Chapter 5: New Empire, New Problems
Edited by: Chrome Masquerade
Proofread by: Midknightshadow
“Well, now I at least know to not get on his bad side. When I am alone, that is.” Thera thought to herself as she approached the throne.
She had to admit that his performance back there was… really something to get your jaw drop to the floor. It was obvious to her now that he was highly skilled at fighting. Even though, judging by his appearance alone, you wouldn’t think so.
He made it seem so easy back there and the feats of magic he displayed at the very end where honestly something she had never seen before. Especially that blue, ball-like-sun spell he unleashed at the end to completely disintegrate the former king out of existence. She might not have that much knowledge when it comes to magic in general, but her own self-taught knowledge and having worked and asked unicorns about it she could still easily tell, or more specifically sense that whatever that last magic spell was it REALLY had A LOT of magic compressed inside it!
The fact that SO MUCH MAGIC condensed into a single point did NOT blow up the entire castle when it detonated was another confusing mystery to her.
But alas, all of that really didn’t seem to matter too much. The bad guys were dead, the prisoners freed and he wasn’t throwing blue sun-like death balls at her anytime soon. So why was she still sticking around then when she could be just making her way back home?
Oh yeah, she still didn’t really know what part of the world she was in, and at what direction she needed to go. Though, if the dark unicorn was really the source of the blizzard that had been raging all across the icy wastes like he claimed it to be, then with his death the curse or spell he had cast should also have been dissipated at the same time when all the dark crystals and chains turned into black mist as well. Which then meant that the skies should finally be clear enough for her to pinpoint the location of the sun and use that to judge the direction she should be travelling at to return home.
“No, wait… my right wing is still broken, so flying back home anytime soon won’t be an option. Bugger. That obviously only means that I will be hanging out here just a little bit more, then.” She realized before her gaze suddenly fell onto the ruby colored pony laying right at the foot of the throne.
“Wasn’t this the pony that nearly got… shafted, so to speak, before me and mystery stud over there suddenly barged in?” She mused to herself mentally while eyeing the unconscious form more carefully before another thought entered her mind.
“Right… I still don’t know who he is, or more annoyingly, what this stallion’s name is either. I know this might just come right out of the blue when I ask him but I just feel the urge to at least know the name of the pony that saved my hide before I continue on my merry way. That can’t possibly be too hard now can it?” She mentally decided as she looked up and towards the stallion now fidgeting around on the throne, or HIS throne, she would guess.
She cleared her throat and was about to say something when the mare who previously fell unconscious just a while ago started to stir.
“Well, that didn’t last long.” Thera thought to herself as she once again found herself interrupted by finally knowing this strange unicorn’s name.
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Ruby Quill stirred awake slowly. Her mind was a bit of a haze, but overall she felt fine when her consciousness slowly began to reboot.
“Ow… did I hit my head or something?” She quietly moaned to herself while reaching a hoof to the back of her head.
She sighed in relief when she found out that it was nothing but a bump, though one question still remained afterward.
“What the heck happened?” She thought to herself as she slowly started to open her eyes, which only led her to close them again quickly as the sudden shift in brightness entering her pupils was doing wonders for both her eyes and aching head… not really.
She groaned again but quickly stiffened when she heard the distinguish clip clop sounds of someone’s hoof coming closer and closer to her, not just that but they sounded more…metallic, but that can’t be…the only ponies she knew that would make such sounds when trotting on the crystals floors would be...
Suddenly memories of Sombra and his black armored guards resurfaced, which immediately caused her to panic. She quickly forced her eyes open, momentarily cringing at the painfully bright light entering her retinas before turning her head to face her doom.
What she saw made her pause as she looked up at the pony looming over her.
“Hey, are you alright? For someone who fainted you certainly got back up pretty quickly. Usually a person (or pony in your case) at least stays unconscious for half an hour. So… yeah. How are you doing?” A dark blue furred, purple maned pony asked her while looking down at her. Though both of her colors really interested her, what did immediately caught Ruby Quill’s eyes were this pony’s fangs, predatory eyes, the black leathery wings on her back and the blood coating part of her face and chest. Some of it even dripping down onto her.
“Uh… hello? Equis to pony? Anypony there?” The dark blue mare said with a tilted head as she began to wave one of her armored hooves in front of her, which by the way was also coated in a bit of blood.
Some of it even landed directly onto Ruby’s snout, to her horror, which in turn was the final pull that broke the rope within her before her head fell back onto the cold, hard crystal floor as she fainted again, leaving the pony standing above completely dumbfounded and confused.
“Pfff… Typical.” The dark blue mare huffed.
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The Emperor had watched the entire humorous display from his new throne as he held back a chuckle.
The mare eventually huffed to herself in annoyance before leaving the other to lay where she was.
“You should have probably wiped some of the blood on you off first before confronting her. That might easily be the cause for her second unconscious spell, since I am aware as well with the fact that most individual have never seen such a display of bloodshed in their lives, which can easily result into scenarios such as this.” The Emperor announced which caused the mare in question to look up at him with a confused look before a rush of realization quickly graced her features.
“Oh.” Was all she said before looking down at herself, and facehoofing at the end moment.
The Emperor simply smirked. “Not really the sharpest sword in the armory it seems.” He commented out loud, which immediately drew the attention of the mare back at him.
“Oh, as if you are perfect yourself, mister ‘I’m going to just casually jump off a cliff without wings’.” She retorted which only made his smile widen a bit.
“I can hover, as you should already be aware of.” He casually answered back which only made the mare huff and look away.
“So what? You could have at least told me first beforehoof instead of just jumping off and almost giving me a heart attack. My point still stands.” She announced back before looking back at him. “By the way, we never really introduced one another since you saved me back in the cave.” She quickly added which quickly caused the Emperor to pause.
“Hmmm... she is right. We do haven’t properly introduced ourselves to one another yet.” He thought to himself as he moved a hoof to stroke his chin a bit.
To be honest there isn’t really any good reason as to why he should NOT tell her his name or even go so far as his origin. The obvious reaction he would get from her might be a look of disbelief, or just flat out calling him crazy or whatever. But he really wouldn’t mind any of those, simply because, for one, he had to deal with those looks regularly for some of his insane schemes back in his old world which caused him to grow accustomed to them, and two, it wouldn’t really interfere in the slightest with his plans for his newly acquired nations in this new and fresh world, and for three,well...he basically has to admit that a story like his does sound more or less farfetched to any outside eyes and ears to begin with, so no real issue there.
Plus, he personally had no qualms with actually giving his name anyway, since she did prove herself to be capable, minus the nagging and sometimes missing the obvious at times.
With those thoughts out of the way, he focused his attention back on the mare below him, only to see that she was in the middle of eyeing the once more unconscious mare from her position.
“Mateus.”
“Huh? What?” She replied before looking back at him, which almost made the emperor sigh.
“I said, my name is Mateus. Emperor Mateus if you want to be more formal.” The Emperor repeated himself, which caused the mare below him to raise an eyebrow at him.
“So you go kill the former king of this place and then just proclaim yourself as the emperor?” Thera questioned, which the Emperor was actually expecting.
“Well, no. I was already an emperor long before this.” He simply answered which in turn made the mare both confused and skeptical.
“What do you mean by that?” She questioned back, which only made the Emperor sigh.
“It’s not important as of the moment. The point is I gave you my name and I am not “sitting” on this throne as such.” He replied before leaning back to illustrate his point better.
Thera, on the other hoof, was still mildly confused by this vague information, and still somewhat skeptical too. But after thinking about it he did, look, act, sound, and behave like someone from royal descent. Not to mention just how calm and calculating he always seemed to be, giving him the impression and feel of a leader, and probably a tactician as well. So in overall terms, he obviously looked, felt and acted like a leading figure.
Thera shook her head. “So many more questions about this strange unicorn, but at least I now know his name and something else about him as well, even if that info still feels rather farfetched so far. But anyway, I guess I now have to introduce myself to him as well, which is perfectly fine with me, because I’ve got nothing to hide anyway. Plus he did save my life, too.” Thera thought to herself as she looked back up to introduce herself to him in return.
“Well, my name is Thera. Thera Blade. Member and daughter of the clan leader of the Gladed Blades, Beron Blade, at your service.” Thera introduced herself proudly with a small playful bow at the end that made the Emperor smirk a bit.
“A clan you say? I would guess it’s a warrior focused clan, more than anything else, yes?” The Emperor questioned, which made the mare below him smile even more.
“We are. in fact, pretty much all major families back in Pelepolos and Kazzas can all trace their origins back to over 1000 years during the Imperial wars between the Gryphon Empire (dominating the continent at the time) and the other major nations as well, including the Thestral city states.” Thera explained, which again made the Emperor think with great intrigue at the information given to him.
“Note to self: Need to find history books of this world to learn more about its past and keep myself up to date, since I am going to be staying in this world for quite a while, or even permanently. Plus, who knows? Maybe some of that information will be of great benefit to me in the future.” Emperor Mateus thought to himself while momentarily staring off into space before looking back at the mare, or rather, Thera below him.
“You mentioned something about a lot of clans and houses back in your home to be over 1000 years old. May I ask what your family’s history is?” The Emperor questions curiously, which again made the mare smile up at him.
“I see no problem with sharing some of the history of my family.” She began before rubbing her chin in thought, to try and arrange everything in her head. “Well, for starters, my family is within one of the oldest clans out there, only second in age to the Bloodwings. Our history actually dates back all the way to the founding of both Kazzas and Pelepolos themselves, many, many millennia back. To be more precise, if the history of our ancestors is correct, our ancient forefathers used to be one of the many companions of our nation’s founders Vladir Kazzas and Bostros Pelepolos themselves.” Thera explained proudly which caused Mateus to be even more intrigued than he already was.
“Really need to get some history books.” He once again mentally noted before something else quickly piqued his interest when he looked through the many large glass windows lining up the left walls of the throne room. “It seems to be getting toward night already. Also the storm seems to have moved on or stopped completely as well. Pretty normal for magic to dissipate when its source (A.K.A the caster) is gone.” He thought while rubbing the hilt of his staff.
He looked back at his companion. “Well I am sure you would love to summarize the history and proud legacy of your family to me, but I am afraid that it probably needs to wait for another day.” The Emperor announced out loud while pointing the tip of his staff to the closest window next to him, which Thera followed with her eyes.
“Yeah, I guess so.” She commented after she realized that it was getting late. “Though… where are the rooms in this place?” She queried as she looked back at the unicorn.
The Emperor finally stood up from his throne for the first time since claiming it, before descending the stairs and trotting past Thera, going towards a set of doors behind the throne to his right that he had spotted earlier.
“Well, no way we’ll find out just sitting here. But they are mostly likely all on a floor above us, just like with every other castle or palace.” He announced as he made his way toward the closed double doors before getting stopped by Thera.
“Wait! What about the mare here?” Thera questioned while pointing a hoof at the still-unconscious mare in question.
The Emperor turned his head to look at her before switching his gaze back to Thera, who was still waiting for his answer.
“Well, you take her with you, of course.” He casually replied which made Thera raise an eyebrow.
“Wait, why me? Why not you? You are a unicorn, you have magic. You can just levitate her around or something while we look for a room to put her in...” Thera counted off, which only made the Emperor smirk in her direction.
“It’s because YOU were the one to voice your concerns about this female in the first place, which means you have the pleasure of carrying her.” He answered before turning back and heading back towards the door. “Plus, you are obviously a strong mare too, so I doubt that having another one on your back shouldn’t be too much of a problem.” He quickly added before pushing the doors open and finding a set of stairs leading to the upper levels, as predicted.
Thera simply groaned in annoyance before trotting up to the ruby mare and lifting her up onto her back, with a bit of a grunt.
“Yup. He’s royal, alright.” She muttered to herself before following the emperor up to the second level with the mare properly balanced on her back.
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“Shining? Shining, where are you?” A pink alicorn mare shouted within the snowstorm as she looked back behind her shoulder while making sure that her thick cloak wouldn’t get blown away and expose her to the deadly cold.
A shadowy apparition suddenly materialized within the swirling mass of the blizzard, followed by two others soon after.
“I am close behind you, Cadence. Don’t worry!” A male voice shouted back as the first apparition slowly revealed itself to be nothing more than a white unicorn stallion with a two-tone blue mane covered in a thick cloak similar to the first one.
The other figures quickly emerged from the shadows of the snow storm as well, revealing themselves as white pony guards wearing very noticeable golden armors under their own set of brown cloaks as they followed the unicorn stallion from behind.
The unicorn stopped right behind the pink alicorn while trying his best to keep his hood from blowing over and exposing his skull to the harsh elements.
The pink alicorn had an expression of both cold and pure worry as she turned herself around the face the unicorn behind her. “This storm is getting stronger and stronger. I can’t hardly see a couple of hooves in front of me!” The pink alicorn shouted so that the unicorn known as Shining could properly hear her over the raging winds surrounding them.
The stallion nodded as he continued to fight the winds, to keep them from blowing his hood off. “Indeed, Cadance. Not only that, but it also seems to get colder and colder with every passing minute.” he called out to her before producing a small thermometer from his cloak to check what the temperature was, and true to his claim the temperature has dropped a full 5 degrees since the last time he checked on it. A bone chilling -28 degrees Celsius is what the thermometer read at the moment, which dropped further to 29 as he held it.
He quickly packed the thermometer back from where it came from before facing the mare in front of him again. ”We can’t possibly continue on like this. We need to find a shelter if we don’t want to die out here.” He called out, which was accompanied by nods from his two companions as they too tried their best hold onto their cloaks within the raging winds.
The pink alicorn known as Cadance looked somewhat discouraged for a second before she lifted her head and nodded as well, to show her approval.
Shining noticed this. As he moved closer to the pink alicorn, he wrapped his foreleg around her back and gave her a quick nuzzle before looking straight at her.
He sighed. “Cadance, I want to reach the Crystal Empire just as quickly as you. Who knows what King Sombra is doing to those poor crystal ponies as we speak? But right now, our own survival should be our top priority. How are we going to free the returned Crystal Empire from its evil tyrant if we die halfway to reaching it?” He gently explained to her, which was only met with a sad, downward look from the mare in front of him.
She eventually shook her head before looking back up at him and giving a sad smile, which he returned.
Their little private time was immediately interrupted when one of the guards behind him suddenly shouted and pointed at something off in the distance.
“Captain, I think I see a cave there, somewhere in the distance.” The guard called out, which immediately caused everypony else to turn their heads to look in the direction the guard was pointing.
Shining smiled as he spotted the appointed safe haven in the distance. “Very good eye, soldier. We can camp out there for the night while also waiting for this damn storm to pass by. Come on, we can finally take a break once we’re in there.” The unicorn announced before leading the way.
Both the alicorn and the two guards followed him as the storm around them started to slowly intensify.
“Just in time, as well. any longer like this and we might actually run the risk of freezing to death out here.” The unicorn thought to himself as he and his three companions entered the cave and out of the harsh storm raging and picking up speed outside.