The first coronation of the new kingdom
The Sun was shining on the city of Canterlot on that beautiful day, as it had been the whole week prior. The Pegasi were handling their new obligations with ease, putting to rest any doubts regarding pony controlled weather. The towers of the castle in the city’s center were particularly magnificent from afar and blinding from close up, as I discovered when walking past them. The rays reflected from the marble slabs with incredible intensity, forcing me to avert my gaze. In a few years’ time the rain and winds would dampen the effect but until then the residents of the city will have no choice but to learn to get used to it. Not that anypony was bothered by it. Not on that day.
The glistening white castle was the first sign of progress. The first tangible result of a society rising from rubble and a clear sign to Equestria of what it was capable of, even if the rest of Canterlot still resembled a warzone. The small army of ponies that had worked on the castle must have employed a healthy dose of magic to make it as perfect as anypony could imagine. Even with a trained eye you would struggle to see the lines that must have formed at the divide between the surviving parts of the castle and those that were added to it during the extensive repairs. I couldn’t find any and mine was definitely a trained eye, so I turned my attention back to the city and the ponies around me.
It had been a while since the city was as full of life as it was that day. There were ponies of all colors and ages everywhere, working to bring to city back to its former glory. Some were hauling around carts full of building material and whatever possessions they had left while others were forming groups of neighbors and friends and dividing work to rebuild the buildings and shops of the city. The younger ones were running through the streets where they used to play, happy to have them back. Optimism was in the air. Even the unwavering Royal Guards and the heavily armed Destriers patrolling the streets couldn’t contain their grins. Equestria was its own land now and everypony here played some role in making it that way. Even me.
For the last few days I had been walking around Canterlot, observing the reconstruction efforts. I had asked the Society of Engineers for this rather dull assignment and they were only too happy to oblige. While ever other engineer wanted in on some exciting new project of planning whole new towns or at least putting his mark on some Equestrian landscape in the form of a statue or even just an ornate stairway to some important building, I had asked them to supervise a project that was too well orchestrated to need it. The only reason somepony needed to be there was to satisfy a law regarding the issue. An apprentice could have done this, if we had any on hoof, so my request raised many an eyebrow amongst my peers and I was certain my volunteering was still being discussed behind my back long after I left. It didn’t matter. My desire for being there was purely of practical nature.
The Canterlot Gardens behind the castle, full of tree saplings and groves of small shrubs along the freshly laid paths, were coming along nicely. Much like the castle would lose some of its shine in the years to come, the intricate garden would be hidden from view once the trees grew to their expected height, but at the time its layout was on display for anypony in a sufficiently high building. And it just so happened there were sufficiently high buildings being built nearby. After all the destruction of years gone by Canterlot was planned to become the capital of the new kingdom, if you could even call it that given it was governed by two princesses, but I digress. A capital city would of course need imposing buildings for the ponies of higher breeding that were bound to make this their home, even if their construction meant relocating some of the existing populace to new towns across Equestria.
I never did understand why they decided to build the new capital in such a space-limited location. The only logical reason I could come up with was its strategic position, with the mountain side nearly impermeable to any kind of attack save for an air raid, but those weren’t difficult to defend against. The unlimited supply of fresh water would also be beneficial in case of a siege. On the other hoof, its position was a double edged sword, as it meant evacuating the city in the case of emergency would be difficult with only one access road, but at the end of the day, the pros must have outweighed the cons. Of course, my rationalizing didn’t count in the fact that we had no more enemies to fight, at least not ones close enough or strong enough to pose a threat, but I wasn’t a general so I didn’t go around complaining about that. Not that I would otherwise.
The next day Equestria would witness its first coronation since independence. A new Princess was arriving; a new mare of excellence with a strange name of Mi Amore Cadenza that nopony had heard about before. I had a plan to see the whole thing live without being in the Canterlot Gardens themselves. It’s not that I had any objection to being there, it was more the fact that I wasn’t invited - why would I be? I wasn’t one of the elites who were close enough to the Princesses to attend the event and quite frankly, if I were, it would simplify my plan to the point that I would probably have botched it by overthinking it. Instead, I made sure to get this assignment so that I would have an excuse to visit the top floor of one of the buildings under construction and have an eagle eye’s view of the proceedings.
My most cherished possession had made the journey to Canterlot with me: a griffin-made crossbow. I obtained it during the conflict when the previous owner was unfortunate enough to meet me in the field of battle. At the Battle of the Three Borders Point he was in a group that attacked the hastily built defense outpost I had helped to design. So that I don’t bore you with the details of a battle you’ve certainly learned about in school, I will tell you only about the key event that resulted in the crossbow changing owners.
After advancing for a solid week, we were in a tight spot after the Battle of the Peaks turned sour and our enemies suddenly found themselves with an abundance of forces that were now heading towards Equestria. Naturally, we were the first hurdle on the way. We had only one option, which was to dig in at the narrowest part of the path home and try to stop the uninvited visitors. Now, as an engineer I was in a perfect position to stay out of the main fighting, as long as nopony – or no-one in general – would decide an air raid is better than a traditional ground based attack. I think you can guess I wasn’t so fortunate.
After a few hours’ of running around the compound delivering weapons and other equipment to the Destriers, who were doing the actual fighting and making sure the outpost wasn’t going to crumble under the force of the attack, they came. Diving from great height, crossbows in claws, the griffons descended upon us and opened fire. Most of the arrows missed or hit the sloped roofs and ledges that covered the walls and towers of the facility and some hit their marks, as was evident from the screams. But we had seen worse and were well prepared. Knowing the walls will hold off the ground attack for long enough, the Destriers turned their attention to the flying menaces. Arrows and projectiles from the Destriers’ mechanized battle saddles were flying in all directions and occasionally some over-confident pony would even launch a spear into the air. More amazing was the fact that those spears didn’t always miss. And I was still running around, dodging whatever was falling from the sky all around me. So far so good.
My luck took a turn for the worst, as these things tend to do, when the battle saddle on the back of a Destrier in one of the towers failed completely and I was politely asked to attend to it. Politely here meaning loud shouts and swear words, but I think you knew that. I jumped up the first few ledges that led to the top of the tower, tools in mouth, and he turned back to face me when a griffon swooped down behind him. I didn’t even have a chance to shout a word of warning when the two arrows cut into his neck and continued much too close over my head, trailing blood behind them and onto my mane.
As the Destrier collapsed to the ground the griffon noticed me, unarmed and wearing very little armor. He rushed to reload to claim a second prize and at the same time a rush of adrenaline took control over my actions. One high jump later I was already at the downed pony who was struggling to breathe through the bloody holes in his neck. Without a second’s delay I pulled the fighting knife from the side of the battle saddle and lunged at the griffon hovering at the side of the makeshift tower.
He didn’t expect that. Heck, I didn’t expect that. As I left the ground, knife in mouth, he was so surprised by what I was doing that it took him a tenth of a second longer than it should have to ready his claws. He managed to sink them partially in my forelegs, but it was too late, as my knife was already piercing his skull. The adrenaline was still pumping through me as I realized the downside of letting it control your actions. The floor of the tower gave way to a much less solid matter: air. Reason nr. 112 why it would be have been better to be born a Pegasus. There was only one thing left to do and only one thing I could do - use the griffon’s body as a meaty pillow to at least soften the blow. Good thing I advised against building taller towers to preserve some material for walls when we were planning this place.
The fact that I was falling down the wrong side of the wall was another matter, but surviving it was the first step to survival in general. One unspeakably mushy landing later I was zigzagging with blood-colored legs as fast as I could to where I knew the weak points in the wall were. All it took there were a few strong kicks and some covering fire from those on the inside to get me in. After quickly patching up the hole in the wall, the battle was a lot less dramatic on my side from that point on as I resumed my standard duties. It was only after the battle was won – by a hairs' length – that my actions came back to me. This was my first and only kill of the conflict, although at the time I only knew the former part, but the expected emotions of taking someone else’s life didn’t come. I suppose it would have been different if I had killed a pony, but a griffon was more an animal than a pony if the very successful propaganda of the time was to be believed, so there was only one thing missing: a trophy.
It was damaged in the fall, but the double firing crossbow was a testament to my fighting prowess – never mind I didn’t actually control my action at the time. At the time, it was my greatest possession as it was definitive proof that I wasn’t just hiding behind walls as others fought, but on my visit to Canterlot, I thought of it in the same way for different reasons.
Amidst the chaos of the city-wide construction project it wasn’t that difficult to get it here. I merely took it apart and hid it in one of the crates of tools and measuring instruments I needed to bring with me. It was to be a waste of time, as none of the Royal Guards so much as looked at the crates, let alone checked what was inside, but it was better to be safe than sorry. If I would have been caught it would take the mind of the world’s greatest writer to excuse bringing a military weapon to Canterlot, especially one made by the griffons. Even more so given the upcoming event. As I have already mentioned, Equestria was gaining a new princess, although nopony was sure what she would be doing. It’s not like some new land would magically appear out of thin air for her to preside over.
Come to think of it, nopony was sure what Princess Luna was going to do once she was fully of age either. Will Celestia split the empire in two or will she remain her right hoof mare? Well, at least I had a plan to alter the situation as it was at the time, so that question would soon be unnecessary.
I casually walked up to the tall buildings in front of me. They weren’t quite finished yet, with only the thick walls and floors in place, connected by stairways that were missing the railings. The paint, glass, furniture and décor would come later. From the distance, they looked like two separate structures, but up close you could make out the single story arch-rich building between them, that was the entrance to the new university. From this position, the two side structures gave it a distinct U shape, although whoever designed it made sure to incorporate the traditional Equestrian design cues into every individual element. Even in their barrens state the heavy castle-like support walls and openings for arch-shaped windows made it clear that this was going to be a good looking complex once the finishing touches will be put in place.
For the first time since checking-in at the main gates of Canterlot I was stopped by a pair of Royal Guards as the way into the complex was closed for residents. This was probably the result of its proximity to the Canterlot Gardens that would result in the side buildings being full of curious ponies wanting to see the coronation for themselves. Good thing I wasn’t a resident. A single document from my saddlebags was enough to invite words of apology from the Guards’ mouths. Construction inspectors could really go anywhere they wanted and I soon made my way past the busy workers to the fifth floor – one below the top floor – setting measuring sticks at random intervals along the walls and on the sides of stairs. If anypony asked, I was checking for alignment of the walls and floors. Unless they were from the Society, it was very unlikely anypony would call me out on my slapdash work as more than half the workers here got into construction not a week ago. They trained on site and, by the frantic behavior they exhibited as I moved past them, didn’t really like the idea of having their work judged. If it wasn’t for the few skilled workers here that seemed to know what they were doing, I would have reconsidered entering the building in the first place.
The night was approaching fast as I entered the large chamber with a perfect view over the Gardens. I could see the final preparations of the servants and security of the event along with a few rogue officials running about, making sure everything would be perfect. I smiled at that. In a way, they were doing much the same as I was doing. They had a general rehearsal before the real thing, only I could only perform mine in my mind. The next morning I would have my crates shipped here, along with my special trophy.
I stared in the direction of the Gardens, taking in the layout and making mental notes as to where everypony would most likely be standing. Many small paths cut through the grass and joined in intricate shapes all over the Gardens, except in the very center, where a large round platform had been erected. From it and all the way to the castle, guiding posts for decorative fencing were visible, even if the silk had not yet been threaded through. Many other fixtures for decorations were also visible, along with mounting points for the flags. This platform would be the place where the two princesses would see the rise of the third and I would be standing right here, by the window, crossbow loaded and pointing in the right direction.
“Uh, excuse me?”
The voice of a worker cut my daydreaming short.
“It’s the end of the shift, so, uh,…”
“Of course! Thank you.”
I nodded to him to leave. It wouldn’t take long for the building to be empty and nopony was so enthusiastic about their job to stay much longer. If I didn’t leave soon, the Guards could get suspicious, so I slowly followed some distance behind Dreamcrusher, as I had silently named him. The Guards at the entrance were anxious, wanting to go home as much as anypony and having to lock the place down for the night meant waiting for the two of us to clear the building. I gave them a genuine smile and a nod of the head to thank them for their patience. Once back on the street, there was only one thing left for me to do. My bed awaited in the worker’s quarters.
I had wanted to enjoy the night. To take in the sunset and the orange glow that now enveloped the castle, perhaps take one good look at the stars and the rising moon. It would certainly be the last time I would see either, but my mind wouldn’t allow it. As other ponies I passed on the way to the worker’s quarters acted out my desires I was walking with ever faster pace, bordering on galloping. In the place of all the possible thoughts that should have occupied my mind, from wondering if I will chicken out at the last second to how long it would take for the Royal Guards to arrest me, a single goal surfaced: go to sleep; tomorrow is the big day.
Forcing my step to calm down, so as to not appear suspicious, I navigated the maze of streets and rubble still covering the parts of Canterlot further removed from the castle and its extravagant surroundings until I reached the temporary housing that served as a home away from home for every laborer here. Voices from the canteen near the entrance resonated across the makeshift compound, signaling a successful day for the ponies inside it, while some ponies were being carried away through the muddy ground. The rookies couldn’t handle so much booze at once. Others weren’t so lucky and were merely left sleeping in said mud by the strangers around them.
I couldn’t share their delight or feel pity for those left behind. I was almost an outside observer to the events unfolding around me as the goal for the next day overshadowed every sense of actually being there. So I walked and walked, dodging stumbling ponies left and right.
My relatively high ranking position amongst the workforce meant I had a separate hut all to myself, even if the walls appeared to be made of balsa wood rather than oak and very thin at that. The sounds of the commotion easily pierced it, but by now I had gotten used to it. It was the same every night. Before going to sleep I looked at the crate containing the crossbow and once again allowed a hint of daydreaming, or should I say night-dreaming, as the Moon was now well and truly dominating the sky.
Many ponies secretly blamed Princess Luna for most of the horrors of war. She was the one who oversaw the construction of all those unnatural devices and machines that swarmed the skies and land in the final stages of the conflict, which made her Equestria’s number one murderer. That was at least the verdict you could read in between the lines of drunken discussions or the fearful looks whenever her name was mentioned. In public, she was a saint. Her big sister made sure to portray her as every bit the savior of Equestria as herself.
I, on the other hoof, never shared the idea of Luna’s bloodthirst, save for a few moments when I saw with my own eyes what the machines were capable of doing to our enemies and, on a few unfortunate occasions, to our own. That was not the way wars were meant to be fought, even if it brought the desired results. But no, as far as I was concerned Princess Luna was merely a victim of circumstance. She was given a task that would overburden an adult and was used by her sister merely as a tool to end the war. Her only mistake was being too young and naive to see what her little operation was causing. Luna didn’t make war horrific and soulless, it was the other way around.
With a busy day looming ahead I went to sleep. Contrary to my expectations the noise outside didn’t hinder my transition into the world of dreams and neither did the nervousness I had expected to feel. It was almost too easy.
Only a few moments separated my old life from whatever was in store for me in the future. Looking around, I saw the doorway behind me barred with red tape. All over the room there were signs that workers had left in a hurry. I must have told them to leave for an inspection, although I couldn't really remember doing that. In front of me was the half covered window that overlooked the proceedings taking place in the Royal Gardens. There were ponies everywhere, all dressed in the same way. White dresses with pink inserts for the mares, purple dresses with white accessories for the stallions. Standing in lines in groups of three at predetermined intervals along the main paths across the garden were the Royal Guards, and from the castle a small group of mostly recognizable ponies approached.
The two Princesses lead the way, surrounded by their most trusted advisors and other ponies of high breeding. The Princess to-be was walking behind them in the company of her own family and friends and I was more than a little surprised by how young she was. No older than a filly, yet she was supposed to join the ranks of Celestia and Luna? More evidence of Celestia’s madness.
I made sure to walk around the room, pretending to measure and take notes while my crossbow, hidden between the crate in which it came and the wall just below the window, was already assembled and loaded. Every time I came full circle I peered through one of the gaps in the few wooden panels nailed to the window frame, waiting for them to come in range, when weird things started happening.
The walls of the room closed in at the top with every circle I made, the ceiling slowly retreating into an ever smaller square before disappearing completely. I frantically looked around to see what was happening. Every way I faced looked the same as any other. The doorway was gone, the window was gone and so was the crate hiding the crossbow. The deformed room was completely empty with no way out. I panicked, banged my hooves against the curved walls, jumped on the floor in the hopes it would give in and in the end resorted even to throwing myself against the strange surfaces, screaming at them. I was never claustrophobic but with every failed attempt I felt my neck squeeze until I was fighting for air.
I collapsed on the ground. The room wasn’t going to change and I had a good idea what was happening. My plan was discovered and somepony was using magic to keep me trapped while the ceremony was underway. That meant a lot of waiting time. Crouching on the floor, I sighed, feeling completely defeated. But not in pain.
My eyes widened and my ears peaked as a cool wave cleared my mind. I wasn’t feeling any pain. After all the kicking and smashing into the walls I felt no pain. The walls suddenly began to change color, growing ever darker until they were pitch black, but the light wasn’t gone from the room as small points of light appeared on the black canvas. Something was booming against the outside of the walls, getting louder as it changed directions. There would be a boom from the left then suddenly from the right or even below. The unpredictability was throwing my head in circles. I tried covering my ears and even closed my eyes in an attempt to make it go away, but the sound was too powerful. And then I heard it. Laughter. And not the good kind either.
The noise stopped as suddenly as it had appeared. I looked around to see that the room had returned to its original condition. There was the red tape over the doorway, the window was covered and the crossbow was waiting in the exact place it had been before. Yet something felt strange. There was a presence in the room. I walked over to the window and saw the ponies in the Gardens frozen in place. The audience was caught in the middle of cheering and waving, the Guards stared blankly into the air in front of them and the Princesses’ walk to the platform was interrupted, except one of them was missing.
“Hello, assassin.”
It was Princess Luna’s voice, though its direction eluded me as I looked all around the room.
“Now why would you want to kill my dear sister?”
This was unreal. I was clearly having a nightmare. Luna giggled.
“I know what you think about my dear sister and me. How lovely of you to hold me in such high regard!”
I tried saying something back but my mouth wouldn’t budge. I couldn’t help it and shook my head in panic, even though I knew this was a bad dream.
“No need to say anything assassin.” There was a deliberate pause before she continued in a painfully slow voice, “I know not only of your plan, but your actual plan as well. Down to the smallest detail.”
My mind was struggling to form enough scenarios of how she had found out that it didn’t even have time for a single thought about the consequences of my intentions.
“Hmmm…” Luna sounded pleased with herself. “Well, why do you think they call it daydreaming?”
Oh no.
Now I was frozen in place. I had heard ponies talking about seeing Princess Luna in their dreams, but I always thought they were making it up to sound more interesting. And if she could see what my imagination had cooked up, this really was game over. It was time to surrender. At least I would go down in Equestrian history as the pony who dared to challenge Celestia. And Luna, as it would seem. I relaxed my muscles as the calming thought passed through my body, not that I ever imagined the thought of prison could ever be calming.
“Oh, no. I’m sorry, but I don’t think Celestia would like that very much.”
So much for relaxing.
“We can’t have dissident running around, now can we?”
I wouldn’t be running around, I would be in a prison or something…
“There will be no prisons in the new Equestria.”
There was a long silence, both from Luna and my mind. The thought of what awaited me was too revolting to think out loud. For my family to see that. And my friends at the Society…
“Don’t worry, you won’t be executed.”
Now I ran out of ideas. If I won’t be killed or imprisoned, then what?
“I hope you liked the Prism,” Luna mischievously said before correcting herself, her voice fluctuating from excitement. “I know, I know. It’s not really a prism, it’s more a melted pyramid. But it does sound a lot like prison and that’s an improvement over Dream Dungeon I had in mind at the beginning.”
A dream dungeon. No, a Prism. I never knew you could feel your veins turn to ice in dreams. There was only one hope. With a sudden running start I galloped towards the window and jumped. If there was one thing that always awoke me from even the most stubborn nightmare, it was falling from great height and I certainly felt horror grip my heart as the ground beneath me started approaching at ever increasing speed. A second until I hit the ground I closed my eyes.
I was back in the deformed room. Every way I faced looked the same as any other. The doorway was gone, the window was gone and so was the crate hiding the crossbow. The deformed room was completely empty with no way out. Only this time I didn’t kick and ram the walls, I just wanted to know “so this is my prison?”
“Yes, but I’m afraid I have to leave you now.“
I don’t know why, but I got scared. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I’m a Princess and many other ponies need me to guide them in their sleep. You on the other hoof, have a sentence to serve.”
“For how long?”
There was no reply. I tried again.
“”For how long? I know you’re out there!”
Silence.
With all the strength my lungs could muster, I shouted. “Heeeeeey!”
They found me in my bed a few days later when I was supposed to have left Canterlot but failed to check in with the guards. I was lying on my back, eyes partially opened and dried foam covering the sheets. More was constantly accumulating at my mouth every time I exhaled. I had lost a lot of weight and was dehydrated so they carried me to the hospital where I would remain for the rest of my life, the state of coma concealing the madness growing within. When they brought me in, the doctors looked at each other in an unnerving fashion. The room for patients with this strange disease had grown full with my arrival, signaling the begging of an epidemic whose cause would never be discovered.