//------------------------------//
// The Deathly Desert Flower 
// Story: The Tale of Coltypt 
// by Rakoon1 
//------------------------------//

	Twenty years have passed. Twenty years have passed since Amun’s birth and his mother Seshat have sent him river down to find freedom, only to be found and adopted by Queen Tuya, his aunt.

During this time, the young Amun was raised as a prince, son of the Pharaoh, even though he was unaware of his true identity. Tuya loved both her biological son and her adoptive son equally, because for her, the two were truly her children.

Seshat, who had been informed by Isis about what had happened to Amun, was relieved and at the same time worried because she didn’t know what would happen if Seti discovered that the baby he and his queen had adopted was the nephew he wanted to kill to secure his throne. The heartbreak of seeing her child to be raised by another mare, even that mare was Tuya, made Seshat be immensely ill, eventually perishing, to the great sorrow of Nut, Seth, Isis and other friends who Seshat had met during her time between the slaves.

Amun and Khonsu, who had grown to think they were real brothers, became best friends, doing everything together, including trying to get their Cutie Marks (Khonsu’s was a shield and a spear and Amun’s was a sword and a plume crossed). While Khonsu tried to remain serious, because he would inherit the throne and become the next pharaoh, he let himself be carried away by Amun’s lively and playful attitude. The younger prince was always creating trouble and dragging his older with him. Seti, because of the fate that awaited Khonsu, was more stern with him than Amun, an example being a situation that broke the camel.

The two princes, although they got along, liked to compete against each other, especially in large chariot races, chariots that guards used to pull. During one of these races, they took it too far and ended up destroying a temple that was being built in honor of the Lord of Chaos. The occurrence was betrayed by Pharaoh’s two high priests, Hotep (a short and portly unicorn stallion) and Huy (a tall and slender unicorn stallion), who ran the worship to the Lord of Chaos practiced in Coltypt. Seti before his sons, in the throne room where Tuya and the high priests were also present, started to scold them.

“Why does the Lord of Chaos torment me with this such reckless, destructive blasphemous sons?” Seti asked, backs to his sons, holding his hekat scepter.

“Father, hear what I say…” Khonsu started.

“Be still!” Seti ordered, turning to his sons. “Pharaoh speaks. I seek to build an empire and your only thought is to amuse yourselves by tearing it down. Have I taught you nothing?”

“You must not be so hard on yourself, Your Majesty” Hotep said, making a bow to Seti, while he and Huy started to move away. “You’re an excellent teacher.”

“It’s not your fault your sons learned nothing” Huy said, passing by the two princes.

“Well, they learned blastphemy” Hotep said.

“True” Huy agreed, while they headed to the exit.

“Father, the fault is mine” Amun admited. “I goaded Khonsu on and so I am responsible.”

“Responsible” Seti repeated, approaching his sons and turning to Khonsu. “And do you know the meaning of that word, Khonsu?”

“I understand, father” Khonsu answered.

“And do you understand the task for which your birth has destined you?” Seti asked, turning to the great windows and then addressing to the throne again. “The ancient traditions? When I pass into the next world, then you will be the Morning and Evening Star.”

“One damaged temple does not destroy centuries of tradition” Khonsu dared to say.

Then his father turned to him, exclaiming and pointing the scepter to him:

“But one weak link can break the chain of a mighty dinasty!”

That made Khonsu startle and become afected by his father’s words. Tuya approached her husband and put a hoof on his shoulder, what made the Pharaoh become more calm and then he sighed and said to Khonsu, turning his back:

“You have my leave to go.”

“Father…” Khonsu started, but he was stopped by his mother to made a gesture with her hoof to made her older son from continuing with what he would say.

Feeling his father’s disappointment, Khonsu simply abandoned the throne room. Seeing his brother going out completely angry, Amun felt himself guilty and tried to resolve the situation. He turned to Seti and said, giving one step ahead:

“Father, you know it was really my fault. Must you be so hard on him?”

Seti turned to him and said:

“Amun, you will never have to carry a burden like the crown I will pass to Khonsu. He must not allow himself to be led astray. Not even by you, my son.”

He put a hoof on Amun’s shoulder for a moment and then Amun said:

“All he cares about is… is your approaval. I know he will live up to your expectations. He only needs the opportunity.”

“Maybe, maybe so” Seti agreed. “Go now, I shall see you both tonight.”

Amun made a bow with his head and then he headed to exit of the throne room, while Tuya went to her husband’s edge.

In a hall, Amun found his older brother in his favourite spot, where he used to go when he needed to think: the lap of a great statue. The younger prince approached, using his magic to sew what seemed to be a cloth pouch, while whistling a song he used to dream about, not knowing it was the song her birth mother sang to him before sending him river down. Amun learned against the statue, while continuing to sew, and said:

“Well, that went well.”

“Just go away” Khonsu said.

“Could’ve been worse” Amun, referring to their father’s scold.

“The wink link in the chain” Khonsu said. “That’s what he called me.”

Amun saw that he needed to say another thing to cheer Khonsu up, so he said:

“Well, you are rather pathetic.”

“Irresponsible, ignorant of the tradictions…” Khonsu enumerated. “He practically accused me of bringing down the dinasty!”

“Yeah, I can see it know” Amun joked, while giving some passes. “There go the pyramids!”
And he laughed, while addressing to the table with a large bowl nearly, while Khonsu teleported himself to down, following then his brother, saying:

“You can laugh about it.”

“Statues cracking and toppling over, the river drying up; singlehoofedly, you will manage to bring the greatest kingdom of this world to ruin” Amun joked, while filling the bag he just sewed with red wine, and then used his magic to take it to the balcony.

“Tell me this, Amun, tell me this” Khonsu said, going to his brother’s edge, who looked down of the balcony. “Why is it that every time you start something, I’m the one who ends in trouble?”

But Amun didn’t say anything, as he just dropped the pouch, while taking cover. It heard a splash and then some moans. Khonsu looked and saw that Amun had dropped the pouch with wine over Hotep and Huy, who looked up to see who dared to drop wine over them and they saw Khonsu, thinking then it was him.

“Khonsu, you’re in trouble, young man!” Hotep exclaimed.

“Khonsu, get down here!” Huy demanded. “I think you owe us an apology!”

While the two high priests continued to protest over what happened to them, Khonsu tried to find his young brother and then saw him holding the bowl with wine to him.

“You might as well” Amun said.

That made a smile appear in Khonsu’s face who sighed and then took the bow with his magic and then he also dropped the wine in the bowl over the two high priests who protested even louder. After that, Amun said, while he and his brother walked by the balcony, with the younger putting his foreleg over the older’s shoulders:

“Hey, I figured out. You know what your problem is, Khonsu?”

“What?”

“You care to much.”

“And your problem is that you don’t care at all” Khonsu replied, releasing himself from Amun and then misaligning his mane.

“Well, in that case, I suppose that you care a lot more than I do that we’re… late for the banquet, for exemple” Amun said, arranging his mane, while Khonsu continued to walk.

That made Khonsu stop and drop his smile. He had forgot about the banquet where Seti would proclaim him as crown prince. If he appeared late to the banquet, his father would be even more disappointed.

Then the two princes started to address to the banquet, using a shortcut to get there and to appear as quietly as possible. Khonsu, who had afraid of his father’s reaction, was trying to get back, only to be stopped by his brother who started to push him along the way.

“I’m done for!” Khonsu exclaimed. “Father will kill me!”

“Don’t worry, nopony will even notice us coming in” Amun said, while they arrived to the curtains that led to the Great Hall.

When they crossed them, they faced with a great crown, cheering their arrival. The queen and the Pharaoh were nearby, as they were at the great platform of the room, separated of the rest by stairs. Seeing all those ponies, Khonsu asked to Amun between his teeth:

“Nopony will even notice?”

That made Amun give a nervous laugh. Then their mother approached said, while giving both a great hug:

“Ah, the young princes!”

She then addressed to Khonsu:

“Khonsu, you were just named prince regent. You are now responsible for overseeing all the temples.”

That made a smile appear in Khonsu’s faces and her mother then told him:

“I suggest you get over there and thank your father.”

She push him ahead and he went to his father, while his mother and brother applauded. Tuya then said to Amun:

“Apparently, Amun, someone thought he just needed the opportunity.”

Amun realized that Seti had heard him and that Tuya had some hoof on that. Then, to make things better to his brother, Amun addressed to the Pharaoh, who was congratulating Khonsu, and told him:

“My lord Pharaoh, I propose that the high priests offer a tribute to their new regent.”

“An excellent idea” Seti said, turning then to Hotep and Huy, who had cleaned their coats and cloaks from the wine and were eating some fruits. “Hotep! Huy!”

Interrupting their eating, Hotep had a great idea and said to Huy:

“Huy, the Berberian girl.”

“That’s a good idea” Huy agreed.

“Go get her” Hotep said.

And Huy moved away, while Hotep turned to the royal family and said, while the two princes sat at the stairs:

“By the power of Chaos! We present for your delectation and delight an exotic apparition stolen from a faraway land.”

Using his magic, he summoned smoke that engulfed him and then he came out, while a great folding screen appeared and then fell, only to reveal Huy holding a rope that was holding the front hooves of a young earth mare, who shouldn’t be older than Amun and was sitting on a camel. She was very beautiful, having a brilliant tangelo coat with three blue stars as Cutie Mark, a brilliant amaranth mane and brilliant fuchsia eyes. The crown released some gasp when she appeared. The two brothers were very impressed with her, mainly Amun.

“We offer you this delicate desert flower” Hotep said to Khonsu, taking the rope from Huy and then pulling it, making the young mare get out by force from the camel, something that cause some laughs at the guests in the room.

The mare was tossed and she found herself in front of the princes. Khonsu got up with a smile and approached her, saying:

“Let us inspect this… desert flower.”

He put his hoof under her chin, but she then tried to bite him, what made Khonsu take off the hoof without his smile, retreating to his brother’s edge, who had also gotten up, saying then:

“Looks like a desert cobra.”

Amun laugh and then said:

“Not much of a snake charmer, are you?”

Then Khonsu had an idea to repay Amun from the prank over the high priests. He put himself behind his younger brother and told him:

“And that’s why I am giving her to you.”

And he push him to the mare’s edge, with Amun caught by surprise. The younger prince said:

“No, no, no, that’s generous, but…”

“I won’t be given to anypony” the mare said, looking to Amun. “Specially an arrogant, pampered palace brat!”

Those words made everypony around to gasp, as she had just insulted one of the princes of Coltypt. Khonsu incited his brother:

“Are you going to let her talk to you like that?”

That hit in Amun’s pride hard and then he addressed to the mare:

“You will show the proper respect for a prince of Coltypt.”

“But I’m showing you all the respect you deserve” the mare answered. “None!”

And then she was able to make Hotep drop the rope, releasing her, for everypony’s shock. A guard tried to intervene, but Amun told him:

“No, wait!”

He then launched himself to the ground and grabbed the rope with his hooves, holding it with his magic so that the mare couldn’t release herself again and said to her:

“Be still!”

“Untie this rope!” the mare demanded. “I demand you to set me free!”

“Be still!” Amun continued to say, always holding the rope.

“Let go!” the mare exclaimed.

Then Amun noticed the small pool behind her and, by the force she was using, he managed to conceive a way to make her be still.

“As you wish” he said with a slight smile.

He dropped the rope and the mare, due the force she was using, was tossed to the pool, where she fell, by everypony’s amusement. Amun got up, also laughing a little, but then he turned to his parents. Although Seti seemed indifferent, Amun noticed that Tuya seemed disappointed, something that made the young prince become a little sad, as, between his parents, her mother was the one whose respect and pride Amun most wanted. Khonsu approached Amun, laughing, what prompted Amun to give a wry smile, and then the older prince turned to the servant who was taking the mare from the pool and said to him:

“You there! Have her dried off and sent her to Prince Amun’s chambers.”

Khonsu then take Amun back to edge of the stairs and said to his father:

“If it pleases you, father, my first act as regent is to appoint Amun as royal chief architect!”

And Khonsu, while saying this words, took a bracelet he had and then put it on Amun’s right foreleg, raising it after that, making the crown applaud. Amun then collected his foreleg back and watched the bracelet with pride. 

But then his look was to the Berberian mare who was being taking off the room by the servant. She also looked at him, but with a scornful look. That look was able to let Amun repented for what he did to her.