//------------------------------// // Purpose(Part 1) // Story: The Last Alicorn(Book One: Purpose) // by Deathsia //------------------------------// PURPOSE Part 1 Sapphire and Snowbreeze were now closing in on the earth pony Capital, Maretropolis. "Can't believe this place used to be called The Badlands." Snowbreeze remarked aloud in mild shock as they looked below. The two were high enough above at the moment to see several hundred ponies walking around, talking, or selling goods. "Can't believe you actually know that this place used to be called The Badlands." Sapphire quipped at her friend who flashed her an annoyed glare. "I might not know my history but in flight school, geography is a big deal." Snowbreeze remarked aloud defensively. "Come to think of it, why didn't you finish flight school anyways?" Sapphire asked curiously as the two lowered their altitude to get closer to the ground. Instead of answering however, the Pegasus descended further down avoiding the question. The Alicorn was about to ask her why she avoided the question when the two mares suddenly noticed a large sign that was slowly being risen above what could be none-other than the largest building in Maretropolis. LAND HERE Was written in large bold letters.  "You think it's a trap?" Snowbreeze asked uneasily as she rose to fly alongside her friend. "We won't know until we land but I doubt the King himself would let us land on his house and put himself in danger if we were seen as a threat to him." Sapphire replied though she couldn't help but feel just as uneasy as her friend. How did they know that her and Snowbreeze would show up? The two mares cautiously descended further down now, Sapphire looking about herself for any possible signs of an ambush but the ambush never came as the two neared the rooftop where the sign was being taken down by several well-dressed ponies while a stallion who looked as if he was dressed like royalty walked towards the edge to greet the mares as they landed. "Welcome to Maretropolis, Alicorn! On behalf of the king, we welcome you!" The stallion said aloud in a regal tone as he gave a slight bow to the two. "Forgive us but we must know, how did you know we'd be arriving? We told no pony in Fillydelphia or anypony on the way here of our travel plans. Forgive our suspicious nature but because our lives have often been in jeopardy these past few years, I presume that you cannot blame a mare for being cautious." Sapphire replied in a prim and proper tone which caused Snowbreeze to gawk at her in shock. "Of course not! After all, one can never be too careful! We received a carrier pigeon a week ago from a Mr. Liberty Belle that you would arrive and requested that we accommodate you accordingly." The stallion replied calmly. "Oh thank Luna, he made it out okay." Sapphire remarked aloud in relief. While she had not said a word to Snowbreeze, the mare's mind often drifted back to her Great-Grandfather, wondering if he was okay. "Wait, wait, wait. Since when can that old geezer make requests of a king?!" Snowbreeze blurted out without thinking which was met with a glare from Sapphire and an uncomfortable cough from the stallion before he regained his composure. "General Belle is a very important pony, you see. He was a cornerstone pony in the 300 year war, why if not for his skill and leadership, our eminence would not be here!" The stallion said in an excited manner as if he was having fun bragging these facts at the two. "Please, come this way. His highness is eagerly looking forward to meeting you both!" The stallion said as he ushered the two towards the stairs which lead to the inside of the castle. ------------------------------------------------------------- Sapphire and Snowbreeze followed the stallion down a large winding stone staircase both unsure if this warm welcome was a ruse or genuine, both mares keeping their wits about themselves for any possible attack from any direction. Sensing their unease the stallion looked back at them and chuckled. "There is no need to be so tense. His majesty has been eagerly awaiting your arrival since the moment word of your existence being confirmed arrived." The stallion remarked aloud with a warm smile. "Is the king the earth pony master who is meant to be teaching me?" Sapphire asked curiously as the three neared what looked to be the bottom of this massive stone staircase. The earned a subtle chuckle from the stallion as the two entered a large yet lavish room comprising many armored manikins. "As much as his majesty would love to be such a skilled pony, he sadly lacks the skills to do so. However, what his majesty lacks in combat prowess, he makes up for ten fold with his skill and wits in politics as well as ruling our fair kingdom." The stallion replied with a proud grin as the three entered yet another room though this one could be none other than the throne room as the king himself sat upon his throne a crossed the room as they approached. Sapphire and Snowbreeze looked about themselves in wonder at how decorated this room was. It seemed as if no expense has been spared as the walls themselves looked to be painted in a velvet red color, the floor was adorned in a lavish blue while earth pony flags hung from nearly every side. Finally, the three stood before the king now as the stallion quickly walked up to the king and bowed deeply before speaking. " Your, eminence… The Alicorn." The stallion said aloud, speaking of Sapphire in such a way that it made her feel much more important than she thought she was. He then turned to face Sapphire and Snowbreeze. "Ah, at last! Finally we meet. Tales of your exploits have reached my royal ears." The stallion said in a regal prim and proper tone though with an air of ego in his voice. "And they are impressive, indeed." He added with a wide grin. Being showered with so much praise was causing Sapphire to feel rather dumbfounded though once her wits finally caught back up with her, she immediately bowed before the earth pony king only to notice moments later that Snowbreeze wasn't bowing. "Psst! Bow! You're in the presence of royalty!" she hissed at her friend. Though reluctantly, Snowbreeze followed suit and bowed herself but not nearly as deeply as Sapphire had. "It is an honor to be in your presence, your majesty. I must admit I was hesitant to land when I first saw the sign but-" "Oh yes, you must excuse the incompetence of my subjects. When I asked them to signal you down, I was unaware they would use such a crude means. I will see to it that they are severely punished for not providing the legendary Alicorn a more proper welcome." The King replied quickly cutting off Sapphire whom looked up in shock upon hearing this. "N-No! I didn't mean it like that! I meant that me and my friend have faced certain death many times over the course of our journey with naught but a warm welcome to prelude our near-death experiences! We were cautious to say the least since we had not known your intentions of welcoming us in such a manner." Sapphire replied quickly with a worried glance towards the stallion who guiding them here who was now looking pale. "I see." The King replied with a curious look at the stallion who was sweating bullets by now. "We still don't know his intentions." Snowbreeze remarked aloud in a calm tone yet her words had an air of distrust about them as she looked at the king who looked back at her now with the same curious look picking up on the distrust in her voice. Sapphire had picked up on this as well as she flashed a glare at her friend. "Snowbreeze!" She exclaimed angrily. The King stared at Snowbreeze a few moments longer before chuckling aloud. "Your friend's contempt for me isn't misplaced. However, I would ask that she mind her manners while in the presence of royalty." The King remarked aloud calmly yet only a fool wouldn't pick up on the subtle threat by this king as even Snowbreeze quickly lowered her gaze from the king due to knowing the situation she found herself in. An awkward silence ensued for a moment before the king spoke once more. "You two must be exhausted after your long journey. Please rest in the royal guest chambers. We can discuss business tomorrow once you both are well rested." The King remarked aloud as gestured to the guards whom ushered the two away. "Business?" Sapphire asked only to get no reply as the guard quickly ushered her away. ------------------------------------------------------------- "Have a nice rest." The guard said before closing the door to the royal chambers. The two mares looked about the room in amazement at the pearl white walls with golden highlights, the spotted velvet red floor, the pearl white chairs with golden outlines, and the lush golden blankets that lay neatly tucked into a very comfortable looking bed. "I don't trust him." Snowbreeze remarked aloud suddenly, breaking the air of wonderment the Alicorn was enjoying up till now as she looked at her friend and scowled. "You don't trust him because he's an earth pony." Sapphire retorted. "That, and that he didn't even bother to tell us why he's being so nice to us." Snowbreeze replied disregarding her friend's annoyance. "He said he would tell us tomorrow." Sapphire replied as she sat down in one chair. "I'm telling your, Sapphire. Something about this stinks and it isn't the cologne that's been sprayed on everything in here. Yesh, my snout is on fire here!" The Pegasus remarked as she rubbed her nose and exhaled violently from her snout. Upon hearing this, Sapphire rolled her eyes and sighed. "You're just being paranoid and I smell nothing." Sapphire replied calmly. "No, I'm not!" Snowbreeze snapped with a glare. "Yes, you are!" Sapphire snapped back with a glare of her own. The Pegasus was about to pop off another retort when she took a deep breath and let it out. "Look, I know I let my prejudices take the reins alot but this time isn't one of them. Did you see how that king was acting? He was ready to axe off his subjects just for a bad sign to flag us down with!" Snowbreeze reasoned in a much calmer tone now. "He said severely punished, not beheaded, Snowbreeze." Sapphire deadpanned with a mildly annoyed glare at the Pegasus whom rolled her eyes and groaned. "Oh, then what about me then? You can't tell me that he wasn't threatening me back there!" Snowbreeze said as she gestured a hoof towards the door. "Because you insulted him!" Sapphire replied much more aggressively than she had meant to. "Ugh! You're hopeless." The Pegasus remarked as she flung her hooves into the air and flew to the other side of the bedroom. Sapphire huffed softly to herself as she gazed upon her lavish surroundings once again with a thoughtful look for a time before Snowbreeze spoke up once again. "Look, maybe I am being overly paranoid but you can't blame me! Look at how our lives have been the last few years?" Snowbreeze remarked as she hovered over and stopped in front of Sapphire who looked at her with an annoyed look for a few moments longer before letting out a sigh. "I guess you're right but I have no reason not to trust him, Snowbreeze. He's our king after all." Sapphire replied calmly. "Your king, not mine. Besides, are you really gonna trust a stallion you've never met just because he has a crown on his head?" The Pegasus remarked with a skeptical expression towards her friend. "I'd love to hear you say this about the Pegasus king or queen." Sapphire remarked aloud with a smirk expecting some kind of panicked reaction from her friend only her expression to become saddened. "We… haven't had a king or queen for about five years now. They died shortly before I ran away from home." The Pegasus said in a saddened tone and sighed. "Oh. Sorry to hear that but I'm sure they had an heir to the throne." Sapphire replied unsure of why this was saddening her friend so much. Snowbreeze's expression become a mild scowl upon hearing this. "They sure did, but I heard the heir went missing not long after they died." Snowbreeze remarked and kicked the floor as her face became angry. "The featherflanked chicken couldn't take the pressure of being the next in line so they ran like the chicken they are!" She exclaimed feeling herself tense up for a time before she took a deep breath and sighed. "Stupid chicken…" She added softly under her breath before she looked at Sapphire. Sapphire looked at her friend curiously. "Did you know them? The heir I mean. History books cut off just after the start of the three hundred year war, so I don't know who the current royal family is to the Pegasi empire." Sapphire asked with a curious look. "Oh yeah, I knew them all right…" Snowbreeze replied her angry expression returning for a moment before she took another deep breath and let it out. "Lost contact with them shortly after I ran away from home though." She added, hovered over to the bed, and laid on it. "Whew, I'm beat. Gonna grab some shuteye, Sapphire." The snow white Pegasus said with a yawn. "Hold on a sec, you said you knew them. What were they like? What was their name?" Sapphire asked in a hurried tone only to find the Pegasus snoring loudly. "Yesh, she falls asleep fast." The Alicorn added with a scowl and sighed. "I guess I'll ask her later."