A few champions from the League of Legends find themselves stranded in a world only thought to be a myth.
You would never expect many things in the League of Legends, especially in a special match known as All Random All Mid. Specifically used as a quicker way to settle disputes between random champions, and a way for summoners to simply blow off steam after failing to get a higher pedestal in the Institute of War. In this, anything goes. A champion could be set up with the most unlikely of allies to destroy a special gem of a magical device called the Nexus, or set up with the most hated of foes to fight alongside. A summoner mishap after such a match had ended sent both teams hurtling through space and time to a world unfamiliar to most of them instead of their respective homelands.
“Deliver this, deliver that, whatever boss. ‘I don’t care if it’s a blizzard, Snowshoe, this package will make it to Ponyville from the Crystal Empire or I’m blacklisting your lazy ass.’ Fuck you too,” Snowshoe grumbled to himself, adjusting his winter goggles to protect his eyes from the blizzard. Out of all the available workers, he had to be called in on his day off. Maybe it was because of his dark brown coat that kept heat in that made him ideal for the task? The cold never seemed to bother him, he only wished he has a darker coloured mane and tail to keep the rest of him warm. “Why did I dye them aqua blue…?”
Deliveries were always a hassle for him, especially since he’s an Earth pony, Pegasi usually deliver in weathers such as this. The delivery Pegasi though just had to be off sick of all days, sickeningly convenient.
“Alright.” Taking out a map to view his current location on the snow covered road, he looked back up to see a crossroads sign. “Not too far now.” The wind picked up, snatching the map out of his hooves. “Wait! No!” he screamed, chasing the map. Unbeknownst to him, Snowshoe took the wrong direction to follow it. “Come back! Come back!” Snowshoe called out to his map, not that it would help.
Through the blizzard, the map disappeared into the distance. The pony, having realised the path he took far too late, turned to see the road has disappeared into the vast white waves of snow. From how far he galloped, it seemed he would have to consult his compass. Muttering insults to his boss, he rummaged through his saddlebag to find his trusty compass. Hoping to Celestia he didn’t leave it back home in his hurry, thankfully he did not.
Opening the lid to his compass, Snowshoe observed the needle point north. “Alright, take a right and continue forward. Should be straightforward.”
A low growl emanated from behind him. For a brief moment, the pony felt his heart skip a beat as the growl reached his ears. Spinning around to see what was stalking him, he was met with a cold, crystalline maw breathing cold air right into his face. He screamed, scrambling back. The Glacier Wolf growled at him before rearing back and howling. Following behind were two other Glacier Wolves, freezing smoke pouring out their gaping maws. One bite and you freeze slowly, before becoming a statue as a reminder to those who dare enter Glacier Wolf territory. Unlike Timberwolves, these creatures were rare and physically indestructible. The jaws of the pack leader snapped at Snowshoe, slowly approaching.
Seeing no other option, Snowshoe grabbed the package from his saddlebag and threw it at the wolves, knocking the pack leader square in the snout, shattering it. While the other two were distracted, he turned tail and galloped as fast as his legs could take him. “Fuck this shit! I’m quitting if I make it out alive!” The snow crunched beneath his hooves each time they struck, the biting cold fended off by his adrenaline rush. Swearing quietly with each breath, Snowshoe turned his head to see if the pack were still in pursuit of him. His heart leap out of his chest as the frigid fangs of the wolf snapped just inches away from his leg, catching the tip of his tail instead which froze almost instantly, breaking off.
In a panic, Snowshoe’s eyes darted to the nearest cliffside. Without a second thought, he made a mad dash for the edge, leaping off. The fall was shorter than expected, his tumbling body met with a slope, rolling him into a parallel slope far steeper than the one the pony had descended from. Once his vision cleared, Snowshoe was met with the whole pack staring at him with fierce, hungry eyes. The pack leader stepped forth, ready to pounce. Seeing no other way out of this, the pony shut his eyes tightly, covering his face with a foreleg.
“Not so fast!” a heavily accented voice called out, followed by a projectile of ice in the shape of the head of a goat smashing into the pack leader. As if planned, a quick beam of energy shot through the leader, tearing it apart. Glacier wolves were able to regenerate in mere seconds, this however was no physical attack.
Slowly opening his eyes, Snowshoe was met with two tall figures standing on two legs. One was tall and brawny, holding a large shield decorated with a goat’s head with a broken horn on the front. The other was shorter and thinner, wielding two guns. The second figure spun the guns in his hands. “We’re gonna need more coffins,” he said with a visible smirk, taking aim at the rest of the pack who were snarling in his direction. The air was filled with Glacier Wolf shards within seconds of the smaller figure blasting away, the larger figure resting against his shield to watch the light show with an odd ball of fur resting on his shoulder.
“Do not overdo it, friend!” called out the large male, turning his head to the confused pony, giving a wave. “Hello, my name is Braum. What is your name, little friend?” Unable to answer from shock, Snowshoe jabbered incoherently while trying to comprehend the events unfolding before him. The small ball of fur hopped off of the tall man’s shoulder and onto the pony’s lap. Usually he would have knocked it away out of fear, but the way it nuzzled against him made him feel safe. It made an odd purring sound before hopping down to the snowy ground nearby, panting like a dog with a tongue as big as its face. “I see brave Little Arrow likes you,” Braum said with a smile that raised his moustache.
After regaining some of his senses, Snowshoe said, “M-My name is S-Snowshoe.” He saw the slimmer figure approach, spinning the guns before resting them upon its shoulders. “Who’s he?”
“Name’s Lucian,” Lucian replied. “Any later and you would have ended up wolf chow, or a statue. Shouldn’t you be headin’ off?”
“Uhm, well, I dunno. I’m gonna lose my job anyway, I’m late for my delivery and I threw the package away to keep those things off of me.”
“Can we escort him?” piped up Braum, giving a hopeful grin. “I always wondered what other wonders this land has!”
Giving thought about it, Lucian tapped the guns on his shoulders to get his mind going. They were stranded and without food, coming across the pony was a stroke of luck. Perhaps the other inhabitants will be as welcoming? Shrugging, Lucian replied with a small smirk. “Why not?”
Unable to contain his joy, Braum punched the air with a hearty laugh.
“So, where do you think Ashe and Tryndamere ended up?” asked Lucian, walking by Braum’s side as Snowshoe lead them to the Crystal Empire. “I don’t feel safe knowing a guy like him could be running around this place.
Braum shrugged. “You worry too much, we will find them. After all, who better to keep Tryndamere in line than the true queen of the Freijlord?”
“I suppose you’re right…”
“Sorry for barging in but, who’s Tryndamere and Ashe?” Snowshoe stopped and turned to them. “There are more of you?”
Both humans exchanged glances, silently discussing wether or not to tell the pony. Such a topic was rather controversial in the Freijlord alone considering Tryndamere’s history as well as the fact he’s married to Ashe. A violent warrior and a peacekeeper, truly an unusual pair. But that was nothing compared to now, knowing that some of the deadliest champions will probably be alone in a world they do not yet understand. Braum nodded to his partner. “It is best we should tell him.”
“Aight.” the purifier replied, turning to Snowshoe. “Yeah, there’s more of us. I won’t sugarcoat it, but there are some dangerous individuals who came with us and if they run amok, there won’t be anything left but a barren wasteland of black ice.”
Snowshoe gulped, turning around to continue leading them without another word.
“Do not worry! We are here to help!” Braum chuckled. “Once we find our allies and-… You know, I never asked… what world is this?”
“Uh, Equestria,” replied the delivery pony.
Lucian arched an eyebrow. “Equestria? So I’m guessin’ it’s mostly talkin’ horses?”
“Ponies,” corrected Snowshoe.
“…Yeah…”
Snowshoe tapped his chin. “Well, not just ponies really. We have pegasi, unicorns, gryphons, dragons. Much more to name really, we would be talking all day if we were to talk about each one.”
“Braum, I want you to punch my face as hard as you can. This has to be a bad dream.” Lucian whispered, pointing to his cheek.
“I shall do no such thing, friend!”
“Fine…”
“I’m unsure of what you mean, dear sister.” Celestia, sovereign of the Sun sat upon her throne, her younger sister, Luna, sitting on her own throne nearby. “Are you sure it was that big of a disturbance?”
“We can only know for sure until Twilight confirms our suspicions,” replied Luna, resting her chin on her armrest with a loud audible yawn.
“Sleepy? Please, get some rest, you’ve been up all day…”
Stretching, the Princess of the Moon stood. “I’m fine, just need some coffee.”
Shaking her head, the elder sister firmly said, “I shall have no such thing, you need your rest!”
“I deserve to know about this magical disturbance as much as you do. Please, dear sister?”
Taking a moment to contemplate, Celestia gave in with a sigh. “Very well, but only if you promise to not fall asleep during the meeting.”
“Sorry I’m late!” called out Twilight. “But this magic I’ve been researching to do with the disturbance…it’s…ancient.” She squinted at the book, adjusting her reading glasses. “Whatever magic this is, it’s nothing like I’ve ever seen. If anything it’s reminiscent of the Windigo but more powerful.”
The sisters shuddered at the memory of those foul spirits, their piercing blue eyes which stared an icy lance into the very soul of those unfortunate enough to be in their sights. If it weren’t for Clover the Clever, Private Pansy and Smart Cookie, Equestria would have been bathed in an eternal winter of misery and hatred.
“You’re saying we may have a threat bigger than Discord was before he reformed?” asked Luna.
“In a matter of speaking, yes. One source alarmingly close to Ponyville, in the Everfree. I would go and investigate with my friends, but it would be too risky…”
“Then we shall give you our best patrol to help you scout the area,” replied Celestia with a calming smile. “Whatever it is, we won’t allow it to do harm.”
“Thank you so much!” Twilight sighed, relief coursing through her.
“More! More! MORE!” A loud battle cry shook the forest, followed by Timberwolf splinters flying in every direction. “Come on! That all you have?!”
“Take it easy, you know how you get when you’re in the moment.” Ashe, the true queen of the Freijlord sat on a nearby branch, idly shooting ice arrows at any timberwolf that came close. Each shot froze them in place before they were shattered by her husband, Tryndamere.
Spitting on a pile of splinters, he turned to reply. “It’s been a while, you haven’t let me go on rampages since we were considered the best picks for summoners.”
“True,” giggled Ashe. “It is nice to see you in your element.”
“I thought you liked peace?” Tryndamere joked.
“Well these creatures don’t seem to be passive at all, and from their constant appearances they seem dangerously abundant, I doubt killing them would harm the ecosystem.”
Tryndamere stopped swinging for a second at the retreating packs. “Do you hear something?”
Mid draw, Ashe paused for a moment to listen. Narrowing her eyes, the archer turned her bow in the direction of the noise. “Show me a path!” The tip of her arrow shifted into the shape of a bird, spreading its wings wide as she let the bird loose. To both Tryndamere and Ashe, multiple horse-shaped figures clad in armour filled the area of where the arrow burst into revealing feathers.
“Crap, we’ve been spotted!” One of them called out.
“More victims?” enquired the barbarian, receiving a shake of Ashe’s head in response.
“Don’t be afraid!” she called out. “We mean you no harm!”
Multiple ponies left from the brushing, spears aimed at both humans. “Don’t make any sudden moves- uh… do you have any names?” asked what appeared to be the captain, judging from a golden sun on his chest piece.
Tryndamere approached slowly, the soldiers shaking in fear at the stature of this brute holding a sword as long as his body being dragged along the ground. Various soldiers dropped their spears and hid behind their captain, who stood there with a stoic expression hiding his fear. Ashe made no effort to stop her husband from approaching, merely dropping down from the branch acrobatically to see what he does next. If he even raises his sword, an arrow would be freezing his sword arm to the ground. Glaring down at the captain who was sweating bullets by this point, Tryndamere grumbled, “Is this some kind of joke?”
“Pardon?” The captain stood there confused.
“You heard me, tiny talking horses coloured like paint?”
“Rude!” gasped Ashe, shoving him out the way. “Sorry about my husband, he’s a little short fused.”
“Hey!”
“Anyway, he’s Tryndamere, I’m Ashe. Nice to meet you.” She knelt down and held out her hand to greet the captain with a warm smile. The captain hesitantly placed his hoof on her hand and she shook it with confidence. “I suppose we owe you an explanation of our presence if we are in some sort of tribal territory?”
“Tribal? No ma’am, we just received an alert to bring two magical sources back with us to the princess. Speaking of which, I need to alert my squads and the elements that we have found the magical sources, you two. You don’t mind right?”
Exchanging a glance with the barbarian, who simply shrugged, Ashe stood to her full height. “Please do what you must. Do you have a name?”
Taking a few steps back, the pony aimed his horn at the clearing above. “Captain Fire Cracker,” he replied, getting a chuckle from Tryndamere who earned a smack on the back of his head from Ashe. A brilliant red light burst from his horn into the sky, exploding midair like a flare.
It is only a matter of time before it all becomes our personal domain, our only companion the self proclaimed troll king. How we tolerated his insubordinate behaviour this long is a mystery, he does offer strength and unwavering loyalty to compensate for his obvious flaws. With his life being the price of betrayal if he dares defy me or the will of the Watchers.
The gift of the Watchers will assist me well, so that I may create a monument out of this world as my gift to them. Time is on our side, it has always been. Preparations are in order, we will bide our time until we are ready to strike. Soon, this world will be forever frozen in ice…
After a lengthy conversation of explaining where Ashe came from and the state of their homeland, Runeterra, Twilight stared in awe at the notes she took describing everything the archer had told the princess “So let me get this straight, you’re a queen? And this… monkey-?“
“Not a monkey!” Tryndamere screamed from across the table.
“Ahem, and this guy, is your husband?”
Ashe nodded. “Correct.”
“And you two came from a world where you have magic too, and you live in a kingdom ruled by three dominant tribes which are battling over their ideals on how to rule what you call the Freijlord?” Twilight asked, her quill prepared to edit any notes. “You know, you’re taking this whole being in another world thing quite well.”
“I have seen and experienced things that are far stranger than this, also, your summary is correct- dear! Stop pestering the dragon!” She glared daggers at her husband who was poking Spike curiously. “Pet of yours?”
“Pet?!” cried out Spike, hopping onto the table to be the centre of attention. “I’m no pet, I’m Twilight’s personal number one assistant!” He stated placing a claw to his chest proudly.
“Pretty shrimpy one…” Tryndamere muttered under his breath, receiving another glare from his wife. “What? I’m bored!”
Spike hopped off the table, pulling his face with a forked tongue stuck out at the barbarian who returned the favour with a snarl, sending the baby dragon running for the door.
“Sorry about my husband.” Ashe placed her forehead in her palm. “He can be a handful if he gets restless, I think he may just be uncomfortable being in a place so odd to him or it could be his rage bubbling up again.”
“Rage?” Twilight questioned, opening a page in her notebook.
The archer rested back in the crystal chair, thinking back to her husband’s past. “He has a deep rooted affliction which causes him to lash out, if I remember he had his own tribe. However, they were all slaughtered when he was young. A dark figure looming over them, giving the raiders unheard strength…”
“Kill them all!” a raider cried out. The rest of the raiders roared in unison as they charged down to the tribe, torches lit and swords bared. “Leave none alive!”
“Raiders at the gates!” roared the gate watcher, ringing the alarm. “Raiders at the ga-“ His warning was cut short by a flaming arrow lodging itself in his neck. Unable to scream, his limp form fell over the side of the wooden watchtower into a hut, setting it ablaze. The whole tribe’s warriors were called to arms, all ready to fight off the raiders the second they entered.
Without warning the gates burst open, a flurry of arrows and spears raining down upon the front line, the unfortunate without shields falling before their comrades. Tryndamere stood firm, wielding his blade and swung without pause at the first wave of attackers. They dropped like flies, steel clashing and sending sparks. The Northern Barbarians forced back the onslaught of raiders, blood staining the snow red. Favour seemed to smile upon the brave defenders, until a figure arrived from the shadows. Wielding a cruel living sword, eyes glowing red as the spreading blaze, torn wings flapping like a cape, Aatrox had arrived. The mere presence of the Avatar of War had caused an inhuman response from the raiders, something that would scar Tryndamere to this very day.
Raiders began flooding the area, eyes bloodshot and foaming at the mouth with rage beyond human comprehension. Tryndamere turned to Aatrox, charging forth with all his might. The foul creature did not even lift his sword, instead swatting the barbarian like a fly aside with a claw-like hand, mortally wounding him. Coughing up blood, Tryndamere struggled to stand, only able to watch as his home, his friends and family become engulfed by the forest of flames that grew. Only he was left standing amidst the army of raiders glaring at him with their weapons ready. Finally, something grew within him. An uncontrollable feeling to unleash his anger upon all who stood in his path. Gripping his blade, Tryndamere roared out, shaking the very mountains his demolished home resided near. Aatrox grinned.
Cutting his way through the raiders, their weapons unable to impede his unstoppable assault, Tryndamere roared out as he raised his weapon to strike his nemesis. Aatrox smiled with satisfaction at his work, his greatest creation complete. Before Tryndamere’s blade could even get near, the Avatar of War withdrew into the shadows as quickly as he came. Unable to contain his anger, he lashed out at the remaining raiders until he was hacking at corpses through the night before coming to his senses.
His home gone, and the one who caused it all had gotten away. To this day, Tryndamere forged his body to become an instrument of revenge, rage being his weapon.
“Amazing…” Twilight gasped, her notes sprawled all over her side of the table. “And you married him? I thought you were a pacifist?”
Ashe giggled then replied with, “Oh I am, you will not believe how often I’ve been asked that.” The archer and the princess shared a laugh as Tryndamere groaned in boredom, slowly smacking his helmeted head against the table. “When will those friends of yours come? I’m sure I would love to meet this… Fluttershy?” she questioned, making sure she got the name right.
Twilight nodded.
“It would be lovely to meet another fellow pacifist, where I’m from, not many people see eye to eye with me about fighting back with peace. Everywhere I go with my friends turns into a brawl. Everywhere! And for some reason, fighting always seemed to work! Gragas settled a dispute between warring tribes after beating the daylights out of them with his special brews.”
Tryndamere cackled. “He does know how to start a party!” He continued to laugh at various memories, setting his feet up on the table. “Remember during our wedding?”
“Vividly…” Ashe mumbled.
“What did happen during your wedding?” the princess inquired, curious and trying not to laugh at the thought.
“Well,” Tryndamere scooted in closer. “He thought it would be a great idea to use a fountain as a brewery, the water supply was tainted with his patented ‘Graggy Ice’ for the whole ceremony and we all ended up having a drunken brawl at the reception when everyone had raised their cups for a toast!” he said, bursting into laughter which was soon joined in by Twilight, much to the archer’s dismay.
“Oh my gosh!” Twilight giggled, cupping her muzzle with her hooves. “You two should meet my brother and sister in-law, their wedding was crazy too.”
“How so?”
“We then used our love to send the Changeling invasion packing,” Shining armour grinned, nuzzling Cadence.
Braum sat there with a tiny teacup in his hand, wiping a tear from his eye. “That was so beautiful, right friend?” the strongman nudged Lucian.
“Yeah,” The corners of his mouth did not even twitch.
“Is something the matter?” Cadence asked. “You seem upset.”
“I’m fine,” Lucian replied bluntly, taking a sip of the tea before putting the cup down and standing. “Thank you for your hospitality, but we really must get goin’.”
“Oh no you don’t,” Braum said, placing a hand on Lucian’s shoulder before he could leave through the crystalline door. “They offered to help us, gave us a roof over our heads and you want to go alone?”
“Don’t you get it?! If we’re here, then ‘he’ might be here too! We can’t just sit here and let him take souls from this world! The last thing I need is to rest!”
Lucian wrestled out of Braum’s iron grip, who seemed to take some degree of offence. “If we just sit here drinkin’ tea and talkin’ with ponies, we won’t stop him before he takes another innocent soul!”
“Who are you two talking about?” Cadence interrupted, standing between them. “If it’s something dangerous that devours souls-“
“Not devour, imprison,” corrected the purifier. “And I doubt you might have the help we need.”
Shining Armour took his side by his wife and spoke, “I’m actually captain of the royal guard in Canterlot, Equestria’s capital, Cadence and I could get you there to talk about this and summon the Elements of Harmony. We can’t now, the blizzards at night would be too risky to transport you two. And no offence, big guy, a train would be too small for you.”
“None taken!” Braum replied with a grin, his poro bouncing on his shoulder. “A rest is always good before going on adventures.” The strongman scratched the poro’s side, which it responded by making an odd sound and a lolling it’s tongue like a dog.
Considering the options, Lucian was left with little choice but to accept, if Thresh was out there he knew that monster would be too clever to just steal souls out in the open or from the safety of other homes if ponies did create such tight communities. The best they could hope for was to prepare a letter to send in advance and send it the next morning before departing. They can only hope the others are doing fine.
“I told you, I’m not wearing it!” Tryndamere groaned, avoiding a finely crafted robe like it was the plague from a disgruntled Rarity.
“Oh yes you are! Tomorrow we are going before royalty and you are going to wear it and like it!” Ashe bellowed, firing off harmless ice sticks to slow him down.
As the barbarian slowed down to a snails pace on all fours, his body frigid, he glared at the fashionista. “Bring that any closer, and I swear I will become a nightmare you will only find solace in-“ His threat was stopped short by a slap from Rarity, much to the surprise of Ashe and Twilight.
“Brute or not, I will not have you ruining my shop while your wife here has painstakingly assisted me in crafting this for you! Now put it on!””
“Rarity I-“ Twilight stuttered.
“No no, darling, I’ve handled far worse. A lady must know when to use brute force on stubborn customers going this far. I know just what he wants to calm himself down.”
“You do?” all three asked in unison.
“Yes, and I won’t be able to give it to him if he doesn’t behave and wear this robe.” Rarity dangled it before him. “It comes with a matching crown and sword, for ornamental reasons of course.” she cooed. “And if you don’t stop being such a rude grumpy barbarian, you won’t get them.”
“Joke’s on you, I am a barbarian,” Tryndamere grunted, being met with Ashe’s eyes freezing him with her icy glare. On second thought, maybe the crown and sword will be worth it.
Taking note of this, Twilight turned to Ashe. “You two don’t seem to get along much, do you?”
“A few quarrels here and there, but don’t let his rough demeanour fool you, he is actually quite sweet when he’s not acting like a child with a tantrum.”
“That reminds me, where has my assistant gotten to?” Rarity thought aloud, using her magic to levitate a crate from the other room. “She was meant to help me with adding finishing touches to ornamental items.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you got a new assistant, what’ her name?”
“Sleet, darling. You know something extraordinary too?” Rarity leaned in to her friend and whispered, “She’s blind.”
Scratching her mane with a hoof, the princess of friendship had a hard time believing. A fashion assistant who’s blind? “How?”
“Oh, she uses her magic to see with heat.”
That made some semblance of sense, unicorns were able to use their magical aura to create a form of third eye for vision. It was however a very advanced art. Tryndamre’s grunts of discomfort drowned out her further thoughts as he tried to wear the robe, getting slightly irritated.
“Sorry,” a calm voice came from the doorway. “I’m not used to this town, I got lost.” Sleet’s pale blue coat and navy blue mane contrasted with the setting sun, her faded eyes scanning the room with her horn glowing with a white aura levitating a large bag. “Uhm, who are they?” She pointed to Ashe and Tryndamere with a hoof.
“Oh how silly of me, I should have mentioned our current customers aren’t from here!” Rarity scolded herself for being so absentminded with such a detail. “The lovely lady here is Ashe and this…handsome man is Tryndamere.”
Sleet bowed her head. “Pleased to meet you, judging from the materials imported and the shape of the clothing outline, you’re royalty?”
The archer nodded and replied, “We are, you’re- brr…” Ashe rubbed her shoulders, feeling an unnatural chill all over her body. “S-Sorry, did it get colder in here?”
“Oh!” the blind pony stopped her horn from glowing, the bag dropping at her side. “Sorry! My vision magic uses heat, ponies know when I’m in their field of vision with the cold they feel, though they don’t notice it right away because pony fur is quite thick.” Sleet gave a kind smile, turning to Rarity with her horn alight once more to raise the bag. “I have the things you asked for, where are the ornamentals?”
Rarity smirked, taking advantage of this moment to show off her latest craftwork. Swinging her head to the left, two shining objects floated out of the crate; a golden crown and a silver sword. Tryndamere marvelled at the sword, it may be a slab of silver, but to a barbarian this was every weapon-based fantasy. “You’ve really outdone yourself this time, Rarity!” gasped Twilight, gawking at the crown.
“I know, right?!” she giggled in response.
“Miss Rarity,” Sleet began, levitating two bright blue crystals, they seemed to be able to fit perfectly on her front of the crown and on the blade of the sword. “Will these do? I came across these after traversing near the Everfree.” They seemed to glow.
“Why were you near that place? From what we’ve seen the place is full of monsters,” Tryndamere grunted.
“I’m aware,” the blind pony bluntly replied, saying no more.
“These gems will do fabulously, darling!” Rarity exclaimed after inspecting them closely. “Will this be ready by tomorrow?”
Sleet nodded, levitating the sword, crown and gems into the next room. “Not very talkative is she?” Twilight finally spoke up.
“She prefers to keep to herself.” Rarity shrugged. “Now, will you behave and let me finish the finer details?”
“Fine,” groaned Tryndamere.
Lugging his true ice club behind him, Trundle grumbled to himself. Nothing to eat or drink in this cave, it was rather homely though. Though what irritated him even more was his current task; carve a stone throne for Lissandra before she returns. It was either be her slave or be frozen to death to be a statue for her amusement, a choice he wasn’t too keen on picking between. On one hand, he could be free but dead, on the other alive but enslaved. “If I had my way, why I oughta…” Swinging his club in a rage, the troll king pulverised the cave wall. Spitting at the floor after his mighty swing, Trundle swung his club upwards to summon an ice pillar. “Strike one,” he grunted while swinging at it, replacing the visage of the pillar with Lissandra’s face and shattering it. Another pillar. “Strike two.” Another swing. Focusing hard, Trundle raised another pillar, this time in the shape of Lissandra’s outline. Trundle grinned. “Strike three, you’re out!”
“Eat up Angel,” Fluttershy urged her closest animal companion, holding out a freshly cleaned carrot. Angel sniffed it before turning his head away, chin raised in defiance. “Come on…” The bunny swatted it out of Fluttershy’s hoof, making squeaking noises. The yellow pegasus gasped. “Angel…! Who taught you such language!?”
Angel pointed to an empty corner of the room, squeaking. Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion, staring at the corner before turning her gaze to angel. It wasn’t beneath Angel to lie, of course. Sighing with a roll of her eyes, Fluttershy turned her back to the corner to pick up the carrot and try again with her pet’s fussy appetite. It was gone. A gust of wind blew through her now open window, causing the pegasus to squeal in fright. Wings flared to make a leap for the ceiling, she panted heavily.
“Sorry for being late, Flutters!” a sly voice echoed from the kitchen. “I had to make a quick pitstop at Pinkie’s for some ingredients!”
Relief washing over her, Fluttershy smiled. “That’s fine, Discord. Wait- no it’s not!”
Discord’s disembodied head popped into existence on a nearby wall like a mantlepiece, a confused look plastered on his face. “Well if oatmeal isn’t fine I could make my paper-fire surprise.”
Angrily pointing a hoof to Angel, she glared deep into Discord’s eyes with her signature ‘stare’. A moment of awkwardness seemed to pass between the two before Fluttershy finally spoke. “What sort of language have you been teaching Angel?!” she hissed.
Genuinely confused, the God of Chaos arched an eyebrow. “I have no clue what you’re on about… if you don’t believe me ask your little pest,” he stated, one of his eyes popping out and rolling like a marble towards Angel. The pupil turned into a mouth which said, “Well? It wasn’t me was it?”
Angel shook his head, pointing to an empty corner of the room again. Discord’s eye grew arms and turned to Fluttershy, crossing them. “Sorry,” she said sheepishly.
“That’s fine, time to see what our fuzzy friend here was pointing to,” Discord began, his whole body forming around his eye as he slithered to the corner. His ears twitched, was his mind playing tricks on him or could he hear…chewing? “Alright, show yourself,” he demanded.
“Twenty-one hours, 12 minutes and 2 seconds undetected,” a high pitched voice replied, what replaced the empty space in the corner was a small fuzzy creature wearing a scout’s uniform. In one hand a half-finished carrot and the other holding a blowdart gun. It appeared to salute with a cheerful grin, proudly stating, “A new record!”
“…What?”
Fluttershy barged past, squealing, “He’s so cute! Ooh, what species of animal are you?”
“I’m a Yordle,” he replied. “Captain Teemo of the Bandle City Omega Squad at your service!”
The creature’s cheerful demeanour seemed genuine enough, but something did not sit well with Discord. He seemed…too cheerful. Arching his eyebrow, he stared at Teemo, wondering what he is hiding. A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, he sighed. “I’ll get it.” Floating over to the door, he peeked through the keyhole to be met with another eye staring at him. “Why Pinkie! What a surprise!” he joyfully exclaimed, opening the door. Much to his annoyance she did not come alone. “Oh, hello Sparkle, Rarity… what are those two freaks?”
“You’re one to talk,” Tryndamere shot back, getting a giggle out of Pinkie.
Furrowing his brow, Discord growled, “What’s going on here? First we find this rodent in the cottage now we have two hairless apes, I’ll just head off to Canterlot then.” He disappeared with an audible pop.
“He’s not this much of a grumpy pants, what’s got his goatee?” Pinkie joked, Rarity chuckling while the rest simply rolled their eyes. “Hiya Fluttershy!” she called out, waving through the doorway. “Ooh, cool doll!”
“That’s not a doll,” Ashe corrected. “That’s Teemo, still trying to break your record?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he cheerfully replied, still being cuddled by Fluttershy much to Angel’s disdain. “You could put me down now, please.”
Fluttershy blushed. “Oh! Sorry, you’re just so cute.” She let the Yordle go, he was as tall as Spike now that Twilight got a good look at him.
“Sure, cute,” the barbarian sarcastically remarked. “We’re wasting time.”
“Tryndamere’s right,” Twilight clarified. “We need to be at Canterlot by nightfall, and I might need to do a one-to-one interview with Teemo in the meantime during the train ride. I mean, if that’s fine with you?”
“Not at all, I’d be happy to answer any questions you got,” Teemo answered with his signature grin, a grin which sent shivers up her spine.
Note to self;…keep an eye on Teemo…
“Is that a dart gun?” Pinkie slunk low to inspect Teemo. “Cooooooooool, whaddya shoot out of it?”
Staring at his dart gun, Teemo seemed to space out. His body appeared to tremble slightly, his face partially obscured by the helmet. “Teemo?” The soft voice of Fluttershy knocked him out of his trance. Looking up he saw that he was surrounded by concerned faces, the king and queen of the Freijlord knowing exactly what had just happened and keeping their distance. “Are you ok? Do you need anything?”
“I’m fine,” he bluntly replied. “To answer your question, Pinkie, right?”
“Yeah?”
“This shoots out a special dart coated with a special poison I gather myself, another type of dart is a blinding dart that I shoot. The poison is fatal, one dart could send Tryndamere packing.”
Curiosity was replaced with fear, all five ponies stepped back. “You wish!” cackled the barbarian, lightening the mood ever so slightly.
“Problem is, I’m out of ammo for the poison. Oh well.” Teemo shrugged, unfazed by the ponies’ reaction. “I’ll just improvise.”
Twilight scooted next to the two humans and whispered, “Is he always like this?”
“Only when distressed,” Ashe whispered back. “Please be careful when interviewing him…”
Clearing her throat, the alicorn announced, “We should get going, the train will be leaving soon and Applejack is already at the station to save our carriage. Oh and don’t worry Fluttershy, Spike and Owlicous will be taking care of your friends, believe it or not those two are better than I’ll ever be with animals.”
Nodding, the yellow pegasus nuzzled Angel goodbye, sating the bunny’s craving for attention. “Will Rainbow Dash be coming?”
"Give her a minute... she's always late for bein' so fast."
Applejack rested herself against the reserved carriage, her signature stetson hat covering her face. She never knew why it felt good to have it this way when resting, maybe it kept the sun from glaring down on her face or maybe it just looked cool. Raising the hat, the farmpony stared up at the clock, only ten minutes until the train leaves.
“Applejack!” Called out Twilight, waving from across the station.
“Ya’ll cuttin’ it a lil’ bit close with timekeepin’, sugarcube,” Applejack responded, dusting off her hat before catching a glimpse of the two humans and Yordle. “Uh, new friends?”
“Yuppers!” Pinkie answered in Twilight’s place, bouncing into the carriage.
“Well shoot, any friend of Twi is a friend of mine!” Holding out her hoof, the farmpony shook Ashe’s hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Ashe smiled while shaking her new friend’s hoof. “My name is Ashe, this is my husband, Tryndamere and this is Teemo.”
Tryndamere responded with a grunt to his name, Teemo simply saluted.
“All aboard!” the conductor bellowed, blowing his whistle.
“We can continue sharing our stories on the train, no sense in wasting time, nice to meet you, Applejack” said Teemo, tipping his helmet with a smile and hopping aboard. "Hut, two, three, four!"
Once all was said and done, luggage packed and beds prepared for the night, Twilight approached Teemo with feigned confidence. Clearing her throat, she got his attention. “Are you ready for your interview?”
Nodding, Teemo hopped off of his bed. The alicorn’s horn began to glow before both her and the Yordle teleported to the cargo, three boxes aligned into two makeshift chairs and a table. “Well, what do you want to know?” His usual cheerful voice sounded much sombre, a murderous undertone complimenting it.
Caught off guard by his response, Twilight stumbled over her words. “I-I well, I wanted to know…” Remembering her question, Twilight stood firm and delivered her it with confidence. “There’s something you’re not telling me, and it’s something that Tryndamere or even Ashe won’t or can’t tell me.”
“The question,” Teemo said sternly, his eyes briefly fully opening to stare directly at her. Twilight gasped in response, what were glaring her down were not eyes of an innocent scout, but the bloodshot crosshairs of a trained war veteran. Realising what he had just done, Teemo lowered his head. “You want to know my story, don’t you?…Have a seat.”
Twilight nodded, sitting opposite to him, eyeing him warily. He rummaged through his backpack, lifting out a new helmet and resting it on the table.
Tristana stretched her arms, the swamp stench burning her nostrils. It was harsh, but this was training after all. Only best part is she was allowed to use her favourite weapon; a cannon the size of her body she trapped sideways on her back. Thanks to Heimerdinger, it weighed next to nothing with all the gizmos and such used to modify it for the gunner.
“Mistake number one…” a hoarse voice echoed through the swamp, putting Tristana on edge. “Always keep your weapon drawn in enemy territory.”
Obliging to the voice, Tristana swung out her cannon and began firing at a bush the sound was coming from. Lifting her gun slightly she lumbered through the muck to inspect it.
“Mistake number two…” A serrated knife was at her throat, it would only take one pull to slice her windpipe in two. “Never let your guard down until you see the enemy corpse.”
Smirking, Tristana pointed downward to her aggressor. The cannon had been raised just enough to swivel under her arm to point directly backwards, a well placed elbow on the trigger. “Cut me up, we both go down.”
“Nice to see you’re improving,” Teemo chuckled, withdrawing his knife.
Rubbing her throat, the gunner wiped off a purple substance. “Blinding poison?” She sniffed it, getting dizzy as Teemo observed with amusement. “…Why did I do that?”
“I switched out the blinding poison for a dip in Graggy Ice, we all know you’re a lightweight and well, it seemed funny at the time,” the scout chuckled, pulling off his Omega Squad uniform helmet.
“You jerk…!” Tristana drunkly swung at her friend, only to trip and be caught by him before her face met with the swamp.
“Yep, funny. How’s being part of the rescue team working out?”
“They didn’t let me take my gun, so I modified a firehose.”
Teemo blankly stared at her, processing her reply. It did seem like her to always want explosions, but to make water go boom? Well, whatever made her comfortable, Teemo was willing to just accept it. Though what did worry him was that Rumble seemed to be getting awfully clingy as of late, perhaps he’s been getting desperate in his dating attempts knowing he will be deployed in a week with a new mech suit.
Willing to change the subject, Teemo cleared his throat to let Tristana stand on her own. “I signed Veigar up for Blitzcrank’s fleshlin-“ Pausing for a moment, he realised just how silly it would be to drag out the bottom line of what he was trying to say, ”…dating service.”
The gunner burst out laughing, wiping a tear from her eye. “H-Him?! Date-worthy?! Bwahahaha! Isn’t that i-insult to injury after he failed to steal The Mothership and you sent him hurtling out the window with a blinding dart?!”
“He found a match,” Teemo stated in a deadpan voice.
Tristana paused mid laughter, her eyes slowly scanning her friend’s face to make sure he was dead serious. “Who?”
“Lulu apparently.”
Processing this, she shrugged. “Eh, makes sense. They’re both coo coo, only thing is Lulu would keep him in line.”
“Wanna head back to the barracks mess hall?” Teemo suggested. “Corki showed me a new way to mix rations into something edible.”
Tristana felt her stomach growl, it had been hours since she last ate. “Sounds good, maybe we can see if specs is making something new with that pretty boy from Piltover.”
“You two were pretty close huh?” said Twilight.
Teemo nodded. “She stuck to me like glue when we were off duty, I think she had a thing for me but… I preferred to just ignore it.”
Arching an eyebrow, the alicorn leaned forward. “Well, when you do get home I think it would be best to clear things up with her.”
“I wish I could,” he replied solemnly. “During our last mission, I did something I should have never done.”
“What do you mean?”
The Yordle stared back. “Do you know what the Scout’s Code is?” A silence grew between them. “If you’re thinking about boy scouts, think again. It consists of five rules; Never involve civilians in skirmishes, safety of allies and innocents is top priority, never be afraid to make a tactical retreat, challenging a superior officer must have a good reason and always have each other’s backs.”
Twilight nodded, writing them down. “Those sound very noble.”
“I just wish I had a clue of what I was thinking when the enemy struck…” Teemo growled, clenching his paw-like hands into fists.
“Who were the enemies?”
“Ourselves, Bandle City devolved into a civil war.”
“Why?!”
Teemo sat silently for a moment, choosing his words carefully. “When Jayce, representing Piltover had his meeting with our representative Heimerdinger to discuss sharing blueprints of hextech machinery as a form of good will, Rumble had no intention of working with humans. He gathered Yordles that followed his ideals; that Yordles were the superior masters of hextech machinery compared to humans.” He slightly chuckled to himself. “To everyone’s surprise, Veigar didn’t join him, something about wanting to ‘conquer the world’ on his own terms before going on a honeymoon.”
“So you reformed a villain?”
He shook his head. “No, he’s still evil, only a little more social and easier to talk with.”
Diving from a hail of bullets, Teemo rolled into a partially destroyed buildings wall for cover nearby an injured ally. “We need an evac, asap!” he screamed into his built in radio. “Relax, buddy… you’ll make it…!”
The injured Yordle coughed out, “Sir, there are civilians trapped inside this building. G-Get the evac to save them first.”
Weighing his options, Teemo nodded and added through the radio, “We might need the medical team.”
“I’ll cover for ya down below!” an elderly voice croaked through the radio, ever-cheerful and rearing to go, Corki was already sending out a beating with his rockets.
“Corki you magnificent bastard!” cheered the swift scout.
“Eat this, ya whisky delta!” Corki shouted, launching a large rocket into a trench. The resulting explosion launched bodies left and right, the daring bombardier cackling. “This should keep em busy, ground team!” Out of the corner of Teemo’s eye, he caught a glimpse of a sharp, electrically charged metal object soaring towards Corki’s ROFL copter. Before the bombardier realised what just happened, the harpoon had embedded itself into the hull of his vehicle and severing the fuel line. “Well that ain’t right…”
Staring in disbelief, Teemo watched as Corki’s coptor disappeared with a blinding flash and was replaced by a fireball of his smouldering wreckage.
“Corki…?” Teemo croaked through the radio.
Static.
“Corki?!” he screamed into the radio, another voice replacing the static.
“Teemo? Teemo you there?” It was Tristana, standing behind him with her rescue team. “Buddy…?” She reached out for his shoulder, her hand getting swatted away without a second thought.
“Out of my way,” he coldly replied, casually striding out into enemy fire.
“Teemo wait!” she called out, grabbing his shoulder adamantly. “Remember your code!”
Teemo shook his head to escape his trance. “You’re right… evacuate the civilians and our comrade, at least let me find out of Corki’s still alive.”
Tristana and her squad gasped in unison.
“He’s dead…?” one of them whispered.
Another whispered, “But The Mothership needs him…”
“Without him we’re as good as dead…”
“What are you all just lollygagging here for!? Do your mission!” roared Tristana.
“Yes ma’am!”
As soon as they were out of earshot and eyeshot, Tristana did something Teemo never thought she would do; cling to him sob.
“A strong lady like her breaking down…” he mused. “She was always so strong both in body and spirit.”
“Corki must have meant a lot to you two.”
“He was like a father figure for us, he taught us the ropes of The Mothership and kept us safe when we needed his help. With him gone, we didn’t know how to cope. I snapped, Tristana quit the force and Heimerdinger began building machines of war to demolish the enemy out of rage. We were all never the same. So if they never followed a code, why should I show the same courtesy to those bastards?”
“I’m so sorry I bothered you with this…”
“It’s fine, the war’s over now.” He chuckled.
“How did it end?”
Without warning, Teemo stabbed a knife into the crate, grinning. “This very knife slit Rumble’s throat during my last mission, the idiots at The Mothership claimed they’ve established peace finally. But peace is a fairy tale from how I’ve seen things. Because of my reckless manoeuvre, many innocent lives were lost, The Mothership overlooked my war crime to 'keep those alive happy we have a hero'.”
A scream died in Twilight’s throat, too afraid to even move a muscle she instead stared at the knife, her pupils the size of pin heads. She felt if she dared move that knife would be replacing her horn within a fraction of a second.
“Don’t worry, I only use it for carving and cutting my food now.” Teemo picked it up and sheathed it. “I hope I answered your questions, and gave you some good history.”
She nodded, one more question burning in the back of her mind, though from what she had seen it would be best to avoid such a question.
“And no… Corki didn’t survive,” he answered, as if knowing. The Yordle hopped off the crate he was sitting on and casually strode out to the cargo carriage door. “You’d be surprised how quick fur ignites.”
Once the door closed, Twilight took a moment to let all of this sink in. Was peace really a facade? History was written by the winners after all…what if her world’s peace was ill-gained at the cost of innocents? All this was too much for her to take in, gripping her head with her hooves she let the stress get to her as she broke down and silently cried alone as Luna’s moon overtook the sky outside.
Teemo hopped onto his bed, observing the other ponies conversing with Ashe and Tryndamere. It appears as if Rainbow Dash has taken a liking to the barbarian’s ‘awesome’ stories of battle while the two pacifists Ashe and Fluttershy exchanged ideals.
“Hiya!” Pinkie squealed, appearing right in front of Teemo who didn’t seem to flinch. “Where’s Twilight?”
“I’m sure she’s fine, darling,” Rarity reassured.
“But I wanna know his story!” the party pony seemed to whine, this was rather amusing for Teemo to watch. So carefree, so full of life.
On cue, Twilight teleported in, her eyes covered by her mane.
“Twilight!!!” cheered Pinkie. “So how’d it go, huh, huh, huh?!”
“I’m going to sleep…” she glumly replied, slowly trotting over to her bed and tucking herself in, facing away.
Knowing what had just transpired, Ashe gave Teemo a disappointed glare followed by everyone else staring at him warily.
He simply shrugged. “I gave her the information on me she wanted.“
The train lurched to a halt, anything and anyone not nailed down being shoved by the force into the carriage door. “What the hay just happened!? We ain’t at Canterlot yet!” screamed Applejack, pulling open the curtain to look out the window. What should be a starlit night was a swirling green and black mass of ethereal mist. A bright green light illuminated the distance behind the train, a lantern coming into view.
Getting a clear view, Ashe’s eyes widened. The train began to move again, though slower than usual. A green hook connected to a spectral chain shot forth and embedded itself on the window frame. “Tryndamere!”
“Right!” he growled, swinging his blade at the hook to no effect. “Not working…! Gonna need some help!” Nodding, Teemo and Ashe began firing their respective weapons at the hook to loosen it with minimal success.
A ringing of chains echoed as the owner of the hook floated into view right in front of Tryndamere, a skeletal floating face reeking of despair and agony. “Wrong move!” Tryndamere roared, swinging at the creature’s face. No effect, a swirling mass of souls instead protected its face and bounced his blade off of them.
The train was chugging at full speed, the hook loosening ever so slightly. It held out a clawed hand in reach of the ponies, ignoring Tryndamere, Ashe’s and Teemo’s constant barrage. “So sane…so innocent,” it’s voice rang.
“You will not harm my friends!” Twilight screamed, her horn glowing in a rage. “Out the way!” Reeling back, she shot a magical beam of concentrated energy at the monster. With the force, the hook detached, sending the creature tumbling into the distance as the train continued moving. Turning to the two humans and Yordle, Twillight wasn’t willing to leave any loose ends with what they’re dealing with. “You three have a lot to explain about who you were dealing with before coming to Equestria.”
Running through the streets of Canterlot in the dead of night, a unicorn panted heavily while keeping an eye over his shoulder. It seemed that no matter how fast or far he ran, this creature was always a little bit closer. A mumbling echoed through the alleyways. “One, two, three, four, two, three four…”
The creature’s appearance was of a lanky bipedal man, however with what seemed to be mechanical legs and a mechanical arm. It held a gun which it spun with grace and precision, the mechanical hand holding what appears to be a longer barrel. Taking aim, it shot, a thunderous sound crackling through the air. Under the mask, it grinned knowing it just hit its target’s leg to slow them down. “You can’t escape your final act. I, Jhin, shall make you perfect.”
Taking a wrong turn, the unicorn finally hit a wall, his wound bleeding. Panting frantically for an exit, he saw none, only three walls and an entrance echoing with humming. Stepping into view, Jhin spun the gun and put it away. The unfortunate pony breathed heavily, his heartbeat quickening as Jhin strode with a sort of grace. “You shall make a particularly interesting piece of work, an art only deserving of my hands and devices to mould,” he chuckled, sadism lacing every word. Swinging a mechanical hand forth, the virtuoso threw a closed lotus blossom which attached to the pony’s chest.
“I have risen from the filth and muck.” Jhin spun on his heel to face away, throwing the longer barrel behind him where it landed upright.
The device clicked, petals opening slowly while spinning rapidly, the unicorn attempted pulling it off to no avail. “Take it off…take it off!!!”
“I am the lotus blossom.” He threw a rose into the barrel perfectly.
“Please! No!”
“I…” The barrel blew the rose up into the air, petals and all floating gracefully.
“NO-!” An explosion of blood-coated petals and petal shaped shrapnel blew everywhere, filling the air with a dark, serene peace.
“…am beauty.”
“So we’re dealing with a soul stealing ghost, a mountain troll, a serial killer, an ice witch and… what was the last one again?” Twilight scribbled down the names on a notebook, her brow furrowed.
“We forgot his name,” Ashe replied sheepishly. “But without a doubt he is more dangerous."
Teemo added, “Nasty guy.”
Twilight stomped her hoof, seething. “Whatever the heck that was, I’m not letting it get away with trying to harvest the souls of my friends…!”
“You might want to wait for Lucian first, he has a bone to pick with Thresh.”
“Please tell me he’s an ally,” mumbled Rarity.
“He has a habit of cold shouldering people, but he’s an ally,” Tryndamere answered, yawning. “I’m tired, g’night.” Getting up he threw himself into an empty bed much the the annoyance of all in the room.
“You know, he’s right,” yawned Twilight, clambering into her bed. “I’d rather wake up fresh to talk about this with Celestia.”
“You would be surprised how often my sister craves cake in the night,” Luna chuckled.
Celestia scoffed, “Coming from ‘little miss cookie mix’?”
“You two need new hobby,” suggested Braum, taking a sip of tea from the comically small cup. “Maybe find boyfriend?”
“Believe me, they’ve tried,” said Cadence. “The last guy wasn’t very… ahem, eligible.”
“All I suggested was roleplay…” mumbled the sovereign of the sun, her sister giggling.
In between giggles, Luna added, “It involved a royal guard uniform and a very tight latex officer uniform.”
“I think I’m gonna be sick…” Lucian grumbled under his breath, unheard over the laughing.
“Do not worry, one day you will find the one, after all, you have good relationship with your sister. Not many can say that without- Little Arrow, manners.” Braum arched his eyebrow to the Poro who was scarfing down biscuits, it licked at the empty plate before looking up at the two sisters with button eyes and a purr. “Hah, with eyes like that who could begin to be mad at him?”
“How do you even know what gender they are?” Enquired Celestia, cuddling the adorable ball of fluff.
"Don't hog the affection, dear sister!"
“They tell me,” he replied with a grin which raised his moustache. It was no surprise to Lucian, however the rest in the room found it odd he could communicate with such a newly discovered species in Equestria.
“Your weapons though, they radiate some sort of magic.You don’t mind sharing what they do specifically?” Luna stared at the two human’s weapons, Braum’s shield resting by his side and Lucian’s guns placed to the side by his plate.
“My guns were carved from a relic stone, they fire purifying bolts of light that destroy the evil it touches.” He pointed to one. “This one, it belonged to my wife before that bastard Thresh took her soul, one day I hope to use that very gun to free her and all the others he has trapped.”
An awkward silence grew at the table as Luna chewed slowly on a biscuit.
Braum broke the silence finally. “My shield is actually from door that was part of mountain prison, unbreakable. So I broke the mountain around it with my own two hands!” The strongman let out a hearty laugh. “My knuckles felt sore, but it was worth it to save little troll boy from starving in trap.”
“So you’re a hero where you live?” Celestia asked with interest.
He rested back in his seat, pondering the question. “I don’t like to, as you say, toot my own horn. But my time has come and gone like the years, I am only a hero to those in need. Not for fame, not for glory, but just to do the right thing to make someone’s life a little better.” Satisfied with his own answer, he leaned forward.
“How old are you exactly?” Lucian asked.
Braum counted on his fingers, mumbling numbers including moon calendars. It has been a long time since he had celebrated his own birthday, too busy travelling lands and helping Ashe with trying to settle disputes between the Avarosa and Winter’s Claw. His last birthday was during a meeting between Ashe and Sejuani, at least a week ago. “If memory serves correctly, a couple of centuries. Give or take.”
“So that means you must be hundreds of years old… how are you not dying of old age?” Shining Armour finally spoke up.
Sighing, Braum knew there was no hiding from the truth. “I am an Iceborn, an immortal warrior to serve some monsters called ‘Frozen Watchers’. I would rather die than serve them.”
“How come you’ve never told Ashe?” Lucian enquired.
“Some things should be best untold.”
Clearing her throat, Celestia stood. “Now that we have the formalities out the way, a strange thing happened just this morning. Before I had to raise the sun, saw flaming prints in the grass. Flaming prints…and heard angry screaming.”
“Oh boy…” Lucian grumbled, knowing who that sounded like.
“You know what it is? My magical royal guard managed to track it down and capture the creature. Please, tell me if you do know it.” The sovereign of the sun nodded to her nearest guard who nodded in response.
The guard left the room for what felt like an hour, the silence slowly being broken by the sound of roaring flames. Flickering orange light replaced the light of the candles which dissipated, throwing the room into darkness. A magical sphere floated in, held aloft by four royal unicorn guards. Inside the sphere sat a charred figure, sitting cross-legged and resting its arms on their knees. Various areas of the creature’s body glowed red, especially the top of the head. Raising its head, the monster inside grinned with an eruption of flames from their body.
“More to cleanse…”
Throwing his chair back, Lucian stood and aimed his guns. “Don’t move a damn inch, Brand.”
“I’m sorry, you’re not the Yordle I knew,” said Tristana, avoiding eye contact. “The war’s been over for some time, but you still distance yourself from everyone. You distance yourself from me…”
“I can’t stop, Tristana, we both know the war is never truly over,” Teemo replied coldly.
“If Veigar can fit into society after what he’s done and been through, why can’t you?” she questioned, folding her arms. “Him and Lulu have been happily married and great friends with us ever since you helped change him with that dating service stunt you pulled! Sure he’s still evil, but he at least knows when a line is crossed unlike you! Where’s the brave, kind scout I first met?!” she screamed, throwing a picture at him which he barely flinched at. “You’ve become a murderer, and you just accept it while The Mothership covers your ass! The Teemo I knew would-“
“The Teemo you knew is dead!” Teemo finally shouted, rendering Tristana speechless as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I have to go now, the Institute have prepared an ARAM match.” Turning his back to her, he walked out the door. As much as it pained him, he knew that she would be gone when he comes back. For the best he hoped, so that she would not have to suffer. The more lies he told himself and others, the deeper his own mind’s grave is dug.
Opening his eyes, Teemo laid there for a few minutes. It was still dark outside, no doubt about that. The only thing illuminating the cabin being the passing lights from lamps lining the railroad.
“Trouble sleeping?” Twilight asked. No response. “Me too… I’m just so worried about how things will turn out when we do encounter your enemies.”
Still no response.
“I…heard you talking in your sleep. You really cared about her didn’t you? Teemo, I know we just met yesterday, but I can tell when someone has problems. Especially when you told me of your history. But bottling it all up with a harsh exterior will not work for both of you. Maybe try and talk to her, maybe take a long vacation with her away from the stress. If she is gone when you come home, maybe look to this Veigar for help?”
A long silence followed.
“Sorry… I suppose you don’t wanna hear it from sompony you just met,” Twilight sighed, turning over.
“Twilight,” Teemo began. “Thank you…”
Smiling slightly, she nodded in the darkness. “Anytime, a friend it always here for you.”
Trundle dragged his feet across the ground, using his club as a staff for the weight he bore on his back. Lissandra, the Ice Witch sat upon a throne of black ice frozen to his back. “A-Are you sure this guy’s here?”
“How many times must we repeat ourselves, ignorant filth?” she snapped, her words as cold as her throne. “Our vision can not lie.”
“Ain’tcha blind?”
“Silence!” Lissandra snapped again. “You may offer an army, but your barbaric babbling is a pain. Our guide has given us the directions we require to this capital, she shall await us there.”
Trundle grumbled, “Why don’t we just nab a train like this little brat you kept me from eating?”
“Too much attention will be centred upon us, now walk, I expect us to arrive by next nightfall.”
His knees ached, but to complain would only mean more weight on his shoulders. Trundle grumbled in his thoughts of how he wished he could crush her like glass. Without the League’s limitation field in Summoner’s Rift, she could constantly keep him entombed with her black ice and no one would dare question it. A green light in the distance though caught his eye, hoping it would get her off his back the troll pointed.
“Green light, ya think it’s Thresh?”
“The Chain Warden? Splendid, he shall assist us well. Kneel,” she said, standing upon her servant’s hunched back. He kneeled forth, allowing her to step down onto the ground which froze immediately. Lissandra slid across the grass, plant life nearby freezing to death from her icy aura. Thresh quickly took notice of her presence, his grin growing as he turned to face her.
“To what do I owe the honour of meeting you here again?” he chuckled.
“It is nice for us to meet you again, someone with competence for once,” Lissandra said with a nod. “Did you get seen?”
“Yes, but these creatures met Tryndamere, Ashe and Teemo already. They knocked me off the train before I can harvest such…innocent souls.” Thresh cackled maniacally at the thought of such souls in his lantern.
Growling under her breath, Lissandra’s icy aura expanded at the thought of Ashe, the one who stood in the way of conquest. “That insolent child…” An icy claw rose from the ground, gripping a tree. “Let us head to their location, without the inhibitions of the Rift we can take their lives and this kingdom.”
“And if the royals get in our way?” Thresh eagerly asked, swinging his chained scythe in circles.
The icy claw tightened around the tree. “Simple, they die.” With that, the claw snapped the tree into splinters.
A booming voice echoed through Lissandra’s head, causing her to double over in pain. An ancient incomprehensible language only understood by her, complete gibberish to those around her as it echoed outwards. Thresh observed in bewilderment to the voices, while Trundle on the other hand enjoyed the rare sight of her suffering due to the Watchers’ commands.
“Forget your pitiful vendetta! You have been bestowed control over all ice to become our herald! Settle your petty squabbles once you have returned us to the physical plane!” Their voices echoed like a blizzard, endlessly freezing her very soul.
“Of course…” Lissandra panted. “Of course… my apologies. Forgive me for being so ungrateful…” Her hunched over frame was surely a pitiful sight to behold.
“Get back, this guy ain’t safe to even be near!” Lucian commanded, his lightslingers aimed directly at Brand through the bubble shield. “Other than Thresh this guy is a top containment priority!”
“Don’t worry, these unicorns have contained far worse than this,” Celestia reassured Lucian.
“That’s because you don’t know what he can do!”
“I can hardly move,” Brand growled, his flames roaring outwards against the field. “I want to burn you all, turn you all to ashes.” The intensity of the flames lit up the dim room with an eerie orange glow as Brand thrashed wildly inside. “I WANT TO SHOW THE WORLD MY BURNING VENGEANCE!”
“He’s getting restless, princess!” one of the unicorns called out, receiving Celestia’s assistance with another bubble shield layer overlapping without a single moment of hesitation. Her warm golden aura replacing the orange rage of the creature’s blaze.
Feeling the strength of the flames, Celestia clenched her teeth. It felt as if her horn was on fire. “You’re not getting out on our watch,” she spoke out. “Shining.”
“Yes Princess?” On cue he stood, his horn glowing at the ready.
“Please assist us with conjuring a more powerful prison that won’t require constant magical energy, you too Luna.”
“I won’t take too long, dear,” the captain of the guard said, kissing his wife on the cheek.
Lucian spun the guns before placing them on the table. “Fine, but remember, I told ya so.” He watched as both princesses, Shining Armour and four elite unicorn guards left the room. As he saw Brand leave his sight, the purifier could swear he saw Brand grinning.
Braum placed a mighty hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, surely Brand is easier to handle than that monster with spiked mace.” Little Arrow shuddered with a snort in agreement.
“Maybe you’re right…” Sighing, Lucian sat back down. Taking a moment to let the mood settle, he turned to Cadence and asked, “So apparently royalty can marry to who they choose?”
“Well, of course.” Cadence replied with a smile. “Love should not be limited by one’s class or rank in society, not since a fateful romance between a royal and commoner moved the hearts of millions. You see, back when Equestria was founded, earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi still had unease between each other. Of course unicorns were considered nobles and royalty, excelling in all things magical and thus being the most educated in the past society. Unfortunately through the years they grew arrogant, self obsessed and generally unpleasant to be around.”
“Sounds like Piltover…” Lucian mumbled.
She arched an eyebrow. “Piltover?”
“City full of bigshots, sorry, please continue.”
“Oh, right! Well a single unicorn by the name of Willow who wanted to get in touch with all other groups ventured out into the world to understand the agriculture of earth ponies and the military discipline pegasi were known for, though her journey was mostly spent alone. Willow eventually arrived at a small town called Barrow Creek, full of earth ponies who avoided her line of site like she was the plague itself. One stallion though, a town guide by the name of Compass Needle stepped up and offered her assistance much to her delight. He was courteous, kind and had his own quirks that Willow found charming. Unfortunately to the other unicorns who heard news of her travels, Compass was seen as a barbarian and sadly he was incarcerated for ‘harassment of royalty’ when she wanted him to visit her family. On the day of his sentencing, the princess ruling at the time came herself then promptly scolded the jury and court. In her own words, she set expectation for all ponies because of that romance. ‘Equestria is a land of equality for all creatures, if we were to shun another because of our own selfish distaste of differences it would go against everything Smart Cookie, Clover the Clever and Private Pansy stood for.’”
Braum sniffed, wiping a manly tear before it could reach his moustache. “Romance of the young, history of equality… reminds me of fairy tales mother always told me.”
Lucian patted his back. “There there. So it’s those very ideals that let you welcome us despite our appearances?”
“Of course,” Cadence replied with a nod. “By the way, Twilight Sparkle, my sister-in-law sent Celestia a letter regarding the whereabouts of your other friends.”
“Well that’s a relief, how many?”
“I think three.”
“The whole team shall reunite soon!” the strongman let out another hearty laugh. “Hopefully Tryndamere didn’t cause too much trouble.”
Lucian shrugged. “Wait… why didn’t Celestia mention this at the table?”
“Believe me, she wanted to until the issue of this flaming creature came up. We’ve actually did some research on the biology of it, the physical body is apparently long deceased and only being kept together by the magical entity controlling it. If it was removed the body would crumble to ashes.” Cadence shuddered at the thought of an innocent pony being the host to such a monster. “The only problem is actually sealing it away permanently.”
“Only true ice can seal that, thought it’s real hard to even come across.”
“Well I’m sure we might find something of that description, by the way I should mention that there have been a string of murders around Canterlot lately. The targets being well-known diplomats who assist in alliances between Yakyakistan and the Changeling Empire and Griffonstone, would you know anything about that?” she asked.
Braum rubbed his chin, deep in thought. “Maybe Jhin.”
“In any case, our finest police forces have been on the hunt, he shouldn’t be too hard to dispatch of right?”
“He’s a slippery weasel, he may be easy to lock down but he’s hard to keep down,” Lucian clarified.
Deep in the bowels of Canterlot, a syndicate of elitist unicorns gathered around a table. The room was small and lit only by an oil lantern held above by rope, the members surrounding obscured in the darkness save for their muzzles underneath their cloaks. The leader wearing a bright white cloak spoke, “Welcome fellow members, were you followed?”
They all shook their heads.
“Good, lately our plans have been going well, tensions between kingdoms are at an all time high thanks to our newest member-“
“I would hardly call myself a member, I only took part in this little operation to perfect my art,” Jhin’s ghastly voice echoed through the room as he stepped into view. “Your political follies mean nothing to me.”
The leader gulped. “O-Of course.” He cleared his throat. “With tensions so high, the drop of a needle would unleash the greatest of wars Equestria has and will ever see. This is why I have gathered you all for this important meeting, Jhin, with your excellence in assassinations we have decided on four prime targets for you. The first will be Prince Ruterford, Gilda, Queen Chrysalis and finally… Princess Celestia herself.”
The room broke out into murmurs of agreement, the leader sat waiting for the chattering to calm down. Before he would begin, Jhin finally erupted into a haunting cackle. “Brilliant! Brilliant! Royalty, the greatest canvas of all.” Bringing out his four shot revolver he inspected the bullets inside before snapping it shut. “And four bullets to match my targets, you’re too kind.”
“Are you sure you can handle such a task?”
Jhin chuckled, heading to the door. “Of course, I would never pass up the chance to create such art. Thank you for the opportunity, Prince Blueblood.” His laughing intensified through the door once it closed, sending shivers up all member’s spines.
Climbing through the mountain tops, Jhin mumbled to himself. War is a perfect art to witness, but none so artistic as the single shot sparking it. Like a paintbrush making the first stroke, it’s the true ecstasy of starting a piece and watching it finish itself. Taking out a note he read the target’s name. “Queen Chrysalis, queen of the Changeling Empire and mother of many. Hm, war, orphans, such a sublime tragedy!” he cackled. Turning over the note to see the picture of his target, he whistled. “Hideously elegant.”
Peeking his head over the rocks, a black hive, the size of a castle towered over the rocks beneath. It glistened in the early morning sunlight, with drones flying around it either guarding, running errands or even just exercising. Taking out his barrel extension and pistol he connected the two together to form a sniping rifle. Normally that would be enough, but Jhin took it the extra mile by opening the extended compartment on his shoulder to connect it to. Once the barrel had made its connection, four pistons lined vertically sprung out the back of his shoulder. A hextech-magical mass accelerator it was called, able to amplify the damage of his four stored bullets. His ‘prosthetic’ arm and legs? just a gold plated piece of armour to handle the recoil from the shot.
Now… he waits.
Taking a step out the train, Twilight stretched, having a bad case of bed mane. Quite obviously she hadn’t bothered with the train lavatory being hogged by everyone and their mothers, literally. Thank goodness Rarity was always nearby with her comb. Canterlot seemed to be rather crowded, then again it is Sunday and every colt and mare was out in their most fashionable.
“The passengers on the carriage in front of you heard some commotion, is everything alright?” Sleet’s voice chimed in behind them.
“Oh everything’s fine now, darling!” Rarity replied in the middle of combing Twilight’s mane before focussing on Fluttershy’s and her own. “It was quite a fright, this green skeleton-headed ghost was quite the ruffian.”
A stallion stepped forth, clearing his throat to grab their attention. Prince Blueblood stood with a neutral expression. “Welcome to Canterlot, I’ve been sent by my auntie to escort you…- Are those the humans and whatever that is-“
“Yordle,” Teemo corrected.
“Yordle, whatever, I suppose that must be them. Your flying carriages await,” he extended his hoof in motion, his voice still as pompous and arrogant as ever.
“Please don’t tell me I have to share a carriage with you,” the fashionista outwardly grumbled, hoping he heard it.
Chuckling, Blueblood replied, “Why would I share a carriage with you? After all, why would I willingly associate myself with poor excuses of Canterlot Elite?”
“Hey!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, getting up in the prince’s face. “Rarity’s got more Canterlot in her horn than you have actual royal roots!”
“Are you implying I’m adopted!?” Blueblood growled.
“If the horseshoe fits. Now if you wanna stop talking to my friends that way, it would be best to get a move on before Celestia puts you in your place again.”
Snorting, he turned with his head upright to his own carriage. The pegasus guards chuckled amongst each other at witnessing such a sight, receiving Blueblood’s patented ‘Upper Class Sneer’ in return. It however looked ridiculous enough to have no such desired effect much to the pompous prince’s annoyance.
“Thank you, dear, that jerk always thinks he’s got it made.”
“No prob, nopony messes with my friends!” Rainbow Dash smiled, placing a hoof to her chest. “Let’s go hopefully Spitfire will be there, haven’t seen her since my first official time of being a Wonderbolt.”
Getting into the golden carriage, Twilight looked above to see Rainbow Dash taking the fast route by flying there herself. Of course, ever impatient. “The ponies here look so stuck up,” Tryndamere mumbled
“Well, he’s not wrong,” Rarity clarified. “The boutique in Canterlot is running smoothly but honestly, they are so picky!”
Ashe asked, “You have boutiques all over Equestira?”
“Not quite. Only in my hometown of Ponyville, Canterlot and Manehattan. Shouldn’t we be moving by now?”
“Oh, did you need those pegasi?” Blueblood snidely remarked from his carriage. “I only paid them to carry the carriage here, they should be halfway to the castle by now.”
Tryndamere felt his blood boil at the royal’s smug smirk, his teeth clenched and his grip focussed on the handle of the ornamental sword. Inhaling to let out a signature mocking shout he was interrupted by the most unlikely of sources.
“You jerk!” Rarity screeched, standing. “I demand you give us our promised transportation, THIS INSTANT!”
“Yeah you big meanie!” Pinkie added.
“You’re…not very nice,” Fluttershy also added, hiding behind her mane.
Scoffing, Blueblood replied, “Why should I? You’re making a mockery of yourself as it is without you and your freaks being paraded in the sky.”
“Because the only fool here is yourself,” the archer interjected, a visible smile on her face, Tryndamere knew what was coming and stifled a cackle. “As a royal of my homeland, I know all to well citizens hold high regards for their leaders. If the Canterlot elite were to say… see their role model breaking a promise in public. What would that say about your image? I’m sure a snake would show more honesty to his nest than you do to your own people.”
Inhaling sharply, the prince gazed all around. Surely enough there were eyes gazing in disappointment, followed by whispers. Both of the current situation and of past experiences various ponies have had with the spoiled brat. Giving in, he screamed, “Alright! Fine!” He turned his attention to the two pegasi stifling their laughter. “You two, fly our ‘guests’ to the castle and get someone to fly me home at nightfall.”
“Ice cold tongue?” asked Twilight with amused grin.
Tryndamere chuckled. “The coldest.”
In the training barracks in the vast back yard of Canterlot Castle various soldiers were doing their daily training routine. Of course Braum could not help joining in to give tips on handling a shield, Lucian however decided to assist with lecturing the archers on good aim.
“Ok, friends, take aim!” Braum hollered to a group of unicorns, his shield at the ready. “Fire!” Within seconds bolts of magical energy began flying at him, being blocked by his unbreakable shield with no effort whatsoever. Looking over the shield, Braum saw the unicorns charging up a large collective blast. No doubt seeing how much it can handle. Grinning the strongman prepared for their magical bazooka, seeing the giant ball of swirling energy careening towards him at unbelievable speed. A blast of that size would most certainly knock him off by the sheer force. Leaping forward he angled the shield , the ball bounding off the angle and into the sky where it dissipated into a bright light. “Do you get the idea now? Small projectiles use ‘door’, big projectiles use ‘ramp’. I hope it helps you in the future.”
“Man..the heck is this thing made of?” a unicorn asked, horn smoking from magical residue. “We could really use the material for better shields.”
“Sorry, but this material is unique only to this very shield. Ancient magic. Even if you could the weight would make you break legs.”
“Doesn’t look that heavy…” another replied.
Chuckling, Braum placed the shield standing. “Be my guest.”
An aura coated the shield, the unicorn in front of Braum straining heavily. Taking a breather, he waved over some other unicorn soldiers who joined in, all unable to even budge the mighty shield. “Holy damn… how strong are you!?” one exclaimed.
“According to stories he could punch all the way from the top of a mountain to the base,” Lucian answered, wiping his lightslingers with a cloth after training. “This guy can punch the ground and you’d be knocked on your backs from the air alone.”
“Please, you flatter me!”
“I hope I’m not bothering your training session?” Celestia’s voice chimed in from above, her wings beating the air as she landed with the grace of a swan. “But we have word your friends have arrived to Canterlot safely.”
“That’s good news,” chuckled the purifier, placing his lightslingers into holsters. “It’d be nice to catch up on what their experience was like comin’ here.”
“They will arrive in a few minutes, I take it you will be waiting for them at the castle gates?” she questioned.
Before Lucian can answer, Braum sped past him like a bullet. “Race you there!” he challenged with a hearty laugh. For such a man with a large stature, he was no slouch when it came to stamina either.
Sighing, Lucian started walking.
Witnessing this, Celestia giggled to herself. “Humans are so interesting.”
Deep in the bowels of the Sablestone Mountains, Border of Bandle City, the sounds of machinery clicking and whirring filed the air. It had been so long since the Bandle City civil war had ended, but personal vendettas never truly end. Hopping off a platform to a control panel, Rumble tinkered away at various controls. “Banish me, will they?” he mumbled. “Take my girl, will you?”
Slamming a fist onto a big red button, Rumble cackled to himself. “You can’t hide from me anymore, Teemo!” A large circle of metal lit up, blue energy sparking to the centre creating a portal. The metal was in a rusted state, so the portal could only last so long before dissipating after one transportation, the insane Yordle had pondered what to send for months until the idea of his prototype came to mind. “Of course they never counted on me taking leftover tech from the junkyards to make this.” Rubbing a scar on his neck, Rumble growled. “Thanks for leaving some of your torn fur as a bio signature, this device will send my creation to end it all for me. No hope of survival.”
The castle entrance of Canterlot, a magnificent spectacle many come to see. Be it for the view of the castle itself, the golden gates or the princesses going out for their morning stroll just to have a nice chat. The gates were always open but closely guarded, not a pony in Canterlot hasn’t stopped for a chat with Celestia or Luna.
Braum sped through the castle grounds, his legs bounding him forward to where it was like he was hovering. Skidding to a halt next to the gates, he eagerly gazed skyward for his friends much to the embarrassment of Lucian who followed slowly behind. “You’re making a scene, big guy…” he pointed out.
“Scene?” Braum asked, his answer being a finger pointing towards the massive trail of cracked ground and torn soil leading to the training ground. ”Oh… I shall take responsibility and fix it with my own two hands!” the strongman eagerly offered.
“No need, pal, this ground’s gonna be fixed in no time by a couple of hired unicorns,” a palace guard interjected. “Stuff worse than this happened before. ‘Sides, wouldn’t be polite to leave as your friends just arrive.”
To Braum’s delight, the flying carriage had just appeared within eye view. Of course, Tryndamere was being Tryndamere by trying to assert dominance by arm wrestling with a blue pegasus while Ashe could only stare on with disappointment and amusement. Squatting, Braum took a deep long breath. Knowing what was to come, Lucan scooted back, gesturing for the guard to do the same. With a mighty shove of his legs, the moustached Freijlordian shot up to the sky and waved his arms to try and get the attention of the carriage. He seemed to overshoot his goal and burst through a cloud on his way, the shockwave from his jump pushing back anything not pinned down in a lengthly radius.
“Uh, what’s with the leaping mound of muscles?” Twilight questioned.
“Friends!” Braum’s voice echoed out to them.
“Oh, that guy’s Braum, he’s with us,” Tryndamere answered, getting distracted from his arm wrestling match to which Rainbow Dash took advantage of to slam his wrist into the side of the carriage. “No fair! I was distracted!”
“Pay up, Applejack,” Fluttershy giggled, holding out a hoof which received a bit from the irritated apple farmer.
“So is he normally this strong?” asked Twilight, gawking at the heights Braum has leaped.
“He’s stronger than that, he barely uses his strength for combat, only to defend,” Ashe answered. “He’s the perfect human shield, always willing to defend those in need with calm words or mighty muscles. My husband on the other hand-“
“Yeah yeah, we get it!” he interrupted.
The archer giggled. “Never change.”
“I don’t plan to.”
The carriage finally landed at the gate, Braum landing nearby with no effort whatsoever and leaving a pair of prints on the bricks. Bounding towards them with arms outstretch he gripped the passengers in a wide embrace and lifted them. “Friends! Nice to see you are all okay!”
“My… lungs…!” choked Rarity.
“We appreciate your concern, but please, gack! They don’t have the bodies for this!” Ashe gasped.
“Speak fer yerself, sugarcube,” Applejack chuckled, simply enjoying the muscular hug as Teemo sat there like a plush toy with a blank stare.
It has been a few hours since Jhin set up camp at the mountain, staring at the balcony of the hive with his cannon at the ready. The weather had changed since, droplets of water dripping down his mask, past the eyeholes and pooling into a puddle beneath him. He hadn’t moved an inch, but had taken a moment to appreciate the rainfall which coated the hive. A bugle had sounded out, grabbing the attention of all the hovering drones. The Queen’s speech to the workers was about to begin.
The whole hive had been stirred, drones from every entrance had flown out like a cloud, surrounding the area of the balcony in a cone. Chrysalis herself strode out, accompanied by two of her finest soldiers with a large umbrella to block out the rain. Under the mask a wide smile crept upon his face. “Such a lovely canvas, such exquisite design. Now, let’s see if your ‘paint’ comes in more colours than red…”
“My fellow empire, it has been close to two years since our alliance with the ponies. It has not gotten any easier to accept the discrimination we still endure at the hands of their law and civilians,” Chrysalis spoke, her voice loud and commanding of respect with a harsh buzz to it.
The crowd buzzed in agreement.
“Brutality, blackmail, slavery… trafficking…” she choked, “are but a few of the cases I have received. However! I will personally fly to Canterlot for my scheduled meeting with the Princesses and God of Chaos himself to arrange an agreement on Changeling rights everywhere!”
The crowd grew into an uproar of cheers.
Taking a deep breath, Jhin aimed at the queen. He had her in his sights, time slowing to a snail’s pace as the virtuoso loaded the bullet into his mass accelerator upon his shoulder with a flick of his thumb. Rain pattering ominously as the speech was drowned out by the downpour and his focus.
“The stage is set…”
His shot crackled like the thunder, the bullet spinning towards the queen’s chest with blinding speed, leaving a red trail. Chrysalis gasped at the pain searing through her, the hole in her chest dripping with green blood. The hole sprouted a sapling before it began to rapidly grow, the wood of a cherry blossom tree slowly raising her off her hooves as the horrified crowd stared on. Her screams were replaced by pained gasps for air as the tree grew around her at an increased pace, branches extending to the balcony to anchor itself in place while the roots dug deep into the hive. Once the horrifying transformation was complete, the queen’s limp body hung as if part of the tree sprouting cherry blossoms.
In one shot, it was all over as soon as it began. Jhin admired his work from afar, the horrified expressions, the tree standing as an eternal gravestone and best of all; the panicked drones flying around in a form of orchestrated chaos. Just like that he was gone, with a crash of thunder.
"PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF LOCOMOTIVE FORM FOUND. SCANNING FOR WHEEL ADJUSTMENTS." Mecha Sion boomed, staring at the tracks before him. "SCANNING COMPLETE."
Stepping over the tracks, the mechanical giant calculated his adjustments for transformation purposes. A distant horn broke his attention. With a grunt he turned his head 360˚ to see the light of another train approaching fast. Perhaps it was time to test the strength of their engineering before making his way, a bout of mindless destruction does a processor good.
Poking his head out the side, the conductor's eyes widened with terror as the visage of Sion approached with a sprint. It only took a matter of seconds before the whole train was a pile of burning rubble and corpses strewn about. His bloodlust sated, Sion turned to the tracks before hearing the coughing of a pony.
The unfortunate soul had his legs mangled, barely alive, but with medical attention could survive. "P-Please...mercy..." he choked as Sion glared down with unending contempt.
"'MERCY' DOES NOT FOLLOW MISSION PARAMETERS," the mech replied, turning away.
"Wait! Don't leave me here to die!" the pony called out.
Without another word, Sion transformed into his locomotive form, letting out a piercing whistle before chugging off.
