King Sombra
Autumn Blaze
Delivery Kirin Colt
Twiggy
Rex
Otis
Roxy
Buster & Fern Flare
Pablo
The Kirin Village
The Kirin Village was like any other pony community as Kirin would wander around the village square and perform menial tasks. Some got water out of the nearby spring, some broused the shops, some stayed in small groups and chatted among themselves, and some were simply watering their gardens.
As the rest of the Kirin were doing their daily chores, the ex-tyrant of the Crystal Empire and the talkitive Kirin walked out of the forest and into the main square of the town. Autumn Blaze was talking as she was gesturing her hooves around for emphasis as she finished up her story.
"And after those two kind ponies helped me find the foals breath, I cured my village and now we can all feel emotion and talk again! And that was how the Kirin became allies with the nation of Equestria!" Stated Autumn with a cheerful tone as she looked over to Sombra with her eyes closed, as she talked once more.
"It's just so nice to have a new friend to talk to- Hey! Were you even listening to me?" Asked Autumn in an annoyed voice as she saw Sombra was preoccupied with trying to solve a rubix cube.
"Oh, Um... Yeah, sure. Something about rainbows and tea, right?" Asked Sombra, not even paying any attention to Autumn Blaze as he continued to try and solve the rubix cube.
"That's not what I-... Nevermind. Where did you get that rubix cube anyway?"
"Found it." Said Sombra as he continued to change the sides and get the colors to match.
"I had one when I was younger and I just stopped trying to solve it one day." Said Sombra as his aggravated tone started to grow more and more frustrated as he tried to solve the puzzle. Autumn Blaze looked over his shoulder as she was pointing at the cube and yelling out what she thought would help solve the cube.
"Umm, try green! No no! Red goes to the right side and- No! Put the right side up and the orange side to the left! To the left! Not the bottom!"
"There is no orange!" Yelled Sombra, frustrated.
"Then turn the purple side to the left!"
"THERE IS NO PURPLE SIDE!"
"Then turn the pink side to the top!"
"Now I remember why I stopped playing with it in the first place!" Growled Sombra as he tossed the rubix cube to the side out of frustration.
The two continued down the square as many of the other Kirin around the area stopped what they were doing and looked over at Autumn Blaze. Waving with big smiles on their faces.
"Good morning, Autumn! It's lovely to see you again!" Greeted a nearby Kirin as Autumn waved back.
"You too!" Replied Autumn.
"Hey Autumn! Are you planning to sing again any time soon? We LOVE your voice!" Greeted another nearby Kirin.
"Maybe later! And thank you!" Replied Autumn as Sombra looked back and forth between her and the other Kirin that were greeting her.
"Autumn! When are you planning your next stand up? Your jokes are hilarious!" Asked a Kirin from behind a fruit stand.
"Beats me. But I'll make sure to have one soon!" Stated Autumn with a smile.
"Thanks Autumn, your the best!" Stated the Kirin.
"Your so awesome Autumn Blaze!" Yelled out a random Kirin from nearby.
"And your awesome too, random Kirin!" Stated Autumn as she pointed at the random Kirin with a wink.
"It, seems like your very well... acquainted with the other members of your village." Observed Sombra as Autumn smirked at him.
"Well, of course. All the villagers here are friends. But actually, I am in the upper ranks of popularity thanks to my singing, comedy routines, and play writing!" Said Autumn as she pridefully presses her hoof to her chest.
"So talking isn't your only talent then..." Spoke Sombra in an annoyed gruff as the pair continued to walk.
"Haha! Good one, Sombra! But seriously, their all really cool... But, they can't replace my closest and bestest friends. Friends that kept me company during the vow of silence and kept my spirits up even though I had nopony else to talk to." Stated Autumn as Sombra looked over at the Kirin was a bored yet slightly intrigued expression.
"Oh, and who's that?" Asked Sombra as the pair stopped walking and Autumn quickly turned away from the dark stallion. Appearing to be performing some kind of action turned away from Sombra, as the dark king raised in eyebrow in curiosity.
Only one more second passed before Autumn turned back to Sombra with that big smile as she held up her right hoof. Sombra looked on, only to become more confused as he saw Autumn Blaze's right hoof with two cartoonish eyes being painted on her hoof along with a smile and a twig that the Kirin held between her toes. Mimicking a miniature Kirin.
"Uhh... Your closest friend is a... twig?" Asked Sombra in confusion as the Kirin laughed.
"Haha! No silly! His name is Twiggy!" Said Autumn as she turned to her hoof and spoke to it like it was a real pony.
"Twiggy, this is King Sombra. He's having a magic block and I'm trying to cure him!" Said Autumn as the hoof with the cartoon face on it turned to look at Sombra, moving up and down slowly like it was analyzing him. All the while, Sombra gave Autumn a concerned expression. Which was weird for someone like him.
'This mare is out of her mind...' Thought Sombra as Twiggy stopped analyzing Sombra and stared directly at Sombra with it's goofy cartoonish eyes.
"I don't like the looks of this guy, Autumn! I say we should call the cops on him!" Uttered Autumn Blaze in a goody deeper voice as she suddenly gasped and turned to her imaginary friend.
"*Gasp!* Twiggy! That was NOT very nice! Sombra is my guest and I will not have you making unwanted threats like that!" Scolded Autumn Blaze as Sombra glared down at the hoof looking up at him, as the king bared his sharp teeth.
"My horn may not be working... But my lungs work... And I can run you down like the dog you are!" Hissed Sombra as Twiggy shook in fear, independent of the movement of Autumn Blaze. As Blaze looks back and forth between Sombra and Twiggy.
"O-Or you know-... It's just a thought. Hehehe..." Giggled Twiggy nervously as he backed off. Sombra's look of fury then morphed into one of realization as he stood straight once again.
'I am yelling at the hoof of a clinically insane mare...' Thought Sombra before shaking his head and looking back at Autumn Blaze with a vexed expression.
"*Hphm* Of course that hoof is your friend. Next thing your going to tell me is that your shadow is your friend." Uttered Sombra in a sarcastic tone as Autumn dashed up behind the stallion.
"Oh! Do you have one too!?" Asked the excited Kirin as she moved and stood in front of Sombra with her shadow looming behind her.
"I named mine Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands!" Stated Autumn as she looked back at her shadow and waved her hoof, the shadow mimicking the mare.
"... The wheel is spinning in there, but the hamsters dead..." Uttered Sombra under his voice before turning his attention away from the Kirin and started trotting once more.
"Let's get those ingredients before I start talking to my shadow as well..." Mumbled Sombra as Autumn looked back up with an embarrassed smile.
"Oh! Oh yeah, right, sorry..." Autumn caught up with Sombra as the two started to brouse the shops.
King Sombra and Autumn Blaze continued on their day as the two wandered from stand to stand, waited in line, and Sombra waiting around and tapping his hoof impatiently as Autumn would usually get caught up in long conversations with the shopkeep Kirin Autumn would do business with.
The two continued this repetitive action for 30 more minutes as Sombra got more and more bored and annoyed with just following around Autumn Blaze as she picked up ingredients. To relieve his own boredom, Sombra started to look around the shops himself to see if he could find anything that caught his interest. Anything would be better then just following around Autumn Blaze and doing nothing.
As Sombra broused on his own, Autumn Blaze continued her shopping and walked up to another shopkeep. The kirin smiled the second she set her eyes on Autumn and greeted her as such.
"Hello, Autumn! How's it going?"
"I'm doing good, thanks for asking, Fern Flare." Replied Autumn as she pulled out a rolled up list with her magic.
"So, what will it be, Autumn? Anything special for today?" Asked Fern Flare as Autumn telekinetically passed her the scroll.
"Oh, not much. Just a few ingredients for an anti-magic block remedy I'm working on."
"Oh, does one of the Kirin have a magic block? Ugh, I hate it when that happens. It's impossible to do anything without your magic." Grumbled Fern Flare, remembering when she was sick herself with magic block and couldn't even pick up as much as an apple.
"Well, kinda. I actually found a unicorn in the woods nearby, I brought him back to my cottage so he could rest. And it turns out that's the reason he came here, he has a case of magic block. Pretty bad actually." Said Autumn as Fern read from the scroll and started putting required ingredients in the bag.
"A unicorn? Wow, we never had a unicorn here before. What's his name? What is he like?" Asked Fern with a hint of excitement in her voice.
"Well, his name is Sombra and he's... Very proud and he's also... Uh, well his mane flows on it's own and his horn is red and really sharp. He's actually pretty cool." Stated Autumn as she looked over her shoulder to see Sombra was several feet away, brousing other stands for something that could catch his fancy.
"He's actually over there." Said Autumn as she pointed her hoof at the dark unicorn and Fern turned her eyes to Sombra.
"Uh, so that's the unicorn? Hmm, not bad..." Said Fern with a sleek smile as she nudged Autumn over the stand with her hoof.
"So, is he your new coltfriend?" Asked Fern with a smirk as Autumn immediately turned back to her friend with blushing red cheeks.
"Flare! No! The pony came all the way here just to find a cure for his magic block, and that's what I'm going to do!" Stated Autumn defensively.
"So your saying he's not hot?"
"No! I-I mean yes! I-I-I mean-... I'm just trying to help out the pony. And maybe become better friends with him. But that's it!" Yelled Autumn, still with a blush on her cheeks as Fern Flare rolled her eyes before placing the last item in the bag.
"Boy, it sure takes a lot of ingredients just to make an magic block antidote."
"Tell me about it." Uttered Autumn as she rolled her eyes and reached into her saddle bag. Only for her eyes to widen in realization as she telekinetically pulled the bag off the turned it upside down. Shaking it only for nothing to fall out.
"What the-!? No! Where is it!? Where are my bits!?" Asked Autumn in a panicked voice as she looked in her bag once more, to see that the money she brought with her was all gone.
Meanwhile, Fern Flare was looking ahead with a wide eyed expression as she started to call for Autumn Blaze.
"Uhh... Autumn?"
"Just hold on a minute, I'm trying to find my bits!" Stated Autumn as she continued to look through the bag.
"Are you sure you didn't give your bits to your friend to hold onto it for you?" Asked Fern as Autumn suddenly stopped and pulled her head out of her bag with a look of realization on her face.
"Oh yeah! Right! I gave it to Sombra for safe keeping! I swear, I'd forget my tail if it wasn't attached to me." Stated Autumn with a chuckle at her silly mistake.
"Well... Maybe you should've held onto it yourself." Uttered Fern as she pointed in the direction in front of her. Autumn turned her head to look and saw Sombra standing over a fruit stand and staring down at several square watermelons.
"Hmm... One square watermelon." Uttered Sombra as he placed Autumn's bit's on the fruit stands counter and took one of the square watermelons. Holding it in his hoof as he walked over to a shocked Autumn.
"Sombra! What the hay!? That was MY MONEY! And those watermelons cost 150 bits!" Yelled an irritated and shocked Autumn as Sombra looked over at the Kirin with a determined expression.
"It's worth EVERY BIT! As a king, I deserve to dine on the most expensive and luxurious of foods and comfort! I shouldn't have to fumble with round fruit like any peas-"
(Pop!)
Just as Sombra finished his sentence, the watermelon popped back into it's original round shape as the unicorn dropped it out of frustration.
"Do'h!"
(Splat!)
Autumn Blaze started to growl in frustration as she rubbed her head with her hoof before looking at Sombra with burning eyes.
"WHY... DID YOU DO THAT!?" Growled Autumn as the Kirin started to become ignited in blue flames as Sombra looked on with a surprised expression.
"Autumn!" Yelled Fern as the semi-Nirik Autumn viciously snapped her head to look at Fern.
"WHAT!?"
"Your Nirik is showing! Someones gonna get hurt!" Warned Fern as Autumn turned back to the surprised Sombra then turning back to Fern Flare as she backed away from the two.
"Uhh.... Can you pardon me for a moment?" Autumn turned and trotted over to a bolder that she moved behind.
As suddenly a blast of blue fire can be seen erupting from behind the bolder along with a demonic roar of anger.
"RAAAAAAAAAA!"
(Froosh!)
Less then half a second later, Autumn came happily trotting back out from behind the bolder. Just as happy and chipper as before.
The mare skipped up to Fern Flare as she developed a cheapish smile on her face and rubbed the back of her head with one of her hooves.
"Uhh... Look Fern, I hate to ask, and I don't want to sound like I'm taking advantage of you or anything, but-" Autumn was cut off as her friend held a hoof in front of Autumn's face.
"Don't even worry about it, you can take what you got and just pay me back whenever you can." Stated Fern Flare with a smile as Autumn grew a gigantic smile of her own on her face. As the redheaded mare reached over the counter and hugged Fern Flare.
"Oh! Thanks Fern! I promise I'll pay you back as soon as I can!" Thanked Autumn as she started to look through the bag of all the ingredients she ordered. But as everything seemed to be in order, her smile suddenly faded away as she looked back up at her friend.
"Uh, wait... Where's the Shennong?"
"You mean the super potent magical healing herb?" Asked Fern Flare as she pulled out a piece of paper with a drawing of a herb on it to clearify that it was the herb Autumn was referring to.
"Yeah, that one. It's key ingredient to make the magic block cure. Are you all out?" Asked Autumn as Fern nervously nodded as Sombra walked up to the stand and stood next to Autumn to listen in.
"Yeah. The delivery colt that was supposed to bring me a new shipment went missing. It's been three days since he was supposed to come back and there's no sign of him." Stated Fern with a worried expression as Autumn gained the same worried expression on her face.
"Oh my! Is he okay?"
"I'm not sure. I've been worried about him for a while now. I hope he's okay." Uttered Fern worriedly as Autumn instantly gained a smile on her face, like she just got an idea.
"How about me and Sombra go look for him?" Asked a smiling Autumn as Sombra and Fern Flare looked over at the mare with surprised looks.
"Wow! Really?"
"What?!"
"Me and Sombra will go to his last known location and see if we can find him. And then we'll being him back!"
"Well then, if your successful I'll make sure that all the items you ordered will be on the house. Thanks again!"
"No prob, Fern! Me and Sombra will-"
"Pass!" Hissed Sombra as he turned around and started to walk away. Autumn and Flare looked over to see the Stallion walking away. Autumn giggled nervously as she turned back to her friend and held up a hoof.
"Uhh... Don't worry Flare. We'll be back with your delivery colt and herbs in no time!" Stated Autumn before turning back around and catching up to Sombra.
"Hey! Hey! Where do you think your going!? We have a delivery colt to find!" Yelled Autumn as she caught up to Sombra and stood in front of him. Stopping him in his tracks as he looked down at the mare.
"I will tell you where I'm not going, to help out some lowly delivery colt. I am far beyond something like 'rescue missions'." Stated Sombra with a smug expression as he held his chin up.
"You know, for some 'great king', your not acting very much like one." Snapped Autumn as she glared at Sombra, as Sombra continued to keep his chin held high.
"Of course I am a great king! And as a king everything should fall into place as how I see fit! So what if some colt was eaten by a manticore or a dragon? It's not my problem!" Commented Sombra smugly.
"No! A real king is supposed to be brave and caring! Not... smug and pomp-... pompo-... and arrogant! Sorry, I'm still having some trouble pronouncing some words... But the point still stands, your not acting very noble. Besides I need that Shennong to complete the antidote. Without it, I can't make the cure."
"'It's better to be feared then loved.' Do you know who said that?"
"Some sad loser..." Stated Autumn with a flat look at Sombra shot back an annoyed expression. The two continued to stare each other down, before Autumn shrugged and began to slowly trot away.
"Fine, I'll go by myself. And you don't have to come with me, but that also means I don't have to help you anymore either." Stated Autumn casually as Sombra's eyes widened and his head snapped over to Autumn's direction.
"What!? What do you mean you don't have to help me!? I command you to cure my magic block, Kirin! Obey the king!" Yelled Sombra as he trotted over to Autumn and blocked her path.
"Alright, #1. I am not YOUR subject. #2. Even if I decided not to save the delivery colt (which is all kinds of messed up) I won't be able to make the medicine you need so badly. And #3. I don't help out creatures who care about nopony but themselves." Stated Autumn assertively before closing her eyes, keeping her chin high, and trotting around Sombra and into the woods.
Sombra looked back with a content look, as it morphed into an annoyed and frustrated look. Sombra let out a growl as he caught up with the Kirin and made his way next to her.
"Fine, I'll help you!... But don't tell anypony! Understand, Kirin?" Hissed Sombra as Autumn looked over at Sombra with a smirk and a chuckle.
"Hehe, sure thing. Sombrero..."
"What did you just call me?!"
"Well, if your gonna call me 'Kirin', I'm gonna call you Sombrero."
"Grr... Whatever..."
King Sombra and Autumn Blaze made their way through the forest and the foliage, stepping over rocks and pushing bushes and branches aside. Autumn was ahead of Sombra as she started pushing large leaves and branches out of her way, unknowingly swinging back from Autumn's push and hitting Sombra in the face who trailed behind the Kirin.
Autumn pushed another branch aside as she walked, unknowingly hitting Sombra in the face after letting go. Sombra growled as the oblivious Kirin pushed a large leaf aside, only to swing back to it's original position and hit Sombra in the face. Making the ex-Tyrant pause for a moment and growl in anger before continuing to follow Autumn.
But as Autumn pushed aside yet another branch, Sombra quickly ducked and dodged the incoming branch. After that, Sombra lifted his head back up and looked back, as the king started smirking and laughing quietly before looking back. Only to get smacked in the face by a larger branch that Autumn pushed out of her way. Knocking Sombra to the ground, as the dark king laid on his back and stared up at the sky.
Hearing the loud smacking noise, Autumn stopped in her tracks and looked back to see Sombra lying on his back. The Kirin immediately dashed over to the unicorn as she started to help him up.
"Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean for the branch to hit you. Are you okay?"
"Just peachy. Getting smacked in the face with a branch and falling on your back is the best feeling in the world for me." Stated Sombra in an extremely sarcastic tone. Autumn then expressed a smile after hearing that.
"Oh, good. I thought you got hurt." Sombra simply let out another low groan of annoyance before silently walking ahead of the path. Autumn merely shrugged and caught up with the unicorn, walking side by side once again.
"By the way, I've been meaning to ask you..." Spoke Sombra, catching Autumn's attention as the mare turned her head to the stallion.
"Hmm? What?"
"When you got angry, it seemed like... You were starting to become enveloped in blue flames. What was that?" Asked Sombra as Autumn shot him a slightly annoyed look.
"Seriously? You didn't listen to ANY of my story?"
"No." Replied Sombra flatly as Autumn rolled her eyes.
"Well, we Kirin are much different from regular ponies in many ways. Our tails, manes, and even horns. But the biggest one is that whenever a Kirin gets angry we turn into a Nirik. A demonic burning creature of rage." Explained Autumn as Sombra raised an eyebrow of interest.
"I've read a bit about Niriks... I thought they were evil, and an entirely different species."
"Yeah, a lot of ponies think that for some reason. But yeah, Kirin and Nirik are one in the same. At first even the Kirin were afraid of the Nirik, like they were going to hurt somepony if they got too angry. But thanks to the help of myself and a few ponies, the Kirin are no longer afraid. It's not about being angry, it's how you use it." Stated Autumn with a smile as Sombra kept his intrigued expression.
"Either way, that is... quite and impressive ability. Being able to turn into a trotting inferno whenever you become angry. It sounds very similar to my magic..." Stated Sombra, mumbling the last part under his breath as Autumn turned to the dark stallion.
"Huh? What was that about magic?"
"Oh, it's nothing. It's just that the type of magic I use is very similar to a Kirin's ability to trigger a great power due to their emotional state."
"Wait a second, can unicorns turn into Nirik like Kirin? Or something similar?" Asked Autumn in a surprised tone as Sombra shook his head.
"No! No! Not like that! What I use is dark magic. It can be difficult for other unicorns or alicorns to use it. Thus only a unicorn with great amounts of anger can control it. Dark magic grants an incredible amount of power to the user and makes them virtually unstoppable. Yet many are afraid of it..." Sombra stated with a look that had a mix of annoyance and anger in it. All the while Autumn looked up at the unicorn with a concerned look on her face.
"Actually, your right. Just because an awesome power is fueled by negative emotion, that doesn't mean it's inherently evil. It's just different. Huh, kinda like the Nirik. What matters is, how you use it. Not what it is." Stated Autumn thoughtfully as Sombra looked a the mare with a surprised expression on his face. Autumn Blaze took notice of this and looked back at him.
"What?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I've just, never met another pony who was accepting of the idea of dark magic. Most others despise it or flee in terror, but your not afraid of it..."
"Hehe, well, why would I be? Like you said, dark magic is just fueled by anger, just like me becoming a Nirik. Darkness itself isn't evil, it's just darkness. That doesn't mean dark magic can't be used to do good deeds either. Besides, the dark can be pretty cool too. It's really all a matter of perspective really." Stated Autumn as Sombra raised his eyebrow at the Kirin.
"You Kirin certainly see the entire world with rose colored glasses." Commented Sombra.
"Well, kinda. But that's mostly just me. Believe me, when you've been as alone and mute as long as I have, everything and everypony is just peaches and cream after that."
Sombra looked down at the ground silently as the two continued their walk through the forest. Only a minute passed before Sombra began to speak up again.
"Hey..."
"What's up?"
"Back at the market place... I... I... I apologize for spending your money and refusing to help you..." Uttered Sombra under his breath as Autumn shot him a confused glance.
"Uhh... What was that?"
"I said, I apologize for spending your money and refusing to assist you in your rescue mission..."
"What?! I can't hear you. Can you speak a little louder?"
"I said I APOLOGIZE FOR SPENDING YOUR MONEY AND REFUSING TO HELP YOU IN YOUR RESCUE MISSION!" Roared Sombra in his rumbling voice. Sombra looked away with a slight blush and an embarrassed expression.
Autumn on the other hand, stood there with a shocked expression on her face with her mane being a complete mess thanks to Sombra's yelling. Autumn brushed her hoof against her mane and gave out a nervous laugh.
"Well... No problem. Just, try to work on your apology speeches, alright?" Asked Autumn as she fixed up her mane. The two without speaking, began to continue their trotting through the woods. Getting closer to the last known location of the delivery colt.
The stallion and mare made their way through the last of the foliage they crossed through, as Autumn skipped out of the forest and Sombra marched through the bush and other vegetation matter. The two entered a bit of a clearing and came across a river in front of them.
Sombra looked around the area while Autumn continued to skip, leaning down at one point and sniffing the flowers before looking behind her to see Sombra still grimly following along with the mare.
"Hey, Sombra! Did you sniff any of the flowers yet? They smell wonderful!" Sombra looked at the mare with an annoyed expression, before rolling his eyes and bending down to smell a couple of flowers. At the very least to get the mare to stop bugging him.
But before Sombra could sniff the flowers, the flowers hissed at Sombra's face. Causing the ex-tyrant to scream and dash over and duck behind Autumn.
"What's wrong?"
"Those THINGS! They hissed at me!" Autumn looked over at the flowers Sombra was at. Looking at normal as any other flowers nearby.
"Uhh... Sombra, those are flowers. They can't hiss."
"I swear they hissed at me! They had teeth and everything!" Yelled Sombra fearfully as Autumn gave Sombra a concerned and slightly frightened expression.
"Uhh... Riiiiiight... Anyways, I think we're finally starting to get close to where the delivery colt was last located." Stated Autumn as she used her magic to pull out a rolled up map from her saddle bag. As she unravels it and holds it in front of her face as she starts walking.
Meanwhile, Sombra glances one last time at the flowers that hissed at him. Before following Autumn.
"Hmm... Well, it seems that his last known location is only one more kilometer away. We should be there in no-" Autumn and Sombra immediately stopped their track as the two heard rustling from the bushes nearby. Autumn lowered her map as she and Sombra saw one of the bushes on the side of the path they were on rustling.
Sombra narrowed his eyes and glared at the bush.
"It better not be that same blasted bunny again..." Growled Sombra as the bush continued to rustle. Only a few more seconds passed before a creature jumped out of it.
"AHHH!" Screamed Autumn in fear as she dropped the map and jumped into Sombra's forehoofs out of fear of the creature in front of them.
"W-W-What is that!?" Asked Autumn still in Sombra's forehoofs as the two stood before a little blue pukwudgie.
"*Sigh*... That is a pukwudgie." Sighed Sombra in annoyance as Autumn looked over at Sombra.
"A what? What is a 'pukwudgie'?"
"A small hedgehog/goblin-like creature that roams the forest. I've read about them."
"Oh! That sounds cool! Tell me more!"
"Oh, of course! But first... Can you kindly GET OFF?" Asked Sombra as his kind and gentle tone morphed into an extremely angry and annoyed one. But Autumn didn't respond, instead staying in Sombra's forehoofs and staring into his crimson eyes.
"You have beautiful eyes."
Sombra's look of annoyance only intensified as he dropped Autumn without a second thought. The Kirin quickly picked herself back up and brushed herself off as she and Sombra continued to stare at the pukwudgie. Autumn started to trot up to the pukwwudgie and reach her hoof out, attempting to make friends with the small creature.
"Hey there little guy, do you wanna be my friend?" Asked the Kirin as she got closer to the creature, making Sombra's eyes widen in fear. Within the blink of an eye, Sombra dashed up to Autumn and pulled her away from the creature.
"What are you doing!? Pukwudgies are incredibly territorial!" Yelled Sombra as the two glanced back at the pukwudgie, as it instantly started to hiss and growl as more multi-colored pukwudgies started to hop out of the bushes.
"In my defense, the way you talked about them implied that they were harmle-..."
"Get back!" Yelled Sombra as she grabbed the Kirin by the tail with his mouth and pulled her back, right as a hail of blue spines came scattering all over the spot where Autumn was.
"Run!" Yelled Sombra as the unicorn and the Kirin turned tail and started high tailing it out of there. The pugwudgies weren't far behind as they curled up into small spiky balls and rolled at frightening speeds at the two.
"These things can launch spikes!?" Yelled Autumn Blaze as two of the rolled up pugwudgies managed to leap out ahead of the rest and head straight towards Autumn Blaze. Sombra saw this from the corner of his eye as he looked down at the ground and stopped. The mare stopped as well and was about to ask Sombra why he stopped.
But before she could get the chance, Sombra picked up a massive log with his mouth and used it as a baseball bat. Swinging it and knocking the two pukwudgies away. Autumn looked over at Sombra with a smile a she spoke.
"Aaaawwww! So you DO have a heart after all! Thanks!"
"Don't mention it. Seriously. Never." Hissed Sombra as the two hit the trail once more and galloping as fast as they could. And just avoiding the pukwudgies that nearly got them. The unicorn and Kirin continued to gallop as fast as they could, as the chasing pukwudgies started to launch their spines at the two once again.
But this time Autumn looked back to see that the majority of the spines were headed straight at Sombra. The Kirin slowed her speed and quickly got behind Sombra. Before Sombra could ask the Kirin what she was doing, Autumn quickly jumped into the air with her back pointed at the incoming spines, as he thick scaly hide caught all of the incoming spines and protected the ex-tyrant.
Autumn quickly landed back on all four hoofs and caught up with Sombra once more. Sombra looked at her with a slightly touched yet pained look on his face as he saw all the spines sticking out of Autumn's back. Yet it didn't seem like she was in any kind of pain.
"You... You took the spines for me."
"Well of course I would. Can't let my friend become a trotting pin cushion."
"But... Doesn't that hurt?"
"Nope! Thick scales! Can't feel a thing!" Said Autumn as she used her magic to pull the spines out of her back. But as the two had their heads turned away from the path, they failed to notice the rocky patch in front of them. Sombra managed to turn his head on time and crossed the bumpy path. But Autumn Blaze wasn't as lucky, as her hoofs tripped over the rocks and cause the Kirin to stumble, fall, and roof.
Autumn laid on the ground as she tried to get out of her dizzy state. Sombra stopped in his tracks and looked back to see the pukwudgies easily catching up to Autumn Blaze as the king's eyes widened.
As Autumn managed to shake her head and get rid of most of her dizziness, she looked back to see the hedgehog-like creatures were hovering over her and only a foot away from her. Autumn didn't even have enough time to defend herself as the lead pukwudgie opened its mouth and showed off it's razor sharp teeth as it got closer to Autumn. But before it could attack the mare, a rock came flying out of nowhere and hit the pukwudgie in the head and knocking it down.
The rest of the pukwudgies shifted their attention from Autumn, and looked up to see that ahead of the path, Sombra stood several feet away from them as he held a rock in his hoof and smirked.
"Why attack a helpless mare you ugly little furballs? Why not attack me? Am I not good enough to chase after?" Asked Sombra in a mocking tone as he tossed the second rock that hit another random pukwudgie. And just like that, the pukwudgies began to his and growl in fury. Autumn became totally invisible to them as they dashed past her and started to chase after Sombra.
Autumn pushed herself off the ground and looked up only to see Sombra running over the hill with a swarm of ravenous pukwudgies on his tail. Autumn grew a fearful and concerned look as she was about to follow Sombra. But as she took a step forward, she noticed she stepped on something soft, the Kirin looked down to see that she stepped on a detached vine. And looking over she saw more detatched vines, cut up into varies lengths and spread all over the ground. As Autumn saw this, the gears in her head started to turn as she started to scratch her chin with a smirk on her face.
Meanwhile, Sombra was still on the run from the ferocious pukwudgies. Continuing to launch wave after wave of spines at him with most of them missing and only a few grazing him. If he had his magic, he wouldn't have any problem obliterating these annoying little creatures. But here he was, risking his life for some critically insane mare that belongs in a mental asylum. Or perhaps he was the crazy one. Why was he risking his life!?
The flying spines were still soaring after him with the creatures getting closer and closer. But just as Sombra was thinking of another way to get these creatures off his tail, he saw that ahead of him on the trail there was a dead collapsed tree blocking the path. Sombra smirked as he leaped over the tree and landed on the other side. And without missing a beat, Sombra turned around and immediately bucked the tree. The dead wood made it easier to break away from it's current position and roll down the path and knocking dozens of the pukwudgies away. Sombra laughed at the scene in front of him and yelled out.
"Hahaha! How do you like that you pathetic excuses for pukwudgies!?" Yelled Sombra as he turned back around and continued to run up the path.
But as he was running, the bush a few feet in front of him rustled as several pukwudgies jumped out of it. Sombra stopped in his tracks and turned around, only to run into more puckwudgies. And as he was about to run into the forest itself to get way, more pukwudgies jumped out of the forest. They all surrounded Sombra as they forced him back, nearing the edge of a cliff that was several dozen feet over a rapid river. Sombra looked back as his back hoofs were just inching off the edge.
Sombra turned back only to see the pukwudgies getting closer and closer.
'*Sigh*... If this is it, I might as well go down fighting!' Thought Sombra as he reared on his front hoofs and got ready to attack. But before he could even more, Sombra and the pukwudgies heard as sound of somepony screaming.
As suddenly out of nowhere, Sombra was scooped up from the cliff and started swinging through the air with a limb wrapped around his waste. Looking over he saw that Autumn Blaze was the one who rescued him, and swinging from a makeshift vine and screaming like a jungle pony.
"Kirin!? Is that you!?"
"That's right, baby!"
But right as Autumn finished that sentence, the two swung into a dead log that was hanging over the edge of another cliff. The second the two hit it, they were tangled up in the rope as the momentum wrapped the two up on the log. Autumn was tied to one side of the log and Sombra was tied to the other side as both started to struggle to get out.
"Hehe... Uhh, well... My rescue plan seems to have not gone as planned..." Uttered Autumn with an embarrassed tone as Sombra seethed with anger and annoyance.
"Oh really, I haven't even noticed. *Sigh*... Well, at least things can't get any worse..." Growled Sombra as the unicorn and Kirin heard the sound of dried wood cracking.
Crack!
"Of course they would..." Hissed Sombra as the dead tree trunk the two were tied up on fell from it's cliff and down into the rapid river below them. The two floated down the stream, hitting a few rocks on the way and surviving wave after wave of the rapid waters. But after several more seconds, the two got to a calmer part of the river where they just calmly floated down the stream.
"I don't know about you, but I'm really starting to HATE nature..." Growled Sombra as the log continued to float down the river.
"I guess things haven't really gone as planned... But the waters pretty nice."
"I think I hate your blinding optimistic worldview even more..."
"Don't worry Sombrero... We'll figure this out. I mean, it's not like the universe is a evil monster that just loves to bring misery and misfortune, and-... Oh no..." Autumn stopped speaking as she looked ahead at where the river led.
"Wait, let me guess. We're about to go over a massive waterfall."
"Yup..."
"Sharp rocks at the bottom?"
"Probably..."
"... Bring it."
The dead log carrying the two fell over a one hundred foot tall waterfall as Sombra and Autumn Blaze screamed all the way down.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
On the shore at the bottom of the massive waterfall, Sombra and Autumn Blaze coughed as they marched out of the water and onto dry land. The two were soaking wet as they stepped onto dry land. Sombra used his hoofs to try and strain the water out of his mane. All the while Autumn looked like a soaked cat with her lion-like mane and bits of fluff all over her body weighing her down.
The Kirin brushed the wet strains of hair out of her eyes as she then started to shake. Much like how a wet dog or cat would. All the while Sombra was getting continually wet with Autumn shaking dry right next to him.
"Hey! Enough! I'm already wet enough!" Yelled an irritated Sombra as Autumn stopped immediately and looked over at Sombra with a blush.
"Oh, hehe, sorry..." Said Autumn as she took a few hoofsteps away from Sombra and shook the excess water off of her legs and tail.
"Did that map survive at least?" Asked Sombra straining the rest of his mane as Autumn's eyes widened in realization.
"Oh right! The map!" Said the mare as she used her magic to open her saddlebag and pull out the map. But as the mare unraveled it, it was obviously wet and falling apart as Autumn's smile turned into a frown.
"Well... It's still readable. But I think this is the last time it can be used." Stated Autumn as she looked back at the map and attempted to scan and memorize as much of the geography she could before the map completely falls apart.
"After all we've been through to get this delivery colt, he better have a map to the land of milk and honey..." Growled Sombra in annoyance he wandered up to Autumn and peered over her shoulder at the map.
Only one more second passed before the map completely fell apart and fell on the ground.
"That's it for the map. But on the bight side, the delivery colt's last known location is only a few hundred feet that way." Said Autumn as she pointed her hoof over to north west as Sombra looked over in the direction.
"Good. Now let's find this colt so I can get my medicine and get the hay out of here." Uttered Sombra as he started walking ahead of Autumn who happily started to skip along once more.
"On that we can agree on. I can't wait to get back home and drink a nice hot cup of- THERE'S A SPINE IN YOUR FLANK!" Yelled Autumn in surprise as she saw Sombra's flank with a blue spine sticking out of it. Sombra stopped and looked back to see that the mare was indeed right.
"Really? Oh, would you look at that." Said Sombra nonchalantly as Autumn dashed up to him with a concerned expression.
"Oh no, I am so sorry! If I hadn't tried to run up and pet that creature then none of this-"
"Don't worry about it, it's fine. I've survived worse." Stated Sombra with a dismissive wave of a hoof as Autumn got behind Sombra and grasped the spine with her magic.
"Don't worry Sombrero, I'll have that spine out in no ti-"
"Ow!" Yelled Sombra as he leaped back and turned to face Autumn. "Quick yanking it!"
"Sorry! But it has to come out!" Replied Autumn as she continued to reach for the spine only for Sombra to step away and avoid all of the mares advances. This only lasted a few more seconds before Sombra stopped it by turning around and placing his hoof on Autumn's face.
"Okay! Stop!" Autumn grabbed Sombra's hoof and pushed it aside.
"*Sigh*... Alright then, what do YOU suggest?"
"Just... Just wait until a little later, okay? After we find the colt we'll find a way to get it out. Okay?"
"Alright then." Uttered Autumn with a shrug of her shoulders as the two turned back to north west as the two began to trot. But before the two could taken their fifth step, they heard grunting and yells from nearby.
Sombra and Autumn paused as they looked over at the direction of the sound and listened in.
"Get me out of here!" Yelled the voice of a male equine that was most likely in his teens.
"Quiet pony! And stop scratching the cage's bars!" Yelled a gruffer voice.
"For the last time, I'm a Kirin! Not a pony!" Replied the Kirin as the voice was followed by a clang like two pieces of metal hitting one another.
"Quiet down! We don't care! Just sit there and stay quiet! Or else we'll really give you something to SCREAM about!" Yelled a different gruff voice.
The unicron and Kirin started following the voices and moved through the forest. It only took a few more seconds before the two equines heard the turning of old wheels. Like somepony was pulling around a large wagon. The two managed to hide behind a large bolder, not wanting to be spotted by whoever had the teenage Kirin hostage.
Sombra and Autumn peered over the bolder to see exactly what was going on. Just as they guest, it was the Kirin delivery colt that went missing a few days ago. He was locked up in a cage on a wagon. The Kirin also had a magic suppressing cuff around his horn to suppress whatever magic he could use to fight back or escape.
The two continued to scan the area to see who the assailants were, they were diamond dogs. Around five of them all hanging around the cage. No doubt robbing and capturing the poor delivery colt to use him in their search for diamonds in the tunnels. Autumn looked in confusion at the diamond dogs a she whispered to Sombra.
"Sombra, what are those things? They look like dogs."
"You can't be serious. You don't know what diamond dogs are?"
"I don't really get out of the village much." Sombra rolled his eyes in annoyance before explaining to Autumn Blaze what the diamond dogs were.
"They are a race of semi-bipedal canine mongrels that gut gem caves and mountains of crystals and other gems. Sometimes they even capture other creatures and force them to do manual labor for them. When I ruled the Crystal Empire, diamond dogs were such a problem with how they would steal whatever crystals they could get their claws on, my guards had to keep a constant eye out for them. They must have captured the delivery colt for manual work." After Sombra explained it all to Autumn Blaze, the two quieted down and listened in as they heard the diamond dogs talking once more.
"Ugh, seriously Buster? AGAIN? That's the fifth time we stopped for a bathroom break!" Growled the only female diamond dog of the group that most heavily resembled a Doberman. as she stood by with her arms crossed and rolled her eyes.
"I have a very sensitive bladder! You know that, Roxy!" Yelled the biggest and toughest looking diamond dog of the group that most resembled a Mastiff. All the while his giant claws covered his lower region.
"Fine! Whatever! Just make it quick, Buster! We're already behind on schedule!" Growled the meanest and scariest looking diamond dog of the group that most resembled a Rottweiler. The diamond dog named 'Buster' nodded his head as he turned around and ran into the forest.
"Why run so deep into the forest? Your not a pup anymore, ya wimp!" Yelled the shortest diamond dog of the group that most resembled a Bulldog.
"I can't go if someone is thinking about me going, Otis!" Replied Buster as he ran deeper into the forest. As Buster moved out of sight to perform his business, the meanest and angriest looking diamond dog growled in frustration as the skinniest diamond dog of the group walked up to him and started whispering at him.
"You know, Rex... We COULD leave him behind and you can just give his cut of the profits to me! I'm the best diamond dog in the group! I do most of the work! And I'm the smartest and handsomest one! So... What do ya say?" Asked the skinny diamond dog that resembled a Boxer in a way manipulative scam artist would talk.
Rex just looked down at the skinny diamond dog and started to growl, revealing his sharp teeth as the skinny diamond dog started to back away. But before he could say anything, Rex grabbed the skinny diamond dog by his shoulder and lifted him over his head.
"Pablo, if you do anything to mess up our operation or try to back stab me or anyone else again... I WILL STICK MY FOOT SO FAR UP YOUR BUTT I'LL BE RUNNING MARATHONS OUT OF YOUR MOUTH! UNDERSTAND!?" Hissed Rex as Pablo nodded in fear and gave a nervous smile.
"Yes! I understand! I understand! I understand everything! Hehehe!" Laughed Pablo nervously as Rex let go and dropped Pablo as he turned and started to walk into the forest.
"I'm going to go and check out the map to make sure we aren't lost. Roxy, Pablo, Otis, keep an eye on the prisoner!" Growled Rex as he walked into the forest and disappear just like Buster.
"Aye aye, captain!" Said Roxy sarcastically as she laid back on the cage that the delivery colt was in and started to relax. Meanwhile the diamond dogs Otis and Pablo were standing watch a few feet away from the cage. At least Otis was keeping guard anyway, and Pablo was just staring off into space.
Autumn and Sombra lowered themselves and hid behind the large bolder.
"It looks like their taking a break. Good, it's going to make this mission a lot easi-AAARRR!" Groaned Sombra in pain, but managed to remain quiet enough so the diamond dogs wouldn't hear him. As Sombra turned to his right, he saw Autumn Blaze smirking and held the long spine that was in stuck in Sombra's flank, now in between her toes. Sombra merely stared at the Kirin then at the spine with a shocked look of pain and surprise.
"...Ow." Whispered Sombra in pain as Autumn giggled and tossed the spine aside. After a silent glare, Sombra started to scratch his chin with his hoof.
"Now, how can we free him without getting caught by those diamond dogs?"
"I know! Trot up to them and politely ask them to release the delivery colt?" Suggested Autumn with a smile as Sombra stared at the Kirin with a look of bafflement and disbelief.
"What are you lookin' at!?" Yelled one of the diamond dogs from behind the bolder as Autumn and Sombra heard the sounds of fighting.
".... That's a horrible idea." Stated Sombra bluntly as Autumn developed a saddened expression.
"Sorry." Uttered Autumn as Sombra started to think again.
"I got it!"
"What's your idea?"
"I stay here and try to get comfortable while you turn into your Nirik form and scare the diamond dogs away. Then you can free the trapped Kirin, get the Shonneg, and I can finally get out of this vile forest." Commented Sombra with an arrogant smirk as he leaned back and placed his hooves behind his head.
The whole time, Autumn just looked at him with an annoyed half eyelid open expression.
"Uhh... No. If I turn into a Nirik, I could easily burn down the entire forest just by stepping on a single dead leaf!"
"That sounds splendid." Said Sombra as he started to close his eyes and Autumn facehoofed herself.
"Plus, I'm not just going to go out there and risk my life while you sit here and catch some Z's. We had a deal, remember?" Reminded Autumn assertively as Sombra's relaxed smile was replaced by an annoyed grimace and his eyes opened up.
"*Sigh*... Fine! Fine! Such a pain in the plot..." Grumbled Sombra as he looked over the bolder again to see the two remaining diamond dogs fighting in a big dust cloud while the female was still trying to sleep, but was clearly getting agitated by the noise.
"Will you two idiots knock it off!? I can't get a second of rest with you two itching to kill each other! Sometimes I feel like I'm surrounded by idiots!" Snapped the female, Roxy as she stood back up and yelled at the two fighting males. The males instantly stopped fighting as Pablo pointed to Otis with an accusatory claw.
"Yeah!? Well, he started it!"
"Who are you calling an idiot, you lazy good for nothing lazy hag!?" Yelled Otis back, as the trio of diamond dogs started to argue once more. As Sombra looked down at this, the ex-tyrant rolled his eyes in annoyance before picking up a rock with a hoof and tossing it in the bushes nearby.
The diamond dogs all stopped fighting as they silently turned to the direction where the sound came from.
"What was that?!" Asked one of the dogs.
"An unwanted guest! Now both of you, go check it out!" Yelled Roxy as she pointed in the direction of the sound.
"Who died and made you queen?" Asked Otis as Roxy dashed over to him and punched him down to the ground.
"NOW!"
"You heard the queen, Otis!" Said Pablo fearfully as he helped up Otis and walked into the forest. Only a few seconds after the two dogs left, Sombra picked up several stones and tossed them in the opposite direction of the last rocks he threw.
Roxy snapped her head towards that direction, then glanced back and forth between the sound and the Kirin locked up in the cage. She let out a growl of frustration before marching over to the direction of the sound.
"Okay, let's go." Stated Sombra with a forward motion of his hoof as he and Autumn Blaze ran out from their position behind the boulder and over to the caged Kirin. The caged Kirin rose his head as his eyes widened in surprise at the two equines heading his way.
"Oh! Are you here to save me?" Asked the caged Kirin as Autumn dashed up to the cage and looked at the lock.
"Yup! Don't worry buddy! We'll have you out of that cage in no time!" Stated Autumn optimistically as she started to pull and tug at the lock with her magic.
"Thanks, just hurry before those diamond dogs come back!"
"Guh! Grr! Come on you stupid lock!" Growled Autumn with one last tug at the lock, only for nothing to work.
"Uhh... Hey Sombrero! Look around, they probably left a key lying around or som-"
(Clang!)
Autumn stopped mid sentence and looked over to see Sombra who just bashed the lock off with a rock in one of his hooves.
"Oh cool, you found it!" Exclaimed Autumn happily as she started to pull open the cage door as the delivery colt made his way out of the cage.
"I don't know how much longer those dogs will be distracted. Just get the mare and let's go." Stated Sombra looking around cautiously as the delivery colt stopped moving and silently looked over at Sombra. All the while Autumn used her magic to pull off the magic restricting cuff around the delivery colt's horn.
"I'm a dude!" Replied the young male kirin as Sombra looked back and glanced between Autumn and the colt who were standing next to one another.
"It's not my fault all you Kirin look like mares."
"What!?"
"WHAT!?"
Both kirin yelled out in unison, the delivery colt having the more offended tone in his voice. But before Sombra could respond, they heard rustling in the bushes nearby. The trio turned their heads to see the biggest dog of the trio walk through the bushes with a look of relief on his face.
"Ahh... That was relaxing..." Uttered the diamond dog in a calm voice. But before it took another step, it stopped as it froze and looked down at the unicorn and two kirins that inhabited the area. One of whom is the prisoner who was supposed to be locked up in the cage.
"Uhh... GUYS! GUYS! THE PRISONERS OUT OF HIS CAGE! AND THERE ARE TWO MORE PONIES HERE! REX! ROXY! OTIS!" Yelled the largest dog Buster as the trio looked to their left.
"RUN!" Yelled Autumn as the trio turned to the left and started to trot. But the group stopped when one of the diamond dogs popped out of nowhere and blocked their path.
"Where do you think your going?" Asked Roxy as the group turned around and started to run in the opposite direction.
The group thought they were home free, only to run into Otis that popped out of nowhere and blocked their path.
"Company? How nice!" But as the group tired to run once again, they didn't even get the chance to run as they saw another diamond dog blocking their path.
"Trying to rescue your little friend? How cute..." The trio started to slowly back away from the slowly encroaching diamond dogs. But finally stopped after all three of them backed up into something large standing behind them.
The equines all turned around to see that they backed up into the meanest looking diamond dog out of the bunch. Rex hovered over the ponies as he glared at the trio.
"Now... What do we have here?"
The trio backed away from the leader of the diamond dogs as the dogs started to move in on the ponies, later prowling as they started circling the ponies like sharks.
"Where are you going, work mule? I hope you weren't planning on running away with these two..." Growled Pablo as the delivery colt expressed a look of utter terror. All the while Sombra kept his annoyed expression and Autumn tried to keep a brave expression on her face.
"Uhh... Look guys, we don't want any trouble. But you can't just kidnap and enslave one of my people... So, uhh... We'll just get out of your way now so you diamond dogs can do... whatever diamond dogs do." Said Autumn nervously as she, the delivery colt, and Sombra started to slowly back away from the diamond dogs. But were stopped as one of the diamond dogs grabbed Autumn's tail and stopped her from walking away.
"So what? You think you can just waltz in here and do whatever you want? Do you wanna know what we do to ponies who we don't enslave?" Asked Roxy with an evil smile, showing off her sharp teeth to the equines.
"Uhh... We eat them?" Asked Buster stupidly, as the rest of the diamond dogs turned to the biggest diamond dog out of the bunch with annoyed faces.
"What?"
"That question was supposed to be for the PONIES to answer! And it was supposed to scare them!" Growled Otis.
"We're you born yesterday?!" Yelled Pablo and Roxy rolled her eyes and the three equines gave each other awkward glances.
"I don't know..." Said Buster stupidly as Rex growled and pushed Buster aside as he walked closer to the ponies.
"I'm going to give you a choice ponies, either you surrender and work as mules for us... Or, we will eat you... And we haven't had a decent meal in DAYS... And I'm dying to know what Kirin tastes like..." Growled Rex as he got close to the trio and showed off his razor sharp teeth to the group. As the delivery colt and Autumn stared on in fear, Sombra rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Oh please... You dumb mangy fleabags will be too busy sniffing each others rear ends and chasing your own tails before you even noticed we've escaped." Snapped Sombra as Rex closer to the unicorn, as the two glared each other down.
"Who are you calling mangy fleabags you worthless pony!?" Roared Otis as he attempted to lunge at Sombra. Only to be effortlessly held back by Buster, only holding the small diamond dog back with one hand.
"Have you ever seen a diamond dog take down a pony? It's pretty brutal, like a pack of Timber Wolves cornering and tearing apart helpless prey..." Growled Rex as he started to move closer towards Sombra. Despite Sombra's best efforts to keep the upper hoof in the situation, the unicorn started to take a few hoofsteps back with the diamond dog marching closer.
"Once my pack surround our victim, we lunge and attack... As the others work on the rest of the prey, I go for the throat..." Growled the diamond dog as he hovered over Sombra and lifted his lips fully to show his razor sharp teeth to the unicorn.
"Is this the part where I'm supposed to be scared? Because your attempts at inducing fear are laughable at the very best." Replied Sombra with his chin up as the two Kirin looked at him with surprise. Amazed at the unicron's bravery.
"Hehehe... Fearless or not, it won't stop me from tearing you ap-... Wait, I know you..." Stated Rex with a level of familiarity in his voice. Sombra, Aurtumn, the delivery colt, and the rest of the diamond dogs grew expressions of surprise at Rex's statement.
"Wait... Wasn't he a king or something?" Asked Roxy peering over Rex's shoulder.
"Oh yeah... Something starting with an 'S'... Some loser king who was defeated by a pretty princess." Mocked Pablo with a laugh as Sombra's glare at the diamond dogs intensified and his horn started to surge with tiny bits of whatever black magic he could still summon.
"Well, if you thugs must know he's King Sombra. And he ruled the Crystal Empire until he was overthrown by a couple of tyrants! So you guys better show some respect!" Stated Autumn out of nowhere as she marched ahead of the trio. Surprising Sombra and the diamond dogs as well.
There was a moment of silence as Autumn continued to glare at the diamond dogs with her bold stance, defending her new friend as Sombra stared at the Kirin with a shocked expression. She was really standing up to a bunch of vicious diamond dogs for him? Even the diamond dogs remained speechless as they stared down at the Kirin. Until the leader started to chuckle malevolently and stare at Autumn Blaze.
"Oh... That's right. King Sombra, the loser unicorn and fallen king of the Crystal Empire. Despite all your boasting and magic, you still lost. Hahahahahahahaha!" Laughed Rex as Sombra narrowed his eyes at the dog once more.
"And what do you diamond mutts see yourselves as? Your crawling around in caves like bats and eyeless subterranean worms, digging through the dirt to find shiny diamonds for no other reason then being pretty to look at. Now do yourselves a favor you drooling mongoloids, turn around and get out of here before I mount your heads over my fire place!" Growled Sombra as suddenly the paw of Rex reached out and grabbed Sombra by the throat, lifting the pony off the ground and bringing him face to face with the leader diamond dog.
"How about instead, you become our new meal for tonight?" Growled Rex as he opened his mouth to take a bite out of Sombra, only for a boulder covered in a light blue aura of magic come barreling in and smash against Rex's face. Causing him to drop Sombra and stumble back.
"Are you alright, boss?" Asked Buster as he caught Rex from stumbling back.
"Get them." Ordered the leader as all the diamond dogs bared their teeth and started lunging out at the equines. But before the diamond dogs could catch the equines, the ponies quickly scattered. Causing the dogs to miss, much to their frustration.
Autumn and Sombra ran in opposite directions as the delivery colt backed up and leaped into a few bushes. Luckily for him, the diamond dogs seemed to see Sombra and Autumn as the primary targets as they split up and started chasing the Kirin and Unicorn.
As Autumn ran, she glanced behind her to see the diamond dogs Buster, Pablo, and Otis chasing her. The dogs bared their teeth like wolves as they were only a few inches away from her, Pablo reached out and attempted to bite the Kirin's tale off, only for Autumn to quickly pull her tail away just in time.
"Get over here you little-" Growled Otis as he attempted to leap ahead of his fellow diamond dogs and takle the Kirin. But Autumn made a sharp right turn just in time, causing Otis to run head on into a tree.
"Okay... I'm hurt now..." Said the diamond dog with his face still implanted in the tree. The two other dogs only glanced back at their ally for a second. But soon continued their chase.
"I gotta get these dogs off my back!" Whispered Autumn to herself, as she looked around and spotted a thorn bush. As a smile spread over her face and she looked back at the scaly hide on her back.
"Hmm... My back..." Uttered Autumn with a smirk as she made another sharp turn and dashed over to the bush. But before she could jump in, something grabbed one of her back hoofs ans stopped her in place. Autumn looked back to see that the diamond dog Pablo held her back.
"I got you now you little wannabe uni- Ow!" But Pablo wasn't able to finish his sentence as Autumn used her free hoof to buck the diamond dog in the face. Autumn dashed over to the thorn bush as she then leaped into the air and rolled up into a ball, much like an armadillo and landed in the bush.
"I'll rip off your tail for that!" Yelled Pablo as he leaped into the same thorn bush Autumn leaped into, without thinking. The second he landed in the bush, he jumped out of it five feet into the air as his entire body was covered in thorns.
"YAHOOOOOOOO!" Screamed the diamond dog as he landed near the thorn bush and Autumn exited from the other side of the thorn bush. The kirin being completely free of thorns except for her scaly hide which was covered in them. But the kirin wasn't in any pain, as she casually brushed the thorns off her back and trotted away with a smirk.
"Too easy- Oof!" But Autumn couldn't finish her sentence as she walked into something big. As the Kirin backed up and looked up, she saw that it was the last diamond dog chasing her.
"I got you now, pony!" Said Buster as he raised up his claws to grab Autumn. But before the diamond dog could touch Autumn, she glanced behind Buster and made a surprised face as she pointed behind him and yelled out.
"Oh sweet heaven! What's that!?" Yelled Autumn as Buster looked behind himself in confusion.
"Run!" Yelled Autumn as the diamond dog stupidly turned around in ran. Autumn smirked at the diamond dog running away as she turned and galloped away herself.
Meanwhile Sombra was being chased by the other three diamond dogs as he attempted to loose them. But as Sombra ran, Roxy ran up next to him on all fours as Sombra looked at the diamond dog with an expression of surprise.
"Where do you thing your going, your highness?" Asked the diamond dog as she quickly spun around and swung her club tail into Sombra's face. Making the unicorn fly back and straight into a tree. As Sombra slid down and tried to pick himself back up, he heard a growl and looked up just in time.
He saw Rex careening down from the air with his mouth wide open and filled with razor sharp teeth. The second Sombra saw this, he leaped to the side as the diamond dog bit into the side of the tree. As Sombra stopped and looked back, he saw that the diamond dog had his mouth wrapped around the base of the tree. But not for long as Rex pulled back and tore out a massive piece of wood that was stuck in his mouth.
Starring right at Sombra, he bit down and shattered the wood into a hundred splinters. The two stared each other down for a moment as Rex glanced at Sombra's horn and tilted his head.
"Hehehe... I thought you were supposed to be a powerful unicorn. Why not use your fancy magic and turn me into a flower or something?"
"I don't need my magic to take down a slobbering, good for nothing diamond dog like yourself." Hissed back Sombra as Rex chuckled to himself as Roxy walked up and stood next to him.
"Since the king isn't using his horn, I will take it. You know, unicorn horns can sell for a lot on the black market..." Uttered Rex as he extended his finger forward, signaling Roxy to spring forward and start swiping at the unicorn with her massive bear-like claws.
But Sombra backed off and managed to dodged every one of the diamond dogs claw strikes and bites. But after one more swipe, Sombra quickly used one of his front hoofs to throw some dirt into Roxy's eyes, which temporarily blinded the diamond dog.
Sombra took advantage of the diamond dog's blindness as he leaped on his back hoofs and started using his front hoofs to strike the diamond dog in the face. As Sombra was continuing his successful barrage of hoof punches, he spun around on all fours and was about to buck the diamond dog in the face.
But as Sombra extended his back hoofs, the diamond dog grabbed one of his extended blacklegs and smirked. As she lifted Sombra off the ground and slammed her into the ground. As Sombra groaned and attempted to stand back up, Roxy grabbed the ex-tyrant by the throat and pinned him to the ground with a smirk.
"Hehehe... I'll take that horn now." Growled Roxy in sadistic delight as she reached down with her free paw and grabbed Sombra's horn tightly. As she started to attempt to pull the horn off of Sombra as the ex-king started to scream in agony. But as Sombra started to believe that he was really about to loose his horn, he heard a galloping noise nearby.
Right as Roxy looked up to see where the sound was coming from, she was meet to a hoof to the face.
"HIYAAAAH!" Screamed Autumn as she karate kicked the female diamond dog in the face and sent her flying back. As Autumn landed on the ground, he looked down at Sombra with a concerned expression as she started to help the unicorn up.
"Oh no! Sombra! Are you okay!?" Asked Autumn fearfully as Sombra groaned in pain and stood back up.
"I'm fine, kirin! I'm fine!" Replied Sombra a he stood back up.
"We need to find the delivery colt and the Shennoeg and get out of here before-" But Autumn was interrupted as Rex dashed up to the two equines and swung his massive paw, making Autumn fly back and knocking Sombra back to the ground.
As Autumn flew back, she stopped as she flew back into Buster, as he grabbed her the instant she flew into him. The kirin attempted to struggle and break free of the diamond dog's vice-like grip, but it was no use. As Autumn continued to struggle, the two other dogs that were previously chasing her Pablo and Otis walked up next to Buster.
"Uhh... What happened to you guys?" Asked Buster looking over at his two companions.
"The stupid pony made me run into a tree..." Growled Otis as Pablo continued to pull thorns out of his head, that were all over his body.
"She made me run into a dumb thorn bush..." Growled Pablo as he tossed the extracted thorns in his hand aside.
"Wow. I didn't think you guys would be that stupid." Said Buster with a chuckle as Otis and Pablo slowly turned their heads and glared at Buster with ice cold glares.
Meanwhile, Sombra was pinned down to the ground once again by the female diamond dog Roxy. Even though Sombra attempted to break loose of Roxy's grip, it was no use. Rex silently walked over to the captured Sombra and Autumn as he started to glance between the two. As if he was deciding what to do with them.
"So boss... Will we be dining on pony sufllaqe tonight?" Asked Roxy with a grin as Rex glanced at the kirin and the unicorn once more.
"From what I saw today, they will be working the mines. Nice strength and endurance to work for a long time and dig up a lot of diamonds." Said Rex calmly as he glanced at Sombra's useless horn once more.
"Unicorn horns are still valuable and kingy's not using his... Take it off." Ordered Rex as Roxy once again grabbed Sombra's horn and began to pull.
All the while, the delivery colt was looking through the bushes in terror at what the diamond dogs were doing to the unicorn and fellow kirin who saved him. As the kirin looked around for something he could use as a weapon, to at least distract the diamond dogs for a moment. He scanned the forest floor as he stopped and a smile spread over his muzzle.
Roxy continued to attempt to break off the unicorn's horn with as much strength as she could muster. Although apparently trying to break off a unicorn's horn with your bare claws proved to be harder then anticipated. But as Roxy was about to give up and suggest to her leader that they should attempt the horn removal later with some actual tools... The five diamond dogs heard a battle cry come from nearby as all the diamond dogs turned their heads in the direction of the noise.
They saw the delivery colt charging at Rex with a large stick in his mouth, ready to hit the diamond dog as hard as he could. But as the delivery colt approached the leader of the diamond dog and swung his stick...
(Snap!)
The stick broke in two the second it made contact with Rex, not even making the diamond dog flinch as the delivery colt paused and fearfully looked up. Rex scared back down at the scared little colt with a smirk on his muzzle.
"Oh, there's the third one..." Rex stated casually as he quickly grabbed the kirin by the neck and slammed him on the ground. Pinning him and immobilizing him.
All the while, Autumn was still in the grip of the large diamond dog as she saw Sombra and the delivery colt being tormented by the brutish diamond dogs. She started to become angry as small blooms of fire began to appear around her eyes and a bit on her mane.
She had an idea of how to get out of this mess. She knew it was a bad idea, but it was the only one she had. And she had to do it fast. Autumn turned her head to the leader of the diamond dogs and started to call out to him.
"Hey! Diamond dog boss! I'm gonna give you one last chance to let me and my friends go! Or I'm gonna show you a firsthoof experience of coming face-to-face with a NIRIK! I'm warning you! This is your last chance!" Yelled out Autumn in a voice with hints of Autumn's nirik voice scattered throughout it. Rex and the rest of the diamond dogs looked at her for a moment, before laughing at the kirin's attempts to sound intimidating.
But as the diamond dogs laughter died out, Buster felt a burning sensation around his arms and chest. Looking down he saw the kirin in his arm was started to get very hot as more blooms of fire began to spring up all around the kirin.
"My arms are getting warm."
"Do we need a news flash every time his body does something?" Asked Pablo as he pulled out several thorns sticking out of his side.
"He's doing it for attention, just ignore him." Growled Otis as a pained expression traveled across Buster's face as the kirin started to burn more and more in his embrace.
"No! Seriously! My arms are REALLY HOT! OW! OW! OWW! OWWW!" Screamed Buster as he let go of the burning kirin and backed off to brush the new patches of flame that were on his arms.
As Autumn was released, all the diamond dogs turned their attention to the burning kirin was suprised and confused expressions on their faces.
"What the-?!" Yelled out Roxy in confusion as Autumn the nirik stared down all the diamond dogs.
"Couldn't say I didn't warn you guys!" Yelled Autumn as she charged at Roxy who was still holding down Sombra and knocked the diamond dog off of the ex-king and sent Roxy flying back with patches of fire all over her.
Sombra started to push himself back up and stand of his hoofs as he surveyed the situation. His eyes widened in shock and awe as he saw a burning mare dashing across the open space with a trail of blue and purple fire being left in her wake.
"Someone catch her! Stop her!" Yelled Rex frantically as the other dogs did as their leader commanded and tried to grab the Nirik. Pablo started to get close and managed to place his paws on the nirik, but the second the diamond dog came in contact with the burning demon, he screamed in pain as he pulled his paw away.
"AAAAHHH! AHHHH! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PONY!?" Yelled Pablo as he shook his paw, trying to rid himself of the burning pain he was in, as suddenly out of nowhere Autumn charged straight into the diamond dog like a bull and sent the diamond dog tumbling back.
But the mare wasn't finish as she turned her attention to Otis. The mare then turned and charged at the diamond dog head first. The diamond dog looked around fearfully for whatever weapon he could use against the burning mare, as he then saw a pile of rocks nearby. Otis picked up a handful of rocks and started chucking them at Autumn Blaze.
But Autumn managed do dodge each and every rock throw and continued her charge at Otis uninterrupted. As Autumn finally got face to face with the diamond dog, Otis fearfully tossed the rest of the rocks in his hands at Autumn. Which barely effected the nirik as she smirked at the diamond dog for a second, before roaring at him and breathing a bloom of purple flame that made the diamond dog turn tail and run as fast as he could with a whimper.
Autumn turned her head and started to survay the area for the last two dogs, only to get hit with something hard and spiky. Autumn was sent flying back but quickly caught herself and stood on all four hoofs once more. Looking back to see what hit her, she saw it was Roxy as she was showing off her club tail and slowly wagging it around with a cocky smirk on her face.
"GRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!" Roared Autumn in fury as a small bloom of fire exited her mouth at the diamond dog that just attacked her.
"Be careful... I wag." Growled Roxy with a smirk as Autumn let out another roar of fury as she charged at the female diamond dog.
Sombra meanwhile was sitting there and witnessing the entire fight. And finally getting a up close and personal experience of a real nirik.
Sombra could do nothing but sit there and watched as Autumn continued her berserkers rage in her nirik form. Sombra's eyes were as wide as dinner plates as he saw the normally cheery and talkitive kirin being a literal trotting inferno with her mane, tail, and eyebrow being replaced with beautiful flames and breathing fire like a dragon.
'So... This is what a nirik looks like? Wow, she's... She's really something else. So much power, so much energy, so much passion. I had no idea this are what niriks truly look like. Spending so long in the icy arctic bordering the Crystal Empire made me forget about true warmth...' Sombra thinks to himself as he continues to watch Autumn Blaze furiously battling the diamond dogs.
'Just looking at her, I can feel her warmth ignite my stone cold eyes... It feels like just being close to her is melting the icy chill of my insides. The way she dances in the flames make my heart burn ablaze... And I want nothing more then to be closer to-... What!? What the hay am I saying!? Was that poetry?! And why do my cheeks suddenly feel hot!?' Thought Sombra, not even noticing that he was blushing.
Back with Autumn, she continued to battle the two diamond dogs Roxy and Rex. She managed to dodge most of the diamond dogs attacks, but stopped in her tracks and looked back as Roxy was coming in once again to bash Autumn with her spiked tail. Autumn quickly dodged the attack and jumped into the air. What she then spun around with a spin kick and sent the diamond dog flying back.
"Alright! Who's ne- Ugh!" But Autumn wasn't able to finish her sentence as a massive paw grabbed the back of her head and slammer her face into the dirt. Autumn tried to get back up but she was held down.
"Learn your place, pony..."
"For the last time... I'm not a pony... I'M A NIRIK!" Roared Autumn Blaze as she reared her back hooves back and delivered a firey buck right into Rex's chest.
The buck sent the diamond dog flying back and crashed right into one of the carts the diamond dogs were hauling around. As Rex slowly started to get back up and rub his head, the collision with the cart caused bags full of diamonds, crystals, gold, and other goods to spill out of them.
But one item stood out among the rest as it tumbled out of the sack and landed right-side up. As Sombra was observing the fight, his eyes were drawn directly to the item. The item was a silver necklace with the symbol of a red-eyed black alicorn on the front and a crimson gem in the center of the necklace.
Sombra's eyes widened as he saw the necklace. He couldn't believe it, he thought the necklace was a legend. At best lost to time. He read about it before and learned about the power the necklace held, it vastly increased the magical power of a unicorn to that of an alicorn and beyond. And the fact that the diamond dogs of all creatures managed to get ahold of it makes even LESS SENSE...
The necklace was the legendary Alicorn Amulet...
"It... It can't be..." Mouthed Sombra as another roar of fury broke his trance away from the amulet and back to Autumn Blaze who was still facing off against the diamond dogs.
Autumn Blaze managed to gather all the diamond dogs and force them all into one corner. Forcing them back simply by getting a little closer to them and threatening to burn them to a crisp. Sombra and the delivery colt both manage to pull themselves together as they get up and trot in. Trotting over to Autumn's sides as the two stallions stood strong next to Autumn who was growling at the diamond dogs.
The diamond dogs looked at the trio of equines in front of them and glanced around the area to see what options they had. Rex the leader growled in anger as he turned his attention to Autumn and Sombra, lifting his lips to show off his sharp teeth and let out a deep and intimidating growl to the equines in front of him.
"This isn't over..." Rex turned back to his group and started rapidly barking orders at them.
"Grab what you can and get going!" Yelled Rex as the diamond dogs without hesitation started to spread out around the open area and grab the carts that were lying around. Quickly reloading all the merchandise that spilled out during the fight.
Before the trio could even blink, the diamond dogs disappeared in a cloud of dirt as they dashed off and ran away. The trio coughed as they waved their hooves in front of them to get rid of the dirt cloud. As the dirt cloud finally started to clear out, Sombra scanned the area as his eyes dotted all over. Seeing that unfortunately, there was no sign of the Alicorn Amulet.
"They got away with it..." Growled Sombra through clenched teeth as Autumn and the delivery colt turned to him with confused looks.
"Got away with what?" Asked Autumn in confusion as she transformed back into her kirin form.
"It's nothing..." Replied Sombra quickly as the delivery colt continued to scan the area. Until his eyes finally located what he was looking for and galloped over to it.
"Oh good! They left it behind!" Said the delivery colt as he picked up a sattlebag that was filled with all the supplies he was meant to deliver to Fern Flare. After placing the sattlebag on his back, the excited kirin dashed back to the Sombra and Autumn
"Thank you so much for saving me! I thought I'd never escape from those diamond dogs. But you guys saved me! Thank you so much! You guys are amazing!" Expressed the delivery colt with a grin as Autumn looked back with an equally happy smile and Sombra just stared back with disdain.
"Yes, yes, whatever... Do you have the Shennong?" Asked Sombra in a dry tone as the delivery colt nodded his head with a smile.
"Yup! All right here!" Said the delivery colt as he patted his sattlebag with his forehoof.
"Fantastic! Now, let's get going before it gets dark." Said Autumn with an excited smile as she turned tail and started walking away, as Sombra and the delivery colt followed along.
"Hey, Autumn, wait up..." Called out Sombra's voice from behind Autumn as she turned her head back to see that Sombra was catching up to her.
"Yeah? What is it Sombrero?"
"Where did all of THAT come from?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"THAT! Fighting the diamond dogs! That was-... Quite impressive. How did you learn how to fight like that?" Sombra said, catching himself to not sound to impressed in order to maintain his stoic and boastful persona. But the way that Autumn was looking at Sombra, she could tell what he was really thinking as the mare looked away to hide her slight blush.
"Oh, well umm... Thanks. But you know, when your a mare living alone you gotta learn these things. Ya know?" Asked Autumn with a smile and a wink as she playfully nudged Sombra. Who to her surprise, quietly chuckled back.
Only a second later, Autumn's eyes widened at the realization she just made and turned back to Sombra who was walking right next to her.
"Wait! Wait!... Did you just call me, Autumn, and not 'kirin'?" Asked Autumn with a cheeky smile as Sombra kept his stoic frowning expression and looked away. Trying to hide his slight blush.
"Haha, don't worry tough guy. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. Hey, once we get the time, I can teach you a few fighting moves. Maybe for the future. What do ya think about that?" Asked Autumn as Sombra looked away in complete silence for a few second.
As Sombra then turned his head back to the mare and gave out a tiny smirk on his face.
"That sounds... Interesting."
The Kirin Village
"Wow! You guys really did it! You saved my delivery colt AND you brought all the merchandise with you intact! Here's your final ingredient!" Said Fern Flare with a huge smile on her face as she picked up the several branches that were strapped together with small leaves on the tips that were the Shennong, and gave it to Autumn who placed it in her sattlebag.
"Finally..." Uttered Sombra under his breath as Fern Flare and Autumn continued their conversation.
"And don't worry about your tab, Autumn. Consider it paid in full."
"Thanks, Fern." Said Autumn with a polite smile. As suddenly a boom of thunder was heard.
Kaboom!
Fern Flare, Autumn, and Sombra looked up to see that the sky was indeed being covered by dark clouds. Showing that a storm was on it's way.
"Looks like a storm is on it's way. I'd better get packing." Stated Fern Flare as she and the surrounding vendors started packing up their stock and trotting back to their homes along with any other kirin nearby.
"Yeah, we better get out too. I mean, I'd hate for my mane to get wet again. It's so uncomfortable!" Stated Autumn as Fern packed up the last of her stock in a small cart behind the stand, and shot Autumn one last smile before starting to trot off with the cart.
As all the other kirin started to clear out, Autumn and Sombra could feel light droplets of rain fall from the growing storm above them as the droplets started to slowly but surely grow in size and numbers.
"Let's go before it gets worse."
"Well that's something we can agree on." Stated Autumn with a small smile as she started to walk down the road with a slight skip as Sombra followed the chipper mare silently.
Kaboom! Crackle! Thoom!
The rain started to pick up as it started to rain heavily on the Kirin Village and the forest surrounding it. Autumn and Sombra continued their walk down the track as the rain bombarded them and was soaking the two equines. Sombra simply kept walking like nothing was wrong, the rain might have been annoying but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.
On the other hoof, Autumn possessed a concerned look on her face as she held one of her forehooves over her head and tried to prevent the rain from soaking her mane. But despite the mare's efforts, her mane continued to get soaked as the mare attempted to both strain the water out of her lion-like mane AND use the same hoof as a shield from the rain with the same hoof.
Sombra's eyes glanced over at Autumn and her plight, as the dethroned king took one long look at the mare and realized why she was so concerned about getting wet. With all the extra hair on the kirin, it was far heavier and uncomfortable for her when she got wet then it would a normal Earth pony, pegasus, or unicorn.
Sombra continued to glance back and forth between the uncomfortable mare and the path, before letting out a small groan of frustration. The stallion quickly picked a large leaf from nearby with his mouth as he dashed back over to Autumn Blaze and held the leaf over the mare's head. Protecting her from the drizzle.
As Autumn continued to try and strain her mane yet again, it took her a moment before realizing that she wasn't being hit with any more rain. Looking around in confusion for a milisecond, she turned her head behind her to see that Sombra was holding a large leaf over the mare as the two were walking.
"Wow Sombra! Thank you! But... Why are you doing this?" Asked Autumn with a happy, yet confused expression.
"Well you don't want to get wet right? And a king can't let a mare walk in the rain with no coverage, can he?" Asked Sombra as nonchalantly as he could, with some of his word unfortunately being incomprehensible thanks to the leaf handle in his mouth.
"Oh... Hehe, thanks." Said the mare, looking up at Sombra as she brushed some of her wet mane out of her eyes.
"It's what a king does..." Uttered Sombra, still holding the massive leaf over the mare's head as he started to stare off into the distance. As his thoughts started to drift away as well.
Each crackle of thunder and lightning in the sky reminded Sombra of the Alicorn Amulet he saw today. It plagued his mind and buzzed around in his head like a swarm of angry bees.
'How did those dogs get such a powerful artifact like that?... It doesn't matter. In fact, that gives me a new idea of how to get what I want... And regain my throne...'
THOOM!