Age of the Alicorns: Chaos Rising

by AleximusPrime

18. It is Hopeless

CHAPTER 18: It is Hopeless

Leogle and the other griffons marched furiously down the hallway leading to the doorway where they would depart. Some nearby alicorn guards nervously watched them pass by,. They knew an important meeting was taking place that would decide the fate of the Griffon Province and its ties to Everfree, but they could already tell things did not go well. It was apparent from Leogle’s walking, the roaring and the yelling they heard earlier, that the negotiations had failed.

The griffons then turned to a nearby door where the guards had already moved away for them to exit. The door opened and a few of Leogle’s officers walked out first to wait for him. Leogle suddenly stopped and turned around to see the dark silhouette of a tall alicorn between two pillars in the distance staring at him menacingly. He did not know who it was, but had a feeling he had met them before. He then realized it was his old friend, Senator Accord. He nearly forgot about everything and almost wanted to touch base with his old friend again but there was something about Accord that did not seem right. Accord had undoubtedly heard the commotion and Leogle was not ready to be confronted about it. Leogle turned around quickly and headed out the door with the rest of the griffons following him. The guards closed the doors and gave each other looks of confusion over what just happened.

Accord stared at the door and the poor guards who had no clue what had happened, but he was well aware that the negotiations had not gone as planned. He immediately rushed off to the courtroom to see what had happened.

In a few moments, the doors to the courtroom opened, and Accord walked in to see papers on the ground. There was also an overturned table that was just being put back by some guards, but one of the legs had broken off so it had to be taken away for repairs. A few servants could be seen nearby tidying up and one of them was talking with the king and queen. The king was not wearing his crown and his mane was rather unkempt. The queen was crying into his shoulder. Celestia and Luna were nowhere to be found.

“What is this? What happened?!” Accord exclaimed.

“Senator!” said one of the servants, rushing over to meet him, nearly out of breath. “Oh, senator, it was tragic! The negotiations were such a fiasco!”

“A fiasco? How could it have been a fiasco?” he said, quizzically.

“It was the princesses, senator. They completely nosedived. They didn’t work together well, they treated the general awfully, and didn’t use any peaceful diplomatic skills they learned in their teachings at all. It was so bad that Leogle wants to go to war with us now.”

“WHAT?! That can’t be true! It simply can’t!”

“Accord…” said the king, walking towards his old friend as the servant moved out of his way. “…it wasn’t just the girls.”

“Sol, what is wrong?”

“They did terribly, but I failed them as a father. I lost my temper and I could have done better.”

The king hung his head and Accord put his hoof on his shoulder.

“You’re not a failure, my liege.” he said. “Why did the princesses do this? Shouldn’t they have been well-prepared for this day with all they’ve learned?”

“I don’t know. I think there is something wrong with them. They’re not ready. I should have known they wouldn’t be ready, at least not now. Luna is too young and Celestia cannot work with her sister.”

The queen came up beside her husband, with tears still rolling down her face, and nuzzled up to him.

“We’re so sorry you had to see us like this, Accord.” she said.

Accord hung his head and walked over to embrace the king and queen as they wept.

Meanwhile, in a balcony above, stood Starswirl. He had been watching everything unfold since the very beginning. His eyes were closed and he shook his head slowly side to side.

Celestia stared at herself in the mirror in her bedroom. Tears streamed down her face, smearing her makeup and dripping onto the disheveled dress she made for herself. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. Using her magic, she tore the dress off piece by piece till there was nothing left but shreds of cloth and jewelry beads scattered all over her bedroom floor. She continued weeping and rushed out to the balcony where the sun was reaching the end of the horizon. She put her front hooves on top of the rail and buried her face in them.

“Why…” she said before bringing her head back up with a face full of anger. “Why did you make me do it?!?”

She closed her eyes because the sun was still very bright at this time of day, but she expected to see her spirit guide appear.

“Some spirit guide you are! Why did you tell me all that?!”

She continued screaming at the sun, but she got no response.

“HEY, I’M TALKING TO YOU! COME OUT!! I DEMAND AN ANSWER!!!”

Celestia panted heavily and squinted at the sun. Its brightness kept her from being able to focus on it, but she couldn’t even hear the voice of her spirit guide. No talking. No laughing. Nothing.

“Why won’t you talk to me?”

Nothing she could say to the sun did any good. It became apparent to her that there was no spirit guide at all. She may have been hallucinating last night before she went off to make her dress and sing, but if Luna did the same, a spirit guide might have also visited her. Celestia wanted to ask, but at this point, she was so embarrassed by her performance that she didn’t want to mention the spirit guide to anypony, for fear of sounding insane and blaming her problems on something so nonsensical.

“You don’t even exist, do you?” she sighed.

The princess of the sun laid her head down on the railing with tears still flowing down her face. She could do nothing but mourn for what had happened to her that day. She and her sister had been preparing for this moment for months and it was all for naught. Not only had they failed their test, they started a war.

She then heard a door open and looked behind to see her sister standing right before the balcony. Luna appeared to be in just as bad of shape as she was, with her hair frazzled and her tears smearing her makeup all over her face. She clearly felt just as bad as Celestia did. They stared at each other for a brief moment and then Luna started crying and rushed over to her sister.

“I’m so sorry, Tia!” she whimpered as she nuzzled against Celestia.

“I’m sorry too…” Celestia said, crying.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me! I didn’t mean to say any of that, I just…something just came over me…”

“We’re not ready, Luna.”

“What?”

“For the throne. Neither of us are ready.”

Luna backed away from her sister and wiped her eyes clear.

“Do…do you really think so? I know I’m too young, but what about you?”

“We’re both too young, Luna.” Celestia said, turning around and walking back to the rail. “I’m too young myself and I’m not right for this. I get too angry and too stressed, and I’ve clearly let the stress get to my head.”

“But Tia, Mother and Father need successors. You could do it by yourself and then I’ll just join you several years later.”

“I can’t do it!” Celestia barked as Luna backed away a bit. “I’m sorry. I just can’t do it, Luna. I’ve been so focused on trying to do things right that I end up doing it wrong. Now my unprofessional handling of royal matters might be rubbing off on you…for that I’m sorry.”

Luna wanted to tell her sister about her spirit guide, but had the same exact fear and kept it secret. She thought to herself about what Celestia had just said. She knew she was right. It was not time for her or her sister to lead.

“Celestia?” she asked. “If not us, who should lead in our place?”

“The only one who has proven to be a leader lately.”

Luna cocked her head to the side but then her ears perked up. She knew what her sister was thinking. The sound of flapping wings suddenly drew nearer and nearer and they looked to the side to see a rather worried Accord landing on the balcony.

“Girls!” Accord said as Luna and Celestia rushed over to him. He opened his wings and let them both hug him, but he was still in shock.
“What happened to both of you? Is it true, what they are saying about the negotiations?”

“It’s all true, Accord.” Celestia said, crying into his chest.

“Why though? What went on in there that caused both of you to do that? Have you forgotten what you’ve learned? What I told you last night?”

“I can’t explain what’s wrong with me, Accord.” Celestia replied.

“We’re not ready.” Luna added.

“Luna and I feel we should abdicate our positions as the successors, at least until we are ready.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on now, majesties!” Accord said backing up while shaking his head back and forth. “You can’t just do that. You are the heirs! The constitution clearly states that the offspring of the king and queen shall be the successors to the throne.”

“Maybe that was the first mistake. Just because we’re the daughters of King Solmidas doesn’t mean we can lead.” Celestia said as she turned around and began to pace about on the balcony. “We should ratify that amendment and have someone else take over for now.”

“Who though? Who would take your place?”

The princesses looked at each other and then back to their friend. Accord stood motionless and his face then began to relax. He knew who it was.

“I see.” he said, bowing his head.

“You’re the only other one we can think of, Accord.” Luna said. “You’ve done so much good, the ponies of Equestria will understand if you lead.”

“Luna’s right, Accord. It has to be you.” Celestia added.

“Girls, I’m not the heir to the throne, and…I don’t feel I deserve such a position, but…but if you want me to lead…if that is what you truly desire…I will consider the offer. However, you best talk to your father about this. Nothing can be done without his approval, as well as a vote in the parliament.”

They stared at one another for a few moments, until Celestia calmly walked over to hug Accord and Luna followed after. They embraced one another for a few moments until the princesses began to cry again.

“I’m here, princesses.” he told them.

A while later, Celestia and Luna were walking down the hallway to the royal study where the king and queen were reportedly staying at the moment. There were two unicorn guards standing in front of the door. They noticed the princesses approaching.

“Your Highness, is there something we can help you with?” one of the guards asked.

“We wish to speak with our parents, Sir.” Celestia told him.

“Let me see if he permits it.”

The guard then knocked lightly on the door to get the king’s attention.

“Majesties, your daughters are here to talk to you.”

“Let them in.” said King Solmidas behind the door.

The guards stood to the side and used their magic to open the door for the girls as they both walked in.

The king and queen had their anklets, crowns, and necklaces removed and both appeared to have been crying for quite some time. They both stood next to each other and waited till the door had closed. Celestia and Luna stood for a moment without saying anything. Celestia then bowed her head and walked toward her father as he reached out with his wing to bring her in. Luna and the queen did the same.

“I’m sorry, father.” Celestia said softly, trying to not cry. She had cried too much that day to allow it to continue.

“I owe both of you an apology for lashing out as well.” the king replied as Luna came over and joined them.

“We’re not ready, Father.” Celestia said, getting straight to the point.

“I understand. I should not have put this burden on you so early. I should have waited.”

“No father, I mean Luna and I are not ready, and we have both decided to abdicate.”

“And we want Accord to be the next king instead.” Luna added.

Solmidas appeared confused at first from what he had just heard. He stared at Celestia and then exchanged glances with Chernalia. He looked back and forth, trying to speak, but could not get words out.

“You…I…girls, you’re the only ones who can be the next leaders. That’s not possible. You can wait a little longer if you want.” he said.

“Everypony in Equestria will only look upon us and remember how we started a war, Father.” Luna said, solemnly.

“If the constitution can be amended, we suggest that Accord lead in our place until perhaps we can follow after him, which may be a really long time.” Celestia added.

Solmidas opened his mouth to speak, but instead exhaled deeply while closing his eyes.

“Girls, I need to call a vote for parliament to do that, and it can only be done if the majority wins in favor of this.” he explained.

“They will agree, Father.” Celestia replied. “We started all of this, and I’m sure the parliament will see the importance of changing the law that makes us heirs.”

King Solmidas walked towards his window and hung his head outside, weeping silently. The others stayed behind doing the same. For a few minutes, they all stood motionless, with tears rolling down their faces till Celestia finally walked over to her father with Luna and Chernalia following closely behind. Solmidas sat down next to the window and finally spoke.

“I was going to ask what has gotten into you girls, but I’m sure it’s just all the stress of the situation that has gotten to all of our heads.” he said. “Either way, it matters not. This as all just a huge mistake. I just want us to be a family again. We’ve obsessed over politics too much, and it’s driven a wedge between us all. If a war is to be fought, then so be it. We will win the war and move on and forget any of this happened. I will take this to the parliament, and the vote will most likely be in favor of an amendment. I will continue leading for a while, and then Accord will take over. We’ll finally be able to put this all behind us.”

No one else said a single word. Everyone just embraced one another with tears still in their eyes. Perhaps the princesses were right, and it was better to give up the throne and allow someone far more experienced to take over. There would be no way to heal the wounds of today’s events but they could certainly move on. This was the only option. Several more minutes passed and finally, everyone got up and wiped their tears away with their hooves. The king sighed deeply.

“You girls should go get some sleep. I will speak with the parliament.” he told them.

Celestia and Luna trudged along as Solmidas put on his royal jewelry and tried combing his mane to look presentable enough as Chernalia watched.

“Wait here for me, my love.” he told her. “And pray for what I am about to do.”