at a loss, his master didn't want to be called master? His eyes lit for a second and he spurted out, "T-that's fine, I could call you any number of things. Your grace, your majesty, your highness, your infalli—"

"S-U-G-A-R H-O-O-F. Sugar Hoof." Sugar Hoof said, setting his front hooves on the hot tub's trim.

The treant stared at his master with shock and stayed silent for a solid twenty seconds. "M- S-sugar... Hoof."

"Yes, please, Birch. I understand in front of the others, but when we're alone like this? Just call me Sugar Hoof." Sugar Hoof visibly relaxed, which in turn, caused Birch to relax.

"Yes, M- Sugar Hoof." Joy filled Birch's soul as he spoke with Sugar Hoof. unlike most treants, Birch had been blessed by their creator before, on the day he was given a name. Now, he was given a second blessing, in this... this...

Birch had felt tree sap leak from his treant eyes, he dared not speak, but shook as quietly as he could as Sugar Hoof went back to relaxing.

Master, Sugar Hoof, my almighty King. What have I done to deserve such honor? You bless me with a name, Birch, granted to me for... The shaking treant returned his gaze to Sugar Hoof.

"Sugar Hoof, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course, Birch, go ahead."

"My name. Why was I given the name, Birch?"

"Oh, birch wood is my favorite type of wood to build with, of course."

Birch knelt lower on the cavern floor and shook, thankful that Sugar Hoof hadn't noticed. H-his f-f-favorite? M-master's f-favorite... me?

Unknowing of his treant's current state, Sugar Hoof continued, "birch wood just looks better than other types of wood, in my opinion, I always thought it was easier on the eyes."

M-master...

The treant was unable to say anything, instead, he found himself silently crawling forward. After almost a minute of silence, Sugar looked back and noticed that Birch was almost directly on top of him.

"Woah!" Sugar swam to the other side of the hot tub.

"S-sugar Hoof... I... I'm sorry..." He rose to full height and backed away from the hot tub. "I did not mean to frighten you... Sugar Hoof."

"It's okay. But, do you mind if I just enjoyed the peace and quiet alone for a while?"

Birch gasped softly, "Sugar Hoof, you needn't ask my permission, just bid me leave, I will not fail you." Birch said, walking as quickly as he could to the door and leaving the hot tub chamber.

As soon as he was away from his master, he put his wooden claw up to his face and smiled brightly. "The master... I'm the master's favorite... this... this blessing... this... I will not fail you, master." He whispered, the other treants serving as guards in the hall looked on in shock. Despite Birch's whispers, the other treants heard what he had said.

Word spread quickly, from treant to treant, knight to knight, fairy to fairy, Birch, one of the first twenty to be conjured by their master, was the favored son. Sugar Hoof's favorite, the chosen of the King. Many felt reverence towards Birch when they heard of this development. Many more were heartbroken to know that it wasn't them chosen. A few others felt envy towards Birch, and wanted that position for themselves.

Birch however, returned to his post, in the throne room. There were documents left to go over, many crucial things required the King's attention.

"Have one of the builders build a council room behind the throne room." Birch said to one of the guards, who stared at him nervously.

"Only the King c—" He started, futiley.

"You'd deny the King's favored son? You'd dare insult His majesty, King Sugar?" Birch growled, causing the guard to fumble with his spear.

"No, I-it shall be done, Advisor." The treant guard said before quickly leaving the room.

After the guard was gone, Birch turned towards the throne against the wall. A smile passed over his lips as he looked into the golden throne, seeing his reflection, the reflection of someone, above all the others, the reflection of the King's favorite son.

Magical Mountains and Masonry

Birch would throw a fit if he knew what I was doing. Out of the caverns, out of the desert, no treants for protection, and I couldn't be happier.

"Oh, this is what I've missed!" My mane was violently blown around by the demented winds surrounding me. The cold snow under my hooves, freezing me to my core. I had no tracks to leave behind up here either, as the snow fell like it was purposefully trying to bury me.

"No guards, no princely duties, no desert. Just a man on the path to discovery!" Not that there was much to discover, at the top of this mountain lied a magical artifact, lost to time, but I couldn't control myself. I have to have it, I have to study it.

Sure, I'm not a very good mountain climber, but with the right application of magic, I can manage. Whenever I came upon a steep incline, I just floated myself up until I could keep walking again.

I told Birch that I had a meeting to attend with Princess Celestia, which wasn't a lie, it just wasn't the whole truth either. The meeting isn't scheduled for another two hours, plenty of time for me to do what I need to do and then, probably stop somewhere for lunch. I didn't pack any warm clothes, but I at least packed a few bits for any expenses, it's not like I was bothered by the cold after my years of combat against thaumaturgists.

Upon reaching the top of the mountain, I took a second to marvel at the sights around me. I hadn't been this high up in... well, ever. It would've been peaceful if the snow would let up for just a moment and allow me to see more than just the mountain, but what of it I could make it, was a small log cabin I passed when I was travelling, making sure that I was missed by anyone who might've been inside, and a cave behind me, guarded by a magical barrier.

Approaching the magic barrier, I began to knock on it carefully. "No runes set on the barrier, no traps surrounding it, and unless it's enchanted by a cloaking spell, there's no traps or runes inside the barrier either."

Sometimes, when you adventure, this type of thing happens, when someone decides that something else is just too important, too powerful, to leave with anyone knowing about it. No guards are posted, they just cast a magic barrier to prevent someone from taking whatever it is the barrier is guarding. But this, is not my first time dealing with such a barrier and I had seen many within my time.

"They didn't reinforce the shield properly." I muttered as I inspected the barrier, noting the small, miniscule cracks in the spell, not in the barrier itself, but the spell used to make the barrier.

I lit my horn and pressed into the spell with ease, and the barrier came undone. As I predicted, there were no runes or traps on the other side, leaving my path unimpeded.

"Truly, no traps, no minions?" I was almost shocked at how lackluster the defenses had been. At the end of the cave, sat a pedestal with my query resting on top of it.

It looked like a box from a distance, with a handle and an eye on the front, but upon approaching, it was truly a bell. A bark bell that judging by the craft, was not designed to attack, but to absorb.

"These runes, this... the craftwork is incredible, judging by the make, this was designed to absorb and bestow magic. A magical transference device!" I pulled out a notebook and began writing down my findings, as well as a sketch of the magical foci of the bell.

This was truly a valuable find that I'd be glad to research later, I grabbed the bell with my hooves, afraid that my magic would activate it, I certainly didn't want the bell to absorb my magic, after all, and I tucked it away into my saddlebags.

"Now then," I pulled out a pocket watch, "Plenty of time left for lunch" Of course, I didn't have any means to travel directly to Canterlot, beyond the teleportation matrix built in the cavern, but I did have a direct method of returning to the caverns. In the flash of a rainbow, I disappeared from the mountain and reappeared in a makeshift plaza underground.

My peace died instantly, as the sounds of treants talking, walking, and toiling returned to my ears.

Upon my arrival, the sounds stopped and I heard a treant shout out, "The King has returned!" In short order, the treants kneeled or bowed, I was unsure of the difference, but I longed to be away from here, so with a fake smile, I trotted away from the plaza and towards the teleportation matrix.

Walking through the halls became more of a chore as treants bowed, praised, or saluted me, depending on their position. Everywhere in my cavern home, treants toiled, working to make my caverns more defended, more beautiful, the makeshift plaza I was so eager to flee from wasn't even makeshift anymore. The treants are building brick roads now, to make the transferring of goods and services quicker in here. They even had a system set up where one lane of the road was for people going in one direction, and another lane was for the opposite direction, nobody explained this to me, of course, but everybody was too busy praising and bowing to care about me walking on the wrong side of the road.

Didn't Birch say there were a few billion of these guys... How in the world am I going to fix this? I don't want to just kill them all...

Arriving at the teleportation matrix, I was happy to see it empty but for the guards protecting the entrance, my matrix only had two, clearly marked teleporters inside of it, one marked 'Canterlot' and the other marked 'Storm Island'. I entered the one for Canterlot and was teleported right outside the city gates at the train station.

Ponies sometimes looked at me, not paying me any mind, and some simply waved at me, despite not knowing who I was. No praising, no bowing, no kneeling, it was like a breath of fresh air. I looked back at my pocket watch, plenty of time for lunch.

Canterlot and Bathing

Canterlot is a sight to behold, and it's always a joy to revisit such a magnificent place. Although I couldn't help but notice that it could benefit from a few more plants, like any place. The purple and gold architecture lent such a regal atmosphere to the capital city of Equestria. As I strolled through the streets, I couldn't help but wonder if any of these ponies recognized me or had any idea of who I really am.

Ponies gracefully moved along the street, each with their own intentions. I, on the other hand, found myself leisurely strolling without a specific goal in mind. With ample time before my scheduled meeting with Princess Celestia, I embraced a sense of calm and tranquility. I had made a specific request to meet at a particular time. While she appeared unsure, I understood that the current political environment made it difficult for her to decline outright.

I doubt any of the leaders back home would be able to decline properly. They would probably try to have me killed under the same circumstances. I wonder if Celestia is even willing to go that far. Then again, royalty is hard to keep without at least a little blood on your hooves.

As I reached the upper rings of the city, I began to smell something odd, but I ignored it for the time being as it wasn’t from anywhere near me. I take a quick sniff of my fur and realize that it has been quite some time since I last showered. I can definitely tell that I don't smell fresh. Instead, I have a scent of dirt, plants, and sweat.

I shouldn’t be too surprised, I did spend the earlier parts of today either underground or on a mountain. The bell I retrieved sat idle in my bag still. It radiated a cold and surgical magic, that would surely make any pony squeamish if they knew what it was. Most of this planet is riddled with creatures who rely on magic for every day existence, and I am much the same. So a bell that absorbs the very capacity for magic was certainly deserving of being locked behind a magical barrier.

I made my way towards a local spa in a quick-paced manner but noted that smell seemingly stronger as I approached the spa.

“Can you believe anypony would walk out of their houses looking like that?” I heard a snobbish whisper from behind me. I slowed down, but continued on to the spa.

“Honestly, some ponies should simply be kept off the streets. He’s likely some homeless stallion, likely hasn’t had a bath in years.” Another pony answered, a mare this time.

Looking back, I saw a grey unicorn stallion and a yellow unicorn mare staring back at me. Upon seeing my facial expression, they broke off into laughter as they continued walking away.

I exhaled sharply before continuing on to the spa.

After some searching, I was able to locate a spa. It came as a surprise to me how challenging it was to find one, but it seems that there are quite a few options available in the city. The specific spa I stumbled upon is exclusively accessible to individuals who belong to the nobility, affluent residents, or members of the monarchy. The location had evident signs of being well-funded and adorned, giving it the appearance of a magnificent marble castle. I was pleasantly surprised by their attention to the care and maintenance of their plants, although I did notice a few that appeared to have been overwatered. Despite my initial inclination to comment on this observation, I chose to refrain from speaking up.

As I looked around the lobby at the beautiful architecture, a well-groomed mare approached, “I’m sorry, sir, but this spa is only for those specifically selected by Princess Celestia.”

“Does that imply that there is a list of the people who are allowed to enter here?” I asked, feeling agitated. The ponies who insulted me earlier on the street, along with this mare, are precisely why I prefer practicing and researching magic. Preferably, alone. In an underground cave where nobody even knows I exist. Talking to others has never been my strong suit. I can handle it in small doses, but this entire situation is just exhausting.

The mare looked snobbishly into the air, seemingly amused by the ceiling. “Of course, darling. Here at the Marbled Mare we pride ourselves on security, you see.”

“Is the name Sugar Hoof on there?” I asked.

The mare bit her lip and hmm’d, before turning away and saying, “Please wait here, I’ll be right back.” With that, the mare left and went deeper into the spa.

If I had known it was going to be so much trouble, I may have just went back in the caverns… I’d prefer neither, but I wonder which is better. Is it better to be showered in praise or is it better to be treated as scum? While being showered in praise is appealing, this praise can become too much very quickly. As for being scum, it’d be easier to be ignored assuming you could stay out of the way.

I was brought out of my praise or scum internal debate by the sound of an elderly stallion and the mare from before whispering. They approached me and the stallion put on a fake smile typically seen in customer service.

“Oh, please forgive me, my prince.” He bowed, and the mare soon mimicked him. “We’ve never been given the honor of having you as a customer, and we didn’t recognize you.”

I was already annoyed, but I remembered my place in the world and shook off my ill-mannered attitude. “Don’t worry about it. I probably should’ve reserved or… told you I was coming or something.” I think people have to reserve time at a spa? Maybe? I don’t really know, the closest thing to a spa I’ve ever been to was that little bear village on Lemuria.

The old stallion smiled and rose from his bow. “Now then, can I offer you anything today? A relaxing mud bath? A deep tissue massage, perhaps?”

“I don’t suppose you have a… well, just a bath, actually.” I didn’t really want anything fancy.

“A-Ah yes, of course.” He turned to the mare, “If you’ll please follow Daisy Melon here, she’ll take you to the royal baths.” He gestured to the mare, her wide-eyed expression making it clear she didn’t truly anticipate this turn of events. An awkward giggle escaped her lips but she quickly regained composure.

The mare turned back towards the doorway deeper into the spa and swung her mane as she looked back at me. Her eyes were half-lidded as she fluttered her eyelashes at me. “Please, follow me.” She said, seductively.

I didn’t respond at first, simply looking onward, but soon followed her. First, this mare didn't know who I was, and now she's acting flirty. I truly feel better off in the cavern, nobody has such crude thoughts there, except for Greg and Tempest, apparently. The mare walked ahead of me, guiding me along a hallway. Throughout the walk, she would occasionally ‘unintentionally’ reveal her flank, giving me a clear view of her marehood. There was no time for such things, so I paid the mare no heed.

The room she brought me to was beautifully decorated. The old stallion called it the Royal Baths, but I didn't expect it to be this nice. Back home, the royalty often lived in squalor, or at least that's how I perceived it. Perhaps I was mistaken, and they actually lived comfortably while I had an unconventional lifestyle. In the middle of the room, there was a large, round pool filled with water that sparkled as if it had been infused with glitter.

I was broken out of my thoughts again by the mare, “If there’s anything else you need. Don’t hesitate to ask.” She said, again trying to be seductive. Thanking her, I set my bags down by the tub and walked into the pool.

Multi-tasking was often seen as a sign of talent, and while I didn't consider myself talented in anything except magic, I was determined to give it a try. I pulled out some vials from my bag and started selectively infusing the peculiar smell that had been assaulting my nostrils since I arrived. At the same time, I washed myself with lavender-scented soap, ensuring that I’d smell fresh for later. The warm water relaxed my body and my analysis relaxed my mind.

The vial was soon filled with a wavy, gaseous, yellow mist. Runes waved around helplessly under my watch. Against my better judgement, I even began to speak to myself.

“These runes don’t follow magic law, which likely means it’s either old, or illegal magic.” I said as I began washing my mane. I clicked my teeth and began taking notes of the runes, and that was when I remembered.

Many years ago, as a college student, I was sent to compete in a magic tournament with a rival school. It was a preppy school for rich and lazy students who cared more about their personal comfort than their knowledge, and I, as I do, began taking odd jobs there to pass the time in between fights. There was a school of magic that was taught there, well, I say taught, but it was more of a theorizing school. Most magics taught there were theoretical in nature.

“These runes are oddly similar to chaos magic, but… more active.” While at that rival school, I read some of their books and these runes repeatedly came up. “This… this doesn’t make any sense. How does a fake school of magic end up all the way onto another world?”

After cleaning myself, I leave the spa and head to the source of the chaos magic.

Birch

Birch wasn't somewhere he knew, it was unlike anything he'd ever seen. There was no nature, only metal, fabric, concrete, and plastic all around. He could see the night sky through a window nearby, along with numerous chairs clearly meant for non-treants to sit in. Taking a step onto the carpeted flooring, he couldn't help but be aware of how foreign the magic here was. There wasn't even a scrap of life magic nearby, and considering what had been done to the planet's core, he was beginning to think he wasn't even on the same planet.

What's worse, is that he couldn't feel Sugar Hoof anymore. He had been cut off from his main source of sustenance, his king, and his dad all in one go. He kept his giant wooden fingers scraping against the wall as he moved through this strange location, noting how empty and sterile it was. After a few seconds, a bathroom was found and he decided to investigate. The bathroom smelled like copper, though no copper could be seen. The walls and floor were clean to an absurd degree, not even a single speck of dust was out of place.

His mind grew restless as he passed a corner in the bathroom, the only sound being the noise of the leaves on his body rustling, and his giant tree-trunk footsteps. As the corner was passed, he just briefly saw Sugar Hoof walking to the opposite corner, where he just was. Birch broke into a run as he followed Sugar Hoof.

"Master!" He shouted, but upon turning the corner again, Sugar Hoof was nowhere to be seen. No hoofprints, no nothing, it was as if he hadn't just moved past here.

It was then that he heard the gurgling. He just barely had enough time to look at what made the sound when suddenly, he began to burn. His body was rapidly set on fire, the dry wood and leaves being a natural kindling for it. Birch let out a mighty roar of agony as he ran towards what had injured him.

His assailant was a horrible pus-ridden flesh scab given sentience. Four tongues oozed a steaming substance from his makeshift mouth as his hands burned with pyromancy. Despite being on fire, Birch slammed his mighty arms into the creature's head, knocking him down, and he sent another volley of fire into Birch's stomach. The treant however, stomped onto the creature's head, and soon he was no longer a threat. With his enemy defeated, the magic began to die out as the flames ceased to burn.

Birch's bark had burnt until it was splintered, all the leaves that made up his head and beard were gone, pressing his burnt claws onto his chest, he felt extreme sadness as he witnessed wood break off from it. Something in that fire had disrupted the natural magics that held him together. Not only was he weaker, his very magic has been weakened. His soul had been made lesser as a result of this fight.

He had no time to stop though. Where there was one opponent, there is often multiple, and now fully aware of the dangers that may be behind every corner, he ventured deeper into this place. Moving less firmly, he felt sick, though the pain was starting to fade. Which no, wasn't a good thing. He should be in agony right now, Birch knew this. The only reason he wouldn't be in agony is if his very senses were dulled. Which couldn't be the case, that creature was a pyromancer, it wasn't someone capable of soul magic.

Though come to think of it, if the creature was a pyromancer, why hadn't Birch felt the presence of magic in the vicinity? Just where had the creature come from? At least he seemed like he was the only one. He couldn't see or hear anymore, thankfully. If just one had taken him down so low, he feared what more of them could do.

Birch found a staircase and slowly trudged his way down it, feeling fatigued. He had figured that it would lead to the basement or outside, he was half right about the outside part. Instead of feeling concrete under his trunks as he saw out the window earlier, he instead felt mud. He began trudging his way away from whatever building he was in, and once he was out of it proper, he turned around to see that the building was gone. He was alone, outside in what looked like a swamp.

Sugar Hoof was in the distance and Birch called out to him, "Sugar Hoof!" But Sugar Hoof disappeared.

"Follow me, Birch." Sugar Hoof said with an echo.

Birch trudged towards the sound of Sugar Hoof's voice, not giving any thought to the why or how of what's been happening.

"This way, Birch." Sounded from behind the treant, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

"I just came from that wa—" Birch tried to say, but was stopped as a powerful migraine came out of nowhere and he clutched his head.

"Birch, keep up!" Sugar Hoof shouted, and the treant followed, but soon the same thing happened again.

Sugar Hoof would call from one direction and then from the opposite direction whenever Birch got too close. If he walked too far, migraine, if he refused, migraine, if he tried to go elsewhere, migraine. The headaches grew stronger with every time they happened and Birch eventually learned that the least painful way was just to do whatever Sugar Hoof said.

"This way, Birch." Master said, Birch obeyed.

"Over here, Birch." Master said, Birch obeyed.

It felt like hours, but eventually, Birch stopped caring about time.

He found his soul weakening further, his magic field grew smaller as it was beaten into submission by this strange force that surrounded him.

"Treant, follow me." Birch would forget his name over the course of a few hours. Everytime he has an independent thought, he'd be hit with another migraine. He was treant, he was a thrall, summoned by a life wizard, his master. He had no personality, he was just there to obey.

Treant would not return to service though. He would return to Equestria soon, but the world would not know him. He'd look just like any other tree among a vast forest. None but Sugar Hoof would remember Birch, the Lord of the Treants.

Sugar Hoof

"Swirl here... swirl here..." I said as I applied multiple swirl of vanilla frosting to a strawberry and chocolate cake. It had been quite some time since I got to do the things I truly enjoyed doing, like baking. That is why I picked the name Sugar Hoof when I arrived on this planet, because of my sweet tooth. It had been so long since I truly got to live up to the name that I myself picked out that I almost thought about changing my name. Upon finishing the cake, I placed it on the counter. Tempest Shadow and Greg entered the kitchen with me as I began cutting slices for them.

"We're having cake now? Why'd you bring us out here?" Greg asked. "We're miles away from home, and you didn't even bring any of your treants."

"I have no more treants." I explained, a soft smile on my face.

Tempest and Greg did not share my smile though. "You— what happened?"

"I got rid of them all. My fairies, my treants, my knights. Everyone's gone." I explained.

"Why?" Tempest asked incredulously.

"I never wanted to rule. I summoned a small amount of treants to guard my home, but the ambient magic here messed with them in a way that made them more than a mere summon. They became intelligent, developed personalities, and I had to remove them if I wanted any peace of mind."

"But you're a Prince of Equestria, and most consider you a threat to the world, you'll be hunted down." Tempest actually seemed worried.

"Nobody remembers me. Using the chaos magic I absorbed from that... creature over there," I pointed a hoof to the corner of my kitchen, where some pieces of a goat beast statue laid uselessly in a cardboard box. "I wiped everyone's memory, at least the parts of their memories that had me in them, and altered reality to make it look like I was never even real."

Both of them stared at me as if I had grown seven extra heads, which I may have, you never know.

"You wiped their memories, you essentially killed your entire army, billions of creatures," Tempest said, looking around in a daze, "What now?"

"Well... I suppose I owe you a horn, don't I?" My heart lit, and healing magic enveloped Tempest's horn, as it quickly began to regenerate. In a few seconds, a new horn had been fashioned. "You're both free to leave. We're not too far from Ponyville from here."

Tempest wasn't paying attention to me, she was busy feeling her new horn, the new bone, flesh, and nerve endings were like a dream come true to the mare.

Tempest looked over to Greg who also seemed happy, but concerned for the future. The two looked at each other before Greg shrugged audibly. "I have no where to really go. The caverns were the only home I knew."

Tempest put her foreleg around Greg's back in an embrace. "Wherever you go, I'll follow." She said before nuzzling under his chin.

"C-could we just stay with you until we find somewhere else?" Greg asked me hesitantly.

"Of course." I answered, simply.

"Thanks, Sugar." Tempest asked before changing the subject. "So what's next for you?"

"Oh, I'll go back to doing what I want to do instead of what I have to do. I took all that chaos magic from that statue and I want to get better with it. I might start selling some sugar again, though thanks to the work of the treants, I won't be hurting for cash for a good long while."

I opened a portal into what seemed like an alternate dimension with my newly-taken chaos magic, revealing a large room filled to the brim with gold, silver, and jewels. Both of my roommates stared onward with awe.

Greg stammered out something, but I couldn't quite make out what he was trying to say. Tempest however, simply smiled and shook her head. She was seemingly unphased by my vast wealth.

"Taxes, I suppose?" She guessed.

"Nah, it's all the refined ore they dug out. Millions of miles of gold, silver, jewels, copper, steel, and numerous other things... I only kept the gold, silver, and jewels though... The rest... well..." I stopped talking because I wasn't entirely sure where my things went. All the things that were built have been removed entirely, even the caverns themselves, as if they were never there.

Clearing my throat, I said, "Be careful out there, by the way. Since I restored everything to the way I found it, I also returned the Everfree Forest to the way it was before... Minus the magical artifacts of course."

"Won't ponies notice, though?" Tempest asked.

"Not at all. Even without the magical artifacts, it'll be a slow burn to clear it out again naturally. I'd say... one thousand years for it to finally run out of magical power?" I explained, hoping that my experience with the Everfree Forest was correct.

"Well then... I suppose there's only one thing that still needs answered." Greg offered.

"There's a couple hundred thins that still need answered, Greg. I should know, I asked all the questions, and I've already forgotten most of them," I said jokingly with a grin, "But, ask away."

"You made us all individual bedrooms from the living room." Greg explained, nervously.

"Yes, I was unsure about how long we'd be here, so I went ahead and made us all rooms." It was true, I had, I even color-coded them.

"Is there any way you could combine mine and Greg's rooms to make one big room?" Tempest asked.

"Oh yes, of course, one room, two beds." I lit my horn as I finished speaking, preparing to do just what they asked.

"No." Tempest said sharply, in order to get my attention before I went ahead with the spell, "One bedroom, one double bed."

"Mmhmm, one room, one doub—" My horn unlit as I looked between the metal griffon and unicorn mare. Both of them smiled and blushed. "You two?" I asked, shocked.

They nodded in unison.

I shook my head, "That's great, you guys! I didn't know you two even liked each other." Now that I thought about it, it was pretty obvious... man I'm blind.

"Impossible." stated Celestia uneasily. She was overlooking reports from her scouts and couldn't believe her eyes.

Pictures and reports were strewn upon her desk, letters from magical scholars, archeologists, numerous settlements beyond Equestria's southern border, and even from Griffonstone, and all stated the same thing.

There never was a cave system in the desert. The many dead trees down south, they were never alive. The elements of harmony have been here in Canterlot Castle since Luna's return. Nobody knows who defeated the Storm King, and the statue that was broken in the royal gardens, had simply fell apart.

Princess Celestia knew better. The caves, she could understand. walking, talking trees? Utter nonsense. The elements of harmony? Right where they've always belonged. The Storm King was probably killed by his own people who simply grew tired of him. But Discord?

The statue that was broken, very few of her little ponies knew this, but some of those statues in her garden were still alive. The statue that was smashed belonged to the Spirit of Chaos, Discord, himself. Even if it fell off the mountain, it'd still likely be in one piece. The only way it could break, was if somepony or something far stronger than Discord used magic to break it.

Someone, something, was out there. Something powerful, someone dangerous. Someone that could rival Discord in power. Someone or something that needed to be found, and locked away.

Author's Note

And that's it

I hope I at least did better this time? I might make another sequel, I don't know. Tell me what you thought in the comments, please.

End of Harmony

It was a dark and stormy afternoon on Storm Island. Storm soldiers worked diligently in every direction, forging, repairing, hauling, all prepared for war, and from the look of things, it seemed like they were almost done. Storm wizards had a primal understanding of the water, but lacked knowledge in regards to the underground.

I watched my foes work from the safety of the underground thanks to my root spell, and knew that eventually, I'd have to come out of hiding. My hooves ached with age, my green eyes fluttered from tiredness as my body craved rest, but I had work to do. I couldn't take them, these warriors in the prime of their lives, even with my magic. I needed to even the playing field.

My magic branched out all across the island in the form of green vines, snaking into the sediment. From there I could sense everyone, the blimps, the soldiers, and even a pony if you could believe it. Strong and firm armor clad the living of the island as they prepared for war, a war I was about to bring to them.

The vines from my horn tightened into the ground and I gave them an experimental pull. I doubt anybody above ground could sense the very earth beneath them rising a few centimeters, so I had the all clear to begin my assault.

Up and down the vines moved and the earth moved with it. I conjured up a shield to protect myself from falling debris and gave the storm island an earthquake they would never recover from.

"EARTHQUAKE!" I heard someone yell, followed by indiscernible shouting and panicked stomping as they fled.

Pounding of metal, stone, and mud gave way to the sound of fire burning as they started the blimps up. I pulled my head down and forced the vines upward to grab anyone still on ground and pull them into the muck.

"HELP!"

"SOMETHING'S GOT ME!"

I panted from the exertion as I forced those trapped by my vines to sink into the wet, muddy earth below, where they would surely suffocate. My age was catching up to me as I felt my heart struggle to keep up. Despite this, I could not afford to let any of the storm king's troops escape. After I fortified the shield I cast around myself, It was time to reveal myself.

Letting go of the vines, I shot upward through the cave and took in the damage around me with my own eyes. A few dozen of the storm king's soldiers had already been consumed by the earth, while a few others either struggled with futility to get free, or begged for help. No help could come of course, anyone who stepped close to me were grabbed as well.

Those blimps turned out to be aerial warships in truth, I watched as they began lifting into the air and could feel the relief of the passengers.

"Nobody escapes." I whispered before channeling my magic into the ground and forced a large shard of rock straight through their warships. Not sure what it was I hit, but I hit something flammable, flames billowed from the vessels as blood-curdling screams sounded out through the air. Each ship that lifted off received a similar fate, fire and screams protruded from each. Pieces of metal fell from the vessels towards me and the screams grew louder for a second before becoming silent in an instant.

I looked up again at the falling wreckage, it wasn't metal falling, it was the storm king's soldiers who were falling. The screams became louder because the people screaming were falling closer. I snickered for a second at my mistake.

Looking over in the distance, I saw the remains of a quickly deteriorating stone castle, I assumed it was the storm king's, and began making my way there. All the while, corpses continued to fall, some on fire, some not. I heard a particularly funny scream come down and went over to look at the soldier. It was a female, that much I was sure of. She looked kind've like a cat monkey, similar to all the other soldiers under the storm king. Her face held an expression of agony, her face was burned and her eyes were bloodshot. The weirdest part about her was that she was wearing a dress. In fact, most of them were wearing regular clothes instead of armor. Shirts, pants, vests, even a few wearing fine clothing fit for a noble.

My heart lurched in my chest as I looked around frantically at the rest of the burning corpses. These weren't soldiers, these were citizens. Flame erupted through my heart as I realized what I had done. A wave of nausea strangely came to me, this was not my first time killing, and it wasn't my first time killing innocents unfortunately, so I was off-put by what I presumed to be my lunch trying to come back up. With no sense fighting it, I hunched over and retched out a bright pink substance, that I assumed was blood mixed with stomach acid.

I swore under my breath and doubled my efforts to the castle. If I was vomiting blood, I doubt I had much time left to live.

As I ran to the castle, I failed to notice the blood come together and form a pink diamond before flying off towards Equestria.

With the destruction I had caused around the island, the castle had been shifted slightly. The only entrance that remained was a door that used to be underground. As I entered the castle, I found myself in a dungeon, prison cells lined the wall. Some of the cells were even being used. An assortment of creatures all cowered away from me as I entered, I could smell fear on them.

I stopped in my tracks, wait since when could I smell fear? I didn't have long to ponder though, as I felt another lurch of bile began to make it's way to my mouth. Shutting my eyes tightly, I let it out and kept going without looking at it. I didn't want to know how little time I had left. This display only made things worse for the prisoners though, they began to shiver as if death was in front of them. They could likely tell that my time was soon up, too.

The door on the other side of the dungeons opened, and a few storm soldiers entered the room. They pointed their spears at me, but I did not care for them, the storm king's staff was my prize, not them. Since they were of no consequence, I grabbed their bodies with my magic, and ripped them apart with ease. I noted more bile coming up my throat, but I didn't feel bad about it anymore. Not the vomit, nor the violence.

They were in my way, it was right to kill them. I thought, though my inner voice sounded a bit foreign. Despite my recent bouts of sickness, I felt stronger and faster than I had in a long while. I felt as though, maybe I could take on soldiers in their prime. Sure, I was old, in my nineties if I recall, but If I can rip apart these guys, who could stop me?

I continued through the dungeon and up the stairs, much to the relief of the prisoners.

Walking through the hallway, I came to a set of double doors that were far too fancy to just lead nowhere. The hall was silent, almost eerily so. In a brief moment however, a purple mare with a broken horn descended from the ceiling and landed on the stone ground with a clunk. She was naked, but I could tell that until recently, she was wearing armor.

"Aren't you going to attack me?" I asked, feeling an odd sensation in my heart that both seemed to want a fight, and not want a fight at the same time.

She opened her mouth a few times, but spoke no words, until she got into a bowing position.

"Is it true what the rumors say about you, Prince of Equestria? You are truly gifted with healing magic?" She asked, never rising from her bow.

"I am one of, if not the, best life wizard in history. These rumors you have heard are true." I answered with a prideful grimace.

"Please, I will swear my life to you if you'd only fix my horn." She said, with a hint of... either sadness or fear, I could not tell.

"Do you know where the storm king is?" I asked, uncaring for her horn and words.

"Yes, he's in the throne room behind you, but... my offer?" She asked as I turned around.

"I have thralls already, I don't need another." I said as I surrounded myself in a shield of life magic, this time though, the shield held a darker hue to it. Before I opened the door, I vomited again.

"Ponies don't usually puke purple." I heard the purple pony say, but I ignored her and opened the door.

As I suspected, the storm king was waiting with his staff/spear pointed to the door and as soon as I opened it, a blast of lightning shot towards my shield. It was powerful, just as divination magic is meant to be, but my life and harmony magic held the shield firm.

I charged at him as he threw his thunder, and slammed into him with my shield, knocking him off of his throne. Two tendrils shot from my horn, vines that looked quite corrupted. and grabbed both the storm king's neck and his staff. He struggled to get out of my grip and get his staff back, but soon stopped fighting for it when he could no longer breathe.

"Finally, after all this time." I said, channeling life and har— no, not harmony, somewhere through my attack, I began using shadow magic instead. Life and Shadow combined in a horrid union to fill the storm king's staff. Storm mingled with life and shadow and formed a dark muck inside of it, with it and my powers combined, I could fix this aging problem of mine until I found a better way.

The staff's capacity for storm magic far overshadowed my own, as this was a diviner's weapon and was crafted as such. The magic surrounded me in a blaze of lightning and I could feel my very body open up. The storm king whimpered as his life began to fade, and the purple mare just watched in what seemed to be fear.

Author's Note

I'm sorry, I had no idea what to do with the fight.