Gotham Knights: Birth of a Princess

by kitsy-chan

6: On a Knights Wings

The Mediterranean sun was high in the sky, warming the waters, and painting the beautiful cloud banks that stretched across the horizon, dotting the heavens with colors of grey, white, and even pink. The play among the sun, sea, and sky generated thermals that gave birth to the fluffy cumulus clouds.

It was the playground of seagulls, sea eagles, and pelicans. They chased and soared in thermals, high into the sky. The calls of the sea birds could be heard for miles. For those who had the time to relax and watch the sky, it was kaleidoscope, unmatched in its grandeur. For those who could see beyond the mundane however . . .

Pegasus burst through the clouds, whinnying, his massive wings spread wide as he leveled off and looked down. Behind him, Tia was flapping as hard as she could, trying to keep up. Panting with each wing beat, she chased the large stallion as he turned and started circling.

“75% of your power comes in the down beat; try to get your wings as straight down as possible. Touch your tips together if you can,” Pegasus said, looking at the foal.

“I can’t curl my feathers enough; my wings are too short,” Tia responded meekly as she landed on a cloud, trying to catch her breath.

“Dash doesn’t seem to have a problem flying with short wings,” Pegasus said, and laughed. “It’s about control, about shaping your wings properly with each stroke.”

“I still don’t know how Dash can be so fast and agile, even with the short wings,” Tia said, looking at one of her wings as she stretched it out.

Slowly flapping, the great stallion laughed. “Think about this: everyone says a bumblebee should not be able to fly. Yet it has no problems doing so. Maybe it simply doesn’t realize it's not supposed to be able to fly, and does anyway.”

“Well, I’m not a bumblebee,” Tia said, folding her wings against her side with a sigh.

Shaking his head, Pegasus chuckled. “And winged horses are not supposed to be able to take breaks on clouds. In not knowing any better, you learned something.”

Blinking, Tia looked down at the cloud and bounced a few times. “It feels solid. Last one I hit felt pretty solid, too; I thought all winged horses could do that.”

Poking Tia with his muzzle once, he shook his head. “Nope, just you . . . and, apparently, Dash.” The stallion looked down and shook his head.

Below the two, Dash was sound asleep, drifting by on a cloud as she snored away. She had rolled up part of the cloud to act as a pillow and had formed a blanket of cloud that she pulled over herself.

Leaping down, Tia landed on the cloud beside Dash and gave her a shake. “Wake up! There is no way you can sleep if I can’t.”

“Watch me,” Dash said and giggled, rolling over a bit.

“Oh, some protector and guardian you are,” Tia said. She punctuated her observation with a "humpf" and stuck her muzzle in the air.

“Bah, don’t be such a princess.” Dash said, “Like you’re in any danger up . . .”

Stopping in mid-sentence, Dash started looking around, her ears twitching. A moment later Tia’s ears heard the strange sound as well. It sounded like an engine, not a jet but something like out of the old war movies. It was strange though; one moment it sounded like it was at full power, the next like it was idling.

Pegasus looked down at the girls sternly. “Don’t you dare.”

Both girls looked at each other, then nodded once. Both girls quickly dove down below the cloud cover, chasing down the strange sound that was invading their airspace and their lessons.

“Kids.” Pegasus shook his head as if that one word explained the source of all the trouble in the world. Arching his back, he dove down after the two ponies doing a barrel roll, checking his descent while allowing him to keep up his air speed.

Dash was the first to spot the trail, a dark black line meandered across the sky. There seemed to be no true course to it as it changed direction randomly. It was however, enough to lead the girls to the source of the noise, a Yak-52 single-engine propeller aircraft. Such planes were often used as trainers, stunt planes, and pleasure aircraft.

The plane, while looking mostly clean and well-kept, was leaking oil on the starboard side. A dirty black pinstripe stretched from the starboard exhaust port, over the wing root, and past the rudder. The control surfaces seemed to have minds of their own, twitching this way and that, with no apparent pattern as the plane wove drunkenly through the air. The engine roared to full power again, then to idle, then back up again. The pair could clearly see the pilot through the canopy.

"Pilot" was a misnomer. Either the person operating the plane either had no idea what he was doing, or something far worse was going on. He was laughing and rocking side to side, grabbing switches and levers seemingly at random and flicking them up and down and left and right. Suddenly, there was a loud bang from the engine, and the plane started to trail black smoke from the starboard exhaust port. This, however only seemed to amuse the pilot even more.

“Is he supposed to be like that?” Dash asked as she flew closer on the port side to look at the human.

Shaking her head, Tia moved up beside Dash on the starboard side. “No, he’s not.”

A moment later there was another loud bang. The sound was quickly followed by flames pouring out from around the port side exhaust port. The flames followed the air flow down the length of the fuselage, with the pressure differential drawing them over the wing root.

“Now don’t know much about human flying machines, but I know that doesn’t look good.” Dash had yell to be heard over the roar of the engine. Finding her position on the port side too hot to handle, she quickly did half a barrel roll followed by half a snap roll, putting Tia between the plane and herself.

Tia darted to the canopy. “We need to get him out of there.”

“Tia, you know the rules. We're not supposed to deal with humans that aren’t on the island.” Dash shook her head as she watched the foal banging and kicking at the canopy, trying to break the shatterproof acrylic.

“Break! Come on! Break!” Tia cried out, her hooves simply bouncing off the canopy.

Dash shook her head and gave the window a buck, too. “It's not going to work; we’re too weak like this.”

Closing her eyes, Tia’s horn glowed bright for a moment, the pale magenta aura coating the length of her horn. Gasping once, Tia opened her eyes, which they shone with a white light of their own. The magenta aura flowed over her entire body as her form grew to full size. Her wings slowly extended to their full length; her horn grew; her mane and tail shifted from a foalish pink to their true rainbow-colored ethereal form.

Dash’s form changed as well, her body growing into the full-sized pegasus form again. With one kick from her powerful leg she was able to dislodge the back panel of the canopy. Hooking a hoof on the canopy release lever, she gave a full-powered flap and ripped the entire back half of the canopy off with one move.

Dash dumped the canopy and darted back to the plane, flying inverted above the pilot while Tia maintained station on the starboard side. She looked down at the pilot. He was strapped in the seat with headphones on, but he had both his hands in the air, laughing. He screamed unintelligibly as the plane began a shallow dive. The straps held him in the plane, but he made no move to undo them. Apparently, to him, this was just fun. He seemed to have lost all sense of self-preservation.

“What are you waiting for?” Dash cried out over the coughing and sputtering of the dying engine.

“He’s buckled in,” Tia called back, trying to figure out what to do next.

Dash shook her head. “Well do something, or he's dead. I can’t buck or bite though those straps without killing him.”

Looking around, Celestia was stumped. The straps looked complicated, and the cockpit was too small for her to reach a hoof in. There was nothing she could do, unless . . .

Shaking her head, she focused her magic on the straps. As she concentrated, her horn started to glow with a magenta aura. The straps then started to glow in response. She could actually feel the straps with her magic. Their texture, their flexibility, their strength, everything about them started to make sense. She followed them around to where they ended at the buckle. With a pulse of magic, she actuated the quick-release, freeing the pilot. He glowed in the magenta aura as she levitated him away from the dying aircraft.

“That . . .is . . . AWESOME!” Dash said, and she laughed. “How are you doing that?”

“I have no idea, and I don’t know how long I can hold him,” Celestia said, looking confused. "Where should I put him?"

Pegasus swooped down between the girls. “You can NOT bring him to the island. It’s against the rules, but there is a human settlement this way.”

Looking over her shoulder Tia saw the small plane spiraling down into the water. “Dash, can you get Diana? I think the princess should see this. Something isn’t right.”

Nodding once Dash shot off towards Themyscira. Tia and Pegasus winced as they were buffeted by the shock wave from the sonic boom Dash created as she broke the sound barrier.

***

Walking down the hallway, Klarion stroked his cat's back. The smile on his face that would strike fear into any sane being. Step by step, he deliberately paced down the dark obsidian floor. As he moved, torches sprang to life on either side of him, barely pushing back the darkness of the hallway.

The onyx walls glimmered and sparkled with seas of dark blue and slashes of deep red lines. Carved reliefs of constellations and starscapes flowed across the ceiling. Ahead, Klarion could see the hall open up into the massive throne room.

Smiling softly, he looked down at the cat. With eerie gentleness, he said, “This should be fun.”

Looking up, the cat simply meowed once in response.

“I will be careful,” Klarion said as he walked in. He froze, looking at the nearly naked woman sitting on the throne. “Wow.”

“Meow mew meow,” was all the cat said as she shook her head.

“What brings you to my realm?” the woman asked, steepling her fingers.

“A new force has appeared on the world of humans. She is a child of the light.” Klarion smiled. “I had hoped to turn her to chaos.”

“But, you failed miserably,” the lady said with almost a laugh in her voice.

“I did NOT fail, milady; I didn’t get a chance,” Klarion said, defiantly and defensively.

“My guess is, you got carried away, thought you could bring the chaos, and found yourself outmatched,” the lady said, smiling.

“Meow meow mew.” the cat said, followed by a strange, almost laughing, sound.

“Not helping, Teekl,” Klarion said with a huff. He then looked to the lady again. “You are a daughter of chaos itself, a goddess. If anyone can bring this child into line, it is you,” Klarion said, hopefully.

“You know perfectly well that I cannot leave my realm,” she said firmly.

Klarion sat down on the obsidian floor and laughed. “Rules, laws set down by gods who think everyone should follow them. There are always ways to get around them.”

“Now the real question. Why?” The lady looked down at witch boy as he sat on the floor playing with his cat.

Klarion put his hands together, cupping them. He then pulled them apart, forming a ball of light, with energy crackling between his fingers. The image of Celestia standing in the street coalesced in the center of the sphere. “You are the Queen of the Night. You have stood since the beginning of time as one of the most powerful goddesses. Zeus himself fears you. You gave birth to Night and Day. This child of the sun should be yours to control. You are Nyx, after all.”

“I will consider it, if she proves worthy of my attention, that is,” Nyx said firmly.

“Then I will bid my leave.” In a flash of vermillion and crimson, Klarion vanished back to the realms of man.

Nyx sat on her throne a smile on her face. “Interesting.”

***

To Celestia, the helipad seemed to be the best place to land. It wasn’t occupied, but was right beside a large building and near a main road. She descended in a lazy spiral, gradually bleeding off both speed and altitude. She gently set the man on the ground once she had firmly planted all four hooves.

Folding her wings against her side, she looked at the human. He sat hugging his legs laughing as he rocked back and forth on the ground. Tears streamed from his eyes, yet he laughed as if he had no cares.

Glancing up, Celestia could see the Greek writing on the side of the building. While spending time with the Amazons she had learned some terms, she knew this was a hotel or resort of some sort, Spíti tis Thálassas, House of the Sea.

“Now what?” Pegasus asked as he landed, folding his wings as he moved to stand beside Celestia.

Sighing, Celestia lowered her head. “We wait for Diana or another grownup to help us.”

“You do realize I am over 2000 years old, right?” Pegasus said with a smile in his voice.

“Oh good, so you know what to do then!” Celestia looked hopeful and wiggled her tail.

“Yep, we . . . wait for Diana. She’s the ambassador to the human world,” he said, holding his head high. Blinking once, he looked around. “And, we seem to be drawing a crowd.”

Looking around Celestia saw people, tourists and natives, talking among themselves and taking photos. Some recorded the scene on their smartphones, while the bolder ones crowded in for selfies.

“Really! We have a guy here who’s gone nuts, and they want to film it rather than getting help?” Celestia sighed and shook her head.

Spreading his wings wide Pegasus walked forward and whinnied loudly. His actions were enough to cause the people to keep their distance, but not enough to make them disperse. Thumping a forehoof on the ground, Celestia was starting to feel very uncomfortable with all the people around.

Celestia felt as though she had been waiting for hours; however, her perception of time was likely skewed by her emotions. Diana finally arrived in a flash of light from a transporter beam. Looking around, she shook her head before walking over to the pilot.

Kneeling down, she touched her ear with a finger. “Batman, we have another one. Celestia has him on the ground. He’s laughing non-stop.”

In another transporter flash, Batman appeared, holding an auto injector in his hand. Celestia shrank behind Pegasus, trembling. Narrowing her eyes, she watched the Batman carefully; she couldn't forget the taste in her mouth after being drugged so many times.

Ignoring Celestia, Batman knelt down and drew some blood from the man. He transferred a few drops to a test tube filled with reagent. He stared intensely as he swirled the tube around. A few moments later, he shook his head. “It’s not Joker Toxin, unless it’s a radically different formula. Superman’s chasing down an out of control Turkish Airways jet bound for Gotham. It left Athens airport this afternoon.”

“I think it's magical,” Celestia said, closing her eyes, her horn glowing. “I can feel the chaos and corruption.”

“How do you know?” Diana asked, putting her hand gently on Celestia’s withers.

“It’s like the magic that gave the Timberwolves life, but much stronger,” Celestia responded. She then glared at Batman.

Batman stood up. “You’re letting her off the island now?”

“Now is not the time or place to discuss this,” Diana said firmly, narrowing her eyes defiantly. “And, she is not a prisoner.”

Looking down at the pilot, who was still laughing, Batman shook his head. “It’s like a psychosis; they lose the ability to think rationally, and their actions become . . .”

“Chaotic.” Diana finished. “If they are under the influence of some spell, then they would all have to had come into contact with the caster.”

Stepping forward, Celestia lowered her head to touch her horn to the pilot. Closing her eyes, she lit her horn and started searching with her magic. She knew the answer was there, somewhere. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for exactly, but she had to try.

Stepping forward, Batman put his hand to his utility belt, only to be grabbed by Diana. She put her fingers around his wrist with a vice-like grip that made him flinch in pain for a moment. Narrowing her eyes, Diana stated simply, “Let her try.”

“It’s like he’s forgotten who he is,” Celestia said, “forgotten what he is.”

Touching his hear Batman shook his head. “Send Zatanna here.”

“I think . . . Oh, I see.” Celestia concentrated a bit harder, her horn glowing bright.

The teleporter beam flashed and danced in colors for a moment as Zatanna appeared beside Batman, blinking. “What’s going on?”

A brilliant glow shone from the pilot’s hips; even through his pants, the glow could be seen. For a moment, a trio of blue and white dragonflies could be seen in the aura. Opening his eyes, both flashed with white light. A cloud of smoke and mist rose from the dragonfly-shaped holes in the pilot's pants before he stopped laughing and sat up on the ground, panting.

Looking around slowly, the pilot quickly scooted away when he saw Celestia. When he tried to speak, his voice was harsh and broken. Speaking in barely intelligible Greek, he croaked, “What, what’s going on?”

Diana shook her head. “Don’t talk. We will get you to the hospital.”

Zatanna moved up beside Celestia, putting her hand on the mare’s back. “What did you do?”

“It’s like he forgot who he was, so I sort of reminded him of his true self and his true purpose,” Celestia said. She stood proudly. “Once he remembered that, it broke the magic and freed him.”

“So, what was the flash of light on his hips?” Zatanna asked.

“I . . . I guess it was a graphical representation of his true self; in his case, he likes zipping around in his plane. So, the dragonflies represented that.” Celestia smiled. “They vanished when they burned out the chaos magic. I guess they cancelled each other out.”

“I think I understand. I’m not sure, but I think I could duplicate that spell with some practice,” Zatanna said. “That was really good thinking.”

Giggling, Celestia lowered her head. “It just came to me.”

“Good,” Batman said firmly. “If you can duplicate that, we have at least twenty more cases to deal with.”

“I said I think I could, Bats. This is magic we are talking about. It might take more powerful magic than I have to duplicate it. I don’t know.” Zatanna shook her head firmly. “I say we bring Celestia with us.”

“I don’t know if that’s safe. We still don’t understand the extent of her powers or her control,” Batman said firmly.

“I’m right here, you know,” Celestia said, feeling rather dejected.

“Well, I’m not sure I can do the spell myself. I need her,” Zatanna said firmly.

“Can Doctor Fate do it?” Batman asked Zatanna directly.

Zatanna shook her head. “Not without seeing and working with Celestia.”

Lights and siren announced the ambulance as it arrived at the helipad. Turning her back on Batman, Diana helped the paramedics move the pilot onto a gurney. It would probably take him days to recover to the point where he could speak normally again.

Narrowing his eyes, Batman looked at the equines before touching his earpiece. “Watchtower, send us all to the Gotham Hospital; we may be able to help those stricken there.”

Author's Note:

Rich-Online Has taken on editing.

Comments

[harts fire]

wow this is a super good chapter, i really love the style of writing you are doing with this story Kitsy it just shines.

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Okay, you've earned a fave with this story!

[kitsy-chan]

8399740
Thanks. Just your average batman my little pony cross.

[kalash93]

https://www.fimfiction.net/group/211585/reviewers-cafe/thread/308771/reviews#comment/6144328

[Tesseract417]

"They said Lyze of Kiel's wings were short. And that didn't stop him!"