Chapter 7.
The unicorn stands defiantly before the Djinn, her legs spread slightly for balance on the crystal floor. “I have my honor! My pride is not for sale!” She turns away from the Djinn, with a snap of her tail.
Narrowing my eyes, I leap at him, my horn glowing bright causing the crystal in the room to sparkle and glow softly. In response he growls as he thrusts his blade at me. I have zero knowledge of any kind of sword fighting, let alone using my horn as a weapon, but I do have magic. A shield appears and intersects the sword as it gets close causing it to veer off at a strange angle. A pulse of my magic has the sword clattering away, spinning on the floor like a top. With a flap of my wings I leap into the air, and barrel into him with all four hooves.
He grunts loudly as he loses balance, crashing to the crystalline floor. As he scrambles to his feet, another blast of magic has his sword skidding off into a corner of the room, partly burying itself into the wall from the force of the blast. He snarls as he brings up a hand and points it at me, a look of such pure hatred in his eyes that I step back for a moment. A massive gout of flame streaks towards me with a snarl of murderous intent that leaves little doubt on how he intends to end this.
Raising my wing a magical shield forms, deflecting the blast up and away from me. I briefly thank whatever is above that the ceiling in here is quite high as I take to the air. The vaulted ceilings providing ample room for a flyer to maneuver safely. Lowering my head, I send a bolt of lightning at him, the smell of ionized plasma filling the air as it blasts apart the air heading for him.
Laughing, he deflects the blast towards the unicorn, who quickly materializes her own shield. Okay, maybe it’s not a good idea to shoot lightning in a confined space. I streak forward do a forward tumble in the air, as I do, I gather up all four legs to slam into him. Even with that force, he moves faster than I could ever believe and grabs two of my legs, pivoting and throwing me across the room. I don’t have time to do anything before I hit the floor and slide along it into the wall.
As I sit up and shake my head, blinking from the surprisingly strong impact. I see Guerina roar as she brings her own dagger to bear, buying me some time to get up. Moving to my hooves I give myself one final shake as I crouch spreading my wings. I quickly give everything one last flex to make sure nothings broken before I light my horn again.
The Djinn pivots and catches the point of the griffin’s dagger on a shield made of fire. Backwinging, the griffin keeps up her attack with fast stabs and slashes of the blade. Watching her tenacity, I find myself briefly curse the fact I haven’t been taught any real combat spells. Rearing up, I lash out with my horn as I send a bolt of pure energy at the Djinn. Distracted by the griffin, he is caught by surprise and is blown back into the stairs of the dais, leading up to the throne. With his attention on me, Guerina leaps forward again, only to be caught by the neck in one hand.
He snarls and throws her across the room, where she tumbles along the floor, coming to rest upside-down against the wall. Her head wobbles a bit as she blinks a few times, her eyes try to regain focus and clear the stars. He takes a step towards me, “I don’t have to worry about an entire caravan now, you little mule.”
I smile, “Nor do I.” I take to the air, unleashing bolt after bolt at him. Only to have that shield made of fire appear, deflecting everything I throw at him. I grimace in concentration as I focus on the floor around him. Crystals crack and heave up, trying to crush him, he leaps lightly away from the broken floor, towards his dais. Air hardened as much as a blade slashes at him, blunted by a gout of fire he sends my way. With my wings, I leap over the stream of hot gasses before breaking the floor around him again, sending crystal shards at him at a furious pace. I glance over, the unicorn is charging her own horn. I prepare a shield, taxing my magic a bit as I keep up my assault on him.
A furious blast of magic slams into the djinn, knocking him over. He conjures his shield of fire and blocks more attacks from her. “Oh, you miserable traitor. You shall have the same fate as him.” He screams as he flashes into pure fire and flashes across the room. He sends a bolt of white-hot energy at the unicorn, who smirks as she winks away, only to appear directly above him. He doesn’t notice as she drops onto him with all four hooves.
I leap forward as she winks away quickly. He’s down, but not out of the fight yet. I throw a wide club of air at him. He finally gets a taste of flying helplessly through the air to crash into the wall. I follow up with another club of air, only to have it slashed by a razor thin stream of pure fire.
“He’s a djinn, you idiot, he can see and feel your weaves as you form them!” The unicorn shouts.
I flinch, He can see the casting as it’s forming? Looking around for a moment it hits me, Fine, then Focus Feint it is, time to distract and overwhelm. The unicorn opts to wink out as he sends a gout of fire at her. Giving me an opening, rearing up I slam my wings together in front of me, with my magic this sends a large whirlwind of air at him, followed up behind by a second blast.
With a snarl his head whips around and the weave is cut, a powerful swing of his hand sending scattering bits of tornado in all directions. I brace myself through it and smile as the second club right behind the first slams into him. He again tumbles from my attack half sliding, half spinning, into the wall. He stands up again as if nothing had happened.
“That doesn’t hurt.”
Our attacks are having no lasting effect on him! Guerina has apparently recovered, she leaps onto his back, sinking her dagger into his shoulder. He snarls in response, reaching over his shoulder and grabbing her by the scruff of the neck before flinging her into the air. Reaching back, he pulls the long dagger from his flesh. Though that gives me pause. He did feel pain from that, yet there’s no blood. Grasping the dagger, he flashes into flames for a few moments, drops of molten metal falling to the ground. When he reforms, the wound is gone. He looks up at me and smiles. “I’m not some flesh and blood beast.” He growls before sending another blast at me.
His blast hits me like a hammer. That hurts. That really hurts. I have to hide it. “Really? and here I thought you just stole that trick from a phoenix.” I say before lifting my wing to materialize a shield to take the brunt of the impact, though I’m still blown back. My wings bring me to a stop mid-air, allowing me to send another energy beam at him.
Guerina is struck by a wave and sent flying across the chamber before the djinn rounds on me. He advances, manifesting his smokeless fire into bright white balls. I can’t move, it’s like breathing itself hurts. I look up at him. There’s no emotion in those burning pits, not that there would be mercy.
I hear Guerina yell, “Ki, give him everything you got! I have an idea!”
Breathing hurts too much to yell back, but I grimly charge my magic again. The unicorn leaps at him, only to be smacked aside, Guerina takes advantage of his distraction, only to have him move fast enough to blur, redirecting a leaping attack from her saber, and launching her into the ceiling with a wave of purple. I hear her smack on the rocks. She plummets back to the ground and doesn’t move.
I need time to charge. I can’t muster up much magic. He’s nearly on me.
BANG! Something rips through him before he can invoke a shield. There is no shimmer to show he absorbed it. He stumbles and rounds away from me. I look over and see the unicorn holding Ghaliya’s double barreled wheellock musket with a cloud of smoke billowing around her. The djinn lunges, but it stopped by a shield raised in front of him, followed by a saber slash from hip to shoulder.
As he turns to deal with the unicorn once more, Guerina runs up to me. “Ki! I need you to energize this gun as much as possible. Doesn’t matter what type, just power it up – he can stop any magic and blades don’t hurt, but he’s too slow to react to gunshots. Hurry!”
“I don’t know how to do that!”
“Just feel it, shove your magic into the ball inside.” She shoves the weapon up to my head. I narrow my eyes and channel my power through my horn, though I am losing it fast. I’m tired, so very tired. The pain doesn’t bother me so much; I just want to sleep. The iron is hard and uncomfortably pressed against my horn. Luckily, conducting power into it isn’t hard. Indeed, it seems to want to suck power out of me. I feel the gun begin to warm and glow as I dump my energy into it. I watch the unicorn duel with the jinn. She’s good, but she’s taken a beating. I remember what Guerina told me, that a djinn cannot be defeated by normal means, save a very powerful blow from a great warrior – something like being stabbed to pieces under a rank of spearponies may be enough to stop a jinn, but otherwise, it’s like spitting at a bonfire.
The djinn is turned away from us. Guerina shouts, “That better be enough! Hold onto your ears!”
Before I have time to react, it’s like the world explodes into thunder.
The ball rips through the jinn. The jinn’s fire flashes and flutters – the shot’s ripped his magic away! I see something explode out to paint the face of the unicorn. We’ve hurt him!
Quick to notice it, he flashes to fire and streaks before the dais. With a glare he turns towards the unicorn and deflects a magic she just sent his way. With speed and grace, she leaps lightly behind his throne, her beam passing through it momentarily as she ducks his own return blast. The magic splitting into a multi-colored hue fanning out across the spectrum. Wider then expected he only blocks part of the mean, a painful snarl emerging as parts of the beam make contact, stripping away the fire and leaving only flesh where it struck.
A thought hits me as I take note to where he’s been forced to. He’s standing on the rock underfloor, the area I had shattered the crystalline floor to attack him. I narrow my eyes as the idea begins to grow. I can feel the life throughout this cavern. I leap over to another broken area, letting myself skid across it, my hooves touching the rock. I can sense the small bits of life in it, under it. Roots, the seeds sleeping, the life. I smirk at him as he turns towards me. My magic pulses and the trickle of life around us becomes a torrent. Rock breaks apart and tendrils shoot from the fractures. Those tendrils grow to massive vines that wrap around the Djinn. He screams as his legs are engulfed in the greenery. And in a matter of seconds he’s held all the way to his chest. He flashes to fire, and I pour magic into the plant life. These desert plants are already resistant to fire and heat but with the added energy, they can resist even the magical flames, holding him tightly like some giant constrictor.
“You may not be blood and bone, but you can still be held,” I growl as the fire intensifies, some of the leaves of the thick plants begin turning brown under the assault. I grimace and hold the magic going into the life. In response, the plant begins seeping out a white milky substance, an absolute torrent of magical power flows through me, my eyes flashing brightly, as several red flowers form from the plant. “You cannot, you will not break free.”
Taking her chance, the unicorn puts everything she has into her magic, one continues powerful beam, aimed not at the djinn but at the throne. Her magic combining with that of the ancient magic of this place, the long-forgotten powers. The throne itself glows bright for a few moments before exploding out in a rainbow of energy, ribbons reaching out like tendrils and wrapping around the djinn bringing forth an unholy shriek as it still forces him back to his normal self.
The rainbow magic swirls around him, causing him to thrash and scream. I look over, the throne on the dias is glowing brightly. The unicorn has her legs spread and head low pumping more and more power into the beam, her hooves glowing against the crystal floor. A change in the Djinn’s screams wrench my attention back to him. Starting at his hooves and creeping slowly up his body, stone grows slowly upwards. In a matter of moments, half his body is immobilized, his screams becoming more and more frantic. I let go of the magic holding him as his screams abate, the stone creeping up to his shoulders. His head flails back and forth as the stone creeps up his neck and finally engulfs his head. Leaving his head frozen mid scream.
With a flick of magic, the vines retract from the new statue, I move forward and put a hoof on the chest of the statue. “He’s still alive in there.” I say in wonder.
The unicorn comes from behind the throne, her horn smoking a bit and a trickle of blood running from her nose. “Yeah. But he’s sealed in there now. He won’t be making life difficult for anypony any time soon.”
I turn to her. “What did you do? He was captured!”
She flips her mane. “Djinn don’t just give up, Prince. The only way to stop him would be to kill him, or to seal him away.” She glances back at the throne. “When I directed my magic through the throne before. The spell affected him better than most of my other spells. So, I got behind the throne and unleashed everything I could through it at him. And, griffon, good thinking with those bullets. Having the prince’s magic travel through a medium like that to smash his defenses was genius.” She looks thoughtful. “Though it was crazy, while I was channeling the magic through it, it felt as though…” she glances at me, then back at the throne. “It felt like I had another mage with me. One unimaginably powerful, like an alicorn, like you, helping me, wanting me to seal him away permanently… that was the craziest feeling.” She turns away and trots behind the throne, then sticks her head over its arm. “You want to get your marefriend back, right? Follow me.”
I follow her, shaking my head. “Who are you?”
“Call me Dawn. Dawn Shimmer is my name.”
“Okay, Dawn, why are you a mercenary?”
That gets her to skid to a stop. She whirls around and plants her hooves. “Do you really want to know?”
I nod, and she droops a bit. She slowly turns back around. “I was raised in Canterlot. I was the rising star for Princess Celestia. My herd pushed me, wanted me to excel. I did amazing at my entrance test for Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorn’s. I was her star pupil.” She turns her head back and noses her cutie mark, a half orange sun with red radiant flames rising over a dark half with stars. “My cutie mark was special, the Princess said. I can see the light and the dark, the duality of life, of magic. I excelled at everything I was tasked with. Any test, Dawn would not just pass it, she’d ace it. Cute stallion came around, he was Dawn's new special somepony. Everypony talked about me. Everypony, especially my herd, wanted me to change the world. It was too much. I couldn’t take the pressure. I had to get away.” She lowers her head, fighting tears. “I am a damned good mercenary. I’m a damned good fighter. I know where to find the best magical items. I find the best fighters, the best mages. And we command a fortune to do what we are asked to do.”
I friend, “How did you get mixed up with him?”
She turns a corner, following the tunnel. “I got a message from one of my Saddle Arabian contacts, and my initial payment was delivered. I found out the job was a simple abduction.” She shrugs. “Royals do that from time to time, to force horses to do what they usually wouldn’t want to do. Or to make a mare’s belly swell if she’s defiant. I only found out it was a djinn when I came to deliver your marefriend.”
“She’s not my marefriend. She’s betrothed.”
She stops before a large door, her horn lighting. “Your name IS Ki, right?” With a loud grinding clank, the door starts to open. I nod. She giggles softly, trying her best to give an innocent smile, and yet somehow, failing miserably. “Well, under the sleep spell, she kinda moaned your name more than once.”
The door finally opens, exposing a small room. Ghaliya is laying there, blinking against the relatively bright light of the hallway compared to the cell. Finally, her eyes focus. “Ki!” she screams. She struggles to her hooves as I rush in. She throws her hooves around my neck. “I knew you’d come!” She nuzzles my neck, pressing her body into me, holding me tightly. Finally, she pulls away and rests her head on my withers. “Thank you, Ki.”
An amused chortle from behind me gets me to turn. Guerina is there, next to Dawn, a big smile on her beaked face. “I knew it.”
“Its not what it looks like,” I murmur as Ghaliya flinches away, her face red. My own face feels like it’s on fire.
“Yes, it is.” Dawn says. She shakes her head, a faint smile on her face. “You do know, the djinn didn’t build this place, Ki. This is older than him. This is older than all of us. Probably even older than Celestia herself.”
I look around. “This wasn’t originally a cell, was it?” I run a hoof along the crystal wall. “Its too big.” I turn and take a few steps. This cavern is immense. The tinkling sound of water draws me along. More of those glowing crystals abound, the entire area is lit like dusk. Though with all the hard surfaces, I’m quite surprised at the relative lack of echoes as we walk. Life is here as well, great mushrooms are growing, and even they glitter like crystals. My ears flick back and forth as we make our way deeper into the cavern. Guerina, Dawn, and Ghaliya follow as I lead them through. The sound of water intensifies as we get to a narrow passageway between two large chambers. This new chamber is different. Crystalline plants grow from the floor, green leaves made of crystal filigree reach towards the blue ceiling. More light emitting crystals grow from the ceiling. This is absolutely amazing.
“Ki, what is this?” Ghaliya says softly, crowding up next to me.
I shake my head. “I have no idea. But something about it feels…” We turn a corner of the pathway and stop. An expansive pool spreads out before us. And in the middle of that pool lies what seems to be an island. I glance back at Ghaliya and gently pick her up with my magic as I take to the air. Ghaliya simply focuses her eyes on me as we fly through the air. Ahead of me, Dawn appears in a teleport and Guerina flies next to me. The flight is short and I set Ghaliya gently down on the white sand of the island.
“Ki, there’s something here.” Dawn says, getting me to gallop over to her, the other two on my heels.
As I’m looking, the pony mare leans over, “Do you know how to teleport?”
I shake my head as I glance back at Ghaliya. “We’ve seen something like this before, haven’t we?”
She nods as the puts a hoof on the stone flank. “Under the palace.”
I nod. “I wonder.” I must for a moment before lighting my horn.
“Ki!” Ghaliya’s frantic scream echoes through my mind as I’m swept away. The entire world rocks around me for what seems like forever. Then everything is still. I Find myself standing in a sea of stars, below my hooves, the ground looks like nebulas and galaxies swirling into a pathway leading off into eternity. There is no wind, no sun, and yet it still feels warm and safe.
“Who are you?”
I shake my head, I don’t recognize the voice. I turn around slowly and yet I don’t see anyhorse. “I’m Ki.”
“Ki? That isn’t one of our names, but you don’t know any better, do you?” I whirl around, who is that speaking, the feminine voice lets out a soft sigh.
“I don’t know any more than that,” I say sternly.
“You are not what you were before. You were so young when your soul was banished. It must have drifted through the cosmos for eons.” The voice has a sadness to it and yet curiosity. “How did you get here?”
“I don’t know how I got here. I don’t even know where here is.” Looking down I paw at the path causing it to swirl like ripple in the water. “How is that possible?”
“It is a time of change in Equestria. The winds blowing, they bring back those who were sent away. Ancient evils, shadows, darkness. You have a purpose, you are needed. Once you were called Tellus. You were supposed to stay.”
“Like Celestia?”
The voice sounds almost like its ready to cry, “Celestia was…” a long pause. “Is a half-trained child. She has no idea of her power, she hides from it, scared of it. But she was the one who was chosen, with her sister. At the time, I did not agree with the decision. But I was overruled.”
“By who?” I’m not sure I should ask but, the voice sounds so hurt.
“The royal courts, the world needed guardians,” the voice sighs, “she and her sister were left behind.”
“Left behind? Where did the rest go?” I whirl around, where is that voice coming from.
“We moved on, we moved beyond the bounds, it was our time to go. I wish I didn’t have to leave, I wish I could have found you, but the others.”
“A rather cryptic answer,” I say as I sit down.
“I am here, but I am not. I am not even supposed to talk with you. But, you are here. Yet you are what you are.”
I paw whatever floor is under me, “And what am I?”
“Life.” This time, the voice sounds less ethereal, more real, if that word applies. I whirl around again, and then stop. An alicorn stands there, a bright halo of light around her form. She’s a bright yellow color, with a faintly green mane and tail which waft in some sort of ethereal breeze. She has a cutie mark, it looks familiar. “That’s the mark in the cave.” I say softly.
She nods. “This was my dominion, my home. Water and crystal are intertwined. I played with the crystal, making beauty. But that creature defiled my brilliance. I helped the unicorn, though my abilities to affect the physical world is limited. Inside my dominion, I am strongest.”
“If you have moved on, why do you care?”
She takes a step, then looks down at her hoof, as though surprised it is there. She looks up at me. “The winds of change blow. We must protect our little ponies, we must guide them. Celestia has forgotten her way. Lost in the sorrow of banishing her own sister.” Folding her wings tight to her side, the alicorn lowers her head, “She cannot guide them correctly, in her need to protect them she instead stunts their growth.”
I frown. “Their growth?”
She nods. “Yes, to her, the ponies need to grow. Thousands of years ago, there was creation of new spells, new magics, new items. Thousands of years ago there was new kingdoms being built and new kinds of magic. And yet, when the heroes of old passed. There was no attempt to replace them. Celestia took on the mantle herself, she would defend with what they left behind.”
“And this is a bad thing?”
“There are no heroes, there is no great search for magic, there are those that are curious, but they are sought out by Celestia and put into her school. They are taught but in the end they don’t learn for themselves. They don’t create.”
My eyes widen. “Stagnation.”
She nods and leans down rubbing her cheek against mine, “The winds that brought you here have a purpose. The shadows are awakening. Chaos will break loose, the Nightmares will return, Tantabus shall haunt the dream again. And ponies don’t know anything about it. She continues on as though nothing shall ever change.”
“And me?”
She smiles. “And then there is you. Life, ponified. Tellus, you must…” she stops with a gasp, looking off in the distance. “I must go. Remember what I’ve told you. The ponies need you just as much as they need Celestia and Luna.”
The entire world around me quakes and darkens to black for an instant. When the light returns, the other alicorn is gone. “Remember, Tellus. Death is lighter than a feather. Duty is heavier than a mountain.”
As her voice fades again, I whirl around, another form is there, though only vaguely pony shaped, with wings of living flame. I scream as the form rushes at me.
My scream echoes throughout the cavern. “Ki, Ki, please wake up!” Ghaliya’s voice penetrates. I look up her wild eyed. I’m lying on the sand, next to the statue of the alicorn. Ghaliya shakes me. “Ki, your eyes first glowed green like before. Then pure white. And you stood there like a statue before you collapsed. What happened?”
I’m gasping, barely able to catch my breath. “I touched my magic.” I puff. “I was somewhere else.” I rotate my head to look at the statue lying on its side. Trying to grasp at my memories as they flow away. “I met her. I talked to her.” I narrow my eyes. “She talked to me. Told me…” I gulp. “She told me…”
“Told you what?” Ghaliya says softly.
I focus on Ghaliya. “I don’t know. I did know. But now…” I shake my head hard, flicking my ears back and forth. “Its worse than a dream. I usually can remember my dreams.” I stomp a hoof onto the white sand. “I can’t remember.”
Ghaliya hugs me tightly. “Maybe if you use your magic again?”
I look at her, she looks uncomfortable. “It might help. I know you are frustrated by your inability to remember your past. Something happened. Go ahead and try.”
I struggle to my hooves, my horn lighting again. I get an even better look at the statue, it’s weathered, old. Damaged. A quick glance around has me wondering how it could possibly be weathered in this underground environment. I shake my head before slowly lowering my lit horn to touch the statue.
Ghaliya takes a step forward. “Anything?”
I find myself sighing, “No. Nothing.”
Her sigh echoes mine. “I remember the cavern under the palace. What happened there?”
I narrow my eyes. “I think I relived me coming here. This time was a lot different. There was another pony there. I know she was there. I talked to her. I remember how she looked. Her mane flowed in some kind of breeze. But I didn’t feel it.” My voice lowers to a growl. “I can see her mouth working, forming words. I can see her eyes, they we’re bright blue.” I hang my head. “But I couldn’t repeat a single word she said to me.”
I close my eyes, trying to recall, as I squeeze my eyes tightly, details quickly fade from my mind, I feel my ears drooping. My cheek is nuzzled, I open my eyes to Ghaliya standing close to me, on instinct, I nuzzle her back. Getting snicker from the unicorn and the griffon. I turn and glare at them. Making their laughter more pronounced. I find my face heating as I again gently grab Ghaliya in my magic and take to the air. Guerina joins me in the air as Dawn teleports back to the shore. The smaller unicorn sidles up to me as we walk.
“So, Prince, who taught you magic?”
Ghaliya snorts. “Ki was taught by the grand vizier of Saddle Arabia, he has risen from novice abilities to being one of his best students.”
That gets a sniff from Dawn. “At best, horses are called to magic, not inborn like unicorns. The prince here would do magic no matter what, unlike the best horse mage.” She cocks her head to the side. “You have a vast well of energy, but your use is inefficient, even with the training you’ve gotten.” She glances at Ghaliya. “As you know, I was paid to abduct you. I had no animosity towards you personally. And in my custody, you were treated well.”
Ghaliya lowers her head and growls. “That doesn’t remove the crimes you committed, despite you helping Ki rescue me. You will stand for your crimes.”
The unicorn stands there for a long moment. Then she nods her head. “You know who my employer was, justice was meted out to him.”
“Ah, but not the one who paid him.” Ghaliya snaps.
Dawn seems taken aback. “Djinn don’t work for anypony but themselves.”
“Then you didn’t pay attention when he talked. Some…one…had a hold on him.”
I stop and watch the two mares square off with each other. Guerina sits back, a satisfied smile on her face. Dawn paws the ground. “I wasn’t here the majority of the time. I was only here today when he summoned me, I had to take care of my fellow associates, two of them died in that raid, did you know that?”
Guerina snickers, getting a venomous look from the unicorn. “They were loyal, griffon. Do not discount the services of one that is loyal.” She sniffs. “Loyalty to more than coin is a valuable trait. There is a reason that I command the fees I do. I offer the best, the best magic, the best muscle.”
“That doesn’t remove your crime, pony. You will stand for it.”
Dawn paws the ground. “All I have to do is teleport, and you’ll never find me.”
I look between the two of them. “When I came into the throne room, you spoke of your honor, of your ethics. Does that still hold?”
When I spoke, she flinched, she stands there, a hoof held in the air a bit. She glances at me, then back at Ghaliya, before hanging her head low. “Yes, they do. I will stand for my crimes.” She looks up at Ghaliya. “So long as I’m solely held accountable for my crimes, my crew followed my orders.”
Ghaliya nods curtly. “I can agree to that.” She turns and starts walking back the way we came in. Guerina moves up to walk next to her. Dawn sidles up next to me as we walk.
“You still need training by true magic users, Prince.”
I shake my head. “Why do you keep calling me Prince? My name is Ki.”
She snorts. “You are an alicorn. I’ve never heard of a male alicorn in history. But alicorns are royalty in Equestria. Celestia is the crown Princess. You are a prince of Equestria.”
“No. I’ve never been to Equestria.”
She shakes her head. “That’s irrelevant, you are a Prince of Equestria. Celestia is the light and strength of Equestria, she moves the sun and moon. I saw you fight. Your affinity is life, green and growing things, right?”
I frown. “I seem to have some strength there.”
“Seriously? For me to grow vines and creepers like I’ve seen you do would be taxing for my magic, you do it without thought. I watched when you activated the magic in here. Your eyes turned green, not just some flat green color, but it was like I was looking into a bountiful jungle. I could feel your magic, Prince. Your magic aspect is life. That’s a very powerful and special gift. You should join up with Celestia.”
“And be killed like her sister? I don’t think so.” This comes from Ghaliya.
“Celestia did not kill her sister.”
Ghaliya looks over her withers at the shorter unicorn. “Then what happened to her?”
“The Nightmare took her. Celestia banished the nightmare. But any fault for the loss of Princess Luna falls on the Nightmare.”
Ghaliya rolls her eyes. “We have no idea where the Nightmare came from. It’s a convenient story. And it’s all a cover for her. She is at fault.”
Dawn frowns. “I lived in Equestria, Mistress. With all due respect.”
That gets a snort from Ghaliya as we get through the doors to the throne room. I light my horn to pull my robes back on. Guerina grabs her bags and shrugs into them. There’s just one body of that guard lying there. “Where did the other one go?”
Guerina shakes her head. “Just be glad it didn’t come deeper into the cavern and ambush us. Told you, Ki.”
“I will never apologize for sparing a life, Guerina.”
She rolls her eyes in response. “That will bite your tail in the future, Ki.”
It’s not long before we emerge from the underground cavern. The evening sun is low in the sky. I look around. “We won’t get to the city. Perhaps we shelter in the cavern?”
Dawn looks uncertain, glancing between Ghaliya and myself. “We could teleport.”
Ghaliya turns to her. “Can you take all of us?”
She shakes her head. “Not that kind of distance without a focusing crystal. I could take myself, and one more.” She stops and looks at me. “I could teach Ki. He has the strength. I can feel that.”
Ghaliya turns to me. “Do you trust her to teach you?”
I narrow my eyes. “I don’t know. I understand the concept of her attack being just business. No personal animosity. But perhaps some flight? I can hold you in my magic as we go.” I find myself flushing, picking her up magically is just as intimate as picking up anything else. I can feel every muscle, every inch of her flesh as I hold her with my magic. Her mirrored flush shows that she understands what I’m talking about.
She glances at Guerina. “Do you want to handle our prisoner?”
Guerina looks at Dawn, who takes a few steps back. “Oh, that’s not necessary. I can keep up with you in the air, just chain teleports, keeping close. It’s a bit tiring, but keeping it line of sight will make it less taxing.”
Ghaliya looks at me. “Let’s go.”
I reluctantly seek the void and my horn lights as I embrace my magic. I gently pick up Ghaliya as I spread my wings. Guerina takes to the air herself as Dawn takes off at a gallop. We stay low as the unicorn charges her horn and winks out of existence, to appear a few miles ahead of us. We accelerate as she stays true to her word. The sun slides under the horizon as we travel, Dawn stays with us as the shining walls of the city approach. Ghaliya settles into my magical grasp, her body relaxing comfortably as we continue. I smile at her and get a smile back as we descend into the city. We finally land at the top of the stairs into the main entrance of the palace. Dawn winks into existence next to us.
She looks at me and visibly braces. “I’m ready.”
Ghaliya leads us into the palace, I follow dutifully as we head into the magnificent structure. Ghaliya walks with a purpose as we get to the throne room.
“Ghaliya!” Sargon shouts from next to the dais. He rumbles towards us, a happy smile on his face.
Ghaliya stops in her tracks as the dark horse canters up. He reaches close to embrace her, only to have her slam a hoof into his face, knocking him onto his rear. He holds a hoof to his cheek, a confused frown on his face as she stands over him. “The Djinn had a patron, paying him to take me. How dare you!”
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Assuming Sargon did it (I assume Ghaliya knows it or else she wouldn't throw the blame) I wonder what the punishment for that would be. She's not exactly your average noble, though Sargon is her betrothed who she has effectively shunned.
well this is a interesting chapter.
fuck this is just down right awesome.
Hmmm. I love the smell of fresh lore/world building. You were right. My guess was WAY off. That’s the last time I use pop tarts for divination. Interesting and I’m curious as to what’s in store next. Thanks for the update Sparky, et al.
9323301
The Pop Tarts of Divination need to be a part of a story.
No exceptions.
9323706
Indeed. I won't even charge a royalty.
9323793
What flavor are the pop tarts of divination?
9323957
Divination flavored!
9323957
It all depends on the situation, if the apples are involved, strawberry. If Pinky is involved Nutella toaster strudel, Gilda or a pissed off twilight sparkle. Smores... Smiles handing out the sticks and marshmallows, "Oh Daybreaker, could you come here a moment."
9323957
I had used Frosted Strawberry with rainbow sprinkles at the time.
9324190
You may be on to something. Flavor/Divination harmonics could be a factor. Maybe even plain, Frosted and Frosted with sprinkles could have different affects depending if you're reading Earth, Pegasi or Unicorn ponies.
9328577
Remember, in most divination you need a focal point, a card that represents the spirit of the pony your trying to read, a personal item, a lock of hair, something that represents or means something to that pony.
without that the readings can be vague and generic. This means the type of pop tart or Pastry Strudle matters.
Add to that the explosive and volatile nature of some things such as sprinkles, and you risk bad things happening. For example, NEVER try a reading for sweetie-belle combining Lemon Toaster Strudels with white icing an rainbow sprinkles. It could cause all the food in your kitchen to liquefy and burn.
derpicdn.net/img/2012/9/19/101615/full.jpg
9328597
Hmm. While sprinkles do add an unstable element into the mix they can be mitigated with Pastry Swirls. Using an Apple Cinnamon Pastry Swirl in place of the Lemon Toaster Strudel will likely localize the food liquidation to your pantry's 3rd shelf. This is all theoretical mind you. Any experiments must be cleared with the J. Child Divination & Communion agency.
9329740
And don't forget to clear things with the Unicorn Special Divination Agency. Its always best when working with unicorn and food to get the USDA Seal of approval, You can always trust something that has the USDA butt stamp on it.
Looks like Ki just took a level in badass, coming into his own in controlling the growth of the plants to bind the djinn. That fight was satisfactorily written and fairly easy to follow, and every creature gave as good as they got. Of course, given his 'true name' Tellus, is a fairly archaic form of Terra, that's not surprising.
Perhaps it's a good thing Dawn Shimmer is going to submit herself to imprisonment. It wouldn't do for her to return to Equestria and blab to Celestia about Ki's presence. I'm sure sooner or later Ki and Celestia will cross paths, but he's got a lot of personal growing to do still. And maybe raising a kingdom of his own in the desert!
Looks like I was right about Ghaliya's fiance ordering her abduction. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't just casually throw out an accusation or bluff, so he must have actually done it for a fact. Though I do wonder what he had that would convince the djinn to abduct Ghaliya. If their marriage arrangement is broken off, then she can try pursuing Ki!
Holy shit... I've had an idea for an Alicorn named Tellus before.
Admittedly, never enough to put it to paper, so I salute you for beating me to it!
Big god hero
HaHAH! I KNEW IT!
Great to see a fic from somebody who knows that book series.