Words of Power

by Starscribe

Chapter 26

Lotus stared up through the broken wreckage of one window. She was still trapped somewhere in her truck, its body now crumpled and crushed beyond recognition.

She'd been thrown from her seat, though by some miracle that hadn't meant shattering her whole body through the windshield.

Sound rang through her ears, and her mind struggled to focus. Everything warped and melted, with only brief moments of clarity. A stone pony towered above; its glowing eyes fixed on her.

"Not... sure what I expected when we got to the mine..." Gus muttered, somewhere nearby. His whole body curled into a ball, nestled into the broken glass. Lotus didn't see bones or exposed organs, so at least he wasn't dying in the impact. "Good thing... you were going so slow..."

Not yet anyway. The golem would be taking care of that shortly.

Her ears were still ringing, but that noise gradually quieted. Enough for her to hear the crack of gunfire, echoing repeatedly into the dark. Little dents and scratches appeared on the stone guardian overhead, splintering chunks of rock from its face. It didn't seem to care.

She gritted her teeth together, glowering up at its horrifying outline. If she was going to die here, she would at least face it bravely.

Instead of bringing one hoof harshly down on her, crushing the car and killing them both, it brought the stony limb up short. They slid painfully along the ground, until the golem had them braced against the rock wall with its hoof. Then it pressed on the roof, prying the canopy until it snapped.

Finally, it loomed down towards her, with a huge stone head almost as big as her whole truck. "Give..." it ordered, voice deep as the rumbling of the mine's massive stone blocks.

If it crushed me, it would destroy the book, she realized. Searing didn't want her dead, really—that was incidental to her true goals. She needed the book back, so she could reunite both halves of her soul and reclaim her true magical power.

Lotus's horn glowed, as she focused on another brief burst of magic. She had to conserve that power now, if she expected to open a successful Worldgate. But if she didn't use some, she wouldn't live long enough to create it.

Just like she had a few days ago, Lotus focused on her own body. She felt the bruises and cuts in her flesh, far fewer in number than she expected. Ponies were small, but they were tough little creatures.

Heat surged through her, burning away at her wounds. As it did, clarity returned to her mind. The true weight of her grim situation came sharply into view. The police had followed them in, and likely suffered casualties thanks to the monster following them.

They were close, so close she could feel the tenuous bindings of her world and frayed fibers of another, almost close enough to touch. But not quite—she couldn't cast the spell from in her broken car, even if she somehow had the space to draw it.

"Give!" the golem roared, stomping one stone hoof into the ground beside the truck so forcefully that bits of rock tumbled away from the quarry, crashing down all around them.

"Go ahead!" she shouted back, defiant. "Your master won't ever see her book then! It'll be torn to pieces!"

She glanced briefly down at her companion, crumpled into the wreck beside her. Gus's injuries seemed a little worse than her own, with a little blood soaking from his body into the torn fabric that had once been the passenger seat.

Lotus focused on him too, casting her little healing spell in another flash of heat. There was no time left to fear for her failure, or worry that she might complete his transformation into a woodpecker. Fortunately, that didn't happen, and the griffon soon sat up, shaking off the dust. "Lotus?"

"Over here, stony brumby!" Another voice pierced the night, echoing from nearby. Lotus caught a flash of silvery feathers overhead, barely visible against the moonlight. But there was Iron, wearing what remained of his lunar armor. Not much—his helmet, and the metal not-boots on his hooves.

He somehow hovered beside the golem, keeping his spear at the ready. Though what it would do against a monster made from solid stone, she didn't know.

The golem swatted out in his direction, its hoof moving with incredible speed for its size. Not fast enough to hit Iron, even so. He swerved in midair, dodging deftly back. Away from the golem, and towards the mine's center. "Your creator is a failed conqueror! She couldn't even take over one country! Pony magic is stronger than all her evil! Kirin are weak!"

So far as insults go, Lotus barely even heard it. Of all the strategies to stop the stone monster—somehow, that one worked.

It roared out with rage, turning its stony body on Iron. He led it away, bobbing and ducking just out of reach. "That's right! Too slow to catch me! One pony! One hit and I'm dead, come on! You know how badly you want it!"

Gus lifted something from the ruin, triumphant. A backpack, only slightly torn in the impact. "Perfect! You good, Lotus?"

The satchel remained on her shoulder, intact despite the accident. She checked that both books were inside, then nodded. "This won't work for long. We have to get to the center. See that huge crane?"

She gestured, and the griffon followed her gaze. "You mean the same way the monster is going?"

She nodded grimly. "If you can think of a way to tell Iron to change directions..."

But she couldn't, at least not one that wouldn't draw the monster back to her. Whatever autonomy it had wasn't enough for true reason. If it saw the goal its master gave, it would charge right back to finish the job.

Lotus emerged from the broken truck, hesitating to give it one last, apologetic pat. The poor thing didn't deserve what she put it through. Her own distracted driving was what put her in this situation in the first place. "Sorry," she whispered. Then she turned, breaking into a run.

"You didn't seriously just talk to your car!" Gus kept pace with her, both wings open to their full size. The backpack hung awkwardly from his neck, the only thing slowing down his progress.

"She didn't deserve this!" Lotus argued, speeding up.

The mine stretched out before them, with stone walls on her right, and the dirt road encircling them behind. A handful of huge vehicles stood ahead, including a gigantic excavator near her destination.

Not directly atop it, so at least they weren't completely screwed.

Behind and to the left, police lights still flashed. There were more of them now, and more sirens appearing from further away. None went further than where the first car now lay twisted and crushed, a frightening testament to the golem's strength.

Many stared, at least one of them filmed her. Remarkably, they didn't keep shooting. But considering how many gunshots she already heard, perhaps they'd realized the futility of that. They would need something bigger to bring down a stone monster.

"How long do you need to open the Worldgate?" Gus asked. He matched her speed so well; Lotus twisted her head to stare—and found he was gliding. His legs touched briefly on the ground, occasionally imparting a little burst of speed. But most of that came from his wings now, spread to their full length to his either side, flapping rapidly.

Her thrill and amazement would have to wait for another time. "How long do you need?"

"I..." Lotus had never cast a spell so powerful before—let alone under such awful circumstances. But when the alternative was just to give up, she had to try. "Dunno, maybe three minutes? An hour would be better! It would be nice to check my work!"

"It would be nice if there wasn't a monster trying to kill us!" he shot back. Then he lifted upward, with all the grace of a sack of bricks heaved into a wind tunnel. He spun wildly to either side, dropping the backpack to the dirt beneath him as he went. Somehow Gus managed not to crash, flying in such unsteady loops that she couldn't even follow his path through the air.

Finally, she reached her destination, a section of otherwise identical blank rock with a few lines of unusual yellow and red strata visible through the dirt. Lotus's careful practice left her sensitive to the difference, an invisible pressure that lingered in the air before her like a wispy curtain.

'Relinquish my spellbook,' commanded the voice. Its orders came so casually that she reached for the book without even thinking. It took her a few seconds to realize the words hadn't come from her own head.

Instead, she brushed over the ground with her tail, flattening the dirt into a surface she could draw. "I'm going to Equestria," she muttered under her breath, attention still focused on the brown surface. "Isn't that what you want? You need the book in there."

There was no reply. Lotus drew the outer circle of her diagram, using the boundaries of the strange patch of space as her guide. First came the easy part, recreating the runes of the spell from memory. Covering whole walls with these symbols at least guaranteed they would be readily accessible to her.

Even under pressure, like the explosive conflict raging nearby. Iron dodged and weaved around the golem, remaining just out of reach. One mistake, and the stony blow would strike him with devastating effect, likely killing him instantly.

But there was nothing Lotus could do for him now. She could only hope his mastery of flight remained strong enough to keep him alive.

'There need be no conflict between us, sister,' the voice continued. 'I could compel the beast to slay you, yet I do not. You have learned what you need to perform your spell. Go your way, and my servant will leave you.'

Or maybe it would take what it wanted and kill all of them. "Trouble with a promise like that..." Lotus continued. "Is that I know you're a monster. You want me to burn people's souls for magic! Maybe that means you'd be willing to lie to get me to obey you."

Searing Gale said nothing, yet somehow the golem turned. It seemed to forget Iron completely, eyes settling instantly on where Lotus worked. At its incredible size, it was only a few strides away. The monster barely had a face, much less anything close to expressions she could read. Yet somehow, Lotus imagined it was grinning at her.

'I give only this final warning to you, sister. Surrender the phylactery now, and live. Disobey, and you will show you are no better than the ponies that infest my world. You might not burn like them anymore, but you will be no less worthy of the pyre. You will not live to face judgment when I claim the throne of one world, and turn my attention on this one. You will not even be a memory.'

Lotus froze, staring up at the towering monster. She'd finished the simple repetition of her diagram now, with only the complex calculations left to perform. She needed to write the precise balance of local factors needed to cross into Equestria, without going too far in any of eleven possible other dimensions. If even one was off, the Worldgate would open, but only God knew where it would lead.

"You're going to... conquer this world too?"

More laughter answered. The golem advanced—not bounding footsteps, but slow and confident, ignoring Iron's outline circling around its head like a fly.

'There are many souls, a whole domain of wild, untapped magic. Some will be useful to me, but many more will serve in other ways. Why do you think I came here?'

"And if I... give you this?" She levitated the book out of her satchel, holding it in the air in front of her. "Will you leave it in peace? Leave my home how I found it?"

'Of course!' Searing answered, without a second's hesitation. 'I told you that service would be rewarded. Obey, and I could make you regent. You would be free to administrate it however you saw fit. So long as offerings continued to flow, it would be yours to govern.'

Govern. As though she could somehow take dominion over the whole planet using a little magic. Lotus had her doubts about that, even with such a powerful enemy like Searing Gale involved. But whether or not she was actually capable didn't matter. She could still try, doing terrible harm to anyone who got in her way. Starting with Lotus herself.

In all her time practicing, she hadn't learned how to fight. If there were spells to use, attacks to cast, or other powers she could wield—Lotus didn't know how.

Could she somehow delay Searing, maybe until the police got bigger hardware here? "Iron told me you attacked Equestria. He said you burned your way across it, killing anyone you wanted. I don't care what you turned me into, I'm not a killer! I won't help you!"

The voice sounded profoundly disappointed. 'You showed so much potential, Lotus. A shame to see it wasted on a pointless death. In this last moment, know that it was your choice. I offered you a better way, and you refused me. Others will not spurn my gifts.'

The stone monster lifted its hoof, bringing it down slowly towards her. That was the strategy then—crush her slowly, so the book wouldn't be completely destroyed. She could dodge out from beneath it, but not with half the expertness and confidence of a flying pony.

Machinery roared and groaned, rising to a burst of sudden life. Her head twisted in time to see the excavator spinning. Its massive metal arm smashed down into the golem, knocking it sideways. Metal groaned at the impact, and the gigantic vehicle rocked to one side, before smashing back to the ground with a groan of its metal treads.

The golem landed harder. One of its limbs shattered at the impact, while great cracks spread along its length. She squealed and retreated, getting as far away from the brawl as she could. The golem rose again, standing precariously on its three remaining limbs. It hobbled forward—and the excavator swung again.

Stone and metal met with a terrible impact, and this time no clear winner emerged from the melee. The metal arm twisted and bent, curling around the monster's neck. The impact sent another shock through the golem, cracking it almost perfectly down the middle. It fell away in two heavy pieces. They spasmed and twitched with a little residual light, as though both halves were trying to rise.

Finally silence descended—other than the constant rumble of the excavator engine, joined now by a shrill whine of alarms and sirens.

"Lotus?" Iron landed beside her, flaring his wings to arrest his movement. He met her with a brief hug, squeezing tight. "Are you alright?"

She nodded tearfully. "Y-yeah. That was... amazing. I knew you could fly, but..." She let go, brushing the dirt and moisture from her face. "Damn. No wonder you're in the guard."

He glanced over at the broken wreckage of the golem, his grin widening. "Can't take credit for the kill, though. That was—"

Gus emerged from the cockpit, well above ground level. He spread both wings in the air, and glided down towards them. His path wasn't exactly straight, tumbling one way and the other in the air. He landed unsteadily, skidding and rolling instead of choosing a perfect patch of ground and just settling down there.

He righted himself quickly, beaming. "Bet you didn't think I could do that."

"I didn't," Lotus admitted. "How did you even... know how to start it?"

He posed for a few seconds longer, before finally relaxing. "Morning shift operator was already inside. Guess I was wrong about when they start things up for the day, lucky us! Between a bird and a rock monster, he wasn't hard to convince. Legally speaking it was me who took over the digger, though. Don't want the poor guy losing his job because he helped save our lives."

As the silence stretched, the watching audience of police seemed to grow a little bolder. Someone pulled out a megaphone, shouting that they were to remain where they were and not make any sudden movements.

Now that the rock monster was gone, they would move in and drag the three of them off. To what end—she couldn't guess. But she didn't intend to stick around and find out.

Lotus took a few slow steps, back to the patch of empty ground identical to all the other dirt around it. She cleaned a few smeared runes, correcting them to match her perfect memory of the marks.

Compared to spell crafting with a rock monster bearing down on her, a few shouting police and distant sirens might as well be a lullaby.

Gus wandered away, returning a few seconds later with his fallen backpack over his shoulder. That was more of their lives before than she had—all that Lotus now carried was something new. The cursed book, Luna's journal, and no trace of her old self. "Not exactly... the way I imagined our departure going," Gus whispered.

Iron's touch was gentler, one wing on her shoulder. Light enough that he wouldn't startle her, and ruin her calculations. "I hear other vehicles drawing near. If we are going to flee..."

She finished the last of the calculations, scratching her vector into the dirt around with the others. "You trust my work?" she asked. "Once I cast this, I can't stop it. We go where it sends us."

Iron met her eyes with the same bravery he'd shown to the golem. With the monster shattered, its master’s voice was mercifully silent too. "I think you'll like Equestria. I'd like to show it to you."

"I trust you too," Gus added, urgent. "And I really don't want to go to prison as a bird. Or... Area 51. Wherever they send monsters and aliens."

Good enough. Lotus's horn exploded to life, filled with every drop of magic she had. Brilliant purple wrapped around them, splitting the air with a sudden burst of lightning. The crack extended up into eternity, vanishing into the starry sky. Through it, grass appeared, flowing along a moonlit mountainside. She saw no mine, no police, no sign of their climactic battle.

Together, they stepped through.

Author's Note:

There's so much amazing art for this chapter it's crazy. Depending on timelines, there might be four pieces here. If there isn't, I'll add the last one as soon as it gets finished. Slower updates are a bummer, but they do mean more time to see awesome stuff like this!

Fleeing Lotus and Gus was rutkotka.
Iron's daring flight was also rutkotka.
Excavator vs golem was KlaraPL.
Then we have the awesome portal by Acesential. Behold, Equestria!

And if anyone wants to check out the process for that last one, check it out here: Video

Comments

[redmar]

This was a great chapter full of excitement. I like how Gus managed to convince the morning shift operator to help destroy Searing's golem. The artwork is also amazing and really adds to the story.
I guess we'll see were in Equestria they end up in the next chapter. I'm pretty sure things won't so convenient as to bring them to Canterlot.

[SummerGem]

Onward to hopefully Equestria.

[Alyarin9000]

Awesome chapter, and awesome art! Gus showing here that maaaaybe humans are more reasonable than they have been fearing all this time
The police will definitely have some interesting footage out of this
As for that last image... I recognize that rune The same spell Starlight and Sunburst failed in Twilight's fantasy! I guess it does fit the bill

[Eroraf86]

11675505
I still refuse to believe that fantasy wasn't at least somewhat inspired by Fullmetal Alchemist.

[Proper-Noun]

Too bad her truck didn't make it.

[parlaptie]

Nice chapter. I'll be looking forward to seeing where they end up.

[Amos Anon]

For once, Truck-kun is the one that gets hit!

[Turquoise pony]

Lol. I can't help but think some random police officer is scratching its head, and thinking why is this happening in some random open pit mine?

[TherealNightblader]

11675950
Truck kun gets isekai'd

[Skrepka]

Thanks for the chapter and pictures, both are great

[harts fire]

wow amazing chapter. the art is outstanding.
i am kind of hopping some of the cops get dragged along just to complicate thing and in the long run to help.

[Ether Echoes]

*vwoom vwoom portal noises*

Glad to see Iron Feather got to be rad.

Also, that operator. Solidarity with the workers!

[1993 first gen astro]

I'm gonna bet $10 that the truck helps out in the future somehow like there in the middle of a battle and it comes flying out of the sky and crushes there enemies it would be funny it doesn't matter if it actually happens I'm just happy the truck had a fare well older vehicles have a lot of story's to tell this one can say it helped it's owner to the very end

[1993 first gen astro]

I love the tractor attacking the enemy

[Qweakster]

Awesome chapter, I’m really excited for more. These longer uploads are worth it; more time between to build anticipation, ample payoff, and outstanding artworks.

[Hexanova]

Very great chapter, full of tension and action! Imagining the big fight between an excavator and a giant golem, that would be so fearful to see happening only meters in front of you...
Now, discovering Equestria!

[Sozmioi]

Are you going to alter the text to match the image?

Plus, if you don't, she might have just sent some satellites or airplanes to Equestria.

[Axel Azabash]

Yes! Apply several tons of steel to the face of golem. Dirty, brutal, yet oddly satisfactory. Welcome to the floor, and remember… it was technically a squishy, magicless and useless lifeform who did that to it.

Also, the lack of “my D back or no book back” to the golem feels like a missed opportunity. Wether or not she likes to be a girl more… just in the spirit of angering Miss Gale.

[Lord King Cocoon]

"And I really don't want to go to prison as a bird.

What Gus is saying is that he doesn't want to be a jailbird.

[Ircriket]

The dream of every machine operator, to smash the shit outta something with good cause!