Chapter 28
Lotus remained frozen, facing down the group of kirin. There were three, two about her own size and one a little taller. Yet compared to her, they might as well be another species. Their manes had grown large and vibrant, more like what she'd expect on a lion than her own modest growth. The scales emerging from beneath packs of supplies were polished shiny enough to catch reflected sunlight. Their horns had that same luster, like they'd been dipped in wax.
"You're... here for the book, aren't you? She sent you!"
Lotus ducked back the way she'd come, breaking into a gallop through the grass. She tore straight through the underbrush toward camp, running as quickly as her hooves would let her. She plowed through shrubs and stumbled over rubble, not caring for the scratches and thorns tangling in her coat. She couldn't fight with her magic so drained, nevermind facing three of the creatures at once. Maybe Gus had a handgun stashed in his camera bag?
She emerged outside the shelter, stumbling through the fire pit and scattering unused wood under her hooves as she passed. She toppled sideways on the rocks, squealing in pain and frustration. "They're right behind me! Iron, get that spear! We need to—"
Four Kirin were already scattered around the camp. Two held Gus between them, who squirmed in vain towards the camera bag floating in someone’s magic. Another three looked like they'd just won a fistfight with Iron Feather, holding him pressed down in their hooves. His spear was nowhere to be seen, or his armor. "Lotus..." he croaked, nodding towards the shelter. "R-run! They're..."
A kirin stepped out of the shelter, levitating Iron's satchel in her magic. Her tail whipped back and forth in agitation, as her eyes finally settled on Lotus. "Hey, so could you like not attack us? You're way outnumbered. It would be way less inconvenient for everyone if you just didn't."
She ran one hoof through her mane, groomed into perfect curls.
Lotus scrambled to her hooves, then reached for the bag with her magic. The cream-colored kirin twitched once, eyes settling on her. She yanked the bag closer, and Lotus's magical focus shattered.
The battle was lost before it even began.
Lotus lowered her head, defeated. Even if she hadn't had all her power drained, this would probably still be a losing battle. Generously, Lotus had two months of magical practice. This creature might have decades. "You don't know what's in the bag. It's dangerous dark magic."
"Really?" The kirin flipped it open, turning it towards her.
Iron screamed, struggling along the ground. "Don't touch that! You don't have to serve her! You're not all evil!"
Another two kirin leapt over to help, battering Iron down. Finally, he vanished under their weight, out of sight.
The kirin snapped the bag closed almost as fast as she'd opened it. "No need to get dramatic. Honestly thought ponies would be a little more relaxed. You're such a drama queen."
She tossed the satchel over her shoulder, then advanced towards Lotus. "Listen. It's a long walk back to the village, and it would be a bummer to miss the festival tonight. Can you convince the pony and your, uh... pet... to relax? If we have to carry you, we won't get there until after dark, and I'm going to miss the dancing."
She slid past her, gesturing off along the rocky slope. That way was a direction they hadn't explored much yet, since so much of the ground was blasted black obsidian and other igneous rock, rather than soil mixed with wild plants. "You're not going to capture me too?" Lotus asked, staring after her.
"We'd rather not," said one of the others. A male, judging by his larger size and deeper voice. She felt warmth radiating from him just by getting close to him. Either he was furious about something, or just burned hotter than Lotus did. "This was a rescue, not a battle."
"Supposed... to be..." grunted one of the others, still holding Iron down. "Stop fighting, pony! Someone is going to go Nirik, and then you won't make it back to the village at all."
"Please," Lotus urged, hurrying over to him. A few other kirin tensed, ready to restrain her. But there was no need—she knew a losing battle when she saw one. "Iron, please. We are being rescued. You don't have to be such a royal pain. I'm sure it would be a relief to everyone if you just stopped fighting."
She couldn't make eye contact with him through so many creatures holding him, but evidently, she didn't have to. The pile stopped moving, suggesting the one underneath had finally fallen still. "Fine. You win."
The crowd backed off of him, one kirin at a time. Eventually there were just two, one to hold him on either side. Someone produced a length of cloth, wrapping it tight around his wings.
They nudged Lotus in the shoulder, and the creamy-colored kirin emerged just beside her, imitating her pose. "Wait, I can do it. Relax before you require the kirin rescue party to reactivate their fire magic and they render you into remains." She turned sideways, a sly smile on her face. “Six to three, I win! That's the game, right?"
"Autumn, why don't you give her a break? We don't even know her name yet." That was the male again, tallest of the group, with a light tan coat. He might've been Autumn's older brother from the way he sounded. Either that, or he was just used to dealing with her.
"You can let go of me too," Gus interrupted, frustrated. "I didn't punch anybody. I just want my camera back. I'm a naturalist, a documentarian, a citizen journalist! Not a pet."
The one called Autumn turned her attention towards him. She gestured, and the kirin holding his bag offered it to her. She flicked it open, poked through the stuff inside, then emerged with a multitool. "Then how do you explain this?"
She flicked out the blade with her magic, holding it up.
Gus groaned. "There's thirty other tools on that thing. Besides, my claws are sharper than that. I used it to cut open too many boxes, and it barely cuts bread anymore."
"He's not a fighter," Lotus said. "Gus is my friend. He's a little talkative sometimes, but harmless."
The male laughed. "Really? Might as well give him back his stuff, Autumn. Sure you two will be fast friends."
"Far away from us," another added. A collective chuckle passed through the group, one that Autumn herself didn't seem to notice.
She tossed the sack onto the ground in front of Gus. "Let us wrap your wings first, big bird. And I'm sticking your knife in with the other dangerous stuff." She flicked it closed, then slid it into Iron's satchel beside the enchanted books.
Gus nodded, sticking his wings to his sides. "I can't really fly anyway, so I don't mind. Just try not to wrap those too tight. Wings are way sensitive. Things they don't tell you in wing class."
The kirin beside him wrapped his wings just as they'd done with Iron, remaining well outside the easy reach of his claws as they did. Finally, they backed away, facing him every second. Like a pair of animal rescuers releasing a rehabilitated mountain lion.
He jerked forward, but not toward either of the kirin. Gus's attention was focused entirely on the bag, which he scooped eagerly onto his shoulder. Lotus half expected him to take out a GoPro and start recording. It seemed today was the day he discovered a little survival instinct. Instead of that, he just kept his head down, rejoining Lotus and Iron.
"I'm Pumpkin Smoke," the male said, nudging her with one hoof. "What's your name, miss? Where did you come from?"
"Lotus," she said. "And I'm—"
"That's only half of it," Autumn interrupted, nudging up against her side. "Come on. What family did you come from?"
Is that how those work? She hadn't really had the chance to work out very much about pony names—but it couldn't be that simple.
"I don't, uh..." She looked away. "It's a long story."
"Well, it's a long walk! Why don't you tell us! Use exhaustive detail. Unless you'd rather sing, that's also acceptable."
Another groan passed through the assembled kirin, and they set off.
They walked for a long time through the mountains, roaming up and down the slopes and back again. As the sun lifted higher, Lotus finally got her first proper view of Equestria.
For another universe, it didn't look terribly otherworldly. Steep mountains covered in lush growth, extending in a range to the south. Valleys lay below, dotted with what she thought were distant rooftops. She saw recognition whenever she looked at Iron, but the pony said nothing where they would be overheard.
It reminded her a little of Switzerland, at least from the pictures. But Eric didn't have the money for travel—he'd never once left his home state.
Now Lotus was in another universe, where magical horses lived in the mountains covered in familiar trees. She recognized the smattering of evergreen, wildflowers, and the occasional squirrels.
Gus noticed too. While Lotus kept her mouth mostly shut, the griffon barely stopped whispering to her for the entire trip. Loud whispering, so everyone watching could hear and there was no chance of tuning him out.
"I think those are oak trees. There, did you see! A robin! That's the seventh species I recognize. There's absolutely no chance this is just convergent evolution. We must be in North America somewhere. Do you think it's significant that we were at a low elevation on Earth and arrived at a high elevation here? Can't be a coincidence."
“You’re a wildlife expert?” Autumn asked, falling into step beside Gus. “Or just a bird expert? Is it because you’re part bird?”
Gus shook his head once. “I wouldn’t call myself an expert on anything. More of a generalist. I’m trying to figure out how this world is different from the one we came from.”
“There’s another one?” Autumn asked, mouth falling open. “Tell me everything!”
A collective groan passed through their captors. Their leader muttered quietly under his breath. “You can’t trust a thing they say, Autumn. You saw how the pony behaved.”
The one named Autumn ignored him completely. “You said you had the same birds? What kind are those?”
Her excitement was contagious, at least to Gus. He raised his voice, matching Autmn’s excitement almost exactly. “The songbirds were one thing. I’m not sure about the scale, they’re either bigger or smaller than I’m used to. But part of that’s on me, not having a consistent point of reference. Than there’s the…”
And so he went, considering the implications of almost everything they saw, going back and forth with Autumn so loud that Lotus could hardly hear herself think.
Except for one important fact: Their captors did not act much like Searing Gale said they should.
The others couldn't know that of course—they didn't have weeks of the dark sorceress whispering into their head whenever they studied her book. But Lotus did, so she knew the way she thought.
Searing Gale would not have bothered capturing prisoners, unless she thought they had direct value to her. She certainly wouldn't abide the annoyance of a nearly-useless prisoner rattling on and on about everything they saw, wasting time and demoralizing her troops. If anything, she expected the kirin to incinerate him for magical power at a moment's notice.
The worst Gus got was an eventual stern talking to from Pumpkin Smoke, that his rescue team had spent the night searching and were not in the mood to listen to the bird singing all trip. But then Autumn started him on a new subject, and the kirin just gave up.
Iron said nothing at all, marching along like a captured prisoner of war. He didn't keep his head down but watched their surroundings with intense interest every second. But whatever secret escape he was searching for, Lotus never saw it.
They wandered through narrow mountain trails, up and down canyons and through dense trees. Gradually they all changed to a more tropical environment, with vines arcing between towering trees, and underbrush thick and uninviting to their hooves.
But they weren't walking at random: someone had cut a trail, piercing the undergrowth and all else that surrounded it. It was barely wide enough for them to cross in single file, which meant the oversized Gus occasionally caught his claws or wings in something and had to press through it.
Iron probably wanted her to remain stubbornly silent through the entire trek. But she couldn't keep that up forever—particularly not with her growing suspicion about the kirin who had captured them.
"I'm not from any village you know," she said, when she couldn't handle the pressure for another second. Not that their escorts ever did anything to her—it was just the one called Autumn Blaze, following her and occasionally asking another probing question.
"Gus and I are from another world."
Autumn whistled. The other kirin each reacted in their own way—some shook their heads, others stared in disbelief. A few moved fearfully away from her.
Autumn was not among them. She hurried closer, practically bouncing with sudden energy. How the hell did this kirin not get tired like the others? Lotus felt that exhaustion herself, seeing as she'd spent the whole night not sleeping on a bed of leaves and rock.
"I didn't even think there were other worlds! What are kirin like there? Do we still have a kingdom? Are we allies with griffons in your world? Or..." She gasped. "Did they conquer us? Are you his pet?"
Gus suppressed a laugh, badly. "I did bring her all the food she wanted while she was locked in my house."
Lotus shot him a sudden glare. "Please stop. You're just confusing them." For better or worse, the watching kirin seemed to be focused far more on her than her companions.
"You don't need to explain yourself to us," Calming Ember said, cutting off Autumn's next burst of words. "Rain Shine will see you. But not tonight, because of the festival. You will have to wait for tomorrow for an audience."
"But you could still dance with us!" Autumn said, not missing a beat. "Any kirin is invited to participate, and we always do! I don't know anything in the rules about kirin from other worlds not counting! And... I guess nothing about birds either. It wouldn't be right for a pony, but..."
"I'm not much on dancing," Gus said, almost as fast. "Definitely not now that I've got four legs, no arms, and claws. I'd probably tear up your dance floor. I know they catch on carpet; you don't have to ask how."
Lotus kept her head down, saying nothing. The kirin talked about rescue, where we came from, and their traditions. Rain Shine doesn't sound much like Searing Gale.
She wanted to ask, but that question died in her throat. The kirin didn't seem to understand the significance of her books, the power to cross universes, or Lotus's own presence outside their village. But if she used the name of that ancient sorceress, it might be enough to connect the dots.
What if they were a lineage of ancient cultists, waiting in the wings to restore their evil queen to power? Maybe if she could keep her head down long enough, she could get the book back into her hooves and escape.
That meant a little more subtlety, and patience. "I've never been to a festival before." That was all she said, letting the conversation die.
It was about noon by the time they arrived at their destination.
At first there was nothing to see—a bleak mountainside, melted by volcanic rock, and painful to walk and ugly to look at. But there on the ruined hillside stood a stone arch, tall enough for a creature even bigger than Gus to walk comfortably inside.
The leading male levitated the pack off his shoulders, and their escort all backed away from him.
"What are you—" Gus began, but the question was answered before he could finish. Flames roared up from around the kirin, transforming him into a blacked, ghostly inverse. His eyes burned, and flame rippled where once fur had been.
No wonder Iron is so afraid. That's what I look like when I lose control?
Lotus stepped sideways towards Iron, putting herself between Calming Ember and the pegasus. She couldn't block out the fire if he attacked, but at least she could slow him down.
Their guide didn't lose control and attack, though. Instead, he settled one hoof on the arch, and its appearance shifted. Stone blocks rattled and rearranged themselves, so that every side was now blackened and scorched. When the last one was in place, fire flickered through the barrier, one final burst.
The view through it changed. The blackened mountain was gone, along with the corpses of fallen trees. In its place stood a city, though she could see it only dimly through the arch.
The flames also took Pumpkin Smoke’s Nirik fire with them. He settled onto four distinctly non-burning hooves, stumbling breathless out of the way. He gestured through it, leaning against the arch to catch his breath.
"Welcome to Hono!" Autumn Blaze practically shouted, gesturing through.
"I mean... welcome to you, Lotus. You two, you're coming with us because you were with her, and now you know our secret. Or... something brooding and mysterious. An edge of danger. Anyone else have ideas?"
"Don't try to run," said one of the other kirin, exasperated. "You'll be our guests if you behave. Be careful, act well. If you anger someone, you'll be incinerated before they even realize what's happening."
"That's pretty good!" Autumn turned towards the kirin, beaming. "Now make it a little more mysterious. Don't just say it how it is."
Pumpkin Smoke shoved Autumn through the opening. One by one, the other Kirin surrounded them, cutting off any path of escape.
Lotus touched briefly against Iron, whispering into his ear. "I don't think this is as bad as it looks. I need you to trust me, okay? I'll get us out of this."
He nodded subtly, so small she could only feel the gesture against her neck.
Gus hurried through the opening without prompting. He had a GoPro in one talon now, held on a collapsible Steadicam. But if the kirin knew what he was doing, they made no sign.
Then they shoved Iron through, leaving only Lotus and Calming Ember left on the outside. He didn't touch her, only gestured towards the arch. "Our rescue could have been a little more graceful, I apologize. But once you see Hono, I think you'll agree with us. The sooner we got you home, the better."
She forced a polite smile. It wasn't that hard, considering. Aside from a few bruises and scrapes, her friends were intact. All she had to do was get the book back and wait for Equestria to rescue them. How hard could it be?
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I'm really curious what this rescue operation is even about. Who are they really trying to rescue, what from, and how did they know anyone needed rescuing?
Huh, so the Kirin village is magically concealed in a pocket dimension of some kind? Curiouser and curiouser...
they...they opened the door. my bet would be that this place was sealed off from Searing and they just let basically a walking flare into their hideaway.
Wait what?
They go out of their way to 'rescue' someone when they rather go to the the festival. They attack the people they are there to 'rescue' when they clearly don't want to be rescued. Not like this anyway. They force the group they don't like to go with them to somewhere they are not welcome and might get killed for being there.
I don't think that word means what the kirin think it means.
11701831
Good point!
11701953
...And the above likely ties into this. They were trying to rescue her from Searing, bringing her to a hideaway far from Searing... Not knowing that they're inviting her in.
This is gonna end badly...
I share Gus's take. Lore-wise, the only way so much similarity exists between Equus and Earth is cross-contamination. Not quite sure I agree with them arriving at a high elevation being important, especially with deep areas being the weak points in Equus AND earth...
well Equestria has to find you first.
love the art for this amazing chapter.
This was a great chapter but I hope Rain Shine will explain the situation such as how they knew about Lotus. Autumn Blaze was in great form being an incorrigible chatterbox which annoys the other kirin.
The art also looks great both Pridark and KlaraPL did an amazing job!
11702007
The similarity and the fact that many beings on Equus are mythical on Earth can probably be explained by past portals created by Discord. A past connection between Equus and Earth could also explain why Iron Feather ended up on Earth.
Thanks for the chapter
I haven't been commenting before but I adore your stories, started with Fine Print then to read rest. Really interested how it continue on from here, how will Searing Gale be able to influence them now, are they in greater danger due to more magical environment, much to go on. Will there be references to other stories like Spark Gap made appearances elsewhere?
2+3=4?
Strange that participation in this festival doesn't seem optional but I certainly don't think their in league with Gale, especially with their show roots. Still, they seem to know more than they let on.
11702001
as i understand it, the other Kirin are trying to "rescue" Lotus FROM Iron Feather and Gus...
Autumn Blaze
SHE IS AWESOME!
Ah, Autumn Blaze. As enjoyably irrepressible as ever. Now they just need to state their case and Rain Shine can—
Oh. They’re doomed.
Iron and Lotus’s wariness make a lot of sense. The only kirin Lotus has ever known is Searing, so trying to go from her to Autumn is going to be a braintwister at the best of times. And Iron…
Well, let’s face it, Iron isn’t the sharpest blade in Luna’s armory. Let’s just hope no one does anything dramatically stupid.
11701881
I read it as they popped in far away from anything, but the kirin found them first. Possibly because kirin magic opened the gate.
Autumn Blaze is my favourite non pony character in the franchise. Why? Moments like that.
I love how you write for Autumn Blaze so well that you don't even have to say who's talking in order for the readers to know who's talking.