Komm, Selge Ruh

by Fireflower

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony Comic, Sad, Tragedy, Profanity, Shining Armor, My Little Pony: The Movie, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe
Length: 12067

A long, hard gaze into how anything and everything returns to nothing, comes tumbling down just as much as anyone and everyone is letdown to: in at least one case, a chain reaction having reached equilibrium so to speak, nothing more, nothing less.

A lot has changed in one millennium alone, especially considering the rise of Equestria as many have come to know so to speak of: even with its reconciliations, there were certain events that couldn't be avoided no matter what came before, during, and after as is; of course, such aspects were common knowledge in and out of the homeland, even the sheer scale and magnitude was rather variable.

Out of many, one father out of many gets to do a lookback on the series of events that had brought him to this point in time altogether: a humble lover stricken with heartache going on heartbreak as growing pains and shrinking pleasures became a daily occurrence; even now, his thoughts become sporadic, especially after watching his pride and joy becoming a burning memory, for want of hyperbole.

In any case, the idea to abandon loneliness is nothing more than an existential reminder of what fates could await for us all no less: individuals such as himself knew this all too well and is the more enough reason wherefore both family and friends are requirements; of course, even the longest lasting relationships aren't immune to such mundane things so commonplace in and out life.

Published 2023-07-30 04:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2023-07-30 04:10:01 UTC

Shining Armor

Author's Note

My name is Fireflower and this is my third My Little Pony Fanfic, using normal canon characters that is rated T for Teen; therefore, it is no clopfic whatsoever but it does have some moments of distress to a small extent: as a matter of fact, it took me about two years to finish this because it was going to be a contest entry for the Renaissance so to speak of.

Anyways, I just want to state for the record that My Little Pony, or rather Friendship Is Magic along with its setting and characters belongs to Lauren Faust and Hasbro; also, I want to confess that this fimfic has been inspired by the works of a youtuber by the screenname of twelveman_OP: this man needs all the love he needs since he's a good man.

Enjoy it while you can 'cause this could break your train of thought; after all, if the title alone wasn't enough, the cover should be enough to explain why no less: superficial it is, you'll know all the same.

Shining Armor

Hello, whomever you are that is listening to this recording where it was hidden in some foal’s toy, you should probably consider yourself lucky: I mean, really, maybe you found some critical information about the events; maybe that would make you take this thing to the authorities, maybe you are the Regional Patrols.

Unfortunately, that’s not gonna do much: currently whilst I’m recording this, it’s September 24, 2020 s.p.t. and by the time you’ll be listening to this, I’m gone, just straightforward, gone but just before I leave for good, I’m here to confess.

Let’s talk about my history.

I was born on Saturday April 7, 1979 in the city of Canterlot, the capital of Equestria itself as many of you already know far too well; after all, it’s inside one of the many provinces in our homeland, especially regarding countless nobles and the royal family our dear Princess reigns from. It’s a shame about home and where the heart used to be, especially since it was the very heartland itself by virtue of being smack dab in the middle: it used to be a safe place where many like my family could live, work, and shop in peace, something that can be shared; now, it’s just a reminder of our own mortality, especially with what had happened with the damned invasion. In any case, I could still remember the days when I was still engaged to the love of my life and how I’d almost lost it all on the day, or rather night, of our wedding: I couldn’t remember much since before and during that time, I was putting up a shield to protect the whole city because of some reports; I’m sure you know the rest so I’ll elaborate more on this whole thing later on. When one thinks about it, I’d never imagined all the hidden dangers that lurked throughout my home and the architecture alone was the least of our worries; curse my misspent youth and folly, I was so used to being an only foal I’d never had any time to worry about anything else but bullies at school no less. Since were on topic, Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns was the only safe place I can think of, besides home; of course, I was there because I couldn’t think of anything else but wanting to protect myself and others like me from bullies: I know a stallion who use to go to a similar school while growing up, an earth pony by the name of Braeburn who had moved to Appleloosa. Of course, my enrollment came following the birth of my sister, Twilight Sparkle: she could do more than what I’d done, even hatching the egg that years later eventually became our baby brother, Spike; unlike the both of us, we couldn’t find a school in the city that could take him in like they’d done, even with the Princess’ blessing, or so it’d seemed to be more clear. Even if we did, there was still the matter of his allergic reaction to the trees that were placed within the city: apparently, they’d worked far too well enough in causing him such shoot so many flames involuntarily; in any case, since he was considered a walking health hazard to the rest of the city, he wasn’t allowed to have a normal education, even if they’d wanted to. If anything, the only way he could learn was if we’d all moved to Fillydelphia: they had a stable population of dragons living their own lives, just like us long before we had that peace treaty with the dragons, thanks to Ember of course; of course, this was only when we’d gone up there for the summer, at least until Twily graduated early at the top of her class. Speaking of which, I’ve honestly regretted not taking my studies seriously in retrospect, especially after what they’d done together as brother and sister; as a matter of fact, I’ve actually regretted not checking up on her when she’d first went to Ponyville of all place to be the hero Equestria needed the most.

In any case, my education didn’t end there just because Twily was born, especially considering the fact my time at that school concluded: I’d remembered spending the rest of my foalhood at Canterlot Academy, a grade school where there were other ponies aside from unicorns like me and her. A lot of familiar faces had all went there, besides my three friends 8–Bit, Gaffer, and Poindexter: Goldengrape, Bumblesweet, Meadow Song, Braeburn, Wheat Grass, Caramel, Soarin’, Thunderlane, Sweetcream Scoops, Cheerilee, Lyra Heartstrings, Minuette, and Moondancer; as kind as they were to me and Twilight, they were nothing compared to her, Mi Amore Cadenza. Back then, she was always known as Cadance for short, a name she’d usually be referred to by others and herself, even Celestia; of course, it seems she was too humble to even rely on her title as princess, even as her adopted niece so to speak of altogether: apparently, she was an orphan raised by villagers nearby Vanhoover but still in the same province of Ponish Autokratos no less. Cadance was more than just the apple of my eye, she was far too out of my reach when I’d first met her, not only due to her title: she was one of those popular ponies with a pretty face and an expansive intellect, far surpassing that of my very own alone no less; even though we were just as smart, we were way out of our league when it’d came to the likes of her nonetheless already. Everypony else knew that for a fact and they can see, especially Buck Withers, the captain of our school’s polo team, the Dragons: he was the star attraction but that didn’t make likable as far as the four of us could see it clearly, especially after what he did to us; of course, he’s probably more likable enough to see him as worthy of being a new friend, but that’s not the issue here. In any case, I was so lost in her radiant beauty I couldn’t think straight, not even at the gaming table where all four of us played: it was back when we were all having a good game of Ogres and Oubliettes, something that Spike could relate to since he also played; back onto the subject, the three of us noticed my determination and feeling suckered in, they’d decided to make her mine. To be honest, it wasn’t going to be easy like those calculus classes we’ve been taking together in our youth, but they were simple; after all, the Academy’s fall gala was coming up and she’d not been around ask out whomever to go with her as well as vice versa: as far as it’d stood, this had meant I’d a chance to be that special somepony but also needed to secure that role altogether. Between the pep rally and coltish pranks, we couldn’t seem to get Cadance to notice me, let alone ask me out altogether: everypony else either laughed at or ignored us, even when we’d been subtle to a fault at our planning all the very same; needless to say, I’d felt like that I was sure to lose her forevermore, doomed to the life of melancholy and madness as of right now. Despite everything that had happened, I’ve had reason to believe that she was going to choose me anyway all the same no less; otherwise, this would literally be a whole new record to listen to at any time of day, preferably in daylight if one were easily scared: names, reasons, content, and context would be nothing compared and/or contrasted to what I have to say but nothing matters.

What did matter, however, was all the years we’d spent together during our time as students and before all of this happening at large: I could still remember the day when Cadance had invited my siblings and all of their friends over to Tealove’s teahouse to go tell it all; as a matter of fact, I could still remember what they were all like with and without their bridesmaid gowns no less. The first was Rainbow Dash, tough as nails and not afraid to prove herself or her friends and family about it no matter what; I can pretty much see why she’d ended up with the Element of Loyalty all of the sudden much like everypony else all the same: even when the chips were down, she wasn’t going to go out without a fight for their right to live free from fear altogether. Next, there came Pinkie Pie, a four–legged ball of seemingly endless energy to spare and share to anypony that had come her way; no points for guessing how the Element of Laughter chose her especially, seeing what she was capable of when given the time: speaking of which, she’d always made the time to plan Flurry Heart’s birthdays since Cadance and I’d trusted her with our secret. Then Rarity trotted on after, capable of seeing the beauty in everything, hence her career as a designer and oh so much more: it’s actually more than apparent she’d lived up to her role bearing the Element of Generosity, despite those rumors at home; if anything, she was much more nicer than many had expected, especially with all the work she’d done here and beyond so to speak of. Following her was probably her fillyfriend Applejack, though it’s more likely that she’s too invested in farm work altogether; as far as I can see it, she was more like that pegasus friend of theirs, except for the way she speaks and the Element of Honesty: I can tell that she has a lot to say overall when it comes to trusting ponies here and there, especially her friends and family. Last, but not least, was Fluttershy, so much like that pink pony yet still a yellow pegasus as far as I can remember as do the others: she’s no pushover from what I’d been told despite her own personality, at least due to how she’d earned the Element of Kindness; after all, she’s the reason a certain old foe became one of our bestest allies, even with his two significant missteps anyway.

To be honest, I could never imagine how close we were to losing it all if it weren’t for them, ever with their precious Elements: after all, we’d been staring down death in the face so many times without a care in the world thanks to the artifacts alone; of course, it’d always been that way before any of us were even born, let alone before we’d set sail for the new world itself no less. Even before any of them were able to get ahold of either item, I can still remember that fateful Summer Sun Celebration no less: rather than Princess Celestia being able to raise the sun as planned, she was absolutely nowhere to be ever even found so to speak; instead, Nightmare Moon had showed up to wreak her unholy vengeance onto us all, or we’d so believed anyway. As a matter of fact, one would’ve been forgiven for thinking that the day new Bearers were chosen, our troubles were over; of course, that was just wishful thinking at its best and even then, every wish made, no matter how good, has its consequences: most of us usually wouldn’t think about it while others bother to research the outcomes of certain inputs like the naturalists do. Speaking of which, I couldn’t shake the feeling of what was going to happen next the day our world was turned upside down: to be honest, it was quite a doubleheader of the worst kind, especially considering who their next foe was going to be ever since; of course, it wouldn’t be wise to speak of such a name for good reason, especially as far as the Princesses were concerned. That being said, that isn’t to say there weren’t any methods to prevent someone like that guy in question from learning about us: as a matter of fact, this microcassette you’re listening right now to was made from the very same materials from a similar throne; of course, I’ll elaborate more on that later but I wouldn’t dare to call this recording plain since you’d managed to make it far. Anyways, Cadance and I were able to plan our royal wedding several months after the Grand Galloping Gala with their grace: after the ceremony, it was now time to breathe easier, especially considering what we were going do in the meantime so to speak; at the very least, our dreams would be fully realized for our loved ones to see, especially my sister Twilight Sparkle no less. We were able to send out the invitations weeks in advance throughout much of Equestria, aside from Ponyville and Canterlot; of course, the castle we were going to be married in still had some limited space, despite its immense dimensions anyway: Twilight was a main priority obviously, for the lack of a better term, and with more than enough good reasons everypony had understood. One would honestly think that with a bond this strong, there would be no way in Tartarus that she’d end up ignoring it at all: besides, she’s a real stickler for schedules and the like, no doubt the work of our upbringing thanks to our mom and dad; of course, what we’d never expected was how she’d not replied at all until the both of us had met again and that was the tip of the iceberg. Either way, it’d have seemed that between her jitters and our observations, I’d chalked it up to her already being preoccupied: with Princess Celestia handing out assignments and the like, I’d figured that Twilight was still busy fulfilling every single one; of course, that was merely an understatement compared to what had happened before and during the wedding so to speak of.

As a matter of fact, I believe it’s now time for me to confess to the whole debacle regarding the events of the whole ordeal here: for starters, let me just say that all that I’d ever wanted was to have a perfect wedding, not just for us but also for others to see; nevertheless, I was a bigger foal for thinking nothing could go wrong, especially since I happened to have bigger responsibilities. Even before Twilight finally returned to Canterlot, we’d received reports of rumors regarding an imminent attack on the capitol: to be honest, I could never imagine how or why anybody would mastermind such an offense, let alone their motivations thereof; either way, it was our job to take this threat seriously, lest the City and Country fall to ruin like any other nations’ capitol no less. The fact that it was on me to protect the city was nothing new to me since every Captain of the Guard before had cast a spell: being a unicorn meant that magic was an utmost and many in the royal knights had to pull their weight in contributing to it too; of course, I wasn’t the only one aware of this particular fact as far as Cadance was concerned, especially considering her powers. However, the Mi Amore Cadenza I’d fallen in love in since our days in the Academy wasn’t the same one I’d been meeting here: I didn’t know if she was getting cold hooves about this or that it was some kind of flu that had came over her all of the sudden; if anything, Twilight was the first to learn the differences between the two but I was too blinded by love and devotion to see it all. Either way, I’d let myself give into the notions that Cadance was stressed out, hence the sudden last–minute changes she’d made: between replacing the three bridesmaids and changing the decorations, I’d figured she would’ve wanted the best as I’d given her; after all, I’d given my best since the moment I first laid eyes on her when were still young and impressionable no less. Reason and logic went out the window the second my sister had threw out this wild accusation of Cadance being evil suddenly: apparently, her only evidence was the fact she’d seen me being hypnotized by her on the account of having been tired protecting; as soon as I’d seen her running off crying, I’d snapped and told Twilight off to the point of her no longer being my best mare.

Ironically, the day of the wedding, fake and real, was when I’d not only eat those words but regret them as well as our deeds: if anything, my sister has proven herself time and time again to be worthy of being my best mare despite what had been said by us; after all, she’d saved us from the mess we’d inadvertently enabled by virtue of letting a certain someone enter Canterlot itself. To be honest, I can’t remember much the last time I’d spoken to the figure taking Cadance’s form, let alone the other times; between themselves and being able to interact with others besides the real her and her impostor, there was but one commonality: seeing nothing more but darkness all around me, not just in my slumber but also in the broad daylight so to speak of nevertheless. At first, they’d felt like I’d been taking a goodnight’s rest, especially considering my schedule and the fact I was still stressed: even now, I’ve been finding myself sleeping around for days on end since that fateful birthday party but I’ll elaborate later on; in any case, I’d found myself standing in what had appeared to be the interiors of a castle somewhere within Equestria itself. Despite this, I could distinctly remember the differences between castles, especially the ones found inside the city of Canterlot; as a matter of fact, I could tell this was nothing like the one Celestia and Luna once lived in as far as I’d come to know right now: after all, it was the very scene of the crime itself I’d returned to simply because of who wasn’t there as well as wherefore. Anyways, I could recall seeing lots of ponies at the very same castle, many of whom used to be ones I’d once went to school with: on the other hand, I’d still recalled of how the bridesmaids were replaced with Twilight’s friends but not of their recent whereabouts; speaking of which, the only neighbor I recalled seeing was Lemon Hearts yet I was too excited to speak out to anypony. Kainotophobia would’ve been the kind of word to describe the feeling everypony would feel had I came to my own senses sooner; in Twilight’s case, it was less fear of the future but more of what Equestria would’ve been if one too many things were different: if anything, the fact she’d intended to find out the truth was something I should’ve been paying attention more beforehoof. In any case, it didn’t take long for me to see through the whole thing but it wasn’t on my own strength I’m afraid to speak of; after all, it was my sister that saved the day, as usual, but even she wasn’t alone, nor were her friends as far as they could see: Mi Amore Cadenza, the true princess of love, saved me from marrying an impostor, something Twilight had tried to do prior.

Words couldn't describe how close we were to losing everything because of what I’d said and done the day before the wedding; in addition, I can still remember how easy it was for them to carry on with their lives as if nothing else had happened at all: was this a side–effect of them being into their roles too soon or did they somehow have a lot to practice in honing their skills? Up until that fateful day, Canterlot used to be the only thing closest to being more exciting, if not, the most exciting city alone; after all, we’d all grew up there together, not just our family but our friends and neighbors as well, especially Cadance herself: she was the main reason why I’d made it this far in my life and why we’d became so well–liked together at the Crystal Empire. No amount of differences could distract us from the fact that there was oh so much hope and courage arising within all of us: I couldn't believe how much of a dork I was being around her, especially considering the friends I’d been around since our youth; even now, the fact that I’d became captain of the guard in so much time no less was enough to ensure that I was the best. Despite this, I’d never imagined how easy it was to wake up and find out how many enemies were lurking about in Equestria; not only that, the fact they’d have the nerve to steal her away on our special day in Canterlot no less made me sad and angry too: between being nearly married off to some shapeshifter and letting our homeland go to Tartarus, they were all small potatoes. Ever since then, I’ve been feeling rather on edge about the series of unfortunate events unfolding now and then until that birthday; the fact that Twilight had to go and risk her life doing all the work to save the day time and time again made me realize something: she’s been the one that was carrying all the weight protecting Equestria from all sorts of threats since Nightmare Moon. Realistically speaking, I couldn’t imagine all the nightmares my sister had been thru from day one following her being chosen; if it’d been anyone else, then it wouldn’t be too surprising for one of the Elements’ wielders to fly off the handle in so little time: I understand for a fact anyone reeling from one of those events would’ve been willing to give it up should things be too much. Between our reunion and the wedding, I still can’t shake the feeling of being this close to losing everything and everyone no less: the fact I’d caused all of this to happen unwittingly has been punishing enough as it is, especially considering who been hurt more; I’ve suffered thru one too many nightmares after another ever since, each of them showing how things could’ve unfolded. As far as I’d seen it, the only commonality in every single one of them was the impact that had been visited on my sister alone: Twilight Sparkle, the one pony whom I’m supposed to have her back, suffering because of what I’d done to her over a mistake; I was a bigger foal than I’d thought she was when I’d believed she was jealous of me, even more so than her own friends. Recent events don’t even begin to describe all of the parallels between the distant past and right now so to speak, if at all no less: even now, I’d been running out of things to say and do ever since that birthday party, especially considering everything unfolded; as a matter of fact, the only good thing I can say about this microcassette’s the fact we’d progressed long enough for timing.

Anyways, since you’ve made it this far, I think it’s about time I tell you about all these dreams that I’d been having ever since; considering the fact I’ve been talking too much about her, it’s about time I get this in particular out of my system now already: words don’t begin to describe the feelings I have for my sister ever since she’d first saved us all in the flesh back in Canterlot. The fact that I’m still breathing is more than enough for me to realize how much I’d taken her for granted without realizing at all; as a matter of fact, what had happened on the day of the wedding was more than just irrefutable proof of our relationship itself: even though she’d been gone from home for a few months, it’d always felt much longer like a bunch of years have passed instead. That being said, it wasn’t even like that I’d ignored her every chance given to me as if we were trying to be cold and/or distant: I’d actually extended our wedding invitations to Twilight and all of her friends mere weeks in advance like I’d just said earlier; had I known how busy she was, I might as well would’ve sent it out in the afternoon when things had cooled down for all of them. Apparently, it’d have seemed they weren’t the only one whom were aware of the marriage or that of Princess Cadance herself; speaking of which, I’d never imagined who would even have the nerve to replace her on such a short notice until we’d soon met: the impostor in question was none other than Chrysalis herself, the so–called Queen of Changelings, a race of shapeshifters. Cadance told Twilight about how they were able to use their innate magic to take on the form of our loved ones and feed on us: I’d realized it to be one of the reason why I’d been so tired around her on such short notice, in spite of my efforts to be alert; of course, even I’d realized that was too convenient of an excuse to not tell the difference between the love of my life and an invader. Keenly coming to terms with the reality I’d awoken to thanks to the real Cadance herself, there was Twilight and her friends too: it seems they’d finally realized what happened as well, especially considering the mess Chrysalis had made in the very meantime; even worse, Princess Celestia was defeated earlier, trapped in some kind of cocoon from their own making no less. Even now, I still can’t believe how we were able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat after everything which had transpired: once again, for the lack of a better summary, the Bearers of Harmony had saved the day, this time from Chrysalis and her kind; however, it’d left me feeling guilty knowing who was behind its effortful blow no less, especially considering the relationship. Despite everything going as planned the night following after, I couldn’t fall asleep for over a week and not just because of her: as far as I’d recalled, we had to do a deeper search for any remaining changelings still lingering on within any and all of Canterlot; of course, that was too convenient of a reason to give out now that you already know the truth, straight out of my mouth.

Needless to say, I still woke up in cold sweats between our wedding night and that of the two donkeys in Ponyville so to speak; still, we’re not going to focus on the tales of Cranky and Matilda, at least not after everything they’d been thru over the decades: if anything, Twilight being the centerpiece to all of this was nothing short of an understatement, particularly all of this. In the coming days since then, I kept having these dreams about the rehearsal and the real thing all in Canterlot, all of which bad: every time I’d fallen asleep, I kept seeing myself inside the very same castle again with the same number of ponies, give or take; no matter the variations, the only constant which had stuck with me personally was my own sister herself, as I said prior. Generally, anytime she’d appeared in my dreams, simply seeing her in a bad mood was nothing compared to the reason wherefore: most of the time, I saw her going in for the kill all of the sudden, sometimes as if she was fully engulfed in the flames of Tartarus; others, it was as if she turnt to a different pony altogether, even going so far as referring herself as Twilight Twinkle. Having said it, she’d shared the same memories and brainpower all the same, except she was not from the world we’d all known: as far as she’d see it, I was an enemy to her, no different from the changelings themselves whom tried to enslave all of us no less; I may as well have deserved it knowing I was the one who hurt her most of all, as a fresh white–hot knife wound in the back. To make matters more worse than they were, it was either during or after I’d found her making short work of the others ‘fore me: most of which were obviously changeling themselves since their powers had made easy to recognize, even Chrysalis herself; however, the ones that weren’t had happened to include her own friends from Ponyville and even Princess Celestia most of all. Meanwhile, I’d found the changelings themselves doing far worse things than just ransacking and plundering the capital no less: I saw them taking advantage of the mares themselves including the princess herself after she was defeated by their queen like before: my sister Twilight, I couldn’t even go into detail with what they did to her without throwing up suddenly. As far as I could see her being treated like a plaything, it was like passing around a bucket to fill up and see how much effort was in: her face was being hollowed out and emptied like the caves my wife was trapped in before the wedding, deprived of all wonderment; even as a unicorn herself, I’d see my sister as having given up all hope in the world because of them and myself. Remnants of more cleaner nightmares were possible but not in the way I’d hoped for, at least not in the sense of sheer loss alone as is; one dream in particular struck out for me, something in which I couldn’t forget not only because of how many familiar faces in fury: I saw my sister’s headstone out amongst the others, barren and moist with the sounds of blackbirds cawing in rain. Even as I’d recalled of the details from that unconscious recollection, they were nothing compared to the worst of it all: instead of my sister, living or otherwise, I found a gray dragon who looked a lot like Spike except his eyes were all whiten; he was standing there at the edge of a cliff talking about what kind of world it’d be where everything’s the same yet you don’t exist.

Speaking of existence, something ended up coming into my mind the week after the royal wedding, one I’ll never go forget: I was told by one of my subordinates of the return of the Crystal Empire, self–explanatory due to being populated by crystal ponies; to many of us outside the Royal Guard, no one, not even my own family knows about them whatsoever so to speak of. Once upon a time, in the frozen reaches of Equestria was a civilization that had existed long before the three tribes had settled: it was a magical place, more so than the magic unicorns like us had even though that they were all earth ponies themselves no less; it was because of all the hope and love they had flourishing within and beyond their area of influence, more than us had. Much knowledge was lost back then for a mere millennium, the same millennium Celestia and Luna were both born and raised in; it was all because of a cruel pony by the name of Sombra, an evil unicorn whom had taken over the land and declared himself king: following this, he was defeated, but not before placing a powerful curse onto the land, disappearing almost instantly. Before long, by the time it’d returned, my wife Cadance and I were sent off to the Crystal Empire posthaste with a mission: rendezvous with my sister Twilight and protect it and her from the sudden return of that tyrant and his evil schemes all the same; considering everything that had happened since our wedding, I was the most determined to not screw this all up once again. Riding off into the Arctic North, it was only a matter of time until we’d both set hoof unto the soil of the otherwise green acres: at first, I’d thought that the magic alone was just keeping this whole civilization from becoming frozen solid by the ice and snow; however, the real threat was making sure he wouldn’t return to let it all be consumed by darkness as it’d happened before. Even with my focus and stamina optimized and increased, my magic wasn’t powerful enough to avoid being subverted once again: as soon as Twilight and her friends met up, my horns were being riddled with jet–black crystals, but that was just only the beginning; soon, I’d started seeing the borderlands becoming blackened like his heart and soul, if he ever had one of course. Realizing that Sombra was getting closer to us and the limits no less, I had to regroup with them altogether, especially learning this: I couldn’t afford to leave them all alone this time, not after what Chrysalis did to me a week ago but you already remembered it all; not only that, this was a whole another land that had returned to face the brave new world after a single millennium as is. Only things which were worsening the situation we were all in, my wife’s powers weakening and my sister’s disappearance mostly; even with Cadance safe, I couldn’t resist thinking about what would happen if the rest of them ended up in his evil clutches as is: Twilight was the centerpiece of it all, like before, leaving me wondering if these dreams of her were just premonitions alone. Suddenly, a horrific sight and sound came within both of our area of influence, Spike fall from a high tower with the Crystal Heart: rather than letting the poor dragon meet his doom, I threw my wife into the general vicinity in the hopes of saving him and others; as soon as she caught him, we were able to stop Sombra once and for all, freeing the Crystal Empire from his terrible curse.

Ever since the tyrant’s defeat, Cadance and I were given the responsibility of ruling over its inhabitants, the Crystal Ponies: at first, it was difficult task, especially considering how behind the times every single one of them all were, no thanks to him; the fact it’d came over one week since our wedding was also nothing more than a reminder of my own past foul–up with Twilight. For what it was worth, the two of us were able to get a proper glimpse of the new territory under ideal conditions since his defeat: besides studying the history of the Crystal Empire, getting a glimpse of their couture, cuisine, and culture was but a top priority; the one aspect which had struck out for me was how it’d once been ruled by their own princess by the name of Amore. From what I could read about her, she’d seemed to be living up to her namesake considering how adored she’d been by her subjects: not only that, she was starting to remind me of Cadance more or less due to how similar that their coats were from one another as is; of course, all those similarities ended when it’d came to Sombra of all ponies, a traitor to the Crown and Country. Onto more pleasant topics in question, it’d almost been three months since we’d first spent our lives in there when life improved: one significant change made for the better was the introduction of the Equestria Games, a well–known enormous sporting event; my dear wife had once mentioned having been entertained by them every four years before she became a princess. Reasonably enough, we’d decided to raise the Crystal Empire’s morale by planning to host them there but it wasn’t gonna be easy; after all, it was a delicate society and there was no way the natives would be able to do this on their own, even if they wanted to: as such, it was a necessity to rely on some hired forelimbs to do the work and not just Equestrians, griffins and yaks as well. To be honest, I’d never seen a yak in the flesh for much of my life so far, at least unlike the visit with their prince Rutherford then: given their reputation as a society of proud warriors from a faraway land, they were rather very temperamental to a fault no less; that being said, they’d cherished the alliance between Equestria, at least more so than griffins but that wasn’t an issue. Finally, after many weeks of construction, the new training grounds were built, predominately by Equestria but otherwise opened; of course, the only thing which was left then was to convince Miss Harshwhinny to let them host the Games on that same year: as tedious the task was, even she, for all her uptight demeanor, was able to loosen up and see reason, despite her troubles as is. Until then, all that had to be done between then and later onward was to keep the stadium perfect inside and out at the utmost as is: between the changeling invasion and Sombra’s unceremonious return, it was a top priority to avoid any and all their remnants; as a matter of fact, the security system we’d proposed for the event was to counteract any dirty tricks either of them would pull. Likewise, we hoped within about less than a year from thereon, the brand spanking new stadium would be built in time at long last: as far as anyone would see it, it was to be a gift for the Crystal Ponies as a gesture of atonement for letting them all drift aimlessly; speaking of which, we’d gifted both the griffins and yaks an opportunity to compete in the Games as well as to see them.

It wasn’t long until I’d found myself face–to–face with my sister again, this time as an alicorn just like my wife became recently: Twilight had managed to complete the spell Starswirl had left behind over a millennium ago, one that could change a pony’s destiny; seeing her right here in the castle of our defeat and victory once again had brought tears to my eyes knowing what of it. What many of us at the time didn’t know was that I was sad, not only because of fast she was growing up yet also the probability: once again I was being reminded of how little I’d deserved her to be my baby sister, especially remembering what had happened; even now, I still have the nightmares of what would’ve become of the Crown and Country we were born and raised under. At the very least, I was able to sleep more easier than before ever since Twilight’s coronation, assured it’d never happen again; as a matter of fact, it was the same year Princess Luna was able to rediscover her powers since her banishment to the very moon: it was once said to me that ever since the changeling invasion, she’d been able to find the resolve to protect Equestria once more. To be honest, I was left in the dark, for the lack of a better fragment, about these abilities, one too many a pony born ever since: even Twilight herself was amazed at the area of influence she had over the first individuals, the Cutie Mark Crusaders themselves; nevertheless, I was rather convinced that she was an ally again, even though I didn’t get to see her at the initial wedding. Anyways, the Equestria Games had come at last and everypony whom was anypony had to be there, all the princesses included: based on my observations, this was the first time we’d been together as a family and with so many of our dear friends as well; not only that, it was also the first time we’d seen the griffins compete alongside us, but there were fewer yaks in and out. Nevertheless, Spike was the big star of the show from start to finish, having been the centerpiece of the Crystal Empire’s liberation: at first, he’d been a little shaky about being there, especially since the first memory he’d made was nearly spattering solid ground; of course, try telling it all to any Crystal pony wondering his whereabouts since the day, especially considering how young. If anything, I think his biggest flaw so far was not being able to handle so many ponies staring at him for seconds on end no less: it wasn’t always the case, especially considering how he always had our sister and their friends along him at the pageantry play; still, he was our baby dragon first in land predominantly full of ponies no less, the same ponies afraid of his kind for long time. Still, Spike came through against all odds at the later end of the Equestria Games when the ice formation had threatened it all: seeing that the security system used against any and all potential changelings had backfired on us almost sealed our fate instantly; as a matter of fact, who knows what could’ve become of us all had he not been able to use his breath of fire on the damn thing?

Come to think of it, I haven’t been able to think straight since that mishap, especially realizing how it’d almost ended us there: for all the damage that Chrysalis has done to us in one day alone, it was nothing compared to what we almost did to ourselves; I should know, I was the one who couldn’t tell the difference between her and my bride back then, but that’s already here and there. Of course, what was here and there, however, was a new threat on the horizon, another old foe of the Princesses themselves as is: his name was Tirek, an evil centaur whom came to Equestria a millennium ago just to steal our magic away for his own usages; however, he didn’t come alone, bringing his brother Scorpan along, a gargoyle who didn’t share the same view and mission. Much couldn’t even be said about the breakdown of their relationship except how the magic of friendship itself prove successful: Scorpan had warned both them and their mentor, Starswirl of Tirek’s vile resolve to steal their magic away despite the advisory; ever since, his brother was locked away in Tartarus for over a millennium, at least until Cerberus had left somehow one day. Previously, none of us, especially not Princess Celestia had paid any attention to the recent developments regarding them all; after all, we were too busy having to deal with the heroism of the Bearers all too recently since the Elements made their choices: Luna being freed from Nightmare Moon’s control and the overthrow of chaos itself by a certain so–and–so nevertheless. As a matter of fact, I could never for the life of me understand why there was any need to entrust such a bizarre reformation to them: as far as I’d remembered, they’d suffered so much under such power no less in one day alone, much less in one life so to speak of; after all, I knew it’d been over a season since the Summer Sun Celebration she’d made those friends in so little time. Nevertheless, news of Tirek’s escape became fully confirmed by Princess Celestia, thanks to her premonition, ironic so she said: it’d been over only a year since Luna came back to Equestria and already the shift in power dynamics became easy to notice; not only that, it was merely months between the wedding and my sister’s coronation that things were becoming intense so to speak. In the grand scheme of things, I’d never wondered why there was any need for a royal guard, especially one headed by myself; even before the failed invasion as mentioned previously, I knew far too well I was way out of my league, in spite of my best efforts: as a matter of fact, I’d planned on quitting as soon as I’d gotten married so someone braver could take my place instead. Onto the subject back at hoof, Princess Celestia had entrusted him to rendezvous with Tirek in hopes of stopping him in advance: of course, rather than that happening, that centaur found an ally in him instead, especially considering what they did to us all; even then, it didn’t last long as far as my sister’s friends saw it, despite the time well spent no less in whole ordeal whatsoever. Nothing could prepare us all for what would come next, especially seeing where all of the magic from the three Princesses went: even with that, Twilight couldn’t let their safety be compromised any further, let alone hold a grudge over his former partner; despite having all the alicorn magic, Tirek had lost it all to her and her friends thanks to their Rainbow Power, courtesy of the keys.

Right after Tirek was sealed back into Tartarus, I couldn’t resist being humiliated once again and not only by Twilight herself as is: the fact I was betrayed by someone she’d the nerve to trust, despite being untrustworthy in general, had left me a bitter taste; of course, it was nothing compared to what fate had in store for me, especially considering whom I was up against no less. As far as I’d remembered, the Crystal Faire was coming up real soon and it was imperative for me to ensure nothing went wrong: compared to the Equestria Games themselves, this was on a smaller scale, manageable since the Crystal ponies were recently freed; it’d also helped there was another lifeform who had been trapped with them for an entire millennium, thanks to Sombra. Pressing issues had come up once again when we’d all found some more changelings hiding inside of the lemonade machine; seeing them all at once was enough to infuriate me as I’d said before but the real slap to the face was whom was aiding them all: the Flim Flam Brothers, Lightning Dust, and a minotaur named Iron Will were all here with the likes of Chrysalis herself. Hereon, we’d soon learned that their presence was nothing more than a feint to distract us all from another pony’s onslaught: Radiant Hope, yet another native from the Crystal Empire herself, had wanted to bring Sombra back to the world of the living; the stardust memories of his atrocities from the, distant and recent as well, past had messed with my head instantaneously. This alone was enough to have me on the warpath, especially realizing how alone my wife and close she was to getting caught: the dark clouds gathering about reminded me of him and with good reason, no thanks to what he’d came close to doing to us; however, he’d caught up with me first and with that wretched nag Chrysalis no less, forcing us to do battle with them once again. At first, we’d gathered all the focus and memory together as friends and family fighting for both Crown and Country against them: no more would we be distracted by brainwashing or deception by the likes of Sombra and/or Chrysalis as they’d done before; unfortunately, they both had the upper hoof instead, not only besting us, but freeing the four troublemakers in our stead no less. Long before they left, Sombra sealed up my sister’s magic, taking time to petrify both Princess Celestia and Luna immediately: he could’ve done the same to Twilight had it not been for Hope’s sudden intervention, another irony I’d not even stand behind; not only that, Chrysalis even had the stones to kick my sister while she was down, as done before at the wedding no less. In the time since we’d been left alone to our devices, all I could do was reawakening her own friendship with the others before: this alone was enough to give the four a change of heart in light of all this, especially considering what Chrysalis said to them prior; nevertheless, I, along with Twilight and friends had the chance to save Cadance again, an opportunity to accomplish. As a matter of fact, none of us could ever prepare ourselves for the chance encounter we’d found ourselves, let alone being petrified: yet again, I was helpless, this time trapped in stone, along with the two Royal Sisters, and more unable to aid Twilight or the others; of course, it didn’t last long, especially since it was Cadance’s turn to save the day, even Sombra himself oddly enough.

Life outside of battle came back to me a year after our wedding, more so ever since the Crystal Empire had reappeared no less: as much as I was more than prepared to face off against the next threat, I couldn’t resist wanting to take a break from it all as is; all this stress of failure and freezing up in place was wearing me down to the most bitter of ends, especially considering her. In any case, after all the storm and stress that was the story of my life so far, our biggest happiness came to this crazy world: we’d named her Flurry Heart, our firstborn daughter and the first alicorn to be born naturally after a long time of her generation; sure there was Léon but he was a cousin to us, more so to Princess Celestia as far as she was concerned so to speak of as is. Back on topic though, I’d never imagined how powerful our daughter was at birth because of her infancy by and large anyways: I guess we’d been so stressed out by our battles with Chrysalis and the like, fate had the bright idea to gift us with a strong one; of course, none of us had imagined how strong her ability, if one could call it that, would set off a series of events at home. Either way, I had found myself personally staring down the cold reaches of the end before me and on Flurry Heart’s birthday: the Crystalling was supposed to be a special day for the newborns native to the Empire itself, something we’d taken seriously; however, it’d almost been our last day together with what had happened to its Heart, the only artifact keeping storms at bay. Realizing that our daughter’s wail had destroyed it, we’d all found ourselves staring down oblivion as it were on that day: every single one of Twilight’s friends were scrambling to put the pieces back together again good as new, a rather difficult task; not helping matters was the destruction of a spellbook containing the magic to do so, something which had troubled her as is. Already, I could almost remember the tales of how the first generation of settlers in Equestria had almost met their own doom: with windigoes feeding off of their mutual animosity, it was only a matter of time before their fate was sealed within an instant; of course, what happened over a millennium ago was far greater than what the Crystal Empire had been facing recently. There was only so much all of us could do before we were forced to prepare for a mass evacuation of all its inhabitants: considering what Sombra had done before and what he'd tried to do recently in so little time back in the real world, it was needed; as much as it was their home, it'd almost became a prison for him to take advantage of them all, unchallenged as he were. Either way, all had seemed lost as it were before when we'd both fought Chrysalis and Sombra together, this time without foe: the calm before the storm was at an end and no amount of magic, be if from either alicorn, could change it, or so we'd thought; a pair of new unicorns, Sunburst and Starlight Glimmer, stepped in to lend their aid on our behalf, and I had joined in with Flurry. Despite our small numbers, the magic from all the alicorns as well as the like of them and myself, all the shards were back; of course, we weren't alone as usual, reinforced by the love and care of the long lost Crystal ponies whom had saved us prior: it wasn't long until the blizzard had receded and the Heart was renewed to its former glory, this time with a newfound appreciation.

Since that fateful day, I had found myself with three categorized responsibilities all in Equestria: familial – wife Cadance, daughter Flurry Heart, siblings Twilight and Spike, and our parents; friendship wise – no doubt inherited from Twilight thanks to being the Bearers of Harmony as is; and the country itself – no longer was I a mere guard captain but then onward as their Prince. Initially, I was nervous about having to juggle all of these roles together, even with my wife at my side so to speak of no less; matter of fact, I’d still remember the day I had to reestablish a trade agreement with Yakyakistan before our Flurry Heart’s birth: considering how close our daughter was to being born, I didn’t hold it against Cadance for being forced to sit this one out. Likewise, I had every right to be worried about my first diplomatic mission altogether, especially considering who would sent in: Blueblood, Princess Celestia’s nephew, according to her, was a master at negotiations, though I didn’t get to see it in action first; failing that, my real concern was having to face the inhabitants themselves, especially after what had happened months ago. To be honest, I’d figured the only reason for it was to make amends for having used their skills to build the stadium in the Empire; even now, it may as well explain why I haven’t even seen them since the Equestria Games in over a year, despite the promises: the tickets were giving to their families for free but it seems whatever interests they possessed never fully manifested. Verily, our journey to Yakyakistan wasn’t easy, especially considering the fact that I had to lead Blueblood’s cart all by myself: perhaps it’d seem that even by marriage and adoption alone, he’s part of the old colt network deep in the royal family itself; anyways, I was so worn down by his pompousness, I had every right believing he screw up the talks alone for the lack of a better term. Even now, I still can’t get over that comment he’d made about Cadance being an orphan before we’d left for the trip anyways; nevertheless, I could never measure up to his charisma he’d possessed in dealing with the yaks, especially Prince Rutherford: even now, my skills as a sportspony, cultivated prior to the events, were taken as an insult to them, by and large as it were. Lingering memories of my friends’ first encounter with his kind were relayed from months prior, filling my brainstem with fear: we Equestrians had already been through two Changeling invasions in roughly one year alone, along with Sombra’s return; who would even stomach a war between former friends after everything that has happened, especially regarding Tirek himself?! To get back on topic, it was only a matter of time until Blueblood had proved himself to me altogether, even after all of this; speaking of which, I’d remembered having not heard from him for several hours on end before having to learn the whole truth: despite everything said and done prior to our arrival, he’d managed to smooth things over well enough to finalize the agreement. Soon, the bond between Equestria and Yakyakistan had been reinforced at long last, much to my shared relief with kith and kin; of course, it’s still rare to see one traversing about in the Crystal Empire to this day, even after all that on the carousel of progress: funny how even in a mere millennium since Sombra’s disappearance, so little has changed in and out of there nevertheless.

Onto more frustrating matters once again, I couldn’t even think for the life of me what had made all those cursed changelings tick: as I’d said before, which I’ll do this time with clarity, it seems that Chrysalis would never let go of her ambitions for a takeover; as a matter of fact, it was almost as if we were fated to be archenemies, all because of that wedding in Canterlot no less. Perhaps ever since that day, I couldn’t go even one miserable hour without thinking about how they’d go all avenge themselves; after all, their queen would permit this since she’s so damn persistent, especially considering what she’d done to all of us then: you’d made it this far into my confession anyway so the least I can do for you is to spare you the details of the royal event as is. Putting it lightly, I didn’t know what the tart I was thinking in letting one of them attend the donkeys’ wedding months after; even though he was all alone, I couldn’t help myself but think for the most part if there were others like him hiding amongst: it was and still is their special ability, being able to disguise themselves as the ponies that we love, the way they’d broken her. Relating to this was another changeling whom I’d the initial displeasure of meeting here at the Crystal Empire after all this time: he was known as Thorax, an infiltrator posing as a native by the name of Crystal Hoof, assuming if he did even exist so to speak of; as a matter of fact, it was long after the birth of my daughter we’d received word of a potential threat in question long ago. Even after a whole year had passed, I couldn’t seem to catch a break with them, with or without my sister’s help, yet more on that: Spike was the first creature to make contact with the likes of him, which was odd because last time he saw one, it was his gaffe; my, oh my, how time flies between some failed Canterlot invasion and a lone interloper showing up to the Crystal Empire. Still, that didn’t stop the little dragon from being able to do what nopony, especially me, at the time would do whatsoever as is: befriend a changeling and not just any changeling, one whom didn’t subscribe to the ideals of his kind’s queen or her obsessions; as much of a stand up stallion he was in the former’s eyes, none of us, equine and non, would ever be prepared for what came. Somehow, it seemed the rest of Thorax’s kind had taken this as an invitation to try out their invasion plan once again no less; unlike Canterlot which happened during the daytime due to the wedding, many of us in Ponyville were either asleep or going off to: I was one of these ponies whom was about to do so after a long day no less when I’d found myself in another void again. Even now, I couldn’t shake the fact as to how they were able to even capture all of the Princesses, including my daughter; if anything, it’d reminded me of the wedding all over again, especially with Princess Celestia trapped in a cocoon so to speak of: it wasn’t enough for me to be immobilized by these blasted changelings again, this time they’d gone after my whole family! Despite that, help had come from an unexpected source, or rather four of them to be accurate considering what happened next: aside from Thorax himself, there were two other unicorns my sister Twilight spoke of recently, Trixie and Starlight Glimmer too; in addition, there was an old familiar face I’d never forget, much less muster the strength to speak of, even under such states.

Needless to say, more time had passed since we were all freed from Chrysalis’ influence, especially since the truth outed: since her obsession was what had been holding back the changelings, they’d managed undergo a metamorphosis of their own too; of course, I was too stressed out to even entertain the notion for the time being so to speak, especially after all this. As such, I’d wanted to go back to spending time with the family as I had done before I’d become guard captain many years ago: all those details in between day one and the wedding rehearsal had made me realize how much I’d been missing out ever since; as a matter of fact, all I could think about was that all the times spent with my sister Twilight were soon falling on the wayside. Of course, I couldn’t just go on ahead and tell them I quit the order, not yet of course, especially considering the oath I’d taken: it’d be a grave violation of protocol by and large, not to mention it’d be after all the invasions made by the likes of Chrysalis; not only that, I’d be leaving my own family and her own friends vulnerable to other threats besides the likes of her no less in this way. For what it’s worth, I’d left Flurry Heart in the care of Twilight one day in the hopes that the two of them would bond together: I’d figured it’d be the least that can be done in repairing the relationship between us, if not bridge the two outright nevertheless; for a long while, it did work as I’d expected, especially realizing how outgoing my sister had been even before our marriage. Understandably, it seems that I’d inadvertently put a lot of stress onto my sister once again, even though she’d became a princess: considering how long she’d been wearing the crown on her head, it wasn’t wise of me to make things further difficult than prior; no matter how much of a good sport she was, raising a foal is not the same as a dragon as I’d said so much earlier prior. Many weeks passed again since that day until we had found ourselves with a winning ticket to a zeppelin cruise around the city; however, both our parents had said to me that none of them whatsoever had entered in any kind of contest in long time, if at all: either way, who could ever turn down an opportunity to be flying in the sky to and from Canterlot after all this time no less? In any case, I had the privilege of inviting Twilight and Spike to come along but she was alone as usual, not even with her friends: she’d said that he’d stayed behind to fill in for her as he’d done before, months prior to Flurry Heart’s birth and her Crystalling; anyways, she’d hoped to spent with her parents again since the wedding years ago, hopefully under more benign circumstances. Still, none of us were prepared for the large influx of ponies whom had all come to see my sister face–to–face on the same day: compared to the airsickness I’d been stricken with, she couldn’t focus straight with how she’d felt tricked in more workloads; nevertheless, her patience won out in the end, even as she missed out on everything she'd wished to do on schedule as she'd do as is.

Generally speaking, all could think about is how vulnerable our daughter was after everything we’d been through together as is: even without my wife as an alicorn, our combined genetics would’ve made her birth a shoo–in to be one all the same, or so I thought; anyways, all I’d ever wanted, as I’d said before, was to be one big happy family like we were before the big wedding. Reasonably, any normal family would’ve wanted to be growing happy and healthy together, in or out of Equestria so to speak of: have picnics, go to school, see the world one attraction at a time, all the things that our mom and dad used to do in our own youth; of course, as a stallion married off to the adopted niece of Princess Celestia herself, any of that alone was just a dearth as it were. As such, a new enemy had found its way to the heart of Canterlot, a creature calling himself the Storm King as far as we’d know: before any of us had reacted, he’d used his magic to turn the lot of us to stone, much like I was by the likes of Sombra long ago; once again, I was alone with my own thoughts like before, this time without a daughter to protect, a wife to aid, or a sister to help. To be honest, it may as well be how the royal sisters themselves had dealt with their last enemy together but more on that later; back on topic, like before, I was honestly afraid of letting my homeland down once yet again, especially to another invader: even though he was defeated, it was only but a matter of time until similar events would happen moreover, old faces and/or new. In spite of that, we’d found ourselves with a whole host of allies standing by our side ever since Twilight had freed us all again: aside from Seaquestria, Yakyakistan, and Griffonstone, we’d gained new alliances from the dragons and changelings too; they all had sent their best and brightest youths together to the new school that had popped up ever since the Pillars returned. Thinking back on it, I’d been so used to Twilight’s pursuit of knowledge and wisdom, I didn’t pay any mind to her clientele: considering it was her first day on the job, it didn’t matter to me as much as it should’ve in retrospect, not even so prior; it took mere months until a troublemaker had wormed its way into Equestria again, this time in Ponyville no less but I was utterly shocked. Under normal circumstances, her age would’ve been taken into consideration, especially with how young my sister’s classes; however, the gravity of the situation we’d been in near and far was too much to take into consideration after all this time: harnessing the magic of friendship and Equestria by and large was reopening one too many recent wounds inflicted against us all. December came again by after what had happened with the School of Friendship and I was free to see Flurry Heart grow up so: it’d been a really long time since the Crystalling she’d ended up being the centerpiece of such a perilous flight of fanciful fear; even now, I’d have been happy to eat that Hearthswarming pudding all the same with the rest of my entire family so to speak of. Either way, this was going to be the last holiday we get to spend together underneath the eyes of both Celestia and Luna as is; of course, you would be able to remember that had you been keeping your ears so close to the ground all the same anyway: in any case, it’d not even been a full decade, much less two, since Twilight took the helm after everything that had happened.

Perhaps it was all my fault for never being able to take my sister’s claims seriously, even after all these years spent together as is: we were able to stand in perfect harmony when it’d came to protecting all of Equestria, young and old, ancient and modern too; alas, nothing could prepare us for what would happen next as we’d grown up to face the ever–changing world before us all. Recently, it’d almost felt like yesterday when a certain somepony’s big two zero came by their way but only ‘cause of said year: no one could ever imagine what would happen next, not even Pinkie Pie herself, despite her family’s special abilities no less; even in the now, she hasn’t been able to come up for a new party ever since that day as far as anyone can remember by and large. Everyone couldn’t believe what had happened to her so to speak of, especially not the likes of me, her dearest father nonetheless; even now, I still can’t go into detail as to how she’d ended up this way without offending someone, no matter how empathetic: to compare such a tragedy to the likes of every single fireworks failing to go off on an otherwise anticipatory night’s an insult! Visions of Flurry Heart’s moments on her own birthday had only left me in tears, especially when I’d woken up at night as is: she should’ve been able to get married, have foals, and rule alongside her aunt Twilight as Celestia and Luna had done prior; instead, I get to stare at a crystal monolith with nosegays planted nearby as a monument to my sins as a father and a rule! Adding to this, it’d seem even I wasn’t alone in this tragedy either, be if of royal blood or from a commoner household all the same; other rulers and their offspring have reported of seeking annulment and/or abdication following certain events, if not abstainment: for example, I’d heard thru the grapevine that Skystar and her husband Bramble had fallen into a deep depression as I. In any case, it wasn’t long until I found myself noticing a pattern relating to the fates of our offsprings altogether as they were; in doing so, I’d came to a rather shocking conclusion about themselves, especially with the reports received from all our allies: there were only so many times a melancholic event would be considered an enemy action, no matter the circumstances. Likewise, I couldn’t resist having to come across such hidden disdain within an otherwise hospitable homeland as Equestria: over the past few decades since Twilight and I grew, electronic communication became a sure thing, especially outside Canterlot; however, it was its recent incarnation that proved to be of rather great concern, ever since that fateful birthday party. Eventually, I’d came up with a rather brilliant response to the sentiments I’d stumbled across thanks to my sister’s investments; after all, not a day goes by when I’d suffered the indignities of my daughter’s memories being freely insulted, even by nobodies: soon it was time to pay them a visit, but not in the flesh so to speak of, not when you were still the guard captain after all of this. Devoting my time and efforts, I’d started up clandestine operations to find, capture, and punish backbiters hiding behind privacy: I couldn’t do much, especially if it’d meant exposing my identity in the flesh since they’d known about it all the very same no less; if they were anything like the ones directly responsible, then at least Pinkie would be able to find closure from all this.

Speaking of which, that is all I’m going to say about it – I’d ended them, all under the use of our own legal system nevertheless: despite this, I know nothing said or done is going to bring Flurry Heart back, at least not without serious repercussions as prior; either way, I want to say thank you for listening to this tape and may Providence shine brighter on you as done to likes of me.

Goodbye, cruel world… I’m leaving you tonight… goodbye… goodbye… goodbye…