//------------------------------//
// Chapter 15 
// Story: Words of Power 
// by Starscribe 
//------------------------------//

Lotus couldn't see out the window, so she had no way of knowing exactly where Gus decided to stop. Not until he gave the command, and she took her leg off the pedal. He switched off the engine, plunging them back into the silence. A few seconds later the lights went off too, and they were cast into near-total darkness.
Lotus didn't try to say anything, didn't even move—anything might make her think about what she'd lost. What you took away. This wasn't an accident. You knew the risks, you took them anyway.
If it wasn't for Gus, she might've stayed on the burned grass outside the house, where the police could drag her off. She might be in the lockup by now. Or worse, maybe there were special organizations created just to deal with monsters. She definitely qualified as one of those.
It was Iron Feather who finally spoke, slightly nervous and fearful. "Are we going to remain in this... metal cage? It doesn't seem very comfortable."
Gus chuckled. "It wasn't made for people on four legs. It's not so bad when you fit in the seat." Something shifted overhead, then nudged her shoulder. "Eric—Lotus. Are you still alive down there?"
"Unfortunately," she said. She looked up for a second, long enough to meet his eyes. Huge, amber, predatory eyes, with a long, sharp beak. She had seen its like before, on a little wooden model next to a camera. Only now it was hard and shiny, as bright and real as the feathers on his face. Of course no rational part of her actually expected him to attack. But maybe it would be easier if he did. At least that way she wouldn't have to let the guilt tear her up.
"It was supposed to be my hair," he said, slumping back in his seat. "We talked about it. You promised me."
"You promised you weren't going to use transformation magic," Iron said, from the passenger seat. "Sounds like Lotus has some trouble with promises. None of this should be happening. Princess Luna was going to change you back. Everything would be fixed as soon as we got back to Equestria. I don't know how we're supposed to get back to Equestria now. We're... wherever this is."
"Somewhere hidden," Gus said. "It doesn't matter where. So long as the police don't find us, we can hide here long enough for Lotus to learn her magic and fix me."
"You really think that's a good idea?" Lotus turned over in her seat, resting her back up against the front of the car. She could just about see Iron sitting in the passenger seat, and Gus just overhead. "Look at what just happened. Iron Feather is right, I shouldn't have tried magic that advanced. Now you both paid the price. Our house is gone, and it's my fault."
Gus didn't say anything for a long time. She heard him moving in his seat, what she guessed were wings opening and closing. He hadn't really had a chance to learn what kind of body he had yet, or how to use it.
He was already coping with it better than Lotus remembered from her first few seconds after transforming. But he had far less to adapt to than she did.
"I don't know," he eventually said. "Right now probably isn't the time. Police might still find a way to track us down. I don't have a phone, and I'm guessing you don't. But there might be something I'm missing. Didn't exactly get to pack my bags before the fire demon burned down our house."
"My fault," she stammered, her body curling slowly inward. "I know it's my fault. I don't deserve forgiveness. I let this happen when I didn't have to. However badly you want to hate me is justified."
Gus laughed, his voice clipped and harsh. "I don't know why you think that would help, Eric—Lotus—whatever. I realized that being close to this whole 'magic' thing had risks. I clearly underestimated those risks. Having someone to blame won't help me. It won't help you either. It's not like you're not a victim too. You didn't ask to be changed. You don't know how to control your powers. It's been less than two weeks."
"It's getting warmer in here," Iron said. He spoke more quietly, tentative compared to Gus. He was genuinely afraid of her, in a way he hadn't been before. 
He called it a Nirik. Now he knows how dangerous it can really be. He knows how dangerous I am.
"Whatever you're doing, Lotus—you need to stop." Iron hopped over the center divider, squeezing past Gus so he was within reach of her now. "We don't need something else to burn. If you keep getting hotter, you might invite the demon back. Try to think clearly."
Easy to ask, hard to do. Lotus did the one thing she could think of, and reached up for the car door. It clicked open, and she stumbled outside. At least in the open air she wouldn't feel so trapped.
They were in the woods, exactly as Gus had suggested. Lotus didn't recognize anything about what she saw—just thick foliage, extending as far as she could see in all directions. Maybe there was really a hunting lodge hidden in the trees somewhere, but she could see no sign of it in any direction.
Being out in the open did feel better. Lotus took a few steps away from the car, back along the trail. It clearly wasn't made for cars, and her truck had to squeeze in to fit. Gus had managed, despite losing his body and driving with a pair of bird claws.
"Your car is nicer than mine," she said, pawing at the ground with one hoof. "Why bring the truck?"
Gus wasn't as graceful about getting out as she was. He hopped out, and a pair of huge wings caught the air as he did so. But he didn't have enough height to glide, so he just landed in the dirt in front of her.
He tried to stand up straight, lifting up onto his hind-legs. The balance was too hard for him, and he smacked right back down a few seconds later, frustrated.
"Only one of our vehicles was already packed to go camping, and it wasn't mine. I didn't know how long we would have to be out, so yours was the better fit. It could still be better."
He turned away from her, tail swishing sharply back and forth. She'd seen cats act like that before. Her family had an old barn-cat, and he moved almost the same way whenever they didn't let him in the house. He wanted to go inside, but was never allowed.
That wasn't what distracted Lotus most, of course. Gus was much taller than she was, and very clearly still male. As though she needed reminding about that when the details of scent were already so clear. She followed him, jogging forward far enough that she wasn't directly behind him.
"How much do we have?" she asked, dreading the answer. "All I remember was not being allowed to help you carry things out."
He stopped at the back, glowering up at the bed. Without thinking, Lotus reached up and gripped the handle with her magic. The tailgate teetered closer, then smacked down directly in front of them.
Gus leapt backward, yowling in surprise. "Shit! Warn me, please. If I'm going to..." He trailed off, both wings settling into place on his sides. "Actually, no. You can get the tent and everything out of there. I am going to sleep in your cab. As a potential fire hazard, you get to stay outside and think wet thoughts."
He turned, then stomped away into the dark, leaving her behind. 
Lotus didn't watch him go. She wanted to argue—but she deserved everything he said and worse. She could make no objection to the truth.
A few moments later, she heard another clatter of metal, then the distinct click of a door lock. He meant what he said about trapping her out here. 
Maybe I should pick a direction and start walking. At least out in the woods I'm not a danger to anyone. Nothing to burn but some trees.
The wind whipped around her, carrying with it a few fallen leaves. So cold compared to the heat that she had summoned. Maybe she could call on it again.
"Lotus." A voice spoke from not far away, close enough that it was her turn to be startled. 
At least it wasn't the ghost in the spellbook—just Iron Feather, his mane bedraggled and his eyes haunted. "How are you feeling?"
"How you look," she muttered, turning away from him. "You should bang on the side of the car. Gus doesn't blame you for what happened. Looks kinda like you saved his life. He'll let you sleep in there."
Iron circled around her once, walking under the side of her pickup. He didn't seem to notice how small that made him look, or maybe he didn't care. He'd never been anything but a pony, why should that make him feel small?
"What will you do?"
I guess not run away and never let anyone see me again.
"We were... preparing for a camping trip," she said. She took a few steps back, then darted forward, leaping up into the air. She landed on the edge of the truck, smacking face first into a few heavy duffel bags. "There's a tent in one of these, and plenty of other stuff. I watched Gus pack it, I know we're prepared."
Iron Feather clearly didn't need a running start. He reared back onto his hind-legs, then rested his forehooves on the plastic edge of her bed. He hopped up beside her, one wing spread all the way as he did so.
"Bivouacking," he said. "I'll admit, that was more what I expected for exploring a new world. When you arrive at a wasteland without magic or pony in sight, you expect to be under the stars."
She sniffed, wiping away at her face with one leg. "Y-you're just saying that. You're just trying to... to make me feel better."
When she was surrounded by the flame, Lotus felt no pain, no embarrassment, no shame. Now, it attacked in full force. It would be one thing if she faced some irrational discrimination—but nothing about this was irrational. She was dangerous. The ashes of her home were proof neither would ever forget.
"Yes," Iron said. She wasn't looking at him anymore. Lotus wasn't looking at anything, and probably couldn't with tears flowing so freely. But she felt the wing over her back, covered in soft feathers.
It wasn't as broad as the ones she had given Gus. But that somehow made the pegasus less intimidating. He was taller than she was, but didn't make her feel like a little kid.
"You're not Searing Gale," he said flatly. "She was a real monster—she burned every creature that got near her. Ponies, animals, nothing but other kirin were good enough. You didn't attack us. Things just... got a little out of control."
She fought her tears. Her voice shook, spoiling any attempt to speak clearly. She had to take each word very carefully, or she'd lose control completely and just start bawling.
Was that a girl thing, or just a product of the awful day she had? Lotus didn't know, and didn't care. The shame was the same either way. "I broke... my promise. I should've waited... practicing transformation was... too dangerous."
"Yes," he said again, just as confidently as the last time. "But you've suffered enough for that mistake. That was your home. Nopony should have to go through that."
That was it—Lotus was properly crying now, surrounded by old duffel bags in the back of her pickup truck. The camping gear she was standing on might be the last things she owned that were left, except for anything her parents left in the attic.
Iron Feather held her, without apparent fear. He stood still and let her cry for as long as she needed.



Lotus wasn't sure exactly how long that was. Minutes, maybe—or maybe hours.
Eventually she started thinking clearly again. She sat up, and Iron finally released her. His scent was all over her now, and for once that didn't bother her. "Can you help me set up the tent?" she asked. "It's not big—but it will feel big at our size."
"Sure. I'll feel safer with a roof over my head, even if it's canvas. No telling what kind of predators are out here."
She grinned in spite of herself, wiping away the last of her tears. Her voice cracked when she spoke, unsteady. "Nothing more dangerous than the three of us."