//------------------------------// // 60 - Arrival at Avalon // Story: Age of Kings // by A bag of plums //------------------------------// Emerald Edge hopped out of the carriage as the horses began to slow to a stop, her mind still trying to comprehend everything that had happened since she had escaped from the dungeons. She had slept little on the almost two day journey to Avalon, preferring to sit near the back of the wagon and stare at the receding city of Canterlot. The horses had been driven at a brisk gallop at first, slowing down to a canter after a few hours, then finally to a trot. They had stopped to let the horses sleep and eat once, but after that they had been driven at the quickest speed possible to put as much distance between them and the capital city. Canterlot had disappeared from view a long way back, but the thoughts of it never left Emerald’s mind. She had thought of Canterlot as a second home, a place where she could live comfortably with friends and the man she loved until a way could be found back to Equestria. But those times had violently changed and along with it, Morn had too. In the end, if anyone was to blame, it would’ve been King Dawn Saber. Sure, he was never the best of kings, living in such wealth while a portion of Canterlot had to scrape for food, but to disown his own son and to cast him out like that… Emerald could not comprehend how someone could possibly prize their status above their own children, illegitimate or not. But Morn hadn’t taken it well. In fact, he had taken it far too badly.  Emerald shuddered as she recalled the scene of chaos where Morn had claimed Excalibur. The throne room, blasted apart. The valorous Knights of the Round Table, all indoctrinated. And the king of Canterlot, slain by his own son. Everything was wrong. And in such a short time. Bandits and druids she could fight and defeat easily, but how could she fight her fellow brothers in arms? How could she battle an entire kingdom? Emerald felt the long-banished weight of despair slowly come down upon her, a feeling she had not experienced in years. The carriage trundled to a halt, creaking as the passengers alighted, some of them slightly jelly-legged from sitting down for so long. “Are we here?” Jewel Pin gasped. Staying in a carriage for two days had not done her appearance any favors. The seamstress tumbled out of the carriage and landed in a pile of straw. “I can hardly believe we actually made it.” Posey hopped down to the ground and pulled Jewel Pin to her feet. “There there,” the archer said soothingly. “You did very well.” Emerald went to the back of the carriage and took out a torch. She lit it with some flints and held it up to shed light over the carriage. They had arrived a few hours after the sun had gone down, and she could not see people about, though Emerald could see various cottages with lights shining through the windows. All of them have had various injuries escaping Canterlot, mostly from stray shards of wood, but thankfully, they had two mages with them and they had done their best to patch up their wounds. It had been some time now and Emerald was glad to find her cheek wound had healed up nicely, but unlike her physical injuries, her heart could not be so easily healed. To be standing here right now, they had paid a heavy price. Her friends that she had thought she had found once again were all gone, sacrificing their lives so that she could get to Avalon. “Ahh, it’s been more than a year since I’ve been here,” Spectrum announced. “The air always smells so good in Avalon. Like apples.” She breathed deep, taking in the crisp aroma. “Lovely.” There came the sound of running footsteps, that of metal boots hitting the compacted earth. “Halt!” A man’s voice rang out, his voice just like that of Honeygold and her parents. “Who goes there?” Emerald looked around. There were four humans, wearing an assortment of chainmail and plate armor, approaching. They had their swords drawn, but didn’t look as if they were about to attack. “Tis I, Emerald Edge, Knight of the Round Table,” Emerald announced. She surreptitiously put both hands behind her back, ready to activate her hidden blades, just in case these guards were also under Morn’s spell. “A lady knight? All the way here?” The guards looked at each other. “Well, we haven’t had a visit from a knight of any kind in quite some time. Welcome to Avalon. What brings ya here?” “There… is too much to explain right now.” Emerald scratched behind an ear, reminiscing about the escape from Canterlot again. “May we ask which farm belongs to Apple Bean and Golden Nugget?” “Of course,” one of the guards said, pointing at a faraway cluster of cottages. “Their farm is that way yonder, on the edge of the Western Orchard.” “You have been most kind, good guard.” Spectrum walked ahead and waved for them to follow. “Come. I know the way.” Emerald relaxed as the group began to make its way through Avalon. It was different here. There was no outer wall like Canterlot had. All that Avalon had was a lake surrounding it, with their carriage having crossed the bridge to get here earlier. The cottages were mostly like the ones back at the Shades, with stone walls and thatched roofs. Many farmers looked out from their windows as Emerald and her crew passed by, with some of the children even pointing at them and asking their parents questions. “It does not look like Morn’s influence has reached this far yet,” Light Speckle observed. “Everyone here seems in control of their own faculties.” “It should still only be limited to Canterlot’s castle and town.” Guard Streak waved at one of the children on the way. “The towns out here like Avalon would not need to be bent to his will. All he needs to do is change decrees and they will have to follow.” “Yes, we do learn things like that as squires.” Spectrum tapped the side of her nose and nodded. “We may not know how to read very well, but we know how things work.” Emerald plodded along in silence. Ordinarily she would have been thrilled to visit an apple orchard, but her mind was still on Canterlot and what might be done to save it. There were many farms on the way, all of them farming apples. A whole island of apple farmers was rather intriguing, especially when all of them sounded like Honeygold and her family. Emerald had yet to encounter any other humans but these apple farmers who sound like that. Over a bridge and down a sloping path, Spectrum skipped a few steps and pointed over to a farm that stood just below the hill they were on. It looked just like all the other farms, except this one had a second storey and a larger building to the right of it, which seemed to house cows and horses. “Honeygold! Honeygold, are you there?” Spectrum ran along, with Guard Streak in tow. The first two humans out of the farm were Apple Bean and Golden Nugget, looking very much surprised to see Spectrum and Emerald’s whole group and their carriage coming down towards the farm. “What are ya doin’ here?” Apple Bean was the first to speak, giving Spectrum a warm hug. “And so many of you too.” “You mean you haven’t heard?” Spectrum asked incredulously. “Nevermind. News travels slow. If news is even traveling at all.” Spectrum stood back and shuffled her boots. “The truth is, Mrs. Bean, we’re on the run.” “What’s that now?” Apple Bean did a double take. “You’re runnin’? From who?” “It’s… a long story,” Spectrum admitted. “But we’ve been traveling for two days and some of us need to rest. Can we stay with you for a little bit?” Golden Nugget scratched his head, looking at the party.  “Well lookit that. We got us a whole slew o’ visitors.” Spectrum waved. “Hello, Mr. Nugget.” “I could really use a nice cup of tea.” Jewel Pin stuck her tongue out. “It has been years since I have skipped out on tea for more than a day.” “There will be time for tea later,” Light Speckle insisted. “Right now what we have to do is rest from the journey. I don’t know about you, but some of us need to sleep.” “That’s fine,” Golden Nugget nodded. “Y’all can rest in the worker’s cabins. Normally in tree plantin’ season  an’ harvest time we hire farmhands, but in the off season, their place’s empty. Come on, Ah’ll lead ya there.” Taking a torch from its sconce next to the house, Golden Nugget beckoned for Emerald’s friends to follow him. “Is Honeygold around?” Emerald asked the farmer as they followed along. “Ah, the young one’s out visitin’ a friend.” Golden Nugget scrunched up his face, almost like he wasn’t sure of what he was saying. “This late?” Emerald looked at the sky. It was almost pitch black now. “Her friend’s… uh, a late nighter,” was all he said. “Ah’m sure she’ll run along before long. She’ll be happy to see y’all.” Emerald nodded. It had been a while since she had seen the apple farmers. She looked around. Even in the darkness she could smell the crisp scent of the apple trees and feel the cool breeze on her face. But events of late had darkened the former pegasus’ demeanor so that not even the delights of the island could lift her mood. Soon, a trio of wooden houses came into view in the torch light, each of them just about identical, except for window placement. They were simple houses, consisting of six beds in each. Nothing else. “Well, here we are.” Golden Nugget waved a hand at the cabins. “It isn’t much, but Ah reckon y’all will find a good night’s rest here.” “Are there baths here?” Jewel Pin picked at her hair. “I am in need of one. I smell simply dreadful.” Posey rolled her eyes at the seamstress. “Baths?” Apple Bean chuckled. “Why, we just use the lake. Worry not, the lake water is clean and free of parasites. Well, for the most part.” Jewel Pin gawked at Apple Bean, who chuckled. “Ah jest. We’ll take you to the waterfall in the morning.” “Waterfall?” Jewel Pin looked like she was about to faint. “Just get some rest,” Posey instructed, steering the seamstress to a bed. “Everything will be better in the morning, you shall see.” Jewel Pin protested weakly, but fell into the bed all the same. In moments, she was fast asleep.  “I guess we’d better do the same,” Emerald said. “Thank you, Golden Nugget and Apple Bean.” “Then we’ll come back to check on ya tomorrow mornin’ with some breakfast.” Apple Bean was the first to the doorway. “We’ll tell Honeygold once she returns. Ah’m sure she’ll be first to wake ya tomorrow. Have a good rest.” Emerald said her farewells, then went over to one of the beds and began taking off her armor. “I will take first watch.” Posey placed her bow and empty quiver down on the bed closest to the door. “I do not know how far they are willing to pursue us, but if they come, I will be ready.” “Without arrows, Posey?” Spectrum’s lip raised in question. “Streak and I can take first watch. We’ve learnt some combat in the recent moon.” Guard Streak nodded meekly and tapped at the dagger at his side. “If you would like to.” Posey adjusted her bandana. “But immediately let us know if there is trouble.” “How would they even know where we have gone?” Nightfall asked as she lay down. “We could have gone anywhere.” Light Speckle shook her head. “The staff allows the user to scry people and their surroundings. We must not stay in one place for too long, otherwise they may still find us.” “Why would they even want to follow us all the way out here?” Nightfall sat down on a bed and took her boots off. “Do they not have better things to do than to chase a few people?” “Emerald is special,” Light Speckle explained tiredly. “She’s the only one who is a threat to Morn’s rule. He can’t risk her running wild. Besides, he probably still loves her.” Speckle yawned. “We can talk more about this in the morning. Right now, we have to recover from the journey. We have a long way to go ahead of us, so sleep while you can.”