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// Chapter 4 - A King's Greed. 
// Story: The Creation of Chaos 
// by The Truth of Chaos 
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The dim lit throne room gave a dark impression on any who would enter it. Even though the room was newly built it still had a few improvements to be made, but it satisfied the current ruler's needs. The columns were half finished; several connected but needed some reinforcement to stay strong. The huge windows in the large chamber were sealed by curtains, hiding the light from the outside world. Instead, the room was lit by torches connected to the wall, and a large, elegant chandelier ridden with candles. Two large gates opened to the throne room, and directly opposite the entrance on the other side of the hall a large, decorative throne stood. It was a shining gold color, with rubies and amethysts dug into its shape. 

Sitting in the throne, hoof at his cheek to keep him up, was a male Pegasus wearing a dark crown decorated with jewels. His dark blue fur blended in with the shaded environment around him, his light blue mohawk mane cut up well above his neck, in the old War Pony fashion. His hair was up except for a certain number of strands, long since cut, arching over his crown to the front of his face. He blew the strands constantly, trying to keep them away from his face, though the act was futile. He was uninterested in everything around him, his grey eyes constantly shifting for something new. He yearned for a good hour of flying due to his pegasus nature, but being a pony of royal statue, this would raise discussion.

He decided he would check up on his latest project, a secret not known to the public, and slowly heaving himself from his throne. He felt like sitting down one more, the comfort of the throne leaving him. A grim expression was plain on his face as he sighed, walking away from his seat. He trotted down the chamber, grunting in frustration as he gestured for his personal guards stationed at the door, to open it. They used the magic of their horns, being unicorns, and opened the huge doors in ease. He marched through and trotted through the hall way. Both guards gave uneasy glances as the watched him go.

He continued to walk, a fake, sincere-looking smile on his face as he greeted all he passed. That way, many still believed him to be the kind, promising king he had shaped himself to be in his speeches. The ponies loved him. His silver tongue had won over the crowd; his false promises had grabbed their hopes. Little did they know the ponies of the now one hundred year old Equestria had just appointed a power hungry selfish Pegasus as their new ruler. He chuckled at the thought of it, his pace quickening a little as he hoped to rid the fake smile off his face. He hated when he smiled. 

Unless, it was for himself of course.

He finally found the end of the large hall. It appeared to be unclean, and highly unused. The true purpose, however, was exactly that. It seemed like a completely useless place to be, and as such, it was the perfect place to hide a secret. The end of the hall had been maintained to look that way ever since the king had unearthed a millennia old secret, and hid it in the very door to the left at the end of the hall. He grinned, and pressed his hoof against the door. It slid open, and, when nopony was looking, he walked inside, the door slamming behind him, returned the hall to its original dirty look.

On the other side of the door everything was different. Ancient glowing lines and runes were scattered across the walls, showing that the passage further down. The king began to continue his visit, a glint of darkness in his eyes as he continued down the secret passage. Soon, after several meters of walking, his darkened smirk fell across his face once more as he saw the result of his works.

He stood in a wide chamber, filled to the brim with ponies in lab coats, and several wore goggles as they rushed from place to place, worked where they stood, or were having a nice chat. They didn't care much about the arrival of their king, since he did so almost every twelve hours. The dark blue noble walked stridently towards the only pony he cared to pay any attention to. He was always the most noticeable in a crowd, the way he did his hair like that. The king raised an eyebrow, still smirking as he walked up to the lead scientist and tapped him on the shoulder. The stallion zipped around, his eyes widening at his kings arrival.

"Commanding Hoof! I-I mean, your majesty, I'm so sorry, I didn't know you had arrived."

"Nonsense, Chemical Flask. Come, tell me about the progress." Commanding hoof said, grinned rather amusingly at the scientist. Chemical Flask was an interesting unicorn, with a variety of colors, his body was covered with a light purple coat of fur, with a tint of lavender; his eyes were a deep purple. On his rump, was a cutie mark of a flask, rocking side to side brimming with a purple liquid that seemed to sparkle; showing his talent for science and magic. But his mane, while interesting to the king, was the most unordinary part of his body. It was white, seemingly shimmering even, with purple and pink streaks through it and his tail. Many of his fellow community laughed at him for that, but when they did, he would always backfire with how he actually had a wife while most of his fellow scientists didn't even have marefriends; putting them to shame. The king found this act amusing all the time. Chemical Flask was definitely one of the ponies he liked most in all of Equestria.  They began to walk down a corridor, leaving the main group of scientists behind. "So, I hear you have good news for me?"

"Yes sir!" He replied brightly, smiling at the king. "Soon, probably a couple of weeks or so from now, we will finally have access to the power inside the element!"

Commanding Hoof gave a fake, but sincere smile back to him. He lied even to those he was closest to. Why? Because he cared only for himself that’s why. "Yes, and when we do, the unlimited power will bring Equestria higher than ever before as we shall develop new technologies with you at my side, friend." He exclaimed, placing a hoof on Flask's shoulder. He felt praised, his smile widened more. They were all so gullible, these ponies. As long as they were provided with treats, they would do tricks for their master.

"S-Sir, I am honored you call me friend, but it makes me feel a little...Embarrassed. Please, just call me Professor." He replied nervously. He did not want Ill words on the king, one had done so before and was never heard from again. Rumor had it that he had insulted the king so terribly he was locked away in the deepest dungeon. Flask gulped, never wanting anything like that to happen to him.

"Of course Professor, but stop calling me sir, it makes me feel old. Lordship will do, I suppose." The king said, last in thought. He shook his head, turning to his follower. "Say, do you mind if I may... Examine the object?" He asked. He had quickened his pace, hoping for a fast reaction from Flask.

"In fact, yes, you may. We finally have it under stable condition, and as such, it can now even be viewed up close. Just don't touch it, or expect the worst." Flask said, chuckling nervously.

They reached the end of the corridor. The lights no longer lit up on the wall, and something glowed through the space between the door and the hallway. Chemical Flask pressed his hoof against the metal door, creaking as it opened and the light momentarily blinded them. Flask simply closed his eyes, while Commanding Hoof covered his face with his hoof, wince away. 

Soon, the bright light was tolerable and the king pulled his hoof away. Flask was already entering, walking inside a room with a glass wall which peered into another room. Several gadgets were about, but the king did not pay them any mind as he stepped inside the observation room, standing next to Flask as they gazed at the object, both wishing a different goal with it. The king wanted to obtain absolute power. The scientist wanted only to further exam it and find the source of its power, hoping to create a brighter future from it.

"It was such a joyless day when my men found it. I needed to discover it's purpose, so I sent out for somepony to discover just that. And I found you, and I couldn't ask for anypony better for the job." He said, nudging him slightly. This was all just an act, an illusion of friendship between ponies. While Chemical Flask felt it, Commanding Hoof felt nothing. Flask nudged back, and gave a small chuckle. His sight went from his experiment to the king, happiness in his eyes. The king gave a smirk, raising one of his eyebrows back at him.

"So, may I enter?"

"Of course my king, remember what I said though."

"Just curious, can you hear anything behind this glass?"

"Nope" Flask replied, glancing back to the object. "Or else several ponies would’ve been driven mad by its intense humming."

The king nodded, glancing back to see his prize, his future, as Flask pulled a lever on a nearby gadget. A small entryway cut itself into the glass, the first thing to be heard was an intense, low hum. Commanding Hoof passed through it, ignoring the sound and took a few steps forward. It seemed a lot lighter from the other side of the glass, causing his vision to adjust to the darkness around him. The entrance closed, and he edged closer to the objective he had set out to check upon. Never before was he this close. He could almost touch it, but was reminded silently of Flask's words. He hissed a little, and then grinned, staring at the object at the top of the small, metallic altar. The altar had been built for the element, to contain its overflow of power. The king gave a low chuckle, staring at the gem that was ridden with different colors. 



"Soon Element of Harmony, you will be mine..."