//------------------------------// // 12. Trial of the Emperor // Story: Project Eclipse // by Borsuq //------------------------------//         “I just want to know why we have wall duty for the third day straight and Reksio get’s palace duty every time.” Saba told his packmate as they patrolled the wall, passing by several other Diamond Dogs, although most of them were from different packs; the Emperor’s army, all branded with the Gift, consisted of almost every smaller pack from the world. Only the biggest ones were reluctant to join him, undoubtedly due to their alpha males’ stupidity.         “Not every time.” sighed Szarik in response, already tired of hearing the other Dog complain.         “Every time! Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, today...”         “Today is Wednesday, Saba.” Szarik pointed out.         “Exactly!” he exclaimed; Szarik just rolled his eyes under his helmet. “And where is Reksio? Up there.” Saba pointed in the direction of the huge palace. “And what is he most likely doing? Nothing.”         “So what, what are we doin-ugh.” his reply was cut off as he accidentally bumped into one of the guards. “Watch it, pup!” Szarik said to him, recognizing by the armor to be one of the newer packs, while he and Saba were from Badlands’ packs.         The guard’s ears went down as he slightly backed away from them, so the two Dogs on patrol continued walking... and unfortunately for Szarik, his partner continued talking.                  Crys fought off the urge to slit the throats of the disappearing Dogs and concentrated on planting the explosives. It wasn’t easy; using those paws instead of hooves proved to be troublesome when it came to such complicated task, in opposed to just using weapons.         Once she was done here, she made sure none of Diamond Dogs looked at her direction, as she jumped down from the outer wall. Dropping her disguise as she fell, while the real guard hurried back to his post after he examined the noise only he heard, courtesy of good old unicorn magic.         She had to speed up. The need to exterminate this Empire to smithereens aside, Crys needed to do her best if she wanted to be picked for further Augmentation. And while she was certain that she will have a better time with her section of the wall than Cant or Mane, there was still the matter of ponies in the palace group. She didn’t want Filly to top her on the Leaderboard.         Crystal had to be the best.                  “Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me...” Filly murmured.         She paid no mind to the others as they all cringed at her word usage, which even she knew was a bit too vulgar. But this was insane! All routes to the Imperial Palace were either guarded, or within the eyesight of those damned mutts! The pegasi of the group could even fly above them high enough to pass them, because there were even some guards looking up every few seconds, as if expecting the ceiling to fall down.         “There is only one way, then.” Filly finally said unenthusiastically from the top of the inner wall, where the seven ponies stood, overlooking the courtyard with many Diamond Dogs standing and one that was sitting down. She didn’t need to hear Los quiet, by terrifying angry roaring to guess who that was.         Everypony looked up at the huge bridge-like ramp that went over the very courtyard.         “This is gonna be fun.” Balti murmured.         The Emperor Huang Li sighed as he leaned back on the courtyard throne, feeling a headache coming up.         In front of of him stood representatives of three biggest, strongest packs of Equestria, their alpha males and greatest warriors: Spot Pack, whose Dogs were short but fast; Rover Pack, which members were surprisingly cunning for non-diamondized; and Fido Pack, who covered up the lack of speed and smarts with huge brutal strength.         Those three packs were enemies for almost as long as their people were divided and scattered. For what Huang Li learned was two thousand years, they fought with each other over the rights to gems that were under this pathetic pony country, spilling blood of good Dogs instead that of lesser creatures. Even now, with the Diamond Empire restored, they refused to come into the hold, not wanting to work with the other. Finally, when Huang Li’s army rose so big that they couldn’t ignore it, they came. But still, they couldn’t stand each other, and made their Emperor chose.         He wouldn’t want nothing more that to reduce them to nothingness for not being obedient, but he knew he couldn’t. Even if he got just one of those packs, his army would be almost doubled. With force this big and with the Beastmasters pets, the only kingdom (if it could be called as such) that pose a threat to the Empire, Equestria, would drown in blood of the slain lesser creatures. So that’s why he listened to them arguing, trying to prove to him which one of their packs was more worthy of the Gift.         “Our pack holds true to the ways set forth by the ancients!” the alpha male of Rovers, Ming, spoke up at the time. “We deserve the Emperor's favor above all others!”         “You are nothing!” accused him the alpha male of Fidoes, Kuai. “We are the greatest!”         The Emperor was pleased to see that despite their hatred for each other, they listened to his command to not draw blades during this meeting, even if Ming’s and his packmates paws clenched angrily.         “Ha!” Hayian, the alpha male of Spots, shouted triumphantly. “You see, Your Imperial Majesty? Those other packs are beneath you!”         Huang Li rubbed his temples as they once again broke into a three-way argument. For a second, he almost wished things could go back to what they were, when he had only to deal with his packmates. But that was before he united the packs. Before he brought order. Before he discovered an ancient temple of their people and claimed the Orb. How foolish his ancestors were, to blame the Orbs for the curse that has befallen them. The second Huang Li touched it, his body was reformed, becoming the image of legends, the true form of the Diamond Dog. He used it on his Dogs, and led them back to their home, real home: Diamond City. It was here that he found the real cause of their people curse, or so he told his followers, it did not matter to him. What did matter was what he did to that cause: he fought it in a single combat, in front of his warriors, and after three days and three nights, he was victorious, the still beating heart of the one who stood guard over the city for who know how long within his paw, and ate it. The power that surged through him was unimaginable. He thought that as alpha male of Steel Muzzles he was unbeatable. He thought that as Lord of Badlands’ packs he was powerful. He thought that with his people’s true form he was invincible. But this... since that day, he was a God! To prove it to his Dogs, he forbade the guardian to die, and tossed him into deepest dungeons. He claimed the throne and crown, becoming the first Emperor of the Diamond Dogs in over two thousand years, and united his people. And soon, very soon, he would rule over the whole world, as lesser creatures would either be slain or enslaved. But now, Huang Li would have to deal with this. He once again sighed, wishing not for the return of old times, but for something to happen. He didn’t even care what it would be, just- “OH, FUCK BERRIES!” a loud voice erupted from above them, at the same time the ramp above them, (which, to be honest, the Emperor had no idea what it was for) cracked, and fallen down in pieces. Huang Li watched with his jaw dropped as several figures dropped with the rubble, but unlike all the rock, they were caught before they hit the ground but their winged brethren, and one simply appeared on the floor between hastily retreating pack leaders. The Emperor quickly collected himself, and while already planning to decimate the guards for letting those intruders in, he grinned, knowing that the ancestors listened to his prayer. “Welcome, ponies!” he told them, rising from the throne. He noted that the group of seven counted not only the pony he gave his warning to between them, but also, to his mild surprise, the one he was certain he killed. “Welcome to Diamond City, heart of Diamond Empire!” he continued, shrugging that tough off. “Few ponies had the honor to die within its walls!” turning to the three packs, he added: “Kill them. The pack who claims most heads shall earn my favor!” And then he sat down, content. Now the matter would not only resolve itself; but he was up for one amusing show. Filly glared angrily at Hoof, who stupidly started to jump on the ramp and caused it to fall. Had she knew that Balti was afraid of heights, she would have made sure her idiotic brother would be standing still instead of taunting her. Making a mental note to kick his balls off once this was all over; she looked around them. They were surrounded by... one hundred twenty Diamond Dogs. One hundred twenty Diamond Dogs, armed from head to lower paws, and all after their heads. “Uh, son of a bitch.” She went over in her mind what little they knew about those packs, matched their description to the info, and quickly came up with some semblance of a plan. “E, Cloud, group behind us!” she told them, signaling for Rover Pack, the one supposedly smart. “Trot, Balti, Hoof, left!” the Spot Pack, the fast ones. That left Fido Pack, the brutes. “Los, you’re with me on the right!” And with that; the battle began. The sounds of battle erupted from the palace guards the moment Crys put the last explosive in place. “What the hay?!” she thought, wondering what went wrong. She knew Filly wouldn’t go against the orders, and was more than capable of stopping Los and Hoof if they would try to go get revenge. Something must have happen, but what that exactly was Crys would have to find out later, for she wasn’t the only one who heard the noise. “Let’s go check this out!” one of the nearby guards shouted to others, who nodded. Aware that she had to keep them on the walls, Crystal (in Diamond Dog’s form) jumped at the nearest one, ripped away his spear from his grasp, and killed him on the spot. The Dogs were so surprised that taking down next three was easy, but then they started to fight back. Assuming her real form, Crys blasted them with magic, to which now even more surprised foes were defenseless. Once she was sure there were no more Dogs in sight; the unicorn quickly activated her Beacon. “Crys to Filly! What the buck?!” She had to wait few second for reply, a short time for most, but an eternity to her. “Shit happened!” the pegasus replied at her usual manner, but for once Crys didn’t mind. “Blow the fucking wall up and get here! We need help!” “What do you mean!?” she asked, but already began moving to a safer distance. “I’m a little too busy for this shit!” Filly said and cut of the connection. “Filly?! Damnit!” Crys shouted in rage as she realised that the pegasus hanged up on her. “Crys to Cant and Mane!” she said instead, not minding that she would reveal two stallions’ positions to the enemy. “We need to detonate now!” “But I still have few of them left...” Mane started, sounding a little winded; no doubt he was also fighting. “If we don’t do it now, we will lose our chance to take out their army!” Cant interrupted him a second before Crys did. “Throw the rest at the nearest group and run!” “Ten second!” Cryst told them as she run, lifting up the detonator from her saddle bag. “Meet up at the center.” “Oh, fuck damnit!!!” Mane shouted, probably scared shitless. “Nine, eight...” E blinked away from the group of three Dogs, and blasted them away from a safer distance. This wasn’t looking good so far. He and his friends were coming out on top with the fight; but only because the Dogs were unfamiliar with the team’s powers. It wouldn’t take long for them to get the hang of it. Already he could see that they were avoiding standing directly in front of Balti, and kept their distance from Hoof. Trot had already used his ability to kill the alpha male of the group and few others, and had to wait for it to recover. They were also more careful with attacking Cloud, never sure if it was the real one or fake. So far, the only ones who completely dominated their battlefield were Filly and Los. But how long would that last? “Only one thing left to do...” E thought unhappily. He was about to split himself to apart into a few of tens; hoping that greater numbers would give them an advantage. Just then, an enormous explosion some distance away shook them all, ponies and Dogs alike. But while the Dogs looked confused, the ponies grinned, and fought with renewed strength. While E was happy to know that at least they didn’t have to worry about those guards they saw back on city’s walls, there was battle at hoof to focus on. But, since Crys and rest were on their merry way, he split into only a ten of himself. Still, the faces of the Diamond Dogs were priceless. The Emperor felt the explosion like everydog here; but was more shocked than them. What happened? For a single dreadful moment he feared that thing escaped, but brushed that off, as it was impossible. Not to mention that if that was the issue, the explosion would have come from the palace, not the city. Angry at himself for feeling something that the god he was shouldn’t, he signaled for two of his elite guards to go and see what this was, and returned his attention to the battle. Huang Li blinked. Were there really now ten more of them? Crys tapped her hoof at the carved stone that made roads of Diamond City impatiently, beginning to worry that Cant was caught up in explosion. The mere thought of losing him of all ponies scared her more than she ever suspected. She was aware how she felt about him, of course, but... At the same moment, Cant emerged from the one of the smaller streets, and Crys wordlessly teleported next to him and threw herself at his neck, kissing him fully on the lips. The stallion, while a bit surprised, didn’t seem to mind as he moved his hooves around her body in a tight hug. They would have probably stayed like this for a while longer, but soon a gentle cough made them separate. Crys looked absentmindedly at Mane’s smirking face, surprised by her own action, but quickly came to her senses as she noticed there were few bruises on both of stallions. “Does either of you need patching up?” she asked, worried they may have other, less visible injuries. When both of them shook their head, she breathed heavily, allowing herself a heartbeat to relax, before she reminded herself that the rest were in trouble. “Get closer, I will teleport us to the location of others’ Beacons.” They nodded at once and did as she asked. Mane undoubtedly worried about Cloud, while Cant worried about everypony, as it was his nature. Crys concentrated, casting her teleportation spell. It was always harder when she tried to teleport others with her; not to mention that she wanted to move them all over such great distance. Luckily, the Beacons were all connected, and a unicorn like herself could use them in various ways, such as now. Her teleportation spell worked, and they arrived... in the middle of the battle. E grabbed his head as two of his duplicates got hit, badly, and disappeared before they could die. The migraine he was getting was unbelievable, and he had to once again become whole, else he would risk blacking out. Once he did so, the pain somewhat eased, but only for a bit. Still, it was enough for him to start paying attention to his surroundings, and realize he was about to become a non-vegetarian shishkebab. “This is the might of Rovers!” the Dog shouted as the polearm descended... but never came close to its target. A blast of energy, pinpointed at his foes chest, blew it all the way across the courtyard. The blast was strong enough to separate Dog’s limbs from his torso. Cringing a bit, E turned around, looking for next opponent. He saw to his pleasure that Crys, Cant and Mane have joined the fray. Wriggling the air with his front legs happily, he followed suit. “They what?!” the Emperor shouted, shocked and outraged at the news he just received. Almost entirety of the city’s walls has been destroyed. For few long moments Huang Li was speechless. He had posted almost all of his warriors on those wall, so that the pack leaders that came to him would know just how numerous his army was, and now it came back to bite him. The realization that it would take him years to rebuild his forces before his conquest could begin, dawned hard on him. But the shock didn’t last long. Soon, it was replaced by a completely different emotion: fury. Those weak, pathetic creatures dared to embarrass him?! To hinder his path to glory?! They dared to defy a god?! He rose from his throne, and gathered the power around him. He looked through his mask at the battlefield, which was now covered by corpses of the supposedly mighty packs’ Dogs. Those that still fought, those pathetically few that were left, also deserved in his mind to die. Few of those ponies looked at him, confused, as his body glowed with the power he stole - nay, he took, for gods did not steal - from the stars, and the air cracked. “Enough of this farce!” Huang Li shouted, and the fight immediately ended, the faces of Dogs whiter with terror. “Fall beneath the wrath of the Emperor!!!” And with that, he unleashed the power of stars at the courtyard, causing an even louder explosion than the one that destroyed his army, but concentrated. As furious as he was, Huang Li did not want to destroy himself or his palace. Once the dust has settled and his eyes adjusted again after the blast, the Emperor looked at what was left of the courtyard, and of those that stood there. A giant hole, so deep and dark, that light of the city’s crystals could not pierce all the way down.