The King and the Princess/Princess and the King

'''His mission was a success. His status as their hated enemy was secured. All that is left is...'''

'''She was captured. She was at his hooves. All that is left for her now is...'''

Plot Background
The King and the Princess/Princess and the King are a duet of solos, written from the perspective of High Lord Executor and Princess Luna. It occurs after the Nihilius Clan attack on Canterlot.

The King and the Princess
The solo begins with Executor recounting his successes with the Canterlot assault, including the capture of Princess Luna, his successful evasion of his three family members, and the fact that they seemed to have truly seen him as an enemy. He directs some clan members to lead him to Luna, and soon orders them to leave himself and Luna alone in the room.

As he watches Luna regain consciousness, he struggles with his need to become the Fourth Equestria's most hated enemy and the memory of staring down and killing his own Luna in a similarly compromising situation.

Full Text
The infinite black opened itself at last, dropping him in the familiar cave system, his servants eagerly awaiting his return.

Several of his loyal followers rushed to his side, removing his battle-torn cape and replacing it with a new one.

Executor stood in thought. The battle didn't go as planned. "Their" involvement was not something that was supposed to happen. Not at all.

He counted his blessings. He managed to avoid an outright fight against his family, and, in fact, the entire incident seemed to even convince them that he was now their enemy.

Executor smiled in relief. Now there truly was no going back. He could sense it in their minds when he cursed them; their confusion, and their anger...

At last, there is nothing to hold me back... When we meet, you'll have nothing to stop you from slaughtering me.

To that end, he must further descend into darkness. He must commit himself to evil. He will have to do something monstrous...

Thankfully, he already prepared for that. "What's the status of the prisoner?"

"She awaits your holy judgement, Lord."

"Take me to her."

The Clan led him through the winding, twisting corridors of the hideout, stopping at a makeshift door. He could have gotten there himself, but he made sure to abuse his power whenever possible.

They opened the door, and he stepped inside. Within were two of his mages standing beside a beautiful midnight-blue horse, with magnificent wings and a striking horn. She stood tall and firm, but her eyes were blank.

"You may release her." The mages left the room, their suspension spell wearing off as they did so. The alicorn fell to the floor then, crashing with a hard thud.

Slowly, dazed, her eyes began to flutter open, and her flesh-borne eyes met his mechanical optics.

A small part of him chastised him for what he was about to do. Here was one of the two rulers of his adopted homeland, lying weak and dazed at his feet. Just like that other time. With his Luna. When a true monster was playing a sadistic game.

And if Executor was to become as hated as his "predecessor," he must emulate his actions. Starting with this. The execution of Princess Luna.

"All of you, leave us. I wish to do this in private." Though his followers wouldn't care what happened to this "impure" fleshy, he could not act so vile if he had eyes on his back. He would have to do it alone. They'd learn what he did by looking at what remained.

He heard the door close behind him. It was just him and the Princess. She was still overcoming the effects of the spell. Now was his chance. But something was holding him back.

A part of him wondered if this truly was the right course of action. Surely he was hated enough already?

In response, a part of his mind returned to the end of the battle he just got back from. The surge of black power that allowed him to survive, and escape.

That was enough. It matters not what I do. I am not Executor. Executor is dead. I am a copy, dispatched here by the one true god to save it. So He wishes it, so shall I execute it.

And as he approached the fallen princess, he forced himself to ignore his nagging doubt.

The Princess and the King
Luna slowly regains consciousness, her vision of the area around her just as blurry as her recent memory of events. Her vision clears first and puts her face-to-face with the glowing red eyes of Executor, quickly bringing her memory up to speed as well about the sudden assault.

Executor is the first to speak, requesting that Luna simply accepts her death at his hand and that the blame should go to him. Despite this, Luna attempts to ascertain why Executor desires this course of action. Executor hesitates to answer while Luna regains her strength and stands at her full height, first demanding that the High Lord explains himself, and then asking in a softer tone when demanding appears to get nothing.

The softer tone works as Executor turns around and proceeds to explain his entire life up to that point, from Hellgate's arrival in the Second Equestria to the present point. Despite how well Luna listens, Executor feels self-loathing for falling into "fleshy" emotions and breaking down in front of his enemy, yet is grateful for being able to tell his story to someone else.

In the end, Luna says that she understands, and puts herself at Executor's mercy to his consternation. With one last goading question, Executor allows Anathemus's power to sweel within him.

Not long after, Vocus-6 comes and urges Executor to begin his training. With one last goodbye and thanks to the Princess of the Night, Executor follows Vocus-6 out of the room.

Full Text
Luna opened her eyes, and locked gazes with a sinister blob. She was unable to determine who it was, where she was, how'd she'd gotten there, and most importantly, why her head hurt so much.

Her shattered mind tried to pick the pieces of itself back together, and assemble her last memories to try and figure out where she was.

She remembered being in the throne room, having just traded off with her sister... then suddenly the alarm went out, and then...

...She grunted. Try as she might, she couldn't remember very much. Something was stopping her from making sense of anything.

One thing was clearing up, however: her vision. The blur that was before her had become distinguished: his most striking feature was a mechanical eye that emitted an ominous red light. Atop his head he wore a black spiked crown; this crown sat on top of a twisted mane, like a rainbow's negative. Behind him trailed a long black cape; a feature rather bizarre for his obviously mechanical body.

She recognized that face. Yes, she remembers something... the alarms went off and this face appeared in her head... Suddenly it all made sense. She knew who it was; she was royalty after all. The "High Lord" Executor, of whom had recently took over the Nihilius Clan. For him to be standing over her like this, after an attack, it can only mean that she had been kidnapped.

Something about being a damsel in distress didn't sit right with her. She tried to stand up, but her legs gave way before she even put weight on them.

Executor began to approach her. "Save your strength, Your Highness. Struggling will only make this harder for both of us."

She tried to ask "What do you want from me," but her mouth fell apart halfway through, instead coming out as only "Whatduywadsdutfuygf..."

Executor seemed to understand the garbage. "Your death," he replied matter-of-factly. "If you just accept it, I promise it'll be painless."

Her eyes shot wide open, and she glared at her captor. And Executor...looked away. "...I had you taken here so that it was me, not anyone else, that would be your executioner. The duty...the blame, is mine to take."

What was with this colt? she wondered. For all the talk that painted Executor as the greatest evil the world has ever known, he was...remarkably soft. Was it a ruse, or something more?...

She decided to try her luck. The worst thing that could happen is that she dies. Which was going to happen, anyway.

".....Why......?"

Executor stopped, again making sure he doesn't meet her gaze. "...You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

".....Try..........me............." There was something very off about this Executor. She could sense his darkness, to be sure, but there was something more... Tragedy seemed to follow this colt like a shadow, growing bigger by the day. He was conflicted between...something.

She tried to stand up, with more success this time. Whatever they had done to her was beginning to wear off. "I....said.........Why do you want to....kill me?"

When she reached her full height, Executor seemed to back off, apparently cursing himself for not taking advantage of the opportunity.

"I am Princess Luna of Equestria, the mare of the night. I demand an answer." Her voice was amplified in the small room.

When she saw that that wasn't helping, she spoke in a softer tone. "..You are hesitating. You do not truly want to kill me...but you feel that you must. Why is that...? For what reason am I needed to die...?"

And, to her complete amazement, her gambit worked. Executor faced her again, but there was no malice in his face. He lacked even the face of a cold machine. Instead, she saw the face of someone who is deeply saddened, and lost in the darkness of his own mind.

---

He spoke, then. Executor couldn't fathom why he was telling her all of this, it just seemed to come out. Perhaps it was because throughout all he had done, he felt that someone had to keep a straight head, and it might as well have been him. Or maybe it was because she was the only one to show him anything remotely resembling tenderness since he added "High Lord" to his name.

Or maybe it was simply nothing more than him having a once-in-a-lifetime chance to vent.

In any case, Executor recounted his life story. From being forcibly annexed in his Gensokyo to watching his world burn under his evil future self, all the way to the Clan cave and the need to be the most evil villain in history to keep his friends alive.

And throughout it all, Luna seemed to understand, nodding and watching him with a cool gaze. Executor was appalled at his own actions. Breaking down in front of an enemy of all things, and giving in to fleshy emotions...

It made him sick.

At least, that's what he wanted to believe. In truth, her kind ears were taking a massive load off of himself.

When he was done, she said only two words: "I understand." Her tone made it unclear if she approved or disapproved. But, Executor thought it was better that way.

Executor tried to recompose himself. "...And that is why I have to kill you."

"If that is how you feel, then I will not resist. Spill my blood. For your friends."

Executor winced. She accepting her fate did nothing to help him.

"What are you waiting for?" Luna asked, lying back down.

Within him, Executor felt the Dark One's power surge and swell.

So be it.

---

"M'lord, are you finished?" Vocus-6 called from the other side of the door.

"Yes. You may enter."

The door opened, but Six seemed to pay no mind to the room behind his Lord. "Now that the attack on Canterlot has been taken care of, will you accept your training now?" he asked, with a little more urgency than Executor would have liked.

Regardless, Executor agreed.

"Then let us depart. We have set up a special training program that..." Six's words trailed off as he walked down the corridor. Executor began to follow, but glanced back at the empty room behind him, paying some final respects before continuing on his way.

Goodbye, Luna. And thank you.

Soundtrack
The King and the Princess
 * 1) NieR Gestalt & RepliCant Unreleased OST - The Incomplete Stone (A Cappella)

The Princess and the King
 * 1) Devil may Cry (anime) OST - Track 19

Trivia

 * The Princess/King duo are the third and fourth solos written (after Fallen Friend and Alone) and the 2nd and 3rd written by SDM. They are also the first "series" of solos.
 * It would later be revealed that Executor did not kill Luna as implied. Instead, unable to kill her in cold blood, he reduced her to a Nihility construct that would return to normal after he had been vanquished. Luna agreed only out of fear what Executor would do if she revealed herself in order to maintain his monstrous image.
 * Luna's return was planned out long before it actually happened.