“The world is changing. Soon there will only be the conquered… and the conquerors. You are a good man. With a good heart. And it is hard for a good man… to be a king.”
-T'Chaka
Canterlot
For Penny Drop there were a lot of good and bad to her daddy working for the princesses. He sometimes had to spend a lot of time at the castle and she really didn't like that because, in her mind, if you couldn't play all day then things were really boring. She'd watched him once pouring over the big binders he brought home from work and was sure that whatever he did it wasn't very fun, despite how much he tried to make it seem entertaining. The pages didn't even have any drawings on them! Just numbers and words and other marks she didn't understand. She'd tried to tell him that her picture books were better and he should just take them to work but he'd merely smiled and ruffled her mane before going back to squinting at the silly numbers.
Her daddy could be strange at times.
One of the great things about his job though was that Penny got to play in the royal gardens at the castle as much as she wanted. Princess Celestia was really nice and told her that as long as she stayed in the big beautiful garden and didn't wander where the guards couldn't see her she could do whatever she wanted. Penny would spend the summers swimming in the little ponds that littered the wide open area and then chase butterflies or play with her ball until her daddy came to collect her. In the winter she wouldn't spent a lot of time out there but she would build snow forts and sometimes the guards would even pretend to be dragons trying to attack her. Princess Luna had even come by a few times and give her hot coco!
Today she was exploring the far corner of the garden, as she'd heard one of the guards say they'd seen some sunflowers there the other day and Penny wanted to see if they were really as bright as the sun. Her mommy said that if you were able to look up at a sunflower you could make a wish. Penny wanted to wish for some new books and a ballerina tutu so she could show off for everypony.
Happily trotting around a bush Penny stopped when she saw that, much to her surprise, she wasn't alone in the garden. There was someone else there... someone BIG... and he was sitting next to one of the fountains (it was a favorite of Penny's... it looked like a bunch of fishes leaping into the air squirting water out of their mouths) watching the water's surface with a rather sad look on his face. Penny looked back, wondering if she should go, if she'd stumbled on someone she shouldn't have and needed to leave them alone but the guards weren't rushing to shoo her away so she assumed it was fine that this new arrival was in the garden with her.
"Hello there, little one," the big newcomer rumbled, startling the little filly.
Penny internally debated. Her daddy had said to be careful around strangers but he'd also said she should be polite. She looked at the guards again and seeing that they were still at their posts and could see all that was happening decided that this made the funny looking big pony not a strange at all. "Hi," she said, smiling brightly. "I'm Penny! What's your name?"
"I'm Tydal," the big pony said, standing up to walk over and great her. As he did Penny saw he wasn't a pony at all but some kind of weird goat-fish thingie. She'd never seen anything like him before and her eyes widened in surprise.
"You have a fishy tail!" she cried out.
The magic and innocence of youth saw her able to say those blunt words and only receive a chuckle in response. "Yes, I do," Tydal said, swishing his tail a bit.
"I didn't know goats had fishy tails!" Penny said excitedly.
"That's because I'm not a goat," Tydal told her. "I'm a Capricorn."
"Oh... I'm a pony!" Penny grinned and trotted over to him, offering her hoof. The large Capricorn looked down at her before pressing his huge hoof against her dainty one. "Why are you so big? Are you like the princess?"
"Very much so," Tydal said. "In fact I knew her back when she was smaller than you."
Penny gasped at that. "You must be a billion years old!"
The Capricorn let out a guff. "Something like that." He walked back over to the fountain, Penny, close behind. She scrambled to get up on the lip and after a few moments felt Tydal use his magic to gently ease her up so she could look at the water. "The princess lets you play out here?"
"My daddy works for them. He does stuff in big boring books."
Tydal nodded at that. "I'm sure it is very important, even if it is boring."
"I guess," Penny said, it clear that she didn't agree at all. "You looked sad earlier. Were you sad?"
"Yes," Tydal said, settling down on the ground, his eyes now level with the filly's.
"Why?"
"I lost something," Tydal said.
"Did you look under your bed?" Penny asked innocently. "When I lose things mommy tells me to look under my bed."
"I lost my bed too," Tydal said softly. "Along with a lot of other things."
"Where do you sleep if you don't have a bed?!?" Penny asked. She couldn't wrap her mind around the idea of anyone not having a bed! Where would Mr. Tydal's stuffed animals live?
"The Princesses are letting me live here." He paused, considering his audience. "They let me sleep in one of their beds."
Penny gasped. "You have slumber parties with the princesses?!?"
Tydal laughed at that. "I suppose we do," he said with a grin.
"...why do you have a fishy tail?" Penny asked again.
"Because I can swim under water," Tydal said.
"What's that like?" Penny asked, curious. She'd never even dunked her head under the water, even though her friend Cloud Fluff said it was easy. The thought of someone being able to swim under the water was mind blowing for the little filly.
Tydal stroked his beard. "Well..."
Far away from the Capricorn and the filly Shining Armor watched carefully as the two interacted. "You're sure this is safe?" he asked Celestia. "I heard he scared a lot of ponies in Manehattan. And from what you've told me... and warned me about... capricorns aren't known to be the cuddly sort. I promised Bean Counter that I'd watch over Penny..."
Celestia chuckled. "Do not worry, Captain Armor... Penny Drop is completely safe with my father."
Cadence, who was standing beside her husband, focused on the Capricorn and the filly, her eyes glowing a soft white that hid her pupils and irises. "I've never seen someone feel love so quickly for another." Shining shot her a look and Cadence quickly added, "Protective love. Nothing inappropriate. Not quite the love a parent would feel for their foal but it is close. And..." she shook her head. "It's almost blinding."
"That's my father," Celestia said with a smile. "He's a grumpy old goat but I knew what he needed most of all was someone like Penny. She'll be a balm for his soul, at least for a few hours. Luna is keeping watch over his nightmares but this is what I can do during the day, when the light of my sun shows him the world he’s found himself in once more.”
“Is it really that bad?” Cadence asked.
Celestia shot her a dry look. “My mother, his wife, is still dead. So too my older sisters. His subjects, his entire race… they remain in the afterlife and he is here, driven through the gate by some new terrible threat. One so terrifying it made him frightened.”
“Have you gotten anything out of him about that voice you and Princess Luna heard?” Shining Armor asked. He didn’t like knowing that there was a threat out there he knew nothing about… every time he was caught on the wrong hoof it ended in disaster. Nightmare Moon and Discord (though he couldn’t be blamed for those as he hadn’t been captain of the guard yet). The Changelings (which he’d thought he’d had a handle on and, though he hadn’t seen it that way at the time, it had only been Faith-as-Doubt corrupting Twilight that had saved them from total domination). The Queens. He wanted to understand what they were about to face, to prepare for it, to spare Equestria another apocalypse. “I get he was traumatized-“
“He was dead and, from what we’ve been able to gather, had to literally fight through Tartarus, not of his free will mind you but trying to stop whatever is coming,” Celestia snapped. “If you would like to try that yourself Captain Armor and then give me a detailed report of what you saw only 24 hours later I will gladly accept your challenge!”
“Again, I get he…” Shining almost said ‘something rough’ but had a feeling he’d end up seeing where Princess Luna had lived for a thousand years if he did, “…went through something horrible. And he needs time to heal. But we also need to know what is coming if it is so bad it has rattled him.”
“We will find out soon,” Celestia said. “But I won’t force him to tell me until he is ready.” In a smaller voice she said, “I owe him that much.”
Cadence looked at her, eyes still glowing, and she nearly collapsed after seeing the bonds between Celestia and the old goat. “They’re so thick…”
“He’s my father,” Celestia whispered, watching as Penny laughed at something Tydal said. “Losing Luna was the worst moment of my life in part because she was my last link to him. We are the only two left alive that remember him.” She sighed, shaking her head. “That’s my fault though, I admit that. I should have said more, let ponies know about my youth… but I guarded it and made it my secret.”
“Why?” Shining Armor asked. “Why hide it away?”
“As you’ve seen with Twilight and Faith it is a bad habit of mine,” Celestia said with a bitter laugh. “I hide what I should reveal, thinking the knowledge would be dangerous only to learn later that hiding it did more damage. But by then it is always too late.” The Princess of the Sun shut her eyes. “Not that it would have mattered, I think. It would have been hard for my subjects to accept my childhood.”
“What do you mean?” Cadence asked, staring at her aunt in confusion.
Celestia watched as Tydal focused on the fountain and made some water jump out, forming a small water-pony that danced for a clapping Penny. “You look at Equestria now and see only the good. You were there through the dark times, the trying times, the times of strife and struggle. My little ponies haven’t always embraced harmony. Even today things that are different from them startle them and scare them. If you had only seen how they looked at him in Manehattan…” she trailed off, unable to continue with that line of thought. “But when I first took the throne? Things were so different. So worse. They would never expect that the tyrant king of the capricorns could have been a good father.”
“Tyrant?” Shining asked.
“To them. To me he was a good father… the best a filly could ask for. But that was a part of him ponies didn’t get to see.” She got a far away look in her eye. “Not that they helped in that matter…”
~2,500 Years Ago…~
Sure Sail tried his best to look confident. He made every step he took one of strength and determination. Not cocky, of course, because he wasn’t a fool, but one that let all those that watched him know he felt no fear. His face was passive and his gaze never waivered. He was the very model of solidness and stability. This, despite the fact that inside he was trembling like a leaf.
The large earth pony was used to being in dangerous situations. He’d had to fend for himself when he’d been a colt, his parents selling him off to a merchant sailor when they’d been unable to afford to feed him. His now caretaker/owner had been kind but firm, a rarity Sure Sail knew, and had seen that he lived up to his name and could handle the riggings of a ship better than the full grown stallions that made up the crew. He’d taught Sure much about the ship and the crew, jealous of the attention he got, had taught him to watch his back and to trust only in himself. That was part of the reason why, when the pirates had boarded their ship, Sure had been the first to step up and slit his owner’s throat from ear to ear, pledging himself to the buccaneers and their cause.
He sometimes wondered if the merchant had understood Sure was doing him a favor by granting him a quick death when the pirates would have had no problem gutting him and watching him slowly bleed out. If he didn’t then Sure was sure that, at the very least, the stallion was smiling in the afterlife when he’d killed half the crew after he’d staged a mutiny, sending them below the waves tied to anchors.
Sure Sail had taken his lessons well.
After that he’d captained the ship, made the crew his own, and made a life out of doing all manner of horrid things no ‘good honest pony’ would admit to doing. Oh, they would do it, of course, or at the very least hire him to do it, but they would never admit to it. Prince Gold Touch and Chancellor Cream and Commander Gale Force would never own up to the vile things they and those under them did. They’d sneer at him in public. But when they needed a job done their bits would somehow end up in his pocket.
Yes, Sure Sail ahd been in plenty of dangerous situations and was used to being shoulder-to-shoulder with death. But that didn’t matter a lick when one found themselves the capital of the capricorns, led in chains to the throne room.
Every profession had their own legendary ‘Ye Turn Back Lest Ye Wish Death’ location. He’d heard of pegasus ponies speak of ‘The Eye’, the center of a supposed super storm where a monstrous wind tyrant lived who spent his days torturing any that managed to get through the wall of his storm alive. Traders on land warned of The Forest of Shadows, where ghosts would lure unprepared travelers, who would in turn perish lost in the woods and turn into phantoms themselves. Monfumus, of course, was a place no pony entered… not if they ever wanted to be seen again. But for any that journeyed close to the water, let alone on it, Tydal’s Keep was their whispered nightmare. The capital of the capricorns, the lords and masters of the sea… and the seat of their king.
The throne room was like nothing Sure Sail had ever seen. He’d been to Griffinstone and Griffland, visited Prance and Reinssa, stayed in Draxico and and Saddle Arabia, and all of them, while of different cultures, had a similar design when it came to the homes of their rulers. A grand hall filled with tapestries, rolled out carpets and statues of their rulers. Gold and silver and other precious metals. Opulence and wealth on display for all to see. And the throne… always that massive ornate chair, upon with the royal ass could sit and look down upon those not blessed to have been squirted out of the right female.
The capricorns’ throne room was different. Made entirely of the same sandy-colored stone the rest of the Keep was built off there were no banners or things of cloth detailing the legacy and history of their species. There were no statues of honor that lined the walls. No great glass windows nor paintings on the ceiling depicting their greatest moments. Just a long hall, filled with watching capricorns with tails of brown and blue and gray and black. And at the end of the empty hall sat two simple stone chairs, remarkable only in their size. No adornments and signs of wealth. They were not the chairs of those that longed for comfort but of those that wished to be out of them so they might mingle amongst their subjects, be it in times of peace and war.
And there, sitting upon the plan stone thrones… where Lord Tydal and Lady Merida. The King and Queen.
Lady Merida, Sure Sail could admit, was a striking beauty. Her mane, unlike her subjects, was orangish red and frizzed out from her head like a plume of blood in dark waters. Her scaled flank and tail were also eyecatch, the same orange-crimson as her hair that sparkled when the light hit it. She was no blushing beauty who let others fight her battles; it was clear to all that saw her that this was a female who had killed before and could do so again… and would if called upon.
Beside her sat Lord Tydal, massive and powerful, his shock of green hair and his beard setting him apart from all the rest. He sat in his throne as if it were some great chore and when he looked down upon Sure Sail it with eyes as dark as a midnight storm.
“Who is this that you have brought before me?” the king of the capricorns rumbled.
“The captain of The Soaring Sparrow, my lord,” one of the guards stated. “He is brought to you to face justice for his crimes.”
“I assumed as much,” Lord Tydal said with a snort. “What has he done to earn the honor of entering my hall.”
The guard did not mince words. “He was transporting foals.”
“Foals?” the king murmured. “Whatever for?”
“Tell him,” the guard said, a look of utter disgust on his face. When Sure Sail didn’t say a word the guard flicked his tail at him, the razor-sharp fan blade cutting along his right flank. The stallion hissed in pain but remained quiet. “Tell him!”
“Tell him yourself,” Sure Sail snapped.
“Not so proud of it now, are you?” another guard snarled. He stepped forward and knelt before his king. “Lord Tydal… he was smuggling foals for Griffinstone. It seems the griffins have a new dish that they consider a delicacy…”
There was no need to continue. It was clear to all just what fate awaited the baby ponies that had been in Sure Sail’s hold. The queen of the capricorns started a little before a mask of utter contempt slammed down. As for her husband… the entire Keep trembled as a massive wave suddenly struck it, the only outward sign of his fury.
“My lord… there is more,” the guard said softly.
“…more?” Tydal asked.
“Our attention was first drawn to his vessel when we found a blood trail. It appears, from what we found below and have gathered from the crew, that a sickness had taken hold of the foals. This pony here decided that in the name of preserving profit… to kill the infected.”
The first guard, the one that had lashed out as Sure Sail, growled, “They panicked when we boarded. They were in the middle of their… work… and ‘inspiration’ struck. There are no survivors.”
The Keep shuddered again.
“How were they allowed onto my sea?” Tydal hissed, each word coming out like a vile curse.
Sure Sail stood tall and proud, speaking for the first time. This, he knew, was his only chance. He’d paid a lot of money to get things in order, to get the capricorns stationed at the docks to look the other way, and now he’d need to spin this just right to get out of her with his head attached. “We were allowed to do so but I swear I did not know what was in the hold! If you ask-“
“SILENCE!” Tydal roared, the power of his bellow nearly sending Sure Sail tumbling. “You had your chance to speak,” he snarled, looked down in disgust at the pony before him. “You don’t get to spin your pretty little lines when you were too much of a coward to speak of your deeds in the first place.” He turned to the guard, eyes narrowed. “How… were they allowed… onto MY sea?”
The guard didn’t say a word. Instead he merely turned and motioned for the doors to be opened… and into the great hall walked another capricorn, bond in chains and looking at the ground rather than meet the eyes of any of those gathered before him. Sure Sail felt his heart sink as he looked at the face, the scar along his right eye and the pitch black mane all too familiar to him. He felt his knees knock and tried to force himself to calm down but his heart was racing a mile a minute even as his brain froze and all thought came to a screeching halt.
“What is your name?” Tydal asked.
“Driftwood, mi’lord,” the chained capricorn said hoarsely. “I work on the docks… I’m in charge of inspections.”
“I have asked twice already,” Tydal said darkly, “I will only ask a final time: How were they allowed onto my sea?”
“I… I let them, mi’lord.” The dockworker trembled. “And… I knew of the cargo.”
“Was the first time?”
“…no, mi’lord.”
Tydal took a long, steadying breath, his teeth clicking together as he considered the capricorn before him. “Why?”
“I accepted bribes. They paid me to look the other way.”
“And what have I done to deserve this from you?” Tydal asked softly but firmly. “Have I not been a good king? Have I not provided for you all? When you are sick do I need see to your care? When you are in need do I not give of myself and all I have? Have I ever ruled unfairly? Demanded more of you than I would do myself? What have I done that would see you take a bribe and cast shame upon our kind with this… barbarism?”
“Nothing, mi’lord,” the dockworker whispered, his breath coming out in harsh gasps. “I was greedy. I thought only of my self! To get more! They offered me so much and I didn’t see the harm-“ Tydal slammed his hooves down and the chained capricorn shook like a leaf in a strong gale. “Please… have mercy mi’lord. I have sinned against you. Have mercy.”
Tydal looked upon the trembling wretch and Sure Sail was startled to see pity in the old goat’s eyes. It was clear he was searching for something and within seconds Sure Sail knew what it was and wanted to laugh. The King of the Sea was looking for a way out of this! He was looking for a way to spare his subject! Sure Sail felt his heart beat faster but now out of joy rather than fear. There was a chance! A way out of this! The king of the capricorns could be influenced; one could play on his soft heart and wiggle out of danger if they knew just what to do. All Sure Sail needed was a moment, a chance to throw himself at the king’s mercy-
“Where are they?” Tydal asked, cutting off Sure Sail’s thoughts of escape. “The foals?”
“We brought them to one of the quiet rooms, my lord,” the second guard said. “To prepare them for burial. We knew… we knew you’d want that.”
Tydal stood up and moved away from his throne. “Show me,” he whispered. The dockworker and Sure Sail both stared at the king in shock and the guards too clearly didn’t know what they should do. “Show me,” he repeated, walking past the trembling captive and the confused pony. “Bring them with us.” The guards nodded and Sure Sail found himself being shoved forward, Lady Merida rushing to join her husband. She whispered something to him as they left the throneroom but Tydal did not answer nor did he even look her away. Instead he continued walking, his focus entirely on what waited for him.
For Sure Sail it felt like hours but it was, in reality, only minutes before they entered the ‘quiet room’. Capricorn females, wearing dark blue cloaks and with veils over their faces, stepped away from the bodies they had been preparing, bowing to their king before stepping aside. The guards forced Sure Sail and Driftwood into the room and shut the door, leaving them sealed inside with the king, the queen, and the twenty five little bodies laid out on the hard cool stone.
Tydal slowly walked along the rows of lifeless babies, sometimes pausing to raise a hoof and run it along a brow. There was a mix of all three tribes and the king of the capricorns took his time to seemingly engrain each one in his mind. He would stare at some, others he would nudge or nuzzle with his snout, and a few unicorn foals had their horns gently pressed to his forehead. He walked along the rows, the guards standing still, watching while the queen clearly fought to maintain her composure. The most striking thing to Sure Sail was the silence. Lord Tydal didn’t make a sound save for the click of his hooves against the ground and the sailor found that worse than if the old goar had raged and bellowed. That he could have handled; but to have one so quiet? That was the most terrifying thing of all.
Finally, after looking upon the last two bodies, which had been covered by black cloths that he refused to move, the king of the capricorns looked at Sure Sail and Drift Wood and the sailor understood. He had been right… the king had a soft heart. So he’d come down to look at the lifeless foals to kill what mercy he might have had. He had stomped it down until any fires of compassion had been rendered cold.
He motioned for them to follow the once more they made a long trek, this time back to the throne room. The crowd never said a word as their king and queen returned to their thrones to once more look down upon those brought to face their justice.
“Driftwood,” Tydal rumbled. “You will be sent to Longtrench. There you will stay… your days of work over. Never again will you be asked to aid another. Never again will you know what it is like to labor over a task. Never again will you stand on the line and face down a foe in battle. Never again will you face death and see if the Maker favors you. No more will you stand with my soldiers, your brothers and sisters in battle. You will stay in Longtrench.”
If Sure Sail was confused by the sentence Driftwood flinging himself to the ground and sobbing perplexed him even more.
“Please… please don’t,” Driftwood whispered.
“You will have food brought to you; never again will you hunt for your supper.”
“Let me make this up to you!” the chained capricorn sobbed. “Let me wash away my crimes.”
“Your family will be told of where you are. I will not stop them from seeing you, should they wish. They will see you… as I see you now. As all will see you.”
The dockworker screamed, “Kill me! Anything but this! Just kill me!” he continued to repeat it, a mantra, until the words flowed together and became inarticulate sobs. And still the king continued on.
“You will receive treatment for any illness, no matter how severe. I will make it known to our doctors that you are to be kept in the best of health. The only pain you shall know… is that of your shame. The shame that all will know of.” Driftwood flinched and Tydal narrowed his eyes. With utter coldness he whispered, “Driftwood… may you live forever.”
The chained capricorn broke down, the guards forced to carry him away as he sobbed in grief.
And then Lord Tydal’s gazed turned upon Sure Sail and the sailor found that it was possible for Tartarus to exist in the eyes of a living creature. Each step he took, the click-click-click of his hooves, sounded more like war drums in Sure Sail’s ears. He craned his neck up to stare at the massive capricorn and fought with all his strength not to begin hyperventilating. He’d thought that before, in the throne room, had been the worst of it but to feel the monster’s hot breath upon his face, to sense his gaze upon him as he judged him and found him wanting… it almost made Sure Sail wither right there.
Except he didn’t.
He refused to.
“Why?” Tydal asked, his voice like the sea echoing in a rocky cave upon some storm-battered shore.
Fear was such an odd thing. Sure Sail had seen it turn the bravest ponies into cowards… and make those that whimpered at their own shadow discover they had ice water flowing through their veins. He was the latter it seemed as he found himself saying, mockingly, “Why did I bring this shame upon you?”
One of the guards hissed in displeasure and moved to strike him only for Tydal to raise a hoof, forstalling the blow. He looked down at Sure Sail, showing no outward signs that he’d comprehended the mocking tone. “To hell with shame. Why have you done this? Why take these foals and end their lives so cruelly.”
“You think I took them like a thief in the night, sneaking into nurseries and snatching them away as their mothers cried out?” Sure Sail scoffed. “I was given them.”
“By who?” Tydal asked, his tone almost curious.
“All many of ponies,” Sure Sail replied, smugly. He enjoyed being able to inform the mighty King of the Mareatine about just how little of the world he understood. With every word he spoke he found himself growing bolder, his confidence returning as he forced truth into the capricorn’s ears. “Some just couldn’t afford to feed’em. Others got in the wrong way, if you understand me, and needed to ditch the foal. Some are orphans who had no where else to go. Hell… a few ponies make squirting them out a living.” He grinned. “You think so many hold what you believe as proper as truth… but the fact of the matter is that the world is a cruel place for those of us that weren’t blessed with your wealth and power… so we do what we must. Can you really punish me for doing what so many do? Even if I’m gone there will be others.”
Tydal considered him for a long while.
“But there will be less of your filth,” he finally proclaimed. “The sentence is death.”
All the bravado leaked from him. It was as if someone had pulled a cork and like wine from a tipped bottle all his confidence spilled down on the ground and left him empty.
“You… you have no right!” he shouted, retreating to the final bastion of hope that he had.
“I have every right,” Tydal said dryly, “I am the Sea”. The guard that so loved to abuse Sure Sail struck him in the front legs, at the back of the knee, and forced him to kneel. Lord Tydal looked upon the sailor in disgust. “For your… crime…” it was as if calling what Sure Sail had done a ‘crime’ was an insult to criminals everywhere, “you and your entire crew, from the first mate to the lowest deck hoof, will be tied to stakes left in the surf. They will be placed neck deep at low tide, turned towards you, only chest deep, who will be chained to your own personal stake. They will watch you as the water slowly rises; inching upwards and upwards until it covers them completely, filling their lungs till their last breaths are not of air but of MY sea. Their last sight will be you… given a few more moments of life than they were. Their last thoughts hatred of their captain. You, on the over hoof, will watch them die, seeing what fate awaits you. Your body will be covered in fish guts… all the better to attract crabs and other carrion eaters who will so enjoy biting and tearing at your flesh. It won’t kill you… it will just hurt… very much. Your death will come at the peek of high tide.” Tydal paused before barking to one guard and his eyes glowed. “Inform the dock workers to send warning to all ships… I sense a change upon the waters. This will be a slow tide… one that will take days instead of hours to reach the high mark.”
Confidence was gone. Bravado too. But fear did not replace them. Instead it was its brother, its dark twin anger, that blossomed in Sure Sail’s heart. He lunged at the king of the capricorns but Tydal didn’t even flinch, instead merely allowing his guards to haul him back. Foam formed on his lips as he ranted, “You think you’re better than us!? That somehow you are better blessed than all of ponykind and that gives you the right to look down upon us?!? IS THAT IT?!?”
“I do not think,” Tydal answered, turning his back to him as if he were nothing more than a pile of seawood that had floated near him. “I merely need to look at you to know.”
Sure Sail cursed. “BUCK OFF! You think you’ll always be in charge? You think your kind will always be on top! You won’t be! The day is coming when we ponies stop bowing and scraping to your lot! We’ll put you back in your place and take up the mantle of rulers of this world! You hear me! Your time in power is coming to an end!”
“Maybe. But not today. And not before you die.” To his guards he shouted, “Chain him up! And when he’s finally gone send his bones and those of his crew to the pony tribes, split them up if you have to, and let this serve as my only warning: If I catch another pony befoul my seas like this again I’ll show them that what they have thought has been anger all these years has merely been the tantrum of a child compared to what I will bring upon them! CHAIN HIM NOW!”
Had Sure Sail somehow managed to convince the guards to let him say he would have seen a rather curious sight: the great and mighty Lord Tydal, scourge of countless battlefields, the bloodletter and The Teeth in the Darkness... look mournfully through the doorway at the little still bodies laid out in the silent room.
"Don't dwell on it, my love," Merida whispered, nuzzling him. "You can do no more."
"How?" Tydal whispered, tears suddenly stinging his eyes. "How could they do this? To their own young?"
"Ponies are cruel and savage," one of the Quiet Sisters, the preparers of the dead, said gently as the rest of her coven entered the room to continue their work. "They are a selfish race, prone to greed and a desire to have more than what is their station. And those that achieve all their desires find that they still want more. There is no sense of friendship or harmony in their ranks, I'm afraid."
Tydal just shook his head. "The griffins hired them, I know that, so they are to blame in part... and believe me, their king and I will have… words-“ his eyes flashed at that and the skies rumbled, reminding all what had happened the last time Tydal and the King of Griffinstone had talked, when he had ripped control of the storms from him, “about this. But even the most vile of griffins would never sell a chick off to be slaughtered like a common steer!" He shut his eyes in pain and remorse. "And it happened on my waters."
"But it isn't your fault," Merida said, forcing him to turn and face her. "Tydal, look at me. It isn't your fault." The king nodded at long last but all, including himself, knew that he was lying to them and still placed the burden of what had happened squarely on his shoulders. Merdia waited for several moments before saying, "I'm proud of how you handled Driftwood."
"You're proud I have shamed him?"
"I'm proud that you didn't let your heart stop you from what you knew was right and just. He had to be punished."
"...you are the strong one, you know that?" Tydal whispered. "It should be you that rule, not I."
"I more easily harden my heart," Merida said. "But you open yours to your subjects and that makes you more worthy than any to rule."
Tydal let out a huff. "Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't just step aside. I've been king since our kind first established order." His eyes became unfocused and for a moment he remembered the savage underwater battle where he had bested the tyrant Cancar. He could taste the blood in the water, hear the shock of the other capricorns that he, a mere warrior of low rank, no different from any other member of the rank and file, had managed to defeat the barbarian warlord who sought to dominate all... and then the heat and the light that had burst from his heart. It had been blinding, even for him, but when it ended he found his frame enlarged so that he was a giant amount his kind. He'd felt new strength, new power... and then his magic had, for lack of any other word, twisted so that suddenly he was the ocean and the ocean was him. That was the day he had ascended, rendered an immortal, master of the seas. And then the murmur had started until all capricorns, no matter their side, had bowed to him. That was the day the Capricorn Nation had been born. The day he had become King.
"And you remain king because our subjects love you," Merida said firmly. "They look upon how so many other nations suffer chaos and turmoil and thank the Maker that you are here to keep control over it all. Never doubt that, my love."
Tydal let out a short huff but managed a tiny smile. "I find myself getting melancholy in my old age."
"You are excused when darkness such as this comes to our door." Merida shook her head in disgust. "I wanted to kill him the moment I heard the guard speak. How you restrained yourself after seeing all this," she waved at the quiet room and the sill forms within.
"That reminds me," Tydal said, turning towards the Quiet Sister. "Why make it appear as if there are twenty five bodies when there are only twenty three?" Merida started at that and Tydal tapped his nose. "You didn't get close enough to them... I could smell death of all but the two covered ones. Those were fakes."
The Quiet Sister bowed her head. "I ask for your forgiveness, my king. When you see though why we did such a ruse you will thank us. Please, come with me." Tydal and Merida shared a look and followed the Quiet Sister as she walked away from the quiet room and led them down the hall opposite the way they had originally come. After about ten minutes and two flights of stairs upwards they came to a non-descript door in the servants quarters. The Quiet Sister knocked and the door opened a crack to spy who was there. Spotting the king the nanny within bowed before opening the door, motioning for them to hurry inside. "We kept it hidden because we did not know what your judgment would be. The traitor would not have spoken a word had he learned but that pony? If he had lived he would have revealed all to one of the tribe leaders, if not all three, and we could not risk that."
"Risk what?" Merida asked, looking about the room...
...before both she and her husband spotted the stone cradle, the one that their daughters Misty and Coral had used when they'd been little, sitting in the corner.
"Them discovering that two survived," the Quiet Sister finished.
Tydal stepped forward, eyes wide as he approached the cradle. He looked down, shaking his head slightly at the two tiny forms that slept within. Each was swaddled in a deep red blanket, with only their little faces and horns poking out for him to see. One's coat was as white as ice with a mane streaked with pink and blue. The other, her twin sister, had a coat of midnight blue with a lighter blue mane that curled around her horn. The ivory foal opened her eyes for just a moment, then smacked her lips together before drifting back to sleep. Tydal looked at the tiny ponies and instantly felt a deep connection to them. It wasn't love at first sight, as many parents experienced. This was something grander, something mystical. It was as if a cord had suddenly been lassoed around his horn, the other end wrapped tightly around each of the twins' horns. He'd only felt this connect a few times before.
He'd felt it when Cancar's sister had marched into his throne room, her uncle in chains, and publically declared that he had tried to convince her to kill Tydal in his sleep. She'd refused and swore that her brother was a fool and by her hoof she would redeem her family's name. There had been a flash light and a surge of magic and where once had stood a normal Capricorn nanny there stood then an ascended like himself, strong and powerful.
Years later, when that same nanny had given birth to their twin daughters, Tydal had felt a hint of that connection only for it to fully form when his girls had ascended during their 17th year.
And now he felt it again.
The nurse who'd stood guard over the two whispered, "The ponies didn't know what they had. These two are young... only a few days old. Their parents probably killed and they stolen away. The trauma... their survival was a miracle-"
"Indeed," Tydal answered as the blue coated twin grunted and kicked, wiggling free of the swaddling to reveal her tiny wings, the fluffy appendages flittering for a moment before she began to whimper, deciding she liked her blankie. Tydal quietly used his magic to wrap her back up before looking at Merida, staring at her own shocked eyes.
"Ascended ponies," Merida whispered. "We'd wondered... we'd wondered for years when one of their kind might go beyond their nature and become something... more. But two? And foals?" She swallowed hard. "Those two will start wars. Each of the tribes would sacrifice anything to gain control of them and indoctrinate them into their tribal mindset. Can you not see it? These two, told that Earth ponies are the mightiest and the others must be brought low? Or unicorns deserve to rule? Or pegasi? And that's assuming they aren't killed to ensure the status quo."
"Could they be killed?" The Quiet Sister asked. "They survived that vile sailor."
"I imagine that was more luck than anything," Tydal stated. "Even an ascended can die." He got a faraway look once more as he remembered a long fought battle. “I should know…”
Merida's mind was a whirl with possible futures, however, and she paid little heed to her husband's dark comments. "With their own kind they would be taught hatred and bigotry. But... perhaps if they were raised outside of those negative influences..." She began to pace. "If they were taught our ways... of honor and justice and how a good ruler must make mighty that which is right and not make right only that which is mighty..." She shook her head, a smile forming on her lips. "IF they were given a true chance to overcome their pony nature... then perhaps, when it did come time for them to accept their fate they would be able to in turn teach their subjects the same lessons they learned. The pony race would change from the feuding species it is now and become something noble." She turned quickly. "Tydal! Could we-"
She stopped, seeing that while she'd worked through the issue her husband had gathered the two foals up, each held up by his magic, a bottle lifted for each to suckle on.
"Could we?" Tydal asked with a happy laugh. "I was about ready to beg you!"
Merida, happy tears in her eyes, walked over to her husband and the little foals, glancing over at the Quiet Sister and the nurse. "We will watch over them for now. Thank you for all you have done." The two nodded and left, the king and queen cooing at the little ones. "Welcome to our lives, my little sun and moon."
"My dear little princesses.”
"Our new treasures."
Tydal smiled, instantly knowing what to call the two. "Celeatia and Luna."