//------------------------------// // You go to the library. // Story: Joffrey Baratheon in Equestria (A Create Your Own Adventure Story) // by Deneld the Unspooked //------------------------------//         You decide to make your way to the castle library. Seems an obvious choice, all things considered. Gathering a working knowledge of this place can only be a good thing, and perhaps showing a bit of bookishness will help win Princess Twilight’s esteem. You waste no time in rising up from your seat and walking over there, all the while admiring the architecture and decoration of the castle.         By the time you arrived at your destination, you had expected to find some other miniature horse over there. Not necessarily Twilight’s other student, but at least a librarian or custodian. Yet, all that greets you now is the vast array of books stocked on a vast array of shelves. Light from a glass-paned window on the upper wall illuminates the room, its rays peering down at a table standing in the middle. This table lacks chairs, yet is not tall enough for you to rest a book on while standing. Looks like you get to sit on the floor. A king. Sitting on the floor. A truly revolting thought.         You walk up to a shelf next to the table and give the books a quick run-down. Three titles catch your attention: A Crystal Empire in Chains; The Second Griffinic-Equestrian War; and The Ice Age: A Time Before Celestia. Apparently, you’d landed on the history section. As good a topic of study as any, you reckon. You grab the second-thinnest book, A Crystal Empire in Chains, and bring it down to the table, descending to a seated position on the floor as you open the book up to some random place in the middle and begin to read:         The invention of the mind-control mask had provided King Sombra with the tool for mass population control that the Empire had so badly needed. As before, he had required a sizable apparatus of enforcement for the labor and janissary forces, now all that was needed was a considerably smaller one for manufacture and maintenance of these masks. This, according to the head of the Imperial treasury, made the skills for the old method of repressing slaves obsolete. [25] Thus, the King had turned on the Ministry for Labor Peacekeeping, disbanding it officially on the seventh of January, 2986 PIA, [26] and enslaving many of those who had once been key to maintaining the practice of slavery. [27]         On the sixteenth of February in the same year, the Ministry for Psychological Security was founded. [28] The burgeoning scientific field of Magi-Technology was, as explained in the previous chapter, barely five decades old. (One may recall that it was, at the time, only outlawed in Equestria.) Nowhere was it more developed than the Crystal Empire; this advanced technological state was, as explained before, borne of necessity.         Commissioned to head the new Ministry was Doctor Mangle, [29] who had previously made a name for himself for his medical experiments with members of the surplus slave population. [30] As holder of a doctorate for both neurochemistry and magi-physics, [31] and with ample experience with serving in the old Ministry for Labor Peacekeeping, [32] he was ideal for heading the new Ministry for Psychological Security. The Doctor, who had ambitions for becoming head of the Ministry of Labor Peacekeeping prior to its disbandment, [33] wholeheartedly accepted his new role. [34]         You are interrupted by a hasty tap on your left shoulder. When you snap your gaze in its direction, your eyes meet those of a pony with a light plum coat.         The horse jolts back; her eyebrows shoot upward. “Oh! Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”         A corner of your lip curls downward.         “Let me introduce myself.” She gives you a curtsey; her movements are fluid, if rushed. “Starlight Glimmer. Student of Princess Twilight.”         You smile at the young horse. “Good day, Miss Glimmer. I am King Joffrey Baratheon. Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, King of the Andals and the First Men, and Protector of the Realm.”         Starlight lets out a chuckle; lets on a smirk. “I’ve heard about you, Joffrey. Quite the assortment of titles you have there.” A pause. “So, the Princess says I’m your new study partner.”         “I thought she was my study partner.”         “She is. So am I. You have two study partners. And two friends, if you play your cards right.” She nods. “Yep. Two erudite, popular, well-connected friends. A good deal, isn’t it?”         You tap the tips of your fingers together in front of your chest. “What do you mean?”         “Exactly what I said, Joffrey.”         “I don’t think so.”         Her smirk drops down. “Why not?”         “Because you said ‘popular’ and ‘well-connected’.”         “I did. And you’re a king, aren’t you? Don’t you have kingly ambitions?”         You pause for a second, looking her over. She seemed confident and earnest. “I do.” Her smirk returns. “Right. So it’s a good deal. A good deal, for the game you’re playing. For the game… we’re playing.” She gives you a knowing wink.         You smile and nod, extending an open upward-facing palm as you do so. Looks like I’m not the only one in this court who plays the game of thrones. Unless… You retract your hand and let down your smile. “Hold on. How do I know if the game you’re playing is the same as the one I’m playing?”         “What’s wrong? Don’t you value our friendship?”         “What I value is Princess Twilight’s good graces. I don’t want to give that up. Especially not on false pretenses.”         She hesitates. "I get it. I am, after all, a complete stranger to you. Hopefully, that’ll change in time, and you’ll know for sure what game I’m playing.” She raises a hoof, then taps the scabbard strapped to your waist. “Widow’s Wail?”         You bring a hand to the hilt of your sword, then clutch it tightly. “Yeah. Widow’s Wail. A Valyrian steel sword. My Valyrian steel sword.”         Her smirk stretches to a full smile. “Can I see it?”         You nod. “Alright.” You rise from your seated position, up on your feet. Then, you unleash Widow’s Wail, flourishing her in a single graceful motion before holding her blade slightly below Starlight’s eye-level. Starlight examines the sword with a mix of curiosity and awe in her eyes, and her smile changing to a grin. The red ripples on the black steel, and the brilliant gem encrusted in the center of the golden crossguard, shimmer with the light peering down from the window above. Your prized possession. As of yet, the sole tangible thing that truly separates you from the peasants and paupers of this realm.         She looks up to you. “That’s not just a sword. That’s a work of art! Where’d you get it?”         “My grandfather gave it to me on my wedding day.”         She lets out an airy chuckle. “Wedding day? A guy as young as you, married?”         “Yep. Margaery Tyrell.” A pause. “Political marriage. Beautiful girl nonetheless.”         “Political marriage? How quaint.”         You point Widow’s Wail upward, the flat of her blade facing you at eye level as you look upon her ripples. “Pretty common in Westeros. My parents married for political reasons. Grandfather Tywin lacked a male heir to House Lannister; Robert’s wife-to-be died before they could wed. So it was really more a marriage between House Lannister and House Baratheon than between Robert and Cersei.” You point Widow’s Wail forward, above Starlight’s head. “After Robert died, I became head of House Baratheon. When Grandfather Tywin kicks the bucket, I’ll be head of House Lannister, too.” Your lips curl up to a malevolent smile. “I’ll be the most powerful man alive. My reign will be legendary. My splendor will be unmatched. My word will be law.”         Starlight giggles. “Sounds ambitious. But you know, before any of that happens, you need to get back to Westeros. Which… doesn’t look like is gonna happen.”         Your smile drops down; you put Widow’s Wail back in her scabbard. “Yeah. You’re right. Might as well stick around and see what this whole ‘friendship’ thing is about.”         “It’s not as bad as you might think.”         “We’ll see.”         “You know; I think we’ll get along just fine.” A pause. “Princess Twilight sent me over here to tell you your first friendship lesson’s ready. In the courtyard. Ready to go?”         “Can you tell me what it is?”         “Humility.”         “Can you tell me what that entails?”         “A visit from Princess Celestia. And her Royal Guard. I suggest you make a good impression on her. She is, after all, your sovereign. For now.”         Sound advice. It may be best to take it. What a strange world, one where princesses apparently outrank kings. But then, you are only king of a faraway place. Essentially, king of nothing. But still a king; a king must maintain his pride and dignity, lest his title become truly meaningless.         A king must also be cunning. And the cunning plan ahead. As the courtyard is a fair distance away, now is your opportunity to do so.