The Rejuvenationverse 49 members · 25 stories
Comments ( 2 )
  • Viewing 1 - 50 of 2
Purple Patch
Group Admin

Platinum’s reign was, for the moment, secure. The Princess of Precia ruled with confidence beside her counsellors.
A worthy High Advisor in Platinum.
A worthy Lord Steward in Soda-Water.
A worthy Lord Admiral in Wild Goose.
A worthy Private Secretary in Sleeping Dog.
And a worthy Lord Marshall in Auric d’Orunguile.
Some have even claimed they were the predecessors for the Bearers of the Elements.
[Note: This historian disagrees. While benevolent in their intentions and capable in their profession, they played a lot of dirty cards to remain one step ahead. Those who claim Platinum and her counsellors should have possessed the Elements of Harmony tend to be tied, however loosely, to a unicorn supremacist sentiment.]
However, it was at this time that Precia would see the hail of confusion that was the Three Usurpers.
The first of these was Prince Stilton, though in himself, he wasn’t a threat. He was the grandson of Windsor the Red, a rival of Princess Platinum’s grandfather, King Calsim. Through this, he was the heir to the once-ruling family of Precia, the House of Grandform, founded by High King Cheddar the Strong who drove the minotaurs from the Gorgeous Gorges where most of Precia’s gemstone mines are based. The house of Grandform was a Post-Roaman dynasty that once ruled most of Western Stirrope but its glory had long since faded. Platinum and Stilton shared the same blood as Calsim’s wife was Windsor’s sister, Dovedale, married to seal the peace between their families.
[Note: The descendants of the male line of the family still rule as the Overlords of Tormandy, the House of Grande-Fromage. At the time however, Overlord Camembert did not make a claim to Precia as he was suffering from Dryditch Fever and believed it to be punishment from Calypso for his arrogance. After him, his daughter, Brie, also refused the right to Precia and the line has since ceded its claim to Equestrian soil.]

Due to his father’s defeat, Stilton had lived his life as a prisoner, albeit a very well-treated one, a hostage at court. He’d been removed from the royal palace when King Ferric came to the throne, many fearing that the paranoid king would kill the colt or at least cause him harm. He was kept in New Jasmine Hall in Fragran with a lordly constable to tend to his needs. Recently, that spot had been taken up by Lord Unction of Crasse who began secretly filling the stallion’s head with notions of his right to rule, having stories of his ancestors told to his ward by his ally and brother-in-law, Eminence Dimmock (Known in histories as ‘The Stinking Bishop of Fragran Field’).
It came to little, however. As well as his decayed lineage and absence of experience, Prince Stilton was notoriously simple-minded, a tale purporting that he could not tell gold from clay, had a habit of wetting himself at inopportune times and had little to no idea of how to rule. It seems very plausible that Unction and Dimmock intended to rule Precia, or at least part of it, through the witless king they claimed to serve.
[Note: It is likely that Prince Stilton wasn’t so much stupid as mentally-disabled, a condition not yet conceived at the time]
Lord Unction declared a tournament at Shilling where the crown of Windsor the Red was presented as the prize for the knightly joust. The joust, however, was rigged to allow Prince Stilton to win, pick up the crown of his father and declare his royal house returned to glory and thus gain the support of any who witnessed his victory, believing it to be destined. Princess Platinum appeared for the tournament and Auric d’Orunguile tried for the tilt, representing the Princess, and won all but the last, defeated by Prince Stilton when his spurs suddenly failed. However, a mystery knight emerged, dressed all in amethyst, and challenged Prince Stilton, knocking him down in a single tilt. In sheer desperation, Lord Unction and Bishop Dimmock then, in a colossal panic, declared the crown had been stolen. Clover was cornered and questioned but Sleeping Dog then appeared with an army at her back and revealed the crown in her possession, having trained a group of street urchins as expert thieves. She then revealed Prince Stilton as a traitor, claiming that she’d been disguised as a guest who had asked Prince Stilton if he has the right to rule Precia instead of Platinum to which he’d replied that he did. When Unction and Dimmock protested, Sleeping Dog asked Prince Stilton the same question again and, dully, he replied the same way.
The knight in amethyst armour was gone by then. Nopony knew who he was, where he’d come from or why.
The first usurper’s attempted coup ended with a whimper. Lord Unction, Bishop Dimmock and their major fellows in the conspiracy were executed, passive supporters lost portions of their lands and, knowing he would still pose a threat even without meaning to, Clover gave Prince Stilton the kindest death she could.
She took him to the coral beds on the shores near the royal palace, pointed to the underwater grottoes and claimed a beautiful hippocampus was living in them, waiting to kiss him and be his bride. With a blissful, foolish smile, Prince Stilton dived in and swam into the grottoes.
He never resurfaced.
[Note: There is a story that claims that he did, in fact, find a hippocampus who turned him into a seapony like her and they lived happily ever after. It’s a pretty tale but an unproven one. During Lady Winterbottom’s Excavations, a skeleton was found in the grottoes but it’s unconfirmed if this is indeed Prince Stilton.]

The second usurper was a seven-year-old colt called Manchet claiming to be the dead young King Pyrite. The guise was purported by his mother, Treacle Tart, a courtesan who very likely had carnal knowledge of the late King Ferric (Though likely no more than most courtesans in Precia). Duke Throdkin of Throdmoor attempted to help him take the throne, alongside Treacle Tart’s lesbian Tarpan lover, a pirate named Khandsari. Throdkin, it is believed, was being blackmailed by either mare who threatened to reveal who he was seeing regularly at night (And how old they were.) to his wife and to the guards and so he organised a hunt, claiming there to be an Ursa Minor from the Jade Glade on royal grounds. Faking illness, he stayed in the capital as the royal entourage departed. Then Throdkin, Treacle Tart and Khandsari declared Manchet the true King of Precia and paraded him through the streets, a gathering of loyal courtesans offering free favours to any unicorn who pledged their swords to him.
[Note: Thankfully, it is written that Treacle Tart made sure her son didn’t see any of this, likely to make him believe the crowd behind him was truly loyal]
The desperate Throdkin used his finances to hire mercenaries from Talland, then known as Cavaria, prized for their fighting-prowess and discipline in their victories against the forest minotaurs. Only a cadre of about four-hundred responded to his message however but they certainly added some backbone to the ragtag rioters.
They then put the royal palace to siege, Soda-Water holding out as well as he, his clerks and a hoof-ful of halberdiers could against an armada of street thugs, drunkards, whores and token mercenaries.
Auric d’Orunguille put an end to it, Platinum ordering him back to the capital on Clover’s intuition. The Lord Marshall and his Honour Guard ploughed through the thugs and took the survivors prisoner. The Farman mercenaries put up a better fight but, at the time, Farmany didn’t have the distinct relationship between the three species of pony Equestria did and so weren’t as familiar with advanced magical tactics. Auric’s mages broke the formation with powerful spells whilst knights galloped forth to cut them down while they were disorientated.
[Note: Wagensroll insists this is cheating.]
It was claimed that the Farmans still put up stiff resistance until the Precian Knights saw among their number the Knight in Amethysts from Prince Stilton’s tourney ride ahead, faster and stronger than any of them, slaying the mercenary command and cutting through to the royal palace and out again over and over. Again, he disappeared after the battle.
When Clover witnessed the disarray of the attempted coup, she was quoted as saying “I honestly just feel bad for these ones.” She and her council debated and what to do with them. The histories here are vague. Some claim Auric d’Orunguille insisted they all be publicly executed while Clover suggested they be merciful while others claim vice versa. Regardless, Platinum had Throdkin and noble conspirators stripped of all holdings and reduced to dung shovellers while Treacle Tart, Khandsari and the other common supporters were paraded through the streets in bonds and coated with refuse by the crowds before being fitted with anti-magic rings and put to work as farm-hooves for a period of twenty years. Manchet however was spared punishment by Platinum who recognised that he was simply a puppet, and allowed him to serve as a kitchen-worker.
[Note: Fate would smile upon him eventually as he worked his way up to become a baker and writer of recipes and in later life ran the royal aviary, the Manchet’s Black-Crowned Pheasant named after him.]
The third usurpation, however, was a much graver matter.

Fleabite the Faithless, a travelling preacher claiming to be speaking for the long-dead Prince Galvan, was vehemently outspoken against Princess Platinum and her inner circle had taken up residence in Thymely, an estate close to the capital. He met with Archduke Gravlax Grayling, a very powerful but secluded noble, and his family, declaring that Princess Platinum was no true monarch and the good folk of Precia were bound to remove her from the throne.
[Note: Most histories suggested he regarded a female alone on the throne as heresy but it’s likely he had more than just this reason to decry her in such a way. The amount of time and resources he spent defying the throne and putting his life in danger seems disproportionate.]
Gravlax Grayling declared his decision to no longer pay taxes to Princess Platinum, citing her parent’s ill reputation, the shame she’d brought to her kin and the dubious reputation of her close advisors. Fleabite suggested he invite the Princess to Thymely to discuss his terms.
Clover advised Princess Platinum not to see them but Auric d’Orunguille assured Princess Platinum she had nothing to fear. Alongside a cadre of guard, Platinum appeared at Thymely to call an end to Grayling’s defiance. Upon their arrival however, Platinum was beset upon by an army of Thymely guard along with Peton mercenaries from Haughty led by Dubitian Haughtenville distantly related to Lord Gravlax. Platinum and many of her entourage were captured, most of her guards killed. Auric d’Orunguille escaped (Whether the Princess ordered him to flee or not depends on the source) and brought word to Clover. Clover ordered the royal armies to surround the castle Platinum was held in but not to actually attack it, else Platinum’s life would be forfeit. Clover set to work planning on getting Platinum out of Thymely without armed assault.
However, upon seeing the army at their doors, Fleabite the Faithless dragged a bound Platinum atop the walls and denounced her and all who supported her, flogging her in the sight of her supporters. All members of the Grayling and Haughtenville family came up and did the same. Gravlax’s mistress, Flymph, it is said went ‘a lot further’.
[Note: It isn’t confirmed what is meant by this. Most have implied that Flymph sexually molested Platinum and some even believe she wasn’t the only one. In fact, in Northern Pittany, a stallion claiming to be a descendent of the Haughtenvilles runs a chamber of curiosities which includes the instrument Flymph apparently used to do the deed.
It was first invented by the Haughtenvilles to punish lesbianism while they were in power but later it was only used to punish adulterers after the Merian Church permitted homosexuality. It was known as the ‘Peton Orthocone’.
Nopony’s quite certain how exactly one was meant to put it in.]

Despite this, Platinum’s ardour did not diminish and she furiously promised Fleabite, Gravlax, Flymph, Dubitian and the rest a painful end. Clover continued the siege with every worthy knight she could find riding round the castle in full armour as a demonstration of seriousness.
Fleabite put together several sorties and skirmishes which all ended in failure. As the larders in Tymely began to run dry, Gravlax began to wonder if the pains he was taking were worth it. He made several attempts to parley but Clover refused to hear him, repeating her demand for the complete and unconditional surrender of Thymely and release of the princess.
Clover seemed sure in her resolve despite knowing that an armed attack would surely goad Gravlax and Fleabite into putting Princess Platinum to death.
It will never be certain if Clover was prepared for that as a hero emerged.
The Amethyst Knight from Prince Stilton’s tournament and Manchet’s riot. Here at last, he removed his helm and declared his identity; Lancer of Lioncore.
He was a young but experienced knight who had made a vow to his betrothed, Bright Eyes, to safeguard the unity of Princess Platinum’s reign. Bright Eyes was the heiress of Bellelle. Bellelle was once a glorious sight, the jewel of Precia with lakes of swans, silver waterfalls and acres of tall trees and wildflowers. Ferric’s power-mongering and the conflict caused by it had charred half of Bellelle to ruin and caused the deaths of both Bright Eyes’s parents, leaving her in a state of depression. Lancer of Lioncore was determined to give her and Precia a better future and vowed therefore to rescue Platinum.
Clover felt that this boldness bordered on madness and told Lancer so but such was her respect and his determination that she gave him a day to rescue their monarch before storming Thymely.

Scaling the walls at dead of night in full armour by creeping up the steep cliffside with skills akin to mountain goats, Lancer made his way into the outer city of Thymely, disguised as a hooded beggar before finding a way to scale the walls of the castle itself by bribing a miller’s family to pile sacks of barley into a stairway. He did this silently and without killing anypony and freed Platinum from the dungeons. It didn’t take long for the alarm to be raised but as the guard emerged, Lancer struck first, slaying Dubitian Haughtenville and all his guards and galloping at full speed with the princess out the gates as they closed. With his prisoner gone, Gravlax offered his surrender.
Unfortunately for him, Precia no longer had any incentive to grant him amnesty now that Platinum was free. Gravlax had not assisted with her release and so had done nothing to amend his treason. He and all those who took part in the capture of Princess Platinum were summarily executed. The members of the Grayling family who took passive roles were reduced to serfs. Any who claimed ignorance or denouncement of the plot were investigated, spared if they spoke the truth and executed if they lied. For her own acts of degradation and humiliation, Flymph was hung upside-down by her back-hooves over the sewers that slowly filled up (Dysentery had spread across the lower cities at the time) until she drowned. Fleabite was confined to Sleeping Dog’s lowest dungeons to test her various devices one by one.
[Note: Ironically, he didn’t die from any of them. What ended up killing him was the outbreak of withering ‘Prison Plague’ eight years later, dying amongst dozens of criminals nopony would miss. Platinum believed that was honestly the best solution, avoiding making Fleabite a martyr. Sleeping Dog also caught the plague that same year but survived, though never reacquired the use of her hind legs.]
It is worth mentioning that it was Clover and Sleeping Dog who proposed the punishment. Platinum, still in shock, wasn’t ready to decide what would be done with the prisoners. Clover and Sleeping Dog weren’t acting out of a wish to be cruel but a need to be practical.
Gravlax had seized the royal monarch, harmed her before her subjects and held her with impunity in his own estate. If this was not severely punished for all to see, other lords would attempt the same.
Clover was quoted...
“What deters ponies from crime will not be the severity of the punishment but the certainty.”
The ordeal did not do Princess Platinum well. She became secluded, confined to her palace and only met with those she trusted utterly. Chiefly among them, however, was not Clover who worked tirelessly to govern the realm, but Auric d’Orunguille who volunteered to serve as the Captain-General of the Royal Guard as penance for what happened. The two grew closer and closer. Historians state that a sexual relationship between the two can’t be ruled out.
However, trouble soon occurred when Platinum started gathering court again. Auric took it upon himself to override Clover’s authority concerning the matter of the tensions between Precia and Marchion. Auric pushed Clover back into her chair when she stood up. When Platinum cuffed Auric round the ear, he moved in a manner that seemed close to drawing his sword.
In the silence, he claimed he wasn’t well and excused himself.
The matter in question would became very relevant in the next month.

Bronycommander
Group Contributor

6792551
A Really good Ending for Glover and a interesting thought From you.

  • Viewing 1 - 50 of 2