Age of Kings

by A bag of plums


63 - The Spurs

Emerald looked out the window of her cabin and watched as the sun slowly sank behind the horizon, signalling the end of the day. Cicadas chirped in the twilight, and Emerald thought she saw an owl swooping around near the orchards; if she didn’t know better, the owl was probably laughing at them as it flew about.

“The weapons and food have been packed, Lady Emerald.” Guard Streak came over to tell her, breaking her concentration on the great outdoors. “And Honeygold and her family have been so kind to supply us with a crate of apples and salted beef each.”

“That’s excellent news,” Emerald said to the squire. “I just hope the apples will last until we get to another town where we can stock up on supplies.”

Guard Streak nodded. “Aye, my lady. Spectrum says you don’t eat meat, and apples don’t last all that long. There are also a few jars of apple jam and some loaves of bread.”

“Very good. How are you faring, Streak? Leaving Canterlot behind cannot have been easy. Your family must be quite worried for you.”

Guard Streak shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. I don’t really know. I think they have bigger things to worry about than me going on a quest. I do hope Sir Morn has not gone and taken over their minds with Excalibur.”

“Yes, I suppose they do…” Emerald thought of Morn and sighed deeply. “If I had been there for him, do you think any of this would have happened? Maybe if I had stayed by his side, I would be able to convince him, maybe even stop all this from happening before he even killed the king. I hadn’t thought it was so serious.”

Guard Streak kicked the tip of his boot against the floor awkwardly. “Well, maybe?” he said uncertainly. “I… should probably get going. See you in the morning, Lady Emerald.”

And with that, the squire left the cabin, heading over to the adjacent one.

Emerald didn’t blame him for wanting to go. These were things that children may still not fully understand. 

She continued looking out the window until the sun had fully vanished and stars began to paint the skies. The faint sounds of people talking could be heard, and Emerald eventually came away from the window and instead sat on her bed.

She wasn’t tired by any means, but she knew she had to get some sleep while she still had a bed to use. Once they were on the road, there wouldn’t be so many opportunities for a calm night’s rest.

Lying down, the former pegasus closed her eyes and attempted to drift off, but she just never went drifting. Opening her eyes after what felt like ages, She found it was still dark. Posey and Nightfall Gleam slept on either side of her, both seemingly sound asleep. She envied them, being able to sleep through this night. She just wanted to be able to get up and see the sun rising on them all already. The more time they spent here, the longer it would take to stop Morn and retake Canterlot.

“Go to sleep, Emerald. Just go to sleep…” she told herself.

After what felt like another age, Emerald pushed up to her feet and walked out of the cabin barefooted, thinking maybe some fresh apple-scented air would be able to put her mind at ease.

She waltzed over to the nearby lake and found a spot to kickback, giving her a good view of the still water ahead of her. The peaceful scene was accompanied by the sounds of crickets, along with the occasional rustling of the apple trees as the winds blew through Avalon. Having not many buildings here, Avalon was considerably cooler than Canterlot, and without her coat to warm herself up, Emerald was feeling a little cold, though getting warm wasn’t one of her current priorities.

Using this time of quietness, Emerald thought back to the good times she had as a Knight of the Round Table, the battles she had fought in with her brothers-in-arms, the love she had with Sir Morn, and even the joy and laughter she’d shared with her friends through all her dark times.

There had been many good times, far outweighing all the bad, but now, here they were, cast out of Canterlot, cast out of her duties once again. Twice now, Emerald had lost the royalty she had sworn to protect. Twice now, her kingdom had been usurped by someone or somepony who saw it fit to rule over the land, and she couldn’t do anything about it, at least not now.

Saddle Arabia housed one of Star Swirl’s artifacts. She did not know which one or even what other artifacts there were, but she knew if they could get to it, they would have a chance over Morn. He may have had three artifacts under his charge, but he was no Equestrian. He would never be able to handle them like she could.

She knew if they could make it there, they could fight back. They could win.

A sniffle came from somewhere on Emerald Edge’s left, drawing her attention over to a row of apple trees by the lake. At first, she saw nothing, but once she let her vision focus, she could see a tall shape hiding amongst two trees, a blue hood over her head, her face in her hands. She couldn’t see if it was an intruder, but after a few more seconds of allowing her vision to pierce the darkness, Emerald could see it was Moon Tide, and she did not look herself. For as long as she had known Moon Tide, the mage was a calm woman, not even breaking under the largest of weights, but there she was, seemingly broken.

Emerald knew exactly what could cause her to be like so. Getting up, she walked over to the treeline.

As Emerald approached, Moon Tide’s head jerked up, and she turned around. There were damp tracks down her cheeks and her eyes were bloodshot, but the mage managed a smile anyway.

“You’re up late, Emerald,” Moon Tide said quietly. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“I could say the same for you,” Emerald replied, sitting down on a stump. “Looks like you could use some company, if you don’t mind me saying so.”

Moon Tide laughed weakly. “I don’t need as much sleep as most people. Call it a side effect of my… condition as a mage.”

Emerald looked into the pitch black woods. The darkness certainly matched the mood here tonight. “Moon Tide, I am sorry about what Morn has done. I am sure it must break your heart as it does mine.”

Moon Tide wiped at her eyes. “I… I guess it does, Emerald. You know I once had a dream to see my son as a king. Little did I know he would not rule well. Not everyone is fit to rule, though everybody wants to rule the world.”

“I don’t.” Emerald picked up a twig and bent it gently between her hands. “All I had wanted was to find a way home. To restore my princess and her empire to what it was before Sombra. Coming here, I did not expect to find friends, to find new purpose, to find even love. I was happy with how things were. I did not need to rule to have it all.”

“How noble.” Moon Tide regarded Emerald with unfathomable eyes. It was as though there was light coming from them, but then the mage blinked and the lights went out.

“I still do hope Morn can be saved, Moon Tide. I love him. I do not wish him dead.”

“Emerald,” Moon Tide began. “I have something to confess. You see, Morn is not exactly-” 

The mage paused mid sentence, cocking her head to the side and inhaling through her nose. Then she hissed, “Rouse the others, Emerald. We have company.”


Posey woke to the sound of Gabriel screeching from above, her hand immediately reaching for her bow and arrows by the bedside. There were a series of thuds from outside, and then the door to the cabin was thrown open, revealing a cluster of silhouettes, who wasted no time in marching in.

Spectrum Song and Guard Streak were immediately grabbed as they woke up, still too dazed to act.

“Get up, get up!” Posey shook Nightfall Gleam up, then nocked an arrow.

A spear was thrust towards her, but Posey ducked to one side and let her arrow loose, piercing through one of the interlopers’ necks. A wet gurgling sound left his mouth and then he slumped down, his face resting on Posey’s bed.

A second one attempted to attack her, rushing in. Posey hopped up to one of the beds and smacked the perpetrator across the jaw with her bow before kicking off his shoulder and landing on a third, thrusting her hidden blade deep into his chest until it couldn’t go anymore.

She didn’t know what was happening, but it was likely Canterlot had found them. They needed to move.

There was a brief noise behind her and as Posey turned, something hard struck her on the back of her head and everything went black.


The remaining six guards stood there in the darkness, looking down at the unconscious bodies of the people who had been sleeping in the cabin.

“Well,” the leader, a man named Peat Moss said, lowering his cudgel. “Just as King Morn Dread said. They were hiding here in Avalon, with those apple farmers that Emerald Edge was friendly with.” A golden light shone from his eyes.

“Aye, sir,” Lead Weight, one of the soldiers under Peat Moss agreed. “Them guards at the gate were pretty worthless. Pointed us right to them,” he sniggered.

“And you,” Peat Moss said to one of the soldiers who had attacked Posey with his spear. “Flax, the king wants ‘em back alive. Spearing folk isn’t going to bring them back alive. Unless you want to face the king’s wrath?”

Flax, even through the magic that bound his mind, trembled. “No, sir. I apologize, I just got carried away.”

The leader shook his head and gestured to their captives. “Get this lot on the wagon. You two, you’re coming with me. We’re bringing in those apple farmers as well.”

“What about Emerald Edge?” a squat guard called Turnkey asked. “She is not here.”

Peat Moss shook his head. “She won’t dare try anything with her friends as our prisoners. Make sure when you load up the wagon, one of you keeps a sword to their throats. Now come on, I want to get an early start on the road, so the sooner we round up everyone the better. And tell the rest of the boys and girls to keep their torches lit. King Morn says Emerald Edge is good at sneaking around, so she can’t sneak if we keep the place lit.”

“You shan’t get away with this!” Spectrum Song, the squire, had roused and struggled against the rope they had tied her with. “Emerald will stop you!”

Turnkey cuffed the squire on the head. “Silence, traitor. Canterlot will see you hang for turning your back on the king.”

“He turned his back on us!” Spectrum spat at the man.

“Oh, put a mouse in it, Turnkey,” Flax exclaimed. “I’m not listening to them blabbering all the way back to Canterlot.”

The guard tutted a curse and stuffed a handkerchief in the squire’s mouth, then continued to drag her to the wagons as Peat Moss and two others left.

Another guard, Soursnout, grabbed a purple haired woman, and hoisted her over her shoulder as she squirmed and kicked, a ball of cloth in her mouth to prevent her from making too much noise.

“Hey, this one is not bad.” Flax grabbed the woman’s chin and moved it from side to side. “Maybe we can keep her for some… light activities.”

“Yes, maybe.” Turnkey threw the squire into the back of the wagon. “The children and the mage are inside. Just this one and the archer to go.”

“Once Peat Moss and the others come back with the farmers, that will be everyone, yes?”

“Besides the former lady knight, yes. This archer caused some trouble for us.” Turnkey walked over to her and grabbed her by the hair. “Me thinks if it be anyone we use for light activities, it be her.”

Suddenly, an eagle flew down from above and sliced at him with its sharp talons, forcing the guard to drop the archer and raise his hands to defend himself.

“Help! Help! Gerritoff!”

Soursnout threw the woman she was carrying into the wagon and swung her spear at the bird, which quickly detached from Turnkey and disappear into the night sky.

“I-I think it got me eye. I cannot see through one.” The plump guard had one hand over his right eye and blood trailed down from between his fingers.

Four more guards with torches ran over to check out the commotion, one of them handing him a roll of cloth to use.

“Keep an eye on the captives.” He pointed to the wagon as he placed the cloth against his eye, which quickly began to turn red. “Peat Moss said to place a sword at their throats.”

They nodded and proceeded into the wagon as Turnkey continued to curse and swear from the pain.

An owl hooted. It sounded like laughter.

“Shove it, you stupid bird. All of you, keep an eye up as well. If that bird comes back, kill it before it takes out another one of our eyes.”

A rustling in the bushes on the left caught all their attentions and a sword was already in Turnkey’s hand as he tried to peer through the dark with one eye.

“Probably just a squirrel.” Soursnout snorted. “These are wilder lands than Canterlot town.”

Turnkey didn’t want to risk it. “Torches, over there. Find out what that was.”

Three of the torchbearers left the wagon to investigate, while the last one stayed in the wagon, keeping her blade out to the captives. Their circle of firelight illuminated the undergrowth, but they did not find anything except some faint boot prints in the hard earth. 

“Looks like someone’s been here…” one of the soldiers said, straightening up and looking around, keeping a tight hold on his mace. “Come out!” he shouted into the forest. “We know you are there!”

There was no response.

“Come out or your friend gets it!” he yelled again. He gestured to the wagon, where the soldier in charge there pressed the sword deeper. Not enough to draw a lot of blood, but enough for it to hurt. The purple haired one wriggled and screamed through her gag.

Still nothing moved.

“Maybe… maybe we’re just jumping at shadows, sir,” a soldier suggested.

The soldier with the mace shook his head.

“King Morn was very clear. Emerald Edge is very good at sneaking around and spying. There’s no such thing as ‘just jumping at shadows’ when it comes to dealing with her.”

Suddenly, a rock flew out from the darkness and struck the guard at the wagon in the face, sending him tumbling off the side and onto the dirt floor in a heap.

“What?” Turnkey stood there stunned for a second too long.

A shape darted out from the opposite direction and tackled him to the ground, a rock smashing over the back of his head. Flax ran at her with his spear, missing as Emerald Edge rolled away, lodging it into Turnkey’s back. If he wasn’t already dead, he was now.

“Oops,” Flax muttered as Emerald hit him in the chin with her rock. It hurt, but Flax dropped his spear and drew his mace, eager to fight.

Emerald kicked the spear up into her hands and swung it, but there wasn’t enough room. Flax darted in with a swing that Emerald reflexively blocked with her left arm, but she gasped anyway. Flax smiled. A mace, unlike a sword, could inflict damage without cutting through skin, meaning he could break bones and not worry about his victim bleeding to death. He was glad he had picked one now.

“Get her!” he yelled to the others.

Emerald fought valiantly, but with a broken wrist and no weapons and armor, all she could do was throw punches and kicks. She even managed to stab one of the soldiers in the shoulder, though his gambeson absorbed most of the hit. Flax then shattered the spear’s shaft with his mace, leaving Emerald with a broken piece of wood, but that hadn’t meant she wasn’t armed.

Readying the piece of wood, Emerald kicked Flax down, then jumped over him and speared the splinter right through a torchbearer’s left eye.

Then a loud voice rang out.

“Stop right there, criminal scum!”

Everyone stopped fighting to see who had spoken. It was Peat Moss, who had returned from the Apple family’s cottage. In one hand he held a small crossbow, which Emerald recognized as the work of the Canterlot Mages. And this compact but deadly weapon was pressed against the young farmer girl’s temple. The girl was still dressed in her sleeping clothes, and was shivering with cold and fear at the entire scene.

“Unhand her!” Emerald raised her broken shaft.

“Another step and this bolt goes right through her head.” Peat Moss shoved the tip of the crossbow hard against The girl’s head, earning a whimper from her.

Lead Weight and the other guard, Downsize, dragged in the girl’s parents, kicking them down to their knees beside their daughter, their arms bound behind their backs with rope.

“Put down the spear,” the lead guard demanded. “Now!”

Reluctantly, Emerald let go of the wooden shaft that she had been holding. 

"Good," Peat nodded. "Now put your hands behind your head. Someone tie her up. You're going to answer for defying the king."

“Don’t give up, Em!” the young farmer girl yelled. “You can take ‘em!”

“Shut your gob!” Peat Moss slapped her across the face. “If she does not surrender, you’re going to get it!”

“Don’t ya touch my girl!” The girl’s father attempted to stand, but Lead Weight kept him down.

“Quiet!” He went silent as he was kneed in the face by Lead Weight.

“Stop! Leave them be!” Emerald Edge yelled at them, raising her hands up. “I surrender. Release them.”

“No, don’t, Em!”

“I said be quiet!” Peat thumped the butt of his crossbow on the girl’s head, earning a cry of pain from her. “No can do, lady knight, ahem, former lady knight. They are coming with us too.”

The air seemed to grow colder around them as Peat Moss and the other guards waited for Emerald Edge’s response. 

Suddenly Emerald seemed to be looking at something to his left. Looking around, the guard spotted nothing, but her focus was to the darkness beyond their circle of torches.

“What was that?” Emerald said, looking over Peat’s shoulder. “More of your men skulking in the woods?”

“Ha! I’m not falling for that,” Peat sneered. “That’s the oldest trick in the book, Emerald Edge. You will have to try harder than that in order to…”

“Sir?” Downsize said uncertainly, peering over Peat’s shoulder as well. “I saw it too.”

“What?” The lead guard turned for a second. He saw nothing beyond their line of torches. “You sorry sack. Tis probably the rest of the troop, like the lady says.”

“What if tis more of the farmers. We might upset them by taking their own.”

“Then they can go talk to the king about it!” Peat Moss swung his crossbow around the area. If they were indeed other farmers of Avalon, they were going to get a bolt between the eyes if they tried to intervene.

The temperature seemed to drop more as time passed and even the captives seemed to notice it, with the farmer girl in Peat’s grip shivering more than before. But there was something about her that was off. The whimpering and trembling from her had ceased and instead, a smile had replaced her fearful look.

“What? What are you smiling about?” Peat shoved the crossbow back in her face. “You think I will not shoot just because you are a child?”

“It ain’t that.” Even the girl’s voice had changed. It sounded more confident. “Ah’m just thinkin’ how sorry you will be.”

“What? I should just kill you now!” Peat placed his finger over the crossbow trigger and shivered. It was getting surprisingly colder.

Before he could pull the trigger, he suddenly jerked back a step and the girl ran away from him towards Emerald Edge and he hadn’t tried to stop her.

“W-What?” Peat Moss tried to raise his crossbow, but he realized it was no longer there. In fact, his whole arm was no longer there and blood sprayed from his body like a fountain. “Ah-Aaahhh!” He grabbed for his wound and fell to his knees.

“Sir!” Soursnout ran to him and then raised her spear. “Who goes there? Who did that!”

“You do not harm my friend,” a voice sounded somewhere around them, echoing unnaturally.

“Kill him!” Peat’s face scrunched in pain. “Kill him!”

“You can try.”

Suddenly, a pale white man appeared within the torchlight. He only wore a pair of tattered pants and he carried no weapons.

“Coming unarmed?” Soursnout approached him with her spear. “You’ll pay for that.”

Soursnout jabbed forward with his spear, attempting to skewer the man, but he sidestepped and seized the weapon in his right hand, and squeezed. Frost coated the point of contact, and the wood shattered in his grip, leaving Soursnout with a bladeless shaft.

By now all of the soldiers had noticed the commotion and were rounding about, weapons drawn.

“Would you like to try again?” The stranger threw the bladed tip of the spear onto the ground.

Soursnout rushed him and punched him in the face, but he barely flinched as her fist connected with his face.

The man smiled, a most eerie smile. “My turn.”

Grabbing her head, he spun her around. Opening his mouth, Peat spotted a pair of long fangs as he sank them into Soursnout’s neck. The female guard’s screams echoed across the isle as she struggled to get free. Blood dribbled from her neck, staining her armor and shirt a dark red. Almost as quickly as it had started, her body stopped moving and went limp in the man’s grip.

“Been a while since I have tasted human.” The man’s eyes now glowed a bright red as he smiled at the guards with his bloodstained teeth.

It had all come as a surprise. As Peat Moss knelt there, growing weaker and weaker, he noticed even Emerald Edge had backed up a step. Even she didn’t know what was going on.

“Wh-what are you…?” Peat asked weakly.

“Would you like to see? I shall show you.”

Peat didn’t know if it was the blood loss that was making him more delusional than he already was, but as the man tossed Soursnout’s body aside, hair began to grow all over his body and a pair of wings sprouted from under his arms.

‘Vuh-vuh-vampire!” One of the guards yelled and made a run for it into the darkness.

“None of you will be leaving here…”

Peat had already collapsed on his side before the vampire disappeared from the spot he was standing at. He could hear the screams of his guards, along with the occasional sound of flesh rending and bones breaking, but he could do nothing to run.

Almost as quickly as it had all started, everything fell to silence. Not a single sound of conflict or footstep. Peat Moss thought he was going to die by blood loss, but then a guttural growl sounded just behind his left ear.

“Do not think I had forgotten about you,” an animalistic voice said, one of so much darkness and as ancient as time.

Oh no…

Peat screamed as huge fangs were driven into his neck.