"Gather round, pony folk, and I tell ju da story of da Princess C'lestia when she was only a little filly, mon!" the Rastafarian dragon started as he beckoned the other three in the room to gather around the table.

"A long time ago, back when der was no A'questria, ah was an egg. Da cutest egg ja evah se, mon! Ah had da fun times when I was an egg. My muddah kept me warm, and my fadah collect da jewels. I don't know if ah had da brothas or sistahs, cause I couldn't not see from da egg, mon. But ah remember how mi muddah took good care a mi.

"Den one day, ah tink it was a Munday, the cave ponies came inta da mountains mi family lived in, and mi family had ta flee. It was da scary times, mon. Der was no law in da land back den, and everypony fot for der survival. Ah know dat de pony folk didn't mean no harm, dey were jus desperate. But mi family flew off, an dey forgot me. I was lef dere with da cave-pony-folk, and dey could of eaten me right der."

"Oh, my, this IS scary!" Fluttershy said as her head, the only part of her not hidden by the table they were sitting around, slowly sunk below their line of sight.

"Wait a second!" Applejack interjected. "Ah thought you said tha' this was gonna be about the Princess, not you!"

Bastion nodded in agreement. "Ah know it get confuzin' at times, but trust meh when ah say dat dis is all important in da story, mon!"

Spike spoke up before Bastion could continue the story. "So, the ponies took you away from your mom and dad? Weren't you mad?"

"Hold ja horses, little dragon mon! Imma get to dat soon, can ya wait a moment?"

"Fine…"

"Okay, now where was Bastion at? Oh yeah, I was da cute egg bein' taken by da cave-pony-folk. Now, normal cave ponies would eat da dragon egg, but deese pony folks were different… Dey were da las a'da Alicorns!"

"Alicorns? Like Celstia?"

"Dat's right, mon! In fact, da princess was der wit dem. All one big pony folk family!"

Everypony around the table gasped. "Are you sayin' that you met the Princess's family? That musta been like a thousand years ago…"

"Actually, it was aboud one tousand, eight hundred un fifdy yeers ago… even though, if you ask her, she would tell ju dat she is no oldah den fifteen hundred yeers."

"Wait… Mr. Bastion? You said that they were the last alicorns… is that true?" Fluttershy whispered from her vantage point under the table.

"Yah, dat right Fluttershy!"

"Well… umm… what happened to the other ones?"

Applejack and Spike nodded in agreement. The only alicorns they ever knew were Celestia and Luna; now that they were told they came from a family, was there perhaps more than one family?

Bastion let out a long sigh. "…Okay ponyfolk, ah bettah start from da way beginning… imma bout da tell you a story, one dat you will neevah find in any library, or any record in Equestria. I wud be da surprised one if even da Princess Luna remembahs dis story, it was so long ago…

"Ovah eight tousand yeers ago, all da pony folk lived togedah in a very nasty place. It was hot and sandy; der was none of da vegetation growin around dem. It was known as Desolate. But since da ponies all worked togedah, dey built da cities and da civilizations. Der was da peace in all da land, mon… but den, the alicorn Tinia changed da status quo and threatened da pony civilization.

"King Tinia was a great alicorn, learned in all da magics and all da flying, and he was respected by all da ponies. But since da alicorn folks had all deese abilities, Tinia felt dat gave him da power ta rule over all da pony folk. Now, most a'da alicorns have de abilities, but dey are very humble creatures, dey are! Dey only use der powahs ta help da odah pony folk. De odah ponies saw dis Tinia, and saw a wise un majestic rulah, and since de kingdom a Desolate was growing reelly big, da ponyfolk felt dat a ruler was necessary. But da pony folk were in for a surprise, dey were…"

…..

Tinia sat on his throne, overlooking the city of Desolate. He watched the ponies as they walked the streets, traded in the market, tended to their farms, and moved clouds into position for the rainy season. He watched how everyone was living their lives; peaceful, content, ignorant.

"Good afternoon sire," came a voice from behind the throne. Tinia slid from his confortable seat and approached the tiny alicorn who addressed him. Albeit, Mercury wasn't all that tiny; it was just that Tinia was very large. Comparing the two was like comparing the land of Desolate to someone's small farm. Tinia towered over any other pony easily by a foot, with large rippling muscles on his torso and legs. His light tan mane and coat were decorated with golden necklaces and ornaments to exemplify his kingship. Mercury, on the other hand, was a comparable twig to Tinia. He was a light green hue with a darker green mane. The only thing that set him apart from the other alicorn in the land was his cutie mark; A parchment and quill with the symbol of a green circle. On closer inspection, though, the green circle was in fact the cutie mark of Tinia; two snakes eating each other simultaneously.

"Hello, Mercury." Tinia's booming bass voice echoed in the grand halls of the palace, even though Tinia only spoke in a volume barely higher than a whisper. "Come here."

Mercury slowly approached the King. Recently, Tinia had been very quiet, spending his days staring at the city from his throne. This was the first time that he spoke in almost a week. Mercury hoped that the king was not sick.

"Tell me, dear friend… what do you see?"

Mercury didn't know what to say as Tinia motioned out to the city. "I see Desolate?"

"Very good. And what do you see in this lovely city?"

"Umm… well, I see the ponies."

"Yes. I see them too. Ponies walking up and down the streets, conversing, flying, teleporting, and cantering. Everypony seems happy, am I right to say that Mercury?"

"Yes, your highness!"

Tinia walked back toward his throne. He called back to Mercury, "And what about the alicorns? Where are they?"

"Well, sire, they are with the other citizens…"

"And WHAT are they doing?" Tinia started to sound like he was angry with something. Mercury was scared.

"Well, they are helping the other ponies… umm, they are using their powers to do things other ponies can't."

"Very good… so am I right to say that alicorn are more gifted than all the others down there?"

"Well…"

"This is a yes or no question, Mercury. ANSWER!"

"Yes!"

"Is it true that alicorns are better than any other pony?"

"Sire, I feel that —"

"MERCURY!"

"—that alicorns are best!" squeaked the small green alicorn. Tinia came up behind him and laughed.

"So true. But it bothers me to see my brothers and sisters, the powerful alicorns, in servitude to these… inferior beings. It pains me so."

"But sire, the alicorns choose to help the others, it isn't forced!"

"It hurts me to see all that the alicorn can become… yet it is squandered by the petty whims of such inferior creatures as these… ponies…" Suddenly, Mercury saw a flash of darkness cross Tinia's eyes. He was very scared now.

"Wh-w-what do you mean?"

"This is why I called you here; I want you to send out a decree; everypony in Desolate will report to the plaza tomorrow."

"Y-y—yes sire. May I ask why?"

Tinia took his place on his throne once again. "It's time I did something I should have done a long time ago."

….

"All the ponies are gathered, sire!"

"Good…" Tinia finished placing the decorative crown on his head before turning around and making his way to the stage in the pailion.

"Tinia, may I just ask you to consider if this is… a wise decision?"

"Mercury, do you doubt my judgment? Do you question your worth? Please do not question me ever again."

Tinia walked on stage. Tens of thousands of ponies were gathered on the ground, and unicorns brought clouds so they could stay in the sky. All in all, about 80,000 ponies were gathered from all corners of Desolate.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, your king addresses you!" He screamed. His voice was so loud that even without magic everypony could hear him. He called this his "royal voice".

"Now, my faithful subjects, we have experienced a great era of peace and harmony in this land, and we have you to thank for it." Everypony stomped their hoofs in approval. "We have turned this dying land into a utopia for all ponies to live in and thrive! As your king, I thank you.

"One group of you stands out more than any other for their continued charity and service to the community; the alicorns. They give of their talents freely to anypony that needs assistance, and never ask for anything in return.

"But as king, it is my royal duty to ensure that our civilization not only stays happy, but thrives. And as I see it now, our true potential is wasted."

Everypony in the crowd started to murmur at what Tinia just said. He continued, "I see the potential of alicorns, the power of their magic, but only when it is wasted on tedious and mundane things. An alicorn has the power to move mountains, so why are we helping to dig holes in gardens? Alicorns are the fastest fliers, so why are we the ones delivering mail? Alicorn is supremacy, and I will no longer stand to watch them in servitude!"

Now everypony was screaming. They had no idea what to make of this statement by the king, but they didn't like it.

"SILENCE! Now, in order to help this civilization, we must prevent the Others from abusing the alicorn's power. That is why, from this day forward, the city will be split into two districts. Everypony gather yourselves to your correct side of the line."

Tinia referred to the chalk line he personally drew that morning through the middle of the city. In his decree, he addressed that all alicorns would gather to the east of the line, and anypony else would gather to the west.

The king took his stance and his horn began to glow. In a bright flash of light the road grew out of the ground to form a wall. It started out at one foot, but continued to grow. Alicorns and non-alicorns alike looked toward each other as the wall sealed them off from their friends and family, and all the ponies felt as if a harmonious era was fading quickly.

…

"Wow, this Tinia guy sounds powerful!" Spike said in amazement.

"He was a powerful alicorn, mon, but his powah came from da hate in his heart. Dat is not a good ting, Spike!"

"But why didn' anypony try'n stop him?"

"Applejack, dis was a diffrent time. Ponies who question da king were punished saverely. Tinia appeared to be da majestic pony, but he ruled wit da fear. Nevah da less, his actions didn't cause trouble quite den. Aboud a hundred yeers after raisin' da wall…"

…

Most citizens of Desolate had grown accustom to the wall. When it was first raised, ponies tried to cross it; Tinia's Alicorn Police Force made quick work of any wanderers and stragglers who tried to cross the wall. Tinia continued to pass law after law; His first law allowed alicorns access to the gates in the wall so they can freely roam the city. Soon after, he imposed a tax on the earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns (which he soon named collectively as the "Others") to help the alicorns who had trouble growing crops. As laws continued to be decreed, the Others began to sink into deep poverty while the alicorns lived off the fruits of the Other's labors. Even the alicorns began to change; though uncomfortable with the segregation at first, pride soon overtook their persona as they saw the Others in their poverty. Tinia's propaganda did nothing to help, either. The alicorn king called all alicorns to embrace their heritage, which set them apart from the "inferior races". He also encouraged the Others, reminding them that it was an honor to serve the alicorns with their labors and their taxes, and severely punishing those who could or would not pay taxes.

Tinia's prisons became notorious for their cruel and inhumane forms of torture, which were conducted as public demonstrations to deter any other rebels. Jove remembered seeing a pegasus's wings set on fire until the feathers were completely incinerated so they could never grow back. She saw unicorns have their horn skinned and dipped in vinegar until they lost consciousness. She saw earth ponies with hooves strapped down and drilled into until the hoof shattered like glass. Jove couldn't stand the King's dictatorship. She was determined to end it.

Meanwhile, the king was sitting in his royal court. He, like most alicorns who grew accustom to living off the taxes of the Others, grew very lazy and gluttonous. Greed was now a widespread problem among the alicorns, leading to theft and other crimes that never before plagued their civilization. The king merely compensated for the crimes by raising the taxes. He was currently debating another tax on carrots when another alicorn walked in. He was pale white with a golden mane that shone brighter than any gold jewelry he could have worn—that is, if he liked wearing such trinkets. He walked up to the throne of Tinia and stood there, his deep blue eyes glaring at the king until he noticed.

"Hello there, Cronos! What brings you to my royal courts?"

The white pony kept staring at the king for a moment. "Father, I am greatly distraught."

Tinia's face dropped at his son's last statement. "I thought I told you I never want you to discuss this again. You remember what happened last time you made me mad?"

Cronos shuddered at the memory of the last time his father and him fought, and rubbed the bottom of his eye which was only losing the black underneath it. "I know father, but this is…"

"I thought I told you this was not up for discussion?"

"This is not fair! You can't rule a kingdom like this!"

"Like what? What is so wrong with this kingdom? We live in peace, the ponies are living comfortably, you should count your blessing, you ungrateful blank!"

"No, only the alicorns are living comfortably; the Others are living in growing poverty and slavery!" Cronos tried to pretend that his father's last statement didn't hurt, he didn't like being reminded that he was the only alicorn his age that did not have a cutie mark, at 23 years old.

"The alicorns are the only ones that deserve such a standard of living, and I give the Others plenty of opportunities to live a comfortable life."

"NO! You only let them keep half of their crops and money! Even Jove—"

"Wait; are you STILL socializing with that inferior?"

"She is NOT inferior! She's my friend! Father, you must abandon your illusion that alicorns are in some way superior!"

Cronos felt his tail being yanked by his father, and he quickly found himself face to face with the king. It was a scary sight to behold him when he was angered like this.

"This. Is. Out of the question. NEVER tell me again that alicorns are in any way equals with… them. Next time, I won't be so forgiving. MERCURY!"

The sound of panicky hooves running frantically across the floor preceded the voice of the King's advisor. "Yes sire?"

"Escort my son out of here before I lose my patience."

"As you wish. Cronos, follow me!"

Even though Cronos, who was built as his father, could never be intimidated by the puny figure of Mercury; he knew a lost cause when he saw it. He honestly knew that it was a lost cause every time he brought up the subject with his father. So he followed Mercury out.

"Cronos, I don't understand why you find our lifestyle so bad. I mean, somepony may think that it is unfair in some way that the Others live a little less lavish than us, but we deserve to live this way."

"How? What makes you think we deserve this? All I see is a bunch of lazy, greedy creatures out there who only live off of the work of others. I still remember the stories my mom—" Cronos's mom was one of the only other alcorns that sympathized with his feelings. She told him stories of the old times, when all ponies lived in peace, and there was no division among them. She was the source of his strength…until his father had her killed for her 'rebellious ways'. "—my mom told me… I know it's possible for everyone to live as equals in harmony!"

"You keep telling yourself that Cronos, but you can't change anything until you are king. Hopefully by that time, you will see the wisdom of your father."

Cronos knew that there was no hope fighting here. No alicorn would ever listen to him. Perhaps it was time to visit Jove again.

…

"So, da alicorn Cronos be crossin' da bordah and goin' ta see his girlyfrien' Jovie…"

"Hold on there a sec! I thought'ya said they were just frien's?" asked Applejack.

"No, he was only tellin' his faddah dat! Nah, dey were datin' in da secret for a long time!"

"Dating in secret?" asked Spike, thinking about if there was any way he and Rarity could date without Twilight knowing, so she wouldn't lecture him… but he would need to be dating Rarity first.

"Yah, mon! Soon enuff they would be married! But dat's fa latah! Back to dah story!"

"So, Cronos be crossin' da border ta see Jovie…"

….

Cronos found the cellar door he visited so often to see the only other pony that could bring a smile to his face. He knocked. The door opened a small crack, and a sweet voice came from behind the door. "Did anyone follow you?"

Cronos smiled. "Do you really think I would be that careless?"

The door swung open to reveal a beautiful earth pony, with a dark blue coat and a jet black mane. She jumped out and swung her arms around Cronos, and he reciprocated. "Oh, Cronos! I've missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, Jovie!"

He felt a hoof hit him hard in the stomach. "I thought I told you not to call me that!"

"Sorry, can't help it! Besides, what are you going to do about it?" Cronos asked teasingly. It was surprising that since his mom died, he only felt at home here, on the other side of the wall.

Jove's brow furrowed. "Fine… Crony baby!"

Cronos blushed furiously. "You…"

"Come on, let's get inside before the police come!"

The two ponies walked into the dark basement and closed the door behind them. Cronos lit his horn just as Jove lit a lantern on the table. Jove's house was a basic one, with a table and two lanterns, a bed of hay in the corner, and a small trunk that held anything and everything Jove held dear. Cronos constantly offered to bring money or other things for her from the other side, but she refused any money that she didn't earn on her own. That was one of the things that Cronos loved about her.

"So, what brings you to my humble abode?"

"I tried talking to my father again."

"Oh no Cronos, is your wing broken again?"

"In fine, Jove," Cronos reassured his girlfriend, "but I don't think he is going to change any time soon."

"I know. I think it's about time we take this into our own hoofs."

"Jove, I hope you aren't talking about what I think you're talking about…"

"Cronos, it's our only option. You said so yourself; the king won't change. We need to revolt and end his reign."

"I'm sorry, but he is my father, and no matter how evil he is, I can't wish ill on him. I'm sorry Jove, but I hope you understand."

"Unfortunately, I do. Dammit Cronos, why do you have to be so nice?"

"I wouldn't call it 'nice', I just try to be fair."

Jove leaned over and kissed Cronos. "Call it what you want, but it infuriates me!"

"Speaking of infuriating, what is HE doing here?" Another pony walked into the basement. Cronos and Jove took a step apart when they realized they were not alone. "Oh, forget it. I already saw. I can't believe you, Jove; with him?"

"What do you want, Heracle?" Jove asked as the pegasus stepped off the stairs and into the light.

Heracle was one of Jove's "friends", using the term to its loosest meaning possible. He was an orange pegasus with a light blue mane. He was Jove's greatest rallier and fighter in the rebel group, but he always had a knack of assuming that Jove was in love with him, even when he saw Cronos with her.

"I'm just here to report that alicorns SUCK—" as he eyed Cronos, "and that the meeting well be held tonight at six. Hope you can make it, baby!"

"Heracle, Do I need to remind you again that—"

"Ooh, feisty today… save that for the bedroom, sweetie!" Heracle gave her a naughty wink and walked up the stairs. "Oh, and Cronos; maybe if you ever lifted a hoof in your lifetime, you would get a cutie mark!"

"Cronos, calm down!" Jove reminded him as Heracle closed the door.

"Why does he find so much amusement in this?"

"He is a rather twisted pony, I know… but he is one of our greatest allies for our rebel group!"

"No, not 'ours'; yours! I still don't feel comfortable with this just yet."

"And when will you? When your dad's dead? We can't wait that long when ponies here are dying from starvation! Sometimes, you have to forget about loyalties and fight for what's right!"

"So you're saying it's okay to kill my father? I'm sorry Jove, but I can't accept that as readily as you!" Cronos got up.

"And where are you going?"

"I don't know, I just need to think!"

Cronos walked out of the cellar. He didn't want to be around anypony right now, so he headed for the mountains.

…..

"So, where's your forbidden love?" Heracle asked in front of the other ponies.

"He had to go somewhere…"

"Probably missed his second lunch and needed a snack!" The large crowd snickered along with the orange pegasus.

Jove tried to regain the audience's attention; "Listen up everypony, that is not important! What is important is that we need to stop the king and his inequality!" The crowd cheered in agreement. "Now, I know that our previous attempts have been… unsuccessful, but this time, I think that I have a plan that will work!"

…

Cronos reached a plateau in the mountain, and he found himself face to face with a cave he was very familiar with. After his mother died, he felt better whenever he was alone and he had time to himself—nopony around— to ponder in silence. His mother was actually the one who showed him this cave, and who told him that if he listened hard enough, he would hear harmony. He tried to listen as he kept asking himself what to do.

He knew that Jove had a point; the longer his father stayed on the throne, the more ponies would suffer and die, but he couldn't do anything that would hurt his father. No matter what happened, he would love him and would do almost anything for him. The fact that he was evil meant nothing to his feelings for him.

"Mom… if you can hear me… what can I do?"

"Well, there is one thing you can do…"

Cronos jumped up in panic and turned around. He nearly screamed. There was a … thing… standing behind him. It was tall and lanky, and seemed to be a fusion of all types of animals. One arm had the claw of an eagle, the other a lion paw; it had legs of a deer and a chicken. These limbs came together into a long slender body that seemed to work better if the creature was a snake. It's wings—one of a bat, the other of a pegasus— stuck out unnaturally from its back. Only the head looked somewhat like a pony, but with an ox AND a goat horn growing out of it. Cronos nearly gagged at the patchwork of a creature that stood there.

"What… are you?"

"Mmm, glad you asked! I'm a draconequus, but that's not important; what is, dear Cronos, is your current predicament!"

"How do you know my name?"

"I know a LOT about you, more than you think… PRINCE!"

Cronos took a step back, but didn't want to reveal his fear just yet. This thing, whatever it said it was, hadn't killed him…yet. "Why are you here?"

"Me? I just want to help you!"

"Help me?"

"Of course, dear boy! That's my job, after all! Now, you want to join your girlfriend and save the ponies from their oppression, but you don't want to kill your daddy. Am I right?"

'How does he do that?' thought Cronos. "Yes, that's right…"

"Hmm, now this is a tough one…I got it!"

"What? What is it?"

"You don't want to fight daddykins, right?"

"No…?"

"And your girlfriend sure seems like she can handle herself…right?"

Cronos thought about Jove; if he knew one thing about her it was that she was a fighter. "I guess so…"

"So let me ask YOU something; why even go back? Things will take care of themselves, they don't need you! You'll get everything you want, and you won't have to bloody your precious hoofs!"
"I… can't do that…"

'Sure you can!" as the creature wrapped his arms around Cronos and stared into his eyes with his yellow, soulless windows. "Just do nothing. Forget everything."

"Do… nothing…" the creature's eyes were so hypnotizing, and Cronos was finally beginning to see the logic of this argument.

"Forget your father… forget your friends… forget Jove…"

"Forget…Jove?" Cronos woke up from his trance. "The pony that has given me hope? The pony I love? Never!"

Suddenly, a flash of light filled the area surrounding them. Cronos barely saw the outline of the thing disappear before he had to close his eyes. When the light faded, Cronos looked. It was his mother! Or rather, an outline of her, like a fog that barely resembled the alicorn that taught him everything he knows.

"Mother?"

The fog turned around. Real or not, the look in her eyes was so real and full of love that Cronos could feel it. "It is you!"

"Yes, it is me. You, Cronos, are the only pony that could ever summon me with your love and power. But I carry a message for you, before I go."

"No mom, don't leave! I feel so lost without you!"

"I know. Your father has done horrible things, and you must feel so alone even with Jove."

"Wait, how do you know about her?" Cronos asked, since his mom died long before he met Jove.

"I'm your mother; it's my job to know these things!" She said with a smile. "You, Cronos, have heard the temptations of the creature known as Discord, and because of the traits that you are born with, you could not fall to them. These… powers… of Loyalty, Courage, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, and Magic, are more powerful than any force a pony can create on its own. They are the powers that I am to pass on to their successor—you."

"Me? What am I supposed to do with them?"

His mother started to fade away. "Restore harmony. That's why they're called the Elements of Harmony, after all!"

Another flash of light later, his mom was gone. In her place were six brilliantly shiny jewels. As Cronos wondered what he was to do with these things, the jewels seemed to melt together and make a shroud, almost as if it knew that Cronos hated wearing anything that exemplified his wealth. He put it on.

It seemed as if a voice woke up inside him; a voice as kind as his mother's, yet as confident as his father's; a voice that told him how to solve this conflict, and show him the means to do so. He closed his eyes and used the powers of the Elements of Harmony to teleport back into Desolate.

…

"…and den Cronos took da shroud and telepotated heemself bac inta Desolate, where…" Bastion yawned, "Ju know what, Bastion is getting REEEALLY sleepy, mon! How 'bout we finish da story tomorrow, ja?"

"What? You can't leave it there!" Spike argued. The other ponied nodded in agreement. Applejack added, "Ya'll still haven't told us about how ya know the Princess!"
"Ah know pony folk, but iz gettin late. Don' worry, 'til all be wort it in da end!" Bastion stood up and walked deeper into the cave, probably to his bedroom. "Oh, and ju can sleep wherever ja like, okay mon?"

Spike, Applejack, and Fluttershy all found a place on the cave floor and tried to get some sleep.