4 - Reunion
Felling Axe - 24th of Leaffall, 16 EoH
La vallée-des-Roses - Prance
The terrible screech of gods knew how many stone coffins sliding open, sent me back to an ill-fated expedition in search of the Crystal Empire. The long, low, grating rumble, sounded exactly like a calving glacier as it broke off and fell into the sea. The sole difference being instead of a great splash, the creak of uncountable iron plates screamed in unison.
Almost immediately as the lids slid open, a forest of banners erupted from the ground, each trailing unique colors. Without seeing even a single helmet or iron-shod hoof, the forest of unique emblems and heraldries pushed against my soldier's intuition, nearly sending me into a blind panic.
It wasn’t the banners themselves, but the knowledge of what they represented. An elite warrior, born and bred for battle, trained from the first day they could lift a weapon until death. Thousands of them, pouring from the ground as if an underground kingdom decided to invade the surface.
The ground shook as they stood up. A cliche of any historical epic, and yet it happened. The sheer bulk of the Eternal Knights rising from their coffins as one, literally made the ground tremble. Not much, but enough to notice.
Enough to distract me to the point where the next thing my mind took notice of where the sparks as their massive steel tower shields smashed into one another, forming a solid steel wall. Glossy obsidian set in smooth rounded shapes to deflect arrows and melee blows alike. A wall believed a cannon might have trouble penetrating. A shield wall like that would keep ground forces at bay for-
Wait… Those weren't shields! Those were breastplates. The first row of the knights had knelt down.
My ears drooped seemingly of their own accord. Nopony had ever mentioned the Knights size. They stood nearly as tall as a Queen. And had the muscle needed to move while clad in two to three-centimeter-thick plate armor.
The knights had transformed into an iron wall, standing shoulder to shoulder and kneeling in place, allowing their comrades to stand upon their backs. Each of them were unicorns, and their horns were leveled in an obvious firing line. We would be cut down before we closed even half of the distance to them. No single pony could hope to make a shield withstand firepower of that magnitude.
The second rank stood on their rear hooves, forelegs holding pole axes leveled directly at us. All of them were pegasi, their flared wings making their already massive bodies look even more huge, their crimson cloaks draped over their backs and wings, blocking the lines behind them from view entirely.
Making matters worse, the hafts of their weapons had enchantment markings and devices attached to them. They could likely be used to throw lightning. All of that and there was no way for me to see what the ranks behind them were doing...
The formation itself more than scared me. In my heyday, with my brothers at my side, and with all of our gear, maybe we would have stood half a chance at penetrating their line. But just me, out of shape and armed with a shiv made from a broken pair of clippers?
My eye widened in horror as the truth of just how screwed we were hit me.
These ponies were not alive. They would not panic. They would not break. They would not pass out from blood loss or tire. Even if I could penetrate their armor, it would take catastrophic damage to do more than piss one off.
No wonder Prance had managed to fend off the griffons for millennia! If the next few ranks simply fired arrows into the sky…
“So, how about you surrender?” The short brown furred, darker brown maned pony asked, blowing a smoke ring at Repose.
Repose! He worked with these monsters! He HAD to have some idea of what to do. Right?
I turned my head to look at him. Repose’s face was contorted in a mixture of fear and thought. He looked as lost as I was. We were doomed.
I needed to say it before there was no more time.
“Repose,” I called urgently. “I lo-”
“This changeling Soldier is charged with a crime and invokes the right of a foreign combatant to trial by combat!” Repose blurted suddenly, a look of triumph flashing across his face.
The brown pony raised an eyebrow. “That’s horse apples,” he dismissed, waving a hoof at the two of us dismissively before pointing to a random Knight in the line. “You, knight, kill them.”
One of the monstrous pegasi broke formation, crashing into the ground with a screech of iron. The second he hit the ground a pegasi from behind the line jumped up to take his place.
The Knight’s helmet had no eyeholes, it looked like the helmet had been sculpted to show the face beneath it. A death mask.
Despite this blindness, the Knight turned to ‘look’ at the pony who commanded him.
“Necromancer Sunlit Star, an Imperial Citizen has invoked the Emperor’s Justice. You have no authority to order their execution,” the knight said in a thunderous voice.
A distinctly female voice. Only loud, and rumbling, and distorted by her helmet.
Note to self: do not call her a he. She might take offense to that.
Repose frowned, looking at the knight curiously for a moment before shaking his head in quick dismissal.
The brown pony, Sunlit, growled, ears laying back in a rage. “I raised you! You will do as I command!” He bellowed.
“Nopony alive or dead commands me, I answer to the Emperor. His orders are clear. A judicial duel has been requested, and it shall be had,” the knight countered.
Sunlit’s left eye twitched. I could taste the pure hate oozing from him. It was thick and twisted, it reminded me a lot like Chrysalis's, only even slimier. I felt myself instinctively shudder, and took a half step back to try and get out of taste-range.
It didn’t help.
“Your orders, are to protect Prance. That lich is an actual monster, on the border, and has attacked several constables as well as the castle guard! Kill him!” Sunlit demanded again.
“Should you wish me to act as your champion in the requested judicial duel, I shall. Imperial Justice WILL be maintained,” the knight insisted.
“So it was commanded, so it shall be,” the line said in near unison.
I jumped. Repose jumped. Sunlit jumped. Nopony had been ready for the mass oath which they had bellowed.
“What is this shit!?” Sunlit demanded, wheeling to face Repose with a savage sneer.
“Imperial Edict Thirteen-hundred and twenty-nine. All foreign combatants accused of crimes within the Empire have the right to trial by combat,” Repose said firmly. He turned to face me, using his magic to take off his cloak and pass it to me. “Fell, please declare me your champion.”
My ears perked as I realized what his plan was. Repose wasn’t hurt by weapons! A judicial duel would likely disallow magic, so he could let himself get beaten into submission and… Um… Loose… What kind of plan was this?
I looked at Repose with uncertainly for a moment, but with some apprehension, trust won out. “Gentle Repose, I select you as my champion,” I said, taking care to make sure my words sounded formal.
Sunlit took a deep breath, then let it out. “Fine, it’s not like you’ll come out of this alive. Castle walls can’t fight back. You, knight, you’re my champion. Kill this abomination,” Fell ordered.
“I accept your appointment as Champion, Necromancer Sunlit,” the knight informed, armor creaking as she bowed before turning to face Repose. “As the accused’s champion, should you be defeated, what punishment do you deem just for he whom you champion?”
Sunlit’s ears and tail stood upright in a blind fury. “WHAT!?” He demanded. “No! I take it back. Anypony else-”
Two knights broke free of the line and seized Sunlit by his shoulders, dragging him a short ways back from the first knight, Repose, and I.
“The Emperor’s Justice is in progress. None may interfere under penalty of dismemberment,” the knight on his left informed.
I couldn’t help but crack a bit of a smug smile as I saw Sunlit’s eyes widen in terror, then shrink into rage filled slits. And his mouth clamped shut.
It was awesome.
Repose cleared his throat. “Exile,” he answered.
“For what crime is he accused?” The knight asked.
“Living within Prance as a Changeling in an unlicensed form, immigrating under false pretenses, and um, assault probably. As well as resisting arrest,” Repose recounted.
I knew he was missing a few of the charges. I remembered the list pretty clearly. Still, why add fuel to the fire which was cooking yo-
OH! Exile. If he lost, and she agreed, I would be exiled. I had his Phylactery, I had him!
Oh, my gods! This was genius! He’ll lose the fight, because well, no shit! Then we just walk across the border. Ha!
Except wouldn’t it hurt him badly? He said he felt pain… He also said his body could die.
I gulped in fear. Nopony wants to see a loved one suffer. Especially not for them.
“I accept exile as a just punishment for these crimes,” the Knight said firmly. “Should you defeat me, all charges against the accused shall be dismissed by Imperial Decree. Brothers! Give us room.”
The Line stepped backward, forming a u shape behind the lady knight in near perfect unison. Ah ha! So they did have a weakness. As coordinated as their rise and shield wall formation was, they didn’t respond perfectly to other maneuver orders. Interesting…
Gods damn it! Focus!
Repose nodded, sighing fearfully. “I agree to this contract. As we are both undead, shall we fight to disablement?”
The knight nodded. “It is only logical to end combat thusly. Do you stand ready?”
I gulped fearfully.
Repose nodded. “Enguard,” he said with a wince.
The knight surged forwards like an iron shod bear. Repose’s horn blazed, a crimson barrier flashing into existence between him and the knight, angled so as to deflect-
The barrier shattered into sparks of light with a sound of breaking glass, the knight merely powering through the shield, armor crackling and sparking with the telltale pink-blue energy whirls of a dispelling charm being expended.
Before I could finish gasping in shock, the knight’s right hoof smashed into Repose’s face, a sickening crack and splintering sound mixed with a squelch as he flew backward over a meter, smashing into a rod iron fence and collapsing into a heap against the bars.
I felt the watch grow colder in my hooves. The warmth it radiated dropping by at least half.
“N-no!” I gasped in pure horror.
The knight stood still, staring at Repose’s mangled body for several seconds before nodding to herself. “My opponent can no longer fight, this duel is over,” she announced. “I find myself to be merciful today. Accused, your champion is to accompany you into exile, which shall last for no less than forty years and one day from the next sunrise.”
I felt my heart skip a beat. If she hadn’t killed him completely with that punch… We… We…
I felt the instinctive need to shift, and with a flash of emerald fire assumed the simple earth pony form I had worn for so long so I could cry.
“NO!” Sunlit roared, pulling free of the knight’s grip. “You can’t just- KILL HIM!”
“Justice has been served. You will abide by it!” The knight snapped.
“Buck your antiquated justice! The law is the law!” Sunlit bellowed, horn blazing as he fired a crackling ray directly at my head.
Time seemed to slow. Not in the ‘danger sense warning’ way. In the ‘I’m about to die’ way.
There was no time to dodge. He was too close. The blue bolt streaked for me, filling my vision. I had no doubt the spell had been designed to take into account the lack of a central nervous system in changelings. It would certainly fry me complete-
A poleaxe blade plunged down, intercepting the ray in a bright blue explosion of plasma which blasted the steel axe head into glowing shards. The Knight which intercepted the ray jumped down from the line, standing in front of me like a shield.
“Justice has been decided,” the knight growled. “You have just committed attempted murder, Necromancer.”
I couldn’t see a thing around the glossy obsidian boulder in front of me, but I did hear one of the knights near Sunlit bellow. “You have interfered in the Emperor’s Justice. You were warned.”
Some ponies think bone snapping sounds like dry sticks. It does not.
The wet, popping, snap of bone hit my ears just before Sunlit’s agonized scream pierced the air, stopping only as the squelching wet tearing sound of meat being ripped from bone stopped a heartbeat later.
I wasn’t sure how to feel about what I knew had just happened out of my sight.
“Fool,” the lady knight muttered. “I will never understand the dishonorable. Bandage that stump. He did not earn death.”
“Aye, sister,” the knight in front of me said, walking off towards the other two who had left the line.
“Changeling,” the lady knight said in a gentler voice. “Come here.”
I gulped and nodded, walking over to her slowly and apprehensively. “I um, I should be leaving… Exiled and stuff…” I babbled fearfully.
“Aye, and you will soon,” she agreed with a nod. “But first, tell me. The fear in your eyes and upon your face as the duel was called for, and the horror you felt as I struck him down… Do you love him? Not as in your kind typically will, but rather, do you wish to be his mate?”
“I, um, yes. W-why do you ask?” I asked timidly.
“There is more than one code a knight must follow. Should he have been merely food to you, or under your control, I would be honor bound to kill you where you stand, and take the consequences for my actions with all due honor,” she informed.
The knight reached up to her neck, unclasping the bronze brooch that held her cloak around her neck. To my shock, she passed it to me with a wing.
“The road is long, and the Griffons will surely wish to eat you. My cloak will keep you hidden should you feed it magic, Repose will know how it works. For a pony your size, it will make a fair tent,” she said while reaching up to her back.
“T-thanks!” I stammered, entirely confused by her gif-
“And take this as well, you shall need a better weapon than half a pair of sheers,” she said as she held out an odd weapon to me.
It had to be her side arm. But I couldn’t tell for the life of me what it actually was. It must be some form of combination weapon. It appeared to be a double bitted battle axe, with long slender sword-like blades. Not exactly an anti-armor weapon, but definitely an axe meant for battle.
But those bits were hinged at the top, which was collared in bronze and had enchantment marks carved around the hollow end of the oddly curved crossbow like ‘haft’. And it had a tiller...
An axe-bow?
“W-why?” I asked, half meaning ‘why give this to me?’ and half ‘why is this designed as it is?’
The knight leaned down, the carved mouth on her helmet stopping a hairsbreadth from my ear.
“It is a sister’s duty to protect her little brother,” she replied. “Consider this our family’s blessing for your relationship. It’s not as if father can give it anymore. It’s funny, I recall Repose being too oblivious to realize somepony cared for him. It’s good to know he grew out of that phase, though I am sad I can not collect mother’s losses on our bet.”
My eyes widened in honest shock and surprise. But the good kind this time. Except, wait…
Oh, gods! If his sister had known he didn’t notice, how bad could he actually b-
She said his mom thought he would never grow out of it.
SON OF A WH-
“Put his phylactery on his body,” Repose’s sister instructed, interrupting my building angry rant. “It will heal in an hour or two. If you leave that flesh behind he will take a week or more to create a new body. And, do tell him I miss him.”
“W-will do!” I said quickly.
I quickly bundled the new cloak and unusual weapon into my saddlebags, raced over to Repose’s body, and scooped it up, taking care to not look at the completely mangled and shattered face as I wrapped it in his cloak so the watch touched his fur as he lay rather heavily on my back.
“Brothers, let us return to our vigil,” his sister ordered.
“Commander,” one of the knights called. “It occurs to me that this Necromancer has committed another crime this day.”
I turned around, only just now spotting Sunlit’s limp form laying in the dirt a good two meters from a brown furred hood, foreleg, and half an upper leg. Which had clearly been broken then just ripped off by hoof…
“What might that be, Sir Winter Gale?” she asked.
“The battalion was awoken to stop two fleeing criminals, Commander. This is a gross excess of required force. As such, this Necromancer has wasted an enormous amount of spell power, well beyond the permitted amount given the threat,” he answered.
I began to quickly walk away, not wanting to see any more violence today.
“So he has,” Repose’s sister said in cold stony agreement. “But he has already been punished for that action. Correct me if I am wrong, but we can’t punish him again.”
I sighed in relief. Sure he seemed a bit smug, but he really had just been doing his job. You can’t blame a soldier for following-
“Actually, the Steward recently ruled that a criminal must pay for all charges incurred, not simply the actions they have performed,” the same knight replied.
Buck.
“Oh! Very well,” she said terrifyingly happily. “We must obey the law. You and I shall remain animated until he awakens so we may charge him with his crime and then remove another limb. The rest of the battalion is to return to the grave.”
Yeeesh! I’d been told that the Prench military justice was brutal, but that seemed excessive. Let’s just put on a little more speed.
“Commander,” a knight said as I walked through a gap in the line, making a beeline for the other side of the ashen field that marked the edge of Prance. “I owe your younger brother a debt of honor. Last winter he removed ice crystals from my left hind leg, which were causing great pain, despite not being permitted to do so. Might I administer today’s justice?”
I slipped past the wall of iron, realizing just how aptly the Iron Line was named in that moment. As I passed through I could see thousands of knights, the entire group from here for the full league to the end of the border having been awakened.
As I suspected, the rows behind the front line had set up ranged weaponry, including repeating ballista, which they now were taking down. It looked like they set up a series of walls, with the space between filled with siege engines. You could almost call it the Iron Fortress.
“Of course you may, honor demands it,” the Commander answered. “Can anypony think up any other crimes this necromancer has committed?”
“Probably, there are an awful lot of them,” a knight mentioned gleefully. “Oh! He did fire at a foreign soldier who was not attacking the Empire, and did so without orders and therefore committed an act of war against a foreign nation without express permission from His Majesty. That is a fifteen thousand barrel fine, or the loss of an eye.”
“Good! Anything else? After all, this bastard made me punch my little brother,” she asked.
I cleared my throat and progressed into a full gallop, eager to-
“Ordering the death of a citizen who was not actively engaged in combat against the Empire, without trial,” somepony called.
“Repose claimed the accused cast Rebuke spells upon him at many opportunities,” another called. “While we can’t classify it as assault that is vandalism, damaging Imperial property, and interfering with the work of a public servant.”
“Excellent! Has anypony pen and parchment? We need to start writing these down,” she said, the sound of iron scraping against iron reaching my ears at the same pace one would expect a pony to rub their hooves together.
I was glad I wasn’t close enough to know what her vengeful anger tasted like.
Palaisville-de-L'empereur - Prance
24th of Leaffall, 16 EoH
“Are you certain? My mages tell me the Crystal Heart may be my final hope,” the Emperor asked, his voice like silk dragging over velvet. Both in sound, and in volume.
The Emperor was little more than mangled corpse, soul kept within only by force of will and the aid of a dozen mages. For the sake of his guests, a white linen cloth had been draped over his body and the mess of arcane devices maintaining the spells upon it. The only indication of a pony within the obscenely large lump beneath the linen was the outline of his skull, and his eyes.
Two golden points of light, shining brightly enough behind the cloth to have bleached the ivory cloth. They shone like the flames of lanterns, their color matching the flames within the pots of incense spread around the perimeter of the emperor’s resting place. None of his guests wished to smell the Emperor in his present state.
“I’m afraid so. We’re a territory, not an independent nation. I can’t move artifacts of great power out of my borders, even just for long enough for them to be touched. The Treaties that bind Equestria also bind the Crystal Empire,” Princess Cadence replied lips frowning in genuine regret. “What’s more, even if I were allowed, doing so would put the Empire at great risk. Both from monsters, raiders, and the cold itself. And again, even if I could move it without those risks, the cultural importance of the Crystal Heart would result in riots if I took it out of the city, let alone the country.”
The pink princess’s wings shifted in regret as she spent a few seconds in thought. “Perhaps we could arrange for you to be brought to it?”
“Possibly, though such a trip would be at least twenty years into the future,” the Emperor mused.
“How so? I certainly would not mind working the legal side of such a journey into our trade agreement,” Cadence asked politely.
“The problem is technical, not legal. The systems preventing my full death are ancient, those who created them no longer live. While they can be maintained, they would not survive a voyage across the sea. My ‘good friend’, the Steward, has ensured they will be replaced with new enhancements and technoarcane devices, but it will be another ten years before it is done at the soonest, twenty years being more likely,” he explained.
“Mmm… Yes, I can see why you wanted me to lend you the Heart then. Well, perhaps we can collect some of its energy and see if that will work. I’m certain Twilight would be up to the task, and I would be happy to work that into our agreement in exchange for one additional shipment of wool per month,” Cadence offered.
The Emperor laughed. “One every other month. Cadence, come now. Friendship may be magic, but it isn’t economic magic. I can not afford to be overly generous, even for my own sake. Prance is not what she used to be.”
“I’m aware, but you have no idea how much wool a nation with a summer high of six degrees goes through,” Cadence countered.
“One every other month, and I will lower the import tariff on uranium. My wizards have been wanting to use it for various projects recently. I’m told it can be found in colder climates in abundance,” the Emperor countered.
“I suppose some could be safely extracted. I’d need to appoint a safety overseer, but that’s a small matter. A good market for it could create a new mining industry, and we could use new jobs. Very well, I accept this condition of our trade negotiation,” Cadence decided.
“As do I,” the Emperor agreed. “Scribe: Prance shall commit three shipments of wool per month to the as of yet constructed Crystal port, with an additional ship every other month, in exchange for a generously sized amount of energy collected from the Crystal heart, with Twilight Sparkle’s working to form the energy into a suitable attempt at a cure for my condition.”
A small brass and ivory machine sitting atop a dark oak podium in front of the Emperor sprang to life, it’s single bronze arm transcribing the Emperor’s order onto parchment, then adding the order to a second copy of the long scroll-in-progress which was the ruler’s work in progress trade agreement.
Cadence nodded, satisfied with the wording of the order. It had taken her many years to get used to the Emperor’s casual way of giving his orders. They were short, simple, too the point, and written in a way anypony could clearly understand. The exact opposite of Equestrian legal language.
Though he did take up quite a bit of time making those orders. The two of them had spent eight months working on their current trade agreement. That’s not counting the three-month coma in which he simply could not reply to anypony from which the Emperor had just recovered.
In truth, Cadence didn’t mind the long negotiations. She just felt sorry for the essentially dead stallion getting one or two visitors every month at best. It was a lot like visiting an older uncle in an old pony’s home, only with the added bonus of mutual improvements to everypony’s lives.
“Before we begin discussing my proposal to rework the anti-piracy measures, may I ask a question?” Cadence asked.
“You just proved you can. You didn’t need to ask me,” the Emperor countered, his voice containing the smile his face couldn’t show even if it were uncovered.
Cadence rolled her eyes. “Twilight has been begging me to get a definitive answer to this, could you actually cast spells before you were injured?” She asked.
“Yes. I do believe I would have been a match for her as well, assuming the reports of her accomplishments are accurate,” He answered casually.
“And you are an Earth Pony?” Cadence asked conformationally.
“No. I was an Earth Pony. I modified myself with alchemy, I can not be considered the same species I was born as. The changes are too great, despite how I would appear were I whole today,” he continued. “Nor could anypony transform as I have today. The plants used in the potions and serums are long since extinct, or at least rare enough to be believed extinct. Lastly, my spellcasting abilities are not the result of my own work. They were payment for my services.”
Cadence’s ears perked, the simple question she’d agreed to ask for the sake of placating her sister-in-law now interesting her as well.
“Payment?” she asked.
“Yes. Long ago, I helped a magical creature with a task he could not accomplish on his own. In exchange for my help, and since we would greatly boost his own power if we succeeded, I asked for half of his current powers. He had no choice and so he agreed. Naturally, he went back on his deal and attempted to recover his power, even though it was but a fraction of his full strength after the procedure. He failed.
“I nurtured the power he gave me, allowed it to grow, and became his equal in time… At least, in some respects. Unfortunately, I saw the error in what I had done only after the fact. I have since attempted to atone for my misdeed, and so Dawn and I remain enemies to this day.”
“I see,” Cadence said, rubbing a hoof across her chin in intrigue. “Who is h-”
The white marble doors at the front of the hall suddenly creaked open, a light peach mare dressed in a white and blue messenger's cloak rushing through the doorway, gasping for breath.
“Y-your highness!” She gasped. “Important news from La vallée-des-Roses!”
“My apologies, Cadence. I must hear this. They only bother to tell me things if something requires my approval. It would be nice to get a regular newspaper or something,” the Emperor said loudly. “Speak, messenger.”
“Three hours ago, the litch residing within the village finally snapped and attacked the village’s castle, along with a rogue changeling,” the message reported. “The Line was activated but failed to contain him, and he has left the country. The Lord Mayor reports the litch took with him his entire library of necromantic lore. The Steward needs your approval to send troops to retrieve it before it falls into enemy hooves, your highness.”
The Emperor paused for several seconds.
“Shit,” he sighed.
“Shit!” Cadence exclaimed wings and tail flared in alarm. “You were harboring the same sort of monster as Sombra, he broke free of his confines, and all you have to say is ‘shit’?! A FOAL’S curse word!?”
“I was well aware of this particular litch, Princess Cadence,” the Emperor said calmingly. “He was under close observation, and until now, quite harmless. Even kind. I was hoping he actually had succeeded in a permanent cure for the madness,” he lamented.
Cadence slowly shook her head, muttering under her breath.
“Still, five hundred years or so is a long time. Certainly better than the usual instantaneous psychotic break. Messenger: The Steward is authorized to send one Necromancer and two flights of Pegasi from the Air Guard in pursuit. The library's’ contents are to be retrieved if at all possible. They may not pursue him beyond the griffon kingdoms. If he enters another nation, they are to warn the local government immediately.”
The messenger saluted. “Yes your majesty,” she announced, turning and leaving the room swiftly, her white magic aura pulling the door shut behind her.
“Don’t you think you are being a little foolish sending a baker’s dozen ponies after a lich?” Cadence demanded.
“Not at all. Two flights should be more than plenty to completely annihilate his body via saturation bombardment from an undetectable altitude. At which point it will take him days to weeks to reform and do anything in retaliation, making destroying the phylactery a simple matter,” the Emperor dismissed cheerfully. “I love having to authorize troop deployments. Lets me feel like I still do things.
“Speaking of doing things, I will need another moment, Cadence. Scribe: Message empty room. Begin. Request intel on today’s conflict in La vallée-des-Roses. What is the Steward not telling me? End.”
Cadence raised an eyebrow, realizing her friend was working out some sort of scheme. Deciding to let this play out before going to her own channels to stop the impending threat, Cadence sat down and waited.
And waited. Until at last, a half hour after the Emperor had spoken, the Arcana Scribe twitched to life, spitting out a small slip of parchment.
Situation as follows:
Gentle Repose’s roommate, Felling Axe, was discovered to be an unregistered changeling of Hive Sapphire during a security sweep of the lich’s home. Felling resisted arrest, sensing he was in danger, as Soldiers will. Repose observed the arrest and came to his aid. One Constable was minorly injured, another was temporarily killed but successfully resurrected by paramedics and lives once more.
The two then retrieved Repose’s phylactery from his old laboratory in the local keep, damaging an outer wall in the process, and injuring two castle guards minorly. The assault confirms suspicions of Repose sticking to less than lethal force as all injuries resulted from individuals falling from the wall top.
Enroute to the border, Repose and Felling retrieved some belongings from their residence. Repose took the majority of his library with him. Likely via arcane storage. Among the papers and books left behind are schematics showing a project which seems to be a device designed to heal you. It can not be completed with the notes in our custody, but analysis by mages indicate the device would be functional, assuming the missing parts allow for several allegedly impossible feats of enchantment.
Fearing the device could be completed, as the notes are clearly an older draft of a project, your Steward wishes Repose and his journals destroyed, believing his previous ‘impossible’ breakthrough makes it likely for him to have finished, or be able to finish the device.
Felling and Repose were allowed to leave the country following a judicial duel with a Knight of the Iron Line, sentenced to exile lasting forty years and one day. The pursuit of the two is unlawful in light of these facts, necessitating deception on the Stewards part to gain your permission to pursue the two.
- An empty room
Reading the note, the Emperor nodded to himself and passed it to Cadence. As the mare read through it the Emperor ordered, “Scribe: Message Empty Room. Begin. Forces sent after the two are to be unexpectedly delayed by any non-lethal methods deemed prudent. End.”
Cadence frowned shaking her head slowly as she finished. “I see why you want to regain legal control of your Empire so badly… But, are you sure this, Repose is not a threat?”
“He’s as harmless as any other powerful unicorn, as far as I am aware. He comes from a good family, I even authorized his experiment as his hypothesis and mathematical work looked to be sound. Had things gone poorly, he would have been swiftly destroyed. I assure, you, he’s alive, so he is quite safe to be around,” the Emperor said firmly. “As for this treachery… I can hardly send another set of troops after them myself. Not with the Steward able to twist my orders after I have issued them. I don’t suppose your ponies can get a message to Queen Bladestorm? I’ll pay for her services.”
Cadence paused, mulling the thought of employing the bandit queen’s services again. It was often more work than she felt it be worth.
“Humm… Yes. I think that can be arranged. What do you need her to do?” Cadence asked.
“Safeguard them until I can find a place willing to accommodate them for the duration of their exile which will permit Repose to work on his device, and also kill the changeling if he happens to have Repose under his control,” the Emperor stated.
“Mmm, yes, that is probably within her power. I’ll send the message as soon as I return home this evening. And I’ll be back tomorrow with her bill,” Cadence promised.
“Good. Now that we have taken care of that matter,” the Emperor resumed. “Your anti-piracy proposals, are our existing measures not good enough?”
“No, they're not,” Cadence replied immediately. “I’ve found several easily exploited holes in the defenses. They are not too obvious until you begin to think like a griffon pirate, but once you do, you’ll see the problems. Let me show them to you… I’ll need some paper.”
“While you’re fetching paper,” the Emperor began, “let me tell you a story. You reminded me of this time I’d captured some pirates on the southern coast. I was right in the middle of punching their captain using his firstmate as a hoofduster in order to cheer up one of my generals, when suddenly this giant seagull…”
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So, I may have had a few excitable moments this chapter, but one, one lead to something spectacularly funny, mid edit...
popmannn: NOW WITNESS THE FAILURE!
Meep Changeling: I knew that was coming
popmannn: EMPEROR STAGE!!
Damn, don't mess with the undead older sister! That was awesome. Glad that Sunlit faggot ('Scuse the language) got what was coming to him.
7587808 There's no need to excuse that sort of language when it's accurate :)
I wonder how much fun his sister had with Sunlit Star?
Although I'm also left thinking he'll either go Jack the Ripper to replace body parts or he'll turn himself into an insane lich...
Either way I'm expecting him to return more powerful and more evil than before.
7587821 Somone's been reading Ed Greenwood stories :D
7587836 Mmm... gonna have to overrule you on your choice of song named Immortal. Why? Dream Evil Wins! Fatality! Flawless victory.
7587843
Gonna have to be honest and admit I'd never heard of that band before now.
7587848 They are pritty damn good, give them a listen :D
7587978 7587977 I literally can't thank you guys enough. Not many people know it, but knowing that my stories bring actually happiness to people is the only thing I have going for me. It might be a bit egotistical, but I can't get enough comments. Counters and thumbs up just can't convey appreciation like words can.
My thanks, you two just helped me push back the bout of clinical depression that's been keeping me awake for the last 4 hours. I'll do my best to get the next chapter out sooner now that the black cloud's been stuffed back into the bottle.
7588012 These stories are really well thought through and written well. If i hadn't found them i would be bored and trying to find some like these. You are a beacon in the dark for people with changebug addictions and Semi Scientific Magic explanations.
Will the trade last thirty turns? That must be pretty short considering how old Equestria and Prance are.
Dawn lost? Or at the very least suffered a temporary setback. Either way, the Emperor just went up in my estimations. I'm also guessing that him having a goodly sized portion of Dawn's power is probably the main reason he hasn't died after all of this time and weakness.
7588012 Meep, if you don't try to sleep right away in order to stay healthy I will not only be worried, but may in fact resort to making concerned and sad faces in the general direction of Alaska.
7588012
. 
.
I couldn't agree more. Likes, favourites and similar stuff is nice, but it is the comments that really keep me going as well. They just show that tiny little smidgen more love and care about the story than the former. And we sure need that extra love as changelings
And i agree with the others, you needs sleep just like the rest of us. We are not some silly sparkly vampire after all
As for my opinion on the chapter you already know that
but yes loving it and am glad that bastard Sunlit got what was coming to him!
You know what's effective against something hard yet incredibly brittle like obsidian?
A hammer.
Hell, I once dropped a piece of obsidian and it snapped when it hit the floor. Not even glass of the same shape would do that.
That shit better be loaded with enchantments.
Lovin this story.
1 Liked how the troops acted
2. The steward is scevy
3 Its going to be interesting to see everyones interactions with the lich being similer to sombra in construction.
4. Cant wait to see the Bandit queen Most likely cadence in disguise
Nice diging up the rare gun/crossbow pole arm design.
7588339 Obsidian reinforced with metals to make an alloy or backed by a softer martial would work. Think composite armor or the uranium armor on MBTs.
Time for a wild guess: The Emperor has a spirit, referred to as "empty room", he's using to keep an eye on Repose. I'd say it was a network, but then I'd expect him to know more about what was going on with the Steward...but then he should probably know more about Repose.../shrug
I also briefly entertained the thought of Queen Bladestorm being the Sheik to Cadence's Zelda.
Also, Sunlit Star? An important part of a show of force is knowing (and subsequently having adequate control over) said force. You pretty much just pulled the pin on a grenade and laughed with it still in your hand (or hoof, as the case may be) because you heard it's good at blowing stuff up.
What a coincidence Sunlit happened to raise Repose's sister...
7588356
Then why not use ballistic glass, or (assuming french ponies know how to make it) Q-Carbon plates?
And you can't really "Alloy" obsidian, it's just volcanic glass. Trying to make an alloy out of it would either get metal that has stone in it or quickly cooled, highly brittle material.
7588361 Good point it could function as some primitive form of era plate
7588359
Or maybe Tia
Although Queen Bladestorm sounds like a name the CMC would think up...
7587870
I listened to it, and I personally don't care for it, sorry.
7588074 Yeah, but it means they then have to renegotiate another contract. Which means ol Empy isn't lonly for too long.
7588086 Yeah. They've directly fought several times, but neither has seriously injured the other until the last fight. As for their arrangement, it's sort of a Dragonheart deal, minus the "if you die, I die." caveat. Which is why Dawn can do impossible for a god things, and why the Emperor could do impossible for an Earth Pony things. TLDR; Dusk has a half-brother who isn't an asshole, who she dosent know about.
7588165 Sorry, mate. My brain is pretty fucked. I honestly can't sleep without hitting a sort of zen point. I've once been awake for about 70 hours because I couldn't reach it. You don't want to know what happens in a skitsophrenic brain with that much fatigue.
7588226
He sure did! He sure did... Hey! Hey mister Greenwood, nopony else seems to have read your novels. Yeah, the whole Sunlit thing is just blowing by.
7588339 Obsidian the COLOR, not the material.
7588359
/me is reminded of this. "It could be a fairly good spymaster, or a spirit of some kind. You'll learn in time."
Nah. Cadence would just do Clandestine operations openly in a Tshirt reading "Not the Cadence you are Thinking of".
It's also important to remember that while standard undead are programmable, sentient undead are not. And that the Eternal Knights operate on a STRICT plain as day reading of Imperial Law. And are pretty fucking resource intensive.
Not as much as you think. Remember, Repose teleported to that section to cross and his original plan was to bluff his way through. He knew he could communicate with that section and likly be allowed passage through despite being 'hostile'. He also maintained that section as his job for centuries. He went there BECAUSE that section's Commander was his sister. He just didn't visually recognise her (It's been a long long time).
7588361 You could laminate layers of it with acrylic and resin to make a plexiglass. But as I said before, it's obcidian colored finish on a steel alloy.
7588481
Seeing as how that's not that pony's real name but a monkier based on her weapons of choice, it's ment to sound a little over the top.
7588988
Ah.
You know what would be terrifying?
Coating their armor with a layer of Vantablack.
7589009 Yeah, but I allready had a pony who did that :P
7587817 True, but I wasn't sure if using language like that was allowed. Some authors don't like that sort of thing in their comment's section.
7589056
But this isn't just one pony. This would be a wall of (what would appear to be) null marching towards an enemy.
They were already intimidating enough in the first place. Effective enough to remind me of The Raptor, who is pretty fucking big and armored.
7589087 Feel free to use any language you like in my comments section. Just no fighting with other commenters.
7589092 Fair enough.
7588988
Ah, yes.
7589369 heyyy, noice
7588988
True and I think it's going to be someone we havent met yet, BUT if it's someone we have seen already it's totally a name Scoots would come up with as her alter ego...
7589509 Especially given the full moniker of "Queen Bladestorm the Awesome"
those knights were the coolest! :D
also, that justice system, the emperor dude actually got facts? and made reasonable smart decisions based off them! what?!
7589538
You tickle me
If it isnt scoots young supermane? (supermare?)
7589833 I could go on to describe the character, but that would spoil things...
7589830 There is allowed to be one competent ruler per nation. Unfortunately most nations do not redeem this coupon...
7589841
s2.quickmeme.com/img/a2/a2e2c23b6669a334364c83e892bdc9649deeec1aa530b29ce4b6f73f37539d0d.jpg
the iron guard Is brutal I love it. Looks like sun learned that being a jerk can cost you more than an arm and a leg. Eye hope he learns his lesson if theres enough of him left afterwards to still be alive. If sun becomes undead because of this somehow the irony will be ridiculous.
7588359
Pff....that's not coincidence. Why do you think Repose was responsible for this section and deliberately came here?
7589903 Actually it cost him a leg and a leg...
HAA! YES! I got to use that again, and against Mr. Zel! WOOHOOO!!
7587843
I think perhaps this is more appropriate for this chapter. Particularly with Sunlit Star.
But, I really like these stories of yours. The amount of detail and care that goes into them is simply, beautiful complexity.
I mean you already have science lazors and magic auras, all you are missing are dinosaurs.
7590182
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/facebook/000/603/810/f57.jpg
There might be some room in here somewhere...
7590182 *COUGHCOUGHatimemachineandtimespellsexistCOUGH*
7590071 I will admit you got a good laugh outta me with that one.
7590363 Well like I said, it's not the first time I've used that one. Lets take a peek at ch.1 of Lifegiver, shaaaall we?
7588988 7590059
"And if we look to our left, we'll see a Point. It may be difficult to see, but I assure you that it is in fact The Point, created long ago back in the days of the internet." The tour group oooh's and aaah's, with several stops to take photos of the museum display.
With those Groucho glasses that still exist because reasons, and a back that reads "Not an alicorn princess"
7590980 heh It's more fun to pretend to not get The Point, especially by text where intonation isn't as easily conveyed. Although you must admit, there are some who likely needed your sarcastic comment and Meep's response to pick up on it. >.>
7591141
Yeah, I know. I just got the idea for the museum response and wanted to use it