The Adventures of the Chaos Colt (CHPT 3)

The Adventures of the Chaos Colt!

Chapter 3 - A Crystal Utopia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yaf9UdSlxY [Embed]

>And so you slide down the pages, images, and words until everything unfolds into reality. You begin to slowly descend to the top of the high wall surrounding the perimeter a city. You land on all four hooves, and walk over to the edge. The wall went across for MILES, made entirely of opaque blue crystal. On top were cannons lined up, with wooden weapon racks containing spears, shields, swords, and arrows… You name it.
>There were guards all over the high wall, marching along and patrolling their spots. Each had bright and shiny silver armor, but what made them look awesome and cool was that they all shined like crystals when the sunlight hit their fur. They aren’t so bright that it blinds you from looking, but pretty enough to leave a pony stunned.
>Every time they march, their armor would made metallic sounds. Their hooves stomp onto the ground with power and authority. You look across the edge of the wall to the empire… And holy moley, what a sight to see! Before the empire itself, there’s just miles upon miles of green plains. Farms, villages, and towns populated acres and acres of the land.
>In the center of it all, a large city of crystal buildings rose on the horizon. Right smack in the middle is a giant spire made of white and blue crystal. It shined brighter than any other building, as if a miniature sun to warm the city ponies. The spire rose high into the sky, attached to multiple smaller towers, attached firmly to the ground by four sturdy and thick structural legs.
>You put your hooves on your cheeks and lean closer. Wooooow… It looked as good from as afar than inside! It’s so beautiful! Last time you went into the book, you experienced an event called ‘The Crystalling’.

>You even brought back some souvenirs! Like there’s this weird trumpet thing that sounded like a crying hydra when you played it. Discord loved it whenever you played, of course. But that’s all you saw, just the main capital of the empire, but not the stuff on the outside. It looked just as beautiful, if not, even better, that’s for sure!
>You snap out of it and turn around. Right! On to find a way down this wall and check out the place. Here’s the strange part about the chaos magic behind all this stuff. You could talk to ponies, even touch them, but you had to take the place of a colt during that historic event.
>So you couldn’t alter any of the facts, but reenact in the place of somepony else. Buuuut the other weird part is that you wouldn’t know the pony you took the place of, since everypony called you Anonymous. Huh, that’s pretty funny! It fits with the name perfectly.
>Again, you end up looking into the distance at the beautiful empire… Gosh, what you’d give to live in there! The Crystalling was so cool. It was like this giant carnival, with games, events, and all that- WHOA! While daydreaming, you lose your footing and fall off the edge.
“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!”
>AHHHHHHHHHHH! NO NO NO NO! HELP! HEEEELP!.
“DAAAAAAAAAAAAAD! HEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!”
>”Whoa whoa! Lil guy! Calm down! I got you.”
“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaa…? Huh?”
>You open one eye and look around. You’re not falling anymore! You open both eyes and look up, watching a pegasus guard flapping her wings while holding you.

>She had teal fur, and a light green tail and mane that poked out of the top of her helmet. Her eyelashes are curved, and her eyes are a little more narrow and prettier, making her look very beautiful. Underneath her right-hoof eye is a tiny, black beauty mark.
“Thanks, Miss! You saved me!”
>You return your thanks by nuzzling into her and giving her a hug. She nuzzles back, flying you back up onto the wall. She lands next to you and ruffles your mane. “Be careful next time, okay lil guy? Hey…” She looks around to see if your parents are around.
>”Where are your parents? How did you get up on the high wall?”
“Oh! I wanted to see the wall! Home looks so pretty from here…”
>Home? Oh! That’s right! Sometimes you had no control of some things you said. Discord said it had to do with the pony you took the place of or something. You go to the edge of the wall, making sure to be careful this time.
“It must be cool to see this everyday, huh?”
>The guard smiles and walks over to you, putting her hoof on your shoulder as you both watch the empire towering in the horizon. “Yeah, it’s a beautiful sight… It’s kind of why I joined the guard in the first place. The view is so… Wonderous…” She takes off her helmet and holds it under her foreleg, causing her mane to flow in the wind.
>You wish you could be a Crystal Guard! Fighting bad guys, protecting the kingdom, using cool armour and weapons! And you’d march RIGHT…. Over there! Along those cannons! You can hear it now. ‘MAN THE CANNONS, ANON!’
“Ay ay, ma’am!”
>The mare looks at you, raises her eyebrow, and tilts her head in confusion. “Huh? You say something?” You blush and look away.
“Uh… Nothing…”

>She giggles and covers her mouth with her hoof. The guard taps her chin for a moment, then points to you. “You know… You remind me of me when I wanted to join the Crystal Guard… You wanna join the guard, too?” You turn and nod your head with a big smile on it.
“Uh huh!”
>”Well, who am I to crush a young colt’s dreams? How about I give you a tour? How does that sound?” You hop around her and start cheering.
“Yeah! I’d love that… What’s your name?”
>“Just call me Silver Steel, sweetie.” You salute and introduce yourself.
“Officer Anon is reporting for duty!”
>Silver Steel turns around and beckons you over. “What are you waiting for? Hop on my back and I’ll show you everything on the wall. There’s a lot to see!” You hesitate no longer and hop on top of her. “Hold on tight…!” And whoosh! She kicks off the ground and flies into the air.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxJ7opnaPm4 [Embed]

>WOOOOOOW! Everything looks so pretty from the clouds! You can see the farmers working on the land making fresh veggies and fruits for everypony.
“I wonder what they’re farming down… Over there!”
>Silver Steel glances down towards where you’re pointing. “Oh! Those are rock farms! They set up quarries to dig up the crystals we needs for buildings, enchantments, materials… And food! I love Crystal Bites.”
“Food?! Out of crystals?”
>”Uh huh. You didn’t know that?” You shake your head. “Well, they are kind of expensive…” You tug on her mane lightly.

“So you’ve had them? How do they taste? Do they break your teeth? Does each color have a different flavor-”
>”Whoa there, lil guy! One question at a time! Well, they don’t break your teeth ALL the time…”
>And so you both continue to fly through the clouds, scaling along the wall. Man, is this place HUGE! It goes down for miles, and miles, and even MORE miles! A old looking pegasus messenger with a grey beard flies by and you wave.
“Hello!”
>”Heya! Have a nice day!” He waves back and tips his cap. Silver Steel leans to the left, getting closer to the wall. She passes by a cluster of guards on the wall. They look over and wave, calling out to your new friend. “Morning, Sergeant Silver!” Silver looks back and waves. “Morning!”
“Morning mister!”
>Up ahead is a big chariot with a couple of civilian ponies on it. A tour guide is pointing and talking about the wall. “And as you get closer, you can see the majestic crystalline wall that protects our empire from any spooky creatures or invaders!”
>You hold up you hoof, and a random stranger on the chariot high hoofs you as you pass by on Silver.
“WOOHOO!”
>Down below, you see a town full of ponies cheering and celebrating something. Something tells you that they’re preparing for the Crystalling.
“Hey, look! They’re preparing for the Crystalling!”
>Silver Steel nods. “Mhm! I’m celebrating later today with the family! I got us front row seats to the event because well.. I AM in the Crystal Guard.” The townsfolk are setting up tents, games, and all sorts of crystally things in their town to prepare. You wave down and yell as loud as you can.
“HAVE A HAPPY CRYSTALLING!”
>A couple of ponies look up and wave, yelling back ‘You too!’, or ‘Have a Happy Crystalling!”. A couple of colts and fillies playing along the stone streets wave and kick a ball towards you. But you’re too high up to catch it, awww… They all laugh and go back to playing.


>Ponies are so friendly and fun! You always loved using the telescope on history books and stuff just so you could make some temporary friends.
>Equestria is just so full of happiness, ponies, amazing sights and creatures. Now that you look at it like this, why did Dad have to ruin everything with his crummy chaos magic, anyway? Everypony is happy, and things feel and look so natural. Equestria is perfect the way it is.
>Silver decides to do a few more tricks, spinning around in the air or doing loops through clouds.
“YEAHAHA! WOOOOOOOOO!”
>The wind blows through your mane, and the sunlight brightens up the skies so everything looked crystal clear. Literally! Another pegasus stallion flies nearby Steel and you. The pegasus had brown fur and a blonde short mane. He had a high pitched voice for a normal stallion.
>”See you’re enjoying your morning shift, Sergeant Steel.” She glances over for a moment to see who it is and looks back on course. “Oh hey, Quartz! I’m just showing the little guy around the place. Got lost on the wall and I have to take him home.”
“I did not get lost! I wanted to see the wall! And I’m not going home anytime soon.”
>The stallion chuckles at your reaction. “He’s a live one! You sure you can handle him all by yourself?” Quartz gives Silver a teasing grin. “Pffff, you couldn’t even handle a parasprite! Let alone a colt.” He shakes his head and looks forward into the clouds. “Aheheh, whatever you say… Going back to the battlements, now!”
“Bye, mister!”
>Quartz salutes and leans to the right, slowly drifting down and away from you two. You continue to soar until Silver asks you something. “Hey Anon, you want to try something fun?” You lift your head up.
“Oooh! I like fun!”
>”Hold on tight-!” Silver Steel begins to dive bomb down, air pushing along both your faces as you descend towards the rooftops of a nearby town. THIS FEELING! THIS RUSH! Awww yeah YOU LOVE IT!

“WEEEEEEEEEE!”
>Right before she reaches the rooftops, she picks up her wings and glides upwards, sending some loose feathers to fly out. She glides back up into the sky, a little wobbly from the sudden change in speed. Silver Steel wipes her brow.
>”Phew! Haven’t tried something like that since training camp! Had fun kiddo?” Your mane and fur is all over the place, but you just nod your head really fast.
“THAT WAS AWESOME! Let’s do it again!”
>Silver Steel continues doing tricks amongst the clouds, soon getting close to the wall and gliding alongside it, mere inches away from the surface. You hold on tight and pretend to steer her, sticking out your tongue and focusing hard to make sure she doesn’t go off course.
“Watch out for that guard!”
>”I see him!” She zips past the pegasus guard, causing him to lose his balance and helmet to spin around. “HEY! Watch it!” Silver Steel giggles and looks up to you. “Did you see that guy?”
“Yeah! His helmet spun around like ‘SWOOSH’! Ahah!”
>Silver Steel changes direction and begins to soar up alongside the wall. Once at the top, she flies above the edge, then flies back down, coming in for a smooth landing. You hop off slowly, spinning around and collapsing on the ground.
“I-I wanna do that… Everyday… Huh…”
>You pant from the adrenaline rush. Silver Steel stretches her wings and giggles at your reaction. “I would, too, but I’ve got a job to do. At least I got to stretch these wings a bit more.” You sit up and shake your head, getting rid of the dizziness.
>Over in the distance, you see some armor and weapons on a rack.
“Silver, can I check that stuff out?”
>You begin walking over to the rack, but she flies over and blocks you with her wings. “Whoa there, Anon! That’s not for kids like you. Buuuuut…” She turns around and walks over to a box next to the rack. She opens it up, and in it she pulls out a wooden replica of a sword.

“Whoooooa! It looks just like a real sword! Can I see it?”
>Silver Steel hands you the sword carefully and warns you. “Just be careful with it. A guard has to be aware of his surroundings, especially with other ponies nearby.” You tilt the sword so you can see the wood shine along the crafted blade.
“Ooooh! Take that, evil villain!”
>You strike a heroic pose, put the sword hilt into your mouth, and stab into the air away from anypony. You start to pretend that there’s actually a monster in front of you.
“Ahah! You dodged my attack! But I’m not done yet. Hyah! Hah! Hyah! Take that!”
>Silver Steel watches you play fighting by yourself as she leans against the wall. An idea sparks in her head. You’re too distracted to notice anything else as the villain keeps dodging your moves, but you finally hit him!
“AHAH! Stand down, fiend- Oh hey Silver! You got a sword, too!”
>She nods her head and holds it in her mouth. “You showed that criminal scum who’s boss! But how about you spar against a real guard…?” Your eyes sparkle and wag your tail, but you turn serious and change your stance.
“I accept your challenge, honorable guard!”
>For several minutes, you and Silver Steel play fight along the high wall as the sun begins to set. The horizon glimmers out in the distance as you clash with your new friend. The wind breeze blows perfectly through your manes, making it all the more epic.
>But then you notice something is a little off out in the distance. Right as Silver Steel gets the upperhand on you, you drop your sword and turn your head.
“W-Wait! What’s going on down there…?”

>There are a lot of guards moving a bunch of catapults, wagons with weapons, and ammo towards the wall. Some are shouting orders to each other, and some are taking note or track with a parchment and quill.
“Silver, why are there so many guards flying and moving around with weapons and stuff?”
>”Huh?” She turns her head towards where you’re looking, drops the sword, and takes notice of the commotion while standing by your side. She scratches the back of her neck and stutters.
>“I, Uh, d-don’t know at all! Must be p-protocols, or something? Er…” Before you can question her suspicious behavior, another Crystal Guard pegasus calls out to Silver.
>”Sergeant Steel!” He lands next to her and slutes. “The commander wants you in his office as soon as possible! It’s dire.” He salutes and flies off to help out with his fellow soldiers in carrying heavy equipment to the wall.
>Silver Steel looks back at you, rubbing her foreleg while hesitating. “Awww. Sorry, Anonymous… Looks like we’re going to have to cut our tour short.” You pout and groan.
“Awwww… I didn’t even get to see the inside of the wall.”
>She then sparks an idea that could risk her job… But just seeing you down in the dumps like that… Just how your eyes watered like a puppy’s. Dawwww… It just melted her heart right there.
>“It is getting kind of late. Your parents have to be worried about you.”
“Pleeeease? As long as it’s before dark, I’ll be fine!”
>She looks back over to the commotion. ”I don’t know… I have to get to that meeting…” You drop your head down, turn around, and start to drag yourself away.” But I guess you can tag along with me so I can get you home.” You pick up your head and your ears perk up.
“Does that mean…?”

>Silver nods her head. “Mhm, you’ll see the inside of the castle, and even the commander’s office!” You dash over to your sword, pick it up, leap onto her back and point forward in her direction with the oak blade.
“Then let us not wait any longer! The commander needs us!”
>”Heheh, you’re such a cutie…” Once more, you hold on tight as Silver Steel takes off into the sky. It took a couple of minutes before you reach one of the entrances that lead to the inside of the wall. But instead of going through there, she takes a different entrance along the middle of the wall that you assume is built for pegasi like her.
>Once inside, you notice the wall has different floors with more weapons and cannons. This place is TALL! There are guards just everywhere, and there are also rooms within the wall. Ooooh, wonder what’s inside all those?
>You slip off from Silver Steel’s back as she lands. You scurry on over to one of the giant crystal doors. She cries out, chasing after you down the hallways. “Whoa! Kids a fast one…!” You open one of the doors and see a room full of bookshelves. There’s a crystal chandelier that slightly lit the room, and royal purple drapes hung on the wall alongside the blue crystal color.
>A huge table with a giant map of the Crystal Empire is in the center of it all. Tiny figurines and markings covered the parchment, and ponies in clad silver armor surrounded it. But there’s one stallion that had crystal brooches and medals on his platebody.
>They raise their heads towards you as you walk in, causing you to drop your play sword. Silver Steel comes in to back you up. “I apologize, sir! I’m escorting this lost colt home and he seemed to , um… Snuck off from my sight.” The commander waves over to her. “Silver Steel! We could use more help on this!”

>The commander looks older and rounder than the other stallions. He wore a more regal helm with studded crystals, had royal purple fur, strong wings, orange fuzzy eyebrows, and an orange bushy mustache covering his entire mouth. Everytime he spoke, the mustache moved along with his words.
>He looks towards you this time. “You won’t cause any trouble or interrupt us, son?” You shake your head and salute.
“No, sir!”
>He chuckles. “I admire your formality. You’d make a great soldier with such an attitude. Just sit by for the moment.” You smile at that compliment.
>“Come around here, Sergeant Steel, we need to show you something.” She stations herself between two other guards on the right side of the table. You squeeze through and stand next to her, looking at this scary looking guy across the table. He’s a unicorn with grey fur, grey eyes, and a black mane, and is HUGE! Burly and strong, holding a giant sword on his back, and a scar under his chin.
>“The problem with this region over here-” The big stallion circles around the spot he’s talking about. “-is that the we haven’t finished reinforcing the wall on this side. It’s the only spot we haven’t fortified very well since we decided to do the repairs.” He slides his hoof over towards the outline of the wall. “If they strike from the east, they’ll surely crumble through our defenses, your honor.”
>Wait, so is the commander royalty as well? The commander nods in response. “That’s why I’ve talked to my wife, and we’ve settled to put a good amount of troops on that weak point. If the enemy DOES somehow surpass our defenses and destroys the wall, we’ll evacuate anyone in the wall and station them on the inside perimeter of the break. I doubt that’d happen.”
>Huh, seems like you jumped into a page during a historic battle. So cool! You lean closer and closer as Silver Steel eyeballs the map for a moment, then looks up at the commander.

>“Sir, how long has the enemy been preparing to attack?” He slowly rubs his chin. “For about a couple of months. All we’ve been dealing with are mindless drones and scouters getting intelligence on our defences and weapons.”
>Another mare guard standing next to Silver Steel points to the towns and farms around the main empire. “I assume we’re going to evacuate the people outside the empire from the plains and move them to the citadel. Yet, how will we secure this area if the enemy breaches the wall?” The commander fidgets a bit and takes off his helmet. His orange curly mane drips with sweat as he wipes his brow.
>“It’s an issue we’ll have to deal with. At least the wall will protect our citizens and will buy us time for them to evacuate. And that’s what we must prevent. A breach on the wall. We WON’T let them get past that point.” He pokes right at the weak point of the wall.
>What’s so dangerous that could destroy an entire wall? Could it be windigos? Or ice giants trying to break in? You wanna see that in action!
>Silver Steel interrupts the stallion with her own opinion on the matter. “The commander is right. We cannot let them past that point, and we won’t. We have a strong army and we’re well trained.” But the stallion disagreed with her confidence, putting his hoof down on the table.
>“We have to cover all our corners just in case! You can never be too safe.” Silver Steel scoffs. “That’s rich coming from you, Ferrous! Last time we went scouting, you got your neck cut up by some frost hounds while trying to take them head on. You have the scar to prove it.”
>Ferrous growls and narrows his eyes. “And THAT’S why…” He slams down his hooves to emphasize himself, causing the figurines and map the tremble. “I learned to not be reckless, and plan ahead if anything WRONG happens! We can’t just ignore this weakness!”


>The commander nods. “Ferrous has a point.” The commander goes back to the map. “IF they somehow breach the wall, we’ll fortify our troops around the citadel. We already have cannons and supplies being stationed there.”
>Again, Ferrous seems to doubt his fellow soldier’s skill. “And what if they get through THAT? We’ll be totally defenseless!” Silver Steel responds bluntly. “Then we lose, end of story. But we’re not going to lose, and THAT’S a fact!” She lifts up her chin and gives a confident smile.
>”What?! So you’ll just let them walk in if they break through-” The commander stomps his hoof onto the table, silencing everypony. “That’s enough, Ferrous!” He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and shakes his head.
>“We said we will NOT let them breach! We’re The Crystal Empire, for Celestia’s sake!” He starts pounding the table with his hoof as he speaks. “We have an outstanding military, one of the best next to the Royal Guard. And the morale of our fellow citizens will keep us motivated. I won’t tolerate such doubt.”
>He points to the door and glares at the stallion. “That attitude will surely make us lose once the day comes. One cannot be constantly fumbling on covering ALL their corners. You will lose sight of the main task at hoof!”
>”So unless you are a Crystal Guard, I suggest you make your leave, Ferrous.” He realizes that there’s no point in arguing anymore, and that it would be silly to worry about little things that wouldn’t even matter at that point. “You are right, my king… We won’t let them have the leisure of breaking through our wall.”
>Silver Steel smirks and glares at Ferrous. He returns the favor with his own disapproving eyes while shaking his head. But Ferrous did have a point. In all the movies you saw, it’s good to cover your corners and all that. But Silver Steel is right, being too scared isn’t good either.

>The commander salutes his fellow soldiers. “Do not doubt. Do not fall. Our crystal hearts shall prevail all!” They all give out a ‘Hoorah!’ and salute. “You’re all dismissed… Notify your fellow guards and families. Make sure to keep everyone calm about the situation. We have enough rumors causing panic on our hooves.” The guards take their leave, murmuring to each other on the new information.
>Something trying to get into the Crystal Empire, but what could it be? You know that there’s this arctic storm outside the Crystal Empire, but the magic of their Crystal Heart keeps it away, bringing warm and sunny days all the time. It has to be some sort of army if they’re lining up everything they’ve got.
>“Except you, Sergeant Steel...” Silver Steel stops on the way out, and turns. “I just want to brief you on what you missed.” The guards nod and exit. Silver Steel walks back towards the commander and salutes. “What is it you need, your honor?” The commander picks up his helmet and goes to a desk in the back.
>He sets it down on the desk, pulls out the chair, and sits down. “Close the door, Steel.” She complies and shuts the door, coming back and standing ready. “At ease, Sargeant.” The mare guard relaxes and stands normally. The commander looks down and puts his hooves together, pondering.
>You move from the table and stand by your guard friend. She looks down at you and smiles, ruffling her hoof into your mane. You giggle as she tickles the top of your head.
>The commander looks up and nods his head gently. “Steel, what is the main drive of our nation?” Silver Steel stops her ruffling and doesn’t hesitate to respond. “Fortitude, Strength, and Honor.” The commander is pleased at her response.

>“That is correct. We are like the crystals that structure our kingdom; The strongest breed of crystals, ones with sturdy lattices and formation. We hold up and strike back hard, barely leaving a crack within our frame. And we all present ourselves with honor and beauty to the likes of our empire.”
>The captain looks over to a cabinet. In it are tiny crystal models of ponies, animals, and a large one of the empire. He then looks back at Silver Steel. “But there’s one main thing that we as an empire neglect verbally, but we all have in our hearts. Not only us, but everypony in Equestria.”
>He gets up and approaches a window covered by a drape. An insignia of a crystal heart was on it. Pushing aside the drape, you all look to the empire sparkling in the horizon.
>The light of the shining empire illuminates the entire room, causing everything to sparkle red from the setting sun. The commander, Silver Steel, and you began to shine. Ooooh! You didn’t realize you’re a crystal pony, too. She looks back at the commander and speaks. “Is it hope?”
>He just continues to look out the window. ”Look at how it sparkles, Steel. A beacon of hope, a vision of a great future for our people, and Equestria. I know we use the crystal analogy a ton, but take a closer look.”
>You lean over the desk and so does Silver Steel as she puts down her helmet, letting her long, light green mane flow down.
>“The light that refracts from the spire is our hopes. It traps the evil within the prism, and let’s the good within our world shine through. But let the darkness escape, and all hope shall be enveloped. Our crystal hearts shall shatter…”

>The commander lets the drape fall and walks over to the guard. He puts his hoof on her shoulder as she replies. “Is that why you addressed Ferrous that way before? He has become a bit more… Timid since he got attacked on that mission.”
>He doesn’t respond to her question, but continues speaking. “You have a good spirit, Steel. You don’t doubt our empire, our ponies… Our hope.” He pats her shoulder. “That’s why I trust soldiers like you to keep everypony faithful. Not only for our empire, but for Equestria as a whole. Ponies like Ferrous-” He motions his head to the door. “-have notable strength, but their will and desire to fight dwindles with fear. That’s why we need ponies like me and you to remind them of their cause.”
>Silver Steel puts her hoof against the commander’s shoulder, and nods once. “I won’t disappoint the ponies of our empire, and the ponies of Equestria.” The commander lets go and goes around back to his desk. “Good, good… And son.” You perk up and put your full attention to the commander. “What’s your name?”
“Anonymous, sir!”
>“I know I said not to tell anyone, but…” He looks over to a photograph on his desk, then back at you. You couldn’t see what the photograph is at this angle, but you assumed it’s a family photo.
>“Make sure to warn your family and find somewhere safe to hide, just in case…” The old stallion smirks, raising an eyebrow. “We wouldn’t want a future guard to get hurt now, would we, Private Anonymous?” You put on a serious expression and nod, saluting.
“Thank you, sir! I’ll make sure to tell them.”
>”You can call me by my normal name. And if you didn’t learn it in school yet, it’s King Lattice. But I’d prefer Crystal Lattice.”

“One day, I want to be a brave king like you, Mr.Lattice!”
>I bet a ton of ponies look up to this guy, he’s such a great leader! That speech about the empire and all that was so inspiring and brave! Maybe one day, you can rule your own empire and lead your own army to battle!
>King Lattice lets out a hearty laugh towards your cute innocence. “It takes more than being brave to be a king, Anonymous. But I think you have the right heart to be an excellent leader.”
>You, King Lattice, and Silver Steel begin exit the room as you bid your farewell to the king. Silver Steel holds your hoof and speaks. “Come on, Anonymous, let’s get you home…” She looks over to King lattice, smiles, and nods. “Thank you, Lattice. I’ll make sure my family has a safe place to retreat once the day comes.”
>She bows and salutes, escorting you out of the room. King Lattice comments one more time as you make your leave. “And remember… Hope is stronger than any force in the world.”
>But right as the door shuts, you hear a crash within the office. Silver Steel immediately reacts and barges into the room again.
>You hear an explosion go off as the entire wall shakes, causing you both to stumble over into the room. Red flashes of light start coming from the borders of the windows. The sounds of arrows whizzing in the air could be heard alongside battle cries.
>Silver Steel let’s go of your hoof and goes to help King Lattice from the floor. You start to panic, looking left and right for Discord.

“Silver?! W-What’s happening?! D-Dad?”
>King Lattice gets up and trots over to the window, yanking the drape off. “No… The invasions already starting! That’s impossible! There were no enemies in sight for miles! Even our scouts said there was no activity!”
>The king goes over to a cabinet, pulling out a crystal sabre. He puts it on his belt and addresses Silver. “Get this child to safety! Once he’s safe, return back to help defend the wall!” She salutes, scoops you up onto her back, and springs into action. “I’m on it!”
>As the wall began to shake more and crumble little by little, King Lattice looks up at you for a moment one last time. “And if anything happens, find your family Anonymous! Do not fight back! I can see the glint in your eyes… Look for shelter and hide.”
>Remember how you said this was going to be cool?
>.....
>YOU TAKE IT BACK! THIS IS TOO SCARY! D-Dad? Oh no… The only way to get out is if the entire section of the book you jumped into finishes. And it doesn’t look like it’s ending any time soon!
>Oh jeez, you didn't think this through at all.
>.....
>DAAAAAAAAD!