The Terror of Death- Rogue and Queen
To say that it was all hooves on deck today in the Crystal Empire would be a bit of an understatement. The equestria games were being held this afternoon and for Haseo, there were a few things that he needed to do before stepping outside. Primarily, he needed to make sure that Sapphire had everything that she needed in order to be on her best behavior and not cause any problems today. To which, that was easily done by letting her stay with her Ursa teddy bear and also showing her the food in the pantry for when she had to have something for Lunch.
Though, as he stepped out the door though, somepony else decided to greet him this morning. Instead of Shining Armor, Radiant Hope or Sunburst meeting him at the door, it was-. “Good morning, FINE COMPANION! How are you doing today!?”
“Hoofstrong…” Haseo groaned, having to rub his ears for a moment because the changelings way of saying ‘good morning’ made him feel like he almost went deaf. “Was that entirely necessary?”
“Why yes it is! It is a sacred duty to make sure that one’s companions are doing fine and well!!” The changeling boasted, while taking up a pose and flexing his forelegs.
“No, that’s not what I… You know what, never mind,” The adept rogue shook his head. If his interactions with the changeling tribal grappler had taught him anything, it was that logic and reason had no effect on Hoofstrong when he was ‘in character’. So instead, he decided to take a much different approach. “How are the preparations coming along?”
“Well, according to General Ironwings, some of the guard are currently helping with getting the inspector of the equestria games accommodated to her surroundings. While another report from Ponyville says that the elements of harmony are en-route to the crystal empire by train as we speak.” That was definitely promising. Especially since, according to what Cadance last told him, they were going to be playing a big role in today’s events. Since Haseo was with the crystal guard, his job was to make sure that there were no disturbances during the events today, which sounded simple. Yet, considering the fact that this is Equestria and that crazy things happening is another tuesday, they needed to be alert and ready for pretty much anything.
“I hope momma is alright. I don’t wanna lose her.”
For a moment, Haseo flinched. Looking around him and wondering where the sound was coming from. Before looking back to Hoofstrong. “Hey, did you hear that?”
“Hear what, my friend?” The changeling now asked. Which, was surprising. He was sure that he heard that voice just now. It sounded like a colt who was looking for their parents, and it also sounded like it was coming from nearby.
“Hoofstrong, I gotta check something real quick,” The rogue told him as he turned around and began to walk in the other direction. “If I’m not back in the time for the games, I’ll take on a few shifts for you and the guards, okay?”
“Alright! It’s a promise! I’ll guard the princess with my life, as it is a quality passed down my family line FOR GENERATIONS!!” Even as Haseo was walking away, he can still feel Hoofstrong’s words ringing in his ears as the rogue began to follow the voice of the colt. The words kept repeating. Almost as if it was playing in a loop as he searched through the back alleys in between the aisles of the Crystal Empire.
At one point though, as he came across the alley that Sapphire used to live in, he felt something else. It was the same kind of sensation that he felt when he was originally ‘summoned’ by Tom. But, it didn’t make sense. There was no particular object in the vicinity that would pull him this time, so why is he feeling this now? It was something that got stronger the more he walked around the empire. But things got more complicated when he reached the chaos gate.
One moment, he placed a hand on it as he was trying to catch his breath. The next, he was blinded by a powerful bright light as he disappeared completely a few seconds later.
ΔLifeless Cold Expanse (Land of the Dead)
Sombra didn’t know what to expect from the upcoming battle, but from the sound of his mother's voice, she was likely to be gone for a while. He only just got her back after her trip to find the some enchanter for his mothers undead army.
He looked around the Blacksmiths shop and he found a neat little trinket. He had seen it before and the blacksmith didn’t say not to touch it. As he placed his hand on the strange item, he made a wish for his mother to come back safely. Something he did not expect though was for the item begin glowing. Shortly afterwards, a figure that looked like a taller bulker version of his mother landed just a few feet from where he was standing. Falling face first into the ground as he looked up and brushed the dirt off his face.
“Who are you?!” The colt said in both surprise and aww. The figure in front of him had a mane that looked similar to his mothers, but was shorter in length and his garments looked rather different as well. As he looked up though, he seemed a bit surprised.
“M-me? Did you call me here?” He asked the young colt. A bit confused.
“I dunno?” The colt told him as he pointed to the trinket on the shelf. “I just made a wish and that thing made you appear.” As the new arrival looked at it, he picked it up and took a closer look. The colt could see a look in the stranger’s eyes, almost as if he had seen something like this before. But there wasn’t much that he could tell otherwise.
In the mind of the rogue though, he was thinking of something differently. The trinket was actually a small little crystalline keychain of his own avatar, Skeith. One that looked identical to the figure that he found when he originally met Tom back in the world that the ork and his warband lived at. As he looked at it and proceeded to place it in his pocket, he then asked the colt a question. “Hey kid, what’s your name?”
“It’s Sombra, sir.” He then tried to salute the big man. Only to use the wrong hand. When the rogue heard the name, he felt a chill down his back. The umbrum responsible for everything that he did in the crystal empire, for murdering Amore and for painting him as the Terror of Death… was only a child? This, made him think of several things. But one thing became apparent. He was not in the same Equestria that he was familiar with.
So instead, he took up a different tone. After all, Sombra here was a child. Perhaps he was different here. “And you wanted my help in finding your mother?”
“Yeah she had been preparing for weeks to take care of what she called ‘abominations to nature’. Whatever that means.”
“Oh boy, that’s a tone setter,” He thought to himself, before shaking his head and beginning to speak again. Reminding himself to not try and make assumptions so early. “Alright, let’s go find her then. Would you happen to know where we could start looking?”
“There's a big field to the west that she and her army went to fight,” Sombra then put a hand to his ear. “Just follow the explosions from there, I think.”
For a brief moment, the rogue looked back in that direction again, hearing one go off in the distance before turning around and asking a different question. “Sombra, did you want to come with me? Battlefield’s aren’t normally a place that’s suited well for children.”
“Yeah!” He nodded in excitement, clapping his hands for a couple of seconds as he rushed to the adept rogue’s side. “Let's go save Momma!” Sombra in in all of the excitment forgot something important “Oh right. Sir, I never got your name.”
The rogue paused, before looking back at him and getting down to the colt’s level and placing a hand on his shoulder. “I’m Haseo. Now, let’s go find your mom.”
“To victory and candy!” Sombra then took Haseo by the hand and started to drag him with all the might that a ten year old could muster. Which, surprisingly, was a lot. In fact, seeing Sombra like this almost reminded him a bit like with Sapphire back home. Just as energetic as she was, but for him, he was placing that energy towards a goal. It felt odd, but part of him felt that he could learn from something like this. And perhaps, maybe even apply what he learned to raising Sapphire.
The walk to the field was surprisingly short given the dire shape of the field itself. Thick unnatural fog was everywhere and the bodies of the dead were scattered all across the grassy plain. Corpses of what looked to be soldiers from the royal guard were also scattered across the area as flashes of bright lights could be seen through the fog. Which would be followed by either a explosion or a scream, which was likely one of those who were caught in the explosion.
“Oh please don’t tell me that this mother of his is using land mines,” The rogue thought to himself, thinking of the possibility of a dead body being used as a hidden bomb. “I really don’t want to step on one of those and lose a limb today-”
“Soul shackles!” Was screamed followed by what sounded like chains and the sound of more bodies crashing about could be heard shortly after. “You will pay for your sins!!” The same voice shouted.
“Sombra?” Haseo now asked. “Does that voice sound familiar to you?”
“Yeah! That's my mom.” Sombra told him, but now he had a worried look on his face as he turned towards her. “I never heard her so angry before.”
Now though, felt like the proper time in order for Haseo in order to ask Sombra something that had been stuck on his mind for the last few moments as he looked back at the young umbrum. “Hey Sombra, do you happen to know who exactly your mother’s fighting against?”
“I think it was the new rulers of the land,” He said at first. But when he said the second half though, that’s when Haseo’s heart almost skipped a beat. “A pair of sisters that move the sun and moon, why?”
“I was just… curious. That’s all,” He told him as the two of them carefully began to walk through the battlefield “Okay, what the actual hell is happening? Why is it that Celestia and Luna are declaring war here? Are they trying to fight some necromancer or something?” Back home, he knew that necromancy itself was a forbidden magic that should never be practiced under any circumstances. But part of him felt that it was still too early for him to be jumping to conclusions so quickly. That he should actually wait until he met Sombra’s ‘mother’ first before making any final judgements.
“Raise dead!” The voice spoke again, now sounding more cold and ruthless than earlier as all of the bodies around them came to ‘life’ as they acted more like puppets on a string rather than living ponies. “Your own soldiers will end you, abominations.”
“Oh good. No corpse land mines… I guess that’s a plus.” Haseo thought to himself letting out a sigh of relief as he looked back towards where Sombra was. Only to realize that he was directly behind him. Almost as if he was scared of everything going on around them. “You okay?”
“I’m fine I just don’t like this fog. It's so thick, I can barely see anything.” That had Haseo think for a moment, before deciding to act on that. Using the same method that he originally did when he was cooking breakfast with Sapphire, he channeled his power into his two blades and had them be lit ablaze. Using the two swords as small torches to guide them through the fog so they could see.
“Laughing skulls!” And just as the name implied, laughter echoed throughout the area until a feminine scream was heard. That voice belonged to someone else. “One down, one to go.”
“She must be talking about the rulers! Shit!!” Haseo mentally cursed, before looking to Sombra. “Sombra, stay by me. We’re going to go a bit faster than normal.”
“Okay Haseo. I trust you.” And Sombra and Haseo effectively doubled their speed now that they didn’t have to worry about anything popping out of the ground. That while they were also trying their best to avoid the skulls that were all around them because Haseo did not want to know what would happen if they got too close.
Soon, the pair saw a human riding on a giant skeleton hand while the other hand was holding a dark black alicorn by the neck as the alicorn struggled to break free of its grip. “You can’t run forever, Celestia.”
“Mommy!” Sombra shouted getting the attention from the three combatants.
“Sombra!” The human shouted in surprise “What are you doing here!? I thought I told you to stay safe!”
“Wait, that’s her?” The rogue commented, before looking back to the woman. She was… not that different from how he had originally pictured her. Of course though, when he heard Sombra mention his mother, he thought it was an actual pony. Not a human like the one he was seeing.
“Soul shackle” The women said as she held up both hands. One at Celestia, the other at the rouge. Purple ethereal chains shot forth and one pierced through Celestia but not physically. Not to mention that due to his lapse of concentration, he was struck with the other one and his whole body felt numb like his very soul was weighed down. “Get away from my son.”
“Look lady, I don’t know who you are,” Haseo grit his teeth, trying to push himself to stand up as he looked back at her. “But Sombra was the one who summoned me in order to come find you. He was worried about you. I am not your enemy here!”
“Please mommy, I’m scared.” Sombra said as he put on a set of puppy dog eyes.
“And I will protect you Sombra.” She then moved the arm that was connected to Haseo slamming him into Celestia. ”But first, I need to take out the trash.”
Haseo grit his teeth, looking back at her as his emotions began to rise. Anger going through him. “Come on… COME ON!!” As the woman and Sombra looked closely, they could see red lines begin to glow around the rogue and take form. To him though, this was the only way that he could be able to break out of the chains that were bound to him. “I’m RIGHT HERE!!!”
“Soul shatter-” She said, but before anything could happen, a dark blue horn had pierced her throat, causing her to go limp and the chains to wither.
“SKEITH!!!”
In one moment, the two rulers thought that they had gained an edge in their fight against the queen of the dead. But, to their shock and utmost horror, all their actions did was awaken another beast that was lurking nearby.
“SKEITH!!!”
In mere moments, the white haired figure that came with a child had changed. He had grabbed the woman that Luna had stabbed, but now, something else stood with it. A massive creature, armed with a scythe who’s edge was as sharp as a crescent moon. Its three red eyes glaring at them and their army.
“W-what is this-!?” Before Celestia could finish, the being swung its weapon. Sending a massive shockwave that shook the earth beneath their hooves. Their soldiers were flung backwards like dolls as nearby trees began to break and collapse. All at the sight of this monster.
And just as fast as it started, they were gone. The queen, the newfound figure and the child had all vanished, all while Luna stared at her sister. “Celestia, what do we do!?”
“Tend to the injured first, then send a search team! They can’t have gone far!”
Elsewhere…
“That should buy us some time,” Haseo said, overlooking where the two sisters and their army was from the entrance of a cave along the hillside, before turning to look back at Sombra and the woman. “Is your mother okay, Sombra?”
“I dunno, I’ve never seen her get hurt like this before.” The colt said as he hugged his mother's body. As Haseo got closer, he placed his hand near the woman’s injuries, before muttering the word ‘Repth’ as green energy began to glow from his hands. Slowly mending to the wounds that were seen on her. Thinking that this would hopefully clear some things up.
“You two are idiots,” Sombra’s mother said. This caused both Haseo and Sombra to jump in surprise as they did not expect her to start speaking once her injury was mostly healed. “Why would you bring a child to a battle?”
“I’m sorry mother. I was just worried about you.” Sombra said as he hugged his mother that much tighter. She would have hugged back, but her neck was effectively still broken for the time being.
“It’s alright Sombra but as soon as my spinal cord is better you are grounded until the day you die,” She then turns to Haseo. “My name is Loreley, by the way.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” He replied back. “My name’s Haseo.”
“I wish I could say the same. Because of you, I lost one of those filthy immortals.” Loreley's’ voice was not of kindness, but of one of annoyance as the adept rogue let out a small sigh. “I still need an answer Why did you bring a child to a battle?”
“Would you believe me if I told you I couldn’t say no because-”
“Puppy dog eyes?”
The adept rogue paused for a moment, before looking back at her. “That’s one bit. The other was that him hoping that you were okay was what caused him to summon me here in the first place.” He took a moment to explain the initial encounter with Sombra back at the village as well as take out the small figurine of Skeith that he saw Sombra holding earlier to show to Loreley to further emphasize what he was saying.
“I see,” She paused for a moment as she put her hands to her neck and popped it back into place before she was able to stand back up. “Ahh, much better. Now, I don’t know about you, but a hole in the neck is not all that pleasant.”
“Try being encased in ice for a thousand years. That’s worse.” Haseo muttered in response. Originally thinking that she wouldn’t be able to hear him, but proven wrong a few seconds later when he heard Loreley speak up.
“Encased in ice for a thousand years and you have no ill effects from that?” She cast her red eyes at the rouge. “If you are immortal and I find out, your soul is mine. Understand?”
“That wasn’t what I meant at all. If anything, I’m… not from this world,” For a moment, he looked towards where Sombra was. A bit nervous at what he was going to say next before looking back at Loreley. “Can we have this conversation somewhere else, I rather not have Sombra overhear what I’m going to tell you.”
“Fine,” With a wave of her hand, the skeletal hands from before came flying in from the battlefield. Unfolding as if it was the Magic Carpet from Aladdin. “Get on.” She ordered as one got in front of Haseo. Without delay, he listened to what she told him. Getting on the hand without a second thought as he looked back towards her.
In a matter of seconds, Loreley took Haseo and with a swipe of her hands, they flew high into the sky. About five hundred feet in the air if the rogue had to assume. Everything down below looked rather miniscule from up here and many of the inhabitants looked like tiny ants.
“So, why did you want some privacy Haseo?” Loreley had quickly given the rouge the impression that she was all business and no pleasure based on what he had seen so far.
“Well, there’s a reason why I did not want for Sombra to listen,” He told her, clearing his throat and letting out a sigh. “Back where I’m from, Sombra isn’t a child, but a full grown adult. One who was driven mad with power, had me take the blame for the murder of the Crystal Empire’s ruler and was the one who encased me in ice for a thousand years. I’m from a future where he isn’t the sweet son that you see now, but a ruthless tyrant who went as far as to sacrifice his own well being for power that he did not know how to control or understand. He’s the one that made me be known as ‘The Terror of Death’ back where I am from. All because he wanted everything for himself and his own desires.”
There was a brief pause after he said that as the sound of owls could be heard hooting in the night sky. But not long after did the adept rogue ask a new question. “Does that explain why I was concerned?”
“Indeed. Even now, I see a darkness in his soul. He always wants to learn my magic and how to use it. But I don’t because he is unable to learn most, if not all of it. For the magic of the dead is not for the living.”
As she said that now, the adept rogue now had another question for him. “Loreley, would you happen to know what an umbrum is?”
“The name is unfamiliar to me.” The woman told him in response.
“It means Shadow Pony,” Haseo explained. “That’s what Sombra is. He is one of an entire army of umbrum that is buried under the crystal empire. I know this because, where I am from, I am raising one as my daughter. And I… well, I don’t want your son to turn into the power hungry umbrum that I had to slay back where I’m from.”
“I see.” Loreley responded, folding her arms before continuing to speak. “Well, from what I know is that a creature composed of all sorts of random parts tore families asunder and moved entire lots of land. I know that some of those are true for when I arrived the land was chaotic until a rainbow washed over everything."
“Wait, you mean Discord? The draconequus?” The adept rogue now asked, recalling back to when the elements recently ‘freed’ him so that he could undergo rehabilitation. Or as Sapphire would put it, chaotic therapy.
“I know not the creatures name, nor his species, Haseo. I just know what I saw and that when I first met Sombra, he was covered in cotton candy.”
“Yeah, that sounds like him,” Haseo replied back. “Discord is a draconequus, some kind of pony-dragon hybrid with the talon of an eagle, paw of a lion, foot of a dragon, hoof of a pony, a horn and antler of his head and is known for making it rain chocolate milk from cotton candy clouds with just a snap of his talon. However, yours seems to be more hostile because mine would just do this stuff as a prank.”
“Perhaps, but I believe we are getting off topic here.” Loreley pointed out.
“Fair point,” Haseo replied back. “Though, there is one other thing from what you said that I might know. That rainbow you were talking about.”
“And what could you know about it?” she asked suspiciously.
“That’s not an ordinary rainbow. That’s magic from a set of powerful artifacts called the Elements of Harmony,” The adept rogue told her. “Six gems filled with harmonic magic that are comprised of Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, Kindness, Loyalty and Magic. In my time, it has been used to handle villains and ‘fix’ things that should not happen. When they are used, their magic takes the form of a rainbow. Like what you said.” All the information on this was from what Cadence told him a few days after he originally ‘woke up’ from his icy slumber. As a way to try to get him to be a bit more familiar with what was going on in the present day. He left out the part though of how Celestia used the elements on her sister when Luna turned into Nightmare Moon, because from the looks of things, that had not happened yet.”
“How interesting.” She pondered what he said before something clicked in her mind. “If what you say is true, then who would of been the wielders from your point a thousand years ago?”
“Back in the past, Celestia and Luna had to use them,” He responded. “In the present… or my present to be more precise, they are wielded by six mares who each represent one of the qualities of the elements. I believe that’s all I should say though, because I don’t want to offload too much.”
“Then I gotta hurry and get back to the fight. Too much time has passed. If the immortals do indeed have these elements, then I gotta finish one off before they can use them on me.”
“Can I ask you something though this time?” He told her. “What are you specifically? I mean, I have introduced myself, told you what I was and more about me, but I’m just as curious about you. If anything, I would think you are the living incarnation of death itself. A piece of the circle of life that one can’t just simply ‘defeat’ if you know what I mean.”
Of course, what the woman told Haseo next was something that he honestly didn’t expect, or for that matter, feel prepared for. “My name is Loreley and I am the queen of death. I cannot die until all life in this plane is gone.”
Of course though, the last part felt more ironic than anything else. After all, both life and death were just factors in the ever spinning cycle that was the circle of life. If life were to end at some point, it would just come back again later. So what was the point in stopping something that was inevitable? Of course, that would also be a question tailored towards the princesses of this world too, seeing how they were fighting against a being that is the living representation of a natural process.
Though, it was what the queen of the dead said next that kind of… caught him off guard. “While I have you, I must ask you something. How do you make the trinket? The one that Sombra used to bring you here?” That was a bit of a hard question to answer, especially since Haseo himself was unsure of the answer to it.
“I’m not entirely sure,” He told her, looking down at the figurine of Skeith. “But… let me see something,” Wrapping his hands together around the doll, he began to channel a different kind of power than the one that he used before. In fact, it was the same kind of power that he used to ‘data drain’ the barrier over the Crystal Empire back in his world. But this time, instead of draining it, he actually used that power to make an exact replica of the doll before handing it to her. “I may not know how it works now, but I believe that the next time we meet, I will have the knowledge that you seek. I believe there are others in the universe, each with their own trinket that serves as a catalyst to summoning them. However, getting that catalyst out to everyone else is the kind of knowledge I currently lack.”
“How interesting, but I feel like the next time we meet you will be dead, but I have been wrong before.”
The adept rogue chuckled at that, shortly before looking back at her. “So have I sometimes. But I will do what I can to stay alive until the next time we meet, Queen Loreley.”
“That’s the fun part. No one plans to die it just happens.” She giggled a little, which seemed kind of unsettling to Haseo all things considered. ”But I do wish you luck in your life.”
“Why thank you,” He told her in response. “Before I go though… I would like to see Sombra one last time. You know, to say goodbye to him?”
“Of course.” Loreley nodded, lowering both of them to the ground and back to the entrance of the cave that they were at earlier. “I would hurry. I feel the sisters will be arriving shortly.”
Haseo nodded, just as he approached the entrance to the cave and looking to see if Sombra was inside. The colt that was sitting along the wall stood up upon seeing his new friend and mother return, walking over to where they were at. “Are you done talking?” His voice sounded rather bored.
Haseo nodded, before getting down to his level and looking back at the colt. “Hey Sombra, I’m sorry about this, but I’m afraid I can’t stay here,” For a brief second, he looked towards Loreley for a moment, before looking back and thinking of the words to say to the umbrum colt. “Your mother is concerned that they will find me if I stay here for too long. But don’t worry. I’ll come back and make sure to see you guys. That’s a promise.”
“I-I see.” Sombra hugged Haseo, which felt a bit awkward for the rogue given that he was being hugged by the colt version of the umbrum who almost tried to kill him back home. “Thank you for helping me find my mother again, Haseo.”
“You’re welcome,” He told him in response, returning the hug and looking back at him. “I gave your mother one of the dolls that you used to bring me here. I’m letting you keep it,” For a moment, the colt’s eyes were wide with joy. Right up until Haseo finished his sentence. “On the condition that you only call me here if its an emergency, alright?”
“I understand.” The sadness in his voice was audible for the day has wore on his feelings. Almost everyone was feeling rather drained emotionally. But that was when the rogue let go of the colt and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey, cheer up,” He told him, smiling as he looked at the colt. “If you can be brave for me, then you can be able to overcome anything, alright? I don’t think your mom wants to raise you as a crybaby.”
Upon hearing him say that, Sombra tried to smile. But the tears from his eyes portrayed his true feelings in that moment. “I will miss you.”
“I will miss you too.” With that, Haseo got up and looked back to Loreley, walking back outside of the entrance as he said one last thing to her. “Do everything you can to make sure he has a bright future.”
“I already have a plan in place should I fail.” She looks Haseo directly in the eyes. “I am not so arrogant as to think that victory is all but mine. Sombra will go with the sisters. Should they win though, I feel like it is more for his sake then mine.”
“You believe that he will do well in the hooves of the immortals you despise?” Haseo then asked her, trying to process what he just heard her say.
“No.” The queen swiftly retorted back at him. “But they are the only ones who could have a chance at taming the beast within him.”
The rogue let out a sigh, nodding in response as he looked back at her. A part of him was worried that Sombra would end up blaming the sisters for whatever would happen to Loreley, but he decided not to speak on that and instead just not question the queen’s plan. As he stood there, he began to feel something familiar. A pulling sensation that was much similar to that of began transported by a chaos gate and it was happening rather fast
He only had a few seconds to wave goodbye before a light blue light began to overtake him and whisk him away back to the reality that was his home.
By the time that Haseo had come back to the Crystal Empire that he was familiar with, night had already fallen. But to him, it felt like a lot of time had passed. In fact, as he made his way back to the castle and stepped inside, he stepped in to find Cadence talking with Radiant Hope. Both of them being surprised by his presence alone.
“There you are!” Cadence was the first to speak. “Everypony was wondering where you went!”
“I’m sorry Cadence, but something… came up-” He tried to tell her, shortly before the princess interjected once more.
“We were getting concerned after Hoofstrong told us that you went off to go take care of something, but you never came back. Hay, you’ve been gone for almost two whole days!! Just what exactly came up to where you missed the Crystal Empire being chosen as the place to host the Crystal Games this year?!” With each word that was spoken, Cadence’s voice continued to rise to the point that even after a few seconds, Radiant decided to leave and give the two of them some space. Closing the door behind her as the adept rogue let out a sigh.
“It wasn’t like I had a choice really…” He told her, scratching the back of his head. This was definitely going to be a long conversation, especially with the way it was starting off. “I was going to help Hoofstrong, but shortly before I could, I heard a voice speak up. Next thing I know, I was in another Equestria that was a thousand years in the past… With myself, Kite and BlackRose being what we are, it’s more than likely that anyone else that’s in our position would try to summon us too.”
The two of them continued to talk amongst themselves for a little while longer as Haseo explained to Cadence everything that he saw. He told her of how he met a young Sombra, one that was only a colt and who reminded him of Sapphire, explained his encounter with Loreley and how he believed that him being called there to help them was for a good reason, even though Loreley was known over there as the ‘queen of the dead’.
At first, the ruler of the Crystal Empire wasn’t sure whether to believe that everything he said was true. But if one thing was for certain, whenever he spoke with her, Haseo was never a liar. Even if everything that he said felt like it was straight out of an alternate reality, she just let out a sigh and went with it.
After he finished though, that was when the adept rogue looked back at her and mentioned one other thing. “To conclude, I’m here now and I promised Hoofstrong that I would take over some shifts for him and a few other guards to make up for the time that I was gone.” After saying that, he looked around for a moment before looking back to Cadence as he asked her a question. “Is there anything you would like for me to do?”
“I don’t think just a few guard shifts would make up for you leaving unannounced, Haseo. Even though it is admirable of you to want to make up for the time that you were gone,” The princess told him, before looking back at her, lightly tapping a hoof to her chest before thinking of something to say. “I do have one thing though that I believe you can do though.”
“What is it?”
“In a few days from now, a summit of the princesses will be held here in the crystal empire. So, I’ll need you to be there.”
For a moment, Haseo was beginning to think that he understood what Cadence meant as he folded his arms. “So you want me to be there, by your side as your bodyguard?”
“Not my bodyguard.” The alicorn clarified for him, before using her magic to lift up a letter that was on the small table next to Cadence’s throne. At first, it looked to be a letter of sorts that was sent to her. But as Haseo read its contents, he now began to realize something that happened while he was away.
There were now four princesses in Equestria. And the fourth one was Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship.