Age of Kings

by A bag of plums

17 - A Splash of Magic

Emerald Edge had returned to the dens once more, wiping sweat from her head. She had managed to get through more fights, finishing with only minor injuries.

Her last fight had been a double match. Thankfully, her partner had been Sir Ganeighn, a familiar face. She found herself facing off against a green knight and another large man from the Frozen North, but they had pulled through with decent teamwork.

The mage that attended to her had told her it was finally half time, meaning that she was halfway to getting that shield now. She could feel it. She was close and once she had it, Sombra was going to regret taking her home from her.

Apparently, there was also supposed to be a performance out in the main castle courtyard, and most of the town would be there, even the king.

“Why hello, my lady,” Sir Morn strode alongside her. “Fancy seeing you here. Are you headed to the performance?”

“Yes,” Emerald nodded as they passed the apple stand. She gave Apple Bean and Golden Nugget a wave, noticing Honeygold wasn’t with them, probably gone to see the performance. “It must be a big deal if even King Dawn Saber is going to see it.”

“Tis part of the tournament, Emerald,” Sir Morn explained. “Since the king has watched us do combat, he breaks and joins us out here as well. Besides, these performances are one to see. One of the mages does it.”

“A mage? It’s a magic show!”

“Magic show?” The knight thought about it. “Yes, if you say it like that. Tis a magic show.”

The two made their way toward the King’s pavilion, built atop the castle’s walls, facing the main courtyard, where King Dawn Saber and Queen Sunlight Radiance were seated, flanked on both sides by the muses. The pair found two empty seats by the castle wall and sat down, letting the cool afternoon breeze play around with their hair and lift their spirits.

“My, it’s a fine day to be out in the sun,” Sir Morn closed his eyes and looked up. “Not everyday you have wind like this, my lady.”

“I’d prefer a bath, to be honest,” Emerald looked down at herself and sighed. “Or at least a quick wipe down. All this fighting has me sweating like a pig in summer.”

“A pig in summer?” Sir Morn chuckled and wiped at his own forehead. “You’re not wrong about that. Interesting saying, my lady. I don’t believe I’ve heard that one. I think we all could do with a bath at the end of today.”

A crier strode out into the courtyard, his blue and gold livery bright and replendescent in the afternoon sun. He was followed by a small group of men and women dressed in green and red costumes, pulling a tall wooden box on a wagon, large enough to fit someone in it.

“What do you suppose that is, Sir Morn?” Emerald patted his armored shoulder and pointed at the box.

“Oh, you shall find out shortly, my lady,” the knight rested an arm on her shoulder.

Emerald didn’t mind it, so she let it be. It felt nice. A woman beside her looked at her, but this time, Emerald did nothing about it.

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,” The crier announced. “Presenting, for your entertainment, Beatrix and the Phantasms!”

With a fanfare, the box burst open in a dazzling flash of light, revealing a young woman in mages robes with white hair and a pointed wide brimmed hat, who struck a pose for the audience.

A good portion of the humans clapped for her, including Sir Morn, some even cheering out her name and something that sounded like, “The Stupendous and Almighty!”

Emerald Edge shrugged and clapped along. If they were this excited to see her, it must be a performance to remember.

“Thank you all!” Beatrix said as the rest of her band set up a small podium and a cage. “For my first trick, the Stupendous and Almighty Beatrix will pull a rabbit out of her hat!”

“A rabbit from her hat?” Emerald leaned forward a little. “Now this, I want to see.”

She was curious as to how humans would perform this trick. Back in Equestria, Light Speckle had made things materialize out of nothing. It couldn’t possibly be the same here, could it?

Beatrix took off her hat and shook it, showing off that it was indeed empty. Then the magician held the hat out upside down with the brim horizontal, then began to wave her free hand mystically over the opening in her hat.

“Hey presto!” She cried, snapping her fingers, sending out a burst of sparks before dipping her hand into the hat and pulling out a fluffy white rabbit. The audience oohed, and there was a smattering of applause.

Emerald was very impressed. She had no idea how one could pull a rabbit out of a hat like that if they didn’t have real magic. Perhaps some humans really had magic like unicorns do.

“That is not all,” Beatrix said loudly. “Next, the Stupendous and Almighty Beatrix, will change this rabbit into a flock of doves!”

Placing the rabbit onto the pedestal, Beatrix dropped her hat over the creature, obscuring it from view before waving her hands around the hat and clapping them, sending off another plume of golden sparks.

“Abra-cadabra!”

Beatrix swept her hat off the podium, and just as promised, a small flock of white birds burst forth from beneath the hat. Beatrix replaced the hat on her head and bowed.

“That is truly amazing, is it not, my lady?” Sir Morn joined the audience in clapping again.

“Very,” Emerald nodded slowly as she watched the mage.

Next, Beatrix pulled a string of colored handkerchiefs from her sleeves before turning them into a single silk scarf that she presented to the queen. Then, she performed some blindfolded knife-throwing, tossing small daggers at various pieces of fruit that the Phantasms would hold up.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Emerald pointed out. A few townsfolk kept looking at her. Probably irritated from all the questions she was firing out about the magic show. “Nevermind. I’ll just enjoy it…”

The crowd was awed when Beatrix produced a large carpenter’s saw and proceeded to saw one of her assistants in two, then putting him back together using the box which she had arrived in. Emerald noted that for every trick, Beatrix would somehow create golden sparks with her gloved hands, often by clapping or by clicking her fingers. That was an interesting magic trick in itself.

“Next, Beatrix will require a participant from the crowd,” she announced. “Does anyone feel like a bit of magic?”

Emerald wanted to raise her hand. She wanted to experience this magic firsthand to see if it was really the same, but she didn’t dare raise her hand. All eyes would be on her and she wouldn’t have something like a fight to distract her from all their eyes.

“You there, with the shiny hair! Come on up!”

Emerald looked up at the mage, noticing the other humans around her were all looking at her. “M-Me…?”

“Yes, you! Come and join Beatrix on the stage!”

“Go on,” Sir Morn grinned. “It’ll be fun.”

Emerald didn’t doubt that, but it was a lot of attention and she didn’t prepare for it. “Sir Morn, all th-those eyes… I don’t know…”

“You’ll do fine, my lady,” Sir Morn gently pushed her shoulder. “If the need arises, I shall be by your side in a blink. Fear not. Go on.”

Emerald scratched at her head, but eventually mustered enough courage to stand up and walk forward, keeping her eyes on the ground. The crowd cheered for her, which was nothing new for the day, but it still felt different.

“Thank you for your cooperation!” Beatrix said with a reassuring smile. “Now, what’s your name?”

“Umm… Em-Emerald Edge,” she mumbled to the mage.

“Good to have you, Emerald. Now,” Beatrix said, pulling out a deck of cards and shuffling it one-handed before holding them out in a fan formation. “Pick a card, any card. Feel free to show the audience, but do not show me.”

Emerald picked one and held it to the audience. It was a single pink heart. “Umm… Now what?”

“Now, please put your card back into the deck without showing me.”

Emerald did so.

“Now, behold!” Beatrix took the entire deck of cards and threw it high into the air, where it flew apart and began to flutter down in a cloud. Almost immediately after, Beatrix flung a cloud of white powder up, where it mingled with the cards.

“Light for me!” She cried, snapping her fingers skyward. Sparks flew, and the entire cloud of powder and cards ignited in full flame, burning all the cards and conjuring a magnificent orange fireball in the air.

The crowd oohed again as it began to descend and dissipate, spreading out into what looked like a broken egg.

Only one card had escaped unscathed, the lone piece of paper fluttering down and into Beatrix’s open palm.

“Is this your card?” she grinned, holding up the ace of hearts for all to see.

The crowd cheered and clapped, with Emerald as surprised and ecstatic on how the card could’ve survived all that. That was a really good magic act. Even the king was on his feet, applauding.

“You’ve got talent, Beatrix,” Emerald told her. “Simply fascinating.”

“I know,” Beatrix said smugly. She turned to the crowd and bowed again. “And that is the end! Thank you all for coming to watch the Stupendous and Almighty Beatrix, and thank you, King Dawn Saber, for allowing me to perform! Thank you all!”

King Dawn Saber raised a goblet of drink to her before walking out of the pavilion with his wife and the muses, likely heading back to the arena.

Emerald was allowed to go back, instantly swooping back to her seat beside Sir Morn, glad that most of the eyes were off her now.

“That wasn’t so bad was it?” The knight wrapped an arm around her. “Oh, you are shaking, my lady.”

“It was really interesting,” Emerald smiled. “I don’t know how else it could be done if it were not real magic.”

“Then I am glad you went up, my lady.”

Spectrum and Honeygold had popped up, each giving Emerald a hug before laughing.

“Ah can’t believe ya got to go up, Em! Ah wish Ah had the chance.”

“Yeah, Em,” Spectrum plucked at something in her teeth. “Way to go. And I saw all your matches. You were… incredible!”

“Oh, you little fillies,” Emerald laughed and patted them both on the head. “That was real magic right there. Almost like something from my world.”

“Emerald, that was amazing,” another voice appeared. It was from a female guard with orange skin and green hair, standing just beside the spymaster now. “And what you did with your hair is nice.”

Emerald raised an eyebrow. Here it was again. A guard that seemingly knew her and her hair. “Umm… Thanks. I didn’t do anything with my hair. It’s always been like that. Unless you mean its current untidy state.”

“Always been like that?” the guard repeated. “But we’ve known you forever, and your hair’s never been like this.”

“Known me? Forever?” Now Emerald really was confused. Who were these people? Then it struck her. The guard did look rather familiar. Maybe she had spoken to her before? “I’m sorry, I just don’t understand right now. Could you tell me who you are?”

“What do you mean…?” the guard seemed to be upset. “You’re kidding, right?”

Emerald didn’t know what to say, everything was a blur around her and she felt like her head was even spinning from thinking too much about it. Thankfully, she didn’t have to say anything. Another guard, the one that Emerald had met before the tournament, walked up to her fellow guard, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Umm… Amber, I need to talk to you. Right now. Important.” Then she looked at Emerald and smiled. “I’m sorry for troubling you.”

And then they were off, quickly walking away back into the castle.

“What was all that about?” Spectrum scratched her head and squinted.

“I don’t really know, but…” Emerald sat back down and replayed the guard’s words. “Amber… Spring Amber. I-I think she’s a friend! Back in the Crystal Empire! B-But… I saw her die… Could she have survived and come over to this world?”

“I do not know, my lady,” Sir Morn placed a hand to his chin. “But perhaps this is a copy of your friend? You once told me your world is like a mirror of ours. Similar, but without… ponies. Maybe she thinks she knows you, because-”

“Because she knows this world’s Emerald Edge!” Honeygold widened her eyes in understanding. “That’s cool, Em! That means there’s another you here!”

“Another me…?” Emerald tried to wrap that around her head. Was that logical? What would she be like? “That’s… I think I need a rest…”

“Emerald, are you alright?” Sir Morn patted her back as if to soothe her.

“I don’t know…”

In truth, seeing her friend here, if she was really Spring Amber, meant that they were all here. Alive. The guards, and maybe even Light Speckle too. Emerald still remembered Speckle’s last words to her. Maybe she knew of this world and how they would meet again. Would it be the same? Would they know her like they did back in the Crystal Empire?

“Excuse me?” a new voice broke her thoughts back to reality. It was an older looking human with pale grey skin and blue-grey hair, wearing some rather fancy clothes. “Yes, sorry to intrude on your conversation, and I realize you look unwell, so let me keep this short. I’m High Rise, and I noticed your brilliantly made cloak. Might I perhaps ask where you had received it from? I would like to purchase some for myself.”

“Oh, this?” Emerald lifted her arm to look at the cloak. “From Canterlot Fabrics. I’m sure you must’ve heard about Jewel Pin? She’s a magnificent seamstress.”

“Jewel Pin, you say?” the man folded his arms. “I don’t believe I have ever heard that name. Thank you. I shall investigate this Canterlot Fabrics for myself and see what it has to offer. You have been most helpful.”

With that said, the man bowed before heading out of the courtyard towards the castle’s drawbridge, likely going straight to the shop to see her now.

“Well that was… interesting,” Honeygold watched him disappear in the distance.

“And random,” Spectrum folded her arms. “Em, the next match will be starting soon. Are you alright?”

“Just a little… lightheaded,” Emerald placed a hand over her forehead. “I’ll be fine. I just need a break from all… all this.”

“Tis fine,” Sir Morn bent down and scooped Emerald up in his arms. “I shall carry you back to the dens. That way, you’ll get some rest before the next round.”

“Oh, well…” Emerald looked to her young friends, but they were busy snickering to each other.

“Just let it be, Em,” Honeygold said. “Ya need it. Besides, ain’t no better person to help ya than Sir Morn.”

“So true, Em,” Spectrum added in.

“If-if you say so.” Emerald lifted her hands to her bright red cheeks, hoping the good knight wouldn’t see them. His face was a lot closer than it has ever been.

“Then away to the dens!” Sir Morn said proudly and marched off, leaving the two girls to chatter amongst themselves before heading for the stands.

---

Archdruid Duchan stalked through the trees of the Shetland Forest, helped on one side by one of his faithful druids, Nimhe.

“Thank you, Nimhe,” he grunted, putting more pressure on his staff. “Hopefully I shan't need your help much longer.”

They arrived back at their current camp, surrounded by a crew of mercenaries, while the other druids worked on the inside, creating more potions and poisons to use. A batch of hairy humanoid creatures were in the process of setting up more tents. The Fir Laimhe Laithe had found and tamed these trolls to serve as their slaves in the wilds. Not too smart, but they were incredibly useful for carrying things.

Arriving at their central bonfire, Archdruid Duchan reached into his robes and retrieved a gnarled old finger that looked almost like a root if not for the bit of bone sticking out of the back.

“Archdruid Duchan, Nimhe, you’re back!” Another druid, Galar, joined them by the fire. “Is that what you went looking for?”

“Correct,” Duchan nodded and grabbed a bowl from a nearby table. “This is the index finger of an old mage, I’m sure you’ve heard of him. The great Star Swirl the Bearded.”

“How did you find his body?” Galar widened his eyes at the revelation.

“Searching, of course, dear Galar.” Duchan pulled out a bag of spices and mixed it in the bowl before dropping the finger in, along with a raven’s claw, a mushroom and a wolf’s tongue. “With this, I shall finally have the strength I lost.”

After adding water and some tree sap, the archdruid placed it over the fire and returned to a chair Nimhe had brought him. Not long after, the ingredients were gone, melted down into the rest of the liquid in the bowl, ready for consumption.

“Yes…” Duchan removed the bowl and placed it on the table. “With this, we shall have what we need.”

The grey haired druid picked up the bowl and with both hands, held it to his mouth to drink. Stopping at halfway, he put it back down and gave his neck a good crack before standing taller, breaking out of the hunch that had grown on him in his old age.

“Ah… Much better. I feel it,” he said, balling a fist. “My strength has returned. Alas, I do not need all of it. Trodaire!”

A bigger man, standing at least a head taller than the other mercenaries, pushed his way past Nimhe and Galar, stopping before the archdruid. He had an iron battle helmet on his head, along with a plated chest piece and leg armor. His arms were bare, but they were big and strong like the warriors from the Frozen Wastes.

“Trodaire, drink,” Duchan held the bowl up to the mercenary’s face.

The mercenary complied, taking the bowl and downing its contents in a single gulp, wiping the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. Bending back, the large man released a loud roar, his biceps bulging and arms outstretched.

“How is your strength, Trodaire?” Nimhe asked him.

Turning around, the mercenary picked up one of the other mercenaries by the shoulder straps, lifting him clear off the ground in both hands. With a grunt, Trodaire sent him flying well over the tents, sailing into the bushes on the other side with the crackle of branches and twigs.

“Good,” Duchan smirked and pulled at his beard. “Now, return to Canterlot. It is time to win that shield.”

---

Comments

[Jaxxon Markus Citadel]

Beatrix... Trixie? If it is, her ancestor has the same flair for showbiz as her descendant.

[Sonata Eternal]

The mean old druids are taking part in the tournament too? Or are they planning on stealing that shield by force?

[Marcthelightspark2004]

“Thank you all!” Beatrix said as the rest of her band set up a small podium and a cage. “For my first trick, the Stupendous and Almighty Beatrix will pull a rabbit out of her hat!”

well we found trixie's ancestor

[MoonlightRift]

Uh oh.