//------------------------------// // 27 - A Magical Reunion // Story: Age of Kings // by A bag of plums //------------------------------// The first thing Emerald Edge smelled when she entered the Mages’ Tower, was smoke. It didn’t take a genius to know what that might’ve meant. On the way up to the second floor, she could already hear the cries of someone, along with the sounds of impacts. “I’m sorry! Augh! I’m sorry!” “You keep burning up my notes! Why?! What have I done to deserve such punishment?!” “Nightfall, please, relinquish that broom!” “Sounds like quite a commotion up there, my lady,” Sir Morn Dread breathed. “No, release me! He deserves to be beaten!” “Calm down, Nightfall. It was just an accident.” “His accidents always result in the destruction of my notes! Why?” Emerald and Morn arrived at the top to Moon Tide and Sonata Dusk holding Nightfall Gleam back as she struggled to free herself. Secret Fire lay on his chest on the floor, slowly lifting his head to see that the broom was no longer aimed for him. Moon Tide was the first to see them and nodded her greetings. “Hello, son. Hello, Emerald. I apologize that you must come here to see this today.” “This is not the first time,” Emerald admitted, walking over. “Nightfall, please, if they let you go, will you stop your assault on this poor man?” “B-But… my research,” the mage complained, but she stopped struggling. “Again. I will have to start from scratch. Again.” “I can help,” Secret Fire said, getting up to his knees. “I at least owe you that much.” “No! I will not permit you to help me with anything!” Nightfall screeched, only for Moon Tide to pull her back again. “You will end up burning down my entire workstation! The notes are bad enough, but no, my inventions will not be touched by you!” If it means anything, I shall assist you, Nightfall.” Emerald put a hand on her shoulder to calm her. “I may not be a mage, but I will do my best.” “Oh, well…” Nightfall glared daggers at Secret Fire, but then gave up and sighed. “Very well. I won’t kill him. This time.” Secret Fire quickly leapt up and took Emerald’s hands, shaking them vigorously. “Oh, thank you, thank you so much! Emerald Edge, was it? I shan’t forget this! Now, if you will all excuse me, I need to go gather more fireroots! They were all lost in the explosion!” And in that instance, he was gone, leaving only a puff of smoke behind. “He’s always blowing things up, isn’t he?” Sonata asked Emerald happily. “How’s your quest for the artifacts going, Emerald?” “Hmm, nothing new yet, Sonata.” The spymaster shrugged. “But I did get to meet this world’s Emerald Edge.” “Oh?” That caught Moon Tide and Nightfall’s interests as well. “What is she like?” “She’s… me.” Emerald didn’t know how else to say it. “We don’t exactly look alike, but we do share many similarities.” “Aye, mother.” Sir Morn nodded. “They sound the same. Tis their hair that separates them. Lady Emerald’s is radiant, while her guard counterpart has regular hair. Tied differently as well.” “How intriguing.” Moon Tide smiled and tapped a finger to her chin. “I must make it a point to meet her one day.” “As must I.” Nightfall Gleam rubbed her hands together. “I have already learnt much by what you have told me, Emerald. Imagine if I can compare the two of you.” “Perhaps, Nightfall, perhaps.” Then Emerald cleared her throat and straightened herself. “But I am not here for that today, I’m afraid. Moon Tide, can I speak with you?” “Yes, anytime, Emerald.” The senior mage motioned for her to come closer. “Nightfall, I suggest getting back to your station and scavenge anything you may still have.” “Yes, Moon Tide.” The younger mage nodded. “I will see you sometime, Emerald. Remember, if you have need of me to craft you anything, you just need to ask.” “I will, Nightfall. Thank you.” Then she took Sir Morn’s hand and followed after Moon Tide and Sonata to a corner where they could speak. “So, what would you like to ask, Emerald?” Moon Tide looked at both the spymaster and her son. “Is it about Morn?” “Oh, no, it is actually about an old friend of mine. Actually, my best friend, when I was still in Equestria.” “An old friend?” Sonata repeated. “Did she make it here too?” “I had hoped she would,” Emerald sighed. She still remembered Light Speckle’s final words to her, but she was sure she saw Sombra kill her. As much as she wanted it to be true, she knew Speckle couldn’t have made it here. “I want to find her, Moon Tide. I have been told she is here, in the tower.” “Oh, a mage, hmm?” Moon Tide looked over to the many other mages at their workstations. “What is her name?” “Do you know a Light Speckle around here?” “Light Speckle, you say?” Moon Tide wore an amused smile. “You mean Clover the Clever’s heir?” Sonata asked, scratching at the side of her head. “Yeah, we know a Light Speckle!” “Clover the Clever’s… Can I see her? Where is she?” Emerald felt her heartbeat quicken. Her friend was alive. Her best friend. “She resides on the top floor.” Moon Tide looked up at the wooden ceiling and beams above them. “Your friend, Light Speckle, you may see, but I am afraid only a select few may visit Clover. She is busy, you see.” “Busy with what?” Sonata shrugged. “I don’t know. But she’s busy.” “Thank you, Moon Tide and Sonata, I must be off.” Emerald didn’t wait another second, running straight for the staircase and moving up a few steps at a time. She missed one and almost rolled all the way back down, but Sir Morn was able to catch her, pulling her back up to her feet with his strong arms. “Woah there, my lady. You must take care.” “Yes, thank you, Sir Morn.” Emerald got her footing back, then resumed her run up the staircase, though she decided to go one step at a time instead. This would’ve been so much easier if she had her wings. At about the fourth or fifth floor, Emerald lost count, she almost ran into a familiar Beatrix, carrying a box of supplies, but she managed to dodge her by leaping to the side and kicking off the stone wall, though her greave chipped off a little portion of it. “Sorry!” she squeaked, then ran on. When Emerald finally arrived at the top floor, the first thing she noticed was how much more decorated it was than the previous floors. The previous ones only had banners hanging from the ceiling and the occasional floor mat, but up here, the entirety of the walls were covered in green cloth, along with a golden clover insignia on each one. Emerald recognized the unicorn’s cutie mark quite quickly, seeing it once before. Up here, the mages had more organized workstations and the wood looked like it had been carved with more fine detail. “Amazing. It is so different up here.” Emerald Edge walked ahead and looked around, trying to find her friend. She figured she should recognize her like she did with her other friends. “It is.” Sir Morn Dread nodded and followed beside her. “So your friend, the mage Light Speckle, she is heir to Clover the Clever here. She has accomplished much, but I do not currently see her. She may be in meeting with Clover, beyond those doors.” Morn pointed to a single wooden door in the wall. “Back in my world, Light Speckle was Princess Amore’s court mage.” Emerald looked at the door, wondering what was behind it. “That is how we forged our friendship. The two of us were usually alone, so we bonded through our similar situations. I used to go up to her tower to have a chat or to watch her prepare her potions. I miss that.” “And I am sure you will soon meet her again.” Sir Morn patted Emerald on the shoulder. “Well, my world’s Light Speckle.” The former pegasus nodded. Of all her fallen friends back in Equestria, Light Speckle was the one she most wanted to see. She owed her her life for getting her safely to this world, at the cost of her own life. Emerald sighed. Light Speckle was the one that was supposed to be here, not herself. She had fought to buy Speckle time to leave, but instead, the mage had sent her through the portal. Emerald walked about the room, looking at all the busy mages mixing their potions and scribbling down their notes. Everything they did in this tower reminded her of her best friend. She remembered one time she had gone to visit Speckle and the unicorn had mixed the wrong potions together, blowing up a chunk of the wall and smearing her face in soot. Emerald had arrived just in time to see it happen, laughing away from the window. “Good times…” Emerald smiled at the thought. Good times before everything went bad. She clenched her fists and closed her eyes. Sombra was going to pay. He was going to pay so very dearly for everything he did and for everypony he had killed. Emerald knew that she wasn’t going to make it quick for him. She was going to give him every single thing he deserved before she killed him. Then she also remembered a time she had visited the mage, back from a trip to Griffonstone. She had been wounded in a fight there and the unicorn wouldn’t let her leave without first tending to her wounds. Emerald had insisted she was fine, but after a few casts of magic, she had felt so much better. That was Light Speckle, always worrying about somepony other than herself. Always putting others’ needs before hers. Emerald wished she could be here now. Just then, the door to Clover’s room opened and out stepped a pale-skinned woman with curly black hair. She was dressed in a grey robe with yellow highlights, but more than anything, it was her grey eyes that Emerald immediately recognized. This was her best friend, Light Speckle, in human form. “It’s h-her…” Emerald felt her tears begin to rise. “My f-friend… It’s really her…” “Yes, my lady, tis Light Speckle, heir to the great Clover the Clever.” Sir Morn was going to say more, but Emerald Edge had already run on ahead, rushing straight for the mage. Light Speckle had one good look at Emerald before the spymaster threw her arms around her, pulling her in for a warm embrace. All the mages in the room turned to look, but Emerald didn’t notice them; her eyes had been clouded over by her tears and everything was blurry. “Speckle… It’s really you, Speckle…” she said, her voice trembling. “Umm… It is me.” Light Speckle was surprised, raising both her eyebrows. “I am so sorry… I wasn’t able to save you…” Emerald cried on the mage’s shoulder. “B-But I am so glad to see y-you again, even if it’s not really you…” Emerald was so glad to see her friend again. It was like she had rewinded time, going back to the moment before everything fell to the darkness. They were all still here. All of them, except for her beloved princess. Perhaps Princess Amore was in this world too. If she was, Emerald was going to find her too, but for now, she wanted to enjoy a moment with her best friend in all of the Crystal Empire. “My lady, uh, you haven’t been indulging in drink, have you…?” Light Speckle looked really confused now. “Tis a long story, Mage Speckle,” Sir Morn said, walking over to join them. “To cut matters short, Lady Emerald is from another world. From her world, you were her best friend.” “Another world, sir knight?” Light Speckle’s eyes widened. “Clover was right.” “Oh? Did the head mage guess that already?” The knight raised an eyebrow. “She had theories, sir and lady knights.” Speckle tried to move away from Emerald, by the spymaster still had her by the shoulders. “She suspected Lady Emerald arrived from the same place these artifacts of gold had come from.” “Your Clover the Clever is correct, Speckle.” Emerald let go of the mage and wiped at her eyes. “Those artifacts are from my world. I have come here to retrieve them so that I may go back home and face the dark king, Sombra, and free my home from his evil.” “She was right…” The black haired mage put a hand to her chin. “These artifacts are not objects from an ancient civilization like I thought. You say I was Lady Emerald’s best friend in her world? Tell me, please, my lady, am I an accomplished mage over there?” Emerald nodded her head, once again picturing the moment Sombra had brought his hoof down on her friend’s neck. “You… you were, Speckle. You were…” “Were?” The mage’s eyebrows lifted. “You… you gave her life… to allow me passage to this world.” Emerald looked up at Light Speckle again, her eyes still red from her tears. “You were so brave, Speckle. You were the one meant to come here. Not I. Perhaps things would have been different if our roles were reversed.” “You cannot say that, my lady.” Sir Morn put one hand on her shoulder. “You cannot know what the outcome might have been. What matters is what you do now. Besides, if it had not been you, I would never have met you.” “Hmm…” Emerald wondered if it was a good trade, but at least the knight was right. She loved him and she didn’t want to give him up, now that she had him. But if indeed she could turn back time, would she? That was why she had lost in the tournament. Her mind hadn’t been clear. She had disappointed her princess because of that. Could she really choose between Princess Amore and Sir Morn when the time came? “Astounding.” Light Speckle pulled at the collar of her robes. “We had heard the story, of you using the king’s sword to defeat the druids, but to learn that you and that weapon are from another world. Truly remarkable. Though, I must say, it is not comfortable to know that I am deceased there.” “But you are all alive here.” Emerald sniffed, her nose partially blocked. “I’m glad I can see you again, Speckle.” “Umm, likewise, Lady Emerald.” The mage didn’t know what to do, so she curtseyed and smiled. “I should get back to my work. If you would like, you may come speak to me anytime.” “I would like that, Speckle. Thank you.” Emerald gave the mage one more hug. “Then I will see you another time.” “Take care, my lady.” Emerald looked at her friend one more time, then headed back for the steps, with Sir Morn followed close beside her. “How are you feeling, my lady?” He took her hand in his and gave her a comforting squeeze. “Much happier, Sir Morn,” she replied. “My friends. They’re all alive in this world.” “Yes, I admit, that must be wonderful news.” The two of them began their descent. Emerald Edge nodded again. She remembered Light Speckle’s final words again, about how they would meet on the other side. And she was right. Emerald had her old friends again and things had taken a turn for the better.