//------------------------------// // Chapter 19: Weighted Feelings // Story: Rise of Char // by Turtlehaus //------------------------------// The Obsidian Crown was made to be unnecessarily heavy. It could have been made from any type of metal, forged to be nearly weightless, but it was like balancing a brick on my head. Wingston explained to me that it was simple way to remind the pony that wore it of the responsibilities and the burdens that came with leading a Kingdom. To shoulder your ponies through the darkest of times, carrying the weight of your title while still keeping your head up. Knowing that the moment you lowered your head, you conceded to whatever stood in your way. I still felt it was still unnecessarily heavy. It was customary for the King to sit on the throne, adorning the crown, and in light of Princess Sapphire being in the room I decided to try to look the part. Wingston sat at my left, General Hearth sat at my right while every pony else sat on the circular steps that arched out from the edges of my throne. Flare, Ray, Wisp and Solar stood within the center of the circle to address the throne and the ponies present. It was all too formal for my taste but seeing as this was going to be a very serious topic I decided to play this by the book. "Lord Smolder, during our search for the Mystery Pony in the mines we came across an iron clad Orc that is in the command of hundreds upon thousands of Cave Spiders, declaring that the age of Flame Ponies was coming to an end." Flare announced. "And you're sure that it was an Orc?" General Hearth asked aloud still sounding skeptical. "It showed us its face. I can confirm that it was an Orc, sir." Solar replied. "There hasn't been any sighting of an Orc since Grog." General Hearth mumbled to himself. "Grog may have had help, or perhaps it is an orc seeking to finish what Grog set off to do." Wingston said strumming his long fingers on his staff. "The Orc proved to be an exceptional fighter, utilizing ranged attacks and showed no fear of our fire." Wisp reported. "We should seal off any remaining routes into the mines both within the Castle and caves leading into the mountains." General Hearth suggested. "We will need to inform the neighboring Kingdoms of this, the Crystal Empire and Canterlot can support us if this Orc plans on starting a war with the Ashen Fields." Wingston recommended. "I will double up on the amount of patrols; we'll widen our routes to encompass Ponyville and the roads leading towards the Crystal Empire to minimize possible spider attacks." General Hearth announced. "We weren't able to find the Mystery Pony unfortunately." Ray added, looking rather disappointed. "Oh, we already found her." I spoke up. "Her?" Flare asked looking surprised. "Yes, her." Sapphire said looking rather hurt. "Princess Sapphire was the Mystery Pony?" Ray asked looking shocked. "I thought you said it was a colt?" Wisp asked looking rather confused. "You thought I was a colt?" Sapphire asked sounding rather flustered; her mane billowing small snowflakes. "The hoof prints in the rock wall were very large." Flare mumbled, noticing the sudden flush of purple come over Sapphire's face. "I coated my hooves with ice to break the rock and avoid chipping my manicured hooves." Flare said quickly looking rather embarrassed. "My apologies, my Lady." Flare said looking rather embarrassed herself. "Why in the hay did you leave those traps for us?" Wisp asked sounding rather annoyed. "Those were for the deplorable Cave Spiders that tried to follow me into the dungeons. They were meant to keep them out; not to keep you in." Sapphire replied whipping her mane to the side. "Oh yeah, that makes a lot of sense when you think about." Wisp mumbled to himself nodding his head. "In any case, your actions were very commendable. Uncovering this threat may have saved a great many Flame Ponies from another Black Winter." Wingston said bringing the conversation back around. Flare, Solar, Wisp, and Ray bowed their heads respectfully. "We'll need to mobilize the troops, have every capable Soldier Pony on and off duty report to Southern End of the Fields to be brought up to speed." General Hearth said pointing to the Flame Ponies. "At once, sir." Flare replied bowing once more before making their way towards the corridor leading to the Main Hall. "Rainbow Dash." General Hearth spoke up, seeing her get up to follow the Flame Ponies out. "Sup?" Rainbow Dash asked turning around. "Thank you. If not for you, I fear I would have lost a few of our Flame Ponies today." General Hearth said sounding very grateful. "Don't mention it." Rainbow Dash said waving her hoof at him. I rubbed by brow with my hoof, the thoughts of more spiders didn't sit well with me and this vengeful orc didn't help matters any. "General Hearth." I said dragging my hoof down my face. "Yes, my Lord?" General Hearth asked promptly turning to look at me. "Mr. Tutor, Fluttershy and a herd of foals and fillies went to Ponyville for a field trip today. Ensure that their return is met with an escort of Flame Pony soldiers." I said watching General Hearth nod in agreement. "Consider it done." General Hearth replied bowing his head quickly and excused himself from the room. "I'll personally write to Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance of the looming threat of this new Orc and its army of spiders." Wingston assured me. "The spiders can be dealt with later; our attention should be focused on the magical Obelisk looming over the fields." Sapphire stated. "How do you know it's magical?" Alex asked curiously. "I can see no other reasonable explanation for it being able to fly through the air." Sapphire replied rather sarcastically. "Point taken." Alex replied nodding in agreement. "So what exactly happened, Applejack?" I asked looking over at her and Tiff. "There isn't really much to tell, Roman and his unicorn work ponies were trying to dislodge the darn thing from the dam when it just suddenly took off." Applejack stated; giving her account of what transpired. "Did the obelisk react in any sort of way? Did you see any sort of abnormality with it before it took off?" Sapphire questioned her looking very interested. "Can't say that it did, one minute it's sitting tight and the next it was already half way to the castle." Applejack replied. "It did seem to have some sort of purpose." Tiff mentioned, speaking up. "Purpose? Explain, Flame Pony." Sapphire said commandingly. "It flew rather straight and true for the short time that it was in the air, but as it approached the castle it flipped end over end and seemed to plant itself upright." Tiff explained. "What does that prove?" I asked. "It could mean that the Obelisk is being drawn to that spot in particular, as if something is calling it there." Sapphire explained, patting her chin; deep in thought. "Was any pony hurt, Mr. Pitchstone?" I asked looking over to him. "No, my Lord, it did give us quite a start, but it was mostly just unnerving." Tiff replied. "I can imagine. How is that dam fairing now?" I asked shifting the discussion. "Roman has finished repairing the hole the Obelisk made, my Lord. Moonstone Dam is completed in full and we are ready to start irrigation at once." Tiff said happily. "I commend your efforts, Mr. Pitchstone, and thank you for all the work you've done. I cannot thank you enough either, Applejack." I said with a gracious smile. "We've got a lot more work to do before we can celebrate." Applejack replied tipping her hat to me. "I would ask Sapphire, Mr. Papyrus, and Twilight to examine the Obelisk in detail in hopes that they can uncover more of what its purpose is." I said noticing Sapphire impatiently tap her hoof. "What about your visions, Smolder?" Twilight asked curiously with a hint of concern in her voice. "Visions?" Wingston asked looking surprised. "Lord Smolder is having some sort of reaction to the rubbing; Lady Sapphire claims that it is Smolder's dormant magic asserting itself through bloodlines of his family." Alex explained as mostly every pony looked at me in confusion. I felt Wingston's staff clock me on the side of the head, nearly knocking my crown off. "You said you were hungry!" Wingston snapped. "I was! I just thought I was having hallucinations or something." I shouted rubbing my head. "Lady Sapphire says that if Smolder can wear the Obsidian Crown and look at the rubbing, he might be able to have a stronger connection to it and remember what he is seeing." Alex explained further. "It is only a theory, if Smolder was to awaken his magic, we wouldn't need to circumvent this." Sapphire mentioned. "We can deal with that later; your first priority is to determine if the Obelisk poses any immediate threat to us." I said to Sapphire who seemed rather annoyed with me; as if I had just given her an order. "Consider it taken care of, my Lord." Alex replied bowing his head. "Quickly now, we mustn't waste any more time speaking here." Sapphire said seeming rather eager to go check it out. Twilight and Alex got to their hooves, making their way to Sapphire. Rarity got up as well, but approached me instead. "Smolder, darling, there was a room in our shop that contained a hidden block which had several letters and a journal belonging to a Glow Sunbeam. At first I didn't realize her importance until I saw the name of shop. She used to live and most likely work there with her parents. It was originally called 'Hot and Smolder Choices.'" Rarity began holding the parchment and journal in her arms. "I know that place." Twilight said aloud as Alex nodded in agreement. "Twilight had mentioned that the Mad King had frequented such a place, but I can only speculate that it was because he was coming to see your mother. She mentions him by name several times, not that I read past the first page or so, but it was enough to realize who this belonged to." Rarity explained. I was fighting back the urge to take the letters and journal immediately. All I had of my mother was a name and what other ponies told me. To have the chance to know what sort of pony she was first hoof, to see what similarities we shared, and get a glimpse into the life she once had; I never thought I'd get that chance. I got off my throne, approaching Rarity, seeing her hold the bundle of parchment in her arms. "Thank you." I said to her, my voice slightly shaking. Rarity smiled sympathetically to me. Every pony could see that I would have liked nothing more than to take the bundle from her, but knowing I'd just burn them with a single touch I ended up just standing there staring at them in Rarity's arms. "I'll bring these to your room, Smolder. I'll help you go through them later tonight." Wingston said limping towards Rarity and holding out his arms to take the bundle. Rarity gave it to Wingston who hugged it close to his chest and covered it with part of his cloak. I took a deep breath, trying to let my feelings pass. "I also wanted to thank you and your incredible seamstress ponies for the work you did for the Coronation." I said looking over to Stitch, Rose, and Crow. "It was a pleasure, I assure you." Rarity said as Stitch, Crow, and Rose nodded in agreement. "I would… very much like to see this room you spoke of one of these days." I added. "Of course, whenever you'd like." Rarity said warmly. "The Coronation is tomorrow, Smolder. There is much we must prepare for before then." Wingston mentioned to me. "I hope to see you at the party tomorrow." I said with a smile, looking at Rarity and then to the other ponies. "You can count on it." Rarity replied. Every pony retreated out of the Throne Room, the Obsidian Crown still perched upon my head, but I didn't feel like taking it off just yet. I'd be wearing it almost all day tomorrow so I felt that I should start getting used to it. Every pony descended the staircase, returning to the tasks at hoof, I stood at the top of the staircase heaving a sigh as Wingston stood beside me. "Whoever this Orc is, he will be no match against the forces of Castle Char, Canterlot, and Crystal Kingdom." Wingston said trying to ease my worries. "I'm more worried about tomorrow, to be honest." I said looking over at him. "Nonsense. You'll do just fine." Wingston said limping towards the corridor leading to the Royal Bed Chambers. "It was easier when every pony referred to me as King, but now that every pony will know that I am the King. It makes it so much more… real." I said following him. "This responsibility has been placed upon you, Smolder. You will not face it alone, you have reformed the Council, you are kind to your Flame Ponies, and you have me here to help you along the way." Wingston said encouragingly. Reaching the Royal Chambers I placed my hoof upon the door, sliding it open as Wingston limped in. The Royal Guards were kind enough to remove all the ice from last night and cleared the debris of my broken bed along with the destroyed sundial. They even managed to replace my slab of granite. "I will leave these here for the time being." Wingston said placing the bundle of parchment atop the stone dresser. "When do you think we'll be able to look through it?" I asked trying not to sound too eager. "If time permits, tonight, but in the mean time I have left a stone slab on your granite of the lines you must memorize by tomorrow for your crowning ceremony. It's only a few short lines, easy enough to memorize in a day." Wingston mentioned motioning towards my bed. "Is that all?" I asked watching Wingston limp back towards the door. "Pinkie Pie will be by later to run you through the ceremony to give you a bit of practice and get you up to speed on the festivities." Wingston added. I watched as Wingston got to the doors of the chamber, a part of me got very frightened at not seeing him again; the Orc's threat having fueled my paranoia. "Wingston." I said aloud, some urgency in my voice. Wingston turned around to look at me. "Have one of the Royal Guards escort you around the Castle and the fields for the next few days." I said to him. "I hardly think that is necessary." Wingston replied. "Please, Wingston." I said, my voice sounding very concerned. Wingston nodded his head slowly, understanding my worry for his safety with the possibility of spiders roaming about. "Consider it done, my King." Wingston replied bowing his head to me. Wingston closed the door behind him. The thuds of his staff slowly echoing away. I turned towards the dresser, keeping a safe distance away as I tried to read what I could from what was on top. It proved fruitless as Rarity had placed the letters face down in the stack. I sighed loudly, hanging my head. "…what's eating you…" The voice from the mirror asked. I looked over to the twisted mirror. "I'm having a rough morning." I replied. "…tough…" I heard it reply. I sneered at the mirror, feeling my mane flare. "What do you want?" I asked sounding rather cold. "…you…" "Seems like every pony does." I mumbled. "…who…" "Spiders and an orc." I replied. "…meh…" I looked at the letters on the dresser; I could feel my heart beginning to race again as I so badly wanted to read them. "You knew my mother." I said after a while. "…who…" "The Queen of Flame Ponies, you said you met her." I continued. "…yeah…" "I'm her son." I stated. "…so…" "Could you tell me… I mean… could you describe..." I struggled to bring myself to say it. "…no…" "I know she's gone, but there's a part of me that can't fully let her go. There's a part of me that wants to believe she's still in the Void somewhere, that she's waiting to be rescued." I said pleadingly to it. "…no…" My heart throbbed sorrowfully. I lowered my head, letting the Obsidian Crown slide off and fell to the floor, landing with a loud thud. I could feel my breaths become shallow, I knew that I was close to crying, but I did my best to hold it back. "…she loved you…" My head lifted up in the instant. My heart leaping from the pit of my stomach, I could feel my breathing get shorter and shorter as I leaned in closer. "What?" I asked in a small gasp. "…wouldn't shut up about you…" I could feel my heart almost dancing at these words. I still felt like crying but it was for a completely different reason now. "…or the Twins…" "Wick and Pyre?" I asked quickly. "…so annoying…" "What else did she say?" I asked lowering myself to the small shard of glass. "…nope…" "Nope?" I asked looking confused. "…go be a King…" "Wait, please, tell me more." I begged knocking against the metal of the mirror. The mirror had fallen silent again. I sat back up. I took a deep breath, my breath still a rasp and my voice still a bit shaken. Rubbing my eyes I let out of sudden laugh, sniffling and wiping my nose; I was smiling. The mirror paid me a kindness, seeing me upset it attempted to comfort me, in a small way, but it tried at the very least. "Thank you." I mumbled to the mirror picking up the Obsidian Crown off the ground and putting it back on my head. There came a knock at my stone doors. I looked over to see Pinkie Pie's head slowly lean in, an ear to ear grin on her face. I smiled back, chocking back a laugh at her antics as she stepped fully into the room. Her face softened into a rather endearing look that made my mane suddenly flare. "How you doing, Sparky?" Pinkie Pie asked sounding sincere. "Fine, just fine." I said moving over to her. "Wingston told me that you're having a pretty rough morning." Pinkie Pie continued. "It's getting better." I said with a smile. "Well, this might just make you smile a bit more." Pinkie Pie said holding up a letter to me. "What is it?" I asked curiously. "A few days ago I mailed out the invitations to your Coronation. Moist Lipwig undertook the tremendous task of delivering all the letters to every corner of Equestria in just two days. Today he arrived with all the R.S.V.P.'s and a letter addressed directly to you." Pinkie Pie explained. "To me?" I asked looking surprised. "From a certain nurse pony in Manehattan." Pinkie Pie said teasingly, shaking the letter in front of me. My mane flared. I made grab for it, but Pinkie was too fast; it was probably for the best too. "Sorry, Sparky, but you can't touch this letter." Pinkie Pie said pointing at my flames. "Pinkie, you're not going to ransom my letter… are you?" I asked looking at her suspiciously. "Not unless you agree that there are never enough fireworks." Pinkie Pie said looking rather sly. "A party can never have too many fireworks." I said in agreement. "Well then, I don't see why I can't open this letter for you." Pinkie Pie said opening the envelope and unfolding the letter. Being very considerate, Pinkie, did not look at it. She merely flattened it out on the granite for me to read and stepped away from it. "There you go." Pinkie Pie said motioning towards the letter. "Thank you, Pinkie." I mumbled feeling a little embarrassed. Dear Smolder, I've tried sending letters prior to this one, but no Mail Pony Service made deliveries to the Ashen Fields. It was only recently that I was visited by a Flame Pony claiming to be a Mail Pony with an invite to your Coronation. Unfortunately, I could not find a rock large enough to write this on so I hope that you'll be able to read this letter one way or another. News traveled fast about what happened in the Ashen Fields, that the young Prince of Flame Ponies, known as Smolder, had overthrown the Mad King and claimed the throne. I'm not sure whether to say that I'm sorry for your loss or whether to congratulate you on your victory. Either way, I hope that you're doing well and you're in good spirits. If you're curious to know, my lantern is still burning. Whenever I look at it I wonder how you're doing. I wonder if you got any closure or made amends with those you struggled to reach. I wonder if becoming King will make you even more reckless or if it will give you a chance to relax. I've wondered if you had any pony to talk to when you need some pony to lean on. I guess I'm just worried about you. You have a very gentle heart, Smolder, but it's protected by a very fierce flame. There are so many things I want to ask you, so many things I want to tell you. I'm unsure of how busy the King of Flame Ponies life can be, so I will keep this letter short. If you're not too busy with doing Kingly things, perhaps you can meet up with me at your Coronation and let me know how you're doing? It would be really cool to brag to all my friends that I hung out with the King of the Flame Ponies. No pony at school believes that I know you. Your friend, Tea I could hear Tea's voice while reading her letter. To think that she would concern herself so greatly with my well-being was surprising to me, but it was a soothing thought. "Everything okay?" Pinkie Pie asked curiously. "Tea is coming to the Coronation tomorrow." I reported stepping away from the letter. "I know, Wingston told me to invite her." Pinkie Pie replied picking up the letter and putting back into the envelope. "He did?" I asked looking surprised. "He insisted that all the ponies you made friends with be here for this special event." Pinkie Pie explained strolling over to the dresser where my mother's letters were. Pinkie Pie placed the letter on the dresser, next the bundle belonging to my mother. "That's very kind of him." I mentioned. "Have you started memorizing your lines for tomorrow yet?" Pinkie Pie asked spying the stone slate on my granite. "Not yet." I confessed. "Well just bring it along then, you can rehearse your lines while we rehearse your crowning ceremony." Pinkie Pie said heading for the door. "What exactly am I supposed to be doing?" I asked scooping up the stone slate. "Alright, picture this." Pinkie Pie began stopping at the door and holding up her hooves to me as if I was looking through a picture frame. "You leave the Royal Chambers as you are now; you make your way to the stair case. Descending down to the landing where you'll sit on this rather old rock that Wingston said you have to sit on. Then Wingston will ask you some questions to where you reply with the answers we've gave you. Wingston drops the crown on your head and then we can party." Pinkie Pie said waving her hooves in front of my face. "It doesn't sound that bad." I mentioned nodding my head. "Besides every political and royal pony from every corner of Equestria being in attendance and watching you to see if you flub your lines? Yeah, piece of cake." Pinkie Pie said in agreement. I felt my heart skip a beat at my sudden nervousness. I took a hard gulp looking down at my lines as Pinkie Pie clapped her hooves together at me to get my attention. "Come on, Sparky, we've got a lot to cover and not a lot of time to do it so let's get cracking." Pinkie Pie said trying to usher me out the door. "Hey Pinkie?" I asked walking out of the Royal Chamber. "What's up?" Pinkie Pie asked. "How is Ruby and the bakery doing?" I asked curiously. "Ruby? She's getting all the pastries ready for tomorrow; she's really excited to come to this party." Pinkie Pie replied. "It seems like every pony is." I replied. "Well she's actually very excited to see how every ponies reaction to her new treats; especially yours." Pinkie Pie corrected her previous statement. "Me?" I asked looking surprised. "What's it like to be the most sought after bachelor pony in all of Equestria?" Pinkie Pie asked suddenly holding up an invisible microphone to me. "Bachelor what?" I asked feeling my mane flare. "Who knows folks; we could be seeing the future Queen of the Flame Ponies tomorrow." Pinkie Pie said to no pony in particular. I felt my face run hot, my mane flaring for a bit as I followed Pinkie Pie to the Main Hall.