Once in a Bleu Moon
The darkness was disorienting, shifting his eyes back and forth he struggled to remember where the hades he was at. The echoing cracks of whips and guttural growls told him everything he needed to know. He was back in the mines again. Oh, how did he hate these mines with a passion! Not only because of the backbreaking labor, but also because the stench of despair and hopelessness choked the tunnels like some sort of poisonous miasma. The air was heavy with dust, making it difficult to breathe. After his eyes had adjusted to the dim light the magical lanterns provided in this dank place, he placed his hand to his mouth and coughed heavily. His throat burned, as he tried expelling the soot from his lungs. Looking down at his hands, he saw they were stained as red as the rusty chains that held him bound to this place. Knowing that he didn’t want to be caught not working; he bent down and resumed sorting through the broken stones in his relentless search for more gems for his masters. His back was aching again; these low tunnels made sorting through the stone and earth for any stray gems an annoying chore. A low chuckle interrupted his concentration. Looking up, he saw one of the only real friends this dismal place had seen fit to bless him with.
“King, you hairless monkey,” the griffin said, handing him a canteen of water, “if the guards catch you slacking off again, they’ll send Lasher after you.”
Grateful for the cold water, King drank deeply from its contents. “Snowe you old buzzard,” he replied, handing the canteen back to him “I’d honestly welcome a break. The chance to rest after getting whipped would be a welcome relief.”
Snowe grabbed the canteen with his talons to place back in his saddlebag, looking down at the canteen the griffin face showed his concern when he saw the bloodstained handprint on it. “It’s getting worse isn’t it?” he asked concerned for his friend’s wellbeing.
“Yes I’ve been hacking up quite a bit of blood lately,” King sighed, it spoke volumes of how tired he was, as he returned to his never ending task of rooting through the broken earth looking for any gems he could find. “I’m so tired, I welcome the day when I never awake again.”
Snowe looked at his friend in concern, “Don’t say that!” he scolded King. “What about all those stories about the human spirit, perseverance, and ingenuity you’re always bragging about? We only have to be patient and wait for our chance to escape together. Besides, she would never forgive you, if you went up and died.”
“Well, I’m not dead yet,” King weakly laughed, until it was interrupted by a violent coughing fit. “Besides, I only have one foot in the grave, and the newest tunnels I’ve located seem to be a promising lead to our liberation.”
Snowe shook his feathered head at his friend’s optimism, causing a few of his white and grey feathers floating to the ground. The griffin feathers had once been as white as the driven snow. But now, he was a mottled mess of greying and white feathers, the price of working in these cursed mines.
“King, make sure you come home with some gems this time,” Snowe said, as he left the tunnel to resume his own tasks, “you know how Lasher loves to work you over when you don’t meet your quotas.”
With a knowing nod, King got back to work searching the debris for any gems he have missed before moving to the next section of wall. Long ago, the human had learned how to game his masters daily gem quotas. Being the weakest of the working slaves, he’d figured out that his masters expected little of him. By only bringing back the bare minimum of gems, any extras he found could be brought in the next day, allowing him to spend his time searching for a means to escape. His previous career as another sort of slave had taught him well, no job is worth doing right if you can half-ass it instead.
Seeing that it was nearly time to quit for the day, King walked deeper into the tunnel to retrieve enough gems from his stockpile to cover his quota. Removing a large nondescript stone from the wall, he revealed a large cache of gems. Grinning, he picked up a few of the larger gems and a bunch of the smaller ones and placed them inside his satchel. Right before he was about the leave the tunnel, he stopped and headed back deeper into the mine. Deciding to test his luck, his gave a few swings at the walls of the shaft with his pick. After his fourth swing, he was about to stop for the day. Instead, he took one last swing as hard as he could against the stone wall of the mine.
Immediately, his face was hit with a blast of cool air. “Jackpot,” King said to himself. Picking up a stone, he lodged it deeply in the wall to hide his actives, and then placed his mark on the tunnel entrance. Since he was useless for any heavy digging, he was responsible for cleaning out the tunnels for any gems that might have been missed. He was so thorough that no one ever questioned his work, allowing him to run his gem cache racket. Walking towards the entrance, he hummed a pleasant little tune to himself as he exited out of the mine and into the expanse of the Diamond Vale.
“You’re late slave,” growled a deep voice. “I don’t like being made to wait.”
King stopped and faced the voice’s owner. Looking at his taskmaster, he saw that the grey minotaur was waiting impatiently to count his quota of gems. “Well Lasher,” he said, “I’m sure if you’re unhappy with your job, the master will let us trade positions for a few days. What do you say? I can beat you while you dig for gems.”
Lasher flicked his wrist in response. Like lightning, his whip cracked past the human’s head barely missing his left ear. “Slave,” he growled, “I certainly hope you’ve missed your quota today. Cause if you’re a single gem short, I’m going to give you double the lashes tonight.”
King smugly handed his pack to the minotaur. He had counted the number of gems twice, and added a few extras so that no one would be the wiser. Lasher carefully sorted through the small pile of gems, making sure that their numbers and weight met the human’s meager daily quota.
Seeing that the number of gems were correct, Lasher gnashed his teeth momentarily and then grinned evilly. “Well, well, well, Slave,” the minotaur said vindictively, “it appears you’ve failed to meet your quota today.”
“Lasher, what do you mean?” King asked, suddenly afraid of what would happen next.
Confirming King’s suspicions, Lasher picked up the largest gem in the pile and pocketed it. “Looks like you’re missing one of the required large gems, and you know what that means…” he said viciously.
Lasher held his whip with both hands. The large black minotaur twisted the whip hard, causing its leather to groan in complaint at being so roughly manhandled. When King heard the sounds that the whip made, he blanched at the thought of his upcoming punishment. Lasher smiled in pleasure, when he saw the look on the hapless slave’s face. King turned his back to his tormenter, steeling himself for the upcoming pain.
The minotaur grabbed a fistful of the human’s hair and slammed his face roughly into the stone walls of the mine. He moved his face dangerously close to King’s. “Slave…” Lasher hissed into his right ear, “I think we shall administer your punishment where everyone can see you.”
Making sure King got the message; Lasher turned the slave around to face him and punched him in the gut as hard as he could. King fell to the ground groaning in pain, while blood streamed freely from his bruised nose and busted lips. “Get up, you laze about,” the minotaur said, spitting on the ground near King’s feet.
King used his arm to wipe the blood from his face and got up from the mine’s floor. With hate in his eyes the slave walked towards his master’s estate, while Lasher followed closely behind him. Once they had reached the estate and entered the slave’s quarters, the surly minotaur pointed towards ‘The Punisher’. The punisher was an iron rack used to restrain slaves while they were beaten or whipped. King didn’t even have to be told once, he knew the drill intimately. Placing his wrists in the restraints, his joints groaned as Lasher pulled them taught.
Uncoiling his whip, Lashed flicked it skillfully into the air. A sharp cracking sound reverberated throughout the room. Satisfied he had every slave’s undying attention, he pointed at the restrained King. “Look on the price of defiance,” the minotaur said, mainly for the benefit of the newly acquired slaves. “This slave failed to meet his quota and is now going to be disciplined. But don’t worry. You won’t necessarily suffer his fate. Work hard and you will be treated well. But work poorly,” Lasher said, shaking his head in mock disappointment, “and you’ll become acquainted with my whip!”
Satisfied that all the new slaves were riveted at the spectacle before them, Lasher cracked his whip a few times in the air for dramatic effect. Everyone present looked on in fear, especially Snowe and a blue unicorn mare. Snowe comforted her with his greying wing as she covered her purple eyes with her hoof, trying not to look as King received his lashes.
With a crazed look of pleasure on his face, the taskmaster began administering King’s punishment. Until you have felt the sting of an experienced slaver’s whip, you don’t know the meaning of the word ‘pain’. The standard treatment for slaves was ten lashes, which would bruise the flesh and leave welts. Missing your quotas repeatedly like King had was worth twenty, and would leave a slave’s flesh in ribbons. However forty lashes would just about leave you with one hoof in the grave. With an experienced eye and wrist, Lasher controlled his whip with precision. Each of the forty lashes King received was placed with care, never striking the same piece of flesh twice.
Once his bloody job was completed, Lasher released the restraints holding King up, he laughed when the weakened slave hit the floor hard. “You nearly killed him!” the unicorn accused, as she glared at the minotaur angrily.
“Shut your muzzle Bleu! Unless you wish to spend tonight rewarding the males for their hard work, instead of tending to that slave’s wounds,” Lasher said, threatening her with being whored out to his favored slaves.
“No Lasher,” Bleu submissively replied, praying to Celestia that she wouldn’t be sent to the male’s quarters tonight. “But King will require at least three days recovering from the beating you just administered.”
“He has one day,” Lasher said, his decision final. “If the slave is unable to work, I’ll send him to the arena. Master Yipyap has wanted to test his new acquisitions combat prowess; the slave should prove an adequate enough challenge to test their meager skills.”
“But Lasher…” Bleu tried to object, only to have Snowe close her muzzle with his talons.
“What I think Blue is trying to say,” Snowe said, trying to salvage the situation, “is that we can’t replace King’s hands so easily. He’s our best blacksmith and leather worker, and no one can cut gems as well as he can. Perhaps give him three days to recover, and he can spend two of them doing light labor?”
Lasher carefully considered Snowe’s points, and nodded. “Yes, the slave’s hands are indeed valuable,” the taskmaster agreed. “Very well Bleu, you have three days to nurse him back to health. But in exchange for my generosity, you must service me tonight willingly.”
Seeing the minotaur’s lecherous smile made Bleu’s stomach nauseous. “Very well Lasher,” the pretty mare said, looking down at King with pity in her eyes. “But I don’t want it to take more than an hour; King is going to need nursing if he’s going to survive the night.”
Lasher nodded in agreement, pleased that he had humbled the unicorn in front of her friends. “Very well Bleu,” the taskmaster said, licking his lips in anticipation of the night’s activities. “Get him well enough so that the griffin can look after him, and then you can tend to me.”
Nodding in resignation, Bleu levitated King over to a bed and began releasing magic through her horn. Looking at his tattered back, Bleu held back her tears in vain, trying to piece his flash back together. “Father I’m so sorry,” she said trying not to weep over his open wounds.
King weakly opened his eyes and looked at her with a loving smile. “Little Bleu,” he said tenderly, “you shouldn’t have sold yourself so cheaply to Lasher. I’m not worth it.”
Bleu’s eyes went wide in surprise when she saw that King was awake and conscious. “Father,” she said angrily, her tears still freely falling, “don’t ever say that! Without you, who would look after me and Uncle Snowe?”
“Daughter,” King said as he weakly laughed through ragged breathes. “You haven’t needed me to look after you in years. If anything I’m keeping you down.”
“That’s not true!” Bleu said, unleashing magic from her horn into his wounds.
“Bleu, truth be told,” King said weakly, “I’m so tired, I think I shall return home soon.”
Realizing what he meant, Bleu hugged him tightly. “No!” she said, burying her muzzle deeply into his wild and unruly hair. “You promised me we would escape to Equestria together, just the three of us. You promised we would go see the western sea one day, to swim under Celestia’s sun until Luna’s moon rose high in the air.”
“I’m so sorry Little Bleu,” King replied, “I promise that even if I pass to the shadowlands, I’ll wait for both of you under the shade of a green tree. Once we’ve been reunited we can still go swimming together in the western sea.”
“I love you daddy,” Bleu replied, “I don’t want you to die!”
King started laughing, wincing in pain as his ribs objected. “Little Bleu,” he said, placing a hand lightly on her light blue mane, “I’m not quite dead yet. And, I think I’ve found our ticket out of here.”
Snowe walked towards King, “Are you sure?” he asked, daring not to hope for the impossible.
“Yes, I found a passage with freely flowing air,” King said with a smile. “That tunnel is the furthest one back in this whole damn place. It’s our ticket to freedom, we just need to arrange for enough provisions to make the journey and then collapse the entrance behind us.”
“Father, rest and conserve your strength,” Bleu said, full of hope for a life with her family outside these horrid mines. “I’ll heal you so that you can make the journey.”
King shut his eyes, smiling at being so lucky to have such a loving daughter. “I love you so much Little Bleu,” King said.
Not hearing a response, King opened his eyes and saw the ruined palace. He saw that Nightmare was looking at him as if he had lost his mind. Looking down he saw the manacles on his wrists, with their dozens of chains that barred him from ever enjoying their respective domains. His throat felt hoarse and his eyes burned for some unknown reason. Suddenly his iron crown felt like it weighed as much as a mountain; his head throbbed in pain under its weight. The Slave King felt a pain deep in his chest and clutched at his heart. Feeling the scar deep in his chest burning, he slumped back into his stone throne.
As the burning in his chest slowly died away, the Slave King tried in vain to remember what he had felt inside his dream. Anger slowly filled him. Yes it must have been anger and rage he had been feeling as he slept. The rage inside him, slowly built into a fury as cold as the deepest depths of the pit itself. Hoping to go back into his dream he clutched in desperation for his charm, but found it was missing.
“That’s right they took them away!” the Slave King raged to himself.
“Shouldn’t you do something about that?” a cold voice whispered in his mind. “They took them away from you, you should make them suffer!”
“Yes…” the Slave King said aloud, his raspy voice echoing throughout the palace ruins.
“You should let them know that taking them away was a mistake!” the icy voice continued, trying to provoke a response. “That would show them that you’re not some weakling they can trifle with.”
“How should I show them,” the Slave King asked in curiosity.
“Break the Earth…” the voice tempted.
“But the promise…” the Slave King said, thinking back to what he said to Little Bleu.
The voice didn’t respond, but instead remained silent
Concerned Nightmare looked up at her master, trying to see who he was speaking to. Moving her ears back and forth she was unable to hear the silent party that her master was conversing with. Pacing back and forth in the throne room, she worriedly stalked about the palace ruins in vain. When she heard him stop talking she returned to his side, laying her head on his knee she looked up at her master’s face. Seeing his burning eyes, Nightmare was pleased when she saw that he was the Slave King once more.
*****
Far away under the shade of a green tree being bathed by the radiance of Celestia’s Sun and blessed by the beauty of Luna’s moon, she waited patiently. As ponies passed her by they would occasionally ask “May I share this tree with you.” Her reply was always the same, “I can’t, I’m saving this spot for somepony very important to me.”
Author's note:
Gentlereader I felt that a little exposition on the Slave King was warranted, so I wrote this little chapter before moving back into the action in Londwhinium. I tried to provoke feelings of nostalgia with this chapter, let me know if I succeeded in the comments. As always thanks for reading, until next time gentlereader.
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I really, really, really hope that the Slave King goes on a demon powered killing spree, with large casualties and lots of bisecting weak mortals.
386115 Gentlereader thank you for commenting. Actually he already did in chapter 9 'A Time for Wrath'. Technically it wasn't a demon powered killing spree either since he has his own power, so it was more like a rage induced killing binge. Destroying the Diamond Vale killed probably tens of thousands of diamond dogs, and their slaves etc. In addition he also orchestrated a purge of the surviving Gem Biter Clan diamond dogs. additionally in chapter 13 'Diplomatic Overtures', the Slave King crippled and maimed hundreds of dragons. But if you're hoping for mass slaughter being recounted in gory detail, you'll probably be disappointed. Unless I go into flashback detailing those two events, I don't think the Book of Earth will have many opportunities for mass slaughter. However, if the opportunity presents itself I'll try to add more the bloody details for you. Perhaps some detailed fight scenes.
Until next time gentlereader, Thanks for reading.
I liked it, it did have some nostalgic feel to it and it did provide some good backstory about the underlord.
386249 Thank you for reading gentlereader, and for your comments. Underlord I like that!.
386167
Thanks for replying, and its alright, your writing is always great, as usual, love the story, and its current direction.
I was hoping that Slave King had a shred of humanity left within him, I'm glad to see that is the case. Tragic villains are always more dangerous (and fun to read about) then just psychopaths.
386291 Thank you for your kind words gentlereader. The Slave King has yet to come to terms with his grief over the loss of his friend Snowe, and Little Bleu. the irony of the situation is both Shanks and the Slave King share similar circumstances. Shank's clan destroyed all the Slave King held dear, and the Slave King destroyed the Diamond Vale, or as Shanks calls it "ended the world". As you can see the Slave King seems to be amending his behavior over time, going from bloodthirsty force of destruction in chapter 9, to amending his vow of vengeance in chapter 11. In chapter 13 we saw that the Slave King take a more pragmatic approach to ruling his domain by reinstating the arch duke and sending him on a diplomatic mission, even though he had been betrayed. Honestly had their been a more ideal candidate Yipyap would have been screwed, but when you're in a labor shortage you work with what you have on hand or hoof as the case may be. Now in chapter 16 we see something interesting, where the Slave king in chapter 9 would have given into his dark impulses and 'broken the earth'. here he seems more concerned about his promise to Little Bleu. The question how will that promise play out in the future, and why did Nightmare feel concerned about the Slave King's ramblings?
Until next time gentlereader, thanks for reading.
wow this was a emotional chapter man....nice work
386400 Thank you for your comments gentlereader. I was concerned that injecting emotions into an otherwise dark story might have put off my core audience. Since they seem to love the Slave King's, shall we say rather questionable moral compass. However, the story required knowing a bit about the past before we could move from the present into the future. Knowing I emotionally connected with at least one reader has made telling this story worthwhile. Thank you for allowing me share this story with you.
Until next time gentlereader, thanks for reading.
You succeded, very well in fact.
Im happy we got more info on the Snowe and Bleu and Kings relations with them.
The day King finally meets with Snowe and Lil'Bleu will be a fantastic day
386492 Thank you for commenting gentlereader. Perhaps their reunion will be a joyous one, or perhaps they will be disgusted with what he became, a heartless monster. It's been said, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall again the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
Until next time gentlereader, thanks for reading.
This was very emotional :D I liked the very last bit even if it sort gave away the ending it was good because I already suspected how this was going to end but previously i didn't like it. Now I want it to end that way because it would be a lot happier. Of course you could end it some other way but i hope you don't because i hate sad endings :)
386528 Gentlereader thank you for commenting. The last paragraph may be an ending, but it's not "The End." I like to think that the next life is a place where we will find those who've gone on ahead of us waiting so we can continue our journey together. While death can be sad for those left behind, it's only the next step in our existence, just like being born was the previous transition from our previous existence. Sorry for waxing philosophical gentlereader, and thanks for reading. Until next time.
386579 Oh i understood that it wasn't the end I just thought it hinted towards how this story is going to end. Or at least how I am currently hoping it ends. As for the view on death it reminds me of the one in the brothers lionheart by Astrid Lindgren, I am not sure if you have read it, and it is a view that I really like even if I don't really believe in it :)
I who'd say you relay succeeded, this chapter was indeed nostalgia but above all grim and sad
.
I always felt that that his actions when destroying the city (diamond valley) was to extreme, of course being forced into slavery for 10 years who'd probably leave you scared and full of hate and rage, but i still felt that destroying a whole city and killing almost every living soul within it was "overkill".
Now after a more detailed explanation of his life as a slave, i kinda can see why he lost control like that, not only forced labor but corrupt grads ho torture you and those you care about for there own pleasure, and having your not only friend, but someone you who'd regard as your own daughter forced into sexual slavery, i can kinda see where his hate is coming form better now
I can only hope for Mr.Lasher´s sake he died in the city's destruction because if King where to get his hand on him it wouldn't end pretty...
but looking form the brite side Mr.Black who'd have the gore scene he requested earlier
I like these chapters where you do flack back´s and focus on his past a bit, and i do hope you continue them, (but not let them overshadow the main story of course) especially focus on Bleu and Snowe, i have wanted to read on the events coming up to their deaths, how and why they died in that tunnel cave in where he found the feathers and cloak piece.
Last thought i had about the chapter was that i like the iner dialog Mr.King hade with himself at the end, shows that he´s still morning and not sure on how to proceed whit his life and what to do whit his powers, kill everyone and everything in hate, not braking some promise to Bleu, possibly forgive them?, i like the fact hes still conflicted and unsure on what to do.
that's everything i had to say i think, greats chapter as always, keep the updates coming
386605 The scene was an homage to the friendship between Flint Fireforge and Tasslehoff Burrfoot from the book Dragons of Autumns Twilight, by Weis and Hicksman.
386609 Thank you for commenting gentlereader. You know you're the first person to condemn the Slave Kings actions regarding the destruction of the Diamond Vale. I had commented earlier in chapter 9 how I found it odd that no one seemed to care about the pup being killed in the mines. I feel the Slave King has been channeling his inner Old Testament wrath, what with all the destruction he's been responsible for.
Regarding Lasher, he and his friends may show up in future chapters as the story progresses.
But fear not the story will resolve itself, even the enigmatic on himself Jormungandr the winding one promised that the earth will be healed in due time.
Until next time gentlereaders, and thank you for reading.
Hmm, I hope Bleu isn't just waiting for him for eternity. That would suck pretty hard.
this isn't vengence this is punishment. in the words of rosach evil must be punished people must be told. In my openion until those wronged him seek redemption his heart will full again and peace shell never return to there lands
386669
at first i was a little heasatent on reading this and then i gave in a read it....and i loved it...its cool...exiting
adventures...funny
its awmazing
till next time
~Thatotherguy44~
OH MY GOD, how come i didn't see that before, it's so oblivious. In the last paragraph it was Bleu
waiting for King in the after life. (or where pony's go when they die)
, that lite fact just made this chapter 20% cooler
How diffident i see that until now, fail on me
and that who'd work as an ending to if you desire to do that, tho if i'm gonna be 100% honest i think ending the story that way who'd be a bit cheesy and overdone, to have him die and rejoin his loved ones etc..
and not to say it would end any possibility for a, sequel?
388988 The ending I have in store gentlereader will be totally out of left field. Even the ending for the book of Earth I think will throw you for a loop. Thanks for commenting. I'm busily working on the next chapter of the story, I hopefully will have it done an hour after the latest episode is released. I'm shooting for 10k words.
Until next time gentlereader, and thanks for reading.
389002
10k words YAY
This is q97randomguy reporting on the condition of our MC.
The Slave King's memories are a dark place, as expected. While it is good that he grew out of his greedy, self centered outlook, it appears that in the end that it only made his rage more terrible when it came over him because it was fueled by the sorrow from death of his "daughter". A voice is whispering to him to "break the Earth", could this be madness or is it something even more sinister, the same thing that eventually corrupts Luna?
It appears that King does not know that Little Bleu has actually escaped and is waiting for him. Is this a possible way to end his wrath, he meets her and looses his rage, or a much darker way, his war tragically kills her and he ends the war out of shame over his actions.
The situation is rapidly becoming more complicated, q97randomguy is moving on out.
Disappointing. Little Bleu is waiting for her daddy in the afterlife even though he most likely now will never die.
1299400 We find your... Reports... most interesting, trooper. Most interesting indeed.
dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12875849/reactions/Why_must_you_hurt_me_in_this_way.jpg
Very emotionally stirring.
That ending was amazing. Loved it, 10 out of 10. OH THE FEELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!