//------------------------------//
// The Rising of a King 
// Story: Fallen Sun 
// by shademaster24601 
//------------------------------//

Darkness, encroaching, retreating, fluid as the sea, invades our very thoughts with it's presence. Consider how often you stare at shadows, be they the obvious ones cast upon the wall or the ones that you can't be sure are there, the ones that you in the corner of your eye or in a split second when you look in a mirror. True darkness is as pure an elemental force as water, wind, or fire. The question is, do we judge it's power by the absence it's presence creates, or by the possibility of what lies within? Uriah, as he was escorted deeper into the goblins' lair, was becoming more impressed by the later. He wanted to shout, he wanted to struggle, he wanted to fight, but his options were severely limited. The cables they wrapped him in were sturdy, even against his great strength, and constricted the more either he or his captors pulled. The band the clamped around his horn stifled his magic, much to his irritation. When his mental link was severed, he could at least still vent, still feel his power, but this just left him numb. He did not appreciate that. These alone would normally not deter him, in fact he was already envisioning simply throwing his weight with all his might to pull the big goblin down, and break the cables one at a time as he fought the others like a wounded animal. Two factors prevented him from initiating his knock-down drag out. First and foremost, there were very much more than four goblins. Uriah had kept his eyes on the walls as they dragged him and he could see them. Hundreds of eyes peering in from every opening, on the walls, on the roof of the cave, and he could even here them chattering beneath him. When they brought him across a bridge in what he could only describe, in his understanding of caving terminology, an active boneyard, he got a full look at exactly how out numbered he was. Thousands of goblins, lined up on ledges, peering out of holes in the cave walls, climbing around, or traversing on lines and pulleys, all paused in their activities to watch the outsiders get hauled in to wherever they were to be held. He was at the dead center of an entire army and the second he put up a fight, they'd all come bearing down on him. Again, that was something he would be more than willing to put up with if it were only him. Except it wasn't only him.
Trixie was still limp in the clutch of the big goblin and Uriah found that, even as he tried to be mindful of their surroundings, he was fixated on her. It wasn't the binding or the surrounding horde, but seeing her like that, made him helpless. He could survive anything they brought at him, she could not. So, no matter how much he wanted to yell and fight, he held his tongue and stayed still as possible. The goblins, to their credit, were certainly an upbeat bunch. There was so much clamor and uproar, either from the pounding of iron, the bang of gongs and drums to motivate the work, or just the cheering and laughter over every accomplishment or gaffe. They passed a cluster of them working to clear a boulder choke out of one of the tunnels. They rigged a battering ram and vocally revved up every blow like a bunch of sports hooligans and when it was cleared, the cheering was so enthusiastic that the bigger ones were lifting the smaller into the air in celebration. Uriah admired them for it, an infectious camaraderie that went in line with a high level of industriousness.
Once they got them to what Uriah could only assume was the main chamber, Uriah saw a large, jagged, throne. One of the lanky captors look puzzled. "Where's he at?" He saw another one of the big ones come in from an opening on the upper floor behind it. "Hey! Where's the king?!"
The big goblin scrunched his noseless face in a sneer. "Quit yell. King sleep."
One of the small ones with the bulbous heads crawled up on his shoulder and parroted him. "King sleep king sleep."
The four captors all shook their heads, clearly disappointed. The lanky one taking point gave them a sour glare and gestured at Uriah and Trixie. "We got spies. What we supposed to do with them till he wakes up?"
The big one on the balcony shrugged. "Treasure room. Put there. Help guard." He vaulted over the side an landed with a thud to come join them.
Uriah was suddenly jerked forward as the big one holding Trixie reeled in Uriah's cables with his free hand. The Prince grunted as the binding became tighter. His jailer snarled. "This one. Ale corn. Better restraints."  The prince was puzzled for a moment, but realization soon brightened his eyes when it clicked. Ale corn, alicorn, they knew he wasn't an ordinary pony. The trouble was, Uriah didn't know in what context they knew , but given the looks and nods of agreement they were giving each other, they had a procedure for it. They immediately got to work adjusting his bonds. The undid the coiling wire, but replaced it with shackles and chains that forced him into a sitting position. Next, they forced him to open his wings and used cuffed with an iron bar between the to keep them that way. Finally, they put a heavy collar around his neck to keep his head up and his eyes forward. The ring around his horn was the only thing they left alone. The fallen prince was, quite literally, going no where unless they wanted him to. They put him onto a make-shift stretcher and had two of the lank ones lift him from both sides when they moved him. The goblins brought the two ones to a store-room off of the throne room, filled with gold, gems, and trinkets made from the two.
They set Uriah down in the middle of it all, him grimacing with a defeated glare. One of them tug on his restraints to make sure they held. "There, nice and tight. You're gonna sit right here in the treasure room and wait till the Goblin King sends for you."
He wasn't going to speak, but then they were going to leave. "Wait, where's Trixie?" The two goblins mirrored each other, cocking their heads in opposite directions and raising the respective eyebrow. Uriah tried to keep calm, but there was still a twinge of concern he couldn't lose. "The unicorn they brought me in with, where is she?"
One of them snorted, then gestured past Uriah. There was a steady thumping with the jingling of coin as the big one that discovered them came lumbering in from behind the bound prince. He still had Trixie in his hand and he held her up before Uriah like a rag doll. "You want?"
Uriah wanted nothing more than to break the bonds and beat him senseless, but he kept still and choked back his fury. "Don't...just put her down. I won't cause any trouble, just leave her where I can see her."
The big goblin gave a dismissive grunt, but, giving the helpless unicorn in his grasp a look, he nodded. He lowered his hand to the floor and let it fall open. It wasn't exactly gentle, but Trixie rolled onto the floor unconscious, but unharmed. The showpony gave a little groan of discomfort and Uriah let out a sigh of relief in kind. The big goblin gave her a little prod. "She stay?"
"Yes." Uriah replied quickly. "I'l tell her to stay put, just leave her." The big goblin did as asked, but kept cautious eyes on Uriah. He and the two lanky ones left out of sight, but Uriah knew he was still being watched.
Another groan and the shifting of coins snapped Uriah's eyes back to Trixie. The blue Unicorn steadily pushed herself up and slowly opened her eyes. "Oh...I'm gonna be feeling that later." She looked about and her eyes widened when she saw the bound prince. "Uriah!"
She ran to him and he smiled. "Are you okay?"
Trixie looked surprised. "Me? What about you? What did those...things do to you?"
He rolled his eyes. "Goblins, and it's less than it looks. They've just taken some extra precaution."
She examined his bonds. "They've got you trussed up like a turkey. Hang on, I've done more than enough escape tricks to know how to pick a lock."
Uriah was going to warn her, but several growls from all around them did it for him. "Don't. The walls have eyes, ears, and claws. Besides, you're not gonna be doing any magic while they have us."
He did his best to point his muzzle to the top of her head, which brought her attention to the band clasped around her horn. She immediately tried fiddling with it. "Ugh, what, why can't I feel my magic?"
Uriah sighed. "It's the iron. The black mountain is loaded with it. Equestria uses them for unicorn prisoners, but ours are just more...elegant."
Trixie looked like she was trying to work something out. "Did you know? This whole time, we were heading right to a horde of monsters with anti-magic tools and you didn't say anything?"
He shot her a glare. "I wasn't planning on a fight, I just wanted to talk. They panicked, I panicked, you were knocked out..." He paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "I knew them, from a long time ago and I thought I could strike up an alliance. I never meant for you to be in danger."
Trixie closed her eyes and took her own turn to compose herself. She was still mad, but had to admit, she should have been more prepared, considering what he was asking her to join up with. "Okay, so now what?"
"If I understand correctly, we're waiting for an audience with their king. So, all considered, we're still doing good." Uriah allowed himself a little chuckle has Trixie gave him an incredulous look. "I can talk us out of it. I promise."
She rolled her eyes. "I've gotten this far without dying." She cleared some space and sat down, locking her questioning purple eyes on his. "So, these...goblins. You said you knew them?"
Uriah nodded. "Yes, well, sort of. Have you ever heard of Grogar?"
A puzzled look fell on the blue unicorn. "The evil goat wizard from the Gusty the Great story? I thought that was just an old pony's tale."
The bound prince gave a smirk. "Trust me, there are a lot of stories like that that are absolutely true. The story of Gusty the Great was old before Nightmare Moon happened, so I'm not surprised my mother left it alone when she mind wiped every pony. However, what no pony remembers is that Grogar came back."
She settled in, an intrigued smile swept across her face. "And you fought him?"
Uriah beamed with pride. "Oh yes. In fact, it's how I got my cutie mark. It was one hay of a winter, bad enough that we were already dealing with other monsters outside our borders, but then Grogar, and his dark city Tambelon, sprung up out of the blue and started creating new ones and setting them against Canterlot. On their own, they weren't much, just illusions with some bite to them, but it turned out that they were just a distraction. Grogar's true army was the goblins. They'd hold raids against neighboring towns and villages, stealing food, treasure, and leaving any pony who stood against them homeless. That last part became a very dark problem when they tried to cross other territories to get back home." He grimaced at the memory. "It was one of the first times my mother and I argued. I wanted to take the fight to Grogar, but she was adamant we both needed to stay in Canterlot to defend against the monsters. I tried to explain to her that was going to be a war of attrition that we were destined to lose. As long as Grogar could sit comfortably in Tambelon, sending his monsters of the week and having his Goblins rob us blind, it was only a matter of time before we had nothing left to defend." His voice was starting to gain venom. "She wouldn't have it, but my words fell on more receptive ears than hers. A few captains had overheard us and made it clear that they would support me if I decided to take matters into my own hooves. So, we gathered a battalion in secret and, under cover of my aunt's darkness, we launched a counterattack."
Trixie was invested, she rested her chin in her front hooves and kicked her back legs in rhythm as she listened to Uriah's recount. "Sounds like a tall order."
Uriah seemed lost in his nostalgia. "Started out great. My soldiers got into position, ready to ambush the goblins, while I walked right up to the front gates of Tambelon and called Grogar out. Now, the first thing you gotta know about Grogar is that he's nowhere near as melodramatic as in the Gusty the Great story. This old goat had been around for a long time and being that old does one of two things to you. You either become a know-it-all, like my mother, or you just get tired of everything and dealing with the same garbage all the time, but everypony else thinks it's just the biggest deal and they try to suck you into their mortal tedium...like me." He cleared his throat. "So he's looking down on me just being unimpressed with my poor decision making for coming alone, haha, and I, being the facetious little scoundrel that I was, just start hurling insults at him. He said something along the lines of "fall on your knees and beg" and I responded with "I'm not your mother last night" and he took exception to that." This drew a laugh from Trixie, which was in turn echoed by the Goblins listening behind the walls. Uriah took the extended audience as a very good sign. "So this insane ibex just leaps out of the tower, like a solid ten stories up, and just books it right at me. I knew he wasn't a slouch, but I was genuinely surprised he hit as hard as he did. Fortunately, I was able to get him to where we had switched our original positions and I just ran right into Tambelon. I exploded through the front gate, he jumped through the smoke after me, I turned around and flipped him into the courtyard, all the goblins were rushing in toward us, and once all of them were in the city, my soldiers moved to cage them in. Between the pegasai creating a storm circle and the unicorns creating a barrier dome around the city, Tambelon was completely sealed off."
Trixie looked surprised. "Wait, so you were just trapped in there with them?"
Uriah turned up his nose. "No, they were trapped in there with me." Trixie gave a little snicker at how corny that sounded. Uriah took a more serious tone. "Grogar didn't take being imprisoned in his own empire too well, so he just lost it and started unloading on me. He hits me with his horns with enough force to crack the wall I hit and then he just starts shooting me with this evil lightning from out of his eyes. I was in a catastrophic amount of pain, but I just took it because I knew that as soon as I fell, he'd turn it on my soldiers and rain vengeance on Canterlot. I dug in, summoned as much power as I could, and fired a spell straight at the top of the dome. I created a huge ball of magic, like a black sun, that created a gravity press over the entire city. Grogar and his entire army were trapped, I was protected because I cast the spell, my troops were all immune because I gave them a protective spell to shield them, and all that was left was to chain them all while they were down. As a bonus, one of my captains pointed out that my cutie mark appeared, so It was a rousing success...or so I thought."
Trixie's ears drooped. "What happened?"
Uriah looked defeated. "Same thing that happened today. I was overconfident, I ran in without being prepared, and it all backfired. I hadn't taken into account the tunnels. The increased gravity around Tambelon caved in the entire tunnel network and the whole city just sank right into the black mountain, along with me and my troops. Grogar took advantage of the chaos, used his Witching Bell to steal all of our magic, then had us shackled and thrown in his dungeon. Told us he wanted us to see what he was going to do to Equestria as payback." He looked off into space. "How we made it out, that's why I came looking for the goblins again..."


There was dust in the air, there was a stink of mildew in every corner, and the dimmest oil lamps to give even slightest shred of visibility. Every inch of Grogar's dungeon was gothic and rigid, noises echoing into a seemingly endless void of shadow. Iron bars filled out the halls, creating an illusionary pattern that sung the eyes of those within. To add insult to injury, Grogar's visage in stained glass adorned the spaces between the cells. In the cell closest to the entrance, curled into a ball of shame, sat a snow white alicorn prince with a jet-black mane.
Uriah was smaller back then, about Twilight's size. His body ached, his throat hurt, and his head was throbbing. He sat there in silence since they had been brought in. He glanced over to the next cell, where a cluster of his troops were being held. They all looked so pale and miserable, laying there in the dirt, waiting for the end. He brought them there. They could be home with their families right now if he hadn't gotten them involved. A tear fell from his sullen red eyes. "I'm sorry." The rasp of a statement from the young alicorn caught the soldiers' attention immediately. He stretched out, despite his pain, and crawled to the wall near them. "This is all my fault. I thought we could end this tonight. I thought I was strong enough...but my mother was right." The lump in his throat was sharp. "I couldn't do it alone and I brought you all down with me and for what? All I have to show for it is this stupid mark!"
His tears stung his eyes, so he couldn't see who spoke up first "Don't you dare apologize." Uriah wiped his eyes and blinked away the blur. He saw Captain Light Screen, the pony he put in charge of the barrier, smiling at him. "You earned that mark tonight and infinitely more. You stood up for the whole of Equestria, You went head to head with a creature that, up until a few weeks ago, I thought was just the stuff of children's nightmares."
Next up, was commander Bulwark, slumped against the wall staring at the ceiling. "Did you know I'm supposed to retire in thirteen days?" The grizzled old unicorn's voice resonated with more disbelief than resentment. "I've been doing this for what, 30 years now? My wife's all excited, she's talking about all these plans to move closer to the grandfoals, all these little activities she wants us to do, just going on and on about how we're just gonna relax, but that's not me." He just looked wistfully off. "I'm a workhorse, I'm a pony that needs to be doing something to contribute. The Royal army gave me that. I liked being out in the dirt, protecting every pony else from every lunatic and bugaboo that would ever do them harm. Then I get to the last stretch in my career and suddenly I'm told I'm going to be taking orders from this smart-mouthed, green-feathered, cocky little so and so without a cutie-mark, mostly because he's the princess's kid and we're supposed to take their word he's got what it takes." Uriah braced himself for what he assumed was a verbal swing. Bulwark looked at him with a grateful tear in his eye. "I've never felt like more of a hero than when you started calling the shots." The old stallion took pride in the prince's stunned expression. "It has been my absolute honor to follow you. There's not a single pony in this battalion, even with the slightest notion of how wrong it would go, who would hesitate to do it all over again."
Uriah felt warm, despite the numbness, and felt it burn brighter as each and every soldier stood and saluted him. "Thank you. Thank you all," His expression fell again. "Still, no matter how brave or well intentioned, I fear we've just made things worse for Equestria."
"I wouldn't sound the requiem bell just yet." The chiming in came from a bat pony, who lazily rested on the cell's bed. She had been specially recruited by Uriah to try and restart his aunt's old night guard. "I overheard some of the goblins talking, rather chatty bunch. They said that Grogar's stuck down here. Turns out even he and all his stolen magic can't get through the black mountain's iron." She smirked at the prince. "Looks like you still trapped him after all."
Uriah looked hopeful. "How long until the goblins dig him out?"
She turned over and looked at the ceiling, "I think one of them said three days."
"Hear anything else, kid?" Bulwark's optimism didn't show often, but it encouraged others to try and impress him.
"I did some scouting before the plan." She raised her head a little. "Not much, just figured I'd try to understand what we're dealing with. There seem to be three types of goblins, just like there are, traditionally, three types of ponies." She did air quotes on "traditionally." she took pride in being an odd-ball. "You've got the Brutes, the big noseless walls with legs, the little ones with the big heads are called Fixers, and the lanky ones on the in-between I think are called Grunts. They've each got their roles and it's pretty straight forward. Brutes do the heavy lifting and the brunt of the digging, grunts follow up with the technical stuff, using tools and such to expand and add supports to the tunnels, and the Fixers maintain the tools and machines and pick up all the loose materials from the rubble. It seems like they all move together when they're working the tunnels, so it's all or nothing when it comes to running into them.
Light Screen shook his head. "That's fine, but there's not much we can do with it while we're drained like this."
Nocturne brushed off his comment and let her leathery wing go limp over the side of the bed. "Party-pooper. No cake for you."
There was a creaking sound that made them all go silent, followed by a set of foot steps coming down the stairs. Uriah backed away from the wall and every pony went played dumb. It wasn't the best idea to antagonize Grogar with the thought they were up to something. However, to their surprise, it wasn't the accursed wizard. They saw, carefully coming down the stairs with a tray loaded up with bowls of water and crusts of bread, was a little goblin in an orange hood. He carefully made his way to between Uriah and the soldier's cells and set down the tray. He sheepishly grabbed a bowl and a bread crust and slipped them between the bars. Uriah approached and the little goblin cringed. "Please, no noises. Must not let Grogar know." 
Uriah stepped back and sat down. "It's okay, I don't think he can hear us down here." The little goblin was different from the others. He was small like the fixers, but his head wasn't big like theirs, and his skin was grey. The young prince cocked his head. "What's your name?"
The goblin straightened as much as his hunch would allow. "Scrivvler. I take notes for Grogar. So much hatred, so much darkness." He clutched his ears. "Always yelling. Scrivvler hates the yelling."
Uriah smiled and took a softer tone as scrivvler went back to his task and brought more water and crusts to the soldiers. "Thank you for bringing us this. It's been a while since we had anything to eat." The soldiers seemed less than enthused about eating crusts of bread off the floor, but they followed Uriah's lead and accepted.
Scrivvler itched his head. "Grogar not want to give ponies food. Goblins have to sneak water and crusts under table at meal time for Scrivvler to bring ponies." He got another bowl and handful of crusts for the next cell. "Grogar mad at goblins because goblins not fight prince pony, but goblins want prince pony to win."
Light Screen shot the little goblin an incredulous glare. "You've been helping him take over Equestria! You've been stealing our food and valuables, and leaving ponies homeless and at the mercy of the basilisks." The young prince shrank at the mention of the monsters that killed his father.
Scrivvler shrank at the harsh tone and almost dropped what he was carrying. "Because Grogar keeps basilisks away from goblins." He looked saddened. "He make deals with basilisk king Skall. Tells Skall leave goblins alone, as long as goblins do what Grogar says."
It made sense to Uriah. The goblins lived underground, just like the basilisks, and that would make them easy targets for the predators. "But why would Skall agree to that?"
Scrivvler rung his hands. "Grogar makes Goblins take ponies prisoner. Grogar takes the magic, basilisks...take the ponies." There was a shared look of disgust between Uriah and the soldiers and a sudden feeling of urgency added to the situation. Scrivvler started hitting his head. "We hates it. Goblins hates it so much. Goblins not bad, goblins good, but goblins so afraid." Uriah felt such pity for the creature. To live a life in such constant fear, between two devils. "Even if goblins do what Grogar says, we not safe. He yell, he cage, he hit, he hit, and hit, and hit."
Uriah reached for scrivvler, who was falling into tears. "You poor soul." Scrivvler looked at him through tears and approached with caution. The young prince patted the goblin on the head and held him for a moment. "No creature deserves to live like this. Not for any reason." Scrivvler gripped Uriah's hoof with his small hand. "Scrivvler, please, is there any way to stop him? You take notes for him, has he ever told you anything secret? Any weakness that he's trying to protect?"
Scrivvler started to back away. "Grogar...Grogar will be mad at Scrivvler. He'd know Scrivvler tell, and hurt goblins." He covered his eyes with his hood. "He too strong. Goblins too scared, and ponies too weak without magic."
Uriah put on a confident smile. "Who ever said we didn't have magic?" They all looked at him like he was crazy. "I'm serious. A few minutes ago, I was feeling like I might as well be dead already, but then all of you reassured me and I'm feeling like my old self-again. We set out tonight to do the impossible, because I believed we could do it and you all just said you followed because you believed in me too. I don't see why we should stop believing now."
Nocturne sat up for this. "Yeah, but that was because we had the magic to back up the hope and a prayer we brought with us."
"And we still have it." Uriah beamed. "We've got the magic that saved our ancestor's from the windigos, and the magic that convinced Scorpan to warn Equestria about his brother's evil."
"The original nark." Nocturne chimed.
Bulwark shot her a glare. "Don't ruin his moment."
Uriah paid them no mind, and reached out to Scrivvler again. "It's the purest magic ponies ever mastered. The magic of friendship. You've already taken the first step in showing kindness to us despite your fear. Will you trust me and follow me the rest of the way?"
Scrivvler hesitated, but there was something in the prince's eyes that calmed him, as if the weight of Grogar's menace was being lifted off him. He took Uriah's hoof. "Grogar's bell. It old magic, very old. The kind of magic that needs balance. In order for evil to be evil, there need to be good. Grogar made his Witching Bell to take and destroy."
Uriah pieced it together. "So...there's another bell. An equal and opposite reaction to the magic Grogar used."
The little goblin nodded. "Goblins call it Bell of Freedom. Once it rings, Grogar will be powerless and can't hurt anybody anymore." He looked worried. "Goblins not try to ring, because Goblins so afraid. Not just of Grogar..."
The young prince gave an understanding nod. "But once Grogar's gone, who will protect the Goblins from the basilisks?" Scrivvler nodded. "That's where we come in. Scrivvler, I promise as Prince of Equestria, once we stop Grogar and get out of here, you and your people will always be safe in our care and friendship."
The little goblin looked like he was going to cry. He sniffled and dried his eyes with his hood, then picked the lock on Uriah's cell with his claws. "Grogar keep Bell of Freedom in room in back of his study. He'll be there."
Uriah put on a determined scowl. "Then we'll need to be quick and you'll need to be very brave." The little goblin gulped nervously, but Uriah smiled and gave him a pat on the back. "It's easy, I do it all the time."
Bulwark got up and pulled at their cell door. "Open this up, we're coming too."
Uriah shook his head. "There's only gonna be one shot at this and it'll be less risky if it's just the two of us." He stood firm and saluted his troops. "If I don't make it back, I want you to know I'm proud to have been your general, your prince, and your friend."
He and Scrivvler were about to head up the stairs, but Nocturne reached through the bars first. "Wait." She got a hold of Uriah's shoulder and pulled him in close. Before the Prince knew what was happening, she kissed him. Uriah's wings shot open and his tail began to sway. She released him and smiled warmly. "I couldn't let you go off and get yourself killed without your first kiss."
Uriah had a dreamy look in his eyes and a lopsided grin. "Much appreciated, cadet, now if you excuse, I gotta go save the world!" He could hear her giggle as he and Scrivvler rushed up the stairs. 


Grogar glared out his study window. There weren't many things he enjoyed in the world, but he often found the view he had of the sunset quite calming. He no longer had that calm. Now, when he looked out that window, he saw only dirt, rock, and iron. "I hate that boy." He declared with a quiet rage. "I hate that boy. I hate the mother that spawned him. I hate all those sickeningly sweet ponies that have caused me nothing but grief, going all the way back to that wretched Gusty." The twisted goat paced about the floor. "I hate that my conquest has been buried alive at it's peak. I hate that my supposed ally is nowhere to be found despite how generous I've been." He paused and rammed his head against the wall, putting a hole in it that revealed two frightened goblins. "I hate that my incompetent minions stood there and allowed this set-back to occur! Why are you just standing there?! Get back to work!" He roared at them and they ran for their lives. Grogar's eyes glowed red and steam seemed to blow out his nostrils as he panted. "Scrivvler!" bellowed the ibex.
The door creaked open slowly and the timid little goblin entered. "Yes, master?"
"Take. A. Letter." Grogar growled through gritted teeth. Scrivvler ran to the desk to retrieve his pen and a scroll. It was a goblin invention, like a refillable quill. He sheepishly approached the dark wizard and showed him he was ready. Grogar lifted his head and kept pacing "This is my final declaration to the soon to be departed Princess Celestia. Your son has fallen! His failed attempt to end my reign has ensured your demise. I was content simply waiting to wear you out, but now that your miserable brat has stirred my wrath, I have no choice but too exact complete and total annihilation of your kingdom as reparation for his trespass. It will bring me such exquisite joy to see you and all your precious ponies suffer till your last agonizing breath, but not before I make you watch as I take your spawn and peel the flesh from his bone before your very eyes! You putrid, entitled, sow of a..."
Scrivvler cleared his throat. "Master?" The ibex glared with glowing red eyes. The little goblin shrank a bit. "Scriv...Scrivvler needs to refill his pen. It only take a second." He made himself as small as possible and shambled over to the jar of ink, sitting on a shelf next to a certain door in the back of the study. Grogar put another hole in the wall, Causing Scrivvler to turn. When he  looked back, he could see clearly where all the pieces to the plan were. Grogar was shaking the rubble from his horns, too busy to see Uriah at the door. Scrivvler did his best to keep his courage up. He grabbed the ink jar, opened it, and stepped back to get close to the back door as possible. He knew it was locked, so he had to start picking it as soon as he gave Uriah the signal. "Master. Scrivvler having trouble seeing slide for pen. Would master give Scrivvler light so he can see?"
The wicked goat rolled his eyes and stomped toward the little goblin. "Do I need to do everything? You worthless little cave dripping?" His bell glowed a sinister yellow light as he approached. He got lower to meet Scrivvler's level.
Scrivvler then proceeded to throw the ink right into Grogar's open eyes. The goat reared back and screamed in pain. Scrivvler yelled and jumped onto the door. "Now!"
Uriah charged into the room at full force. Grogar heard his hoof beats and fired a bolt of lightning at him. The young alicorn slid under the blast, which traveled and blew a huge hole in the wall, bringing the attention of a passing brute. Uriah jumped out of his slide and kicked Grogar square in the chin, knocking the ibex back into a bookshelf, which buried the goat under a pile of sinister tomes. Uriah Got to the door just in  time to help Scrivvler open it. There, Bell of freedom, unused and ancient, hung proudly before them. Covered in rust, but still radiating with light, Uriah could feel a warmth coming off of it. Uriah turned and bucked, but the bell didn't budge. "It's too big. I'm not strong enough without my magic."
"You weren't strong enough with your magic!" Grogar threw the shelf off of him and reared back for another blast. He grinned wickedly, seeing the alicorn and the traitor goblin trapped in the room with no where to go.
There was a roar that even took Grogar by surprise. The passing brute saw what was happening, saw Scrivvler helping Uriah get to the bell. The sight of the small goblin, showing courage in the face of the one they feared the most, lit a fire in the heart of his brutish brother. The brute grabbed Grogar from behind. The impossibly strong goat was bucking and thrashing the brute around like a rag doll, but the large goblin wouldn't let go. Grogar's lightning arced off his horns and burned into the brutes hide, causing him to roar in pain. "The Bell! The Bell!"
Uriah only had a split second to be stunned at the act of heroism. He snapped back to the bell and threw his whole body at it, only budging it a little. Scrivvler helped him up and the two took a few steps back for a running start. In a unified front, they charged full force at the bell, jumped at kicked it with all their might. This moved the bell.
Bong
Grogar finally managed to throw off the brute, but was stricken pale at the sound. He whispered. "No."
Bong.
The wicked ibex took two steps back, but lurched forward in pain at the second sound "No. NO!"
Bong.
Grogar's witching bell began to glow, so did his eyes, and then beams of light shot out of that bell and every hole on his face. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" The Bell of Freedom did just as Scrivvler thought it would. The magic was leaving Grogar, all the magic. Every bit that he ever took, from the ponies in his dungeon, to every living creature he stole from, and then beyond. All the magic he took to make himself strong, all the magic he took to keep himself alive, was being sucked out of him to either be returned or lost to the ether. Uriah felt his heart swell as his own magic return to him. He hugged his friend, Scrivvler, as they watched the ancient evil wither away. By the time the Bell of Freedom's last bong stopped resonating, there was nothing left of Grogar except his Witching Bell and a pile of dust.
The two friends' moment of relief turned to heartbreak at the sight of the limp brute slumped in the corner. He was badly burned, gasping for breath, and blinded by Grogar's attack. He felt Scrivvler's small hand  and Uriah's hoof in his own giant paw. "Bell...ring?" He croaked.
Uriah felt a pain in his heart. This poor creature gave himself to save them all and he didn't even hear it. Uriah got closer, as the other goblins and the ponies from the dungeon entered the room together. The prince, tearing up himself as he saw them gather together, spoke softly. "It's still ringing. Can't you hear it?"
The brute smiled. "Hear...it." A tear fell from his clouded eyes. "Goblins...free...free." One last breath escaped his lips, and his eyes shut forevermore.
The young alicorn tried to overcome the lump in his throat, "What...what was his name?"
Scrivvler took off his orange hood out of respect. "Goblins don't have names. I only Scrivvler because that what Grogar call me."
Uriah shook his head. Nocturne broke from the crowd and draped a wing over his shoulder. He rested his head against hers. "We need to remember him. Don't you..." He turned to the goblins. "Don't any of you have a way to tell each other apart?"
One of the grunts stepped forward, and put his hand on the fallen brutes shoulder. "Goblins is goblins. We're born from dirt, we go back to dirt. That's how it always is." He waved to two more brutes and they stepped forward to lift their fallen brother. "We dig. We'll put him in the tunnel and mark it with an X, just like we do for all them that came before. No one forgets none of them, ever."
Bulwark stepped forward. "We'll help you." There was a shared nod and smiles went from pony to Goblin as they set to work freeing themselves from Tambelon. 


Uriah felt a tear roll down his cheek. He snapped out of his memory to find Trixie, in tears, surrounded by three bawling fixers, a sniffling brute, and an indifferent grunt. "It took three days to reach the surface, just like they thought, but we made it. The goblins were happy to share their bread and water with us. I was the first to break the surface and to my surprise, I found my mother waiting for me. She had been digging down and had brought the entire Equestrian army with her. I got such a earful before she just broke down crying because she was happy I was okay. I explained what had happened, introduced my friend, Scrivvler, as ambassador of the goblin kingdom, and I kept my word that they would always be welcome in Equestria."
There was a round of applause from most of the group in front of him, as well as from the listening walls. The brute clapped the loudest. "Good story."
The trio of fixers added into the praise. "Yeahyeayeahyeahyeahyeah"
Trixie gave him a cheeky grin. "What about Nocturne?"
Uriah rolled his eyes. "She was twice my age, she was being nice, and we stayed friends. If you want something more saucy, maybe one day I'll tell you about how I met my Scarlet Thorn."
The grunt stood up and gave a dismissive grunt. "So you tell a good yarn. Big deal. Don't mean a word of it's true."
The bound prince gave a defensive glare. "I never lie."
The grunt thumbed his pointy nose. "Yeah, right. I know goblin history. You ale corns double crossed us. Made all the ponies afraid of us and chased us back down the tunnels again!"
Uriah rolled his eyes. Of course Celestia would ruin a good thing. "I can assure you, I had nothing to do with that. The goblins have always been trusted friends of mine."
Two more grunts came in and got on either side of him. "Goblin King's up. Time to show him the spies." They lifted Uriah up and carried him off.
The brute sitting next to Trixie scooped her up under his arm and lumbered after them. The unicorn didn't react to well to being carried like luggage. "Watch it, will you? Would it kill you to be more gentle?" He responded by ruffling her mane with his dirty paw. "Sorry I asked."
The goblins scurried through the tunnel and quickly lowered their captors before the throne of the Goblin King. One of the grunts who capture them addressed his ruler. "Most heinous, vast, and brilliant Goblin King. We caught these pony spies trying to sneak in through our fish supply from Wallowmire. It is our belief that they are in league with the ale corn!"
"It's alicorn you dumb gob." The phlegmy boom of the Goblin King's voice brought everyone to attention and the sight of him made Trixie and Uriah cringe.
Trixie went pale. "Oh, I'm gonna be sick again."
Uriah's mouth hung open a little. "Alicorns have the traits of all three kinds of ponies. This must be the goblin equivalent of that."
The king snorted and gave a smirk "Heh, right, just much less elegant." He paused a moment to cough. "Not so pretty things, down down, far underground." His nose was half-formed and crooked. His left eye was milky, most likely from the pressure of the throbbing mass that could only be his brain jutting out one side of his cranium. On the right side, he had scraggly strands of black hair that reached past his lack of a neck. He had a pot-belly and mismatched limbs. His right arm and left leg were lanky, but his left arm was extremely muscular and his right leg was scrawny and frail.
This poor mass of mutations was clearly suffering, which made Uriah want to turn his head, but one feature caught his attention. The Goblin King's skin was grey and, over his shoulder, Uriah could see a scrap of orange cloth. "Scrivvler?"
The King laughed a deep, raspy, almost choking laugh. He wheezed and moaned, but grinned through it. "I...I  have not heard that name...in quite some time." The Goblin King smiled at his old friend. "Release him."
The grunt who presented him looked shocked. "But he's one of the ones that..."
"No!" The malformed king bellowed. "He is not our enemy! Have you all forgotten the story? Has it really been so long?"
"About five hundred years," chimed in the bound prince.
"Really?" The king looked surprised. "Haven't had the sun for the longest time. Lost track of time ages ago." He gestured with his muscular arm. "The day-bringer's the one that betrayed us. This one...just look at his mark."
The brute that brought in Trixie lifted Uriah from behind to look at the mark in question. He quickly put the bound prince down and staggered back. "Black sun!"
This caused an uproar and a look of shock and shame to come over the ponies' captors. Grunts ran forward and quickly removed Uriah's restraints. The Goblin King continued his address. "And do you remember I told you, on the day of the black sun, we were set free from the monster Grogar! It was the warrior of the black sun, who made us friends with the ponies!" He wagged a finger on his lanky arm. "And did I not also tell you that when the day-bringer betrayed us, when we feared the basilisks would come, but found them dead in the tunnels we now roam, who was it that struck the monsters dead?"
A cheer started to erupt from the horde as Uriah's shackles were undone and he took flight. "Black sun! Black sun! Black sun!"
Uriah flew to meet the king face to face. "It is you. Scrivvler, my friend!" The alicorn smiled and a tear fell from his eye.
Scrivvler gave a pained chuckle. "Uriah...you look awful."
The fallen prince saw the wretched king double over and went to support him. "My friend, what has happened to you? Never mind that you still remember me."
The old goblin wagged his muscular finger. "The answer to both is the same." He reached down to the side of his throne and retrieved a staff that was as gruesome as he. It looked like a shepherds crook, forged into jagged shape with twisted black iron. "One day, some goblins returned in a panic. Said the ponies were attacking them, chasing them out of town like they were wild animals of the Everfree. I, of coarse, asked them what Uriah had to say, and they looked at me like I had grown a second head, which probably wouldn't have been that bad considering." He laughed through a coughing fit. Uriah still held onto his friend. "They told me the one who brings the day led the chase. I don't know what she did to my goblins, but it happened all over. None of the ponies remembered us."
Uriah shook his head. "She cast a spell that made the world forget me, forget everything about me."
Scrivvler gave a knowing nod. "Because you finally killed the basilisks."
The fallen prince puzzled. "The iron in the black mountain. It must have shielded you."
"It did more than that." The goblin king clanged the end of his staff against the ground. "I made this staff to remember you. How you led us out of Grogar's control by being my friend. It soaks up magic, from everything it touches, in the hook and brings it down into the staff. I adventured like we used to, plundered treasure, so beautiful, did you see?" Uriah smiled and nodded. "All that stored up magic, in the tunnels, fighting off hunters. It kept me alive, changed me. Made me Goblin King."
Uriah couldn't help but notice a bit of black blood oozing from the corner of his friend's mouth. "It made you sick."
Scrivvler gave a pained smile. "A good pain. To be leader, to be King, one should be strong enough to bear the pain." He rested his large hand on Uriah's shoulder. "You taught me that. Taught me to be strong...by being my friend." He started coughing. He started coughing hard. Uriah got under his arm and tried to hold him up. "You were so kind...always so kind to Scrivvler." Uriah's heart sank as his friend's newfound eloquence started to fade. "So kind...to goblins. You must go on, for the world waits before you. Leave me to rest...for a while." He weakly raised his staff. "I will leave one more treasure to you. Keep it well, remember our lessons and when you think of me...smile."
The prince, before Trixie, before the horde, and before his friend, took hold of the staff with the wretched king. "Please...don't."
The old king croaked a reply. "We promised...remember?" The tears of the poor creature rolled down his sullen grin. "Feed the poor, protect the weak."
"By the justice that I seek." Uriah's own tears burned his eyes.
"Go..." Scrivvler's breathing became labored. "Make the world as true as you...my friend." With his last breath, he boomed a decree for all to hear. "What's yours, you will reclaim. Free once again! Stand...Goblin King!" His grip loosened from the staff and with that last cry, the wretched king fell from his throne.
Uriah held the staff in his magic, sitting there, staring at the malformed body of the friend he once knew. He flew down and sat next to him. "Speak to me, my friend...my only friend..." Trixie rushed over and held him close. "Do not abandon me...don't leave me in this new world alone." He grabbed hold of Trixie and wept. In as quick an instant as he had found him, Uriah lost the very last thread connecting him to the life he knew.
The goblins shed their share of tears. For generations upon generations, the Goblin King was their truest and wisest guide. In their grief, confusion arose. They chattered, howled, and whispered, but there was a consensus that formed among them quickly. They let Uriah weep, but when he finished and stood, staff still held firm in his magic, one of the brutes stepped forward. "What now?"
Uriah cocked his head. One of the grunts stepped forward. "What he means is, what should we do?"
The fallen prince seemed numb in his response. "Why are you asking me?"
The grunt pointed at the staff. "We do what the Goblin King says...he said you're the Goblin King now."
Uriah Looked over the staff, enthralled by the curve of its hook. "Bury him here, by the throne. Carve a headstone and let it read "Here lies Scrivvler, the first Goblin King and the truest friend."" He banged his new staff against the stone. "Let this be my first order! When it is finished, we will ready ourselves! For tonight, I declare war on the one who betrayed us all!" He pointed to Scrivvler's body. "I declare war on the one who stole my friend from me!" He raised his staff triumphantly and unfurled his wings. "I declare war on the day-bringer! So speaks the Goblin King!" He bellowed the last sentence in his Royal Canterlot voice, so that it echoed throughout Goblin Town and every connecting tunnel.
In the darkness, in every corner, every goblin rose up and chanted, over and over. "Goblin King!"