The Land Before Us

Chapter 10 – An order of the law

The bright sun outside hangs at high noon as it's golden rays shine onto the hay covered roof of the house Damien sits in. The layered roof blocks the sky but the sun's light almost seems magnified from the slightly yellow hay above the house making the whole main room of the house glow with the same brightness of a well lit room.

The tall man sits at the wooden table trying hard not to lean back in the shifty wooden chair as he rubs his hands to his head.

Most of the time he has been in the house has been filled with questions from the young happy colt, but right now the colt is sleeping in the other room and Damien is giving his mind a rest for the time being.

His moment of relaxation seems to come to an end though as the sound of hooves knocking against the wood floor taps against his ears.

With a slight turn of the head he listens to the feminine voice behind him, "I never got to truly thank you...Demien is it?"

The dark haired man gives a light chuckle as he turns around to the pegasus mare that weakly stands by the door's threshold. Light cream colored spots of fur are starting to poke up in the darkened fur around where the necklaces onced lay.

Damien shakes his head as he looks over her weak stance, "You should not be walking around for a little...I don’t know a lot about animals but any allergic reaction like that should be slept off."

The mare gives a slight smile as her wings stretch a little behind her, "I believe I have had enough sleep for now." She gives a light giggle as her words fade into the room.

Damien follows the tone as he gives his own light chuckle.

However the mares voice doesn't stay light for long as she talks, "I have to ask, why are you wanting to go to the unicorn capital?"

He drops his head in a slight nod as he pauses, "I'm looking for some friends of mine..."

The mare picks her tone back up as she walks a little toward the table, "Oh, well you should not be so down then. Anypony that helps others is always rewarded for their good deeds."

Damien picks his head up as he talks, "Anypony huh?" He gives a light chuckle to the words as he stretched his arms out in front of him, "Lets hope I count then, right?"

She nods her head as her soft pink eyes look over him, "This land is founded on acceptance, you will be just fi..."

Her voice is cut off as the door to the house opens to the chocolate brown stallion smiling to Damien, "Are you ready my friend?"

The man stands from the table as he nods.

Trotting holds the door open as Damien walks to him, the stallion's voice picks up again as he talks, "I was even able to get an escort on our trip." He holds a happy friendly smile as Damien walks out of the house and stands on the doorstep.

The mare follows after Damien and her husband as she speaks up, "I'll see you two off than." Her voice is still weak and Trotting holds his hoof out to her as he talks, "Oh, honey you should be sleeping now."

She holds a smile as she walks to the doorstep with Damien and her husband, "I will sleep later, I want to feel the wind on my coat for now."

Damien looks back from the two ponies as he moves his gaze to the two unfamiliar white unicorns in silver plated armour standing in the dirt road in front of the house. He feels a little uneasy as he looks over the ponies military sternness but after talking with Lilly and Trotting they don't really seem too intimidating.

One of the stallion's horn glows a slight blueish green as a rolled up paper is floated over to Trotting.

The stallion beside Damien gives a confused stare as he takes the scroll to his hoof, "What's this?"

The two unicorns don't speak as they both nod to the paper, there blue pupils stay focused on Damien as the earth stallion unravels the paper and reads aloud.

"By the power of the unicorn federation of law in these lands we hereby take this being into custody?!"

Damien turns his gaze back to the earth stallion beside him as he gives a confused mouth dropped silence.

Before his silence can be broken one of the unicorn's horn glows a bright blue and Damien's figure is trapped in a cylinder shaped magic hold. He struggles at the magic grasp as he calls out to the unicorns in fear and anger, "Why am I arrested?!"

Both of the unicorns remain silent and emotionless as Damien is slightly pulled towards where they stand.

Lilly and Trotting look on in a slight shocked frozen stare but the moment only last a second as Trotting steps in front of the magic's light stream cutting it off from Damien, his voice is fast as he calls to the two stallions, "Listen here! He has done nothing wrong under any of th..-Hummf!"

Trotting is blasted back toward the house as the second stallion shoots a low bolt of cracking magic at him.

"Trotting!" The mare quickly gallops over to the stallion who rest in a pained groan against the house.

The two unicorns both now glow there horns as there eyes shift to Trotting.

"Wait!" Damien jumps in front of them as he holds his hands out, "Wait, i'll go i'll go!"

The two unicorns blink at his words for a moment as there horns glow a lighter shade of blue-green but a bolt is still sent towards Damien.

As the magic strikes him it encases his body and gives off a almost zapping sound, he falls to the ground face first as he faints from the spell. Before the crowd of pony onlookers that have gathered from the commotion can speak up the two unicorns and the motionless Damien disappear in a slight chiming poof as the unicorn's spell clouds around them.

(Elsewhere in Equestria)

The hot noon sun shines bright even through the cover of the trees. the beads of sweat that have been forming on Preston's forehead now start to sting against his eyes each time his head bounces from the unleveled steps he takes.

"Yo Star Swirl we've been walking all day man?" Preston's voice echoes through the trees as he gives a little whine.

"Bha! we have had several breaks." The old stallion still leads through the slightly less thickening forest as he calls back in a still chipper voice.

Clover gives a slight pant as she adjust the satchel she now carries, "Perhaps another break is in order Master?"

Star Swirl pauses for a moment as he swings his wizard hat wearing head back to the pony's voice, "We are so close Clover?"

"Pff, how can you tell? It just looks like trees around here?" Preston swings his head around the forest as he calls back to the stallion.

But the pause doesn't last long as the light grey stallion starts back up in a trot, "I can feel it in my beard."

Preston rolls his eyes as he shakes his head, "Sorry gramps but I think what you're feeling is rocks or something."

"Nonsense, the rocks are in the satchel Clover has."

The old ponies voice perks up Clover's ears as she talks in a slightly annoyed voice, "You have rocks in this?!" Her tone holds its high as it takes on a slight girlish wine, "Why do you have rocks in this?"

Star Swirl gives a light coughing chuckle as he talks back to her, "Oh Clover you still have much to learn about the world around you..." He gives a low sigh as he moves his head up to the trees above him.

The purple mare's speed has slowed a little to where Preston's is as she nods her head to the older pony, "Yes Master."

The blond haired man squints at the comment a little skeptical as he talks in a more questioning tone, "So magic is everywhere? And that just makes sense to you guys?"

Star Swirl takes his head from the trees as he focuses back to the path he walks on, "No magic is everywhere."

"Thats what I said?" Preston scratches at his head a little confused as the stallion stops again in front of him.

"Yes I know, but its the way in which you said it, that makes it incorrect." The old pony smiles as he turns his body back to them.

The blond haired man still holds a sense of confusion as he talks, "I don't understand what you mean?"

Star Swirl nods his head to the left and then back to the right as he talks, "Some ponies think its everywhere freely and some ponies think its not everywhere but allowed to be everywhere. Magic is thoughts, memories and emotion just put into the world around the user..." He smiles as his old voice picks back up, "Its like being lost in a forest, your destination can be right behind some trees...or you could have taken the wrong turn back at that mossy tree." He nods his head behind Preston and Clover as he tries to continue.

But the old ponies voice is cut off as Clover's eyes shrink, "Master we're not lost are we?" Her and the man both lean themselves a little closer as the old stallion pulls at his beard with his left hoof.

"Well Clover..."

Again his voice is cut off as Preston points to the pony, "He got us lost?!" His face turns to Clover as he holds his finger to Star Swirl.

Clover's eyes meet Preston's as she talks back to the old stallion, "Master?"

He smiles as he puts his hoof back to the forest floor, "...Magic is binding...much like they way you two have just combined ideas based on..."

Both Preston and Clover call back over the old voice as they talk, "Star Swirl?!"

"Ah you two ruined an old ponies fun." His horn glows a bright gold as the tree line behind him is disappeared. As the falling leaves drift to the forest floor Preston and Clover stare in awe at the sight behind him, the area that they can see is rocky and open with a waterfall coming off of a large hanging rock that falls into a decently large crystal pond.

"...I give you Feather Peek..." The old stallion steps aside as Preston and Clover walk towards the area for a better view.

Preston is the first to talk as he looks around the small clearing, "Theres a city here?"

Star Swirl trots himself into the area as he holds his gaze to the small waterfall dribbling into the crystal pond, "No, at the right time this pond will turn into a vortex and will be sucked into the clouds. This is an area where the pegasus collect water to disperse all over the land...this pond may look small but its very very deep."

Clover walks over to where he stands as she talks in an excited voice, "When is the next vortex?"

Swirl smiles as he turns back to Preston and her, "Tomorrow my clever companion."

Clover and Preston both give an annoyed groan as the man speaks up, "Why would you even drag us out here if its not till tomorrow?"

"Bha! I did no dragging. I simply stopped you two from cuddling in that tent...-”

Preston holds his arms out to the pony as he talks, "Whoa whoa whoa, I may work with animals where i'm from but I don't..."

Clover and Star Swirl both squint as his words as the mare speaks up, "Animals? Who are you calling an animal?"

The blond haired man gives a laugh as he points his finger between them, "Oh i'm sorry I wasn't clear...I'm talking about you two."

Swirl shakes his head as he looks between himself and Clover, "Animal? Why why thats just a logical fallacy? We do not live in the forest?"

The mare speaks up as she leans her head up proudly, "And we most definitely do not reek like the humans do."

Preston looks over his slightly puke covered shirt as he stutters, "O-oh ya?"

Clover pokes her head towards him as she takes his stutter as a sign of her winning, "Yes."

The blond haired man rolls his arms at her as he walks toward the forest.

"I wouldn't do that Preston."

He stops his walk as he turns around, "Oh ya? Why not? You said those unicorns guard the forest right? I'll just have them pick me up."

The old stallion holds a stern face as he talks, "...Daytime in our land right now is not definite, and I suggest not leaving this close to night."

Preston blows at the comment as he looks up to the sky.

"Do not be fouled by the sun my friend."At Swirl's voice Preston brings his head back down to the stallion as he talks, "Let me guess magic?"

The stallion gets a slight smile as he nods, "I think you are learning."

The man stops as he gives a groan, "Alright...what do we do?"

Swirl walks a little closer to the pond as he dips his hoof to it, "Oh well I am going to relax and set up camp. You two are going to gather firewood, stay close to this area will you?"

"Master?" Clover turns her head back to the stallion as his words hit her.

"Oh very well, we all shall rest for a little." Swirl's horn glows a bright gold as a slightly long fallen log is slid over to the clearing.

Preston takes a seat on the slightly rotten log as he watches the stallion pulling at his beard still looking at the pond. After a few moments of watching the stallion he drifts his eyes to the mare but she quickly turns away in a slight annoyed hmph as her gaze catches his eyes.

End of chapter 10