The King Of Nothing

As he is transported out of Canterlot, Mark looks out the window from his prison box as the castle becomes smaller before returning to his seat. He sighs and closes his eyes before the sound of a storm snaps him back to reality.

The box went dark and cold, and Mark could feel the cloudy sky getting stormy. He wanted to voice his concern and look around, but the restraints in his tube and the muzzle on his mouth prevented him from saying anything.

The criminal starts to fear when he hears a familiar lullaby which the pegasus guards transporting him doesn't seem to notice or care, and they continue as if nothing happened. Not even the appearance of a pony wearing a yellow trench coat suddenly appears from the shadows and sits in front of Mark, as he muffles and trashes around in fear of the appearance of the new passenger.

The new pony in question held a musical voice and kept playing the tune before pulling out a cell phone with another hand and dialing a number.

"We warn you, Mr. Faust"

Faust shakes his head rapidly in fear as tears stream from his eyes.

"It's a disappointment. Despite our discussion, we really thought we were forming a sense of friendship. And I'm mature enough to admit that we abandoned you when we thought our research was lost and needed to cut our losses." The voice spoke up in a distorted two-voice type as Mark started hyperventilating.

"I was even considering letting things be water under the bridge and just let you rot in jail or something similar, but when you decided to share personal information… well, we both know how that human phrase goes about snitches."

The pony left the music box on the side and stood up, pulling out a knife. "For what it's worth, we haven't forgotten about Starlight, even though you did our job twice as hard now. We intend to finish it; once she is in Tartarus, you can have your turn with her."

The pony rushes to Mark and stabs his chest, starting to break the tube as Mark is impaled in the chest. The pony released the knife and brought his hand to his hood.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Faust; as a courtesy, we will make it quick."

Mark keeps struggling and muffles his yells as the pony does his job and makes the box move violently for a moment.

"Quiet there, prisoner!" One of the guards finally spoke up, hitting the side of the transport. "Whine, all you want that muffle, will keep you from saying anything. So save your breath and accept reality. You are not getting away."

After a while, the box grows quiet, and the rest of the trip goes into relative silence. The lullaby keeps playing while the sun rises from the horizon for another day in the castle.

With the sound of knocking on his door, Amon yawns and approaches the front door. He rubs his eyes. With foggy eyes, he opens it to see Vivi back in her maid outfit and usual cheerful smile. "Good morning, Amon. Did you sleep…?" Viola stops mid-sentence in surprise once she has a closer look at Amon.

"Amon, did you sleep with the same clothes you wore yesterday?" She asks in slight surprise, taking notice of his wardrobe.

"Ah… yeah, I had a long day; how did you know?"

"Years working as a maid have given me a keen eye for wrinkles and used clothes. Also, why is your room smelling like a bakery?" Viola asks, noticing a familiar scent coming from Amon's room.

After sniffing, Amon also detected the smell of cake, and his eyes widened as he realized it was coming from his bedroom and part of it from his arm.

"I got hungry last night," Amon quickly replied.

"So what? Did you take a whole bakery last night?" Viola asks, confused.

"No, I… I decided to try baking… a pie at first but gave up halfway and decided to try a cake."

"You did?" Viola pokes her head inside, noticing the clean kitchen. "But your kitchen is way cleaner for that smell…and why is it coming from your bedroom?"

"We are getting off-topic here, Vivi!" Amon issues her as he grabs his backpack and exits the room, closing the door behind him. "You wanted to ask me something?"

"Yeah, the princesses wanted to invite you to breakfast along with the mane six. They say there is much to discuss. Amon, are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Amon asks as he starts to walk away with Viola flying close by.

"I'm not sure, but I just had this feeling. As something happens to you, you seem different in some way."

"A lot happened to me recently, Vivi; of course, I would be more than a little on edge," Amon replied

"No, it's not that. There is something else, something new yet familiar, something I'm not sure if it is good or bad," Vivi asked herself. "Something helped you a lot but simultaneously made you ashamed and proud."

"Argh, what is it?! This is driving me crazy, but by Celestia's mane, I can't put my finger precisely on what it is."

"Just drop it, Vivi," Amon insisted.

"Ah, come on, at least let me guess."

"No, because there is nothing to guess, so stop asking questions."

"Hmm, it has to do with confections because of the smell. You didn't steal them? Oh, Amon, please tell me you didn't go dumpster diving again." Vivi looked at him in disappointment.

Amon sighs and rolls his eyes. "Yes, Vivi! That is exactly what happened, happy? I discovered they were throwing away raw frosting in a cake store and decided to stick my entire arm in a filthy place. I felt ashamed immediately and tried to clean," Amon admits sarcastically.

"Damn it, Amon! I thought you were over that. Do you have any idea how stupid and dangerous that is? You could have eaten a piece of glass, or screwed, or something even worse."

Amon stops and stares at Vivi for a second "What kind of crazy ass cakes have you eaten with those kinds of ingredients?" Amon asks the pegasus in complete astonishment at her warnings.

"Don't try to change the subject!" Vivi reprimands him for getting in front of Amon. "No more dumpster diving. Are we clear?"

"Fine, Mom. I will not dumpster dive anymore," Amon replies sarcastically as he continues his march. "Now let's go. Celestia and Luna are probably waiting for us," he tells himself as he crosses the corner of the fork in the hallway.

Vivi crossed her arms with a straight face. "The dining room is on the other side, sir."

After a moment, Amon marches in the opposite direction. "I swear this infernal castle is a maze. How you don't get lost, I would never know," Amon replies, making Vivi sigh and shake her head in disappointment at how light Amon was taking her words.

The rest of their walk was spent in silence, with Amon silently thanking himself for tricking Vivi into dropping the subject until they reached their destination. They were immediately received by Pinkie, who didn't waste time giving Amon a big hug.

"Good morning!" Pinkie exclaimed in her usual high-paced voice. "Did you sleep well, Amon? Are you hungry? Well, of course you are. It's just morning unless you already ate a snack. Oh! I helped with the breakfast today. You are going to love it! I'm so glad you could join us."

AJ chuckles and pry Pinkie away from Amon.

"For pony sake, Pinkie, the stallion just woke up; let him breathe," AJ chastised her with a smile before looking at Amon. "Sorry for that, partner. Pinkie can be a bit intense at times."

"And I must say, darling, today you seem particularly happy; you are practically glowing," Rarity adds. "Not that any of us are complaining; I'm just saying you seem pretty cheerful today."

"Yeah, more cheerful than usual, even," Twilight mentions with some suspicion. "As Rarity said, we are all happy for you, but are you sure you are okay, Pinkie? After what happened to Marcus…"

"...I'm sure, Twily!" Pinkie interrupts as she appears in front of the alicorn. I know what happened was terrible, but after much thought last night, I decided not to focus on the negative and keep a happy face. Otherwise, Marcus would have won, and I will not let him," Pinkie proclaims in determination.

Dash smirked and shook her head. "Right, lots and lots of thinking. I'm still saying she got herself a date with Mr. Fingy in the stink…" Dash points at Pinkie before Rarity shoves an apple fritter into Dash's mouth as she laughs with embarrassment.

"Okay, Dash! That is not table conversation this early, darling!" Rarity complains with a big flush as she points at Amon with her head, and he looks at both, confused. "There is a gentlecolt present for Celestia sake!"

Dash only rolls her eyes and nods before eating her treat in silence.

"Amon, by all means, please join us," Celestia invited him, and Fluttershy pulled a chair next to him with a calm demeanor. Amon was feeling awkward at the whole thing but decided to ignore it and take a seat. "Thanks."

"Well, now that we all gather, this is as good a time as anything to begin, and let's start with introductions. Amon, I don't believe you haven't met Rainbow Dash and Starlight yet, correct?"

"Not in person, but Pinkie and Yellow… aw, Shy, Apple, and Raw have told me about you."

Pinkie can't help but laugh at that, as the rest have mixed reactions.

"Darleen, we understand you have difficulty with names, but please don't butch my name like that; it makes me feel like I'm a piece of meat; it's Rarity Ra-Ri-Ty," The white unicorn complained calmly after shivering at the improvised name.

"And I told you, if it's too hard, just call me AJ partner. I'm not a fruit," AJ mentions more casually.

"You can keep calling me Shy if it helps," Fluttershy offers.

"And you can call me Awesome because that is what I'm; nice to meet you, dude," The blue pegasus with rainbow mane complains on a chill tune.

"Likewise," The light purple unicorn replies as Amon takes a better look at both of them. The pegasus was wearing a thick brown avian jacket with a golden wing patch on the chest, and avian insignias on the sleeves. Sunglasses resting on top of her rainbow color mane, dark blue jeans with some holes on it, a white tank top that expose her belly and piercing on his belly button and a golden earing on her right ear, giving her a lay back appearance.

The unicorn, in contrast, had a more professional appearance, with her silver best, square long shirt, and long dark purple skirt. Her mane comb, which was tied around her bum, gave her a teacher's air.

"And I don't know how much they told you about us, so if it's okay with you, allow us to give you a proper introduction," The unicorn began before clearing her throat. "My name is Starlight Glimmer; I'm currently the chancellor of Twilight school as well as her apprentice," Starlight mentions with a short smile.

"A chancellor and a princess apprentice?" Amon repeats before looking at Twilight, "How does that work? Why does it even have to be like that? The economy is so bad that the princess cannot guarantee a secure job. Even your apprentice needs two?"

"Two jobs? What do you mean…? Ah, Amon, I think you are confused; Starlight and I both work at the school; I'm the principal there and…"

"Even the princess needs two jobs!?!" That only seems to raise even further questions in Amon: "Seriously, how bad is the economy here?"

Everyone looked at Amon, confused by that statement, minus Pinkie, who couldn't stop laughing at how things were playing out.

"Okay, we can circle back to that later. Better move on." The pegasus quickly adds, "The name is Rainbow Dash, which I'm sure you already heard of since I'm the star of the best flying team of Equestria, which is the Wonderbolts." Dash is filled with pride as she gloats and flies in place with a big grin and closed eyes.

She last in that pose for a few seconds before opening an eye to stare at Amon, who stares back at her in confusion.

"The Wonderbolts," She repeats, which does nothing as the stallion keeps staring at her in confusion, pondering why she thought that name meant anything.

After some tension and silence, Dash looked back at him. "Seriously? Nothing? Come on, dude. There's no need to hold anything back. You can be amazed here," Dash encouraged him.

"...okay? Why?" Amon finally replied slowly, still in the dark about what she was saying

Dash froze briefly before replying, "Are you seriously asking that? Star of the Wonderbolts?! Right in front of you?! HI?!" Dahs insisted in complete astonishment on how little reaction she was getting from Amon.

"Lady, I'm sorry I'm not familiar with your book club or whatever else the Wonderbolts are supposed to be, so I don't know what else to tell you."

"You… what… book club?! You think we are a…WHAT?! I just… words… failing…can comprehend…" Amon was surprised at how Rainbow Dash was in the middle of having a mental meltdown out of the blue as he leaned back and looked at Fluttershy.

"Is she okay?" Amon asks in worry.

"I… I'm not sure," Fluttershy replies, standing up alongside Twilight to help her friend. The princess in question summoned a paper bag so Dash could breathe in and help the pegasus return to her seat. "It's okay, Dash. It's okay, just breathe. We talk about this. The stallion knows next to nothing about Equestria. He barely knew about the princesses, for pony's sake. There was a strong possibility he didn't know about the Wonderbolts either."

Twilight encourages her as Dash sits with Fluttershy, rubbing the other pegasus.

"How!?" Dash asks with a paper bag on her snout. "The Wonderbolts are the most recognized and best flying team in Equestria?! We… we have the best P.R. in the world, there are posters of us everywhere" Dash list.

"I'm wondering about that myself," AJ replied, looking at Amon. “You didn't see any of his publicity before, sugarcube?" The farmer asked him with a raised eyebrow. “At the very least, you should have seen their poster once: three pegasus in blue uniform in line, looking at the horizon."

"That thing? Yeah, I saw it once or twice; you are right. It was everywhere, but I thought it was for a…" Amon stops looking at Dash in worry. "...a nevermind."

"No! No, go ahead, tell us," Pinkie asks, intrigued.

"I… I don't think the blue one would like my answer, Pink," Amon replied.

"Dashy? Nah, she is cool. She can take it. Go ahead," Pinkie encourages Amon, and after thinking about it, he complies.

"Just keep in mind I can't read, so I was basing myself on the picture alone, so I thought those flyers were for a… circus or an ad to sell you something, like flying travels or a tourist opportunity." Dash's gasp was so strong that she actually swallowed the paper bag and started choking on it. The rest remained quiet, minus Fluttershy and Twilight, who were helping Dash spit the paper bag.

"For the sake of Rainbow Dash's sanity and wishing not to get too sidetracked, we might want to put that discussion at a later date as well," Celestia offered, looking at Rainbow Dash with worry before looking at Amon.

"There was one last person we wanted to introduce you to, a dragon. Yet, unfortunately, he got down with a case of the flu so that he couldn't join us today."

"A… dragon?" Amon asks, equally confused and frightened at meeting a fire-breathing giant dragon.

"Oh no! Spike is not like those giant fire-breathing dragons that destroy towns; he is a friendly, smaller one." Pinkie was quick to answer, gaining Amon's attention.

"How did you know I was thinking that?"

"Marcus once told us about dragons in your world; they love playing around with dice in dungeons and are well-known to be very mean, right?"

"Ah… yeah, let's go with that," Amon concedes, not wanting to get sidetracked again. "Better go back to the subject at hand."

"Agree, there is much to be discussed and more to explain." Luna nods. "My interrogation with Mark Cross reveals quite an alarming subject, which I believe Starlight Glimmer is better suited to explain so you can better understand the situation. As well as why and how you ended up in Equestria in the first place, Amon," Luna tells in a more somber tune.

Amon remains quiet at the news before nodding and paying attention to the light purple unicorn. "Yeah, it will be nice finally getting some answers as to what is going on and how you are involved with a group of cultist nutjobs."

Starlight flinches for a second before composing herself and taking a deep breath. "Yeah, it really hurts me saying this, but there is a connection between them and me. They," Starlight pauses and grabs her hands as she lowers her head in shame.

"They exist because of me," she finally confesses with a low tune, gaining Amon's full attention.

"Excuse me?" Amon asked, with a degree of anger in his tune as Pinkie stood up.

"It was long ago, and Starlight never intended this to happen!" She quickly replied, "Nobody is perfect, and Starlight she… was confused."

"It's okay, Pinkie. Amon has every right to be mad with me," Starlight replies before looking at the stallion. "Please allow me to explain everything. I may have been indirect, but in a way, I'm responsible for how things end up. You see, those ponies are ex-members of a community I…" Starlight stops herself and shakes her head. "I might as well use the correct name for it."

"A cult," Amon finished for her with a cold and venomous voice as everyone looked at him in surprise, even though Amon was talking calmly, almost ominously, about how he was glaring at Starlight. "That is what you wanted to say, didn't you Purple? You were a cult leader? Or should I say, ARE?" As he speaks, dark sparks start to discharge from Amon's body and eyes.

"Calm yourself, Amon," Celestia tells him, standing up in alert at his rising anger. The girls do the same, starting to get afraid. "I know this is hard, but Starlight did not have anything to do with your current predicament, and frankly, you are not in a precarious situation, so I advise you to control your emotions and…"

"NO CELESTIA!" Amon finally yells and stands up, creating a wind vacuum that sends the table and food flying as sparks of lighting are discharging. "You have NO opinion here. You didn't suffer like I did; you didn't have everything taken away from you, including your species. I spent years in hell. I have experienced things that would make all of you barf! So don't tell me to calm down!" Amon lists with a glare that Celestia matches, yet his anger remains.

"She is not your enemy, and you know it" Celestia replies coldly.

"Forgive me if that is still not enough, accident or not, she was the spark that started this mess," Amon replied coldly before looking at Starlight, who seemed to be on the verge of tears as she mumbled sorry to herself, the others slowly gathering around her. Amon was slightly startled when he felt a hand grabbing his own, and when he turned, he saw a Fluttershy squishing his hand, looking straight at him in the eyes.

After breathing steam from his nose, Amon looked back at Starlight. "Finish the story."

"I'm not that mare anymore; I did that because I…"

"I don't want to hear the excuses; I want to hear what happens," Amon interrupts her coldly. "Finish. The. Story." Amon's words make Starlight flinch and make her feel so small that she can only nod like a filly being scolded by her parents before nodding.

"Long before I met Twilight and her friends, I was upset with the concept of cutie marks and how they divide us into classes. Or at least that is how I view the world after my friend got his cutie mark and left me. By removing our individuality, I wanted to make a better and happier world, one where nobody is better than the rest, where we all are equal.

Amon sighs and shakes his head. "Because, of course, you wanted that. No wonder those ponies want you dead in the most horrifying way. I'm starting to see their point, and you have no idea how much that wants me to puke."

Starlight just kept her head low as she nodded briefly. "I wouldn't blame them either," Starlight said, getting Amon's attention. "I was a hypocrite who kept my cutie mark, thinking I was doing the best for everyone. That infuriates the most of every pony; after I escape, I… I did something worse later on, and if it wasn't for Twilight's intervention and mercy, I dread to imagine where I would have ended up."

Starlight looked back at Twilight, who smiled and placed her hand over Starlight's shoulder before she could continue.

"Months later, I returned to the city that I helped create because of an invitation. I was fully hoping the ponies I left behind would be furious, wanting some retribution or anything, yet instead, I was received with forgiveness and comprehension despite my actions. They found community and understanding among them, and the town continues to thrive."

Amon doesn't say anything, yet he is more than a little surprised in disbelief at what he is hearing and how she was spared despite brainwashing and who knows what else she could have possibly done.

"I managed to gather a large group before, so I never imagined that not all ponies share the same view, and apparently, their hatred toward me evolved into something horrific," Starlight mentions while holding her head.

"I can answer that," Luna elaborated, taking control of the conversation. "According to Mark's statement, there was a small faction of ponies that, unlike the rest, I'm afraid they still hold a grudge against, Fair Starlight. Feeling used and humiliated, they retreated into an obscure location where they had time to think and plan."

Nobody knew how to reply as they exchanged glances. Luna continued, "It didn't help when the news of you being reformed and appointed as Twilight student reached their ears; for them, it was the biggest confirmation of an unjust world, and they gave up on Equestria law soon after."

"Great, so on top of being a cultist group, it turns out I'm the result of a bunch of terrorists then," Amon sighs in exasperation.

"You may not be too far off, Amon; these ponies follow the past steps of Starlight and decide to break the rules and dive into forbidden magic, wishing to obtain new power. Glancing at your body, it is clear they may have attempted to find a shortcut into ascension and power, a concerning subject that begs the question of what exactly they performed and how far they are planning to go?"

"Does it matter?" Dash asks. "I mean, didn't Amon already blow them up, leaving only Mark as the sole survivor?"

"I'm afraid he wasn't the last one," Luna answered. Mark mentions that even though he doesn't know the exact number, others also survive. And they have been chasing Amon from the start."

Having heard enough, Amon stood up and turned around. "Amon, please wait. I know all of this is hard, but we still need to talk about this and…" Celestia called and reached out to Amon yet the stallion just pulled away from her and stared at her in the eyes with anger and on the verge of tears. It appears he wishes to say something but is unable to form any words.

The tension in the room was palpable until Amon finally turned around and just left the room without saying anything else, closing the door with force as he was having trouble controlling his emotions.

The room behind was left in very heavy tension, as the mares were a bit taken aback. A part of them knew where his anger was coming from, and for now, they believed that some space could do Amon good and give him time to think.