Bronze Tiara

Chapter five

A steady stream of coughing brought the mare back from the brink on the edge of the river bank, as the torrent of fluids escaped from her chest. ‘I’m making a habit of this…’ she groaned after her lungs settled, wondering how she could mess up even ending it all.

“Oh, she’s awake,” a stallions’ voice carried over in to her ears. Immediately snapping the mare too, and bringing her attention to the group coming out of the forest. As well as the guard laying by her side. With a careful hoof lifting her head up to let any extra water out, the colt looked her over, “Are you alright ma’am?” he asked her while his comrades joined them, their eyes peering out in to the overgrowth. Seemingly looking for something.

“Never…” another fit of coughing interrupted her as she steadied herself, “…Ugh… Better.” Bronze kept a close eye on all of them, looking for any bindings or chains that might give way to her near future. Still unsure of Serens intentions should she be found.

“Well, that’s good to hear there miss,” the same colt helped her up to her feet, and held Bronze steady as she started to wobble, “I was walking along the river side when I saw you fall, and when you didn’t come up I thought you might have gone down permanently.”

Bronze grinned off to the side, only showing half her face to the colt, “Yeah, the rocks up at the top were rather slippery,” she lied through the thin gap in her teeth. ‘Figures my torment isn’t done yet.’ With that the rest of the squad started to move on towards the woods, and with a gesture the guard that saved her beckoned the metallic mare to follow.

Not much was said by the others in the group for the first few minutes, which made Bronze wonder if they were trying to take her quietly, or hadn’t a clue who she was. She may have been omitted from the papers, but for all she knew there might be some orders under the table for her head still.

Though if these guards were after that, they certainly didn’t show it. “What brings you to these parts anyway?” her rescuer asked, “miss…?”

Shuffling her nonexistent feathers Bronze tried to think on the fly. “Tungsten, Tungsten Edge,” she nodded lightly to him.

“Pleasure Miss Edge,” he returned the gesture, “I’m Glimmer Knight.”

“…You wouldn’t happen to have a brother, would you?” she prayed and crossed her talons it wasn’t so. However, with a shake of his head she relaxed once more and continued on, “and I’m just travelling at the moment is all. Went to the waterfall, and well… took in the sights a little too seriously.”

“Mighty dangerous if you’re close,” another guard piped up, looking over his shoulder at her, “Even without what prowls these woods now.”

“You mean those soldiers?” her mind put two and two together.

The guard that rescued her quickly gave her a questioning eye, “Yes… those ones, you’ve seen them I take it?”

“Ahh actually I have,” Bronze tried to pry out an answer from the back of her head, “a few were killed in a town not far from here. Plus, I had read about them in the paper.” Looking down at his blade it remained unhinged and ready to strike if needed. However, there weren’t any other species in this group besides ponies, and at that all of them were earth ponies so she could still make a run for it if needed.

Though the change of intrigue portrayed on his face confused her when she saw the switch, “Really? Some were killed?” the light lit up on his face as if she had just given him some hope in the end, “Did you see how they did it?”

With a mental sigh of relief Bronze calmed herself down, and stopped trying to look for gaps in their formation to escape from if the cuffs came out. “It looked as though they went for the neck area,” she held a talon to the back of her own, “Like where the spine would be… I assume.”

“You got all that from one encounter?” the guard to the rear of the formation asked.

“I like to consider myself observant,” she rattled off without missing a beat, “In case I were to encounter them myself.”

“Good to know there, we’ve heard that some had fallen before after some time, but having an edge would do wonders,” Glimmer smiled at her, before turning his eyes onwards, “we’ve been out here patrolling to see if we encounter any ourselves. Try and clear them from the area.”

Bronze mentally went over the map she had purchased, likely ruined by now from her dive. Given how far she was from the other town, and on top of that how far off the capital was. She thought it unlikely they would have reached this part of the nation yet, at least not for a few more days.

‘They’re systematic, cunning, and relentless… but still kinda stupid,’ she summarized, listing off their traits in her head as if she would an adversary. This being one she knew well, ‘all they know is to kill, mostly soldiers and those that get in their way. So, they should still have to work their way here.’

Finally, after some walking the group found themselves on a main road and started to head south from what Bronze could tell. The long road though left the mare to her own thoughts once again, this time without a cliff to take her mind off things.

‘I could try again…’ Bronze pondered for all but half a second, then the mental hoof to the side of her head silenced that thought, ‘Dad never encourage me to take the easy way out.’ she smiled at that small reminder of him. When she did meet her end, she wanted her parents to look at her once more with pride about what she did in life, not with sorrow at the legacy she left behind.

Taking a leap off a cliff in an attempt to end the pain in her heart wouldn’t stop the pain in the end. There was only really one way to do that, and that was to be the mare her parents always knew she could be. No, having this random colt rescue her from the watery fate wasn’t her punishment for creating those things. It was a reminder that there were other options in her book.

She had to see it through that they were taken care of in the end. Either with the help of her own hoof, or by the hooves of another. Bronze may have wanted to level everything at first, or at lease enough to make a change, but to let them all run freely in the vast lands of Seren was border lining on reckless. Especially without knowing how many were still out there and where they were to strike next.

Something her younger self never understood, but a mature mare saw.

“Miss Edge?” Glimmer brought her back to reality.

“Sorry about that,” Bronze waved it off, “What were you saying?”

“Oh, were heading to town and should be there soon actually,” he answered as he tried to judge the trip from memory alone, “If you lost anything in the waters after your fall. I know they have a decent general store.”

Feeling the light rumble in her stomach and the twinge of her claws already answered that question as it was, and with an eager affirmation Bronze thanked him. “That is very much needed,” though the light rattle in her pockets already told her she wouldn’t be able to get everything she needed for travel. One thing though would be needed if she wanted to even start setting things right, “Say… Do you know if they have a jewelry store?”

***

A small bell rang as the door to the shop opened. Having left the guards after reaching the town, and thanking Glimmer for snapping her back to some sort of reality. The mare went searching as the directions given by the colt may not have been the best, but still managed to put her in the right area.

All along the display cases before her rested the elegant adornments for mare and stallion alike. Even a few pieces looked to be specifically made for those creatures with dedicated claws. Decorated rings lined one case, some small enough to fit a gryphons’ talon, and others with the size to fit a dragoness perfectly. Whoever owned this shop sure knew how to cater to those varied citizens of Seren. However, the mare wasn’t so much caring for who would wear the pieces, but for what they contained.

Every gem she could have hoped for laid perfectly in its cradle for each embellishment. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, topazes, diamonds, and garnets danced in the back of Bronzes’ eyes while she tried to keep herself from drooling. The store even held a few pieces that were adorned in some of the gems she had used previously. Onyxes, and Amethysts for those patrons that still wanted a little bit of flash, but only for a coin or two.

Those ones however, were largely ignored by the mare. Low quality gems got her in trouble once already, and she aimed higher this time around. “I just have to pick out the right ones ill need to fix me up,” she glanced over the sets. The earrings, necklaces, tiaras, and anklets all had the size and quality of gems she needed.

With the costumer in the room looking over the merchandise, a light trotting was heard from over the counter as another mare came up to Bronze. “Welcome to Trinkets Gallery!” the Pegasus beamed at the metallic mare before her, “all of the gems you see here, and raw materials themselves, are sourced locally from some of the mines in the region…”

‘Could care less where they came from,’ Bronze mocked to herself as the mare went on about the creation and artistry put in to each set. Tuning her out, Bronze started to put together a checklist of what she’d need to make each new part of the limb, ‘Let’s see, some easy to work metal to start off with, a few gems broken in to shards for the claws and kept whole for the major joints.’

Looking back at the mare still going in her rant, Bronze couldn’t help but smile as she turned her head away, ‘Maybe if you were a unicorn, I could just drain you now and take what I need… it’d shut you up at-… least!’

With a little surprise the mare grabbed hold of her and placed her in front of a mirror. Bronze once again looked at her lightly frazzled mane, and bruises across what little of her coat the cloak didn’t cover. Still, going for a dip did wash much of the dirt and grime from her that she picked up after walking through the woods… even if she didn’t intend to wake up after that step.

“Let’s see how this fits you there dear,” the merchant said as she placed a necklace, with a rather large breast piece, around Bronzes’ neck using her feathers.

“No thank you, it’s quite-,” though taking a look of her reflection silenced any words for but a moment as she took it in. Whatever this mares name was, she did know how to pick out a good set to match the buyer.

The diamond cut citrine in the center sparkled in a brilliant pairing to the tint of her eyes. While the rubies on either side cut in to heart shapes remained inlaid in to the gold and silver embroidered and etched breast piece. Bronze didn’t have a fashion bone in her body, her idea of jewelry was a bit more on the rocky side, but the piece still looked marvelous as it twinkled in her eyes. Even with her rather rugged appearance, the war-mare still was left in awe as the merchant clipped the back clasp to hold it on to her neck.

“- alright,” Bronze finally managed to finish her sentence after taking it all in, and a much-needed breath to go along with it.

“You look splendid darling,” the mare tutted as she looked over Bronze, satisfied with her own choice, “That one my employer came up with on his own, like he does most of the pieces you see here.”

“He certainly knows his way around a stone,” she even had to admire the creator’s work. Whether it was making weapons, jewelry, or for that matter armors. All crafts were an art in their own form, something Bronze could more than respect. As much as she may have liked it though, the mare knew very well she didn’t have the funds to outright purchase the piece as is. “However, I am sorry to say that I’m more so looking for a friend,” she watched as the merchants face sulked just a little bit, “He’s looking to get something for his wife, and asked for a mares’ opinion.”

“As a husband probably should from time to time,” the Pegasus perked up and chuckled as she removed the necklace, “Though I do hope that this one, let alone all else we have to offer, made a good impression.”

Bronze nodded vigorously, already knowing where she was going to do her shopping when it came to that. “Oh, very much so there miss, I’ll tell him to have a look in your store as soon as he can.”

“Well tell him to stop by soon, we will be closing early today around six,” she replied as her fellow mare made her way to the door, “If not we’ll be open tomorrow morning at eight.”

“Wonderful to hear,” Bronze waved as she stepped out the door frame, and started to add the times in for when the sun was getting dark, how long they’d be closed, and the likelihood of the guards patrolling late in to the night around town. “You’ll be seeing him, very soon.”