After this mournful noise came two slightly abnormal noises. One, the sound of my companion crying (it sounded like little tinkling bells), two, the sound of hell and damnation raining from the skies. And for each meteor hitting and scarring the earth came more tinkling bells from behind me. The next morning I asked Sunburst what made her cry so much.
“Because, Trenderhoof, every meteor hitting our beautiful crystal earth is only spreading the evil influence of our new king. Each meteor will bring disease, monsters and famine to the Crystal Empire. That is why I weep, for the death of a great ruler, and a beautiful country.”
“Oh.” I responded lamely.
I suppose I should have figured that out on my own, which wouldn’t have upset her any further, but, oh well. Sometime later magic meteors fell on all the doorsteps (or cavesteps) of the residents. The magic meteors made very clear that we were all to attend the coronation of our future king the next afternoon. And, should we not be there, the consequences would be dire. That night, Sunburst and I had a hard time sleeping due to the crowds of ponies passing our house on their way to the ceremony. So, instead of trying to sleep any longer, we left at dawn, to attend the midday ceremony. (I would like to point out, little ponies, that Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna hadn’t been born yet, and the sun and moon rose and lowered on their own power).
When we got there the scene was horrific. There were already dead ponies on the ground with odd spear-like marks in their bellies. Prince Sombra was sitting on the throne. With one minor change, I might add. Amethyst flame flowed from his eyes. He glared at everypony and when he seen Sunburst weeping, he pounced. Landing where I had been seconds before.
“Why do you weep little one?” He asked in the most evilly sweet voice.
“For the beauty and wonder that is our new kingdom, oh mighty Prince.”
Smooth, I thought. But, I suppose it was to smooth…..
“Then come with me, dearest, for I’m going to make you my personal maid. You shall live in the castle, and clean my quarters, as well as bring my food, and staff my castle. Is there anyone dear to you, you would like to bring along?”
He sure was good at that sweet voice. Lucky for me I got to hear it everyday. For, upon a moment’s thought of the question, she turned to me with a frightened pleading expression in her eyes, and said,
“Him, please sire, he’s my dearest friend, and a will be a great comfort to me as I adjust to castle life.”
“Very well. Up to the castle immediately. Fire all staff, and hire new. I want my dinner by six, cooked by the new cook, and all the staff changes made by the next morning. I will be eating in the grand hall, with all the lords and ladies of this kingdom.”
“Yes, your highness” she responded with a slight bow.
“ARE YOU STILL STANDING THERE!!!???”
With that she scampered off, towing me along. Everyday it was the same routine. As long as I was up before the new King, and stayed out his way, I could stay. Every morning he would get up at the same time ordering his breakfast, and telling Sunburst to fire, (and I do mean burn), anypony still in their quarters. Lucky for me I was already an early riser, but, this happy little charade wasn’t going to last for long. Because Sunburst had grown even prettier in her time serving our lord, and despite missing everything else, he hadn’t missed that. He would ask her every morning to marry her, and she would restpectfully say,
“Not today, my lord, there is still much to be done.”
This response seemed to be the only thing he had patience for, seeing as most everypony who came to ask the king for something was murdered. Brutally. And not by magic. As more time passed, I noticed the whites of his eyes becoming green, and his horn stained from the blood of many ponies. His teeth became sharper, and he stopped requesting cooked vegetables, but instead requested the raw meat of those he murdered. And Sunburst dutifully brought it to him. Three times a day, every day. However, nothing ever stays the same at Castle Sombra. It came the day, when Sunburst could be called a mare, and one of extreme beauty, even by crystal pony standards, when we had a visitor. He came from a small village by Neighagra Falls. He was the son of the lord of that estate, and came to wish our king, who by now had a very sinister appearance, a happy birthday. He was a flesh and bone, not rock, pegasi with midnight blue coat mane and eyes. He would stay for a week to honor the kings birthday, and nothing more. The following night Sunburst visited me in my chambers, telling me she was leaving. She was going to flee to Neighagra Falls, so when this mysterious pony returned, she could meet him there, and ask him to marry her. She was desperately in love with him and asked me to go with her, to spare me the horrors of being murdered by King Sombra.
“Do come with me Trend, won’t you please? You can help me find the way, and pose as my brother when I ask his father to join the household.”
“But what of King Sombra, won’t he be upset when he loses his favorite maid, and future queen? Besides, I couldn’t pose as your brother, I’m not made of crystal like you.”
She begged, and begged, and after day two of begging, I finally relented under the condition she disguise herself as a blind flesh and blood pony. She eagerly agreed, and began making the plans for our trip. My job was to get the name of our guest, so when we made it to his village, we could request his father, and sound more informed than we were. I learned his name from a cleaning pony, his name was Moonlight.