Inky ran past the crystal doorway and into the guest bedroom of the crystal castle. There was Eclipse, laying on the cold hard crystal floor, and Inky grinned in excitement at the sight. “‘Clipsy!” Inky shouted. Eclipse looked up from her hooves and smiled wide. “Inky! You came to save me!” Eclipse quickly got to her hooves and began jumping in place. The two foals embraced in a warm hug. “Eclipse, what happened? What gave you a frowny face?” Inky asked, concern in his voice. Eclipse pursed her lips and frowned.
 
“Monster ate Flurry Heart.” Eclipse said, her lower lip trembling.
 
“What?” Inky was taken aback. Eclipse wasn’t known to lie, but this revelation seemed a bit hard to believe. Sure there were creatures that were enemies of ponies, but very few actually ate them. Before Eclipse could elaborate, the sound of someone clearing their throat was heard in the doorway.
 
“Princess Eclipse, Mr. Inky Pie, please follow me to the throne room. The King and Queen wish to speak with you.” A pony with green hair and a cream colored coat stood waiting for them in the hallway. It was the maid Eclipse had been cared for by for the past hour or so.
 
“Yes Mrs. Tea Cakes.” Eclipse said solemnly. Tea Cakes wasn’t her favorite person, but Eclipse was very obedient and had no reason to disobey. The two foals followed Tea Cakes down the hallways and down the stairs until they reached the throne room, where King Shining Armor and Queen Cadence were waiting with sorrowful expressions.
 
“Hello Inky, it’s nice to have you here, despite the current events.” King Shining Armor nodded to the black foal, and Inky nodded back politely. “We called you here to talk to you about the creature that was executed today.” Inky’s expression changed to one of surprise.
 
“You killed something and I missed it?! Aww man!” Inky kicked his hoof against the floor, pouting. Cadence’s frown deepened, and Inky suddenly felt very guilty. The way he just reacted was not respectful in the least, and he quickly realized that. “I-I’m sorry.” Inky suddenly wanted to curl up under the rug where nopony could see him.
 
“It’s okay.” Queen Cadence’s expression softened. Inky was just a foal, she knew he was still developing a filter for his words.
 
“Sit down, and I’ll begin.” The King spoke softly.