//------------------------------// // Darkened Pasts // Story: DisQord Continuum: Equestria Rising // by ZoidbergIsBestPony //------------------------------// Darkened Pasts Thirty-seven years prior to the Maretropolis Disaster… “Hey guys! Watch this!” a seven year old Puttinghoof shouted out to his friends. They turned to see him hunched over with orange halves in eye sockets and carrot tusks in his mouth. “ROAR!!!!!” He friends keeled over from laughing so hard. They rolled about laughing and playing as the sun shined down onto the fresh green grass. “You gotta stop, P-Hoof; I’m dying over here,” Puttinghoof’s best friend, Digger yelled holding his sides. P-Hoof, as he was known by his friends, simply lived to see his friends laughing. It was his favorite thing to do; a hobby not so admired by his father: Vice-Counsel to the Chancellor of the United Earth Pony Delegation. P-Hoof continued his monstrous persona by adding a towel as a cape. He flew around the yard, roaring at his friends while they ran screaming and laughing. He hadn’t noticed the dark shadow overtaking him. His two friends had noticed though. They stopped laughing and bowed their heads quickly, before making a run for it. Puttinghoof turned his head around to notice the dark outline in the shape of his father, blocking out the sun. Without so much as a word, his father bit the back of his neck, lifting him off the ground, and carried him straight into the house. The young colt knew he was in trouble. His father hated laughter. He seemed to think it was a weakness. His father continued to carry him down to the cellar. Puttinghoof started shaking. He knew what was coming next and he’d do anything to be anywhere else. “Daddy, I’m sorry,” he started. “Please. I didn’t mean to…I promise it won’t happen again.” “I’m glad to see you’re starting to lie like a proper politician…” his father finally responded in a cold deep voice that could make the scales on a dragon stand on end. “…but I do not except lying to me!” His voice was steadily increasing in volume and intensity. “I’ve told you time and time again,” he continued as he searched for something on his tool shelf, “a comedian doesn’t become a leader! They do not become powerful. They become the clowns of society; nothing more than leeches, begging for bit coins in their cup on a street corner!” As he searched for the right tool for the job, he skipped the rope, skipped the ruler stick, and reached for the leather straps. “No!” The colt began quivering with fear. He tried to run, but his father was quicker. “NOOOO!!!! AHHHH!!! NOOOOOOO!!!! DADDY!!!!! DAAADDDDYYYYY!!!!!!!” His screams echoed along the walls of the cellar. The lashings from the belt split open his fur and his skin leaving bloody streaks along his back. By the time it was over, the small little Earth pony was nearly unconscious from the pain. He had cried so much, he’d run out of tears. Dropping the belt to the floor, his father left the crying pony in the cellar, and turned out the lights. Clean Sweep, their Unicorn maid, was waiting just outside the door. The cold and bitter Earth pony glared at her warning, “Do not go in there for another thirty minutes! Then you may patch him up. Remember, no scars or your family’s immigration status in the Earth Pony Territories will be revoked!” He stalked off up the stairs to his study. Clean waited just enough time to ensure the door to the study was closed. She then raced down the steps, toward the weak little pony. “We need to get you cleaned up,” she said, gently placing him on her back. Her uniform was staining with blood, but it did not matter. She took him to her personal bathroom and rested him down in the tub. She turned on the lukewarm water gently. Puttinghoof tensed up from the pain of the water touching his wounds, but almost immediately relaxed as Clean’s horn glowed yellow, soothing the pain and healing him. Honeysuckle was waiting for him in his room after the maid had finished tending to him. She hated to see her older brother in so much pain. He was the only one who could make her laugh. When Clean opened the door for him, the young colt entered to find Honey on his bed, looking at him with large green eyes. He climbed up onto the bed and gave her one look, before he completely broke down and cried his heart with his head buried in her soft silken pink mane. She stroked his head tenderly as she cried along with him. No words needed to be spoken. Puttinghoof cared greatly for his little sister. Their father never beat her, but he still disapproved of laughter, even with her. If she giggled in front of him, he would stare down at her with contempt until the smile was quickly wiped from her face. Which is exactly why the pair of them would always venture away from the house whenever they could, to hang out by the stream. They’d spend almost every afternoon in the summertime by the water telling jokes and laughing freely. It was their own special time together. Not long after his most recent beating, the two of them were once again playing by the stream. “Hey Honey, what did the pony say when his new neighbors said ‘Welcome to the neighborhood!’?” “What?” Honey asked balancing herself on one hoof, standing on a rock, poking out of the water. “Boy! What a bunch of ‘NEIGH’-sayers!” He laughed at his own wit. Honey burst out laughing, despite it being such a terrible pun. She skipped from one rock to the next, laughing as she went. She hadn’t noticed the moss growing on the next stone she hopped onto. “Waahh!” she yelped, as her hoof slipped on the rock. She fell back, bashing her head onto another rock. The current of the stream quickly swept her away before Puttinghoof could get to her. He ran down the bank screaming his head off. “HONEY!!!!! SOMEBODY!!! HELP!!! ANYBODY!!!!! PLEASE!!! HELP!!!!!” He galloped as fast as he could until he finally was able to catch up to her. She had become entangled in some branches with her head buried in the water. Puttinghoof dove into the water using the branches to keep his balance. He pulled Honey from the water to the shore. Her eyes were closed. She wasn’t breathing. Clean Sweep ran down to the stream after hearing the screams. She caught up with them just as Puttinghoof had pulled her from the water. She smacked her communication band. “Emergency Digiport! Pony General Hospital; three ponies, 1 patient.” The light of the digiport wrapped around the three ponies, reappearing in an instant in the hospital. Doctors rushed over to look at the young filly. “Earth pony filly; head trauma; not breathing; possible water in the lungs,” the doctor made a quick assessment. “We need to get her into surgery.” The doctors rushed off with Honeysuckle, leaving Puttinghoof and Clean Sweep in the waiting area. After twenty minutes, Puttinghoof’s father arrived. His face was so rigid, that it could have been mistaken for a wax replica. He did not say a word to either of them. When the doctor’s returned several hours later, they lacked any sort of poker face. All three knew. Honey was gone. All three rode in the back of Puttinghoof’s father’s car. The driver pulled away from the hospital back to the house. The entire length of the trip was met with silence. Puttinghoof was desperate to cry, as was Clean Sweep, but they knew better. Leaning their heads back, they both attempted to prevent their watery eyes from leaking. When they had returned, it wasn’t three seconds after Puttinghoof had stepped out of the car that his father’s teeth clamped down on the back of his neck. They pressed in so far, it nearly tore through. “Sir! Please,” Clean tried to calm him down. “You need to mourn. Don’t do anything you’ll regret…Please!” *WHAM!!!* Clean was unconscious on the floor with a broken jaw. Puttinghoof’s father took him down once again to the cellar. Puttinghoof tried desparately to get away, but the more he struggled, the more pain he felt as his flesh began to tear around his father’s teeth. His father’s hurled him into a pile of wood. He turned toward his tool bench to begin the search. Putting tried to make a run for it, but was stuck by a wrench that flew straight at him. The colt dropped from the blow as it shattered two ribs. He could no longer move, but was still conscious. His father returned to his search, before pulling out a steel hammer. It weighed nearly ten pounds. Even a single blow to a vital organ could be fatal. Puttinghoof closed his eyes. He pushed his thoughts to images of his little sister. At least they would be together soon. The hammer swung down upon him, before it stopped in mid air, surrounded by a yellow glow. The hammer reversed direction and the nail removing end struck his father, piercing his skull. The old stallion collapsed dead upon the floor, bleeding out. Clean sweep struggled down the stairs, still woozy from being struck herself. She scooped up Puttinghoof and brought him up from the cellar. She contacted the police, who arrived within minutes to discover the scene. They got the maid’s statement and assessed the scene. They promptly arrested clean Sweep for the murder of an Earth pony government official. The penalty for which is death. Despite the circumstances, as a government official, without two witnesses to the crime, the father had the protection of diplomatic immunity. Clean’s family was deported before the trial. They never saw her before the end. Puttinghoof was sent to live with his grandmother, who was a kind and gentle pony. She looked after him and tried to help him cope with all that happened. His father was celebrated as the ‘Hero of Maretroplis’, who was brutally murdered by his Unicorn maid. None knew of his familial troubles. Many years later he had long since buried his fondness for humor to only those he was closest to. To the public eye, he was a serious pony who would lead their country into the future. As such his was elected Chancellor in a sweeping victory. It was only later, that they discovered his ineptitude for the job. At night, after consuming vast quantities of hard cider, Puttinghoof found himself in the company of young filly prostitutes. He’d forget his serious side, and laugh and tease the young ponies. On some nights, he would wake up in bed with the filly, and see his little sister lying next to him. “Oh Honeysuckle!” he cried, stroking her mane. “I’ve missed you so much!” The filly turned to face him, but it wasn’t Honey. The drunk and melancholy stallion became enraged as the image of his little sister was popped by the prostitute lying beside him. He punched her across her face, sending her crying from the room. He turned back over in his bed and cried himself to sleep. “Honey…” Thirty-one years prior to the Maretropolis Disaster… The sun was shining. There were just a few small clouds spread out to paint the sky. It was the middle of spring and all of the flowers were in bloom. It was the perfect day for playing outside on the palace grounds. The only thing that made the day even better for Princess Platinum was she had gotten her cutie mark just the day before: a tiara over three smiling flowers. Royalty usually received their cutie marks early in life, as they were destined for rule. Platinum, however, was not sure if she wanted such a huge responsibility. Only the day before was the first time she had ever seen a homeless pony; a young colt, no less. She was relaxing in the late afternoon, enjoying a cupcake designed to be the sweetest, most delicious cupcake ever crafted by the royal chef. Unbeknownst to her, the cupcake had been made by the chef’s Alicorn apprentice, a young Sugar Baker, who was ecstatic to be given such a glorious chance to put his new chef’s hat cutie mark to the test. When the princess tried to nibble in a royal dignified manner, she was forced to succumb to diving nose first into the crème, devouring it. No one questioned the true chef of the pastry, but Platinum did get a few hours in eating etiquette lessons as punishment for her uncouth display. As the princess relaxed on the far end of the palace grounds, enjoying another cupcake, she noticed a pair of eyes staring at her hungrily. “Hello?” she asked the eyes, hidden in some bushes behind a fence. The eyes blinked, but stayed silent. Platinum crept closer to the fence until she could make out the eyes’ owner: a young Unicorn colt. “My name is Princess Platinum. What is yours?” The princess did not have any friends her age. Everypony she knew was either part of the royal family or worked for them. She was excited to meet somepony a little closer to her age, but the young colt tried to hide in the bush more. “You are not hiding too well, you know. What is your name?” “…Forage,” he finally whispered, still hiding in the bush. “It is a pleasure to meet you Forage!” the princess said, holding a hoof out to him, in the proper royal manner. The colt wasn’t sure how to respond, so he reached through the fence and shook her hoof like he would for anypony. “What are you doing?” the princess cried in shock, pulling her hoof back. “You are supposed to gently kiss my hoof; not grab it!” “S-Sorry!” the Forage shrieked hiding deeper in the tree again. “It is okay,” the princess said, forgetting the rudeness. “Would you like some of my cupcake?” she held out the half eaten cupcake. This gesture was too much for the starving pony. He snatched it from her and devoured it, without so much as a thank you. “Hey! That was rude!” she yelled angrily. When Forage had licked the last bit of crème from the wrapper, he regained his faculties, realizing what he’d done. “Oh gosh! I’m s-so sorry! I was just so… so hungry! Thank you, Princess!” Platinum had never seen somepony so hungry in her life. He was no longer hidden by the brush and she could make out more of the Unicorn’s features. However, she still could not tell what color his coat was from all the dirt that covered him. The clothes he wore were all torn with holes in them. It was the most unsightly thing the princess had ever witnessed. “Why are you so dirty?” she asked. Forage turned beet red from embarrassment. “I…I-um…I don’t got a home, you see.” “How could you not have a home? Where do you sleep at night?” “I-um…I sleep…in an alley nearby,” he answered with his ears turned down in shame. “That is terrible!” the princess shouted. “Is that why you are so hungry?” The colt nodded. The princess reached a decision. She wanted to help the small homeless pony, but her father, the king, had told her before, “We do not associate with peasants. We are above such things.” She chose to ignore her father’s words and help her new and only real friend. “Come back here tonight after sundown Forage, and I will bring you some food,” she said smiling. Forage’s eyes widened with joy as tears formed at the bottoms of them. “Thank you, Princess! Thank you!” The colt ran away excited. The princess was so pleased with herself. She never felt so happy to have helped another pony. And she even made a new friend. When she returned that evening, she had snuck out of the palace with a small bag of apples. She gave them to the Unicorn who said thank you so many times, that she had to shush him before the palace guards caught them. “Come back again tomorrow night, and I will try to get you some more food!” the princess said merrily. “Princess, I know we can’t hang out like normal friends, but I wanted you to know; you’re the bestest friend I ever had.” Platinum was overwhelmed. Tears started forming in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away, before she quickly added, “I will see you again tomorrow night Forage. Pleasant night.” “You too!” he said as he took the bag of apples and left. As the princess walked back to the palace, she felt her flank tingling. She turned to see her brand new cutie mark: a tiara over three smiling flowers, for all the ponies she wanted to help. The next day, when the king saw her cutie mark, he arranged for a grand feast, to celebrate the occasion. There was every kind of food imaginable; from salads and fruits, to flowers and roots; from breads and pastries, to all things tasty. It was a feast the princess had never known. Throughout the dinner, she kept taking pieces of food and placing it on top of a napkin she had placed on the floor. By the time the meal was finished, she had gathered enough food for her friend to be able to have a feast as well. She was so happy with how things were going. When the princess returned to her special place to meet her homeless friend, something was different. One of the lamps had gone out. She was a little nervous in the dark, so she called out to her friend. “Forage?...Are you there?” It was several seconds before she finally heard a reply. “Over here…” he whispered. His voice was different. Platinum could not be sure, but something seemed wrong. “Over here, Princess,” he called again. His voice almost seemed reluctant; like he really didn’t want to be there. The Princess approached warily. “I’ve brought you a whole bunch of food this time! She tried to cheer up what seemed to her like a very depressed pony. As she got closer, she could see the outline of her friend, but something was different. Several bars in the fence were missing. “Forage? What is going on?” “NOW!!!” some other pony yelled. The princess was suddenly grabbed from behind. She tried to scream, but a damp cloth covered her mouth before any sound could come out. Her eyelids suddenly weighed as heavy as if somepony had attached weights to them. “I’m sorry…” a sad voice mumbled in the blurry background. Within seconds, the princess blacked out. “…taken your daughter… …ten billion bits… …three hours…” The princess opened her eyes to a blurry room. She could make out somepony speaking, but was still feeling too woozy to make anything clear. Finally her father’s voice snapped her back to reality. “…do not negotiate with terrorists. Your lives are now forfeit.” “Than so is your daughter’s. Three hours, your Majesty,” the Unicorn stallion replied into a screenpad with her father’s face on it. He closed the connection. Platinum could see she was in a dank room, probably a basement or cellar, but as she’d never been in one, she could not be sure. She found herself bound and gagged, unable to move. She tried to squirm through the ropes, unsuccessfully. “Ah you’re awake,” the Unicorn terrorist said looking at Platinum. “We’ll soon see if your daddy really loves you or not.” He laughed taking a large gulp of hard cider and walked away towards several other ponies carrying guns, sitting at a table in the corner. All of them had similar tattered outfits like Forage’s. Platinum realized they must be homeless too. The princess was struggling with the ropes they had bound her with. Even magic seemed to have no effect, though admittedly she wasn’t the greatest at magic. The cloth gagged in her mouth suddenly loosened and fell off. “Shhh!” Forage whispered quickly, before the princess could scream. “If they hear you, they’ll put the gag back on. Platinum stared at him angrily. “I trusted you! I tried to help you!” she whispered angrily. “I know! I’m so sorry! None of this was supposed to happen!” he tried to explain. “They saw you give me the apples and forced me to help them.” He was working the knots in the bindings, but was struggling to get them untangled. “If I can get these free, you can make a run for it. I’ll try to stop them.” “What will happen to you?” Platinum asked, trying to look behind her as Forage untied the ropes. “Don’t worry about it. This is my fault. I have to fix this!” he said. At last the ropes released, and the princess stood up. “Wait for my signal, then run for it!” he instructed. He didn’t have much of a plan, but he was determined to try anyway. He crept towards the drunken guards at the table, trying not to be seen, when all of the sudden, one of them cried out. “Wow! What a headache!” he proclaimed, rubbing his forehead. “Ow. Ow! OW!!!” He collapsed onto the table. The rest of the group stared at the guard, not quite sure what had just happened. Then a second guard started crying in pain. “We’re under attack! Kill the kid!” the leader ordered. Instead, all of the guards started grabbing their foreheads, trying to stop whatever was being done to them. “Princess, run!” Forage screamed. He grabbed her hoof and together they attempted to flee. “Oh no you don’t!” the leader screamed one hoof on his head, the other on a gun. He fired at the pair of them. The princess made it up the stairs to the door and opened it quickly. “Come on!” she yelled to her friend, but he wasn’t behind her. His body lay at the bottom of the stairs, shot several times. “NOOOOOO!!!!” She started to go back down, but the colt looked up at her and mouthed silently, “GO!” His head lowered back down, and his eyes closed. The princess shut her eyes tight trying to hold back her tears, unsuccessfully. She pulled open the door and ran straight into the palace guards. She was safe. She cried for hours until she was brought before the king. It was the first and only time she ever saw her father with tears in his eyes. He grabbed her and hugged her tightly. “I’m sorry, father,” she started to say. “I-I just wanted to help him.” “Tell me what happened,” he said. After several minutes, the king finally had an understanding of what had transpired. “Daughter, as royalty we help the Unicorn race every day. We can’t help every single pony. Any society has its poor. The poor often become desperate and do desperate things as a result.” “I just wanted to give him some food,” she cried. “Now he is dead because of me!” “Shhh, shh,” he patted her head. “It was noble of you to want to help him, but generosity is a weakness that can cause a kingdom to fall. You must never forget this. You are safe now. But if you do not learn this lesson, it will happen again. Do you understand, Platinum?” The princess nodded and wiped the tears away. She never forgot her father’s words. Despite her cutie mark, she never again sought to help others; only to keep the kingdom strong. Twenty-six years prior to the Maretropolis Disaster… --- Dear Diary, Tomorrow is my first day at my new school. Im so excited! Mommy tells me there are lots of Alicorns there. I hope they like me. Your friend, Hirkie --- Dear Diary, It was awful! The Alicorns laughed at me cause Im small. Its not fair! Mommy said I need to get to know them, but I dont wanna! Your friend, Hirkie --- Dear Diary, Mommy bought me a pet hamster today. He is funny to watch. I named him Hammy. I dont need friends when I got Hammy. I wish I could take him with me to school. Your friend, Hirkie --- Dear Diary, FINALLY! I made a friend today! His name is Rain Slick. He is a Pegasus to. We Pegasuses need to stick together! The Alicorns laugh at me and him. Boulder and Boxer are the worst. They use magic to make us hit ourselves. If I had magic, Id make them hit each other! Your friend, Hirkie --- Dear Diary, My friend Rain got hurt today. Boulder thought it would be funny to make him fall in gym on the rope climb. The teacher thought he just slipped. I saw it. He did it! But Boulder said he didnt and he believed him. Your friend, Hirkie --- Dear Diary, Boulder and Boxer dunked my head in the toilet for tattling. I swallowed some water. If I was big, I’d make them pay. Hirkie --- Dear Diary, Hammy died today. I didn’t mean to. I was so angry at those mean Alicorns. Hammy was helping me. He would wiggle so much every time I squeezed him with my hooves. Eventually I pushed hard enough for his eyes to pop out! It was so cool! He stopped moving though. I never killed nothing before. It was so much fun. It would be awesome if I could squish those bullies and see their eyes go pop! Your friend, Hirkie --- Dear Diary, My parents read you and told the princibal. Boulder and Boxer had to stay after class. They looked at me and made me gulp. I dont want to go back to school, but Daddy says I half to. My parents yelled at me for killing Hammy. Now I have to see this funny Earth pony who does nothing but ask me questions. I dont know why I have to see him, but Mommy says I have no choice. Today was not all bad. I met the prettiest pony I ever saw. She was tall and pink with beeutiful wings and her horn was so shiny. And she smiled at me! Hirkie (I found a new place to hide you so Mommy and Daddy won’t find you again) --- Dear Diary, It’s been awhile since I’ve written to you. I recently found you buried among some old books in the closet. It seems kinda dumb now, but I figured I’d give it a try. I’m now in middle school and my life hasn’t improved much. Those bullies still harass Rain and me every day. I’ve learned to hide my lunch money and let them take only a dollar from me every day. My parents are still sending me to that shrink. The only good part of my day is getting to see Dawn. She sits next to me in science class. Whenever there is a magic assignment, I get paired with her to get it done. She’s quiet, but still says hi to me. I don’t know what else to talk about, so whatever. Hirkain --- Dear Diary, I finally figured out a way to tell Dawn how I feel. I wrote her a letter. But I didn’t put my name on it. When she tells me it’s the most wonderful letter she’s ever gotten, I’ll show her it was mine! I really hope this works. Hirkain --- THAT SON OF A MULE!!!!! I can’t believe Boxer did this to me. I can’t even write how angry I am. How did he get that letter? Did she give it to him? No she wouldn’t. She couldn’t have. He must have stole it from her! That must be it. He saw her reading it and swiped it from her. Now everypony knows. I don’t understand how they knew it was me! Dawn couldn’t even look at me. She left school early and skipped our class together. What do I do now? Hirkain --- I’LL KILL THAT ALICORN BASTARD!!!!! He tried to fake a second letter from me, threatening Dawn. I would never harm Dawn. It actually said I wanted to cut off her wings! And now the principal wants to meet with me and my parents tomorrow. They’ll tell them about both letters. My life is doomed! --- Dear Diary, I’ve convinced my parents and the principal that the threat letter wasn’t mine. It wasn’t even my hoof-writing! But now Dawn doesn’t speak to me. She avoids me in the halls and changed her seat in class. It’s just not fair. I’m going to get even with those bullies once and for all! Hirkain --- Dear Diary, My plan is in place. I’m going to stuff a small dark cloud so full of lightning, when those two idiots get to school, I’ll zap them both! Wish me luck! Hirkain --- Damn it, I just can’t win! They saw my cloud coming and used their magic to make me zap myself instead! My mane caught fire and I’m bald now! It’s just not fair. Now everypony’s calling me ‘Hurricane’ in the halls. “Oh no! Look out! The Hurricane is coming! Ahhh!” For the least popular pony in school, I sure seem to be well known. My life sucks. Hurricane --- The school dance is next week. It’s my last chance. I’m going to ask Dawn out once and for all! I will get her to go out with me! Just you watch! --- Dear Diary, Of all the worst possible things in the history of possible things, it had to be this! Dawn is going to the dance with Boulder. She actually said she doesn’t date Pegasi because we’re tiny and don’t live very long. Alicorn bitch. I have yet to meet a good Alicorn, and I think it’s because they don’t exist! I know now that I should have stayed loyal to my own kind. Pegasi are a superior race and I’ll prove Alicorns are nothing by genetic filth! Hirkain --- Dear Diary, Enough is enough! Those Alicorn bullies have pissed me off for the last time. They put my best friend in the hospital! Rain won’t even tell the cops it was them, out of fear. If the only thing they know is violence, fine! I’ll show them violence! Hirkain --- Dear Diary, I still can’t believe it. I did it. I finally did it. I actually killed them. I didn’t mean to, but the idiot Boxer attacked me after school. The knife I brought was only supposed to scare them. He used his magic to cut my hoof with my own knife. I lunged at him to get him to stop and before I knew it, he had the knife in his gut. Boulder tried to run. I knew if he told anyone I’d go to jail. I had to stop him. The fool forgot he had wings! I flew right into him. The knife slid so simply across his neck, like tracing a drawing straight along the line. It felt so good! His eyes looked so scared, something he probably never was in his entire life. Wow! The rush is still flowing through my veins. Thank the stars no pony saw. I pulled them off into the woods and hid them under some leaves for now. I never imagined how good this could be! My stupid parents always preached “Don’t fight” and “Violence is wrong”. Ha! Tonight I’m going to get rid of those Alicorn pieces of dung. I can’t wait to smell the sweet flesh as they burn in the forest. Nothing has ever felt just so right to me. I know what my destiny is now. I won’t rest until the whole world spits every time the name ‘Alicorn’ is mentioned. And my brand new cutie mark certainly agrees: a sword of might hoisted on Pegasus wings. I’ve never felt so happy in all my life. I guess this will be my final entry. I can’t keep evidence like this around, but I just wanted to write down in words the power I felt in my mind today. Goodbye my oldest friend, “Hurricane” Six hours after the Maretropolis Disaster… “Excuse me, but don’t I still have a seat on this counsel?” a voice called by the entrance to the hall. A tall Alicorn with bright pink hair and white fur entered the room. She had to duck so she would not hit her horn on the top of the entrance, which had been built for ponies, not Alicorns. Commander Hirkain cringed upon sight that blasted Alicorn. “Who invited you?” The he yelled at Galafrea. “I have served on this counsel for two hundred years. Has anything changed in that regard?” “You haven’t been to a counsel meeting in years, why should we listen to you now?” he barked. “When a decision needed to be made to benefit all ponykind, I have always come,” she replied. “I just chose to ignore your petty squabbles of bureaucratic nonsense. But what happened today and is happening now, is something which greatly affects all of us.” “It certainly does,” Chancellor Puttinghoof chimed in. Have a seat Galafrea.” The commander stared daggers at the Alicorn as she took her seat. As the meeting progressed, his anger towards only grew. “Mr. Hirkain, please. We need to work together if we are to survive this crisis. The colonies can no longer remain segregated by tribe. We must share all available resources amongst all tribes to succeed.” “That’s Commander Hirkain!” he yelled. He was infuriated by this pony’s blatant disrespect. “And you’re only saying ‘work together’, ‘work together’ because Alicorns don’t have their own colony to flee to! You just want to leech off us! Well nothing doin! The Pegasi have been wanting to go our separate ways anyway, I see no time like the present!” In the back of the commander’s mind, he was thinking, “And that would leave your kind behind with nothing. Ha!” “I have always stated we need to join together and cooperate with one another,” said Galafrea. “And the only reason we don’t have our own colony is because of the treaty you forced us to sign!” “It’s bad enough you have immortality, you think we were going to let you genetic freaks start spreading across the universe like a plague?” “Not on my watch!” Hirkain added in his thoughts. “For once I agree with Commander Hirkain!” the chancellor said. “While I wasn’t directly in favor of that stipulation in the treaty, I think it’s for the best to go our separate ways.” Hirkain’s ears instantly picked up from the chancellor’s words. An unexpected ally had risen to the cause. “–and you’re not even real ponies anyway…” “HOW DARE YOU!!!!!” Galafrea screamed. “You’re talking about genocide! You want to murder all of us? Because make no mistake, such an action is nothing but the murder of almost a billion lives!” Like a sweet song flowing across the room in a river, the Pegasus drank from the tears of the desperate Alicorn. He daydreamed of the Alicorns dying on a dying world. “…If you three go through with your plan to abandon hundreds of millions of my kind, leaving them to die in the cold of a never ending winter, then we won’t simply sit still and just let it happen!” “Hmm. I need to put a stop to this right now, before this bitch’s dangerous ideas gain any traction.” “You know, Galafrea, you’re absolutely right.” said the commander, rising from his chair. “If she keeps preaching, these bleeding hearts might cave in.” “I think we all DO need to work together to survive this crisis,” he continued. “And to do that, we all need to be united against our common enemy. Wouldn’t you agree?” He was now standing right next to Galafrea. “Enemy? If you’re referring to what happened today, we do not yet know who that enemy is.” The princess replied. “But yes, we do need to work together to save our ponies and to find out who was responsible for this tragedy.” “The three pony tribes will work together: to save the three pony races from the enemy right here in front of us!” Before she could make a reply, in one clean swipe, the commander took the blade from his side and slit Galifrea’s throat. “That rush! Oh how I’ve missed you. Mmmm..so good!!! Galafrea gasped for air, clutching her throat, before finally succumbing to the blood loss. She collapsed onto the floor with her eyes wide in shock. “Do you know what you have done!?” screamed the Chancellor. “I did what needed to be done. Nothing more,” Hirkain said spitting at the Alicorn corpse. “You’ve just declared war on the Alicorn race!” the Chancellor barked. “I just declared that Pegasi, Unicorn, and Earth ponies won’t be left behind to starve! We will make everypony see the Alicorn threat! We will turn everypony against them, so that they will be too powerless to defend themselves!” The crowd roared at his words. “I’ve done it!” he thought, as they cheered him. “Pegasi, Earth Ponies, and Unicorns finally united against those freaks! They’re time is finally numbered!” The princess and chancellor looked at each other nervously, but had no choice but to agree with him. They too applauded.