Heir to Darkness

by Vivid Syntax

Chapter 8 - Rosewood

Two Months Ago

Izkael offered a bowl of stew to Brimstone, who lay with his eyes closed on the hammock in his workshop. "Lad, ye gotta eat. Ye nay have room inside ye for air."

Brimstone shook his head. "I'm sick of stew."

Izkael shrugged. "It'll get better, lad. I added some nutmeg I found in the pantry. Bit of an odd sweetness, but it's at least a little different."

Brimstone groaned.

After a pause, Izkael said, "I'll keep the pot warm. You just tell me if–"

The bell to the shop rang. Neither of them got up, but they took notice when a breathless voice shouted, "Prince Brimstone! Prince Brimstone, please!"

Brimstone sat bolt upright. "What?"

Izkael looked between the staircase and Brimstone. "Nay heard that one in years."

The voice, a mare's, shouted again, "Prince Brimstone, are you here? Please! I've come from the Empire!" She coughed. "There's not much time!"

Brimstone rolled out of bed and dashed up the stairs with Izkael close behind. "Hello? Yes, I am here. What is it?"

He stopped in his tracks at the top of the stairs, and an annoyed Izkael bumped into him. "What do ye see, lad?"

There in the shop, catching her breath, was a pink crystal pony with a teal-and-saffron mane. She wore a saddlebag that looked heavy, and her eyes lit up as she saw him "Prince Brimstone!" She tried to bow, but she tumbled and lay on the floor, gasping for breath.

Brimstone flew over the counter. "Izkael! Get her some water."

"Right, lad!" he shouted back as he dashed back down the stairs.

Gently, they guided the crystal pony down to the workshop, lay her on Izkael's bed, and tended to her until she caught her breath. When she had, she said, "Prince!"

Brimstone wrinkled his nose. "I'm… not a prince anymore. Please just call me Brimstone."

"Brimstone, then. Thank Celestia I've found you. King Sombra, he's…"

She nearly fainted, but as Brimstone and Izkael caught her, Izkael said, "Slow down, miss. Ye dinnae even tell us yer name."

"It's Rosewood, but that doesn't matter." She turned to Brimstone. "Sombra's… Sombra's going to assassinate the princesses. I escaped to come get help, but… But they wouldn't…" She coughed.

Brimstone's blood ran cold. "Assassins. Do the princesses know?"

Rosewood nodded. "They do, but they're hesitating. They don't want to risk all-out war, and they tried to detain me for my 'safety.' But they're not just after–"

Izkael asked, "Ye escaped Canterlot and made it all the way here?"

Rosewood smirked. "Compared to the Crystal Empire, a tower in Canterlot is nothing. Especially not with these." She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out several small picks and blades made of the blackest rock Brimstone had ever seen. She passed one to each of the others.

Brimstone examined it closely. The light barely glinted off its surface. "I have never seen this structure before. What are these made of?"

"They're Rockhoof's Obsidian," Rosewood said.

Izkael smiled. "Aye, from the north. Sharpest tools ye can make, if ye have the skill to craft 'em." He felt the weight of it in his claw, then deftly flipped it in the air and caught it. "You've a fine talent, miss."

Carefully, Brimstone just barely touched the edge of the blade. "Ow!" He shook his hoof, then stuck it in his mouth, feeling a surprisingly deep cut. "That's sharp!"

Rosewood nodded. "Sharp enough to cut through Sombra's crystal barrier. He's erected a giant wall around the city and reinforced it was crystal magic."

Brimstone tentatively set his hoof down on the ground. It still stung. In a low voice, he said, "Most tragic. He is preparing for war." He looked up and saw Rosewood frowning at him. "Do you... think he has the forces to win?"

"I…" Rosewood turned her head away. "I don't know."

Brimstone furrowed his eyebrows. "You think there is no hope for Equestria."

Rosewood expression hardened. "It's not just Equestria." She looked back at Brimstone. "Sombra's not going to stop there, and I can't let him enslave me again. I can't let him do that to the whole world."

Brimstone looked around the small shop and sighed. "Rosewood, I am truly sorry for the state of things, but if the princesses already know, then you have done your duty. We…" He glanced at their waning pile of oats. "…don't have much here, but you are welcome to it. You will be safe here."

"Safe?" Rosewood snapped. "Haven't you listened to anything I've said? I don't need to be safe – I need somepony to help me stop Sombra. Why do you think I even came to you?"

Brimstone backed away quickly. "What? No! I cannot go back there. He would kill me on sight!"

Rosewood stepped forward and shoved her face into his. "He'll kill or enslave everypony unless we do something. Please, Brimstone. We need you. Everypony needs you."

Brimstone shook his head. "I refuse! Celestia and Luna can take care of it. They will–"

Rosewood stomped. "They'll die! Brimstone, you're the only one that even has a chance of getting close to him. You must!"

Brimstone drew a breath to retort, but a heavy knock on the shop door upstairs stopped him. He collected himself, stood proudly, and said, "The answer is no. Excuse me." He turned and began walking up the steps.

A claw on his shoulder stopped him. "Lad… it's business hours."

Brimstone looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"

Izkael's brow creased. "What kind of customer knocks during business hours?"

Brimstone eyes widened, and he rushed towards Rosewood. "What have you done!"

Rosewood looked him directly in the eye. "Those will be Celestia's guards. I heard what the princesses are planning. They're going to lock you up so you can't harm Equestria."

Brimstone's wings twitched and flared out. "What? Why? They have always left me alone! This will be no different. They–"

From upstairs, they heard the door fly open and a loud voice boom, "Prince Brimstone of the Crystal Empire. By order of Princesses Celestia and Luna, you will be escorted to Canterlot for your own safety."

Brimstone quaked. "This cannot be happening."

Rosewood met his gaze. "Brimstone, it's imprisonment here or take your chances. We have to go now!"

Brimstone hesitated.

With a hushed voice, Rosewood snapped, "You really thought they'd just let you hide here forever?"

When Brimstone still didn't move, Izkael grabbed him by his cheeks, turned Brimstone's head to face him, and looked him in the eye. "Lad, we dunna have a choice in the matter. I'll keep those guards off ye arse for a while, but ye cannae hide any longer. Ye have a responsibility to your subjects."

"I am… not a prince." Brimstone looked around his shop, and he felt tears well up. 'And I will have to face father.'

"None of that now. Up the chimney with ye." He reached under the mattress and pulled out a bag. "And take me rainy day snacks. Ye'll need 'em." He clapped Brimstone on the shoulders. "An' good luck to ye."

Brimstone frowned. "Izkael…"

"Ach, save the slobberin' for the return home, ye dullard." He shoved Brimstone away. "Go!"

Brimstone's heart raced, but he nodded, grabbed the bag and his wing blades, and raced to the chimney with Rosewood in tow. With one last look to his friend, he climbed up, just as the guards burst through the doorway.

Comments

[Phoenix Flight]

Ooooh! Exciting...