Ocean Majesty 1/2
The first thing Majesty felt when she entered the city was awe. Absolute awe. She hadn’t been in a lot of cities, just the Elf city Amrun back at the land of Arghayth and the human village of Meadowville, but this city was massive, bigger than those other two combined!
The differences between the human city and the elven one were striking. While the Elves of Amrun had followed the flow of the surrounding nature, building their houses and roads around the trees and hills, the humans seemed to try to control nature. Streets were straight, and so was the disposition of houses. Trees were planted here and there, but it was the trees that followed the streets and not the other way around. It was practical and it saved space, but it wasn’t in tune with nature.
And where Amrun and Meadowville both had wells for water supply, the humans here had built their own streams, stone channels on towering pillars. Indabor had called them "aqueducts" and said that they brought fresh water from far away lakes right into the city. It seemed strange, working so hard to bring more water to a town by the ocean, but of course the sea water was not fit to drink, since it made equines drunk and humans ill.
"What do you think of Vynciani so far?" asked Wooden Spoke.
Majesty stopped gaping at the streets, buildings, and aqueducts, and looked her friends, the Earth Pony pulling the empty wooden cart and the human Indabor walking beside them. "Vynciani?"
"The city," said Indabor, beaming. "Vynciani is the largest of all the human cities."
"I’m not sure what to think, if I have to be honest," replied Majesty, "I didn’t know what to expect, but I certainly am impressed."
"The streets are pretty quiet now with the sun setting, but come morning they’ll be busy and packed with people," said Indabor.
Majesty looked up. Indeed, the reds and oranges of sunset were fading, and the stars were coming out. A man with a flame on a long pole walked past, lighting lamps on tall posts along the road. Majesty glanced back at little Spike, sleeping soundly on her back curled up into a little ball. The baby dragon would most likely not wake up until tomorrow morning.
"And you two live here?" asked the unicorn.
"When we aren’t busy transporting something, yes," replied Wooden Spoke.
"And you are sure it’s okay if I stay with you?" asked Majesty.
Indabor gave her a smile. "Yes, don’t worry about it."
"It’s the least we can do after how you saved us, and everyone else, from those pegasi at Meadowville," added Wooden Spoke.
Majesty nodded, but she also hung her head, sighing. She was grateful for Indabor and Wooden Spoke’s hospitality, but she certainly didn’t feel like her actions back at Meadowville deserved it.
The three turned a corner and reached a small stone house. "And here we are," said Indabor. "Welcome to our humble abode."
"Let me just put this away," said Wooden Spoke as he parked the wooden cart beside the house, and then looked back and began untying the harness with his mouth.
"It’s great to finally have our own cart, instead of renting one from the Transporters Guild," said Indabor. "Now we don’t need to give them part of our payment for a job."
The human unlocked the door with a key from his pocket, and they all walked inside. Indabor lit a candle on a table, which quickly brightened up the house’s plain interior.
"It isn’t much to look at, but it’s our home," said Wooden Spoke. "This room is where we eat, and back there is where we sleep. We only have two beds, but let me see what I can find for you to sleep on."
Majesty glanced around, puzzled. "You live here, just the two of you? What of your herd?" she asked Wooden Spoke. She looked to Indabor. "And your… family? You must be very good friends."
Wooden Spoke chuckled. "We were ready to get out on our own and start our business, but even simple houses were more than either of us could afford alone."
Indabor nodded. "So it made sense to pool our funds and get a house together, for now."
It didn’t make sense to Majesty, not at all. In the wild, grown unicorns stayed with the herd so they could better protect each other and the foals. It felt like it would be rude to keep questioning Wooden Spoke and Indabor, though, since they were giving her a place to stay in the city. "Oh... Don’t worry about another bed. Sleeping on the floor will be fine for me. I’m used to it."
Wooden Spoke arched a brow at Majesty, "Really?"
"Indeed. At least this room is warm. Sometimes in the forest we didn't even get that."
"Well, if you say so. Just let us know if you change your mind."
"We should get dinner and make some plans," said Indabor. "I’ll write a notice that we’re back in Vynciani and ready to take a new job, so we can post it on the main square announcements board before it gets too late." Indabor went over to a small desk and took out a parchment, a quill, and some ink.
"Sounds good," replied Wooden Spoke. "We can go to the Transporters Guild tomorrow and check there for jobs as well. Majesty, we can post a notice for you too, asking for someone who can teach you to read and write."
Majesty nodded. After all, finding someone to teach her to read and write was the whole reason why Majesty decided to follow Indabor and Wooden Spoke here in the first place. They had told her that the city had a rather large school, and finding a teacher shouldn’t be very hard.
"So, Majesty, what do you want the announcement to say?" asked Indabor, as he dipped the quill into the ink.
Majesty blinked. "That I want to find a teacher to learn to read and write?"
"Sure, but what should we offer as payment?"
"Payment? … I really hadn’t thought about that." Majesty had lived among bipeds long enough to know they traded "currency" for goods and services. The problem was, she didn’t have anything like that, nor did she know how she would go about acquiring it. After all, whenever you needed something in the wild, you simply went and got it, and she knew that was not how this currency was obtained. The idea of paying for the classes honestly hadn’t even crossed her mind before, until now.
"Let’s just write down that the payment arrangements are to be settled before accepting the job," said Wooden Spoke. "You can discuss how you’ll pay with whoever answers the announcement."
"Okay… sure," replied Majesty.
Indabor nodded and started to write on the parchment. While the human did that, Wooden Spoke turned to Majesty. "I’m going to the local inn to buy something for dinner. Do you want to come with me? I could use the help carrying everything."
"Yes, alright," replied Majesty. "Let me just leave Spike here. He should stay asleep until tomorrow and not cause any trouble." She used her magic to levitate Spike from her back and place him gently on the floor, near a corner of the house.
Given that Majesty couldn’t act the last time she went somewhere new to deal with a problem because Spike had been taken hostage, leaving him alone would normally be enough for her to worry. She didn’t want this to happen again, but right now, with no new enemies to fight, she felt safe in the knowledge that nobody, besides her friends, knew where they were. And with Spike asleep until the next morning, he wouldn’t alert anybody. She felt it was safe to leave Spike for now and accompany Wooden Spoke.
Majesty and Wooden Spoke left the house again, making their way down the street and towards a nearby inn.
Unlike the quiet evening streets outside, the inn was filled with patrons, all ponies or humans, some sitting and drinking, others eating at tables, or going up or down the stairs, which presumably let to the rooms for travelers. Majesty could smell the hot food and drinks of various sorts, many of which she'd never smelled before.
Majesty kept close to Wooden Spoke in the crowd. "Is it always this busy?"
"Depends on the time of day," replied Wooden Spoke, "Usually the city’s inns are busiest at nightfall and sunrise, and a little during midday."
As they approached the bar, a middle aged human woman wearing an apron greeted them. "Wooden Spoke! I haven’t seen you in over a week! How’s the transport business going?"
Wooden Spoke smiled. "Hello, Tozen! It’s doing fine, thanks."
"Where’s Indabor?"
"Lining up our next job," replied Wooden Spoke. "I’m just here to pick up something for dinner."
"Sure," said Tozen. "Two of your usual?"
"Three actually," replied Wooden Spoke, nodding to Majesty. "We have a guest today."
Majesty took a half-step back. "But, I don’t have anything to pay with."
"Don’t worry about it," said Wooden Spoke dismissively. "It’s our treat. You’re our guest, after all."
As she was writing the order down, Tozen noticed the horn on Majesty’s forehead, hidden somewhat by the white unicorn’s blue mane. "Well, I’ll be… I’ve never even SEEN a unicorn till today, and now I get TWO unicorns in my inn in the same day? Must be a lucky omen."
Majesty wasn’t paying that much attention to Tozen’s words at first. She was used to every other person she met remarking on how unusual it was to see a unicorn in "civilized" lands. Then the rest of what Tozen had said caught her attention. "Excuse me… you said you saw another unicorn today?"
"Sure did," replied Tozen. "She’s sitting over there, actually."
Majesty turned and saw a unicorn mare sitting at a table alone, eating oatmeal from a clay bowl. She had an orange coat with a darker orange mane, and three tambourines for a cutie mark.
"She came in this morning," Tozen explained. "Said she was just passing through the city today, and then she sat over there and hasn’t said much besides ordering something to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Paid everything in advance too."
Suddenly, Majesty felt a twinge in her front right hoof, followed by a headache. She groaned, touching her hoof to her forehead, and a vision overtook her. Majesty was walking across the inn and approaching that unicorn, who looked up, smiled, and said "Hello! I was expecting you."
The vision abruptly ended, and Majesty was startled to find herself still standing by the bar. She hadn’t gone anywhere… yet. Wooden Spoke gave her a curious look. "Are you okay, Majesty? You zoned out there for a second."
Majesty shook herself. "I… I’m fine. Do you mind waiting for a minute? I need to talk to that unicorn."
"Sure," replied Wooden Spoke. "The cook won’t be finished with our order for a little while. Is that unicorn a friend of yours?"
"Never seen her before," replied Majesty, "but there is something I need to find out. Besides, I haven't seen another unicorn in a long time. It might be good for me."
Majesty walked over to the far wall where the unicorn was sitting at the table. The unicorn looked up and smiled, just like in Majesty’s vision. "Hello! I was expecting you."
"Why?" asked a curious Majesty. "Do I know you?"
The unicorn mare shook her head. "Not really, no." She gestured to the empty chair opposite of her. "Please, sit down. I can explain, if you're willing to talk."
Majesty nodded slowly and took a seat, never taking her eyes off the strange unicorn.
"First, I think introductions are in order. My name is Gypsy. And you?"
Gypsy? Majesty wondered what the name meant. "My name is Majesty. Tell me, how were you expecting me if you didn’t even know that?"
"I’m a traveling fortune teller. I can read the wills of Fate." Gypsy levitated a small golden disc from one of her pouches and placed it on the table in front of Majesty. "This is my wheel of fortune. When I spin it, both the future and the past become crystal clear to me." She gestured with a hoof, pointing out the wheel-spokes on the disc and the symbols arranged around the rim. "It told me that I should come to this inn, on this day, and that I would meet another unicorn, and that this meeting will be of great importance for the future of all ponykind. That’s all I knew. I was starting to lose faith as the sun was setting, but here you are."
Majesty gasped. "The future? You can see the future? Maybe you can help me. I… I get these visions, sometimes. They show me things, things that haven’t happened yet, but they come true. In fact, only a few moments ago, I had a vision of you..." She pointed a hoof at Gypsy sharply. "Greeting me, with the same words you spoke just now."
"You were also guided here by a vision?" Gypsy smiled. "Interesting! Did you always have these visions?"
Majesty shook her head. "No, they started over a year ago. Right after…" Majesty hung her head. "Right after the rest of my herd were killed by witches."
"I am so sorry," replied Gypsy, sounding genuinely concerned. "I don’t know why you might be having these visions, but perhaps I can help you find answers." Gypsy’s horn started to glow as the wheel of fortune floated off the table and began to spin, quicker and quicker until the symbols were only a blur.
Gypsy stared at the Wheel intently. "I see. Visions are not the only new thing you could do after that. I see… a cave… and later a beach… and then an island full of dragons."
Majesty was puzzled for a moment, and then her eyes lit up in understanding. She remembered entering the cave where Zaleria was hiding with Eluneth… she had tried to cast a simple light spell, but she felt a weird power surge and instead created a light so bright that lit up the cave like day. Then at the beach on her way to Tiamat’s island, when she had found that ship that had washed ashore, she had felt another power surge and suddenly she could read the pirate’s intentions, that he was going to attack her. And later, when she finally found Tiamat’s island, and was thinking on a way to get there, she felt another power surge and suddenly she was floating in the air like a cloud without even realizing it.
"I see from your reaction that I am correct," said Gypsy with a smile, studying Majesty’s facial expressions, then looking back down at the spinning wheel of fortune. "Now, think back on those moments. What did they have in common? I see… horseshoes?"
"Horseshoes?" Majesty sat up straighter. "Yes, that’s it! Every time it happens, I feel something… a rush of energy, flowing up one of my legs and into my horn. It must be the Golden Horseshoes."
"Golden Horseshoes?" echoed Gypsy.
Majesty lifted a foreleg and showed one of the horseshoes to Gypsy. "They were a gift from the elves for retrieving some stolen items from the coven that attacked my herd. They were supposed to increase my magical powers, but… could they also have granted me NEW powers?"
"I suppose it’s possible," mused Gypsy. "You should ask someone who knows more about magical artifacts, though." The other unicorn grinned apologetically. "I’m only good at fortune telling, dancing, and playing the tambourine."
Majesty smiled back at her. "I think I’ll do just that. Thank you."
"Wait…" Gypsy still had her wheel of fortune spinning in the air. "There’s something more important, the reason I was supposed to meet you. I see… a castle. A big pink one with many towers."
"A pink castle?" asked Majesty. She tried to imagine such a thing, and couldn’t quite manage it.
"Yes," said Gypsy, sounding quite serious. "I see you leading a herd, the largest herd ever to be seen. All ponies follow you, when the pink castle rises in the valley of dreams." Whatever Gypsy saw in the spinning wheel, her eyes widened in what seemed like genuine awe. "This is what I was meant to show you… this vision, you, the herd, the castle… It is your destiny." And with that, Gypsy finally doused her horn and let the wheel come to rest on the table.
"Destiny?" Majesty frowned. "You mean like some sort of prophecy? Like I’m some chosen one or something like that?"
"Well… Yes, but it’s a little more complicated than that…"
Majesty snorted. "I don’t believe in prophecies or destiny."
Gypsy smiled. "Oh? Then how do you explain that vision you said you had? The one that made you want to come over and talk to me?"
"That’s different!" said Majesty. "I’d already decided to speak with you, because you’re a unicorn. The vision made me more curious and I wanted to see what was going on, but talking to you was MY choice, not destiny or fate. I could have just as easily ignored the vision and left without talking to you."
"Maybe so," replied Gypsy, "but if I hadn’t seen the prediction that I was to come to this city and wait for you, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation." Gypsy took the wheel of fortune and hid it away once more.
Majesty looked away. "Hmph… Perhaps."
Gypsy smiled. "Exactly, PERHAPS. Life is like a flowing river." The fortune-telling unicorn took her wheel of fortune and hid it away once more. "We can make choices, and those choices might change the flow of the current or take us down a different fork, but the river remains. Call it luck, chance, fate or destiny, but there will also be things that are outside of our control. Now, I’ve followed my vision, and you’ve followed yours. Where you go from here is up to you."
Majesty studied Gypsy, lost in thought for many long moments, before she finally nodded. "Okay… I’ll consider it."
Gypsy bowed politely, then stood up from the table and walked out of the inn without another word.
Majesty watched her go, then returned to Wooden Spoke, was who collecting three paper bags from Tozen. "Here, let me carry those for you," said Majesty, lifting the bags in her magic.
"Thank you," said Wooden Spoke. "So what was all that about with that other unicorn?"
"Something to think about," was all Majesty would say, as they left the inn and headed back towards Wooden Spoke and Indabor’s home.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The next day, early in the morning, there was a knock on the door. Wooden Spoke pricked his ears up. "Who is it?"
"Greetings!" came the reply from the other side. "I’m calling in response to an advertisement which was posted in the city’s main square."
Wooden Spoke opened the door and found a light blue pegasus mare with a pink mane and tail patiently standing on their porch. She had a folded piece of parchment tucked under one wing. "Ah, good morning," he greeted her. "Are you here about our transportation services?"
The light blue pegasus raised an eyebrow. "Actually I am here to offer services, not hire them."
"Huh?" said Wooden Spoke, honestly confused.
The pegasus shook the folded parchment open and read from it. "’Former wild unicorn wishes to learn to read and write. Client has no money, but is open to discussing other formsform of payment. Will to offer non-monetary payment in exchange for services.’ This is your address, is it not?" asked the pegasus pony, showing the parchment to Wooden Spoke.
Wooden Spoke looked at the parchment, recognizing Indabor’s handwriting. "Oh! Yes, this is the place. Wait here a minute, please."
The door closed and the pegasus pony was left alone again on the street. Less than a minute later, the door opened again. This time it was Majesty who opened it, greeting the pegasus with a smile. "Good morning! I understand that you’re looking for me?"
The pegasus mare’s expression remained neutral. "You are the former wild unicorn who wishes to learn to read and write, is that correct?"
She nodded. "Yes, I am. My name is Majesty."
The light blue pegasus mare folded the parchment neatly and again tucked it away. "I am Wind Whistler, currently a student at the Vynciani College of Philosophy, Math, and Logic. I believe I am perfectly qualified to teach others on how to read and write."
Majesty’s eyes lit up. "Oh, that’s great!"
"Now, I suppose that first we should discuss payment for my services, as per your advertisement," said Wind Whistler, keeping a calm demeanor. "Have you had breakfast yet?"
Majesty shook her head. "Hmm, no, not yet."
"We should continue this conversation over breakfast then. I’m heading to the Vynciani College campus to have breakfast. Would you care to join me?"
Majesty was somewhat surprised by Wind Whistler’s demeanor. She seemed so… serious? Formal? It was hard to describe. But she wanted to learn to read and write and this pegasus wanted to teach her, so she went along with it. "Yes, that would be fine. Give me a second, I need to take Spike with me. He just woke up and he gets upset if I don’t stay with him."
Wind Whistler nodded. "I see, and who is Spike?"
"Oh, he’s my baby dragon."
Wind Whistler looked surprised for the first time since Majesty had met her. The change in expression was subtle, but it was there. "You have a pet dragon?"
"Pet? No, nothing like that. He’s my adopted son." Majesty went inside to look for Spike without closing the door.
Wind Whistler raised one eyebrow at nopony in particular. "Fascinating."
--------------------------------------------------
Later that morning, Majesty and Wind Whistler were sitting under a tree near the main building of the Vynciani College. Wind Whistler opened a small package she had bought on her way there, which contained some oat biscuits and muffins.
The pegasus ate one biscuit and offered one to Majesty, but the unicorn politely shook her head. "No thank you, I’ll just eat the grass. There is plenty around here."
"And your dragon?" asked Wind Whistler.
"Spike will be fine," said Majesty. While she talked with Wind Whistler, she was also keeping an eye on the baby dragon, who was playfully rolling around on the ground near her, making sure he stayed out of harm’s way. "That brown rat I caught roaming in that alley on our way here will be enough breakfast for him. He’ll be fine till lunchtime."
Wind Whistler nodded. "A logical food source, as rats are abundant and much cheaper than gemstones. What about you? Do you commonly eat grass?"
"Of course," Majesty replied. "Why wouldn’t I? I’m actually surprised that you would go out of your way to buy biped food to eat, when you can feed yourself from the grass, or even the tree leaves since you are a pegasus."
"Naturally, yes," answered Wind Whistler. "However, I am also aware that biped food, as you call it, is also tastier and thus more appetizing to eat. If given the choice of eating grass or spending money to buy freshly baked oatmeal muffins, when I have the money to spend, I will certainly purchase the muffins. Also, I should mention that cooked food is also safer to eat because it prevents certain diseases, and is free of insects or molds that may affect the flavor or be hazardous to eat."
Majesty nodded. She HAD to admit that the few times she had eaten prepared food, when she was in Amrun, Meadowville and last night at Wooden Spoke and Indabor’s house, it had tasted a lot better than plain grass, moss and bushes. And ale and cider did taste a lot better than muddy water from a lake. She also saw the second part of Wind Whistler's logic as well, as several times members of her herd had caught diseases, some of which they never recovered from. One more ‘advantage’ of civilization, she guessed. However, Majesty started to wonder if ponies could become so civilized that they wound up starving because they simply FORGOT that they could eat the grass right under their hooves?
"Although, I must say that you do present a fascinating opportunity," said Wind Whistler, making Majesty realize that she’d been lost in her own thoughts. "And that is exactly what I want from you in exchange for teaching you how to use the written language."
Majesty blinked. "I’m not sure I understand."
"You see, being a pony that has recently lived in the wild, I believe that you can provide an authoritative view on certain matters for which we lack one. There is a concept from human philosophers called the ‘State of Nature,’ but few seem to agree on what this ‘State of Nature’ is like exactly," explained Wind Whistler. "Is it friendly? Savage? Unruly? Is it pure? Is it destructive? There are many arguments both for and against being in tune with it, but none which are compelling to all."
Majesty nodded, recalling the human brothers in the Amrun library who had argued endlessly instead of just asking HER, standing right before them.
"What I want from you is simply to appease my curiosity," explained Wind Whistler, "I will teach you to read and write, and in exchange I would like for you to answer any question I might have about your prior life."
"You basically want to learn from me while I learn from you?" asked Majesty.
"Precisely," replied Wind Whistler. "One of my teachers often tells me that a teacher must learn from their students as much as the students learn from them, or else they may remain static and unable to grow themselves."
Majesty nodded. She didn’t have a problem with that at all... it was a similar arrangement to what she’d had with the Duke back in Amrun. "Yes, I can do that."
Wind Whistler smiled, "Marvelous! With your help, I hope to obtain a new perspective on several social ideas raised by human philosophers, and thus add a pony’s point of view on it."
"So, when can we begin?" asked Majesty.
"How about now, after we finish breakfast?" replied Wind Whistler. "That way hunger is no distraction."
Majesty smiled and nodded. She had to admit that Wind Whistler was different from any pony she had met before… in fact she was different from ANYONE she had met before. She seemed to have a rather… extensive… vocabulary and she seemed to conduct herself in a very peculiar manner, but Majesty didn’t mind all that. She was just happy that she was finally going to learn how to read and write.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Days and weeks passed by. Every day, Majesty would meet up with Wind Whistler, the pegasus would teach Majesty everything she would need in order to read and write, and later Wind Whistler would make inquiries about Majesty’s past and her life as a wild pony, which Majesty tried to answer to the best of her ability. Some answers triggered follow up questions from Wind Whistler, and Majesty tried to answer those as best she could too.
+++++++++++
"Okay, let’s try again, what is this letter?"
"A."
"Yes. And this one?"
"P"
"Right again. And what about this one?"
"Hum… T… is it?"
"Yes it is."
++++++++++++++
"We usually migrated with the seasons. It wasn’t that the cold bothered us, but it was just difficult to find green pastures if it was snowing and the trees, even the lower hanging ones, lacked leaves or fruit to eat."
"Of course. So you didn’t feel any sort of attachment to the land, it was just a matter of finding a source of food?"
"Yes. The herd was our home, not the land. We were loyal to the herd, loyal to each other."
"Understandable. And what about laws or rules?"
+++++++++++++++
"Try reading this word."
"Ho… hou… house."
"Yes, now try this one."
"Ri… river."
"No, try again, look at the letters more closely."
"Tiger?"
"Yes, precisely."
+++++++++++++++++
As time passed, the two ponies became closer. Spending so much time with each other and talking eventually made them learn about each other and open up.
Majesty told Wind Whistler some of her adventures, like fighting the witch coven, living in Amrun and the massacre there -though she didn’t go into any of the massacre’s details- meeting the Queen of Dragons and adopting Spike, Meadowville and meeting the Weather Witch. Wind Whistler had made note to maybe meet with the Weather Witch herself, as the concept of Lilith's Coven's antithesis was interesting for many reasons.
Wind Whistler told Majesty about herself too, though she apologized for not having nearly as interesting stories. She had been part of a traveling caravan of merchants, just a cart-puller at first, but she had shown a talent for math so she eventually started helping with the accounting of sales. The caravan eventually made its way to Vynciani. While in the city, she walked into a bookshop out of curiosity, and picked up one of the many scrolls for sale, which turned out to be a discussion of human philosophy. After skimming it in the store, Wind Whistler had been so impressed that she had asked the bookseller where she could meet the writer. The bookseller pointed Wind Whistler in the direction of the Vynciani College of Philosophy.
There, she started talking with several of the philosophers, becoming rather impressed with a particular man named Semo, who was originally from a city called Ciritun. This man had, after years of study, developed his own personal philosophy of life, which he called Stoicism. Wind Whistler had adopted it and lived by it ever since. Wind Whistler then proceeded to leave behind her previous life at the caravan and became a full time student at the Vynciani College, first under Semo’s tutelage and then on her own.
When Majesty asked Wind Whistler what was this "Stoicism" about, Wind Whistler was only too happy to explain it to her, although Majesty had to admit that she didn’t understand most of it.
On another day, Wind Whistler and Majesty were taking a small break from the lessons, resting under a tree near the Vynciani College, when the pegasus asked the unicorn something that she had found odd about one of the unicorn’s stories, "When you left Meadowville, I gathered that you and the Weather Witch left on rather good terms. Am I correct?"
"Yes, why do you ask?" replied Majesty.
"Well, it seems to me that you could have asked the Weather Witch to teach you to read and write while she stayed in Meadowville to heal from her sustained injuries," said Wind Whistler. "It sounded to me like she seemed more than capable of doing so."
Majesty looked surprised at the question, then sad, turning away.
Wind Whistler blinked. "I’ve made you uncomfortable. I apologize. If this is something you’d rather not discuss…"
"No, it’s not that," Majesty immediately replied. "I… I just didn’t feel like I deserved to ask her for anything."
Wind Whistler raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why?"
Majesty sighed, and looked over to her side, where Spike was happily playing around on the soft grass under the tree. "The Weather Witch, Indabor, Wooden Spoke, everyone at Meadowville… they all saw me as the hero that saved them from Thunderstom, but all I could do was remember how I was ready to let them all die, so Spike would live. I had lost so many before… I just couldn’t lose Spike too."
"I see," replied Wind Whistler.
"When Firefly freed us and brought Spike back to me… I felt… LUCKY. I felt so relieved that I wouldn’t have to live with the burden of knowing that I had let the people of Meadowville die. At that moment I knew, I just knew, that I had to do everything in my power, no matter what, to save everyone, just to atone from my previous choice." Majesty hung her head. "And even after that, I felt like I didn’t deserve their praise… any of it..." Majesty looked up again at Wind Whistler, her face full of worry and self doubt, "Am… am I a good pony?"
Wind Whistler was quiet for a while. "Well, first we need to ask, what IS good?"
Majesty was surprised at this question.
Wind Whistler continued, "Imagine that a person is drowning. Someone nearby hears that person’s cries for help, so they jump into the water to save the drowning person. However, an alligator that was close by also hears those cries for help, and thus gets to the drowning person and eats him, before the one that jumped into the water to save them could do anything. Would the action taken by the one trying to help be considered good even though factors beyond their control thwarted the attempt?"
Majesty blinked in confusion. "What does this have to do with…"
"Now, let’s imagine something quite the opposite," said Wind Whistler, "Let’s say that a potion brewer is preparing a potion but mixes the ingredients incorrectly, the potion creates a cloud of poisonous smoke and the potion brewer begins to asphyxiate." The mare paused, noting Majesty looking completely lost. "That is to say, is unable to breath and at risk of dying. Outside, a thief was getting ready to break into the home of this potion brewer to steal his valuables. The thief picks up a rock and tosses it at one of the windows, breaking the glass and causing the poisonous smoke to fly away harmlessly into the air. The thief is surprised by the smoke and so runs away, while the potion brewer starts breathing again and is saved now that the room is clear from the smoke. Were the actions of the thief good, even though they were intending to do harm?"
Again, Majesty wasn’t sure what to answer.
"Saddyn Unondel considered that what makes an action ‘good’ is how much happiness it produces. Pleasure and absence of pain is, according to Saddyn, crucial for an action to be considered good," explained Wind Whistler. "To Saddyn, happiness is the only thing in the world that has any inherent value. Provided that an action promotes happiness, it is morally ‘good’ and to the extent it does not promote happiness, it is wrong. As long as an action produces the maximum amount of happiness and pleasure, and the least amount of pain, then that action would be considered good. Under this philosophy, your actions at Meadowville would be considered good."
It took a moment for Majesty to digest what Wind Whistler had explained. While it MADE sense… something about it didn’t feel right to Majesty. "But I still feel bad about it. What I did might be considered a good thing, but I was lucky more than anything else." And I shudder to think of what might have become of me if the Weather Witch hadn’t stopped me right before I was about to kill Thunderstorm, thought Majesty, but she was afraid to say that out loud.
Wind Whistler smiled, a very small subdued smile, but one that by now Majesty knew was as genuine as a wide faced grin. "Well, in that case, Pilgalith Evenstar, another human philosopher, considered that the moral worth of one’s actions is determined by whether or not you were motivated by duty."
"Duty?" asked Majesty.
"Yes," replied Wind Whistler. "To Pilgalith, duty is the necessity to act out of respect for the moral law. If it is someone’s duty to save a person, but they fail to do so, the action is still morally good. The consequences of the attempt at saving the person, be it successful or a not, is morally irrelevant." Wind Whistler continued to explain, "Morality, to Pilgalith, is not a matter of what makes you happy or what makes others happy, but it is defined by rationality. He considered that, to determine an action’s moral worth, you must look to the will of the person who willed the action. The ‘good’ that the good person wills into action is expressed by acting from duty, which satisfied what Pilgalith calls the ‘Categorical Imperative’. This ‘Categorical Imperative’ is a self-given law, a command that, Pilgalith thinks, our reason dictates to us. Consequently, when we act from duty we are willing the right thing out of respect for ourselves as rational, law-giving beings."
"I’m sorry, Wind Whistler, I’m not sure I understand," said Majesty, only getting about half of what Wind Whistler had said. Perhaps she felt she’d been better off in the wild after all, where SURVIVAL was more important to ponies, and their herds, than wasting their time with THINKING.
"The Categorical Imperative is when we set a series of rules for ourselves," explained Wind Whistler. "These rules are dictated by our own rationality. We know rationally that it is ‘good’ to save others, for example, and as long as we follow this self-given laws of conduct, this ‘Categorical Imperative’ that we are being ‘good’ regardless of the result of our actions, our intentions were good so we, in turn, are good."
"So," continued Wind Whistler, "if the results of your actions don’t satisfy your question of whether you are good or not, ask yourself what made you choose Spike’s safety above the lives of the people of Meadowville. Were you following your Categorical Imperative? Do you consider it one that was dictated by rationality?"
"But that’s just it… I wanted to protect Spike, and I felt horrible that by doing so, everyone in Meadowville was going to die!" exclaimed Majesty. "I was given a choice… but both options were horrible."
Wind Whistler nodded. There might have been a hint of sympathy in the pegasus’s ever-stoic expression. "Yes, sometimes, we are placed in a situation where there is no completely right choice. You told me that you were the Alpha of your herd, so you know what it’s like to be a leader, to be responsible for the safety and wellbeing of those around you. Leaders often need to make a choice; a choice that, regardless of what is chosen, someone will be hurt, or even die. Ideally, one would always try to find a solution that will keep everyone well, but when presented with a scenario which presents an impossible choice, one where a person must choose between the life or one individual or another, or many, a leader is one who will make that choice, and live the rest of his or her life with the burden."
Majesty nodded slowly. "I… I think I understand now. Thank you, Wind Whistler."
Wind Whistler smiled subtly and nodded. "You are welcome, Majesty."
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Majesty looked around the back of the shop where the grain barrels were kept. Little Spike was riding on her back, looking around the storage house as well. Her sense of smell told her that she was close to what she was looking for.
Majesty had understood since living with the elves back in Amrun that the whole concept of money was something exclusively meant to be exchanged for products and services. While she understood it, she still wasn’t sure why someone would pay for something that nature simply gave away for free. Maybe it was always a payment of services? Like, cooked food was to be paid because cooking food required a skill, and is a service, and thus what one was paying for wasn’t the product, the cooked food, but instead the service of having someone cook it for you?
The whole thing was still pretty alien to her, but she did understand that if she was to stay in Vynciani, she needed to get her own money. Indabor and Wooden Spoke were more than happy to let her stay with them, saying that she was nice company and that she could protect the house while they were away making deliveries, considering that she was a pretty strong magical unicorn.
Still, having grown up in a herd, Majesty was used to being self-reliant. Sure, she and her herd mates helped each other all the time, that was what a herd was for, but as the Alpha she had to know how to fend for herself. She didn’t like the idea of always depending on someone else every time she went to some biped town or city.
The question then was, how exactly could she obtain money? The answer, of course, was to either sell a product or provide a service, like everyone else did. That required for her to have a skill, so then the question was, what skills did she have that could be exchanged for money?
Her skills, while impressive and useful under extreme circumstances, could be in demand in certain situations. Knowing how to transverse a forest, fighting off wild beasts and such would be very useful for a traveling caravan that needed protection, or a party exploring new wildlands.
But Vynciani wasn’t like that. Indabor and Wooden Spoke assured Majesty that she could find work outside of Vynciani easily, but inside it was another story altogether.
Being a unicorn that knew magic wasn’t going to help either. The few human "magicians" in Vynciani were actually potion brewers, interested only in making and selling potions and cures for various illnesses. While the elves in Amrun had been more than excited to exchange magical knowledge with her, humans were more interested in developing technologically. True human magicians were rare, and more often than not they would rather live as hermits in some forest or mountain or cave. There was even debate among humans if Witches and Warlocks should be counted as humans, or elves of some sort.
Indabor and Wooden Spoke even told Majesty of an old man that was a magician and lived in a cave a few days away from Vynciani. His name was Whizz, but he called himself the Wonderful Whizz, and he sold magical services for those who were brave and determined enough to go and find him. Witnesses said he dressed outlandishly, with a long white beard and and yellow robes with a pointy hat and silver loop earrings, and the walls of his cave were decorated with strange magical runes and even a dragon shaped mirror that allowed him to see the events of previous days. All agreed that the "Wonderful Whizz" was very fond of honey, buying it from any traveling merchant who passed by. Accounts of whether he was very magical or not were harder to come by.
Needless to say, the life of a crazy mystic in a cave wasn’t what she wanted for Spike and herself, but if there was no demand for magic, then what skills did she possess that could earn money in Vynciani?
It was Wind Whistler who suggested something quite simple, something that Majesty had been doing already since coming to Vynciani. As a port city, having ships coming and going from port every day, Vynciani had rats. They were a problem not only because of parasites and diseases, but also because they tended to eat the food the merchants from Vynciani bought and sold. A pack of rats could even be physically dangerous to small children and pets.
Every day Majesty would hunt a few rats for Spike to eat. It was relatively easy for her to find them thanks to her sense of smell, and she was also quick to catch and kill them thanks to her magic. Wind Whistler knew that several merchants around Vynciani would pay good coin for someone to get rid of any rats near their merchandise, and Majesty simply could start hunting the rats for them for a fee instead of all over the city like she was doing till then.
Majesty took Wind Whister’s suggestion and so had been doing her little "pest control business" for a few days now.
Her nose told Majesty that the smell was stronger near some barrels to the left of the shop. As she stepped closer to one of the barrels, she saw how the rat, scared from her getting close, ran across the floor from behind the barrels towards a dark corner. Majesty didn’t give the rat time to get away. She quickly twirled her horn shooting a beam that electrocuted the rodent, killing it instantly.
"I got you!" said Majesty proudly, as she lifted the dead rat with her magic. She'd learned that electricity was a fairly efficient means of dealing with them: fast, quick, unlikely to damage or destroy the surrounding area if charged correctly, and it would kill any parasites on the animal and somewhat 'cook' it, making it safer for Spike to eat.
A middle aged man walked towards the back of the store where Majesty was, "Miss Majesty… did you… oh, I see you did," he said as he saw the dead rat floating near Majesty.
"I did," said Majesty. "It’ll be the usual price, Mr. Bellumin." Wooden Spoke had informed her memorizing names was a good way to make an impression and get regular customers.
The man reached into his robes and produced a small pouch. The copper coins within made a jingling sound as he offered it to Majesty. "Always nice to do business with such a quick and efficient pony as yourself, Miss Majesty."
Majesty also grabbed the small pouch of coins with her magic. "Thank you, Mr. Bellumin. You know where I am if you ever need me again." She walked out of the back of the store and into one of the many busy marketplace streets of Vynciani.
The pouch of copper coins went into a saddlebag she had acquired with the first payment she ever received from her little pest control endeavor. The dead rat she floated to little Spike, who happily snatched it and swallowed it in one gulp. The baby dragon would be well fed for the day.
Despite her words to Mr. Bellumin, she didn’t really know how much longer she would be staying in Vynciani. Her classes with Wind Whistler were almost over, the pegasus had taught her almost everything she needed to know in order to read and write on her own, and pretty soon all that would be left for her to do is practice. She didn’t really need to stay in Vynciani for that. Maybe she would stay around a little longer, since there were several places in the city where she could learn new things using her newfound reading skills, but she wasn’t really sure about that. She still remembered that talk she had with that other unicorn, Gypsy. She still wanted to learn more about her golden horseshoes, but Vynciani didn’t seem like a good place for that either. She would have better luck traveling out of town to find someone with the knowledge to help her.
"Excuse me, do you know which one would be the best shop to buy magical supplies?"
Majesty was pulled out of her thoughts by whoever had spoken to her. She quickly turned her head to see who had asked the question. It was a yellow earth pony mare with a green mane and tail. She was smiling at Majesty expectantly, waiting for an answer.
Majesty shook her head a little to focus, the question had caught her completely off guard. "I’m… I’m sorry, what did you need from me?"
The Earth pony nodded. "I’m sorry, I just arrived in the city. I was told that there are some shops here that sell items from far away lands, magical items, and I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction."
"I see," replied Majesty, she did have to admit that she had never seen the mare before, but then again, Vynciani was a huge city, with merchants and travelers from different places coming and going every day. She really doubted that anyone knew everyone else in this place. "Well, the shops specializing in magical items are down that street, to the left."
The Earth pony nodded again. "Okay! Do you know which shop would sell magic channeling topaz? The kind one might use to enchant a staff or ring with magic?"
Majesty shook her head. "I’m sorry, I really don’t know that much. Just the general location of the shops."
The earth pony seemed a little surprised at this. "Really? I thought that being a unicorn, you might know about that sort of thing. That’s okay, I’ll find out on my own. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!"
"You’re welcome," replied Majesty, as she walked away. Then something that the Earth pony mare had said struck her. She was looking for something to help her enchant an object. Majesty had ruled out someone from Vynciani knowing enough to help her about the horseshoes, but maybe someone from out of town might know! And this Earth pony mare might be just the one.
"Wait a second!" exclaimed Majesty, quickly catching up with the yellow mare.
The yellow mare stopped and turned around to look at Majesty, puzzled. "Hmm, yes, is there something else?"
"I’m sorry but, do you know something about enchanted artifacts?" asked the unicorn.
The Earth pony mare smiled proudly, "I’m quite the expert actually. I’m gathering the necessary ingredients to build my very own magic wand. That’s why I came here in the first place."
"Then perhaps you can help me with something," said Majesty hopefully. "I will be happy to compensate you for your time, of course."
The Earth pony mare looked at Majesty curiously, then smiled and nodded. "Well, I must say I am intrigued. Here you are, a unicorn in a city, and you have a baby dragon as a pet."
"Spike isn’t my pet, he’s my adopted son," corrected Majesty.
"Even more intriguing," said the yellow mare. "Tell you what, why don’t you buy me lunch and I’ll see what I can do for you? The shops can wait, they aren’t going anywhere."
Majesty smiled happily, "Yes, that would be great. Follow me, I know just the place. I’m Majesty, by the way."
"I’m Magic Star," replied the earth pony.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A few minutes later, Majesty and Magic Star were sitting across from each other at a table in Toza’s Inn. Spike was sitting happily next to his adoptive mother, playing with a small toy Majesty had bought for him a few days ago. The two ponies had made their orders and were now just waiting for them to be cooked and served.
"So, Majesty, what exactly is it that you wanted my help with?" asked Magic Star.
"About a year ago, I received four magical horseshoes as a gift," explained Majesty. "Since then I have been having some strange new powers. Another unicorn said that it all came from the horseshoes, and that I should ask someone that knows more about enchanted objects, to try and figure out what was happening."
"I see. Let me take a look at the horseshoes. Do you have them with you now?" asked Magic Star.
"Of course, I wear them all the time." replied Majesty. She raised one hoof and showed it to her.
Magic Star leaned forwards, carefully looking over the golden horseshoe. "Hmmm. These were made in the land of Arghayth, right? The elvish craftsmanship is unmistakable. These are especially well made. You must have been very important to someone, to receive such a gift."
Magic Star gently took Majesty’s hoof with her own, peering closer. "This isn’t actually gold. It’s starlight metal. Impressive. Yes, definitely elvish. Only they are so magically advanced as to make something like this."
Majesty was surprised and a little in awe. Magic Star certainly sounded like she knew what she was talking about.
Magic Star looked up back at Majesty, "What exactly do you want to know about them?"
"I was told that they were supposed to increase my powers," said Majesty, "But, like I said, they seem to be giving me new powers. How is that possible?"
The earth pony mare nodded. "Well, the horseshoes aren’t, technically speaking, increasing your magical powers. Magic can’t come from thin air, it needs a source. The horseshoes have no source of magic themselves, so they can’t increase your powers. If you had something like, I don’t know, an amulet with some sort of magical source embedded in it, then THAT would increase your power. Your horseshoes merely allow you to focus your already existing power. It concentrates it into a single line. It might FEEL like you have more power, but in reality they allow you to channel your inner magic better. If you had enough training you could do it without needing the horseshoes, for example."
"Then what about my new powers?" asked Majesty.
"That would be the horseshoes being in tune with your own mana," explained Magic Star. As Majesty looked confused, she explained it in more detail. "The horseshoes could, technically speaking, be worn by any pony at this point. But from the moment you put them on, they have been in sync with your mana, your bloodline. While anyone could just take them now and tap into their power, only you, or one of your bloodline could truly wield them. Whatever power they gave you, is power that you could have accessed yourself with enough magical training. They are so in tune with you, I think, that if someone from your bloodline were to use them they could tap into any residual mana in them, mix it with their own, and access the power they are helping trigger in you now. Maybe help them increase THEIR magical powers, because of the mana residue you would leave behind if you took them off."
"They’re draining my magic?" asked a concerned Majesty.
"What? No, no, no. You misunderstand," explained Magic Star, "You mana flows through them, not just when you cast your spells, but all the time. If you take them off the magical residue that was flowing in them at the time would remain, and mix up with whoever is touching them later, if that were to happen. But, as a unicorn, your body would naturally produce mana all the time. You wouldn’t lose any of it, the horseshoes just allow it to flow through them as well, and when you want to use your mana to cast a spell, the horseshoes help it flow better, more focused, to allow you to cast a spell in a more polished, refined way. Think of it about how a lake's water doesn't change when directed into an aquifer. It is merely directed more efficiently and effectively."
"I see." said Majesty more calmly, "You know all this just by looking at them?"
"Looking at them, touching them, FEELING them," replied Magic Star. "It’s hard to explain. Being good with magical artifacts is simply what I do. It’s what I’m good at, it's what I’ve always been good at. It’s how I got my cutie mark."
"Cutie Mark?" asked Majesty.
"Yes, the marks that appear on every pony’s flank when they realize there is something they like to do more than anything else," explained Magic Star.
Majesty looked at Magic Star’s mark, a magic wand, then at her own mark, "That’s what they are called? I never knew."
"When did you get yours?" asked Magic Star out of curiosity.
"I was just a filly," said Majesty. "I was playing with a colt, and I saw a snake about to bite him, so I turned the snake into a bed of flowers."
Magic Star was amazed. This unicorn had performed an amniomorphic spell as a filly? Not only that, but turned an animal into a plant. A plant, something that Earth ponies should feel affinity to, not unicorns. "Did… did you ever manipulate the weather?"
The question seemed so out of the blue that it caught Majesty by surprise, but she answered it anyways. "I once formed some clouds over me. I was in an open meadow at noon and couldn’t find a place to sit under the shade. Does that count?"
Magic Star was even more surprised than before. While not downright full weather manipulation, it was something really similar. This unicorn seemed to have potential into performing not only unicorn magic, but could replicate earth pony and pegasus magic as well. How powerful WAS this unicorn?
"So, what do you recommend that I do?" asked Majesty.
The question caught Magic Star by surprise. "Do?"
"With the horseshoes," said Majesty. "Should I take them off, should I keep them on?"
"That depends on what you want," said Magic Star. "You would need to take them off in order to practice focusing your mana without wearing them, but if you want to learn to tap into their power better, you would need to practice by wearing them. Or you could try both."
"I see," replied Majesty. "I’ve never had to practice using an enchanted artifact before."
Just then the waitresses walked over to their table with two plates. "Here’s our food," said Magic Star. "I’ll give you some techniques you can use to practice on your own while we eat."
"That would be nice," replied Majesty smiling. "Thank you."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Majesty was walking down the streets of Vynciani, with a tired out Spike asleep on her back.
After they finished their lunches, and Majesty paid for it with the coins she had received from Mr. Bellumin, she and Magic Star said their goodbyes and gone their separate ways again.
During lunch, Magic Star had asked Majesty some information about the horseshoes and what she felt exactly every time she had one of these new powers manifest itself, in as much detail as possible. Majesty replied as best as she could and Magic Star would sometimes make a following question. Together they were able to figure out that each horseshoe seemed to trigger a different power in Majesty.
When she had floated to Tiamat’s island like a cloud, she had felt the power rising from her left back hoof, meaning that the horseshoe on that hoof triggered that. When she was able to "read" the pirate’s mind it was the right back horseshoe, and when she had lighted up the cave it had been the left front horseshoe. The right front horseshoe was the one that kept allowing her to see the future.
Now, according to Magic Star, she would need to practice in order for the horseshoes to act how she wanted them to, rather than triggering them unexpectedly by instinct. The yellow mare had also given her some instructions and pointers on how to better train herself to do this. Majesty hoped they'd be able to discuss it more some other time, there was still much the unicorn didn't know. Majesty couldn't help but smile at the prospect of introducing her and Wind Whistler, two wise ponies would likely have much to discuss.
Suddenly, Majesty felt a surge of power from her front right hoof, the one for visions! It went up to her head and she closed her eyes. She saw Vynciani port, everyone in the city was running away from it in panic… because of a giant tidal wave coming towards the city!
Majesty opened her eyes in alarm, and quickly turned and started galloping towards the city’s port. This sudden movement woke up Spike, and the little dragon started to yowl and fuss. Majesty quickly picked up the dragon with her magic to soothe him and keep him more steadily than if he had been on her back, but kept galloping at full speed. She didn’t have much time!
Majesty arrived at the port just in time to see everyone running in the other direction, for the giant wave was already approaching the city.
"Majesty? Is that you?!" came a familiar voice from above. Majesty looked up to see Wind Whistler flying downwards, coming in to land next to her. Wind Whistler usually took a quick route over the port to get to and from the Vynciani school on the other side of the city. Wind Whistler was trying to remain calm, but the stoic pegasus was clearly feeling panic as much as everyone else.
"Wind Whistler, here, take Spike and fly away, it’s dangerous here," said the unicorn to the pegasus, as she floated Spike over to Wind Whistler.
"What? What are you going to do?" asked Wind Whistler.
"I’m going to try and stop that wave," said Majesty.
"Stop that wave?" exclaimed Wind Whistler, her panic overwhelming her neutral expression. "Are you mad? Look at that thing, it’s enormous!"
"I’ll be fine, I can do it, trust me! Now go, hurry!" said Majesty. "You said it yourself, a leader makes the best choice they can, this is mine."
Realizing that there was no sense in arguing any further, Wind Whistler took Spike from Majesty with her hooves and placed him on her back. The light blue pegasus flew up and away, with Spike crying and looking down at his adoptive mother in worry, as she stood alone on the empty docks.
Majesty took a deep breath. It wasn’t just stopping the wave, the water needed to be dispersed as well. She needed to both create a shield spell and also an opposing force against the wave. The giant shield would be the easy part.
The white unicorn concentrated, as a pink magical beam shot out of her horn and upwards, expanding and creating a giant magic bubble shield that that covered not only the port and docks, but the city immediately surrounding it as well. The magic shield was especially designed to allow things to exit it, but not to enter it. The shield would be able to not only stop the tidal wave, but also allow anyone that was still evacuating to escape if Majesty failed. Possibly just as important, Majesty would be able to fire her next spell through the shield bubble.
Majesty closed her eyes and started to concentrate. She could do this! She could feel it deep inside her, she just needed to tap into her powers like never before. The mana started to flow around her in a reddish black energy. She started to recite an incantation as the tidal wave came closer and closer, the words coming to her seemingly out of nowhere.
"Darkness beyond twilight, crimson blood that flows
Buried beyond the reaches of time is where your power grows,
I give myself to Destruction, so all the foes that stood,
Before the mighty gifts bestowed upon my hooves,
Let the fools who stand before us be obliterated,
By the powers you and I possess…"
Majesty opened her eyes, blazing pure white.
"DESTRUCTION’S BANE!"
The magical beam of raw destructive energy shot straight towards the tidal wave just before it reached the harbor… and then an expanding ball of black and red energy blasted the wave into steam and vapor, growing nearly as wide as the entire city before the magic finally began to dissipate. Majesty felt the blast wave slam into her shield, and knew in a moment of mingled awe and terror… this was her power, drawn out by the golden horseshoes? The spell that she’d used to save the city could have just as easily destroyed it.
Not many were still watching the harbor when it happened, and those that did had to shield their eyes against the incredible light radiating out from the blast. When humans and ponies could see again, the port was completely safe and the giant wave was nowhere to be seen. The magic shield dissipated soon afterwards.
Wind Whistler had been one of those watching. The pegasus had been flying high enough for her and Spike to be safe from the wave. She saw Majesty standing, still alone, at the empty docks. She could see people screaming and cheering as they saw how that tidal wave that was about to wreck the city had disappeared.
The pegasus quickly landed next to Majesty. Spike was no longer crying, but he did look worried for his mother. The white unicorn was breathing heavily, but smiling.
Everyone that had been returning to the docks to see what had happened noticed the two ponies standing at the docks, and slowly started to approach them, curiosity written on their faces.
"Majesty, are you alright?" asked Wind Whistler.
"I… I told you… I could do it." said Majesty, and then her eyes fluttered closed and she collapsed as she and Wind Whistler were surrounded by the curious onlookers of Vynciani.
"Everyone, stay back, leave her enough room to breathe!" exclaimed Wind Whistler to everyone. "We need to get her to a doctor!"
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Far away from the Vynciani port, far enough that the tidal waves from Majesty’s spell hadn’t yet reached it, a lone ship floated on calm waters. A golden pony head decorated its prow as a figurehead.
The ship was empty except for a single person inside, who kept it and everything in it invisible to anyone outside. There was little to no light source in the bowels of the ship, so the figure was mostly shrouded in darkness. The figure seemed to have pointy hair and a pair of pointy ears, and was staring at a mirror.
The mirror, however, wasn’t reflecting the room, but another place entirely. Majesty and Wind Whistler could be seen in the mirror, surrounded by the people of Vynciani.
"That was… unexpected," said the figure to nobody in particular, focused intently on the image in the mirror. "But this is nothing but a minor setback. Everything is going exactly as planned. The humans of that town will soon discover the causes of the wave, and when the war between them and the oceans inevitably occurs, they will all die."
The figure snapped his fingers and the images in the mirror disappeared, leaving only an ordinary reflection. From what little light illuminated the cabin, his features could be seen smiling malevolently in the mirror’s surface.
"All glory to Lord Tirek," said the figure.
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Well how about that?
Not only do we get a new chapter, but it also contains a pony version of Lina's Dragon Slave? Impressive.
8700755
I"m a fan of that spell. And so Persona22 it seems.
8732749
I own the game, never played it. Has some motifs that rubbed me the wrong way.
1. I never trust a gypsy. Especially with horns.
2. This Wind Whistler character is...pretty stoic.
3. Jeez, that psychological info dump from Wind Whistler was a lot to gather. I need a good drink now.
4. HA! Majesty as an exterminator. Very fitting.
*frustrated groans* I. Hate. FALSE FLAG OPERATIONS!
Enjoyed the chapter over all.
9174505
All gotta make a living.
You have implied those are pet peeves for ya.