//------------------------------//
// Resentment and Hatred 
// Story: The Prince 
// by BronyWriter 
//------------------------------//

I snarled and overturned the table in my tent, snatching up the maps that fluttered on the ground and tearing them to shreds. I picked up my crown off the ground and threw it against the back wall. How dare that insolent minotaur challenge me! How dare he let the Equestrians escape after we finally had them on the ropes! Antares was off  the battlefield, many of their troops had been killed, and we'd mitigated all of our losses by allying with the changelings!

Where did it all go wrong?

I growled and sat down on my throne, staring at the ground. Grorim was becoming dangerous to my rule. I'd heard that other minotaurs wished for him to become king. I united the clans! I commanded Grorim to victory! I will rule these lands when the alicorns bow to me!

Though I'd heard that Luna was immune to the Nightmare Weapons we'd brought to the field. That would prove... problematic. I needed to ask our informant about that.

My tent flap opened up as Marller walked in. I grunted in acknowledgement at him.

"King Purgle, what do you want to do now?"

"I don't know," I growled. "Grorim is becoming too powerful to contain. Part of me wants to send him to the front to challenge Luna to an honor duel without telling him that she is immune to Nightmare Weapons. He'd die honorably and his clan would accept that."

"Except for the fact that Grorim already knows that Luna is immune to Nightmare Weapons."

I growled and slammed my hand on the armrest of my throne. "What, then? What shall I do about this potential usurper? I can't let him be or else he will lead our troops in revolution to overthrow me, thereby giving the alicorns the war!"

"I do not know what his plans are," Marller admitted. "I haven't heard what the troops are saying about him definitively one way or the other."

"Then what good are you?" I snapped. "You're here to give me information, and you can't give me information on the biggest thing happening in my own camp?"

"It's not as though our troops are eager to divulge their opinions after you executed those two deserters. They've lost a lot of trust in you, especially once you refused to go to the front."

"I can't go to the front!" I insisted. "If I were to die then the alicorns would win! Grorim would win, and that I cannot allow!"

"Then you'd better really think about what you want your next move to be. Antares will not suffer this defeat lightly. I foresee him upping his game, which cannot happen. Besides, we only have two Nightmare Weapons left. Unless we want to take the four that Cromwell has, we cannot afford to use them flippantly. Even if we did take Cromwell's, we would have to use them very sparingly. If we cannot take out the alicorns, we have lost the war." Marller grimaced and took a seat in front of mine. "Even if we can harm them with the weapons, it is dangerous. Both of the times Antares has been hit by a Nightmare Weapon, he has brought down extreme destruction. The survivors of the first battle still speak in fear of what he did. If you send our troops into another battle that we lose, you will lose the support of whatever meager force Antares leaves alive, and thus the war. Not counting the changelings, who were almost completely wiped out, we lost thousands of minotaurs in the last battle. We've lost over a fifth of our entire army."

"So what should I do?" I growled. "Should I just bow to Antares? Beg forgiveness and hope that they don't chop my head off?"

"I think the only way for you to survive this is to win the war, and even then I'm not quite sure," Marller admitted. "If you'll pardon me for saying so, my king, you might have bitten off a bit more than you can chew. Would it not have been easier to merely take over the Diamond Dog kingdoms, so fractured as they are?"

"Absolutely not!" I roared. "It would have... it wouldn't..." I growled and flicked my hand at Marller. "It doesn't matter. We're here now, so we might as well keep fighting."

"My king, I must urge you to reconsider. We cannot beat the Equestrians now that we know that Luna is immune to Nightmare Weapons. If we wiped out every pony in existence in this war, which we will in no way accomplish, Luna would return the favor. She would erase even the mere memory of the minotaur race. We cannot win this war!"

"We can, and we will," I insisted. "I don't need to wipe Equestria out. I merely need to make them believe that surrendering to me is the far less costly option. They will have to wonder how many more must die before the war comes to an end."

"Yes, King Purgle. How many more must die before the war comes to an end?"

"Hopefully not many more," I said with a nod. "The Equestrians see our true power now!"

"And what power might that be?" a sickly voice replied.

Marller turned around and stepped aside, allowing me to get a good look at who had just barged into my tent. I sneered at the pathetic form of Queen Chrysalis herself. She looked far more gaunt then when I had seen her last, and her legs had more holes than I remember seeing before. Besides all of that, she was hardly larger than a filly. In short, she was useless to me.

"Military power that the Equestrians cannot hope to match," I said confidently.

"Oh?" Chrysalis let out a raspy chuckle. "I seem to recall that the Equestrian army has always been smaller than yours, but they won the first battle quite handily. Admit it: you only won this latest battle because of my forces."

"I will admit no such thing! You were stupid enough to get hit by a Nightmare Weapon, thereby allowing the Equestrians to decimate your forces."

"And your 'genius tactical mind' thinks that having your troops charge straight forward, allowing hundreds, if not thousands, of them to be mowed down by arrows, boulders and fire is a sound military strategy." Chrysalis responded. She paused for a few moments for a few wheezing coughs. "At least mine changed their forms to cause chaos once we reached the front lines."

"Well you need to do better next time," I snapped. "You did good, I suppose, but not as good as you should have."

Chrysalis stared at me for a few seconds, almost as if studying me. I didn't like it. I didn't like her looking at me at the best of times, but now that she looked so... grotesque, it was especially unsettling. It was a few moments before she spoke to me again.

"I will no longer take the battlefield with you."

I snarled and shot to my hooves. "You are a coward!"

"No, a pragmatist." Chrysalis sighed and closed her eyes. "My weakness has always been my pride and my lust for power. Every time I get some power, I become intoxicated by it. I suppose it comes from living in the Badlands where we have nothing, including a steady supply of food. When I felt strong enough to take Canterlot, I attacked. I even succeeded for a while, but my pride led to my downfall. Then I allied myself with an army of four hundred thousand minotaurs, adding a hundred thousand of my own. This time things would be different. This time I had the means to truly take Equestria for my hungry brood. Instead, I was hit with a Nightmare Weapon and caused the slaughter of nearly four fifths of my swarm." Chrysalis shook her head. "I am done with you, Purgle. I see too much of myself in you. Someone who became intoxicated when life handed them power that they did not know what to do with. I suffered a painful death because of my hubris." Chrysalis tilted her head. "What shall happen to you, I wonder?"

I reached beside my throne to grab a spear. Let her talk to me like that with a blade in her chest! Before I could kill that abomination, she walked out of my tent. I could have gone after her. Chased her out of my camp or until I caught her. It wasn't as though killing her would present anything other than a minor, painful inconvenience.

It wasn't worth the effort to squash that bug, though.

"So what now?" I growled. "We are back where we started in terms of troop numbers."

"Farther back, actually," Marller pointed out. "We lost a good twenty thousand troops during the last battle. The Equestrians lost nearly twice as many, last I heard, but..."

I grunted and waved that aside. "We can afford losses much more than they can." I sighed and sat back down on my throne. "I will have my victory against the Equestrians, Marller. We've come much too far to back out now."

"If that's the way you feel, I cannot stop you. However, I cannot help but feel that you are condemning both of us to death with that decision."

"I was going to die anyway, you said so yourself," I retorted, getting off of my throne.

"Most likely, but the troops are questioning what kind of leader would take his subjects down with him?"

I glared at Marller but decided not to comment. I'd been suspecting that Marller was one of those "other troops" he kept mentioning. Minotaurs who doubted my victory. We would see sooner rather than later, I figured. We had an advantage, even with the changelings gone. Soon Cromwell would get his featherbrained subjects under control so we could begin our two-front war in earnest. We'd proven that the Equestrians were not unbeatable, especially if I got my hands on an air force to counteract their blasted pegasi. Reports had said that the pegasi suffered the most losses in the last battle. They were used as ranged troops, not hoof-to-hoof fighters.

Let them all rot.

I walked out of my tent just in time to see a squire walk up to me with a plain brown box in his hands. I frowned and pointed at it.

"What is that?"

The squire stopped in front of me and bowed low. "It is a package from Prince Antares himself, King Purgle."

My eyes narrowed. "Antares sent that package?"

"Yes, my king," the squire replied as a fair number of minotaurs stopped what they were doing to watch. "It was delivered by a pegasus courier not ten minutes ago."

"I see." I frowned and tapped my jaw. "And did you kill this pegasus squire?"

The squire shifted uncomfortably. "Well... no. I figured it was against the code of conduct, and I'm not exactly armed at all times, so--"

"Whatever. I guess it doesn't matter." I sighed and waved my hand at the box. "Go on. Open it. Show me what Antares has for me."

"Yes, my king, of course." The squire borrowed a knife and cut the tape off of the top of the box. He opened up the top flaps and flinched back with a frightened squeak when he saw what was inside. "Oh... um..."

"What is it? Show me!"

"I don't... um..." The squire gingerly reached into the box, almost like it was full of poisonous spiders, and pulled out the contents. My eyes narrowed when I saw what he held. Johland's head, still frozen in an expression of shock and pain. Antares had dared to send me Johland's head! He had kept it preserved until he decided to send it to me. Disgusting.

"There appears to be a note as well," the squire continued. "It says 'you have defeated us once. You will not do so again. I will give you one last chance to end the war. If you do not, I will kill every member of your army that stands by you. Any minotaurs that leave will be spared and allowed to return to their families to a life of peace that we both want. I will make the remnants of your army wish for the days when I merely dropped napalm on them. Goodbye.'"

I snorted steam and stomped on the ground. "Does he think he can intimidate me?!" I roared. "I will put his head on a pike outside Canterlot Castle for all of the world to see!" I pointed at the squire. "Send a reply. I won't let him bully me into submission."

"Yes, my king, of course." The squire looked in the box again. "Though there does appear to be..." The squire reached into the box again. "One more thing in--"

The box promptly exploded, obliterating the squire and shooting what appeared to be nails in all directions. I immediately hit the ground as the force of the explosion pushed me back. A nail whizzed past the spot my neck had been only a moment before. I heard screams of pain as the minotaurs around me dropped from being caught in the blast, or from being struck by one of the nails. My ears were ringing from the sound of the explosion itself. I closed my eyes and grabbed my head until the ringing subsided.

Once I had a clear head again, I noticed a slight pain in my right forearm. Apparently I had been grazed by one of the nails. It will take more than that to kill me, Antares! I shot to my hooves and surveyed the damage. Over two dozen minotaurs lay on the ground, most groaning from the pain of their injuries, while some were clearly dead. I growled and turned to Marller.

"Marller, let--"

My eyes widened when I saw him on the ground, choking on his own blood. Two nails were sticking out of his chest, while another protruded from his left shoulder. I knelt next to him and tried to put pressure on the wounds without disturbing the nails.

"Medic!" I roared. "Get someone over here now!"

A pair of medical minotaurs raced to the scene and immediately began working on saving Marller. The rest could die of their injuries, but I couldn't let my most valuable source of information die. He was the one who had contact with the spies in Equestria, and I couldn't lose that link!

I stared at the medics as they took Marller away on a stretcher. I didn't miss the grim looks they gave each other as they took Marller away. I slammed my hoof on the ground and wheeled away from the sight. He had to survive. I didn't know if I could even control my army without him. I stomped into my tent and stared at the back wall. I would kill Antares. I swore by all of the forces of this world or the next that I would make him suffer for this... embarrassment!

I don't know how long I stood there before I heard the tent flap open again. I turned around, expecting to see a medic with news of Marller's condition. Instead I only saw a minor minotaur clan leader, whose name I didn't even care to remember. He didn't even bow to me.

"Purgle, after the events of today, my clan has decided to withdraw our support."

Hatred filled my eyes as I approached the minotaur, my hand resting on the pommel of my sword. "If you even think about it, I will have you all executed as deserters!" I withdrew my sword. "And it's King Purgle to you!"

The minotaur didn't even blink. "No, it isn't. And we have thought about it. Do try to round up your demoralized force to capture and execute the five thousand of us who will be returning back to our homes. If you try to kill me here, my clan will send one, and only one, assassin after you. I won't do it now because I don't want to deprive Antares of the satisfaction. You are hated, Purgle. You will not survive." With that declaration, he turned around and began walking out of my tent. Before he left completely, he stopped. "I won't wish you good luck in your upcoming conflict. All of the powers of Paradise and Tartarus can't save you now. What use is luck in the face of that?"

"I... you can't..." I threw my sword down on the ground in a fit of rage. "Fine! Then go! Get out of here! I will wipe your clan out once I have my victory against the Equestrians!"

"I look forward to fighting the twelve demoralized and battered soldiers who will be left once this war is over. Twelve, of course, being an optimistic estimate."

"Just go!"

The smug bastard left without another word. I'd have to deal with him once this was over. What was his clan's name again? Bah, no matter. I'd figure it out once I had Antares's head. I'd win. And then I could be king over all minotaurs and ponies. Nobody could stop me then.


*  *  *  *


I won't do it. I won't let a few of Antares's fancy toys force me and my subjects into submission. We griffins are a strong race, and we will prove that to the world. I'll admit that we've suffered a few setbacks, but once I start getting control of my subjects we can restart our war plans in earnest. After their defeat to the minotaurs and changelings, which resulted in the loss of all of their zebra allies, the Equestrians were severely weakened. They lost half of the army that took to the field that day, or so I heard.

But that wasn't at the forefront of my mind at the moment. Before I could send my army out again, I needed to get control of my subjects, who liked spending time rioting outside of my palace. Somehow they'd found out about my plans to continue the war against Equestria, despite the fact that we hadn't even had a real battle with them. That hardly mattered. My army was fresh and had suffered no severe casualties, something I could not say for the Equestrians. After the beating they took, they could not fight a two-front war.

I rested my head on my foreclaw while I imagined what I'd do once Equestria was mine. Oh, I'm sure Purgle would want his portion of it, and he could have his farmland and desert. By virtue of my army being stronger, and having more Nightmare Weapons, I could march all of the way to Canterlot, taking time to sack Baltimare before I did. I'd kill Celestia and Antares, then probably those Element Bearers and Cadance for good measure, then keep Luna as my captive. I’d have her muzzled and leashed to my throne with the promise of mass death among her former subjects if she didn't behave. Given her immortality, she could be passed down through the generations as a sort of family pet. Best have my scientists begin work on a powerful, and permanent, magical suppression ring now, then. After that, taking over the Crystal Empire would be even easier than taking over Equestria. All kinds of good resources there. Ooh, then maybe I'd take Celestia's bastard as my ward. Train it to be loyal to me!

I chuckled while I amused myself with those thoughts, but finally decided that if I wanted this very real possibility to pass, I needed to get some work done. I had quelled a fair few of the draft riots, and it seemed to be about time to start making more preparations to march on Equestria. The loss of our railroads and a few high ranking officers were a mere setback. Nothing more. We'd restore the griffin empire under my watch. Maybe I'd be seen as the greatest griffin emperor ever. How could I not be?

"Sergeant, I'm going to my private dining hall now," I said, stepping gracefully off of my throne. "I would like steak and chicken for lunch with candied apricots for dessert."

"Yes, your highness," the sergeant replied, bowing to me. "I shall have the chefs begin working at once."

"See that you do. I'm hungry and I need my strength if I'm going to be taking over Equestria."

I left my throne room and went in the direction of my dining room. As I was feeling in a particularly light mood, I decided that I could take the scenic route. Get a good view of the hustle and bustle of Iselin before eating. Besides, the chefs would need a short amount of time to prepare my food in the first place. Might as well see the sights so I wasn't sitting in my dining room bored and hungry.

As I approached the dining hall, I heard a strange noise coming from outside my palace. It sounded like yelling of some sort, but... no. That couldn't be it. I had suppressed all of the riots! I left twelve deserters hanging from city hall as a warning to all who would leave my army! Surely they weren't rioting again already? I felt I had been quite clear.

I stepped out onto the balcony where I usually gave my rousing speeches and grimaced at the sight. Unfortunately it seemed my subjects hadn't gotten the message. Thousands of griffins both on the ground and in the air were yelling at my palace guards, who were doing their best to keep the chaos well in claw. I frowned when I noticed that many of the griffins seemed to be holding pieces of paper. They seemed to have photographs on them. I turned to my sergeant.

"Sergeant, what is the meaning of all of this? Why was I not informed of this disturbance?"

The sergeant shifted uneasily and cleared his throat. "Well... Your Majesty did command that you were not to be disturbed for any reason while you were drawing up plans for the war today."

I growled and faceclawed. "Sergeant... I meant for anything other than something like this!"

"You were quite insistent that you be left to formulate your genius battle plans, your highness."

"I...well it doesn't matter now, I suppose!" I wheeled around and went to the edge of the balcony and pointed at the crowd. "Those papers. What are they? What do they say on them?"

"I know not, your highness."

"Well then get one for me!"

"Yes, your majesty." The sergeant took wing and flew down into the chaos, leaving me to wonder just what in Tartarus was on those papers that could have gotten them all so worked up. I felt I was slowly gaining control of the situation with my brilliant speeches, especially after the Equestrians lost their battle. I was unsure of why things had gotten so out of control. Hopefully the papers would explain a few things. If I knew what the issue was, I could combat it before I had to deal with this violently.

The sergeant returned after a few moments, holding the paper away from himself like it was a particularly nasty animal he didn't want biting him. I let out a long suffering sigh. I am surrounded by idiots. What could possibly be on that paper that was truly so bad?

"Well, what is it?" I asked as the guard landed in front of me, still holding the paper away from his body.

"It's not good, Your Highness. It appears to be from the Equestrians."

"From the Equestrians?" I snatched the paper away. "What could they have possibly sent that--"

Oh. Oh dear.

My jaw dropped when I saw the paper. It indeed have a picture on it, but nothing like I'd ever seen before. Oh my word. The paper bore a picture of an entire field of minotaur bodies, blackened and burned from the napalm Antares had dropped on them. A few of the bodies in the foreground of the picture still had their faces in silent screams, with their hands on their bodies as though they were trying to put out the flames. I flipped the paper over and flinched back at the second picture shown. Hundreds of dead Diamond Dogs littered the field. Many had arrows sticking out of them, while others were slashed with blades. A few were as charred as the minotaurs in the other picture as they seemed to be trying to crawl out of the holes they were in. Underneath those pictures were a few simple words.

Stay away or this will seem like foal's play.

No. No, I couldn't let Antares bully me like this. If I withdrew from the war simply because he sent me a few unnerving photographs, that would be silly. I am a strong emperor, and I will be seen as the strongest emperor the world has ever known. Now I just needed to convince my subjects of that. I walked past the sergeant, who had actually sat down and began crying, the weak fool, out to my balcony. I activated the magical gem on the railing of the balcony, which allowed me to be heard over the shouts of the rioters.

"My subjects! My beloved subjects! I must ask for peace, and for you to give me your attention so I can explain this matter!" The noise began dying down as the crowd noticed my words and stopped to hear them. No matter how mad at the situation they were, they'd still take time to hear me out, given my position.

"I understand the unease you may feel upon seeing these photographs. I completely sympathize with your wariness to continue the war against Equestria. It is true that the Equestrians have brought weapons unlike anything the world has ever seen, but it is equally true that the Equestrians have suffered a major defeat on their western border. They are not invincible." I smiled when I saw that the crowd seemed to be completely calm now. It appeared my words were having an effect. "How much more of these weapons can they truly have? They doubtlessly spent all of it fighting the minotaurs. What's more is the fact that any new weapons the Equestrians wish to take to the field would take more time to develop. If we struck sooner rather than later, they would be at our complete mercy!"

Things were going so well, they really were. Unfortunately, any crowd is like a pile of dry timber. All it takes is one spark to set them off. A griffin in the crowd helpfully complied.

"My son died in this pointless war! How many more sons and daughters will you kill before this is over?!"

The whole crowd seemed to be in agreement with that assessment, as they began shouting at me again. I raised my claw to quiet them all down again. This was a step back, but not a loss by any means. I just had to be careful with my words.

"My subjects, that is not my intent. Don't you see? The Equestrians are too weak to put up a big fight. They have lost too much of their army!" The crowd quieted down once more. Good. "I would not sacrifice any of your children needlessly. The few that might die taking over Equestria would be hailed as heroes from now until the end of all things. They wouldn't--"

"No more war! You're lying to us! Put Princess Kathyrine on the throne!"

"Yes, give us Princess Kathyrine!"

Oh no. This wasn't good. I ducked a tomato thrown by an airborne griffin as the crowd began chanting Kathyrine's name. I was about to order the arrest of the traitor who had assaulted me, but the crowd began throwing more produce at me, some even throwing rocks, all while hundreds of griffins chanted Kathyrine's name.

I had to get out of there.

Still ducking for cover, I crawled back through the door to the balcony. My guards stood at attention on either side of the door. Fat lot of good they were.

Things could get worse very soon.


*  *  *  *


"So it looks like things are going alright over there, then."

I smiled and nodded at Kathyrine, who was reading the reports of the recent troubles in her homeland. It seems they met her approval. "Yeah, the plants we had in the crowd did a pretty good job riling them up. I think it's going to be a while before Cromwell gets control of your people again, time we're not going to give him."

"So what's next then, Antares?" Kathyrine asked, putting the report down.

"Next is a bit of waiting, I'm afraid. We have to gather more support for you within the country before we can strike, otherwise any rebellion we try is going to be over pretty quickly, even with his slowly dwindling support. I'd hate for him to get control of the country again by removing his biggest threat to the throne."

"So how long will it all take?"

I shrugged. "Shouldn't take more than a month or so. With all of the trouble we're stirring up there, that should be plenty. He's not going to get control of the country any time soon."

"And if he does, what's going to happen if he marches on your western border?"

I smiled confidently as memories of the Gatling Gun we were days away from finishing flashed in my head. "It's simple. I keep the promise I made in the propaganda I just spread. It's true that both the minotaurs and the griffins have larger armies, but that hardly means they have the advantage. I'm hoping this stupid war is almost over."

"And I get to kill Cromwell, right?" Kathyrine said. I couldn't miss her eager tone.

"My subjects won't even be in the country once the revolution starts. If you get him and the other dukes, they are yours to do with as you please. It's your country, and I'm not going to interfere, so long as you promise to put an end to any conflicts between our nations."

"Don't worry, don't worry," Kathyrine replied, waving a claw at me. "Even if I wasn't indebted to you for saving my hide, I've seen those pictures you dropped on Iselin. I don't want to be on the wrong end of that."

"Good. We're in agreement about that, then." I stood up, and Kathyrine did the same. "If you'll excuse me, Empress Kathyrine, I have an appointment to keep. Something I should have done a few days ago."

"Yeah, yeah, go rule your nation. I'll be fine. Haven't died here yet, right?"

I gave her a smile that held no trace of humor. It was more like a grimace, really. "Of course. I'll see you later."

I exited my meeting room and took a deep breath. It had been two days and I still hadn't told Tulip about her husband's death. Was it cowardly of me? Yeah, I guess so. Regardless, I already knew that Tulip wouldn't take this very well, but I didn't really know how she wouldn't take it well. I took a deep breath and walked into my throne room, where Tulip would likely be doing some paperwork. Sure enough, she'd set up a desk behind my throne and was looking over some things for me.

Oh me, I can't do this.

But I had to.

I gently cleared my throat and Tulip looked up from her work. She smiled at me and got off of her chair, sinking in a bow. "Prince Antares, is there anything you need?"

"Just to talk to you," I said.

"Of course. "Tulip straightened up and walked over to me. "What do you want to talk about?"

"It's about the war. We got in another battle, and we lost this one." Tulip's smile faded, and I could see fear creeping up in her eyes. I took another deep breath and continued on. "We lost a lot of ponies, Tulip. And... there's no real easy way to say this, but--"

"Stop." Tulip sat down on her haunches and put her hooves over her ears. Her jaw began wobbling and she shook her head. "I don't want to hear it."

"Tulip, I'm sorry. If there is anything--"

"Shut up," Tulip whispered. "Y-you don't know what you're talking about." Tears began streaking down her face, and she began shaking her head more violently. "It's somepony else. You'll see. H-he'll be back soon, and we can raise our foals and grow old together a-and you'll be wrong."

"Tulip, I know this hurts. I can't imagine what you're going through. I'm here if you need me."

"Just go away. Leave me alone!"

"Okay, if that's what you need. If you want to talk later, I'm here."

"Just go away!" Tulip screeched, shooting to her hooves. "Get away from me!"

Tulip shot out of the throne room, exiting through one of the side doors. I could hear her sobbing fade away as she ran. Of course she was devastated. How could she not be? I'd give her all the time she needed. And as... a war widow, I'd take care of her for the rest of her life. She never had to worry about that. She probably wouldn't care about that, though. She'd just want her husband back. I'd do anything to make that a reality for her, but even alpha alicorns could not raise the dead.

My ear swiveled in the direction Tulip had left when I heard crying. Not the kind of crying Tulip was doing, but rather the sound of foals crying. I grimaced and trotted in that direction. Tulip was in no shape to take care of the twins right then, and I knew they could be a hoofful at the best of times. As I got nearer to Tulip's apartment, I could hear talking.

"--want you opinion I'll ask for it!" I heard Tulip say. "Just get out of here!"

"Miss Tulip, I don't know what's going on, but if you'll just calm down I can take care of the twins," Sunny Breeze replied. "You can go rest and--"

"Shut up!" Tulip screeched. "Get out of here! In fact, you're fired, you nag!" The twins kept crying through all of this, which just seemed to piss Tulip off more. "Shut up, you two! Why can't you give Mommy just two seconds of peace and quiet? Why did you have to go start a war?!"

I'd heard enough. I threw open the door and stomped inside, not afraid to use my body's impressive size for intimidation to get things under control.

"Tulip that is enough!" I roared. "Be mad, be angry, scream and cry in private if you want, or heck, scream at me, but you will not take your pain out on them!"

"Oh just stay out of it!" Tulip said, wheeling around to face me. "It's... it's your fault my husband is dead!" Sunny gasped, but didn't say anything. "You should have been there! You should have protected him! Was he just worth nothing to you? Was that it? What did we do to displease you to the point where you'd just let my husband die?!"

I stared at Tulip for a few moments, weighing my options. She wasn't going to calm down, and that could be dangerous. She wasn't an especially powerful unicorn, but at the same time any pony can do a lot of damage if they surge. Based on the magic I sensed flowing through the air, she was getting dangerously close to that. I turned to Sunny and motioned to the twins with a wing.

"Get them out of here. Tulip and I need to talk."

"NO!" Tulip screeched, making her way toward her children. "You will not take my foals from me like you took my husband!"

I lit my horn and encased Tulip in a magical shield. She pounded on it and screamed profanities while Sunny collected the foals and rushed out of the room as quickly as she could without disturbing the twins more. When I felt they were safe, I released Tulip and locked the door.

"Tulip..." I gingerly approached her as she lay on the ground, sobbing her eyes out. "I know it hurts. Believe me, I can understand that you're in pain."

"How can you?" she snarled. "What experience do you have that could possibly match mine?"

"Tulip, I lost my whole family forever, and I'm going to have to spend the rest of time watching ponies I care for die around me. I'm not saying you are in the wrong because you feel this way. You are absolutely in the right to feel what you do."

"Just get out of here!" Tulip yelled, getting to her hooves again and glaring at me. "You don't get to talk to me about it! You weren't even there!" Desperation began creeping in her voice as she continued. "What did I do, Prince Antares? What did I do that displeased you this much? I bore a new race of ponies for you! I helped write your holy book! I have worshiped you since the moment I met you, and have spread your word all across Equestria! How did I fail you so much that you'd let my husband die?"

"Tulip, I did not let your husband die! I would give anything to bring him back to you! But this is war, and ponies die in war." I gently extended a hoof, but she backed away from it. "But he died to save Equestria. He died to protect you and your foals from Purgle's evil. He died--"

"He died because you weren't there! He died because you're so weak that a single scratch from some ancient weapon knocks you out like you're a newborn foal!" I stepped back as the magic in the air became stronger. She was beginning to surge, and I wasn't sure if I could even stop it at this point. Sure enough, her horn began glowing with powerful magic. "What did I do wrong?! Is it because I held court for you while you were on the battlefield? Did I not worship you enough?! I tried! I really did! Why is nothing I do good enough for you?!

Her horn sent out a shockwave of magic that I barely managed to block in time. The rest of the room was not so lucky. The magic tore open the couch, shattered vases, and even began peeling the paint off of the walls. Good thing the twins weren't in the room, or they could have gotten seriously hurt. What's worse is that I couldn't even use my own magic to stop her, or the backlash of that much magic with nowhere to go but back would definitely kill her. I had to let the surge run its course and try to keep the damage to a minimum.

"You should have been there!" Tulip cried, her eyes glowing white. "Why did you even have to take him away from me at all?"

"You know why. He volunteered himself to fight! He knew the risks, but he also knew that he had to do whatever he could to protect you and your children! He loved you more than life itself and sacrificed it so that you three would never have to worry about being under the hoof of a tyrant! Purgle will kill your children if he ever gets his hands on them!" I reached out with my passive magic and began trying to siphon some of the magic in the air away to cut down on the time Tulip surged. "Princess Luna was there and said--"

"Fuck that useless cunt of a princess!" Tulip roared, sending out another shockwave that turned the surrounding furniture into kindling. "If she saw it then that means she could have done something but didn't! Why? Why did you send my husband to die? Why was he just fodder for the minotaurs?!"

"He was not!" I roared. This was getting out of hoof. "I would have given up my crown to protect him from this fight!"

"Liar!" As I was in tune with the magic in the air, I sensed that she was about to attack. She tore out whole chunks of her walls and hurled them at me. I turned them to dust with a single spell. I sensed one more attack and raised a shield that blocked the beam of pure energy that she shot at me. I felt enough magic behind it to know that it would have easily killed a normal pony if it had hit. "I hate you! You have no idea what you're doing, do you?!"

"Of course I don't!" I screeched. My admission snapped Tulip out of her pure rage, and a look of surprise crossed her face. Her horn began powering down, and I used the opportunity to remove the remaining magic around her. Once she had completely calmed down, I wrapped my magic around her horn to prevent another surge. The two of us stared at each other for a moment before I sighed and sat down in front of her. I suddenly felt more tired than I had in a long time.

"You think I prepared for this, leading a war? Of course I didn't. How could I? You know my history. I never wanted any of this, but here I am." I stared down at my hooves. "Sometimes I wonder if I even know who I am anymore. I've killed so many beings. More than I care to count, and every single moment I wonder what I could have done differently that would have saved more lives, or even prevented the war altogether. I... I would give up my crown to bring my subjects back. I wouldn't hesitate. Heck, there are days when I'd give up everything just for one more afternoon fishing by the lake in Ponyville." I looked back up to Tulip, who was staring at me like she wasn't sure if she should still be mad at me.

"Prince Antares, I... I don't mean to..." She trailed off, leaving me to return her stare.

"I will see your husband's face every time I close my eyes from now until the end of my life, possibly millions of years from now. You get to die, Tulip. Someday you'll put down your burden and go to paradise. I can't. Not until a time that is so far away that no one alive can even conceive it. I have to live with the burden that I'm trying to protect millions of ponies, when I can't even protect those near me. Your husband was killed, Rainbow Dash lost a leg, Applejack lost an eye, Rapids' face is never going to be the same again..." I sighed and lowered my head. "Since I've been back, I get ponies in court every day begging me to bring their children home, or asking why I couldn't save their loved ones. I've had childless parents come in, clinging to some vague hope that maybe I can bring their children back to them. I'm a god, right? What can't a god do?"

"Prince Antares, you're very powerful. I'm sorry I yelled, I just..." She took a shaky breath in. "Don't do this to me. You can't be just another pony. You're Prince Antares! Y-you can't just be somepony who got hit with the necklaces. You have to be more than that!"

"You'd think so," I said bitterly. "But I've long since learned the curse that comes with my position. You're right: I have more power than all but a few beings in history, and at the end of the day I can't do anything with it. I can't save anypony from this war. I'm not just another pony." I motioned to myself. "But this is what I am. Just a scared being over his head with power he can't use to save those around him. I say that I'd give up my crown to go back to the days when I was fishing by a lake, but I can't. I say I'd give up my immortality to bring back those ponies I failed to protect? Well I can't. I can't, and I have to live with that until the sun itself goes out, and I die. From this day to that, I have to keep failing in the same ways over and over again, just with slight variations." I gave Tulip a humorless smile. "And the most interesting part of all this is that if you ask Celestia or Luna, they'll tell you the exact same thing. Ponies all over Equestria dream of being like us, but it's a nightmare. A hellish nightmare that we can't ever wake up from."

I sighed and got to my hooves. "But maybe I'm just being dramatic, right? It's all just stress? I guess it doesn't really matter."

Tulip shifted uncomfortably, unable to make eye contact with me. "So... what happens now?"

"You take the time you need to grieve. You will be doing it in one of the other apartments in the palace. This one might need some repairs."

"And can I get my foals and magic back?"

I shook my head. "Not right now. You're upset, and you've already surged once. On top of that, you attacked me. I'm sorry, but there are consequences for that. You're not in a state to do your job correctly anyway. Take the time you need to recover, and we'll discuss what will happen going forward."

"Am... am I going to lose my job?" Tulip whispered.

"Like I said, we'll discuss it." I unlocked the apartment door, where several guards were already waiting. Doubtlessly they'd heard the commotion and rushed over to make sure I was safe. I pointed to two of them, then back to Tulip.

"Take her to one of the vacant apartments. She's not allowed to leave." I turned back to Tulip. "If you need anything, anything at all, just ask and I will see it done. I'm sorry it has to be this way, but you need a little time to cool off and mourn." I tried for a comforting smile. "Don't worry. I'm not going to throw you in jail forever."

"Okay," Tulip whispered, her voice barely audible. She followed the guards out of the apartment, her head low and her tail between her legs. I made a note to myself to send a psychologist to talk to her. She needed somepony who had an inkling of what to do about this kind of thing.

"Prince Antares?" I looked over to the guard who'd spoken, my face a carefully neutral mask. "Are... are you okay?"

I tried my best smile and nodded. "Of course I am. What happened with Tulip is unfortunate, but she's going to be alright. I've got everything under control."

Maybe if I said it enough I'd start believing it.


*  *  *  *


It’s nighttime when I reach Canterlot. There are a few patrols circling the castle grounds, but they don’t make a big deal out of seeing me. I’m around all of the time, especially since Celestia is really starting to get bigger from the pregnancy. 

I land in the castle gardens and take a few moments to re-center myself. Talking to Celestia about everything that happened with Tulip is going to be stressful, especially since I really had no idea what to do. She’d know, though. She always knew what to do. 

Granted, her consigliere/secretary wasn’t nearly as fanatical as mine. Still, she’d probably have some wise words about it, right?

I walked past the statue of Discord and stared up at him for a moment. Gosh, wouldn’t that just be the worst if he escaped again? Granted, the Elements would probably be able to contain him, given that both Rainbow and Applejack were doing far better. 

Though did his statue always have that tiny crack on his arm? I’m pretty sure it did. It’s just the effects of stone. Nothing to get too terribly worked up over. He was secure, and wasn’t going to get out.

I took wing and flew over to Celestia’s window. She appeared to be doing some paperwork when I reached it. Somehow she must have sensed that she was being watched, because she raised her head before looking over at me. She smiled and put her quill down, using her magic to open the window for me. 

“Hey, Celestia,” I said, walking over to her for a kiss and nuzzle. “How are things with you and the foal?”

“Stressful with me, good with the foal.” Celestia and I walked over to her bed and sat down. She grabbed my hoof and put it on her belly. My eyes widened when I felt a little kick. Celestia chuckled and nuzzled me again. “Little Titus has become very active lately. He or she wants out soon.”

“Probably going to have to wait a few more months there, buddy,” I said to Celestia’s stomach. I raised my head back to Celestia and shrugged. “Unless you being an alicorn speeds that up.”

“It might,” Celestia admitted. “My doctor says that I’m farther along than I should be, so we could become parents sooner than we think.”

“Seems I have to end the war now, then.”

Celestia’s smile faded, and she leaned her head on my shoulder. “Yes, I suppose so. How are things on that front?”

“Tanks are ready to go. We still need a few more days with the Gatling Guns. Unless Purgle gets control of his forces soon, we’ll be ready by the time he moves out again.”

“I have heard that some of the smaller clans have already started leaving.”

I smiled at that. “Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard, too. That can only be good, both for our war efforts and keeping the country as intact as we can once it’s over. I really doubt they’re going to want to regroup and attack once this is all over.”

“Not in the next couple of generations, no,” Celestia agreed. “Some will try to advance to our technology level.”

“I figured that was going to happen, but we need to end the war now.”

“We do indeed.”

Celestia and I sat in silence for a few more minutes, just enjoying the quiet. I smiled when Titus kicked again.

“He knows his daddy,” Celestia said. 

“Seems so. Guess he can’t wait to meet me.”

“And I cannot wait to meet him.” Celestia chuckled slightly. “Or her, if my doctor is anything to go by. He insists that he senses a filly.”

“And mine insists Titus is a colt. I guess we’ll see.” I nuzzled Celestia and wrapped my wing around her. “But either way, I don’t want him or her growing up without parents. When I go back out there, it will be to make sure that he never has to worry about that. And beyond all of that, he needs both of us together as best as we can. I know it will be difficult with me ruling from Baltimare and you from Canterlot, but I think we can make it work.” I squeezed Celestia tighter, and she wrapped her forelegs around one of mine. “So Celestia... will you marry me?”

Celestia nuzzled into my grasp, and I could almost feel her smile. 

“Of course I will.”

And then we made love.