//------------------------------// // Ch7: A New Beginning // Story: Lost Kingdom // by Riku006 //------------------------------// The sounds of running water and singing birds greeted the pony as he awoke, opening his eyes but slamming them shut again as a bright light blinded him. Standing up, the unicorn slowly opened his steel blue eyes once more to find himself in a field dotted with trees, with very few clouds in the sky and a clear river passing by a few metres to his right. The smell of vibrant flowers in bloom filled his lungs as the breeze past over his tawny coat and through his brown mane. As the stallion looked around him, the snap of a twig brought his attention to a nearby tree, from which a smaller pony emerged. It was a filly, looking at him initially with frightened orange eyes that became curious. She had a yellow coat and a red mane and tail, the former topped with a pink bow. Once she saw it was only the stallion though, she quickly shot him a smile before setting off at a gallop into the woods. He tried calling out to her, yet no sound escaped his mouth as there was no voice in him. He tentatively brought a hoof to his throat; attempting to see if there was a cut or bruise, but quickly shook it off and followed the filly, eager for her to answer his questions. He ran after her, entering the woods while simultaneously dodging roots and looking for the little filly. But the deeper into the woods he went, the more it sounded like her voice surrounded him. Another confusing aspect was that he would sometimes spy a glimpse of a town through the trunks of the trees, only to see nothing but more trees as he took another look. The stallion stopped to get his bearings and figure out where the filly was, but only now did he realise that the scenery had changed. The woods had grown thicker and the trees taller. The canopy of leaves let in slithers of light as bushes and ferns competed for space around the tree bases. From the small gaps in the canopy he could find the sky was now full of clouds, rapidly darkening. And try as he might, the only sound to be heard was that of his breathing. The only sight surrounding him were trees, darkness and silence. A scream shattered that silence, forcing the stallion to snap his head to the left. An orange hue began glowing from behind the trees. Not waiting another second he bolted in that direction, praying to any deity that cared to listen that the filly was alright. As he dodged trees and approached the light, the air began to noticeably warm, so much so that he sweating by the time he finally broke free of the woods. But when he stopped and looked up from his panting, his blood ran cold at the sight. The undersides of the dark grey clouds were lit by the flames engulfing the town he had glimpsed earlier, radiating an unbearable heat and light. Some pastel coloured ponies at the scene ran in panic while others attempted to rein in the inferno, though it would be in vain. In the middle of all this carnage was the young filly from earlier, hugging two other fillies; one a white unicorn with green eyes and a light lavender and faded pink mane and tail that curled at the end, the other an orange pegasus with purple eyes, mane and tail. The three simply held each other as they looked to the sky, trembling in fear. The stallion followed their gaze and immediately understood why, as his mouth fell agape. Fires from further within the town had climbed high into the sky, following the smoke as it rose and swirled round and round like a burning eddy among the dark clouds. Slowly, a snout as dark as charcoal emerged from the blaze, a long spiralled horn standing proud in front of a small, blood red crown. And then the face opened its eyes, showing the world below they were draconic in nature; slitted red irises surrounded by orange. The face took one look at the chaos below and grinned; an action born of malice and sick joy. The stallion followed its gaze to see it led to the three fillies, too terrified to run. He ran towards them, silently begging them to move as the face began its murderous descent, mouth open to reveal a set of razor-sharp jaws. The stallion was barely a metre away before a pain crippled him, robbing him of his footing and causing him to fall. The flames of pain burned inside him like the fires that devoured the town around him. And as he looked up to the fillies, his heart skipped a beat as the face was upon them. But despite their imminent doom the yellow filly just stared back at him, a sad smile on her face. She said something he couldn’t hear her before they disappeared from sight, and everything around the stallion was engulfed in flames. The inferno's roar was bested only by the deep, cruel laughter that no doubt belonged to the monstrous face. But as the flames and laughter faded to darkness, a young accented voice reached his ears in the void. “Don’t be afraid.” ~~~ Dustin shot to a sitting position, panting as he sat in bed as the intensity of his dream replayed before his eyes. He closed them and took three long and deep breaths, slowing his heartbeat and calming down as his memories began lining up in order. But this brought up a question; one that seemed odd yet made sense given what’d happened to him. Where’s the beep? Dustin thought to himself, and opened his eyes to try and find the heart monitor. After all, given what had happened to him he was sure he’d be in a hospital. When he opened his eyes however, Dustin’s heartbeat began speeding up once again. He sat in a circular bed surrounded by dark furniture in the bowels of a cave. And that wasn’t even the strangest part as before him stood a white mare, whose appearance, while shocking, seemed somehow familiar to him. “Uh...” he began, still staring at the winged and horned pony that returned his gaze with an expression devoid of emotion. “Do you...” He paused, realising how insane he must have sounded talking to an animal like this. “Understand you? Yes, I do,” the mare replied, making Dustin question his sanity. “And believe me when I say that this is no dream or hallucination. I am real.” “Yeah, sure.” Dustin replied as he reached to pinch his arm, aiming to wake himself up from this crazy dream. Only there was a strange feeling when his hand made contact with his arm. Dustin looked down and froze, his eyes becoming as wide as saucers at the sight before him. Instead of his hands and arms, before him were two forelegs; one pressing a hoof covered in a tawny coat into the other. As he started hyperventilating, Dustin flung the covers of the bed off of him to find the transformation wasn’t just contained to his arms. His entire body had been changed and he brought his new appendages to his face to feel the changes to his face and head, the most glaring of which was a horn protruding from his forehead. “Calm down.” The white mare told him, though there was a slight edge in her voice. “Calm down?” Dustin asked, his voice quickly rising. “Calm down?! I’m a fucking unicorn! Why? How’d the bloody hell did that happen?!” “Dustin, please, calm yourself.” The familiar voice caught Dustin’s attention and he quickly looked around for Skye, only to find another pony, this one navy blue, flutter down from further in the cave. She looked at him with worry written all over her equine features, yet the flowing mane that represented the night sky seemed familiar to him. “S-Skye?” Dustin cautiously asked, leaning forward on his new forelegs. “I-Is that you? What’s going on? Where am I?” Before he could ask any more questions, the dark mare raised a hoof to stop him. “I understand you have many questions, that is only natural. Firstly, my name is not Skye. It was merely a cover name to hide my true identity. I am Luna, Princess of the Night, and the other mare you see here is my older sister Celestia, Princess of the Sun.” Dustin turned to look at Celestia once more, surprise slowly becoming understanding as he remembered his chat with Luna earlier. “...You’re Sky-Luna’s sister?” Celestia nodded. “I am. Now, if you will excuse me.” Spreading her wide wings, Celestia turned on the spot and gracefully took off, flying deep into the cavern. “I apologise.” Luna spoke up as she moved to the side of the bed. “My sister has a... complicated past with humanity.” “Okay...” Dustin started as he turned to face the princess before him. “So, let me see if I'm understanding this. You’re a magical pony princess?” “That is a blunt way to put it, but yes. This is my true form, and the form you knew was necessary for me to interact with humans.” “And I’m guessing I’m the only one who knows what you are?” Luna shook her head. “No, there are others. The senior most members of the D.S.I, Claire... your mother.” Though the last part was spoken in almost a guilty murmur, Dustin heard it loud and clear. “Wait, how the hell does my mum know about you?” He asked, pointing a hoof at the princess. She sighed. “I had to explain to her why you would not be returning home within the next few days. If she went to the authorities, it could have lead to a scandal that would have revealed us and ruined the D.S.I-” “But why?” He interrupted. “Does it have something to do with... this?” He gestured to his chest with a hoof. Luna winced under his accusing gaze but pressed on with her explanation. “It does Dustin.” She replied. “While you were unconscious, two men from that terrorist organization attempted to assassinate you. I... made sure they would never interfere in your life again. However, they managed to inject into you a very old and potent toxin. One that would have killed you had I not intervened." Dustin’s eyes widened at that, but he let her continue. “I used my magic to help dampen the effects of the poison, but it was not enough. The only cure was to burn the toxin away from within.” Dustin sat up straight at the thought. “You roasted me from the inside?” Luna nodded. “Then... then how am I still alive?” “That was why your transformation was necessary.” Luna continued, placing a hoof on Dustin’s shoulder. “My sister and I transformed you into a pony so that your body would naturally accept our magic, making it easier to cure you. “That being said, however, there was a... complication with the spell.” “I’ve still got the poison in me?” Dustin asked, fear slightly creeping back into his voice. “No.” Luna shook her head. “Your body is rid of that vile toxin. The complication is here.” She then removed her hoof from Dustin’s shoulder and tapped his horn. “The spell was designed to turn you into what we call an earth pony; a pony without wings or a horn. Yet something caused the spell to variate slightly and transform you into a unicorn.” “And that’s a big deal why?” “Unicorns are adept in the art of magic, and use their horns to channel their spells. Their magic is spread throughout the body in a manner similar to a human’s circulatory system; running in small, near undetectable veins through their bodies. “The problem this represents is that when it comes time to change you back into a human, being an earth pony would have made it a simple process of applying the spell in reverse. But as a unicorn the task becomes more complicated. In order to return you to your original human form we would have to remove each and every strand of magic piece by piece, a process that could cripple you... or worse.” “Cripple me?” Dustin repeated as agitation at everything began building in his voice, his body moving without thought. “I’m already a cripple. If that was meant to be a joke then-” “It was not a joke.” Luna stopped him, adding a sliver of steel to her tone. “And I say that because of your new body.” “What about it?” He snapped, but when Luna motioned with her head to look down, all of Dustin’s anger flew out the window at the sight below him. Dustin was standing on the bed. For a time he simply stared, dumbstruck at the sight. Albeit he stood on four legs, he was standing up, something he had since thought impossible for him. Despite his face becoming a mask of surprise, all manner of emotions ran rampant in his mind, demanding his attention. Happiness that he could stand again. Confusion over how it was possible, and fear that this was a dream and the sight would vanish if he dared blink. After what felt like an eternity, Dustin looked back up at Luna, her face a sympathetic one. “H-How?” he asked, it being the most pressing question on his mind. “Unlike my spell, which was merely an illusion to make me appear human,” Luna explained, “The spell has changed your body down to the molecular level. As such your body is, how you humans say, ‘brand new’, completely without physical imperfection.” Dustin took this in as he attempted to move his hind right leg. The smile that grew on his face threatened to stretch off of it, as the limb followed his command and took a step back. He did the same with the other hind leg and was met with identical results, though his hind legs slipped on the sheets and he fell onto his stomach. Though as Luna raised a hoof in concern, she was interrupted by the sound of laughter bubbling up from the young unicorn, Genuine laughter at a second chance. He stood once more and slowly but surely worked out how to walk on four legs as he completed small laps on Luna’s bed. Once he had finished his fifth circuit, one he performed at a light canter, Dustin looked back to find Luna smiling at him, the same way a parent might at their child. “This... this is awesome.” Dustin stated excitedly, successfully jumping on the bed. “Wait ‘til Mum, Claire and Vince see this.” After finishing that sentence, he stopped jumping and gazed down at his legs before looking back at the princess. “Where are they, anyway?” Luna’s smile slowly faded as she climbed onto the bed next to Dustin and lay down, motioning with her wing for him to do the same next to her. “Soon after the transformation was completed I escorted Claire home, as her mother would most likely start to worry about Claire’s whereabouts.” “Yeah, Leanne’s always been like that.” “The next day, yesterday, I brought your mother here; granted she was blindfolded for most of the journey. My sister disagreed with the decision, however I thought it best for us to tell her the truth so that she did not bring your disappearance to the authorities. It could have led to the D.S.I being dissolved and my sister and I being discovered. “After nearly an hour of explanations and assurances, your mother finally believed me and promised to keep our identity a secret on the condition I ensure your safety until your transformation.” Dustin nodded as he took in all of this information. He could see Luna’s logic, as his mum would no doubt create a big fuss over him disappearing. “So,” Dustin asked. “I was under for two days?” “Four, if you consider the two days you spent in hospital.” Luna corrected. “It is currently Friday the twelfth, nearing six thirty at night.” That fact carried a thought that brought her smile back into view. “Dustin, how would you like to see something very few beings ever have?” ~~~ The flash of the teleport spell faded and as Dustin waited for the dizziness in his mind to clear away, a breeze flowed through his mane and tail. Opening his eyes, Dustin’s jaw began to slowly drop, much to Luna’s satisfaction. The two ponies now stood on a balcony on the highest tower of the ruins that still stood; overlooking the city of Astraea and surrounding countryside, including the forest on the horizon. Perched on the horizon was the sun; a yellow orb slowly descending while casting its amber hue on everything it touched. “I wish I had a camera right now,” Dustin murmured to himself as he looked over seemingly all of creation. Luna smiled at this as she stepped towards the decaying guardrail. “While impressive, the view is not what I wish to show you. You may want to step back.” Dustin looked at the princess before backing up a couple of paces and sitting down. Once she thought he was out of the way Luna stomped a hoof down, summoning a circle of sky blue light beneath her, made up of various shapes and symbols surrounding a crescent moon in the centre. Taking a calming breath and closing her eyes, Luna’s horn began glowing a blue hue as she started charging the circle with magic. As she did this, the princess of the night began to sing. Dustin had a keen ear for music, and what he now heard blew every artist he knew out of the water. Luna sang in a language he had never heard before, but that didn’t detract anything from her voice or the way she sang. There was no music to accompany her, but to Dustin any instruments would dampen the quality of the song. The longer the song carried on the more magic flowed into the circle, which greedily absorbed more and more as it glowed in response to Luna’s lullaby to the world. With one final note the song was finished, and an orb of light the size of a tennis ball alighted from Luna’s horn. As it started ascending, small pinpricks of light rose from the edge of the circle, swirling upwards to meet the original orb while trailing sky blue lines behind them much like the tail of a comet. Once fifty feet above the two ponies, the lights met and suddenly accelerated upwards. Dustin was wondering how no one in the city was seeing this as the smaller lights separated and spread out to nearly every corner of the now quickly darkening sky. The large orb, however, shot off like a shooting star towards the eastern horizon. Once the lights had all disappeared, Dustin began wondering what the point of the light show was. “Wait for it,” Luna said with a smile, seeing Dustin’s confusion. Sure enough, one by one, the smaller lights began re-emerging, and as they did, his jaw dropped when he realised what the spell did. In each space that the smaller lights disappeared, a star flickered to life in its place, and soon enough the entire sky was littered with brightly sparkling lights. Then a light began glowing from the eastern horizon, and soon enough Dustin saw why. The moon was rising. While the light from the nearly full moon hid some of the stars from view, it was still an impressive sight to watch as Luna’s celestial charge rose, lighting up the darkness of the night. Dustin turned back to see Luna returning his gaze, a smile visible in the moonlight. “Did you enjoy watching the spell?” She asked, to which Dustin nodded vigorously. “Y-you just raised the bloody moon. That was awesome,” He jumped a little in excitement. “Hey, you said unicorns can use magic. Could you teach me to do that?” Luna’s face lowered somewhat. “I cannot Dustin. While you may now possess the ability to use magic, you would no doubt lack the power or training necessary to raise the moon. “However,” She continued, seeing his enthusiasm dip slightly. “If you wish, I could teach you the basics of magic. But be warned; the stronger your magic is the more difficult it will be to remove when it comes time for you to return to your human form. So, with that said, would you still wish for me to teach you?” Dustin thought about this, bringing a hoof to his chin. On the one hand, he would be able to use magic; something that made his inner child cheer. However, he had a life to get back to. A human life. Another gust created the only noise around them as Luna stood there, waiting patiently for Dustin’s decision. After a few minutes, he stood up, looking the princess in the eye. “Yes, I’d like you to teach me. I mean, you’ve saved my life twice in a week, and given me my legs back. The least I can do to repay you is use whatever I have at my disposal to make it up to you.” “You do not owe me a debt Dustin.” “Even so, I still need to do something to make it up to you. So if teaching me magic can help me do that, then please teach me.” Luna simply looked upon him for a moment before she smiled once more, this one showing nothing but pure joy. “Very well then, my young student, your lessons shall begin tomorrow.”