• Published 15th Mar 2017
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Of Heaven and Earth - Garuda IV



It's been over a thousand years since Sol was hidden away and sealed in crystal. Now freed by Twilight and her friends, he must readjust to the present while also having to deal with old grudges both from and against him.

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Chapter 15- A New Home

By the time Twilight was done questioning Sol after several long hours, it was finally time for her and Starlight to return to Ponyville, leaving Sol alone with nopony to talk to with the exception of Celestia during her short breaks, Luna during the evening and morning, and when Cura would come in to check on him. Even after he was cleared by Cura to leave his bed and move around, he still found himself somewhat unsure of what to do. It didn't help much either that he was still a stranger to this time era and castle. On the bright side, thanks to the rest that Sol was getting, his magic was slowly being restored. It wasn't nearly as what it was before he was sealed away, but he could now do levitation magic and other basic spells, and could use some of his earth magic far easier without tiring as quickly.

A few days later, rumors had begun to spread amongst the castle staff. With how Celestia and Luna had been interacting with Sol, along with their shows of affection, ponies were starting to suspect that with the arrest and imprisonment of Blueblood that the two sisters had selected Sol as his replacement. There were also several other rumors spreading as well, such as Sol being their secret lover, or that Sol was a diplomat or ambassador from the Dragon Lands. Even after hearing about them, neither Celestia, Luna, nor Sol said anything to either confirm or deny the rumors, finding it to be better off to let them gossip and later see the expressions on their faces if they ever do decide tell everypony. Of course, it didn't stop there.

While rumors spread amongst the castle staff, the newspapers were having their own field day with this. It started when Celestia, Luna, and the Element Bearers were all seen walking down the sidewalk to the Coliseum with a strange stallion traveling with them. Things picked up from there with how Celestia and Luna had reacted during Sol's Coliseum match, which further sparked their interests in Sol as to who he was and where he came from. It wasn't long before reporters had clamored around the castle, asking questions such as where did he come from, what is he doing here with the princesses, or how did he gain their favors so quickly.

On the evening of his third day, Sol asked Celestia at dinner what he could do. After a moment of thinking, she suggested that Sol begin catching himself up with the current laws and history of Equestria. The following morning, Sol was accompanied by a pair of royal guards to the castle library where the librarian had a place for Sol all set up for him, having been told ahead of time by Celestia. And so, from that morning on, Sol was seated at one of the reading tables with his face buried in the rather large book. From morning to night, Sol sat as he tried to stuff all of the new rules over the hundreds of years into his head until he closed his sore eyes and rubbed his head.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered.

"Is something the matter, sir?"

Looking up, Sol saw the librarian, a blue unicorn mare with a silver mane and eyes named Page, looking curiously at him with a brown book floating in her light-green aura.

"No, not really," he sighed. "I just can't believe that there are so many laws in place here. I mean, seriously. Why do we even have half of these laws? Who in their right mind would even want or approve of something like this?"

"I'm afraid I can't say for sure, sir," Page said. "But, I did manage to find that book you asked for."

"Thank you, Miss Page," Sol thanked, taking the book from her and setting it down on the table.

"Is there anything else I can get for you?"

"No thank you. I'm good for now."

"In that case, enjoy your reading, and if there's anything else I can help you with, just call."

Nodding to her in thanks, Sol watched as Page disappeared into the rows of bookshelves surrounding the table he was seated at. Once she was gone, he returned to his current book. After a few minutes of reading, he groaned and rubbed his head again.

"Is something wrong, Sol?"

Annoyed from the reading, Sol looked back to see Celestia approaching him with a concerned look on her face. Seeing who it was, Sol's annoyance quickly dissipated with a tired sigh.

"Just questioning these laws," he told her as she sat down beside him. "Most of these don't even make any sense. Limitations on the number of food stands in an establishment? Discounts on dresses and suits on the first day of every third week of the month? ... a limit to how many clusters of bananas a pony can buy? Who comes up with this stuff? Surely it couldn't have been you or Aunt Luna."

Celestia rolled her eyes. "I'll give you one guess."

Sol pondered it for a moment before his brow flattened. "Nobles?"

"Nobles."

And just like that, Sol found himself annoyed again. "Even after a thousand years, they are still a thorn in our sides."

Celestia nodded and looked over the book he was reading. "You've gotten rather far for just a few days."

"Yes, but so many of these laws are useless or just downright stupid. I remember when laws were straightforward and not written with sections and sub-sections. To be honest, I'm finding it to be rather unnecessary and overcomplicated."

"I understand, and agree that some of this is unneeded. But times change, Sol."

"I guess," he mumbled.

Celestia smiled. "Speaking of time, I thought that you should know that your cousin will be coming over in a few days to meet you."

"... I thought that Blueblood was still locked away?"

"He is and will remain that way for a very, very long time. No, Sol. I was talking about your other cousin."

Sol blinked. "You mean Cadence?"

"I am," she smiled. "She and her family will be coming over for your 'Welcome Home/Return to Equestria' party."

"That's a unique name for a party," he chuckled.

"Actually, it was Pinkie Pie who came up with it. And before you ask, yes, she, Twilight, and the rest of her friends will be there. I also managed to get ahold of Daring Do and invited her as well."

Sol smiled. "That's good to hear. I was afraid that she would be gone before I got the chance to properly thank her."

Nodding, Celestia looked over the table and saw a brown book off to the side. Bringing it over to her with her magic, she looked at the cover curiously.

"The Plumber Brothers' Guide to Plumbing?" she read out loud.

"Yeah. I was hoping to get to that later," Sol said.

"Why?"

"During my time here, I've been curious about the fixtures in the bathrooms lately, and by extent, the plumbing as well. That, and the fact that all of that stuff in the Underkingdom is a thousand years behind what today's are."

Celestia nodded in understanding. "Thinking about upgrading it to something more modern?"

"I am. If we ever do have to use it, then I don't think that ponies would like having to work with such primitive accommodations. And apart from the new plumbing, there's also the electricity that will need to be installed too. I've looked into it a little bit, and I'm actually wondering if there's a way that I can use the world's natural flow of magma as an infinite power source to generate the electricity needed to power the Underkingdom?"

"Perhaps. Although, you could also use crystals as a replacement."

Sol pondered it over for a moment. While he did find electricity fascinating and found out that it was used to power machines to help change the temperature of water and purify it to make it drinkable, he could very well substitute it for enchanted gems that he could easily create himself.

"I suppose I could do that too," he admitted. "It does sound like it could be a lot easier and quicker."

"Well either way, it sounds like it'll be quite the undertaking, but I'm sure that you can handle it."

"Thanks."

Sol reached up and nuzzled Celestia, which she returned with a nuzzle of her own. It didn't last for long as Sol's stomach began to growl.

"Have you had anything to eat yet?" Celestia asked with a frown.

"I had a bite to eat for lunch," Sol replied.

She looked over to the two guards watching over Sol. "Well?"

"A pair of sandwiches were brought to him, Princess," one of them answered.

"Was that all?"

"Yes, Your Highness," the other one answered.

Celestia sighed and shook her head. "This won't do at all. Come on, Sol. Let's get you something proper to eat."

"But I still need to finish this book of modern-day laws."

"You can continue that later. There's no rush or deadline, so don't feel like you need to read it all as fast as you can. Besides, it's been quite enjoyable to have you sit down with Luna and I during our meals together."

Smiling in agreement, Sol stood up with Celestia and left the library alongside her to join Luna in their personal dining room.


The morning of the party, Sol awoke with the sun shining through his window. Squinting his eyes, he groaned and rolled over to face away from the light in hopes of getting some more sleep. Unfortunatly, the sunlight did its job in waking Sol up and keeping him awake. Unable to go back to sleep now, Sol slid out of bed and opened his maw with a loud yawn. Blinking and wiping the tiredness from his eyes, he went over to the mirror hanging above his dresser and looked himself over. Making sure he was proper for the day, he nodded to his reflection and left the room. Upon leaving his room, Sol no longer found it surprising to see a pair of royal guards stationed outside his door.

"Good morning."

"Morning, sir," they both replied.

Letting them be, Sol ventured down the halls to their personal dining room. Along the way, he passed several of the castle staff, most of whom shot him a curious glance before whispering to one another once Sol had passed by. Knowing what was going on, Sol ignored it and continued to meet up with Celestia and Luna. A few minutes later, Sol came to the door leading into their personal dining room and quickly entered to see Celestia and Luna both already sitting down and eating at the table.

"Good morning."

Hearing him come in, Celestia paused from her breakfast with a smile. "Good morning, Sol. Did you sleep well?"

"I did," he smiled back before turning to Luna. "Good morning, Aunt Luna."

"Good morning," she tiredly returned.

Walking over to the table, Sol sat down on the side near Celestia. Once he was seated, he saw Celestia smile as she levitated a stack of pancakes with fruits in the shape of a face in front of him.

"I still can't believe that you're still cooking breakfast, even with all of the chefs working here."

"I know, but I love to do it. Besides, it reminds me of when I used to make you breakfast when you were a little colt."

"So I see," he said, looking over the face of his pancake made up of strawberries and blueberries. "You know, I remember that you used to make faces with my breakfast for me back then too."

"Yes. I guess old habits die hard."

Sol nodded and was about to dig in before another thought came to mind. Looking down at the plate of food, Sol smiled as he remembered the first meal he ate after he woke up in Equestria.

"Everything alright, Sol?" Luna asked, having noticed his look.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah I'm fine," he said before letting out a fond sigh.

"Bit for your thoughts?"

Sol smiled. "Just thinking about the morning when I woke up in Twilight's castle. Turned out that she likes to make pancakes as well. Did you know that she likes to cook them too?"

"I did not. How about you, Tia?"

Celestia smiled as well. "I did not. But then again, she did live with me long enough that she might've picked it up from me." She paused and shared a silent look with Luna before focusing back on Sol. "Sol, during your time with Twilight, did she ever act nervous around you?"

"How so?"

"When it comes to us or another ruler coming to visit her, Twilight tends to become nervous and tries to make everything perfect. Was she like that with you?"

Sol bit into his breakfast as he thought it over a moment. "I don't think so. Apart from when she and her friends first found out that I was the ruler of the Underkingdom, she didn't really seem nervous, if at all. If she was, she sure didn't show it."

"Believe me, you would've noticed if she was." Celestia's smile grew slightly. "Still, I'm pleased to hear that."

"Oh! Speaking of Twilight, did she ask you about-"

"If I can assign some guards to her castle? Yes, she did."

"To be honest," Luna began, "we probably should've done that as soon as she got her castle."

"It will take some time, but Luna and I will see to it that she does."

Happy to hear it, Sol went back to eating, unaware of the look that his mother was giving him.


It was around mid-afternoon when Sol made his way down the halls to the ball room. He'd just heard from one of the guards that Cadence had arrived with her family and were heading on over there to meet up with Celestia and Luna. And from all of the good things that Twilight and Celestia had said about her, Sol found himself looking forward to meeting her. After getting himself lost and needing to ask for directions, Sol eventually found himself before the doors to the ball room and opened them. But, as soon as he did, a pair of pink hooves suddenly reached out and pulled him in.

Confused by what just happened, it took Sol a moment to recollect himself. When he did, he saw Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Starlight conversing with a pink alicorn mare and a white unicorn stallion, Daring and Rainbow chatting over by the food table, Spike and the rest of their friends gathered around something nearby, unaware of him being there, and there, standing directly in front of him with a party hat in hoof, was Pinkie.

"Finally!" she exclaimed, placing the party hat on Sol's head. "Now we can get this party started!"

Before he could blink, Sol found Pinkie over by a record player and began playing music. Taking a moment, he saw that the room was filled with balloons and streamers, along with a few circular tables, and one long table where a variety of foods, drinks, and desserts sat, including a five-layered cake.

Making his way further in to join the others, Sol approached Celestia and her group, who smiled as he came over.

"We were starting to wonder if you were going to come," Celestia said.

"Sorry. I've never been here before and kinda got lost. I had to stop and ask for directions," Sol explained as his eyes settled on a happy-looking Twilight. "It's good to see you again, Twilight."

"Thank you. It's good to see you too."

Sol smiled before he noticed the packed saddlebag she was wearing. "What do you got there?"

Twilight's eyes followed Sol's to her saddlebags. "Oh, they're just some books that I found in the castle library in the Undercity."

"So you did go back down there."

"Yep. Well, along with Starlight and Spike. I know that you said that I was free to go back down there, so I figured that while I was there, I would see if there was a library and what kind of books it held. I know that I shouldn't be surprised by what I found, but I can't help myself! There's just so much that I haven't read or even knew existed!" Twilight paused and chuckled with an embarrassed blush. "Heheheh. Sorry about that. Guess I kinda got a little carried away there."

"A little?" Starlight smirked. "You were holed up in the library for four days straight. I actually had to drag you out of there and remind you about today before you finally snapped out of it."

Sol and the others chuckled. "It's alright, Twilight. Just make sure that you take good care of them."

"Knowing how our little Twily is with books, I'm sure she'll take very good care of them."

Hearing the new voice, Sol looked at the pink alicorn standing beside Twilight. Apart from noting that she was an alicorn with pink eyes, and a three-toned purple, pink, and cream-yellow mane, the thing that stuck out to Sol the most was her cutie mark, which he was accidentally staring at in a mix of confusion and surprise.

Seeing him staring at Cadence's cutie mark, Celestia nudged him. "Sol?"

Realizing that he'd been staring, Sol blinked and saw Cadence blushing slightly, while the stallion beside her was glaring at him.

"Sorry," Sol immediately apologized. "I didn't mean to stare. I was just surprised to see that your cutie mark is of the Crystal Heart is all. You are Cadence, correct?"

"It's... alright," she slowly said before clearing her throat. "And yes, I am. And from what I'm told, you are Sol, Celestia's son and my cousin."

"I am," he smiled, "and it's a pleasure to finally meet you. Twilight and mother both told me a lot of good things about you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too. Oh, and of course, this here is my husband, Shining Armor."

Sol nervously looked at Shining. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to stare like I did. I just never thought that I'd see the Crystal Heart again, even as a cutie mark."

"It's fine," he dismissed, followed by a small smirk. "To be honest, if I had a Bit for every pony that I caught staring at Cadence's flanks, I'd have enough Bits to buy Equestria by now."

"Still sorry about it, though."

Shrugging it off, Shining held out a hoof. "Shining Armor."

Seeing what he was going for, Sol balled up his claw into a fist and met it Shining's hoof.

"Solar Rupture."

Happy that things didn't end too awkward or disastrous, Sol mentally sighed in relief. As he and Shining chatted it up, Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Cadence watched as they talked over Shining's time as the Captain of the Royal Guard, which soon drifted over to the talk of defensive spells. After that, Shining asked Sol about what happened to him, having been told that he'd been sealed in crystal for the last thousand years. Upon hearing that Twilight had a major part in it, Shining called her over to hear her side of the story. While they were talking, Celestia leaned over to Cadence.

"So, what do you think of him so far?" Celestia asked her.

"Apart from the awkward beginning, he seems like a nice stallion," she replied. "It would be nice to get to know him a little bit more before we leave."

Celestia nodded. "And? What do you think about them?"

Getting what Celestia was hinting at, Cadence remained focused as she closed her eyes and softly lit her horn.

"There's potential, but it's too early for me to say for certain at the moment."

As the party continued, Sol went around to met the others. When he got to Daring, he spent some extra time with her and made sure to thank her for going out of her way to see if his father and the other Scaleless Dragons could be safely cured, and offered to help her if she ever needed his help. Upon being asked, Daring asked if Sol would let her back into the Underkingdom, to which Sol was more than happy to allow, both for helping free him, and for her efforts to save his family.

Grabbing something to snack on, he joined Spike and the rest of their friends to see what they were so preoccupied with that they didn't even notice him. When he did, he was met with a baby alicorn filly with easily the largest horn and wings he'd seen on an infant. Granted that he was told about Flurry Heart by both Twilight and Celestia, but he didn't expect her to be quite like this, nor did he expect her to be so open and friendly towards him after just meeting.

Finally having met the rest of his family and friends again, Sol felt like he was truly at home again and partied with them for the rest of the evening and into the night.


Over by the Smoky Mountain, the blue stallion paced around impatiently inside of a log cabin.

"What's taking them so long?" he annoyingly muttered to himself.

Ten minutes later, there was a knock on door to the cabin. Saying to enter, the door opened to a dozen cloaked ponies, all of whom pulled their hoods back as they entered and looked upon the blue pegasus with uneasy eyes.

"We apologize for being so late," one of them spoke for them. "We had some trouble with our last client and-"

"That doesn't matter now!" he snapped. "Something unexpected has come up, so we now have more important things to worry about."

Gesturing for them to sit, the blue pegasus waited for them all to get seated. Once they were, he quickly informed them all of what he'd seen during his time in Canterlot. By the time he was finished, a wave of unease had settled over them.

"What are we going to do now?" one of them asked.

"The stories were true," another one fearfully said. "We're finished!"

"Quit your mewling!" he demanded, taking a calming breath afterwards. "We are not finished. Actually, there is a way to solve this... and maybe even accelerate our plans at the same time."

The group shared a look before facing their leader. "What must we do?"

"For now, I want all of you to return and continue on like you've been doing. There's no need to let this news shake you and make our clients suspicious. I'll send for you all again when the time comes for us to move."

Dismissing them, the blue pegasus waited for them to all leave before he walked over to the table. Looking over the map of Equestria, he frowned at the red X's marking the map.

But first, I'll need to find an old acquaintance of mine.

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