Forgiveness
The Elder watched as the young played just outside their village. It warmed him to see such happiness in times like these. From his vantage point, the tallest hill in the sacred grounds of Minira, he had a beautiful view of the night sky. With his staff beside him, he sat as he watched the children running around. However, he did notice something amiss.
Three of the younglings had stopped playing with the Dirtok (a small, four legged creature with crimson fur) they found and let the animal run free. They were staring up at the night sky, so he presumed they were looking at one of the many stars. He shook it off, but his suspicion returned when he felt it. A wave of pure hatred and malice passing through his body. He recognized the signature immediately. Energy. Pure, raw energy coming from a single source. It was faint, but that only scared him more. Something that faint meant it came from somewhere far off.
What baffled him the most, was that it didn't come from any being on their planet. The Gingri lord of the western empire was nowhere near as powerful as what he felt. Whatever it was, it was angry. So much hate and anger could be sensed in the energy's presence. He understood why the children had sensed it before him. They were more sensitive to energy, after all. After the wave passed, the children looked at one another, then ran off to their respective homes.
Well, almost all of them.
"Malik! Malik! (Elder! Elder!)" he heard Hejina shouting as she climbed the hill, her brother in tow.
With the help of his staff, he stood up and smiled at the two as they skidded to a halt. Enoj, her younger sibling, was panting like a madman while his sister took deep breaths.
"Hraak dit dot benko duns? (What is it young ones?)" the Elder chuckled. Enoj was still catching his breath as Hejina spoke.
"Jrem… jrem bak undetole. Undetole galg! (We…we felt something. Something big!)" she worked out between pants. The Elder turned to Enoj, who nodded while trying to confirm what she was saying.
"Dot… dot'it vreb (It…It's true)" Enoj said.
"Jra bak dot bikir (I felt it too)" the Elder chuckled. He could sense Malshuom waking, and heading closer as he spoke.
"Hraak bors dot, Malik? Bim jro befip? (What was it, Elder? Do you know?)" Hejina asked. She was still three cycles old, but she was very… curious.
"Nra, ket hut (No, not yet)" the Elder sighed. "Zech ukash bil. Jrok ikatelet jilt ev gorash erit jro (Run along now. Your parents must be looking for you)"
"Pub hraak gavo dot? (But what was it?)" Enoj questioned.
"Bur (Go)" the Elder said sternly, pointing to the village. Hejina crossed her arms and stomped down the hill, while Enoj shrugged and followed behind.
Not a minute later, Malshuom walked up next to him. He was garned in his traditional Loki'irian armor: heavily padded leather under Takite, a metal abundant around the Sacred Shrine of Minira. The Elder sighed and stood in front of the lead warrior, taking a moment to admire the insignia painted onto his armor.
"So you took my advice," the Elder chuckled out of his usual language. Malshuom kept his stern face and nodded. "You felt it as well?"
"I'd be surprised if all of Loki'ir did not sense it," Malshuom said. "What could it be?"
The Elder sighed and sat back down. "Truth be told, Malshuom, I cannot tell. The danger is far, so your men may rest. What I'm afraid of is—"
"The Prophecy." The Elder smiled, then nodded his head. "You told me long ago that was nothing but an old drek trarg's (Translation terminated for the safety of the reader) tale."
"Yes," the Elder sighed. "Yes I did. That was to ensure you did not search, which you failed to heed."
Malshuom chuckled hollowly. "I was five cycles of age. What did you expect? But Elder, you can't possibly expect the people to listen."
The Elder chuckled more, knowing that he was completely right. "Malshuom… tell me, do you know why it is we settled here? Why we crossed the wastes of oceans to come here?"
"We sought refuge, and here we found paradise," Malshuom replied, as if he had said it a thousand times.
"That is what I needed you to believe. This land was once abundant in trees taller than the buildings in Gingri, but with the war, many died. These lands were given sacrifices to grow new life." The Elder pulled a few grass leaves from the ground, letting all but one fall. "Do you see this blade of grass, Malshuom?"
"Yes, Elder."
"This small piece of grass has a purpose. It may be small and appear to be insignificant, but it plays a role in each of our lives. It feeds the insects that thrive in the soil, it feeds the hokor, the ignas, and the huminot. Without it, we would have no food, and we would starve."
"It is so small, yet it has a vital role. The same goes for us, Malshuom. We have a purpose. I brought us here for just such a thing. Tell me, how much stronger have you become since we came here?"
Malshuom remembered first coming to the land as a child… a starving and weak child. "My strength must have doubled in our time here. I don't see how that—"
"And how stronger have your men become? They are well-fed, well-rested, and they are more loyal, yes?"
"The men have surpassed their limits in the time we've been and would die for a child. But what does it—"
"How do the women fare? Do their births end merrily or with death? Do they sing as they used to?"
"Elder," Malshuom spoke loudly, fed up with his questions. "What does any of this have to do with us coming here?"
"Minira spoke to me. Never before has she contacted anyone who wasn't an Oracle. We are the last of her children, Malshuom. The last of the children that still believe she is there. She guided us here so we could gain the strength of those long ago. To walk on the soil of old."
He kneeled down and ran his fingers through the fertile soil.
"We were given this strength to carry out what she has tasked us with. Our purpose Malshuom, the time has come to fulfill that by helping another fulfill his." Malshuom wasn't catching on, until the Elder placed his hand on Malshuom's armor.
The insignia, to be exact.
Malshuom's eyes widened. Mone had ever spoken that word for centuries. It was forbidden in the empire and the other tribes.
"You can't mean… Elder, surely you're not—"
"I'm afraid so, Malshuom. At dawn, gather what we can and prepare the men. In the morning, we leave to join the last of our warriors… the Doshu'um."
Tony walked behind the mares, who were all laughing at what Dan had to say. Twilight still asked some questions as they walked, as humans seemed to intrigue her. She did look like the intellectual type, and even acted like it. Rainbow and Pinkie kept trading jokes with him, though the ones Dan told were very subtle. He knew Dan had a wide array of dirty to hilarious jokes.
As they walked through the halls, Tony kept his gaze strictly to the floor. The carpet, really. Damn thing stretched throughout the castle. As they walked, he reflected on what transpired during their rescue. The things he did, the things he said. But that was insignificant when compared to the complex.
Now that he thought about it, it only confused and worried him more. An entire complex, even if the walls were carved out, was under that lake. Shining Armor said they had only been there for a day, but that was impossible. To even make the drains would take months, the carving and digging could take years, and the beams would need another few weeks. Yet they had it all… a fully operating base.
None of it made sense, even as he thought about the various ways they could have done it. Another thing that worried him were the Arthanians. Nine came into the castle, he killed two, and one died before reaching the structure. Six alive, but he knocked out at least 58 of them, and killed 36. From six to who knows how many. Without a queen, it was impossible. Cloning was a myth, even among Loki'irians, so that wasn't an plausible. The longer he dwelled on it, the more frustrated he became.
He sighed and decided to think another time. When he picked his head up, he saw Celestia turn away. Even someone like her couldn't hide it. She was watching him. Probably out of pity. Dan didn't explain everything, but he did give them some idea of his past. She wasn't with the group either, mainly at the back where she listened and occasionally questioned something Dan said. The thought about lunch made him realize something.
"Umm, Celestia," Tony called to her. She slowed down so she was walking beside him.
"Yes?" she smiled.
"When I came here, I crashed into the dining room, right?" he asked. She nodded. "Then, where are we going?"
"I had the guards summon a few ponies to repair the room," she said. "Before we left to rescue Luna, and again, thank you."
He had to say it. Even if she didn't accept it, he couldn't ignore it any longer. He still had a few others to say it to, but she deserved it the most. Because he not only choked her, but because he got them into this whole mess.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. She flicked her ears towards him and listened. "I'm sorry for what happened… for what I… for what I did."
He avoided gazes with her, and he knew she didn't know why. He was… ashamed, for not only getting them into this mess, but for giving them such a hard time, and for nearly… changing.
Celestia was surprised by his sudden change. Yesterday, he had acted aggressive and angry towards them all. She was surprised that he even apologized, and after what she had done. She could understand why he attacked her, since she and Shining Armor did attack first. And there was the guards that had lashed out. And the one that began to mock him. Dan clarified his responses perfectly. What would happen if they took his sword, or his medallion, and the aggressive behavior. In hindsight, if she didn't go and nearly crush him, they wouldn't be on terms such as now.
He looked genuinely sorry for what he had done. It wasn't forced… it was completely out of guilt. She moved her wing over him, and he reacted by quickly shifting away. Celestia looked astonished at how fast he retreated, and he stammered softly before looking ahead.
"S-Sorry, I-I'm just… just not used to others…touching me," he stuttered. "But… can you forgive me?" She smiled softly at him.
"I'll forgive you, if you can forgive me," she said. Tony stared long and hard, thinking this was a joke.
"What are you—" She raised a hoof for him to stop.
"When I was questioning you, I disregarded the strength of the spell and nearly crushed you. I understand why you did what you did, and even then you tried to peacefully speak. If there's anyone who should be apologizing, it should be me," she admitted. She held out a hoof to him. He was a bit confused at first, but then he understood.
Gently he held her hoof and shook it. "I forgive you," he smiled.
She returned the gesture with a warming smile of her own. "And I forgive you." They nodded to each other, and they both caught up to the group as they reached the dining hall.
It was just like Celestia said. The entire place was fixed. The ceiling was restored, the table he broke had been replaced with a new one, and the mess and debris was cleaned up. No one could ever tell a battle took place there. Tony sat beside Dan and Fluttershy, the latter scooting away slightly in her cushion. At the clop of Celestia's hooves, the servants came in, some a bit confused with the two guests. Most continued without so much as a second thought, knowing their duties came first. And besides, Celestia was there.
They were each given a menu and the servant ponies waited for their choices. Dan and Tony chuckled and snickered at some of the names. All kinds of assortments of flowers and vegetables were listed, but there was really only one thing they could agree on, as simple as it was.
"What's so funny?" Pinkie chirped. Dan set the menu down and tried to stifle the snickers.
"Nothing," Dan forced quickly. Tony was laughing quietly next to him, keeping his face down so they didn't see. "I'll have salad."
"M-Me too," Tony murmured, as forcefully as Dan did.
"Very well," the waiter said as he scribbled it down. He and the others hurried out after getting their orders.
Dan couldn't hold it any longer. He fell onto his back laughing while Tony let go from his friend's outburst. He didn't fall back like Dan did, but he still clutched his sides, which were starting to hurt from what soreness remained. The ponies watched in confusion as they settled down finally.
"What's so funny?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah! Come on tell us!" Pinkie whined.
"Hay fries? Sunflower Surprise? Daffodil on Rye?" Dan laughed again. "Ohh… ohh, crap. Heh heh… oh, god."
"It's just food," Rainbow shrugged.
"Yeah, for you guys," Dan said. "Humans can't digest any kind of flower or plant like you."
They all remembered Tony had canines. They assumed that Dan had them as well.
"Well, we don't serve… meat, here," Twilight gulped.
"Humans are omnivorous," Tony pointed out.
"Omni-what?" Pinkie asked.
"It means they can eat vegetables and… meat," Twilight explained.
"I'm vegetarian, and seeing how it was the only thing I could eat, we got salad," Dan said.
They breathed a sigh of relief. In a few moments the waiters came back with their respective meals. While meat was the preferred choice, Tony devoured the salad in a few forkfuls. His hunger was only teased by the small amount. He asked his waiter for another bowl, and two turned to three, three turned to four, and four went to five. His waiter stood behind him as he waited for him to finish yet another bowl. It was surprising how much he could eat! They would run out of ingredients by the time he was done.
Dan watched Tony wolf down his eighth bowl, a small sigh of relief escaping. "Damn, when was the last time you ate?" Dan laughed. Tony shrugged.
"Hey, yesterday was a busy day for me. The last thing on my mind was food," Tony smiled as he handed the waiter his bowl. "Tell the chef it was delicious."
"And they should restock before dinner," Dan added. They all had to laugh at that one, even Tony. He sipped the beverage he was given, which turned out to be apple juice.
Little did he know, the apple juice in Equestria was different from Earth. As he finished the last of it, he could see the mares giggling.
"You just keep eating," Rainbow teased.
He was about to reply when he let loose a belch. He slapped his hands over his mouth and darted his eyes around. Pinkie and Rainbow started cracking up while Applejack was chuckling. Twilight seemed amused, and even Fluttershy giggled. Rarity on the other hand… not so amused.
Dan took note of this and drank some of his, but way more than Tony. This resulted in a louder burp that echoed throughout the room. "Come on Rarity. We're just havin' FUN," he belched.
"My turn, my turn!" Pinkie squealed before swallowing her drink. "LIKE. THIS."
"DONE!" Rainbow belched. The table was filled with laughter as they went at it, speaking in burp.
"YOU. GUYS. CAN'T. COM-PETE," Tony belched, letting out a smaller burp at the end. He and Dan did this sort of thing when they were younger.
"You guys are nasty," Twilight laughed. Dan still had some juice left… and an idea.
"Your turn, Twi," he grinned as he slid the glass across the table. She stopped her laughing and pushed the glass back towards Dan.
"No way," she quickly said.
"Come on, Twi, please?" he pleaded. She crossed her forelegs and sat defiantly. He grinned a little. "Twilight. Twilight! TWILIGHT!"
The mares got the idea and joined in. "Twilight! TWILIGHT! TWILIGHT!" Dan started shaking the table playfully as they chanted and stomped their hooves. Tony stamped his shoes on the floor to try and get as much sound out. Celestia even started stomping along with them, a smirk growing slowly. She wanted to see her student do this as much as anypony else.
And it was working. Twilight's resolve began to crumble under the peer pressure. She glanced back to the juice and then to the ponies chanting her name. She gave a defeated
groan.
"Alright, fine!" she shouted. "But just one time."
"Yeah!" they cheered. Dan slid her the glass, which she took in her magic and lifted to her mouth.
Hesitantly, she drank the juice until it was all gone. Everypony leaned in and waited for it. Twilight's face scrunched into one of discomfort, then it looked like she was going to throw up. Her stomach gurgling could be heard by Rainbow and Rarity, signaling release.
"THERE," she quickly belched. Everypony, and everyone, fell back laughing. Even Twilight started giggling, a slight blush on her cheeks.
"Oh, Celestia," Rainbow laughed. "I would've paid to see that!"
"Ah… Ah didn't think ya… ya had it in ya Twi-Twilight," Applejack managed through choked laughs.
"Normally, I would tell you a thing or two dear," Rarity began. "But since everypony else seems to have crossed that line, forget it." Dan chuckled, knowing he got the fashionista to smile at least.
The laughter died down finally, and they each talked among one another. Tony kept glancing at Fluttershy, his guilt only growing by the minute. He still remembered what he had said in the Everfree, and he still hadn't said he was sorry. Better late than never, most would say. He tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around, hiding behind her mane once she saw it was him.
"Um… yes?" she murmured, barely loud enough for him to hear.
"Fluttershy… about what I said in the forest…" He sighed a bit stressfully, and with some annoyance towards himself. "I'm sorry… and thank you. My caretaker used to play me that song all the time."
Fluttershy came out from behind her hair a bit, and nodded slowly. "I-It… it was nice," she said softly.
Tony nodded, taking this as a good sign. "It was… but I wanted to know if… if you could forgive me… for what I said," he stammered. "I… didn't mean any of what I said."
She gave him a soft smile, and came out from behind her bangs just a bit more. "It's okay. And that song was really beautiful. I've never heard anything like it."
"Yeah… my old caretaker taught me how to do it a long time ago," he told her, his smile faltering a bit. He remembered something else about Fluttershy. "You're good with animals, right?"
"Yeah… I guess so," she said.
He smiled. "Well, the songs from the grass usually attracts animals." Her smile grew a bit, and her shyness seemed to fade. "Do you want me to show you how to do it sometime?"
"Yes! That'd be super great!" she squeed in excitement. "I-I mean, um, it looks kinda hard. You don't have to if you don't—"
"It's the least I could do Fluttershy. Think of it as an apology," he smiled. She returned it and nodded thankfully.
"Thank you" she chirped. Tony chuckled, then turned back to Dan. He noticed Rarity eyeing them both. Almost… disgustedly.
Dan noticed too, but the only difference was he voiced their question. "Problem, Rarity?" he asked. Not in a smart way… but questioningly.
"It's nothing dear, just… those dreadful clothes." She pointed to their similarly torn shirts. "Do all humans wear clothes like that?"
A part of Dan thought it was a dumb question, considering what had happened. "Well, Rarity, as a matter of fact we don't. If you remember, we went into an Arthanian complex, fought our way out, then me and Luna nearly drowned. Tony here held them off, so of course fighting those soldiers would get his shirt torn to hell."
"Yeah. Its not like we have a change of clothes," Tony added. The marshmallow pony's eyes grew and a little glimmer twinkled in them.
"Oh, no," Rainbow groaned, facehoofing early.
Rarity ignored her and kept her gaze to them. "Well, as it turns out, I am a seamstress. I could whip up an outfit for the both of you!"
"That'd be great, but I don't have any money," Dan pulled out his pockets.
"And I'm not sure you take dollars do you?" Tony said as he took out a dollar bill. It wiggled out from his fingers and flew to Twilight, who examined it.
"You use paper for money?" Twilight questioned, looking over the green bill.
"Not exactly. Most of it is paper, but there are traces of gold that give it some value," Tony explained. The dollar glowed a faint light blue and flew back to Tony.
"Absolutely not. I'll design you both new attire free of charge,"'Rarity resolutely said.
"You don't have to, Rarity," Tony said.
"Of course I do! Allowing you both to walk around with those things would be a crime against fashion." Tony and Dan glimpsed at each other, shaking their heads and shrugging. "Think of it as my thank you for rescuing princess Luna."
Dan shrugged, and Tony nodded hesitantly, and they turned back to the unicorn. "Well, thanks. Thanks a lot, Rarity!" Dan smiled.
"It's my pleasure," she smiled. "I just need a few measurements and I'll be ready to start."
As she spoke to them about what colors they'd like, Shining Armor walked in. Twilight was the first to see him, and she ran over to give him a huge hug. He returned the gesture and smiled at her.
"What're you still doing here, Twily?" Shining chuckled.
"We wanted to see if Tony and Dan were gonna be alright. And I've learned so much about humans! They put a pony on the moon!" she exclaimed hyperly. Shining rolled his eyes at her enthusiasm. It was expected from his studious little sister.
"Okay sis, I just need to speak with the princess," he smiled. He made his way over to her. She could see he was the bearer of bad news.
"Yes, Shining Armor," she said, as though she didn't alreay know. He sighed and rubbed his temple.
"I have good news and bad news," he sighed. "A Gryphosian ambassador will be coming in a few days."
"And the good news?" Celestia questioned.
"That was the good news," he sighed. "Prince Blueblood returned from Ponifornia."
She had to will her eyeballs to stay focused on him. She did sigh, however, and thought about the whole thing. Though he was her nephew, he was extremely annoying at times. And she wasn't sure how extremely her larger guest would react, if provoked enough.
And that certainly wouldn't be hard for Blueblood.
"Thank you, Shining Armor. I'll speak with him in a moment," she said. He nodded and said goodbye to the ponies and outworlders.
Celestia stood up from the cushion and clopped her hooves to get their attention. "I'm sorry everypony, but there are some matters I must attend to. You two can have the guest room until we find you a home."
"Actually, Celestia, I was gonna ask if you knew how to send us home," Dan said. The ponies gave him shocked and hurt looks. "Hey, don't get me wrong, this place is pretty awesome. But I have a woman of my own at home, and I don't think she's comfortable with me being gone for a few days. Especially out of nowhere."
"I'll see if we can find anything. I'm sure there must be some way to send you home. Until then, you may use the guest room." She left the room, and everyone followed suite.
In front of the staircase that led to Luna's chambers, two night guards were stationed. They had been passing the time by playing 20 questions.
"Okay, is it a mare?" Shadow Luck asked. Night Wing shook his head. "Stallion?"
"Yes," he said.
"Unicorn?"
"Nope."
"Pegasus?"
"Uh-uh."
"Earth pony?"
"Ye—" Night Wing crumpled to the ground all of a sudden. Luck was about to gallop over when he smelled something. His muscles tired and drowsiness hit him like a brick wall. He collapsed on top of his partner, both sound asleep.
The cloaking device wore off, and a tall hooded figure loomed over the two. He put the cork back on the vial of Merick dew. The dew of the flower calmed the nerves and muscles to an extremity, tiring the victim and instantly lulling them to sleep. He stepped over them and quietly ascended the steps. As soon as he reached the Lunar princess' chambers, he reached his hand out slowly. The doors swung open, but without a sound.
Sleeping on her double bed, Luna's back rose and fell with each breath. The figure stepped closer to her, small snores coming from her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out another circular object, like the one he had put on Celestia's collar. Unlike her sister, the night princess had several scarves with her cutie mark on it. If he were to put the locator on one, he wouldn't have her exact location. The only thing she always had on was her crown, which rested on the stand beside her bed.
He clung it to the base of the crown, the locator blending in with the black of the headpiece. The small clink was enough to get her to stir. He immediately reactivated the cloak, but remembered he only had thirty seconds. The princess sat up and yawned, looking around her chambers. She groaned in annoyance, rubbing her head softly.
"Stupid guards," Luna mumbled. She laid back down and fell asleep, unaware of another presence.
The figure slipped out to the balcony and leaped to the top of the tower, where a large Arthanian waited. The Alpha was unlike his kind. He was stronger and faster than soldiers, yet more vicious than a scout. In its hand-like paw was a young man. A Loki'irian teen. The man didn't look up to see the figure, but the Alpha bowed.
"Jra lekov (My master)" the Alpha bowed. The figure put his hand on his furry shoulder, then turned to the boy.
"Bring us back." They boy's left hand had a mark that lit up, and in another second, they vanished.
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Hehe
This story is turning out to be rather well.
Ps: I get bronze for third place.
this is great and ive seen it hase been updated like last feb hopefully this wont end that short!
woot!
really great chapter here!
dat pyro’s a spy
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