They were staring at me with as much intensity as I was them as both sides waited for the other to make the first move. After a few tense moments, a brash young pegasus, armed with a sword, rushed me, only to have the side of his neck opened up in three parallel sections by my hook-blades as I sidestepped and swiped with my seemingly-open left hand.
The rest of his group looked on in shock as he pressed a hoof to the wounds in a futile attempt to stem the blood running down his left.
As he collapsed, another pegasus let out an anguished yell and also rushed me, only to ragdoll across the garden when his jaw was met with the pommel of the Sword of Aeons.
The other mercenaries snapped out of their daze and a small cluster broke off to try and overpower me. As we clashed, I failed to notice the guard running back to the castle's doors.
{-}
-Celestia-
I was about to open the day court with my adviser, Lady Lapis, sister to the insufferable buffoon Jack had struck earlier, when an out of breath guard burst in through the side doors.
After hastily bowing to me, he immediately approached my vizier, saying, "Lady Lapis, I regret to inform thee that thine brother has brought no less than a dozen sell-swords onto the castle grounds and is attacking the guest."
He then looked to me, and continued, "Last I saw, two of the assailants were down, but I can not be sure how much longer he will last."
Standing, I ordered, "Go to the barracks, have a squad of guards join us in the gardens and then get some rest. Thou hast earned it."
As I broke into a full sprint, I noticed Lady Lapis following, and asked, "Why dost thou wish to follow us, Lady Lapis? Thou could become harmed in the conflict."
Catching up, she said, "Thy concern is welcome, your highness, however, this is grounds for discussion between myself and mine brother."
With that we both continued towards the gardens.
{-}
meanwhile
-Jack-
The group of four split apart and surrounding me as they tried to gain the upper hand, or upper hoof in this case.
As they got into position, I considered my options for fighting and when they charged, I reversed my grip on the sword, raised it in front of me and stabbed it into the ground, channelling Will through it.
The moment the four reached me the ground burst open in a multitude of glowing red splits that sent the stallions tumbling away and cast up a cloud of smoke that concealed me as I started hovering.
When the smoke cleared, the remaining six ponies, their employer having run off while the smoke was thick, looked up at me in awe and fear.
Just like the people of Albion.
Horizontally slicing the air in front of me, the blade let out a curved wave of blue energy that hit one of the ponies and clipped another.
The one that took the full force was thrown back with a massive gash along his 'chest' open enough to see bone and crimson tissue briefly, before it was hidden behind a mass of blood.
The one who took a glancing hit from the magical attack was thrown onto his side with an ear missing, while he screamed bloody murder.
Of the remaining four, one ran, two took wider stances and held their weapons and the last, a pegasus backed away a few paces.
The two charged and moved their swords with an experienced ease. One swung high, the other, low, but because of the greater length of the Sword of Aeons, I was able to force one back and avoid the other.
It went on like this for a few more moments, until one got overconfident and attacked alone.
Swinging as hard as I could, my sword severed the hilt from the blade and sent both flying out of the magical grasp of the unicorn.
It was no more than a second before his friend thrust his own blade towards my unguarded back.
Pivoting on my heel, I used the flat of my blade to push his into position, making his momentum drive his blade into his friends throat.
Realising what he had just done, he let go of his weapon and turned to flee, but stopped as I punched him unconscious with my sword still in hand.
"Jack!" I heard celestia's voice shout.
AS I turned to face her, I felt a pull on the corner of my cloak as a crossbow bolt shot past and buried itself in the leg of the mare that had thanked me that morning, eliciting a pained scream.
Turning slowly, I looked to the pegasus who had backed away from the fight, fumbling with a crossbow.
Slowly making my way over to him, I had set such a terror into the pony that he couldn't even finish reloading his crossbow.
When I reached him, I grabbed his shoulder and lifted him to eye level and told him, "The gods and demons you fear and worship are insignificant fleas, compared to my power."
The pony was shaking at this point and his whimpers were the most pathetic thing I had ever heard.
I was faintly aware of Celestia in the background, fussing over the injured mare, while I said, "Let me show you where I am from."
With a pulse of Will, I opened a crimson portal to the Void on the ground beneath the pony.
"I wonder how long you'll last," I told him, before dropping him in as he let out a blood-curdling scream that cut off as the portal closed.
Present day
I sat there, meditating in the heat of my sanctuary. Magically linked from my home, the place known only as Beyond the Bronze Gate was once a castle built in a remote mountain range, but in the time I'd been away, had become a near replica of the one in Albion.
As I sat there listening to the explosions of the distant volcanoes, I kept my view through the mindscape fixed on the opposite side of the magical gap.
Feeling Chrysalis approach, my eyes snapped open and I made my way back through in time for her to see the colossal gates shut behind me.
Striding over to her, I made no attempt at subtlety as I asked, "What did they find and where is it?"
Clearly startled by my blunt inquiry, she paused a bit before answering. "We have reports of a sword, located within the Everfree forest-"
"Let me guess," I cut her off, "At the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters?"
A look of confusion crossed her face. "How-"
"It is somewhat of a cliché, for an object of power to be kept in a ruins, would you not agree?" I asked as I walked past her.
After navigating my way to the Cullis Gate, I felt through it with Will, to be surprised as I found the gate ar said castle to be active and operational.
Coming out of the Cullis Gate at the apparently repaired castle, I made my way inside and stared searching with the mindscape to find my long lost weapon.
I was in there no more than five minutes before I heard voices in the building.
"-derstand why she sent us here."
"Ah thought ya said ya were listenin' to the princesses this time."
I hid behind a column and waited for them to pass, sneaking a glance at them.
I had seen enough of these two during my imprisonment to know who they were.
Jacqueline Apple, or Applejack as she prefers, the former Element of Honesty and Rainbow Dash, the former Element of Loyalty.
Killing them then and there would have drawn attention, which I didn't want until I had gathered my remaining weapons, so I let them pass and remained unseen as they continued to argue about Spectrum Head's attentiveness.
Maintaining my stealthy approach to the situation, I continued through a few more rooms until I reached a doorway guarded by the living embodiment of diabetes, Pinkie Pie, and her friend Rarity, or as I liked to know her, Lady Muck of Turd Island.
I smiled behind my mask at the thought.
Distracting them was a simple matter. All I had to do was create an imitation Wisp with a bit of my power and send it flying down a side-corridor and the perplexing pink pony chased it and in turn was chased by Rarity, who was making a vain attempt to get Pinkie to return to her post.
As I went through, I found myself standing in the old throne room.
'Of course she'd hide it in here,' I thought to myself.
I had barely made it three paces when a voice just to my left made itsef known.
"Um, e-excuse me."
Raising an unseen eyebrow, I looked down at a pony so meek, I had actually mistaken it for a part of my surroundings.
Internally, I was debating whether or not Fluttershy was the Element of Kindness, or the Element of Adorableness.
When she noticed me looking at her she tried to make herself even smaller and said, "I w-was wondering, um, if y-you could maybe, um, c-c-come with me to P-princess Twilight, um, if it's not t-too much trouble?"
Temporarily ignoring her request, I reached down and scratched her behind the ear for a few seconds, eventually sending her to sleep.
Pulling my hand away, I finally answered her, "No," and continued to the old throne of Luna.
Why 'Tia hid my sword in her sister's throne, I neither knew nor cared.
Lifting the throne, I revealed a rusted steel lid to what was supposed to be a hidden compartment.
Punching the lock off like it was nothing, I reached down and grabbed it by the blade.
when I had fully revealed the weapon, I took the hilt in my right hand and felt the power flow back into me.
With a relieved sigh, I used my Will to teleport to the old gardens, now overgrown with weeds and other wild plants.
I was only there for a few seconds before I felt a 'pull'.
Curious, I resisted for a second before letting myself get taken by it and felt myself de-materialise as a bright glow surrounded me.