Harmony at Mind

Chapter 4

        Ahriman thought for a bit. Maybe he should enjoy his stay. And besides if you had to stay, make a good first impression. After all, this was the first time meeting the alicorns.

“Guard, stop for a moment, you said you would rather fly?” asked Ahzek.

        “Yeah, sir, I did, we ALL do.” he replied.

        The former chief librarian called at the Warp. It’s raw energy engulfed the guard squad. They screamed in indistinguishable pain. He could see blue and gold wings coming out of their backs right through the muscle and bones. He smiled.

        “What did you do?!” asked an angry guard.

        “Oh, my boy, look at your friends, they all have wings now, you do too, and be thankful, this kind of thing isn’t easy, those wings will fly you higher and faster than anything else on this planet. You’ll like the way you fly, I guarantee it.” Ahriman said.

        He continued, “Go on, try out your new limbs.” Their backsides were still bloodied, they trusted him looking around at their comrades. The flapped their wings, they worked fine.

        “After what you just put us through, these wings better work.” said a guard. All the others surely agreed with that statement.

        They took off with so much speed and power that even Ahriman was startled. They went at amazing speeds that Ahriman had clocked at 602.23mph. They were going off course, but they were enjoying themselves.

        After an hour, the sun was high in heaven. At some point, Ahriman spotted a cyan flyer. HOLY SHIT! The chaise smashed into it at 455.2mph. Ahzek knew that’d someone would get hurt. There was no heartbeat when they arrived at the body. Further examination showed it was a mare with lightning marks on each flank.

        “Oh shit, thats one of the element bearers!” exclaimed the head guard. One other came up and took him by the hoof.

        He said, “We should bury her corpse, they’ll never find it! And maybe we could get magic horse here to do something.”

        The whole squad turned to Ahzek, their faces fearful and unsure. He thought for a moment, what would Hathor Maat do? Well, Hathor was a pavoni. Why, indeed he could resurrect her. Just like Garm, where the Thousand Sons brought back their dead.

        Warp energy went about Ahriman, his eyes glowed like the sun. And the energy surrounded the corpse. Soon there was breathing, a faint breath, but it was there. It was alive. Ahriman quickly finished the ritual and plopped her back on the ground as soon as he was sure.

        “Come on, let’s get the fuck outta here before anyone sees!” exclaimed Ahzek. The guards agreed and got back on the chaise.

        Dash awoke, she was well, apparently in a field near a road. That was a strange dream, must have dozed off while flying. In the dream she’d been hit dead by a squad of royal guards with blue wings. In it she died and came back three days later. Only Celestia knew what that was all about.

        There were no trumpets to announce their arrival. It was silent as night. He saw the streets filled with fancy markets, a smell of lavender and honey overtook him. The city was an assortment of colors from white to purple to magenta, to orange. Just like home. Busy ponies went about, it was a city of light, similar to Tizca before the Wolves came. There were towers lined with silver and gold. And foals merrily traveled the streets carefree. He missed those days back on Terra with his friends and family.

        They finally landed at the castle. There were smiles on every guard he had been with. Manners, courtesy, a long forgotten custom. Now was the time to bring them back.

        “May I ask for your names?” Ahzek inquired.

        The guard captain smiled and said, “Wow, nobody has ever asked for our names before, they just come and go. Since you asked, I’m Tyco, this here’s Burns, Sponson, and Spades.”

        “Then thank you, Tyco, Burns, Sponson, Spades for the ride.” said Ahriman.

        “No Thank You, you blessed us with wings, and you’re the most humble pony we know to date. We’ll always remember you, if you ever need help, come to us.” said Tyco.

        “Well, then, goodbye, and have a nice day.” concluded Ahriman.

        The guard squad flew off. Just that moment the 3 meter doors of the castle swung open like those of an Imperial chapel. Two figures stepped from the doorway, their forms so beautiful and majestic that Ahriman entered the tenth Enumeration to avoid being seduced by such grace.

        The one to the left he recognized from that dream encounter. To have entered a dream would have meant she was a psyker that had some knowledge of the Great Ocean. The one one to his right was physically larger, white coat with  an ever moving mane of green, pink, and blue. She spoke.

        “Greetings, Ahzek,” she said with some doubt in her tone, he could not tell, “I am Celestia, and you’ve already met Luna, I assume.”

        “Yes, indeed I have, and she is your sister, or cousin judging by the way you two walk.” he said.

        Celestia made nod, and pointed her head back to the door, “Come on, we’ve been dying to meet you in person.” she said with a quirky expression on her face.

        They entered the castle, a grand casting of building materials, the floor itself resembled the stuff of those alien titans on Aghoru.

        Through the hallways of castle there were pedestals mounted with relics of ages lost. At last they came to a room splendid in color, a vast array of banners hung from the walls, marking past victories.

        They sat down. “So, Ahriman, we would like to know how you got here ?” asked Celestia, as a servant brought her and her sister some tea.

        “That’s a tale worth telling,” said Ahriman as another servant brought him a baked potato. The tale began with his memories of Terra, then his induction into the fifteenth legion. After a boring description of the Great Crusade and Aghoru, and his secondment with the Word Bearers. He also told of the twenty legions. Finally the tragic events of Prospero, and the millenia after.

“Well, that’s how I got here.” finished Ahriman.

“That’s it then,” said Celestia, she pulled a watch out of her, well, that would remain a mystery for the rest of his days, “shall we go for a walk then ?”

They exited the room refreshed and with a better understanding of each other. They strolled and proceeded to a balcony garden. There was a variety of fruit bearing trees one of which was a fig tree.

“May I ?” asked Ahriman.

Luna gave an approving nod.

The first fig in ten thousand years brought a tear to his eye, he ate the rest whole, remembering the laughter in the gardens and parks in Tizca.

After taking in a view of the garden and the landscape below, they went back into the palace where weary looks were cast on Ahriman, for he had taken a form similar to that of Luna’s, his only pupil dilated, where the other pupil should have been was a golden oak leaf in a white eyeball. The marks on his flanks that had been there this morning were gone, leaving his flanks blank.

It was late afternoon, they had walked to another balcony, this one plain and in the middle was sigil, sun and moon in perfect harmony.

“What now ?,” asked Ahriman, as the moon princess positioned herself on the dais.

“On this world, my sister Celly and I raise the sun and moon to bring day and night. We’ve been doing this for thousands of years keeping a harmonic balance.” she said.

“Well then, Luna, let me do this one.” said Ahriman.

“You, have you ever done anything like this before? We’re the only two in Equestria that can do something even close to this, what makes you think you can raise the moon?” said Luna.

“I once cast a spell that killed a thousand of my brothers, turned their bodies into ash and trapped their souls inside their armor, turning them into automatons, that day blue lightning surrounded an entire planet and struck down every Thousand Son, my spell was called The Rubric. I insist.” replied Ahriman.

“If you insist, Ahriman, let’s see what you can do.” said Luna.

Ahriman stepped up to the dais. He entered the sixth Enumeration, Aeatpio, his Tutelary came to him to guide. He could see the Great Ocean, it’s currents violent as always but could be controlled, a kaleidoscope of colors unknown to mortal eyes. He kneeled in his equine form, how uncomfortable that was. There was a moon in his aether sight. The strain on his mind was so great the pain unbearable even by Astartes standards. But he could see it, the moon was rising. It kept rising and straining until the predators of the Great Ocean sensed his presence. They were nearing him. The moon was just almost in the right position, it was as bright as the Astronomican. The first of the predators pounced on Ahriman, sinking its immaterial claws into his skin, blood ran, but this was not blood, this was the stuff of the Primordial Creator. He shook it off. The next pounced. It clawed at him, tearing his flesh to ribbons, but the moon was nearly in place just a little longer.

With the last of his energy, he jerked the moon up, the deed was done. The moon was in place, but the predators were still on him. He snapped out of the Great Ocean, this time he hadn’t help from Othere, but thankfully he lived. He could see the material universe again. And the task was done. He was on the ground though. Celestia and Luna towered over him like Magnus had.

“You actually did it !” exclaimed Luna.

“When I cast The Rubric, I had three others helping me, they are here on this world, I came here with thirty other sorcerers.” said Ahriman weakly.

They helped Ahriman up, he was weak after that. A guard squad came and escorted him to a chamber. In it was a bed, quite nice compared to anything he’d ever slept on. At the door.

“Well, I guess it’s good night Ahriman, we’ll see you in the morning, rest now. We’ll talk more in the morning.” said Celestia.

        “Good night to you both then, thank you for the room, I haven’t slept in one of these in thousands of years.” said Ahriman.

        After Ahriman entered the room and the door was shut, the sisters went to their posts, Celly to her chambers, and Luna to the throne. The night went on.......