//------------------------------// // 7. Royalty // Story: The Glass Kingdom // by RainbowDoubleDash //------------------------------// The palace was one befitting the True Queen of Equestria in all ways save one – the fact that it was hidden away from the prying eyes of her treacherous younger sister, who yet sat upon the usurped throne of Equestria. Kindle never knew whether to be awed or angered by the sight of Celestia’s volcano lair for that reason. At the moment, however, he settled on relieved. The salamanders had left, retreating back to the colony that they had established somewhere in the volcano’s bowels. The dragon Solrathicharnon was missing at the moment as well, from his normal spot of guarding the front entrance of the palace, across a stone bridge that led from the lip of the caldera to where the palace sat, suspended over boiling magma. With nothing around, then, Kindle could finally take a moment to drop his act of being perfectly alright. One hoof went to his ribs, and he took a moment to try and inhale deeply. That was a mistake. He doubled over in pain, falling to his side – fortunately, not the one where the pain was coming from. That Lyra Heartstrings had hit a weak point in his armor, and definitely snapped at least one, maybe two ribs. It was a good thing that he hadn’t needed to walk all the way from Zaldia, that a specially-prepared portal had been readied by his Queen to take him and his salamander entourage from Zaldia all the way back to Celestia’s lair. Breathing was laborious at best at the moment. The heat of the caldera and the thin air also combined to make him so tried all of a sudden…he resolved to close his eyes for just a moment… The next thing he knew, he heard a pony’s voice, a mare’s he knew well, calling his name. Eyes fluttering open, he saw himself looking at a unicorn mare, gray and nondescript – Smoke, an illusionist and former special-effects expert who had helped Kindle out for many of his plays, but who had given all that up to follow him to Corona…both of her hooves grasped one of his. He wasn’t on the stone bridge anymore, either, but instead was lying on a soft bed with Smoke beside him… And then She appeared. Her. The Eternal Day, the Glorious Sun, the Undimmed Daystar. Celestia, the True Queen, looked down at Kindle. He could feel her appraising eyes, her righteousness…the pegasus stifled a gasp, reaching for the Ring of Serena that he had hidden within his armor, but he found that armor to be missing. Glancing around desperately, he saw it lying off to one side. “Fear not,” Celestia said, her horn lighting up with white. The Ring floated into view. “You succeeded in the task given to you.” Kindle’s mouth opened and closed a few times of its own accord as he struggled to get into a proper sitting position. “N-no!” Smoke said, trying to hold him down. “Hang on, Kindle, you got yourself hurt and you need to – ” “Get off!” Kindle cried, pushing Smoke away before turning back to Celestia, focusing on the alicorn and not Smoke. “M…my Queen, I…I failed! The Elements, two of them, appeared. Lyra Heartstrings and Trixie Lulamoon. They fell upon me, I thought only of escape to get your prize to you, but I fear that both of them together – ” “Were too much for Ispelu Magikoa, yes,” Celestia finished for Kindle. She shook her head. “It does not matter. Magikoa’s revolution would have been ideal, but Zaldia being thrown into internal chaos, its various security services competing with and suspicious of one another, serve just as well.” She looked to the ring she held in her telekinetic grip. “It will keep them too occupied to search for this.” Celestia concentrated, one eye narrowing slightly – and the ring shattered. Magical energy was unleashed, but Celestia contained it easily before it could cause any harm to those within the room, then began draining it into her horn. “It was not the ring I was after,” Celestia said after a moment. “But the knowledge and skill that went into its creation, that remained within. Serena was a master of duplication magic.” She looked to Kindle as the last of the magic of the ring was absorbed into her. “With this, I can correct the flaws of the Mirror Pool. You have done well, Kindle.” She nodded to him. “I have knit your bones and repaired your other injuries. The pain will fade in a day, two at most. Rest now, my Voice. You will be called upon again ere the season is done, when we go to the Contest of Champions.” Kindle nodded, and Celestia turned, walking from the room, or starting to. She stopped, however, looking over at Smoke, who was standing off to the side, fidgeting a little. Celestia nodded to the unicorn. “Our magic lessons shall be done for the day, Smoke. You may remain at Kindle’s side if you wish.” With that, Celestia left. Smoke watched her go, before returning to Kindle’s side. “S-sorry,” she said softly. “I…I mean, I know that telling Celestia what happened was important…I was just worried about you…” Kindle lay back down, smiling brightly. His Queen had praised him! Said that he had done well! “It’s alright, Smoke,” he said. “Queen Celestia was pleased! That’s all that matters…” --- The Guarsai had questioned Trixie and Lyra extensively about what had happened, how Ispelu Magikoa had been defeated, what had happened to the Ring of Serena. They had tried to give chase to the salamanders, but even after making their way past the block that the salamanders had reinforced once melting through, they found themselves within a maze of tunnels, any one of which the salamanders and Kindle could have escaped through, assuming that they hadn’t just melted a new one. The Ring was lost, then, on its way to the Tyrant Sun. Trixie didn’t know what Corona wanted with the Ring, but she had a sinking feeling that she would find out. The Guarsai were nonplussed at the loss of their artifact. They were even more incredulous when Trixie described her battle with Ispelu Magikoa – that she had been able to essentially stalemate him, had probably even been winning, if she said so herself. Traitor or no, the Zaldians apparently didn’t like the idea of an Equestrian hedge-mage being able to go hoof-to-hoof with their High Mage. Trixie didn’t much care whether or not they liked it, however. Kristal Zati had explained some details himself, in Zaldian, and Trixie couldn’t help but think that he had somehow taken credit like the jerk he was. Trixie had also been sure to describe how Zati had initially fought Lyra and Trixie, and how he had lied to the Guarsai, framing them, just in case Zati was somehow trying to cover his own flank. By the time they all left the crystal cavern, the sun was rising over Gotorleku Hiria. Trixie and Lyra were being escorted by a pair of Guarsai, but the rest of them remained on Ispelu Magikoa, who seemed to have gotten over the shock of his betrayal and now held his head high, trying to look dignified. Trixie didn’t care much for that, either. Right now what she most wanted to do was go to the Equestrian Embassy – provided it was no longer under siege – and file a very florid, very colorful, incident report. Unfortunately, she couldn’t do that. She and Lyra were instead put in carriages that were escorted not by Guarsai, but by ponies wearing the bear-shaped helmets of the Zaldian Royal Guard, and taken straight to the Royal Palace…alongside Kristal Zati. If looks could kill, then Trixie’s glare at Zati would have scoured Gotorleku Hiria from the continent. Zati, for his own part, had at some point been given an official Guarsai uniform and changed into it. He made no attempt to explain himself to Trixie or Lyra. Instead, his visage was grim, but behind that grimness Trixie could see the look of a pony who was patting himself on the back for a job well done. Trixie had never wanted to buck a pony more than she wanted to buck Kristal Zati right now. The carriage reached the Royal Palace quickly enough – it was early morning, after all, and what few ponies were out and about already would step out of the way of the carriage without it even needing to slow down. Once there, Lyra and Trixie were escorted straight through its main gates without pomp or circumstance, and brought to a small room, appointed with comfortable-looking couches and hung with tapestries depicting great events in Zaldia’s history. Trixie eyed them, then eyed the great double-doors that also featured in the room, and the two Royal Guard that stood outside of it. One of them, much to her surprise, was an earth pony rather than a unicorn. An outreach program, maybe? “Antechamber,” Trixie said after a moment to Lyra, recognizing the basic setup of the room they were in. Canterlot Castle had a similar room set up before its own Throne Room. “We’re about to meet King Platinozko Tronua.” “Indeed,” Kristal Zati said. “This is one of the most important operations the Guarsai has ever undertaken – and of course you played a part in – ” “I will buck you through that wall,” Lyra interrupted, raising a hind hoof to emphasize the point. She glared at Zati. “If this was all some kind of sting, why didn’t you tell us when we met you? Nopony else was around! Nopony else would have heard! Maybe we could have stopped Kindle from escaping if we’d just been working together from the start!” Zati blinked a few times at the outburst. “You would not have trusted me – ” “I wouldn’t have,” Trixie confirmed, glaring herself, “but only because you went out of your way to be a jerk to me at our meeting yesterday!” Zati opened his mouth, but Trixie raised a hoof. “Shut up. Just…just shut up.” She turned, looking to Lyra. “We’re going to meet their King. Bow, but don’t genuflect. We’re Equestrian citizens, we only get on our knees for Luna and her viceroys. Try not to shout.” “I wasn’t going to shout,” Lyra objected. Trixie shook her head. “Sorry, that last part was for me. But I’m not very good at following directions…” Kristal Zati looked between the two Equestrians in a panic, and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could the double-doors opened up, and the three of them were permitted to enter the Throne Room of Zaldia. There was platinum everywhere, of course. It was a wonder the metal still had any value at all with how much the Zaldians had laced the room with it. The white marble walls and columns had filigrees of the stuff curling through them in intricate patterns, the light from the stained glass windows reflecting off the silvery metal and brightening the entire room, dispersing any shadows. The Platinum Throne itself, meanwhile, was set against the far wall. Despite its name, the throne looked like it was made of marble like the rest of the room, carved out of the wall itself, though still laced with platinum filigree that came together into a bust of a standing, roaring bear against the throne’s back, the bear’s teeth, eyes, and claws made of platinum. Trixie had heard once that if you attached a pair of bells to your saddlebags when walking through a forest, the tingling sounds would keep bears away. She wondered if the same was true of Zaldian royalty. King Platinozko Tronua looked pretty much exactly what Trixie expected him to. He was an older unicorn, but quite fit, his horn of impressive length. His coat was gray-silver, his mane, tail, and well-tended beard white, while his eyes were a dark yellow. He wore a long black cape with epaulets and trim of platinum, though the cape was not cast over one flank at the moment, so as to reveal his cutie mark of a balanced merchant’s scale. Upon his head was a surprisingly simple crown, a platinum circlet inset with a white diamond that rested just beneath his horn, the crown itself also featuring a ring that went over his horn. Which Trixie actually had to admit was a brilliant idea to keep headwear on – she wondered why the Element of Magic didn’t come with a similar ring. There was no set protocol for exactly when Lyra and Trixie were supposed to bow, so the two Equestrians settled on just before the steps that lead up to the throne. Zati genuflected at the same time. “Jaun Goren,” Kristal Zati began when he rose. “Naiz Ofizial Kristal Zati –” King Tronua raised one hoof. “Equestrian, Zati,” he said. His accent was thick, but understandable. He nodded one head to Trixie and Lyra. “We have guests…and from what has reached my ears, we have offended these Ekwestriko mares quite enough already this day.” Zati seemed taken aback by that, mouth opening and closing on its own a few times as he glanced at the Equestrians. Trixie, for her own part, suppressed a grin. After a few moments, Zati began again in Equestrian, relating what had happened not only over the past few days, but going back some time. Ispelu Magikoa had been subject to Guarsai suspicion for awhile – years, the Guarsai officer revealed. Kristal Zati was inserted into his confidence, an apprentice meant to appeal to most of Zati’s ideological viewpoints, one whom the High Mage would take into his confidence and reveal his plans to. Zati glanced over most of the details, eyeing Trixie and Lyra as he did. He was uncomfortable, it seemed, with a detailed description of how Magikoa had been able to subvert the Sorginbehat, the ponies charged with protecting the Armería and its contents. They had oaths of loyalty to the King that were magically enforced, but Magikoa had found a way to subvert the arcane promises, twisting them to be loyalty to the throne, not whoever sat upon it – and then using more mundane methods of bribery, blackmail, or other methods of coercion to get the Sorginbehat’s members under his control. The magical oaths were difficult to cast and maintain, so other branches of Zaldia’s military and security services – such as the Guarsai – were not under them, and so were easier to subvert. Magikoa had already subverted a number of agents before Zati had “joined” him, and Zati’s main assignment had become identifying those elements before Magikoa could be moved in upon. The web that Kristal Zati described was tangled, but hardly unfamiliar to Trixie or Lyra, both of whom had read detective and spy thrillers in their time. “…the Ekwestriko,” Zati said in conclusion, using one hoof to indicate the two of them, “and their nation were to be scapegoats. Distractions for the loyal Guarsai and the military while Magikoa moved on to the next stage of his plans. He considered outright war unlikely, something Ekwestrika would attempt to avoid at all costs while still in the middle of their own civil war – ” “Stars’ sake!” Lyra finally blurted out, fuming. Trixie considered, but didn’t try to stop her, instead stepping closer in a show of support. “Equestria isn’t in a civil war! Why do you ponies think that?!” Zati opened his mouth, but King Tronua raised his hoof to silence him before looking to Lyra himself. “I don’t know what to think at the moment, Zaldun Lyra,” he said evenly. “All I know is that an alicorn, who by all indications is even more powerful than Luna, escaped from the Sun, pinned that Sun in the sky in the middle of winter for twenty hours, and claims right to the Ekwestriko throne, a claim that, thanks to the vagueness of Ekwestriko law on the subject, we do not believe can actually be disputed, only denied.” He leaned forward. “The nations of Cissanthema – of the world – are rather focused on Ekwestrika at the moment. Focused and concerned.” Trixie was about to begin a carefully-worded mix of retort and placation, but before she could Tronua had turned his attentions back to Zati. “Ofizial Zati,” he said. “The Guarsai may well have preserved the Platinum Kingdom from great harm this day…” “Eskerrik asko, Maiestate – ” “…which would be praiseworthy had they not seemed to do everything in their power to threaten it in the first place!” Zati recoiled at the king’s shout, eyes wide. “Y-your Majesty?” he asked. Tronua stood, though he didn’t descend from the throne. His horn, however, did begin glowing bright yellow in anger. “The past hour is the first I have heard of any of this! By your own admission, the High Mage subverted not only the Sorginbehat, but the Guarsai as well! Why did the supposedly loyal elements of the Guarsai not seek aid from the Royal Guard, from Military Intelligence? Gurekin azpian harriak, the civilian police, even!” Zati blinked rapidly at the accusation, confusion evidenced on his face. “It could not be known who else was subverted – ” “Me, Ofizial Zati,” Tronua growled low. “Why did you not come to me? Or did the Guarsai believe that I, too, was a possible conspirator to overthrow myself?” Before Zati could respond, Tronua jabbed a hoof at Lyra and Trixie, though he didn’t look at them. “You met with Zaldun Trixie. Why did you not warn her of what was going to happen, how she was going to be used? Make even the slightest attempt? Did you think she was in on the conspiracy as well? Zaldunak Lyra and Trixie could have retreated to the Equestrian embassy – an embassy placed under siege without warning, I shall add! But there the Zaldunak would still be accused, still be scapegoats as Magikoa intended so as to preserve your operations against him, but without the lives of two Ekwestriko nationals placed in mortal danger!” Zati cast a glance at Trixie. “O…of course, Maiestate, b-but the knowledge that Zaldia might soon be in the middle of its own internal troubles…we did not want to risk exposing any weakness to – ” “You have made the Platinum Kingdom seem stupid, Ofizial Zati – the greatest weakness there is!” Tronua glowered a moment more, before sitting back down on the Platinum Throne, though his eyes still did not break contact with Zati. “I shall tell you what I think of this, Ofizial Zati. I think that the Guarsai became so caught up in its own machinations and paranoia, so enamored of its own supposed superiority and its webs of lies and deceit, that it forgot that its purpose was not the perpetuation of those webs and lies! Its purpose is to protect the Platinum Kingdom, no matter the cost! Or was the cost of the Guarsai’s pride too high?” Zati stammered. Tronua stood again. “The Guarsai,” he began, his voice quiet now, “is to turn over all evidence, all prisoners, all things concerning this investigation to the Royal Guard. Again, by your own admission, the Guarsai is rife with traitors. I see no reason to believe you have identified them all, especially if the last day is any indication of your usual skill and if you are indicative of the typical agent. I shall seek other avenues of investigation into this matter – and the Guarsai themselves shall be thoroughly investigated as well.” Tronua’s glare at Zati finally broke, and he looked to Trixie and Lyra. “Zaldunak Trixie and Lyra. The Platinum Throne was not privy to any of these goings-on. Certainly I would not have approved of your part in the Guarsai’s designs. Your escape from Guarsai custody and any crimes committed in the course of doing so or maintaining your freedom thereafter, then, are pardoned on my authority as a matter of course. Further, having escaped, you chose not merely to hide from unjust imprisonment, but to investigate what was going on – and in so doing played a vital part in preserving the Platinum Kingdom. For that, you have the gratitude of the Platinum Throne.” His horn glowed slightly brighter, and a pair of rings appeared from thin air. Trixie recognized them – she’d seen a similar one hanging from a necklace worn by Ohar Garai earlier, emblazoned with the image of a bear. The rings were levitated over to Trixie and Lyra, each of whom took one in their own telekinesis. “These rings are symbols of that gratitude,” Tronua continued. “I understand that the events of the past day – particularly the Sorginbehat besieging the Equestrian embassy – have likely damaged official relations between Zaldia and Ekwestrika. It is my hope, however, that you will not hold the Throne responsible.” Trixie fidgeted slightly. Several months ago, a part of the Equestrian government had also performed acts that had caught Trixie, Lyra, and indeed all of Ponyville in their wake. When that had happened and Luna had learned about it, she had not hesitated for a moment to take responsibility in front of hundreds of pony witnesses, even though she had not known of its happening – because ultimately, Luna was the Princess, and so everything that happened in the Equestrian government was her responsibility. King Tronua, meanwhile, was doing just the opposite. On the other hoof, however, he really hadn’t known, and he certainly was doing all he could to make amends… Lyra, for her part, stared at the ring before her, taking it into her hooves and examining it for a moment. Just as Trixie was about to accept the rings, however, Lyra held out her hoof, ring on the end of it. “Thanks,” she said. “And…I don’t blame you. And I get what you mean. But…I don’t need one of these.” Trixie’s eyes widened, and she was about to take Lyra aside for a quick once-over on international diplomacy, but before she could the King withdrew both rings, dispersing them back to wherever he had called them up from. Tronua still looked angry, though with the way his eyes kept darting to Kristal Zati, at least that anger wasn’t really directed at the two Equestrians. “Very well,” he said. “I suspect I know your reasons, Zaldun Lyra. Just this once, in light of what has happened, the Throne shall not take offense at the peculiarities of Ekwestriko culture.” Lyra looked like she wanted to say something about that, but several rapid jabs from Trixie’s hind hoof at Lyra’s own put a stop to that. “With your leave, your majesty,” Trixie said, “Dame Lyra and I have had a very long day. We would like to return to the Equestrian embassy.” King Tronua nodded, waving a hoof. Guards that Trixie hadn’t even noticed appeared at their sides. “Go then, with my blessing,” he said. “You shall be escorted straight there. Your belongings from the hotel you were staying at will be brought to you in full, you have my word.” As soon as Trixie and Lyra started to turn, Tronua turned his attentions back to Zati, and if anything his anger seemed to increase tenfold. Trixie did the best she could to suppress a smile at that sight. There was justice in the world after all… --- Lyra did her best to nod and agree with Trixie on occasion as the other unicorn outlined why turning down the offered horn rings was a bad idea despite what Lyra thought of Zaldia and how they were lucky that the King had bigger fish to fry at the time. Lyra knew that Trixie didn’t agree with Zaldia any more than she did, it was just that she’d been educated by Princess Luna to be diplomatic about things, to be wary of committing slights against political leaders. Over the past year, Trixie had even become good at it. Still, Lyra didn’t regret turning down the horn ring in the slightest, particularly not given how Tronua had phrased his ‘understanding’ of Lyra’s refusal. The peculiarities of Equestrian culture? What the hay was that supposed to mean? And how gracious of him to ‘just this once’ not take offense at them… The unicorn shook her head as they were escorted through the palace. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, and faux-paying attention to Trixie, that she didn’t notice her name called the first time it was. The second time she only noticed because Trixie stopped, as did the guards that were escorting them. “Lyra!” Ohar Garai exclaimed, trotting up to the mint unicorn from down one of the hallways. “So good to see,” he continued in Cavallian, nodding slightly to the Royal Guards as he did, “but what are you doing here?” Lyra opened her mouth to start a very long explanation, but it occurred to her that Trixie would probably throttle her if she did for one political reason or another. “A long story,” she said, in Cavallian herself, smiling a little and extending her hoof. Ohar tapped it lightly. “In the papers you will read about, probably.” She sighed. “Me and Trixie not in trouble, but probably going back to Equestria early. Miss meal we said we do. Sorry.” Ohar shrugged. “Da zer da,” he said in Zaldian, then switched back to Cavallian. “It is what it is. Plans change. I was going to speak with King, recommend I go to Cavallia soon – Princess Cadenza’s birthday soon, yes? Good opportunity.” Lyra grimaced. “Now…not best time. King Tronua…” she waved her hoof a little, trying to delicately suggest how bad a mood he was likely in. Ohar nodded. “Yes, I hear some of that, though not why. More important I go to him now! Talk him down. Good friends, King and me.” He tapped the ring that hung from a loop around his neck again. “King Tronua and I, good friends! Even a King needs friends sometimes, yes?” Lyra’s grimace didn’t lessen at Ohar’s words. “Why?” she asked at length, stepping forward. “Zaldia…” she shook her head. Her grip on Cavallian wasn’t nearly strong enough to try and say everything she wanted to say, the way she wanted to say it. Somehow, Ohar seemed to get it anyway, however. He placed a hoof on Lyra’s shoulder. “What do you love?” he asked. Lyra blinked a few times at the seeming non sequitur. “Bon Bon,” she said after a moment. “She my marefriend. My dads, my friends…” Ohar nodded. He looked down, tapping a hoof to the stone floor beneath him. “I love Zaldia,” he said. “It be my home, for all problems. And King Tronua is Zaldia’s king. He is Zaldia. And I am his friend!” He looked back to Lyra. “Things get better in Zaldia. I not blind, I see problems. We all see problems. We look for solutions. It take time, but you see. King Tronua change Zaldia for better, slowly but surely.” Ohar stepped back, waving his hooves. “Now, go! Guards stare at me now, think me Cadenza’s spy if we keep speaking Cavallian!” he laughed, as though what he said was absurd to even consider. Lyra didn’t think so herself after the past day, but she chuckled anyway, nodding and waving goodbye. She started trotting off again with the guards and Trixie, and watched over her shoulder as Ohar visibly steeled himself a little, then set off for the throne room. Well, she thought, if Tronua really is friends with Ohar, then I guess he can’t be that bad…maybe he is trying to make the country a better place… She noticed Trixie staring at her. “What?” Trixie’s eyes narrowed. “You heard absolutely none of what I was just telling you, did you?” Lyra offered a guilty grin. “The next time a king offers me a piece of jewelry, accept it, no matter what I think about him. I’m pretty sure it all boiled down to that.” The illusionist rolled her eyes. “I mean, yes, but there was a lot more to it…” Lyra shook her head, bumping Trixie’s flank with her own. “I’ll remember, Trixie, don’t worry. Right now, though, I just want to find a bed and sleep.” Trixie nodded. “Yeah, me too.” She blinked hard a few times, as though the fact that she had been awake for the better part of a full day was finally catching up to her. “Maybe a bed on a train though. I want to get out of here yesterday.” She glanced up, one hoof to her chin. “I bet we could arrange for an express train out of here…maybe a private car, even…”