//------------------------------//
// Chapter 16 
// Story: Words of Power 
// by Starscribe 
//------------------------------//

Lotus woke to the birds, whistling and singing to each other from the other side of her tent. The shiny blue fabric did nothing to mute the sound, and almost nothing to keep the light from shining in and blinding her.
Lotus crawled a little lower into her sleeping bag, sinking past its edges. The birds were as loud as ever from that angle, but at least the bag did something about the light. 
The light couldn't get her inside, but the shame was just as strong inside as out. She remembered everything—breaking her promise to Iron, her failed attempt at magic—and what followed. 
Worst of all was the disappointment on Gus's face, the friend who should've been able to count on her.
She made more promises to him, more promises that hadn't been kept. 
But what will you do about it? 
She sat up slowly, rising from the huge folds of the sleeping bag. It was the same winter-rated bag she had used since her adulthood. It was a little too warm for it, but she didn't exactly have a choice. There wouldn't be enough sleeping bags for the whole group if they didn't bring the out-of-season stuff.
The tent was only made for two, which usually felt cramped with a pair of adults. 
It wasn't a problem with a pair of adult ponies. There was easily enough room for Gus, and probably a few other strangers too. But he hadn't emerged from the cab.
As she rose, she found Iron already settled on top of his sleeping bag, staring down to something resting on the space in front of him. She took a moment to recognize it—not because it was hard to see, but because she didn't think it had survived.
"The journal Luna sent? That didn't burn with the rest of the house?"
He dropped the pen he'd been holding in his teeth. "It almost did. I couldn't let that happen—I don't have any emergency scrolls left. Without the journal, we don't have any way of reaching the princess. We'd have to wait for her to notice we weren't writing back. Not to mention all her magic lessons." 
He flicked through the earlier pages with one hoof, then let it drift closed again. "Hopefully you still plan on studying this stuff."
"And not casting transformation spells, you mean," she finished for him. "You still don't think it's safe for me to change myself back. You're probably right."
"Your friend is a griffon—he can't use magic. Now you have two creatures to change back, and one to get back home."
She shook off the sleeping bag, rising into a sitting position. "You're not afraid of me? After what I did—maybe I'm too dangerous to be around. The—Nirik—might happen again."
"It might," he agreed. "I told the princess about what happened. She might have some advice for us."
She did, as it turned out. Lotus wandered out to find somewhere private enough to relieve herself, and it was waiting by the time she got back. A simple message in the princess's smooth handwriting was waiting for her in the journal.

"Kirin named Lotus, human named Eric,
Iron Feather wrote that you faced a serious setback today. I understand there was a complication with some transformation magic. It's hard to pass details back and forth through a journal, so I did not ask many questions.
Thanks to the campaign of violence and war that Searing Gale waged across Equestria, kirins are now relegated to the domain of legend and myth, with few ponies even believing that they once lived. Even a well-informed Royal Guard like Iron Feather would not know very much.
Kirin are not one being, but two. The one you think you are, very similar to ponies except for the consequences of your ancient dragon heritage. Then the Nirik—the result of combining two very different strains of magic in one being.
Not even my sister knows exactly what causes a Nirik to manifest from an otherwise friendly kirin. Searing Gale campaigned to convince her kind that they were the true form of your species, that the kirin were a lesser imitation and that any who couldn't stand before you should be burned.
Now that you have been transformed, you can't exorcize this part of you. The Nirik form is a fundamental part of all kirin, much like a pegasus pony's wings or a earth pony's connection to nature. I hoped that perhaps your alien origin meant you were not a Nirik as well—those hopes are clearly vain.
To survive long enough to return here, you must remain in control of your emotions. Do not suppress them, or they will build until the pressure becomes too great, and they explode. Rather, you must meditate. Comprehend, then release, and allow them to wash over you.
I'm sorry I cannot give more useful advice. You already have enough new skills to master, and do not need another. But if you do not, you will burn all who get close to you, and leave yourself alone in a forest of ashes.
-Luna"

Lotus sat back, pushing the journal away from herself. "Did you read what she said?"
Iron Feather nodded. "I guess I never put some of it together, but it tracks with what I learned. The part that's most confusing to me is the name. Lotus sounds like a proper name. But sometimes they call you 'Eric' instead. It doesn't fit."
"Of course it doesn't," she muttered, voice bitter. "I'm not supposed to be a pony. My friend isn't supposed to be a bird. But now we've both been screwed."
"I can't imagine," he whispered back. "You've already endured more than most. But what are you going to do about it? Keep trying to transform yourself?"
The princess had barely mentioned the actual cause of her “Nirik” manifestation. She wasn't trying to make Lotus feel guilty. Her desire to help seemed genuine. Iron's might be selfish—but it was real too. He had saved Gus's life, instead of just running away.
"I want to be human again," she said. "But I'm not going to risk what happened last night. I'm going to practice the spells that Luna gives me." She stood up, then shook the thick mane around her neck. 
"It's not like I have much choice. I don't have a home to go back to, or a job. If there's any way to get those things back, it's through your world."
She wandered out the open tent door, into the early morning air. It was crisp and cold against her skin, but comfortable. One advantage to all the fur, she didn't feel any risk of injury to exposure. 
She hopped up into the bed again, past several duffel-bags she had rejected for one reason or another. But one that hadn't mattered much to her the night before was now critically important—the food.
She tugged it with her mouth, before remembering the obvious and levitating it after her. 
Doing that took great concentration of its own, considering the weight. She had to move slowly, before hopping down to the dirt and floating it carefully behind her.
"What's that?"
"Breakfast," she muttered. "And lunch, and dinner. It's not a ton of supplies, but it should keep us going for a little while. Hopefully long enough to get you home, and Gus and me back to normal."
Iron Feather was entirely unfamiliar with human camping gear, but he wasn't stupid. With a little coaching, he was soon helping her along with enthusiasm. They had already set up the tent together, a cooking area wasn't much harder. Soon they had the hanging filter full of river water, and a pot of breakfast oatmeal going on the propane stove. 
Gus meant well, but he obviously hadn't known how to pack for a long trip. Most of the duffel was filled with random backpacking food, without any underlying organization or plan. At least it meant that they didn't need to refrigerate it. 
Without a human member of the team, there was no chance of spending a night in a motel or something. Without phones, they couldn't even rent one of those Airbnbs that let you check in with a code.
Gus emerged about the time that breakfast was ready, hopping out of the car and wandering out into the trees. He returned a few minutes later, wearing the old hoodie Eric usually kept on the floor of her pickup in case of a cold day. 
There were a few tears in the cloth from griffon claws, but nothing she could complain about. She had burned their house down, after all.
"Was hoping this whole thing would be temporary," Gus said. He avoided her eyes, circling past her to the stump she'd used to set up their camp stove. He nudged the edge with one claw, then turned back to her. "No chance this spell is going to wear off?"
She lifted the lid of her little camping pot, sniffed it, then took it off the heat. Any longer, and their already-questionable oatmeal would turn into porridge.
"The sun is up," Iron said. "I don't know much about magic, but I know that. If you're still a griffon, I don't think you'll be changing back on your own."
He eyed the other creature, focused briefly on that sharp beak, then his claws. "Do you feel sick?"
"Upset that I'm a bird? Yes. Ill? No." He held something up with one claw—another GoPro camera? Or maybe it was the same one, she couldn't quite tell. Instead of a tripod, he had only a little stick to hold it on. The camera on the end still looked basically the same.
"Our first experiment with magic went a little less than perfect. As you can see, my hair is now feathers, and I'm now a giant bird. The mythology thing is cool, but it will make filming the rest of this difficult. Also, our house burned down."
Then he turned it towards her. "You fully transformed a human being into a bird, then burned down a house. How do you feel?"
She groaned. "A little disappointed your camera made it, to be honest. How long until the batteries die?"
"I planned this trip, remember?" He flicked his tail towards the cab. "I have this folding solar panel thing we can set up. It was meant to run my laptop so I could edit the videos while we were out here. But there was no time to rescue it from the building. No wallet or phone either."
"Not having ID isn't as bad as it could be," she answered, measuring out their bowls. "Look at us. It's not like we could pass for human."



He switched off the camera. "Now that's my problem too, I guess. From now on, you don't have to worry about camp stuff. I want you on magical practice and nothing else. I can follow the instructions on the package, and I've got Iron Feather here to help. We have to open a portal to another world, then get home, before we're declared dead."
"And stay hidden from Searing Gale," Iron Feather added. "Hiding from your enemies will probably help hide from her too. If she didn't know Lotus was here, that Nirik fire told her. Across your whole planet, it is only present here."
"She knows," Lotus muttered, pawing weakly at the floor. "Or someone does. I guess it did sound like a girl. This... voice, when I was in the flame. It wanted me to burn everything. It told me things—but I didn’t listen to it. I didn't want to hurt anyone. It couldn't make me."
"That's not terrifying and creepy at all,” Gus said. "So maybe we won't leave you to study on your own, either. The one ring is whispering to you trying to turn you evil at the same time. Don't put it on, okay?"
"Should I know what that means?" Iron asked. "You have some evil rings out there we need to watch out for?"
"No." Lotus lifted Gus's bowl closer to him, shoving it in his direction. "Eat your oatmeal, Gus. You're confusing the pegasus."