//------------------------------// // Chapter 28: Fanfare of the Flying Carpet // Story: One Thousand Years Ago // by Scroll //------------------------------// “Huh. You're pretty good at this,” Sunset admires as she surveys the chessboard. For that comment, her opponent across the board, Cozy Glow, beams at Sunset smugly. “But,” Sunset goes on, “I have to say you aren't nearly as good as your human counterpart at this game.”     Now Cozy frowns, then she asks in an irritated voice, “Why do you say that?”     Before Sunset answers, she licks her lips as she carefully studies the board. She made a decision, but she's taking one last moment to study the board in order to ascertain if the move she is considering is the best one for the moment. Cozy can see Sunset doing some quick mental calculations before nodding then igniting her horn in order to float one of her chess pieces into another move.     “I know because I've been inside Cozy's head for a while,” Sunset finally answers, then looks up at her opponent. “Ah . . . what I mean is, I've been inside the head of your human counterpart. Not to say that I haven't been inside your head too, notably with permission of course, but there was a time I quasi-lived inside your human self's head. This experience taught me for a fact that she viewed everything else around her in statistics, odds, and symbolic chess moves. She was also a national champion of the game for three years straight. To get that title even once is a legendary feat because there sure is a lot of really good players in the other world. This is compounded by the fact that the population of that world is much higher. As a result, one percent of the population over there counts for much more compared to here.”     Cozy finds it strange that this news about her counterpart's superiority in this game both irks her and flatters her at the same time. Oddly enough, it also made her want to challenge her counterpart with this game directly. According to Sunset, her alternate self would surely beat her. Would that be exciting, or frustrating?     Maybe both.     “Well, I guess she and I had different priories and opportunities,” Cozy figures with a shrug. “She worked to perfect her chess matches while I was busy plotting to take over the world.” Cozy grins evilly at Sunset. “Priorities . . . am I right?”     Sunset narrows her eyes at Cozy slightly as she admits, “Well, I suppose you do have more experience in matters like that, but your counterpart had similar goals of her own. She wanted to be our country's first female present. After that, she had planned to use that authority to secure an even higher one.”     “Are you actually trying to upset me?” Cozy asks in annoyance. “Maybe that is your devious strategy for this game.     “Well, I'm not going to fall for it!”     As if to prove her point, Cozy scrunches her face so hard that she closes her eyes as she concentrates. During that time, her tongue hangs out of her mouth. She uses her magic geode to levitate one of her own chess pieces into a new move. When she's done, she gasps rapidly for breath as she opens her eyes. Sunset sees Cozy's face flush a deeper crimson for a moment before return to its normal salmon pink.     Sunset giggles and shakes her head.     “What?” Cozy asks defensively.     “Nothing!” Sunset says with a wide grin of amusement.     “Tell me!” Cozy insists with narrowing eyes and a slight growl.     “Well . . . I just find you so adorable when you hang your tongue out of your mouth like that as you concentrate. You remind me of a cute little puppy,” Sunset merrily explains.     “Oh!” Cozy looks surprised, then embarrassed. “I, ah . . . I didn't know that.”     Sunset waves a hoof at Cozy as she says, “It's fine. A lot of us unicorns used to do something like that when we first started practicing magic.     “Speaking of which, you're getting better, I see. Good for you.”     Placing her elbows on the table, Cozy sank her head into her hooves as she looks down at the game board with a pouting expression before she announces, “Well, if you say so, but personally I find this pathetic.”     Sunset floats another of her chess pieces forward before looking back up at Cozy and asking, “Why do you say that?”     Cozy takes a quick scan of the board, nods to herself, then scrunches her face again as her face flushes red again. As a result, one of her chess pieces struggles to float forward. In fact, it barely lifts off the board at all. Instead, it is more dragged into the new position.     When done, Cozy gasps again. She breathes hard for ten seconds before finally calming down.     “Careful, Honey,” Sunset cautions. “You're going to pass out if you keep doing that.     “Look, I know concentrating on spells is very hard in the beginning, but you are allowed to breathe while you do it.     “Just watch.” She takes a deep intake of breath as she floats all the chess pieces an inch above the board for a moment, then she settles them back onto the board as she slowly expels her breath. Following that, she asks, “See? Nothing to it.”     “That's because you had more practice,” Cozy points out.     “Right,” Sunset agrees. “Which is exactly what you should be doing. Practice breathing while you are focus on your spells. It will improve your magic in the long run.     “Ideally, you need to practice it enough so that you start using it more casually. In a way, it's kind of like practicing with a new limb. While you do so, your brain is creating new pathways dedicated to that task. As you practice, more and more pathways are devoted to that task. Eventually it becomes second nature.     “Anyway, elaborate on why you think your current efforts are pathetic. Does it have anything to do with that time you were briefly an alicorn?”     “Ah,” Cozy looks at Sunset in surprise, then confirms, “Yes. Back then, I had enough power to blast through a wall. Combined with Chrysalis and Tirek, we were able to annihilate a third of this entire castle.”     Sunset frowns as she says, “I suppose I can't relate to that experience.” Her horn ignites. During that time, one of her chess pieces gets enveloped by the same color. Before she does anything with it, however, the aura subsides as she looks up while thinking back.     “Actually, I take that back.” Her look returns to Cozy. “I have experienced moments like that. The first time was in the other world while I wore Princess Twilight's magic crown. During that time, I was transformed into a magic she-demon. When that happened, I had enough power to rip a chunk off the front of our school building then toss it aside. After that, I cast a mind-control spell that I never cast before.     “The thing is, at the time, I didn't even question it. It's as if I've done it before so many times, or at least that's what it felt like.”     Sunset collects her hooves in front of her lips as she ponders this, then says, “Moments like this seem to be a temporary ascendancy of consciousness. I actually have experienced it several times since that moment, but I was channeling light magic during those later times. Like that time my friends willingly channeled energy into me and I became a magic seraph. I used that moment to guide human Twilight back into the light.     “I had plenty of moments like that later on to a lesser extent. Rainbow fondly likes to call it, 'Pony Up' since we kind of magically transform into a different state. During those moments we glow, our clothes transform, we get cute little pony ears, and-”     “You don't have to explain it,” Cozy informs. “I have some of my counterpart's memories of moments like that, including a few video recordings that she watched.”     Sunset lowers her hooves back to the table as she shrugs while saying, “My point is, magic seems to have the capacity to cause us to ascend into some kind of super form during moments of crisis. Whether it is a dark transformation or light depends on the heart of the person when they use it. During that time, they gain access to abilities that are otherwise inaccessible. While that happens, we gain instinctual knowledge on how to use those powers.”     “You think that's what happened to me when I transformed into an alicorn?” Cozy wonders as her eyes shine with curiosity.     “I'm thinking that your specific form was incidental,” Sunset guesses. “You could have transformed into a zebra if that was what was in your heart back then, but instead the magic gave you the form that you really wanted. In this case, it was apparently an alicorn. My guess is you saw that form as the pinnacle of pony perfection, so the magic granted you your heart's desire.”     Cozy's eyes shifts to her side as she says, “I suppose you're right. After all, Chrysalis and Tirek looked different too while they were augmented, but they didn't become an alicorn like me.” Cozy looks back at Sunset. “They were augmented by the same magic that once empowered me, but it had different visual effects on them. At the time I thought it was because they were members of a different race, but now I'm starting to wonder if you are correct.”     Cozy sits up straight as she adds, “Plus, there was this other time when I temporarily absorbed Discord's magic. The transformation I received then caused me to become something like a chaos goddess. My form practically filled the whole room.”     Sunset nods in understanding as she says, “The form you took was indicative of your mental state back then. Your ego must have inflated along with the magic you gained. Your form reflected that fact.”     Cozy shakes her head as she says, “But I couldn't control that power. Every time I tried, it did random things.     “But oddly enough, Pinkie seemed to have no trouble with it when she briefly got a hold of those same powers.”     Sunset shudders, then says, “Ooo! Now there is a scary thought. I've seen into Pinkie Pie's mind at one time. If she ever got a hold of reality-bending powers like Discord, then I'm surprised she didn't turn you all into candy or some equivalent.”     “Ah,” Cozy thinks back. “I vaguely recall something along the lines of many pastries floating in the background.”     Sunset nods as she says, “That figures.”     After saying that, Sunset makes another move in the game.     Cozy tilts her head curiously at Sunset as she asks, “When you said that all unicorns struggle with magic at first, is that what happened to you?”     “Of course,” Sunset confirms casually.     Cozy smirks in amusement as her eyes shift to the side while thinking aloud, “I wish I could have seen your face back then. If I did, it would be my turn to make fun of you.”     “It's a natural process for us all, Cozy. Mockery is not needed. I'm sorry if you felt that way about my mirth earlier. I just think you look cute when you concentrate like that.     “Speaking of which, the next time you concentrate, I want you to-”     Sunset is cut off when they both hear the sound of a horn blare outside. They simultaneously look to a window on the wall, then glance at each other, then got up to look outside the window.     “What was that?” Sunset wonders aloud.     They hear the horn again. A moment later, it sounds like a lot of ponies are cheering in response.     “It sounds like it isn't coming from the castle,” Cozy observes. “Rather . . . it somewhere in the air . . . but I can't see the source.”     In futility, they look through the window as far as they can, but what they seek simply isn't in view from this perspective.     Not yet, at any rate.     “Come on. I got a better idea,” Cozy invites as she heads for the exit of her room. “My room has a hallway linked to my mother's room. Between that is a common area, and between that is a balcony. We should be able to get a better view from there.”     “Good idea,” Sunset agrees as she proceeds after Cozy.     Cozy is the first to race outside. Once she reaches the edge of the porch, she searches around for the source of the noise. She discovers that it isn't hard to track down when the source is leaving a trail of party confetti that leads up to a large zeppelin that is coming down for a landing on the side of Canterlot.     “Any clues?” Sunset inquires as she moves out to join beside Cozy.     “Oh, you could say that,” Cozy replies as she elbow on the rail then sinks her head on top of her right hoof. She stares up at the airship with her right eye narrow and wearing a smirk of amusement. “Whelp . . . looks like our ride is here.”     “You're probably right,” Sunset agrees as she looks up at the airship. “I doubt that airship would be displaying all this fanfare if it was only here to dump off cargo.”     Sunset gives the ship a discerning look, then she grows confused as she asks, “Wait a minute. Is that a passenger ship, or a cargo ship?”     Cozy shrugs as she says, “Beats me. I'm not an expert with airships.”     “That is the Flying Carpet,” Princess Twilight announces as she moves to join them both. Her mane regally waves and sparkles off to her side as she gazes up at the airship. “The Prince of Saddle Arabia owns the ship, but it is commanded by Captain Tidus Williker.”     “Is that someone I'm supposed to know?” Sunset checks.     Twilight shakes her head as she says, “I doubt it. You've been too busy in the other world, after all. Here, however, Captain Tidus has gathered some reputation as a reputable sea ship captain of the Royal Navy of Mount Aris.”     “Mount Aris? Isn't that the homeland of the hippogriffs?” Sunset checks again.     Twilight looks at her friend as she nods calmly.     “I take it you were expecting them?” Cozy figures as she continues to regard the airship coyly.     “Indeed,” Twilight confirms. “I've been sent a letter informing me to expect them soon. I relayed this information to Professor Stygian to let him know that his ride would soon arrive.” Twilight looks down at her daughter, of whom she towers over. “This, of course, means you will need to pack soon too, my darling Cozy.”     “You said the Prince of Saddle Arabia owns the ship,” Sunset reminds. “Is he coming to?”     Once again, Twilight simply nods to Sunset.     “Wait! He's also coming?” Cozy asks as she looks over her shoulder at her mother. “Who is in charge of the ship, then? Who has primary authority?”     “Well,” Twilight pauses in thought as she looks cornerwise up, then looks down at her daughter as she explains, “Prince Salizar is the one who owns the ship itself and he's the one who hired its crew.”     “I see.” Cozy looks back at the airship. “So the Prince is the one primarily in charge.”     “Basically, yes, except for one thing,” Twilight informs which wins back Cozy's attention. “The Prince tells the Captain where he wants to go. From there, it is the Captain's job to manage the crew himself. Salizar may be a prince and a merchant, but he is not a sailor. He leaves the duties of running the ship to those he hired specifically for that job.”     “Noted,” Cozy confirms. “The Prince is the head honcho, but it's mostly hooves off for him when it comes to running the ship itself.”     “Why would the prince of an entire nation wish to join us on our expedition?” Sunset wonders aloud.     “According to the letter he sent, the prince is hoping to open up new trade negotiations,” Twilight answers. “You are all about to go to lands previously unknown to Equestria. During your journey, you may encounter unexplored civilizations that may have an abundance of goods that we don't have in our lands and vice versa.”     “I see,” Sunset realizes with an impressed tone. “That's smart of him, and awfully brave, too. He's a prince. Surely it is within his means to send an envoy on his behalf, but he's joining this journey personally?”     “I can't answer that one for sure, but I can give you a theory based on what I heard of his reputation,” says Twilight. “Based on what I have gathered, I can think of two reasons.     “Number one; he is a great negotiator. He is trained by some of the best merchant lords, and they are quite impressed with him.     “Number two; I heard that the prince is a thrill seeker and an adventurer. He is certainly no lazy monarch. Prince Salizar likes to commit to various tasks personally.     “Saddle Arabia has a tradition when it comes to their national leaders. Before they can be officially be coronated for the throne, they have to go on a pilgrimage first. It is said that the journey is supposed to help them gather wisdom and strength. It is also supposed to help them to establish political connections. Prince Salizar has done that, so he’s ready for the throne when his parents retire. The only difference here is the fact that this particular prince grew addicted to that lifestyle. He enjoys socializing with others and exploring new lands. This new journey will give him the chance to do both things he is good at.”     “He certainly could achieve his aim in this case,” Sunset acknowledges. “By being the first pioneer to try to get his hoof in the door with new foreign nations, his nation stands to profit immensely.”     “His nation already is very wealthy,” Twilight informs. “Any success on his part will simply raise it further.”     “Is the capital of Saddle Arabia wealthier than Canterlot?” Cozy wonders.     “Kind of,” her mother answers. “Canterlot gathers tithes from a larger and more prosperous nation, especially from an environmental standpoint since Saddle Arabia is mostly desert. So, in a way, this is the wealthiest city that we know of, but it also has a lot of expenses because most of that money is invested right back at all of Equestria such as running the weather factory, building or repairing roads, building or repairing dams, running various social programs such as the Grand Galloping Gala. That sort of thing.”     “Sounds to me like Saddle Arabia might be the second richest city that we know of,” Sunset figures. “But, since they have fewer expenses, they might have more capital to work with overall.”     “And more income,” Twilight adds. “Primarily, they are a nation of merchants. They are the ones traveling all over the place to deliver goods, and they know where the best deals are. Prince Salizar's sojourn here may simply establish yet another revenue for them.”     “And thereby making him more popular with his own people at the same time,” Cozy realizes with a devious grin. “By the time he ascends to the throne, his people will loudly celebrate it since he is the one that greatly expanded the influence and prosperity of his nation. This pony is a genius.”     “Brave genius,” Sunset adds. “He didn't have to do all this personally. He could have hired somepony else to do this for him like most monarchs in his position would. A professional adventurer is basically a professorial risk-taker. Something tells me he would be a high-stakes gambler if he was in a casino.”     “He probably could easily afford it, too,” Cozy figures with an admiring smile. “And since he's a merchant who knows where the best deals are, he'd know where the best areas are to invest in. So, if he were in a casino, likely he'd play whichever game would be most likely to pay off if played well. If he really is smart, he wouldn't leave everything to chance.”     “By the way, Twilight, since he is royalty and about to land, shouldn't you be there to greet him?” Sunset suspects.     Twilight nods as she says, “That is proper etiquette and protocol,” Twilight agrees. “Since the two of you have plans to join him on this airship soon, would you care to join me?”     “Sure. I'll go,” Sunset almost instantly agrees.     “I'll join too,” Cozy also confirms. “After all, this will give me a chance to gather a little recon. I'd also like a tour of his airship. I want to know what we're working with here. After all, we may be stuck on it for potentially many moons.”     “In that case, Cozy,” Twilight says as she looks at her daughter, “remember the last time I included you in a teleportation spell? Back then, you demanded that I warn you next time I choose to include you.”     “Yes, I remember,” Cozy recalls, then blinks in surprise. “Golly, that sure was a long time ago.” She looks back at her mother. “I'm honestly surprised it took this long for this issue to come up again.     “Also, I take it this is my warning?”     Twilight nods, then asks, “Are you two ready now?”     “Darn it! I need to get my magic practice back into functional shape,” Sunset complains. “I used to be pretty good at that trick.”     “I wish I could help you with that personally, but there are many duties I have to devote to,” Twilight tells Sunset with a slight regretful frown. “That said, I did loan you all the books you requested.”     Sunset half shrugs as she says, “I'm sure it would have been more helpful if I devoted more time to it, but as it stands . . . I've been having trouble sleeping lately, and my concentration hasn't been all that good.”     “After everything that has happened to you in Sire's Hollow, that honestly doesn't surprise me,” Twilight tells Sunset sympathetically as she places a hoof on Sunset's shoulder. “But if I can offer any consolation, it is this; in either world, Sunset, I know that magic is part of who you are. Like me, magic is pretty much your destiny. You'll get the hang of it again.”     “Thanks, Twilight,” Sunset says with a smile to her friend.     “It seems to me there will be plenty of time for you to study while we're riding on the airship,” Cozy figures. “Maybe even too much time.”     Sunset nods in agreement, then adds, “Thanks to the communication crystals which Sombra showed us, somepony on either side can easily teleport back and forth. That means they can bring supplies with them, too, including more books, scrolls, quills, and ink to study with.”     “For that purpose, I'd be glad to help!” Twilight announces cheerfully. “Also, thanks for giving me one of the communication crystals. That one is worth studying. With any luck, maybe we can also reproduce it someday.”     “You can try, but Sombra warned us that it's made of a rare crystal,” Cozy reminds.     Twilight nods in understanding, then says, “Starlight Dust. Yes, I am aware of it, at least conceptually. Still, this is a great opportunity to study a sample.”     “How did you hear of this?” Cozy wonders to her mother. “We came across this knowledge only recently.”     “Oh, your mother has her ways,” Twilight assures with a cheeky grin. “Besides, that one would be a long story.”     “One which you won't tell me, eh?” Cozy figures.     “Perhaps later,” Twilight proposes. “For now, I'll transport you two to the airship docks. Stay close to me,” Twilight instructs.     They do so. A moment later they are teleported to the airship docks on the side of the steep cliff off the mountain Canterlot is built in.