//------------------------------//
// CH10: The King's Words 
// Story: The Proxy 
// by Eyesclops 
//------------------------------//

-Leon's Location, North of Cloudsdale-

I had finally found the road. I stopped there, trodding through the snow was anything but an easy task.

"LEEEEOOOOOOONNNN!" I saw Spitfire flying through the air straight at me. She was in her Wonderbolt's uniform.

I kept walking, only a small distance and I would be out of the snow. *Bam* She plowed into my side and we rolled through the snow.

We came to the stop and I found her smiling, standing on my shoulders. "Umm... hello Spitfire?" I looked at her with confusion being the most obvious emotion on my face.

She was out of breath from the flying, but she did the best she could to speak through her heavy breathing. "I... I just heard you went... went missing and... and the princess was... was looking for you."

"Wait, what?" I looked at her.

"I heard rumors... a black unicorn got... got kidnapped... on some train going to... to Canterlot from... from Ponyville... and he... he looked like you... cutie mark and... and everything... and the princess was... was looking for him..." Spitfire continued to gasp for air.

"Well, we can talk about it in a moment, just get off of me okay? You should catch your breath." She got off of my shoulders, and I stood up. We both shook off the snow and faced each other.

"So what exactly do you know?" I said after Spitfire recovered.

"Not too much, but whoever you are, you must be important. Crown, Royal attention. Can I please hear the full story?"

I stood there for a moment. What is with her, why does she want to know this so badly? "Listen, I really don't know if I'm in a position to tell you what's going on... I really am sorry. It is quite important and all, but..." I paused, the pony looked at me with her face showing both emotions of disappointment and understanding.

"Don't worry, I guess. I told some of the other Wonderbolts to contact the Princess, and so if you don't mind, may I see if there is a way to keep you in Cloudsdale so the Princess knows where to find you?"

I looked at her as if she were crazy, "Look you know I can't get up there, and you know I can't stand on clouds even if I could.

"Well if there's a will there's a way!" She zoomed over to my crown and tossed it up in the air with her nose. "H-hey!" It landed gracefully on my horn, but before I even had the chance to move, Spitfire flew over to me, grabbed my front hooves, and took off for the city of clouds.

"Let go!" I yelled at her, the speed she traveled at made me feel like she was going to dislocate my shoulders.

"Don't worry, you're going to love it up here!" Spitfire yelled back, the wind made it hard to hear what was being said.

I looked down and saw the ground, "Never mind, don't let go..."

-Canterlot Castle-

The Princess had just finished assigning some rooms for Twilight's friends, it had been a simple matter of checking to see which rooms were and weren't available in the section of the castle devoted to Guest Quarters. She had just seen their items into their rooms and turned to let them get situated when Luna came stumbling down the hall in excitement.

"Sister! Look at this letter from Cloudsdale!" She tripped and fell on the floor.

"What is it Luna?" She magically took the letter that Luna had been carrying and read it. When Celestia had finished, her face wore a smile that was larger than any she had worn before, "I think we should let this be a surprise for our young student."

She went to her sister, "Can you prepare an escort for me to go to Cloudsdale, if anyone asks, just let them know I had some urgent business to attend to there." She smiled.

"Where are you going sister?" Luna asked, wondering what was on her older sister's mind.

"Oh, me? I think I should visit Twilight before leaving."

-Cloudsdale-

Spitfire had taken me to the rest of the Wonderbolts. More than slightly peeved, I was barraged with a large set of questions. "Was it really you that got kidnapped?", "How'd you get away from them?", "What did they want from you?", "How come the princess is so interested in you?", "What's with your crown?"

I was simply listening to all of them speak, but I didn't actually get a chance to respond before having several more questions thrown at me.

"Hey guys, break it up will ya?" Soarin' walked over, "He can't even stand anywhere yet."

He was right, I had been literally draped over the backs of the other Wonderbolts this entire time, and needless to say, it really wasn't fun.

"There's the hot air balloon you asked for!" Some brown pegasus called out. The blue and yellow balloon rose into view from beneath some nearby clouds.

Spitfire flew over to the balloon with me on her back, "See? A will, a way."

I did a sort of half-smile, "Touché"

Spitfire merely laughed and walked back onto the nearby cloud she had previously been standing on.

Rapidfire walked over, "I guess Spitfire will tell us what she knows, so you don't have to be bothered with questions, and if she doesn't know, well then we won't ask. She was the one who nagged at you first after all." He laughed and rejoined the other Wonderbolts.

I smiled and called out to them, "Do you know if there is anything I can eat? I am.. sorta hungry..." They all laughed. I didn't though. I hadn't eaten since the train ride...

*Growl* I looked down. There was no getting food now, it wasn't like I could just make it appear, and I definitely couldn't just leave the balloon and get it. "So I guess you guys can go practice then, it's not like I have anywhere to go anyways." I smiled, and they nodded.

"You owe us for having to delay practice!" Soarin' said as he flew off.

I sighed. Nothing to do but wait for the Princess to Arrive...

-Twilight's Room at Canterlot Castle-

Twilight was looking at the book, The King. It refused to turn its page. She didn't understand. The book would open to two pages. There was the page of the two crowns, and the page of Leon and the chessboard. She decided the best thing to do was to look over what was in front of her. She looked at the image of Leon.

She looked at the page of Leon and the chessboard. She tried to understand this page. "What good is a book that won't give us any information that we don't already know?" She let her head drop in defeat, not getting anything. She took a deep breath, "Maybe the other page..." She went to flip to the other available page in the book, and as she lifted up her hoof, words slowly appeared on the page.

"God! Tell me! Why did you choose me?"

"I chose you, Leon, to be my proxy for a single reason. You are a defect. You have no destiny."

Then they vanished as soon as they appeared. More words replaced them.

"Just remember, the eternal game of chess will always be played. And as long as it will be played, it will never be understood."

These words disappeared, and several more words appeared, but they were not like the rest. These were even more beautiful and elegant than the rest of the writing that had been in the book before. She heard Leon's voice fill her mind as she read this newest set of words.

"The king... The piece you want to protect... What... What do I... want to protect?

...

I want to protect you, Twilight."

These words, unlike the previous ones, etched themselves into the book. Twilight didn't know what to think, she sat there, both flattered and confused as to what she had just read.

*Knock Knock* The princess entering the room surprised the purple unicorn, who quickly hid her previous emotions. "Hello princess, what are you doing here?"

"Something just came up in Cloudsdale, and I'm going there now to take care of it," the Princess wasn't exactly lying, but she thought it might be best to surprise her. She had her friends in town, so she would be fine.

Twilight looked up, "What is it that came up there?"

Celestia looked at her, "It had to do with the train crash. A someone that was on the train is there that might have seen some things other passengers haven't, and in this case I think that it might be serious enough to warrant my presence there. How's the book going?"

"I can only see two pages right now, and I don't know why. The book just seems to reveal itself over time. It's like these words..."

The Princess looked at the book for a long period of time, no doubt reading the same things Twilight had. Her formal appearance softened and she gave off a calm aura of kindness all of a sudden, "You have a great friend in Leon, don't you? I'm sure he's fine, so don't worry about it."

Twilight looked at her mentor and smiled, "There is one other page I'm going to look at. I hope everything in Cloudsdale works out!" She turned back to the book, and her mentor smiled.

"I'll see you in a bit Twilight." On her way out, all the Princess thought about what the book had shown her,"No wonder Twilight had such a blush on her face when I walked in!"She laughed a bit to herself, and left for the escort to Cloudsdale.

-Cloudsdale-

I had been sitting in this balloon for a good 2 hours now and I was bored as could be.

"Not much you can do here when you can't fly, is there." He heard a voice from behind him.

"P-Princess!" I turned behind me, she was standing on a cloud. She was so silent, I didn't even notice her approach. I bowed immediately.

The Wonderbolts also came over, and when they did, they also joined in. The princess smiled. "Thank you for contacting me about finding my friend Leon. I do appreciate it." She turned to face Spitfire, "I am in your debt, if there is anything you need, just let me know." Inside, she was extremely relieved that somepony had found Leon.

Spitfire knew exactly what she wanted, "Well I do have a question, if I may?"

The Princess was caught off guard, thinking the usual physical gift would be requested. Not this time however, just knowledge. She looked at her, "Ask away dear Spitfire."

"So, I was wondering what is with Leon? He seems a bit... odd... Why exactly were you so worried about his well being?" The princess looked at me.

I took a deep breath, "I really don't know who at this moment is able to discuss this. I don't even know if the Princess really has the authority to disclose the information either..."

All of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire most of all, stared at me with jaws open. The Princess was the most powerful pony in Equestria! If she didn't have the authority to tell them...

"Then who does?" Spitfire completed their thoughts out loud.

"The only person who can disclose the information?" I looked at the Princess, and she returned my look. We shrugged.

"That person is no longer around..." I finally said, "and with his passing, well, it gets way harder to tell many people."

Celestia looked at me with an eyebrow raised, "You know? About his..." the winged unicorn thought for a moment about what the right word would be to use, "...his resignation?"

I nodded to her, and then returned my attention to the Wonderbolts, "I really am sorry we can't tell you. I wish I could, but... well there are certain complications with telling people things they can't unhear. The story is just... its something we really can't tell."

And then I realized something. Why is everyone who knows about the story so... apprehensive in telling others? We really haven't been told not to, I mean God told me to not tell people about his existence, but he... he really isn't even in the picture anymore. Still, its like there is a force telling me I can't do it... Why?

I closed my eyes, "I really wish I could tell you, but really, it isn't something I can tell others. I wish I could, seeing as I owe you so much and all..."

Celestia spoke up, "I understand it is confusing, but I assure you, if there is anything else you need, let me know. I promise I will do my best to see it through, though there are limits to what I can and can't do at times," she turned her attention to me, "Leon, we'd better go ourselves. There's some business at Canterlot you need to take care of..."

I nodded with understanding.

Soarin' recovered before the rest of the Wonderbolts, "Do you know when the next date we're scheduled to perform at Canterlot, Princess Celestia?"

She had just been about to move the balloon, she turned and faced them, "Well you're more than welcome to visit whenever you want, but performance-wise, I think it is a week from now."

Soarin' looked at her, "Why not take Spitfire here with ya? She's got the stuff we're going to do down perfect anyways."

Spitfire slapped him in the shoulder, but then realized what he was trying to do. She wasn't the only one who really wanted to know what was wrong with me.

Both Celestia and I knew exactly what their motives were, but I shrugged, "I guess if it bothers you that much, I'll let you have your chance to figure it out on your own... as long as the Princess approves."

She sighed, but then smiled, "Fine, I guess you can tag along. All the guest rooms are taken up at the Castle though, so you're either going to need to share a room with one of the other guests or you're going to need to stay at an inn or hotel in town."

Spitfire smiled, "Well I guess I can deal with it, I'll change out of my uniform A.S.A.P.!" She took off towards another section of Cloudsdale, but I didn't know where, she was out of sight almost immediately.

"Let's get you to your ride, shall we? Just give me a moment." Princess Celestia gracefully glided over several clouds and disappeared out of sight.

The rest of the Wonderbolts looked at me one last time, and every single one said a form of "See ya later" to me and flew off for some more practice.

I sat there for a moment, but only a moment. Celestia had already returned, several royal guards had a flying chariot behind them, and Celestia was standing in it. They pulled up right next to the balloon, "Well? Hop in!" The princess called.

"I... okay." I grabbed the crown in the basket of the Balloon and hopped onto the Chariot. Her facial expression turned to one of surprise as I jumped onto the chariot.

"How did you get that? I thought..." She looked at me with shock. Then, upon closer inspection, she noted the difference of the two crowns. "Leon..."

I looked at her, "Yes Princess?"

"Oh... nothing. Your crown just intrigued me is all." She smiled, though a million thoughts as to where this had come from zoomed through her head.

"HEY! Don't leave without me!" Spitfire had already returned, a small suitcase in her hands for her week there. She zoomed right next to the chariot, "Sorry for the trouble Princess, I'll just fly behind you to Canterlot." She smiled.

-The Birth and End of All Worlds, God's Location-

The area was a small plateau in the center of a lake of molten liquid that seemed to have a life of its ow, rising up around the area with unpredictable movements, though the plateau itself was never touched by the magma. In the center was a diamond table surrounded by 12 formless figures. On the table was Equestria's ex-god in his favorite form, that of the winged unicorn.

The Mysterious Figures spoke in unison, "So you have given up your rule? The land was destined to end, and you have interfered. Tell me one reason why we should keep Equestria, especially with no god. Its fate depends on your next words, so speak carefully."

God stood there, facing the scrutiny of these... these beings He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "This land, which I have seen grow from almost nothing, has become a place where love and joy has flourished. Balance, to you standing here, is the balance between Chaos and Harmony. Many of you believe war and evils are as part of a world's existence as is joy and happiness. I understand that. As judges of life and death, both of beings and worlds, I implore you to look beyond this black–and–white view of existence. Chaos is a lack of balance! Harmony, on the other hand is balance embodied! To ask of there being a balance between balance and no balance is an impossibility, even for you here today. I learned these things watching the world that took form below me." He closed his eyes, "You are all representative of a different aspect of existence. Life, Death, War, Peace, Hatred, Love, Truths, Lies, The Corporeal, The Spiritual, Sadness, and Joy." He reopened his eyes and with passion, began to raise his voice, "Prove to me that plunging a world to its destruction... that doing that would be balance in any way! Killing everyone would only be the opposite of Balance, it would be the embodiment of Chaos! It is worse than leaving it as is!"

He stood there, and as he did, two of the Mysterious Figures spoke up in their ethereal voices. "We are not destroying the plane of existence, you know that. Simply, we are purging it of all it once was and giving it a new beginning. You may, if you want, return to your rule after it is done. In all of the time you were the land's guardian, you obeyed us... until this most recent incident of course..."

"NO!" God yelled, "I refuse to sit by and watch this world be 'purged' as you so nicely put it!" His anger had taken a physical form, the diamond table, under his feet, cracked from the mysterious force that emanated from his body.

"Calm yourself, we are simply the judges of the world. You cannot override our decision. We must keep the balance of the worlds. Life must give way to death, it is an inevitable fate." Three other figures spoke.

"This is crap! Balance? BALANCE?" The god slammed the table with his hoof, it cracked even more, "I don't want to be a God of some land! Power! I will gladly relinquish that to save Equestria! I will not sit idly by and watch as Chaos rules. I have given them their opportunities in my land. I listened to you as you summoned Discord! As you corrupted Luna and forced her to become Nightmare Moon! I listened to you then! You fools! You are too narrow-minded to see the beauty that Equestria has become! You've been here too many millenia to remember why you came here! You all, even you Death!" His anger boiled over, and when he screamed the final word, the table under him, all except for the small section under his feet shattered into an innumerable amount of pieces.

The beings didn't react at all. They showed no sign of emotion. They hadn't in all of the eternities that they had ruled. "We will consider what you have to say... For now... begone." God's figure faded away, though where exactly to was a mystery.