//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: The Sorrow and the Temptation // by Hustlin Tom //------------------------------// Five years had come and gone as quickly as the light of day. News of the events of the Everfree Massacre as it was later known had spread like wildfire across the nation of Equestria. Antrozi that had been coming to the Princesses for sanctuary quickly turned tail and fled, and all bat ponies went into hiding, lest they be killed by the crowds who now sought their blood more than ever. These were strange times, the five years leading up to the waking nightmare. The weather was spiraling out of the Pegasi’s control, tornadoes and blizzards were a regular occurrence, and the droughts that occurred during the summers and autumns were merciless. Ponies of all sorts, regardless of race, age, or gender, were having bad dreams. Each night, when they would lay down for their sleep, a single recurring dream would overtake them; an image of a malevolent black horse would stride across the night under a quarter moon, and it would make its way to Everfree Castle. Soothsayers and dream interpreters believed that it was evidence of Princess Luna’s dealings with the evil spirits of Tartarus, and no matter what she tried to do to help the ponies who came before her for relief, she could not excise the dream from their minds. The Princess in time could stand it no longer; she could not take the mistrust, fear, doubt, and hatred. She locked herself in her wing of the castle and took no visitors but the servants, her friends, and her sister. “I don’t understand,” she’d murmur to herself, “I protected them for hundreds of years. I made them safe even in the darkness; how could they just turn against me? How could they dismiss all I’ve done for them? I thought they were decent, and kind, and caring toward others. It seems I was wrong.” She would ask these questions of Orpheus once in a while, and his response would always be to comfort her, “Even if there are none outside this castle who would ever know what you tried to do for all the herds of Equestria, I will know. We know, and we all thank you for trying.” “But I’ve failed,” and here the tears would begin to flow, “I’ve failed, and I’m a failure! I can’t protect you and your family; I cannot keep the vow that I took those twenty five years ago to protect you and your kin.” “You have not succeeded, that is true. But you have only failed in this immediate time. You’ve forced the issue of my people’s suffering into the open, and it must be addressed! Who knows, perhaps in five or six generations, the Antrozi can live freely.” “But I can’t make you free, Orpheus,” the Princess’ eyes continued to water, “When you were a child, I saw the hope and the joy in your eyes when you first saw my stars. In your eyes I could see the zealous fire to be free! I’ve taken you from a life where you could live out your days in the Everfree Forest to being imprisoned in a castle full of plush things, mahogany, and crying mares,” she grimaced a little at her self-depreciation, “But no matter what one tries to fill this drab place with, it remains a prison for the both of us.” The quietness of her chamber was only filled by her silent tears and Orpheus’ breath. “Luna,” the bat pony slowly spoke, “You asked me all those years ago what I thought of your night sky, and I said ‘I wish it could last forever’. If I had never known you, I never would have seen all the heavens have to offer. I never will regret having met you, and I will never believe you are a failure, no matter how much you may try to convince yourself that you are.” Orpheus wiped away the tears staining the Princess’ cheeks, and she looked into his amber eyes. Orpheus smiled as he softly said, “There’s no need for tears, purple lady.” The Princess simply stared at the bat pony for a short time. Eventually she closed her eyes and leaned in towards him, her lips inviting him to kiss her. Orpheus stopped her lips with his hoof, “No, Princess.” She tried to protest, but he continued, “Don’t you dare. You and I both know I’m past my prime, and I will not allow you to break your heart on my account.” He got up from his place on her soft bed, and he left her for that night. Elsewhere, there was a conspiracy brewing. Lord Adamant had a son in the Royal Guard, a young stallion by the name of Corundum, who was highly favored by some of the court to be the new Captain of the Guard when old Storm-Eye would retire in the coming year. There was only one problem; Orpheus was the most trusted lieutenant of Storm-Eye, and the most logical choice to succeed to the role of Captain of the Guard. “I will not see an accursed vam-pony favored above my son, especially for a position that should rightfully be his! If it weren’t for the meddlesome Princess Luna, sticking her snout into what she clearly doesn’t understand, this wouldn’t be a problem.” That was when Lord Adamant concocted a scheme; a plan that would ensure his son would receive his due position, and the bat pony would not. “What good is a guard if he suffers fits? My son is in excellent physical condition, and it can be proved that Orpheus is certainly not. Near the time of Captain Storm-Eye’s retirement, Orpheus will suffer an accident. He will fall during his nightly flight patrol, and the physicians will declare him unfit for active duty afterwards, leaving the path to my son’s rightful place unimpeded by that interloper.” The day Storm-Eye left the guard came nearly a year later. The week before the office was to be transferred to Orpheus, he was out on patrol, soaring above Princess Luna’s tower. The evening was serene; all was at peace with the world, and the bright skies were full of stardust and moonlight. Orpheus was always deeply captivated by the Night Princess’ work, and tonight it was no exception. Soaring on the cool breezes of the night, he did not see three equine figures gathered on a lower causeway n an adjacent part of the castle. He saw mournful skies of beautiful deep purple and the light of dozens upon dozens of stars. His eyes were turned skyward, dreaming of the possibilities of the night and his race, when the fell magelight flew past his eyes. The three unicorns, two servants of Lord Adamant, and Corundum himself, watched as the form of the Antrozi guardspony fell slowly from the sky. A cool breeze suddenly gusted as Orpheus’ seized body fell, and rather than falling onto the balcony before Princess Luna’s chambers, he plummeted onto the stone balcony ledge. Even from their position, the three unicorns heard the thick crunching sound of a body heavily impacting on carved stone. Orpheus’ limp form fell another thirty feet to another balcony just below. “By the flames of Tartarus, you idiot! We were sent by your father to maim the vam-pony bastard, not kill him outright,” one of the servants angrily whispered to Corundum. “Be silent, whelp,” the lordling replied, “We may have wanted him alive, but it seems nature has decided otherwise. We can’t be blamed for that. Now run you blasted fools, run!” The unicorns quickly vacated, just as the Princess came out on to her balcony to discover the source of the peculiar noise. She quickly noted through the darkness that the unicorn bringing up the rear had a wine flask as his Destiny Brand. It was probably a group of some half-drunk madponies taking their liquor and wasting it by throwing the bottles at her tower walls, wasting their contents. That thought only lasted until she saw the minute crack in her balcony. It was coated with a meager amount of red. Slowly, she approached the balcony’s edge, and then she looked over. The still form of Orpheus lay below, and blood was slowly congealing around his fallen body.