A Long Sleep

by SilverEyedWolf

Chapter 4. Into Town

Rarity had been correct when she’d told me that there would be a small panic once we hit town; slightly less correct when she said Twilight’s presence would smooth things over quickly.

As soon as the first pony, a pink earth pony with yellow hair, saw me, she ran screaming into town. Rarity rolled her eyes and sighed, muttering something about lilies. Twilight touched her shoulder to my leg, and I smiled faintly.

“Don’t worry too much about me, girls. Remember, I was a unicorn in earth pony territory. I’m used to ponies thinking I’m a monster.” The girls looked uncomfortable, but Spike nodded. The tale of his growth had been one of our road stories, and I knew he at least understood what it was like to be considered a villain.

“You’re not a monster, Mr. Qilin…” Fluttershy started, but she squeaked when I cut her short with a chuckle.

“I know, I know. I was saying, I’m used to it. And that’s not my name, you know.”

Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash. “Uhm, no, we didn’t,” Rainbow said. “You, uh, haven’t told us your name yet. We weren’t sure you had one, honestly.”

I cocked my eyebrow. “Of course I have a name, it’s… it’s…”

I frowned, thinking hard. I know I had a name, something singular… something to do with trees? Forestion? Faunus? I shook my head.

“Uhm, call me….”

Wracking my mind, I eventually shrugged. “Call me Kiirdotiid. Kiir for short, if you like.”

“Kiirdotiid, huh?” Twilight nodded, smiling wryly. “Child of time?”

“Might as well,” I said brightly, continuing the walk into town. The others nearly had to run to catch up with me, and the subject was successfully dropped, for the moment.

When we reached the edge of town, a large bell started tolling. Twilight screwed her face up, eyes closed, and counted to ten under her breath. When she finished, her eyes opened and she stared into town angrily.

“I told them to only use that bell in emergency,” she said between clenched teeth. “I’m going to have to take it away, aren’t I?”

Rarity nodded, a grimace painted across her face as the splitting bell tolled through the streets. “Or at least give it to one of us. I can put it in the top of my boutique.”

They chattered back and forth, making plans as we walked through town. Soon though, we walked towards what seemed to be a market, though all the stalls were currently lined up in front of the entrance.

“Halt, vile beast!” a voice called from behind the blockade, quivering. “We shall not allow you to raze our town and eat our foals!”

I lifted an eyebrow and called, “And how do you plan to stop me, foolish mortal!?”

The voice squeaked and started stuttering something about untold magics and a lake, and about various foes she’d truly, really defeated before.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Dizzy Twister! I thought better of you, than to try and scare a new resident!” A tan coated pony popped up from behind one of the stalls, staring with wide eyes at the Princess. “I know you’re very brave, but shouldn’t you ask questions first?”

“Twilight?” Dizzy asked, still stunned. After a minute or two, she turned and yelled, “All clear guys! It’s with Twilight!”

A line of ponies all poked their heads up from behind the stalls, and many windows pulled their shutters aside to peek. I turned slowly, waving to the ponies I could see behind the blockade. Slowly they walked out of their houses, and the stall owners all moved their shops back out of the way, turning the space into a market once again.

A small crowd gathered, oohing and awing as I greeted them, introducing myself and shaking hooves. Quickly tiring, Twilight verbally broke the crowd apart, annoyed and ready to go home.

“Actually dear, I think I’ll take my leave here,” Rarity said, looking towards a taller white and purple building. “I’m quite tired, and it’ll be nice to get a bath after all of that dirt.”

The other ponies agreed, and Twilight, Spike, Applejack and I split from the rest of the group, heading for Twilight’s library. I saw a large tree in the middle of the town, and assumed it to be someone’s personal undertaking; not many trees grew to that height by themselves, not in the middle of a city like this.

When I noticed we were heading straight for it, I wondered if it was one of Twilight’s projects. When we got closer, I stopped and craned my neck up, staring at the balcony and assorted windows in the trunk.

“This is a house,” I said, looking at its imposing height as Applejack made her goodbyes.

Most ponies, even the unicorns, would never have thought of using a tree for anything but a temporary residence, if that. This one was the size of a mansion, easily.

“Yeah, it’s a bit smaller than what I was used to in Canterlot, but it’s comfortable enough for Spike and I,” Twilight said, grinning and unlocking the door.

I walked inside and was surprised again when I noticed how smooth it was inside. I’d expected the inside to have been carved out, but instead it looked like someone had grown the tree into a building. Like they had used extensive magic to shape it.

Twilight closed the door and sighed happily, dumping her luggage on the floor and walking into another room while Spike started to pick up her bags thoughtlessly and put them away. Starting to pick them up, he seemed to notice how much heavier one was, and called for Twilight to come back.

“Where do you want me to put your collection?” he asked, hefting the heavier bag by its strap. “I think this is the one with the scrolls…”

“Oh my gosh, I forgot!” Twilight yelped and grabbed the bag in her magic, toting both it and the dragon over to a nearby table. “I need to catalog these right away! Spike, would you please…?” She trailed off, looking around for the dragon.

Pointing a claw at the bag Twilight was holding, I directed her attention to the assistant she was currently dangling. Frowning, she loosened his wrist and set him down.

“Tea?” he asked, and her face lightened as she nodded.

“Snacks?” Another nod, and he was off into the room Twilight was just in.

Popping his head back in, Spike frowned at me. “What do you eat?” he asked, and I cocked my head.

“Uhm, it used to be whatever I could get my hooves on, but I have a feeling that’s not quite the case anymore…” I thought about it on length, then shrugged. “Can I just try whatever there is here for you?”

Frowning slightly still, Spike disappeared into the kitchen for a minute or two. While he was working, I took off my saddlebag and set it off to the side of a chair. I then discovered that I couldn’t use said chair without my ears almost brushing the ceiling. Scooting it away, I sat on the floor instead, feeling slightly like a domesticated dog, but much more comfortable and actually near Twilight’s eye-line.

During this Twilight seemed to forget that I was even here, instead pulling out a small drawstring bag full of shrunken, silver scrolls. Concentrating, she separated one from the rest, then restored it to its full length of roughly seven hooves. Dropping it very carefully on the table, Twilight slowly looked over the scroll while summoning one of her own with a quill in tow.

She spun it slowly while she looked it over, quill annotating her observations as she spoke them out loud. After a few seconds Spike trotted over with a pot of hot water on a tray, with many other little pots covering it and two cups. Showing me how the strainer worked and what was in all the pots, he set Twilight’s tea to steeping and returned to the kitchen.

Working the tops and bottoms of the scroll, Twilight twisted one end off and slowly pulled some very yellow parchment out. Eyes widening, she gagged slightly and slid the roll back into its container. Taking a sip of her tea she made a face and dunked the silver basket a couple of times and sipped again. When I reached toward the scroll she made a face.

“That’s made of vellum,” she said distastefully. When she saw my blank face she shook her head. “It’s, uhm, very distasteful to say the least. Long lasting, but horrible.” Nodding, I slipped off the lid and tilted the scroll into my claw, careful to keep my new talons away. Twilight gagged slightly again and looked away as I slowly unrolled the scroll. It crinkled a little and cracked once, but mostly held together well.

Twilight couldn’t be kept away long, and she was soon gazing over my shoulder as I looked over the ancient runes spaced on the scroll, basically one large square block of ink. Confused, Twilight brought her face closer and traced over one of the runes with a hoof.

“Spike, think you can send one of these to Celestia?” she asked, hefting the silver container. Spike peeked in from the kitchen, then shook his head.

“Too heavy, and metals just don’t transfer very well. You’ll either have to ship it, or take it to her yourself.” Looking up at me, he said, “You should also tell her about Kiir here; she’d be interested in him too.”

Twilight looked up at me, then grinned.

“I know we just got here, but how do you feel…?”

I started shaking my head almost immediately. “Sorry Twilight, but as you said, I just got here, and everything is still so very new. I have no qualms with meeting your ruler, but I would much rather get some mental rest first.” I looked down, into her table. “But if she doesn’t want to wait… This may sound very conceited of me, but do you think she would make time to come here instead?”

Twilight’s eyes widened, then narrowed as she looked at some paper thing on her wall.

“Uhm, actually, I think she’s supposed to be visiting town tomorrow, something about officially looking over how I’m doing as the fourth ruler of Equestria… which means she’ll be sending me some of her less pressing paperwork, and visiting while she’s showing me how to do it.” She floated another piece of paper over and scribbled on it quickly, then rolled it and handed it to Spike.

“Go ahead and send that now, and we’ll see if she wants to come earlier.” He nodded, then blew out a small line of flame, incinerating it into a whirling line of ash that flew beneath the crack under the door and off into the sky.

“We shouldn’t be waiting for the reply too…” Twilight started before being interrupted by a scroll flaming itself out of Spike’s mouth. Catching it in her magic, Twilight quickly unrolled the scroll and looked at it, before flipping it and showing us the one word hastily scribbled upon it.

Coming.

Looking around it, I asked, “What did you tell her?”

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Luna caught the scroll that had been sent to Celestia, wondering who was writing to her currently napping sister. Opening the letter, she skimmed through it until a certain word caught her eye.

Slowly putting down the small cake she’d been snacking on, she carefully reread the letter.

Dear Princess,

I have wonderful news! Not only was the site the maps and stories spoke of there, it was in much better shape than I could have hoped for! Full of piles of gold and many wonderful trinkets, it is very surprising to me that no one has ever looked for it before. And not only that, but we found a pony in there! Technically a Qilin (this was the word to give Luna pause), but he’s still a very nice pony. He’s been asleep for almost five thousand years! I also found multiple scrolls that I just can’t read. I know your visit isn’t supposed to be until tomorrow, but if you want to meet this pony he’s here with me until we can get him a home.

Fondest regards, Twilight Sparkle.

Hastily scribbling a word upon a nearby scroll, Luna shook her sister until Celestia’s eyes opened, very confused.

“Awaken quickly sister,” Luna said, striding over to her sister’s closet as she sent the scroll. “Twilight Sparkle has found something…” She paused, thinking carefully. “Rather, she has found someone that requires our immediate attention.”

Opening the closet, she dug through the deepest shadows before she pulled out two traveling cloaks, ancient and patched, along with two scarves that matched. Looking at them, Celestia sat up as she met her sister’s eyes, confused.

“Why are you in my room? Luna, what are you doing with those, I haven’t seen them in hundreds of years… Are you eating my cake!?”

Casting one cloak around herself and tossing the other around Celestia, Luna grinned. “Sister, we haven’t had need of them for thousands of years. Celestia,” she whispered, “Twilight has found a Dovah Kiindah, a true Qilin!”

Without another word, Celestia jumped out of her bed, throwing her cloak over her head and taking the letter Luna shoved her way. Reading it over, she nodded before walking out of the room, Luna on her heel.

Author's Note:

Don't expect much more anytime soon. This is just what I had sitting around :P

Edit2023: Lololol Still don't expect much more soon. Going back through and editing has reminded me how fond I was of this story, but I've got priorities right now. Still, I'll throw some words at this when I have a chance. Also, Yoor was a stupid name for a kirin

Comments

[AlphaNexus]

Can't wait for when/if you to decide to continue this.

[SilverEyedWolf]

8205008 Oh hell dude, i had no idea there was still interest in this. After i finish my current project I'll definitely take another look over this one

[DarkKing2]

8205056
Come back to this story