• Published 17th Sep 2013
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Magi Chronicles: Fires of Equestria - Xeadin



A young Precursor guardian, forced to flee from his home by the threat of an overzealous dominion, seeks refuge amongst the stars-- hoping to answer the questions left behind by the strange disappearance of a powerful entity.

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Chapter 9 -- Hindsight

As the day went on, the brilliant sun rose high in the sky, letting loose its irradiating warmth. The combination of the radiance with the chilling autumn winds made life in Canterlot inviting. During the seasonal change, trees began to change colors, from their luscious green to a multitude of fiery colors—a mix of reds, oranges and yellows—which made the landscape blush and stand out against the dark, lush valley floor.

Asura and Celestia walked out of one of the tall, spiraling towers that dotted the castle grounds, followed shortly by Luna, Twilight and her friends, Cadence and Shining Armor. Asura took a quick look around his surroundings. It reminded him of the tall structures that made up one of Marcovi’s most remarkable and articulate ancient archives, the Knowledge Towers. He remembered the bronze facades that criss-crossed the upper super-structures, sharing the towers and providing ease of access to one archive with another.

There was a throbbing sensation pulling at the tip of his mind. Something was trying to garner his attention, but he didn’t know what it was. Something seemed out of place, as though he was forgetting about something important. He brushed off the feeling, and the throbbing pain slowly melted away. His attention returned to the intricately carved walls of the spires that stood up from over the supporting structure of the castle. He looked down one side of the walkway to realize that the structure had hung over the side of the mountain itself. It was a long drop towards the bottom of the valley below, but fortunately he did not have an immediate fear of heights.

What troubled him was the fact that the sun still felt like it was spying on him—watching his every move. The presence felt greatly intense with Celestia right next to him, who was also keeping an eye on him. He felt the eyes of several others looming in his direction. It became clear that everyone around him drew interest in his gait. It seemed apparent that they had never seen an individual before that could walk in such a natural, uninterrupted flow—on, only, two legs. Celestia had seen Discord walk on several occasions, but his gait was much more awkward and lopsided—being the entity of disharmony and all.

Asura, shyly, looked up towards Celestia, who shared a gentle grin back to him. He felt a pleasant warmth caressing his cheek. Silence had filled the air, save for the autumn winds that came up from the valley below, and the rhythmic footfalls of hooves on the granite floor.

She broke the silence. “I’d watch your step, if I were you.”

Being that she had been around the castle grounds for many generations, she had not lost a single step in her footing. Asura looked down to see a sudden shift in texture, as the granite floor introduced a change to dirt and cobblestone. His foot, expecting to land in the same place as before, missed the intended step and fell an extra inch to the cobble walkway. His loss of footing caused him to tremble forward and he leaned forward, taking the momentum of his sudden shift of footing. As he tried to regain his sense of balance, he started to lean over towards the muddy dirt before him. Right before hitting the sodden dirt face-first, he hung just inches away from being covered in a muddy mess. A dark blue haze had surrounded much of his chest, and he was brought upright on to his feet, next to Luna.

“Thou shalt heed the words of thy princess.”

She smiled, and brushed him off with a powerful stroke along his hind legs. It was a strange feeling having something other than a hand stroke against his own self, but it, also, felt decently pleasing. These ‘Equestrians,’ as he put it, were gentle and kind in nature. He returned a sheepish grin. He wanted to hide his own face for such a terrible mistake, but he realized it was too late to take back his own actions. Frankly, there was no scoffing or laughing from anyone else. It was, most likely, the looming presence of Celestia that restrained them from making such ludicrous opinions.

Twilight came up from behind, wearing an expression of worry. “Are you alright?”

Asura nodded. “I’m fine. Lost my footing, is all.”

She responded with a bright smile.

As they continued along the path, trees of varying types loomed overhead, creating a natural archway of intertwined arms. The canopy was lathered with an array of multicolored broad leaves, preparing to disembark from the tree limbs during the seasonal change. They re-emerged from the thicket, appearing before a large spiral building towards the base of the primary support that held the rest of the Canterlot grounds above the cliff. Various scents hung in the air—the smell of baked goods clung to the side of the mountain and became more obvious as they drew near. A tingling sensation could be felt in his chest, and his stomach grumbled in remorse. It was loud enough for Celestia to pick up on.

“I see somepony is starving for a bite to eat.”

His face blushed red, and he withdrew behind Celestia as they came upon the open doorway. The scent of fresh-baked goods hit his senses like a brick wall. Inside, he saw, what appeared to be, a mess hall. It was decorated with portraits of the princesses and various cooking utensils upon the walls, large shelves displaying fantastic delicacies, and a remarkably large kitchen at the back. Several ponies and various other figures raced along the kitchen counters, preparing meals and constructing pastries at a, seemingly, frantic rate.

Celestia beckoned Asura to come sit down at one of the long tables. He went along and sat down next to her, with Twilight to the opposite side. When everyone had sat down in their places nearest to each other, they all began to look across the table.

“So, Asura,” Twilight said. “What is it that you enjoy eating?”

Asura, keen on quelling his increasing hunger, sought to answer her question. “Well, I doubt you folks have anything that I’d prefer, although, by the looks and smell of things, I feel like I might enjoy whatever you ought to present me with.”

Celestia nodded. “Good answer.”

One of the figures within the kitchen spotted the newly-emerged group. It gave a slight exclamation in a high-pitched squawk, and rushed over to the table in a trail of flying feathers. The figure had the head and wings of an eagle, but had the body and arms of a lion. Its cat-like hands ended with eagle talons at the end of its appendages, and it wore a baker’s cap. Asura, soon, realized that the specimen before him was a griffon. He had seen many tales of griffons of similar appearance, but were only told of in legends of ancient mythological societies, where the first nomadic tribes appeared in the lands north of Marcovi and constructed a gargantuan statue of their god—that god taking the form of a mighty battle-scarred griffon.

It unfurled its moustache and cleared its throat. “Your majesty,” he spoke in a strange accent. It was almost as if he was being too formal. “I am a pleased to be a’ service to you, once again.”

Celestia held up her hoof. “Good afternoon to you as well, Jacques.” She gestured her hoof to the empty table. “You have the specialty prepared?”

“Vhy yes, your majesty. Ze special cake is a ready to be served.” His twisted moustache bounce around every time he twitched his head to get a good head count. He stopped shy of the count when he made eye contact with Asura. “And, eh, who might zis fine fellow be?”

Asura cleared his throat. “Asura. I am a guest to your majesty.”

“Monsieur Asura. Vhelcome to ze Canterlot Bakery.” Jacques finished his head count, and proceeded to head back to the kitchen. “Prepare ze specialty for ze majesty!”

One of the cooks managed to pop out from behind the swiveling doors inside the pantry. “The princess is here?” The cook made eye contact with the group and saw both princesses seated. “Oh! Right! Cake!” The cook disappeared, and Jacques returned with a handful of rolled up red velvet tablecloths, stuffed with finely polished, chrome-plated forks and knives. Asura took the knife out and studied it. He saw the reflection of his own face off of it, and proceeded to make funny gestures in front of it. The knife was polished enough for it to act as a tiny mirror. Cadence giggled at the sight.

Asura looked up and saw Cadence’s face blush from her own chagrin. “What?” he insisted.

Before long, unable to control her own thoughts, Cadence bellowed out in sheer laughter. The others watched on, as she tried to regain her breath, only to find that she, herself, couldn’t stop laughing. “You… you… you’re looking at… the… the knife… funny!”

Joining in on the fun, Pinkie Pie started laughing manically, garnering the attention of a few others within the hall, as well as a few cooks.

Faced with the assault of happiness before him, Asura sheepishly cowered underneath the table in an attempt to suppress his embarrassment. In the time he had been in the presence of the princesses, he had become bold enough to start expressing his own feelings, though he still had a long way to go. He felt a hoof gently massaging him on his back, and felt Twilight’s mass comforting him. “Oh, it’s alright, Asura. You’ll get used to everything around here.”

Celestia, also, offered a helping hoof. “It’s a glorious day. You should feel good. Cadence saw what you did as an invitation toward happiness. You shouldn’t feel awkward about your actions.”

Asura looked up to her. “You really think so?”

“Yes. Look at her.” She pointed over to Cadence, who was still heaving with exasperated giggles in between breaths. “It must be tough for you to understand certain things up front, but you shouldn’t feel bad about the things that you do to make others feel happy.”

That, alone, was enough to lift his own spirit. He hadn’t been here long, but he realized that what she said was true. He, truly, felt at home here.

The pantry doors swung open, and three ponies marched out with a giant silver platter adorned with the most decadent chocolate-lathered cake he had ever laid eyes on. His own jaw dropped, as the behemoth specialty came in to the middle of the crowd. It descended on to the table, and, upon landing, the mass of the cake made the whole table creak.

The cooks bowed and left back to the kitchen. Jacques reappeared with a stack of porcelain plates and handed them out, one by one, to everyone. “Enjoy your meal.” His exit was just as quick as his entry, reassuming position at the countertops and chopping ingredients with extraordinary precision and speed.

Celestia took the large knife that was place in the cake, with her golden haze, and sliced down all the way to the platter. The knife came out and was place on top of the cake again, and it gently slid down the length of the cake until the cut portion was free. That portion was enveloped with the same golden aura and was brought forth from the rest of the cake. It turned to the side, and landed right on Asura’s plate. The layers of the cake held the strong scent of bittersweet chocolate, a smell he was more than familiar with. There was also a sweet, fruity scent which he picked up on, as the cake was also adorned with a deep red jelly layer between the chocolate buttermilk layers.

As the cake was, methodically, sliced and served to everyone, she set the knife down on to the tray with half of the cake remaining. She took the fork and stuck it into her slice.

“Dig in.”

Upon that command, everyone else took their utensils and proceeded to enjoy their meal. It was an interesting sight to see that the ones that didn’t have horns still managed to use their utensils without trouble. He held his fork in hand and cut in to the cake. He brought the morsel up to him and took a good, brief whiff. It smelled heavenly, and decadent. ‘What are you waiting for, you fool? Just eat it!’

He engulfed the morsel in to his mouth and began to chew on it. The next moment, he was reeling on the fantastic sensation of bittersweet, creamy chocolate, mixed with the spongy texture of the cake base, topped off with what tasted like cherry and raspberry—both fruits he was familiar with. They seemed to have incorporated a lot of familiar ingredients into their diets. He gave a long groan of satisfaction, as he took another bite without hesitation. Within a minute, his plate was empty, save for a few morsels of baked batter and swirls of chocolate. He attempted to reach the knife for a second helping, but he couldn’t quite get there. He saw that Celestia was still enjoying the last of her first serving, and the others were still working on theirs.

He brought up his hand, and a small ball of energy appeared. A white halo enveloped the knife, as it hovered gently in the air. As it ascended, it garnered the attention of the others beside him. The knife sliced in to the cake with efficient ease, and kept itself in position. The knife, then, twisted to the side, allowing the slice to move over a little—giving him something to aim at. The knife fell flat to the platter with a light tap, and the slice became enveloped with the same white aura. It hovered just above the platter, and it turned over and landed on to his plate. Twilight sat aghast at the sight, along with the rest of her friends.

Celestia chuckled. “Well, I see somepony’s eager for more.”

Twilight, shell-shocked by Asura’s use of his own magic, set to find words to place on her mind. “That… was…”

AWESOME!!” Pinkie Pie roared, tearing Twilight’s attention away from Asura. “I’ve never seen anything like that before! Can you do that again? Can ya? Can ya??” She clapped her hooves together in glee.

Asura thought for a moment, and brought up his hand once again. This time, the knife traced its last movements much quicker than before and prepared another slice. He enveloped the slice and cleared his throat. “Who wants another?”

“Ooh, ooh! Ooh! Me! Mee! I do! I do!” Pinkie shouted. The cake slice hovered past Twilight and right over Pinkie’s plate. Her expression was short of jubilant.

He heard the clamping of the platter beside him, and saw that Celestia was slicing up the rest of the cake.

“I think everypony is ready for seconds. Mind doing the honors?” She glanced over to Asura, who nodded. The ball of energy re-emerged above his hand, enveloping the rest of the cake. He blinked a couple of times and brought his fingers into a cusp. He, then, opened up his hand, and each individual slice separated into the air and hovered right on to all the other’s plates. There were a few ominous ‘ooh’s’ from several bystanders on the other tables, including a few from the cooks as well.

Asura took the fork again and chowed down on the second slice in front of him, making sure that every bite was savored to his liking. He, certainly, did not expect this to be his first meal of the day, but he couldn’t argue with a good taste.

~~~~~~

When the day dawned upon the evening hours, the group emerged from the bakery and treaded back down the cobble walkway—the sun grazing the top of the mountains just beyond the rolling foothills and snaking rivers. The air grew colder as it got closer towards nighttime. Rainbow Dash flew ahead of the group and kept herself afloat next to Asura. “You have got to tell me that you can do more than that!” She spun herself around so that she flew backwards. “Are you able to fly?”

Twilight beckoned Rainbow Dash with a nudge to her leg. “Rainbow, don’t push him.”

“I’m not. I just want to see if he can fly.”

Asura shook his head. “I would if I could, but I’d be pressing my luck at that point. The powers that I have are limited only to small, mundane tasks.” He took out the stone that was kept in his pocket. “This stone can only grant me enough power to sustain myself. Out here, the influence of the Elements is weak.”

Celestia studied the rock intensively. “So, that little rock is how you were able to accomplish such tasks.”

He set the rock back in to his pocket. “I could accomplish much more, without the aid of the rock. Out here, though, I have very little or no affluence, so I must have a focus that can draw reserves from the surroundings.”

Luna rubbed her chin in thought. “I see. Perhaps, thou could find a way to bring these ‘Elements’ closer to thee. It may seem fitting to use your more advanced talents to make a living out here.”

“At this rate, it’d be a very dangerous gamble to go that far,” Asura inclined.

“Oh? Pray tell.”

He, suddenly, remembered why that throbbing feeling had occurred earlier today. He perked his head up and over the edge of the railing, and scanned the valley below. He saw, what looked like, a scar in the foothills next to the river. “I just realized. My ship. Is it safe?”

The others looked at each other in question.

“Pardon?”

“The ship that I arrived in. Where is it?”

Celestia looked over to him. “Oh, yes. That. It’s…” She trailed off.

Uh oh, that doesn’t sound good,’ he frowned at the thought. “I need to get back to it.”

Twilight stirred at the thought. She rallied up the others and stood before Asura. “We know where it is. We’ll take you there.”

He smiled. “Thanks, Twilight.”

Author's Note:

I had a little fun with this chapter, although I would've preferred having him stuff Pinkie Pie's mouth with delicious cake. Oh, the hilarity and food fights that would ensue.

Anywho, hope you're enjoying the progress so far. Let me know if anything seems 'off' and whatnot.