The legend of Catasis Velon and the Caemarie

by AudioWave Dasher

CHAPTER 3 - Deployment

CHAPTER 3 - Deployment

The next morning Audio walked through the open courtyard to the plaza. Two stone towers rose into the gray and cloudy morning. Two gold and purple tapestries hung down from the castle towers that bore the Canterlot emblem embroidered onto its fabric, as it rippled in the breeze. Two armed guards standing on either side of the entranceway watched Audio carefully as he approached. Each had a long spear and a short sword at their side.

“Good morning my good, gentle-ponies! Pleasant morning to ya!” Audio called out, and bowed, showing them a token of respect.

“Aye, an’ you, Sir AudioWave.” The one on the right replied.

Audio was a well known dignitary and had done many missions for the Princess's since he was young, and was on a first name basis with most of the guards around the castle. The two armed guards of the watch eyeballed his as he passed between them and entered the hall. Ever vigilant and attentive as ever, they would be ready in a moments notice to defend the castle if duty called.

Audio’s hoof-clops turned muffled as his hooves went from the cold cobblestones of the courtyard to the the red carpet of the passageway that led to the throne room. Along the walkway, giant stained glass windows stood like monoliths forty feet high to the ceiling commemorating the Princesses of the realm, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Twilight and Princess Cadence. Magical wall sconces blazing with light decorated the one hundred and fifty foot long corridor that led to the meeting place.

The entrance to the main chamber had two twenty foot wooden doors that currently stood ajar, that led the way to the throne room where most of the Princesses daily briefings took place. It was guarded by two more ponies, this time dressed in golden armor and battle helmets not unlike the first guards that were guarding the courtyard. Each held long spears and also had short swords like the others. These was the Princesses personal honor-guard protectors, and the last line of defense against any would-be attackers.

"Good morning Sir Battle Hammer and Sir Herald Star! It is a pleasure to see you again!” Shouted Audio with cheer, then bowed slightly to greet them.

"Aye." Said the first guard. “And you, Sir AudioWave. The Princesses are expecting you.”

“You may enter.” The other guard said, dispensing with the formalities.

Both of these guards took their jobs very seriously and had been in the service of the kingdom for most of their lives, and would gladly give their lives to protect the kingdom and the princesses from harm. Canterlot was a peaceful city and attacks were rare. But not completely unheard of, save for some of the wild magical creatures, some sentient and some non, that still roamed the land.

“Thank you kind gentle-ponies. And good day to you!” Audio said, and passed between them and the double oak doors, and entered the throne room.

The throne room it was beautifully lit with light and glass. The main chamber never ceased to amaze him. The sky windows that decorated the ceiling allowed the sunlight to enter the room and provided a beautiful ambient lighting effect. Special reflectors collected the light from outside the stone castle and reflected it back along the floor igniting the room with an exquisite brilliance. The chandelier and sky fixtures probably had more glass in them than Audio had ever seen anywhere in the world. The grand hall was truly grand, and it rivaled any of the other great nations’ throne rooms. Audio hadn’t seen them all, but he had seen a good many. Magical wall sconces, blazing of magical fire lined the walls, as light and shadow danced among the pillars.

Canterlot truly was a grand city. But some magic Audio just could never understand. Some Unicorns studied magic their entire lives and spent most of their time reading books and casting spells. Audio, being a pegasus pony himself, could never quite understand how they AudioWave was a Pegasus, and all Pegasi cherish their wings and live for the freedom of the open skies and the wind in their feathers. Who wouldn’t love soaring over the countryside hundreds of feet off the ground for countless hours when one soared with the wings of eagles?

"WELCOME!" A powerful voice echoed throughout the halls and startled Audio out of his thoughts.

While Audio’s head was up admiring the ceiling glass and sky fixtures while daydreaming he hadn’t noticed the group of ponies standing right in front of him. The powerful voice belonged to Princess Celestia, of the sun, and she had a great big smile on her pony face to welcome him.

Audio approached, then knelt before the Princesses, with honor.

"RISE MY FAITHFUL SUBJECT!" The Princess commanded, with a kind authority.

Audio knew the Princesses well, and the bowing was just a formality.

"Welcome to the great hall. Thank you for coming to the call of the Kingdom! You are welcomed with love and admiration for your service to Equestria!"

Audio slowly rose and got to his feet.

The Princess herself was a tall white pony with a golden crown upon her head, a golden breast plate and golden shoes. She bore the emblem of the sun on her flank. To her immediate left, stood her beloved sister, Princess Luna of the moon, lord of dreams. And next to her stood Princess Cadence from the Crystal Empire. Princess of the Crystal Kingdom. And along side her a Unicorn apprentice wizard he did not know that had spectacles upon his nose. To the Princesses right was a female Pegasus pony he also did not recognize, but could surmise this was the pony from the land of the Caemarie.

Before any proper introductions could be made, the light tan pony all at once threw herself upon her knees, and bowed her head as close to the marble floor as it would go, and began pleading for help for her Kingdom.

"Great Sir, please help our country! The Royal council has said you are the one that can help us! Please come to our aid! Our country is on the brink of war and is in great peril!"

Audio looked abashed, and took a half a step back with one hoof in the air. Then gave a subtle look of confusion at the Princess with a questioning look of broken protocol.

The pony was quite visibly shaken and upset.

Then the Princess stepped forward. "AudioWave, this is Zephyrwind, an Emissary from the kingdom of the Caemarie. She believes her country is being threatened and may soon be attacked by the Veloran and the creatures of the sea. Canterlot calls upon you, Sir AudioWave. Will you answer?"

Audio looked around timid, and self conscious. Then back to the Princesses and gave a slight uncomfortable smile. "Y-Your Majesty, I can not fight a war to liberate these ponies. I am but one single pony, not an army..."

Celestia beckoned, then leaned down to Audio wave, and said in a quiet voice; "My dear AudioWave... I do not wish for you to start a war. I wish for you to prevent one. That is why I’m sending you to the Caemarie to bring stability to the region. Your Kingdom calls upon you."

Then Princess Luna joined in. "We all have great faith in you."

Zephyrwind got up from her knees and spoke. "We beg your assistance. Princess Celestia says you have great powers and will serve us well. The Caemarie needs your help."

Audio looked back to the Princesses, hesitated, then finally swallowed, and said; "If the Kingdom calls, I will answer..." Then bowed before the altar.

"Good! It is settled! You will accompany Zephyrwind back to the Caemarie, and ascertain the cause of the conflict, and find a resolution."

"Yes your Majesty,” said AudioWave. "It is an honor to serve Equestria." Then bowed once more, and stepped back.

The Princesses voice rose and presided over all who were there.

“You leave with our blessing and the good will of every pony in Canterlot! Go, and may good fortune lead your hoofprints."

Zephyrwind was a beautiful light brown pony whose coat was the color of the sand of the region. She had on her several decorative pieces of jewelry including a gold Saddle Arabian necklace plate that hung around her neck, a two gold hoof bands, several gold mane clips, and earrings. Audio thought it was a wonder she had chosen to undergo such a journey having such unnecessary ornamental decorations. Then he guessed she must have left in a hurry without much warning. He supposed it could be worse. She looked decorated, but was not overly bogged down with the useless apparel most other dignitaries usually traveled with.

The formalities broke and Zephyrwind approached him.

"Hi. I'm Zephyrwind. Looks like we're going to be working together for a bit." She said, and stuck out her hoof.

"Aye." Said AudioWave, and shook it. She was fit and spoke with a polite confidence.

"The Caemarie thanks you VERY VERY much!” She shouted excitedly. “We greatly need the assistance of Canterlot, and are pleased the Princesses chose to send you. Your assistance is very much appreciated! Thank you again, VERY VERY much! You will not regret coming to our aid! So, what’s our next step?"

"I need to go back to my chambers and pack for the departure. We will need provisions and supplies. I will return shortly. Then we will likely leave by midday with the permission of the Princesses."

Zephyrwind nodded, and just as Audio began to turn away, she put her hoof on his shoulder stopping him. "Please, one more thing… We must hurry. I fear there may be an attack on the city soon. The Chancellor and his supporters believe the sacred land of the Caemarie is rightfully theirs under the domain of the Veloran. In essence, they believe we stole the land under their control thousands of years ago when our ancestors first settled there. It is critical we return with haste to prevent any further conflict. There are many who are in danger, and I fear the leadership of the Veloran and the Chancellor may soon move to invade the Caemarie.”

Audio nodded. “I understand, and will return shortly.”

"Okay,” Said Zephyrwind. “I will see you then."

An hour later Audio returned to the throne room, having packed his double sided saddlebag with provisions for flight. He had packed necessities he though they would need, then planned to return to the Princesses chambers for a final briefing before departure. Audio walked over to Zephyrwind.

“I packed a few things I thought we might need: Some food, water, a knife, a rope, compass and a few other things as well. But we’ll have to get our food and water along the way. We have a long journey ahead of us. You made excellent time flying the distance from the Caemarie to Canterlot in only two days. We may not be able to travel that fast with two of us and our supplies in tow.”

“I understand,” said Zephyrwind. “When will we be leaving?"

Audio adjusted the satchel on his back, and pulled the straps tight with his teeth. Then turned to her and said: "We will fly out tonight and will make the three or four day journey back to the Caemarie.”

“Understood,” she said. Then she closed the flaps on her own satchel and threw it over her back, and cinched her own straps.

The Princesses approached them, along with the brown pony and the spectacles upon his nose.

"Here, you will need this." Said Princess Luna. And handed Audio a cloth purse with a drawstring filled with bits.

"Thank you, Princess Luna.” He replied, then lowered his head in honor and stowed the purse in his double sided satchel. Audio then turned to Cadence. "Say hi to Shining Armor for me and give my love to Flurry Heart."

"I will." She replied.

"Are you ready for your journey?" The Princess of the sun asked.

“Yes, your majesty.”

“And you Zephyrwind?”

“Yes your Majesty!” She said emphatically.

“Excellent then!”

"We are ready to depart for the four day journey." Said AudioWave.

Princess Celestia smiled and let out a giggle, then looked over at her sister.

"Ohh no!" Exclaimed Luna. "You wont be traveling by flight. The region’s need is too dire. Sunburst will be teleporting you there shortly."

"WHAT?" Audio shouted out loud. “I cant teleport! I don't wanna become part of some tree!"

Ausio, a rule, hated teleporting and tried to avoid it at all costs. Teleporting is very dangerous business and takes a tremendous amount of skill for a Unicorn to perform. The Unicorn and those being teleported have to know exactly where they’re going and what’s on the other side, because if they teleport you into a solid object, your molecules get scattered into a billion pieces.

Princess Celestia turned to Zephyrwind and asked; "Zephyrwind, do you know of any open areas outside the city?”

"Yes your majesty! There is an open sparse of desert next to the mountains about three miles north east of Ra-Amon in the Caemarie! It's a clearing without any dunes! We shouldn’t have any problems in that area. You can send us there!"

"Ohhh No!" Audio shouted and turned to scamper away, his feet slipping on the marble floor.

"Ohh no you don't..." Said Luna. And ZING! A magical ray emanated from her horn and froze Audio in place with a not-so-flattering look on his face. “Looks like he isn’t getting out of this one.” Said Princess Luna.

Dang it! Caught in her freeze ray, AGAIN!

"You're lucky Sunburst's here to cast you away.” Said Princess Luna. “We were going to let Trixie come along and practice her teleportation spells on you." Then gave Audio a sarcastic smile.

Audio wasn’t quite sure if she was joking or not. Trixie was the local magician in Ponyville, but technically she WAS studying magic, and would be capable of great things, just, not yet... Her mastery of teleportation was off only by about a hundred years or so. Audio finally sighed and slowly resigned himself, and thought; ‘Somehow that would have been worse…’

Audio lay suspended above the marble flooring with one foot still in the air, grumbling at having to agree to this most barbaric form of transportation.

Luna turned to Zephyrwind. "Are you ready Zephyrwind?"

"Yes your Majesty!" She called out.

"Interlock hooves with AudioWave.” Said the Princess. “Think of the clearing in the open, with no objects around, and concentrate hard. Sunburst? Fare-thee well AudioWave... And good luck. You carry the love of the Kingdom with you where ever you go..."

Sunburst’s horn lit up and he cast his teleportation spell with a crack and a flash.

And just like that we dropped about three feet out of the sky, and into the barren desert under a burning sun.