I marched out of the crypt the Bian colt had placed me in, "What did I miss?"

The colt walked past me, hooves clacking against the broken stone of the lowest reaches of Arder, "Quite a bit. You were pronounced dead, the castle was refitted...and there was a...how you say, war call." He pointed to the ceiling of the antechamber of the crypt, "It was strange, I saw the deed, but who is rather hazy."

I scratched at my over-lengthened hair, "It doesn't matter, nothing good is going to happen." I fixed my cuffs and started off towards the steps up, "It's cold out...."

"It's winter," the colt stated, walking with me up to the main level of Arder, "I suggest haste, for your...countess, will soon lose herself without you."

I jogged up the steps, finding myself deeper in the castle than I anticipated. I lost the Bian in the catacombs, following the draft that pulsed with a growing creak of a large door. The sound of boots quickly joined the chorus as I found another set of stairs, the top of which was covered by an extremely ornate gate. I hurried up, pushing the gate open and stepping out into a strange corridor.

The sights became more and more familiar as the sound of boots grew louder and louder. The source was finally revealed as I entered the main hall. Legions of men and ponies alike were marching towards the center of Arder, the throne room, the seat of power, left ruined since my departure.

The men were all armed, rifles and banners in hand. Ponies marched on, armor clanking loudly as they walked in unison towards the massive arch to the throne. The broken brick and tattered cloth that dotted the castle was no replaced with fresh cut stone, warm lights, tapestries and paintings replacing the once broken castle walls.

The most bone chilling thing came as I walked with the horde. A large painting of myself with a massive black stripe across the corner. Apparently I was dead, but now is my time to rise, and seize power once again, with knowledge, with clarity, if at the cost of my body and an overwhelming sense of fatigue.

I walked into the massive throne room, bright lights filling the long catwalk lined room as Thestral and man alike cheered to the far throne. A red blur in the distance, my eyes unable to adjust. I found a place amongst the crowd, alarmed at the massive amounts of weapons clung to by each and every person. The large amounts of humans in jet black uniforms was disturbing, but I could only melt into the crowd and try to work my way towards the throne.

The room was heated, the mass of riled up bodies calling for blood. And as I walked through the crowd, the smell of sage burning above, I heard her, "Today my friends, my family, my kin, I share with you a call to arms!" Foxglove sang, her voice magnified ten fold by a speaker system dotting the walls, "Today, we take what we are owed, we take what we are now strong enough to take back! The wealth left to us will fuel the fires as we reclaim what is ours!"

I forced my way through the crowd, dragging myself towards the area just before the throne, "Today I share with you the knowledge of left to me by my lover, my lost. His death will not be in vain, nor will his will be denied!" I pulled to the head of the crowd, kicking down a barrier as she continued, "He died to change himself, to pass on something cruel, something hateful, telling me to bring it to light and carry on in his name! The crimes that--"

I stepped clear before the entire hall, all eyes falling on me as I stood tall before the throne. "Foxglove!" I screamed, stepping towards the last steps that separated me from her, "Stop this now!"

"Ben!?" she screamed, jumping upright from the throne and lumbering down the steps, her stomach bulging slightly, "Ben, you- how- the--"

I fell to my knees, catching her as she tossed her weight into my arms, "Foxglove...stop." I held her tight, her body wrapped up in a hearty leather coat, "I'm here...I've seen.... What you're doing...I can't let it happen."

Foxglove just stared out into space, her bright brown eyes unfocused and hazily darting about, "Ben...the colt said- you...the book, you left me the book."

I clutched her tight, holding her head against my chest, maroon mane hanging across my body, "Foxglove, I never left you anything," I spotted a microphone attached to her coat, ripping it away and hurling it across the room, "Foxglove...I went to get help...to clear my head, to make everything better. I can think now, I don't feel the pressure anymore, I can't feel the anger, the sorrow...it's gone." I rubbed her head, leaning forward and arching myself over her, "I don't know what the Bian did...I don't know if this is some test, or if he's...I don't know, but I'm here now, I'm here and...Foxglove...I can't let this happen."

Her breath started to shake violently, "Four months...four months and the first thing you tell me is we can't, I can't?!" she pulled free, black streaks running from her eyes, "Ben, you were dead, I read the book over and over again, I thought it's what you wanted! The best for the foals, the best for me, the best for everypony!"

I grabbed her, fighting her for control, "Foxglove, I'm sorry"- I tightened my grip on her, overpowering her hooves as she tried to push free -"But you're right, I want the best for everyone, for Wayne, for you, for every one, every being, every life!" I tucked my head into the crook of her foreleg, "Foxglove, you read the book, you know what happened...you have to know what will happen if the public knows...the violence--"

"That's the point, Ben!" she used all her strength, peeling herself just far enough away to look me eye to eye, "Ben...why'd you leave!? The foals wouldn't stop crying, Wayne learned to talk, I- I'm pregnant, and you just died!"

"Foxglove--"

"He said you were trying to fix something, and that the dose had done something bad, he said you were gone!"

I pulled her against me, "Foxglove! I was gone, but not again...no more, no more voices...no more guilt, no more thoughts or haze...." I held her back, cupping her cheek in my hand, "Foxglove...I died to change...and I look around now, I realize how fucked up this situation is...I look at you...I see anger...not the sex craze, not the needy mare I wanted to save, not the girl who cared about the foals, enough to keep herself on drugs just for them!" I ran my hand up and down her neck, gracing her ears from time to time, "Foxglove...I've been gone a few months...and already I can tell the power...it's not good for you--"

"Ben," she looked up at me, eyes reddened and bloodshot, "they need to know."

I looked back at the horde of people, the guns in the hands of men, the banners held by ponies, the sense of anger heavy in the room, "Not yet, they deserve to know, but does everyone else deserve to pay in blood?" I leaned my head down to meet her ear, "I came to babysit, a year ago now...I was a history major...I had no idea what I was walking into, and now here I stand, having died, having been named a Count of a land no one else wanted. But I've seen it before, over and over in history...knowledge needs to be shared, but no more blood needs to be spilled over a war that ended thousands of years ago."

"It doesn't make it right," she cried, her voice cracking as she jammed herself against my shoulder, "Ben, when I- they- I stopped the hormones...and when I did, and you left- you said you'd be there for me! What was I supposed to do, I- you promised me you'd never leave me, that you'd give me a chance and- you just die--"

I picked her up, stepping up towards the throne of Arder. "I know, and I'm sorry. I spent the time learning, I had no idea I was even alive, no idea what I was seeing. It was like having centuries forced into minutes, like watching a movie played so fast it's unwatchable. But I'm here now, I'm here, with knowledge, with leverage, with the power to do something great, all without shedding a drop of blood!" I set her down on the throne, holding her until she could sit on her own, "Foxglove...do you trust me?"

She stared into my eyes, body shaking as she held a hoof out towards me, "Ben...I'm scared, I'm so damn scared, you left, and I- angry, and the book, and the ponies, everything they--"

"Do you trust me?" I asked again, moving my hand from her shoulder and down to her hoof, "Do you trust me to do what's best?"

Foxglove simply stared at me, face contorted into a deep closed off frown, "Ben...I- I have to try."

I nodded twice, standing and turning to the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, stallions and mares, hear me! I have for months been suffering from a sickness I could not see I had, a pained confusion, a madness, but I sought help. That help...came with unintended side effects, that perhaps have lead some to believe I was dead. But I have not, and I am here to finish where my mate started." I took a deep breath, straightening my posture and looking around, "From this day forth, Transylmania shall have a permanent parliament, and carry the crown only in matters of the gravest importance!"

The crowd bustled at my words, looking around confused. I took another breath and carried on, "These arms, our strength, a display of the power of the commoners, the power of our small county, and that power shall hence forth be distributed amongst the people, not one crown, not six nobles, the people!" The crowd started to turn, my deflection of a near catastrophic retelling of the grim history of the Thestrals working beautifully. "Elections will be held for representatives from each noble house, from each district of the city. This is my dream, a dream for everyone, not a dream for few!"

The crowd stood still for a moment, first one, then another, then then the entire room burst into cheers. Flags we raised high and cheers were sung. My displacement of power dodging the start of a war that could very well eliminate one if not two races from the planet. "No longer will one soul make the choices for all, no longer will the commoner have no power in the affairs that govern his life! Praise to Transylmania, praise to the Thestral, praise to all!"

I fell to my knees as the room started chanting. Everything seemed to bounce as I fell to my rear, looking out over the jubilant crowd. I watched as a familiar white head poked out of the crowd, rushing over and scrambling up the steps to meet me, "Pale, you are a complete idiot, do you realize how dangerous that was!?" Moon Light stepped on my toes and screamed at me, "You- I- the Countship, done!? Are you--"

I put my hand on her shoulder, "Listen...I just established a democracy...and stopped a war.... I think I deserve a little break."

Moon Light cocked her head, "War- what!?"

I shook my head, slowly leaning back to lay across the rug that spanned the length of the room, "Don't worry about it...I'll explain one day...when I think everyone's calm enough to handle it.... For now...just let me enjoy this music." I closed my eyes, letting my haggard body drift off to a warm day's rest to the sound of cheers and the shouts of an angry noble.

I had no idea where my life was going to go next, but I knew it was going to be amazing.