When The Bass Drops

by BlakeCorman

Chapter 2- Heads Will Roll

Chapter 2-

Heads Will Roll

Amelia walked down a corridor looking for one room in particular. She had been in the Crystal Empire for three days, and those three had been the longest of her life. The only pony- that still felt strange to her- that would actually talk with her was Sombra, and he spent most of his time running his kingdom. So, she had had to entertain herself. She had gotten the pony attending her, courtesy of Sombra, to lead her to the library where she had spent most of her time reading up on whatever she could, but now that she was a NetNavi, all she had to do was scan over a page and it stayed. After the second day of doing nothing but lounging around, reading, and being served to her heart’s content, she grew bored. Today she would do something different.

Amelia opened yet another door to find yet another empty room. She let out a sigh and closed the door. “Nope, not there either.”

“What are you looking for, mistress?” The sudden voice surprised Amelia and she quickly spun around with a small gasp. Behind her stood the mare Sombra had assigned to her, Amber Leaf. She was baby blue with a purple mane, the visage of a golden leaf on her rear. She wore a silver necklace with an emerald embedded in it that matched her eyes.

Amelia put a hand to her chest and attempted to get her heart under control. “Oh, Amber, it’s just you. Didn’t I ask you to call me ‘Amelia’ or ‘Miss Jaeger,’ not ‘mistress?’”

Amber was silent for a moment, her head cocked to the side. “Yes, mistress Amelia,” she answered as she straightened her head.

Amelia rolled her eyes after the fiftieth time of doing this with the mare. “Okay, Amber,” she said tirelessly. “Do you know where I can get a good workout in?”

Amber tilted her head once more and was silent for a moment. “This way, mistress Amelia,” she finally answered before turning around and walking away. Amelia shook her head as she began to follow the pony. Amber led her down several different hallways until they came to a set of double doors.

“Thank you, Amber,” Amelia said before she moved passed the mare and opened the doors. She wasn’t expecting to find an open courtyard on the other side. She scanned the courtyard but didn’t find any sort of equipment she was used to. She heard the clip-clop of hooves on cobblestone and turned to see Amber walking through the door. “How do people- ponies, work out around here?” she asked the mare.

Amber leaned her head but didn’t wait nearly as long as she usually she did. “Most soldiers are trained using a golem creation spell that is carved into the center column at the edge of the courtyard.”

The way Amber explained the whole thing sent a shiver down Amelia’s spine… at least, she assumed it was still her spine. “Thanks, Amber,” she told the mare before turning and making her way towards the rear of the column that the mare had mentioned. Just like everything else, it was carved from crystal, but, unlike the others, a very intricately carved circle was engraved into it. “Alright,” Amelia said to herself, “now what?”

“Might I suggest infusing the spell with some of your energy, mistress Amelia.” The ‘Navi jumped a little again before she turned to face Amber.

“Could you please stop doing that?” Amelia asked.

“I apologize, mistress Amelia,” the blue pony said.

“Miss Amelia,” the young woman corrected, her irritation beginning to show through. “How do I ‘transfer my energy’?” She asked a little harshly.

“May I suggest focusing on one of your appendages,” Amber replied, seemingly unaffected by Amelia’s harsh attitude.

Amelia stared for a moment, finally lifting her hand to look it over. She turned back to the circle before placing her hand on it. She closed her eyes and began to focus on the palm of her hand. It didn’t take long for a tingling feeling to come over her hand. She opened her eyes to see purple energy covering her hand. She stared in awe for a moment before a grin split her features. She pushed the energy into the circle, and it began to glow. What she didn’t realize, was just how much energy she put into the circle.

The circle let out a concussive blast that blew both Amber and Amelia back. Amelia landed hard on her back and felt the wind rush out of her lungs. She heard a loud thud as Amber Leaf hit the ground somewhere behind her. Amelia got her breath back and sat up, grimacing, before her eyes widened in shock. In front of her stood five oversized crystal golems, each slightly humanoid in shape, but with three variations. Two of them had oversized arms, while another two had wings. The final golem, the biggest, had a blade-like structure forming out of its head. The ‘Navi stared at the crystal giants and gulped. “Uh-oh.”

No sooner had the sound left her mouth than the golems all turned towards her. Amelia’s eyes widened before she flipped backward and used her arms to push herself away just as the two big-armed giants punched the ground, sending out shockwaves that collided at the place she had been moments before.

Amelia landed and dropped into a wide stance, her arms up, moving the cloak out of the way. The two armed golems stepped back and let the winged golems step forward. Suddenly, Amber Leaf let out a moan causing the golems to focus on her instead.

Amelia’s eyes widened before she tensed her body. “Don’t you dare,” she muttered. The winged golems lunged forward, aiming for the unconscious mare. Amelia leaped forward, not quite sure what she could do against the golems. Think, Amelia, think! She urged herself as she went forward. She stopped in front of Amber as the golems rushed forward. What can you do? An idea suddenly struck her and a grin crossed her face. She put her arms out to each side and her hands folded into her gauntlets. Silver barrel with a blue bulb extended from her right arm while some form of generator formed on her left, a purple energy blade extending from it. Her grin widened. “Let’s see what you bastards got,” she said lowly before the golems clashed with her.

It was over before it began. Amelia leveled her buster at the head of the golem on her right and let loose with a blast that sheared through the crystal like wet paper. The other didn’t fair much better as it was cleaved in two with an upward slash. The two golems collapsed and tumbled away in pieces, leaving Amber and Amelia unharmed. Amelia looked up at the remaining monsters and smirked. “Who’s next?”

The bladed golem’s horn glowed and sent forth a powerful blast of magic in response. Amelia’s eyes widened but she quickly lifted her bladed hand, her hand folding back out. Purple energy covered the extremity and a barrier formed around her, dispersing the blast away from herself and the mare behind her. When the blast faded, Amelia lifted her buster and shot several of her own. The bolts were intercepted by the armed golems as they lifted their fists to block the attack. Their arms crumbled away, leaving them with an arm apiece. The buster folded away and cyber swords extended from her gauntlets. “Time to put an end to this,” she said as her eyes narrowed.

She ran forward, the energy blades held out to her sides as she ran forward. The two armed golems stepped forward and raised their remaining arms as the bladed golem stepped back as its horn began to glow again. Amelia didn’t slow down, only continued forward before leaping into the air. The two armed golems threw their fists forward, the titanic limbs overshadowing her. Before they could hit her, she slashed with her blades, splitting the giants into several pieces, bursting through them with her blades crossed. The horned golem then unleashed its fury, sending out a blast of energy that would engulf Amelia. She never took her eyes off her target, but as the beam engulfed her, she maneuvered her crossed blades to cut through the attack, leaving her unscathed. Stopping the blast forced her to land several feet in front of the golem.

She looked up at it and her eyes hardened. She raised one of her arms over her head and the blade folded back down into her gauntlet only for a new weapon to fold out. A red cylinder formed, three barrels extending out of it before she leveled the weapon at the horned golem. “Game over,” she said before the gatling gun like weapon went off, sending several high-speed shots crashing through the monster. It swayed for a moment before crashing to the ground, shattering like glass.

Amelia lifted the gun and it collapsed back down to her normal arm. She stood up straight and looked at her hands. ‘I’m not even out of breath,’ she noted before a groan pulled her attention back to the blue mare behind her. She rushed over and knelt down beside the pony, putting a hand on her back to steady her. “Are you alright, Amber Leaf?” She asked.

“I am alright, Mistress Amelia,” Amber grunted as she seemed to struggle to her hooves. Amelia searched the mare with her eyes, seeing several bumps, scrapes, and bruises on her frame. She also seemed to be favoring her right front hoof.

“You are not alright, Amber,” the Navi stated before she reached out and picked the pony up like a shepherd would a lamb. She carried Amber gently in her arms, making her way to the door. She lifted her her away from the mare without dropping her and let a purple aura shine around it. She flicked her fingers and the door opened, allowing her back into the castle. “Which way to the infirmary, Amber?” Amelia asked as she looked right and left down the hallway.

“The castle does not have an infirmary, Mistress Amelia,” Amber replied bluntly.

Amelia blinked. “What do you mean the castle doesn’t have an infirmary? What do you do when someone gets hurt or sick.”

“The weak do not survive long… in the harsh environment of the north,” Amber Leaf answered, adding the last part in a rush as if it had suddenly come to mind.

Amelia pursed her lips for a moment. “Amber, where’s King Sombra?” She finally asked.

“King Sombra is very busy,” Amber answered quickly.

Amelia stared down at the mare for a moment. “Amber,” she said slowly. “I would like to see King Sombra.

Amber Leaf was silent for a long moment before she finally answered. “King Sombra is in his throne room.”

Amelia lifted her eyes, which flashed with lines of code before she took off in the direction of the throne room. Thanks to her NetNavi mind, she was able to plot the fastest route to the throne room, moving at a quick pace while still avoiding jostling Amber too much. She made it to the throne room in a matter of minutes. She slowed to a walk and approached the door and its guards, who crossed their spears in front of it. “I need to see King Sombra,” Amelia said quickly. “It’s urgent.”

Neither of the guards moved except for the slight twitch that the left one gave. A few moments passed and the guards finally moved their spears and opened the doors for Amelia to enter. “Thank you,” she said as she passed and entered the throne room, receiving no response in return. She carried Amber Leaf forward and looked up at Sombra as he sat upon his throne, going through some sort of documents.

“Good afternoon, Amelia,” he said without looking up. “What is it that brings you here today?”

Amelia stopped a few feet before the steps. “We had an accident, and Amber Leaf got hurt.”

Sombra finally looked up at this, a bit of concern on his face as his eyes fell on the mare in Amelia’s arms. “How did this happen?” He asked as the paper surrounded by a red aura floated down and settled back on the pile.

“I needed a workout,” Amelia began. “So I went searching around for some sort of gym or something. Amber found me and helped me to the training yard. I tried to use the golem generator, but I guess I overcharged it. When the golems appeared, me and Amber got thrown back and Amber took the hit worse than I did.”

Sombra’s eyes searched the pair for several moments before he lifted his right hoof and brought it down on the arm of his throne, a loud crack sounding out. A few moments later, a group of four guards came in and stopped beside Amelia and Amber, two on either side. “Guards, take Amber Leaf to the local doctor to… take care of her,” Sombra ordered. The guards all nodded and turned simultaneously to face Amelia.

The way they moved unnerved Amelia somewhat, but she lowered Amber Leaf down all the same. Amber put three hooves on the floor, still lifting her left front leg off the ground. Two guards positioned themselves to either side of the mare, helping her by giving some support. The other two fell in behind them as the group left the room. Amelia watched Amber, worrying over the mare’s well being until the large doors closed behind them.

“Miss Jaeger.”

Amelia turned as King Sombra called for her attention. “Yes, sir?”

Sombra’s eyes searched her again, looking for something. “You don’t seem to have been injured during your fight with… how many golems was it?”

Amelia blinked at the sudden interrogation. “Um, five… sir.”

Sombra brought a hoof to his chin and started moving his leg back and forth, thinking over what she had said. Eventually, he seemed to come to a conclusion. “You couldn’t have defeated five golems alone… especially unarmed.”

At this, Amelia gave a bit of a smile. “I wasn’t unarmed,” she stated.

Sombra started at this, putting his hoof down and giving her his full attention. “Even my best soldier, wielding our most powerful weapon, could not achieve what you claim to alone. Not to mention you had the added distraction of a wounded mare. I hope you don’t find this rude, but how?”

Amelia’s grin widened a little as she moved her right arm out from under her cloak, raising her hand up so that it was level with her shoulder. “Perhaps you would like a demonstration?” King Sombra’s eyes lit up a little and Amelia’s smile became complete. She moved her arm to hold her hand out to her side before sending out a mental command. Her hand slipped into her gauntlet before it began to bend and fold, forming the hilt from which a purple energy blade extended. She gave the weapon a few swings before bringing it diagonal to her chest. “How’s that for armed?” She asked with a smug grin.

Sombra’s eyes were wide for a few moments before a wide grin split his features. “Thank you for… enlightening me, Miss Amelia,” his smile remained as he said this. He knocked his hoof on the arm of his throne again and his eyes drifted back to the stack of papers to his left, a sigh losing from his lips. “If you’ll excuse me, Miss Amelia, I need to get back to these.”

Amelia commanded her cyber sword to retract and gave a short bow. “Thank you for your time, King Sombra,” she said politely before straightening up and walking out of the room. She didn’t notice the wicked grin that Sombra gave her as she left.

---

Sombra walked down the dark halls of his castle. The paperwork ruse he had come up with at the last second seemed to have worked, showing that, despite her incredible strength, Amelia Jaeger was far too trusting. Which was lucky for him, because it would make her easy to manipulate when the time came.

However, right now, he had other things on his mind, specifically a blue and purple mare. He made his way down into the dungeons, crawling through the tunnels and passages until he arrived at a cell at the far end of the prison. He turned and lit his horn up brightly, causing Amber Leaf to raise a hoof to protect her eyes. The mare had even more scrapes and bruises than when she had left Amelia, and her sprained ankle was swollen to three times its usual size. “Hello, Amber,” he said in a deceptively soft tone. “Enjoying your stay?”

Amber lowered her hoof as her eyes finally adjusted to the light coming off of Sombra’s blade-like horn. “Why do you insist on taunting me, Sombra?” Amber asked, a tired note in her voice.

Sombra’s grin became a scowl. “You almost cost me a very valuable piece, Amber,” he growled out. “And that would not have been good for me… or you.”

Amber closed her eyes at the threat. “If you were going to kill me Sombra,” the mare began. “You would have done it a long time ago.”

King Sombra was becoming angry and he let out a growl that showed off his fangs. “What use is it to have a favorite pet if that pet can’t entertain you?” He cruelly, getting his face closer and closer to the bars. “And that is all that you are. A pet.” He then straightened up to his full height. “Maybe a few weeks down here will remind you of that.” He turned away violently, the glow of his horn going away and plunging the dungeon back into darkness.

---

Far away from the Crystal Empire, in the snowy wastes, stood a lone figure in armor. The armor was made of gold, with intricate designs throughout it. Most of the pony’s alabaster fur was hidden by the armor, yet her multicolored mane still flowed out behind her helmet. She held her wings tight against her body to help keep herself warm. Her horn glowed yellow as she watched the horizon in the direction of the Empire.

A dark blue figure in silverish blue armor walked up behind the other, coming to a stop beside her. “The time draweth nigh, dear sister,” the slightly shorter figure said to the alabaster pony.

“Indeed it does,” the gold armored pony answered. “Prepare the troops. The journey will be a hard one, but in two weeks time, King Sombra will fall.”

Author's Note:

What other powers will Amelia unlock, and how will a week in the dungeons affect Amber Leaf? One thing's for sure... this is just the calm before the storm.

Howdy, guys. I don't really have much to say about this chapter, asides from the fact that I know it's short. If you guys have anything you'd like to say, see a mistake, or simply want to be silly, leave it in the comments below. Please remember to be respectful to those in the comments with you. Thank you all, and, until the next one, have a good one.

Comments

[The Villain in Glasses]

The plot would thicken, but we already know Sombra be eeeeeeeviiiiiiiiiiillllll!!!!

[hades21]

Heads Will Roll