Huang Li awaited impatiently the return of his Imperial Guard’s Captain. He wanted to extract his vengeance on those ponies, that were unworthy of just being near his presence, let alone of trying to put an end to his plans or steal his property. For a brief moment, he wondered if he should have went after them himself, but quickly pushed that notion away. He was the Emperor of Diamond Empire; he shouldn’t dirty his paws with grunts work.
“Inflicting pain on them is a different matter.” Huang Li mused, as he fought off the urge to take off his mask rub his eyes.
Luckily, thanks to his mask, none of his guards saw the expression his face bore. Truth to be told, Huang Li overdid it at the courtyard, and was now slightly tired. Not enough to not be able to deal with those troublesome pests if he had to, but enough for him to wish he could go to sleep already.
Absentmindedly, he rubbed both Orbs that were embedded into his Throne’s arms. Pushing away the wrath at the thought of the ponies’ attempt to claim them, he pondered why they sought them at all. Those two he fought in the Temple of Orange Star, as well as their companions, had some strange abilities for ponies. Normally, such powers could be seen used by only the horned ones, but only three of those ten had those. Was there a... connection?
Emperor musing was interrupted when doors to his Throne Room opened. His gaze lifted up, and a second later did so his spirit. Guan Yu approached, an in his paw was set of chains, each bound to a collar on pony’s neck. All of them were only half alive. At that sight of them captured, Huang Li had to control himself to not show through his body language how excited he was at the prospect of slowly torturing them.
“Your Imperial Grace,” Guan Yu said as he kneeled before him...
… on his left knee.
A growl escaped Huang Li’s lips as he realised that even his strongest follower has failed him.
“Do you think me stupid?” he asked as he sent a bolt of celestial energy at the pretender, while at the same time raising and reaching for his polearm, Hàirán.
Crys dropped her disguise as she quickly put on a defensive spell around everypony. Knowing better than to try and block this astral bolt, she merely changed it trajectory, resulting in one of the guards getting hit.
“How did he know...” she pondered, while letting the illusion spell drop.
The chains that bound her friends, as well as their injuries and her double all disappeared. The guards around them quickly raised their weapons, as did the Emperor, who was now approaching them.
“Stand down.” he barked at the Diamond Dogs, who immediately stepped back to their posts. Huang Li pointed his polearm at the agents, mystical energies crackling around him. “You have earned my ire.” he said to them quietly, but still threateningly. “For that, I will flay your skin, and-”
“Yeah yeah, you’re pissed, we get it.” Hoof interrupted him. As Huang Li armored head shifted slightly to regard him, Crys grinned despite herself. “Can we get to the part when we fight? I kinda have a thing to do later.”
“What, with that rock behind the compound?” Mane teased him.
“Your sister name is Rock?” Hoof replied with question, pretending to be surprised.
They stopped their bickering at the outraged howl. Apparently, ignoring the Emperor wasn’t such a good idea, if the energy orbs of gold and silver that rushed at their direction were any indication. Crys concentrated and shoot one with her magic, as did Balti and E, Hoof blocked another with his sword, while others dodged. This gave enough time for Huang Li to charge at them, his weapon high in air as he attempted to strike down at Cloud. The blade of polearm went through the duplicate, while Los leaped at him with his new toy. The Emperor swiftly moved his weapon and the two were about to clash, when suddenly the Diamond Dog yelped in pain.
“At least that part of the plan worked.” Crys thought with satisfaction as Cant, now visible, raised a dagger from the vault for another strike at Huang Li’s back.
Despite the pain, the Dog still managed to block Los attack. He then lifted his left paw from the weapon and reached behind him, faster than they could react. Before Crystal could even begin to fear for her coltfriend, he was sent flying against the wall. She quickly dropped the spell sustaining his illusion duplicate and rushed to his side, wanting to make sure he was okay.
Judging by the cracks on the wall his body made upon the impact, he was not, but nonetheless he did stood up by the time Crys got to him. He shook his head, no doubt feeling dizzy.
“Are you good?” she asked him, while at the same time casting spell on one of the guards, making him lunge towards the Emperor.
“More like just okay...” he mumbled, as he once again became invisible.
Crys sighed with relief, and focused solely on the battle. She saw Huang Li still managing to fend off all agents, be it with his powerful strikes with polearm, or with his magical power. Los was the target of most physical attacks, as he’s the only one able to withstand them, both with his enhanced strength and his double-bladed weapon. The magical attacks were mostly intercepted either by E or Balti, or by Filly, who could easily heal every damage it made.
Just when Crys joined in again, bombarding the Emperor with spell after spell and thinking that this might proved to be a lot easier than expected, Huang Li lifted both of his forepaws into the air. Immediately, magic aura appeared around him, pushing away all ponies.
“Stars, burn my foes!”
Several orbs of pure energy appeared around them, and within next heartbeat, they all surged at agents. Crys conjured a shield around herself, and was about to do so for others. But then, to her utter shock, the miniature stars phased through her barrier.
And exploded…
E cursed as the blast carried him away from others. He attempted to stop those stars, or whatever they were, by simply grabbing them with his powers, but that proved to be impossible. The explosion, thankfully, wasn’t lethal, but it was strong enough to break several of his bones and burn his coat in few places.
He shook his head to search for the Emperor, and saw him... with his weapon raised above knocked out Filly.
“No!!!” he shouted, and disregarding the pain he was in, he blinked to stand above her.
He knew that Huang Li was too sturdy to be simply pushed away, like he did so with the Diamond Dog in the courtyard, but it was not his plan. As the weapon descended, E used his power to change its course, making the Dog thrust it into the floor. The Emperor glared angrily at him, as the earth pony agent took the opportunity to attack him mentally.
They were everywhere.
His subject, all dead, marched upon him, staggering on their half-rotten legs. The weapons they held against him as they approached all bore mark of time, being practically all red, not with blood of their enemies, but with rust. Blight poured from their muzzles, or in few cases through the crevices in their masks.
But that wasn’t the only source of terror that Huang Li was now beholding. The whole area around him was equally terrifying. The entirety of his kind’s accomplishments, the Diamond City, the Five Temples, the deep underground passages... all in ruin.
And above him, the air was filled with ghost. Ghost of his ancestors, all frowning at him, looking disapprovingly. He failed them.
Huang Li was about to react, when he felt something to pick him up and twist him brutally aloft, as if he weighed as much as doll. He looked to see who was responsible for that... and found himself staring into the eyes of the god he defeated and humiliated not so long ago.
“This is the price for defying the gods!” the draconequus, bigger than ever, shouted. The paw that held him began to burn his flesh which, as he realized, was now back to its original state.
The draconequus’ jaw parted, and was about to descend upon him...
And then Huang Li decided he had enough.
He twisted his paw easily from draconequus hold and grabbed it by its throat, squeezing tight.
“Impressive imagination you have there, pony.” he spoke, truly being impressed with the detail his foe put into this nightmare. The silvery light of the moon crackled around him, adding to the pain of the creature in his grasp. “But you cannot trick a god.”
He then crushed the draconequus throat.
When Filly rose from her short break, the first thing she noticed was her coltfriend and the masked Diamond Dog having a staring contest. The next thing - that happened too fast for her to make her wonder how ridiculously that looked - was E, falling down without sign of live.
“No!!!” she screeched as she lounged at the Diamond Dog, hitting him right on the armored face, pounding it furiously with her hooves having nothing but murder on her mind.
She could feel her flesh being hit by fists and fire, but every attempt of the Emperor to push her away failed. The red haze that clouded her eyes made it difficult to see, but Filly could tell by the feeling in her hooves that there was now quite the number of dents in the helmet. She continued to attack him, not paying attention to the damage she was receiving, until she heard a sound air makes if something sharp cuts through it... and found herself falling towards the floor.
Los finally got his act together, just in time to witness Filly getting cut in half. If by half one meant that the part with her head had only left part of the chest, foreleg and wing.
Letting out the growl that made all his foes today quiver in fear, Los brought up his weapon (which he decided to name Brute Slash) and charged at the Dog, aiming at his neck. The Dog once again blocked it, and twisting his polearm around attempted to impale him. Los shifted his position and bounced the blade with the side of his weapon, at the same time slashing it through Emperor’s leg.
He was rewarded with short grunt of pain. Grinning, he moved Brute Slash to his left and was about pierce within Huang Li’s kidneys, but then felt an immense pain at the back of his skull, no doubt from the paw of his foe. The strike was so powerful that it sends him flying and made him lose the grip on Brute Shot.
Falling down on the floor few paces away, Los looked back, expecting to see that motherbucker attack him with his magic or something, but instead saw Hoof and Balti pressing on him. Being dizzy from the blow, Los was resigned for few moments to look at the action, as the mare’s acid melted the blade of Dog’s polearm, while her brother slashed with his energy sword, leaving few marks on torso and mask.
But just when Hoof was about to attack an opening for his throat, the Emperor grabbed him and threw him at his sister, knocking them both out. Los would curse if he still could, but as he attempted to finally stand up, he saw, to his horror, that Huang Li was pointing at the twins with one paw. The air around him crackled with energy.
Realising that he was about to unleash a powerful blow, Los hastened. However, the very moment he was finally back in action, Huang Li released the astral beam. Not having time to do anything else, the bulky pegasus flew up to Hoof and Balti, taking the brunt of the attack.
He could feel every part of his body, from his hooves to outstretched wings, screaming with pain. What was left from the black clothing he, like everypony else, wore for this mission, was destroyed. The force of the blast was even pushing him back, despite standing firmly on the ground, but Los refused the give up and let his friends get hurt. Soon, the onslaught of pain ended, and agent opened his eyes. All around him the floor of the Throne room was scorched or blown away, except for behind him. That part was untouched by Emperors magic. Los managed to shield it, along with (more importantly) two agents, who were staggering to their hooves.
Hurt, but satisfied, Los gazed at his enemy cockily.
“Yeah, that’s right...” he thought, panting, “I can take on anything you can dish out-” he stopped as he noticed the sharp pain coming from his body. “Oh alicorn, there go my organs.”
Huang Li watch with satisfaction as the bulky pony once again fell before his might. Assured that this one was down, he turned around...
… and was met with pair of hooves once again hitting him right in the armored face.
“How many times I’ll have to cut this pony for her to stay dead?!” he pondered as he hit grabbed her by the hoof and called upon the heat of sun to reduce her to ashes.
Before he could finish, however, a magical bolt struck him. Normally, he would barely paid attention to that, but now, with all those injuries, sharp sting of pain erupted from the spot it hit. Turning around, he chucked the half-burned pony at the one responsible. He wasn’t given time to caught his breath after that, as he found himself under attack from three ponies, all having his guards weapons in their hooves. Using what was left from his Hàirán to fend them off; he concentrated on increasing the temperature around him...
The hoof of the tan one went through his right lung as if it was nothing, and heartbeat later a yowl escaped from his throat. Huang Li backslapped the pony away, and saw the hole in his chest he left. Fury erupted in him, and redirected the energy he gathered to strike him down. The Emperor outstretched his paw at him, but as he was about to release his power, a dagger pierced it. He punched the orange pony away, and at the same time, he felt both of his kneecaps shatter.
Falling to the ground, he got a glimpse of the dark blue pony that kept healing her wounds. Growling in anger, he lifted himself up with his good upper-paw, but then another pony jumped on his chest, pressing him back down. This pony’s head hovered over his masked one for a brief second, before everything was covered by the green acid she spit at him. His mask melted, and the acid poured through the crevices for his eyes.
Huang Li was in greater agony that he ever felt in his entire life, and it was all because of ponies!
“No!” he screeched through pain, the adrenaline letting him punch the pony away and stand up again. However, he immediately felt dizzy. Huang Li realized that there was only darkness around him. “I am the Emperor of Diamond Dogs! Ruler of Diamond Empire! You are-”
He never got to say what they were. He was cut off by a pair of daggers piercing his neck, and another one at his back. Once again, he fell to the ground, knowing that this time he wouldn’t get up.
“Why? I sought only...” he murmured, his speech broken by the injury to his face. “... to return my people to glory. Why... why did the a-ancestors... let this...”
He wasn’t even allowed to finish his question. His strength left him and he descended further into darkness.
Deep below the Diamond City, within the crater created by powers not meant for mortals to wield, the draconequus paused in his pathetic attempt to climb up. He could feel that.
“So, he’s dead.” he murmured to himself, growling at the mere memory of one that reduced him to this measurable state. “Good. Never before there was one so deserving to die... not since Serpentera...”
“You all look like shit.”
Crys glared at Filly from her bed. It was the day after they’ve returned from mission, and everypony was still confounded into the infirmary. Filly was the only one to get released so far. Crys briefly wondered why they bothered checking her at all.
“She can regenerate more than half of her body within seconds. What could be wrong with her?” she thought bitterly.
Her own injuries weren’t severe, not when compared to Los, but still serious enough to make medics force her to stay one more day. Most of other ponies were in same situation as her, aside from two.
Los received serious damage to his organs. While his skin, flesh and bones were also hurt, they were used to it from all the training that the pegasus went through. However, it is impossible to make organs more resilient to damage. Only this morning the medics finally decided that his life wasn’t in danger, much to everypony’s relief. Crys though briefly how weird it was that for the second time straight, the most sturdy of them all was in the worst condition.
“Well, maybe not worst...” she pondered as she glanced at E.
Apparently, at some point of the battle, E tried to hurt the Emperor mentally, but it somehow backfired at him. He woke up soon, thankfully, which was about the only reason why Filly didn’t go on the rampage. But the true extent of damage has yet to be measured.
Even if Filly, who was currently sitting beside E, was a giant pain to her, Crys couldn’t help but smile at the thought how close those two were. She quickly turned her gaze away before they’ve noticed, not wanting to look weird. They were just so young, and yet so happy, despite their profession.
“Don’t pay attention to what she says.” Cant whispered from the bed beside hers. “You know she is happy that we are all okay, even if she is still worried about E.”
“You’re just saying that because you get released today.” Crys said, pretending to be angry.
“And you tomorrow.” he replied, shrugging. “Not my fault I was more careful in the battle.” her coltfriend smirked at her, but for his joke he got splashed with water.
Cant shook off the water from his face and looked at her angrily, but soon his frown turned into smile when he noticed that she winked at him. Crys was about to ask if he thought he could find an excuse to stick around after visiting hours, when out of nowhere...
“Excellent work, agents.” the Director announced as he and the Counselor enter the recovery room. As they all attempted to raise and salute, he waved at them to not bother. “We’ve checked the records from your beacons, and now we have full grasp of what happened down there. Once again, excellent work. You’ve managed to crush the threat to Equestria, recover the Orbs, and most importantly, get back alive.”
“Well, you know us, Sir, we’re hard to kill.” Mane commented, making few ponies chuckled.
“Indeed. As you might remember, before this whole mess with Diamond Empire started, we’ve announced that we plan to augment three agents further. After a long discussion, the Counselor and I came to conclusion as to who those three will be. However, we’ve also decided to approach those ponies personally, so that they might hide it from others for some time, if they so choose.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Crys mused. “Some ponies might not be happy about getting left out.”
“Also, bear in mind that those chosen by us are free to decline the offer.” the Director continued. “You will be approached within a few days, which I hope will be enough time for each of you to recover. Now then, with that over, there is also the matter of the Leaderboard before we leave you to your rest. Counselor?”
“Yes, Director.” the other unicorn replied, and beamed his horn at one of the runes.
Crys waited patiently for the list to form and change accordingly. When it was ready, she glanced at it...
1. Fillydelphia
2. Crystal
3. Canterlot
4. Manehatten
5. Los Pegasus
6. Eastin
7. Baltimare
8. Trottingham
9. Cloudsdale
10. Hoofington