//------------------------------// // Chapter 31. Perfection Is Not a Virtue. // Story: Skeletor, Master of The Empire. // by Hotel_Chicken //------------------------------// History was made in only a moment as Lord Skeletor signed his name on a dotted line across from the new prince and princess’ names. Copper Plate looked ancient parchment paper in her hooves, feeling the texture of the document rub against the frogs of her hooves as she reread the exact wording of the paper. She gave the royal couple’s names a scrutinizing glance before her eyes wandered over to the section of the sheet that was reserved for her former lord. Lord Skeletor’s signature was sloppy compared the princess and prince, and just like every other document he had signed during his reign, the parchment was free of his surname. Copper Plate had to admit, she was somewhat disheartened to see that he hadn’t signed the paper with his full signature. It would be the last official royal document that he would sign, and the last that she would authorize. With a hidden reluctance, Copper Plate placed the paper down and authorized it with the seal that had been made for Lord Skeletor’s reign. When she removed it from the paper, the ink visage of their lord stared back at her. Since using Princess Amore’s seal would have been considered as taboo, the blacksmiths had quickly made a metal seal of Lord Skeletor’s skull for Copper Plate to use whenever she authorized his signature. She had always intended on having it replaced with something that wasn’t cobbled together in less than a day, but she never found the time to do it. Copper Plate allowed herself to look at the seal for a few more moments until she had to announce the end of Lord Skeletor’s reign. “With this, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Shining Armor are officially our new ruling diarchs,” Copper Plate announced to the assembled council members before she turned to their new leaders and bowed down, signaling for the other council members to join her in showing their fealty. While her eyes were closed, she could hear the magical chime of either Princess Mi Amore Cadenza or Prince Shining Armor’s horn as the crown replaced the tiara that decorated the princess’ head. “Thank you, my ponies, you may now rise,” Princess Mi Amore Cadenza commanded. When she rose, Copper Plate noticed that her former lord had also joined the council members in bowing to her. While the council members had lowered their heads to the floor to swear fealty to her, Lord Skeletor sat himself on one knee with his skull hovering next to it. His left hand rested on the higher knee while his other hand was firmly planted on the floor of the council room, a pose similar to the one that Emerald had described to her when he offered Princess Mi Amore Cadenza the crown. As Princess Cadence made a vow to the council to use her power to defend the Empire, or something along those lines, Copper Plate allowed her thoughts to wander to random moments in her life. She caught glimpses of memories where happily told Princess Amore about her progress as the first Head of the Royal Archives. She remembered the pleasant smile Princess Amore always wore, even as Copper Plate and Torch Wind would talk endlessly about historical text and the intricacies of bits. Her thoughts drifted to the countless nights she fell asleep in the archive and the many mornings that followed where she found a blanket covering her when she woke up. She also briefly remembered the many horrible days and months that followed after her retirement from the council, when Sombra killed the princess and most of the council members. She remembered the hours she spent silently wishing for death, and the few seconds of hope that sprouted when she saw the alicorn diarchs of Dream Valley come to liberate them. She also remembered the first time she met Lord Skeletor, when he was lying unconscious on a bed in the medical ward of the castle. She nearly chuckled at the faint feeling of fear that she remembered when she saw him there, and she couldn’t help but let a smile cross her muzzle while she looked back on that time. It was almost hard to believe that there was a time that she was fearful of Lord Skeletor. Granted, he was a creature that she had never seen before, but that didn’t make it any less funny in hindsight. A delicate memory of her speaking with Emerald soon leapt to the forefront of her mind as she ruminated on the past. She’d be lying if she said that she even saw a hint of her own personality in the younger mare. Emerald was quiet, subtle with her views, and didn’t really speak unless spoken to, and while Copper Plate was like that at one point in her youth, she was also still wildly different all the same. The only thing they actually shared in common was their grief, which led Copper Plate to holding out her hoof to the pained mare. Their relationship had grown significantly over the course of Lord Skeletor’s rule. Copper Plate had abandoned the role of the lonely mare to the one who held out a hoof to others, just as Princess Amore had done for her in the past. With the experiences that her life had offered her, Copper Plate was able to help Emerald Secret try to overcome the nightmares that still haunted her and had guided her down the path of recovery by simply listening to the mare’s problems and fears. Copper Plate hadn’t chased all of the monsters away from Emerald’s past, and she would probably never see the day that Emerald reached the end of her journey to healing, but that didn’t make any of the time they shared worth less. She knew that one day, Emerald would find her way through the darkness that still stuck to her memories, but she still lamented that she wouldn’t be there when Emerald had fully healed. By the time Princess Cadence had finished her relatively short speech to the council, the dull ache in Copper Plate’s hind leg began to flare, reminding the elderly mare that the final moments of her life in the castle were drawing near. Copper Plate sat in her seat at the council table without any complaints, taking the seat that was going to be filled by another pony someday soon. Skeletor stared at the cushion he was offered instead of sitting on it, causing a majority of the council members to turn their attention away from the royal couple. “Um… Well, if… If I’m done here, then I should leave you all to your business,” Skeletor said as he excused himself from the table. Technically speaking, he didn’t have the authority to sit in on a meeting unless he was the ruler or a council member, with the only exception being when a guard needed to urgently tell them something or when Princess Celestia or Princess Luna were asked by Princess Amore to sit in on a council meeting. As much as she and a few other council members wished to protest his decision to leave the council room, they couldn’t speak out and ask him to remain. “Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Shining Armor, I… I look forward to seeing an era of prosperity come from your reign,” Skeletor told the royal pair before he walked to the entrance of the council room, not even sparing a final glance to the council members as the door closed behind him. None of the council members dared to speak after Skeletor left, choosing instead to fall into silence before they turned their attention to their new rulers. With a slightly awkward flutter of her wings, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza straightened her posture and spoke with her council. “I would like to take a moment to thank you all for everything you’ve done to help the Empire after it returned. I know that there will be a lot of issues ahead of us, but I trust that we can all trot through them together and resolve any issues that are still affecting the Empire or any that will come with time. Now, Emerald, I understand that you were Skeletor’s Royal Advisor, correct?” She asked in spite of already knowing the answer. “Yes, my… My princess,” Emerald answered, clearly falling back on her habit of replying with “my lord” whenever Skeletor would ask her a question. “I was the Royal Advisor for both Princess Amore and Lord Skeletor, and I can now proudly say that I am your Royal Advisor, my princess.” “Thank you, Emerald, though I’d like to point out that you’ll also be acting as Shining Armor’s advisor as well,” the princess informed her, causing the council members to glance at the white unicorn she brought with her. Copper Plate was aware that Princess Amore had a fair number of lovers over her nearly immortal life, giving concubines the title of prince if she felt a deep connection with them. However, it was more an honorary title than one that carried any real weight. Everypony in the Empire silently knew that the pony who really held any power was the princess, but they would still acknowledge her lover with the title of prince to satiate her preferred concubine. Adding Shining Armor’s name to the royal decree that handed the throne to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was only a courtesy given to the prince in her eyes. But, from what her princess said, it almost sounded like she expected her lover to be involved in political affairs. None of the council members bothered to question her decision while the unicorn was at her side, so the issue was temporarily shoved to the side as Emerald nodded in acknowledgment. “Yes, my princess.” “Good. Now, as the Royal Advisor, do you have any problems that should be brought to our attention?” “Well, before you arrived, Lord Skeletor was attempting to find a new source of medical knowledge for the doctors so that they could treat patients better.” “Right I remember that. Speaking of which, I want whatever ‘placebos’ he’s made to be removed,” the princess suddenly ordered. Her command was met with shocked silence that was eventually shattered by Avid Value’s shout. “What!?” Avid Value demanded. “Why would you want to do that? The Empire is already low on medicine, why would you want to get rid of the only medicine we have an abundance of?” “Calm yourself, Mr. Value,” Crumb Catcher ordered. “Calm down? She wants to take away the medicine that Lord Skeletor made! How can I calm down knowing that we’re supposed to stop giving them medicine?” Avid Value asked the large blue coated stallion. Instead of following their usual back and forth argument, Crumb Catcher turned his attention to the princess. “Your majesty, may I enquire as to why you wish to remove that medicine in particular.” “Because I don’t know what he put in it,” the princess explained. “Placebos aren’t a new concept that he invented. It’s a method of tricking the brain into believing that something will affect you when it shouldn’t. I’ve heard of them being used as a method of torture in the Griffon Kingdom and as a snake oil in Equestria. Placebos don’t offer any real medical treatment and, at worst, can cause more harm than good.” “So, you’re saying that Lord Skeletor is trying to hurt us?” Avid accused. “Be mindful of your words Mr. Value,” Crumb Catcher cut in, preventing the prince from rising to the princess’ defense by interjecting on their behalf. “Her majesty is simply informing us of the possible dangers of his ‘medicine.’ We could prove whether they’re harmful or not easily enough. I’ll collect a vile of it and have it studied by Purity Flame. The alchemists should be able to discern what the contents are and we’ll have an answer soon,” he reasoned. “But Lord Skeletor said—” “He said a lot of things, Mr. Value,” Crumb Catcher interrupted again, rising from his seat to stare down at the smaller stallion. “If I recall correctly, you’ve claimed that he told you that his home was located in Faust’s Garden, and that he found proof that Sombra had manipulated Princess Amore into passing laws against relationships between two mares or two stallions. I’ve seen proof of neither thus far, and I assume nopony else he has as well,” Crumb Catcher asked as his eyes silently surveyed each council member until they stopped at Emerald Secret. “Mrs. Secret, have you ever seen the journal that he claimed held undeniable proof of Sombra’s alleged deeds?” “… From what I was told, Lord Skeletor eradicated the evidence in a fit of rage,” she passively explained, neither directly confirming nor denying Crumb Catcher’s question. “And once again, all we have is his word to trust,” Crumb Catcher explained before turning back to the royal couple. “However, your majesty, I don’t wish to come to a conclusion without more evidence. Your majesty, would you please explain what exactly a placebo is? From what you’ve said thus far, you seem to be familiar with it.” “Well, simply put, Placebos are a parlor trick. Say I give a pony a spoon of sour apple juice and I tell them it’s poison. If I kept reinforcing this idea, and brought along other ponies who agreed with me, the one who drank the apple juice will begin to feel sick and start to create symptoms over time that hurt them. I’ve heard about it being used as a method of torture in the Griffon Kingdom, where they’ll feed prisoners different things and tell them that their meals were laced with poisons,” she explained. “I see. So, I assume that the ‘cure’ needed to counteract that would just be somepony convincing the other that what they ate actually wasn’t poison? If so, then it could be argued that the Placebos that have been provided to the Medical Ward have done their job,” Crumb Catcher gently argued. Before the princess could argue any further, Crumb Catcher continued on as if she had confirmed his view. “I propose that, for the time being, we temporarily suspend the use of Placebos, at least until we can have a trusted alchemist, such as Purity Flame, examine it. Then, I believe we will all be prepared and well equipped to conclude. All in favor?” “Aye,” Colonel Kernel answered after receiving an odd look from the Royal Spy Master. “Aye,” Avid value huffed, seemingly annoyed that he actually agreed with Crumb Catcher. “Aye,” Copper Plate added on, allowing a majority rule to pass. If she wanted, Princess Cadence could attempt to overturn the decision and outright ban it without any regard for her council. However, if she was smart, which Copper Plate prayed she was, then she’d see how going against a majority council vote would reflect on her. “Aye,” Emerald Secret surprisingly finished. Copper Plate had intended to agree so that Emerald wouldn’t have to vote, allowing her to not be forced into choosing to side with the council or with their new princess. However, it seemed like the green mare had decided to show the princess that every council member was, at least partially, against her decision to remove Placebos permanently. In some regards, the medicine Skeletor provided was partially effective for ponies who were trying to battle nightmares and deep feelings of sorrow, and Skeletor had made sure to tell them that it shouldn’t have been considered as a method of treatment for physical wounds or actual illnesses. She remembered that, while she was in the Medical Ward for her pulled muscle, she was only prescribed a small dosage of Skeletor’s concoction to ease the pain which she had completely believed at the time. While it definitely didn’t get rid of the pain, it had done its job of tricking her into believing that the pain was becoming more manageable. So, ever if it couldn’t regrow limbs or cure a cold, Copper Plate felt like it still technically did its job. With the majority of the council moving in favor of Crumb Catcher’s suggestion, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza reluctantly nodded her head to allow the motion to pass with her hesitant approval. “Very well. Onto the next issue then,” the princess ordered as she went around the table to learn how the Empire was faring after Sombra’s tyranny. Once again, Copper Plate decided to ruminate on her plans for a future without herself on the council and how she would go about bringing up the matter of her retirement to Emerald and the others. It would probably be best to give the princess ample warning that she would need to find a new Master of the Archives. The problem was that she wasn’t sure how to tell her friend that she would be leaving the castle permanently. The meeting had dragged on for far too long in Avid Value's opinion. Each question raised by the princess only served to strengthen his dislike of her as she continued to question Lord Skeletor's choices again and again. She would find faults with most of his decisions within seconds, and wouldn't give any praise for his deeds and actions. When the meeting was finally adjourned, the judgmental tone and accusations tossed by the Empire's new princess lead Avid Value to trotting towards the one door he had always avoided in the Crystal Castle. There was a burning question that raged in Avid’s mind above all others. Lord Skeletor had told his council why he abdicated the throne, and made an argument that was logically sound, but there was still one thing Avid wished to know. For some reason, the halls between the council room and Lord Skeletor’s personal chambers felt like they had been extended. It wasn’t as if a hundred miles suddenly existed between the two rooms, it was more like he had simply forgotten the layout of the halls. The gaps between the hung portraits of Princess Mi Amore seemed to widen, the patrol of guards appeared to be hugging the walls more closely than they usually would, and the ceiling of the hall felt like it had risen by several feet. In reality, there wasn’t a single difference in the halls from the day before to the present, but it still seemed almost alien to him. He felt like a stranger walking through a familiar room, one that he had only visited in his memories after not seeing it for years. Approaching the door with the hesitation of a foal peeking into their closet at night, Avid Value slowly brought his hoof up to the door and knocked on it. As he waited, he took note of absent guard post next to the royal bedroom. Since Lord Skeletor had never complained, General Cannon Fodder argued that it was alright to not have anypony guarding his door. Although Avid Value strongly disagreed with the general, his plan to have a guard posted at the door was rejected by Cannon Fodder and Crumb Catcher with Copper Plate only voting along with them because Lord Skeletor had never brought it up. However, Avid Value believed that she had only voted to prevent the table from being consumed in a loud argument at breakfast before Lord Skeletor arrived that morning. Avid Value silently lamented the mistreatment of their lord. Not only was he denied royal services like a full patrol of guards and meals that were fit for a king, but he had also been denied a crown for far too long. After only having a crown for a few days, Lord Skeletor was forced to relinquish it to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and her concubine, abdicating the throne to prevent a possible war with the unworthy princess and her kingdom to the south. Before Avid Value could delve into the depths of his bitter hatred of the new princess, Lord Skeletor opened the door and greeted Avid with a welcoming smile. “Ah, Avid, great to see you. Would you like to come in?” He asked, holding the door wider as he invited the stallion. “I hope you don’t mind the mess. I was just cleaning up when you arrived.” “You’re cleaning?” He asked reflexively. As he trotted into the room, passing the threshold that he never imagined he would cross, he glanced around the room to see what Lord Skeletor was doing. The first thing he noticed was the broken mirror that was attached to his wardrobe. Remains of the mirror lined the edges of its wooden canvas, holding them in place The pillar of ice in the corner of the room almost went unnoticed by Avid, but once he saw Lord Skeletor walking towards it, he refused to take his eyes off of the strange addition. At the base of the frozen pillar was a pile of red cloaks that stood as tall as an average pony. It had hints of scorch marks licking the top of the pile, raising more than a few questions for Avid as he studied the pile of burned fabric. Avid’s attention was only taken away from the pillar when a gentle breeze fluttered in through the shattered window. The drawn curtains helped to hide the gaping hole in the wall, but failed to prevent the cold air of the Frozen North from drifting into the room. As Avid tore his eyes away from the broken window to look at the rest of the room, his eyes landed on the scorched shelves of the bookcase that stood in the room. From a passing glance, none of the books looked terrible, but it quickly became clear to Avid that the ones on the scorched area were misshaped and oddly colored. When Avid turned his attention back to Lord Skeletor, the rightful Lord of the Empire was casting a small flame spell on the horns of his staff to slowly melt the pillar of ice. Avid was completely perplexed by the state of Lord Skeletor’s room. Had Crumb Catcher forbade anypony from cleaning his room? Was this why Lord Skeletor abdicated the throne, because he hated how he was mistreated by his subjects? Was he upset with how unjustly he was treated? At least a dozen gut wrenching and worrying questions filled his mind at the moment, almost burying the single question he had on his mind when he began trotting to Lord Skeletor’s room. However, Avid managed to cling to that one important question and decided to use his new revelation about Lord Skeletor’s treatment to fuel his resolve. Swallowing the last bit of hesitation that held him back, Avid decided to address Lord Skeletor and press him for an answer, one that would solidify Avid’s resolve to help Lord Skeletor reclaim the throne if he desired. “Lord Skeletor—“ “Up, up, up. None of that, Avid. I’m not the ‘lord’, it’s… It’s just Skeletor now,” Lord Skeletor lightly admonished as he turned his back to the council member to face the large pillar of ice. “I hope you don’t mind that I clean while we talk, do you?” “Um, of course not, lo… Skeletor,” he said, flinching after he abandoned the title that his lord had chosen. “I just… Why is there a pillar of ice?” He asked instead. He silently cursed himself for the sudden question, regretting that he had missed the opportunity to ask his lord the real question. “Ah, a uh… Little magical mishap. I thought it would melt over time, but magically created ice seems to be pretty resilient against time. I’m trying to melt it slowly since I don’t want to accidentally engulf the room in flames… again,” he explained. It only took a moment for Avid to understand what he meant. Clearly, Lord Skeletor was attempting to limit his immense magic and had accidentally released too much of his divine powers. He remembered that Lord Skeletor had once explained that his great powers would be too much, like using the heat of the sun to warm a cup of tea. Still, immense power or not, cleaning up the royal bedchambers was a duty for the maids, not for the Lord of the Crystal Empire. “I see. So, you’ve been cleaning up your room?” “Well, I figured that I might as well since Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Shining Armor might want it. Oh, that reminds me, I don’t know who to talk to about my new room. Do I still have a room at the castle or…” He trailed off, leaving a terrifying implication unspoken as he focused on his spell. Avid couldn’t believe that Lord Skeletor was already prepared for that stuffy princess to kick him out of his room. In hindsight, it made perfect sense that the entitled alicorn would demand the gravel under his feet and the air in his lungs. With that final push, Avid once again found the courage to ask the most important question on his mind. “Skeletor, how do… How do you feel about all of this?” He asked nervously. A small portion of him was begging the lord to declare how upset he was. He wanted Lord Skeletor to incite unity in the ponies of the Empire to rise up and demand his crown and throne back. All it would take was a single word, and Avid would devote himself fully to Lord Skeletor, as would many others. As Avid waited with baited breath for Lord Skeletor to rise and claim his resolve for the Empire, his lord suddenly shrunk in on himself. His broad and imposing physique curled his arms closer to his body, and his head instinctively lowered as if cringing at a loud noise. When Skeletor finally spoke, all Avid could hear were words of defeat and sorrow. “… I’m not sure how I feel, in all honesty,” Lord Skeletor revealed. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but… I thought I’d be ecstatic to be off of that throne. Again, don’t get me wrong, you, the council members, the crystal ponies, you’ve all done so much for me. If it weren’t for you I… I would have probably died… I’m thankful for everything you’ve done for me, Avid. But, I never wanted to be the leader.” At that moment, Avid lost any sense of direction he carried for their conversation. He had assumed that Lord Skeletor would have been biting at the bits to retake the Empire from Princess Amore, that he would lead them to a new era of prosperity after defeating them. Avid didn’t expect Lord Skeletor to be so unwilling to fight for the crown, let alone that he would even consider being happy about it. “Did you really hate being our leader that much?” Avid quietly asked. He hadn’t meant to let those words pass through his lips, but once they had he didn’t try to retract them. Lord Skeletor hesitated to answer, possibly wracking his mind with hopeful answers to his loyal council member’s question. “It’s not that I hated it, Avid. I… I was afraid of doing something wrong,” he admitted. “What do you mean? What did you ever do wrong? You killed Sombra, you found the Crystal Heart, you let us celebrate a new holiday for Princess Amore, you made steel and solved the financial crisis, and you passed a law to allow gay marriage after you singlehoofedly found out about how Sombra lied to Princess Amore. What could you have done wrong?” He pleaded. Once again, Lord Skeletor chose to remain silent. His jaw opened and closed several times as he struggled to speak, until he firmly closed it and moved away from the pillar of ice. He strode over to his royal bed and sat on the edge, resting his arms on his knees to lean forward as he spoke. Similarly, to when he abdicated the throne to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Lord Skeletor refused to initially meet Avid’s eyes. His words came out slowly and morosely, a far-cry from the powerful and well-prepared speeches that Avid was more used to hearing from the skull headed lord. “… Long ago, in a place near my homelands, there was a queen who had been told of a horrible tragedy that befell her kingdom. The citizens of her kingdom were starving, and none of the farmers were able to grow wheat for bread. When this issue was brought to her attention, she said, ‘Let them eat cake,’” Lord Skeletor summarized. Avid wasn’t sure why Lord Skeletor was telling him a story about the queen, but he felt obligated to listen regardless of his confusion. The Royal Treasurer lowered himself to his haunches to sit down as Lord Skeletor regaled him with the tale of the cake loving queen, devoting each syllable to memory as he listened to his words. “I’m not sure how much longer she lived after that, but I can tell you how she died. Because of her inadequacy and stupidity as a leader, the people of France rose up against her and placed her in a guillotine. Ever since I heard that story, I wondered just how stupid she could have been to suggest giving them cake when they were suffering. But now, I think I understand why she said that. “Her lifestyle was different. She didn’t know about the people of her kingdom, how they survived, what work they did, or how they felt towards her. She was still stupid, but… She was just really naive too. Now, I find myself in a place that I don’t understand, in a land where the gap between myself and the ponies of the Empire is bigger than the one that existed between Marie Antoinette and her subjects. I was always terrified that I’d say my own equivalent of ‘let them eat cake,’ or that I would make a decision that would cause the crystal ponies to rise up and carry me off to the gallows. “Looking back on it… I was really scared and stupid. Needless to say, I felt worried that each moment would have been my last. Do you rmember when we talked about paper money?” “Of course, lor-er-Of course, Skeletor,” Avid replied. “I thought it was a really interesting concept.” “Yes, but as you pointed out, it was also impractical,” Lord Skeletor stated firmly. “If I had chosen to ignore your words that day… I’m so lucky that you said that, Avid. I’m so thankful for everything you’ve all done for me.” Avid noticed Lord Skeletor’s shoulders begin to shake as he turned away, pressing a hand against his eye sockets as his cheek bones began to dampen. Lord Skeletor allowed himself to give a bitter chuckle as he used his hood to dry his sockets. “Look at me, I’m crying about something so… Sorry.” Avid waited for a few moments as Lord Skeletor composed himself. Almost a minute of silence passed before Lord Skeletor finally spoke again, and even then, there was still a slight tremble to his voice. “I don’t know how to feel, Avid. I should be happy. I’m free of my royal duties, the Empire will thrive, everyone will get everything they need and… And I’m crying as if I have a right to be regretful. “This was the only way I could help you all. And it was the only way to save myself… I’m a coward, Avid. I hate to admit this, but… I was really worried about my quick decision to pass the law regarding gay marriage. As soon as I declared it to the Empire, I realized how terrible everything could go. In my blind passion, I passed a law without considering the gap in species, culture, and belief that existed between myself and everyone else. “That law will be one of the few decisions I don’t think I’ll ever regret, but I’m still capable of seeing how stupid it was to just pass that law without at least talking to the council. And I still haven’t learned anything. I gave her that crown without talking with you or any of the council members. I should have demanded time to speak with my council, asked for more evidence to back up her claims, I should have done something... But I didn’t. “I saw an opportunity to help myself and to help the Empire and I grabbed it. I didn’t even bother to ask for proof about her relation to Princess Amore. Aside from the Crystal Heart cutie mark on her flank and her wings and horn, I have nothing to confirm that she’s who she says she is. And now I can’t do anything except hope that she was telling the truth and… And hope that she and Prince Shining Armor will help you all… I’m sorry, Avid,” he apologized solemnly. The two sat in silence as Avid digested his words. His conflicting and inflamed emotions begged for Avid to do something to express his wildly shifting emotions. There were so many things he wanted to express, but the words never came to him. “… So, you thought you had to be perfect?” Avid Value finally asked, to which Skeletor, no longer the great Lord of the Empire, nodded. “Isn’t that what a leader is supposed to be?” Skeletor asked in turn. Avid looked at Skeletor as if he had suddenly proclaimed that he was Eris. There were a lot of things a leader should be, and Avid had once believed that being perfect was among them. However, Skeletor had shown him how foolish such a concept was, and it didn’t seem like Skeletor had realized it yet. So, in retaliation for hearing Skeletor say something so stupid, Avid blurted out a question that had haunted his thoughts on more than one occasion. “Why do you have teats?” During his days of serving Skeletor, Avid had seen a large variety of expressions cross Skeletor’s surprisingly malleable skull, but the look of pure confusion on his face was something that had been a very interesting sight. Skeletor had been completely caught off guard by the sudden, and possibly rude, remark, causing him to stumble over his words as he tried to make sense of Avid’s question. “I’m… I’m sorry, what?” “Teats, why do you have them?” Avid Value asked again, waving a hoof at the prominently exposed protrusion on his chest. “Why don’t you have fur? Why do you stand on two legs? How do you eat with a skull for a head?” He continued. “Um… I uh. What? I'm sorry. Weren’t we talking about, uh, leadership and everything?” “We were, and this is the point. Skeletor, you are clearly not perfect,” Avid Value admitted, both to himself and to the creature he still idolized. “For the longest time, I thought that those physical imperfections on purpose, and maybe they are. But the point is, none of us cared. A lot of ponies put you on the throne thinking you’d be a tyrannical monster. Before I met you, I thought you’d be an evil monster. But you weren’t, you were just… Normal, I guess. It was like, you could do all of these amazing things, but you never acted like you were above us. And I… I respected that. And then when you passed the law that allowed ponies to be gay, my respect turned into near worship. “When I told you about how I thought it was impractical to use paper currency, you listened. You didn’t demand that I follow your orders, and you didn’t berate me for offering a different view. You weren’t a perfect leader, I can see that a bit more clearly now. But you also weren’t a horrible one either. I… I think you need to have a bit more confidence in yourself, Skeletor,” Avid advised as he stood up from the floor. “… Thank you, Avid… I think I needed to hear that,” Skeletor said in earnest as he sat up from his bed. “Well… I don’t suppose you have time to… Talk a bit more?” Skeletor asked with a hint of hope dancing around his words. “I uh… Well, if you can anyway.” “Of course, Skeletor. Would you like me to help you clean while we talk?” Avid asked as he trotted up to Skeletor’s side to look at the partially melted pillar of ice. “I'll be fine,” Skeletor dismissed as he reignited the golden horns of his scepter. “Though, I would like your help later on for finding a new room.” “Well, there are a few rooms in the castle that are just being used as storage right now,” Avid pointed out as he began to fall into a comfortable conversation with the once seemingly infallible Lord of the Empire. His earlier conversation with Skeletor had opened his eyes to many things, and while it would be hard to admit to himself that Skeletor wasn’t the creature he thought he was, Avid was confident that he would enjoy finding out who Skeletor really was.