Ch.52

The first time Steelwind met Amethyst a single thought had crossed his mind; 'This mare has problems.' Most who had met Amethyst would have said the same thing; she was a very unique royal from most, very outspoken, could give most stallions a run for their money, and hard as nails. The old unicorn was a dark purple, with one blue eye, her other eye was covered with an eye-patch, and she was surprisingly young looking for a mare her age. The old monarch may had been catching on in years, but still was as healthy as the day she charged into battle; it was her who had brought peace between her family and her husband's, and she had done it almost single hoofly. No pony had ever dared to go up against her husband, no pony, except Amethyst herself; it was said that she was able to knock the great stallion off his feet, causing him to break his leg, and his unit to surrender. Despite the fact that she had married him, and had bore him ten offspring; Amethyst and Lionheart, never really cared for one another's presents.

The day he died, Amethyst had apparently thrown a big party, and celebrated till the wee hours of the morning; regardless of her rather harsh attitude towards her husband, she was still loved by all her family, and all her subjects.

Amethyst: "(Smiles) Such a handsome young colt. You look so much like your grandfather."

Steelwind: "(Bows) My lady. I am Steelwind."

Amethyst: "(Hugs Steelwind) No need to be so formal! (Looks at Steelwind's face) The same yellow eyes (Sighs). The only thing different is that strawberry colored mane; your grandmother had that, the only pony to have ever defeated me at something."

Starswirl: "My lady, perhaps you should easy up on the poor lad? He looks a little blue."

Amethyst: "(Looks at Steelwind) Oh! My apologizes young one (Smiles). (Points to other students) You will be training with my other pupils; the young filly is Scarletthunder, and the young colt is Greywind."

Scarletthunder: "(Bows) Hello, nice to meet you."

Greywind: "(Bows) Greetings."

Steelwind: "Nice to meet you as well. (Bows)"

Looking back at it all as the three came together; Steelwind never could have imagined things ending the way they did, nor the great war that awaited them many years later. Their meeting was one that would set in motion a series of events that to this day, are well documented in the Equestrian archives, serving as a remembrance of how the Monger came to exist.

The years went by smoothly for the trio as they continued their training; they had managed to successfully come back from their very first battle unharmed, and were slowly becoming well know in the territories. It was impressive that ponies so young were trusted with some of the most deadliest of missions; however, the small group had proved over, and over again to be victorious in whatever they were given. Amethyst and Starswirl were indeed two of the most proudest ponies in all of Equestria; their students had earned a popular status far greater than some of the most elite warriors around, and it seemed to be growing as time went on. But things that often bring such greatness have a price, and what the two great ponies did not count on, was for one of their students to fall victim to one very vicious sin, one that would eventually give way to more just like it, jealously.

Scarletthunder: "(Age sixteen) Come on you two! We need to make camp before dark!"

Greywind: "(Age eighteen) Hold on a second! My leg still hurts, Scarlet. And be careful! You're going to slip if you don't pay attention!"

Scarletthunder: "You're such an old mare! I'll be fine, now hurry up! You too Steel!"

Steelwind: "So full energy as always."

Greywind: "(Chuckles) How do you think she does it?"

Steelwind: "Who knows? I'm sure she'll settle down when she gets older, or married. Although I highly doubt that she will pick any stallion who she doesn't deem worthy of her time."

Greywind: "...She is a very pretty filly."

Steelwind: "I guess? A pain in the flank maybe, but it could be because she acts more like our little sister."

Greywind: "Yeah...do you think that maybe…well that she….(Coughs nervously)?"

Steelwind: "Grey? Do you like-"

Greywind: "(Blushes) I w-was just thinking! I mean its like you said, right!? She acts more like our little sister."

Steelwind: "...Grey? It's alright to feel that way, you have known her a lot longer than I have; no need to feel embarrassed."

Greywind: "...I think I m-may ask her…...how she feels about m-me. Do you think it's a good idea?"

The unicorn looked at his friend's innocent looking face; the colt seemed to trust his opinion more than most, it had showed throughout the few years that they had been together. Steelwind had been given the role of big brother to the two earth ponies, much to his disliking, and for obvious reasons; looking at the brown and white painted colt once again, Steelwind sighed and gave the okay. This would be one of many events that would slowly corrupt the already fragile heart of the young earth pony; rejection from the one he cared for so deeply, had caused the small cracks around his soul to spread.

Greywind had been abandoned at the age of four by his parents; he knew that it was because he had been born a mix blood, and that due to some kind of rotten luck, he had been born an earth pony instead of a unicorn. It hurt him to know that he was not wanted, that his parents did not plan on him coming back, and that they had another child without telling him; Greywind was a mistake unlike his sister, a born unicorn. When he was nine, Scarletthunder had been taken in by Amethyst; the little filly had shown him great kindness and love, something that he had not had before. The young colt had adored the little filly for being so lovely towards him, and eventually grew to love her; however, Scarletthunder, had fallen in love with Steelwind. In the beginning, Steelwind didn't feel the same towards the young filly, and would often scold her for having such thoughts towards him; it would not be until she was eighteen, when Steelwind would return her feelings with his own, this of course enraged Greywind, who felt betrayed by his adopted brother.

Greywind: "(Age twenty) You unforgivable bastard! You stole her from me!"

Steelwind: "(Age twenty) I didn't steal her! She doesn't love you the way you want her to!"

Greywind: "You liar! She loves me! Its because of you that she is confused!"

Steelwind: "She is not confused, Grey!"

Amethyst: "He is right! You have taken this too far boy! Best to end it now before you make an ass out of yourself."

Greywind: "My lady! I love Scarlet more than anything! I want to marry her! But Steelwind has stolen her from me!"

Scarletthunder: "Enough of this!"

Greywind: "Scarlet!? But why-"

Scarletthunder: "Grey? I love you, but only as a sibling, nothing more. Please try to understand?"

Greywind: "...(Grits teeth and rears up) I'm leaving! (Tears up) I will be back! That I can promise you!"

Scarletthunder: "Wait! Grey! Don't go! We can talk about this, please!?"

The young colt was wounded, sorrow stricken, and unable to comprehend what he was about to do; in a fit of rage and sadness, Greywind volunteered to venture into the east, helping to fight another war over territory. For four long years, no pony had seen nor heard from him; eventually the young stallion came back a great captain, decorated with many medals and honors, and very popular among the royal military soldiers. Greywind had become a hero during his time in the war; however, his intentions became known when word of Steelwind had reached him. The young unicorn and his filly had been very busy since Greywind's departure; if anything, they had become hero's themselves, saving villages from fires, holding off invaders, fighting a dragon that had tried to destroy the Crystal empire, rescuing a princess from a group of bandits, keeping peace among the noble families in Equestria, passing certain laws for the citizens that resided in some of the colonies, and much more. Once again, the young stallion found himself growing angry, frustrated, sad, and regretful of his decision; it seemed so easy to forget all the good he had done while he was away, and so easy for him to try an extract revenge.

Amethyst: "(Sixty-nine) You what!?"

Greywind: "(Age twenty-four) I want to take the challenge! I have every right to do so!"

Amethyst: "You must be joking! My granddaughter has no interest in you! And I for one will not allow it!"

Greywind: "It doesn't matter! Anypony can have the opportunity to win your granddaughter's hoof in marriage. Those were the rules that you set for all who want to enter into your family!"

Amethyst: "Have you lost all sense boy!? Are you doing this because you love my granddaughter, or because you want to prove a point!?"

Greywind: "It doesn't matter, I still have the right to her if I win the duel."

Amethyst: "You've gone mad son! Why not stop this!? You have more than what you did when you left here, why lose all of that over something so small!?"

Greywind: "You never wanted me to have her! You always favored that bastard because he was your lover's spawn! I have never had any love, nor support from any other pony, and if that is how things are going to be, then I'll take what I want by force!"

Amethyst: "How dare you say that!? I took you in! I raised you as my own! For goodness sake boy, I trained you myself! And this is how you repay me!? By trying to marry my granddaughter to get the crown!? What did that war turn you into!?"

Greywind had been blinded by his own ambitions, so much so that he decided to hurt the one pony who had given him a chance, Amethyst. The young stallion had come to the conclusion that it was Amethyst to blame for his misfortunes, that it was she who allowed Steelwind to take Scarletthunder away from him, and that it was her fault for not stopping him from leaving to the east. The sad truth, Lady Amethyst had tried to bring him home; the old monarch was so sick over him, that she sent many of her finest soldiers to bring him back, but unfortunately no pony was able to locate him out in the uncharted wilderness. Eventually Amethyst accepted the fact that Greywind had been killed among the many who had not been recovered in the war; never did she think that he would return, at least not in the way she had expected.

To think that she was so happy to see him, only to be given papers of his entrance into the tournament, a tournament that would decide her granddaughter's future. It was a well known fact that no pony would be able to marry into Amethyst's bloodline, without proving themselves against the most fiercest of warriors; all had been chosen regardless of status or rank, age or gender, rich or poor, pony or no pony. Amethyst had designed this tournament to insure that her legacy did not die out, and that no matter what, it would remain strong from all who would challenge the crown in the future. If there was ever a moment that the old monarch had ever regretted, it was this moment; Amethyst could not object to Greywind entering the contest, and would have to look on from the sidelines helplessly as Greywind cut down every challenger.

Scarletthunder: "Lady Amethyst? Is there no other way to stop him?"

Amethyst: "(Sighs) When I started this tournament, I wanted every pony to have the opportunity to change their life; my family wasn't even considered royalty because of our bastard heritage. It was because of that fact that the Battle of Jewels even started; my mother Diamondgrace, and her cousin Rubystone, had wanted to exterminate the other from taking the crown. I fought hard child, I lost my left eye because of my husband, and I married him to stop the madness; now I am faced with the possibility of my former son, taking something that is not his to gain."

Steelwind: "There is still hope, my lady."

Amethyst: "How so?"

Steelwind: "There are two more opponents left; your granddaughter's favorite, Nightlight, the pegasi stallion, and one of your favorites, Cornflower, the unicorn mare. Both are capable of defeating Greywind, but it is not for certain just yet; I would find it wise that you talk to Aurora about this, at least in the event that Greywind wins the duel."

Amethyst: "...We need to have a talk with the remaining challengers. This cannot end like this, I will not have it!"