Darkness had mercifully fallen on the land of the Gauls. The creatures of the night cries filled the forest, the sounds echoing on the slopes of the nearby mountain. Hidden from view by rocks and trees, a dark cave was welcoming two unusual guests, compared to the usual bears and wolves.
“We’re safe for now, you can rest easy for a while”
The gentle lie was spoken with the best sentiments in mind. The fact that the man behind it abhorred lying, or any kind of deception, only made it sweeter.
“We’ll probably reach the Iberian lands by tomorrow, should be easy enough.”
“You must be really worried about me.” As a seasoned merchant, the woman sitting on the hard ground was capable of perceiving even the slightest truth bending, and anyone could see that the situation was hopeless. “For you to utter such nonsense…” She sighed, just to toy with him like old times, when they were only courting each other : he used to become flustered, make some endearing noises and finally blurt out something asinine. But now, he looked over from the cave entrance with a scowl on his face, his eyebrows pointed towards his nose, the look of mild annoyance never leaving his face as he responded.
“You know Aurora, you could pretend to be meek and weak from time to time, maybe people would recognise you as female more often.” The falcon-faced man tried to put as much acid in his words as he was capable of, which in the end, was not much.
“Maybe you are right …” Aurora ran her left hand through her chestnut short-hair, putting on a face of dismay and chagrin. “If i had been more feminine I surely would not have been stuck with such a poor excuse for a husband” She gave an enormous sigh, letting her dark eyes fill with fake tears, bringing her right hand to her mouth, the picture of a lady in distress. “Fate is such a.cruel.THING.” She then proceeded to sprawl on the ground theatrically, with a good measure of thrashing and sobs.
“Have you no shame woman?” The man was beaten, like he always was when confronting his soul mate : in his green eyes she looked graceful even while rolling around in the dirt. The playful banter seemed far from appropriate considering the situation, but Mès could not help but enjoy this throwback to old times.
The light smile that had spread across his lips suddenly disappeared when a chill ran down his spine.
“They are getting closer now” His voice was hushed, ears and eyes searching the night outside. “The dogs must have found our trail once more.”
“How long before they are upon us?” The dirt covered lady was immediately serious again : if Aurora was skilled in mind tricks, she knew to trust her companion’s unmatched instinct for sensing when danger was close.
“Not long enough. They have also grown in numbers, I would say at least another five Branded.” The scowl had returned, and had brought with him a close to feral gleam in his eyes. Whenever the bald man had to fight another one of his kind, another slave to the imperials, he had to delve deeper into madness. He had to stop his feelings of pity from slowing him down : even if they were raised for obedience, bred to diminish their Power, branded like cattle and had no choice when ordered to hunt down a fugitive slave and his traitor of a wife, he could not give them a chance to harm his family.
“Mès, you can’t fight them all, you know that.” Aurora was now standing by his side. “Even if you are more powerful they will overwhelm you with numbers, so don’t go berserk and charge them like an idiot” Mès grunted in response. “I would hate having to raise this child alone.”
“That’s a low blow” Mès growled more than he spoke.
“Desperate times, there is no room to be considerate. Now calm down”
"Now is not the time for your nagging."
"Should I follow you into stupidity then?"
"Do what you want, just follow me by going away"
"That doesn't even make any sense."
“They are almost here, there is no time to flee, stand back, NOW” The green aura around Mès eyes was reaching an alarming level of brightness, his powers taking hold of the energy emanating from the ground, building it up inside his veins.
“Mès of Alexandria, you will power down THIS INSTANT!” They were both yelling now.
“OR WHAT?” The berserker was now fully powered, ready for anything... Except...
“OR I WILL KICK YOU IN THE CÕLEÏ SO HARD THAT YOU WON’T EVER CONCEIVE A CHILD AGAIN!”
Some threats are so powerful that even the bravest men can’t help but cower in fear... And in this case hold their crotch for protection.
“Then what do we do?” Only Aurora had the power to calm Mès down so quickly. Still protecting his manhood he turned to face his beloved, hoping to save himself from the very powerful kick he had experienced more than once.
“You already know what i want.” Mès sighed in disapproval. “You know this is the only way. Do you really think that we will be able to cross the mountains into the Iberian lands? Then finding a vessel strong enough to endure the great sea? Not to mention surviving the trip?”
“I can reinforce the boat with enough spells to make it withstand anything!”
“What about food? Water? I’ve lived half of my life on boats, but you don’t know the first thing when it comes to sailing. Why do you think we wrecked our boat in this barbarian land to begin with?”
“... Men were made to stay on dry land... Where the ground is stable...”
“Well think about the months we would have to endure. The tales depicting the land beyond Atlas sea are very vague, we would never make it that way. We have to make a jump.”
“I only succeeded once... By accident! And when i reappeared everything around me caught fire! I don’t even know if I could bring you with me, the distance will make it impossible to be precise and we’ll probably end up inside a rock or something. Oh and we will be on fire too.”
“That’s because you never tried. If you could travel instantaneously from one side of Alexandria to the other when you were young i’m sure by now you have enough power to get us to the New World.”
“Alive?”
“Let’s hope so. My books said that Ammit’s children were capable of blinking in and out of existence when they fought the Legion, they used that spell pretty often according to official records. For once you can use the power you collected for something else than slaughter. I know that brings you out of your comfort zone.” That hurt him, and she knew it. But she needed him to concentrate and do it fast. She could not afford to show any hesitation, even faced with his expression of betrayal.
Without another word Mès sat down and joined his knuckles. Aurora joined him and sat with her back against his. Soon even she was able to feel the power building around them, the tickling sensation surrounding their bodies. The couple remained in this position for several minutes.
“Found it.”
Aurora wished to say something to her beloved. She didn’t know what but if this failed, she didn’t want to be separated from him with angry words being her last.
Before she could say the three words they exchanged so rarely, they were encased in green energy. Mès and Aurora, the Empire most wanted fugitives, vanished from the human world forever.
---ΩΩΩ---
The immortal alicorn looked upon the injuries marking her guest’s body, illuminated by the rising sun. It had been mercifully unconscious when it had appeared seemingly out of nowhere above Canterlot. Luckily pegasi guards were dissipating the remnants of the dragon smoke clouds at that time, close enough to catch it. They had brought the beast to her immediately.
Celestia shuddered at the thought of the creature being aware at that moment : it had taken all of her energy to stop the bleeding and stabilize its condition before the worst could happen.
The tricky thing was that the body of her current patient seemed to reject magic, any attempt at regrowth spells unsuccessful. All she had managed to do was stop any further loss of blood and magically connect the most important organs : having lived for countless eons, she knew the anatomy of all the species found in the world.
Using this knowledge on the unknown being she managed to recognise all of her innards, guessing which ones should have been connected and which ones were missing.
The princess theorized that she belonged to a species closely related to apes, and she went on to ponder how she could have never seen her kind.
Were they hidden? Could they be underground dwellers? The ruined clothes she had disposed off suggested a somewhat advanced civilization, that could be a clue.
It had been some time since Celestia had seen anything new, and this animal was a very appealing mystery. She admonished herself for such selfish thoughts, but she wished her patient would wake up before it was too late.
As if the one lying in the bed had heard those thoughts, it suddenly jolted upright, opening its mangled eye lids to reveal void orbits. Celestia had let escape a very unregal “squeak” of surprise but the creature didn’t seem to ear or care about it.
The alicorn watched as its burned hands caressed her miraculously intact stomach.
When she seemed to relax, Celestia, out of a habit she had picked up while caring for all kinds of animals, addressed her without much though.
“I am happy to see you have recovered some strength, but I must ask you to refrain from moving so suddenly again. You must lie down my dear.”
The creature tensed up, she was clearly terrified. Celestia could almost hear the gears furiously turning in its head. Could it understand what she had said?
“I’m sorry, I was just afraid for my child.” She could talk too? And as Celestia had though, the strange being was pregnant, her body’s magic rejection had prevented her from making sure of it.
“I am Caecilia by the way, may I enquire the name of my benefactor?” A lie? The ageless alicorn had lived long enough to be able to see through lies, even if the girl was obviously very good at it. Why would she feel the need to lie about her name? And why could Celestia sense so much fear emanating from this “Caecilia”? The princess realized that she had yet to answer the question.
“You may indeed, my name is Celestia “ The girl didn’t react to her name... Just how isolated could these people be? “ Of Equestria” THAT steered a reaction from her, but not one that Celestia had hoped for. The princess was waiting for a sign of recognition, not a reaction of pure terror. She could read the emotion on the girl’s face even she sought to hide it. Very few kingdoms had a reason to fear the Equestrian name, this didn’t make any sense!
The fear quickly turned into anger, as Celestia expected. Most animals reacted that way when they were in danger, especially mothers protecting a child. The girl stood up so fast that the Alicorn was surprised once again. Caecilia clearly wanted to attack or flee, but she was going nowhere in her state.
“Wha.. What...” The poor thing had not realized its condition? That almost broke Celestia’s heart, but at least the pain medication were working.
“I am very sorry, but you must realize the extent of your injuries, do not try anything rash” The princess was far from a faint of heart, but seeing any creature suffer was always hard for her.
Seeing Caecilia analyse her wounds was also a trying experience, especially when she found the hole where her ribcage had been torn out.
“How … How I am still alive?” Despite the look on her face, the question was asked in a calm tone, almost more curious than frightened.
“I have done my best to save you” Celestia considered lying, but she deserved better. “But I am afraid that my magic can’t heal you, I was barely able to stabilize your condition.” She was about to ask if Caecilia’s people had the power to heal such wounds when she noticed the look of surprise on the girl’s face.
“Magic? Do you mean mystical powers? You are able to use them?” Suddenly hope flared in her heart. “Where are we? Are we still inside the Empire? Did we make it across the great Atlas sea?” She tried to stand completely upright, a feat made possible by her missing legs, trying to reach out for Celestia. The monarch gently pushed her down with her magic as she responded.
“This land is called Equestria, I do not know any Empire nor this sea you speak of.” Celestia pondered about the location of this Empire, the closest large body of water bordered Manehatan, yet she was familiar with the lands across it. “But of one thing you can be assured : you are safe here, you can rest easy.”
The look of relief returned to Aurora’s features, her limbs finally relaxing. If she could, she would have cried out of happiness as she held her stomach and whispered to herself.
“We made it … My child is safe … we are safe. “At that moment she remembered the last person who had told her to “rest easy”. She addressed Celestia once more.
“What about my husband? We made the jump together …” Caecilia could imagine the reaction Mès would have when arriving in a foreign land, his wife mangled by his own powers and surrounded by an unknown population. Thankfully he would be too drained to do anything dangerous for some time. Doing anything stupid was another thing entirely.
“I’m sorry, but we only found you” Celestia expected another fit of worry, but Aurora’s expression only reflected annoyance, of all things. “I will send search parties at once, he maybe hurt as well.”
“How long have i been asleep?” the girl pouted, deep in contemplation.
“Two days days now” the alicorn was really beginning to feel unnerved by the lack of concern in Caecilia’s features. Maybe she couldn’t read the facial expressions on this species as well as she thought?
“Good, it will be at least another moon cycle until he is able to use any of his powers” The confused silence from her counterpart demanded an explanation. “He is the one that casted the spell that brought us here, it should have drained him completely. If he reappeared in a different location than I did, you can be sure that he is going crazy right now. You don’t want him to be able to use his -what did you call it, magic?- until he knows I am safe.”
“Is he dangerous?” Understanding dawning on Celestia, it was her turn to be worried for her subjects : from what she could gather this Mès had successfully teleported himself and his mate across half of the world. If the wielder of such powerful magic was unstable, she would have to take immediate action to find him and bring him to Caecilia, before anyone got hurt.
“Not as much as he is stupid.” she responded with a little grin. “But in all seriousness he has to be made aware of my well being … or that I am alive at least. It is not in his nature to hurt anyone on purpose, but he can be such a clumsy fool when worried.”
“Understood. Guards!” Celestia turned and called towards the double door, promptly opened to make way for two white pegasi, adorned with the traditional Canterlot royal gold armor. They bowed and stood at attention. “You will organize a search party for a creature resembling this one” She said pointing to Caecilia with her wing. “You will tell him that his wife Caecilia is well and that she is waiting for him at Canterlot Cas....” Interrupted by a soft cough, the surprised alicorn faced the bed, finding a contrite looking girl with a hint of red around her cheeks.
“About that” She began, with the attitude of a cheeky girl caught red handed after a prank. “You may want to tell him that it’s Aurora who is waiting for him” Admitting a lie was never easy for a merchant, especially when dealing with someone to whom she was in debt. She had to regain some credit. “You can’t miss him: he is bald and has darker skin than I do, his eyes are green, his nose crooked and his feet are freakishly large. But don’t tease him about them, he will go crazy, trust me. Oh and if his eyes start to glow you better run. Now come on, off you go!”
The guards, mouth hanging in a silent gasp, looked upon the strange creature that dared to not only give orders to a pair of royal guards but also interrupt the highest figure of authority in the kingdom, after lying to her no less. Full of indecision they looked upon Celestia for directions, the later giving them a quick nod while trying her best to hide a little smirk. When the duo closed the massive door behind them she allowed a huge grin to stretch across her face. Facing the bed once more she engaged a playful conversation.
“So, Miss Aurora was it?” Celestia did not have the occasion to use this teasing tone very often. “Can I expect you to be more truthful from now on or do I have to doubt everything you tell me?”
The trapped fox contemplated her choices, chose the course she found the most pleasing and sprang into action.
“OH WOE IS ME” The princess had expected some bashfulness, but she was yet again surprised when the merchant broke into seemingly genuine tears, wrapping herself in her covers and wailing to the wind. “Trapped in a foreign land, separated from my companion, horribly disfigured and now having lost the TRUST of my benefactor, what will become of poor Aurora!” She then broke into heart wrenching sobs.
Said benefactor found herself dumbfounded for a few seconds, a state she rarely experienced.
“A little over dramatic don’t you think?” Celestia said with one raised eyebrow. Thinking the girl would continue her cries she approached the bed, magically pulling the covers to reveal a thoughtful expression on Aurora’s tearful face.
“Hmm, no, I think it was just the right amount.” As if sensing the slight frown on the alicorn’s face she added, in a very pleased tone. “Gotcha!”
As the ruler of Equestria, Celestia could not engage in such a playful banter with her subjects, nor could she hope for such lively teasing from her overly serious sister whom she had just got back : Luna was still locked away in her tower, trying to catch up with everything she missed and day after day growing in size. Soon she would be as tall as she once was.
As she engaged in a battle of wits with Aurora, Celestia wondered how Luna would react if confronted with such a volatile girl. She could imagine the foal -or what looked like one- losing her patience in a matter of seconds.
While she pictured a flustered foal Luna boiling with anger she went on with her discussion, realising why she enjoyed it so much : this was the first time in a thousand years that she could speak with someone without the weight of social status setting them apart, a simple discussion between equals, and maybe friends.
---ΩΩΩ---
“Oh my, does cõlei mean …”
“Yes it means exactly what you are thinking about. Every male’s weak point. Or weak points if you want to be specific”
“So, did he comply? Did he calm down?”
“Well I taught him that this threat was not one to be ignored over the years we have known each other. He even unconsciously crossed his legs as I said it!”
Celestia and Aurora shared a girlish laugh, the former having completely discarded her regal attitude. The day had flew by, the princess having simply dismissed any royal duties, the merchant demanding that a supply of pastries would be available at any time and the two of them generally acting like spoiled teenage girls, pony or human alike.
They both needed such a day of carelessness.
As dusk approached, the two females had started to speak of the events that brought them together, Celestia quickly summarizing Aurora’s sudden appearance, how her magic would not work and her less than satisfying nursing. She still hid the fact that she thought that this was caused by the difference in species, the blind girl didn’t need anything more to worry about. In fact, the more Celestia heard about the Empire, the more she was convinced that they were not even from the same world.
For example the fact that the breed capable of using magic was enslaved since birth, receiving a brand on their palms when bought, was a concept entirely alien to the ageless alicorn. Such an advanced species, yet so cruel to one another. The fact that the magical brand was inflicted by other mystics to ensure obedience was even worse. It reminded Celestia of a spell she had outlawed at the start of her reign.
“So then he teleported the both of you?”
“I don’t know about the term teleport, maybe it’s accurate for the way you use mystical powers, but as far as I know, he performed a spell that has been long lost, we call it a jump.” Aurora took the time to take a bite from the carrot cake she was hoarding before proceeding, mouth half full. “As far as the theory goes if the concentration of power is large enough, matter can be launched through space instantaneously. The tricky part is setting the landing zone and making sure that no mass is lost during the trip. We have learned of this land when travelers returned half crazed from what we though was the end of the world, they had been lost at sea for months when they beached here." Engrossed in her storytelling, she didn't notice that she was littering Celestia's bed with crumbs, the later seated in a long chair alongside. "They reported that the land was fertile and the indigenous population was friendly. I guess they were right. Anyway I had been trying to convince Mès about the jump theory for days. When we got trapped and we had no other choice he conceded.”
“What happened then?” The princess prompted herself up interested.
“He concentrated for what felt like hours, trying to reach to this land with his powers, to feel it. To make a connection between energies. When he established the link he released his pent up power and I blacked out. Next thing I know I woke up here.”
“That’s all?” Celestia was disappointed, she had hoped for a little more details around the teleportation process, trying to understand how Aurora had managed to jump from one world to another. The woman's ability to briefly summarize information was quite handy as a merchant, but as a storyteller...
“Hey! Excuse me princess, but I was only holding the map in this trip” Aurora retorted. “If you want more details you will have to ask the one holding the helm”
Celestia smiled, the only times her new friend had called her by title were in a jeering or sarcastic manner. She had teased Celestia to no end when the pony bringing the trays of cakes had used the honorific for the first time.
“Do you remember anything else?”
“Only one thing, I don’t know if it is a dream or if it was real, but i remember hearing someone after the green fire surrounded me: it was a female voice, young, it talked of strange things like elements of harmony, friendship and other things. I distinctly remember her saying “it creates the sixth element, the element of magic”. Then a scream, another female I think. Really sounds like a strange dream don’t you think?”
Celestia kept silent for a few seconds, absorbing the information. She had witnessed the events that Aurora had heard just a few weeks ago. She needed to think about the pieces of the puzzle some more but she guessed that she found what had brought Aurora and Mès to Equestria.
“Then I will ask him about the spell. I sure hope we get along, we will have to talk for days about this” Celestia decided to tease her a little, just a little revenge. “maybe even nights” in a very suggestive tone. At least it will get at least a reaction out of her.
“I would not joke about this if i were you.” Aurora looked serious. “That man is a sucker for strong women and once I am gone he will jump you like a lion jumps on a gazelle.”
“Aurora …” How could she joke about her own fate in such an easy way, Celestia couldn’t fathom, but at least she could try to play along. “I really don’t think I am his type”
“Powerful, tall and judging by your voice, beautiful. And plus a little detail, a princess. Not his type at all” Her smile was infectious. "But will you like him I wonder? Judging by the way you described me to those guards earlier, we must look so very different from each other.” As Celestia opened her mouth to change the subject Aurora interjected. “No don’t tell me! It will be funnier if I am told by Mès : he is so very bad with words” She giggled lightly before suppressing a yawn.
“Every time you speak of your husband you make him sound like such an oaf.” The amused tone hid real curiosity. “Were you not happy with him? Does your culture not offer a choice when choosing a mate?”
“All the things I say about him are true.” Aurora was suddenly lost in thoughts, recalling the time they had met. “But I did choose him. Despite all of his quirks, I chose him.” Suddenly exhausted she carefully laid down from her sitting position. With a weak voice she added. “I could not for the life of me tell you why.” Celestia respectfully turned away from the exhausted girl falling asleep, choosing to gaze through the window as her kingdom embraced Luna's night.
As a peaceful silence dawned between the two friends, miles away from Canterlot, Ponyville began its slumber under the rising moon. In the tree-library of the quiet town, two emerald eyes looked over the unconscious body of a purple unicorn, plotting for revenge.