Author's Note

I know it's been a long time since the last chapter, and you no doubt thought this story dead in the water, but I'm not done yet, I still have a great deal that I want to wright, it's just that motivation has been low recently. As such this chapter starts off with an overview of events for a period I had ideas for, but struggled to cohesively tie them together, then it goes back to proper story telling.

Consequences

*two weeks later*

There had been much change in the two weeks since our arrival in the Hiemutian capital. Our collective group had, for lack of a better word, been more or less *claimed* into servitude by Reinesfell as supposed spoils of war, though she claimed it was as much to prevent the often zealously xenophobic nobles from having us literally hung, drawn, and quartered, as it was a way of making us repent for any casualties among the Hiemutian army.

Like it or not, we were now slaves in the eyes of Hiemutian law, and Equestria wasn’t exactly rushing to aid us either, as we’d found out quite spectacularly when Luna had warped herself into the throne room unannounced, fully prepared to bath the marble in my blood for my harsh words to Twilight prior to the battle in Prance, and it had taken quite the effort from Reinsefell to talk down the raging nighttime demigod, who instead settled for merely banishing our collective group from Equestria under the threat of death for me, and at the very least imprisonment for the others.

It goes without saying that this put me on just about everyone’s shit list, not least Autumn, the former royal guard. Reinesfell decided that it would probably be for the best if I stayed with Glück for a couple of weeks, not just to heal from the injuries and work on developing my prosthesis with the engineer, but also to give everyone else a chance to cool down. Tarn had opted to come with me, for what it’s worth she hadn’t had any connections to Equestria anyway, nor had she any intentions of visiting till now, but that didn’t stop her from chewing me out for my brashness.

Over the two weeks our relationship had become...interesting, I’d certainly had time enough to figure out my own feelings. Tarn’s feelings were simple, it was clear she felt greatly for me and dare I say relied on me to be her rock from time to time, my own feelings, not so much. I wouldn’t call it love, certainly not what I imagined love to be, I’d be just as happy to receive such affections from someone else. Call it a complete lack of loyalty on my part, but all the same I did enjoy the close companionship along with having an outlet for my own long repressed desire to shower someone else in affection. Even Glück had commented that we’d made a good match, though she’d warned us about being so liberal in our display of affection when outside her home.

Glück for her part I found to be a perfectly pleasant mare, and one with more than just an academic interest in engineering, as I’d discovered when she’d showed me around her estate, which boasted not only a full blown blacksmithing forge, but a well equipped workshop.

I had a few days to rest, and the fact her estate was located in some beautiful scenery helped to no end, before we began in due course building my proper replacement arm and a new eye, the fact the latter was even possible blew me away until tarn had teasingly reminded me about Autumn. Glück even got some inspiration from my kind’s technology, but I’ll save those for another time.

It was two weeks after our arrival that you join me making my way through the halls with a purposeful stride, and upon bursting into the throne room I was met with the sight of Reinesfell sat upon her throne, as expected, whilst Octavia and Vinyl were stood either side of the throne wearing their full armour, albeit now in the deep green colour with gold accents of the Hiemutian guard, apparently serving as personal guards for the Kaisarin. I spared only the briefest glance at Octavia, ignoring her flurry of mental questioning, and directed my attention towards the forth occupant in the room.

They were a bipedal humanoid, between seven and eight foot tall, but they most clearly were not human, the exposed, metallic-sheened muscles & metal plating hiding under his cloak as well as the inhuman face marked him as hailing from the Matoran realm, and as much as I wanted to geek out at this fact, the matter of who it was kicked me from nostalgic to about ready to run him through, assuming he didn’t get the drop on me first. Had I not been aware of just who had come calling courtesy of a slip of Glück’s tongue the red and black coloration combined the three glowing blue eyes would have given away just who it was despite the mutation having long since been reversed.

“Oh! Onælan, I wasn’t expecting you back for at least a full day” Rainesfell said, the surprise clear in her voice, I ignored her and, not breaking stride I stretched out my right hand and allowed my elemental power to flow through it, summoning my sword in a very clear display of the powers I possessed. Glück had been able to give me a few lessons on sword combat during my time staying at her estate, she certainly wasn’t a fighter, but as part of the nobility it did afford her a certain level of education on such matters. At this the keisarin’s surprised expression dropped into a scowl, and even Vinyl and Octavia were now on guard “Mind explaining why you’ve chosen to display a very clear act of aggression within my throne room, ape?” Octavia stepped forward, likely trying to attempt to defuse the situation

“I can’t help but agree with her, Onælan” the slate grey earthpony said, her tone kept very level “I thought we’d agreed that, despite your own preconceptions as to her nation, you would at least give her a chance”

“With respect, I’m not her for you, Keisarin” I said, now pointing my sword at the fourth occupant in the room, who until now had merely been watching with curiosity “I’m here for him. Forgive me for questioning your judgement, but I think I have a much better understanding of who exactly this is” at this the being let out a low chuckle.

“Then you would know better than to idly threaten me, boy” he said, at this I raised my right hand and ran two fingers down my left cheek, metallic plates not unlike those Autumn had possessed as part of her own facial reconstruction prior to being mutated flexing under my finger tips.

“I figured after a particularly nasty run in with one of Reinsefell’s tanks a member of the Barraki would be small fry” I said, causing Kalmah to scoff.

“Indeed” he said, before turning to Reinsfell ever so slightly “if you’ll forgive me, I believe your dog needs bringing back in line”

“Very well” Reinesfell said, moving a foreleg in a shoeing motion “just make sure you don’t damage him, those prosthesis are expensive” Kalmah’s grin became almost predatory as he began stomping forward, drawing from beneath his cloak a huge great-sword, big enough to be a zwiehander even in his hands.

“Let’s see if your sword skills are as half-passable as the empress says” he said, before hefting the great sword up and swinging down at me. If I’d attempted to block his attack directly the weight of his sword alone would have straight up shattered my own blade, so I was forced to side step and swing at it from the side, aiming to direct the momentum away from me. His blade embedded itself a good 3 inches into the solid marble.

Kalmah tugged at the sword, and when it didn’t pull free immediately I attempted to seize the opportunity to get a strike in, raising my sword up and bringing it around, aiming to strike him in the gut. The blade stopped short as Kalmah reacted, grabbing the blade, wrestling it out of my grip and slinging it to one side. For my efforts at trying to sneak an attack in I was rewarded with a gauntleted backhand, sending me sprawling to the floor with the vision in my left eye marred with static. I was left flat on my back in a mild daze as I heard the sword get ripped out of the marble. The small part of my mind that was still cognizant noting that he’d feigned the sword being stuck. I looked up just in time to see Kalmah stood looming over me with his sword poised, aiming to pierce my skull right between the eyes. I shut my eyes out of reflex, only to open them a few second later when I realized that I was not only still alive, but felt perfectly fine apart from my fall. Looking up I could see his huge blade hovering mere millimetres in front of his face.

“What are you waiting for?” I asked as he slowly drew his blade away and sheafed it “You beat me, don’t you want to finish off the job?”

“And what job would that be?” he asked, leaning down and reaching out out for me, offering a hand up, which as confused as I was I took all the same “As I said, I only wanted to bring you in line, let us hope for your sake I was able to knock a little sense into you” and with that he began making his way back to the throne

“Why?” I asked, dusting myself down “I know of you, you’re a warlord, last I checked you’d never pass up the opportunity to assert your supremacy” Kalmah let out a humming chuckle, and I couldn't help but analyse his voice… it was refined but with a defined baritone, dare I say I was getting “gandalf” vibes from his voice.

“Had you met me not 3000 years ago and I would have gladly cut you down where you stood without even hesitating. Safe to say I’ve changed since then” he said “these days I take greater satisfaction in knowing that my opponents must live with their failure”

“I personally know little of his life prior to residing here” Reinesfell stated “But what I can tell you is his days as a barraki, as you call it, are long behind him. For as long as Hiemutia has been a unified people he has been a strategic advisor, helping us win battles”

“Stirrupe is a land of chaos, so many nations all vying for the same thing whilst fighting over some petty sense of tribalism” Kalmah said, crossing his arms “had I more power I would see it that Stirrupe was unified as one entity, one nation, like Equestria, but it would not last were a pony not at the helm of a single state of such size, so I make do with what I have to hand”

“So you pull the strings from behind these walls of stone and wage your own war from afar” I shot back “You’re still a warlord, you’re just a lot more subtle about it”

“I’ve remained alive and stable for this long” he retorted “can you say the same of my brothers?” Octavia coughed.

“He, uh, means the scouring of the chain” she said, prompting another snort from Kalmah.

“Pridak and Mantax got too ambitious too quickly” he elaborated, likely dropping names for my sake over anyone elses “and now all they have to show for it is their armies eradicated by Celestia and a once empire all but reduced to a feudal string of islands” he then began making his way to the balcony, apparently his business with Reinesfell already seen to. “I would have words with you, boy, alone” I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the manner in the way he addressed me, and glanced at Reinesfell with a questioning look.

“There’s seldom a time I truly understand what’s going on in that head of his” she said “only way you’ll find out is to see what he wants.” somewhat hesitantly I made my way over to stand next to the 8 foot giant of a being. I got the odd realization that he was but a typical individual in his own lands, but here he was a titan. He dominated any space he occupied, no wonder he picked one of the shortest races on average to lord over. And as I studied him looking out over the snow-capped city, I thought I could detect a hint of...was that pride? Then it sunk in, he did say his vision was for a unified Stirrupe, he’d likely been here as they built the city. Whether I Agreed with him, he’d helped build this.

“It’s been many winters since I last saw man step foot in Stirrupe, let alone one touched by the elements like you” he said, gazing out over the city “whether you like it or not, you’ve caught the eye of some of the ageless. Understand, boy, like it or not there will be those automatically wishing to align themselves with you, and those who would seek to destroy you as soon as lay eyes upon you”

“And what of you?” I asked, he looked down at me, not with anger, or hate, he genuinely studied me from the perspective of someone who was interested in something

“I’m curious to see how far you’ll get” he finally said, looking back over the city “not least with that little menagerie you call a team” I could help but rise up at that remark.

“I think we do the best we can” I said.

“True, but I have doubts as to your collective longevity” he said “One of your group is a kelpie, another is one of the night folk, and yet another is a hordika, yet it’s you who’s meant to lead them. I’ve listened to how Octavia described you...you need a stronger spine...”

“Just get to the point rather than insulting me” I said

“For as long as your group is made of such vastly different species there will be a near constant battle for who’s on top” Kalmah said “Next time one of the others tries to assert dominance, and it will happen, maybe try to put them in their place, physically, if you have to”

“I’m not the dominant type, and I can’t just force myself” I said simply, Kalmah narrowed his eyes “I never asked for this, to be stuck with this armour, these powers, I don’t even want to lead them, given the choice I’d much rather just be left alone”

“Then those you care about, those you love, will die, because you weren’t strong enough to protect them, and in that moment you’ll have no one to blame but yourself” he said “it doesn’t matter if you’re “good” or “bad”, protector or warlord, the only way you win in this sort of life is because rather than backing down you dig in, stand firm, and tell the other person ‘no...you move’” and with that turned and skulked off, moving with a surprising quietness despite his size.

I didn’t miss the fact Octavia had to practically scurry around him to avoid getting stepped on.

“Judging by your little internal tirade, I shall assume that went less than perfectly” she said, trotting over to stand next to me and rearing up to rest her forelegs on the balcony.

“He says I need to grow a spine, but last time that happened I got us all banished from Equestria” I muttered, before glancing down at her and allowing my eyes to trace their way along Octavia's form for the first time in two weeks, lithe muscles where it mattered but she still had curves in all the right places. Falling into a strict routine of training, drills, and guard duty had done wonders to the physique of a pony who, prior to starting our little adventure, had definately been verging on the pudgier side (not that there was anything wrong with how she looked back then, either). Octavia must have caught my look as she looked at me with a half lidded gaze.

“Like something you see?” she asked, stretching out her body to accentuate certain areas, I had to quickly draw my eyes back up to her face, where I was met with a pair of amused eyes “Have patience, you’ll have all the time tonight to really let your eyes wander, it’s Sunday tomorrow, so that means reduced patrols, the kaisarin has her day off on Sunday so we aren’t required unless she specifically summons us”

“After the way everyone reacted last time I saw them I’m surprised I’m not sofa surfing”

“Oh, you’re still going to be making up for that on an individual and personal basis” she said, bumping my hips and shooting me a look that said I’d be paying for my brashness in other ways “but lets just say it isn’t quite all so bad as things first appeared”

“How so?” I asked “Luna seemed pretty set on mounting my head on a pike”

Well, a couple of days after you went to stay with Glück, Celestia turned up, a little more gracefully compared to Luna I’ll add, and for the most part overruled Luna’s order of banishment” she said “having said that I’d still be careful around Luna, and Celestia herself said that she expects you to formally apologize to Twilight Sparkle. You do still have that little music box that you use to communicate, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do, but I’m not exactly thrilled at the prospect of having to talk to her again” I said “she probably cut off any connection we had before giving me a chance to talk to her again”

“If Celestia is expecting an apology, then Twilight probably is as well. But if you want I can help you make that apology” she reassured, before her face turned quizzical “By the way...where is Tarn?” as if on cue a shout cut through the throne room

“Onælan, where the fuck are you!? [I would have words with you!]” Octavia blinked, her face going blank as the pitterpat of footsteps began making their way in our direction from the throneroom doors.

“You left her back with Glück, didn’t you?” she deadpanned.

“I left a note?” I offered.

“In heuimutia, in winter!?” she hissed.

“Onælan!” Tarn barked, and I turned with a sheepish smile to wave at the Kobold who now stood in the doorway to out little balcony, her clothes were practically soaking wet

“Hey, Tarn, I take it you got my note?” I ventured, knowing I was about to be on the receiving end of one royally pissed kobald.

“Do you have any idea how fucking long it took me to get to this accused palace trudging through the snow!?” she asked “I am three feet fucking tall, I fall over in the snow, I fucking die! And don’t get me started on the fucking guards in this city-”

“Yo, Tarn!” came the shout from Vinyl, we all turned to look at her, she was still dutifully stood by Reinesfell’s side, the latter looking amused more than anything at the situation. Vinyl shot Tarn a look that was dripping with sass “You. Control. The snow. Grow a pair, lizard tits” Tarn began turning red with rage and let out a growl, she went to spit out a retort when Octavia came up behind her and nuzzled her, only to recoil on shock.

“By Celestia, you’re freezing!” the earth pony explained, shivering before pulling the Kobald into a hug “Goodness, let’s get you inside and warmed up. Oh, you must come with me immediately, my quarters have a bath that will chase that chill of yours right away” Tarn didn’t have time to so much as offer a word of acknowledgement as she was deposited upon the earth pony’s back in a purple bubble of Octavia’s gravity powers. I went to follow, then stopped and turned to Vinyl and Reinesfell.

“Saturdays are usually quiet” Reinesfell said “You may retire, but don’t expect me to be so relaxed come monday” I gave her a bow of thanks and began to follow after Octavia.

“Yo, torch” Vinyl called, and I turned around to regard her with a quizzical look, unsure if she’d actually been addressing me “If you see any of the others, send one of them up our way, OK?”

“Will do” I said, shooting her a two fingered salute and making my way out the door.