A Mercenary's Ending

They were the strangest looking procession as they made their way through the streets of Crystalia. Two alicorns, four humans, a unicorn, an abyssinian, and a goblin, with several Great Eagles flying overhead back to where they had been roosting the day before. The inhabitants of the city, those who were up already, watched in confusion as the unusual group made their way to the Crystal Palace. Megan heard her siblings whispering to each other as they looked at the crystal city around them, but she was more interested in three individuals. She walked beside one, a fellow human who had darkness and light buried deep within, both struggling for dominance. Said human walked with purpose with the goblin woman close beside him. She, along with the cat being named Tobias, were two sources of light for him. The unicorn named Sunset, on the other hand, was likely a new source of darkness for him.

That was what her swiftly returning magically attuned senses were telling her. She reached up and touched the Rainbow of Light that hung around her neck underneath her clothes. Being the named Bearer of Light gave her some special abilities. It had been some time since she’d used these abilities, but just like riding a bicycle she never forgot them. She looked surreptitiously over at the older man. Unlike her and her siblings, he had no magical protection or any magic in him whatsoever despite having lived on Erda for two of its years. Megan wondered if she could, at some point, use the Rainbow to gift him the same protections that she and her siblings had against magic. It puzzled her why Gregory alone had this lack of protection. She was beginning to understand more why he was reluctant to face Majesty, even if she had done him no physical harm. He had been her prisoner and powerless to escape until only recently.

“Megan,” Daniel said, startling the older woman, “have you ever seen or heard of a crystal pony before? I don’t remember their kind.”

Megan looked over at her brother, who along with Molly had fallen back to walk beside her. The blonde woman shook her head. “A lot has changed since we were here last,” she said softly. “Remember that Gregory said the flutter ponies are gone and so are the sea ponies, at least the sea ponies we know. This world has pretty much forgotten their history during our times here.”

The closer they came to the tower shaped palace, the more Megan’s senses felt some sort of darkness. Not the same as what she had seen surrounding Gregory in the Rainbow of Light’s mirror, but it was there. The darkness from Gregory was mostly there due to his time on Erda and felt a bit foreign to this world, just like he did. This new darkness was more magical in nature. The alicorns led the group into the palace and up the stairs towards what looked like a dining hall. And that was where Megan and her siblings met several new ponies which sparked memories inside them.

There were ten ponies sitting at the table and one small purple dragon, all waiting. One pony was a smaller alicorn, and Megan felt a somewhat radiant light emanating from her. There were three other unicorns, a fourth alicorn, two pegasi and two earth ponies sitting at the table. A couple of them looked like duplicates of ponies the siblings knew. The orange mare wearing a Stetson was a nearly dead ringer for Applejack, and an older unicorn mare who sat by an older dark blue stallion had features that reminded Megan of Majesty’s magic student Twilight.

The other ponies in the room were physically new to her, but magically there was a feeling of slight familiarity. The blue pegasus felt like Firefly, and the dull pink earth pony felt like Surprise. The other butter yellow pegasus reminded Megan of Posey as well, and she couldn’t very well ignore how the young dragon looked and felt like the baby dragon Spyke.

The moment they entered the room, Megan could feel it. There was a darkness radiating from nearly every pony in the room. There may have been a hint of magic similar to the Rainbow’s own that lingered in six of these ponies, including the purple alicorn, but there was a darkness there. It was extremely faint, and frankly it surprised Megan that nobody could feel it. Especially if the two older alicorn siblings were powerful enough to move the heavens.

There was a flutter of movement a few seconds later, and a previously unseen baby pony with alicorn features flew over to them, much to the alarm of the pink alicorn mare and the white unicorn stallion with dark purple mane and tail. The filly flew directly up to Gregory and perched on his head, closing her eyes with an expression that said she was pleased with herself. Gregory didn’t seem to notice, but Megan caught the brief moment where his body relaxed and a part of his lip curled upward.

“Mr. Graystone, I’m so sorry about my daughter,” the pink alicorn said as the group filed in and headed to one side of the table which was empty.

“It’s alright,” Gregory said as he looked up, then reached up to run a hand through the filly’s mane gently. “Children are the same everywhere.”

Megan chuckled at this, and a bit of the tension in the room dissipated. The alicorn called Celestia stood up straighter and spoke. “Fillies and gentlecolts, I’d like to introduce you to the new arrivals. These three humans, according to recent findings, aided ancient ponykind before the era where we were divided. This is Megan Williams, the bearer of the Rainbow of Light, and her two siblings, Daniel and Molly Williams.”

The pink alicorn stood and inclined her head to the new humans. “I am Empress Mi Amore Cadenza, but most call me Empress Cadance. Welcome to the Crystal Empire, everyone.”

“Please allow me to introduce everycreature else here as well,” Celestia said before turning and introducing the others there. Megan listened and did her best to keep the new names in mind. It wasn’t hard for some of them, especially the ponies named Applejack, Twilight Velvet, Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash along with the dragon they called Prince Spike.

When the introductions were completed, Megan and her siblings bowed respectfully before standing back up. “Thank you for welcoming us into your kingdom, your majesty,” Megan said.

Empress Cadance smiled at them, then began making introductions. Megan knew the names that the alicorn gave, and having watched that television show on Gregory’s advanced phone, she had guessed earlier just who six of the ponies were. It was still a little bit of a shock to know that there was an Applejack here, along with a Spike even if the latter’s name was spelled differently and the latter had wings. Megan also found it unusual that the pony she thought looked like Twilight shared the ancient mare’s name as did her own daughter, the purple alicorn. Curiouser and curiouser.

“Please sit and join us for breakfast,” Empress Cadance said, gesturing to the chairs.

None of the group who had returned from Earth had eaten, including the Williams siblings, so they all sat down, Megan making sure to sit on one side of Gregory, feeling that she needed to be near him for reasons she couldn’t identify. She was amused when he gently lifted the young filly up and placed her in his lap where he began to gently run his hand through her mane. This caused the filly to relax even more and close her eyes. Megan turned to the rest of the group before she spoke again. “Thank you for your further hospitality,” she said.

“Yeah, thanks a lot,” Daniel said with a smile.

“This city reminds me of Daegaroth,” Molly chuckled.

“Except that place was underground,” Daniel reminded her sister.

“What, pray tell, is Daegaroth?” the alicorn named Luna asked.

“The capital city of the gnomes,” Megan replied. “They’re a race of humanoids who are small and have beards.”

“So they are like dwarves,” Gregory muttered with a hint of amusement in his tone.

Megan turned and gave him a bit of a grin. “They are, or were, I suppose, a lot like the dwarves from Tolkien.”

“Delving ever deeper for gems and gold?” Gregory asked.

“Most of them, yes,” Megan said. “Some of them, like the Moochick, lived on the surface and practiced non-traditional gnome magic. They were also creators of powerful weapons for other nations.”

“Remind me to ask you if the Moochick was anything like he was in the cartoon,” Gregory said.

That caught the attention of everyone else in the dining room. The alicorn Celestia spoke up. “You told them about this cartoon entertainment from your world?”

“I did,” Gregory replied, “but since we’re all here already, we should get straight down to business. And by that, I first mean Shadow Dawn’s potential future involvement. I make no promises.”

Megan watched this with some curiosity. She could guess that this man had come full of hopes and dreams that had been shattered by his initial meeting with ponies and his subsequent life in a desert environment. While Gregory had been wailing on the bonfire pile with his lightsabers the night before, Tobias had pulled her aside and told her a bit more about Gregory’s life in the two years since his arrival in Erda, and she had been horrified by what she had been told. This world had not been a good place for him, and she had begun to suspect that him leaving was a better idea than she had initially believed.

Celestia could only nod. “I understand,” she said. “We have no right to force your help, but if you are willing to help us as a mercenary group, the Equestrian crown will gladly pay.”

“Again, that depends on why you want to hire us,” Gregory replied. “We’re only a few, and Majesty has a practical army on her side. If you can’t think of anything that is worth the risk, we’re gone.”

It was the alicorn named Luna who spoke up next. “That is one reason why we are meeting. Think of this as a strategy breakfast. We know for a fact that Majesty has abandoned her location beyond the Winterwall, but we have heard no reports so far on where she could have gone. She could have returned to her old location at Dream Castle for all we know.”

“I seriously doubt that,” Sunset Shimmer said with a shake of her head. “If I were Majesty, I’d avoid the place.”

“Why is that?” Cadance asked.

Sunset gave the Empress a glare before sighing and replying, “From what Twilight Sparkle told us before, the place is in ruins, plus the tomb of her daughter is there. It would be too painful for her to return there.”

That sent a pang of sadness through Megan. “Princess Mimic is buried there?” she asked with a strangled tone.

Twilight Sparkle nodded. “She apparently died during the war with the demons,” the alicorn said with a sorrowful tone. “Her tomb wasn’t disturbed, thankfully.”

“Small comfort for Majesty when she finds out,” Sunset said with a scowl.

Gregory turned and gave Sunset the knife hand which shut her up. Megan looked at her siblings, both of whom looked like she felt. Molly’s eyes were brimming with tears while Daniel was simply silent, looking down at the empty table. Megan had been trying to mentally prepare herself for the harsh reality that almost everyone she knew was long dead, but hearing what this Twilight Sparkle said was like a jolt through the heart. She forced her emotions down for the time being. She would mourn later.

“I can’t believe Mimic was killed in a war,” Daniel said somberly. “She was just a child when we saw her last.”

“I am truly sorry for your loss,” Celestia said in a mournful tone.

“I can understand how you feel more than most, I believe,” Luna said. “I was banished for a thousand years, and when I returned, many who I knew were long dead.”

“Gregory showed us that episode,” Molly said as she wiped her tears away with a silk handkerchief on the table. Daniel put an arm around Molly, who leaned against her brother.

Megan inwardly smiled. Daniel had grown a lot in the time since they’d last been to Ponyland. He was strong and kind. Sure, he would still tease his siblings, but Megan had seen how he had matured over the years. He knew when and where to get serious. She turned back to the group. “So,” she said, “where would Majesty go? From what I’ve heard, she has quite a following. It would be hard to hide that many people.”

“Normally, I would agree,” Celestia said, “but Majesty has a massive pool of magic she can draw from. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was able to teleport all of those she had with her to a new location.”

“That’s possible,” Sunset said, “but from what Gregory told me Majesty was recovering from teleporting all of his stuff to her underground lair.”

“Why is that, anyway?” Applejack asked. Megan stifled a smile. This Applejack had a deeper voice than the one she knew along with a country accent. “Ah mean, Twilight can teleport anything pretty easily.”

“It has to do with the nature of the objects from my world having different properties than anything else here,” Gregory explained. “It seems all objects from Earth have absolutely no magic within them. That includes humans. We’re very vulnerable to magic here along with lightning strikes, physical attacks etc. We’re naturally weaker than ponies physically.”

Megan saw the two ponies named Applejack and Rainbow Dash seem to physically recoil at that despite Gregory not even addressing them or having any hostility in his tone. The others who Megan knew were the former Elements of Harmony lowered their heads with looks of shame and guilt on their faces. A pall fell over the dining hall, one that was broken some moments later when a set of doors behind the head of the table opened and a number of the crystal ponies walked in with trays of delicious smelling food.

Once the platters were set down and everyone had grabbed a plate (Megan had opted for a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast with strawberry jam, hash browns and orange juice) the conversation resumed, starting with Celestia. “Mr. Graystone, we know that Majesty holds humankind in high regard, so we were hoping that you could speak to her along with Megan, Daniel, and Molly.”

“She hardly knows me, and if she’ll listen to anyone, it’s these three,” Gregory replied, a hint of hostility in his tone this time as he narrowed his eyes at the alicorn. “Try again. What’s the real reason you’re trying to manipulate me into doing your dirty work like you do everything else?”

Megan felt the darkness within Gregory rising and she was about to try and calm him down, but instead Dengal put her own hand on the human’s shoulder, squeezing it worriedly. Gregory took in a deep breath, then exhaled. “Thanks,” he whispered to the goblin woman.

Celestia looked down at the table. “I can’t deny that I have acted like that in the past,” she said. “I can come up with excuses about all of my actions all I want, but-”

“Damn right you can, but that’d be an insanely stupid thing to do,” Megan said with sudden vehemence as she stood. She recognized immediately what was happening. Just like it had in the past when Megan was almost gripped with fear, the Rainbow of Light was lending her its strength, giving her the ability to speak with conviction. The words would be hers, and the Rainbow of Light was only giving her a deeper access to her inner strength. “Majesty may have lost her path, but one time she was a leader I could respect. She took charge and protected her dear ponies personally when she could instead of leaving it to others. Sure, my siblings and I have helped ponies in the past, and many of those times we volunteered. Majesty didn’t want us risking our lives, but I’m a stubborn bitch sometimes.” She heard Gregory snorting at that, but ignored it and continued. “Sure, Majesty did delegate some of her work, but when it came to protecting her dear ponies and punishing any enemies, she took a hands-on approach. I respect that. Playing games which is apparently your modus operandi is one of the most foolish choices I can see.”

“A leader can’t instill confidence if they hide behind everyone else,” Daniel added as he too stood and faced Celestia. Megan knew that the Rainbow was affecting him as well. “Enough of the lies and bullshit.”

“You’re a fucking princess,” Molly concluded, standing up as well. “Act like it.”

“If the king doesn’t lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?” Gregory muttered, although he didn’t stand. Instead, he nodded in approval at the words of the Williams siblings while still stroking the alicorn filly’s mane as she dozed in his lap, somehow managing to ignore the tension in the room.

There was a deep resounding silence in the dining hall. Nobody was eating now, and a few of the creatures who had a fork or spoon lifted put them down slowly, contemplatively. Then, Celestia did something Megan didn’t expect. She chuckled. It was a bitter sound, full of shame. “I’m starting to realize that,” she said in a regretful tone. “I know I need to change, and I am working to be more direct and channel my experience and intellect better. I have hidden behind others and delegated where I shouldn’t have. I’m going to transition to a better style of ruling. Like I was saying, I could come up with excuses, which is something I’m used to, but they would be meaningless. I pushed ponies into doing things they weren’t qualified to do.”

“Like when you sent Twilight and the others to face that sleeping dragon,” Gregory commented, “or better yet, when you gave your magic to her to defeat Tirek. I can think of a bunch of examples, but I trust the point is made.”

Megan frowned. She never liked kicking someone when they were down, but while she could see that Celestia looked upset at the mention of these events, she straightened and nodded. “I know I’m not a perfect leader, and I am trying to be better.”

“Do or do not, there is no try,” Daniel replied quickly. Megan held back a smirk. He loved using that quote whenever he could.

“Okay there, Yoda,” Tobias said with a bit of a smirk.

Daniel turned to the abyssinian. “You know Star Wars?” he asked.

“Of course,” Tobias said, “Gregory showed it to me. All the movies.”

“Sick,” Daniel said.

“Anyway,” Megan said, hoping to get back on track, “we need to think about how to counteract any of Majesty’s plans.” She put her hand on the Rainbow of Light, feeling its comforting presence and warmth wash over her. “Plus, I need to figure out where the darkness surrounding some of the ponies in this room are coming from.”

That caught the attention of everyone in the room. “A darkness, you say,” Luna said. “Pray, could you illuminate us all by what you mean?”

“All I know is that the Rainbow of Light is showing me some kind of faint darkness surrounding these ponies,” Megan said, gesturing to the former Elements of Harmony along with Twilight’s parents.

“Can you describe the darkness you are sensing?” Luna asked.

“Not very well,” Megan said.

“So it wasn’t just me who sensed something different,” Molly said.

That surprised Megan, who turned to her sister. “What are you seeing?”

“Um…it’s like the air around them is a bit…sick?” Molly sounded confused.

“Funny, because I was sensing a faint white aura being pressed in by darkness,” Daniel said.

That was strange, Megan mused. Each of the three were seeing something different. They had wielded the Rainbow of Light at one point or another, and that always left a mark.

The Rainbow of Light…

She looked down at the locket which she wore, an idea forming in her mind. Slowly, she pulled it off and held it up. Nobody moved or spoke as she released the latch that held the locket closed. Unlike in that episode of the cartoon which showed the Rainbow of Light’s magic moving as a solid rainbow, the real one let a bright light shine out like a floodlight, touching everything in the room and leaving absolutely no shadows.

The moment she opened the locket, she could see much more clearly what was surrounding the afflicted ponies. Not only that, but there were smaller auras surrounding other ponies in the room, even the filly who was still in Gregory’s lap without a care in the world. The sound was the same as she remembered, too, a sound of chimes that resembled a river washing over the room.

The dark auras surrounding the ponies in the room began to shift and warp, beginning to become overwhelmed by the Rainbow’s power. There was a shrieking noise, then a crunch, and then the dark auras all seemed to evaporate, looking like a mist after a fresh rainfall which vanished soon after appearing.

When all that could be heard was the sound of the Rainbow’s magic, she closed the locket, removing the light from the room. The auras surrounding the ponies were all gone, and there was something else. Every pony who it had touched was sitting there, shedding tears, all except for the filly who was smiling wider now as she dozed.

“What the he-heck just happened?” Gregory asked, catching himself as he looked down at the oblivious filly.

“The Rainbow of Light happened,” Sunset said breathlessly as she slowly sat back up. She was the pony crying the least, but one of her eyes was watering slightly. She wiped it clear as she looked around. “Sweet Harmony, I feel…I don’t know how I feel.”

“I don’t feel any different,” Tobias said.

“Same here,” Dengal said.

“I feel the same,” the young Spike added.

“Would…‘cleansed’ be the right word?” Rarity, the pony who looked like Glory but acted like Sparkler, asked as she looked at the other ponies. “I feel as if my inner being has taken a nice refreshing shower, then bathed in a hot tub.”

“‘Purified’?” Fluttershy, the pony who looked a lot like Posey, asked.

“Well, whatever happened, it seems like we’re all a bit better,” Applejack said through her own tears, gesturing to the pink earth pony version of Surprise. Frankly, it wouldn’t have surprised Megan if Pinkie Pie was some distant descendant of Surprise. “Pinkie here has her color back.”

It was true. Unlike what Megan remembered seeing in the show that Gregory had shown them, Pinkie’s mane and tail were still straight, but her faded appearance was back to a bright pink. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she blubbered incoherently.

Even the alicorns in the room were softly crying. Celestia wiped a tear away with her prehensile wings. “I feel rejuvenated and young again,” she said.

“I feel as if I can once again outrun thee in a race like I could so long ago,” Luna said with a teary-eyed smile as well.

“Hah!” Celestia smirked at that. “Then perhaps we should race when this is all over and claim the title of Sovereign Sister. I believe I still have that old wooden crown we used.”

Megan saw Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle exchange looks. “You do a Sibling Supreme contest, too?” Twilight asked.

The door then burst open, and a strange looking equine creature stormed in. To Megan’s eyes, she looked like a pale blue alicorn, but with buglilke wings instead of feathered ones. There were buglike eltrya that reminded Megan of the shell around ladybug Her horn was curved backwards, and her eyes were a bright sky blue. Her mane and tail, both straight, were the same sky blue as her eyes. She looked simultaneously angry and terrified.

From behind her came another equine who was slightly shorter than the strange looking alicorn. Unlike the strange alicorn, this creature had dark orange antlers alongside a small curved hornlike protrusion. His fur, or no, chitin, Megan realized, was a bright green. He had dark purple wings and a tail, each with white sparkling specks embedded in them, and there were three pearl-like orbs in his chest. He was looking at the taller alicorn bug with concern. “Mother, we shouldn’t be-”

“You!” she bellowed in a trembling voice as she stormed up to Gregory, “what manner of trickery is this?!”

“Why Chryssi, this is a surprise,” Gregory said with a hint of amusement in his voice. “You’ve certainly undergone quite an unexpected and damn sexy transformation.”

“Don’t patronize me!” she said, stomping her hoof down but with a blush on her face. “You knew about this strange form from that entertainment you described but you never told me!”

“Chrysalis, he said that he would later,” Tobias said, “so calm down.”

“What happened to you?” Cadance asked curiously.

“Well,” the male beside this Chrysalis said, “I don’t know about Mother, but I was both sitting in my room-”

“Might as well be prison cells,” Chrysalis muttered.

“-in my rooms,” the male continued, “when I was surrounded by a large rainbow colored light. I felt my hunger begin to decrease, and when the light vanished, I was like this.”

“Wait, you didn’t become a pupa?” Gregory asked sounding confused.

“Despite what others might think, we are not the same as insects,” Chrysalis said with a huff. “We merely share many things with them.”

Megan looked down at the locket around her neck. “I didn’t think that the Rainbow would reach anywhere but outside the room,” she muttered.

Chrysalis turned her attention to Megan. “So this is your fault??” she shouted.

“Mother, please calm down!” the male buglike equine said.

“Be silent, Thorax!” Chrysalis said, but Megan could see a slight tremble in Chrysalis’ body and there was a tremor in her voice. “Noling will recognize me now!”

Megan watched as Gregory gently stood, placing the awake and confused filly on his lap down on the chair he had just been sitting at and walked over to Chrysalis. He put a hand on her back. When she turned back sharply to face him, she froze. Megan saw a serious expression on Gregory’s face, one that had moments ago been one of amusement. “This is the true form all changelings were meant to have,” he said. “You no longer are dependent on love to survive. Wouldn’t that be a good thing for your kind?”

She backed away from him. “This sort of change is too sudden!” Chrysalis exclaimed.

“Why did you invade Canterlot?” Gregory asked.

That seemed to give Chrysalis pause. “B-Because we were starving,” she said, “and Equestria had love to spare at the time. I couldn’t trust the rulers to hear us out.” Megan saw Celestia and Luna looking away with guilty faces.

“Thorax just said his hunger vanished,” Gregory said. “What about yours?”

“W-Well, yes,” Chrysalis confirmed, “but-”

“So what’s the problem?” Gregory interrupted. “Are you so afraid of change that you would barge in her to stir up trouble?”

“Pretty mare!” Flurry announced, flying up suddenly to hover between Chrysalis and Gregory.

The one named Chrysalis, who was apparently something called a changeling, backed away, eyes bulging wide with what looked like fear and uncertainty. Megan felt the urge to step in and help, but before she could act, Flurry flew up and landed on Chrysalis’ head, rubbing on her mane like a cat rubbing its scent onto someone else. “Soft and silky, like my sheets…” Flurry said.

Everyone was watching this with stunned silence. All except Gregory, who put a hand on Chrysalis’ head and ran a hand through her mane before bursting out laughing. “You’re right, princess!” he said, almost doubling over with laughter, “her hair is nice and silky smooth! And she doesn’t look like a block of Swiss cheese anymore!”

Megan saw Tobias and Dengal looking at Gregory with shocked expressions as he sat back down to laugh heartily. “Gregory…you’re laughing…” Dengal said, with tears streaming down her cheeks. Tears of happiness.

Gregory froze, the smile still on his face. He reached up and touched his cheek. “Huh…it’s been a while since I’ve laughed this hard if at all,” he said with a chuckle, this one dry and humorless. However, when he looked back at the pouting and blushing Chrysalis, he burst out laughing again. “Tsundere!” he shouted, smacking his knee.

Megan couldn’t help but smile. Sure, she hadn’t known Gregory for a day, but her magically attuned senses told her that he hadn’t had any happiness since coming to Erda. No, not absolutely no happiness. She saw Tobias, who was apparently Gregory’s best friend, joining the human and putting an arm around Gregory, laughing himself. “Sh-She’s to-totally a tsundere!” he said while laughing and pointing a talon at Chrysalis as he said, “She would totally say ‘I-It’s not like I like you or anything, baka!’”

That somehow made Fluttershy snort as she hid her mouth behind her hoof. The mood in the room was one of confusion for most, joy for a couple, and jocularity for two best friends. Chrysalis was fuming but her cheeks were pure red. Thorax looked like he was torn between laughing and trying to comfort the changeling he called Mother. She turned and stuck her nose up in the air, making a “Hmph!” noise, then lifting Flurry off of her head and placing her on the table before storming out, but in a rather regal way. Thorax followed Chrysalis out, but not before bowing, apologizing for Chrysalis’ actions, and yelping when Chrysalis called for him to follow.

When the door slammed, there was silence. Gregory and Tobias were still standing there, massive grins on their faces. Everyone else except for Dengal looked completely flabbergasted. Dengal was still smiling happily when she looked at Gregory. The silence was broken when Flurry said, “Awww, Miss Silky Mane left.”

That earned a snort from Cadance, who herself burst out laughing as she lifted her filly up and brought her to the older alicorn’s side, hugging her. “You are so precious,” she said.

“Mooom! Not in front of everypony!” Flurry whined.

And with that, tensions broke and everyone laughed. Even the morose looking Pinkie Pie seemed to smile. Cadance then clapped her hooves. “Okay, everyone,” she said, “why don’t we table discussions about events that are happening elsewhere and focus on at least enjoying this breakfast? We can discuss other topics later.”

And with that, everyone returned to their seats, but with a livelier mood surrounding the room, Megan believed that things would start to turn around.

How naïve she was.

Prince Blueblood sat in his aunt’s office looking over some of the paperwork he had been saddled with ever since his aunts had left to go visit the Crystal Empire on urgent business. He gritted his teeth in frustration. Ever since his aunts had left, there had been more and more incidents in many of Equestria’s major cities involving so-called peaceful protests by these True Harmonists. Peaceful protests that always seemed to end with violent attacks from opposing sides. It was a disaster, and of course his aunts had to leave when the incidents were growing more violent.

“Those damned commoners and their foolish acts of violence,” he grumbled through clenched teeth as he looked over an incident report from Baltimare regarding a mass protest which was interrupted by a forced stampede of other ponies on the other side of the political spectrum. He wanted to tear all of these reports up but that would be foolish on his part.

There was a hasty knock at the door. “Your grace! Your grace! We have a situation in the castle main courtyard!”

“Anything to get away from this paperwork,” he grumbled as he stood and straightened his cravat. He opened the door to see a guard standing there, eyes wide with fear. “What kind of situation?” he asked.

“The True Harmonists have begun a protest and they’re attracting an angry mob led by some unicorn!” the guard said.

Blueblood swore angrily. “Summon the guard to keep the mob away from the protestors!” he ordered as he made his way to the courtyard, his personal guards flanking him on either side.

“Yes, your grace!” the guard said as he galloped away.

As he and his entourage walked down the stairs towards the doors leading to the courtyard, Blueblood put on his royal demeanor. It wouldn’t do any good for the masses to see their interim prince looking angered, would it? The guards at the door opened the door, and he was immediately assaulted by the jeers and cries of ponies from below. He looked down and saw a group of younger ponies along with a few nonponies holding protest signs, pleading for better treatment of nonponies, better wages etc. Older ponies, especially nobleponies, were calling them horrendous names as they stood peacefully on the courtyard.

“What is going on out here?” he asked as he approached a pony who looked like the leader of the group.

Said leader was a younger mare with green fur, yellow mane, and several pieces of silk for a cutie mark. She spoke up. “Your grace, please forgive our intrusion,” she said with a polite bow. “My name is Silky Mane. I’m a simple silk manufacturer from the lower districts, but I and my fellow Harmonists have seen the mistreatment of others in our society who deserve what harmony has blessed us with for so many centuries.”

“I am well aware of what the True Harmonists want,” Blueblood said, “and while the public courtyard is, well, public, this protest is attracting unsavory attention. The crown would not want ponies harmed.”

“That right there!” a gryphon said with anger, “the crown is and always has been worried only about ponies!”

“Hush now,” Silky said quickly, giving the pony who had spoken out of turn a glare before turning and bowing towards Blueblood. “Please forgive him, he is one of our more rambunctious members.”

“Passion is not a crime,” Blueblood said with his regal warm smile. “Still, though, while the crown does allow this place to be open to the public for certain times during the day, the attention you are bringing could bring severe harm to some…somecreature.” He corrected himself to maintain the image that the crown did care, which it actually did.

“Are you trying to silence us?!” the same gryphon shouted.

“Not at all,” Blueblood said with authority, “the crown simply doesn’t want any kind of unnecessary violence.”

“That is the problem with the modern nobility in this day and age,” a female voice said from the main gates, “they don’t want their precious property getting dirty.”

Everyone turned to face the owner of the voice. Blueblood saw a hooded pony, one taller than most. She was a unicorn judging by the horn protruding from the hood, but the horn was curved. Blueblood saw that her fur was a bright silvery white, but that was all he could see. Not even her mane and tail were visible. The individual approached, and Blueblood’s blood ran cold for some reason. Something about this mare was terrifying. It took all of his strength not to step back. “Who are you?” he asked.

“Me?” the unicorn asked with a voice that sounded like she was smirking. “It’s a shame that my name has been lost to history,” she continued as she walked into the courtyard. Everypony else seemed to give her a wide berth and Blueblood couldn’t figure out why. Her face was hidden as she approached.

“Are you with the True Harmonists?” Blueblood asked.

“Me?” she repeated in that same self-satisfied tone as she removed her hood, revealing deep ocean blue eyes and dark blue mane. A mane that flowed just like those of his aunts. “The peaceful intentions of my dear ponies here is indeed admirable, but the crown here does nothing to stop the violence or even change anything.”

Silky Mane looked curiously at the tall unicorn with the wavy mane. “Are you on our side, miss?” she asked.

The unicorn turned and smiled warmly at Silky. “You have a good heart, my dear pony,” she said kindly, but she then turned to Blueblood with a scowl that sent shivers down his spine. “However, the nobility like him and the rabble who follow him like the sycophants that they are seem to be one major obstacle to true harmony. No, they are a big obstacle.” She flung her robe away, revealing a pair of wings. Alicorn wings.

Blueblood finally took a step back. He knew now why this newly revealed alicorn elicited that reaction from him and everypony else. The natural power of an alicorn could be subconsciously felt by others. “You’re the alicorn…the one causing so much trouble!”

The alicorn turned and smiled at him. “Trouble? I have not come to cause any trouble here today.”

“Guards! Stop her this instant!” Blueblood exclaimed. “Arrest her!”

The guards, who had just arrived, rushed at the new alicorn, but they were instantly repelled by a magic shield surrounding the alicorn. She shook her head, as if disappointed. Turning to the gathered crowd, she spoke. “Listen well, all of you!” she said with authority, one that seemed befitting of a princess or even a queen. “My name is Majesty. I was once the ruler of all ponykind back when I was a unicorn. Our once pristine land of Ponyland was a paradise of joy and happiness where not only could ponies live in peace, but other races could as well. Ponyland was allied with other races around us. There were many friendships between races. Even with the ancient humans.”

That caught the attention of everyone there, including Blueblood. Until the suicide of Jason Wright, nopony in Equestria knew what a human was, and yet this ancient alicorn claimed to have known others? Majesty took a breath and continued. “In fact, I was briefly married to a human named Chethan. He was the ruler of the human realm, and I loved him dearly.” She shed some tears, but then her expression darkened. “But then, he was taken from me. Stolen by the demons of Tartarus. He and many other races sacrificed themselves to allow your ancestors to escape the fall of Ponyland. And yet, you have all forgotten how you were saved. You grew into a xenophobic race who treats other races like garbage or lives in fear in your secure little bubbles. Your ancestors would be ashamed of you. And you!” She turned to Blueblood. “Your own ancestor, my former student of magic, would be most ashamed of you.” She then turned to the castle. “Fortunately, I am not here to cause harm to anypony today. I am only here to deliver a message to your aunts.”

Raising her horn, she cast a spell. Multiple flashes of light appeared all around empty spots of the courtyard. Blueblood saw various pony maids, nobles, and guards appearing, looking dazed and confused. Majesty raised her head high. “This castle,” she said, “has been a symbol of Equestria for many years. However, it is also a symbol of complacency, ignorance, and foolishness.”

And with that, her horn brightened and she began to chant.

“To Canterlot Castle all turn their gaze,
“a monument most dear.
“But it has long gone past its days
“and thus, must disappear.”

The castle began to shudder and rumble, as did the ground around. A bright blue shield formed between the castle and the crowd. Cracks began forming in the ground and in the shining towers and walls of the castle. The crowd who had gathered began to flee in fear, all except for Blueblood who was rooted in place in fear. His guards were trying to pull him away, but he couldn’t move. He wasn’t resisting, but he was unable to be moved.

His home, the castle where he had lived, was being destroyed in front of his eyes, and all he could do was watch in pure terror. It was in this moment where he realized that his aunts had been holding back their own power for centuries. The alicorn Majesty just stood there, placidly watching as the entire millennia old castle, which had withstood earthquakes, several attempted attacks, and many other disasters, was brought low by an alicorn. A single, ancient alicorn.

It fell. Canterlot Castle fell from the cliff, tumbling down towards the valley below. As the last tower fell out of sight, Majesty turned to Blueblood, a smile on her face. “Shadows must fall,” she said before teleporting away.

This was too much for Blueblood, and he passed out.