//------------------------------// // Reactions part 2 // Story: Rise of the Harmony Kingdom // by cornholio4 //------------------------------// Princess Celestia was waiting in the throne room for the five remaining bearers of the Elements of Harmony, spending the time looking over a photograph that was taken of the both of them. “Sunset and Twilight, the two ponies who I considered the closest I had to my own children and I failed them both..... At least now I have the slim chance of fixing my relationship with Twilight...” Celestia sighed at the photograph lowering it with her magic. A part of her was glad that Twilight could still be alive and she could mend fences with her and her friends but another part of her was worried that might be led astray.... Things were tense between her, Shining, Cadence, Luna when she found out what happened and of course the parents of Twilight and Shining. It was not her place to pray into how things were Shining and their parents when they had the situation explained to them but she could tell things were strained. She did not want to alert their parents until this could be explored further. She didn’t want the chance to get their hopes up before she knew for certain or the chance they could plunge themselves into a dangerous situation. She knew if they got wind of an actual lead to their daughter’s location, well they would be headed to it instantly even if it were in the middle of an active volcano crawling with pony eating dragons. The same was for Luna when she got wind of it from overhearing Shining and Cadence. After a long argument she had managed to convince her sister to let her handle it for now. However Luna’s last word on the subject was: “First I hear of anything going wrong on this then I will be coming over to find my friend....” Celestia knew her sister would let anypony know it if they displeased her, it was ignoring her complaints about the ponies shunning her night which was one of the factors in her letting her getting possessed by her emotions becoming Nightmare Moon. She would let the Harmony Kingdom and this Tempest Shadow know if she thought their actions were evil and if she thought they kidnapped Twilight. Add in the fact that thanks to Shining Armor, they did not have a strong first impression of the Kingdom’s military commander... Plus the fact that Queen Novo was involved in this situation somehow and she would be on the side of the Harmony Kingdom. She had not known the Hippogriff Kingdom was in danger until it was too late and it seemed her now presumably former friend was all too aware of it. The door then opened and in came five ponies and one dragon and their voices began at once: “I gathered everypony as soon as I got your message....” “Spill it, where is Twilight?” “Pardon Rainbow Dash’s bluntness but you understand our anxiousness, your majesty....” “Normally I would want to be patient but ah am with Dash on this Sugarcube, where in the hay is Twilight?” “Please tell us Princess? Pretty please?” “.............if that’s okay with you Princess but we are quite anxious..........” Princess Celestia casted off a spell which silenced the room. “My little ponies, sorry for scaring you like that but I assure you that I will give whatever answers I can soon enough.” Princess Celestia told them calmly and the guests looked at their Alicorn monarch and then nodded silently. “Let me explain, I sent Shining Armor and Princess Cadence to find a recently reawakened civilisation known as the Crystal Empire. I hoped we could save it from King Sombra, the Kingdom’s last ruler before he trapped the Empire in a dormant spell for a thousand years. However it seemed that the Harmony Kingdom had gotten there first.” Princess Celestia explained but sighed when she could tell everyone there was totally lost. “I apologise for not taking account your limited knowledge of life outside Equestria. To explain the Harmony Kingdom would be first to explain the Storm King.” Princess Celestia told them as the six individuals sat down as they realised this was going to be a story. Princess Celestia then began her story: “My knowledge of the Storm King is quite limited but what I do know is of the legends that have arisen in the past few years. He was a strong mysterious creature who commanded a vast armada of strong creatures armed with magic repellent armor. The Strom King desired nothing more than two things: total conquest of the world and the power to control the weather at his fingertips.” “To this end he sent his armada known as the Storm Guard across the lands conquering and pillaging the lands. Stealing their treasures and magical artefacts so the Storm King could use their powers. Anyone who could be a threat to their forces where encased in stone by their Obsidian Orbs. Within a few years he had managed to conquer the lands south of Equestria.” “However word got out that the Storm King had been defeated by a mysterious unicorn who took over his Storm Guard. the past more than a year was spent taking back the lands that the Storm King conquered was rechristened the Harmony Kingdom.” Rainbow Dash then shouted “we got it, there was a bad guy and some unicorn beat him. So what?” There were seven eyes looking at her quite sternly and she moaned. Princess Celestia then told them “Princess Cadence and Shining Armor got a quick look at the Harmony Kingdom’s flag and it was pretty close to Twilight’s Cutie Mark.” 1 HOUR LATER The six were on the extra large carriages that would take them to the Crystal Empire. They were told they were to help the Harmony Kingdom in aiding the Crystal Empire. There they could get as much information about Twilight as they can gather if she was not there. “So we leave Twilight alone for two years and she dethrones some big bad becoming a queen, do you now think if we were worried about Twilight’s saftey for nothing now? I mean we already know she can do amazing magic stuff and now she found herself a kingdom to run?” Rainbow Dash suggested, at the moment they had been digesting the fact that their fears and thoughts of Twilight scared and alone outside Equestria might have been for naught. “As good as Twilight is and how innocent she could be, I fear she was led astray by others. She could have been manipulated into being a puppet queen.........” Shining Armor commented feeling a bit bitter form his last confrontation with Tempest. The ponies and Spike jumped when they saw Cadence angrily use her magic to forcibly shut Shining’s mouth. “Aunt Celestia put me in charge of this mission and please do remember, leave the diplomacy to me! Remember Twilight was in a difficult place the last you saw here and saying the wrong thing could alienate her. If you are right about being in the wrong company then you could steer her towards them. Am I anyway unclear Shining Francis Armor?” Cadence snapped at Shining and he calmed down. “Sorry Cadence, you’re right..... I let last time get the better of me. Still she could be in danger, the seaming expansionist of the Harmony Kingdom has gotten the attention of other kingdoms. Some who may consider them a threat and thus Twilight a target.” Shining commented making Twilight’s friends fearful. One guard who was carrying one of the carriages cringed remembering when they went to the site of a tribe of bandits and mercenaries who were trying to invade one of the Harmony Kingdom’s lands. What they saw made them violently ill, it was the bodies of the invaders with a message written in blood: THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU INVADE THE HARMONY KINGDOM In his opinion the sweet innocent Twilight they knew was long gone, he could not imagine anypony other than a vicious dangerous sadist running the so called Harmony Kingdom....... “WHAT SHINING ARMOR AND CADENCE WAS HERE? THEY WILL BE COMING BACK? WHAT IF PRINCESS CELESTIA AND ALL MY FRIENDS COME HERE! I HAVE TO FACE THEIR DISSAPOINTMENT AGAIN?” Twilight Sparkle shouted in panic inside the library of the Crystal Empire. Tempest had chosen to this minute to explain the encounter to Twilight as she was researching the library. Queen Novo and Princess Skystar were there with Tempest. Skystar had come over to take overseeing the help on her mother’s behalf after her mother escorted her there. Tempest rolled her eyes and used a blast from her horn to silence her friend. “You don’t have to face them until you are ready to Twilight, I will personally restrain them if they come near you if I have to. Take as much time as you need. I promise you that we will make this work out.” Tempest assured her friend as Twilight calmed down. “Well to find the Crystal Heart I will need time, there is a Crystal Fair that can be used to lighten the moods of the Crystal Ponies. Skystar you can be in charge of the Fair and the visiting Equestrians can help you.” Twilight told them and Skystar nodded enthusiastically. Twilight sighed thinking about what is going to happen soon....