Age of Kings

by A bag of plums

5 - Holding My Breath

Adagio, Aria, and Sonata breathed deeply as they walked past the Drifting Stallion, collective smiles forming on their faces.

“Did you feel that, you two?” Adagio asked after they passed the inn. She looked to her gem as it began pulsing a light red color.

“Yeah,” Sonata nodded quickly. “It feels cold. Why do I have to wear this again?” Sonata pointed at her exposed belly, then looked to Adagio and Aria’s fully covered outfits.

Adagio resisted the urge to smash her face against the nearest building. "You have a problem with your outfit? Go take it up with the queen; I'm not the one to pick it out for you. Well, whatever the case, we’ve got some new negative energy to use.”

“Oh, that’s what you were talking about!” Sonata giggled and waved a hand at her sister. “Yeah, I totally felt that.”

“Yeah, right,” Aria scoffed. “You wouldn’t feel it even if you tripped and fell all the way down the Mages’ Tower.”

“Could too.” Sonata stuck her face in Aria’s.

“Could not.” Aria sneered back.

“Could too!”

“Could not!”

“Aria! Sonata!” Adagio shouted at them as she turned around, stopping them in their tracks. “Can you please, for once in an era, act your age? You’re driving me up the wall!”

“But you’re still here.” Sonata pointed out. “And how are you supposed to climb up the wall? It’s too high for you.”

There was a noticeably audible sound of flesh hitting flesh as Adagio’s palm introduced itself to her forehead. "Forget it... Let's just do what we came here to do and go home."

"This inn felt like a good place to start," Aria pointed a lazy thumb at the building. Sounds of a brawl could be heard from inside.

"Aria, does the inn look like it can hold that many people?" Adagio reminded. "No. Of course not. We need somewhere bigger. One where we can at least fit half the town in."

Aria snorted and folded her arms across her chest. "Whatever."

“Why not the wheat fields outside?” Sonata shrugged. There was a crash from inside the inn as some poor soul had a tankard smashed over his head. “There’s lots of space there.”

“Sonata,” Adagio said sternly. “How many people go to a wheat field each day?”

“I dunno. A lot?”

Ignoring their sister for the time being, the other two girls continued on, searching for a good place to perform. They needed to make sure people from all over Canterlot could come to watch them. They walked through the Loft District, looking around for a square good enough to hold a performance or one that was crowded enough with people.

“Can’t we just go to the one we used the last time?” Sonata decided to say after a long walk around.

“New audience, Sonata.” Adagio clasped her hands together, her mouth watering at the prospect of fresh food. “Although, if we can’t find one, we’ll just have to use the old one. I’d rather not, though.”

"Well, I did meet someone new yesterday." Sonata suddenly remembered, deciding to tell her sisters. "Emerald Edge was her name. Something about her was different."

"Ummm... Alright?" Aria raised a hand. "And you're telling this to us because...?"

"You have to feel it!" Sonata threw her hands up. "She's really different! Like... She gives off more... energy."

"More energy?"

"Yeah!" Sonata said excitedly. "And she had really shiny hair! Just ask Moon Tide."

"More energy and shiny hair?" Adagio pondered, a hand finding her chin. "You don't think...?"

"Could she be...?" Aria added her own thoughts.

Sonata watched as her two sisters stood unmoving in the center of the pathway in deep thought. The few people that strolled through the street under the dimly lit moon crossed around them, every now and then shooting them angry looks. She just smiled and waved, unsure of what else she could do.

“Sonata,” Adagio asked as nicely as she could, bringing the girl’s attention back to them. “Do you know where this Emerald Edge is staying? Perhaps we should all pay her a visit...”

---

The next morning saw Emerald awakening on her own in the room that Honeygold’s parents had rented out for her. The morning sunlight streaming in through the cracked glass stung her eyes and she rolled off the bed and onto the floor.

What happened last night?

Emerald quickly sat up as her eyes got used to the current lighting. She felt a bit lightheaded as she moved her head around, eventually putting a hand to it to try and stop the dizziness. Her wound didn't seem to hurt anymore, so the spymaster peeled off her headwrap to check on it.

Those mages sure know their work.

Her mouth was also rather dry, but without any water in immediate sight there was nothing to do but lie there and endure it.

Emerald sat there for a good ten minutes before a knock on the door turned her in that direction. The door creaked open and Honeygold walked in and closed it behind her.

"Mornin', Emerald." she waved nervously. "How're ya feelin' today?"

Emerald opened her mouth to say something along the lines of ‘okay’, but a loud growling got out of her first. “Hungry,” she said truthfully. “And a little confused.”

“Well, Ah guess ya should be, since ya missed dinner last night,” Honeygold reached into her pocket and brought out two apples. “So Ah brought ya these. Ma and Pa are already at the apple stand, but they didn’t want to wake ya until you were ready.”

“I think I’ll still need some time to get myself up,” Emerald said as she took one of the apples in her hands. “I feel as if I just traveled a thousand miles without my wings.”

“Ya must have been pretty tired from… what happened last night…” the little girl said slowly, choosing her words wisely.

Emerald decided to leave the questions for later, instead, gnawing into her apple until it was finished. Core and everything. Honeygold stood there, wide-eyed as Emerald picked up the other. Soon, the second one joined the first, disappearing into the mouth of the spymaster.

"Thanks for the food," Emerald said as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Oh it's no big thing, Em." Honeygold pulled at her braid, suddenly very interested in her shoes. "It's the smallest thing Ah can do after last night. Ah'm sorry. Ah didn't mean to hurt ya."

"Hurt me?” Emerald was confused. “What do you mean-”

Then the memories came back. The poor cow, the shouting, her fleeing the establishment, and her talk with Golden Nugget. The former pegasus’ stomach churned at the thought of the cow’s corpse on display like a grim war trophy and she chewed on her tongue to suppress the urge to retch.

"Oh..." was all Emerald could say after remembering everything. She leaned back against the bed frame, covering her face with embarrassment. “Oh, ponyfeathers…”

"Yeah..." Honeygold sighed. "Ah'm sorry ya had to go through all that. Ah should have known better; Ah’ve been 'round horses forever, it’s my fault for forgettin’ that ponies don’t eat meat."

"Come here, Honeygold," Emerald called with an arm, putting it around the farm girl as she sat down beside her. "It's okay. It's not your fault. That's just the way things are here, right?”

Honeygold nodded, still looking away from the spymaster. “People eat meat. Ah don’t know why, but that’s just how it’s always been. At least for the last few generations.”

Emerald gave the girl a pat. There was nothing she could do about the humans. This was their world and there was no way she could get everyone to stop eating meat. The only thing she could do was remind herself she was only going to be here temporarily. After she found the artifacts, she would find a way back home and stop Sombra. "I guess I'll just have to deal with it until I leave."

"Is that soon?" Honeygold finally turned her eyes towards Emerald. "It'll... Be lonely without ya."

"Well, if everything goes as planned and I kick Sombra out of the Crystal Empire... I guess I can find some time to visit," Emerald contemplated. "Although, that's only if I do find my way home. And that portal only opens once every thirty moons."

"Ah'll miss you when ya go, Em, but Ah know ya got a mission to accomplish. Ah hope you take your empire back."

“Me too, Honeygold.” Emerald smiled as Honeygold leaned against her shoulder. “Me too…”

Emerald knew she had been wrong. She was never alone. She had friends here, and she had more, waiting for her to liberate them from Sombra’s rule. Don’t you worry… I will be back and I'll give Sombra exactly what he deserves.

---

Emerald kept up with Honeygold and Spectrum Song as they arrived back at Canterlot Fabrics, the farm girl the first to push open the door.

"Hello, and welcome to- Oh!" Jewel Pin stopped as she saw her customers. "Emerald Edge was it? Perfect timing!"

“I take it you finished the cloak already?” Emerald asked as the seamstress flew into a back room. Soon she returned with a folded piece of red cloth.

“I got too excited last night, so I finished it early,” Jewel Pin laid it in Emerald’s hands. “Here you go. No charge as promised!”

Emerald gladly took the fine fabric and unfolded it, watching as the red cloth extended out into a nicely made cloak with a golden outline around the bottom half of it. “It’s magnificent. I don’t know how to thank you enough.”

“No need, dear,” Jewel Pin flipped a portion of her blue hair aside. “Although...” A look of longing crept into the dressmaker’s eyes. “If any of the nobles at the court should, say, inquire about where you got it, might you point them to me? It would mean so much to me if someone from King Dawn Saber’s court were to come here.”

“Oh, absolutely!” Emerald nodded and smiled as she pulled off her torn, black cloak. Spectrum held it for her while she slipped the new, red cloak over her head, draping it down over her left arm. "That's the least I can do for such a comfortable cloak."

"Oh thank you, Emerald!" Jewel Pin almost threw herself on the spymaster before regaining her posture. "Umm... Yes. That is wonderful news, Emerald. You have my thanks."

Spectrum headed for the door, pulling it open with one hand while holding her lute in the other. "Well, if we're done, we still need to head to the bath house, Emerald. You don't want to go to the king smelling like that do you?"

Emerald took a sniff at herself, but found nothing wrong. Eventually, she felt Jewel Pin softly pushing her towards the door, agreeing with Spectrum.

"Yes, dear. Your friend is right. You cannot go to the king all filthy like that! You need to wash up! You must look your best when you present yourself. Someone's bound to notice my handiwo- I mean, you, for sure!"

"If you all insist..." Emerald went along with it.

After waving goodbye to the seamstress, Honeygold and Spectrum led Emerald towards the central area of the Loft District. Just next to the main fruit grocer stood a big rectangular building, with a sloping tiled roof. The words, ‘Bath House’, were hastily written on a thick wooden board just under the roof.

"Come on, Emerald!" Honeygold called, waving for Emerald to join the two of them at the entrance. Inside, there was a small hallway, splitting into two, one for males and the other for females, before branching off to more paths as it progressed to the end. Each branching path led to a small room with a few wooden tubs each, filled with water and humans. “We’ll just find one that no one else is usin’!”

They found an empty one at the end of the hall, containing three tubs along a stone wall and an rectangular pool to the left. Statues of humans and what looked like griffons outlined the pool, looking as if they would be free of their rocky bodies if they fell in.

"This place is... interesting." Emerald marveled at the architecture, never seeing such ornate statues in a bath house before. “Wait,” she said, an idea forming in her head. “Those are griffons, right? Maybe they’ll have some idea of where the artifacts are! Can you take me to see one?”

"Griffons?" Honeygold scratched her head. "Is that what ya call 'em? Here, we jus' call 'em gargoyles, and... Ah don't think Ah've ever seen a live one before."

“Or anyone, really,” Spectrum added.

“Then how do you know what they look like?” Emerald challenged. “There are so many statues of them; someone must have seen a live one.”

"Beats me, Em," Honeygold shrugged as she looked at the statues, deciding to save the discussion about mythical creatures for another time. "Well, Spectrum and Ah'll be waitin' outside. Do ya need a hand with that armor before we leave?"

Emerald looked at her attire before nodding to the two. "Yes, please." She was still new to the 'hands', so removing the armor was still something she had to learn up.

The two kids, mainly Spectrum Song, helped the spymaster undo the leather straps and unfasten the buckles that held the light set of plate together. Emerald watched them as they worked, noting where most of the plates met and occasionally asking about how two parts joined; if she was going to be in this world for a long stay, it might be a good idea to know how to get in and out of this stuff without needing help.

“Gotta say, Emerald, your armor’s a lot easier to get on and off that Sir Hors’. I swear if he didn’t have me to oil and shine his gear for him it’d rust around him like a big metal coffin,” Spectrum remarked. She gathered up the discarded metal pieces and arranged them in a pile next to one of the tubs. “There you go. Just give us a yell when you’re done; we’ll be out in the hallway.”

Honeygold and Spectrum waved goodbye while they headed out into the long hall. Emerald looked down at her hands before using them to peel her clothes off. The fingers and their different segments still fascinated and disgusted her, but at least she was learning how to use them. She dropped her shirt and pants with the rest of her armor before pulling out her hairband, letting her turquoise hair flow down past her shoulders. The former pegasus inspected the tub, noticing how the water was a little murky with a greenish tint.

"Better than no water I guess..."

Emerald lifted a foot and put it in, immediately noticing how cold the water was. She decided to deal with it, bringing another foot in before dropping herself to sit on the rugged, wooden bottom. She sat still, trying to get her body used to the temperature before continuing. After a while, she decided to move her hands up her body, spreading the water around. The appendages were strangely useful for moving larger amounts of water, unlike hooves.

Suddenly, in the pool on the opposite side, a girl with yellowish skin and long, orange hair burst out of the water with a loud gasp, startling the spymaster. She pushed her wet hair out of her face before turning her attention to Emerald.

"I'm sorry," she said as she wiped a thin layer of water away from her eyes. "Did I startle you?"

"It's fine." Emerald went back to pouring water on her skin. "I didn't think there was anyone else in here. Might I ask what you were doing under the water?"

"Holding my breath." the girl offered Emerald a smile that seemed to offer more than just a greeting. "I'm trying to see how long I can stay under. It's been a while since I was in this much water."

"Huh... Alright." Emerald reached for a bar of soap on a nearby counter. It slid from her grasp as she grabbed it, finding its way into the murky tub. "Horseapples..."

"What was that?" the newcomer asked as she stepped out of the pool towards Emerald. She grabbed a piece of cloth behind one of the griffon statues and wrapped it around herself before slowly making her way forward.

“Ah… I just dropped the soap,” Emerald told her as she moved her hands around in the murky water, trying to find the bar. “I’ve forgotten how slippery these things were…”

“That’s not what I meant.” The orange haired girl shook her head, stopping just outside Emerald’s tub. “I was asking what you said.” Emerald noticed a familiar gem around the girl’s neck, but couldn’t recall where she had seen it before.

“What I said…?” Emerald tried to recall, unsure of what the younger girl wanted to hear. “The soap slipped out of my hands?”

“Not that,” she said, putting her hands on the edge of the tub, leaning closer to Emerald. “Before that. You said… you said something about… horses?”

"Horseapples?"

"Yeah... Not sure I've heard that before..." The girl made a wide smile. "You're not from around here, are you?"

Emerald chuckled as she continued to search for the bar of soap. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

"I can take fairytales, miss… what’s your name?" She waited for Emerald to introduce herself.

"Ah, of course. Manners. I'm Emerald Edge," Emerald greeted as she reached a hand out to shake the girl's. This time, she remembered not to use her teeth.

"Adagio Dazzle." She shook the spymaster's hand. "I've heard about you, Emerald. My sister Sonata spoke of you."

"Sister? So you must be one of the king's muses too?"

“Yes, that’s right.” Adagio put a hand to her chest, proud of her job. “I’m pleased to say we’re the best singers in all of Canterlot. Anyway, as I was saying before, try me. Tell me where you’re from, Emerald Edge.”

Emerald Edge took a deep breath before talking. She didn’t want to make it sound too strange for this muse. “I’m from the Crystal Empire, from the world of Equestria. Spymaster to Princess Amore.”

"Eques-tria?" Adagio raised an eyebrow. A corner of her mouth also raised into a smirk, but Emerald didn't think much of it. "That's an... odd name. And a crystal empire? I don't believe I've heard of that before. Well, it's an interesting tale, I'll give you that."

"Yeah, sure is, huh?" Emerald finally grasped the bar of soap, making sure to fully use her fingers to lift it up.

“Well, I would love to stay and chat, but I’ve got to get back to work,” the muse said as she pulled out some purple clothes from behind another statue and began to put them on. “You know how it is? Singing and such.”

“Right,” Emerald nodded. She didn’t know what it was like to sing for royalty, but she didn’t want to offend the girl. “Perhaps I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll be going to speak to the king about some things.”

“Sounds great…” Adagio Dazzle gave her a long smirk as she finished putting on her attire. “I’ll see you then, Emerald Edge.”

With that said, the muse left the room, walking out into the hallway and disappearing around the corner. Emerald returned her attention to the bath, rubbing the bar of soap across her body. If she had to look and smell presentable, then she had no choice but the comply with this world’s rules and regulations for meeting the king. After all, what could a bar of soap do to harm her? Emerald clenched her teeth as the bar slipped out of her hands again, disappearing into the murky waters.

Spoke too soon…

---

After her bath, Emerald Edge had returned to the apple stand with Honeygold and Spectrum Song, deciding to spend the rest of the day helping the people who had saved her, her first day here.

“It’s the least I could do,” Emerald told them as she exchanged two apples for some bits for a blue haired girl.

“Even after all we’ve said about ya?” Apple Bean asked, getting a nod from the spymaster. “We’re sorry, Emerald. We didn’t mean to treat ya like that. Let’s start again shall we?”

“Sure,” Emerald smiled. “Thank you for letting me have a place to stay too.”

“Gee, Em!” Honeygold bounced in front of her. “Ah can’t wait for tomorrow! Ah’ve never been into the castle. Pa and Ma’ve never seen a point goin’ in there.”

“I’ve been in there, of course!” Spectrum pointed a thumb at herself. “I’ll tell you everything you need to know about the place! And the king of course. Won’t want to ask him silly questions would we?”

“I guess not.” Emerald looked around at her new friends. They were here for her, and she smiled at the new support they were giving her. She couldn’t have asked for better humans.

“Here you go,” Emerald said as she handed some apples to another customer, collecting the bits and dropping them into Golden Nugget’s worn out pouch. In the last three hours they’d made at least fifty bits, which wasn’t too bad according to the big man.

Spectrum suddenly remembered she had to sharpen Sir Hors’ sword and dashed off towards the stables after giving Emerald and the Apple family a quick wave. Emerald almost laughed at the young squire as she almost tripped over her own feet on the way. Her knight didn’t seem like a very understanding man, so she hoped Spectrum would be able to get it well maintained before the knight returned from his trip.

“Guess we can pack up now,” Nugget said as he moved to pack the first box of apples. "Day's almost over."

Emerald joined in, both of them emptying the remainder back into the crates before sealing them and pushing them into a corner.

Dinner was much more enjoyable this time, no one talking about fairy tales or Emerald Edge's past. Apple Bean had gotten Emerald a plate of salad, which the spymaster ate up with incredible speed.

After everyone finished their meals, they headed to their respective rooms, ready to turn in for the day.

"See ya tomorrow, Em!" Honeygold waved sleepily as her father picked her up and brought her to their room.

"Sleep well," Apple Bean nodded and followed.

"You too." Emerald entered her room and sat on her bed, looking out her window at the glowing moon above.

Tomorrow was the big day. If the king could just direct her towards an artifact, Emerald would be one step closer to defeating Sombra.

True, she would miss her new friends when she left, but she remembered what she had told little Honeygold. If it was a possibility, she would return to visit.

Emerald slid her form under the dirty rag that was supposed to be a blanket and rested her head on the pillow. She soon closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, ready for what was to come.

---

Comments

[Jaxxon Markus Citadel]

So the sirens know that Emerald is from Equestria. Are they going to ask her for a way back home? Other than that, I liked this chapter. Rarity's ancestor lives up to her element of generosity.

[Sonata Eternal]

I wonder back then, how did people stop men from going into the women's bath and the other way around? Now we've got cameras and all. Anyway back to the story, the kids said gargoyles. Are there creatures here too? And Adagio in her element?

[MoonlightRift]

Emerald knew she had been wrong. She was never alone. She had friends here, and she had more, waiting for her to liberate them from Sombra’s rule. Don’t you worry… I will be back and I'll give Sombra exactly what he deserves.

And she did.. Just.. not how or when she expected.

Adagio being sneaky as well, how interesting.