//------------------------------// // Chapter 13. // Story: The Desert Prince // by Sparky Brony //------------------------------// I can feel the wind, blowing in my face. The sound of the air rushing past my ears. The sound, almost like a whine or shriek. No, not a whine, a siren, a horn, getting higher pitched. A horn, a horn of Jericho? Blinking I shake my head quickly and open my eyes widely, seeing the trees rushing up towards me. I try to spread my wings, but my right wing refuses to respond. With one wing I try to brake somewhat, trying to redirect myself from a hard dive into a shallow arc, but it’s too late. The impact fills the air with the sound of shattered branches. The landing is exactly as bad as I thought it would be. Stunning pain along my flank as I hit the first layer of branches give way bending and snapping under my weight and momentum. An instant later, another stripe along my withers feeling as if I’ve been whipped as I hit another. Spots of pain appear as I hit other branches before I crash to the ground. For a long time, I lay there. Nothing seems to be broken, though my wing, the one that was hit by that energy blast, is a mass of pain at the moment. The feathers are singed, and if I try to extend it, I have to gasp and pull it back close to my body. Yeah, it hurts. I look up, I took out at least one branch with my horn, it doesn’t seem broken. Assuming the void pushes the pain away, as though it’s happening to someone else. The light of magic tempts me, but I need to get to my hooves. Whomever, or whatever, sent that bolt of energy at me may look for me based on where I crashed. I need to get away from here. A glance around shows soft soil, thin grass and small bushes for cover. My hoofprints will be quite obvious to somepony deciding to follow me. I glance back at my wing, nuzzling the burned feathers. Guerina is going to have some strong words for me when it comes to wing care. But right now there’s nothing really to be done. I flare my nose and inhale. The stench of dead and rotting vegetation greets my nose, bad enough that I sneeze. I shake my head and sneeze a second time. That’s a horrible smell! “KI!” Come’s Guerina’s voice, getting me to turn as the griffon backwings heavily, holding Dawn by her barrel with her talons. “What the? How?” Dawn gets dropped to the ground and looks back up at the griffon, before shaking her head “Now I know how a sack of potatoes feels, but thanks.” She turns to me. “I took Irfran back to the City, we’ve been researching quite a bit. We found the Stymphalin birds.” Her horn lights and a tome floats from her saddle bags. She opens it and shows me a drawing of the bird. A good likeness of the birds that I had been following. “You pay for steerage; you don’t get inflight drinks or a bed.” Guerina says as she lands and folds her wings before fluffing her feathers. “Hold it, hold it. How did you find me?” That gets Dawn to blush and take a step back. “We got back to the town, and Nisran told me what happened. He showed me the droppings they’ve been working on cleaning up. He said that you were following the birds.” She rubs a foreleg with the other forehoof. “It was Ghaliya’s command.” I furrow my brow. “Her command?” Her face reddens even further. “After the other night where you overextended yourself, I was instructed to put a special spell on you. It allows me to know your physical condition, since you had overdid it so badly there. She was worried about you. But it…” She stops for a moment, her ears flicking back and forth. “also has a bit of a tracking function; lets me know where you are.” I find my eyebrows rising. Though I don’t say anything. Dawn takes another step back, but as she opens her mouth to say more, I speak. “It’s okay, Dawn. You didn’t have to search to find me. It’s a good thing.” I walk over and hug her tightly. “It’s good to know you’ve got my back.” I say softly into her mane. “I think I’m gonna puke,” Guerina says, a claw over her beak as she retches a bit. “I know you ponies tend to be cutsy wootsy, but you two. You are just pure sugar frosting. I might have to go on a diet!” Dawn directs a glower at the griffon. “I’m here to support Ki, that’s it.” She pulls away from me, standing firm in front of Guerina. Guerina rolls her eyes. "You know, Ki, I think it might be cheaper to just make Dawn part of a herd or something, You ponies do that right? Form herds?" "And abandon Lady Ghaliya!" Dawn says, her blush reaching her ears. I look down at the unicorn. While her face is red, her ears are flattened to the sides and her tail is tucked tightly against her rear. I’ve learned some of what the horse’s body language is. She’s not mad, she’s embarrassed. My eyebrows rise. Guerina noticed. “So, you are saying you don’t have feelings for Ki? He can buy you if he wants; you were his to begin with” She says with a laugh in her voice. “No!” “You look like you want to put on a boil every time you see him.” Dawn flinches and backs away. I reach over and bring her into a hug. “Thank you, Dawn.” I murmur softly into her ear. She reflexively hugs me tightly before pulling away. She shake her head hard before lighting her horn and bringing up the book she had dropped. She shakes it a bit to knock off some dirt before flipping through the pages. She clears her throat. “I know you can’t read all of this yet, so I’ll let you know what’s here. Stymphalian Birds. You’ve seen the drawing of them. Hold on a moment.” She looks back at Guerina then at me. “This says they are mythical.” “I’d say the book’s information is out of date.” She clears her throat, looking at the book. “Well, we know they are real, now, but here’s what the entry has for them. They feed and thrive on death and decay. Their droppings poison the land so they can return to feed on the death later on. They are dangerous creatures. They will defend their nests vigorously.” She lowers the book. “The best bet is to kill them, or at least enough of them to drive off the rest of the flock.” She looks back down at her book. “These are nasty creatures. Though I really haven’t taught you really lethal spells.” “I don’t want them.” “Ki, I know you are loathe to take a life…” I stomp a hoof. “No, I will not kill.” She huff, “You may not be given the choice, Ki.” “You don’t understand!” I shake my head. “I could kill, in fact…in a way…I know they should be killed, but…” “But what?” Dawn asks, reaching up a hoof to touch me. “Why are you so adamant about it?” I sit down and sigh. “I…” I feel my ears flicking. “I’m scared to. Back in the castle, there was a voice in my head, urging me to kill, to protect myself and kill. But it felt wrong, it felt dark. I can’t remember my past, but I think there might be a darkness in me. And I’m scared that if I start to kill, it will take me down a path I won’t be able to return from.” Dawn’s ears are flattened to the sides. “I’m sorry Ki…” The ever present itching in my horn has intensified. By the look on her face, Dawn feels it too. We both turn and my horn flashes to life as I wrap a shield around us. Two of those birds are diving at us. Their scream as they attack sends chills all the way down my spine. One, then a second of those energy balls smacks into my shield. I can feel the impact in my horn, but it’s not all that bad. I can keep them at bay for as long as I wish with this. I inform Dawn of that fact. “Ki, I don’t think that’s the case!” She points up, and my face falls. A good dozen of the creatures are following the first two, they are also spitting those energy attacks at my shield. I cringe as they hit, then a second volley arrives only moments later, driving me to my knees. Dawn glances over at Guerina then back at me. “RUN!!” She screams. After a third massive volley has finished impacting, I release the shield as Dawn and Guerina gallop off. I follow them, keeping a smaller shield up to cover us from the rear as we retreat. Only moments has the griffon in the air. She whirls around, a snarl on her face as she levels her musket behind us. A crashing boom and a cloud of smoke that reeks of ashes and urine announcess her firing before she whirls back and flies next to us. Dawn streaks along the ground, jinking from side to side rapidly, I’m hard pressed to keep up with her, she’s so damned fast! I try to extend my wings to take to the air, and have to gasp. The surge of pain is almost enough to overwhelm the void, push me out of my magic. I grimace as we continue galloping through the underbrush. I simply follow Dawn as we run. “Ki, we need to get away from them!” “I know!” Dawn skids to a stop, her magic reaching out and snagging Guerina, who squawks loudly being brought closer to us. As the griffon is brought close, Dawn surges magic and we teleport. After being felt as though I’ve been dragged through the eye of a needle backwards, I blink and look around. We are back at the village. I’m breathing heavily, trying to adjust to the fact we’ve just been in a fight for our lives, and now we are safe. Nisran walks up. “Oh, great Prince. You are back!” He stops, looking at the party. Guerina is reloading her musket while Dawn pants a bit. “What happened?” I shake my body. “They are defending their nest. And they are pretty effective at it.” Dawn floats her book over to the magical horse, who’s magic takes it up, flipping it to the correct page. He adjusts his glasses as he reads. “Okay. I was a bit off when it came to them. They don’t feed and poison the land. They poison the land intentionally to feed off the death and decay.” He snorts softly. “We need to kill them.” “No!” I growl. He looks up, then ducks his head down. “As you wish, my Prince. But if this humble horse may ask. If we don’t kill them, what are we to do? We cannot grow our own food with them fouling the land as they are. Then hundreds of horses will die. It becomes a matter of numbers, Prince. Many hundreds of your subjects. Or a flock of dangerous birds that will go on and kill more horses and perhaps fellow ponies. I would think the answer would be clear.” I snort. “No, killing is never the answer, Nisran. I won’t kill.” “What if it’s your life, or one you love, against one who would kill them?” This comes from Dawn, looking at me intently. I let a shudder run through my body. “I hope to never get into that sort of situation. If I do, I’ll do everything I can to prevent those I love being killed.” I huff. “But that doesn’t give me the desire to kill.” “Sometimes killing is necessary, Ki.” Guerina says as she slides her musket back into its sheath. “You should invest the time and energy in learning how do to it.” At my sharp look she spreads her wings, making herself look bigger. “I’m not saying to practice so you can do it. But when you are forced to, when you must, you can do it quickly and with the most mercy you can muster. I have a far lower threshold than you or most ponies when it comes to killing. But that is likely the predator in me. But I would never leave a prey in agony, dying slowly. No, if you must, make it swift and efficient.” I take a step back. “Your words…” I glance from her to Dawn and back. “Do have merit. But…” “There is no but’s, Ki. Guerina is right. I am nearly as reluctant to kill as you are. But there are times where it’s necessary. Never to be relished in, always to be mourned, but when it becomes necessary. You do it. Without hesitation.” I lower my head. “Maybe another time. But I don’t see that as being necessary for these birds. They are animals, they aren’t intelligent like we are.” “A pack of wolves is not as intelligent as we are, but they represent a danger to our foals, they represent a danger to our friends, and our livestock. We drive them off, kill them if necessary.” Nisran says, before ducking his head. “My prince, I’m sure you know this already.” I nod. “I agree with driving them off.” “Only to continue their destruction elsewhere.” “They are only doing what is in their nature. They are not inherently evil.” I snarl at the griffon. She remains unruffled to my temper. She sighs softly, bring a claw to press right above her beak, like she’s trying to ward off a headache. “Ki, your desire is admirable, but there is more here than one village, this is a threat to the entire region. Let’s say they head to the City. Do you think the Padishah’s mages will leave them alive?” I narrow my eyes. “No.” “And they would be protecting tens of thousands of horses in ending that threat. You can end that threat here.” Dawn interjects. She takes a step closer. “Ki, I agree with killing them being the last resort. You, me and…” She glances at the griffon. “Guerina shall return. We know where they are. We can get close and build some defenses. Perhaps find out how they operate, how they think, maybe either drive them into the southern wilds, or find some other way to end their threat.” She looks in the direction of the bird’s nest. “They are magical creatures. They are death, and corruption. It is what they need to survive. Killing some of them will just make the rest stronger. They will leave swaths of land uninhabitable for decades, maybe centuries.” That gets a snort from me. “Everything in this world is a magical creature. Ponies, horses, dragons, griffons, minotaurs. Everything has their own magic!” Dawn looks at me, her eyes wide. “But we are more than mere creatures, Ki.” I look back at my wing. “I know. But we need to end this threat. We can teleport in, get close, find out more information.” I try to extend my wing, only to hiss in pain before bringing it close. “Oh, Ki!” Dawn cries out. She gets close, “I knew you were hurt, but that looks bad!” Her horn lights, and I can see the threads of magic she’s using. She delves my body quickly, before focusing on my wing. “Oh thank Celestia, nothing is broken.” She grimaces. “I can relieve the burns. Hold on.” As she finishes speaking, she surges her magic. My eyes widen, cooling energy bathes over my wing, and before my eyes a few feathers grow out. She steps away, panting a bit before smiling at me. “See!” I flex the wing. “I thought you weren’t very good at healing.” I do a single wing flap, nearly ended up on my side for my trouble, then I fold it gingerly at my side. She smirks at me. “I didn’t use healing one little bit. I bolstered your natural healing factor. You have the aspects of a pegasus, Ki. All I did was allow your natural healing abilities to be accelerated a bit.” She looks at me. “Little hungry, now, Ki?” My stomach gurgles in response. I grimace, but I turn from her, lighting my horn. “No more delays, Dawn. We need to take care of these birds right now.” She steps up next to me, her own horn lighting. Guerina draws her musket again before nodding firmly. With a flash, we are back where the birds attacked us. Dawn looks over at me, “Remember the masking spell I showed you?” I nod and my horn glows for the briefest of instants as I mask my abilities, the magical presence anypony with magic could feel is hidden. Dawn’s horn doesn’t even flash, but I can’t feel her presence magically anymore. Though with the mask, I can’t do most magic, there are limits to it. We quickly dash away from where we teleported in. Guerina leads us to some cover, a tree that had fallen over. Dawn shushes Guernia and I as the harsh cries from the birds become apparent. They must have some sort of magical sense. They had to have felt us teleporting in. Two birds land in the small clearing. This allows me to get my first real look at these creatures. Larger than a pony, nearly horse sized, actually. Two feathered wings on each side of their long bodies, one set is folded up like mine, they are using the other set like a set of forelegs, the wrist joint has some sort of claw, which the weight rests on. Their beaks seem to be metallic, it glints in the sun filtering down through the diseased canopy. Though it’s the eyes that get me, bright red and overlarge to my eyes. Their harsh cries as they search for us chills my soul. These are not evil, but they are wrong to my feeling. They feed on death, they feed on decay. Dawn shifts a bit, I put my hoof on her withers, feeling her body tense up. She relaxes a bit at my touch. After several minutes, the birds take wing, heading back towards the nest. We remain quiet as the birds cries diminish. Dawn smiles at me as we emerge from our hiding place. “They felt us return, that tells us a lot.” She murmurs softly. I nod. I lead us towards where their nest is. It’s easy to find, as we move through the undergrowth, the trees, the branches of the bushes on the ground are dying, or dead. Dead leaves cover the forest floor, which is nice for being quiet, but we have to watch carefully, dead branches litter the ground as well, dried out and would snap with any real pressure on them. Nearly an hour of careful threading through the undergrowth has their nest in sight. Working together, Dawn and I use telekinesis to bring fallen branches and leaves closer. Quietly we build a bit of a blind, so we can see them while limiting their ability to see us. After the blind is built, we watch. And for a long time, it’s quite fascinating to watch. It must be some kind of nesting cycle for them, some are obviously caring for eggs. One of the birds stands up, using that vicious looking beak to turn over the eggs, which gleam in the sunlight. I look back at Dawn. “They have eggs. What can we do?” She shrugs. “Them breeding is not a good thing, Ki. More of them means more destruction in the future.” Guerina shifts a bit. “Do you know how griffon females are with eggs in the nest? We can be quite ferocious when we are protecting our young. Even our daintiest will charge nude and unarmed into a brigade of musketeers. It might be good to wait, possibly weeks or months until the babies are old enough to leave the nest.” I cut her off with a sharp movement of my hoof. “No. The farms need to start growing food. They cannot handle a long delay. Horses will starve.” “Then how…” Dawn says before her ears drop. “Ki…look!” I look in the direction the blue unicorn is watching. Some…thing is creeping slowly towards the nest. The birds don’t seem to be aware of it. It’s got three heads! A tiger’s head on one side, a goat’s head on the other, and a snake coming out where the tail would be on most other creatures. “What the…?” I murmur softly. “A chimera.” Dawn breathes softly. “There are a few in the fire forest in Equestria. I didn’t know they were here too.” Guerina sniffs. “They are all over, if you know where to look.” She looks at me. “They are intelligent, Ki. They can talk like a pony or a griffon.” She tightens her grip on her musket. She checks the serpentine and realizes it’s still down and therefore the gun is empty. She takes several seconds to reload it before putting it on half cock with a closed frizzen for safety. “One shot, but with a little bit extra powder to obscure our retreat, assuming I don’t blow up the gun – you owe me if that happens; I wouldn’t trust just anypony with this sort of risk. These birds are also quite dangerous. They will kill ponies or griffs if they can. They are opportunistic predators.” Dawn shudders. “The birds don’t seem to see it. Can we warn them?” I shake my head. The front half of the chimera is that of a tiger, with a goat’s rear half, the crazy body seems to be having no trouble climbing the tree, heading up towards the nests. Both the goat’s head and the tiger’s head are intent on the nests above it. The snake head is wavering around, keeping watch. I moan softly as one of the nesting birds takes wing. Apparently it’s going to feed, and likely won’t be gone for long. But it seems to be too long for the eggs, though. The chimera leaps into the nest, I flinch back, watching the creature feed. After a few moments, though, one of the birds spies the creature where it’s not supposed to be. With a loud screech, the bird flings a ball of energy at the chimera. The snake head called out a warning and it leaps from the nest as the blast lands. The first bird’s calls are echoed by the others as every one not actively nesting, along with a few that are, take to the air after the chimera. The power the birds are flinging about causes my horn to itch as the chimera scrambles away. Though the goat head and the tiger head seem to be arguing as it flees through the underbrush. The snake head snaps at the goat head, apparently getting its attention on the incoming blasts coming at it. The chimera slinks back and forth, adroitly avoiding the fury of the birds. Dawn turns towards me. “Well, we know how actively they are protecting their nests. I know you don’t want to kill, but how do we handle them, Ki?” I extend my senses as far as I can, feeling the death and decay around us. I can feel the birds fury fading in the distance as they lose the chimera in the growth. They’ll be back in their nests before too long. I nod. “I have an idea.” I look back at the other two and start explaining. Dawn frowns at first, but her frown doesn’t go away. As I finally wind down. “Ki, I don’t like it.” I find myself shrugging my wings. “It’s some magic that I do know how to handle. It’s the opposite of what they feed on. It’ll work.” Guerina reaches a claw forward, “Ki…this is a bad idea. You could hurt yourself. I only have one shot to bail you out I pour” I watch as more of the birds return. It’s now or never. They are still agitated, but almost all of them are present. “I know. But I’d rather risk myself than the horses back at the village.” I look down at her other claw. “Please, put that away.” She shakes her head firmly, hefting her musket. “I’ve been paid by Ghaliya to ensure your safety. If you think I’m giving up on that pay, you’ve got another thing coming.” I roll my eyes before settling my gaze on Dawn. “You stay here.” That gets a snort from the unicorn. “Sorry, Ki. But I belong, legally, to Ghaliya. Until you marry her, I don’t belong to you, and her word supercedes yours. I’m going to protect you as best as I can.” That gets a sigh from me. With all the horses bowing and scraping, and leaping to fulfill my every whim, these two, my closest friends, won’t listen to a damned word I say. “Fine.” I growl. It only takes an instant to dissipate the ward keeping my magical presence hidden and collapsing the blind from before us. A solid thirty heads turn our way, apparently in shock at how close we are. I can feel Dawn draw on her magic, she’s ready to defend me. But I draw on my own magic deeply first. I spread my wings wide, lighting my horn brightly. “I’m about life, not just saving lives, but bringing life to the world.” My voice echoes oddly as I draw on the life force around me. It feels greasy, like the pure life is covered by a skim of death, of foulness. My stomach roils as I take to the air. “I am the light.” I can feel my cutie mark warming. This is what Dawn has meant about tapping into your talent. “I stand against darkness, I stand against death.” My eyes flash brightly as I bring my wings in front of me, drawing deeply on the magic and ignoring the queasiness of the death around me. I pull hard on the life force, the dead and dying vegetation suddenly growing again, becoming green and lush as the energy spreads out as I spread my wings out in the direction of the birds. They squawk in alarm as the energy slams into them, they are life. While they feed on death and decay, they are vibrantly, gloriously alive. I can work with that! As my energy suffuses through them, I feel the draw, their need for the death and decay. They aren’t evil, they are corrupted! Someone, or something has changed their nature. Well, it’s time for me to change them back! Over thirty points of light that I can feel before me. Points of light, points of life. I’m not going to kill them. I frown as the points of life are closed off, I can feel them gathering their own energies. The filth I’m fighting through to pull on the life around me thickens. “Ki, watch out!” Dawn’s voice penetrates, getting me to focus. The birds are fighting back, instead of bright balls of blue energy, black lightning is reaching towards me. I don’t have any to spare, but a shield springs to life before me, the same color as the aura enfolding the horn of the unicorn standing below me. Dawn is pushed to her knees by the attack, the shield thinning as the birds pour what they can into their attack. “No,” I growl, reaching out with my magic. “You will not corrupt anything further!” I can feel them trying to withdraw, the power is overwhelming them. They squawk and call out as my magic suffuses through them, changing them. Suddenly, it’s over. I hold my wings out straight to the sides, letting myself glide back down to the ground, I land on very unsteady legs. I look up at the birds. They still have the same basic shapes, but where they had dull metallic beaks, their beaks look like pure gold. Their harsh cries are now musical, and very pleasant. Instead of faded, dark feathers, they are vibrant, beautiful. The eggs in the nest are now pure golden color and quite beautiful. I can feel their energy now, it’s oriented towards life. They will cause death and destruction no more. I shake my head, I can feel wetness on my muzzle, and I bring up a hoof to wipe it away. It comes away red. “Oh, dear.” I murmur softly. “Oh, Ki. Not again, Ghaliya will have me whipped!” Dawn yells as my body crashes down, all thoughts leave my head as it lands on the ground. “I think a nap might be in order,” I murmur softly as the darkness closes around me. *** The sconces, with their metal torches flared into life as the doors opened illuminating the L shaped chamber. Large cabinets and worktables lined the walls. Cupboards, once filled with scrolls now only contained dust, even the hardiest of vellum having succumb to the ravages of time. Bottles and urns filled with long forgotten reagents were scattered almost haphazardly around the tables. “What a disaster,” Enyo said with a snarl. Inhaling deeply Bellona let out a long gout of fire into a stone hearth, a large black bar, set into the stonework begins to glow at first before melting into a bright white liquid providing more light and warmth to the room. Turning she looks at her brother, “This once proud lab, do you realize how long it will take to replace all of my treasures here.” With a huff Enyo went to work cleaning. “Treasures? I never understood your fascination with these toys. We are dragons, power incarnate.” Clearing the contents of one table into a large metal cask Bellona shook her head, “Yes, but sometimes, raw power is not needed. As our master says, sometimes, patience will win out over force.” “Patience? I prefer just burning our foes and eating what’s left,” Enyo said with a proud roar before breathing a blast of fire into the cask, vaporizing the garbage. Picking up a large cauldron from its stand Bellona sets it by the Hearth, “Oh that is fun as well, but said fun only lasts for so long. You think only in the present.” “Oh, and you study the past and future? Hah!” Enyo laughs as he begins to clean out the cupboards. The room’s quiet is filled with a screech of fury as a dark green magical aura coalesces above a metal box. The energy taking the form of a misty skull and dragon wings before the box opens absorbing the magic. “What? Was that?” Enyo said rubbing his ears. Blinking, Bellona tilts her head, “A plaything I had left, I had almost forgotten about those. It seems someone has defeated my pets.” “Your pets? You don’t mean?” Enyo looks at the box then shakes his head, “Hey, you said you made those for me!” *** I come to, my stomach feeling as though I haven’t eaten in years. I’m lying comfortably, though I can hear the chime of magic. I look down, I’m on some sort of stretcher, floating in Dawn’s magic. “We are almost back to the town, Ki,” Dawn says softly, she must have noticed me stirring. “I can walk.” “Oh, no, Ki. Let me get you where we can get you taken care of.” I look around, Guerina is walking next to the unicorn. “Why didn’t you teleport us back?” “You aren’t the only one who’s tired. Right now, I wouldn’t trust myself to teleport solo, much less with passengers. Look around, we are within sight of the town now. You were knocked out for a few hours.” I look down, apparently she had transmuted a few branches to make this little platform for me to lay on. It’s definitely a lot less intimate than simply picking me up and carrying me. I look over at the griffon. “You missed one, Ki.” Guerina says. I frown. “What?” She shrugs her wings. “It attacked as we were getting you arranged to get you back.” “What did you do?” Her smile and Dawn’s ears flicking back tell me all I need to know. I smell the acid ashes on them still. I've never thought of it before, but I realize there is a definite stench that carries on those who do violence. I find myself sighing, “I’m sorry.” “Don’t be,” Guerina says suddenly. “You took care of almost all of them, I had to kill one. Their eggs will hatch, and they will move on. And they won’t be killing others to feed off the death and decay anymore. It’s a win.” I lie my head back down on my floating platform, but after a few moments, I find that I can’t rest, I want to be up, moving. I look down at Dawn. “Let me down. Please.” I only get a flick of her ears. “Dawn, please. I want to be under my own power.” She glances up at me. “Ki, just rest.” That gets a growl from me. “If you don’t let me down, I’ll just fly.” As I start struggling to my hooves, she stops, looking at me gaining my hooves. I unfurl my wings, ignoring the exhaustion my body is feeling. I leap into the air, only to crash face first onto the ground. I roll and get slowly back to my hooves, spitting out dirt. Guerina chuckles, “Dirt doesn’t taste too good, does it?” I give her a dirty look as I move to walk with Dawn, her horn quiets as she lets the platform settle to the ground. Our return seems to cause some commotion. Nisran appears and runs towards us at a gallop. Only a few minutes has him before us. Dawn and I fill him in on the events in the forest. His eyes widen at the conversion of the birds. He moves to walk with us as we approach the town. A shout gets our attention, another horse is galloping towards us. Nisran leans close. “That’s Naziah’s husband.” His ears flick. “Something is wrong.” He shouts as the horse gets closer to us. Instead of checking his speed, he lowers his head and barrels into me. We roll a couple of times and end up with him pinning me down with his forehooves as he snarls into my face, “How dare you defile my wife!”