The Land Before Us

Chapter 24 – The last day of....

The sky above the unicorn capital is clear and cloudless as the sun makes its first peek into the world. All around this stone testament of unicorn power it's inhabitants start their day with a little sense of fear from yesterday's proclamation for war. But for one dark blue mare the threat of war has been put aside.

Luna's hooves clop quietly as she ascends the staircase to her sister's part of the castle. The walk up is quick as her eyes lay on the gold and white stoned room, but her gaze focuses on the tall white pony out on her balcony. Celestia's horn glows a faint gold as the sun slowly moves a little further up.

As the aura around the tall mare's horn begins to fade Luna moves herself through the room, "Our sister I have something I wish to say."

Celestia's ears pick up as she listens to the voice, she turns around as her low tone brings the dark mare to a halt, "Yes, what is it Luna?"

The dark mare slightly straightens her posture as she talks, "I have spoke with Matt and he has stated he would not want to go to his own world." Her words are a little shaky but she holds her stance.

Celstia cocks her eye brow to the words as she answers back, "Luna, this being in our world is not something that we need...our land is already turbulent enough, introducing a new magic is not something we should do. Nor do we need to have a creature that can deceive so easily-" Her words are cut off as Luna speaks up.

"Matt is not some creature, he is a human." Luna squints her eyes to her sister's words but she holds her voice in a low respectful tone.

The white mare holds her voice back for a moment as she studies her sister, "Humans from what I have seen are too emotionally detached from their actions and too dangerous to allow in our land Luna."

Luna brings her head up high as she tries to hold onto some of her regal tone, "But we can learn much from humans, there world from what Matt has told to me and Princess Platinum is far more advanced than of our own."

Celestia shakes her head as she talks back up, "The magic human's possess is too different from that of our own we don't know what it could..."

"But our sister, we can help Matt understand magic. I have felt his magic and I don't see how it is any different from our own." Luna's voice has slightly lost some of it’s regal tone as her head lowers with the end of her sentence.

The tall white mare squints to Luna as she talks, "Luna... You have not become fond of this human have you?" Her voice is slightly surprised but it still holds its low sweetness.

Luna pauses for a moment as she moves her eyes from Celestia, "I...I just believe sending Matt back would be the wrong thing to do if we want to better Equestria."

Celestia holds her head up high as she looks down to her sister, "I was informed that Matt returned to his room late last night Luna...."

The dark mare's ear slightly flickers a little but she doesn't say anything as Celestia continues, "...Luna you know that being attached to anypony...or human is something we must avoid." Celestia's low caring tone holds as she smiles to her sister, "...You know you would not want to watch as they grow old before your own eyes...sending Matt back is what's best for him."

The dark mare clenches her mouth shut for a moment, but when she goes to speak her voice is cut off by another's.

"Celestia, we have word of a pegasus chariot coming this way." The armoured earth mare's words are a little rushed as she waits for a response.

Celestia turns her gaze from Luna as she speaks up, "Has our messenger got to them yet?"

The mare shakes her head.

"I will be down in a moment, tell Princess Platinum." The armoured pony nods her head as she starts back down the stairs. Celestia turn her gaze back to her sister as she talks, "We will talk about this when the time comes my sister."

Luna nods her head as the tall white mare trots past her. The dark mare's gaze shifts a little to the rising sun for a moment as she stands in the room with only the sound of Celestia's hooves clapping against the stone. But her silent gaze is brought to an end as she turns to follow after the mare.

The city is starting to come into view for Preston, but at the moment he is too busy huddling up to one side of the open chariot to fully see it. The cart he sits in is not too big but it fits Clover and Swirl along with him pretty well.

The blond haired man has his eyes slightly squinted as he tries to hold some kind of toughness.

"You're afraid of heights too?" Clover holds a sly smile to the man's huddle up position as she brings her head from the world around them.

"What? NO no..." He blows at the comment as he rolls his arms, but as his sentence comes to an end the chariot shakes a little, his eyes open wide as he grabs the side of the cart hard.

"Sorry, a little wind." One of the two pegasus pulling the flying cart turns back around as he talks.

Clover lets out a giggle as she looks at Preston's face. He nods his head as he talks in an annoyed voice, "Ya, real funny...its all fun and games until someone falls out right?"

The purple mare rolls her eyes as she talks, "No pony has ever fallen out of a pegasus chariot before."

"Ya ya ya, it's cuz no one ever ask-..." The chariot bounces a little as his voice stops. "Ugh, why didn't we just take a train or something?"

Swirl looks up from the bag he’s been studying sense the flight started, "A T-Rain?" The old stallion holds his eyes to him a little confused.

But the man laughs at the confused stare as he answer him, "Whoa, for once i'm smarter than Gandalf."

Swirl shakes his head as his voice comes back to its wise smarter than everyone tone, "Preston, if you are going to gloat please make sure you say somepony's name right."

Preston gives a cocky smile as his grip on the chariot's side becomes a little lapsed, "How far are we?"

"Look for yourself." Clover turns her head back to the city that now is coming under them as she talks.

"No, I like it down here." Preston shakes his head as he slowly moves his eyes to the open back part of the chariot, the buildings that he sees look similar to the ones the pegasus city had, but these two story buildings and small shacks are made of grey stone or wood, not clouds.

The old stallion taps his hoof to his mouth as he watches the castle coming into view, "I say, could you two stallions take us a little past the castle?"

One of the pegasus turns his head back as he talks, "To the tower?"

"Yes." Swirl holds his hoof out a little as he nods.

"Hold on then its going to be slight turn."

Preston's body cringes a little as the chariot makes a sharp turn to the left, "ooohhh I hate you!" His voice comes through his teeth as he closes his eyes.

"Oh its not that bad." Clover taps his foot with her hoof as she enjoys the wind blowing through her mane.

Luckily for Preston the trip starts to come to an end as he feels the chariot dropping slowly back to the ground.

After a few moments of a stomach moving sinking feeling the wheels to the chariot begin to touch the ground as it bounces to the dirt it slides over.

"We're here Sir Star Swirl."

The old stallion gives a little cough as he moves his body back to the ground, "Good, good I have much to do."

His body slightly wobbles a little as he takes his step to the ground, "Oh, this is much different than clouds."

Preston jumps from the chariot and kicks a little to the dirt as he speaks up, "Ya? Well it beats flying without seat belts." He turns to the pegasus as he holds his arms out, "I mean come on, I didn't even get any peanuts." He gives a laugh to his joke, but the ponies around him just give him a silent stare.

Swirl nods his head as he talks, "Yes well Preston I need you to stay here for a few hours."

The blond man turns to him with a slight loss of enthusiasm as his voice takes on a slightly more mature tone, "But Matt’s here right? I need to make sure that little kid didn't get into any trouble."

Swirl trots towards the large lighthouse like stone tower as he talks, "You will be reunited with your friend trust me."

Preston gives a sigh as he turns to look to the huge castle that they flew past, he shakes his head as his thoughts come out loud, "Matts been living in a fucking castle? And I had to bunk with a..."

"Hey!"

He stops his voice as Clover's voice hits him.

Preston gives a sly smile knowing that his comment would annoy her; Clover trots from the chariot as she walks past him, "Don't say anything you might regret, I know a few spells you might not want to feel."

Preston nods his head a little unamused by her words.

"Will you two hurry it up already? You can flirt when this crown has been delivered." Swirl stands in front of the tower door with his back turned to them as he fiddles with a ring of keys floating in front of him, "Ah this one."

The key is floated into the lock of the door as he opens it and trots inside, "Come along now." Preston and Clover walk inside as Swirl turns his gaze to the two Pegasus, "It will only take a moment." He closes the door as he picks his pace up in a fast trot.

Clover follows after him but Preston has stopped as he looks around the scroll infested floor and furniture of the ground floor of this lighthouse-tower like building. The inside is made of simple grey stone and the walls are made of the same dull colored material as they wrap circular up the tower.

Swirl stops his trot up the spiral staircase as he turns back to Preston, "Follow me lad, I don't want you messing with anything."

Preston follows after the two ponies as he carefully places his feet to the cluttered floor.

"Master why do we not just take the element of harmony to the castle?"

Swirl hooves the satchel from his body as he brings it to float next to him, "Because Clover I broke it."

"WHAT?!" Clover stops for a moment as she tries to understand the old stallion's words.

Preston on the other hand bust out in a laugh as he waits for Clover to start her walk again.

"Master what do you mean?" Clover quickly catches up with Swirl as he stops his ascend of the stairs and turns into a side room.

The room that Clover and Preston are lead to looks like a large study with various full bookshelves around the room, Swirl has trotted himself to a cleared off table in front of a window that looks towards the castle.

"Master?"

Swirl again ignores her as he dumps the contents of the satchel to the ground, a few rocks fall to the floor along with a few scrolls and some books.

Clover tries to collect the fallen items as she hovers them to a side table, "Master?"

"Hush..." Swirl is silent as he moves away from the table his body was blocking, "...Do you see?"

The gold crown’s purple-pale pink star still glows with a faint magic chime to it and the blue sapphires that are studded into the crown now have turned an almost white color.

Preston looks over the crown silently with Clover, but he is the first to speak as he points to the blue gems, "Maybe those are in wrong."

"Bha, you know nothing, these gems are copy gems...Celestia said there is more than one kind of element and these will help create the others when the time is right..." Swirl pulls on his beard as he stares to the crown again.

"Master perhaps the crown is not fully ready?"

Swirl stops his beard pulling as his eyes widen, "What?"

Clover nods her head as she brings her hoof to the crown, "This is an element of harmony, maybe it has not had enough time to fully become stable?"

The old stallion nods his head as he again starts to pull on his beard, "No...its broke...BUT I think you might be right."

"Huh?" Clover squints her eyes confused to the old stallion as he starts to trot away from the table, "Master?"

"Clover I need to tell Celestia I am here, keep Preston inside until I return." He doesn't slow his trot as he starts down the stairs.

Preston and Clover follow after him as the man calls out to the pony, "Wait, why can't I go any where?"

Star Swirl looks back up as he stops for a moment, "You are a very weird creature, I would not want you to scare the foals."

"What?"

Swirl's pace picks back up as he reaches the bottom of the stairs.

"Master..."

Clover is ignored as Swirl opens the door.

"...Master?"

Her voice again goes unanswered as Swirl leaves the tower with the door closing behind him.

But the moment of confused silence is broken as the old stallion pokes his head back in, "Clover I shall be back in a moment, maybe the element is still settling..." He smiles to the mare as he nods, "...You have started to learn about how magic is more than just magic..."

Clover nods her head as the stallion continues, "...If the crown does anything do not touch it, it is still unstable and could be very dangerous, hopefully when I return it will be ready..."

The stallion takes his head from the door but he quickly pokes it back in as he talks, "Also if you see Wispy feed her please."

The door again closes but does not reopen this time.

For a moment the tower is quite until the sound of hooves comes back to it as Clover turns herself back to the room, "Ok, we just wait until he comes back."

Preston follows after her as he leans to the door post, "What's Wispy?"

Clover moves a chair to where the table is as she sits down, "Star Swirls pet lizard."

"Ok?..." Preston squints his eyes to the comment as he moves another chair to sit down next to Clover.

They stare at the low chiming crown for a few moments before Preston speaks back up, "How long did he say he would be gone?"

End of chapter 24