The Moon the Draconequus and the Sands of Saddle Arabia

by TheSexyMenhir

Vibe Vodoo

Oh few are the things which are more foolish than what ponies do for appearance. Even before my imprisonment it always baffled me how much effort nobles and common folk alike put into appearing so ridiculous that even I would have to think for a few moments to come up with something more bizarre. A thousand years of having to watch garden parties only served to reinforce that impression. Hats, Scarves, shawls, boots, vests, togas, flower wreaths, socks, and all of them as utterly and completely dull as the next. Each generation more ready to ridicule the habits of the last, only to then reinvent the ideas of two generations before.

One of the more original ideas however, was ‘ambience magic’, or as it more commonly referred to vibe-voodoo. Early during my imprisonment some unicorn came up with an idea of how to prime a simple spell to react to certain outside conditions, like say a voice or a gesture. And did he use them to create wonderful pranks, and traps for the unsuspecting? NO! He turned it into a fashion accessory. For the next few years there was no romantic gesture which wasn’t supported by a magical bird choir, no sob-story which didn’t cause haunting violin notes to sound, and no ghost story which wasn’t backed by ominous thunder and the howling of wolves in the distance.

Luckily this cavalcade of trite cliches disappeared a few years later, as fashion trends tend to do. Not so luckily this had apparently been after dear Lunas banishment, and so people were starting to turn towards us as Luna tinted the world around her in rose colours.

I was just about to wave toward the young princeling which seemed to finally have noticed the commotion, only to feel several pounds of cerulean princess ram into me. While I was once again coming to terms with the fact that air was now a required part of my biology, Luna dragged my gasping body away from the parade.

An unceremonious “oomph” marked my arrival in one of the backyards, that were so typical for the Celestanstinopolian building style. Had moments before the heat beat down on us, like Celestia was holding a grudge, in here the air was soft and cool. A roofed walkway provided shade, and a network of canals fed the plethora of flowers that prevented the yard from turning into yet another searing furnace. The gentle whispering of water would have made for a serene atmosphere, weren’t it for the fact that I was currently towered by the heavily breathing body of the princess of the night.

“Oh my, Luna! How straightforward of you,” I mouthed coyly, doing my best impression of the Royal Canterlot Bedroom Eyes (you’ll have to ask Celestia how I know what those look like). Much to my annoyance however, Luna ignored my genius attempt at humor, in favor of staring off into the distance wistfully.

Before I could even think of another joke, a longing sigh escaped her lips, and when I saw that twinkle in her eye it became utterly clear to me: Luna was an big old drama queen!

And if this theory needed any proof I could see her steadying her breath. With snakelike agility my paw shot forwards, firmly lodging itself in the mouth of the surprised diarch. “No!Singing!”

“Pleargh! How dare thee? I only wanted to point out that it would be prudent that we talk to the prince,” she said, finally giving me enough room to stand up and dust myself of.

To say that I looked at her dubiously, would be the understatement of the millenia.

“Oh dear Luna, I’d LOVE to see you trying to burst into the palace to meet your newest colttoy, and just imagine the looks on their faces, when they find out that two of Equestria’s most powerful casters have entered the country without telling anybody,” I replied. As much as the ensuing chaos would have been wonderful, I didn’t think, that my pride could take it, if once again it was Luna who caused more chaos than me. Seeing Luna turn a deep tomato red, made this interim compromise all the sweeter.

“No you insufferable fiend! We only wanted to suggest that …” she began, before trailing off.

“Yes Luna?” I have to admit that I enjoyed teasing her like this immensely.

“.... that we look for the artifact amongst the treasures the sultan is sure to have amassed,” she finally finished, the look of extreme self confidence only betrayed by the fact that her ears were still twitching back and forth.

“And you allready got a plan how to do so without causing an international incident, I’m sure…”

Luna grinned.

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And that’s how I found myself crouched behind a bush in the gardens of the sultanate palace.

I may have mentioned once or twice that I wasn’t used to controlling my body without magic to aid me, well, as it turns out, sneaking isn’t any easier than running or jumping. It can only be attributed to sheer luck that we had made it past the castle walls at all, though most of the guards being drunk from the festivities did help a lot. However it had taken barely five minutes of stumbling across the vast wildlife sanctuary that passed for a garden in the sultan's eyes, before I was attacked by a foe that brought my progress to an halt.

“Let go you stupid bush.”

Of course it would be then during my struggle, that a cloud of dark mist coalesced besides me, until the princess of the night looked across the gardens.
“Be still, guards are approaching.”

I fell silent, and pressed myself as close to the ground as possible, while Luna turned into her mistform again. I could only barely make out the form of the two guards, even with their large build that put them above most equestrians. Their armor was gleaming golden in the moonlight, but where Celestia’s guards probably had to train for years to keep that half bored look on their faces, in saddle arabia they had opted for the easy route; both of them wore golden masks, that showed a face of anger… or possibly constipation.

I held my breath. Watching as the guards walked their routes, seemingly none the wiser of my presence. Before long the two passed out of view, disappearing into a hedge maze, and I returned to freeing my foot from the thrice cursed greenery.

“Incidentally,” Luna said, once again appearing besides me, “where did you get these outfits?”

She of course was referring to the tightly wound cloth garb we both were wearing. In cut it was similar to the robes of the desert dwellers, but coloured in a deep night blue, such that the wearer appeared to be little more than a shadow.

“I stole them from a clothesline,” I replied absentmindedly, still tugging on the thorns that were unwilling to let go of my leg.

“You did what!?” Luna whispered, or at least her tone insisted that it was supposed to be a whisper, albeit a rather loud one. At least she helped me freeing my leg, her magic incasing the plant, and part of my leg.

“Oh, don’t worry. I left behind two of your nightgowns instead. By the way, I didn’t pick you for one to wear pink silk.”

“YOU DID WHAT?!” This most definitely wasn’t a whisper.

“Hush. We’re trying to be stealthy, remember?” And with that I turned towards the palace, leaving behind a seething princess.

When she finally caught up with me, her wrath had at least calmed down to boiling anger.

“This isn’t over yet,” she snarled, and then disappeared into a cloud of smoke. I thought I could smell a hint of sulfur.

Content with my attempt at angering the princess, I concentrated on the building in front of me. Celestia’s touch was unmistakably present in this building as well, the white marble and golden roofs, which looked like a bulb with a point towards the sky betraying her like a call sign. But when compared to Canterlots ever new, ever pristine buildings, you could feel the age emanate from the palace.
It was a witness of an older, more savage time. And a witness of an older, more savage Celestia. All the gold, and all the marble couldn’t hide the nature of this building; it was a fortress, the home of a warrior princess.

I pushed aside the thoughts of the past, and instead looked for a way to enter the Palace.

“Luna?” I asked the night around me, feeling slightly foolish.

“Yes?” Came the answer from direct behind my head. I didn’t give her the satisfaction of turning around.

“Could you take a rope up to that window?” I pointed towards one of the lower loop-holes, that would certainly have been too narrow for a pony, but was just about big enough for my serpentine body. An assumption that proved right a few moments later, when I snaked my way into the castle.

Luna looked around the corridor, her ears perked up, listening for the sound of approaching guards. Personally I was more interested in our surroundings, than the chance of guards coming upon us. The inside of the palace only reinforced my impression from the outside; rich tapestries, carpets, and all sort of riches, that still only barely managed to hide the militaristic look of the place.

Every few feet archaic knight armor decorated the hallway, that seemed to go all around the building. I looked for a way deeper into the building, since, as Luna and I had surmised, the treasury would most certainly be in the deepest parts of the palace.

“Over there.” I pointed towards a door, that lead to a staircase.

Carefully Luna took the lead, edging towards the staircase with grace that betrayed her connection to the night and the darkness. After peering around the edge of the doorframe, she waved for me to follow her.

They palace was quiet, except for the sound of the festivities that were still going on in the distance. As I had skulked around the place looking for the cloths, I overheard several ponies talking about the banquet that the sultan was holding to honour the prince. As it would appear, the sultan to be had spent quite some time abroad, learning the ways of the warrior, and now it was time to celebrate his passage into the realm of adults.

For us that mostly meant, that the outwards areas of the palace were mostly empty. A sign that fate was in our favour, if I’d believe in something like this. From my experience, most of life is controlled by a guy called Murphy.

Quite a cranky fellow.

As we crept down the stairs I once again turned my attention to Luna.

“So, are you finally going to tell me how you expect to find the treasury, or are we just going to traipse around the cellars all night long?” I asked, waddling after the scouting princess of the night.

“Nothing easier than that, we just have to follow the prince when he goes to sleep, and I’ll look into his dreams.” There it was again, that smug grin, accompanied by the nervous twitching of her ears. Somebody would have to tell dear Luna that she was a terrible liar.

“Ah, the old ‘mare of my dreams’ trick. I thought you were banned from using that ever since the tiger ambassador nearly divorced his wife…” Did I already mention that it is extremely fun to annoy Luna?

That she tried to glare at me, while embarrassment still turned her face beet red, made it all the funnier.

“Shut up and follow me! I think I see a balcony from which we can see the festivities…”

Comments

[Alicorn Princess]

downvoted for bad spelling

find an editor
or a better editor

you may also want to get rid of the national geographic logo on your cover art

[Dark Shade 75]

4839056
Downvoted for spelling your name incorrectly, missing punctuation, and forgetting to capitalize letters.

[TheSexyMenhir]

4839756 No white knighting in my comments please. If I feel a comment is unnapropriate, I will delete it. Thanks for the concern though.

4839056 Thank you for your critique. Perhaps not the politest, but I'am always glad to see someone state the reason why they disliked my story.

[Dark Shade 75]

4839828
Agreed, and apologies. It's just an unfortunate pet peeve of mine for someone to criticize and then make the same mistakes. My only real problem was that he was a bit rude about it.

[ForSpite]

I'm glad to see this update. I just don't remember what Discord and Luna were looking for anymore. Time to do a little perusing old chapters, I suppose.

[Shinola]

so much dust on this shelve.... no updates for like forever!

[Starlight Nova]

Why is this on hiatus?

[TheSexyMenhir]

5811546 Lack of continued interest in MLP; Since the writers opted to ignore continuity in favor of humor (a perfectly valid decision) the MLP universe just doesn't have much that keeps me interested in it.

[Razzy]

5814061 Aww, that's a pity, the available chapters are awesome.

Cya
Raziel-chan

[ADFX-NightRaven414]

7174007 Narnia much?

[Texus]

was this really a sequel? I'm just looking at it for a moment while still reading the first story, but for now I don't really want to call it a sequel, since it seem to tell a different story and not continue the one from before.

[Doctor_Den]

Should I start this story if it doesn't have its own personal ending?

[TheSexyMenhir]

10711933
Honestly, no.