//------------------------------// // A story from the past. // Story: Kingdom of the Moon // by PheonixCircle //------------------------------// It was a sunny day, and the north of Westbrucke was a farmer working on the fields. The wheat was growing well, and the farmer was smiling, looking forward to the next harvest season, when he heard a strange sound. It was a regular sound, getting louder and louder. It sounded like a smith's hammer on hot iron, but a thousand times echoed. The farmer looked to the north, were the sound came from. He saw something up in the air, but he didn't notice on first glance what it was. Only a few moments later he noticed that they were banners, and that below was a huge mass of ponies approaching. The farmer wasn't sure what to do, so he waited for the army to arrive where he stood. A few minutes later, the army stopped, and a single pony in silver armour approached him. "Hello, my hard working friend. Are you from Westbrucke?" the unicorn asked him. He sounded old, but also strong, and his speech demanded an answer, as was his stature and size,as he was almost towering over the farmer. "Yes I am. What business do you have with a small, peaceful town such as ours, leading an army here?" the farmer asked. His voice was trembling slightly, not enough to be significantly lower the farmer's authority, but enough for the commander of the army to notice. "I am king Conglatius IV, king of Icewind and ally of Westbrucke and it's ruler, Princess Luna of Equestria. I just wanted to be sure of our direction." he answered. He smiled kindly, and the farmer loosened up, nodding to the king. "So you came as friend?" the farmer asked, still nodding, with a confused look. He wasn't sure if he could trust the unicorn in front of him, but he looked a lot like his son, the farmer had seen in the past, and the silver armour was certainly an expensive work. "Indeed I came as friend, to aid in the liberation and reunification of our realm. Or, in simpler words, to take over Flankrium and Osttor for your princess." the king said, his voice deeper than before. "Then I notify the village of your arrival, majesty." the farmer said, as he was walking back to the farmhouse. The king accompanying the farmer, asked him "How will you notify the village?", as they approached a horn made of wood. It was directed to the south, and the farmer blew in it, three times. The sound was deep, and some ponies from the army split off, running towards the farmhouse. The king walked towards them, raising a hoof to show them that everything was all right, before commanding them to return to their places. The farmer on the other hand was sitting in front of the farmhouse, dizzy from blowing the horn. "Have a nice journey, majesty" he said to the king, breathing as if he had just run for his live. "Rest well, my friend" the king answered, before leaving him and returning to the army, the soldiers at their places again. The farmer looked after them, as they left, wondering if such an army really was necessary. -------------------------------------------------------------- The mayor was at her desk, when she heard the horn from the northern border. She counted how many times the horn was blown. One time, an enemy approaches. Second time, an unknown, larger group approaches. Then came the third and last time, and the mayor smiled. Three times, a friend approaches. She went outside, where she ordered several ponies to prepare a camping place for the army and some tables to be arranged as a greeting. On her way to the villages entrance, the young priestess approached her. "Hello mayor" Moonprayer said, "I am on my way to notify the princess that the Icewindian army is coming." The mayor noticed the young priestess smiling. "Good, I wanted to ask you to do it, but it seems this is not necessary any more. May I ask you why you are smiling?" Moonprayer looked at the mayor and blushed. "I.. I.. I don't know. The prince is coming and I.. no the princess..." the young priestess stuttered. The mayor, rejoiced by the lively young priestess, burst out in laughter. A few ponies looked at them, but didn't say anything. "I see priestess. You are nervous to see an army, isn't it?" the mayor asked, knowing that this wasn't the reason. The priestess nodded, her face still blushed, when she suddenly looked shocked. "The letter! I have to go, I am sorry mayor" Moonprayer said, almost shouting. The mayor wanted to say something, but the priestess already left. The mayor shook her head while smiling. The young priestess was in love, it was apparent, but the mayor decided to keep it for herself. She continued to organise the armies arrival, and just as she finished, the first ponies called out for her. The army was approaching faster than anticipated, and the mayor commanded the militia and guards to stand at the gate, as a sign for the approaching allies that they were as well prepared to fight as them. Just as the king and his son approached the mayor, the priestess came, a letter in her magical grip. "Mayor, the princess will arrive in about two hours." she said, not realising who stood there. She turned her head around, and saw the prince standing besides the king, looking almost identical, except for the beard and some minor facial details. She looked at the prince, then at the king, shock drawn into her face, and bent to the royal ponies in front of her. She got so fast onto her knee, that she almost fell forward, if the prince hadn't caught her. "It is all right, priestess" the king said, while the prince smiled, his cheeks tainted in pink. The priestess head in contrary was as red as a tomato, and the king and the mayor both looked at each other and smiled. The mayor's smile was honest, but something in the king's smile was wrong, the mayor noticed. "Majesty, while we wait, how about you tell us what happened the last few years in the north? We haven't heard from you for a long time" the mayor said. The king agreed, and they went to the white tent, accompanied by the prince and the priestess, where they talked about past times. ---------------------------------------------------------------- They sat down in the tent, the prince and the king on one side of the table in it's centre, the priestess and the mayor on the other. Both mares were eager to listen to the stories of the north, since the old alliance was breaking apart and trade was uncommon, done only by the few freelancing merchants of Winterwald. The prince looked at the priestess, seeing the interest in her face. He smiled unconsciously, and his face began to heat up. As he realised what he was doing, he turned his head away, to not embarrass himself in front of the priestess any more than he already did. He regained his composure when his father began to talk about the past. << It was shortly after my ancestor decided that the alliance and trade contracts with Westbrucke were not in our favour that he had sent a small troop further into the north. He wanted to expand, wanted to find more land we could live in, but there was none. Every party he sent out into the north, be it north-east, north-west or directly the north, were frozen wastelands. But he was certain that there was something, a land to expand to, and he sent more ponies to the north, more ponies to die. His son, my grand-grand father, was wiser then him, and ordered his own party to go west, slightly south-west, and search there. And he was right, they found more land that could be settled on. But his father thought differently, and madness was in his eyes, when he ordered the party to be executed and his son to be imprisoned. The party was beheaded in secrecy, as his son was brought into the upper most tower of Icewind, the tower we call "royal guard", because the madness of the king was growing each day. As there were more and more deaths in the north, more and more ponies were upset, and decided that the king was no longer capable of ruling over Icewind. And they were right, as the next few months after my grand-grand fathers imprisonment would show. New, arbitrary laws were enacted, laws enforced by a greedy guard. They salary was doubled and they were eager to take more drastic measures to get their gold than before. But the peoples unrest grew in this time, and not all of the guards were willing to follow his madness any longer. A quarter of the guards were no longer loyal to the king, but there are two very important ponies. One was the guards accountant, which made the guards watch schedule and ordered all loyalist to be far away from the throne room, and the tower guard where the king's son was held. The king himself was unaware of the threads, and when the peasants stormed the castle, he ordered the guards to kill them. The guards walked towards them, and the peasants looked in shock towards an unexpected event, until they turned to the king, and one stepped in front of him and said that his reign was over. The king stood up, shocked, and was killed shortly afterwards. There are many theories, but I think it was the nearest guard that killed him. Either way, the king was dead, and the peasants began to dispute which should be king, when the tower guard came and said that there was his heir, a reasonable man, and he should be king. The peasants were reluctant towards his idea, but agreed on one term. The king should be put down if he was as mad as his father. And, as you might think, he wasn't. Therefore our family still rules over Icewind. But there was one thing the mad king did right. One of his last parties returned with a map and a text written in an ancient dialect. It still exists to this day and says that the goblets, if lit, are an empires pillar. >> Silence fell over them as they thought about the goblets. The priestess and the mayor both were certain that with this goblet the one in the church was meant, and the prince had the same idea with less certainty. Only the king wasn't knowing what it could be, but he had stopped thinking about it even before he took over the throne. In this silence, another guest arrived, smiling towards the four ponies at the table. "You are right, one of these goblets is in the church right now," Luna said. The ponies turned their heads, and all began to smile, knowing that know, the true meeting would begin.