[Sponsored] The Empress from the East (Palace Gardens)

[IceStorm]

Medo simply kept her distance as she watched the animals in the garden begin reacting to the majestic bird that was in front of them. She was interested in seeing what they were going to do at first before spotting something running towards them from the main ballroom. It was another Qilin, running after them at a frightening speed before she seemed to slow down upon reaching the gardens. Upon further investigation of the mare as she continued to approach, she seemed distraught, and... almost as if she was expecting something else. The look in her eyes, more of how she was wiping them with her hooves told of many possible scenarios. The mare had been upset or troubled by something, and while it was no business of hers what it could be, it pained Medo to see anypony upset, especially on a night that's meant to be pleasurable to most.

 

With a polite nod of respect to the Empress, Medo excused herself and made her way towards the new comer. As she approached and got closer to her she could see that her suspicions had been confirmed. The mare had been crying, and it was only most plausible that whatever date that she had been taken on into the ballroom had not gone in a way that was beneficial to her. With a small bit of her magic, she pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of her dress and levitated it over to the mare whom seemed to be encaptivated my the Empress. Not that she could blame her, the Empress was indeed quite the sight to behold! She just hoped that whatever had ailed this mare, she could at least minimize the amount of hurt that she felt, and perhaps make the first of what she hoped to be many friends here in this strange new land. 

 

"Okusama, anata wa daijōbudesu ka. Kokode wa.... Kore o torimasu..." Medo spoke with a soft, caring smile, one that spoke sympathy and understanding, and the tone of her voice was that of sincerity and sympathy as well. She only hoped that this Qilin could understand her native tongue as well as the Empress had. She did know Equestrian if she needed to use it, but felt for a first meeting, she should at least try her native language. She felt that it was more respectful that way.

 

She no sooner got her words out though, as what seemed like some sort of battle for dominance as between the two legendary birds. She wasn't sure what was going through the minds of the two predatory birds, but a tussle between the two of them could have drastic effects on the ponies that were in the area to greet them. She watched as the Equestrian Phoenix once again ignited the flames inside of her to try to spark off some sort of response from Fu Feng. The response that she received was probably not one that she wanted. She only heard the start of the battle cry as she quickly ducked down and placed her hooves over her ears as the shock wave from Fu Fengs battle cry soared though the Gardens.

 

She could only hope that they would not resort to any further means of trying to impress each other or whatever it was they were trying to do. IF they chose to continue their display, everypony in the garden was in danger of becoming a collateral casualty. Slowly she stood herself back up after the loud screeching and turned back to her potential new friend, hoping the screeching didn't scare her off and ruin an opportunity for her to make a friend.

 

(Translation:

Spoiler

"Ma'am, are you alright? Here.... Take this."

 

[Corsair]

Bullseye!  Philomena watched with amusement as the crow she had frightened baited right into the fenghuang, knocking the larger bird off of Fluttershy's head.  The phoenix hid a laugh behind her wing as Fu Feng took to the air, glaring down at her.  Oh, what could this showy prettyboy ever...

 

Philomena reeled at the impact from the fenghuang's sonic burst, and was then knocked backward off her perch from the female crow striking her.  The phoenix struggled back up on to her talons with fire in her eyes... figuratively and literally. Oh, It... Was.. ON!  She took to the air, igniting herself as she had to scare off the shifty unicorns earlier.  She arrowed toward the fenghuang, giving her own battlecry, though not one backed up with magic. 

 

***

 

Fluttershy was stunned when Philomena suddenly used her flames to frighten off the displaying crow.  The bird flew directly over her head, impacting Fu Feng.  Both birds then fopped to the ground.  Fluttershy was only too aware of Philomena's habit of playing pranks, but this was going too far!  "Philomena!!" she scolded, "That was not very nice!!"  The pegasus turned to find that Fu Feng was already rising into the air.  The fenghuang let out a blast of sound and light that reminded Fluttershy of being too close to Rainbow Dash when she made a Sonic Rainboom.  She flattened her ears to her head, dropping to the ground. 

 

When the pony got her bearings back, her ears still ringing, she saw the aftermath of Fu Feng's call.  Creatures all around, including the Empress, were holding their ears.  The two crows that had been used as unwitting projectiles appeared to be stunned, and Philomena was alight again, soaring toward Fu Feng.  "No!"  She called out, barely hearing her own voice.  "Philomena!  Fu Feng!  Please stop!"

[Pretzelparty]

 

"I'll do what I can, Empress! The little guy's a bit've a mischief make--" Then came the loud sizzling... and then the sudden attack from Fu feng. It was pretty to look at for maybe the first few second but the powerful shock wave from the force of the magical rainbow explosion had sent the painter flying backwards and into a tree with a loud thump. Seemed the mare's head took a nasty bump as she was completely knocked out. She slumped forward in a sitting position in the yard.

 

Being both launched a good distance across the garden, Fresco panicked and flew off to land on the nearest familiar face; in this case smacking right into Java's face and clambering down into his coat pocket.

 

['Exit' Presteza]

 

Spoiler

Sorry for the bad quality. 

 

[PyroBlaze]

Yiska had actually managed to fall into a light sleep, ignoring the noise from below. Unfortunately, it was very short lived. 

 

The screech from the bird made her cry out in pain, her hooves shooting to cover her ears, which also gave her no way to hold on when something slammed into the tree, knocking her off-balance enough to send her falling to the ground. Her wings flapped frantically, which, when combined with the bush she fell into, probably saved her from breaking anything. 

 

"That bucking hurt!" She yelled, not really expecting a response as she laid there and tried to recover. "Oww... I shouldn't have bucking snuck in here..." She added, muttering to herself. 

 

--------

 

Liviel... Well, she couldn't say she expected this outcome, especially with the distraught Qilin that had shown up. The dog, her paws over her ears to help block the noise, put herself between the two birds and Yue. 

 

"Would you two stop that! Violence is not the answer here!" She yelled at the birds, not really caring what they were now that they were acting like children. "You are both majestic birds, stop acting like the young ones!"

 

"[Are you alright, Empress?]" She added in their tongue, glancing back at her old friend momentarily with a bit of concern. At least that bat seemed to have left. 

[Bellosh]

 

As strange as it would sound to even most Long Sun, Yù Yuè had experience with being on the receiving end of a fenghuang's rainbow blast. It had happened to her once, years ago, when she was just a new Initiate at Fenghuang Monastery. The Qilin had been exploring the natural delights of Fenghuang Valley when she stumbled across a pair of fenghuang drinking from the base of a waterfall. Naturally, Yuè wanted to get closer for a better look; her unwise decision sent her flying into a tree when the startled birds defended themselves with their mystic powers.

 

Since then, Yuè knew what sort of stance with her legs to make to avoid getting knocked back by the shockwave. Presteza... did not have that training, so she suffered a knockout blow. The painter's fruit bat panicked, scuttling away from the scene as fast as possible. For that matter, most of the Canterlot elite that gathered around for the ceremony were also hastily fast-tailing out of there. Adding to the pandemonium, Yuè's servants attempted to either usher her away from the impending bird brawl or, like Livel, stand in front of their Empress to defend her from potential harm.

 

In the chaos, the Empress found it next to impossible to discern any one voice; it was all just a confused blur of yelling intermixing with one another. What she did focus on was Presteza, lying there on the ground. That unicorn had shown great kindness to Yuè without thought of reward; a pure-hearted soul. And through no fault of her own, Presteza got caught in the crossfire. She didn't deserve this!

 

Something came over Yuè; an emotion that overrode all pretensions of courtly protocol and proper behavior. The royal Qilin couldn't just let herself be escorted away from the premises like a delicate vase! It was her responsibility to act now, or else others would suffer the same fate as Presteza.

 

Fu Feng didn't seem to care about collateral damage at the moment; he was busy emitting prismatic light as he charged up in response to Philomena's continued escalation. There would be no backing down now!

 

However, as the two legendary beings started to charge at one another, they failed to notice that a shimmersilk-garbed, crown-wearing Qilin had managed to break free from her protectors and dash right into the middle of their dueling field. Stretching wide both forelegs in opposite directions, Yuè ordered a stop to the avian hostilities with her mother tongue; "Zhù shǒu!!!"

.....No response from Fu Feng.

[Blueblood]

Throughout the whole of the chaotic proceedings, Chipper Demise had remained undisturbed in his amusement.  A pony who had regularly dealt with the giant eagles and ravaging ravens of Whitescar wasn't about to flinch in the face of a pretty-boy bird whining about not getting enough of the right attention.  Indeed, his chortling was only broken by a flash of concern for his crows, who were caught in the crossfire.  Fortunately, both of them managed to escape serious injury, aside from the singed tailfeathers of the male.  Leaving a few of them smoldering on the lawn, he beat a rapid flight alongside the now-deafened female straight back to the necromancer, perching on his withers to hide behind his head.

 

"Heh, I guess they're just not that into you, huh?"  Chipper remarked sympathetically as he turned his head to look at his avian companions.  "Oh well!  Can't blame you two for trying.  They're quite a catch, even I'll say that.  Still,"  He nodded in the direction of the sparring legendary birds, "It's pretty obvious those two lovebirds were meant for each other, nyahaha!"

 

The unicorn would have been quite content to stay and watch the fireworks, but even though he was almost literally raised by wolves, he could tell that a social event with the attendees fleeing in fear while animal handlers have lost control of their birds couldn't be called anything but a disaster.  An entertaining disaster, of course, but as Jarl Sigrun had patiently taught him, if he was the only one having fun, he was probably doing something wrong.  

 

Taking one last look around, he shrugged and then trotted forward to the cowering Fluttershy, patting her on the head.  "Don't ya worry about this, I'll have it cleared up in a jiffy, nyaha!"  Looking up to the sparring display, Chipper put a hoof to his mouth and let out a piercing whistle, which no hearing creature in range could ignore.  "Heya!"  He called out to the pair of pheonixes.  "Might want to get yourselves a private room before this goes too much further, nyahaha!"

 

His horn glowed with purplish light as he talked.  Growing up with wild beasts, the unicorn had developed a talent for communicating with them.  Most of them couldn't understand his words directly, but with the help of a little magic, he could get them to feel the desired emotions.  In this case, he was letting Philomena and especially Fu Feng know that they were behaving in an utterly ridiculous and undignified manner, and that if they kept this up, they'd be the laughingstock of the whole menagerie.  Which could work, or backfire horribly...

[Zeig]

 

 

She only had a short while to appreciate the fact that she had mistaken someone for her friend, when everything went horribly, horribly wrong.

 

...As if things hadn't been horribly, terribly wrong already.

 

But in that short while, things went from horribly wrong to utter death.

 

At least she had some semblance of normality, as she was firstly approached by a light green Unicorn who spoke to her in what she recognized as Neighponese, levitating a handkerchief in what Mei also recognized as an obvious consolation for her distress. Which meant that she hadn't done a very good job hiding it, and what must her face look like now? Probably all red and blotchy, eyes blown wide and watered, with the make-up that had taken two hours to do running and ruined. She must look an absolute mess, and even though she couldn't understand the Unicorn, Mei could at least appreciate the gesture and concern.

 

"T-Thank you," the bright blue Qilin sniffled, gingerly taking up the handkerchief to delicately dab at her eyes. The tears had mostly dispersed by now, though a few continued to fall, leftovers from past pain. "I'm sorry," Mei continued, meaning to hold the handkerchief back towards the Unicorn, "I don't understand you." Her hoof faltered halfway there however, as the words rang hollow in her head. 

 

And another dam broke.

 

"I - I don't understand you," she burst out, "why you - what you hope to do." The Unicorn may have ceased to exist for all the attention Mei paid her, still standing on the pathway and stomping her hooves in short, pointed bursts of frustration, as her mastery of the Equestrian language began to devolve. "You could just - but you Caribou - nǐ zhǐshì xiǎng ràng wǒ chūchǒu. Wèishéme? Nǐ shì rúcǐ de wánměi, wèishéme bùnéng nǐ zhǐshì...bǎochí chénmò? - " 

 

And, just to put the icing on top of her Grand Galloping Gala cake, she was attacked. 

 

Well - not her, in particular, at least Mei didn't think so. But one moment, there she was - and the next, the sound of screeching was accompanied by a concussive force that sent the Qilin stumbling to the right. All the frustration, indignation, and sorrow she had been feeling that night evaporated to be replaced by visceral fear, as flames licked the sky on her left, ponies screaming and shouting on every side. Mei had no idea what was going on as she screamed beside them, but she wasn't about to politely ask! The handkerchief fell onto the pathway, forgotten, as Mei turned tail with the others all attempting to stampede out of the gardens and towards safety. 

 

No way she was sticking around to find out that Caribou had broken down the garden wall and were now rounding up ponies left and right. Knowing her luck, that was probably, exactly, what had happened.

 

[[ Exit ]]

 

 

[Windwright]

Windwright -hic- had been trying -hic- to find a decent place -hic- to transform back in peace -hic-, when all of a sudden there -hic- arose such a clatter -hic- from the gardens that -hic- they had to pause to look back. -hic- It sounded a lot -hic- like a phoenix defending her nest -hic- from attackers, but -hic- given the ponies that Philome-hic-na had already attacked this -hic- this evening, that was -hic- probably not -hic- exactly-hic- the case-hic- here.-hic- -hic- -hic-

 

They shook their -hic- head as their body -hic- mass shifted around dizzyingly,-hic- and resolved to doub-hic-le back to find-hic- out what wa-

 

There was an ear-piercing screech and a BOOM of colour that knocked Windwright onto his butt. Only quick thinking and the fact that his potion finished wearing off prevented a cuncussion by tree, since he was able to turn a roll into a bounce that let him veer to his right. He stood up with his ears ringing and wobbled, but whatever THAT had been, he knew the gala party would probably need medical attention. Perspective thus gained, he steadied himself and took off toward his hotel room to retrieve his mobile lab.

 

{Windy exit, and possibly returning in the after-thread. If not, feel free to have antiseptic, gauze, and headache meds on-hoof}

[Corsair]

Philomena dodged and weaved through the air, trying to get into a position to direct her flames at her rainbow-plumed enemy, but he proved to be an elusive target.  She'd only managed to singe some of the fenghuang's feathers.  Similarly, she had managed to evade the majority of his blasts of light and sound, but her previously preened feathers were a mess.  Her focus was such that she paid no attention to the ponies and other creatures on the ground.  She shook her head a bit in disorientation as some kind of magic message hit her...  How DARE that unicorn imply something like that between her, and him!  She re-focused her attention, not hearing any of the calls from the ground.

 

The phoenix dropped low to the ground, preparing another breath of flame.  The fenghuang lined up directly across from her, appearing to charge up his sonic weapon.  This was it, her chance to knock him out!  She let loose with the strongest flame yet, just as the Qulin Empress moved between them...

 

****

 

Fluttershy stood aghast at what was happening around her.  She saw poor Presteza slumped at the bottom of a tree, and little Fresco fleeing for his life in a panic.  Creatures were running in every direction away from the aerial battle, or trying to shout down the combatants.  She felt lost.  This was all happening so quickly!  She knew she should do something to stop the fight, but getting in between two powerful magical birds seemed like a sure way to get hurt! 

 

Unfortunately, during her delay, another creature had stepped into the fight.  The Empress!  She had pushed past all of her guards and servants, and stood directly between the two combatants. In horror, Fluttershy saw both birds send their attacks directly at the Quilin!

 

Acting on impulse, Fluttershy flared her wings and flew directly at Yù Yuè.  In a move that Rainbow Dash would have been proud of, she knocked the Empress out of the way.  She tumbled to a stop, her lovely dress smoldering from the near brush with Phoenix fire.  Stumbling to her hooves, and instinctively drawing on her Special Talent, Fluttershy shouted in a voice that boomed across that gardens like a whip crack.  "THAT'S ENOUGH!"

[moonshineTheleocat]

Ammo Huh? The stallion thought to himself. Looks like he might have to go back to the drawing board with the boys to design some sort of armoring for something that was already pretty much built. Well, the lab is going to be happy to hear –that-. And by happy, more like a pack of wolves where each of them had their tails stepped on by an elephant. That sort of happy. That is to say… rather rancorous.

 

But then Serendepity drew his attention away once more just as Halivard left. What was she asking again? Something about what if a mare kissed him? Well… that’s actually a question that Java wasn’t too sure about the answer for. And at that… he thought long and hard about it. A hoof moved over his chin, as he allowed his eyes to dim out into their own little world. But eventually he found the answer. Buried under piles of very weird things best left unspoken. Secret things that would break the very fabric of this world! Ok nothing that dramatic.

“Well,” he hummed just as he was coming back into reality, “I’d guess she’d feel put out if the mare didn’t plan on sharing the love with her-“ He caught his words when he realized just how close Serendipity was to him. Oh, and did that make some tiny ponies in his head immediate switch on the evasive manuvers.

His head immediately craned back as far as it could go. Though his hooves acted as if they were cemented in place. His lips flat and stretched. His eyes easily relayed a single question without a word through fogged up glasses. “What the buck is going on!? OMBG! D:”

But his efforts seemed not to be working! She was still advancing! Eventually one of the ponies fore hooves raised up off of the ground as his legs now started craning his body back with the motion. Some horrible realization dawned upon him. Oh these mares were going to torture him before the night is done!

Well… maybe not? It seems like he was able to regain some relief just as the mare pulled away. And before he could say another word… a bat flew into his face, blinding him for a moment.

“Oh hi there… Fresco… Have you seen Sine…” He hummed to the little bat. Who gestured with it’s nose. “Thank you little guy.”

 

The miraculous feline, now without a nice and comfortable lap, found herself wandering the garden and saying hello to the many creatures whom live here. Not the hello meant to invoke terror, but a warm hearted hello! A hello that says that she has no intentions on eating them in the near future.

Oh yes… it would not do well to dirty her claws with the blood of none wildlings. There would be very little pride and excitement in the hunt. No worries of the prey fighting back, or escaping her terrifying grace. No joy in it indeed.

But… there was a new face in the garden. And one whom looked like she needed quite a bit of cheering up. The graceful Sine glided her way across the garden, and nudged her snout gently against the blue and reddish foreign pony.

Honestly, these creatures are such clumsy soft hearts, prone to crying at a wilted daisy if they cared deeply enough for it.

If she managed to get the draconic horse’s attention, she’d rear back on her hind legs, and slowly stretch herself up to draw the pony into a hug. Or at least the best hug a cat could manage without it looking like she was trying to kill something.

[PyroBlaze]

Liviel frowned when she didn't get a response, though she could see why. It was rather loud around here. Liviel looked back at Yue once again, but froze in surprise as her friend rushed past her and stopped between the two birds in an attempt to stop them. 

 

For a moment, it seemed liked it had worked, the combined efforts of all those that had tried, but that was not so. The dog's eyes widened as she saw the attacks launching, her body moving instinctively as well. She did not move as fast as the yellow pegasus mare though, leaving her to jump back to avoid the colliding attacks. Recovering quickly, she rushed over to put out the smoldering dress the mare was wearing before looking over Yue quickly to make sure she was fine. 

 

-------

 

What was that bird's problem? It was way too loud! Yiska was practically writhing in her bush, hooves over her ears to block as much sound as she could. 

 

After a particularily loud shout that seemed to be from a mare, everything went quiet. 

 

"Finally!" She groaned, releasing her ears and flopping back. Ugh, should've just left...

 

Taking her own advice, the blind mare struggled to her hooves, about to take off when she realized there was a slumped pony against the tree. 

 

"Hey buddy, you alright?" She asked, poking the pony with a hoof. Seemed like a unicorn, she could tell that much. 

[Bellosh]

 

Blasts of fire and rainbow met in the middle to produce an explosion of light that consumed that entire area of the Palace Gardens. Both Fu Feng and Philomena were caught in their own blast, their feathered bodies thrown around like ragdolls until each impacted against a tree. But even as they dropped onto the ground, the two avian combatants kept on struggling to rise up, none of them ready to give up-

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"
 

The fenghuang and phoenix instantly snapped their attention towards Fluttershy, who stood beside an Empress reeling from her rough rescue. Parts of her shimmersilk dress smoked, while the rest was covered in dirt. The phoenix crown did not make it out intact however, having fallen off Yuè's head when Fluttershy shoved her out of harm's way. Now it laid on the ground; an ornate symbol of imperial elegance now charred to a crisp. Such a horrendous waste.

 

The Qilin mare struggled back onto her hooves as she surveyed the disarray around her. Nothing remained in the ceremony to salvage; the two legendary phoenixes performed a thorough job of trashing the area and scattering all the onlookers. It had been Yù Yuè's responsibility to ensure that Equestria received a gift worthy of presenting... and she failed. The royal Qilin should have thought better than putting so much faith in an untamed fenghuang. The carelessness of Long Guo's empress caused others to be hurt, which brought shame her entire nation by guilt of association. Who would have faith in Yuè's ability to rule if she couldn't manage something as utterly simple as hoofing over a present?

 

Worst of all, Yuè had dishonored her father's very legacy. It was the late Emperor who laid the groundwork for what was supposed to be a special occasion; a strengthening of bonds between two countries. All the late Emperor's successor was required to do was execute the pre-arranged plan and instill a favorable impression of Long Guo in the minds of Grand Galloping Gala attendees. But now; all anypony was going to talk about was how Yù Yuè unleashed a mad fenghuang at the Gala. If her ancestors were here to watch what unfolded... they'd be soundly disappointed in the young mare.

Ignoring the desperate pleading of her retinue, who'd never abandon their sovereign, the humiliated Empress gave instruction contrary to their wishes; "...I need time to be alone..... do not attempt to follow me." Despite the cries of "Bìxià!" addressed to Her Majesty, the servants dared not follow Yuè as she sorrowfully walked into a more deserted section of the Gardens.....

 

 

*EXIT*

[Blueblood]

Alas, all efforts at avian peacemaking were to prove in vain.  Fluttershy's sudden dive for the Empress left only Chipper Demise near Ground Zero when Fu Feng's sonic blast met Philomena's stream of fire.  "Oh-"  Was about as far as the stallion could get before the explosion hit him.  What would have followed that syllable was anypony's guess, but in all likelihood, it wouldn't have been "Dearie Me."  Or perhaps it might have, you never could tell with Chip.

 

In any case, the necromancer was sent tumbling into the bushes, landing with a resounding *CRASH* in a cloud of leaves, feathers, and magical sparks.  The two crows, by now thoroughly disillusioned with their respective crushes, high-tailed it out of there, cawing raucous derision at all the creatures below.  The unicorn stumbled out of the shrubbery some moments later, looking rather more like his usual unkempt self. 

 

"Nyahaha!  Well, just goes to show, you never can tell with birds; and the course of true love never runs smooth!  Aaahahaha!"  And with wild steps, and even wilder laughter, the young stallion departed the gardens.

 

Exit

[Corsair]

Fluttershy glared at the two immortal birds as if they were misbehaving children.  "You two should be ashamed of yourselves!"  She scolded.  "Look what your fighting has done!!" 

 

Philomena had never been on the end of Fluttershy's 'Stare' before, and was stunned at just how effective it was.  At the pony's words, however, the phoenix was able to focus on the chaos around her.  Ponies and other creatures were either still running, or recovering from near-misses from the birds' attacks.  All the the animals that lived in gardens has fled into hiding.  At least one of the Princess' rose bushes was on fire.

 

The phoenix winced.  She might have gotten a tiny bit carried away...  

 

Fluttershy was not finished with her lecturing, however.  "Philomena!  I'm ashamed of you, attacking a creature that could have been a new friend like that!  Wait until I tell Princess Celestia what happened tonight!"

 

Philomena winced again, but more from the pony's words than any fear of Celestia.  Knowing the Princess, she'd probably think the whole thing was funny!

 

The pegasus now turned her gaze on Fu Feng.  "And you, Fu Feng!" she practically growled.  "I know you're new in Equestria, but you do NOT hurt other creatures just because you're angry!"  Fluttershy turned worriedly toward Presteza, but the unicorn already had somepony looking after her.  Focusing back on the birds, she continued.  "I'm of a good mind to..." she stopped, noticing that the Empress was no longer beside her.  She spotted the quilin walking away, her head hanging low.  On the ground at her hooves was the damaged remains of the crown the empress had been wearing.  Despite the Empress's protests, Fluttershy scooped up the crown and flew after her.  "Yuè, wait!" she called out.

 

Philomena breathed out as the pegasus flew away.  The pony was right, but the phoenix couldn't help but but let a smile creep onto her beak.  Yes, she regretted the damages, but that little spar had been rather fun!  She looked over at Fu Feng, and gave a little nod of her head.  Maybe this guy wouldn't be so bad after all...

 

**End**