I laid on my back surrounded by the mermaids as the sat down around me and put their hands on me. to say the least this was very uncomfortable for me and I was already sweating and shaking. One of them rubbed their hand across a cut on my chest and as it passed over the wound healed up and looked fine. I looked down in surprise and the mermaid who healed me smiled. Soon enough the rest of them began healing my wounds and fixing my cuts and bruises. And soon enough I was healed.
" uhm... Thank you." I said.
" no problem adventurer." The black haired mermaid said. She smiled seductively at me and placed her hand on my lower chest. She slowly started sliding her hand down closer and closer to my crotch and soon enough she had me by the balls, so to speak. She started rubbing my groin area and I already knew this was going to be bad. I tried to move but I soon felt all my joints and muscles had gone numb. Shock at this I looked around to see that the mermaids had some kind of gel on their hands.
" crap... I shouldn't have fallen for that." I said.
" paralyzingly gel... Perfectly fine on skin contact... But not when it enters the bloodstream." She said smiling as she continued to massage my lower regions until my cock grew longer and thick as it slid out of its sheath. She held my shaft in her hand and slowly started rubbing it up and down. I tried to move but that paralyzingly gel was strong stuff. And since I didn't know it was happening I didn't have time to prepare for it... Now I'm helpless, I don't want to hurt them just yet, I need to keep my cover.
" I have a feeling there's no city." I said.
" it's more of a town actually." Said the black haired mermaid. They all gathered around me as the black one molested my cock. I was so much smaller compared to them. I wasn't at my full height and they just gathered around me like I was some kind of pet... I can't let these things keep happening to me. Once my dick was fully erect the black haired mermaid crawled on top of me and let it rest up against her stomach letting it cover her private area.
" so there is a city, or town as you say..." I said starting to feel the effects
Of the neurotoxin wear off and my limbs start to regain feeling. " we'll good then..." I replied, and without getting pulled into a trap now I closed my eyes and thought hard. I shone brightly and in a flash of light I teleported away and back into the water below and soon I was covered in water again. I began sinking down to the bottom of the lake and I took in a deep breath letting water flood back into my lungs. I felt my limbs grow tighter until I was able to move once again. A spread my wings and started to gain control.
I spun around and aligned myself in the water. I swam around and started looking for any kind of entrance or tunnel into this town of theirs but I couldn't find anything. The bottom of the lake was lined with large rocks, coral, and seaweed. There were fish swimming around in droves and schools all a different style and color, but the seaweed and the coral couldn't hide anything from me, but they weren't hiding anything in the first place. And soon enough there was a splash in the surface as the group of mermaids soon swam back down and spotted me. I glared at them and started to glow brightly as my armor reappeared on me and I got ready to fight if I have to. The water around me boiled as light tore through the glimmering water.
" woah take it easy there stallion." Said the black haired mermaid. " I get why you might be mad, but you can't blame us for trying."
" yes I can..." I said. " if you wanted to take advantage of me like that, then you shouldn't have healed me..."
" we'll now that you're healed you can get going..." She said.
" oh no I can't." I said. " not until you give me the key to the door."
" what key... We told you where it is, the garden of eternity." She said still keeping a calm composure.
" that was a very clever lie... I spoke with the Minotaur's, they told me everything, and I think I trust them more than you conniving mermaids, now bring me the key." I said. The black haired mermaid started to laugh while the others behind her seemed a bit worried.
" and what are you going to do?" She asked. " kill us?"
" I just might." I said.
" and then what... The entrance to our kingdom is hidden and you won't be able to find it without a mermaids help."
" so now it's a kingdom?" I said.
" yes, and I am the kings daughter... Killing me wouldn't make a very good impression on his highness." She said. " and you wouldn't want us to use these." She said as she and the other mermaids put their hands on their necklaces they were all wearing. They had small crystals on them that glowed lightly and they pulled them off. " that wouldn't be good for your health." She said.
" really..." I said. " and what exactly will those do?" I asked.
" watch." She said. She and the other mermaids glassed their gems tight and held them close to their chest. They began to glow and seemed to change, it bought they themselves were changing but instead they were just growing armor. Huge crystal armor soon cover their bodies. Large chest plates, with fin like coverings for their tails which still gave them great mobility and flexibility. They whisked their arms to the side and from their hands shot a large crystal which sharpened into weapons, spears, staffs, bows, and swords. The black haired mermaids hard shot out a crystal from her grasp and it soon thinned out and sharpened into a crystal sword. I stood there watching, somewhat impressed.
" so you can grow armor and weapons... Good for you." I said. " I've already learned that trick, besides..." I said getting in a momentary pause to attack as I reared up like I was standing and kept flapping my wings to level me out in the water. " my armor is better." I said getting ready to attack. " now, bring me to the city and give me the key." I said. And then suddenly an arrow shot from between the group of mermaids and flew at me. It was a crystal arrow that shattered the second it impacted with my armor. The other mermaids launched at me and surrounded me.
One of them jabbed her spear at me which also broke on impact. She pulled her broken crystal spear back and rejoined the swarming mermaids in pink crystal armor. A few more arrows shot out at me and broke when they hit my armor. For a good minute they swarmed me and hit me over and over just to have their weapons shatter over my armor. Then suddenly one arrow fired from the swarm and struck me in the neck where my armor didn't show. It pierced straight through my neck and I started gagging a bit as I started to sink down in the water. The mermaids regrouped in a cluster and watched me choke and sink as blood started mixing in with the water.
My choking and gagging soon slowly turned into laughter and I began to laugh like it was a funny joke. Blood continued to spurt from my neck as I reached up and grabbed the crystal arrow. I pulled in from my neck and tore a lot more flesh going out than in. More blood spurted out but it soon helped and closed up. The mermaids looked at me with concern and fright as they noticed the wound close and blood stop flowing into the water. I kept laughing as I glared at the group of mermaids and smiled sinisterly.
" my turn." I said. I let out a roar that shook the water as several sharp spikes of light fired from my back and curved around, heading towards the group of mermaids. They tried scrambling away but I curved the spikes and skewered each and every one of them. I actually stabbed them all through the neck and they choked and started clasping their necks in pain and distress. I watched each one clamor for life but then fall limp as the life they tried to hold onto drained from their bodies. I could feel my energy and power rise slightly as their souls left their body and started draining into me. Each one was dead, except for the black haired one, the kings daughter. I had trapped her in a spheres of tentacles and her dead friends. She wasn't air mor concerned now.
" you can't get into the city..." She said now in a desperate voice trying to convince me my efforts are in vain. " the magic around it protects it from intruders, only merfolk can get in."
" well have I got a surprise for you." I said now teeming with the most brilliant an I've had all day, this was going to be fun." It was just like my earlier plan to fake injury, but far more extreme, a lot more fun, and a lot less painful, but I feel like I might regret this. I looked over to one of the mermaids dead friends hanging from my spikes of light. I picked out the one with the bow that shot me and I began glowing a bright white. My body began to shift and change and sure enough... I had taken a new form. As the light faded my new form became clear and the kings daughter was now scared for her life and probably scared too.
I now had a bright, sea green fin with long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. I had light skin and a thin figure, and also I was a woman. It was a very different feeling than what I'm used to and it was by strange, on top of being a mermaid now. I took in a deep breath and breathing in water as a mermaid was much more different than before. It was just like breathing in air where as before it was like I was really breathing in the water, I guess these new lungs of mine are used to it.
" so..." I said with a new voice as well. It was light and feminine and as low sweet and caring, it made me smile. " where is this kingdom of yours?" I asked. I looked T her until something caught my eye behind her. I swam a bit to the side with ,somehow, perfect control of my new form. As i looked past her I saw a small opening in the cave wall that wasn't there before. She knew I could see it.
" only mermaid eyes can see the entrance... Please, let me go." She said.
" I'm afraid I can't do that." I said holding up one more spike. She tried to let out a scream but I thrust the spike through her stomach and she sputtered out in pain. She spit up a mouthful of blood and soon fell limp as she died. I didn't care room ugh for mermaids anyway. I let all the bodies fall to the floor of the lake except for the one I had taken control of. I swam over to the body and grabbed the necklace from her. I tore it off her and used it on myself. Soon my body began to glow and bright pink armor shone on me.
Again though I will have to fake an injury. So I used my magic to just cut a few nicks and cut into me and break off some of the armor. I looked back down to the dead body of the girl I had taken the form of. I can't have two of her, especially if one is dead. I brought my hand down and placed it on her head. It felt almost unreal to have hands again, though its not the same feeling when they aren't yours. I used a bit of my darker magic to make the body instantly decompose and crumble to ash. The ash mixed with the sand and water and she was gone. A darker part of my mind was taking over and I had a diabolically ingenious plan.
I looked over to the hole in the lake wall and swam over to it. I placed my bow on my back and quickly started swimming over. I was going to have fun with this. I looked through the hole in the cavern wall and it was a long narrow tunnel. I started swimming through it quickly and it seemed to stretch on and on. It opened up a bit wider and soon there was a light at the end. I enhanced my vision to see an entire underwater city in there. As I grew closer I noticed two guards standing at attention with their backs turned I stopped and got ready for my little play. I was bleeding into the water and looked injured enough that it was believable I survived. I soon started swimming faster towards the guards almost crying... Fake tears of course.
" HELP..." I screamed in my new voice catching the guards attention. They looked back and pulled their spears up at first but lowered them when they saw me. "OH GOD HELP!" I yelled one more time swimming right into the guard and grabbing him like he would protect me from the evil beast that wasn't real.
" Venus...?" Said the guard. " what... What happened? Who did this?"
" some... Some intruder... He was too strong." I said balling my eyes out but laying inside.
" Venus..." Said the other guard coming over and pulling me off the first one. The guards were wearing bright white armor with huge trident spears. " where in Occillia" asked the guard looking at me. I didn't respond but put on a face of true regret knowing that must be the kings daughter. " where is she Venus?" Asked the guard one more time. I looked at him with my watering eyes and fear and terror spread over his face. " oh god help us..." He said " you bring her to king mineas, NOW. I'll rally the troops and go deal with this evil beast." He said with vengeance in his eyes.
" come with me Venus... The king will want to talk to you." Said the other guard as he guided me along with him. I kept up the innocent victim act as the guard looked onward cursing whatever beast could do this in his own head. He looked down at me and tried to comfort me by telling me things like, ' you're safe now' and ' we'll get you all patched up' but if only he knew. I kept that thought in the back of my head as we went through the streets filled with worried mermaids as droves of guards would swim by armed to the teeth with weapons.
We kept swimming up a large path leading up to a huge Romanian style castle. It had huge pillars and domes all over the place with generic undersea decorations. We swam up to the large open arched fence and passed under it. Just then overhead a saw a small merman swim by at incredible speeds over head past us form the other side of the kingdom and swim right into a large opening to the kingdom. We started swimming up to that opening when the whole kingdom was flooded with a devastating cry of misery.
" NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!" Shouted a deep voice as the messenger from before when tumbling out the window and regained his composure next to us. He looked at the guard and the guard looked back.
" he... Uh. The princess didn't make it." Said the messenger. This seemingly brought a tear to the guards eye as he nodded the messenger to be off. When he was gone we floated back up to the opening and looked in the room. It was a huge hall with large pillars and ornaments and decorations. It was a throne room, from what I can tell, seeing as there was a large throne at the end of it. And in the center of the room was a steaming mad merman larger than every other merman swinging a large trident.
" RRAGH." He shouted in anger and he swung his trident and a bolt of lightning fired from it and blew a hole in the wall. He was large with a green tail and long white hair with a short white stubble on his face. He looked rather old but he had large muscles and was obviously very powerful. And on his head rested a large golden and ruby embezzled crown. " this can't be." He shouted destroying his throne room. " not my daughter... Not her... RAGH." He shouted one last time smashing clean through a large marble pillar with his bare fist. Once his anger was gone he dropped the trident and floated back in his throne and rested his head in his hands almost like he was crying.
From out of the corner a mermaid swam over to the king all dressed up in jewelry with a tiara on her head. She swam over and sat down on the kings lap and held him and comforted him. I could tell she was the queen, and she was starting to shed a few tears as well. I was already starting to feel bad about this. Dammit... I fucked up again. Don't worry... Don't worry, I can fix this... I can fix this. I just need to get the key first.
"Your highness." Said the guard sheepishly as he and I slowly began approaching the king. I started to calm down a bit but remained with a downtrodden and misery stained look. The king lifted his head and looked over at us with anger in his eyes. That anger soon washed away as he laid his eyes on us and he seemed sorry. He got up off his throne and swam over and floated in front of us.
" oh god... You poor thing, Venus are you alright?" Asked the king. I just nodded sheepishly.
" I'm sorry..." I said in her voice with remorse, some of it real as I was a bit sorry. It's not too often that the darker confines of my mind escape and wreak havoc like this.
" it's not your fault," he said placing a hand on my shoulder. " you tried to protect them, I know you did... I'm sorry that this happened to you," he said looking over to two other mermaids who had swam in. " please, heal her and patch her up." Said the king to the two other mermaids. They swam over and the king passed me off to them. We swam off together and down a long narrow and curved hallway. As we walked down the hallway I got a fleeting sense of something strange.
We kept swimming down and I directed my head in the direction of the feeling and as we swam down the hall one large open doorway presented itself. As we swam past I looked in and saw a large circular seal floating above a pillar. It wasn't the animal seal but the other kind. It was large and round with an insignia in the middle. It was a pair of crossed swords underneath a crown. And above the crown was a blue diamond, that must be the key. I looked at it wi great ambition until we passed it by and it was hidden from view and I returned to my hoax.
Lucky for me we took a turn into a room right next to the room with the seal in it. The two nurse mermaids swam me over to a bed and laid me down. They grabbed some strange ointment and started smearing it over my wounds after they pulled my crystal off and the armor vanished. The ointment covered my wounds and seeped into my skin as the wounds started to close rapidly. Soon within a few minutes I was healed and the nurses cleaned their hands and left the room. They gave me a little smile and told me to wait here.
Once they were gone a let a smile spread across my face and got up. I concentrated and started glowing again as my whole figure went white. I soon started shifting and changing back to my normal form. I did make myself a bit bigger I think though, but I'm sure it's fine. Once the transformation was down I stretched out my old body and my wings and cracked my neck. I took in a deep breath but there was already water in my lungs. I let out a soft moan like I was waking up and soon my armor appeared on my body.
I turned to the wall to the other room and started walking towards it. Once I met the wall I started to walk right through it. Just passing through the wall like a ghost and soon I was in the other room. The large key still floating above the pillar and glowing slightly. I quickly walked over to the key and grabbed it. I picked it up off the pillar and expected something bad to happen like a trap or an alarm, but there was nothing. I just shrugged and aced the seal at my side and magically fastened it to my side. I smiled and walked over to the open doorway.
I leaned out and looked around to see if anyone was coming but the hall was empty. The guards have all went to the outer lake and maybe the surface and have started hunting down whoever might have done this... Crap. The Minotaur's and the king are up there. I'm sure they're fine, but I should hurry up just in case. I cloaked myself and became invisible as I spread my wings and quickly swam down the hall. I sneaked my way down the hall and out of the castle through an area of open pillars so I wouldn't have to pass by the king.
I swam down and just started swimming down through the streets, everywhere was the streets. There were merpeople swimming around all around, above and below. It was an open sea and infinite space to roam. So I swam through the water trying my best not to give myself off and bump into any merpeople. But that didn't last too long. I saw one merman swimming over to my left as he seemed to come out of nowhere. I swerved around and dodged him but I swam right into a drove of guards. I bumped into the front guard as he stumbled back into his buddies and I decloaked... Aw, fuck.
" hey wa-" he said before pausing at my sight. I was a large pony with wings and white glowing armor. My armor is spiked, I have a hood and torn cape as well as a metal fang toothed skull mask covering my face from view and an array of deadly weapons. The guards all looked at me with horror and confusion. " what the hell..." Said the guard as he eyed me over, then he noticed the key at my side. I could tell he had seen it and just bolted off using my wings to swim quickly and my magic to give me a boost. Without a doubt they started chasing me.
I swam quickly through the water and as I swam I noticed one guard swam rapidly under me and swam past me. He was rather smaller and didn't have any heavy armor. He was probably a scout going out to tell of the news to his other friends. And so he did. As I grew closer to the exit of the cave I noticed that all the guards were now swarming around the exit of the cave to block me. I lit up and burst into a bolt of power. I rocketed towards them and broke right through. The power faded and I looked back at the mess... And boy was there a mess.
Torn and shattered bodies floating in the water. The red blood mixing in with the atmosphere and organs and limbs floating around corpses. Bodies were burnt around their wounds and cauterized. Bones were broken and limbs have been lost. I cringed a bit and kept swimming away as more and more guards swam after me. I rapidly swam down the large open tunnel and passed by several more guards and kept whirling by them.
I kept swimming down the tunnel until the exit soon came into view. I swam faster and faster and broke through and burst out into the open area of the lake. I quickly looked around and saw that there were guards everywhere out here. They soon took note of me and charged at me. I quickly dashed off to the side and swam around using counter maneuvers to dodge the guards. After a bit of swimming and dodging I had a straight shot to the surface, so I took it. I fired off to the surface and came close to breaching it until something caught my eye. It was the corpses of the mermaids, laying down in stone beds with swords in their hands, posed like true warriors.
I remembered killing them in detail and my heart started to sink. I said I would fix this and intend to. I quickly bolted down to the left and over to the bodies and swam over to them. I put up a shield so I would not be disturbed and the guards crashed around the shield and swarmed it. I sank down to the floor of the lake and looked at the bodies laying peacefully. Knowing that I did this started to make my heart sink.
I took a deep breath and healed their bodies to full health, but they were still dead. I concentrated even more and focused on the mermaids. Even the mermaid I took the form of started to glisten and reappear. The guards outside looked in with incredible interest. I started glowing and the water around me began to boil as the souls of the seven mermaids started to drain from my body and flow back into the water with the bodies close by. There were flares of light that tore through my shield and broke it, but the guards stayed away. Soon the area around me was engulfed in a large ball of light.
The light shone brightly and lit up the whole lake. Soon a stock of swirling lit started growing form the ball of light and reached up and out of the lake causing the cavern to light up even brighter. The souls of the mermaids swirled around me and I released them to join their bodies. They whisked around the guards and the bodies as wisps and floated around. They all dove up high into the air and crashed down into their respective bodies. Soon the light faded and life had returned to the bodies of the mermaids as they sputtered to life and slowly rose form their stone funeral beds.
" my god!" Said one of the guards. They all had an equal expression of shock on their faces. Without hesitation I began to glow and I a large bang and a burst I was gone and back to the surface. I coughed up the water in my lungs and filled my chest with air now instead of water. I shook off all the water on me and slowly looked around. The surface area was calm and peaceful, like none of this had happened. I took one step and noticed something was off. I looked to my side and the key wasn't strapped to my thigh anymore... Damnit.
I went to turn around and just as I did the water began to ripple and quake and churn. Soon a whirlpool opened up in the water but instead of going down the water rose up in a large spiraling spout of water. Soon a large merman emerged from the spout of water. It was the king. He had his trident in one hand and the key in his other hand. I looked at him without emotion and glared at him.
" I think you have dropped this." Said the king tossing the key down onto the ground from up on top of his large water spout. I was confused as the key hit the ground and laid in front of me. I looked down at it and it wasn't a trick, then I looked back up at him.
" why...?" I asked.
" I don't know what you are, or what you seek in the tomb of kings, and I don't care. But thank you... For returning my daughter to me." He said. He must not know that I was the one who actually killed her, but I don't care if he's giving me the key. " take it and go stranger." He said as he recorded back into the water. I grabbed the key and hitched it to my side as i looked down into the water of the lake, I couldn't see anything but it made me smile nonetheless. I stepped back a few feet from the water and turned back to the open forest.
I headed back into the forest and slowly started trotting through the forest. I could feel a pain riding through me from having given up those souls but soon the pain subsided and I kept walking through and soon I got to the spot where they should be waiting for me, they might have gotten bored and headed back to the garden. As I took one step I felt something squish under my hoof. I looked down to see I had stepped on a large reddish fruit. It stuck to my hoof and I scraped it off. Next I saw an arrow drawn in the dirt pointing to a tree. I looked over to the tree and there was a message.
" crimson, gate of kings." It said carved into the tree. I smiled and turned around and started walking back down the path. I grabbed a star fruit from the trees and started eating it down since I was hungry and tired, it perked me up instantly. When I got to the lake I quickly rushed past it out of some kind of embarrassment. I quickly rushed past and ran into the next leg of the path. This was a whole new path but still similar in design and part of the environment.
As I walked the road cut off as there was a large running stream flowing through the path. It continued on the other side down the road. I walked over to the water and took a few steps in it. It felt nice and cool, considering I was just underwater. The water in that lake was salt water though, so I'm all gross and sticky. This water is somehow fresh, I'm sure it doesn't flow from the lake since there were no run offs that I could see. It was the coldest water I've ever felt but it was nice.
I stood in the water and let it pound and flow against my hooves and I leaned down and put my snout into the water. I drank from the river and the water was very refreshing and cooling. I drank some more from the water and just submerged my whole head in for a minute and pulled it back out. My head was wet and so was my mane. My armor, instead of being bulking and bright, seemed to calm down and stop glowing. It was now just glistening white chainmail armor. It had smooth shoulder pads and a large cross shaped plate on the front. It was white and shimmered in the light.
I took in a deep breath and let out a nice cool breath of air. I felt my darker side now receding back and my more benevolent side returning to light. One thing about having death and darkness both in me is that I have quite the nasty dark side. The way I see it is that I have two modes, one control over the elements of light and life, my good side, the side I normally have shown. And then there are the elements of darkness and death, which make up my dark side. I have complete control over my actions when in both forms but they change my moral code and my way of thinking a bit. The rest of the elements are just there and I use them despite my mental alignment.
I took another big drink of water and started heading across the large creek. It was rather deep and got up to my knees but I pushed through it. It wasn't a very raging river, it was rather calm but still pushed me a bit. Once I got out and my hooves touched down on the grass of the path I shook my head out and my mane but it was still rather wet. It just hang around my head not footing in a nonexistent breeze. I started walking again and trotted down the path to the door.
As I turned a corner it wasn't long before the door came into view. It was a large door with fancy depictions on it. The whole thing was made of intron and had one huge ass lock on it. It had the perfect shape of the crest I was carrying or the key, or seal... Whatever it is. The big round thing goes in the iron slot and the door opens... Anyway, I also noticed king sapphire, Mirra and grokk sitting near the gate as king sapphire. Trotted around and was pacing back and forth. As I grew closer they noticed me and smiled upon my return.
" did you have any luck stranger?" Asked Mirra.
" did you find the key?" Asked king sapphire.
" did you kill many mermaids." Asked grokk.
" yes, yes, and yes." I said reaching around to the key which I proceeded to hold up before them. " here is the key." I said. They all looked at the key and smiled.
" great... Lets get going." Said the king as I soon joined the group and we stood in front of the door. We looked up and I held the key tightly in my hoof. I walked up to the door and held the key in front of the hole to get a picture. I moved forward and placed the key in the lock and pressed it in. It sunk in and the door began to shift and whir to life. The huge metal pars started sliding out of place and into the walls around the door.
Cylinders and gears on the front of the door started turning and shifting. Chains and gears pulled and turned causing more iron bars and locks to crash out of place and shift positions. Large iron rods turned out of locked position, whoever built this door really didn't want any pony getting in. The gears were huge and the whole door was made of solid iron and think as a tree. It didn't have any real plating on it, and you could see almost all the inner workings of the door and the locks. The key started to turn until it was on its side and the door made on last crash as it shoved forward a little and then slowly started to open up.
The doors slid open slowly and as they did the next room was revealed to us. It wasn't much of a room, but more like a large and steep staircase. Here were blue fire torches that began lilting up the path down the staircase and they gave off a lot of light. I turned over to the two Minotaur's and they smiled at the sight, then they turned to us and smiled as they bowed a bit. Me and the king bowed right back.
" we must thank you two." Said grokk.
" yes, even though our war will still rage on, at least you've helped bring us peace of mind." Said Mirra. " thank you adventurers, I was wrong about you two. I hope you find whatever your looking for."
" and our thanks as well." Said the king.
" yes, without you we wouldn't have been able to progress." I said smiling. We all thanked each other and me and king sapphire got ready to descend into the tomb of kings. We took our first steps and Mirra and grokk stayed behind and waved us goodbye. As we passed behind the door and took our first steps on the stairs the door started to slowly shut behind us. It closed and blocked out the fresh air and the light of the previous cavern and two friends whom we may never see again. Once the door fully shut with a loud crash the sound of smaller clashing metal filled the air as it began to lock and tighten up again.
We continued our way down the staircase with no particular concern for traps. We trotted down quickly but we didn't sprint. The stairs were steep and if we tripped and fell, it was a long way down. So we trotted our way down the steps and the blue torches on the walls every here and there would provide sufficient enough light but the room was still rather gloomy form the blue tint of the torches. I looked over to king sapphire who had a spark of determination in his eyes.
" so we're looking for the sapphire sword?" I asked.
" no, that was just a hoax to make them think we aren't looking for the weapon we are looking for. I didn't think they would be so friendly so I lied to them, and to you too unfortunately... But you deserve to know what we really are looking for." He said with a tinge of guilt in his voice.
" so we aren't looking for a weapon?" I asked.
" no we are, but you should know the name and magnitude of this weapon." Said the king. "It is much like the sapphire sword, which grants me great power already, but the weapon I'm looking for now has cataclysmic potential if it fell into the wrong hooves."
" that's a bit discerning." I said.
" do not worry crimson, I would never use power to harm innocent lives, after all why would I fight a war for independence if it didn't mean the safety of my fellow ponies." He said making a very good point. I saw no evil in him, he was good, and as pure as mortals come.
" so what is this weapon you need?"
" it's the sapphire serpent staff." Said the king. " it's an ancient weapon with one hell of a backstory."
" sounds interesting, tell me."
" many many years ago when my great great grandfathers father was now taking control of the kingdom form his father, there was a horrible attack on the rising kingdom from an ancient beast as old as time. Large serpent, with sapphire skin, magical power, and venom that could kill a dragon instantly. It ravaged our town and the old king sacrificed his life to trap the beast within his spear. Now the spear has been passed down as a fail safe weapon should we be threatened in such a great way as we are now."
" so this spear summons this sapphire snake to do your bidding." I said. " alright, but is it really worth it, has the war really become as horrible as you say it is?" I asked as we kept trotting down the stairs which seemed endless now.
" every day thousands of my fellow warriors die, our kingdom is so much more than just the city you see me rule form. There are other cities, other towns and villages. My kingdom was once very sizable, but the neighboring scarlet empire changed all of that when they attacked our town and burned the cities, they are ruthless and cruel, indigo city is the last bastion of my kingdom."
" oh..." I said now understanding the full gravity of the situation. " I think I understand, you would do anything to protect what you care for most... Just like me." I said. The king looked over in confusion. " I'm on a mission to go and return somepony I love who has been taken form me... And I've been through this before as well, I know what it's like."
" so you understand why i must do this, to cleanse my kingdom e of the scarlet empire." He said.
" yes I do, and I also know that you are pure at heart, but don't let that stop you from hurting the ones you care as well." He looked at me with confusion. " if you don't think you can handle the power then leave it alone, don't end up destroying everything in the process... And never let the power get to your head, only then will it find the darkest confines of your soul... And ultimately corrupt you."
" you speak from experience, I can tell." He said. " thank you crimson, your words have much meaning and I will see to it that I acknowledge them."
" good," I replied. " I won't be here to watch you win this war, I have my own demons to face. But when I return It would do me good to see this place healed and not ravaged any further." The king went to reply but we both took a step on one of the stairs and it sunk down in its place and I could feel both of our hearts stop. And suddenly the stairs were no more, they folded down into a straight slide and we both lost balance and fell, much like the time when I was in blackmarsh temple, but now I'm on the stairs.
We both let out a cry of surprise as we tumbled down the stairs and fell down and down. We hit each other over and over as well as the walls and the ground. We mainly rolled so it wasn't as bad as actually falling down real stairs but it still sucked. As we tumbled down I could get a good enough view to see when we would ever reach the bottom of the slide which used to be stairs. But to our luck there was a sudden force put up against us and we hit something cold and hard that made us stop. It was the end of the stairs. I hit the ground first bounced slightly and rolled over onto my stomach. The king did the same and ended up rolling over me and landed next to me.
" ugh." I said slowly getting myself up and rubbing my head. " are you alright?" I asked. I waited but there was no response. I looked over to him and he laid on his side completely motionless, sure enough I got worried and bent down to check on him. I shook him and looked over to see if maybe he was just unconscious. His eyes were closed and he was badly bruised and maybe with a few broken bones, I was fine however. He put my hoof on his chest and I could feel his heartbeat. I checked his neck and hooves for a pulse too and they were both fine. His chest slowly rose and fell suggesting he was breathing too. Thankfully he was just out cold.
From what I could tell just hovering my hooves over him, he had multiple broken limbs and bones with some serious internal bleeding, he wasn't doing well, a few of his ribs snapped and punctured a couple of his vital organs. If I didn't help soon he wouldn't be breathing for much longer. I put my hooves on his chest and they glowed bright white. The light slowly crept over him and it began resetting his bones and healing his wounds. I kept my energy flowing over to him for a minute before I was certain he was at full health now, even the bruises and small cuts or scrapes over his body were gone, like they were never there. He soon coughed and sputtered back to consciousness.
" ugh... Oh god... What happened, did... Ow my head." He said a bit delusional but perfectly fine. He was a bit confused, and he looked around the room to see where he was, but soon enough his memories returned to him and he remembered everything. " did I... Was I dead?" He asked looking up to me.
" No." I said reaching out a hoof to help him up. He grabbed my hoof and I pulled him back up on his four hooves. " but you were in bad shape."
" thank you adventurer." Said the king smiling. We started walking down the large hallway with a bunch of blue torches and carving on the walls. " you've proven yourself to be a noble hero, and there have been many times today where you have put me in your debt, such as you just did, so saved my life... And ultimately my whole kingdom... I cannot thank you enough." Said king sapphire.
" don't worry about it too much," I said. " it's my job to fix any problems I come across."
" it is not the job of a god to meddle with mortal affairs... But you do anyway, and by doing so you have made every ponies lives easier." He said.
" I wouldn't really say that... It's my fault that my wife had been taken from me, and now I must get her back." I said.
" but even some things are out of your control." Said the king. " you must learn to accept them." I smiled at him and he did the same. Soon we went silent as we looked forward and saw a large golden, and of course, sapphire encrusted door with a large crown carved into it with other pictures around it. We walked forward and stood in front of the door. It was a fitting welcome to our reward. We both smiled at the sight of the door and put one hoof on it each. We pushed the huge golden double doors open and they slid open with a creek and crashed to the sides of the wall. The room was filled with a golden light that emanated from the new room.
We walked in and the light faded and we finally saw the outcome of our work. It was a huge open room, filled... And I mean FILLED, with treasures and gems of all kinds. There were several tombs laid out in the middle of the room and at the end of the middle tomb stood a large spear with sapphire blades. It was trusted and curved but spiked and rigid. It was an intricate design that seemed fit for an all powerful weapon. It hovered above the head of the middle stone coffin and spun slowly around.
We walked slowly into the tomb and stared in awe. There was treasure literally lining the walls and pilling up in mountains of loot and gold. Various gems and golden items of great value surrounded by millions upon millions of golden coins. Each tomb glowed with a bright blue gem encrusted in the slab covering each one. We kept walking forward and the doors slowly closed behind us and softly locked shut from behind. We kept walking forward and looked around.
The king didn't take much in form the rest of the room, his eyes were set on the spear. He inched forward closely with awe and victory in his eyes. I followed him closely keeping watch over him as he seemed mesmerized and I didn't want him to be taken over by the power of the spear. As he grew closer to the spear he slowly spread a smile across his face. He stood in front of the tomb of his dead ancestor and the spear glowed furiously. It soon began to float over and he held out his wings to grasp it as it grew closer. The spear gently touched down into the grasp of his wings and the glowing stopped, and he smiled even more.
" this is it." He said smiling and holding the spear which seemed like a normal spear now. " I never thought I would see my ancestors spear, but here it is." He looked over to the tombs. " I promise, I will not misuse or abuse its power... I will only use it for the good of the kingdom and not for my own needs." He said in a strong and viable voice. There was sincerity in his voice as well, I knew he would be fine.
" congratulations... You did it." I said.
" this is the first time I've ever really had a quest like this, and now that its complete I feel like... I feel." I decided to finish that for him.
" accomplished, proud... Relieved."
" determined..." He said. " happy and ready to begin a new."
" I know the feeling all to well." I said. " this was a rather grand quest for your first time... I almost envy you." I said smiling at him as he stared down at the staff.
" it was indeed... And it was too much for me alone, I can see now that we were destined to do this together." He said.
" nothing is predetermined, our choices are what lead us down our own paths, destiny is only determined on occasion by gods... But now I think of it, I volunteered to assist you... So maybe fate was involved, but fate isn't what lead me here... That was choice."
" I suppose you are correct." Said the king. " you have my greatest debt and you are now a close ally to the kingdom... And I hope you will continue to be a great support to our kingdom for you immortal life..." Said the king.
" so long as you do not disturb the peace you fight for then our friendship will last, through all the generations of kings."
" I promise that this peace will last... Once we make it so." He said holding up the spear. " now... Please, you may help yourself to any or all treasure you find in this room." He said sliding a large chest over to me. It was already filled with gold and gems and valuable jewelry and artifacts.
" I can't accept a reward." I said. " I have no use for an abundance of material wealth." I slid the chest back over to him but he just slid it right back.
" don't take it for yourself, but do for me... It's the least I can do after all you've done for me... Take it, I do not care what you do with it... Just take it." He said smiling and making me smile too.
" alright..." I said. " I'll find a noble use for this somewhere... I'll spread it across my journey to anypony who needs it... But what will you do with the rest?" I asked.
" hmm..." He said in a serious face before he smiled. " I'll use it to rebuild the kingdom after the war... I'll restore it to even better condition than it was in before the war." He said smiling with confidence in his eyes. I smiled back at him too as he held the spear in his hands and looked at it, like he was looking through it into the future. He slowly lowered the spear and looked back at me with determination.
" and I'll look forward to seeing that once I finally have the time to." I said. " but for now I think we should get out of here... I'm sure it's getting late outside, and I'm sure you're just as tired as I am." I said turning around and facing the closed golden door. He walked over to with the spear in his hand and I used my magic to carry the chest of loot behind me. We both stared at the huge double doors and a heavy feeling was starting to sink into king sapphires heart.
" ahh crap." He said. " now we have to drudge all the way back through..." I just smiled.
" no... I could just teleport us back into the throne room." I said bringing a bit of light to sapphires heart now.
" oh thank you..." He said. " that makes everything so much easier now." He said.
" alright, just hold on." I said as I spread my wings out to my side and concentrated. I faces my energy around me, king sapphire and the chest of gold and treasure behind me. Bright streams of light whisked around me, the king and the chest almost like tentacles taking hold of us. We both began slowly lifting up into the air as energy began firing off in bolts of lightning all around us. There was a loud rumbling sound and soon enough we were gone in a flash at light.
At the exact same time there was a large flash of bright white light in the throne room of the indigo palace. The whole room was filled with light and bolts of energy fired off from this light. The ball of lit started pulling energy up into it causing it to spiral upward around the room causing a strong breeze. And soon enough the great ball of light burst into smaller particles of shimmering light, much like stars that covered the whole room. We stood there now in the throne room as the sparkles of light gently floated down from around his and faded as they came closer to the ground. The king stood there with the spear in his grasp and I stood there glowing furiously from every opening and every inch of my body. But soon the glowing faded and I went back to my normal stature.
" dear god... Watch where you're teleporting." Said a voice from the side of us. We looked over to see the court wizard standing to the side with a burnt hole torn through his robe. " I just barely dodged that last lightning bolt," he said turning back. " I take it the mission was a success from the looks of it." He said smiling.
" yes, it was a radical success." Said the king. " not only did we get the spear but the kingdom now has a new ally, and a very revered, powerful, and trusted one at that." Said the king looking back at me and smiling as he gave me a wink.
" I'll make note of that my lord." Said the wizard. " what are you going to do now that you have the spear?"
" rest... For the rest of today and tomorrow... Then at dawn of the second day I'll bring crimson and his group with me and we'll clear out the dwarven ruins. We can take the next day to prepare and rest up form our quest." He said looking back and forth between me and the wizard.
" that sounds like a formidable plan your majesty." Said the wizard. " I will leave you to relax for the rest of today."
" thank you." The king said as the wizard bowed to us both and left through a door close by. The king turned to me now and smiled. " you ought to be getting back to your friends... It's getting late." He said looking out the window. I looked over and he was right. It was sometime around sunset, it was a beautiful day as well. " I'll escort you out of the castle... I need some fresh air." He said.
" whatever you want." I said smiling and turning to leave. We both walked out of the throne room and into the hall of kings. The castle doors were wide open and a lukewarm breeze blew in through the opening. We walked out into the open world and it was warm... Not very warm, but the warmest it's been so far. The sky was just partly cloudy as the sun set behind the large overlapping mountains in the distance. The sky glowed brilliant colors and the clouds where tinted orange. There was a light breeze in the air and everything seemed peaceful.
" I'm almost sorry that I had missed such a peaceful and beautiful day." Said the king. " I was in a dungeon fighting alongside my partner and overcoming monsters and traps while my subjects were outside enjoying this wonderful day... But I regret nothing, once this day comes again and the danger of war isn't hanging over our heads it will be the most beautiful day this kingdom has ever witnessed."
" is it always so cold and snowy out here in the Capitol?" I asked.
" not always..." He said. " the only time it's ever nice is during the summer... For a few months, but winter comes quickly here. There are cities in the kingdom that aren't affected by this cold, those are the ones further away from the mountains."
"I always enjoyed days like this..." I said. " they usually occur during the fall which I always thought of as my favorite season. I remember me and my wife would always sit on a cloud or in a tree and watch these beautiful sunsets." I said reflecting on the past and mellowing out a bit. The king turned his head from the sky and looked at me grinning.
"You're a good friend crimson." Said the king. " you're also a great warrior, an excellent caretaker, and one of the purest souls I've ever seen in my time." He said making me look over to acknowledge him. " I know that whatever troubles you will have a solution, and I know if anypony can find those solutions, its you. I know you'll come out on this, and when you do it will be a bright and sunny day... Here take this." He said grabbing a sapphire amulet from around his neck and handing it over to me.
" what is it?" I asked as I grasped the amulet. I could feel immense power emanating from the blue gem hanging from the golden chain.
" this is an amulet passed down through every generation starting with the original king... It has the powers of the past kings stored away in it, when you need it you may call on it for help... I thought I could use this to help my effort in the war... But the kings may only be summoned on a noble cause,. No war, no matter the stakes, is a noble cause." He said.
" I don't need any more rewards." I said.
" it's not a reward crimson... It's my blessing." He said. " whatever it is that is troubling you lately and that has taken your loved one form you must be powerful to challenge you... I know you will need it. If not now, then in the future... There will always be something stronger out there. Take it please." He said smiling. I smiled and put the amulet around my neck.
" thank you." I said.
" it was no trouble...now you should start heading home... It's been a long day." He said turning around to re enter the castle. I smiled and waved as he walked in and he waved back. I turned to the bridge leading to the city and walked forward carrying the chest of treasure behind me. I walked past the bridge and into the town. I could easily fly or teleport back, but it was such a nice day that I didn't want to be troubled to. I wanted to enjoy the rest of this nice day which I've missed already.
As I walked through the streets all the ponies who saw me smiled and waved. Even some of the more esteemed adventurers respected me and waved. I smiled back and kept walking. I passed the gate to the outer city and the guards on duty there bowed at me as I passed by. I just smiled at them and continued walking down the street. I walked past all the stores and houses as I made my way through the street. A lot of ponies saw me and waved, I had already grown to be well known in the city already.
I started passing through the familiar streets until I turned onto a very familiar street. I walked down the road and stopped in front of hrothars house. The lights were on inside and I could pick up the sound of talking and laughter. I smiled and walked up to the door. I knocked once on the door and the house went silent for a second. I didn't hesitate to let myself in. I opened up the door and peered in. Once I got a look around I slowly made my way in. All my friends were sitting at the table eating. They all looked over to me and smiled. I walked in fully and used my magic to float in apt he chest I was carrying and place it down on the ground next to the door.
" dear lord boy..." Said hrothar smiling with surprise. " you left this morning without any trace or shout and then you come back with a chest... Probably full of gold if I had to guess." He said.
" gold and gems." I replied with a smile. There was a bark from behind the table and soon shadow tail ran out with a smile on his face and he jumped up to me. I bent down and grabbed him and patted him on the head as he licked my face.
" alright, alright boy I said I would be back..." I said smiling. He jumped off me, ran in a tight circle in front of me and barked again.
" he's been itching for you to return all day." Said twilight smiling. She was looking much healthier now.
" how are you feeling twi?" I asked walking over to the table.
" much better." She said. " I think I'm ready to head out and keep this journey going." She said.
" well we have to wait a bit. Me and king sapphire still need to clear out the dwarven ruins of scarlet soldiers." I said.
" so the quest was a success then." Said thunder rush.
" yeah... We got what we were looking for and got out alive... But damn am I tired." I said walking to the table and sitting down, finally getting to rest my hooves. " ooohhh yeah... That's nice." I said letting out a sigh of relieve causing the others to chuckle and laugh. " so what did you guys do today?" I asked rubbing my front hooves to relieve some of the pressure.
"We'll I got outside today and walked around with thunder rush and Nightflame." Said twilight. " shadow tail followed us..."
" well he followed twilight." Said Nightflame. Shadow tail barked from beside me and let his tongue hang out from the side as he smiled and panted heavily.
" good boy shadow tail." I said patting him on the head. "So where did you guys go?" I asked placing my hooves on the table.
" nowhere special." Said Nightflame.
" yeah, mostly just around town and looked at all the shops and stuff, they didn't really have anything interesting so we haven't spent any money." Said thunder rush.
" we practiced some strategies and attacks in the park earlier too." Said twilight smiling.
" what?... Without me?" I said jokingly.
" well you're the next best thing to a god, so you don't really need the strategies." Said Nightflame causing the table to laugh. I laughed too but it was a fake laugh. Deep under my skin I was a bit tense... Next best thing to a god... If only they knew. But I can't really just tell them out front. It's not one of those things you just blurt out in conversation. So I just faked a smile and laughed and stopped when the others did.
" I wouldn't really say that." I said. " but thanks for having the confidence in me." I said smiling. We all sat there and smiled and told jokes as we ate some food. I didn't eat much, I wasn't very hungry. I had already filled up on delicious fruit inside the twilight caverns. The subject of my adventure never really came up so I never explained what happened or told my story.
Soon enough it started to get late and we all sat at the table telling jokes and having a few laughs. We had eaten our food and sat at the table for a little longer to share a few drinks and some of miska's delicious cinnamon buns. I wasn't too hungry after dinner so I only ate one of the cinnamon buns. It was still good enough to make me eat another one but I stopped myself from doing so. We even gave one of the cinnamon buns to shadow tail... He loved it. But after awhile it was time to head off to sleep, well for me it was.
" I don't know about you guys..." I said getting up from the wooden bench. " but I'm fucking tired... Think I'm gonna turn in for the night."
" good night." Said twilight.
" see ya in the morning." Said miska waving as I went to the guest room. Even shadow tail said goodnight in his own way by barking goodnight. I smiled, wished them goodnight, and walked into the guest room closing the door behind me. I wanted to just plop down on the bed in the room so badly, but I should save that for twilight. I walked to the fur mats laying on the floor and laid down. I rested my head on the straw pillow.
I closed my eyes and started thinking about what I would do tomorrow to prepare for our departure. There wasn't much for us to do, we never really unpacked and we haven't set up a base. I think we should just spend the day preparing strategically, going over to what the plan is. I'm sure that I should most likely go see the king and figure out what the plan is, draw a map out or something, I don't know. Soon enough my thoughts soon turned into dreams and I was lost in sleep. Completely unaware of what the future would bring me.
-Authors Note: Hey guys... what's up, i'm back. really needed to take a break, and things got more out of control than i though so i did extend my break by another week... plus i'm lazy. but i wasn't hiding in a closet or vegging out on the couch. i was writing for the story and also doing some other interesting things, which are on youtube right now. check them out, my youtube channel is the same as this one, shadowsythe22... search me up and check out my stuff... it's all just two new songs that i worked on all this week and last. but anyway, i'm back and i have a bunch of new chapters... but i wont be posting them every day. maybe not even every other day.
i easily burned myself out, which is why i needed a break. so i'll be posting them maybe every few days or so, slowing down on the writing and posting so that i dont burn out again. so anyway, check out my youtube channel, i'd give you a link but the website would delete it anyway, so just search up 'shadowsythe22' you'll find my stuff. i hope all you guys weren't too bored while i was gone. now that were getting back into stuff the adventure can continue... so stay safe, stay sober, and stay shady.-End of Note-