Chapter Text
Wang Ke wiped the sweat off his face with a mud-caked hoof, staring down at the pathetic pile of withered crops before him. Today’s harvest was a complete disaster.
Up above, the sky remained a bruised, stagnant purple. The Pegasi hadn’t bothered to clear the storm clouds or regulate the rain for weeks, rumor being that the Empress’s temper had grown as dark as the horizon. When the crown was displeased, the weather suffered, and it was always the farming villages that paid the price first.
He kicked a dried clod of earth, sending up a puff of dust. The bad harvest couldn't have come at a worse time. The annual Arena Festival was fast approaching—though calling it a "festival" felt wildly generous. It wasn't a celebration; it was a bloody display of dominance.
Every year, the three tribes were pitted against one another: the magic-weaving Unicorns, the storm-shaping Pegasi, and the raw strength of the Earth Ponies. Nominally, it was meant to show unity and test martial prowess. In reality, it was a reminder of where everyone stood in the hierarchy, enforced under the cold gaze of the Empress.
Wang Ke closed his eyes, and immediately, the memories from three years ago rushed back. He had been sitting high up in the nosebleed seats of the Grand Colosseum, the deafening roars of the crowd vibrating right through the stone floor into his hooves.
He remembered the crimson and white blur that dominated the sands below.
It was a Pegasus warrior—surprisingly small in frame compared to the hulking Earth Pony gladiators and the armored Unicorn spell-casters surrounding him. But his size hadn't mattered. The stallion moved like lightning caught in a bottle, diving, weaving, and striking with terrifying precision. He had systematically dismantled his opponents without letting a single blade or spell touch his wings. He didn't just fight; he danced through the carnage, faster than the eye could follow.
Wang Ke looked down at his own dirty hooves, the memory lingering sharply in his mind. The Arena was calling for new blood again this year, and with the harvest ruined, simple farming wasn't going to be enough to keep his family safe from the draft.
-
The morning sun had barely crested the hills when the rhythmic, ominous clatter of armored hooves shattered the silence of the village.
Wang Ke stood alongside his parents outside their modest wooden home, watching in dread as two figures draped in heavy, dark cloaks rode toward the center square. Beneath the heavy fabric of their hoods, the gleaming steel of royal armor caught the harsh light. The tax collectors had arrived.
"Your quota," one of the hooded ponies rasped, his voice cold and indifferent. He unrolled a thick parchment scroll. "Three sacks of high-grade grain per household. Payable immediately to the Empress’s treasury."
Wang Ke’s father stepped forward, bowing low, his hooves trembling against the dry dirt. "My lords... please. Look at the fields. The Pegasi brought no rain this season. The crops withered before they could even sprout. We have barely enough to feed ourselves through the winter."
"The Empress does not eat excuses," the second collector cut in, stepping forward. His voice was lower, sharper. "If you cannot pay the tribute in grain, the village must yield tribute in flesh. One able-bodied entrant for the upcoming Arena Festival to represent the Earth Ponies."
Wang Ke’s heart plummeted. His mother gasped, rushing forward to grab the edge of the guard's cloak. "No! Please, he is our only son! Give us time! We will find a way to pay the tribute—we will sell our farm, our tools, anything! Please, spare him from the Arena!"
"The law of the crown is absolute—" the first collector began, raising a heavy metal-shod hoof to push her back.
Before the guard's hoof could make contact, the second hooded pony moved with terrifying speed. He didn't target Wang Ke or his parents; instead, he lashed out with a swift, concussive blow to the side of his fellow collector's helmet.
CRACK.
The first collector crumpled into the dirt, unconscious before he even hit the ground.
Wang Ke and his parents froze in silent shock. The remaining collector turned toward them, reaching up with a swift motion to haul his companion's heavy body off the main path and into the shadows of the barn.
“We have to go. Now,” the hooded pony hissed, turning back to Wang Ke and his family with urgent energy. He ushered them frantically toward the tree line at the edge of the village. "Move! Don't stand there gaping!"
"W-what is happening?" Wang Ke stammered, his mind reeling as they stumbled into the thick brush of the forest.
Before the stranger could answer, a deafening blast tore through the quiet morning.
BOOM!
The ground shuddered beneath their hooves. Wang Ke made the fatal mistake of looking back over his shoulder.
Flames were already eating through the thatched roofs of the village homes. Black smoke billowed into the stagnant sky as high-pitched shouting echoed through the hills. Through the rising cloud of ash and dust, Wang Ke saw the glint of dozens of polished breastplates marching down the main road—an entire battalion of Royal Guards, bearing the golden sun-and-blade insignia of the Empress.
"They were right behind us," the stranger muttered under his breath, leading them deeper into the shadows of the forest, well away from the path of the oncoming soldiers.
Once they were far enough into the dense foliage to be hidden from the road, the stranger finally came to a halt. He took a deep, steadying breath and reached up to haul back the heavy fabric of his cloak.
As the hood fell back, Wang Ke’s eyes widened.
A sharp, pale face was framed by a vibrant light green mane. And protruding proudly from the center of his forehead was a long, spiraled horn—the unmistakable mark of a Unicorn.
-
Wang Ke stared at the glowing ivory horn spiraling out from the stranger’s forehead.
A Unicorn.
In a world run by the Empress's decree, the three tribes rarely mixed willingly, let alone traveled disguised in the dark garb of tax collectors.
"Why is a Unicorn here?" Wang Ke blurted out, stepping instinctively in front of his parents. "Why were you wearing a Royal Guard cloak?"
The Unicorn sighed, brushing a stray lock of his light green mane out of his eyes. "Because the crown doesn't expect treason from within its own uniform," he said smoothly. "My disguise allowed me to get ahead of the purge squad. The Royal Guards didn't come to collect grain today, Wang Ke. They came to raze the village. The Empress issued a secret decree last night—any Earth Pony settlement failing to meet seventy percent of its harvest yield is to be burned to prevent 'unrest' before the Arena Festival."
Wang Ke’s mother let out a muffled sob, burying her face in her husband's shoulder.
"We're leading survivors to an underground resistance hideout in the mountains," the Unicorn continued, his voice softening slightly as he looked at the family. "It's the only place the Empress’s eyes can't reach."
"What about the other villagers?" Wang Ke asked, his chest tight with panic as the memory of burning thatched roofs echoed in his mind. "My neighbors? The shopkeepers?"
“We have tried to save as many as we can,” the Unicorn replied solemnly. “Earth Ponies are having it rough this time around. The crown views your people as expendable labor, especially with the Festival drawing near.”
Wang Ke’s father took a heavy step forward, his eyes worn but filled with solemn gratitude. “Young man,” he asked, “may we know your name?”
Before the Unicorn could answer, a rush of displaced air whistled through the canopy above. The rustle of leaves was immediately followed by the distinct, rhythmic flap-flap-flap of powerful wings.
A sleek Pegasus descended from the treetops, hovering briefly before touching down lightly on the soft moss of the forest floor. He tucked his wings back into his sides, revealing a vibrant orange coat paired with a striking purple mane.
The Pegasus turned toward the Unicorn. “Ge,” he greeted, nodding respectfully. “I have escorted the other villagers to the shelter.”
He turned his gaze, his amber eyes finally noticing Wang Ke and his parents standing in the brush. “This is...?”
“The last ones from the village,” the Unicorn answered. He gestured with his head, beckoning deeper into the dense tree line. “Don’t be afraid. You’ll be safe.”
-
Wang Ke’s hooves froze in the damp soil. He stared at the two strangers, a cold pulse of suspicion cutting through his fear.
“Wait, how did you know my name is Wang Ke?”
The Pegasus adjusted his flight gear, tossing his head so his purple mane cleared his eyes. “We have researched the target villages and their residents. Of course we know your name.”
Before Wang Ke could press further, the canopy above them snapped. The rustle of wind wasn't natural—it was sharp, heavy, and descending fast.
"Look out!" the Pegasus barked, shoving Wang Ke’s father behind a wide oak trunk.
A dozen heavy iron spears plummeted from the sky, thudding deep into the earth where they had stood a second before. Down through the shattered canopy dove a full patrol of the Empress’s aerial Royal Guards. Their silver armor gleamed through the shadows of the forest, their wings beating in terrifying unison.
"Surrender the fugitives!" the lead guard bellowed, raising his spear.
The green-maned Unicorn didn't flinch. His horn ignited with a brilliant, mint-green aura. A shimmering barrier of force materialized instantly, catching the spear-tips of three diving guards in mid-air.
"Cover the flank!" the Unicorn shouted.
"Already on it, Ge!" the Pegasus replied. With a fierce burst of speed, he launched off the ground, a blur of orange and purple. He struck the nearest aerial guard mid-air, spinning past his guard and using his wing-blade to shatter the guard's helmet before banking hard into the trees.
Wang Ke shielded his parents, unable to tear his eyes away from the chaos. He couldn't help but be amazed at how the Pegasus and Unicorn worked together, almost like a well-rehearsed dance between them.
When a squad of four guards tried to pin the Pegasus down with a rain of spears, the Unicorn slammed his hooves into the earth, casting a pulse of kinetic force that swept the airborne weapons away. In the same breath, the Pegasus swooped down, using the slipstream created by the magic to double his speed, kicking two armored soldiers directly into the trunk of a massive pine. They covered each other seamlessly—a spell to guard an angle, a flash of speed to punish an opening. The natural rivalry between Unicorn magic and Pegasus flight, enforced so strictly by the Empress, simply didn't exist between these two.
In less than two minutes, a dozen elite guards lay unconscious or disarmed in the dirt.
The Pegasus landed softly beside the Unicorn, his chest heaving slightly as he wiped a trail of dust from his jaw. He surveyed the fallen patrol, then turned to Wang Ke and his parents, gesturing toward the hidden ravine deeper in the woods.
"Come on," the Pegasus said urgently, checking the sky through the broken branches. "Let's leave before they realize that these ponies were missing."