Age of Kings

by A bag of plums

3 - Knight in Shining Armor

Emerald followed the two girls back to the better area of town, hanging a little further back to let the two of them catch up. Honeygold only got to see her friend every four months, so they must have plenty to talk about. Spectrum continued to strum on her lute, playing a soft tune as they made their way back across the bridge. From what Emerald learnt from the two young ones, the poorer area was called the Shades and the better off side was called the Loft District, where most of the nobles and merchants lived.

“And then the goat rammed right into the tree, makin’ all the apples come down!” Honeygold finished with a guffaw. “You should’a seen pa’s face when he found out!”

“Avalon sure is something else,” Spectrum laughed with her friend. “There’s not as much space here. You ever been to Avalon, Emerald?”

“No,” she shook her head. “Not in this world, nor in mine. I do not believe I have ever heard of Avalon, though.”

“Pity. Maybe we’ll take ya there one day!” Honeygold told her excitedly. “It’s a beautiful countryside. Lots of apple trees and such. Well, we ain’t got buildings like Canterlot here, but at least it’s still somethin’.”

They led Emerald along the river, finally arriving at the shop they were telling her about. It was a small two storey building, with a staircase outside leading up to the second floor. The words, ‘Canterlot Fabrics’, were painted on a large rectangular board in blood red ink, placed above the doorway with ,‘Proprietor: Jewel Pin’, in smaller letters underneath.

“Jewel Pin…” Emerald read out loud. “So this Jewel Pin has what I need to see the king?” The shop’s exterior looked like it was in need of a bit of a fixer upper, with a cracked window and some kind of dark stain on one of the walls. “I don’t know…”

“Why of course!” Spectrum nodded quickly. “This is one of the best clothing shops in Canterlot. Come on in.”

Spectrum led the way in, pushing the door open, with Emerald Edge following behind Honeygold, the spymaster’s eyes widening at the contrast between the inside and the outside.

The interior of the building was of a square shape, with dozens of colourful cloth pieces hanging down from the beams above, making the shop look a lot brighter. Four wooden human-shaped statues stood to one corner, each one clad in a different style of dress. Other bolts of dyed fabric were stored on racks neatly on the far wall, with small square samples pinned beside them. A table took up the space in the middle of the room, where a huge piece of cloth and a pair of oversized scissors lay on top of it.

A mauve-skinned and blue haired woman stood to one side, pulling out different types of fabrics, shaking her head, and putting them back. She wore a neat white apron over her clean, but clearly worn dress.

“Umm… ‘scuse me, miss,” Honeygold walked over to the seamstress.

“Ah, yes, terribly sorry, dear,” the woman turned around and greeted the three. “Welcome to Jewel Pin’s Canterlot Fabrics! How may I help you?”

“My friend here needs to look presentable before the king,” Spectrum pointed back to Emerald.

“Oh, of course!” Jewel Pin smiled and walked over to Emerald. She went a few circles around the spymaster, inspecting her armor and clothing. “I don’t believe I’ve met you before. I’m Jewel Pin, as you already know.”

“Emerald Edge,” the spymaster simply said.

“Glad to meet you,” the seamstress nodded. “The armor seems alright, though I have never seen this type before. Where did you get this?”

“Long story,” Emerald told her. “You probably wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”

“You’d be surprised at the kind of gossip I get around here,” Jewel replied dryly. “Try me.”

Emerald looked to the two young girls, Honeygold nodding her head and Spectrum giving her a shrug. “Well, I’m not from your world. I’m from a world called Equestria.”

Jewel Pin looked like she was going to fall backwards, but managed to steady herself. She cleared her throat and straightened out her attire before giving Emerald another smile. “Why, I don’t believe I’ve heard that one before. Well, your business is not mine, so I shan’t pry into it. Your attire is almost acceptable. Just one problem,” she said as she pulled at Emerald’s cloak. “This thing is worn out. It won’t do. I shall make you a new one!”

“Told you it was bad.” Spectrum nudged Honeygold.

“Since you’re not from around here, Emerald Edge, I shall make a masterpiece for you, free of charge!” Jewel Pin returned to the rack of fabrics. “It has to be majestic! Something… red perhaps.”

She pulled out a red cloth with a gold outline around the edge to inspect it. Soon, she gave it a nod and headed over to the table, laying a part of it on the wooden surface, while the rest dangled over onto the floor. She grabbed a roll of measuring tape and walked over to Emerald, asking her to lift her arms so she could get the size right.

“All set!” she nodded, rolling the tape back up. “I shall get to work immediately! I should have it done, let’s say, by tomorrow morning, so do drop by to pick it up.”

“Thank you,” Emerald nodded at the seamstress’ generosity. She raised a hand and held it out, remembering the gesture. Jewel Pin smiled and shook it. “I am grateful.”

“Not to worry, dear,” Jewel Pin waved it off, already cutting out a swathe of the fabric and getting out her loom. “It’s what I do.”

---

“So what do we do now?” Emerald asked as they headed out of the shop.

“We’ll have to wait,” Spectrum pointed out. “By the way, the king doesn’t let anyone just walk in and talk to him. You’ve got to wait for an audience. Now, he talks to the people once every week, and the next one is two days from now, which is almost perfect for you! We’ll just collect that cloak tomorrow, and the next day, you’ll be on your way to see the king!”

“Nothin’ we can do now Ah guess,” Honeygold shrugged. “Ya wanna go hang out?”

“Yeah, that’s a great idea!” Spectrum seconded, swinging an arm across her body width.

“You girls go on ahead,” Emerald told them as they skipped past her. “I’m going to check out the town and explore a bit. See you back at the apple stand later.”

“Well, alright then!” Honeygold grinned. “Ya remember the way back?”

“I’ll find it.” Emerald waved to them. “See you later.”

The spymaster watched the two girls run ahead, Spectrum following behind, playing on her lute. After a while, Emerald turned around and headed back to the rows of buildings, having a look at each one, studying the place and mapping it out in her mind like she had been trained to do by her predecessor. Remembering where everything was would help her a lot. Especially if she was going to be here a while. She dreaded to think what Sombra might have done to the Empire by now, but she had to be patient. Running around and panicking wasn’t going to help.

She turned another corner, entering a darker area of the town. The buildings around her were tall enough, blocking out the sun’s rays, casting long shadows across the alleyway. Emerald continued down, looking at the place as she progressed. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of her new body began standing, stopping Emerald in her tracks.

Someone was watching her. Years of training had taught her to never be the one on the lower end of a surprise attack. She quickly turned around as a man in a long, raggy coat stepped out from between two buildings, holding a long piece of wood in his hands.

“Hey there, lassy,” he smiled at her, revealing an almost complete set of teeth. “What’re you doing here all by yourself?”

Footsteps drew her attention back behind her as a second man in a hooded coat popped out from another path, holding a sharp knife in one hand, pointing it menacingly towards her. Emerald knew better and quickly whipped out her gauntlets from her pouch and put them on her arms, holding the attached blades towards both men.

“Stay back!” she warned them. She wasn’t sure how a human body fought, so she tried her best to look dangerous. If it came down to a real fight, swinging the blades would be sure to do some damage at least.

The two men saw her blades and stopped advancing, but didn’t retreat either. All three of them stood their ground, neither side making the first move. Emerald knew her trick wouldn't last long. She had to find a way out before the thieves realized she couldn't fight. Unfortunately, the only ways out were through the two men.

"Whazzat she got there?" The one with the plank pointed. "Blades on her wrists?"

"She don't scare me!" The other one pounded a fist on his chest and took a step forward. "Let's get her! She can't take us both at the same time!"

As the second one got closer, Emerald lashed out with a blade, forcing the thief back a few steps. "Back!"

"Woah, a dangerous one, eh?" the man taunted, but kept his distance. "Just hand over your bits and we'll leave you be."

“Well, I don’t have any, so please go away.” Emerald tried to sound as polite as she could.

“No bits?” the first one spat at the floor. “Unlikely story, lass. You’ve got all that armor and stuff! Perhaps we’ll take it for ourselves, eh?”

Emerald knew she was in trouble. The longer she stood unmoving, the faster her dangerous facade started to break. Eventually, they would discover she hadn't learnt how to fight in this form and advance. If she was going to do anything, she had to do it now, and fast.

Grunting, Emerald Edge dashed forward as fast as her human legs could go without falling, heading towards the man with the wooden plank. She swung a blade at the man as she headed towards him to try and scare him off. The man spun away as Emerald ran past him. The spymaster was about to let out a whoop of victory when the man turned back, bringing the plank to her head, clipping her just over the left eyebrow.

Emerald hit the ground hard, knocking the air out of her lungs. Blood began trickling down her face, her head wound reopening from the blow. She tried to get up, but the world around her kept spinning, disorienting her movement and sending her back to the hard ground.

"I got 'er!" she heard the man say, unsure where he was.

She suddenly felt arms grab her from behind lifting and dragging her towards the side. Emerald struggled to shake out of their grasp, but the hands behind her held her firmly.

"Release... me at... once!" she shouted as they pushed her to the ground, one of them placing a knee on her back and still holding on to her arms.

"No can do, lass!" the one on top of her laughed. "Now, let's see to getting that armor off of you!"

Emerald felt her armor being pulled back, still too dazed to try to resist, but the thieves had no idea how to remove them, instead, pulling on the metal as hard as they could. As she lay there, the sound of their grunts eventually turned into something that sounded familiar. Hooves on solid ground. Emerald decided to look to her left, watching as a man of some sort on top of a horse strode in, gleaming armor all over his body and a naked sword in his hand.

“Unhand the lady at once!” she heard his powerful voice bellow. "And begone with you, or you shall feel Clarent’s bite!"

The spymaster managed to flip herself around and rested her back on the ground, watching the thieves put their hands up in surrender before scampering off down the street. She tried to stand but as she lifted off the ground, the swirling vision sent her back down on her knees. Getting hit in the head wasn't something Emerald wanted to do again.

She heard the man's greaves clash against the ground and before she knew it, a hand had pulled her up, another one shooting out to steady her balance. "Are you alright, my lady? Actually, that's a poor question. Are you badly hurt?"

Being close enough to see the man, Emerald noticed he had light gray skin and chin length blue hair with a purple streak going through the right side, along with a warm, reassuring smile.

"I'll be fine," Emerald nodded, the small motion adding to her already spinning head. "But... Thank you..."

"I do not believe I have seen you before, my lady. If I may say, you have the most astounding hair I have ever seen." Having determined that the thieves were gone for good, he sheathed his sword and wiped as much blood off Emerald’s forehead as he could with a handkerchief. “But forgive me for saying that you should seek a healer as soon as possible.”

"Thank you, but as you might have known, I am still rather new here," Emerald wobbled. "Could you point me in the direction of these healers?"

"Nonsense," the man insisted. "You are wounded and you seem to have trouble standing. I shall accompany you to the healer."

"Oh, you don't have to. I can manage myself." As soon as Emerald tried to take another step, the world seemed to shift again, prompting the armored man to grab on to her to keep her from falling. "Umm... Maybe I could use some help, just this one time."

The man led her over to his horse before resting her against its flank. He climbed up into the saddle and reached out a hand for the spymaster to take. Emerald missed the first time, but the man grabbed her by the wrist and hauled her up.

His arm would have gotten slashed by Emerald's blade if not for his own armor. "You might want to stow your blades, my lady."

"Right," Emerald began taking them off, eventually getting them back in her belt pouch.

"Ah!" the man shouted all of a sudden, startling Emerald, almost making her fall off. "How rude of me, my lady. I have yet to introduce myself. Sir Morn Dread of the Knights of the Round Table, at your service."

"I'm... Emerald Edge."

"So what is it that brings you to Canterlot, Emerald Edge?" the knight asked as he turned a corner, the civilians in the area staring up at both of them.

Emerald contemplated how much she should tell the knight before speaking. "I'm actually here on a mission. I'm looking for artifacts that could help me retake my home."

"Artifacts?" Morn Dread asked.

"Yes," Emerald replied, taking her time to slowly look around to map out the way to the healer. "Perhaps you could assist me? I heard from a friend that the king might know where to find these artifacts. Do you... Know anything about them?"

"Oh, believe me, it would be a pleasure to help a lady as beautiful as you are." Emerald blushed from his statement. She'd never been called beautiful before, but then again, back in the Crystal Empire, she never stood out from the others. The less somepony saw her, the better. "But I have no idea what these artifacts could be or even what they look like. I think it'll be a better idea to ask the king. He has a audience two days from now; that'll be the perfect chance to see him."

"Thank you," Emerald smiled. "So I've heard."

Sir Morn Dread had brought her up to the castle, turning right just at the gate and headed towards a tall, cylindrical tower at the side with a tapered top.

"Welcome to the Mages' Tower, Emerald Edge." Morn Dread hopped off his horse and approached the tower. "Stay with Windspeed. I shall see to getting a mage out here to assist you."

Emerald looked down at the horse while Morn Dread arrived at the large wooden door. She still found it weird that the horses here couldn't speak and that the humans used them as slaves. She brought one of her hands to its neck and rubbed it, earning a pleased neigh from the horse.

"I think he likes you." Morn Dread arrived back at his horse with two female humans following behind him. One of them had blue robes and a circlet on her head with a crescent moon sigil, over dark blue and white striped hair, while the other one, a younger human with light blue hair with darker streaks and a pink ribbon tying up a ponytail had on a shawl over a half top and a skirt, along with a red gem that hung around her neck. "Emerald Edge, this is my mother, Moon Tide, one of the lead mages here, and this is one of the king's muses, Sonata Dusk."

"Hi!" Sonata waved from behind. "You have shiny hair!"

"Pleased to meet you," Moon Tide gave her a thin smile as Morn Dread carried her off his horse and setting her feet on the ground.

"Thank you," Emerald thanked the knight as the mage and muse took over, each one holding one of her arms. "Nice to meet you both as well."

With their help, Emerald was escorted into the tower, which bore an uncanny resemblance to the court mage’s quarters back in the Crystal Empire, with shelves of arcane tomes and alchemical apparatus littering the tabletops. Here and there, people dressed in robes in every color of the rainbow worked on their own projects, chanting incantations or measuring out reagents. It was an oddly comforting sight, but reminded the spymaster of her friend, Light Speckle, whose sacrifice was still fresh in Emerald’s mind.

Moon Tide clucked her tongue, bringing Emerald back to reality. “That’s quite a cut you have there.” The mage pulled Emerald’s hair aside to examine the injury. “What has my son gotten you into this time? Not another harebrained scheme to find the Holy Grail?”

"Oh, he rescued me actually," Emerald winced as Moon Tide touched her wound. "If it weren't for him, the thieves might have given me more than just the cut."

“Hmm...” Moon Tide sounded unconvinced. “Well thieves or no, this is several days old at least. I can make a salve that will close the wound and stop the bleeding, but you should have come to me straight away. At this stage I can’t prevent a bit of scarring.” She wandered off to a nearby alchemy table and set about grinding up a leafy plant with a mortar and pestle.

Emerald was left with Sonata Dusk, who was swinging her legs back and forth under her chair and humming along to a song that Emerald didn’t recognize. Feeling increasingly awkward as the minutes ticked by, she decided to strike up a conversation.

“So, um... You’re a muse?” Sonata stopped humming and fixed her raspberry purple eyes on the spymaster.

“Uh-huh!” The girl nodded enthusiastically. “We’re the best singers in all of Canterlot!”

“We?”

Sonata Dusk brushed a bit of dust off her shawl. “Well, me and my sisters, but they’re up in the castle while I’m down here today. Doesn’t really matter to me; Moon Tide’s a great cook, and when I’m with her she even lets me lick the bowl.” This remark earned a small laugh from the woman at the alchemy table.

"That's... interesting," Emerald cracked a smile as Moon Tide returned with a circular dish of paste.

“Now, hold still,” Moon Tide commanded. "This might sting a bit."

Using two fingers, she dipped them into the green salve and dabbed it onto Emerald’s forehead. It did sting, but not enough to make her do anything other than clench her teeth together and inhale sharply.

Moon Tide continued to dab the salve onto the wound; true to her word, the gash quickly stopped bleeding and even began to scab over. The treatment concluded with a clean linen wrap around Emerald’s head, Sonata stepping up to tie it off around the back.

“There we go,” Moon Tide nodded with satisfaction. “Leave that poultice on overnight and you’ll be right as rain in the morning.”

Emerald touched at the wrap before nodding her thanks, her dizziness already clearing. "Thank you, Moon Tide. Sonata Dusk."

The mage waved at her noncommittally. “Oh, don’t mention it. Most of the knights come to me for the same thing anyway, so it’s not as if it’s anything out of the ordinary.”

After exchanging a few final pleasantries, Emerald Edge waved farewell to the mage and the muse before starting on her walk back to the apple stand. Just before she passed the tower’s gates, she heard someone sing a single, pure, angelic note that passed through her, somehow taking all the aches and pains she had accumulated with it. The spymaster looked around to see where it had come from, but there was only young Sonata Dusk, still waving goodbye from the foot of the tower in the afternoon sun.

She smiled, remembering the muse’s words. Best singers in Canterlot indeed.

Like a ship carried by a strong wind, Emerald Edge broke into a run, for the first time feeling as though she might be able to do this after all.

---

As soon as Emerald was safely out of sight, Moon Tide glanced down at Sonata Dusk, raising an eyebrow questioningly. While using song to ease the pain of a patient was nothing new to Moon Tide, she was surprised that Sonata had seen it fit to use it on a stranger.

“I haven’t seen you do that in a while.”

Sonata looked hesitant, not entirely sure why she had opened her mouth to sing either. “I-I just felt like it was the right thing to do. She’s different, I can feel it. Can’t you?”

“No…” the mage muttered. She rolled her staff from one hand to the other, mind racing at a hundred leagues an hour. “But I can smell it. Come, Sonata; I think we need to speak with the queen.”

---

Author's Note:

Jewel Pin

Comments

[Jaxxon Markus Citadel]

Sir Morn Dread... Mordred? And Moon Tide... if memory serves, that's Mirror Match/Psithyra? She's here with Sonata! Isn't that something?

[Sonata Eternal]

Nothing a little magic singing can't cure hm? So since Moon tide is her then would that mean Morn Dread is also a that? Oooh.

[Marcthelightspark2004]

A pony, a changeling, and a siren

[MoonlightRift]

"I think he likes you." Morn Dread arrived back at his horse with two female humans following behind him. One of them had blue robes and a circlet on her head with a crescent moon sigil, over dark blue and white striped hair, while the other one, a younger human with light blue hair with darker streaks and a pink ribbon tying up a ponytail had on a shawl over a half top and a skirt, along with a red gem that hung around her neck. "Emerald Edge, this is my mother, Moon Tide, one of the lead mages here, and this is one of the king's muses, Sonata Dusk."

OH FUCK, ALREADY!?

“No…” the mage muttered. She rolled her staff from one hand to the other, mind racing at a hundred leagues an hour. “But I can smell it. Come, Sonata; I think we need to speak with the queen.”

So Moon is Psithyra. Good to know.