Me, a king? Bah! (1)

The fall of a tyrant can happen in one or two ways.

The first is through the people’s will. Revolts, rebellions, revolutions- all those assemblies that are meant to create a massive direct opposition to a terrible ruler and lead to their incarceration, trial, and possibly defeat.

The second, and perhaps the one that was closest to what I decided to pull in my newest conditions, was that a single individual, a hero, decides to take it upon themselves to kill the evildoer on their own or with a party.

The thing is that, while I was smiling eye-to-eye when I used the heart-shaped crystal onto King Sombra before he had the chance to blast me to the next century, I didn’t exactly woke up this morning with plans to usurp a throne and being forced to attain the crown for myself.

John Bukharin, 26, I happily survived some tough bits of my existenced after concluding a mostly flawless set of years wasted at Uni and got myself a degree in Economics. Current Occupation: Librarian at the local library at home. Not my best job's prospect, but still enough to bring back home bread and pizza every Saturday. Future: Bleak at times, neutral at best. I was a realist with a penchant of being optimistic through maddening circumstances and I was far from sane myself. This isn’t the kind of person anyone would want as a King, especially when I was cranky due to lack of sleep and breakfast.

Now, where did it all begin? How did I end up going through that insane situation and… why?

White. I woke up with a purely white layer of snow covering my freezing body. It didn’t take me long to shake myself up and free myself of the chilling substance that had been resting onto my clothes for an unknown amount of time. I was shivering despite the fact my clothes weren’t exactly light and… those were the things I was wearing before going to sleep. A dark-blue jacket, a black shirt, a pair of black trousers, a pair of heavy socks and some sport shoes. I reached for my head, checking for any injuries only to be greeted with the fluff of my smooth and curly brow hair. My chocolate-brown eyes tried to gain focus over the situation I was in and I paused just a moment, noticing that there was a small envelope resting atop my chest. Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t wet despite having been under the snow for a long while, which made this detail awfully suspicious. I picked it up, opening it and reading the content quietly.

I owe you a favor for this funny idea,

D.

Who the heck is ‘D’?!

My skin was a little paler than usual, and that was a surprise considering how unusually pale I was on a normal basis. It was unhealthy and… my first instinct was to find a warm shelter. The last thing I needed was to be killed by Hypothermia, and so I quickly scouted around to try and understand where I was.

This wasn’t home. This was far from home. I could see a single settlement in my proximity and… it was encircled by small dark-colored walls. Medieval walls from a closer look. I blinked, glancing distractedly at the large crystal-structure that stretched in height and looked to be a castle of sorts.

…

Am I in Dark Disneyland?

I mean, was there even a Dark Disneyland to begin with? Or maybe I was going insane for some crazy dinner I had the day before and I just couldn’t remember at that very moment. I was perplexed but… also confused at the fact that I felt like I had seen that palace before in the past. I just couldn’t remember where and when.

Knowing that pondering for hours would do little good to me, mostly because of the chilling temperature I was still subjected to, I decided that the best way for me to receive some answers was to approach the city and… see what was up inside there.

I really needed answers, and so I didn’t hesitate in picking up the pace around the wall and through the partly-open entrance. The gates were down but the openings were just enough to allow me inside, giving me the chance of dodging any risky attempts to climb the walls to infiltrate the place.

It took me one minuscule moment to realize where I was and… how screwed I really was. I might not be feeling completely awake due to the cold and the fact I had just woken up, but I could see that the ponies wandering around with chains connecting them all in lines were not figments of my imagination. Creative as I might be, I wasn’t that creative to come up with such a bizarre and absurd dream. Nor that insane to believe it if it wasn’t true.

This was the Crystal Empire. From the lack of the light barrier that protected it from Sombra and the cold… I woke up before the bastard had been vanquished. This was far from idyllic and… I needed to move. Because, as the realization struck me and kept me in a single place, a small group of three armored ponies with green scleras began to approach me. Their pace was slow, unsure- this wasn’t something they were prepared to handle and… that gave me an opportunity.

I needed to find a hideout, and then contemplate my next few steps. Even if I managed to find a shelter, I doubted my safety would be completely guaranteed until Sombra was around and checking for any abnormal intrusion. But first…I bolted.

I felt adrenaline giving me the extra kick needed to exploit the headstart as much as possible. It’s been a long time since I ran this fast and this determinedly. I could feel the burn after just a few minutes within the chase. What really made me push beyond the limits was that I wasn’t faster than my pursuers.

Despite being smaller than me, with their head reaching just a little above my stomach, they were rushing with four limbs and that was a two-legs advantage that I really didn’t know how to overcome. I started to turn through the alleys and the streets on the side, the sharp turns slowing just briefly the guards and giving me just a small window of opportunities to think up about my next steps.

Eventually, as the strain started to get too much, I took a gambit and put my entire stamina into finding a place where to hide. An alley with a dead-end became my haven as I swiftly launched myself behind a few boxes full of trash that had been stored there. I crouched down, allowing the boxes to completely hide my frame, my ears attentive as I listened for any hints of this plan having failed miserably.

I patiently waited, my heart drumming like mad as I waited for something, anything, to reveal how screwed I really was and if I needed to resume my chase at once. I expected them to catch on my scent, or some crazy like that, but I swiftly remembered that I had been resting under a tiny layer of snow and some bits of it were still latching onto my clothes. Could that actually hide away my scent? I was no Bear Grylls, but I really hoped this was indeed the case.

…

Silence. I heard their hooves clopping fast and then growing lighter and lighter, until I was left alone with the quiet to enjoy the fact I truly got away with it. Relief washed over my tired body, but it was a brief reprieve before the entire ordeal I was still trying to deal with.

Without pressure urging me to do something else beyond thinking, I began to plan out how I was supposed to get out of this mess without dying or, worse, being brainwashed and mind-controlled by a megalomaniac pony.

Two scenarios came up, but both were equally risky and equally rewarding.

1) I sneak out of the Crystal Empire, I somehow find a way to survive on my own in the cold for long enough for Sombra to be beaten and for me to approach the individuals that could help me get back home;

2) Be bold, recover the Crystal Heart where Sombra had kept it hidden and… kill the bastard myself;

Evaluating the first option, I couldn’t help but feel reluctant that this one was going to end in my favor. Not only did I lack survival skills that were needed to survive out in the wild without food and other important items, but I also doubted I would have been able to convince anyone with enough magic to get me home that I wasn’t dangerous or some monster that needs to be sealed away for… reasons.

Like, I wasn’t exactly leaning towards the chances of this being the truth, but I was really frightened in that moment, threatened even, and I just knew that my instincts were screaming at me to drop the panic and embrace Plan B for the sake of dodging some unpleasant circumstances. Maybe it was the adrenaline influencing my thoughts or… or maybe I knew this was actually the best idea between the two.

Also what were the chances that their best bet at a human world was the EG-verse? That wasn't even close to what was home and...

I'm stuck here, am I? The only individuals I can think of that can help are... well, not individuals I would want to approach due to their predisposition. Chaos is a finicky thing I didn't want to tango with.

Which set me in a very complicated situation. The Crystal Heart’s hideout wasn’t something that could be reached with ease. While Sombra didn’t exactly have to worry about any of the Crystal Ponies trying anything that could endanger him after enslaving them for so long, the tyrant deviously decided to leave the Heart in the highest chamber of the palace.

Entering the castle was actually simpler than I had expected. Sure, I had to tip-toe my way across a couple of unused hallways, and I had to pause more than once the rare times I found some ponies wandering around either cleaning or patrolling the area. They didn’t seem keen to check if there was something off about the halls, like sudden noise of my steps or the genuine sight of some shadows flickering caused by my frame being hit by the illumination of the candles. I was silent, careful... and terribly panicking as I knew one wrong step and I was going to perish a ugly death.

Five minutes of quickly running around the place and going through a couple staircases ended with me finally seeing my current target floating in the middle of a 'mostly innocuous circle' I couldn’t step into without getting captured in the process by the spell applied to it. A trap that I was only aware about by a few clips I have seen when I was younger. The thing activated the moment one stepped inside the circle, creating crystals that reached out from the ground and arched all at once to capture the intruder that had foolishly stepped into the circle.

A scowl appeared on my face just as I realized that, if I wanted to get the Crystal Heart AND leave this place without getting ensnared by the trap, I needed to think up a brilliant plan. One of those plans that only a genius could think about.

…

Nothing came up after a solid minute of thinking. Next up was… trying dumber options.

There was one that actually felt more appropriate, but I doubted I could somehow wrap some rope around the crystal and pull it close to me without being pulled into the circle. No, I had to think deviously and even dumber.

And so, the dumbest but most successful idea I could think of was… taking a running start and tackling the Crystal Heart. I had the size, I had the stamina, and I knew that it was the only viable way to victory. So I took just enough distance to make a jump and then... I started to run. I run as if my life depended on it, like it was back when I faced these three guards. And with just that, I jumped and used my hands to push the crystal away from its previous position out on the ground. I shielded its fall with my arms, slamming onto the cold floor with a quiet thud. No pain, only… relief.

I got the Crystal Heart, there was no second trap activating and…

…

And it didn't do anything. Like I stared at it, pondering if only a being with Magic and, perhaps, a connection with Love Magic could actually do something with it.

What do I do with this thing now!?

“CREATURE!”

Oh.

I turned around, ducking just in time to dodge a dark-green beam of light rushing towards my head. My eyes widened in panic at that immediate attack, but my attention was quickly shifting as I turned at the origin of that sneak blast, and I was greeted with the very prick I was trying to obliterate.

Here he was, ‘floating’ in a dark cloud of hatred, despair and… he was charging up another attack again.

No monologue, no classic villain speech. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved he wasn’t going for clichés or not since he was directly putting me in an awkward situation with his no-nonsense attitude about the matter. Maybe it was tied to the fact I was currently holding the only thing that could seriously kill him right now. The second he released his spell, another powerful beam of light rushed towards me, this one faster that the first one. Panic rushed to my brain and I did the first thing I could think of by bringing the crystal between me and the attack, allowing for the spell to hit the blueish heart-shaped tool of Love.

Now, I didn’t exactly know how to activate the powerful tool that emitted Love beams of Death for Hate-Type jerks, but the dumb decision that I thought was planning to doom my entire plan turned into the victorious step I needed to take all along.

It was all planned. I swear- I’m smart!

The blast collided with the Crystal Heart, the gem glowing and emitting a warm aura as the beam was suddenly pushed back by a thicker and bigger beam. Light-blue against dark-green. Sombra’s jaws dropped as he saw his attack swiftly pushed back at him, damage inflicted upon his body as the Crystal Heart did its job. He started to glow, the blinding light forcing me to shield my eyes from the intensity of it and… then there was a loud boom-like noise that came out at the end of that unpleasant sight.

No real explosion, just Sombra… imploding onto himself. With his real body shattered, his dark and cloudy form was sent soaring well away from the borders of the city, and… I was left alone with a still active Crystal Heart in my hands.

“You really are a flashy prop, aren’t you?” I muttered quietly, still surprised by the pure power it was emitting. To make things even more confusing, I could feel it ‘hum’ in agreement with what I just said. It shouldn’t be able to understand what I was saying.

Still, as I contemplated the possible sentience of the medium-sized heart-shaped gem in my hold, I noticed two heads peeking by the doorstep. Both ponies were garbed with armored pieces, the mind-control spell broken now that their scleras were back to normal.

“Uh… is King Sombra-”

“Kind of dead,” I replied flatly, nodding their way in a gesture to allow them to approach. They did so, tentatively. I didn’t blame them to be uneasy before a bipedal creature with no fur or other elements similar to ponies. Despite their nervousness, the fact their former ruler, the tyrants that had them enslaved and controlled for a long time, now was gone seemed to take a bigger priority.

“You- You've slain the king?”

I could argue about technicalities, like the fact it was the Heart’s counter that killed him and all of that. But… I doubted that was going to be taken as a serious answer, so I nodded.

“Yep.”

Okay, they were trying to react to this. A shocked look, a confused frown, a perplexed blink of an eye, then a twich of lips as they knew that with the Crystal Heart in my possession and the sudden lack of the prick influencing them my words were genuine. Finally, the realization struck them, their wide eyes showing me that.

And now it was time for me to claim my reward in the form of some shelter, some food and-

“What is your name, creature?”

That was sudden, but I suppose they are just interested in knowing what name to put on a statue or something like that.

“John, John Bukharin.”

Simple, curt, and smooth. Like my previous relationships.

…

Why are they bowing down?

“Your highness,” One of the guards muttered, and I shook my head.

No…

“A new king! King John,” The other added excitedly and I tensed up even more.

Nooooooooooooooooo!!!

But at this point, the ‘damage’ was done. Before I knew it, other guards approached and more agreed that, by right of conquest, I had claimed the Kingdom for myself.

While many would have been enjoyed by this situation, two things made the sudden ascension quite awkward and bad on my part. I was supposed to get back home, and not be tied to a throne of all places.

The second issue?

It was the scourge of all humans, the bane of mankind as a whole…

Paperwork!

And now as a king of a newly-freed ‘Empire’ I was supposed to tackle the documentation behind the reconstruction on my own.

And thus the lengthy reign of King John I began.

Me, a king? Bah! (2)

When I was first called a ‘King’, I thought these ponies were stupid.

It just felt too simple for them to simply give to the one that slain Sombra the title of ruler, the one that would decide their fate beyond the passing of the tyrant. I was keen to believe I was the sanest among a bunch of illogical individuals that were starving for common sense and understanding that a choice of this caliber just wasn’t intelligent and far from clever.

It took me just a day to change that perspective. And it wasn’t self-contemplation that led me to finally understand why the Crystal Ponies eagerly submitted to the ‘easiest’ claimant to the throne. First, the entire chair made of dark crystals was quickly replaced by something less flashy and less deadly to beings that weren’t capable of withstanding the horrible effects of the dangerous gems.

The entire chair was a little less prominent than many thrones I had the chance of seeing in legit throne rooms or those that were displayed in movies and documentaries. It wasn’t something that had been built with care, time, and attention since the need had been immediate and the construction had been driven by a sense of urgency. I didn’t mind its appearance despite the numerous apologies I was thrown over the ‘lacking quality’, mostly because I was more concerned that it wasn’t sturdy and unpleasant to sit on. I really didn’t need the Iron Throne to annoy the patience out of me. Especially if I was meant to keep up with the entire ordeal I was suddenly pulled in.

Me, a monarch? It just felt absurd. While I did study politics on my way to gain my greater understanding in Economics, mostly due to the first two years of Uni being packed with history regarding world-wide politics, governments and economic moves. While I generally didn’t have much recollection of most of those times, I still remembered clearly how medieval models were supposed to work.

Although absurd and insane for me to grasp the fact that these ponies would have just accepted eagerly the easiest choice to a new ruler, the truth was that there wasn’t much of a choice for them to pick from. Sombra didn’t have any family, and I doubted they would have bowed to any child the bastard could have tried to sire during his time in power. It just was paradoxical to imagine the antithesis of what ‘Love’ stands for to try to ‘bond’ and gain an heir out of this. Without a clear dynastic line to follow, it was either anarchy or debate heatedly who could have been tied to the monarch before Sombra and put them on the throne.

The issue with that second option? There was no chronicle to remember that. Sombra had seen for himself to destroy anything that could have been used for a possible stable reconstruction in case he was beaten. It had been one of those cases the villain decided to ‘win beyond defeat’. Sadly, ‘that win’ wasn’t exactly one that couldn’t be beaten back with due understanding and planning.

Now that I sitting on the throne, I had the chance of giving a proper look to my ‘subjects’ and see that, despite the Crystal Heart giving them a ‘shinier’ look after being quickly placed down on the construct below the castle and activated to properly purge the negative energy left behind by Sombra, I could see the truest reason why they were quick to pick me as their king.

While I didn’t notice this earlier on because of the way the guards’ armors covered their torsos, I could see the problematic element that drove them to eagerly accept me as their newest rules. I could see they were thin. I could see their ribs on some, even the smaller ones, the fillies and the colts. I was… perplexed and upset by that mere sight.

It was common for tyrants and dictators to bring their people to starvation. While it severely affects the efficiency of the work and the capacity of production of essential goods, the main purpose of this practice was to keep the people, in this case the Crystal Ponies, to be unable to fight back his influence. To curb rebellions by depriving them of the chance of even trying to fight back.

It was horrible and… I knew I had to do something about this at once. While they seemed mostly ‘fine’ despite the numerous centuries of having been subjected to this practice, I doubted everypony was truly really that healthy and capable of making some steps beyond their workplace without collapsing on themselves.

The first two edicts I enacted just as I was proclaimed king and inquired about my orders for the day was… a banquet. And mandatory medical checkups. The doctors, or healers as they were still defined by the Crystal Empire, were to be paid through the royal treasury as this was an affair caused by the monarch before me.

I didn’t spare too many words on the topic. I knew some were surprised, all between the fact a bipedal was more than happily granting them a day off, the chance of resting and recovering so I could think of a way to employ them in different workplaces. I had the chance of briefly glancing at the deadly tower of paper and ink that needed to be studied and signed before I genuinely gave up on trying to brave the paperwork that same day.

I was a little bit tired, and my brain was still trying to calmly reorganize after this entire mess had fully employed. I was in Equestria- no, I was in Equus. From a quick explanation from my newest advisors, I knew that Equestria was a country, but not the name of the full continent we were in. It was a quick reminder that things just weren’t limited to a few petty kingdoms and a massive one that was eventually going to exist by the southern border.

I trusted Shadow Mark the most due to the diligence he showed since the first hours of my reign, the crystal pony having brought papers, maps and having spared minimal surprise at my appearance. He did ask a couple of questions about my species, any medical conditions he should have been aware of and other minimal aspects. I was keen to keep myself curt with my responses, handing out the relevant and more important bits rather than stick through some unneeded details. The Stallion had dark-blue fur and a short but curly light-gray mane and tail, while his eyes were inquisitive light-blue ones. His Cutie Mark was an ink blot with what looked to be a couple of white dots that led to a white x, like a map or something akin to that kind of topography.

He stood out the most through his lack of reluctance to make his voice heard. Not because I was limiting the chances of the advisors to speak, but because, out of the five or six ponies that were employed as advisors, he was the one making the most interventions through my own questions and the one asking the most out of them all. I was surprised at his tenacity, but I could tell most of this was due to his age.

Most of the advisors had to have been submitted to Sombra for many years now, while Shadow Mark looked to have been around for just a year or two from his own words of ‘having been employed recently’.

I didn’t question him on exactly when he was first taken in, but he seemed fairly prepared and confident in his role, so I decided to trust his guidance for the time being. I wasn’t exactly going to fall for the whole ‘friendly mindset’ that ponies were known to have. I was a man driven by common sense most of the time and I know that expectations were meant to be overturned one way or another.

Nonetheless, I was confirmed as the ruler of this land and… the official fixer of the many problems that were rising up as Sombra was no longer screwing things up in an absolute tyranny. I had to create a plan to introduce proper education, specialization, the creation of new workplaces for the Crystal Ponies beyond being soldiers of the Imperial Army or miners at the caves, the reformation of healthcare and much more.

This is why the paperwork was so tall and imposing since day one, and why I was really unhappy about having to take on this challenge on my own. Like, I was really trying to get back home but this was going to make things troublesome for myself.

I was no jerk, so I really didn’t want to ditch ponies that were so desperately latching onto me for support. I was their beacon of home through happier times, and… leaving now was just going to count as a prick more, regardless of how much I wanted to.

I blamed my relative understanding of unpleasant plights as this one, but I really needed to find a solution to this. And really fast. But despite the tense first hours of my ‘crowning’, the banquet seemed to bring out a sense of calm and peace out of this development that squashed away any nervousness.

I glanced around as I stood at the head of the central long table that was currently holding some of the representatives I had to speak with during the first session of court. There were other banquets set all over the city, which I couldn’t exactly see unfolding from the situation I was stuck with. I wasn’t exactly someone social at parties. Not that I disliked those, but I really wasn’t keen on giving too much effort during those circumstances.

Still, I was granted some amusing sights as I saw how funny some of the Crystal Ponies were when drunk. Some really didn’t seem to hold the alcohol, quickly engaging in silly acts the moment their brain was completely influenced by the beer and wine dispensed for the occasion. They were all fun drunks, and I was more than happy to let them pull some interesting cuddle piles after some silly bickering.

A couple of guards watched, amused grins shared among them as they doubted just as I was that anything bad was going to really come out of this. The same seemed to happen all over in the city from the messages coming from the other guards assigned to keep watch over the other banquets.

It was a calming sight for certain, and, while it really didn’t nothing to help me handle the overall terrifying rebuilt process I would need to plan out with utter attention and carefulness with what budget I had at my disposal, it made for a good thing to see before going to sleep and, as I was led to my bedroom and confirmed the time I was supposed to wake up to face the first duties as the monarch, I took this opportunity to lie down and think.

Nothing really serious, I was genuinely tired and wasted this last few minutes of awareness dabbling in some topics that despite being silly were still fairly interesting to take into account.

Like, why does the Crystal Empire have Day-Night cycles if it’s supposed to be detached from the world as a whole. Was I missing a bit of lore or something like that?

And then, once again, was I going to worry about the cakes in this nation if Celestia decided to visit?

What about Gamer Luna? Is she real? Because I really want that to be real.

----------d-d-d-d-----------

The new day began slowly and fairly calmly.

I slowly opened my eyes to the mostly unfamiliar ceiling above my head. The bed chambers that I had requested were, by my own orders, not the same one used by Sombra. While it would have been proper for a monarch to rest in the same royal chambers as the predecessors, I doubted the place was exactly meant to be used with how many spells could have been set up to spring at any intrusion. Sure, the Crystal Heart did a fine job purging dark magic, but not all magic was bad and some traps could be achieved through normal magic.

Which, hopefully, were going to be found the moment some specialists were employed to check for this to be indeed the case or not. Nonetheless, it took me a few seconds to remember what happened yesterday and-

Knock Knock.

I blinked, turning to slowly glance at the only door of the room and wondering who was checking on me when I was quite sure I had already agreed to the hour I was supposed to be up and diving into the pile of documents that needed to be looked at.

I lifted myself up from the pillow I had my head resting in and decided to check if this was normal.

“Who is it?” I asked loud enough for the one on the other side of the door to answer.

“Y-Your highness?” A feminine voice spoke beyond the closed door. “It’s… the High Commander requested your presence for something important.”

The old guy leading the guards? I was quite sure I had the discussion with him after lunch, at least that was what I sent as a message to him. And it was morning from the simple clock by the bedside. I sighed, knowing that it had to be something really big for him to just call with such urgency.

“I’ll be there soon,” I replied flatly, standing up from bed and picking up the jacket I had placed on the ground. I didn’t exactly have sleepwear, so I just slept without the jacket. I had an appointment to the royal tailor a little before lunch, just as I was done with the first session of paper-signing and the reconvening of the court for the ‘first official day’.

But as I was done putting on the jacket, I heard the individual on the other side speak up again.

“Your Highness. I-I don’t wish to interrupt but… may I speak with you in private?” The pony asked. “I-I mean, if it’s not asking too much. I don’t wish to be a burden and-”

An odd request, but not one I was planning to refuse.

“I’m decent. You may enter if your request is genuinely important.”

The door creaked open moments after I said that, I heard the pony enter the room with a cautious and nervous step. I glanced around, stopping to look at the little maid that had decided to boldly inquire for some assistance.

Just like the rest of the crystal ponies, this one has a particularly glimmer from her light-brown fur. Her long dark-brown mane was twisted in a partial bun, leaving a few locks trail down to her back and rest onto her tiny dress. That very dress also hid her cutie mark since the skirt stretched a little over her rump. I took just a glance at her topaz eyes and I knew that I wasn’t exactly dealing with someone that was prepared for this kind of circumstances.

If she was feeling awkward about meeting a monarch, imagine my personal distress in being the monarch and having to handle a nervous subject. A cute subject at that since the entire maid outfit made her extra cuter compared to the others.

I… I want to head pat her.

I restrained myself despite how strong of an urge I had over that simple but potentially rude action. I nodded at her.

“So, what do you require, Miss-”

“C-Cinnamon Velvet. I-I mean-”

“Nice to meet you, Cinnamon. Can we skip at the request so I can get through with my bathroom routine?”

Her jaws dropped at the genuine lack of interest in entertaining most of her reluctance to speak. I was really trying to keep myself from calling out the unnecessary stuttering. Sure, it sounded like a dumb twist to my usual modest approach to things, but… it was morning. I wasn’t exactly up and working optimally since I needed a coffee or at least an hour or two of relative quiet to get my brain running at full efficiency.

“A-Apologies, I didn’t mean to- to sound too sudden,” She replied quietly and I sighed.

“I don’t recall chiding you. Only asking for you to bring up the point that urged you to seek my assistance,” I hummed calmly. “So… what is it about?”

…

“Y-Your highness, I wish to- to ask you for the release of my brother.”

…

“Can you tell me some more about it? Why was he arrested?” I inquired some more, feeling rather curious since I actually didn’t delve too much onto the chances of prisoners being a thing. I always thought that Sombra was the kind of prick that would rather kill ponies rather than let them rot in a dungeon. Then again, he is a prick and not much of an efficient ruler.

“He was- He was too tired to actually work properly and- and he was taken away because of it.”

“How old?”

…

“S-Sixteen.”

Jesus Christ, I can’t help but hate the bastard even more as I learned further about the evil he perpetrated in his own kingdom. He was isolated, he could have allowed some slack to his workers if he truly didn’t want to keep paying to maintain a proper dungeon.

Still, the decision I had to take here and now was pretty clear and I merely nodded as I requested to be brought to where the Dungeons were. Cinnamon was surprised by my calm demand, inquiring with her minor stuttering hindering her speech about my bathroom routine. I didn’t give her a proper answer, saying just that I wanted to solve this mistake at once. I didn’t tell her that I was really doing my best to not give my brain enough time to come up with ugly scenarios to entertain my little trip to the lower bowel of the castle. My steps were filled with unclear determination, with most of my uncertainty held within as I kept the strongest form I could get out of my posture and stance.

The trip was brief, but I definitely felt it being longer than just a few minutes. I recognized that some of my thoughts were true the moment I started to smell the rotting flesh and the decaying bones approaching with each step we took, and eventually I paused before the tense-looking guards that stood at the entrance of the lengthy hallway filled with cells.

“Your highness,” The oldest stallion greeted sternly, matching with the military position he was holding. “We didn’t expect a visit from you.”

“Nor I had planned to make a visit to begin with until this young mare asked me to check on something fairly important,” I said while indirectly gesturing at the uneasy-looking Cinnamon standing on my right. “I suppose you have a list of names of those that are currently imprisoned in the dungeon.”

The veteran nodded, while the younger guard looked at me with a confused look.

“Are you… Are you planning to free them, your highness?” He ultimately asked, flinching as he noticed his superior sharply turn around and give him a strict glare for speaking out of order.

“It’s alright,” I conceded with a sigh. “And… it’s a strong possibility. I will study case by case and see if they are all imprisoned wrongly and thus in need to be immediately freed of this horrible punishment. Also… on an even more serious note, I reckon you might have in your possession, either around or in an archive, the list with those that died here.”

The old guard nodded. “Yes sir.”

“I wish for that very list to be given to Shadow Mark. I will see that he keeps hold of it so we will do something about it. Starting with alerting the families of these losses,” I remarked quietly. “Now please, take the young maid to see her brother. And have him freed and brought to a healer if he requires medical assistance.”

“It shall be done, your highness,” The stallion confirmed and I nodded.

I turned to Cinnamon and sighed. “I hope your brother is fine. For now I will leave you to handle this.”

She nodded, giving me a bright smile that just tripled her adorableness in a mere instant.

“T-Thank you, your highness!”

Do. Not. Head pat.

I nodded back, offering a quick smile before taking my leave and getting back on my current duties. At this point I couldn’t just go back in my room, and I could technically skip the routine if I managed to get a bath after lunch. Since I was having that meeting with the High Commander this soon, it shouldn’t be difficult to manage it within the schedule.

A yawn left my lips before I entered the room where the high officer was waiting for me. The stallion had dark fur that was graying, his short white hair and pale gray eyes making it a little less difficult to determine his proper age. His cutie mark was a gray sword sheathed into the back of a violet shield. He was wearing a military jacket, on the left side of it a couple of small medals. Nothing tells him that he was that much important, but I guess Sombra just didn’t care enough to pack the chief of the military with any encomium beyond those I could see.

“Your highness,” He greeted confidently, yet something was missing from his voice. The edge of youth was definitely gone, and the brief cough that left his mouth further accentuated how weaker he was compared to his prime. “Apologies for the sudden request. I would have thought you would have brought some advisors to-”

“It’s not a needed step, and I would like to address this urgent matter as quickly as possible. Else it wouldn’t warrant the urgency it comes with,” I interrupted calmly. “But I also believe that we both can find some agreements on a couple of points I wanted to discuss with you, High Commander Platinum Blitz.”

He looked surprised at the forwardness, but overall fascinated by the bluntness and confidence I was displaying in that moment. Men of the military preferred to discuss about anything related to the military only when they knew that they were talking with confident leaders. And right now, I needed to show top-notch confidence to avoid messing things up.

"Then I suppose we can move forward to the topics we have to discuss about. Most of those are about the current state of the army, and I wish to know your stance about the matter once you've properly read this report I saw fit styling for you to see and study from."

I nodded. While many would have been annoyed by the extra step taken for this situation, I wasn't planning to irritate the head of the military, and... I really wasn't that sure about how many things were to be applied for the sake of sparing the nation from a bloated army of unwilling conscripts.

"A sudden demobilization?" I inquired calmly, surprised at this take on the situation. Sure, I knew that the situation was bad but... that bad? "Do you believe that is actually doable without depleting too much the current military manpower at our disposal?"

The old pony nodded, unconsciously having one of his arms- hooves move to fix his jacket. "The state of the army isn't at peak as it was when everyone was brainwashed. King So- The monster had used many spells to control the minds of the unwilling, turning them in dull puppets for him to control and manipulate. Without this, there is no cohesion and despite how dreadful of a decision this is, I have to ask this to you. Too many have already voiced dissent in remaining in the army, and it would prevent full collapse."

"Then I suppose a demobilization is in order. I didn't mean to sound reluctant to take this approach, but I found worrying if we are to defend our borders when the Empire is brought back to the world proper," I elaborated on my thoughts, still agreeing to his point. I could see a degree of relief wash over his features, and I could tell that the elder has been in active service for a long time, decades even, from the way he looked so tired and... in need to rest.

While I had limited experience about the military and most of it was tied to RTS games, I still had some live narration from my own grandfather about his own father's experience in Africa back in WW2. Very unpleasant, the guy had been just an engineer that was drafted to the Colonial Army and was spared when captured. I didn't expect things to go that bleak since I knew nobody had guns, artilleries and other modern technologies meant to kill multiple individuals at once.

Unless someone knew how to turn magical brigades in mortar operators capable of throwing long-range explosive spells at their enemies.

"I'm glad to hear this from you, your highness. I wish to also point out that such instance would also allow us to make use of more workers. I understand you don't wish to resume jobs by the mines, at least until the traumas related to the practice are forever dealt with," Platinum added with a determined voice. "The first priority-"

"Is to create an economy that will survive the crash of the Crystal market," I interjected with a serious voice, drawing a frown out of the old pony since I had used terms that might not be tied just yet to economics. "Since I doubt Crystal Ponies will be that keen to buy crystals as much as they should due to the scare still being a thing, I know that the best solution is to invest in other minerals. Perhaps we could try and develop something regarding gold or silver- maybe even try to shift part of the production in agriculture now that we have a couple of fertile plots of lands that need to be tended about."

"And many of the soldiers are specialized in those sectors. I see that you are planning to focus for the well-being of the citizens first by aiming to a stable economy."

"A happy citizen is one that is able to bring bread back home after a tough but doable day of work," I commented with a nod. "I seek to make sure the ponies here are able to gain dignity in their work. To make their lives their own to live and enjoy to the fullest."

Platinum gave me a surprised look, but also one that seemed to study more my intentions through my current expression.

"You mean good words, my king. I hope you will succeed if this is indeed your ambition."

I nodded. "It's what will happen. Alas, I would also discuss about reforming the army."

"A reformation?"

"Since the Guards have the dual function of securing internal problems and being the protectors of external threats, I was thinking of creating a force that is less-equipped than the army-side of the Guards but more flexible when it comes to handle issues within the nation."

"A militia?"

"I was still thinking of something professional. A police force which main purpose is to be the group that helps preventing crimes and bad deeds from unfolding within the streets."

"That could intrigue many of those that are leaving the army. Some might fight the army life troublesome, but they would definitely seek to join a group that focuses on genuinely protecting other ponies."

I nodded. "I'm glad to hear that we have many common grounds, but I wish to ultimately return to the army situation. You didn't mention a specific date in which we could try to resume conscription through normal means."

"That's because I can't currently estimate this myself. I might require a group of officers to-"

"Done," I interrupted the elder. "You shall be granted the task to assemble a general staff which purpose is to create strategies both in times of peace and during wartime. But I expect reports over this important subject on a weekly basis. In about six months from now, we will have a proper meeting to verify if it is doable to properly resume conscription or not."

"I will not disappoint you for this trust you're putting on me, your highness," Platinum accepted, pushing back any surprises at the smoothness of this process. "Finally, I believe we can discuss about... What to do with Equestria."

I blinked. "I think that can wait when the Empire is brough back in the real map."

"About that..." The old pony mumbled with a degree of unexpected nervousness.

…

I had to ask for a repetition on his explanation since I really thought he had said things wrong. But now I knew, while I was sleeping and confusedly pondering over why there was no a sun and a moon above our heads, I had failed to realize that, now that Sombra was out of the games, the Crystal Empire was back on the big world map.

And that this meant I had a couple of troubles to face as soon as I was done with the issues I still had to deal back at the home front. Like paperwork. So I was rightfully panicking as, just a few minutes after the meeting was over, a messenger requested to speak with me as he brought an important letter for me to read. A letter that had some serious chances of compromising my current survival if I didn’t take proper steps. Else I had to make my prayers now to not get rainbow’d to the next dimension.

A small entourage from Equestria. One of them was a pink Alicorn that bore a message of friendship while her husband was one of the highest officers in Equestria. And in that moment, my brain exploded with multiple panicked thoughts and ill-conceived scenarios about what I was really supposed to do about it.

Only a way to handle this! I will… invite them for lunch!

Me, a king? Bah! (3)

This isn’t going to turn well for me. At least, not as well as I would hope for it to go.

When a diplomatic meeting happens, people generally have to be well-dressed, fresh, and ready to face all unpleasant turns that can come up during the very meeting. It was standard procedure that I had learned by studying the ‘Foreign Relations’ section of the faculty I majored in, and right now I was set up to have quite the weak set up to get through this important event.

Still, much to my instantaneous relief, Cadance and Shining Armor seemed really open in waiting for lunch instead of pushing for something earlier than that. It opened a route that I was more than relieved to believe in, the one where they weren’t planning to push for the subjugation of the Empire due to Celestia’s orders to secure it. Maybe they were still trying to study the predicament before making any call, and that meant I was going to have the chance of arguing favorable for my current situation and perhaps spare any unpleasant relations between the nations.

I got the chance to sparing a couple of words with the advisors, but no chance to actually get a proper royal outfit made in such short notice. Things like this, even with magic, required time. Time that I didn’t have at the moment, but still I could issue for the creation of the uniform so it can be ready as quickly as possible.

So I was stuck with my current clothes, and… and I was very nervous. While the guards confirmed that there was only Twilight among them and nobody that resembled other members of the Mane 6, I was still unsure if I was up for the task this early on in my ‘adventure’. Still, I had to try and succeed, else things were going to be fairly unpleasant for me in the near future.

Shadow Mark was obviously intrigued by all of this, scribbling down what I could tell him of the info he had to be prepared about when it comes to the Diarchy. Despite the fact that I had to be… limited about the information I could rely on others since I was trying to keep a ‘clueless’ take on my entire predicament, I knew I had to give out some serious information.

Like Luna’s banishment for a thousand years, the fact that the Elements of Harmony have been reunited, and that there were three Alicorns right now compared to the previous two ones. Which is why one of the two ponies spearheading the entourage was one. I really wasn’t sure how to handle Cadance. I knew how to handle a guy like Shining Armor due to what I knew about the military and how to calm him down if he had some serious concerns about the current unexpected development, while I had the inkling of an idea how to face Twilight.

But Cadance? Kind of a wildcard I wasn’t sure how to face. And I had to do so while keeping a smooth and respectful attitude towards my current guests.

So here I was, mostly alone as I sat down at the big table where the Equestrian Diplomatic envoy was supposed to share with me. Shadow Mark sat on my left, Platinum Rush at my right, the rest of the side was filled with scholars and experts in diplomacy which weren’t exactly that great due to the lack of relations for a long time and… and yeah, I was holding myself the best I could. The menu I had the chefs prepare for the important lunch was filled by mostly pony-favored dishes, while I settled for the few things I could actually digest without feeling ill during the entire situation. And there were a few of those from the looks of it.

I should really bring some variations of pasta to this world. Would probably add variety for non-ponies to consider.

I tensed up the moment I heard the doors open, one of the Crystal Ponies assigned to wait for the entourage, a pony with a light-blue trumpet as his Cutie Mark, moving forward to introduce their arrival.

“Your highness, Princess Cadance and Prince-Consort Shining Armor of Equestria.”

Standing up and following etiquette, I nodded at the servant and allowed him to make way for the group to slowly advance.

“As the first representative of the Crystal Empire, I… I wish to humbly greet you in this nation,” I said while giving a quick bow. “Please join us for lunch.”

The married couple didn’t hesitate in accepting my formal request, merely sharing a quick look for each other before approaching the table. Twilight lagged a little bit behind while holding onto a bag filled with rolled scrolls, beside her Spike. The young drake was looking around with a partially curious but mostly polite pace as in to not appear too childish with his interest over the room’s aesthetics.

They all sat down by the available chairs, and it took them a moment to properly reply to my words. It was Cadance that spoke up, following the diplomatic pecking order that saw her atop the others, even her husband.

“King John, I wish to return the kind and welcoming way you allowed us to join you at this banquet,” The pink-furred alicorn greeted back. “Equestria is more than willing to value former allies rightfully, even those that were unfortunately left behind due to the unpleasant curses of the former monarch.”

I nodded, taking a moment to glance at the sides to see a few of the advisors and some of the scholars tense up at the indirect mention of Sombra. That was going to be a troublesome habit that had to go one way or another.

“I’m glad to hear this, Princess Cadenza.”

The princess briefly paused at my words, looking confused for a moment before regaining a better composure over the matter.

“Still, I believe it’s only true to the nature of the friendship between our nations for me to admit that my arrival wasn’t exactly meant to dignify a diplomatic envoy, but rather an effort to replace Sombra with… a more appropriate monarch.”

“And I suppose you were the candidate meant to be in my current seat of power if I hadn’t defeated the tyrant,” I guessed, gaining a nervous nod from the girl. “Well, I guess that does make some sense since I think you’re related to the ruler before Sombra. At least I can say that from your full name.”

“Princess Amore,” Shadow Mark added with a respectful tone. “The last bearer of the Crystal Heart.”

“Which is… actually surprising and marvelous!” A feminine voice squeaked on Cadance’s left. I glanced there and I found Twilight tensing up at the amount of attention she suddenly received at the comment. “I-I didn’t mean to say that so loudly...”

“It’s alright. I believe you are Twilight Sparkle, student to Princess Celestia.”

A small nervous smile appeared and she looked abashed by bringing up the non-negligible she has despite the lack of royalty within it. Still, even though the exchange was brief, I knew I could weave and push for a specific set of topics to happen out of it. Especially thanks to the fact that the Unicorn was taking notes on the meeting.

“I can also see that everyone here wishes to ask me questions from the fact I’m not exactly a known element within this world,” I commented calmly. “Well, I suppose I can answer a couple of questions if anyone is interested.”

Twilight frowned. “Everyone and… anyone? Maybe you are confusing those with everypony and anypony, your highness?”

That was actually something I had thought about and I really hoped for them to not be too skittish about. Sure, I knew the show made use heavily of terms that were more appropriate to pony culture, but I was certain of the fact that other species didn’t exactly go out of their way to keep that as a standard for their own cultures. So I felt slightly confident with what I had in mind as a response to this circumstance.

“I reckon that it would be logically correct to address myself in the context too. I’m not a pony,” I recalled and she actually adopted a thoughtful expression before nodding in quiet agreement.

“I can get behind that line of thought, King John,” Shining Armor quipped, gaining my interest and surprise due to the fact he had kept quiet until that very moment. “It’s quite common for ponies in the military to learn to address other races through the terms that have been coined by their respective nations.”

Platinum Rush nodded. “I’m familiar with this. But I thought the Equestrian Military was more traditional compared to ours in that regard.”

“Many things have changed, High Commander,” The Royal Captain addressed with a calm voice. “And I hope this can be used to bridge our current differences in a more peaceful world.”

Well, this was turning nice and well but… I forgot about one thing. I gave permission to Twilight Sparkle to ask me questions. And I forgot to say no to invasive ones.

“Your highness, if it’s not asking too much… can I ask you what species you are?”

I blinked, turning back to glance at her as I addressed her question.

“I’m a human. I also have a different set of ways to address what I personally am. Like Stallion is Man, and Mare is Woman.”

“Oh, but what about other terms? And the fact you are bipedal and… the digits coming out from your arms and-”

“Twilight,” Cadance interrupted with a frown. The Element of Magic paused, realizing that she had come close to go through one of her science moments.

“Oh- Oh, I didn’t mean to sound too pushy,” The cute bookworm said while quickly bowing her head.

“My… sister tends to exaggerate when given too much freedom in these regards,” Shining Armor added and I could only nod sympathetically at his comment.

“I can relate. My sister tends to behave in a similar way when she finds something interesting to understand,” I answered without thinking too much about it. And it was in that moment that I unconsciously planted a seed of interest within one of the ponies at the table.

Shining looked surprised, but mostly curious at my response. “I suppose you are aware of the troubles of-”

“Being the older sibling with a sister that has tendencies to throw common sense out of the window the moment she finds something interesting to study?”

…

“That’s actually unexpected,” He admitted with an interested nod.

“Likewise, but I suppose it’s a pleasant surprise like I think.”

I mean, it was a stretch but I really wanted to find a common point through this detail. The ‘friendlier’ the common point was, the easier it was going for me to further cement a good relationship with these ponies.

“It would seem so,” The Captain admitted, and I could see Twilight groan over the fact that the cute quirk of her was used to create a bond between two older brothers. But it also created a platform for a situation I wasn’t exactly prepared for.

“You’re making it sound like you had plenty of worries about your younger sibling,” Cadance pointed with some fascination, and I nodded without hesitation.

“There had been situations where I had to intervene myself because she didn’t take into account some of the risks she took,” I replied curtly. “It was something that stuck since she was old enough to walk around on her own and… I guess that also helped me handle taking care of children when the neighbors needed a hand about it.”

And that was where the alicorn’s interest peaked. Her eyes widened and renewed curiosity at this detail and only now I realized where this was slowly turning into.

“You were a foalsitter too?”

I blamed the nervousness, but I really wanted to facepalm for forgetting that Cadance was Twilight’s babysitt- Foalsitter. I was so into the present to handle this entire conversation that I mostly forgot of this point that actually put us in common grounds.

“For a time, yeah. Just enough to make some money and help family’s friends when they needed someone to watch over their children.”

The princess giggled at that, smiling as she actually seemed to grow intrigued to learn some more about this entire situation. It was clear that, despite the formality, things had slowly escalated in a more informal discussion and… that was actually helpful.

It helped in creating a sense of genuine understanding and trust while also removing any doubt that I might have been a bad guy. Which wasn’t the case and I really didn’t want to say hi to the skittles-flavored purge beam.

“I just had Twilight as a foal to foalsit, but I know it’s quite a big responsibility when you are young,” She pointed out and I nodded.

“I had my own shares of problems early on. If I remember correctly I had to take care of three toddlers as my first babysitting experience and… it was a really loud experience.”

Another giggle, she shook her head in clear amusement. “I guess it was fairly troublesome at first. I remember having trouble with little Twi and… Oh. I’m sorry Twilight, I-I actually forgot about the circumstance itself.”

At this point, the poor unicorn was having a tough time hiding her face away at the sheer embarrassment she was subjected to. Spike was patting her upper back in a gesture of sympathy and it was clear the poor bookworm wasn’t up to receive more of that humiliation.

“Your highness,” Platinum Rush interrupted with a serious tone. “I don’t wish to sound too harsh but perhaps we should return to the standards of this meeting?”

I realized how much I got dragged by the last two topics and I was more than happy to nod in agreement. The rest of the meeting didn’t go for too long as the rest was mostly tied to how both Shining Armor and his wife were going to stay in the nation and serve the functions of Ambassadors for the Equestrian Embassy. I didn’t have any complaints about it, and I was more than happy to sign the papers to solve this sudden issue I was subjected to.

With lunch coming to an end, the rest of the day proceeded smoothly as I started to face a new batch of paperwork to start implementing some reforms I could start introducing to the nation without facing the chances of ruining the situations for the Crystal Pony. Once again, I delved into the matter of education and began signing away a couple of decrees meant to restore schools and carefully select which classes and years fillies and colts were meant to be enlisted in.

I deemed it right to also institute mandatory school until the end of Elementary, just so I could begin quelling the issue that was illiteracy. Too many ponies were unable to take on specific jobs regarding their cutie marks due to the fact they had just recently stopped working for the army and as miners down in the underground crystal caves.

I thought things were going fairly well despite the never-ending tower of paper that kept on piling more than I could shred into it through facing it on a personal level. I had to find the proper ponies to delegate, because I knew if I didn't I was going to die drowning in paper and ink. And that’s not the way Bukharin is going to die.

But what I didn’t know was that the day was far from over and that I would receive a visitor in my dreams. A very interesting and loud one at that.

----------d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d--------

I was inside a dark void.

And this was definitely not something I was familiar with, mostly due to the fact I didn’t remember much of my dreams. I wasn’t even sure I dreamed properly due to this matter, so, by the fact that I was here and in a seemingly lucid state, I could only find a reason for this to be the case.

I looked around to try and find the only individual I knew could wander inside others’ dreams, and I saw that a white orb actually existed well above my head. A moon, one from which a figure emerged and began gliding down towards me.

I could only blink at the sight and… soon her hooves softly landed onto my chest, the contact leading to an end to my endless fall as I found myself lying on the floor of an unfamiliar room. The themes were dark-blue and black, with constellations shining from the ceiling.

…

“Princess Luna,” I greeted curtly and the alicorn nodded as she moved away from me.

“Thou are the human, the newest ruler of the Crystal Empire,” She affirmed with a little louder than expected. It was clear that she wasn’t using the Royal Canterlot Voice, but she still had to gain a proper understanding of how quiet she needed to be to not cause disruptions with the way she spoke.

“Yes. I’m King John Bukharin.”

“Greetings,” The pony said and I nodded. “We’re actually surprised that thy dreamworld was so bleak.”

Frowning at her words, I was definitely confused by the fact that had truly been my dreamworld. “I guess that’s what happens when I barely sleep for years.”

“Thou don’t like sleeping?”

The pony tilted her head to the side and… it was purely adorable. She might be way older than me but she sure knew how to unconsciously behave this cute.

“It’s more of a habit after having to go to school early in the morning and… sleeping earlier than many would normally do.”

“Thou should never change thy sleeping schedule to fit work if this hurts thou to this point. Thy dreamworld is in shambles.”

Ouch.

“And it definitely will become a host of nightmares the moment thou will end up sleeping with a heavy mind and consciousness.”

Double ouch.

“Which is why we believe thou require assistance in properly building it in a better shape and form.”

… “Are you offering to-”

“We shall assist thou, but first, of course, we will require to ask thee a couple of questions.”

I could only nod, knowing that if the dream specialist said that it was bad, then it was bad. So I listened and answered any questions she threw at me, curious to see where this endeavor was eventually going to take us both. What I didn’t know was that while at first this turned out to be what she had mentioned, the conversation soon shifted into something completely different rather quickly much to my surprise. It took me ten minutes of talking to her for something interesting and mostly amusing to happen.

“And so Tia was lamenting about the fact we called her greedy for cake. And we just don’t understand why she is so annoyed and angry about this since we know there is nothing wrong in being concerned for our sister’s weight and health.”

I wasn’t exactly sure how it got to this point. How this ‘assistance’ turned in a mutual therapy session for the two of us. I gained more insight over the crappy state of my dreams, and Luna got someone to vent her problems to. Sure, those were minimal problems, but it sure painted her in an interesting light considering her presence was very minimal in early seasons.

“But what you can see as a good way to voice your concern might be easily misunderstood as a clever way to call her fat,” I explained, doing my best to keep a straight face about it. Seriously, this wasn’t what I had expected from my first meeting with Luna and… I was loving it! “If you really believe that it can become a problem, then why not counter this issue by giving your sister something that should allow her to burn the sweets she is known to eat?”

Luna frowned. “Can thou elaborate on that, John?”

First-name basis? Now that was a shocker.

“Since your sister might not be highly-receptive of being told she needs to eat less cake, then why not create an occasion, maybe monthly, that can help her shed some fat by doing activities with you?” I suggested. “You can get it also as a way to spend time with your sister away from work.”

“That could be… troublesome. Mostly because we don’t have anyone to replace our sister during her court sessions, and we know of none that can potentially take that kind of role during a planned absence.”

I nodded, realizing that it was kind of a dumb idea. “Still, I suppose we can try and find a solution to that. Two voices are better than one.”

She agreed with a sigh and a smile… and then she panicked all at once. “We were supposed to instruct thou how to face thy dreamworld and- and we lost ourself in such a troublesome topic.”

“To be fair, I believe you needed to hear a second opinion on that matter, and I can tell you weren’t going to discuss it with anyone else.”

“It’s- it’s not just that. It’s about thy well-being. It is our duty to aid those that require help in their dreams.”

“I’ve been dealing with this for years now, I can wait just a day. And I believe you actually deserve to have some help in genuinely mending the situation with your sister.”

…

“We...We are warmed by thy kindness, but thou shouldn’t hinder your recovery due to our own issues.”

“I thought that’s what friends are supposed to do,” I rebuked and I saw her freeze in realization. Because, while Luna had managed to regain a bit of decorum out of the previous informal moments, that didn’t definitely erase the conversation we just concluded.

“...We are friends. Yes. Thou and We.”

I offered a quick smile and a nod, holding back a chuckle at the Royal English making her little speech fairly amusing despite how broken it sounded in a modern context. “I suppose I should let you resume your patrol of other dreams. I hope I didn’t stop you for long with my own issues.”

She looked annoyed. “None of that. Thou say thou are our friend, and we believe thou deserve to be treated properly as a friend should. It was no problem, just… watch over thyself in the future because we shan’t allow thou to dodge this important healing process.”

“Understood, your highness.”

The alicorn lessened her stance and gave me a curt 'goodbye’ before vanishing through the moon she had created to enter my dream. And as her influence waned, so did my consciousness as I was forced to another ‘dreamless’ night right to the next morning.

Still, progress. I made friends with my fave princess and I was definitely going to enjoy the next nightly sessions.

Me, a king? Bah! (4)

Maps! Those are fairly important in determining what kind of situation we were in. Maps were the massive clues that helped in learning how a situation, may it be individual-based or centered about an entire community, really was.

And right now, the map that I was provided as a gift from the Equestrian Diplomatic Envoy opened no little issues with my current rule. None of the problems exactly manifested an immediate threat to the Crystal Empire, with the sole exception being the neighbor in the East and some troublemakers from the decentralized Changeling Lands that might try to come from the west. I doubted the civil war in the North was actually going to break into this country due to how small both Yaks’ armies had to be.

Still, there was a lot to unpack as I proceeded to study the map and elaborate how this situation might actually evolve in the next few months. While I doubted Stalliongrad was going to find a foothold here in the Crystal Empire due to the fact that there wasn’t any industry there to criticize at the moment and also because of how divided their current government was because of the oppositions shared between the factions of both Vasiliy and Altidiya, I still found the current state of technology disadvantage deeply upsetting. I knew I could rely on receiving some support from the only allies we had, but I knew that one thing was to ask help, another was to be completely subsided by them and becoming a possible puppet to them. I had to be careful, especially now that the Crystal Empire was supposed to completely take over the territories it once owned and that had been under Equestria’s leadership for sometime now.

Of course there were going to be a fair amount of debates about the sudden switch of government due to the recent circumstances, but I relied on the fact that the Crystal Ponies finally wanted to be recognized as the centerpiece of their own culture. Looking at the reports, while Celestia did make some efforts to try and integrate these ponies in her own kingdom, the unquestionable refusal to join Equestria started from a single, undeniable reason that I was actually surprised to find out this soon.

Thestrals, simply labeled as Bat-Ponies, were actually a thing here in this world. While it would be easy to confuse them for the vampire version for ponies, the truth was actually simpler and… dumber. This ‘fourth and forgotten’ tribe was fairly unpopular among Equestrian Ponies due to lots of mistaken info about them, starting with the fact that they were… well, like vampires, only stuck with blood as the main requirement for their diet. The truth was off by a far shot.

Sure, Thestrals were keen to drink blood if possible and within moderation, but it wasn’t something they needed to survive. They ate the same things as other ponies, but they were omnivores and thus could also eat meat and drink blood. In a certain way, I could relate due to the similar diets we had… until the blood thing comes up. Nonetheless, this bit of info was quite important since there was a fairly big community of bat-ponies within the untouched land of the Empire.

While Crystal City was stuck in a state of uncertainty due to what happened with Sombra, the rest of the territories kept a modest and friendly approach towards the Thestrals, allowing them to settle in these lands and become part of their community. I quickly had a convention prepared to address any issue that might be unfolding within these new settlements I was supposed to lead. At first I thought that the Crystal Empire was just the Crystal City but… yeah, that wouldn’t have made much sense. One thing is having a kingdom-sized nation to lead, another was to be a city-state that considered itself a full-fledged empire.

To be fair, Sombra is an arrogant jerk… but this nation was called an Empire even before he was in charge. Dammit, why are things growing so complicated?

So, beyond the agriculture-centered focus I wanted this economy to be started from, I will have to revise plans of a future industrialization. And that wasn’t exactly something simple considering the process was going to take a toll on the current society… of this city. Giving a look at the papers I received from the other cities, the process had been a little less than a century ago and some good and gradual progress was achieved until this very point.

Some engineers had also planned to stretch a railroad network that was supposed to boost the current infrastructure and transport section of the Empire for a while. Despite the lessened effects of the cold due to the effects of the Crystal Heart, lengthy trips across the Empire weren’t doable without some serious preparation being planned and completed.

To defeat this problematic situation, there have been plans to create the network as a mean to guarantee a stable link between the various cities and, if I played this situation well enough, I might as well set the first free railroad system due to the fact I would have government-hired bureaucrats leading it and do my well about it. Not only did it help the economy a fair bit by keeping the train state-controlled, but I would also start making some good rep with other ponies in this nation.

I was well deep into the paperwork, so completely submitted to the work for this early morning, that I barely noticed that someone had slowly entered the room and was quietly waiting for me to pay her some attention. It was nervousness that had her quiet, her inquisitive eyes checking all over the office I had yet to properly fill up as all old things from Sombra had been removed, checked on and burned if too dangerous to use for good.

A fake cough caught my attention, stirring me from my tortured shift of document-signing as I lifted up my gaze to find a certain maid with pretty blue eyes that was now sitting in one of the two chairs in front of mine.

“Cinnamon,” I greeted curtly, frowning at the unexpected intrusion. “I don’t recall hearing you coming in.”

The mare blinked, blushing a tiny bit at that remark and giving a slow nod.

“A-Apologies, your highness. I wanted to ask for a moment of your time to talk about… yesterday,” The maid replied quietly. “The guard at the door said that it would be fine since I am a known servant here in the castle.”

That was actually a big problem. Sure, this world is made of nice ponies with big fuzzy hearts, but also of manipulators and murderers that would exploit any circumstance to get a free assassination out of those predicaments. Changelings in particular were going to have a field day with that kind of procedure, the one where the guards neglected to make sure no illusion or transformation was used to hide away a potential killer and allow them to infiltrate deep enough in the castle.

Luckily for me, I could tell that this Cinnamon was the real one and not a changeling. Not only had the return of Crystal City been recent, but I also noticed a couple of details that helped determine if she was the real Cinnamon or not. The telling sign that definitely confirmed this assumption came from a little thing she got when she was nervous. Her left hind hoof would start tapping on the ground, slowly and as if she was keeping count for some reason.

A little adorable quirk that further created quite the endearing sight to be subjected to. But, regardless of me recognizing the mare or not, I was still going to have a serious talk with the guards about being this lenient with the controls.

“How is your brother?” I asked calmly, recalling that the guy had been left in the dungeon for some time before I stepped in and got him and other prisoners out of their cells. “I hope he is doing well.”

Cinnamon nodded. “Wild Velvet is going to be fully healed and discharged by tomorrow.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“But… there is also something else I wish to say, your highness,” She said with a nervous look. “Yesterday I… behaved a little bit too unruly. I shouldn’t have disturbed your highness’ day like this and-”

“I believe I mentioned that it was fine. Especially taking into account the circumstances that got you to take that extra step.”

“But...”

I sighed, I could say that, regardless of what I was saying, the maid really wasn’t that convinced about this much generosity being dropped so suddenly. I guess it has to come off fairly weird to suddenly have a kinder monarch compared to the previous dickhead one. Still, what kind of solution could I come up with to handle this as kindly as possible? The maid might be a little inopportune with her requests, justified requests at that, but she was so polite and genuinely dedicated to family and work.

So how about I just give her something that 'punish' her but also aid her and me at the same time?

“How about I give you something to work on?” I offered with a calm tone. “Something that should, by all means, make the little ‘reckless’ attitude of yours moderated?”

…

“W-What?”

“Well, you still feel embarrassed for coming up with your request in such a sudden and unusual manner, so… how about I give you a new duty?”

“Wh-Which would be?”

And that's were the fun was meant to begin.

“I’ve heard from Shadow Mark that the position of Head Maid is currently devoid of a proper worker, so I think your promotion to the role would fit well as your punishment.”

…

“This promotion is… my punishment?”

I could see the confusion. I couldn’t help but sigh sympathetically at her unsuspecting self as she was comfortably shoved into some real hard work. I remember when I was stuck in a similar situation back in Uni. Truly unpleasant, but nonetheless it was a job compared to what I had back home. There it would just count as merely 'studying and learning' and no checks being granted for doing the best of work as an assistant researcher.

Poor girl, she has yet to realize that she is going to handle paperwork too since, you know, being the head maid means handling paperwork for the other maids too. The tragedy, the drama!

I said this, but, as I would soon learn after putting the confused mare at work, I was soon proven wrong about her way to cope with the hard work. The girl was instantly set to work, provided new tasks and new duties to get through the day. I monitored her progress, expecting some whining from her part at the sudden ascension to a higher but tougher role. Instead of feeling stumped by the sudden increase of her tasks, Cinnamon just smiled, promised results and… showed me that she was a workaholic. The worst part? She actually passed by and thanked me for granting her the chance to prove her worth to me.

To me, not to the Empire.

Goddammit, this idea just backfired by a fair lot...

So, as I ended up granting this little upgrade to her work station, I prepared to face the rest of the day with a cautious approach. Maybe I expected something big to also happen, possibly from the Equestrian diplomats but… I was actually spared from anything relatively big from their part. I spotted Shining Armor sparring with some of the guards that wanted to challenge him and I saw Cadance wandering around Crystal City to see how it looked right now compared to other cities within the nation that she had the chance of touring a few years ago.

I was slightly relieved by this, mostly because it meant I was avoiding any unexpected pressure this early on during my rule. I had so much to do paperwork-wise, and I really couldn’t afford to get off my office beyond the three meals of the day, some breaks to not have me fall asleep by the table, and nighttime.

It was when night finally came, it was time for me to see if Luna remembered the little promise we had set the day before and… she came in my dreams as promised. From that point onward it was… an interesting conversation between her and I.

Starting with her help in rebuilding my dreamworld.

“Luna, I don’t think chairs are supposed to stand upside down on the ceiling.”

“It will fix itself, John,” The Alicorn commented calmly. “It’s natural for some dispositions to be wrongly-placed in such an early stage, and the work here is far from over.”

I nodded, resuming my task of focusing while allowing her magic to materialize some of the objects I was familiar with. Following her instructions, I decided to turn the main form of my dreamworld into a copy of my home. Not only was it a place I was the most familiar with, but it was also the principal place where I would find myself safe, calm, and away from any hint of nightmares.

It felt like ages, but it didn’t take more than ten minutes to get a good bit of my room done. The place was one of the smallest sections of the house, and it was filled with very few pieces of furniture and little much more than the usual device. I thought about having my PC created too, but at the moment I wasn’t sure if the technology behind it was already known and I could explain it to Luna.

It was clear the lady was already in a tough spot to try and catch up with the current state of things compared to one thousand years ago, and I really didn’t need to make things even worse for her. She was even making an effort to try and sound more informal compared to what she was accustomed just to not appear so out-of-time with her speech and mannerism. Which is why, since the princess was already being incredibly nice by helping me with this stuff, I was rather open to resume yesterday’s exchange the moment she said we could take a break with the current work done today.

“This morning we- I tried to see if I could find some sweet food to eat for breakfast. I was particularly… shocked when I realized that my sister’s interest in indulging her sweet tooth might have depleted the kitchens of this category of treats,” She lamented with a huff. “I tried keeping a couple of snacks safe by hiding those away in a safe spot that I thought only I knew about but… those were missing when I went to check there.”

Not gonna lie, this is pure comedy gold in the making. While the cake obsession on Celestia’s part was barely mentioned early on and only given true confirmation much later from the clips I had seen around, I couldn’t help but wonder how much money was wasted on cake. Still, I felt sympathetic to Luna’s plight since I too had tried and failed to save some snacks from my sister’s reach when she was hungry. Differently from her plight, mine was centered about salty things like Pringels, PopCorns, or even cheap salty sticks. One moment I had them hidden away from anyone in the family, and then, as I needed to eat something while studying or writing papers I would find out that the temporary hideouts were previously looted by the very individual I was hiding that treasure away from.

“Have you tried hiding it on your own?”

“I tried to do so in the past,” She admitted. “But Tia- I mean, Celestia was never the kind of sister that would actually mind upholding my privacy if it was for something ‘as important’ as cake.”

I smiled and nodded. “I assume it can be as infuriating as entertaining.”

“To be fair… yes. It’s kind of refreshing actually since it reminds me of when we were both young and… she tended to do this a lot before we started unifying Equestria,” Luna added with a positive hum. “In fact, I’m surprised that she reverted to this behavior when we both were fairly serious back before I...”

Oh, that's a reference to her banishment, which means… bad memories. It’s time to be a good friend and… it’s time to enact a brilliant detour!

“I suppose she just mellowed over the peaceful years. The toughness of a monarch generally comes up in dire times and when there is a threat to face,” I pointed out, trying to hide away the little hint of panic at the unplanned development. “But I bet she is also happy to have you around. I heard she was fairly lonely when… gah, I really don’t want to bring this up.”

She frowned. “What?”

“I’m trying my best to not put you through that topic. I know it’s a sore bit and I don’t want to put you in an unpleasant spot with it.”

“I-It’s alright,” The princess remarked. “I don’t have a… big problem with it.”

…

I sighed. “Luna, I know this is… a little personal, and I really don’t want to sound too pushy about it but… do you want to talk about how you feel after coming back?”

“W-Why should I- Why even- Why do you think that...”

“You might try to keep a strong face before the upsetting thing that is coming back to a changed world, but you can’t expect to solve it all by keeping quiet and bottling things up,” I commented with a frown. “Even if it’s not me, which I would understand since we became friends literally yesterday, I think you should speak to someone about this. Someone you trust, of course, but the focus is not letting all of this remain bottled up.”

"Ever since- since I started to help ponies with their dreams-"

"You found a way to approach your subjects and feel them close, but I wasn't just asking about it. I can tell you are having trouble about settling to the new age."

...

“I’m… I’m fine.”

I stared at her for a while, taking notice of the fact that she was now glancing at the floor instead of looking directly at me to tell me this. So, knowing that it was one of those make or break situations, I decided to be a little bold about it. If I didn't, I could tell things were going to turn weird around Luna.

“Luna,” I called at her quietly, trying to muster all the kindness I could come up with in that very moment. “If you tell me that you are fine without lying and looking at me, I will let you be on this matter. I’m sorry if this comes out as me trying to pressure you but… you’re my friend, and I know what happens when something like this is ignored. And you don’t deserve to be ignored.”

She looked at me, seemingly pondering about giving a try to fake her emotions just for that brief moment. But I could see, right within her eyes, that she wasn't prepared to handle this kind of big step without feeling guilty about it and...

It didn’t take too long for her reluctance to crumble and for her to finally talk.

Even though we'd only known each other for a little while, we felt we could trust each other; we just spoke so simply to each other. One wouldn’t normally trust a pseudo-stranger, but right now Luna was really in need to talk with someone, to express her own frustrations about her current circumstances.

While she made progress since she returned to Equestria, she was far from being completely happy with what was there for her to learn and relearn depending on the matter. She was marveled by some of these discoveries she was making, but in the end the detail that repeated loudly within her mind was that… this was only happening because of her banishment. And the banishment, from what I could tell from her current ranting, she considered her her own fault. She fully blamed herself for it, ignoring that she wasn’t exactly the only one behind the birth of Nightmare Moon.

While Luna was the main factor, the bit that truly screwed things up was Celestia’s partial negligence to the little family she has. The fact that the older Alicorn hadn't noticed that there were going to be trouble if she left her little sister in such predicament wasn't something one can just ignore, especially since it was absolute loneliness that caused the entire ordeal. The fact she didn't have someone to confide into, to speak about her frustrations and genuinely let go of the negativity that was spreading out of this. It wasn’t even something that I blamed on Celestia as a whole, mostly because I could relate on how tough it can be to spare time for your own sibling if there was something important that required your attention. I couldn’t exactly correlate until now to the magnitude of being busy since ruling a kingdom wasn’t relatable when you are just a glorified accountant for the local Uni.

Things did change for me, but even now that some months had gone by since I finished Uni, I still wasn’t sure if things were going great for me and those around me. Being pulled away from the ‘real world’ got me fairly detached as I had new responsibilities and trouble to handle. In a bizarre circumstance I couldn’t have exactly predicted, I ended up sparing my own counsel to the Alicorn, giving as much as I could without sounding too informal or too pushy with our familiarity.

Luna listened, then countered, then she would listen again, and possibly agreed to what she felt she could agree to. It was an odd cycle that didn’t just help her release what stress she had gained since she came back, but it also helped me find someone to talk without making things too awkward about myself.

Right now I was king of a nation, and those subjects of mine weren’t exactly going to start to treat me as an equal- not when I was supposed to show them the truest essence of a good king. A step above, but not in terms of worth or valor. It was all about leading by example, to be better so they can be better.

And with Luna I could say that this mindset wasn’t necessary. Both monarchs, we both had some serious troubles of our own and we desperately needed an outlet to let out frustrations and annoyances about our respective predicaments without having to fear any betrayal or reprisal out of those.

I was genuinely surprised that she opened up this much with me, but I was even more surprised when she listened to what I had to say about myself. She offered opinions over some bits of my backstory and she seemed rather kind when it came in offering a honest answer to certain topics I brought up.

By the end of that night, Luna left my dream with a relieved smile and she went as far as granting me a hug before leaving. Meanwhile I was left perplexed and confused about myself. Because, in such an unplanned situation, I was so quick to let out so much about myself. I knew, for some reason, that I could trust the one I spoke to- no, there was a reason.

Because if Luna was the keeper of my own stress, I became one for her own issues.

And that agreement was definitely going to help us both in our daily lives without anyone knowing or even suspecting something like this existed. If only they knew how tough it is to rule and to handle emotions…

The Pink, the Blue, the Imperial Purpure (1)

The representatives from the various cities that were now meant to return to the Empire were finally there.

I was nervous. Really nervous. While I took this chance to actually work a way into preparing the best diplomatic meeting possible with the current available budget, I was still uncertain about the level of security assigned to the important event. With the numbers of the army dwindling to the minimum possible, only a scarce amount of guards could be allocated to the current premises of the palace without drawing too much from the walls. Platinum Rush guaranteed me that I expected some attempt to infiltrate Crystal City through the entry of numerous entourages from the various corners of the ‘Empire’ all around. I was… frightened by the chances of the already-tense situation collapsing due to even a failed assassination attempt.

My only relief being that, as per agreement with Equestria, both Cadance and Shining Armor were meant to be there to ask as close advisors. I wasn’t really happy about it considering it was going to paint a wrong connection that I would have to curb early on just so I could avoid any opposition to my rule but… I was still content with the fact they were there to provide with extra protection if something bad happened during the convention.

I had plenty of documents already prepared. I took it upon myself to ‘clean up’ Sombra’s mistakes by quickly seeing for all criminals within the dungeons to be retried. To be allowed to muster up a proper defense and, in most cases, win their freedom back. I was fairly surprised when I learned a couple of those just didn’t make it. And that surprise vanished when I realized these ponies were responsible for terror attacks. Attacks that ended up killing other ponies and doing nothing to Sombra’s rule.

It was so… absurd to imagine how some of these horrible deeds were done in good faith but poor planning and thinking. These criminals were angry at their inability to secure a way out of prison, but I didn’t leave them to the same horrible conditions Sombra did. They were sentenced to two months of house arrests under close guarding from veterans while the dungeons were cleaned, restructured and rendered so that it fitted with a more civil standard of keeping prisoners.

With the prisons being ‘cleared out’, the arrival of new workers meant a higher chance for me to start entertaining a good beginning to proper industrialization. Equestria’s ‘lend-lease’ was stuffed with machines and tools that were meant to arrive by the end of the week, giving us the chance to prepare some of the unemployed to handle basic factory-related work and gain a fair understanding of their rights within their workplaces.

Since I had Communists with a working army on the east, I had to make sure that the moment the Empire shifted its production to industrial goods, it didn’t become a reason to create communists in the midst of workers. I really didn’t want to handle that kind of problem and, even though I knew that there was no chance for me to dodge any surprises of that kind, I still accepted the idea that I could either stall the rise of a Communist faction within the nation, or even make sure that it was weak enough to never become a problem to us.

The best way to destroy a political faction was to make its existence unimportant and unjustified. If workers in the nation were happy with the system I had in mind, then there was nothing any communist could say without actually facing some serious opposition to their program. Elaborating on a real necessity, the ideology then reached out for radical plans for a government. Which may or not then lead to an easy time for corrupt leaders to eventually come by.

But there was something that I could agree on some of their plans regarding the economic bit. Something that I learned early on during my time in College when it came to the economy itself. While politics might determine an economic system, in the end it was the economy itself that determined politics. The moment privates were involved in one nation’s economy, there was no doubt that eventually a ‘democratic’ thaw would ensue and lead to more corruption. In a certain way, I despised that tiny bit of democracy- not because I didn’t want the ponies to have the chance of determining their own destinies, but I knew by experience alone that if the rich people were involved into politics, there wasn’t much chance for honest and good-working individuals to attain good seats of power.

Which is why I was focused to have at least most of the essential services in the nation somewhat owned by the government rather than by investors. It was a choice that required further strains on the treasury, but Sombra didn’t leave the Empire dry in that regard. There was enough to make the big jump, and aid with some minor projects too… but it wasn’t going to last and I wasn’t planning to drain the treasury completely despite the need of reforms that requires Bits.

If this convention ended well… then I had the chance to actually tap into the taxation system that was supposedly going to be re-implemented by the settlements and allow a bigger income to steadily give us ideas… for even more projects due to the massive expansion of paperwork I would have to face. If before I had trouble with a single city, now I had to find solutions to the paperwork tied to numerous cities with numerous problems in need of someone to solve them for once. While I wasn’t going to take on all the paperwork tied to those settlements, I was still going to receive the bigger issues and those weren’t going to be fun to face.

There is really no satisfying me when it comes to paperwork...

It was early, a little too early to the meeting. I blamed my own uneasiness as it tended to influence me into coming at this unholy hour. It was just lunchtime, and I had eaten my own meal earlier than usual to be… early. I sighed tensely sparing quick glances to the side. I was sitting by the chair in the middle of the small table that was meant to host the representatives, with three longer ones having been set to house the rest of the entourages that were coming with the diplomats.

By my right there was Shadow Mark and… he was nose-pressing onto the documents we had verified five times yesterday. The pony might actually count as a sober, more serious version of Twilight when it came to important politic-related situations, but with a stronger version of what looked to be OCD when it came to paperwork of all kinds. I could remember hearing some of the guards guarding his office’s door lamenting how he was seen glaring at a glass of water he had unconsciously spilled on the ground… where some shredded paper was. Despite the fact the documents there were meant to be put in the trash bin, he still found the entire event fairly distressing and enough to deliver plenty of insults to the glass of water. Some of those, I didn’t even know about until the guard I stopped for more details, which was blushing at the request of elaborating a list of the foul words, gave out most of the words that had been employed for the circumstance. In that very revelation, I learned that I had to be careful with Shadow Mark when it came to his paperwork.

On my left there was the pinkest of the Alicorns, with her husband beside her trying his best to not fall asleep or appear too bored as we all waited for the main event to finally begin. I didn’t blame Shining for being unable to handle the dullness of the situation, and I could tell his wife was doing her best to not chide him about this matter because Cadance too was having trouble keeping up a vibrant appearance due to how quiet everything was right now.

I thought for a moment about the last time the three of us spoke. I had been rather reluctant to talk with them again this soon, mostly because I was well-aware that we shared plenty of common points in this situation. Why was this a reason for me to actually avoid interactions? Well, while I was more than happy to open up to gain good boy points through honesty and the capacity to be relatable, I really wasn’t sure how convenient for us all was to try and openly befriend the two beyond our stations.

Then I remembered Luna’s words on the matter. It would be odd, but not unusual for a monarch of this nation to be friendly with fellow nobles. In pony culture in general, being friendly with others is the basis of society. Sure, some were still up to exploiting ‘friendship’ as a mean to gain more out of it, but Luna was quite certain it would help me and them in the long run if I actually entertained the idea of a proper friendship with them. She portrayed them in a good light, which wasn’t exactly helpful since it wasn’t the reason why I was avoiding making a genuine bond out of it but…

If I tried, I could pull away if things go south.

So, shoving away the uncertainty, I tried my best. Leaning at ease on my chair, I looked on the left and hummed.

“Why are you two this quiet?” I calmly asked, my voice seemingly tearing into their efforts as surprised looks were soon leveled at me.

“Well, this… is going to be an important event,” Cadance reasoned, trying to appeal to that kind of logic. “It’s only proper that we maintain a proper posture and a formal stance during its duration.”

“Yes, I don’t doubt that’s the appropriate approach during the event, but… the meeting has yet to begin. For about two hours if I am precise about it.”

“And?”

I sighed. “And I wanted to talk. It’s been a while.”

“It’s been a few days,” Shining admitted, tilting his head to the side. “I wouldn’t mind asking you a few questions. Nothing too private.”

I shrugged and… then I looked at his wife. Cadance looked back at me, and I blinked.

“What about you, Princess Cadenza?”

Her jaws dropped for a brief moment, then she schooled her features back to normal. “It’s Cadance.”

“Or Cadenza,” I remarked, noticing her eyes narrowing at that response. It was something that I had picked up from the time I met her. She was easy to tease when it came to her name. Maybe it had to do with the fact that it was slightly unusual compared to other ponies, but I was actually finding a more reasonable point to address her as such. Because I was Italian, Cadenza just felt smoother to say compared to Cadance and so it felt easier to call her that instead of her preferred name. “Is that really that much of a problem if I addressed you as such, Cadenza?”

“...You’re teasing me,” The Alicorn guessed rightfully.

I allowed a tiny smile to flash at that. Didn’t expect any less from a fellow babysitter. “Potentially yes.”

Her lips twitched. “I prefer being called Cadance.”

“And I will try to put an effort to respect that wish then… Cadenza.”

A tiny scowl appeared on her face, and I noticed her husband having some troubles holding back a chuckle at that mirthful banter. It didn’t take long for the discussion to finally begin, and Shining Armor proved to be true to his word when he stuck to basic topics. Despite that, he was quick to take his wife’s side now that he had the chance to.

“So… John. I know this might sound sudden, but I’ve heard that you were having trouble with… the paperwork. Is that really that bad?”

“I’ve been holed in my office for most of the last few days, with the only exceptions being the meals, bathroom breaks, and sleeping,” I replied, my smile vanishing at that upsetting subject. “I’m quite sure that, as we are taking time here to handle this diplomatic situation, the pile is increasing and growing more unbeatable than it was before I last gazed at it.”

…

“It was bad,” The unicorn summarized with a nod. “I guess without the same numbers of administrators as Princess Celestia, taking care of the paper-signing can be quite arduous.”

“I guess that’s a saving grace about our missed opportunity, nothing against you, John,” Cadance agreed, waiting for me to react to that sentence before continuing. I just offered a nod, honestly accepting that response to my plight, but now interested on what she had to say. “Nonetheless, I hope you managed to take enough breaks during the work hours.”

“A couple, but not enough to waste too much time on the job,” I swiftly answered and she gave me a long look.

“And how long were those?”

“I don’t recall, but I will tell you once I do, Cadenza.”

Her interest was dulled away from the cheeky last half of that sentence. Just before she could say anything about it, her husband took control and spoke up once more.

“I didn’t mean to bring up any issue with my question, so I guess we can move on to something a little ‘soft’ compared to the previous topic. I don’t think you’ve brought up what was your job before… what you are now.”

I could sense some hidden reasons behind that specific ‘soft query’, but I decided to still go forth with it regardless of the suspicious way it was relayed. Even Cadance seemed to pick up this from her husband, a frown adorning her face as she turned to give a look at Shining Armor.

“Well, last year I concluded my five years of college which allowed me to graduate and major in Economics. While that would have normally set me for a big job… the situation back home didn’t allow me to do more than just find something beyond being the librarian to one of the local libraries in my hometown.”

I expected some barb out of this little revelation, and I could tell them both were surprised at this and-

“Oh, that means we’re all inexperienced in ruling a nation,” The former captain highlighted and… I couldn’t help but frown at him. It was definitely the best outcome for me out of that revelation, yet I was slightly annoyed at the fact that he was so calm about it. SO… accepting of it.

He could have easily made a point I was inexperienced and… drew me to put a defensive move out of it. Yet he… didn’t. Am I being a moron for thinking of the worst from these ponies?

My trail of thoughts came to an unexpected end when I heard Cadance giggle and give me a teasing look. “Were you worried about that? John, I believe you should know we didn’t take any ruling position until this position as ambassadors.”

…

It was instinct that dictated for me to look away at that, the brief bout of shame on my part giving a good reason for the Alicorn to giggle again, and I distinctly heard her husband snort in clear amusement at my awkward response. I wasn’t the best at handling friends. And I was also unable to do so when the potential friends were the ones being way friendlier than I was.

This interesting exchange came to an end as the doors of the humongous room were pushed open by a group of guards escorting a small group of representatives trotting towards us. I gave a confused look at the approaching ponies, surprised by this sudden intrusion, but soon given an answer to why they were here when the main event was meant to happen roughly an hour from that moment.

“Your highness, I present you Lady Jade Song, Countess of Canterine,” The oldest of the four guards protecting the small group started to announce, and soon I saw one of the three mares nod. The Unicorn had green mane combed in a short but complicated bun, matching well with her light-blue fur and her dark-blueish eyes. She was wearing a light-gray dress that hid her cutie mark.

“Dark Snow, Mayor of Porridge Town.”

Next was the turn of the only Unicorn Stallion to bow the head. He was wearing a silver monocle that partly covered his gray eyes, his dark-purple mane kept cut short, going well with his small purplish stache and black fur. He was wearing just a brown jacket over his dark-gray shirt and plum-colored bowtie. This time I could see the cutie mark on his flank, showing a magnifier highlighting a small, simple house with white walls and a red roof.

“Lady Ivy Jewel, Baroness of Rainbow Falls.”

The Pegasus Mare smiled brightly and nodded eagerly. She had a light-pink mane that stretched over her grayish fur and came close to hide away her cutie mark, which was a cloud with… wings. That was indeed an interesting surprise and-

“And I’m Chocolate Spice, Mayor of Evergreen. Nice ta meet ya, yer grace!” The last mare, an Earth Pony with black mane pulled in a long braid and brown fur, introduced herself while moving closer to the table. She was wearing no clothes and her cutie mark was a dark-colored jalapeno. As soon as she was close enough and stopped herself from jumping on the table, she reached out towards me with one of her frontal hooves. An offer that I slowly accepted much to the surprise of the rest of the table and the guards.

“Well, nice to meet you, Chocolate Spice,” I muttered happily, noticing her golden eyes widening in delight at this response. “And I’m glad to see that the rest of you have such eagerness to meet me… but I can tell just by a glance that this isn’t just a visit made by curiosity. Especially since the meeting has yet to begin.”

“We decided to approach you sooner than planned out of urgent problems that we actually share, your highness,” Dark Snow politely answered, bowing his head humbly. “We understand that we are not above others here for today’s event, but there are pressing concerns that begin from our cities and… might influence the rest of the Empire if we don’t have a serious answer to it.”

…

“The situation at the borders?” I guessed as I remembered precisely where the cities were. There was a brief moment of awe at that quick realization, but I was far from over about it. “I understand that you are worried about the chances of your cities being ground to hold against invasions from either Stalliongrad or the Changelings.”

I noticed Cadance shift nervously at the mention of the creatures she had to face at her wedding, and I definitely saw Shining Armor tense up in a frustrated posture for the same reason. It was Jade Song that spoke up next, nodding at my comment.

“It is indeed the reason that forced us to seek such an immediate reunion. Canterine can count on the natural defense offered by the river it is located near to, but its garrison is at a minimum, and I know the rest of this situation is shared by my fellow… leaders.”

“Evergreen has a thick forest near to its border, yer grace. We have hunters, but no good soldier that can defend against a full-blown invasion,” Chocolate Spice added. “So we were interested in knowing what you can offer to us in that regard.”

I hummed, closing my eyes just for a moment to collect my thoughts as this was actually something I had worked a lot together with Platinum Rush. The fact I had to handle the defenses of a nation well beyond a mere city meant that I had to also revise some of the plans regarding the army. While the military force employed by Crystal City was substantial enough to be able to travel to either East and West to handle each of the problems we were surely going to face in a war situation, the same wouldn’t work if we were put in a two-fronts war. The Empire currently didn’t have enough ponypower in active duty to be able to even enact a defensive campaign in that bleak scenario.

The solution actually came from history books, the one that regarded an old practice created by Prussia for a time that allowed them to create a massive army of competent soldiers and officers in a little less than ten years. Using a modern version of this strategy which took better ways to train and create soldiers in less time while also combining it to more recent conscription system that was once used by my homeland to properly train soldiers or even war-time workers, I had the best hopes that the Crystal Empire was going to get a professional army way before both dangerous nations were able to genuinely be a threat to the country.

“I’ve agreed with the High Commander that the best solution to this kind of issue was to take a passive militarization of these areas,” I started to explain with a serious tone. “First, it would be proper to reorganize the conscription system, granting all able-bodied males and females between the age of twenty and forty to take part in the recruitment and be assigned to the military in training operations and civilian preparation.”

“Civilian preparation, your highness?” Ivy Jewel inquired, an interested look on her face.

“As a mean to give proper rewards to those that take part in active duty, they will be able to require permission to be shifted to appropriate courses of civil work formation. They will be given jobs that will be created for the occasion right in their local towns and given the opportunity to be paid for the hard work they are committed in,” I replied with as much info I could dispense at the moment as possible. “Of course, to join the civilian preparation, the main requirement is receiving recommendations from officers I will personally check and assign for this important role that requires incorruptible souls.”

I could see some slow nods coming my way, with the leaders still taking a while to properly digest the massive plan I had just told them about. To help them sponge the new info up without any issues, I further gave them guarantees about their situation.

“Also, I’ve received news from our Equestrian Friends that soon we shall receive the proper equipment to test out for any changeling infiltrator in our cities,” I delivered these good news, instantly seeing them all relieved by this development. “Those shall be properly settled in place to be used at full conditions by the end of next week.”

“That will help us know if we have to worry about these scoundrels,” Dark Snow pointed out calmly. “Beyond that, I also wished to inquire about something else that caught my attention when you detailed the conscription system. You mentioned ‘males and females’, not ‘stallions and mares’ when elaborating on the requirements.”

I could see some fascination on this specific point and, now that the mayor had highlighted this point to the others, I could see them all staring at me with mixed reactions. Most of them were accepting, yet I could tell there was a degree of uncertainty when it came to involve other races within something as important as the army.

“I’ve decided to include other races beyond ponies within the military, Mayor Snow,” I confirmed with a serious tone. “Considering the current situation, not only on a military side of things, but also within the multi-cultural society we live in now that the Crystal Empire has been brought back, it is only sensible to not stumble upon traditions, and forsake the idea that time has passed. We can’t rely on traditional ideas of the military, which is why I will address this matter with more detai together with your military aides, so we can properly organize a modern army that will not leave anybody behind.”

…

“That’s a powerful stance, your highness,” Dark Snow said while nodding. “I don’t have any problem with that, and I can assure you my doubt is more tied to the… way you wish to make this possible. But I can tell my military advisor will tell me more about this once the convention is over.”

I nodded back, smiling as I saw that I had won them over on this particular predicament. With the small group satisfied with that set of answers, I soon realized by the fact that the room was slowly being occupied by the rest of the representatives and their entourage that it was time for the proper convention to truly begin.

The four began to leave, but as I turned to regard their retreat, my focus unconsciously shifted to one of the mares as she started to sway her hips a little more than needed to move. I paused to look at Chocolate Spice, her gaze turned at me with her tongue out in a cheeky manner as she quickly trotted away to cover her… wetness.

I looked down at the table, my stare burning onto the wood as I tried to contemplate what just happened. I mean… I guess it’s nice to know that I was considered attractive enough to warrant that reaction but… I definitely didn’t feel much of it. It was awkward and, if I had to be honest, human women were still my main focus both romantically and sexually.

While I have to say that was… bold, I still can’t grasp at it. Did I just… get flashed?

I heard a muffled giggle coming from the side, I glanced at Cadance as she tried her best to hold back her amused noises, her husband calmly face-hoofing to hide away a mighty blush. I then heard a huff from the other side and noticed Shadow Mark trying and failing to hide his own blush in the documents he was supposed to pass me during the convention.

So yes, the convention began in quite the weirdest and most confusing manner, but it developed smoothly and finely as the next six hours proved to be as intense and frustrating as expected. I managed to get through this mostly thanks to Shadow Mark doing his job well, and the young royal couple doing as much as possible when it came about the relationships between the Empire and the Diarchy. The convention concluded in a positive note, with all representatives signing the proper documents to legally confirm the return of all original territories of the Crystal Empire.

A win to be proud about, but also the uneasy first steps of a newly-reformed nation in a world more advanced than it partly was…

----------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d------

AN

Yeah, I will drop some lewd eventually. I will put some warnings that will help spotting when and where.

The Pink, the Blue, the Imperial Purpure (2)

Taking a stroll around Crystal City was something that I had planned to go through once the Convention was over.

The decision came to be when I realized that I had given just a passing look when I first defeated Sombra. And even back at that time, the city was far from what it had to have become after just a few days since I started ruling over it. I didn’t expect major changes, but I rightfully believed that something had to have changed the moment a stable bureaucracy was implemented and the chances to open up businesses was granted with the temporary pause to taxes enforced on the capital alone.

And even though some would lament over the fact that the complete pause to the taxation system might sound awfully crippling in the long term, well… the treasury hadn’t remained empty during all this time. I really don’t know why Sombra just kept amassing wealth when he couldn’t exactly use it to do anything big but… I guess he just wanted to keep a stable system working for the sake of not seeing his own kingdom imploding onto itself. Either that or he just didn’t care enough about that entire thing and left that task to other individuals that actually cared.

To be fair, that actually sounds like a possible good reason since he didn’t give off the idea of a smart economist when he was on screen.

While the paperwork wasn’t exactly decreasing for the time being as I had yet to check on the proper administrators to delegate what could be delegated, I still knew of the importance of making sure I had a clear understanding of how the city was faring both socially and economically. I remember giving some passing glances the few times I was wandering the palace to check on a couple of things, but this was actually the first time I decided to check on the capital after its liberation.

Crystal Ponies were happily walking around, busy with work or shopping. Some of the passing civilians paused as the small group I was mostly leading started to move around the streets closer to the palace. I saw some of them gave surprised looks, with a couple actually completely stopping in their activities just to see what it was all about. After just twenty minutes of simple walking, a large crowd of ponies was following us around while trying to understand what I was doing right now. It made for some unusual predicament for me to be as I checked around for the major points of the city.

Many activities had opened, with all of them being small businesses that could immediately work on helping ponies and help their own families with the Bits made through these initiatives. I saw a couple guards in the city patrolling the roads and giving a brief bow and salute before resuming their current tasks and… yeah, this was getting incredibly difficult to ignore. I just had twenty more minutes before having to get back to the palace and I wasn’t really sure how I was supposed to do so without making it any more awkward than it currently was.

I mean, I could tell that they weren’t trying to be this nosy, but I was really feeling a lot more pressured by having so many eyes on me. Never been the guy that loved the spotlight, so this was really, really uncomfortable. Not enough to panic, that is, but really upset over how I hadn’t expected this kind of ‘traction’ from the locals.

Just as I felt my options exhausting, an interesting development unfolded as one of the ponies detached from the crowd and actually approached us. One of the three guards tensed up, her hold over her lance tightening at the unexpected twist but… she paused as she realized the approaching pony was none other than… a little colt. A bat-pony at that.

Dark-blue mane kept short, silver eyes and a gray fur-coat. His wings were still far from reaching its fullest, but I could already see tiny bat-like details that, coupled with his peculiar ears, made him stand out as a genuine bat-pony.

He wobbled a tiny bit, eventually sitting right in front of me. Wide eyes looked at my face with child-like wonder and I thought of how old the colt has to be. Four, maybe five years old. There was silence, a mix of curiosity and uncertainty, with the crowd forming a mixed opinion on this circumstance as some didn’t seem particularly happy about the intrusion. The guards, albeit calm, were still vigilant as I finally greeted the curious little one.

“Hello.”

A single word, that was more than enough to seemingly ‘wake him up’. A tiny nervous smile appeared on his muzzle as he nodded.

“Hi,” He replied quietly. “Are you… the king?”

I mean, I wasn’t wearing the full regalia since it was too cumbersome to have while moving around and… yeah it was only meant to be worn at its fullest by ponies, and it had been truly uncomfortable to wear at the crowning- but I believe the news of a bipedal creature being the new ruler should have spread far enough.

Then again, I’m looking at a child. A cute one at that.

“That is correct.”

He hummed, tilting his head to the left. “But… you are not a pony.”

That actually caught me off-guard. Sure, it was an element that had been brought up during the convention, but none had been so direct about it to make it look like a genuine problem. And all representatives from the cities had been fairly satisfied with how things ended in that diplomatic meeting.

A suspicious thought that came up at this element was a possible case of racism upon the child. For him to believe that only a pony could be the king meant that he had this belief that only ponies were meant for high positions or nicer roles. So it was either racism or… something I wasn’t catching on.

“That is indeed the case. I’m a human.”

“Hyoo-man?”

“Human.”

“...Human?”

I nodded, smiling at his success. “Now, that’s right.”

His smile widened by just a fraction at the praise. “I’m Silver Song. I’m a Bat Pony.”

“Nice to meet you, Silver Song. I’m King John.”

“Why are you walking around, Mr. King John?”

I held back a chuckle at that curious nickname, kneeling down so I could speak better with the short bat pony.

“I was just checking on the city,” I replied calmly. “I wanted to see how things were going with my own eyes.”

Silver Song nodded, understanding the reasoning but still keeping a degree of confusion. “But why?”

“Well, I was just curious. I wanted to see by myself if there were some problems that I hadn’t looked properly into and think of solutions to those.”

“Oh,” The colt quietly muttered and nodded. “I see.”

“I don’t want to put any pressure on you, but shouldn’t you go back to your...”

I trailed the question, noticing the colt looking away with a nervous look. Orphan, I almost landed belly-first on that minefield.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered instinctively. “I suppose you live by the nearby orphanage.”

A blink. “I used to.”

“Mhh? You’re no longer living there?”

“I… I left it.”

I frowned. “Why? Any issues in there?”

He huffed, and this time he remained quiet about it.

I doubted I could have gained more out of him just by talking in these circumstances. I could still perceive the glances of some ponies on us and I could tell the attention wasn’t doing miracles for his current confidence.

What if I try to get something out of him while he is distracted by something else?

Something smart and something that genuinely had him distracted just enough for me to ask the questions I have to ask. It didn’t take me too long to come up with a little idea that I was sure was going to work with him.

“I know this might be sudden but you have a good knowledge of the capital, right?”

He gave me a confused look, nodding as I offered him a smile. Since he had been living on the streets, perhaps I could entice him to offer me a little tour of the places he liked. It sounded like a solid plan, so I went through with it without hesitation.

“How about you show me around the spots that aren’t usually known to many? I have twenty minutes, and I’m sure that you have plenty of interesting things to bring up about this city.”

Frowning at my proposal, the tiny bat pony stood up. “But, aren’t you busy to… be around somepony like me?”

I let out a brief chuckle. “I don’t see what’s wrong about it.”

A surprised look later, and we soon were resuming the stroll on the capital, with Silver Song leading around with the most serious look a child could pull off. It was amusing, but for just a little while. As soon as I managed to gain a foothold over the questions, I finally got some answers out of him. Some of which were… rather upsetting.

The child lost his parents before he could even start walking. I was aware that there was a minuscule community here in Crystal City, but I was surprised that they couldn’t just keep the child around. He was brought to the orphanage, the orphanage was too tough and he just left it. And all of that happened just a year ago when… he was just five.

Yep, the colt that I thought was actually between 4 and 5 was actually 6. A little scrawny, clearly a tiny bit malnourished due to living on the streets and… I knew that I had to do something about it. While I was initially trying to find him a place where to live that wasn’t the streets, I slowly came to realize that there was a minor problem. Nobody here in Crystal City knew how to properly take care of a bat pony. With the community in the city having left together with the one from Evergreen due to the lack of favorable conditions of life for their race, I was handling the last bat pony in Crystal City. Maybe.

It was a reality that struck me by surprise and I really wasn’t sure how I was supposed to face it due to how much attached I was growing with the kid. He lacked some common sense due to not having any parental figure helping him around, he was small, young, very naive but incredibly street smart for someone his age.

It was a drastic decision the one that would follow the end of the visit, but the one thing that I was sure going to remember vividly was when, as I returned to the castle, I ended up finding Cinnamon cleaning up the hall just outside my office with a couple of other maids and… they stopped to see me holding someone that wasn’t there when I left.

“Sir, did you just… kidnap a colt?”

I frowned at the question. “Of course not, Cinnamon. This is my little ward, Silver Song. Say hi to Cinnamon.”

The bat pony giggled and waved his left hoof at the perplexed mare, his adorable display still stealing some giggles from the other servants and a tiny smile on the head maid’s face.

And yes, I just allowed my father’s instincts to adopt a child after just a few days in the job. I swear this isn’t going to become a problem. Possibly. Hopefully...

--------d-d-d-d-----------

Luna took a few quiet moments to properly explore the good recreation of my home’s kitchen. I spent about an hour or two to get the entire section done well and I was really tense as she looked around for any issues about the recreation, any anomaly that could destabilize the dreamworld. It wasn’t truly something that common, but it was best to make sure that everything was fine and that there were no abnormalities to worry about later on with this process.

She turned to me with a flat look and… then nodded. I felt my shoulders sag at that, my back leaning on the chair as I was taking a seat by the small table in front of the main counter. Still, a huff left my lips at how tense the entire situation felt early on.

“You know, you were really giving off the idea I messed up somewhere in there.”

The Alicorn smirked playfully, enjoying my little ‘annoyance’. “If you think so, perhaps there is something you believe is wrong in here.”

“Well,” I started to say with a truthful tone. “I guess I just can’t remember all the details of the kitchen. I just don’t stop around too long there and study all the fine details of it.”

While it’s true that I didn’t spend too much time there, the only reason why I wanted it done to the last detail was more of a selfish desire of mine to remember everything of what I had left behind. To be fair, I was putting too much pressure on myself about it and...

“And yet you’re trying to get it flawlessly right. I suppose the only issue is your interest in drawing a perfect picture of it when you already know it’s not doable,” She rebuked calmly trotting up until she was able to sit right on the chair in front of me. “You’ve been doing well, you shouldn’t bash yourself over it.”

“I suppose,” I replied quietly, already thinking of changing the topic. “So, I actually gave a thought about the whole situation with your sister and I think I got an idea you might like.”

She glanced at me with a frown, sporting incredible confusion about it. “Which one?”

Oh right, I forgot that the entire topic has plenty of problems to solve.

“The one where she tends to ‘borrow’ your sweet food.”

A gleam of realization appeared on the pony’s face. “Truly? What do you have in mind, John?”

I had to actually smile at the little plan since it was actually one that was going to work without any problem. “Since your sister is able to find cakes within Canterlot, how about you try and store it elsewhere?”

“That would require a safe enough place to hold it from my sister. Celestia is still a powerful being with her magic-”

“But not one that would think of a silly spot where to hide that kind of treasure. In this case, I believe I heard that one of the Elements of Harmony works in a bakery. It shouldn’t be difficult to request them to keep the food stored there so you can go and retrieve them whenever you wish to.”

Luna actually took a few quiet seconds to ponder about it. “I think Pinkie Pie would actually agree to this. Yes, I can… see that being a fair possibility,” The Princess pondered a mix of delight and seriousness. “I would still require secrecy, else my sister could find out of this strategy and make it unavailable for me to use beyond just once.”

“I hope you plan this properly. I know it sounds simple but… well, it’s not that easy to think up of a way to trick your sister in taking your cakes away.”

“Oh no, I understand your concerns, John,” Luna quickly agreed with a nod. “And I’m grateful for your assistance. This will certainly be a good plan for a few years since… I doubt Tia is going to fall for it for too long.”

I nodded at that genuinely amused to see the true relief on her face for something so silly yet so important for her. Regardless of that friendly banter, I decided to actually take the conversation to something a little more serious.

“By the way, I wanted to ask a tiny favor from you. A tiny one,” I repeated with a hint of uneasiness. She gave me a curious look, a glint of confusion added to it. “There is this little colt that… I believe might have some nightmares and I want to check if he really is having a normal sleep or not.”

“His name?”

“Silver Song.”

Luna hummed. “Any particular reason why you seek to know the state of his slumber?”

…

“Do you… remember when I mentioned that one of the things that made my babysitting job easy? The one about fatherly instincts?”

“Yes, I remember perfectly when you… said- oh,” She stopped and soon her eyes were narrowing on me with a serious look. “John, I want you to be honest with me about this. Did you just adopt a child that you just met?”

…

“Y-Yes? But wait, he is the only Thestral in Crystal City and he had trouble trying to find a place where to live,” I quickly reasoned as Luna kept on watching at me with a serious look.

“And do you have any preparation in taking care of a Thestral colt?”

“I’m planning to buy books and learn as quickly as possible-”

“You will not need any of that. I shall send you some letters from those of my guards that have families and have experience with children of their kind,” She interrupted calmly. “While I should be frustrated by this situation, I also know you’re experienced with children, so I will let you… be you about it.”

Ah, that’s great-

“Still, don’t expect me to condone this behavior happening too many times after this once. I’ve already dealt with similar behaviors when it comes to my sister. I don’t need you to become a copy of her.”

“Don’t worry, I would never steal your cakes without permission,” I commented mirthfully, getting a giggle out of her as she moved her right hoof to cover her face. “See, even you have to admit I’m a comical genius.”

“When people ridicule you, yes.”

Ouch, that actually hurt something. Maybe.

“Bah, I can be amazing without being beaten down verbally by a friend of mine,” I replied cheekily. “In fact, here I am, doing that by myself.”

Another giggle, she shook her head. Her smile sure was shining quite bright and unrestrained, and she soon revealed another issue that I had known very little about but… that I had a lot to think about. Blueblood was a name I had heard a lot from comments coming from the fandom. I was also aware that while he was a prick, he wasn’t the ‘villain’ kind of a prick. Just arrogant, pompous and terribly tied to his big title as Prince.

“I can’t blame Tia for keeping him around sheltered due to his ancestry, but I just can’t accept how she let him become what he is now,” The Alicorn lamented tiredly. “I could ignore his antics for a while, but he tends to make himself an element of irritation whenever he is around anyone to annoy.”

I blinked, thinking thoroughly about this interesting topic. “How about you try to send him away to someplace that can ‘fix’ his issues?”

“I tried to send him to the dungeons-”

“I wasn’t going for that harshness, Luna,” I replied with a snort, and I could tell she was just joking about it by the faux scowl leaving her lips. “I meant something like sending him to a place where he can be given a genuine and stern education while also keeping him away from the court. Like with a military academy. Give him something to worry about and put him in a situation where he can’t refuse that. Like having him show how to properly be a leader rather than a figurehead.”

There was another break from words, with the Alicorn thinking deeply of this possibility and… smiling eagerly at that.

“Tia wouldn’t have any reason to refuse. Despite her coddling of that fool, she is still somepony that would agree to the need of building him to stand strong against emergencies… yet I believe an extra push is needed to fully sell it to her.”

“How about a recommendation letter from the former Captain of the Royal Guard?” I suggested and her eyes widened. “I can ask Shining Armor to write a letter to you and your sister and bring this topic up. I feel like he would be more than happy to give his ‘cousin’ a reason to not be around the next time they visit Canterlot. Then you would have the opportunity to push for it.”

“And Tia would have no reasons to say no!” She exclaimed giddily. “This would remove that frustrating pest.”

I frowned. “That much of an issue?”

“He can be stressful, especially when he starts to whine like a foal when he is stopped from harassing the servants,” Luna admitted. “I don’t hate him, but I find his proximity the cause of many unneeded problems.”

“I see,” I hummed quietly and I saw the Alicorn stir a little her hooves forward and then step down the chair. “Ready for your shift?”

“As usual, and I hope this time around there are less nightmares after last week's intense work.”

“Knowing how things usually go, I will just say that I hope your workload is easier tonight,” I replied with a nod. “Have fun.”

She sighed. “I will try.”

A blink and she was gone. I took a brief moment looking around the kitchen and then I closed my eyes, feeling the drain of today between paperwork and setting up a room filled with stuff for Silver Song finally catching up to my mind and drawing me to properly sleep.

But as I calmly fell asleep, someone began moving in the darkness and took steps in bringing my rule down and restoring an old friend back to the throne.

The Pink, the Blue, the Imperial Purpure (3)

“Are you sure the revolt is under control?”

There are many things I wouldn’t have expected to ask during the first year of my reign, and this one was definitely one I wouldn’t have imagined having the need to ask to Platinum Rush. The old Stallion was indeed concerned as he first brought up this matter to my eyes. He was reluctant to take action due to the current situation that led to this ‘revolt’. The manifestation was none other than a protest of sorts, a peaceful one to say the least as the only thing unpleasant that being used as a weapon were the insults thrown at the guards containing the protest.

I wasn’t exactly sure how this came to be and only a serious debriefing confirmed me that this wasn’t a simple rebellion born from a few. There was a mastermind behind this because the rebels all had a uniting common point. They were all young ponies, roughly early adults, that had small interactions with Sombra’s regime. They were clueless about its cruelty and the sheer maliciousness of his reign. Which would explain why they were manifesting against my rule and the return of the king. I was the ‘monster’ that deprived them of legitimate rule all for the sake of personal ambitions.

It was a laughable pretense, but the world was big enough to house a large and infuriating list of idiots that didn’t stop and think about their actions. Not a surprising element, but definitely one I didn’t expect to develop in a situation like this. Platinum was… nervous, but overall confident that the guards were more than enough to contain the revolt from becoming too violent. I was certain of this too, but I had a strong feeling that this little rebellion wasn’t the main element I would have to worry about. While I knew the motivations, and I knew the type of ponies taking part in it, I was completely clueless on who was behind it all. It had to be a single individual, or maybe there was even a small group of loyalists that survived Sombra’s demise.

Doubtful considering how absolutist his reign was. No one was allowed to get too close to him, close enough to receive reasons to remain loyal to him. Fear was his weapon, just like many totalitarian states tended to use back at home a long time ago. So this individual was either someone that wasn’t within the Empire and that fanatically believed in Sombra in some sort of dumb way, or there was something else stirring in this predicament. Something I couldn’t see and… that could be problematic if I didn’t pay some more attention to it. Court duty was concluded earlier than usual as I enacted some small plans in case something bigger was around the corner and I needed to be ready for any madness.

“I’ve finished reviewing the last reports just now and the level of guarding over the protest is optimal, your highness. The situation is stable as of now,” Platinum guaranteed and I still couldn’t help but feel like something was indeed missing. The small room was occupied just by a handful of ponies. I was sitting with Silver, the young bat pony resting by my lap as he quietly listened, confusion swelling at why he was brought here with such urgency. I just told him that a silly situation was happening and there wasn’t much to worry about. Only that I wanted to be a little more cautious than needed. He seemed to accept it, and his interest on the topic was diverted elsewhere as I gave him the chance to doodle on some empty paper I retrieved while coming into that protected room.

Shadow Mark was busy finishing the signing of a couple of pieces of the paperwork that he brought with himself when he was called to this room. His assistant, a young mare that seemed particularly tense at what was going on, was caught multiple times being too distracted in going through the simple task of putting the papers in the right spot of his side of the table, thus prompting some annoyed comments from the stallion.

There was just a pair of guards standing outside, and another standing inside, both small squads covering the only entrance to this room. There wasn’t anything particularly worrying just now, and yet the feeling of wrong was only growing the more we waited in that room. Platinum kept on explaining the small details of the current security, I found my attention moved away as a hoof calmly poked at my knee, forcing me to look to the side and lower my gaze to meet Cinnamon Velvet’s uneasy look that still offered something to me. And that was a cup of hot tea.

I wasn’t someone that really loved the beverage, but I didn’t decline the offer since I really needed to calm my nerves. I was definitely getting myself in a silly state of mind that I shouldn’t be in. Like, there is no way that someone would brazenly attack the palace when the ‘main attack force’ was already contained. But just as I finished sipping at the cup and placed the now emptied container on the table, I tensed up as I heard a knock by the door. One of the guards inside, turned and checked.

“Who is there?” A serious voice, one that quickly demanded a response. And a response soon came to us.

“We believe we’ve found the one that instigated the revolt. We need to show her to the king.”

That was… surprisingly good news. But also bad and wrong at the same time.

Sure, the capture of the pony that was behind the revolt was fine, but there was just something off with the way this news was delivered. Maybe I was overthinking it, yet I decided to go for a safer approach instead of risking it.

Picking one of the unused papers in front of me and one of the pens at my disposal, I began writing something on it and showed it to the guard that was waiting for my permission to either allow the group in or not.

“I suppose it would be for the best to address this matter at once then, please… let them in.”

Keep an eye out, back away for the corners and prepare to strike if those are not friendlies.

The guard nodded and his companion followed his example as he relayed the reply before slowly backing away and allowing the five guards escorting the only prisoner inside. They all looked normal, with one of the guards wearing the proper outfit for an officer, the one that was leading the rest of the group inside the room. My gaze swiftly turned to the unicorn mare that was brought here and… really couldn’t think of anything about this individual. I just didn’t recognize her at first glance.

Her mane was a light-grayish blue, her mantle a solid dull violet with a Cutie Mark that seemed to be gold caduceus. Finally her peering eyes that were currently aimed back at me, a shade of gray blue that left me upset for some reason. There was just something about her entirety that had me perplexed and tense before this character. I knew nothing of her, yet I would have at least heard something about someone being tied to Sombra to cause this kind of problem.

“May I inquire how you are certain this mare is the mastermind behind the revolt, officer-”

“Moon Petal, your highness,” A feminine voice answered and I saw Platinum Rush tense up. While there were a couple of mares within the officers’ corps, there were just so many that it was easy to remember their names. And this ‘Moon Petal’ wasn’t in that list. Knowing that this wasn’t a mere spell, I knew what was going on and… I glanced at the guards preparing to strike, the two looking ready to attack any moment now. “And the young culprit’s name is-”

“Radiant Hope… usurper.”

Just as she said this, I saw some of the guards ‘keeping watch over her’, turning to engage the two ambushing stallions that had waited for too long to attack. The infiltrators proved to be stronger, overwhelming the surprised duo and giving the chance for the attackers to gain control of the situation. Platinum Rush tried to do something about this, but ‘Moon Petal’ easily stunned him with a spell. The old Stallion fell on the side, a shocked look on his face as he could move his eyes but not the rest of his body.

“That was really… easy,” The officer commented dully, turning to stare at me and reveal golden eyes. “So, I guess you are the King John. The human.”

I felt Silver Song press on me as soon as the officer’s form burst into green flames, revealing a tall Changeling, a queen, with yellow mane kept short and same-colored eyes. The rest of the drones followed shortly after, all except the unicorn mare that they brought there.

“And I can say you are changelings from just a look," I remarked quietly, turning to the 'accuser' with a frown. "I suppose Radiant Hope is one too?”

“I’m a normal unicorn,” The aforementioned mare muttered with a calm voice. “And you are under arrest for king-slaying, John Bukharin.”

...Is she trying to intimidate me? I think she is trying to. That’s fucking adorable.

“That would imply that I killed a king, yet I don’t recall killing one.”

Her lips twitched in a scowl at my little wordplay and indirect jab. “King Sombra. The rightful owner-”

“Of a kingdom that he stole from another monarch. Queen Amore,” I remarked dryly, interrupting the unicorn. “Like seriously, you can’t just put me in a rigged trial and not expect me to defend myself at these vile accusations.”

“He was pushed into this! He would have never reacted this badly if Queen Amore had given him the benefit of the doubt.”

That comment got me frowning since it sounded really truthful and… really confident. It was like she knew Sombra but… but wasn’t Sombra sealed away for so many centuries together with the Crystal Empire? This was actually confusing as I thought something this big would have somehow reached my attention even though I didn’t pay attention to MLP for so long.

“In which regard? His viciousness? His interest in enslaving all those he deemed beneath him?”

“He didn’t-”

“There are way too many victims for you to just ignore. Don’t you dare forsake their deaths!”

She was surprised by my outburst, but I was far from done with that matter.

“Here you are, trying to apologetically bring him back, a cold-blooded murderer that didn’t think twice before sentencing children to prison time- children! All because they didn’t conform to his state of power.”

“It’s- it’s-”

“Say it. Say it’s not true after seeing so many enslaved, forced to work the mines, dying there and then forsaken there.”

…There was a nervous look on Radiant Hope’s face, but I shifted my attention to the Changelings, the group having stared at the exchange quietly while understanding the situation themselves.

“Can I have a name?” I asked to whom I could only presume was their queen. At this stage and time, I knew that there were multiple queens and that Chrysalis was just the most influential of them and… that she had started a purge due to those that distrusted her capacities after failing to take Canterlot.

A blink, she remained mostly quiet as she tried to gauge how much in control they really were in that situation as their ‘associate’ was having trouble dealing with a mostly defenseless monarch. In the end, the changeling queen spoke.

“My name is Apocrita, Queen of the West Crystal Tribe,” She finally answered. "And you're our prisoner, King John."

Now, I wonder if my assumptions are correct or not...

“Well, I suppose you’re not tied with Chrysalis for you to be here with so few drones at your disposal,” I ignored the latter bit, feeling a little confident over this situation. "So, I suppose you are also trying to escape the chances of getting in a troublesome situation with her or with any of the enemies that had put her in that crazy mood. Right?"

…

She took a moment to think about it, but eventually nodded.

“Perhaps.”

"I would say that you're correct to assume I'm your prisoner, but then I would have to ask what you would need out of this. Clearly you need a shelter away from Chrysalis, for yourself and your... children?" I suggested the last bit since I really wasn't sure how their society really worked in that regard. Still, at seeing her nod, I continued. “And yet you are here, in the very city and nation where the big part of her failure at the Invasion of Canterlot currently live. And yes, I’m referring to Shining Armor and Princess Cadenza, the ambassadors that we received by the Equestrian Diarchy. Now, I don't need to introduce them properly, I'm quite sure Chrysalis did a fine job ranting about the two... right?”

Her mouth opened, ready to throw a comeback at me after I was done telling her that, but… that didn’t happen as her mind seemed to fully grasp the true horror of the crappy predicament she was in. While tactically speaking we were the one with the worst hand possible, it was also true that strategic-wise I had the upper hand. Kill me? They are screwed as nobody would spare them at that moment. Hold me as a prisoner? I'm quite sure they would want to risk the whole 'Love Push' that ejected all Changelings away from Canterlot. And they really didn't seem that keen to be returned to Chrysalis' waiting hooves. I wasn’t exactly sure how she missed that- maybe they just didn’t have the time to check or were convinced by their shaky ally that this wasn’t true. Considering how quickly the queen turned to address the unicorn with a frustrated look, I was leaning more on the second option.

“Why didn’t you tell us?!” Apocrita demanded, clearly annoyed. If before the other four changelings were guarding her, now Radiant Hope tensed as they all turned to stare at her with less than pleasant thoughts.

“I-I didn’t know-” She blurted out.

“So you set us up!” The hole the mare had dug herself in was growing fairly steadily, but before an escalation could ensue out of it, I decided to intervene on her behalf.

“I don’t think she was actually aware about it. She literally didn’t come up with an excuse about the fact that Sombra did kill ponies in his reign,” I pointed out calmly, urging the changeling queen to look back at me. “And while you’re pissed at the situation, I believe we can come up to an agreement that doesn’t leave you in a precarious situation. Especially with how risky your current predicament is.”

…

“And that idea is?”

I smiled at that query and I offered the solution to her current problems.

“How about a Treaty of Friendship?”

Apocrita frowned at that proposition, her eyes narrowing at me as she tried to make sense of what I just offered her.

"We- We just invaded you. You are our prisoner."

"Willing prisoner," I corrected. "And you, my captor, find yourself in a situation that I can solve in a deal that is convenient for the two of us. Something that protect you from any trouble from your previous boss but also sets you and your... family in a stable situation where work yourself up to shape and have a steady amount of love."

"Once again-" Apocrita tried to speak, but I decided to stop her with a sigh.

"If we have to be honest on this matter, you were tricked into committing this. You expected me to be bad, King Sombra to be good, and you did all of this for your children. So yes, I understand your suspicions, but I think that it would be more fortuitous to work out a positive agreement rather than take aggressive approaches on each other," I replied with a serious look, soon stretching my left hand towards her. "Handsha- I mean, Hoofshake and all of that?"

...

Apocrita returned the gesture, and my hands shook her hoof. It would then take a little time for Shadow Mark to get a first draft out with only the main points, but I could tell that it was convincing enough from the relieved smile appearing on her face. Then a nod, a proper discussion would then be issued to happen later that day while I took care to see Radiant Hope put under heavy surveillance so she can tell us more about Sombra. She definitely knew something that we didn’t from the way she talked about him. It wasn’t just the words of a fanatic loyalist, but of someone that genuinely seemed to know the ‘deceased’ monarch quite well.

Things were slowly turning for good. The revolt, after hearing the truth from parents and victims, seemed to end there without any violent outburst ensuing. Apocrita’s tribe was going to join the Empire, but it still needed some formalization through paperwork, and I knew this was going to get me stuck with a couple of heated discussions with Cadance and her husband that I wasn’t looking forward to due to how sore that subject was going to be for both.

I could tell they weren't going to be hateful on all changelings but... yeah, I would be pissed off if I had to see an unpleasant face similar to the one that messed up my marriage. I had to concede this to them, and it was really going to take some time to get them in a good enough mood to address the situation without... hasty decisions. I wanted to believe it was just that, but only first contact was going to tell me if I was correct or not.

But as the good news settled in while I tried to plan out how to put a closure on this matter, bad news came out in the form of a messenger from the borders… in the north. It was late at night, I was just finishing signing away a couple of adjustments to the

“Y-Your Highness, a report from the north-eastern front. It’s- it’s an invasion.”

A message from the guards assigned to the border. A small offensive has been thrown and a good bit of the North-Eastern section of the border had collapsed against the assault. Yaks were vindictive for some reason and... and now it was time for me to hastily call an emergency military meeting. One that will hopefully bring solutions to some of this trouble at once.

One mistake, or rather a miscalculation from my part about the stability of the Yaks lead to this degree of unprepareness. And now a war was upon us.

---------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d------

“So, I know this might sound alarming to bring up but… what is the current state of the Equestrian Army in rushing into our nation and helping us defend from a northern invader?”

Luna stopped for a moment with her dream-weaving process, her posture tensing up as she regarded me with a surprised frown.

“Is this tied to what you just described over the changelings joining your nation?”

It was one of the first things I brought up. She was rightfully annoyed since she had been told of the entire Wedding situation and she knew that this wasn’t alright. Still, she listened to my words and trusted the fact I wasn’t allowing them to stroll around with ease. They weren’t exactly left unmonitored while I waited to finally sign down a proper agreement with Apocrita.

“Surprisingly enough, no. It’s the yaks.”

That response got a scoff out of Luna. “Of course, I should have expected them to be behind this…”

“You knew they could have attacked?” I asked, more curious than offended by this matter. She still looked uneasy but nodded.

“I had my doubts and my certainties. While my dear sister was… understanding of their culture since the ascension of Prince Rutherford, she failed to grasp that… not everypony within that kingdom shares a willingness to open up to our friendly ways. I believe the Prince’s brother was rather upset with the last visit due to his conservative views over their traditions.”

It was my turn to frown. “You think that it isn’t a full-fledged invasion?”

“Considering the peaceful opening of Rutherford?” The alicorn pointed out. “I doubt this attack was sanctioned by the government. It would be unwise for them to risk a war with Equestria.”

I nodded at her words, my mind picking up a few notions from what I just heard. If this wasn’t a full war, then I expected it to be something of a border conflict. One that had limited support due to the small penetration within our territories. The border guards were doing a fine job delaying the invaders the most, and it’s expected for the reinforcements to provide enough defense to stop the attack altogether. “I suppose then I could… try something interesting.”

“Interesting?” Luna inquired with a curious look. “What kind of ‘interesting’ are we talking about?”

“It’s actually something I’ve been thinking about, but I wasn’t sure that could work at the chances of the bulk of the Yaks’ armies behind still within their borders and acting as reserves,” I commented, bringing up a map of the situation and highlighting the spot where they pushed into. “As you can see here and there, they currently have a numerical advantage that will vanish the moment the rest of the professional army is deployed. We shall take most of the reserves from the Stalliongrad front and reassert them against the Yaks.”

“And? I don’t believe you can push them back with ease even with that advantage,” The fascinated Alicorn pointed out. “Unless… are you planning to do something about… this?”

I smiled, the map now having two big blue arrows that went to cut off the gained territory and reclaim the border area. A massive encirclement that they can’t break without support from the Kingdom up above.

“That’s correct. We will encircle the rogue force and try to push them to surrender at that point.”

“What about the prisoners?”

“Trialed and sentenced to prison.”

“John, I…” She paused, sighing and recollecting her thoughts. “I don’t want to disrespect your idea since it’s a good one and I would normally agree to it. But that would definitely push Yakyakistan to properly invade.”

And that would be a bad thing. One thing is holding and crippling an army, another is fighting a bigger one and getting swarmed by it. Technically speaking, we were equals in terms of technology, and we had yet to receive the military equipment to start modernizing the guards, so it was going to be a tough war that would tend to see us losing it.

“What if the trial had judges from the Crystal Empire, Equestria and Yakyakistan?”

“You plan to make those international trials?”

“Yes. Wouldn’t that give them enough legitimacy to stop them from attacking?”

She looked around, clearly unconvinced. “Barely. I’m really trying to imagine the best outcome from this scenario, and I see a slim chance to get that. Rutherford would still be pressured to push for the most lenient of punishments.”

…

That actually highlighted something about this.

“What about his brother?”

Luna paused, her gaze intrigued by my thought. “What?”

“His brother is literally the cause of this, and from what I understand this is all a stunt to gain legitimacy to an eventual coup. The brother fails, he loses support and is dishonored. Can he be tried instead of the soldiers?”

…

“It would… work. As much as Yaks put their families on high pedestals, the royal family is… particularly known for their bad blood. Siblings clash occasionally to wrestle power from one another and, while Rutherford is benevolent, he wouldn’t hesitate to be handed over the chance to put an end to that threat to his legitimacy.”

I nodded. “Then I will work to get that situation done. At least to get some ‘lecturing’ done to the Yaks without getting them ready to war against us.”

Luna hummed. “But still, I have a small request about this matter if you don’t require support from the Diarchy.”

“And… that is?”

“I wish to lead an attaché and see for myself how you will handle this war.”

…

“Why?”

She looked offended. “Why? Why wouldn’t I be there in case of necessity?”

“I didn’t mean to-”

I felt my footing missing as I was pulled down underground so that I could be on Luna’s head-level.

“I know you didn’t, but that doesn’t make it any less infuriating. You’re a friend of mine, John, and the last thing I need is to not be there with you in case things go dire.”

…

“Luna.”

The Alicorn was still annoyed, but in range for a hug. She was tense, but accepted the embrace as she nuzzled on my shoulder.

“I still don’t forgive you for thinking this little of me.”

“I didn’t mean to devalue our friendship, but you can’t expect me to eagerly put a friend of mine at risk,” I lamented back. “And I think we can both agree to that point.”

“Maybe,” Luna admitted. “But still… I believe you should think better than just cast away a helping hoof when one is offering it to you.”

I groaned. “Luna.”

She pulled away from the hug, a small smile on her face. “I believe I have duties to attend. I leave you to your own tasks for the time being. Expect a visit in two days.”

I felt confused at the strange way she was leaving me as- wait.

“Luna, you forgot to pull me out of here.”

“I forgot nothing.”

…

“Luna, why are you leaving me like-”

“Sorry John. I’ve duties to attend to!”

She started to gallop towards the exit of my dream and I realized what she was trying to do.

“Luna, d-don’t you dare!” I exclaimed, suddenly angered by the prank she put me in. “Bring your royal moonbutt over here, I’m not joking!!”

I heard her giggles double as she heard my screeches but… it was too late. She was gone in the blink of an eye. I stared at where she was before leaving and… I sighed. Then I chuckled.

“I got pranked by the very individual that was among those that created the practice in this world, of course...”

Despite my little trouble, I was soon relieved by sleep when I ended waking up earlier than usual due to the current circumstances. There was a lot to do… but first, I needed to wait for my legs to wake up since they were temporarily paralyzed after what happened in my dreamscape.

Worry not, Luna. I will return the favor back to you.

The Pink, the Blue, the Imperial Purpure (4)

War isn’t a game. That, I believe extends to many other important things in lives that many individuals had the chance to… try through games. It was something unusual for me to stop and think of this very idea since it reminded me so much of the time I started to drive and was told these words.

“Driving isn’t a game. You don’t get ‘chances’ to be better and you have to always keep a good eye out for yourself and others.”

Something I didn’t care about at the time I heard it since I genuinely had prepared for it ever since I decided to learn how to drive a car. I was always the kind of guy that stopped for a moment, evaluated the responsibilities and risks of a situation, and then acted upon it with all seriousness in my body if required. I definitely didn’t waste time expecting things to be easy back then, and I certainly didn’t concede to any silly point that this was going to be any easier. War, albeit this one was one of the limited and border-restrained one, was never a game. In fact, I think that if one had to evaluate the current situation, starting with the mindsets of the opposing leaders, I wouldn’t be surprised if our enemies were deemed the childish side of this conflict.

I didn’t know Prince Bradford on a personal level, and I wasn’t interested in fixing that now that I knew this guy was going to be more trouble than not. With the relief offered to the northern guards by sending more troops to the front to ultimately stop the offensive, the worst bit of the invasion was ultimately solved as the mountains did offer a brilliant defensive setting to grind the yaks to a stalemate. Their attack was stopped and dulled, with just a few attempts from some of their more rebellious officers trying to break into the lines containing their forces inside the region.

The news of the invasion had spread around the continent, with the only responses coming from Equestria, Nova Griffonia, the Polar Bear Communities and the Kingdom of Pingland. Stalliongrad remained quiet about this, perhaps waiting for the matter to blow over before giving out an official statement, while I doubted anything would come from the west as the Changelings were still dealing with some serious instability in their home and their central government wasn’t anywhere interested and strong enough to care about this foreign affair.

Speaking of Changelings, I knew the matter with Apocrita was far from over, especially when ponies were far from accepting wholeheartedly ‘housing a possible enemy’. It wasn’t going to be easy but… I had my plans. Big plans at that. Something similar can be said about Radiant Hope. I had some guards working on getting more info about her connection with Sombra since her loyalty to him, driven without some corruption from his dark magic, just felt suspicious and worth studying with caution.

For now the focus was on the battlefield and how I had been secondary in creating the encirclement plans as Platinum Rush handled the biggest bits of that entire ordeal. I was no war genius and my strength lied on my knowledge of the ‘general’ parts of modern strategies. Still, it was undeniable that the commander was interested in this… same for Shining Armor and Luna.

The arrival of the Alicorn of Dreams and the Night was one filled with incredible formality. She brought a couple of thestrals with her, all part of her personal guard, to ensure her safety during her time there. It was really weird as I was forced to handle this matter with utmost formality, and the oddity stood within the fact I was so accustomed to be informal around Luna. I could notice a few moments where the alicorn herself almost broke her formal mask when it came to address me, sometimes stopping herself as she came a couple times close to just call me John whenever she wanted to ask me something.

Very awkward on her part, but I was quick to help her out to avoid any unwanted suspicion from the others. It became a little more difficult when she was introduced to Silver Song, with a degree of surprise and interest building up as she only heard comments and details form me about the colt. The bat pony was incredibly shy before someone that was technically a deity in terms of abilities, but still managed to appear capable of not mincing words while I was holding him close.

His presence here also gained the fascination and the surprise from the rest of the Night Guard, as the entire group was surprised by the fact I had adopted one of their kind and I was treating him as fairly and respectfully as a parent normally should. Still, with Luna’s arrival, it was time for me to assemble the small entourage meant to establish the forward command in the temporary border in the north. Platinum Punch was the one leading the battle due to his experience and his capacities, but he was open to listen to advice if it meant facing the yaks with minimal casualties.

The fighting wasn’t meant to be too intense as the primary objective was to have them capitulate without wasting any unnecessary resources than what was expected to be expended. Most of the available artillery coming from the Equestrian trade agreement was already dispatched to be used by the strike forces on the sides, those groups that had been assigned to breach the section near the original border and turn the massive infiltration in the Empire’s mainland in a big encirclement.

The operation started in the early morning, drawing up until late afternoon as the troops had to go through a grueling process of shredding into the stubborn resistance put forth by the Yaks left behind to guard that section of the pocket while also defending from the small offensives launched by the enemies to try and break the pincer movement. Artillery and unicorns played a major role into the battles, showing how combining both elements in a mixture of natural explosives and magical ones were more than enough to create a devastating mix that shredded into defensive positions with ease. The mountains might have some good sections to defend, but those were unbreakable with just enough bombs to erase entire bits at once.

I was quite surprised when Luna decided to help me around when it came to organizing the forward base. I thought she would have just… watched, given some comment and actually observed as her current role required. But I quickly realized that her sharp comments and questions about the quality of the system in the command camp weren’t jabs at me, but rather attempts to have me fix the flaws she could spot

The pocket itself was perhaps one of the biggest ever created in recent history, but I didn’t dig too deep into history books to know that for sure. I just appreciated the achievement of having handled that first step of the matter as carefully as possible.

If this had been a game, one where internal and diplomatic repercussions weren’t a thing, I would have just ordered the destruction of the pocket rather than just focusing on winning the war as strategically as possible. It was a mindset that I owned to the very game that inspired this alternative universe, but Pegasi were employed in bombing formations, fearing no trouble from the yaks as their current army lacked the equipment needed to genuinely be a problem for any aerial strike. All in all… boring. But also relieving since it meant no issues when it came to bomb their supplies depots and turning their logistics to dust.

I hate war, but I absolutely love it when I can put a conflict to rest by being the most orderly and careful mastermind when it comes to this kind of stuff.

Two days. That’s how long it took for the entire campaign to last as the Yaks were eventually pushed into the situation where they couldn’t sustain a war without hitting the defensive lines between them and their homes. Any attack there ended in a meat-grinding session, one where the Yaks found their numbers severely depleted together with their limited resources. It would only come out as the conflict came to an end that the yaks had to ration quite strictly to avoid a sudden lack of food and other important elements to keep on fighting.

Some warriors were forced to take cheaper equipment just to avoid losing any more quality troops, most of which had been assigned to their commander. It was this very detail plus other issues worsening every hour that eventually brought a grand mutiny within the rebellious army itself. Bradford, as much as a fighter that he was, had to concede defeat before the tragic development of the campaign and he decided to surrender himself and his command to members of the southern section. The news hit as I was concluding some paperwork from back home, and I felt a smile forming on my face as I called for an emergency meeting with the general staff.

It was clear that without him, the war was over. It was a simple element that was further cemented by the fact we were given the chance to send troops inside the pocket and provide assistance to those suffering the worst sicknesses or wounds within their ranks. The yaks were relieved for the most part, and I was still skeptical about Bradford’s surrender, one element in particular.

I checked the papers he signed to confirm his temporary arrest, and I noticed a tiny detail that was first noticed by the guards assigned to keep watch over him. He was confident, incredibly relaxed and… I knew what was going on. There wasn’t any genuine ground for a peace treaty since Bradford didn’t represent his nation with his actions. The war itself was driven through ‘illegal’ means and thus sounding more as a rebellion than a genuine border conflict. Except the rebels couldn’t be squashed without inviting more trouble from Yakyakistan. In an ironic way, that should have been enough to just send him back unpunished just to avoid any expanded war with the north in case we had handled justice ourselves. He sure wasn’t amused when he heard he was going to be put to trial by a combined set of judges and was already labeled with a term I discovered I coined through my proclamation. War Criminal.

It was the first time a war leader was called this way, but the reasoning behind this new term stemmed from a situation that wasn’t exactly tied from our side of the situation. It was all tied to the way his own soldiers were treated during the war and how he didn’t take any responsibility for their plights, calling it a ‘necessary sacrifice’ for their ambition. His soldiers had much to disagree about this, and they were encouraged to show this as they were provided with food and the chance of being treated for any illness before being sent back home. It was a gesture that surprised many, with some keeping a skeptical and suspicious attitude for a while before conceding to the friendly approach to the war’s aftermath. They were granted the chance to go back home, with just a handful being reported to the proper authorities in Yakyakistan regarding some upsetting behavior regarding their conduct in the conflict.

Some were definitely going to be called back to Crystal City just to be interviewed and taken in as witnesses in the process for Bradford’s trial… and I received a quick message from Prince Rutherford to confirm his acceptance to the trial. He gave the days when the judges he was planning to appoint were going to come, and I planned out the trial so that they would have the time to reach our nation and be brought to work into the trial.

Once we were back to the capital, I decided to approach Luna about the circumstance tied to the judges from Equestria’s side of things, knowing that she had a direct connection with her sister and thus being able to relay her important messages when needed. I heard from a few guards that had been patrolling around that the Princess had decided to visit both Shining Armor, so I made my way there and soon I was brought before quite the odd situation.

A situation that actually left me more perplexed than not...

----------d-d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d-------

The Equestrian Embassy was assigned to one of the least used buildings during Sombra’s reign of terror. It was a decision driven by the request from Cadance herself to start her duties in a place with the least chances of harboring secret dark magic that the bastard could have used to spy on them in a possible return of his. A legitimate concern that I accepted as I knew how they would be more than important to handle the tyrant in case he visited and tried to get his crown back.

I had visited the place just once before and so I knew how to move around myself without any of the guards inside taking the duty of showing me around. Walking around and nodding at the patrolling squads I found in my wandering, I eventually reached my destination and I was calmly standing by the door as I was done knocking at it. One moment passed, but soon I nodded as I heard Cadance’s voice calling out and giving permission to enter.

Reaching for the handle, I unlocked the mechanism and pushed it open as I entered inside the room with a calm look. Once the door was closed behind me, I looked at the occupants and noticed how they were all looking at me with different expressions.

Shining Armor was perhaps the easiest to decipher. He was giving me what looked to be a surprised but awkward look. The surprise could easily be chalked out as my visit being unannounced than anything else, but the nervousness was something that got me frowning already. It didn’t help that his wife was staring at me with an amused look. The kind of amusement that could only be drawn out through the capacity to tease someone, in this case… me.

Finally, I glanced at Luna and… I couldn’t exactly understand what she was giving me with that look. It was mostly neutral, clearly manufactured so that she couldn’t give away any of her thoughts in that very moment. Which was incredibly suspicious as I could tell she was hiding something compared to these two. I felt rather tense due to this, but still went through with the greeting.

“Captain Armor, Princess Cadenza, Princess Luna,” I muttered politely, bowing my head and gaining a little scowl out of Cadance at the use of her name in that way. Despite her effort to show some teasing just waiting to be unleashed, she just couldn’t hold herself from being irked by the way I addressed her. She knew I wasn’t trying to be over-polite about this, at least not for the reasons many nobles would stress this rule during interactions. It was a little shot at her, one of the teasing kinds. It was amusing for me and annoying for her.

“Your… highness,” The pink alicorn answered quietly, mustering back her smile. “I believe I’m not the only one to have not expected your visit.”

A few nods and I sighed. “I wished to discuss with Princess Luna about the trial for Bradford. Mostly about handling the judges that Equestria will have to send to deal with their side of the legal process,” I explained without hesitation. “I preferred to address this before we forgot about this.”

The aforementioned princess nodded at this, a small smile forming on her muzzle. “I was planning to write a letter after I was done with this… confusing conversation.”

I blinked, holding myself from answering until I was sitting down by the table they were all sitting around. “Confusing?”

“Auntie told us that you two had the chance to meet each other on a nightly basis through your dreams,” Cadance replied with a small grin. “And since it’s been a few weeks since that has been happening… I asked her as to why she would visit you this frequently.”

I provided a slow nod, staring at Luna as the older Alicorn sighed.

“I said that I just wanted to visit you as you are the only good friend I have the chance of visiting nowadays,” She added as calmly as possible, leaving no room for suspicion and I didn’t hesitate in nodding at that version. “But I might have… said something that was mistaken.”

“Oh please, Auntie. You said that you had another reason other that just friendship,” Cadance rebuked, her grin widening. “Which means that you had something else, and more important, than just friendship. And that could only be-”

“She was helping me with my dreamscape,” I blurted out without hesitation, gaining a curious look from the pink alicorn’s husband, and two similarly-intense shocked expressions from both ladies. “And it’s alright if we discuss this with others. It’s not that much of a hassle for me.”

“Wait, wait-” The Princess of love interjected with a confused look. “Helping you with… what?”

Her aunt gave me a serious look, asking me silently if it was really alright if she said things about my current circumstance. Once she saw me nod at this, she spoke up. “John’s dreamscape isn’t the same as any other living being here in Equus. He mentioned that the reason why it was so… ‘limited’ and ‘ruined’ was tied to nervousness and stress ending up demolishing bits of it. I can attest that is quite the reason why he needed my assistance to see it restored to sustainable levels.”

“So you aren’t doing it… out of a romance,” Cadance commented flatly, almost disappointed by this discovery.

…

“What?” I asked and I saw Luna mirroring my same confused expression.

“How can I just ignore the fact that you are this close and not… dating? Or something like that? I mean, Auntie said you two hugs a lot.”

“Only as a greeting and when the sessions end,” I added, drawing a nod from Luna. “Speaking of which, I think I have all the rights to say that I am still annoyed by that prank you pulled two days ago. I will have my revenge.”

Instead of being annoyed by this proclamation, she smiled deviously. “You’re dabbling with dangerous forces… little human.”

“I think you started dabbling with such mysterious and troublesome forces first, little pony.”

We spared a friendly but still challenging stare between each other, failing to notice that Shining Armor was quietly chatting with his wife about the matter as the girl had yet to concede to what she just heard and how this messed up her ‘match-making’ skills.

“H-How was I supposed to know it was something so… uncommon?” The pink alicorn finally exclaimed, looking at us. “You two are literally one step away from outright flirting right now.”

I frowned at that comment. “You could have asked.”

Her jaw hit the floor at my blunt response, but she recovered just in time to scoff at me. “Jerk, you know it’s not my fault that I assumed that much.”

…

“Niece of mine, I actually think you’re being quite silly,” Luna pointed out with a small smile. “While it’s clear you were acting out of concern… and possible blackmail to use against John, it’s clear you shouldn’t jump at conclusions so easily.”

Cadance’s pout could only worsen at that comment, her pink eyes tried to give me the harshest glare possible. Keyword being ‘tried’. I could tell at first glance that the girl had not even a hint of hate bone towards me and that just made the entire ‘glare’ amusing and entertaining. So much that I ended up failing to hold back a chuckle at her. Something that only got her to huff and look away in blatant amusement. Which further enabled me to turn my chuckle in a full-blow laugh. And soon the rest of the room’s occupants were lost in a giggles and laughing, with Cadance having to admit that it was an amusing circumstance herself as she ended up joining this too.

Once we were done with that interaction, I decided to spend the rest of the day to face the remaining paperwork and then go and play with Silver Song before dinner was ready. It was a mostly calm day, one that I decided to spend in peace as I prepared to face tomorrow’s two biggest issues right now.

First the changelings, then Radiant Hope. I couldn’t help but feel the last one was going to be the biggest headache between the two.

And if I had known how dead wrong I was about that thought...

The Hope for a Flexible Future (1)

Radiant Hope was on the verge of cracking.

That was more of a personal expectation and thought rather than a genuine comment from the guards assigned to monitor her current situation and make sure to keep track of her behavior. It was clear that she was one of those faithful cultists that was willing to go through great lengths to make sure her ‘friend’ was brought back. The idea of King Sombra being a friend to someone felt more like the basis of a fanfiction rather than a genuine possibility. Genocidal, murderous, tremendously crafty and unwilling to share his seat of power with anyone. He was the purest example of evil being evil... for evil’s sake. So complicated yet not considering how single-tracked his mind and ambition were. I just had to understand why this pony was particularly invested in Sombra.

After waiting for two whole hours for any change in her pattern, I ultimately decided that something very smart and tremendously deceptive had to be done on the matter. First thing first, I requested some of the older stallions in the guards and gave them two single instructions:

1) They will have to keep their act from the moment the one assigned to enter the cell started the scene;

2) They will have to appear as loyal to Sombra as possible by either talking bad about me or even praising the tyrant. They seemed both reluctant on going through the latter, but I offered that they could stick mostly to the former until necessary to secure Radiant Hope’s trust.

The plan was to make her assume that there was a group of Sombra’s faithful servants within the army that was acting in the shadows and making sure they weren’t tracked down by the guards that were loyal to the newest government. Getting her trust should, technically speaking, be easy to acquire through that ruse. While the girl was clever enough to know how to orchestrate a pseudo-coup, she sure didn’t seem to have enough common sense to deny support to her goals despite any hints of suspicions about the legitimacy of her allies. It was a little gamble I was willing to try out to see if we could get her to talk

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Shining Armor asked with a concerned tone and I sighed.

“Possibly. It’s an attempt we can go through without wasting precious time to determine if she is somewhat tied to Sombra and thus a future threat or not.”

The unicorn could merely nod as he knew any violent option would just slim down the chances of getting a full confession out of Radiant. He had been debriefed about the situation, and he understood that time was essential to confirm any other trouble tied to Sombra if it meant taking care of his possible return once and for all. The two guards picked had spent almost two decades through Sombra’s regime, and while strongly opposed to the bastard, they were open to act things out in a way that portrayed them in a positive light to the captive. The process was simple and two hours went smoothly before we were finally alerted of the situation.

The plan had been… mostly a success. The guards had managed to stomach the mission without showing any hints of faking it until the very end when one of them snapped when the unicorn tried to paint the King in such a falsely good light. The old fellow was mortified by the situation and actually offered his resignation for the troublesome reaction, but I decided against punishing someone I had unwillingly punished long enough through that high request. In fact, I decided to give the two a few days off to get that foul experience out of their mind for good. Still, Radiant Hope had spoken and with her words, a bleak circumstance had manifested in the form of something not even Shining Armor was aware about.

The term ‘Umbrum’ was generally mistaken with the term ‘shadow pony’ due to the fact these entities were mostly discovered taking the form of ponies. Once the terminology had reached our ears, the first thing to do was to check what the old Royal Archives had about these beings. Creatures that are able to use magic to a high degree without suffering any self-damage, the only thing that seemed to genuinely work, at least from what reported from centuries-old chronicles, was the Crystal Heart. And while the quickest choice was to just use it to destroy the ‘army’ that Radiant Hope mentioned about, the truth was that it couldn’t be moved without destabilizing the force field that kept monsters of various kinds from storming the capital. Surprisingly enough, this was something that came to be to the Capital and not the rest of the cities all over the empire.

The more I pondered about it, the more the chances of this entire mess being tied to the army of monsters lying dormant underneath the capital started to sound so plausible and to be interested about. Not only because it meant that the destruction of the Umbrum army should theoretically end the ‘bad luck’ surrounding the region. It was hopeful thinking at the time, but when I checked with some magical specialist within the library, I was given confirmation of this possibility. Magic tends to attract dangerous and unpredictable predators either because it is dark or chaotic. And the Everfree Forest was an example of that.

I decided against striking quickly, finding the entire situation so complicated to solve at once even after consulting with Cadance about the matter. The alicorn was a bit stumped by the chances of being able to destroy the dormant army on her own, especially since her magic was only tied to love and not the Crystal Heart itself. Even synchronizing her with it wouldn’t be enough to replicate that kind of magic on her own. The secondary task of finding where the ‘nest’ was proved successful as we now were aware where precisely the dormant Umbrum were. A day passed brainstorming over what to do about it and I felt a bit confused on what to do about it considering I couldn’t just allow this problem to disappear just like that. I had to find a solution and fast. And it was during the early morning of the next day that something came in the form of a good idea I wasn’t exactly sure could be applied to this case at first.

Breakfast, I was happily finishing my meal when I realized that Silver Song was struggling trying to put the leftover cookies from his share of the breakfast in his little satchel. It was something he had been interested in and, considering how tough it had to be to move things around without pouches, I decided to buy it for him. Tiny, cheap, but incredibly reliable. The real problem at the time was that he couldn’t carefully push the cookies without having some fall on the ground.

“Now, there is another way to do this without making that big of a mess,” I calmly addressed as I decided to help him out. The bat pony colt watched as I calmly picked the little tablecloth he had been using to eat those he wanted with the chocolate milk, pulling the edges up and together and knotting it so that the cookies could all be stored in the pouch without any mess. He looked surprised, but as I did this, I… realized a possible solution. One that I quickly interrogated Shining Armor about.

He looked surprised at the possibility, but he admitted that the idea had its merits when it came to practicability.

“It should work if there are enough unicorns employed but… yes, there should be enough of them in the guards to do this.”

Despite the feasibility of this plan being pretty high, he looked as irritated as I was about a single thing. It was a stupid plan and one of the two should have come up with it way earlier than that point. The idea stemmed from the fact that, since the Umbrum were magic users in most part without any physical boost to them, they could be ‘disabled’ magically-speaking before getting moved and levitated until brought within the appropriate reach of the Crystal Heart needed to start getting them popping. Because, while the main effect of the Heart was to keep them ‘banished’, the real effect that unfolded once brought too close to its range was a non-explosive… explosion. No blast, no shrapnel, it was like seeing many balloons filled with darkness, despair and evil intents suddenly go loudly… puff.

A very strange sight for sure but one that actually brought me up to explore another element that I had failed to grasp about what was known of this very phenomenon. If a normal Umbrum died like that after getting at just a few meters away from the Crystal Heart, then why did Sombra just get disembodied and repelled by it? I tried to make sense of it through what was known of Sombra before his ascension as the ‘King’, but I found nothing about it, possibly because the guy had the past erased to cover face or even hide his true nature. Either way, this matter left me incredibly perplexed and sure that there was a legitimately important reason to it.

And I knew that the only one I could approach with knowledge regarding this was the very individual I had tricked early on to give us the info needed to kill the Umbrum. I was quite certain that it wasn’t going to be easy, and I didn’t expect any truth whatsoever to come out of this any time soon but… trying didn’t cost me anything and I really wanted to know what was up with Sombra and his dark past.

That and understand how the heck she knew of the guy.

------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-------

“Why is Sombra different from the common Umbrum?”

My question stole a surprised look out of the angered mare that was Radiant Hope. The young lady was in no shape to attack me, not with chains keeping her close and bound to the wall opposite to the entrance or with the magic-nullifying ring applied to her horn. She was pretty much harmless, and I could tell that she really wanted to have something like laser eyes so she could murder me on the spot. Sadly, wishes are just thoughts without substance in real life without the magic to make those true.

I expected a small response, anything verbal would have fit to start a conversation against her will and hopefully turned and shifted around with words until I had what I came here for. Yet the mare remained quiet and I wondered if she was still pissed for the little deception I applied to her. I stared and she stared back. It was just me, her, and two guards standing behind her cell’s door. I stared at the ceiling, the entire room quite clean compared to how the dungeons once were. While it was far from the ideal prison I had wanted to create, the place was definitely healthier than how I had first encountered it.

“Many years ago, a terrible tyrant hellbent on expanding his territories decided against employing an army that would have done the job without facing troubles like hunger, fatigue and other elements that normally would demoralize normal soldiers. He made a choice to not wake them up, and yet you wanted to.”

“They are not bad ponies. They are misunderstood.”

An opening! I really need to finally make some chit-chat for once and I know how to start this properly.

“Queen Amore was of the same logic when she first encountered them, but sadly, she discovered after a few decades of doing her best to help them proved to her that you can’t help what by all means isn’t meant to be helped,” I argued flatly. “Alas, I’m not here to discuss them. I want to know about Sombra and how do you know so much about him.”

“...”

Nevermind, she is really being a brat right now.

“And please, let’s be honest. You’re being quite a racist by painting every single member of a species as nice just because you have fond memories of the one you’re quite close to,” I shot back, ignoring her glaring. “Sombra isn’t a simple Umbrum, and I’m quite surprised you didn’t notice that.”

…

Despite her bubbling fury remaining entrenched in her mind, curiosity had her blurt out a good input to speak some more with her.

“What?”

“Fifty meters. That’s the killing range that eliminates Umbrum,” I explained as calmly as possible. “Yet Sombra didn’t seem to suffer that.”

“He would feel mortally sick-”

“At a closer reach than fifty meters, which is miraculous in itself considering the implications this phenomenon can lead to,” I interjected firmly. “Hope, quick question: why do you think he didn’t get hurt more beyond being deadly sick?”

Her mouth opened and then closed. “I… I don’t know.”

“Let me ask you another question then. Do you genuinely believe Sombra was a good guy? And why?”

She almost sobered up at the two questions. “W-Well, I know Sombra from childhood and- and he was always shy and yet friendly with me.”

“Truly?”

“Y-Yeah, he was always around to play with me, he never did bad things and- and he was nice. He was my closest friend.”

That sounded really genuine regardless of how naive she was. Despite the possibility of Sombra having been a mere infiltrator, there was no doubt that the fact he resisted so well to the Crystal Heart’s effects could be tied to this very element. What if Sombra was first a good guy that ended up getting pulled into the dark side by his Umbrum side? While looking at the books tied to this species, one thing that came out of it was that there was something of a hive-mind that connected all the Umbrum to their leaders. So there was no reason for me to not doubt the chances of little Sombra getting indoctrinated from early on and made vulnerable for a full dark side take over. It would explain why, despite his clear evil way, the Crystal Heart failed to destroy him altogether.

It didn’t pardon him of the crimes he committed. He was still going to pay for what he did, but this new development added more perspective on the matter as to the chances of him having done these heinous crimes under that kind of influence. I needed to study this more as it definitely added more to the concept that the only reason these big villains came to be was mostly because they were somehow influenced into turning like that by cheaper bastards. With that in mind, I decided to answer her truthfully.

“… I think you’re right.”

There was a brief pause, then the girl frowned at me, expecting me to say anything more or even reveal if I was being dishonest… or not.

“Why? Why now?”

“Because the Heart reacted in a way that disembodied him, but allowed his spirit to remain. Which means that the only reason why he was influenced by the Crystal Heart wasn’t because he was evil, but because his body was susceptible to the effects of that magic.”

…

“And?” The mare pressed with a curious tone, clearly understanding I wasn’t BSing her about it.

“And that means that while he is a good guy, he still got corrupted by the very jerks you were trying to free up. All because you wanted him to be brought back.”

“It’s… not fair,” She shot back. “He didn’t do any of this.”

“He did, but there is an attenuating factor in the form of why he did these that would lessen up his crimes. He would still serve years in jail, but not face execution.”

…

“He should be left free-”

“Not when he hurt so many people with his deeds, Radiant Hope. He caused too much pain, and that can’t be pardoned.”

…

“I… I want to be left alone,” She muttered quietly and I sighed, sharing no further words as I could tell she had a lot to unwrap after this conversation and I had a lot to study about this matter.

Just as I left the cell, I remembered that I had to check on a book I had left by my bed before getting back to my paperwork, and so I calmly made my way to my bedchambers, expecting to find the room empty. And I was proven wrong when I heard a loud noise coming from inside just I turned down the handle of the door to open it.

Blinked, I ventured inside with a frown and a suspicious glance as I eyed right at the only one that was within it. Cinnamon seemed to be in quite the suspicious mood considering the bright red blush on her face. And the fact she had her clothes ditched away on the floor. It felt odd to say she was completely in the nude since she was wearing her standard black socks but… I had good reasons to believe socks didn’t count as an appropriate piece of clothing to cover someone up from the cold. Or for formal situations.

“Cinnamon,” I muttered calmly as a greeting, with the mare taking a moment to realize what I had said.

“O-Oh, your highness… apologies, I was just cleaning and…” She paused, eyeing the dress on the floor. “It got a little hot, so I ditched it. For just the time of getting through the room.”

Considering the view of Ponies regarding this form of nudism, I failed to see the problem. It was a reasonable issue to be able to arrange clothes while having fur to be suffering warmth for. But just as I accepted it as a fair point, I stopped once again, this time closer to the central spot of the room.

“Cinnamon,” I hummed quietly as I paused the moment I spotted some oddities by the bed.

“Uh… yes?” She inquired as nervously as she did before.

“Why are there red petals on the mattress?”

Dozens of red petals, possibly from poor roses that gave their life for this circumstance to unfold, were now littering the bed all over the sheets. It was a clear romantic display I wouldn’t have expected to face out-of-the-blue and through Cinnamon of all… ponies.

“I-I-” The mare paused in her words for a moment, looking around for an excuse and blurting out the best excuse possible. “I-I opened the window for a moment to cool down the room but I had to close it because petals entered inside… yeah.”

“And these petals ended up landing just on my bed. Not beyond it or even in any of the other furniture.”

“...Yes,” Cinnamon replied quietly and I gave her a slow nod. At this point I knew what was going on, but I decided to offer the benefit of the doubt… until I spotted another trouble.

“Cinnamon?”

“...Yes, your highness?” She replied half-whispering as I could taste her embarrassment hitting her even further.

“Why is there a wet spot on my pillow?”

Differently from before, the mare just stiffened up and started to slowly make her way towards the door, ditching the task she had been focusing on for so long.

“I-I- there was a leak?”

“The roof is fine,” I answered flatly, staring at her retreat as Cinnamon picked up speed.

“Uh- Uh, A magical leak, your majesty!”

And soon she was… gone with her dress. Hopefully to a bathroom and not creating any scandalous rumor by letting others see her state of undress coming out of my room. I could only sigh at the circumstance before walking around the bed and inspecting the fun business she left on it. She clearly dry-humped that pillow and the first notion I had about it was to dispose of it so it could be cleaned, but I ended up pausing as I noticed something. Or rather, my nose did. Up until that moment, I was quite certain that there would have been nothing comparing to what I was familiar with human girls when it came to mares but… I actually got a scent off from the pillow that reminded me of a few girls I met. And it was quite ‘sweetish’. It came as a surprise, but not one that drove me to do anything crazy. It was definitely interesting, but I was never the guy to get caught up into curiosity when it came to something as important as sex. And I definitely wasn’t going to grow interest in my maid of all possible people.

I still had to deal with the mere thought that Cinnamon was now, for some reason I hadn’t caught up on until now, sexually interested in me and… I was really unsure how to handle that. Faking denseness and hope she didn’t try to be more daring for the sake of catching my attention, or perhaps I should just be a bit colder in that regard and curb more of that attitude at the risk of ruining the little friendship I had with her. She was such a sweet gal, but I was really at an impasse because of that scene.

And I could tell things were going to get even more worse by the time I faced the situation tied to Apocrita and the proper settlement of her hive within the capital of the Crystal Empire.