Crystalia City, Crystal Empire Republic of Atlantia, Earth, Sol System, 2024 A.D.

Ponies and humans across Atlantia awoke to a bright, sunny weekend day. Perfect for a trip to the beach, a swim in the pool, or even a nice picnic with the family at the local park.

Unfortunately, such pleasures could not be enjoyed by Richard Watts, a stallion with an illustrious onyx coat and a gray mane and tail. His mane was slicked back with gel, adding to his professional appearance, and his tail had been recently trimmed so it no longer reached past his thighs. His eyes were a gentle brown, and he wore his usual black two-piece suit with a red tie and black pants. His Talent Symbol, hidden beneath his pants, was a depiction of several sheets of paper filled with squiggles, being signed off with a ballpoint pen.

It was fitting, considering his occupation as Atlantia’s current prime minister.

Humming a tune, Richard took one final look at himself in the mirror of his walk-in closet. Satisfied, Richard nodded to himself, “Well, there’s no time to start the day like now.”

As if on cue, three polite knocks echoed on his bedroom door, followed by a muffled voice from the other side, “I hope you haven’t slept in, Prime Minister, sir. I would hate to wake you with my great voice!” the voice said playfully.

Richard cracked a smile, shaking his head in amusement as he exited the walk-in closet, “I’ll be out in a moment, Tierno. No need to start acting nefarious,” he replied.

Richard heard a chuckle from the other side of the bedroom wall and allowed himself a few giggles before addressing the sleeping form in his king-sized bed.

Still asleep under the warm covers was Richard’s wife, Cherry Watts. She had a pretty, light red coat with a maroon-colored mane and tail. She slept snuggly in her pink pajamas, and as her name entailed, her Talent Symbol consisted of a large double cherry.

Richard smiled fondly at the sight of his wife before slowly leaning in and nudging her with his muzzle. She didn’t move at first, but after a second, more forceful nudge, her eyes slowly opened, revealing her sparkling cerulean irises. Even now, after sixteen years of marriage, her eyes still managed to take Richard’s breath away.

“Morning, handsome,” Cherry said, giving him a small smile.

“Good morning to you too, beautiful,” Richard replied before placing a gentle kiss on Cherry’s lips.

Cherry giggled before returning the kiss and slowly reaching a hoof to caress her husband’s cheek. Richard pulled away from the kiss and held her hoof in his own before opening his mouth to speak.

“I wish I could stay a little longer, but duty calls. I’ll see you and Mara for breakfast?”

Cherry nodded with a yawn, “Yeah, but you better be there too mister, or else you’ll have to face our daughter’s wrath.”

“Of course!” Richard chuckled, “How could I ever miss breakfast with you two?” Richard shared one last kiss with his wife, “I love you.”

Cherry smiled, “I love you too.”

Reluctantly, Richard walked over to the door and exited the bedroom.

“Jeez, took you long enough. You said you’d be out in a moment, not five,” Tierno cheekily said as Richard exited the bedroom.

Richard turned and looked up to face his advisor. Tierno was a human of European descent, he had light skin, a fair build, and measured five feet and ten inches in height. He had combed-over black hair, an intricately groomed mustache, and brown eyes. Similarly to Richard, Tierno donned a black two-piece suit and pants with a red tie and black dress shoes. On his right wrist was a silver Rolex watch that perfectly displayed the time, 7:03 AM it read.

Turning and walking down the halls of the Crystal Castle, Richard beckoned for Tierno to follow.

“Talk to me, Tierno. What do I have planned for today?”

Tierno held out a small file for Richard. Seeing the file, Richard pushed himself off the ground with his forelegs, seamlessly changing to a bipedal walk as he took the file in his hooves. While Richard opened the file and skimmed through the contents inside, Tierno filled him in on the day’s schedule.

“Well, to start off, breakfast will be served in an hour, so you have enough time to read your morning brief. After breakfast, you’ll have to partake in a scheduled…”

As Tierno droned on about meetings, parliament, the economy, and national rumors, Richard steeled himself for the no doubt stressful day ahead. It’s a miracle he hasn’t gotten any wrinkles yet. Then again, this is only his second year serving as Prime Minister, so maybe he shouldn’t speak too soon.

“...and that about wraps everything up,” Tierno finished just as they arrived at the dining room, “I had one of the servants deliver the morning papers on the table if you are interested. I’ll see you again in your office,” Tierno bowed slightly before leaving.

Entering the dining room, Richard took in its rich details. Much like the rest of the castle, the walls and ceiling were made out of perfectly polished aetherium that sparkled under the light of the chandelier that hung in the middle of the room. Under the chandelier stood a marble dining table surrounded by multiple white chairs, and paintings of famous leaders or events in Atlantia’s history hung around the walls of the room. Richard’s favorite was the portrait of King Radiant II.

It depicted an orange-colored stallion with a shining yellow mane and equally yellow eyes. He bore no clothing apart from a regal red cloak that hung around his shoulders and a spiked crown that sat upon his head that was carved out of pure aetherium and decorated with numerous small and colorful gems. His face sat in a calm smile and his eyes portrayed an aura of gentleness that eased Richard the longer he stared at the portrait. Richard closed his eyes and prayed for the deceased monarch before turning away with a smile of his own.

Approaching the dinner table, Richard took a seat where he saw the morning newspaper lying. Placing the file on the table, Richard opted to read the news first. Opening the paper, the first thing Richard noticed was the giant headline discussing the United State’s upcoming Presidential Election.

Under the headline was a picture of both candidates facing each other. On the left was the republican candidate Jerald Pen, a stallion of 58 years of age with a turquoise coat and dark blue mane and tail. He had green eyes and his face was set in a neutral expression. On the right was the democratic candidate, and current president, Kaitlyn Pearce. She was a white-skinned woman of 55 years of age with dark brown hair tied up into a bun. She had an oval-shaped head, brown eyes, and black glasses; she too had her face set in a neutral expression.

Turning away from the giant headline, Richard noted the other pieces of national news. The war in Ukraine had fallen into a state of stagnation as both the Russians and Ukrainians couldn’t seem to find a hole to exploit in the other’s front line. Climate change activists were making great strides in advocating for more environmentally friendly energy sources. India is going through a record-breaking heatwave with many of its civilians suffering fatal heat strokes. And China was once again trying to bully its neighbors by flying into their airspace unannounced.

Closing the newspaper, Richard moved on to the contents of the file Tierno had given him. From his skim through it earlier, he saw that it mostly consisted of military and intelligence reports with some economic and legislative papers sprinkled in. However, the one thing that stood out to him was the decommissioning of a terrorist cell by the Atlantian Intelligence Agency. They managed to arrest three ponies, two stallions, and a mare. Unfortunately, two other suspects managed to escape, but the AIA was confident they would be able to catch them before the day’s end.

Richard sighed, it was just another small victory in the unending battle spanning a majority of the republic’s recent history. The Crystal League had been a thorn in the republic’s side ever since the organization's formation sometime in the late 1980s. The terrorist organization followed an ideology of brutal human intolerance due to humanity's rather… unfriendly relations with ponies in the past. They believed that all humans were nothing but demons that drool at the opportunity to exploit ponies and that they didn’t belong in pony society; similarly, they don’t believe ponies belong in any human society and that ponies could do no wrong despite historical evidence proving otherwise.

While the organization never grew in any significant way, it never really went away either. The organization was like a cockroach, no matter how many times Atlantia stomped on them, there was always another cell or group somewhere preparing to target the next human community in the nation.

The sound of the dining room’s door creaking open caused Richard to look up from his reports and see who had entered. Standing in the doorway were his wife and daughter, fully dressed and ready to take on the day.

Mara beamed at the sight of her father before scrambling over in an excited rush and jumping into her father’s embrace.

“Daddy!” she exclaimed happily while nuzzling into Richard’s chest.

Richard nuzzled back with a beaming smile, “Mara! How are you doing sweetheart?”

Mara pulled back from her nuzzling and allowed Richard to see her features. Mara was a five-year-old filly with a burgundy coat and her mother's maroon-colored mane and tail. Her mane was tied into a ponytail and her tail hung freely. She had her mother's cerulean eyes and wore her cute little glasses that had been smudged when she nuzzled into Richard. As for her attire, Mara wore a simple white polo shirt with a black skirt.

“I’m super-duper excited, daddy! Today’s my first day of kindergarten, remember?”

“Of course, I remember. How could I forget such an important day?”

It would’ve been surprising if he did forget. Kindergarten was all Mara had been talking about for the past couple of days. Looking up, Richard saw his wife approaching alongside a pony servant. Cherry whispered something to the servant and they nodded before trotting out of the room.

Walking over to her husband, Cherry planted a smooch on his cheek, “So, how was your morning brief with Tierno?”

“Same as always, I'm going to have another busy and stressful day, like all days.”

The door to the dining room opened and in stepped five servants, all human. They pushed in a cart carrying multiple covered plates, glass cups, and silverware along with a teacup. Richard’s stomach rumbled in anticipation for his morning meal.

“Come now, Mara. Let's sit down for breakfast,” Cherry said before gently biting down on the scruff of her neck and taking her out of Richard’s lap.

“Weee!”

With a chuckle, Cherry placed Mara down in a seat and pushed her into the table before sitting down next to her. Richard sat across from the two.

The servants approached the family and laid down their plates, silverware, and cups. Once they were done, they grabbed the lids of the covers and lifted them off of the plates.

In front of Richard lay a delectable breakfast. Scrambled eggs mixed with spinach and coated with a layer of melted cheese covered a quarter of the plate. Two pieces of toast coated with butter lay next to the scrambled eggs, and for dessert, there are four straps of French toast accompanied by maple syrup in a small cup next to the plate.

The servant placed a glass cup on the left side of the plate and began filling it up with fresh, hot tea.

“That's enough,” Richard said once the cup was filled halfway, “Thank you,” he said with a smile directed at the servant.

“It’s no problem, Prime Minister, sir,” the servant responded with a smile of their own.

The family dined in a comfortable quiet occasionally broken by Mara's excited mutterings about making friends and playing in the park.

Richard felt a piece of warmth blossom in his chest as he watched Mara. In her five years of existence, she never really ventured outside of the castle apart from going to the castle gardens when requested. She hasn't met any kids her age and her only company here were the staff and Cherry, and occasionally himself.

Richard sighed mentally, he just hoped the kids at the school weren't too rough on her. Kids can be particularly ruthless when they want to be, and he wasn't looking forward to having his little fruit come back home in tears.

Eventually, the family's plates and cups were emptied and the servants took everything back to the kitchen with the cart. Richard walked with his wife and daughter to the castle's entrance. Once they arrived, Richard, unfortunately, would be unable to continue the journey with his daughter. Duty calls after all.

Looking over his daughter one last time and making sure she had everything in her backpack, Richard smiled before planting a kiss on her head.

“Have fun and make a lot of friends, okay?”

“Yup!” Mara said while bobbing her head up and down excitedly.

Richard giggled at Mara before gently patting her head, “I love you. Now go before Tierno comes and drags me to my office.”

Mara giggled and said her goodbyes before following Cherry out of the castle and into the car that would take her to school.

Turning around, Richard trotted towards his office. There was a lot of work to be done today.

The rest of the morning hours ticked by without incident, and Mara was animatedly talking with several new friends she made during arts & crafts. Her smile was wide and her mouth moved a mile a minute as she talked about her life in the Crystal Castle.

Everything was perfect.

Until it wasn’t.

A terrible tremor began to rock the earth below them and the sky darkened as if a large blanket had been thrown over the continent. The foals and children in the classroom screamed and cried in fear as many objects and books began to fall from their shelves while the teacher tried to keep them calm and shouted for them to take cover under their desks.

Mara wept and trembled as she hid under her desk, her hooves clutching one of the desk legs with a vice grip. Her ears splayed against her head in an attempt to block the terrible cracks and screaming coming from outside the window and school halls. Her fear increased tenfold when she saw her classmates and her teacher begin to fade away into a black mist until it was just her in the classroom that was also beginning to fade.

“Daddy! I want daddy!” she screeched helplessly as hot tears flowed out of her eyes.

Looking over herself, Mara’s eyes widened when she saw that she too was fading away. She screeched and cried for her mommy and daddy, and she attempted to crawl away from her fading body in an attempt to save herself from it. But it was all for naught, and Mara let out one last terror-ridden scream before she faded away into nothingness.

Author's Note

Here's a bit of lore for you all.

Republic of Atlantia:

The Republic of Atlantia was formed after a two-year civil war (December 12, 1932 - February 8, 1935) between loyalist forces led by King Thunder and rebel forces led by General Blaze.

The violent conflict and the abolition of the monarchy were caused due to a number of factors, including the oppression of the public, a poor response to the Great Depression, and the social inequality King Thunder imposed.

The civil war began after an attempted assassination of King Thunder on December 11, 1932, during the annual Crystal Faire. At the end of the Crystal Faire, after the national anthem played and the King was about to deliver a speech from the Crystal Castle’s balcony with his wife, Queen Prism, and his son, Prince Storm, bombs planted by rebel guards the day before detonated.

The explosion destroyed the balcony, sending the family plummeting more than 50 feet to the ground. It was later reported that Prince Storm died instantly from shrapnel, while Queen Prism later succumbed to her injuries during treatment. Miraculously, King Thunder survived, though he was left crippled and unable to walk on his own.

The next day, rebel forces launched surprise attacks on several of the nation’s bases and called on citizens to rise against the King’s oppression, thus igniting the Atlantian Civil War.

Aetherium:

Aetherium is a crystalline rock found only on the Atlantian continent. Aetherium is abundant in the cave systems of Atlantia and comes in various shapes and colors, though the most common is sky blue.

In 1951, a few years after World War II, while researching aetherium's strange ability to emit a constant glow, Dr. Ember Crosby, a stallion scientist, discovered that aetherium behaved oddly when exposed to different electromagnetic waves. When exposed to lower waves, such as radio or microwaves, it didn’t seem to alter the crystal in any way, but when exposed to higher waves like x-rays it led to a more… explosive outcome.

The head-sized piece of aetherium he was experimenting with suddenly and violently exploded in his lab after being exposed to an X-ray beam for just five seconds. The explosion sent sharp crystal shards flying everywhere, most of which either embedded themselves in Dr. Crosby's body or severely lacerated his skin. Had he not been wearing safety goggles, he would have lost both eyes as well.

Later, after recovering from his injuries, Dr. Crosby reported hearing a hum that swiftly increased in pitch before the aetherium exploded. He expressed frustration for not heeding the strange sound as a warning and stopping before he got hurt. At the same time, he was relieved it was him, as others would have learned best from his mistake.

///

I hope you all enjoyed the read! Let me know if you spot any mistakes :)