Age of Kings

by A bag of plums


50 - Into Darkness - Part 2

Barging through the door to the Mages’ Tower, Emerald Edge followed behind Morn Dread just in time as a vine swept over the door, breaking it off its hinges and blocking the entrance. They were trapped in the tower, if only for now. First, they would have to see if any of the mages here were in trouble, and then, the staff. Emerald figured if she could get her hands on the staff, then these vines wouldn’t stand a chance.

On the first floor of the tower, things were chaos reigned. Two mages were held suspended to the sides by vines, while one more lay unconscious under an overturned table, her head bleeding. Part of the floor had been crushed, while Emerald could look out at the sky through a hole in the wall. Vines of all sizes twisted and writhed, searching for targets, which happened to be her and Morn.

There was a tinkle of glass breaking and one of the vines stopped in its tracks, a frosty shell coating its surface. A familiar bearded face appeared at the stairs and an explosion rocked the tower, shattering the frozen vine into smithereens.

“Ho, Knights of the Round Table!” Secret Fire called. “What a day, eh? I dare say there is some powerful magecraft behind these vines.”

Nightfall Gleam appeared at Secret Fire’s side, holding bottles of white liquid that steamed with condensation.

“The vines are susceptible to being frozen!” the female mage explained, throwing one of the bottles at a vine that was snaking in through the window. The vine crackled with a white coating, then it exploded from one of Secret Fire’s firebombs.

“Much as we would like to, we don’t have enough potions to hold them off forever,” Secret Fire explained, ducking under a sweeping vine and lobbing another bomb at it. “You need to get upstairs! Magus Light Speckle or Clover will know what to do!”

And then a vine hit him from behind and knocked him into the far wall, where there was a small explosion. Part of it crumbled and Secret Fire fell on his face, his hair on fire.

“There goes all the pyromancy…” Nightfall huffed. “Go. Take some of my bottles. Will we do what we can here.”

Emerald accepted four of the bottles from her and followed Morn up the stairs, where the male knight defended her from the oncoming vines. He danced around her, blocking and parrying when necessary. None of the vines touched Emerald as she got to the second floor, where she managed to free a captured mage with one of the ice bottles, which Sir Morn promptly stepped in to shatter, freeing the mage from the vines.

There were fewer vines up here. An elderly mage in deep purple robes stood by with a flamesprayer, torching any vines that dared intrude too far into the tower. As Emerald watched, he burned a vine-tip into cinders, then reached into his belt-pouch and pulled out a purple fruit, which he took a savage bite from. Then he went back to spraying fire at the vines.

“You seem quite skilled with that,” Sir Morn said to the mage as he forced more of the vines to withdraw. “How long have you been doing that?”

“Eating plums?” the mage said amicably. “I’ve been eating plums since when I was six.”

“Er, not that. The flamesprayer.”

“Oh,” said the mage, taking another bite of the plum. “Just now. Everyone knows grass is weak to fire, haven’t you played the Pouch Creature card game?”

Emerald blinked at the mage’s calm composure. “No…” she replied. “Are Light Speckle and Clover still in the tower?”

The purple robed mage unscrewed the empty powder jar from under his weapon and attached a fresh one. “I think they are. I didn’t see them leave if that’s any help. No one’s left.”

In that time, Sir Morn had gone to the walls and freed the other entangled mages, cutting their vines down easily.

Just then, a new vine broke through from the floor above, twisting its way towards them.

“I shall handle this floor for as long as I can. Go!” The mage aimed his flamesprayer and fired.

“Right.” Emerald nodded her thanks to him and then nudged Morn to lead the way.

Both Knights of the Round Table battled their way up, trying to free as many mages as they could and at the same time, cull as many of the plunderseed’s vines as they could. The less to worry about, the better.

Emerald threw another of the ice bottles at a bramble of vines blocking the stairway to the seventh floor, and with one powerful swing, Sir Morn shattered all of them in an instant, with Clarent going all the way through.

“Emerald! You’re here! We’re saved!” It was Sonata Dusk, who was being held in the air by one of the vines. Another one hit Emerald from behind, sending her falling. Morn managed to catch her, but one of the bottles slipped from her grasp and broke on the wooden floor, spreading ice across all of it. Almost in an instant, likely from the weight of the various vines around, the floor shattered under their feet, sending Morn tumbling down to the previous floor as he pushed Emerald to the side where the floor was still stable.

“Morn!” Emerald called out for him, fearing his safety.

The blue haired knight got back on his feet and waved to her. “Free the muse! I shall catch her.”

Looking at her final bottle, Emerald threw it at the vine holding Sonata, watching as the frost crept over all of it until it was frozen on the spot. Taking Amore in hand, Emerald leapt across the gap to the other side, slashing at the frozen vine as she sailed across the air. It broke into many fragments, releasing Sonata from its grip, sending her falling down into Sir Morn’s arms.

“That… was fun!” Sonata Dusk cheered.

“Find the mages below, muse. Help them fend off the vines, at least until we get what we have come for.”

“You are here for the staff, yes? Emerald can use it!”

Morn looked back up at the spymaster. “That is the plan.”

Crouching, Sir Morn took a deep breath and when he was ready, he jumped straight up, sailing higher than he’d ever jumped before, finding himself beside Emerald back on the floor above.

“Sir Morn at your service, Lady Emerald.” He smiled and clapped a fist to his chest.

“As always.” Emerald looked to the stairwell. They still had a few flights to go and she was all out of ice magic.

Just then, a portion of the wall was blown inward, with debris flying in. Sir Morn was quickly in front of her, shielding her from the impact.

“Morn! Are you alright?” Emerald put her hands on his cheeks, watching as he winced in pain from the blows. Behind him, a huge vine snaked in, searching for a target.

“Nothing… I cannot heal up… my lady.” He still managed a smile. He breathed deeply, then closed his eyes. Almost immediately, he stood straight back up and faced the vine. “See? All ready.”

The mammoth vine was much stronger than the previous ones, with Sir Morn unable to cut it down in a single swing. Instead, he had to get out of the way along with Emerald as the vine lashed out. A thorn cut Emerald’s upper arm and scratched her armor and when she attempted to attack it, it just swatted her aside. The spymaster rolled, stopping dangerously close to the hole in the floor, but thankfully, she managed to stop herself by lodging a hidden blade into the floorboards.

Rising back on her feet, she parried another of the vine’s attacks and regrouped with Morn, who had made several cuts on the vine’s form. Its tip was almost cut off, but still remained.

Through the hole in the wall, Emerald could see more of the town’s destruction, with one house’s thatch roof on fire, while one house was completely demolished, a vine in its place. And then there were two figures below, looking up at the Mages’ Tower and pointing over. Everything about them spelt out druid, but Emerald recognized them. They were two of the three druids she had encountered on her travel to Docklin in search of that fake artifact. Their names were lost to her, but they had said they were trying to stop Duchan. Is that why they were here?

And then the vine attacked again, breaking her thoughts. Both she and Morn blocked the large vine, managing to stand their ground with their combined strength, though, it was mainly Morn.

Suddenly, a pink haired figure sailed in from outside, swinging down on a rope and rolling to a stop beside Emerald.

“Posey? You’re here!” she exclaimed.

“Yes, a good thing too. These vines had sprung up from within the castle.” She didn’t bother getting her arrows ready. Instead, she held a large cleaver in her hand. “Gabriel alerted me to its attack all over the city. Ganeighn had gone to protect the east part of town, while I went to the west.”

“Well, tis good to see you now, archer. All the help we can get is appreciated.” Sir Morn pushed the vine away and with a spinning slash, sent part of it flying down, landing close to the two druids. “Druids below. I knew they were behind this!”

“No, Morn.” Emerald grabbed his arm. “Those are the druids Sir Prancelot and I encountered in Docklin. The good ones I had told you about.”

“Why on earth would they come all the way from Docklin? Tis so far.” Sir Morn ran a hand through his hair. “Alas, tis good they have arrived. We shall need their help. The more the merrier.”

“We can scale the walls outside.” Posey pointed to her rope that was dangling in the wind. “It will take us up the tower.”

Emerald looked down and swallowed. It was a long drop if she were to fall and once again made her miss her wings. “Are you sure it is safe?”

The archer nodded and slung the cleaver on her belt. “Just follow my lead.”

Emerald was about to follow, but then stopped and turned back to Morn. He was clearly inexperienced at climbing.

The knight pointed to the rope and looked up. “Go with her. The faster you retrieve the artifact, the better. I shall fight my way up from here. Rescue as many mages as I can.”

Emerald didn’t want to leave him, but if she could get the staff, she could protect them all. Running back to him, she held him tightly and gave him a kiss. “Be careful. Yes?”

“As always, my lady.” Morn clapped her on the shoulder, then readied Clarent once more. “Go. Protect my mother and the others. Find the staff and send this plant crawling to the hole it came from.”

With her goodbye settled, Emerald went for the rope, watching as Posey planted her feet against the wall, walking up while pulling on the rope.

“Looks easy enough.” Emerald decided and followed suit.

Vines stood in their way going up, but Posey would kick off the wall like she was jumping on flat ground and while in the air, she would pull herself higher, going over the large shapes in the way.

Emerald did the same and almost fell off twice, but fortunately, she had held on to the rope with all she had and she eventually made it past all the vines, climbing in from a window on the top floor behind Posey.

“Good thing I aimed for the highest window when I shot my arrow.” Posey pulled her hood down and adjusted her bandana. And then she was almost instantly swept off her feet by a vine, sending her crashing into one of the mage workbenches, knocking everything over.

Three vines hovered about, ready to attack, while more writhed on the walls, some even holding mages in the air. Moon Tide and Clover were part of them, both mages unable to move. Moon Tide continued to struggle against her captor, but she could not do anything about it. The ex-Magus Superior looked like she was about to faint.

“Hold on!” Emerald ran for their vines, leaping over one of the attacking ones, while sliding under another. She slashed out at them, breaking a few thorns, and while she couldn’t cut through them all the way in one strike, at least she could delay them.

First up, she had to get to Clover. The ex-Magus Superior was old and Emerald didn’t know how long she could withstand the vine’s constriction.

So going straight for Clover’s position, Emerald vaulted over another vine, then kicked off another as it attempted to grab her. Posey had recovered from earlier, firing an arrow at the first vine, getting its attention while she retrieved her cleaver from her belt. With one less attacker to worry about, Emerald gained more time as she hacked away at Clover’s vine.

“Thank goodness you have shown up, Emerald.” Moon Tide was still trying to free herself, but to no avail. “The vines, they came out of nowhere. I suspect they have originated under Canterlot itself, likely even the sewers.”

Emerald blocked an attack by another vine, then stepped around Clover’s, cutting at it from behind. “We can worry about that later. You mages need help. Are you alright, Moon Tide?”

“I am… currently. Focus on saving Clover first. She does not look so good.”

Emerald nodded and pulled back, and with a mighty yell, she swung her sword, shearing right through the vine and releasing Clover; she caught the mage before she could hit the ground, making sure to handle her gently. She had gone unconscious, but she was still breathing. The spymaster quickly set her down against the wall by the side, then stood again to face the attacking vines and Moon Tide’s vine. One pushed past the other and swung at her, knocking Emerald against the wall, knocking her sword away.

Swiftly pushing to her feet, Emerald managed to roll away just in time as a vine speared right for her position, breaking another hole in the floor. These things were really tough, but once she could get her hands on the staff…

“Emerald, behind you!” Moon Tide warned.

The former pegasus turned just in time to see a vine grab her around the waist and lift her up and she couldn’t get her sword in time. Doing the only thing she could, Emerald unsheathed her hidden blades, repeatedly jabbing them into the vine, hoping to somehow cut deep enough to break it off. Thorns cut deep into her skin, under the armor, drawing blood, but still she fought on, trying to make it release her. The kingdom depended on her to get that staff.

Posey appeared in her field of vision, holding Amore in both her hands. “I shall get you down, Emerald.”

She began hacking away at the vine, while Emerald looked back at the archer’s handiwork. Unsurprisingly enough, two of the vines from earlier now lay on the ground, cut off from their bodies. And Posey only had that little cleaver on her.

She really is a skilled fighter…

In no time, Emerald’s vine shuddered and collapsed, the rest of it snaking away and disappearing out of one of the many holes in the wall.

“Posey, get Moon Tide.” Emerald pushed to her feet and gave the pink haired archer a pat on the back. “I need to see to Light Speckle.”

“Leave it to me.” She nodded.

As Posey began to slash through the vine holding Moon Tide, Emerald made her way to Light Speckle’s room, pushing the door open. At first, it was as though there was something behind it, so Emerald had to resort to shoving her shoulder against it to make it budge. With one last push, Emerald dislodged the vine that was against the door, sending it squirming up and away, allowing the spymaster to enter the room.

“Emerald!” Light Speckle floated in the air, a thick vine wrapped around her and also within it, the staff. “I tried to… use the staff, but it was too fast.”

“It will be alright. I have you.” Emerald took a step forward.

As though the vines could sense what she intended to do with the staff, it swooped out of the large hole it had broken in the wall, taking it and Light Speckle along with it.

“Speckle!” Emerald wasn’t having any of it.

Not even bothering to look, Emerald ran over to the hole in the wall and jumped. She fell in the air, feeling the wind against her face, but now wasn’t the time to reminisce on her time as a pegasus. Below her, the vine holding Light Speckle thrashed wildly, worming its way away from the tower. Unsheathing both hidden blades, Emerald landed right on top of it, digging her blades deep into the plant to hold on tight as it thrashed harder.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Emerald spat, stabbing the vine until it began to bleed sap. There was a sudden burst of light ahead, and Emerald looked up to see Light Speckle holding the Staff of Star Swirl the Bearded, radiating light in a shell around herself, repelling the plants. Only the trembling of her hand and the blood running down her bitten lip showed how hard she was trying to maintain this magic.

“Emerald! Catch!”

Light Speckle drew back her arm and flung the staff at Emerald. Pulling her hidden blades from the vine, the former pegasus leapt up and to the right, hand outstretched. The staff spun end over end, coming to a stop as it impacted Emerald’s palm. Instantly, she could feel its power coursing through her body. She grinned as a pair of golden wings burst from her back, and did a loop around the vines before blasting the nearest one with a torrent of golden light, turning it into a pile of ash.

Then she flew at the one holding Light Speckle, and with another blast, rescued the mage as the vine crumbled in the wind.

“I should… have done that… sooner, huh?” The mage managed a weakened smile as Emerald floated down to the streets below.

“No, it would’ve drained you. I’ll take it from here,” Emerald said resolutely. She gripped the staff and light flared from both ends, stabilizing into two long spikes of golden energy. She landed by the two druids, who still stood at the base of the Mages’ Tower, now looking in awe as Emerald descended before them, the staff radiating its twin blades.

“Lady Emerald Edge?” one of them asked. “That is you, yes? We met in Docklin. You were looking for the Gae Dearg.” She looked at the spymaster’s wings with intense surprise.

“Yes, I remember.” Emerald set Light Speckle down. “You are here to stop Duchan?”

The male one nodded. “Yes. Scath Caol has gone ahead to your castle. We believe that is where the plunderseed has originated from. Tara and I have come here to gain support of your mages.”

“You are against Duchan?” Light Speckle attempted to stand on her own, her strength drained from using the staff. “Are you not druids?”

“We are yes, but we oppose Duchan and his Fir Laimhe Liath clan. The rest of us are… I would say more peaceful.”

“But thank you for coming, druids, and I am sorry, I do not remember your names.” Emerald blushed slightly. They had remembered hers and she hadn’t. “You mentioned Scath Coal and Tara.”

“Yes, that is correct,” the male druid answered with a chuckle. “And I am Mort, at your service, Lady Emerald.”

Emerald smiled and then looked back at the tower. The clusters of vines still span around it, either clutching at it or attacking those still inside. The druids needed the mages, so it was still fitting to free them first. Now with the staff, she felt she could do anything.

“Would you look after Light Speckle for me?” Emerald leaned her friend towards the druids. “She is Magus Superior here. Perhaps you could explain what you need done to her while I solve the tower’s root problem. If you would excuse me…”

After making sure Light Speckle was cared for, Emerald took back to the sky, so glad to have her wings once again. New tendrils had sprouted from the ground below, smashing off another portion of the tower’s walls. Emerald could see Secret Fire and Nightfall fighting vines below, with the pyromancer’s beard charred at the end, likely from an explosion of his.

Starting with the outside, Emerald flew straight through one side of the wall, slashing out with the staff as she passed, shearing off a whole section of vegetation with more ease than ever. Holding the spear high, Emerald cast a trio of light rays from the staff, slicing up vines in a wide arc before her, clearing most of the larger ones from the tower with just that one attack. The rest around the tower sensed her threat and uncurled out to stop her.

Emerald spun and dashed through a trio of spiralling vines, and at the end, she spun her double-sided blades around her, cutting them all into three pieces each. With the artifact, she easily made quick work of the smaller vines, cutting them all down to size. Soon, the Mages’ Tower became more visible and soon, there were no more vines still tangled around it, with the ones in town now facing her, almost like they had watched her onslaught.

With her current work done, Emerald flew back down, the glow around her dissolving and her human body returning to normal. It is a wonder why Star Swirl locked away such power, but Emerald understood that in the wrong hands, these weapons could possibly rival even Princess Luna and Princess Celestia with ease.

“What a show, my lady,” Mort cheered, his face more surprised than before. “Why, I do not think we even need to be here. Our Gae Dearg is nothing compared to what you have just done.”

“Such power in such a small thing.” Tara eyed the staff.

“Yes it is.” Emerald smiled and then tended to her friend, who still looked drained, being held up by both druids. “Speckle, how are you faring?”

“I will be fine in time, Lady Emerald.” Speckle waved at her, then motioned to the tower with her head. “The mages. The druids have told me how to stop the vines. We need to get every mage on it. It is a simple matter of combining some spriggan dust, tree sap and-”

“Right, yes.” Emerald decided she didn’t need to know how they made their magic. Her time would be better being used against the rest of the plunderseed. “So these concoctions you are going to make, they will stop the vines?”

“We druids are excellent at nature magic. It should dissolve the vines on contact.” Mort wore a proud smile on his face. “We shall teach it to all your mages and then we can hold the vines at bay while you find the source.”

“The source?”

“The place where the vines have originated,” Tara went on to explain. “To stop the vines from growing, you must destroy it. And Scath Caol has already gone ahead to face Duchan with the Gae Dearg. He will handle him while you take care of the plunderseed.”

“And she will not be alone.” Emerald turned to see Sir Morn, Moon Tide and Posey walking out of the tower, with the latter having a few cuts on her face.

The spymaster was overjoyed to find them mostly unhurt and threw her arms around the male knight.

“Yes, she will have some help from us.” Moon Tide readied a glass bolt in her crossbow, before dusting off her sleeves. “Duchan is going to pay dearly for what he has done here. We must hurry. The queen is in trouble. I fear she might not last much longer.”

Suddenly, both she and Sir Morn grabbed for their chests, like they had just been punched.

“Morn! Moon Tide!” Emerald watched them frantically. “What is happening?”

Morn clutched at her chest and spat out a mouthful of saliva. “I… do not know, but… something… is squeezing me.”

“We must… hurry,” Moon Tide panted and looked up at the castle. “Our monarchs need us. Go, Emerald… Save the king and queen. Once that is taken… care of, we shall be better. Go.”

“I will follow, Emerald. Just lead on.” Posey slung her bow over her shoulder and adjusted her bandana.

“And we shall rally the mages to keep the town safe.” Speckle patted her two druid helpers on the shoulders. “Go.”

Emerald spun the staff in her hands, then held it sideways as the light blades extended from the tips again, with her hair growing longer and her ears shifting to the top of her head. Once her wings sprouted from her back, the former pegasus grabbed the archer with one arm and grinned.

“Hold on tight.”

With a mighty flap of her ethereal wings, Emerald soared up into the sky in a single moment, already high above the ground. Posey gripped on tightly to her waist, their feet dangling below them, but soon relaxed her grip a little once she knew it was safe.

Gabriel glided along beside them, heading to the castle, looking for the throne room.

Vines emerged from the castle’s walls and even the castle’s moat, most of them simply coiling around the building, while some thrashed wildly, breaking off portions of the ramparts and turrets, where more guards were still trying to hold their ground against the creeping enemy.

Emerald knew they would have to stop this fast, before all of Canterlot would be destroyed.

Gabriel squawked beside them and Posey pointed a finger to the left of the castle. “There. Gabriel says the king and queen are there. King Dawn Saber is lying unmoving, but the vines, Queen Sunlight looks like she is in a lot of pain. We must hurry.”

“Hold on.” Emerald curved back around and spotted a hole in the throne room wall, where a large vine rested. She could spot the brown hoods of druids there, now knowing that was the right place to be.

“Ready, Posey?” Emerald gained more altitude, then dropped down in a silent glide towards the hole.

“Of course.” The archer unslung her bow and nodded to her eagle.

Tucking in her wings at the last minute, Emerald spiralled through the hole and let go of Posey, the archer already nocking an arrow in her bow and firing before she even landed on the floor.

One druid clutched for her neck where the arrow had pierced her, choking on her own blood, while Emerald spun around the air and brandished her double-bladed staff.

She spotted Duchan, standing amongst his druids, his grey beard unmistakeable, a knife against guard Emerald’s throat. Her face was beaten and bloody, and she looked ready to faint any minute. Queen Sunlight was held in the air by one of the tendrils, her face contorted in a silent scream, while King Dawn Saber lay close by.

“I knew you would come,” Duchan said menacingly as he pressed the blade against guard Emerald’s neck. “You, the one who had foiled my plans to take Canterlot.”

“Duchan.” Emerald pointed the artifact at him. “Surrender now. This doesn’t have to be messy.”

“Surrender? Lass, I think you do not know who holds the upper hand. Drop the staff. Drop it, or your friend here will die.” To further emphasize his point, Duchan slid his blade along a fraction of guard Emerald’s neck, drawing a small droplet of blood from her green skin. “And your archer friend too. Drop your bow!”

“Don’t do it, Lady Emerald,” her doppleganger croaked, only to have her head pulled further back.

“Silence, worm,” Duchan barked. “So what will it be, lady knight? Surrender or the death of this one?”

“K-Kill him, Em-merald…” Queen Sunlight managed to say. “He c-cannot… he must not… destroy Canterlot…”

“Still she lives,” Duchan guffawed, not even bothering to look at her. “Your queen is surely a hardy fine woman. If not for her volatility, I would certainly want to keep her as a spoil of war. Squeeze her harder.”

At once, the plunderseed vine holding her tightened around her, the queen now visibly in more pain than before.

“Drop all your weapons. Now!” Emerald recognized Nimhe, Duchan’s right hand woman, as she stepped forward, brandishing a bag of magic. “Do as Archdruid Duchan has asked!”

Then all of a sudden, there was a blur of brown and grey in the air and Nimhe screeched. Unbelievably, Emerald and Posey looked to see that she was being attacked by the large brown owl that nested in the oak tree in the castle courtyard.

Emerald and Posey moved quick in that moment. Targeting the bigger threat, Emerald blasted a ray of light at the large vine holding the queen, melting it to ash in almost an instant, finally freeing her. Sunlight Radiance tumbled to the ground, a hand clutched to her chest, coughing wildly as she tried to breathe.

Posey had fired an arrow at Duchan’s hand, forcing him to drop the knife and guard Emerald as he held the hand that now had an arrow sticking from it.

The other Emerald Edge scrambled from him, crawling and rolling to a safe distance as the archdruid reeled from the pain.

“Agh! Kill them! Sound the horn!” Duchan snarled. Immediately, more vines burst from the throne room floor and shot straight for Emerald and Posey. One of the druids ran to the hole in the wall and blew on a small horn. A small horn that produced a deep and loud sound, echoing across the town.

That was likely for reinforcements. More were coming. She had to work fast.

The former pegasus first got her doppleganger to safety behind her, then as the vines attacked, she began slicing through them with the staff’s double blades. She danced through the attacking vines, each stroke of her weapon claiming another tendril of vegetation, using her wings to block incoming attacks as she went.

“No! No!” He turned to his remaining druids. “Destroy them all!”

Each of them taking out their magic bags, the druids rushed forward, only for one of them to suddenly fall to an arrow. Posey was quick to nock in another one, already firing before the druids got close enough to throw powder at her.

The archer fled back, jumping and rolling to avoid their magic, the carpet already melting away as the magic landed there. More vines emerged from under them, the floor of the throne room now groaning as it got more and more destroyed.

Nimhe finally threw the owl off and reached for her bag of magic. “You will pay for what you’ve done!”

She was about to throw her magic powder at the pink haired archer when a red spear suddenly pierced right through her chest, blood spreading across her brown robes.

“Wh-what…?” She turned, only to see a bearded face before life left her.

“Scath. Scath Caol.” Emerald landed beside the good druid, remembering his name from earlier.

He ripped the Gae Dearg from Nimhe’s body and spun it and pointed its tip at the remaining druids. “At your service, my lady. The legendary spear has arrived to put an end to such evil.”

“It is good to see a friendly face.” Emerald cut down another vine and then looked to Duchan, who was now seething with anger.

“And… I brought some friends.” Scath Caol smiled and pointed a thumb back.

From the entry way, the other Knights of the Round Table entered, led by Sir Lionheart, the shield glowing brightly in his hand. They began helping Emerald cut down the smaller vines, while Sir Agramane went to check on the king.

“No. No!” Duchan threw a fistful of powder at Emerald, only for her to dissolve it with a flash from the staff. “This is not over. It is far from over!”

With that said, he leapt onto a vine outside the wall, commanding it to take him down while the other druids formed a tight formation between him and Emerald.

A formation that just wouldn’t work.

Spinning at them, Emerald sliced three of them in half in just one swing, while the last two simply turned and ran, throwing their bags of magic into the air. Readying the Gae Dearg, Scath Caol sent it flying right into the back of one of them, while Posey dealt with the final druid.

“Excellent work, my lady, I knew you would be the one to do it.” Sir Lionheart came over and swiped a hand across his blonde hair. “The king and queen are safe now. We are victorious.”

“Not yet…” Queen Sunlight walked over, supported by Sir Gallophad, her breathing heavy. “Duchan… He must be killed… Lady Emerald. Putting him in the dungeons was a bad idea. We must stop him here… now…”

“Your majesty, you must rest. Do not strain yourself,” the younger Knight of the Round Table told her.

The queen nodded and looked out the hole in the wall, where Emerald could now see a group of mercenaries and druids entering through the town gates. “I have said what needs to be said… Go, Lady Emerald. Finish this fight.”

“I will help you face Duchan.” Scath placed a hand along his spear’s tip. “You must stop the source, my lady. The source of the plunderseed.”

Emerald looked down where Duchan was now standing, rallying the vines as he headed for his army. He was right. Duchan wasn’t the problem. If she could end the plunderseed, then he would have no power.

“Then I will leave it to you.” She looked to the others in the room. They were all counting on her to save Canterlot now. She wasn’t going to let them down.

Jumping from the hole, Emerald plunged down from the throne room, the wind blowing in her face as she got closer and closer to the ground. Raising the staff, she released a large beam of light, tearing right through the courtyard’s floor and further underground. In just two seconds, she was past the light and the darkness swallowed her, leading deeper and deeper as she searched under the castle for signs of the plunderseed’s core.

And then she found it. A large cavern under the castle, hollowed out by a massive and bulbous shape, where more and more vines seemed to be growing from.

“Found you.” Emerald spun the staff and flew straight for it, her glow lighting up the dark below.

The plunderseed core sensed her arrival and vines shot out at her from the core and from the dirt walls around her. Spinning, the spymaster cut through a whole cluster of vines as she began putting power into the staff, its whole body now glowing as brightly as Emerald’s eyes. Then after releasing a massive shockwave, knocking them all back, Emerald pointed the head to the core and released the biggest beam of light she had ever seen, watching as it began to burn a hole through the plunderseed’s core.

The vines began to thrash about, knocking down walls of dirt from the ceiling and the sides. And then the entire core shuddered one last time and began to deflate, while its vines began to shrivel.

“We did it…” Emerald smiled as she spun the staff to her side. These artifacts were incredibly powerful. More powerful than she had ever imagined. She would surely vanquish Sombra if she brought one back to Equestria.

Just then, the dirt around her began to collapse, with the ground sending tremors across the town as it began to crumble from above.

“Uh oh.”


Duchan had felt the ground tremble right after he had thrown a fistful of dust into one of the guards’ faces, burning his skin right off his bones. With one final tremor, he was knocked off his feet, hitting his head on the cobbled floor.

“Argh…” He got up and rubbed his forehead. And then his face warped into a look of shock and disbelief as his vines around him began to shrivel up, releasing a few of the guards he had entangled earlier. “No… It cannot be. It is impossible!”

He knew the artifacts Canterlot possessed were strong, but he didn’t think she would be able to defeat his plunderseed vines, and so quickly too.

Nimhe and Galar were gone. His plunderseed vines were dying. With the artifacts on Canterlot’s side, he didn’t stand a chance, not anymore. They had to leave. They had to escape while there was still a chance, before that Emerald Edge returned.

“Going somewhere, Duchan?” The voice that said that was cold and calculative, almost chilling.

Turning around, the archdruid came face to face with the mage, Moon Tide, and that other knight, the one was usually with Emerald Edge.

Duchan’s hand shot to his magic pouch, his gloved fingers closing around a fistful of red powder.

“Do you think you can stop me, mage?” the archdruid frowned at her and the knight. “I have the poison arts of the Fir Laimhe Liath. What magic do you have that you can hope to stop mine?”

“Care to find out?” Moon Tide said curtly, reaching into her satchel and bringing out a pouch of her own. “Morn, dear, why don’t you go help thin out the druid’s forces? I will take Duchan.”

“Are you sure, mother?” The knight looked at her, his expression unknown behind his helmet.

“Yes. Let us test whose sorcery is stronger, those of your clan, or that of Canterlot.”

Duchan wanted to stop the knight as he ran over to join the battle against his mercenaries and remaining druids, but something about Moon Tide made him keep an eye on her. Something told him there was more to her than meets the eye.

Duchan and Moon Tide glared at each other, the air between them seeming to crackle with electricity. Then both their hands cleared their pouches, Duchan’s red powder meeting Moon Tide’s white powder. A cloud of blinding crystals flashed in the air and stopped his red powder from reaching Moon Tide. Some of it landed on the floor and coated the stones with a clear, shiny glaze.

“Crystals, is it?” Duchan said, eyeing the floor.

“And you’re still using your same old pit scorpion magic,” Moon Tide shot back. “Change it up, why don’t you?” She pulled a vial out of her pouch, this one full of red liquid.

“Why, you!” Duchan roared.

“Normally I would give an opponent a chance to surrender,” Moon Tide continued, taking out her crossbow and dripping the red liquid over the head of a bolt. “But you dared to attack the queen, and for that, I will kill you.”

Moon Tide took her crossbow in one hand and threw a fistful of crystal powder with the other. The concoction must have been denser than Duchan’s red powder, for it traveled farther than Duchan thought was a safe distance. As it was, he retreated back a second too late and the crystals began to grow on the floor and around his foot, which became anchored to the floor.

Meanwhile, the sounds of the knights fighting the remaining druids and mercenaries grew softer as some of the smarter mercenaries turned and ran or surrendered, or the less intelligent ones were cut down by the skilled swordcraft of the Knights of the Round Table.

“No. It is not over!” Duchan tried to lift his feet, but it was as though he had been frozen to the ground. Instead, he removed the second pouch, the magic he had crafted all those years ago before he was thwarted by Emerald Edge.

The acidic poison was able to eat away at other magic, and seeing as he had created it himself, that Moon Tide wouldn’t know anything about it.

First throwing another fistful of his red powder at her, Moon Tide once again threw another cloud of her white powder, blocking his attack, but while the cloud of conflicting magic obstructed their vision, Duchan already had his acidic magic in his hand.

Throwing it through the cloud, he began to hear a sharp hiss on the other side, his magic already eating away at Moon Tide, no doubt. Even with all her mysteriousness about her, she had lost this one.

When the cloud of dust dissipated enough for him to see, however, to his shock, Moon Tide was still standing.

His acid magic had hit her in the shoulder, and her clothes were slowly starting to erode, the magic already working and eating at her. Somehow though, her blue skin remained intact, with not even the slightest of injury on it.

The mage was looking down as her robes began to disappear, but then looked back at Duchan and smiled an almost maniacal smile. A smile one makes when they know they have won before having done so.

“You may have caught me off guard with that one, but tis a shame you druids only use poison magic.” Moon Tide lifted her crossbow away from her body to prevent it from being eaten up by Duchan’s magic.

“What… what are you…?” Duchan tried to step away, but his feet were firmly rooted to the ground. Then he remembered, his magic had failed to affect Queen Sunlight as well, and he still remembered what she was capable of. “You… You are one of them, are you not?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Moon Tide said with a smile, and she aimed her crossbow and fired it. The bolt streaked across the gap between them and sank deep into Duchan’s left knee with a shunk.

“Agh!” The archdruid would’ve fallen flat on his knees, but the crystal magic Moon Tide had used held both his feet in place and he couldn’t bend enough to do so. Almost immediately, the area around where the bolt had struck began to feel hot and ache, the phenomenon rapidly spreading to his entire leg. “What magic… is this…?”

Magia Sanguinaria,” Moon Tide said, holding her weapon aloft with a savage grin. “You are already dead.”

“Blood magic…” Duchan gasped as the hot feeling continued to spread, now creeping up his left side. “You mages do not use… dark magic.”

Moon Tide regarded Duchan with narrowed eyes. She then reached into her left sleeve, where the acid had yet to eat and pulled out a short black dagger with a crooked blade, its length glowing faintly with a luminous green coating.

“Execution,” the mage announced, slowly walking closer. “For crimes against the queen and her kingdom, I hereby sentence you to death.”

As fast as the dagger had been drawn, Moon Tide had quickly put it back up her sleeve as a familiar figure ran over, a red spear in his hands.

“Ah, the druid with the spear, you have arrived.” Moon Tide clutched at the front of her clothes, trying to hold it up.

“Scath Caol,” Duchan said with as much poison as his magic. “I should have known you would aid the enemy.”

“Your reign of fear has gone on long enough, Duchan.” He raised his spear up to the druid’s chest. “The Fir Laimhe Liath dies here this day.”

Duchan looked down at his hands and groaned. All his plans, all his time waiting… In the end, he could accomplish nothing, not even the destruction of Canterlot with an ancient weapon. That Emerald Edge had foiled his plans once again with her powers, but this time, it wasn’t just her. It had been a combined effort, where many pooled their strengths together to protect their kingdom.

In the end, perhaps he should’ve known. He would never be able to destroy such power.

Even so, he wasn’t going to admit it.

“I will return. I will return with weapons far greater than your own! Weapons more powerful than the plunderseed vines! Weapons-”

And then the spear was thrust through his chest, stabbing right through his ribs and his heart.

Duchan gasped heavily as blood dribbled down the corner of his mouth. The last thing he saw was Moon Tide, smirking knowingly beside Scath Caol before he finally breathed one last time.

It was over.


Over near the central bridge of Canterlot, where most of the fire had already been doused by the efforts of the townsfolk, Emerald Edge pushed out from under the cobbled street, her wings taking the brunt of the impact as she shot up into the air, finally free from her underground prison.

She would’ve been able to get out much faster if not for the fact she would likely bring the entire street down, along with the castle. It had also taken time to push at the dirt underneath, at least making sure it wouldn’t collapse again. No normal human would’ve been able to do it, but she was no normal human.

Bodies of humans, guards, knights, barbarians and druids alike littered the streets of Canterlot, where the plunderseed vines had laid to ruin before Emerald managed to stop it. It would take much time to rebuild, but it would definitely be something they would be able to achieve if they were given enough time.

The battle was over.

To the side, Canterlot’s guards and knights had began taking prisoners, tying down druids and barbarians. At least some of them had the sense to surrender.

Moon Tide was standing by the side, clad in brown rags, and beside her…

“Sir Morn!” Emerald landed and sprinted over to him, her form shifting back to her regular human form and her glow dissolving in the wind behind her. She basically threw herself at the knight, so happy to see him here, unharmed. “It is so good to see you.”

Morn chuckled and hugged her back. “And tis good to see you too, Emerald. And might I add, tis a job well done. You have stopped the plunderseed.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you. All of you.” Emerald patted Moon Tide on the shoulder. Then she realized it wasn’t enough of a thank you and gave her a hug as well.

Moon Tide inhaled deeply and smiled, running a hand through Emerald’s hair. “You flatter us. Without you, I’m afraid we might have lost the whole of Canterlot. The queen, uh, and king owe you much. We all do, Lady Emerald.”

“As do I, my lady.” Morn removed his helmet and smoothed out his blue hair. Then he took both of Emerald’s hands in his. “I am proud I have got the chance to know you.”

“Likewise,” Emerald said with a bashful nod. “Now, I suppose we need to see to the safety of the townsfolk. Come on, everypony! The druids have been stopped, but there is still much we need to do.”


“Thank you for assembling here, my Knights of the Round Table.” King Dawn Saber sat atop his newly constructed throne, one arm in a sling. Queen Sunlight sat beside him, a bandage around her right arm, but otherwise, she seemed to be faring well.

By the looks of it, everyone who had had a hand in ousting the druids had been invited. Scath Caol and his two companions stood in a corner, with Mort still clutching the Gae Dearg. A large collection of mages was arranged behind the knights, and some guards, still sporting some bandages and poultices from the fight, were also there. Guard Emerald Edge was the only one absent, having sustained more serious injuries than everyone else. Dash Spiral stood with the other guards, a bandage over one eye.

“My faithful subjects, and others,” King Dawn Saber proclaimed. “Today is a glorious day. We have survived a great onslaught of darkness, and while they may have damaged Canterlot, we did not fall! We stood strong against the evil druids of Fir Laimhe Liath, and have shown the world that the kingdom of Canterlot is not one to be  taken lightly. The bards are already composing songs of our great victory today, but this day belongs to you all, who fought valiantly against the forces of evil. I hereby declare that every year, this day shall be a day of festivities and celebration in honor of the great battle that was fought today,” The king stood up, using Excalibur as a crutch. “And all the lands will know that Canterlot will stand proud, forever!”

A great cheer went up from the entire throne room at these words. The king raised his hand for quiet.

“Now, there is much that must be done in terms of fixing what the Fir Laimhe Liath have destroyed, and I would like to extend a hand of friendship to the noble druids that slew Duchan, if they would have it.”

Scath Caol stepped forward, taking the crimson spear from Mort. “We accept, O King of Canterlot!”

“Very good! You and the mages will work toward destroying any last traces of the vines, and make sure that they cannot ever be used again. The rest of us will busy ourselves in repairing the damage the Fir Laimhe Liath have wrought.”

The rest of the gathering was King Dawn Saber delegating what tasks would go to whom, and sending messengers out across the kingdom for craftsmen and stonemasons to come and repair the structure of the city.

Emerald didn’t quite pay attention to what the king was saying, but she got the rough idea. It had been quite a day, first going out on a quest, and then returning to defend Canterlot from a plant and the druids. Sure, the artifact couldn’t drain her of her strength, but just thinking about all she had done today worked its own magic on her.

Right now, all she really wanted was a hot bath and a mug of warm cider. She looked at the staff in her hand and sighed.

“I suppose I had better return this to Light Speckle...”

Without quite knowing why, there was suddenly a great ‘Huzzah!’ and Emerald was beset by all knights, guards, and mages. They were congratulating her on her part in stopping the vines.

“No, really, it was nothing,” Emerald said, bowing her head modestly. “Anyone else would have done the same.”

“What anyone else would have done...” Sir Gallophad said with a grin. “Was get killed. But not you, Lady Emerald. I am proud to call you my sister in arms.”

“Right!” Beatrix shouted, throwing a fistful of glittering powder into the air. “You are a hero, Knight Emerald!”

Emerald spent the next half an hour bandying pleasantries with everyone, even the king and queen. However, all she really wanted now was a break from all the excitement.

“I need to see to something!” Emerald finally announced. “I shall see you all later, yes?”

And with that, the former pegasus channeled the power of the staff into a pair of wings and she flew out of the hole in the side of the throne room that the vines had broken. She looped up over the castle, just shy of touching the low clouds that hung over the city. True, Canterlot had taken a beating, but it was far from out. The kingdom would rebuild, with mortar, stone, and hope. Emerald smiled and angled her wings to touch down in the royal gardens, in a secluded clearing where she could think in peace.

Today had been a long day indeed, but with the artifact in her hands, she felt as though she could accomplish anything. She almost didn’t want to part with it, but in the end, what else was she going to do with it if she couldn’t find a way home. She figured she could always vaporize any bandit she came across, but perhaps that was a bit much.

While she was here in the garden, Emerald decided she would have a bit more fun with the staff before giving it back. Taking to the air again, she flew loops in the air, feeling the wind against her face, the cold breeze through her hair. These were things she had missed doing since coming to this world. She made a note to never take her wings for granted ever again. Now that she was in human form, she wanted more than anything to have her pony qualities back.

When she felt she had enough fun, Emerald descended, doing an aerial somersault before landing in a crouch, the staff’s tip softly tapping the concrete panels on the floor.

Just as Emerald stopped channeling power into the staff, her wings fading away, there was a slight rustling in the foliage. She turned around, her face breaking into a soft smile when she saw Sir Morn approaching with two goblets and a bottle of cider.

“I thought you might come here,” Sir Morn said, putting the goblets down on a flat stone and uncorking the bottle. “I often find that moments of quiet are essential after a long fight. Whether it be just sitting down with a wineskin after a battle or a cup of cider after a long day at court.” He poured out the spiced cider into the goblets and handed one to Emerald.

The former pegasus gratefully accepted the goblet and sipped at the cider, feeling the liquid warm her up inside.

Sir Morn also took a sip from his drink. The two knights stood in silence for a time, simply enjoying each others’ presence.

“So,” Sir Morn said at last. “How does it feel to be a hero?”

“Truth be told, it is a little… overwhelming.” Emerald grinned and looked over to the side, where a statue of a chubby boy stood. “I’m not used to having attention like that, remember?”

“Well, you’ll have to get used to it, my lady. After the events of today, there’s no going back to just being an ordinary Knight of the Round Table, as extraordinary as that already is.”

Emerald sighed and looked down at the staff in her hand.

“This isn’t at all what I thought I would be doing when I came through the portal. By all rights, I shouldn’t even be here. I wanted to be a hero to my own kingdom, but here I am, being a hero in this world. Funny, isn’t it?”

“Mmm.”

“Still, it isn’t all bad,” Emerald said, turning to Sir Morn with a smile. “I got to meet amazing new friends…” She glanced away. “...and I got to meet you.”

Sir Morn returned the smile and draped one arm over Emerald’s shoulder. “Aye, that you did. And while I still feel your mission is of utmost import, I cannot help but treasure every moment we have together. Who knows when we will be parted?”

“Then let’s make every moment count,” Emerald said quietly. “Sir Morn, you are the bravest, strongest, and most gentle knight I have ever known. Perhaps it’s time to take it to the next heights?”

Sir Morn bent down and touched his lips to Emerald’s own.

“When we are done rebuilding Canterlot, nothing would make me happier.”