The Northern Crown

by CoronaBorealis

Chapter 11: A shady offer

"You tried your best Corona, that's all you can ask for," Topaz says as he sits down next to his downed friend, days after the magic show. He lifts a hoof up to his shoulder and gently pets down Corona's back to try and make him feel better. "The speed you reached when doing the trick was incredible!..."

"Maybe... but it wasn't enough to earn the admiration of the equestrian ponies, and not even my own kind..." Corona replies with his usual quiet and gentle voice, his coat instead of the elegant sparkling royal blue is now a dull uninspiring blue. "I'm sure you could do it if you were on the stage, you're an amazing flyer for your age," he says back to Topaz to try and move the conversation away from what he thinks is his failure.

"Corona there you go with that again... you need to stop looking at how awesome everypony else is and realize how awesome you are, if you just..."

"Celestia lifted the whole sun by herself!... How could I ever consider myself to be her equal! She's always been amazing and ahead of me in everything we've done!.... But today... she didn't just step in front of me, she jumped far ahead of me!... it's like I'm always watching her from behind! I can't help but... feel envious of her, everypony always highly regards her for being such a bright beacon of hope for our future!... I've even overheard a few of the nobility saying that they believe that Celestia will be the first alicorn to become a deity!.... what could I possibly do."

"I don't know Corona.... I couldn't give you a straight answer, the only thing I can tell you is that if she is leaping so far ahead of you, that just means you need to run faster," he says with a smile. "You have the makings of a great king like your father, but not unless you give yourself time to improve it will never happen. Celestia just picks things up significantly faster than anypony I know, but you have the mind to figure things out Corona, and the wisdom to bring out the best in others. I'm telling you, you should try using your own words on yourself," he says as he turns to leave.

Corona hears his hoofsteps slowly growing more and more distant until he isn't able to hear them any longer. He soon looks up at the sky and notices that storm clouds are starting to be formed by the pegasi above. A cool breeze blows through his fur which helps him calm his mind, after a few long moments he takes a deep breath and sighs. His eyes soon shoot open and he stands up on alert. He slowly turns his head to search for the presence he sensed.

"It would appear you have very sharp senses, it's a shame you can't seem to bring out your true potential when you show such promise," a female voices says as he searches for the source of it.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" Corona says with a serious voice as he stays on guard, "I am a prince of the Crystal Empire! It would be unwise to harm me.

"Oh I already know quite a bit about you young prince" the voice says as a form of a pony shows made of a haunting looking smoke, the eyes of the smoke figure are a glowing green which makes Corona step back a bit, feeling a slight sensation of intimidation. "For example, I know all about your desire for power," the figure says as it wraps itself around him, whispering in his ear with a set of creepy grinning white teeth. "And I can give you that power if you so desire it."

"What are you talking about?... I'm fine!" he says with false confidence, something that the mystery pony instantly picks up on his doubt. The pony moves it's head right next to his, "I can feel the need.... deep inside you, a need to be strong and powerful. You want to be admired by your subjects don't you? And respected by your friends? Your parents to be proud of you?"

Corona looks down at the ground as each question the pony asks further confuses him and makes his uncertainty rise higher than it ever has been./ "Is... Is she right?... does everypony... really think down on me like that..."

"Of course I'm right!" the mare says as she looks him in the eyes, "They all look at you and think you're weak! They pity you!"

Corona looks up into the green eyes and lifts a hoof in disbelief, "N-No that isn't true! They wouldn't think I could do better if that were the case!..."

"Most of the ponies in the audience that saw your performance and saw it as being average, maybe even slightly above average. Certainly nothing to be compared to the young princess," the smoke says as it's head moves next to his and whispers eerily into his ear, "I can give you what you need to be as powerful as her, maybe even more powerful~" it says as it's teeth grin again. "You need only to let me in, let me take all of those negative emotions away.~"

Corona looks down at the ground and his coat dulls further as the words the pony speaks start to make more and more sense to him, he feels the darkness starting to seep into his body. Images of a powerful version of himself filling his mind, strong and confident, not timid and shy like his real self. Gaining the approval of his family, friends, and subjects seeming very alluring to the young colt. "S-Should I listen to this pony?...."

He looks around him and sees darkness surrounding him which catches him off guard, making him raise a hoof as he looks around in alarm, "Hello!" he shouts into the black void, hoping to hear a familiar voice call back to him but he hears nothing until the creepy face of the pony fills the void. Evil green eyes and that big white grin looking down at him, "I am but a humble servant of my all powerful master!" it says in a very discomforting voice, "He can grant you the power of ten suns if you simply devote your life to him! All you would need to do is get rid of all the things that are holding you back! Which of course includes the ponies that you call friends," it says with a voice of confidence, believing she is effortlessly influencing the young colt to join her."

Corona's eyes widen when she mentions him needing to get rid of his friends and he grits his teeth in outrage and stomps his hoof on the ground, "No way! I will never do that to my friends! I don't care if you gave me all of the power in the world! I may desperately want to prove myself like you said!..." he looks at the ground, "But I would never accept power if that meant harm or sadness for my friends."

The creepy face changes to a noticeably upset face, "You reject such an offer!? I thought you would be smarter than that," she says in a tone that shows disappointment.

"I guess I'm not," he says as he looks back at the face, giving a look that shows he is not going back on his word.

"Those ponies have done nothing for you! All they have done is pity you and think condescending thoughts towards you! They always think they are better than you!" she says in a slightly desperate tone to try and persuade him otherwise, knowing her master will be very upset if she doesn't come back with his prize.

Corona steps back away from the smoke pony and stomps at the floor, "I will never betray my friends! Leave me alone!" Corona's coat becoming less and less dull as his confidence returns, not listening to anything that the pony is saying now.

The pony growls in frustration and starts to grow in size, "If you will not come of your own accord, I WILL TAKE YOU BY FORCE," it says as it rushes at Corona like a snake. Corona gasps in surprise and turns to run away from the pony and shouts for help, thinking he's no match for a full grown pony. He looks back and notices that the smoke is getting closer as his heart starts to beat faster than a hummingbird's. His eyes widen as he trips over a tree root and falls roughly on his face and chest, giving him a few scrapes as he stumbles to the ground. The smoke surrounds him and Corona looks up in fear as the terrifying face lets out a horrifying shriek as it charges down at him. Adrenaline pumps through his blood as he covers his eyes to keep him from seeing what would happen to him.

The horrifying shrieks stop and Corona feels nothing happen to him which confuses him, not that he is complaining. He looks back up at the smoke to see that it is desperately trying to enter and corrupt his body, but each time it tries to enter his body it is sharply repelled and shrieks in agony. The smoke face shows clear anger as it glares down at the young prince, "What is going on here!" she says as she charges at him again, only to be repelled once again, making her presence weaker each time she makes an attempt. She growls in frustration as she backs away slowly as Corona stands back up, "What is going on! You should be under my control!"

Before Corona can respond to her they both hear a distant voice, "Corona!!!" The voice catches him by surprise as he instantly recognizes that the voice belongs to Topaz. The smoke pony grits it's teeth and glares down at Corona, "You will regret not accepting his power when you become the laughing stock of your kingdom," it says in a spiteful tone as it vanishes with the wind right before Topaz arrives, Corona backing away a little as her words plants a seed of fear in his soul, "Would I really?.... become the laughing stock of our homelands?..."

His train of thought is soon derailed as Topaz runs up to him panting a little, "Corona I waited for you to come back for a little but you didn't show! Are you okay?" he asks with concern, seeing the alarmed look on Corona's face tells him something isn't good.

Corona looks up at Topaz, "We have to go and tell mother and father something urgent!" he states with urgency as he soon starts galloping towards the castle.

Topaz lifts a hoof in surprise when he sprints off and he soon flies up to catch up to him, noticing the scrape on his face, "What happened to you?!" he yells as the wind blows against them.

"I fell down while a creepy smoke pony was chasing me! she was trying to get me to do something awful," he says as they run through the castle gates, the guards saluting with their spears because of the presence of Corona.

Topaz gulps as Corona recalls the story to him, not paying attention to where they are going they soon bump into Iron Shield, falling to the ground with a thud.

Iron jumps a little in shock but soon realizes who bumped into him, "Oh, there you are son, and good afternoon young prince," he says with a warm smile, soon morphing into a face of concern as they look at him with distressed looks.

"Mister Iron Shield, we need to speak to mother and father as fast as possible!" he requests with quick words, not wanting to waste any time.

Iron nods slowly and lowers himself so they can both climb on and he flaps his big wings to take off as fast as he can to the castle, hoping that it isn't anything too serious, but judging from him seeing the scrape on Corona's face makes him a little nervous as he may have been attacked by somepony.

*****

"We haven't seen any activity on the southwestern border sire, our troops have remained on high alert but have taken it a little easier as of recently. Officers have been ordered by General Typhoon to allow their soldiers working under them to take shifts for leisure time, to help boost moral," Starswirl says as he finishes reading the scroll that was sent from the border.

Helios nods slowly as he takes the scroll to give it the royal seal to confirm that he received it, "Keeping moral high is important, but hopefully we will be able to send our troops back home soon."

Starswirl nods in agreement but he soon jumps a little in surprise as the doors to the throne room are opened quickly as Iron Shield rushes into the throne room, panting a little, "My king, Prince Corona says that he saw something ghastly."

Helios sits up with concern and looks down from his throne as Corona and Topaz jump off of his father's back. Corona then runs up to look up at him, "Mister Helios a really scary pony outside Canterlot today," he proclaims in a worried tone.

Helios raises his brow as he speaks, "What happened Corona?"

"I was out by myself thinking about my... failure at the talent show when Topaz came to talk to me to try and cheer me up, but when he left a pony made of black smoke showed itself to me, she said if I accepted "His" power, then I could do anything... But I had to get rid of my friends to receive it..." he says as he looks at Helios, "The smoke pony had really creepy green eyes... it was really unsettling... But then she vanished the moment Topaz showed up and said that I would regret not taking the power she offered..."

Helios' eyes widen and he quickly stands up as he finishes his explanation, putting all of the pieces together giving him a sense of alarm, "You said she had green eyes?"

Corona steps back in shock with a hoof raised when he sees his sudden reaction, "Y-Yes sir.... they were all green... and she tried to invade my body, but she kept getting blasted away for some reason."

Corona's final comment brings a very noticeable sign of distress as he walks up to look out a window to view the horizon, "I... need to speak with Diamond and our wives.... undisturbed."

Iron picks up on his distress and it makes him feel worried as well, knowing that if something is worrying the normally laid back king to this level, "Of course your highness," he says while making his way back to the door, along with the other guards that were standing watch in the throne room. He soon stops to look back at the two colts, "Come on you two, this is business for the kings and queens."

Corona looks at Iron and frowns a little, "I can't stay?... but I'm a prince," he says with a frown, feeling like he should be listening into these royal meetings too.

Helios makes his way over to Corona and gently pets his head, "One day you when you are older you will be able to, but... this is not something that young ears are to be exposed to, even though you are a prince..."

Corona looks up at him with a look of frustration but he then takes a deep breath and sighs, feeling he has no say in the matter, "Yes sir..."

Helios notices his frustration and kneels down next to him, "Corona you will be a part of these matters when you've grown up a little... don't take it as an attack against you..."

"Right... I understand..." Corona says in a gloom tone as he leaves with Topaz and Iron shield.

Helios sighs and stands back up to cast a spell to summon his fellow royals, "I hope it's not who I think it is..."

*****

The smoke pony forms into the shape of a grey mare with a black mane and tail and green eyes, a group of ponies grinning at her in a sinister way.

"I see you didn't bring back our King's prize~ You're dead meat Felicity~" one of the stallions says with a big grin.

Felicity grits her teeth and growls back at him, "Shut up Lance! He will understand!" she turns away from him with a scoff and walks away from him, flicking her tail as she does, feeling nervous about her meeting with her King. After walking through their camp she soon sees the tattered black crystal throne and gulps as she slowly makes her way up the steps, her eyes soon focusing on the large figure sitting on the throne, accompanied by the smaller figures of many mares laying at his throne, showing off their beauty as they lay at their ruler's throne, each giving the feeling to that of a siren, like they could slowly eat away at your soul if they got their hooves on you. She then focuses on the green flaming eyes of her king as she bows down before him, "I am back my king.... I-I didn't retrieve the subject like you asked but..."

"Silence," his deep voice says in a calm but commanding tone, instantly bringing a stop to her words. She looks down at the ground as a show of submission and respect. "I...I tried my best I swear I did..."

"You failed to bring me the prince of my sworn enemy, and you have the audacity to show your face in front of me," he says as he glares down at her, green flames slowly flowing from his eyes.

"My deepest apologies your highness... I meant no disrespect!... but when I tried to take his body by force I was repelled from his body each time I tried to touch him!"

He cackles evilly and they send shivers of fear through her spine. "So pure magic runs through his veins... That's very interesting," he says as he slowly stands up, "So the son of King Diamond possesses the very opposite of dark magic, it's no wonder you weren't able to corrupt him."

"W-Why is that my lord?..." she says with her face still looking down at the ground.

"It's quite simple really, magic at it's purest form isn't able to be corrupted, just like dark magic isn't able to be purified easily, by planting the right seeds you can corrupt anything over longer periods of time. However this would be a waste of my valuable time, fortunately for me I have been notified by my scouts that there is a much better subject for me to invest in."

"S-So you aren't mad at me sire?..." she says in a shaking voice.

"I don't allow myself to be governed by such emotions, however," he looks down at her, "Not only have you failed me, but you also allowed the colt to live, which means now the royal four now know of my existence. So now we will be forced to make our move far earlier than was planned," he says as he makes his way down towards her, black shadows surrounding his body with red eyes glaring at her from the shadows. "And the worst of it is.... This could have easily been avoided had you simply taken him with your physical form, or killed the prince before he could run away, he is only a foal after all."

Felicity feels the area around her starting to get hotter as she looks down at her hooves she sees the ground in front of her starting to open up with flames, when she sees this her eyes widen in fear and she quickly stands up, "N-No your highness please! I will not fail you again! I-I-I will do triple the work of your other subjects and more!" she says in a panicking tone as the opening grows bigger, the growls of hell hounds filling her ears as they slowly move their heads out from the opening. their bodies glowing with fire and teeth caked with dried blood as lava like saliva falls from their burning mouths, four of them staring at her with predatory eyes as they are hungry for flesh. Felicity's eyes are filled with the flames of the beasts and she screams as she quickly starts to run in the opposite direction to flea her predators. But before she can get far she feels the burning teeth of a hound clamp down on her leg, sinking it's razor teeth deep into her leg and coating it with the burning flames making her scream in agony as she looks back with tearful eyes at her king, only to be met with eyes showing no remorse as he glares at her. He soon falls out of her vision as the mouth of a hound goes for her face. The siren mares and king watch as the hounds swarm her and devour her body as if they haven't eaten in months, recklessly trying to tear away their own piece of the helpless pony to satiate the lust for flesh that will never be quenched. The cries of agony soon coming to an end as they drag their meal down into the burning portal of Tartarus that they were summoned through, the dark clouded skies being the last thing she sees as the hole slowly closes back up, the king she devoted her life to looking down at her with no remorse as he sees packs of wolves slowly approaching her as the portal finally closes.

He lifts his head and looks around at the the subjects that just witnessed the brutal horror, "Let this be a lesson to all of you, failure will be met with swift and eternal punishment," he says as he returns to his throne. The subjects he addressed all bowing in fear as they don't want to be put in the same situation she was, all shouting in unison, "ALL HAIL KING HADEON!"

He looks down at his followers with satisfaction from their response to him, "Prepare for battle, it's time for us to bring down the tyrants that took away what rightfully belongs to me," he says as a grin forms on his maw, "We will be feasting on the magic of the glutenous equines for generations."

Author's Note:

Finally got this out, again I apologize for the long wait for this chapter but to make up for it I will try to get out chapter 12 by Saturday this week! :) Anyway's I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the next one! Let me know what you think about it! I'm hoping that this was a good change of pace! I'm looking forward to where it goes from here for our heroes! Thanks for the read and stay safe everyone!

Comments

[CoronaBorealis]

10256025

Thanks for the input! it's kind of hard for me to stay on top of my grammar errors because of how off and on my writing sessions are due to how demanding my job is. And as for Celestia being born before the founding of Equestria that is correct, I have a few reasons as to why that is different in my story, one of which is that because of how long ago it occurred from present day mlp the stories are bound to be blurred and simplified. Kind of like what nintendo did with Breath of the wild where it occurs so far in the future compared to the other games that it is unclear which timeline it falls under, when it is strongly implied that all of them are present in the game. This gives me some wiggle room for how I can advance the story, but there will be some correlation with the cannon in the future that you are referencing, but I don't want to spoil it.

Anyway's thanks for the input and I hope that you will enjoy the writing I'm putting out :) stay safe!