The Steadfast Sky

by Greytercakes

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Discord, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 332924

Celestia, Luna, and Discord grow into their godhood by unearthing the Elements of Harmony. EqD 6 Stars.

The tyrannical Shadow Stallion oppresses Equestria, coating the land in a thick layer of clouds, tightly controlling the population. Three children, the unicorns Celestia and Luna, along with a Draconequus, Discord, must live up to their fate. They must find the Elements of Harmony and take up their rightful place as Equestrias new gods and saviors.

Adventure and Friendshipping mix, intended to be a possible prequel to the show. Featured on EqD since January 09, 2012. Six Stars.

Published 2012-02-18 06:14:01 UTC
Last updated 2014-05-30 20:22:04 UTC

II : Discord

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 2
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.blogspot.com/

~Discord~

At last, night finally fell over Canterbury’s face. And the only way I could tell was through Ruin. After sitting in the dark tunnel for almost an hour, he abruptly slithered out of the castle, through one of the many little exits hidden at the foundation. Everywhere around me, cobblestone and brick, smooth and worn down by who knows how long. It’s exactly the same thing in the castle. Predictable. Boring. I don’t feel any more free out here than I do in that dark fortress.

Ruin arched his long back and yawed, snapping his sharp jaws at the sky. I tried to hold on, gripping his uneven horns tightly as he shook out his sleep. Unfortunately, this alerted Ruin to my plan far quicker than I wanted.

“Let go, little one. Walk beside me,” he grumbled, lowering his head to the flagstones. I stayed put, steeling myself atop his head. Heck if he was going to tell me what to do.

“You walk so fast, Ruin, you’d just leave me behind,” I informed him.

“Then run to keep up. I am not your riding horse.”

“Father said we should stick together, and this is the only way we can.”

“He said no such thing.”

“Yes he did, when I said I wanted to come along.”

“He would not be so kind to one as insignificant as you.”

“He’s trying something out, you know.” It came to me then, the perfect cover story. My specialty! “He’s seeing if he can send the young Draconequus out sooner if he teams them up. More eyes on the street is better for everyone, you know.”

“I’ve heard nothing of the sort.”

Dang. He wasn’t buying it. Gotta keep trying. “Oh, you don’t know? I’m so sorry to hear that, but the Shadow Stallion told me to find a bigger patrol Draconequus to protect me while I-“

A claw jammed itself under my body and pried me off, slamming me rudely on the ground. I felt all my innards wrench together in strange ways, pushing all the air from my body. I wheezed a little.

“Stop your tongue, Discord. Do not throw your Father’s name around with no weight or bearing. We depart. You walk.” He raised his claw and began striding forward, the same pace that he always went.

Gotta love my brothers, we have such interesting and one sided arguments. Don’t like reasonable demands? Eat the weakling. Not like Ruin would but... I wonder how anybody around here actually manages to grow up. I begrudgingly ran after Ruin, what else was there to do? Sit around the castle as the Elders silently loathed me for not being old enough to go out on patrol? For leeching off their food and returning nothing?

I guess what I’m trying to say is, life kind of sucks right now. It’s boring, predictable, and nobody appreciates my existence, let alone anything I do. I need to grow up or just get the heck out of here. But right at this moment, I need some air. I need to follow Ruin around and pretend he was still cool.

At my age, I was only a few feet long, but Ruin was huge, easily five times my length. Some of the oldest elders were trapped in the deepest part of the castle, easily twenty times my size. Maybe more. Well, never mind them, right now Ruin made it difficult to run along beside him, what with his massively long legs. How I wish my wings were grown in enough to glide above him. Maybe then I could keep up. No way he could fly up and lose me either, his bat wing was torn off in a fight a long time ago. Father didn’t see a need to gift it back to him. Who’s the inferior one here, Ruin?

The big guy stopped, tensed up, finally allowing me to catch up. I tried to get my breath back, tried to see what he saw. It wasn’t that hard. A blue pony, clearly panicked, galloped not a block in front of us. The creature couldn’t see in the dark at all, but to us, the pony was as clear as it would be in day.

Ruin flowed forward, following the Pony around the corner. I heaved a sigh as I tried to keep up, but by the time I got there, it was already done. Ruin’s shadow flowed around the pony, surrounding it completely, coating it. A moment later, the creature was gone.

I hurried forward as Ruin straightened himself.

“Why do we send the ponies on the streets back to the castle, anyway?” Ruin raised a bushy eyebrow at me. “No, I mean, I know why we send them to the castle, but why only limit ourselves to the streets? These houses must be full of ponies, why don’t we bust down a door and take them too?”

“It is not your place to question Father.” And that was apparently that. He stalked off.

“I’m just wondering!”

“It is not your place to wonder either. We execute his will, and his will states that at night, we take the ponies off the streets. That is all.” He continued to stride forward. I stayed where I was, and pantomimed exactly what I felt about him behind his back. To think, Ruin is one of the more likeable to the Draconequus… Yeah, that stick-in-the-mud. Likable.

Another loud whinny and Ruin took off. I didn’t bother to follow behind.

Maybe coming out here was a phenomenally terrible idea.

I turned down another street, wondering if I should go home or actually try and catch one of the candy coated creatures. I wasn’t especially skilled at shadow magic, but my illusions were something to brag about. I could trick a pony into running all the way to the castle, maybe disguise myself as an ally to drive it on. My proportions would be funny, but in the dark, what would the pony be able to tell? Sounded like a plan, I decided to test it out.

First things first. Find a pony.

The sound of hoofbeats immediately followed this mental declaration. A bit too soon after, honestly. I stumbled in confused circles before diving into an alleyway. Did it see me? What was I thinking, of course it didn’t! I poked my head out of my hiding place. The hoofbeats had stopped dead, but I didn’t see a pony anywhere. Did someone else get it? Should I start building an illusion anyway? What illusion? A dead end, my own disguise? As I mused, the startled pony shot by me, rushing to the end of the street. I leapt out into the street just as it dove into a house, slamming a door after it.

“Yeesh, those ponies are fast,” I said to myself.

Wait, there’s a problem here.

That pony was on the streets… but now it was in a house? Should I fetch it because of where it used to be, or leave it because of where it was now? I had no idea. And nobody to ask.

Eh, the no house rule was stupid anyway. Breaking in and taking a pony? Exciting! Those stupid elders wouldn’t know what hit em! A Draconequus smaller than a normal pony, capturing one only using only his own wit and charm? That was something to dream about!

No, screw dreaming, I was going to try it!

I strolled up to the house, watching as it slowly began lighting up, despite thick curtains. Was that pony the first to get home? Or maybe it was the only one living there. Perfect! I could manage to trick one pony much easier than attempting to trick a family. How big were their family units anyway? I’m sure the Shadow Stallion didn’t make all the ponies, but then, what did make the ponies? Did they have their own Father, or fathers? How many ponies did said father make each year?

I guess I don’t know much about ponies. But that didn’t matter at all.

I found a window, away from the lights, up on the second floor. It was difficult to shove open, but I did my best, which wasn’t very good at all. I forced myself to squeeze through the stubborn crack of a window and dropped to the ground on the other side. Being a graceful Draconequus, I landed hard on my left shoulder.

“Who’s there?”

This was going just perfectly.

A dim blue glow lit the room briefly, illuminating a pony, the smallest pony I had ever seen. I mean, it was shorter than me, and that’s saying something. It was hard to tell what color it was in the brief flash of light, but my best guess would be blue, like the glow.

No time for an illusion. I sprung away, ducking into an open chest full of nothing but air. I doubted it could see me, most ponies couldn’t. So of course comedy demanded the little pony’s head poked over the lip of the box and stared at me.

“Um, hi there?” it said, “What’re you doing in my toybox?”

“Uh…” I blinked up at it. “Hiding?”

“What, from me?”

“I guess so?”

“Well I’m not going to hurt you. Are you afraid of me?”

“Of course not?” Isn’t that a question I should be asking her? I wondered if the pony really could see me. I must look crazy to her, with my mismatched limbs and snakelike body. Even in a silhouette, I’m sure I looked nothing like a pony. But she smiled up at me, completely ignorant of my appearance.

“Then why are you still in there? Come on out!” The pony’s head disappeared and I rose up after it, peering out, getting a better look of the room I was in. It was small, with white plaster walls and stuffed toys scattered all around. In the center of the room was a straw pallet with a sheet tent built on top of it. This is where the pony walked, hopping up on the bed and turning to look at me, smiling a greeting.

In the streets, every experience I had with ponies held that they were running, panicked, whinnying and nearly wordless. But she, I thought of her as a she, was calm. Her gait was graceful. I didn’t think anything could walk as gracefully as her. My paw, talon, other mismatched bodyparts didn’t exactly function smoothly. When I walked they all slapped and scratched at the ground, serviceable, but awkward. Each one of her steps made the same sound, and their beat made something of a calming tune.

I won’t say it left a good impression, and that I wasn’t still planning on trapping her but… That would just be so normal, so boring, what everyone else would do. Go out at night, trap the lawbreakers, go home. Day after day, so on, so forth, never really get to know them. Understandably, but, it made it interesting to just watch this pony. This was something new, something different. Something that didn’t involve suffering and screams.

It was peaceful. I’m not sure I can remember a time when I could call a moment that. I especially couldn’t remember a time when I thought that was a good thing.

“My name’s Luna,” she said from her tented pallet “What’s your name?”

“Discord,” I replied automatically. I saw no reason to lie.

“Huh, really? That’s a weird name.”

Weird name? That’s all that’s weird? “It’s a family name.”

She nodded happily, “That makes sense. It’s how me and Celestia were named.”

“Celestia?”

“She’s my sister! The nicest most awesome sister in the world!”

“That’s descriptive.”

“Pfft, yeah, I know it isn’t, but do you get a better description from white with a pink mane?”

“I guess that’s a good point.”

She giggled. “Anyway, what are you still doing in that box? Ooh, you wanna play a game? Celestia’s not home yet, and I’ve been kind’ve bored. I’ve been playing princess!” Luna stood up, nearly disturbing her pallet tent. She held her head high, and a strange angle, and her horn began to glow blue. Magically, she dropped a crumpled paper crown on her head. “Hear ye, hear ye! I am Princess Luna, The Ruler of Stuffyland!” She waved a hoof at her surrounding toys. “I decree that Discord is, uh, hey Discord, what do you want to be? Prince? Rival prince? Evil Dragon? You could be an evil dragon pretty good, with that snakey body, but it’d be pretty cool to fight another prince. Ooh, but I’m going to need to make a crown. Where were my crayons…?”

I snorted laughter through my paw, tumbling backwards into the toybox once more. “Stuffyland!” I snickered, “And that crown!”

“What, you don’t like my crown?” Her head poked over the lip of the box.

“No way, I love it! This is great! And you really want me to play?”

“Sure! I havnt had friends over in ages, and you don’t seem that bad of a guy, despite your wierdness.”

“That’s not a word!”

“What are you, my sister?”

“No, no, it’s a good thing! Also.” I stood up on my hind legs, mimicking her regal pose. I spun a small illusion, making a crown appear on my head, “As Prince of Boxburgh, I do decree you are invading my territory!”

Luna giggled. “No I’m not!” She scurried backwards to her bed.

Any thought that I’d bring this little pony back to the castle had been long banished. Why would I? Luna was fun, relaxed. New and interesting. I wondered if all ponies were like that.

I heard hoofbeats outside the door. Luna apparently did to, and urged me to hide, giggling. I dove behind the box, thinking I had stayed in the container far too long. I guess I’d find out my answer sooner than expected.

III : Luna

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 3
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.blogspot.com/

~Luna~

I think for a second there everyone went just a little bit crazy. And by everyone, I mean my sister. This was a moment of hypocrisy for Celestia. She was the one who told me not to judge weird looking ponies by their appearance, and now she was treating poor Discord like the bad guy here.

You know, I’m going to tell her that.

“What have you done with my sister?!” Celestia yelled, magically holding Discord aloft, over the loft’s railing.

“What do you mean, what have I done?” Discord piped up in his funny voice. I guess it’s not funny right now, though, being scared and stuff.

“Celestia, I’m right here.” I stride toward her, using the walk she taught me to show I was serious. “And you’re hurting my friend.”

“Luna, dearest.” Celestia looked down at me, wearing her most serious and dire face. She pulled Discord to us magically, not paying attention to him. He would have bonked his head on the railing if he didn’t see it coming and duck. Upwards. “Do you even know what this is?”

“He’s not a ‘this,’ he’s Discord.”

Discord waved. I think he was nervous, which makes sense. Being manhandled can’t be the most fun thing ever. Celestia gave him a sideways glance.

“Do you even know what Discord is, Luna?”

“A Pony?”

“No. He’s not a pony,” Celestia said.

“Really? Huh.”

“Actually, I’m a Draconequus,” Discord clarified, “But that’s like a pony. I think.” Celestia just looked at Discord silently. “I guess I don’t really know.” More silent treatment. She does that sometimes. It makes her look so cool and imposing, but really, she’s just thinking too hard. “Can you put me down now, please? Celestia, right?”

“I don’t trust you,” my sister replied, “I don’t know what you are or what you’re doing here. What if you tried to hurt us?”

“Oh, that’s easy!” I pipe in, “If he was going to hurt us, he could’ve done that ages ago! We were playing Princess when you came in. Well, Prince and Princess.” Now I was getting my sister’s cold stare. But I knew how to deal with it. “So, Discord fell out of my window and hid in my toybox—“

“Luna, dearest,” my sister sighed, “You need to learn how to be more distrustful of strange things like this.”

“And you need to be more trustful of them,” I retorted, “This entire time Discord has been hanging upside down and not trying to escape or hurt you or anything, even though being upside down must make all the blood go all funny in his head.” Discord looked confused for a second, then tried to appear dramatic, flailing his arm across his face in pretend woe. “When he dropped out of my window, he was scared and confused, and probably had the ability to hurt me a lot with those pointy claws. Or just escape through the window again. But instead he played Princess with me.” I nodded like I had won, but with my sister, there is no such thing. She sighed. ‘It’s been a long day,’ she would usually say.

“Playing Princess is not the ultimate answer of whether or not someone can be trusted, Luna.” I opened my mouth to try again, but whinier, but instead she set Discord down on his four feet. He didn’t run away, though the way he was looking around I think he wanted to. “Discord. I am sorry for treating you like I did. May you please tell me why you decided to sneak into our house and play games with my sister?”

“Well, I wasn’t going to play games at first. Like Luna said, I was so scared!” he bobbed his head dramatically again, yellow eyes jokingly huge, “Out there, it’s so scary! All the big shadows making ponies just vanish, I panicked, had to get inside somewhere, where I knew they couldn’t find me. I don’t want to go out there again!”

“Of course…” Celestia turned and began walking downstairs. “Discord, you may spend the night here, but when it becomes day, you need to get home, alright?” She stopped, “Oh, would you like to join us for dinner?”

“Sure!”

I nudged him with my nose, and he gave me back a blank stare “You’re supposed to say ‘thank you!’”

“Oh, right! Thank you, um, Dearest Celestia!” He stood on his hind legs and did a bow with a flourish of his hands. My sister nodded, though I don’t think she was paying attention. She walked downstairs, leaving me and Discord behind.

“This is going to be so cool!” I shout, “We’re going to have a slumber party! I haven’t had one of those in, I dunno, a long time.”

“Slumber party? A party where you sleep?” He adopted a thinking pose, eyeing the ceiling. “Well, never done that before. Sounds fun!”

I whinnied excitedly. I guess I wasn’t that excited. But after so many weeks of just playing with Celestia, mildest and most controlling of all the pony baronesses, something weird like this was great! Discord just looked at me with a sideways head, like a puppy. What was there to be a puppy about?

“No shouting in the house, Luna!” Celestia shouted from downstairs. “Now do you two want to eat or not?”

Discord seemed excited about dinner until he saw what we were eating. When we all got settled on the foyer floor, Celestia offered him hay. He said he ate earlier, though it was pretty clear that he didn’t. I didn’t blame him, hay was pretty boring, if filling. Celestia offered to sugar my hay with oats, like usual, but I offered them to Discord instead. He seemed pretty grateful.

“Luna, you need to chew more. You don’t want to get sick, do you?”

“Farry,” I said through a mouthful of hay being chewed super slowly.

“So Discord,” Celestia began, “I’ve never seen a Draconequus before. Are you from around here?”

Discord immediately shoved a handful of oats in his mouth, “Thath m… h’ng ‘n.” He took a few minutes to chew on those oats before gasping for breath and declaring “Underground!”

“Underground?”

“Yeah, underneath the city. Tons of tunnels and stuff, it’s pretty dreary. I thought, if I came to the surface, maybe things wouldn’t be so depressing. But its… well… I have a question. Do you ponies like all this stone everywhere?”

“No. It’s absolutely awful,” my sister replied instantly. She loved talking about how bad it was here.

“Good, because I think it’s just as dreary as the Underground.” Discord continued, “Dark. Rocks. The same deal. I mean, why live here, like this?”

“I don’t know, I can’t read the Shadow Stallion’s mind.”

“The Shadow Stallion?!” Discord drew back, crossing his arms across his body, dramatically aghast. I laughed through my mouthful of hay. “You mean that he’s here too? Oh, he’s been, been oppressing the Draconequus for so many years! Practically making us into underground slaves!”

“Of course he’s here. Didn’t you notice all of his banners around town?”

“Different colors, in the underground. Since it’s so dark all the time.”

“I suppose that makes sense.”

Discord held a sort of normal adult conversation with my sister. She spoke with him as if he was an equal, not downtalk like she usually does with me. With only a little more conversation, Discord and my sister instantly bonded over how much they hated it in Canterbury. I’ve heard ‘Canterbury is dark and dreary’ enough times from my sister to get sick of it, but Discord kept bringing up something different. He called the city boring, and I felt that was right. But he also talked about the Shadow Stallion. Celestia always avoids talking about him. It was kind’ve weird to hear Discord tell stories about him.

After dinner, the night went by really fast. Maybe too fast. Discord and I played pretend until Celestia came upstairs to put us to bed. I wasn’t sleepy, but as a good sister, I let myself be tucked in. It had been months since I was allowed to sleep in my own bed. Celestia’s been needing me near her at night. She wasn’t sleeping right when she was in her own room. Discord settled into my toybox, and things were quiet for a very small time.

“Luna,” Discord spoke up, “You’re pretty cool. And your sister too, once she stops flipping out.”

“Thanks!”

“Are all ponies this nice?”

“I dunno. My sister says there’s lots of mean ponies and I should be careful around ones I don’t know. But all the ponies I’ve met have been really nice. Except maybe Emerald Shine, she’s a jerkface.”

“What kind of stuff do you do?”

“Whatcha mean by that?”

“Y’know… stuff. What do you do all day, if you sleep at night?”

“Well, I go to school where I learn how to be ‘a proper baroness’ like my sister wants. Basically I learn how to walk nice and levitate stuff all dainty like. My sister works at a bakery, and sometimes, she brings home sweets and stuff. Like cupcakes and tarts and rollover and things like that.”

“I’ve never had any of those.”

“Well, they’re really, really tasty! Maybe she’ll get us a few someday.”

“So… I can come back?”

“Sure! I’d love to play with you again!”

Discord went quiet again, probably tired. But I had something I needed to ask him.

“Hey Discord, why were you lying at dinner?”

“What? I wasn’t lying.”

“Well you were doing all those actor-y poses. You were talking all funny, like you do during pretend. I thought you were telling a story.”

“Not… really?”

“Then why did you behave like that?”

He didn’t answer, and I was thinking of poking in his box. I prepared my night vision spell, but eventually, he spoke up again.

“Sometimes acting, and lying, makes things easier to explain.”

“Really? I always fumble around with lies, it makes things so confusing. I think being honest is much easier!”

“I guess so.”

Things got quiet again. I was drifting off to sleep. A few minutes later, I heard a little scraping sound, my window opening. I didn’t hear anything else the rest of the night.

IV : Discord

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 4
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.blogspot.com/

~Discord~

I could not get out of that pony home fast enough. Not only did denounce Father, a crime unto itself, but was completely called out on it by the teeny tiny Luna? Makes me wonder if Celestia noticed. Makes me wonder if I’m going to be written up or reported. Are they spies? Am I doomed? Ah, why did I give my real name? I could have faked one, given out Crusher’s name, I don’t like that guy. I was only joking in the face of the enemy! I really have no problem with Father, he’s… distantly okay.

But if they were pony spies, wouldn’t they have the authority to just kill me outright? I really didn’t know what to think at that point. I just knew that on the surface I had a pretty fun night. Besides the kerfuffle that kicked it off. Most of the time, both ponies treated me with respect. With kindness.

I started thinking on that walk home. Did I know what kindness was before this night? Deciding to not rip off limbs in a fight, I thought that was kindness. A teacher promising to only to smack you once when you fail a lesson, that was kindness. And yet, at the pony home, not one person tried to hit me. Bullied me, yes, but almost by accident. And apparently being held upside down is considered mean to them? That’s what little kids think is cruel before an adult teaches them otherwise.

Holy Flank, is my life really that terrible in comparison?

I mean, I knew that it was bad.

But yeesh. Worse than expected.

I decided to not risk any more mess-ups out here. Night wasn’t even half over, but if I was going to turn right around and try to catch ponies, then I clearly learned nothing today. And what I learned is that I don’t know jack all. Not a bad lesson.

I didn’t meet many Draconequus on my way back. No ponies either, of course. By this time of night, it was difficult to catch anything, since most ponies were asleep. Or smart enough not to go out. I’ve heard that some ponies think themselves as clever sneaking around after dark, but they’re far and few, maybe one or two every few days. With so little to do, most Draconequus weren’t patrolling. They merely spread themselves lazily across roofs and towers, flicking at loose pebbles or chatting with one another in low growls. The few that I passed on my way back to the castle ignored me completely.

Speaking of the castle.

Compared to the vastness of the city, with its huge walls and topless towers, the castle itself would have blended in if it wasn’t clearly separated by a moat. Same stone, same banners, but with an almost crowded feel to it. The shape was like a dozen of the normal towers had been jammed together. Some stopped without clear reason, but the majority of spires jutted up into the sky, beyond the clouds. There was no drawbridge to get across the moat, nor any obvious door on the exterior. Thus, the underground tunnels peppering the city, with over a dozen surrounding the castle itself. Some ponies know about the obvious ones, since the Stallion did need day workers. The grunts came and went through a passage in their barracks. But most entrances were secret, the doors only made operable by a spark of magic.

I snuck in through one of these, an ordinary hole on the side of an ordinary wall, and descended into my home.
Inside, there are torches occasionally, brackets stained black from pitch and soot. It was just enough to let a Draconequus see. A pony would find the castle to be almost pitch black. As for what I told Celestia… we didn’t exactly live underground, this was still part of the castle. The part of the castle with no light from outside. And water on every surface. It may be underground, actually, I can’t tell. I’ve been high enough up the corridors to be convinced I was above ground. But the main body of the castle itself didn’t have that special kind of weakness known as windows, so I couldn’t be sure.

The main body of this castle was built in circles, to conform to the shape of the towers. The corridors would tightly or slowly spiral both up and down. The stone passages would circle around huge open meeting areas, or past dozens of smaller enclosures, staggered of a plane. All rooms tended to have little in them, sometimes they had spartan furnishings for certain needs. But mostly, there was just straw. Everywhere. We slept on the stuff, of course, but straw was multi-function. It could also serve as a couch, a chair, or in trying times, a desk. Cleaning consisted of tossing down straw and letting it get swept aside as people passed by. Also, dogs. Scrawny, silent dogs. I don’t know how dogs helped clean, I think they caught the rats we didn’t get ourselves.

I thought of going back to my bunk, basically a cell I shared with four other young Draconequus, but what was the point of that? Sleep the night away? Anyway, I had missed breakfast sitting on Ruin’s head, and those oats were… new. But not filling, not in the least. I needed some lunch. So I followed the tight circles, the steeper slopes, down into the lower levels. Where the water begins to frost, stinging the soles of my feet as I stepped on damp straw. I was heading for the larder.

The larder wasn’t a very large place, built for the smaller creatures of Equestria. Also, lit for the smaller creatures, with torches and lamps hanging everywhere. But only the younger Draconequus were expected to go down there if they wanted to eat. Adults had their own bunks, their own personal bowls that were always kept stocked. Me, I had to go down here, beg for food, eat it right in the room, and then leave. And I was lucky, Brine didn’t hate me. If anybody got on that guy’s bad side, well, I heard in some cases he would starve the kids until he decided he wasn’t holding a grudge anymore.

Even though the larder was built for smaller beasts, it felt crowded and cramped. Barrels were everywhere. Barrels and sacks, some covered in a light layer of ice. Strings of plants hung from the ceiling, swinging among chunks of meat that hung from hooks. The floor was stained with something nasty, and was usually mopped up inefficiently with water. It made the ground even more slippery and cold than the corridor. Also, the larder smelled like mildewing paper. And if that doesn’t sound bad, it happily overpowered some of the more unsavory scents hanging around.

It wasn’t long until I found Brine, the butcher. I’d call him our cook, but I’ve never seen him cook a thing. There was an oven in here, but I’ve never seen it lit, or even dirty with soot. Brine was a gnarled griffin, thick bodied, but with skin that sagged and hung off his flesh, old scars making his feathers stick out at crazy angles. He only had one eye, but it was sharp, and could cut you deeper than his knife ever could.

This griffin looked down at me between the stacked barrels. With a heavy swing, he wedged his butcher’s blade deep into a cutting board.

“Hey… lunch?”

He yanked down a bowl with his beak and dropped it as his feet. I had to catch it before it rolled away, and hold it steady as he dropped a snapped half of a cucumber, a raw potato, and a chunk of lettuce towards the floor. A slab of red meat slapped into my bowl, hanging limply over the rim.

“Thanks Brine… thanks.” I slinked backwards, dragging the bowl behind me to eat quietly in a corner. I had to find a spot that was both out of the griffin’s way, yet within his line of sight, so he could see I wasn’t stealing anything. Luckily my place was open, a small alcove between bags of potatoes and a barrel of… something. Honestly, this barrel was one of many that never moved.

I squeezed into my spot. Either the potatoes had shifted slightly or I was getting too big for this, who knows which was better. I looked at my bowl before hesitantly picking up the chunk of lettuce. The vegetables were all fine… It was impossible to get all the dirt off the potato, but I managed. Meat was meat, and that was usually the best part of the meal, crappy as the cuts were. But I knew what the meat was, and maybe I should just… set is aside. For now. If I was going to try and make friends with, or just learn about the ponies, then maybe eating this would be in poor taste. I waited until Brine wasn’t looking before I quietly shoved the chunk behind the potato sacks.

I slid the bowl back across the ice to Brine, who shoved it right back with the others.

I’m not sure what I did all night. Wandered? Half hearted pranks? Sometimes I liked to remove and place the images of doors where they shouldn’t be, that’s good for a few seconds of laughter. But all I knew later was that I was hungry again, not even an hour later. Vegetables are not filling, like those oats. That dinner, when a chunk of red chuck was dropped in front of me I gobbled it up instantly. My commitment to this new line of thinking was clearly thwarted by my base instincts. I crept back to my bunk at dawn with a guilty conscious and a painful stomachache.

~ᴔ~

I didn’t sleep well that day. That was nothing new. Even without a stomach ache, Havoc and Carnage always practice fighting in our cell, and often enough try and turn it into fighting and/or beating up me and Crusher. Honestly, I didn’t see the point. Their technique is all about being bigger and stronger than the opponent, so what’s to practice? I can convince them that Crusher deserves to be fought more than me, but I know I’m smarter than them, so is it fun to practice tricking morons? No. It’s dumb. I get out of bed long, long before the sun has set.

It’s easy to be alone, if you put enough effort into it. Plenty of places in the castle are rarely used, or too small for the average Draconequus. Or even not part of the original design. If a juvie was willing to sneak past the massive basement elders, there was a natural stone wall with a crack in it, leading to an underground river. That’s where all the ‘cool’ kids were, all two of them, and it was best avoided. Instead, I found a small tunnel off the back of the dungeons that lead to something like a drainage grate. I watched day as it passed me by.

Daylight hurt my eyes a little, but it wasn’t as bad as some adults told me it was. It didn’t burn my skin off, blind me for life, or transform me into a pony mutant. It just impaired some of my best vision as my eyes became far too concerned with color.

And boy, contrary to what my night vision told me, the ponies sure were colorful.

Both Luna and Celestia were ‘normal’ as far as I was concerned. Within the range of expected colors from night vision. White, and dark, dark blue. But just watching the street, ponies seemed to be all colors. Pink, purple, tan, black, some with multicolor streaks in their manes. A tattoo was on nearly every flank, making Luna and Celestia seem like the odd ones out. I caught a few names as they passed me by. Dizzy Days, with a spiral tattoo. Garnet, with diamonds on her flank. The Big Guy, with a silver scale. All kinds of shapes and sizes. Some had horns, some didn’t. Some wore clothes, most didn’t. Some had hooves that blended in color with the rest of their legs, and some had a very clear dividing line between hair and hoof.

I wondered, how much could I learn by just watching these ponies wander by? I’ve already learned that they most definitely do not eat meat, or if they do, then they don’t mention it. I learned that a lot of the unicorn ponies are richer than the earth ponies. Speaking of, I learned that an earth pony is a pony without a horn.

Slowly, my subjects drifted away, each cantering at their own pace. Fewer and fewer passed by, until there was nopony left. I came to the conclusion that it was probably night. I squeezed between the bars of the grate, and crept into the dark, abandoned streets.

V : Celestia

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 5
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.blogspot.com/

~Celestia~

It was only a few days later. I left the bakery just after noon, taking my time with the walk home, eying the sewer grates and wondering if one of them was an opening to this ‘secret underground’ Discord mentioned. I mean, it sounded like a hokey story from Apple-a-Day, and Discord clearly resembled the snakes that walked the night. Smaller, certainly, but clear. I wasn’t sure what conclusion to draw from that.

Anyway, I’m getting distracted.

That day on my leisurely walk home, a gray pony waited for my outside my home. A pony wearing the star of the Shadow Stallion. I thought it was something serious, maybe something to do with my parents. Well, I suppose it was, but not in the way I expected.

I was given an obligations mandate. Taxes, I mean to say. For my father. It wasn’t totally unexpected, but as I opened the letter I noticed a clear mistake. It asked for far, far too many bits! It must have been figuring in the land taxes, certainly beyond my means! But it was under control. I knew exactly what had to be done.

I tucked the letter into the saddlebags, deciding to resolve it tomorrow.

~¤~

That night I was finally able to encourage Discord and Luna to play downstairs. Letting them vanish upstairs out of my sight… it worried me. I wondered to myself, wasn’t Discord too old for this kind of thing?

Of course the important question was still ‘what is he,’ but one thing at a time.

So now the foyer had become the playpen. And, since I was there, they both insisted on my audience. I saw no reason not to. Luna played the role of a warrior princess, and Discord controlled her army of teddy bears and ragdoll ponies. He’d pose them one at a time, but each one he left held its posture, no matter how bizarre.

“How do you do that?” I asked halfway through their show.

“Very simple illusion magic,” Discord replied. “It’s really easy. Just change the surface properties of the doll… Altering stuff that’s already there is way easier than trying to create it. I mean, compared to Luna’s crown decorations, I barely have to focus to do this.”

With a tap of his claw, the stuffed pony began to rise slowly into the air. Another tap, and it fell hard to the ground. It bounced sideways, flopping over my head and ricocheting off the far wall. I caught the thing with my magic before it smacked into me. He laughed nervously and took the doll back, posing it.

“See? Easy stuff.”

~¤~

I wanted to get this tax business out of the way as soon as possible. No dillydallying around. No turning into a weight on my mind. I had enough on my plate already. After work, I head straight to Uncle Sollus’ mansion, on the opposite side of town. It would be quite a trip to get back home before dark, but I felt I could manage.

His home was large, probably had the same amount of square footage as our mansion. However, the house was built into one of the walls, and because of that, had more space vertically than horizontally.

I walked confidently up to the entrance and tapped the door knocker loudly, yet not too loudly as that would indicate an air of urgency I did not have. There are very concise rules to these things, and if I had a point of pride, it was my maintenance of appearance. A minute or so later, a bright blue butler charmed the door open.

“Who is it?” he asked, peering out of the bottom of his glasses.

“Baroness Celestia, to see my uncle, Baron Sollus,” I replied.

“Hn… do come in…”

I was lead to their drawing room and told to wait. I was offered tea, and gladly accepted the fine porcelain cup. I hated the drink, but it had been ages since I had been offered something so fancy. A while since I had been in a room so fancy as well. Luna and I had a threadbare couch in our drawing room, an old desk with a loose leg. This room had a fine Persian rug, two cushy couches, a fine rosewood table with a lacey tablecloth… Oh, I almost felt rich again just sitting in that room. I took another grateful swig of tea, hating every minute of its disgusting bitterness.

The butler returned after I had finished my cup. “I’m sorry, but it seems as though the Master has gone out, but he should be back within the hour. Would you like to wait or…?” He left his sentence hanging, in a drawl.

“Oh, it’s no trouble.” I set down the teacup on its saucer, making sure the handle faced to the right. “I’ll just come back tomorrow.” I was shown out the door and gratefully trotted out. The brevity of the wealthy taste merely made the moment sweeter.

~¤~

Another night. I stayed up and watched as Discord, once again, refused to sleep, leaving the drawing room. Why did he feel the need to sneak out? This time, when he exited, I followed. He paused halfway up the stairs, frozen and staring at me.

“Discord,” I whispered, “May I ask you a few questions?”

“Um, certainly.” He skittered down the steps again, in his strange, awkward walk. “What do you want to know?"

“Discord. Please, I hope I don’t offend, but why do you keep coming back every night, and why play with Luna? I mean, you seem closer in age to me than her. I hope you don’t mind… I’m the closest thing to a parent she has, and sometimes—”

“So, you’re her father!”

I stared at him for a moment. Thankfully my jaw wasn’t slack. He mumbled an apology, blushing.

“No, I’m just her sister,” I continued, “But if you want to compare me to a parent, I’d be her mother… I guess.” Mother… the word felt strange to say. Unnatural. I’ve been thinking of myself as her mother for so long, but just saying it tout loud… it didn’t feel right.

“Celestia,” he said “As her sister or mother, why don’t you play with Luna?”

“What?”

“You spend way more time with her than I can, yet I never see you two playing any kind of game. Luna’s always alone with her dolls when I visit.”

“Why it’s…” I tried to gather my thoughts. “Well, its childish. I am trying to be a responsible mare to look up to.”

“Why?”

Discord always had the strangest questions! “Well, every pony has mature, take responsibility eventually. Act as other ponies expect them to, with grace and dignity.”

“What other ponies?”

“Discord, I am trying to ask you a question, and you’re just diverting my attention.”

“If you really want to know, I play pretend because it’s fun and everybody at home only wants to beat me up. It’s a nice change of pace here. So now, Celestia.” He dipped his head forward and made sure I was looking him in the eye, “What ponies here, in this house, are you trying to impress?”

~¤~

Once again, I had gotten a day off early from work. I trotted to the opposite side of town, went to my Uncle’s house, and rapped the little knocker. I wondered if I would be able to have tea again as I was greeted by the butler.

“Is Baron Sollus here today?” I asked.

“I’m sorry, young lady. He’s usually out of the home around this time.”

“Well, I guess I can just leave a message this time…” I floated the unsealed mandate to the butler, already missing the horrible tea. “Can you see that Baron Sollus gets this? Since he is the manager of my family’s holdings, this is something he should be taking care of. It was just addressed to me by mistake…”

“Of course. I will get it to him, mistress,” the butler replied plainly.

“Thank you.” With a small curtsy, I took my leave. This should settle the matter for another year.

~¤~

“AhahahahaHAHAHA!” Luna shouted from on top of her box, sheet wrapped around her like a cloak, “I am the Fright Wight! Fear my flow-y white cloak and tremble!”

Discord crouched low among a dozen weeping dolls, squeaking random pleads in a high pitched voice. He shoved a patched pony to the front with his snout, where it fell limp. His paw shot forward and he carefully posed its arms above his face.

“I’m so afraid, please, I’m just a simple rock farmer,” he squeaked, “If I give you a rock will you leave me alone?”

“NO!” Luna screamed.

“Shouting, Luna!” I snapped, startled.

“Celestia, I’m the Fright Wight. Not no-shouting McGee.”

“Wait, when were you ever—?”

I interrupted Discord, “Promise to use your indoor voice while enacting this façade, Luna.”

“Oh no. She’s pulling out the big words. We’re doomed.”

“Oh, hush, Discord. Now Luna…”

Luna pouted, flicking her mane back under her hood.

“The Fright Wight will use her indoor voice,” she mumbled.

“Good. Now.” I hovered my makeshift paper bag sword in front of me, posing from under my quilt coat. “Fright Wight, you can no longer oppress these poor ponies! Surrender or I shall have to bap you on the head.”

“Neveeerrrr!” Luna giggled.

I gently patted Luna’s head with the makeshift sword.

“Bap!” I declared.

“Nope! Not good enough.”

“Whap! Kabap!”

“Silly pony, I am far stronger than your silly sword!”

“Nooo we’re doomed!” Discord squeaked among the dolls.

“Oh. Well then, I suppose I’ll have to bring out my secret weapon.”

“Gasp!” Discord gasped.

“The Elements of Harmony!” With great care, years of practice, I poked Luna in the side. “Zap!”

She giggled again. It was working! “What, the Elements of, wait, hehe! No!”

“Zap zap zap!” Luna collapsed laughing as I tickled her into submission. I laughed along with her, caught up in the heat of the moment.

“Um,” Discord piped up, “Hooray, the evil mare has been defeated?”

~¤~

“The Elements of Harmony was my favorite story book when I was little,” I explained. We all were bedded in the drawing room, both Luna and Discord tucked under their blankets and held in rapt attention. “I lost it several years ago… I probably dropped it on the street on my way home from school, but I don’t really know.”

“So, what’s the story?” Discord asked. Luna, even though I had told her this story several times, didn’t object. I worked up my best mysterious voice with several careful ‘ahems.’

“No one knows where the Elements came from,” I began, “They represented the will of Equestria… or did in the story. As long as the six bearers of the Elements worked in Harmony, Equestria would know peace eternal. The story talked about the six friends, all unicorns with wings, who ruled with love over every creature in their domain. Though,” I laughed, “About halfway through it stops telling the main story and focuses more on little parables about friendship.”

“Can you tell us one, pretty please?” Luna asked, excited.

“I mostly looked at the pictures at that point, but I guess I could try…”

“The Shadow Stallion is a unicorn with wings. An alicorn.”

Discord looked at his hands, thinking. Ignoring both Luna and I, and the fact that the mood of the room just dropped twenty degrees. He was in silence for far too long, especially after a statement like that.

“I. I didn’t know. I’ve never seen him” I spoke up, “Does he… often visit the Draconequus… underground?”

“Not really, but when discipline comes up, when you’ve been really bad… I saw him once, punishing a guy. He was a really tall pony, with a horn and wings. Ruin called him an alicorn.” He glanced up at us, “I was just… maybe the Element guys came from the same place?”

“It’s just a story. Alicorns aren’t… I didn’t think alicorns were actually real. Or the Elements.” I looked at the thick curtains, finding no other comfortable place to look. “Let me just, just tell a few of the parables, alright?”

~¤~

Weeks later, I found myself at my Uncle’s door once more, actively trying to control my posture and poise. Another knock, this time politely urgent, and the butler arrived once more.

“Mistress…?”

“I’ve just received a notice that my taxes have gone unpaid.” I show him the invoice I had received. The guard who delivered it was wearing armor this time. Armor, as if they expected me to attack. “Baron Sollus should have paid this by now. May I speak with him?”

“I’m sorry, but the master is out right now…”

“I’ll wait. I really need to speak with him.”

“I’m sorry, but he will not be back for the next several days, which may be why he hasn’t addressed this issue… Calm your nerve, mistress. He will take care of this, I assure you.”

“Alright… but, make sure you tell him this is urgent?”

“Certainly.” The door shut on my face before I could say anything else. I walked home, head looking directly at the cobblestone the whole way. I barely made it home before nightfall.

~¤~

“What do you think is beyond the last wall, Discord?”

I spoke with Discord while Luna slept. We’d been talking more and more as time went on, and I grew to trust him. There were still certain things he was lying to me about. It clearly wasn’t dangerous for him to sneak around at night, for one. But I began thinking more that he had his reasons, and not that he meant to hurt us.

“I dunno, but they gotta grow the food somewhere, right? What I’m wondering is, ponies run shops where they sell produce. Do they get the produce from the castle?”

“I’m not sure, but Hot Cross buys his ingredients wholesale from a government provider… Then they turn right around and tax him. Really, what are they pouring those bits into?”

“No idea. Not into Draconequus upkeep, that’s for sure.”

“Anyway… we know there’s at least some farms beyond the walls. You think the clouds go beyond it too?”

“Definitely. Pegasus cloud generation isn’t exact enough to cover a single city.”

“Wait. Pegasus?”

“Um… yeah. Winged ponies.”

“No, I know what a Pegasus is. I just thought they were a legend. Controlling the weather, I thought it was a fairy tale.”

“Well I’ve seen them. Or… yeah, seen them.”

He always hesitates, in the strangest places. I let it go.

“Pegasus,” I said. “I wonder if they grow the food.”

“No idea.”

“I’d still like to see what’s out there, you know?”

“I guess I would too.”

“Do you think we could just… leave?”

“I don’t know. They don’t make it easy, if we could. Why this all of a sudden anyway?”

“Just… thinking of options.”

“But you seem, or seemed, so comfortable here...”

I looked the strange creature up and down, what I could see of him sitting under the blanket. So intelligent, inquisitive. And yet he still plays kiddy games with such heart. I doubted I would ever understand Discord, but I felt… he could understand enough, I suppose.

“Can I tell you something?

“Of course.”

“It’ll be a pretty long story.”

“I’m okay with that.”

I nodded, breathed a bit to steady myself.

“Did you know, Discord? We used to have two parents. We also used to have a cook. A butler. Two maids, one who was here full time as a nanny, and another who was here every other day to tidy. Not to mention Father’s men, an accountant, a lawyer, guards and managers. Mother had a fashion adviser who came here every week, every Saturday, to style her mane and help her pick out dresses.

Then my parents were gone. Nobody really knew what happened to them, where they went. I like to think they were guilty of treason, had to be taken away because they were too smart. It’s almost silly to think that maybe they just stayed out too late. They couldn’t have forgotten about something that small.

I don’t think it was three days past the time they vanished. My aunt and uncle came right up to the door and said that they’d take care of the property we owned. I didn’t have a head for business, but Father’s accountant, Spit Shine, worked it all out for me. All he asked me for was my hoofprint. I was glad at the time to have everything settled. But I was an ignorant foal, thinking I would always be safe.

The butler left first. Then the cook, the part time maid. Our nanny was very sorry to leave, bobbing and nodding her head in apologies, never once looking back. More family members came to take dad’s things from his library, then mom’s dresses, then whatever they wanted. Spit Shine was always there, telling me that this was part of the deal. We had to find some way of making money since my Father wasn’t making business decisions.

Of course, I never saw a single bit. And once the house was stripped bare, nobody was around to even bring us food.

So I got a job. A respectable job in the shopping district my father used to own. I clung to my pride as I was forced to be a baker’s assistant. I took care of Luna, made sure she was safe, she was happy. Everything was fine for her; she couldn’t remember what life was like before. But I remembered. And I played it brave. I took charge. I was in control of my life, and I was keeping Luna and myself off the streets. Out of the shadows that took my parents.

But now…” I pawed my pillow, “After all that I’ve tried to do, Luna and I might be kicked out anyway. This is our house. We own it. But if my aunt and uncle don’t speak up, claim these taxes… Darn it.

I guess, with all this, I feel like I’ve really got to look at my options… you know?”

He looked at me for a minute, head in his arms. Perhaps he thought I had more to say, or was working out what he wanted to say himself. Finally, he spoke up.

“You know what Celestia, we both really hate it here. I’m sorry if I just realized that but… you, and Luna, you both seemed so happy. I think you do make this home a warm and fun place for her. But this city, this fortress, it’s not good. It’s not a nice place, for anyone. I guess, I’m kind’ve surprised I didn’t hear about your problems sooner…”

“I just didn’t trust you enough—“

“No, that’s not what I mean. If anything, the first place I should have heard this from would be Luna. She tends to be pretty straightforward with this kind of stuff.” He silently looked at me from his pillow, “Luna doesn’t know, does she?”

I straightened myself. “I’m the adult, the mare here. I can’t push this burden on Luna.”

With a great FWUMP of blankets, Luna shot up to her feet, holding herself tall and staring straight at me.

“Well I heard it anyway, big sis!” she declared loudly.

“Luna?!” I stammered, “What are you doing awake?!”

“Listening in.” Well that was certainly blunt!

“Well, yes, I get that… but Luna…”

“But Celestia! Do you think I don’t get it when you’re sad and lonely?”

I stared back at her solidly set face. I had no response.

“I’m not that dumb, Celestia, I knew that stuff wasn’t okay. But I don’t want you to be so sad about it, because I’m not!”

“That… that worries me, actually.”

“Don’t be a worry face, sis!” I felt a shift in the blankets, and suddenly Luna was pressing up against my side, hugging me with her neck, “We’re both here for you, and for each other too!”

“Me three?” Discord chuckled, and settled on the other side of me. Not touching, but close. I could see a hint of a smile on his face, through the darkness. “I haven’t known you guys for as long as you’ve known each other, but to me, you’re both better than family. You’re my friends, and I want to help any way I can. Let’s figure out a way out of the city. Or save the house, or something, all right?”

“Yeah!” Luna cheered into my ear.

I lifted my front legs and hugged them both close to me. Luna was comfortable, small and warm, the sister I had held for years. She nuzzled my face happily. Discord was strange to hug, almost recoiled from my touch. I felt his cold scales shift under my leg, feathered wing jabbing painfully into my ribs. But I held him close, forced myself to. I couldn’t afford to be afraid of him anymore. I wouldn’t let myself be scared of a good friend of mine.

“Yes… Let’s try.”

VI : Discord

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 6
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.blogspot.com/

~Discord~

I woke slowly, rolling around on my straw. Left side, right side, small turn, left side. Face down, face up… Why is it so hard to kick myself awake? This isn’t some weird hour. Well… okay, it is a weird hour, but I’ve been getting up this early for weeks now. Right side. Okay, this wasn’t working. Time for desperate measures. I slapped my back into the stone wall.

“Cold! Coldcoldcold, yeesh, that’s cold!” I muttered, shivering and rolling away. “Ah, wake up. Wake up. Okay.”

I rolled on my feet and tried to shake off the full-body chills. And the straw. Was it actually past noon? The two bullies and the whiner were asleep in their straw, or in Crusher’s case, a bare corner. So, still day. I stifled a yawn and left my bunk for the hall, ascending.

I had an idea now, how we were all going to escape.

It was only a few nights ago that Celestia told me everything. How much she and Luna had lost, how much more they stood to lose. How much they needed eachother, and me. Such a hard time of things, and Celestia, Luna, they both needed me to help. I was an important part of their group, and I would try and hard as I could to protect them.

Made me wish I had something to offer. They had far more things than me to sell, and I didn’t even know a way out of the city. I wasted time in the tunnels for a few days, but never found anything special. Of course, I didn’t try to pass the basement elders either, but I wasn’t that suicidal yet.

There was only one place that I could possibly find a decent answer. I had to find Ruin. I wasted last night wandering the streets, willfully ignoring ponies and checking rooftops for the one-winged silhouette. I found him almost by accident, while trying to avoid a fight started by two of my brothers. He sat alone, frozen still, looking the few blocks down at the roaring pair of Draconequus. I scurried over to him, gripping my claws tightly in the mortar cracks as I climbed. He didn’t even offer me a glance as I scrambled to his side.

“Discord,” he growled.

“Hey Ruin. Been a while.” I waited for a reply. He didn’t give me one, continuing to stare in the distance. “I have some questions.”

“You wish to continue our lessons?”

“Ah, no, I think I’ve got a handle on all of this magical stuff.”

“There are other topics I can teach you. For example, why are you still not using your wings, Discord?”

“I’ll um…” I shifted my shoulders, feeling my back appendages flare uselessly, “I’ll use them when I’m ready.” I eyed the stump that was once a wing on Ruin. What could he teach me about flying anyway? “I just have a few questions about, well, the city and stuff.”

Ruin sat quietly for a moment. Conversation moves at his pace, of course.

“I will try and answer,” he finally replied.

“Good! Well. There’s… more to Equestria than just this city, right?” I waved over ‘this city.’ One of the combatants yelped in the distance, “Why don’t we patrol outside the walls?”

“There are Griffins to watch other settlements. We are special. We serve our Father here exclusively. His power, his strength, realized through us.” He snorted, “Although I’m sure you understand that there are some of us who are simply unable to handle any other tasks.”

Roaring erupted down the street. Another one of my brothers had been dragged into the street brawl. Majestic and noble creatures, the Draconequus. So intelligent and thoughtful.

“Imbeciles,” as Ruin put it. I laughed, but he didn’t laugh with me. Of course.

“So, there are other settlements out there,” I continued, “Is that where they grow the food?”

“Yes.” Well that was a simple answer.

“How do they get it here anyway?”

“It is flown in by the Griffins and Pegasi. They bring carts to our towers every day.”

“Oh.” Well, I should’ve guessed that. If you have magic flying subjects, why use anything else? But there had to be other ways out of the city, right? It was just… silly to have the sky be the only point of exit and entry. “So, nothing’s brought in on foot? Like through the tunnel systems?”

Ruin’s eye flicked his head around to stare at me, the only movement he made to acknowledge me since I arrived. I couldn’t help but stare back, tensing under his eyes.

“No,” he growled. “Discord.”

“Y-yeah?”

“How often must I tell you? It is not your place to dream. It is not your place to fantasize, or to think of yourself. You exist for Father. You live to execute Father’s will. That is all you are.”

I laughed nervously, trying to look away. “Hey, who said I was dreaming anything? I was just wondering about Father’s kingdom, you know?”

“Do you have more questions, Discord?”

“Oh, I um… uh,” I fumbled, “Well why does the—“

“Do not waste my time, and do not waste your time trying to leave Canterbury. It will be astonishingly easy to find you, and then it will be made sure that you never leave again. Discord,” I flipped back to look at him. That was a weird tone in his voice. Almost like he didn’t have something stuck in his throat. “We have very little in the way of brain power here. The Draconequus need every speck of intelligence we can muster.”

“Oh, Ruin, you do care about me,” I joked, hugging his scaly leg.

“Do not touch me.”

I quickly withdrew.

Yeah, likeable guy, that Ruin.

Back to reality, to today. It wasn’t even twelve hours since Ruin told me to stay put, and here I was, trying to see what was up with those carts. I guess I’m not as intelligent as Ruin wanted me to be, but it’s okay, I can take that. I stretched out my wings, each leg as I walked, as I ascended higher in the castle. I didn’t know where I was going, but as long as I was going up, I was going in the right direction. I’d hit the top eventually.

I was half certain I wasn’t allowed to go up there, but the other half of me said the ‘oh, I’m just so young and naïve!’ trick might still work. I’ve hit an unlucky streak with my lying, but if there’s anything easy to act, it’s stupid!

The castle was dark as ever, but steadily, the torches on the walls became gas lamps. The stone became smoother, fit tightly together in carefully carved and polished rectangles. I saw fewer and fewer Draconequus, and instead encountered more griffins, more earth ponies, both wearing a sort of burnished black plate armor. I even passed two armored ponies with wings. It was the first time I had seen Pegasi alive, and I think they noticed me staring. Otherwise, most everyone thankfully ignored me.

It was somewhat random what path I would take, and which one I wouldn’t. The top was the top, right? Apparently not. Abruptly, the circles stopped, became level, and led somewhere very strange.

I was standing at the foot of a staircase, an actual staircase. The steps were carved out of a pale rock, marble I think, and carefully polished to a slippery looking sheen. Brightly burning lamps lit every other step as they ascended sharply upward, making the enclosed space glow almost like day. At the top there was an archway built of the same stone, carved in a swirling pattern, mimicking clouds.

I stepped up as if the staircase was going to explode under me. Was this what the highest towers looked like? Is this the true boundary I was not supposed to cross? Griffin guards passed by me, but none took the stairs, or came down them. None tried to stop me from going up either. Still, I waited until I was alone to scurry hesitantly upwards.

Why did my talons and claws have to click so loudly on that stone? I never really thought of it, but the main castle was a noisy place, even when it slept. There was water dripping, dogs scurrying after rats, the occasional heated argument and shouts. Even the griffin floors, quiet as they were, were still active, with the noise of passing life.

Up here, it was quiet as death. Nothing lived here but myself. Portraits of ponies twice my size stared at me. Floral vases and suits of posed pony armor stood in accusation, offended that I had invaded their sacred space. The world held its breath, judging me. I couldn’t find another staircase up. It was difficult to even find a door. It was stupid to think that I could find any exit at all from this place. Crates and barrels wouldn’t be carted through here. That would be a desecration beyond words.

Yet I continued to walk through this unwelcoming area. A look around couldn’t hurt me, right? There was no guard up here to catch me, so what was the harm?

I was instantly proven wrong, but lucky. In such a silence, the gentle pattern of hoofbeats was clearly heard long, long before any pony appeared. I carefully and quietly ducked behind a suit of armor. I wished I could weave shadows around me to hide better, but it would stand out far too much in this light. Feeling exposed, I made myself small as possible, waiting for the guard, or whoever, to pass.

At the end of the hall, there was another ornate archway, much like the first I encountered. I stared at it, feeling that was where the sound was coming from, praying whoever it was didn’t come down here.

The steps grew louder. I blinked, squinted, then carefully looked up at the lamps on the wall. Were they guttering out? It seemed to be getting darker. With how many lamps were around, it must be difficult to manage them all. My eyes were only gone for a second, but whoever that was passed by my hall. The pony continued to the left, his shadow told me. The steps faded, I heard a door open and close, and then silence once more.

I eased out of my hiding spot, and with extra care, went down the hall and turned right.

I had to find a way out of here, a way up. If I could just get to the roof, this silent and unoccupied of a place would be perfect. If they only had one guard wandering around, I’d be able to watch the carts come and go for ages without fear of being discovered.

After only a brief walk the corridor ended. I think I found where I was going.

The hallways ended in double doors but not any ordinary wooden doors. They were huge, rising far above my head, and so unlike the rest of the pale stone around it. The doors were made out of iron, and decorated with raised surfaces of gold, or bronze so shined and polished until it almost glowed. Gemstones studded its surface, and the two circular handles, splitting the door exactly down the center, seemed to be carved out of solid stone, like pink quartz, or granite.

I don’t know why, but I thought this could actually be an exit. Why not? If the sky was the true pathway out of Canterbury, then why not dress it up a little?

And if it wasn’t an exit, then really, if one finds a door this fancy, there’s no resisting the urge to see what’s beyond it.

I eagerly tugged at the bottom of the handle, up so high that I could only barely wrap my claw around it. I tugged, and the heavy door softly moved forward, inch my inch, quiet as a dream. I opened it wide enough to just barely squeeze through, and ran right in, excited to see what was beyond it.

I don’t know how the room was lit, but I could see. Black cloth, spun out of what I assumed to be pure shadow, spilled from the ceiling, folding and rolling to the floor in heavy lumps. The floor seemed to be the same cloth, but faded steadily into a light gray. It was massive room, suitably reflecting the massive door, yet it only hosted a single dais. A pedestal that seemed itself to grow out of the black cloth.

I stepped forward, and chalky dust sprung up from beneath my paw, apparently responsible for the floor’s steady fade in color. When I walked, the floor folded and gave under my feet, sending little puffs everywhere. The dust clouded my vision, clogged my nose. I gripped my mouth shut to try and stop myself from sneezing as I approached the single dais. While small in comparison to the room, the top was just high enough for me to barely be able to catch a glimpse at the top, and what was held there.

Sitting half buried in a thick pile of glittering dust was a single light gray stone, crudely carved into the shape of a butterfly.

My taloned hand moved itself forward and immediately picked it up.

I panicked. Why in Equestria did I do that?! Why did I take this clearly valuable object from a vault of Father’s? Why am I still holding it? It had a weird vibration to it, like a beat, a periodic warm breath that washed down my arm.

It was creepy, that’s what it was. A creepy, valuable, probably evil rock in the shape of a butterfly.

I waited for a few minutes for the guards to come running like I knew that they would. When they didn’t, I blew the dust off the rock and tucked it under my feathered wing for safekeeping. If they were going to make it this easy to steal a valuable heirloom thing, then it deserved to be taken. It was fate.

I remember a moment from childhood… younger childhood. I was chasing mice, it was a fun little game. Finally, I trapped one in a corner, and caught beneath my paw. For the first time, there was something alive, squirming, and very warm touching me. It never bit me, but I immediately jumped back, surprised. It was a shock, to suddenly have something so strange touching you.

That’s what it felt like holding this rock. Like I was holding a live creature. Moving, breathing, but never hurting. Just there.

I left the room thinking that this was incredibly easy. No alarm? No guards? Not even a lock for cripes sake? Did I just steal from the Shadow Stallion? From my own Father? And actually get away with it? I guess this makes my betrayal official. Weird word. Betrayal. I didn’t feel any different. I made my way down the tower, silent as I was in ascension. The only thing was that now, I was carrying a strange rock.

Finally, I reached the first and only staircase. Relieved to finally be rid of this place, I scurried down the steps.

And immediately ran into an angry band of griffin guards.

VII : Celestia

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 7
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.blogspot.com/

~Celestia~

That day, I thought my biggest issue would be my shame about begging from the shopkeepers. It was just silly before, picking up a little extra treat or two. But now… it was depressing. I left the shop early, after a very brief round, not even stopping to listen to Apple-a-Day. I would have gotten home before Luna that day, if we both mutually understood I couldn’t afford school for her anymore. To be perfectly honest, she seemed glad about that news. I didn’t know if that should have made me happy or very, very disappointed.

But as I walked, I noticed something was different on the streets. Guards. Guard ponies in black armor, wandering in pairs. There were always a few around, just enough to be barely noticed. But today, they were everywhere. Not arresting anyone or looking to be in a hurry, just watching, looking at each face as a pony passed, taking and asking brief questions of passersby’s.

It was hard to stop myself from galloping home. The guards made me uneasy. I thought one would realize I hadn’t paid my taxes and grab me. A silly worry, no one knew who I was, right? Goodness… I forced myself to canter calmly. Now was not the time to stand out in the crowd.

Arriving at home proved me wrong. There was something very close at hand to be worried about, and it had nothing to do with taxes.

It was day, barely mid afternoon. Yet, when I got home, I found Discord. He was collapsed on the foyer floor, trying to catch his breath, clutching an unevenly shaped stone. Luna hovered by his side, but bounded over to me cheerfully as I entered.

“Welcome home, sis!” Luna yelled with a smile.

“Um, hello, Luna.” I walked past my sister and hovered over my friend, staring at him, stunned. “Discord?”

“Yeah. Hi.” He raised his paw in a brief greeting, still breathing heavily. I was getting a sinking feeling. A very, very bad drop on my insides.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, throat tight.

“This. This is why.” He raised himself into a sitting position and pushed what he was holding towards me. It seemed to be an ordinary stone carving, and a crude one at that.

“What is this?”

He shrugged. “Touch it.”

I tapped it with my hoof. It was warm, from Discord’s paw, I assumed. I felt it shift under me. I yanked my hoof away.

“But, but what is it?”

“A weird cool rock that Discord found, that’s what!” Luna piped up, jumping towards us. I ignored her.

“Discord. What. Is it.”

He laughed nervously. “I don’t know, something crazy.”

“Where did you get it?”

“Ehhhheheh….”

He avoided my gaze, trying to laugh off the situation. I didn’t let him. This was serious. There were guards everywhere and a magical thing in my house. If this was nothing, I’d let it be nothing. But if this was the cause of the hubbub outside… I put my hoof down, snapping his attention back to me.

“Discord. Please. Please tell me where you got it.”

“A vault.” Not good enough. I kept my silence. “In the castle.” Still not good enough. “In the, uh, Shadow Stallion’s personal quarters?”

“The… the what?!” I squealed, “Why did you think this was a good idea?!”

“Hey, I didn’t learn it was his place until all the guards started screaming it.” Was that supposed to be a defense for his actions? How could he be so relaxed about this?!

“Then why didn’t you give it back?!” I retorted.

“I dunno. I dunno, I guess I still thought it we could sell it.”

“Sell this?” I forcefully waved my hoof at the rock. “Something so precious? Who did you think would buy it?!”

“Hey, you ever try and think when you’re in a blind panic?” Now he was shouting back, standing and trying to get my eye contact. “Try it some time! It’s not exactly easy!”

“Why did you do this at all?! What did you think would happen, that you just waltz off scot free?! Whoops, seemed we misplaced our weird magical rock, I guess it wasn’t that important!”

“Hey, if they didn’t want me to take it, they should’ve locked the door!”

I tried to wheeze out a response, but all I could offer in reply was my head turning at a further and further angle, as if sideways logic could be seen better at a ninety degrees. “No! No, you’re not getting away with that. That has no basis, no place in reality. That, that is moon logic!”

“Well gee, Celestia, thank you for thinking I can make intelligent and rational decisions all the time! I will try and be logical and never make any mistake for as long as I live, because I’m just that perfect.”

“This isn’t just a mistake, this, this goes beyond that! This is the dumbest, most stupid—!”

“STOP FIGHTING!” Luna stomped her hooves between us, shouting. “And don’t tell me not to yell, cuz I needed to, to be heard over you two.” Luna looked right up at me, neck straining upward in an attempt to look regal, “What Discord did is done now, and you told me that complaining about past stuff is silly, Celestia. What we gotta do now is figure out how to help our friend, and not make him feel really bad for something he already feels really bad about.” She snapped her eyes over to Discord, “And you DO feel really bad about it because you just told me so. So stop pretending to Celestia that she’s the big bad meanie here.” She backed away and glared at the two of us, “Now hug!”

The room fell quiet. I stared down at my little sister, knowing she was right, how she could just do this. This entire situation was a bad one, terrible, and I saw no way out of it. I closed my eyes. No sane way out of this.

“I SAID HUG! Hug or I’ll scream!”

Discord nervously pulled me into a hug with his forelegs. I patted him on the back with my hoof, looking elsewhere. At least his wing wasn’t jamming into me this time.

“Close enough!” Luna declared, proudly nodding. We broke apart, and the room was quiet again. Awkward quiet.

“Alright…” I began, “I have an idea.” I steadied myself, gathering my thoughts. “There’s no other option now. We leave the city. We’ve got to find a way out, and go.”

“I was told,” Discord quietly said, “That the only way out is by Pegasus cart. We’d have to find a way up to the top of the walls, then sneak aboard one.”

“Fine. Then we’ll try to do that. Luna… pack your things, okay?”

She nodded with a squared jaw, and began tearing through the messy foyer trying to find her saddlebags.

“Celestia,” Discord said, “I’m sorry… I was trying to help.”

“It’s, it’s alright,” I replied, forcing a hesitant smile. “We’ve all wanted to get out of here anyway. This was just an extra push, that’s all.”

He nodded, “What can I do to help?”

“Just, just help Luna for now. Make sure she doesn’t pack all of her dolls.”

“I can’t pack all of my dolls?!” Luna squeaked, but I was already walking upstairs.

Just a few steps down the hall, and I was at the door of my room. I paused for a moment, trying to get my breathing under control. I guess this is really happening. How often did I dream this would? Not under these circumstances. Not like this. In a situation under control. This was too much, too fast. Guards outside, no easy way out…

Control, Celestia. Control your breathing, control this situation. You are the mare here, the adult. Put on your brave face and smile, for Luna. For Discord. You can do that, for everyone.

Pacing myself, I eased open the door.

It had been too long since I had been here… I didn’t need it, I had outgrown it. Outgrown the soft pink decorations I thought matched my mane. Outgrown the shelves full of little trinkets and toys. There was an order to things that was lacking in Luna’s own room. Decorations, my shelves, they were orderly decorated, and my bookshelf was organized neatly, by topic. Fiction top shelf, Reference second, Other nonfiction on the third and fourth, arranged by topic. My sheets were tucked carefully into the pallet, with pillows and two stuffed animals placed with care and purpose.

Of course, that was my room before… all of this.

The cloth was valuable, and none remained. Only a few books lay scattered on my shelf, the oldest and most worn down. Some of my trinkets were scattered around the shelves, rooted through, leaving behind the sentimental items. A small bundle of feathers, an old coin...

Better not to linger. I pulled my saddlebags away from where my nightstand used to be, blew the dust off of them, and walked out.

I don’t know entirely if I’m ready to leave, despite always wanting to. But I think I will be happier, once we leave these bad memories behind. Right now, there was a much more pressing problem.

What in Equestria do you pack when you plan to never return?

There were the obvious things, of course. I packed the hay I had bought today, as well as the small bag of oats from the kitchen. Beside it, I tucked away the rest of our savings, thirty bits. I was certain that this was a universal currency, but just thinking that immediately made me doubt what I knew. I packed them anyway. I also packed a brush. It was very important. Then I stood in the foyer like a foal and wondered what else I could possibly take.

A blanket was my first thought, but there was no way I could get that heavy thing in my bag. A sheet might take up too much room as well. I started thinking about bringing a towel before I stopped this silly line of thought. What on earth would I use a towel for?

Should I bring a pen and paper? I almost went to my father’s old study to get some, before also concluding that was silly. If it rained, the paper would be ruined, and if I accidentally fell, an inkwell would shatter and stain my bags readily.

I thought, maybe my old dictionary? Oh yes, I could use that as a blunt weapon, it was so heavy and useless.

Luna and Discord and finally narrowed down exactly which doll Luna would be taking. Tottering Trottingham, a stuffed purple pony mother had bought me when I was a foal. It was old, and the stuffing was loose, giving the doll a limp appearance. At one point it had been able to regally stand on all four hooves. I approved the choice and asked what else she had packed. Discord’s stone butterfly and a bag of marbles was all. I didn’t bother to oppose the bringing of more toys. It’s not like I had anything better.

Okay, I needed to get serious. I began rooting through cupboards and drawers for ideas.

I found a bottle of unopened rubbing alcohol in the back of a kitchen cupboard, and immediately packed it, wrapping the glass carefully in a sheet. I could tear up the sheet for bandages if we got hurt, I thought. Or better yet, could cut the sheet into strips. I packed a pair of scissors, still in the old drawing room desk. I had no idea how to sew, but I thought some thread and a needle would be worth taking. After raiding several drawers, I gave it up as a lost cause. I’d probably lose them anyway, small as they were.

Discord had crawled up to the top shelves in the kitchen to help me look. Nothing had been up there in years. He opened a cupboard. “What about these cups?”

“I don’t think I want more breakable glass in my bag…” I replied

He carefully climbed over the next one, digging his claws into the cracks of wood. He eased open the next door and looked inside. He drew out a small brown paper bag.

“Oh? What’s that?”

Discord carefully opened it with his paw. “Sugar…?” he dropped down to the counter and dipped in a claw to taste. A sour face, “Bleh, no, salt. Maybe only a cup’s worth.”

“Better that than nothing. Let’s take it.” I hovered it over to myself, carefully folded the top, and tucked it next to the hay. “Alright.” I nodded, “Alright, I think that’s everything.”

We sat in silence for a moment. Or five. At a loss for what to do next.

“Okay, let’s go then!” Luna started marching towards the door with purpose on her face, but I stopped her.

“Let’s take a look outside first, alright? Discord can’t exactly walk out unnoticed.”

“Oh, right!” Luna scampered over to a window and popped her head on the other side of the heavy curtains. She ducked back, face serious.

“Hey guys? Guards have completely surrounded the house.”

“What?!” I squealed, “How did they, why, oh my dear goodness, oh horseapples… Why? How did they?”

“Well that shouldn’t, uh…” I turned slowly to Discord. Should have known. Should have. “Yeah, I gave the guards the slip, but I guess I didn’t try and conceal myself while running through the streets.” He rapped his head sullenly, “If they talked to the right ponies… Yeah. Sorry.”

“Feathers. Horsefeathers!” Celestia, calm down. Calm down, there’s a way out of this. If you calm down, you can think of a solution. I jumped a little as a pony knocked on the door. Oh, why didn’t I have more time to think?

“Okay,” I squeaked, “Okay, let me try something. Both of you… both of you, close your eyes and count to ten.” I put my foreleg in front of my face, and Luna nodded happily. Discord looked blank.

“What is that supposed to do?” he asked. Luna took Discord’s paws and shoved them in his face, closing her eyes and grinning.

I took a deep breath, prepared my spell, and threw open the door, releasing a furious and intense light the guards won’t soon be unseeing.

VIII : Luna

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 8
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.blogspot.com/

~Luna~

Ponies always tell me, ‘Luna, don’t run!’ Yet here I was, galloping, laughing on the inside each time my hoof hit the cobblestones, giggling as the wind tugged at my mane. My friends ran beside me, actually urging me to go faster.

Teachers always tell me, ‘Luna, don’t shout!’ Yet here we were, talking fast on the top of our lungs, getting right to the point as we zigzagged through the city streets. I screamed every word and no one cared to stop me.

Celestia always tells me, ‘Luna, act like a lady!’ Yet there Celestia was, her perfect mane getting messy, my mane getting tangled. We splashed through a puddle and I squeaked with joy, hooves chilled to perfection.

This was how to live!

“Try and find a guard tower, one that’s built into a wall!” Discord shouted behind me.

“What?! Why would we want to go there?!” Celestia shouted back, over her shoulder.

“It’s our best shot at getting up on top of the walls, unless you want to go through the castle!”

“If you say so!”

We whipped around a corner and tried not to trip or slide or anything else that had slowed us down. The crowds of ponies were being smart and getting out of the way as we ran, some pointing and others shouting hard-to-hear words. All ponies were nice like that, except a very special few.

“Look, guards!” I shouted happily.

“Got it!” Celestia called back.

With a brief flare of her horn, Celestia slammed the guard’s helmets down over their eyes. Following me, Discord slapped the cobblestones. Ponies began to stumble as the rock became even more slippery. The two guards flailed at their helmets and fell to the ground before they even knew we had run by. I laughed as we kept galloping, unstopped.

Another corner, a market, and a long street later, Celestia began shouting again.

“There, a guard post!”

It was a tower like any other, but it had a sign out front with a painted on shield and star. Me and Discord stopped as Celestia charged in. There was another large flash of light, and we followed after her, running past whinnying Earth ponies scraping at their eyes.

“Over there! I found the way up!”

The entryway vanished in a flash as we began charging up the uneven ramp in wide circles. The occasional door popped up and vanished again on the right wall, but otherwise, there wasn’t much in the tower. There were no windows, only a torch every once in a while, which was very strange to me. Wouldn’t windows make it easier for the ponies to see?

“I hear hoofsteps,” Discord said.

“That’s just the echo of the place, right?”

“No, someponies are coming down.”

“Shall I blind them again?”

“Ooh, ooh,” I jumped forward as my sister and my friend started to slow down, “Can I try something?”

Celestia laughed nervously, “Luna, this isn’t the time for fooling around.”

“Get in the doorway, please!” I demanded.

Discord immediately scampered into a door, and Celestia hesitantly followed, looking down at me with one of her big word looks. ‘Incredulous,’ I think she would say. I didn’t let that stop me. I stood between them and let my magic come to me. It’s a pretty easy trick, really. I made the shadows move in front of us instead of behind us, and then pulled some other shadows around, hiding us in the dark corridor. Guards, coming from above, thundered down to the lower floor. I let the spell fade when they passed.

“Luna…” Discord started, staring at me, “You know shadow magic?!”

“Um, yeah, how’d you think I kept winning at hide and seek?”

“Luna! That’s cheating!” my sister shouted. She’s been doing that a lot today. Maybe later she’ll understand why I do it all the time. But first, I needed to reply.

“It is?” I said, “Well, according to rule seventeen, article B, part eighty: Nuh-uh.”

Discord snickered. “She has a point.”

“Oh, be quiet. Luna, if you could do that, why couldn’t we have used that to sneak out of the house?”

“Well that’s just silly,” I replied, “Who’s ever heard of a moving shadow in the middle of the day?”

“Look, guys, let’s drop it for now,” Discord laughed, “We’ve gotta keep moving.”

“O-Kay!”

We running up the ramp, still bursting with energy. Another patrol came up after us, and a different one came down again, but they could never see through my trick. Eventually, they stopped coming at all, and we slowed down. We were getting tired, after all.

“How tall is this tower anyway?” I asked, “We havn’t seen a door in forever. What do they have up here?”

“It’s a good thing, that means it really does go all the way up,” Discord replied. “We got really lucky there.”

“Lucky? Us? We’re like, a super duper team! Did you see how many guards we battled past?”

“I dunno, a lot of them?” Discord had a really silly grin on his face, looking out the nonexistent windows.

“A whole stinking lot of them!” I loudly pointed out.

“What, would have, happened,” Celestia panted, “If we, had been, caught? Oof, could this staircase, be any longer?”

“You uh.” Discord rejoined us in reality, looking back at my struggling sister. “You don’t really want to know.”

“Yes, I do. Tell me.”

“Celestia, are you doing alright?” Discord acted, “You seem pretty winded!”

“Don’t change, the subject,” she gasped for breath, “Though can we, maybe, stop for a bit?”

“Yeah, we can slow down.” He looked at me. “Luna, you alright?”

“Doing great!”

“I, am a lady,” Celestia huffed, “I’m not used, to all of this, exertion.”

“Yeah, yeah, so you’ve been saying… Oh.” He stopped.

“’Oh’ what?” my sister asked.

“We’ve made it.”

“Oh!”

The ramp ended, going right up into a large trap door. Discord walked up to it, placing his paw on the latch.

“Well, cross your…” He stopped, then looked at us, “Hooves, I guess.”

Discord nudged the door up. It didn’t move.

“Ahem.” He slammed his shoulder into the door and heaved his body into it. It rose a little. “Um, help?” Celestia and I fell in place beside him, pushing up as well. The door was silly in how heavy it was, but all together, we forced it open, and the light of day blinded us all.

There’s a word I don’t think I really understood before. Infinity. Forever and ever. Yeah, I thought it was a lot, but I don’t think I quite grasped how many lots infinity was. There’s a word for that kind of nonunderstanding, and Celestia would probably have it. But I couldn’t think of it then. The only word I had for the moment was Infinity, because I finally understood what it meant.

The sky was infinity. When we stepped up out of the tower, I looked at the sky, and I saw no end. No corners or cut offs. Just blue. Not like a painted on blue where you can still see that it’s paint. It was an impossibly flawless blue, untouchable and unreachable. Forever and ever. Ponies could move through the sky? I felt like they would get lost the instant they stepped off the walls.

It was like, a void. Except it had stuff, and the stuff was blue?

I feel like Celestia would have the words for this, I just felt silly for trying.

Speaking of my sister.

“Oh my goodness…” Celestia sniffled, wiping her face on her fetlock, “Oh my goodness, it is true. There is a sun… It’s gorgeous…”

I flipped around, trying to see if the sun was true, and grabbed my eyes as it stung me. The sun was apparently a black hole in the sky that burned a shadow in my eye, suggesting that it was orange. My sister must have gone crazy, that thing is not pretty at all.

“Guys,” Discord whispered, eyes glues upward as well, “We’ve gotta keep moving.”

“Yes… yes, let’s keep going.”

We walked on top of the walls, and that was impossible too. Walls have a top, that’s why they’re walls, right? Walls are supposed to hit a ceiling or a roof. If they didn’t hit a roof, then they would be partitions. That’s what Celestia said.

I guess we have to call them walls, because there’s no way the poor things could ever hope to reach the sky.

Towers peppered the clouds, another sea beneath the sky expanse, and the walls circled and waved in patterns, all connected, with a little sunken pathway on top. All paths eventually reaching the final border, the last wall that we walked on top of.

And beyond that, there was nothing. Forever.

I heard the phrase ‘end of the world’ once. I think it fits the hoof. Nothing beyond this island in the clouds.

“Look,” Celestia squeaked. There was a speck on the sky. A string of little horse-drawn carts floating in the middle of nowhere.

“That must be the supplies!” Discord started to run forward again, trying to figure out a way around the paths. “C’mon, let’s go!”

Discord had his eyes glues on the carts. Celestia returned her eyes to being glued on the sun, though I dunno how she was able to look at it so long. So, instead of looking at either of those things, I had my eyes glued on a tower, where a tiny little worm seemed to be sprouting. It spread its itty bitty wings, then began to fly.

“Hey Celestia, what’s that?” I asked, trying to point to it with me hoof.

“Hm…?” she blinked slowly at me, then looked where I pointed. “Oh, what is that?”

“Hey, why are we slowing down?” Discord ran back to us, making a pouty face, “C’mon, we gotta catch that cart!”

“There’s something… coming towards us?” Celestia said.

Discord took one look, then shouted, “Morons! RUN!”

I’m not sure what happened then. Rocks burst around us, and the creature flew over us in a flash, a huge version of Discord. I was in the air, between the two infinities, unhurt, but with nothing to hold me from falling.

I paused midair, yellow glow around me, Celestia trying to keep her hooves on a crumbling wall, and failing. Discord grabbed her tail as she skidded off, and he quickly followed behind her.

Hm.

It’s a weird feeling, falling.

I thought running made a sort of windy noise, but falling drowned out everything. The stone rushed by me fast, blurring together. I twisted my neck and looked over to the sky horizon, completely still. For a second, I thought the gray clouds were ground, a different kind of stone. I had always wondered what they felt like. I hoped they weren’t solid.

Something grabbed me. Discord’s uneven front feet had me around the waist, his eyes screwed tightly shut. His wings snapped open. I felt like I was yanked upwards, body snapping like a rubber band. My head hurt, but the roaring wasn’t stopping, no matter how much Discord flapped his wings. Celestia dropped by us, chomping onto Discord’s tail as she passed. His face screwed up like his eyes and he opened his mouth to yell, but no sound came out, lost in the wind all around us. His wings trailed behind him, trying to flap, unable to slow us both down.

We hit the clouds together. I gasped a few breaths of thick, greasy air before we dropped out the other side. A few clumps of gray clung to Discord’s feathers, but otherwise, the clouds hadn’t slowed us at all.

I looked at the uneven dark green blur beneath us and wondered. If that’s the ground, and we’re not slowing down, what should I be feeling right now? My brain didn’t seem to have a reply.

Where I looked, the ground and clouds began to glow a patchy gold. Celestia’s horn glowed brightly, forehooves tightly gripping her head as she tried to concentrate and encircle us with her light. I pawed it, hoof passing right through. It was nothing but air.

Discord stared at the light, like I did, face blank. He spun on Celestia, let go of me, and thrust his paws forward. The light turned solid, into a sparkling rubbery substance. The wind stopped, Celestia’s eyes snapped open.

Things went mute right before we hit the ground. The bubble buckled, squished, slowed, sunbeans holding us tightly in the center. My nose gently touched the ground, pressed flat under the magic shield. For a moment, time stopped, and I realized something important.

“Hey look! The green stuff everywhere is grass!”

“What!?” Celestia squeaked.

We shot back into the air, Celestia screaming the whole way.

“Why?! Why why whyyyyy?!”

“Oh sweet life it worked!” Discord shouted, punching the air. “It worked it worked it worked! I’m a genius! Ahaha! AHAHAHAHAHA!”

I began laughing too, laughing and screaming and everything else as we flew, smacked into the ground again, and bounced off into the unknown.

IX : Luna

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 9
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.blogspot.com/

~Luna~

Night in the forest was just as dark as night in the city, with shadows cast by large and leafy trees instead of giant walls. After seeing the sun and sky for the first time, I think we were all hoping that maybe they would join us out here, beyond the Shadow Stallion’s reach. It didn’t happen. We were still followed by the heavy blanket of gray clouds, with no end in sight. And we had gotten pretty far in two days travel. We couldn’t even see Canterbury anymore.

Not seeing the city anymore was one thing. If you listened to Discord and Celestia the first day, all they were able to talk about is panic. Are we being pursued? Should we keep moving, or find a good hiding spot? Double check the skies, they could be above the cloud cover! Celestia didn’t even notice her cutie mark had appeared until I pointed it out, and by then she had forgotten why she even had it.

I didn’t let them wind themselves up like that for a second day. The moment we started walking I wondered aloud why Celestia’s sun-shaped cutie mark was yellow, when the sun was obviously orange. We talked. We told Discord about the meaning of cutie marks. Celestia eventually explained what she thought her cutie mark meant: She wanted to spread the sun’s light to the world. Literally or figuratively. We joked about it almost all day, with almost no paranoia. By the second night, we hadn’t seen anything, and they weren’t too worried anymore. I think we all feel a lot safer now. Last night, when we bedded down in this field, Celestia actually laughed at one of my jokes.

So this was where I was, waking up slowly in a cozy little field. I was warm and right where I left myself. Dropping down on a pile of leaves or small patch of grass just felt right, for me at least, and the meadow was especially comfortable. My sister was currently snuggled up beside me, head resting across my back, like a heavy, breathing blanket. The crickets were quieting down, and birds began to wake up, cooing and tweeting. So it was still before dawn, but I couldn’t tell how long. Hours? Minutes? It had to be pretty close.

With a little flash of my horn, I pushed the shadows out of my eyes, and looked again at the less dark world around me. As expected, there was no Discord. Silly guy, he has nowhere to go, yet he still sneaks off at night, after only a few hours of sleep. It must be a bad habit.

I leaned forward gently, trying not to disturb my sister as I grabbed a bite of breakfast, a few stems of the tall grass. There was plenty else to eat beyond the walls, though it was mostly just a bunch of leafy things. Celestia always was trying to make sure I didn’t grab snacks off any old bush or shrub. This grass was one of the few things sis let me eat freely. It was like hay, but twice as tasty!

I heard Discord before he appeared, pushing through our meadow like there was no one to wake up. His head poked through the long stalks of my soon-to-be-breakfast, holding the oat bag in his mouth. He looked over me and Celestia as he pushed aside some grass to sit on, taking the little sack in hand to talk.

“She’s using you as a pillow again,” he laughed quietly.

“Mm-mm...” I shrugged and swallowed my mouthful of grass.

“Right, yeah,” he whispered. “Anyway, I found some berries while exploring.”

“Ooh, what kind?” I whispered back.

“Blueberries, I’m pretty sure.” He reached into the sack and pulled out a red branch covered in thick bunches of tiny little black berries.

“Those don’t look blue at all! Are you sure they’re not blackberries?”

“Nah, blackberries look like blue raspberries.”

I giggled quietly. “So blackberries are blue and blueberries are black…”

He shrugged, picking apart the branch. “Don’t look at me, I don’t name the stuff. I just know these are definitely blueberries.”

“Don’t.” Celestia slurred, jerking awake. “Don’t eat weird berries… You two…”

Discord slapped a paw to his face in surprise. “Oh no, we woke mother up!”

Celestia snorted, rolling off me. “Yeah, don’t I wish…” Celestia’s horn began to glow and I quickly released my own spell as a bulb of light sprung to life near us, illuminating our little meadow. She squinted at the branch Discord was holding, rubbed her eyes, blinked once, twice, and then said firmly:

“Those are not blueberries.”

“Oh really?” Discord grinned. “And how would you know?”

“Having worked at a bakery for as long as I did, I think I’d know what a blueberry would look like,” she replied.

“Yeah, but have you ever had wild blueberries?”

“Have you?”

“Nope.” He popped the fruit mush into his mouth. “Have now.”

“Okay. Okay, just do what you want. Don’t cry when you get sick later.” Celestia unsteadily got to her feet and walked beyond the treeline, taking the light with her and yawning loudly. I turned back to Discord.

“So, are they tasty?”

He shrugged. “They taste like berries. You wanna couple?”

I hovered a few off the branch and popped them in my mouth. My whole face immediately tightened. Sour! Or… tart? Is that a better word? Didn’t matter, those weren’t like any blueberries I’d had before! But I usually had them baked, so... I yanked out another chunk of grass and let him have the rest.

Not long after, Celestia trotted back into the field, her mane perfectly in place and coat clean and fresh for the new day.

“I still don’t know how she does that,” Discord mumbled through a mouthful of mush.

Celestia sat beside me and began to comb my mane as well. I didn’t really see why we bother out here, but sometimes it’s better to just let Celestia do what she needs to.

~Θ~

It was the third day on our long walk away from Canterbury. We weren’t able to see the giant stone pillar anymore, but that didn’t stop Discord from serving as a constant eye on the skies. He spent more time with his head in the trees than struggling through bushes with me and Celestia.

Not that he didn’t have his own problems.

I watched as the branches shifted over us. Discord was almost hidden as he clung to the thicker boughs. A hesitant step forward, then a retreat as the dead stick fell under his weight. He tested another one. Brittle as well. He stared at the next tree and sunk on his branch, tensed up his wings. And there he sat.

“Luna are you coming?” my sister asked.

I stood, still as Discord, watching.

“I cleared a path for us…” She walked up to me, then looked up into the trees. She sighed. “This again?”

Discord carefully unfurled his wings, tested them, and leaned back a hair further. With a flap of his wings, he leapt forward, throwing himself to the next tree. He slammed his stomach into another bough, cracking it, scraping his claws across the bark as he tried to right himself. Discord hastily yanked himself up, chuckling nervously.

“Oh, just get down here before you hurt yourself!” Celestia reasonably demanded, turning back to the bushes. Discord didn’t need another excuse. He scrambled down the trunk and snapped to attention beside us, a silly grin smacked over his face.

“So! What’s the plan?!”

“Keep trying to find a town. Or a road,” Celestia said as she began pushing past bushes. “Goodness, a road would be wonderful…”

“Gotcha.” Discord nodded and followed briefly before stopping. “No wait, not gotcha. What are we going to do in a town anyway?”

“Well uh…” Celestia shoved aside a bush with her hoof, glancing up at the clouds. “I’m not really sure! See if they need a new baker, I suppose?”

“That’s it?” Discord scampered in front of my sister, staring up at her. Making sure she looked him in the eye. “All that running and screaming and panicking, and we’re just going to go to a town and become bakers?”

“That’s pretty lame, sis,” I said, I nodding. “Pret-ty lame.”

“Well, do either of you have any better ideas?”

“I dunno…” Discord ambled alongside my sister, helping her push bushes out of our way. Or my way, since I was in the back. “You keep going on and on about how you want to somehow bring the sun back to Equestria, or worship the sun as your god and master or something.”

“I’ve mentioned that only twice!”

“Three times, and we haven’t had much else to talk about so far.” He shrugged. “I dunno, maybe we should work on that? On getting the sun back?”

“Ooh! Hey! You guys!” I bounced forward, jumping in front of my sister. “We could become adventurers! We could have this really cool adventuring party while we roamed the countryside, helping all ponies in need!”

“I don’t know…” Celestia watched me bounce, failing to get caught up in my excitement. “We’ve just gotten ourselves out of a terrible situation. I don’t want to go charging right back into danger. Maybe I just want things to be nice, safe, and stable for a while.”

“Well I don’t. Stable life is a stale life,” Discord dashed past a bush, and moment later he was up in a tree again, striking one of his theatric poses on a sturdy branch. “We just had our first taste of adventure. Of excitement every day! Of outwitting the enemy through your own skill! Of travelling to new places and seeing all it has to offer. Y’know, like these trees!”

“I do like the trees!” I pipe up, “But I dunno if we wanna name our adventuring group after them.”

“Yeah,” he replied, “The Tree Three would be a pretty terrible name.”

I giggled. “Tree Three!”

“We don’t need an adventuring party name!” Celestia pleaded, looking up at Discord. “You both don’t understand, we almost died!”

Discord scratched his chin. “Risk comes with adventure, yes…”

“We. Almost. Died!”

“But then we didn’t!” Discord retorted, “We’re more clever than that!”

“No, no we’re not!” My sister stomped one hoof forward, neck straight as she glared up at Discord, “We’re just two fillies and a colt! We have no special powers or amazing skills, and the second we try and do something dangerous again, we are going to get hurt so fast…!” Celestia whirled around and began flattening bushes again, this time with her horn. “When we find a town, we are going to find a way to live normally, the boon we’ve been granted by our freedom!” She blasted a bush out of the way, leaves falling all around her. “If there is a town at all in this forsaken wilderness!”

Discord watched Celestia quietly as she plowed forward, head on his paw, acting as if her entire fit only made him bored. I made a pouting face up at him, but it took my friend a second or two to notice me. I heard him scamper down as I rushed to catch up with my sister.

“But Celestia…” I said, “We do have something really cool and special about us.”

She sighed, trampling a bush. “Yes, Luna?”

“We have… each other.” Silence. Celestia looked back at me, and was forced to see me making the biggest puppy eyes I could ever make. “We are,” I said with gravity, “The Adventuring Trio!”

Celestia groaned as Discord burst out laughing. A really loud laugh too. I wondered what the joke was. Celestia didn’t get the joke either way. She kept walking.

“Wait, what’s so funny?”

“Oh, you know,” Discord chuckled, “Trees… Trio… It was a pun, right?”

“No.”

“Oh.” He coughed into his bird foot and straightened himself. “Well, I thought it was funny.”

“Yeah, but now you’ve made Celestia mad.” I look back at her, already stomping away at bushes. “Aw, c’mon big sis. We have tons of time to figure this out! Don’t be huffy!” My sister stopped for a second, then broke into a gallop.

“Um, sis? Celestia? Come back!” I began trotting after her, getting my face smacked into by all kinds of branches. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings that much! I mean, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings! The second one!”

“There!” Celestia shouted over her shoulder. She stopped, pointing a hoof off into the horizon, “Do you see that?! Rising into the clouds? Chimney smoke! A town!”

I squinted upward, spun my head in a few directions, and then finally jumped up on my sister’s back, pushing aside her saddlebags. She stumbled on her hooves as I tried to balance. As well as see over her poofy mane. Finally, I saw the little black streaks rising into the cloudy cover.

“There they are! Hooray!” I declared. I threw my forelegs up in celebration, unbalancing my sister even more.

“Finally!” Discord moaned, catching up. “Maybe there we can find a nice bed, a good meal, a bakery for Celestia to drool over…”

“Wait, Discord.” Celestia threw up a hoof to stop his advance, shrugging me off her shoulders. He raised an eyebrow up at her as she continued. “Now that we’ve reached this point, there’s something I think we need to talk about.”

“Um, what about…?” he asked.

“Now, Discord, not to be rude, but honestly, you are very strange looking to a normal pony.”

He looked down at himself, raising his scaly leg as if to double check.

“Um, yeah, thanks for pointing that out?”

“Do you think you can cast an illusion to make yourself look normal, at least while we check out the town?”

“Hm…” He looked down at his paw, over his shoulder again. “I don’t know,” he admitted, “That would be pretty hard…” He perked up his tail, tried standing with his legs straight. “I’m not really the right shape. And the illusion would still walk funny if I was. Even if I could get all the parts right… I’d have to really concentrate, and who knows how long I could get that to last.” He shrugged. “So no. Unless you want to wait for night. Then I could pull off a pretty convincing silhouette.”

“Drat. Well, we should at least give you a name that doesn’t sound so… evil.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“You need a pony name. How about Resonance?”

He gave my sister a blank stare. She smiled back at him, trying as hard as she could to deflect Discord’s disbelief.

“How long have you been thinking about this?” he finally asked.

“Days.”

“Big sis,” I chipped in, “Discord is really weird and stuff, but we should pretend he isn’t. People would see we were trying to hide his scariness and we’d be even more suspicious. We should just walk right up to town and show that we’re not scary, and neither is Discord.”

“Yeeeaah, I’m going to have to go with the honest version on this one,” Discord said. And that was that.

We began walking again, conversations kept quiet as we all kept our eyes on the sky. Finally, the trees stopped as we ran into a simple, sunken dirt trail. I don’t know about the other two, but just a road was getting me excited! Smoke was one thing, but this was actual proof! There were ponies out here!

“Okay everypony.” Celestia said, eyes on the road. “Just act natural, try not to stand out.”

Discord and I strolled right out from the bushes and began walking down the dirt road. My sister fumbled out after us, straightened herself, and strode forward. Her old walk was back, the one she used to use around Canterbury to show how important she was. At least she wasn’t asking me to imitate her yet.

The forest slowly grew thinner, and eventually stopped. Stumps increased, with lumpy rows of earth overtaking them. Some fields were covered in sparse random plants, most with spotted brown and yellow leaves. I wondered for a while what kind of plant that could possibly be, and why there seemed to be so many different kinds of it. Little bushes, vines, stalks, flowers… It took me until I saw the patches of green, so vibrant and healthy, before I realized that maybe these plants weren’t usually a wilty yellow.

Earth ponies wandered through a few of the withering fields, but most seemed to be gathered around the green spots, close to a little river that was between us and the village. The ponies seemed to walk slowly down the dusty dirt rows, as if their hooves were too heavy, though they looked no bigger than most ponies I had seen in Canterbury. Many were dressed in simple things, old cloaks and plain shawls, the colors of their coats and clothes blending together in the dusty dirt. A lot of the farmer ponies looked at us. Lots of them. Some longer than others. But no one approached us, or ran, or reacted any differently.

The farmers also seemed to crowd around wells. I thought at first that was where they came together to talk. If they all needed the water, then they could get it from the river, of course. But when we reached the bridge, I realized it only went over an empty clay rut. Looking down, there was only the smallest of streams trickling down the center of the riverbed.

But what stood out the most, what made all of us try and read each other’s face, were the decorations on the bridge itself. Flapping quietly in the wind were banners of the Shadow Stallion’s star. I don’t know if we ever really thought we had escaped him, but… Discord met my eyes, clearly nervous. But what could we do now? Run?

We crossed the bridge in silence, and stood before the town itself. The houses were made of the trunks of trees and packed with dirt, the same color as the dark brown fields. The roofs were straw or hay, and several houses had earth ponies atop them, weaving more straw into place.

“Guys,” Celestia said quietly, “Why are we here?”

“Because you wanted to become a baker?” Discord joked, giving out a very short laugh.

“Y’know,” Celestia looked around the town, as other ponies hastily looked away, “I-I feel a bit silly… Was so excited to see a town… The baker thing was a dumb idea. Let’s just get some supplies and head out.”

“Yes. Yes, let’s do that. I mean.” Discord looked over his shoulder. “We’re not that far from Canterbury. Now that we’ve found some roads, it shouldn’t be too hard to find another town.”

“Aw, we’re leaving already?” I cried out. Depressing town or no, it was still a town! “But it’s almost dark!”

“Well, Luna, I thought you enjoyed sleeping out in the open.”

“Yeah, but you don’t.”

Celestia paused for a moment.

“I’ll manage.”

We entered the main body of the town, crossing its only square. From here, I could see both where the houses started and ended. Everything was lined up along this little dirt road, and the town fit comfortably in the space of what would have been three city blocks in Canterbury. A few buildings had signs swinging above their doors, bearing only simple pictures. A shoe, a barrel, a bowl… Celestia stared at them, trying to figure out their purpose while we passed by the square’s large central building. It was built like all of the other structures, but Stallion banners hung across the entrance, the only building in town decorated this way. I wondered what the building could be. A town hall? A jail?

It wasn’t long until I got a non-answer. The double doors of the center building slammed open, whining on their hinges. I leapt sideways as a thick-necked red earth pony was thrown into the streets, stumbling to stay on all four hooves.

“Cursed Broncburgh-ers! You think you can just shut me up this easily?!” he shouted, voice hoarse, shaking an angry hoof. “Conmen! Thieves!” He kept swearing and stamping long after the double doors where slammed after him. He spun in place, whipping his head back and forth, as if he was looking for something.

He spotted me. I realized then that I had stopped to stare.

“The heck are you looking at, pipsqueak?!” the red pony yelled, thrusting a hoof at me.

“Um, why are you so mad at this town mister?” I asked.

“What? You don’t know?!” He looked over me, then at Discord, leering and backing away. “You’re definitely not from around here, are you? Who the heck are you?”

“Well…” It hit me. A great idea. I gave Discord a smile. He returned a blank stare, then smiled too, like he knew! I snapped myself into a tall pose, the pose Celestia always uses when she wants to be taken seriously.

“We!” I declared proudly, “Are the Adventuring Trio! We are here to help however we can!” I waved a hoof regally, just like my lessons. “Whatever is troubling this area so much, good sir?”

The red pony stared at me for a moment, looking at me, at Discord sideways, eyes squinted thin. I held myself a little taller, shook my mane haughtily, trying to look older than I was. I wonder if the saddlebags hid my lack of a cutie mark. Could I pass for a short mare yet? Finally, he dropped the glare for a better face: relief.

“Oh! You’re a unicorn!” He laughed once and extended a hoof to shake. “Barely Buck’s the name. Thank goodness you’re here, because do I have a problem for you!”

X : Celestia

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 10
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.blogspot.com/

~Celestia~

What we found wasn’t the endless stone prison of Canterbury. It wasn’t a ruin of Equestrian soul. But with the clouds still obscuring the light, and dust across coats and hearts, this town could be considered gloomy. It hurt… Beyond the walls, I had hoped for paradise. A place of freedom and joy. To see the Stallion’s shadows spread here, far from his keep…

We still had to walk through the town. Grass is nice, as well as free, but we needed a bit more to balance our diet. Some oats, maybe a few other vegetables, if we could obtain them. The town square was just as unfriendly as the fields, empty, save two ponies resting on blankets, peddling goods from the forest and decorative charms respectively. Signs squeaked above shop doors, displaying near useless pictograms. I can imagine a small town can manage by simply memorizing which stores are which, but what about the convenience to travellers such as us?

It reinforced within me the idea that this town had no want for us, each building, every face staring as if politely asking us to leave. What did I think I could do? What was I hoping for? To find a town and be welcome? To impress with my regal bearing and unicorn magic? I’m such a foal… still only a filly, cutie mark speaking of pretention, not hope. I shrunk internally as the farmers around us stared. Why didn’t I press more for Discord to hide himself? Why didn’t I simply ask him to stay outside the town? What have I done?

I was just glad to hear my friend’s agreement to leave. We’d find someplace a little more welcoming. Outside Equestria, if we had to.

We silently passed by a large central hall, a civil center by the looks of the banners. Further proof of the stallion’s influence… It made me nervous and I picked up my pace. It was like his eyes were on us, even though we hadn’t seen any sign of him or his forces for days.

The double doors of the center slammed open. A thick-necked red pony was thrown before us, stumbling to keep standing, whirling around to shout at the closed and locked doors.

“Cursed Broncburgh-ers! You think you can just shut me up this easily?!” he shouted.

I hurried past. Don’t get involved, Celestia, just ignore him and keep walking. I swiftly strode away and did not stop until I saw a pictographic sign of an apple and a hammer. If that didn’t mean general goods, then I’m not sure what did. I entered out of step, feeling small and nervous. Just get what we need and leave. My mantra. Just what we need.

The shop I entered was both messy and cleaned out. Shelves were nailed into the wooden segments of wall, but some were propped up with brooms and books. There were a number of different things on the shelves, from spinning tops to large segments of rope. But no matter the item, they were stacked unevenly in mismatched piles, forming into tangled messed. But more often, there were shelves covered in dust and nothing more, as if their purpose was to remain unused. Among the clutter and lack of clutter, a bored looking earth pony rested his forelegs on a scratched counter, wearing a gray apron, and surrounded by a number of barrels and bags. He glanced up at me, and swatted lazily at a fly with his tail.

“Oats…?” I asked from the doorframe. His expression remained unchanged as he dipped his head slightly. Was that a yes? “How much per scoop?” I continued.

“Five bits,” he replied.

I consciously made an effort to pretend not to be surprised.

“E-expensive,” I stammered. Failure.

“There’s a drought ‘round here, miss,” he pointed out, flicking his hoof at a fly, “I hadda buy half these goods all the way from Stringhalt. Now, d’ya want anything or not?”

“I um…” I approached the counter, “Two scoops of oats, please…”

The earth pony heaved himself off the counter, dropping loudly to the ground. He pulled a dusty scoop from a pile of hammers behind him and nudged open a barrel with his nose, ducking his head deep inside. I pulled out ten bits. A third of our money, gone already… how long was it going to last if every town was like this? The earth pony dropped my oats in a little burlap sack and turned to me. He stopped, stared just a moment too long. I floated him the coins. Was that what he was waiting for?

“Don’t see too many unicorn ‘round these parts,” he said, voice softer. He eyed the floating coins, then pushed one with his hoof.

“Um…” I let the bits fall to the counter, stacking them neatly. He continued to stare.

“Be willing to give ya a discount if you can do a job or two,” the shopkeeper said, sorting through the coins. “Heck, if you can cast any water spells… Well, the whole town’d be mighty appreciative.”

“Sorry, my specialty is light magic…” I stopped myself from adding how much I wish I knew water magic. I don’t even know if creating water is possible, but if I studied the theory…

“Shame…” the shopkeeper placed the bag on the counter. “Well, you do any heavy lifting? Any fine work? Y’see…” He leaned on the counter, as if to get closer. With barely a thought, I took a step back. “Celery Seeds is the unicorn around here, but he doesn’t stop by near enough to make himself useful. Lives over in Rearing Town, you see. We’ve been having a little bit of a tiff with them lately, since the river dried up,” he explained with a wave of his hoof.

“I, I’m not sure I want to take away someone else’s job…”

“We’ll pay ya! We don’t got much right now, but a unicorn’s always helpful to have around.” The earth pony leaned on the counter, hoof curled over my bits. He looked desperate. Everyone did around this town…

A unicorn’s always helpful… Maybe there was something I could do here. Maybe there was a way I could help, just by being myself. This town was unfriendly, but if I could find a way to help them… I gave him a smile, if only to make him sit down again.

“I… I’ll think about it,” I said.

“Thank ya kindly, miss!” the pony dropped back behind the counter, “That’ll be seven bits.”

I quietly paid, taking back the few bits of discount and tucking them in my bag, beside the oats. I thanked the stallion and backed away, out the door.

“Okay you two! I’ve got an idea! Let’s go and find—“I turned around to a square just as empty as I left it. No Luna. No Discord.

“You know,” I said to myself, “I should have noticed this.”

I barely had to run around the entire square. I found the two right where I last saw them: outside the town hall, talking to the angry red pony.

“What are you two doing?” I demanded, falling into place between Luna and Discord. They both exchanged secret smiles. It was the least assuring thing I had ever seen.

“Ah, is this the last member of your adventuring trio?” the stranger asked, much calmer than I had last seen him.

“Adventuring…?” I began.

“Barely Buck here!” Discord loudly interrupted, “thinks the people of this town are cheating on water rationing! He wants us to check some things out for him, and will pay us if we find anything.” Discord raised his eyebrows, as if it was only the thought of money that would tempt me. I ignored him, stepping forward to shake hooves with the earth pony.

“We’ll get to the bottom of this, Mr. Buck,” I told him firmly. He nodded and took my hoof, shaking it only twice before retreating.

“Thanks! You can find me over in Rearing Town.” He turned and pointed to the river, “Lemme give you some directions. You head upstream to when it first forks…”

“We’ll manage. We’re a specialized team, you know!” He accepted the explanation and galloped off without another word. Discord and Luna turned to me, grinning ear to ear.

“Celestia, does that mean that you—“

“What do you two think you’re doing?!” I hissed, snapping my head between the two of them just so I could glare at them more effectively. “An Adventure Trio?! We were only joking about that!”

“Dang.” Discord sat down in a defeated huff. “I really thought you were behind this for a second. Sure fooled me.”

“I’m sorry sis…” Luna hung her head, sighing. “I couldn’t come up with a better name, even though I had all morning!” Discord barked a single laugh, grinning as I shot him a special glare.

“That’s not the problem here. Guys…” I shook my head. “Are you both crazy? We can’t do something like this! Investigate the water problem… What do you think we can do that no one else has already done?”

Discord shrugged. “I dunno, but he’s not paying us until we’ve done whatever, so what’s the harm in trying?”

“The harm?” Again, I turned to look at my Draconequus friend especially. I suspected him to be the main perpetrator of this… Luna knew her limitations more than this, didn’t she? Knew what was acceptable and what was just, just crazy. “What does it matter the harm,” I said to him. “You’re only doing this because you want an adventure.”

“I am not!” he snorted, shaking his head, “I want to help these ponies.”

“Do you now?”

“Celestia.” Now it was his turn to glare at me, standing up and getting his face in mine. “You went on and on about how you wanted to be some sort of sun priestess, and help ponies see the sky or something like that. And yet you’re not going to help these poor farmers with their water crisis because you can’t think of a way how.” He backed away. “We have a means to help them now. And you’re saying you don’t want to, just because of its association with one tiny little word?”

“If it helps…” my sister stepped forward, head still low, “I didn’t really see this as something adventure-y. We both just want to help. Don’t you?”

I looked between the two of them. It’s not that I didn’t want to help… But wasn’t there something easier to be done? I sighed.

“Okay. Put away those puppy eyes you two. Please? Thanks… NOW!” I stand regally before my two friends, trying to add a bit more weight to my little smile. “This one time. ONE. TIME. Got me?”

~¤~

We headed out of town, walking alongside the riverbank. If it could even be called a river at this point. The width of the banks expanded and shrunk, passing through fields both used and left fallow, yet the running water never grew to be more than a trickle.

“So, the story goes like this,” Discord began, marching with an excited step at the head of our group, “Broncburgh and Rearing Town share this river. Ages ago they carved some canals and constructed a gate to divide the water evenly, and so on. With the drought going on, things have gotten tense. Barley Buck thinks Broncburgh is cheating on water rations, but the mayor of Broncburgh accused Rearing Town of cheating, and it’s all becoming quite messy. There’ve been fights already. Nothing big, but tensions are high.”

“And he told you all of this without ever once wondering what exactly he was talking to?”

“Oh, he said a few things… Like how many weird creatures are wandering around lately…” Discord spun around and crouched low, as if to pounce. His smile switched to a smirk, getting even wider in the change. “Also, I told him I was a specialized unicorn experiment to make the most perfect super warrior!”

I stumbled over a laugh. Ridiculous! An obvious lie, no matter how strange a Draconequus looked.

“And he believed you?” I asked.

“He believed me!” Discord repeated, ecstatic. “All this time, I thought I was a bad liar!” He laughed. “I guess all I had to find was a pony dumb enough to believe me!”

“Discord!” I snapped, “That’s horrible thing to say!”

“I mean, uh, well… Hmm…” He fell back on his feet and started walking alongside us again, staring at the ground.

“Me and Discord,” Luna began, “We both thought the whole drought thing was weird. Pegasus control the weather, so why would they let things get all dry and stuff?”

“These two towns would be primary food sources for Canterbury,” Discord pointed out, “Letting them wither away is a bit like a shot in the foot, if you ask me.”

“And the forest isn’t drying up, so it’s clear that other places are getting water,” Luna said, shaking her head. “But Barely Buck wouldn’t stop talking about the rain upriver, and the snow melting off mountains… They think this is normal.”

“Rare, but normal. Most importantly!” Discord’s little grin was back, “The two towns are so busy bickering with each other, that they’ve overlooked a very key question!”

“Why is it only this river that’s drying up?”

The two of them walked in front of me, grinning silently in unison. It was a few moments of this forced hush before I realized they were done.

“That’s it?”

“Yep!” Luna shouted.

“But how could two towns overlook something so simple?” I asked. It can’t be nearly that simple… the farmers aren’t foals, they must have noticed what was going on with other streams and rivers. They must have.

“Is it that hard to believe?” Discord responded, “Things get overlooked all the time, especially when everyone thinks they have the right answer.”

“More like… I don’t want to believe it’s that simple.”

Our conversation got quiet, just for a moment. I stared at the bottom of the riverbed as Luna looked up at me, a question in her eyes. Oblivious, Discord scurried forward.

“Anyway,” He said, “Over there is the dam, gate, canal… Thing they built.” I looked where he pointed. Lean-to’s had been built, hastily constructed out of sticks and string, cloth or planks flung over the top to serve as a makeshift roof. Farmer ponies patrolled either side of the river, glaring at each other across the empty embankments. Between them, stuck right across the riverbed, stood a modest log contraption. It looked like a heavy bridge, with only two ways for the water to flow out the bottom, evenly dividing the riverbed and the tiny stream in half. As we passed it, the other side had a makeshift wedge nailed to the back, curved at strange angles to try and stop the unruly stream from simply flowing to one side or another. Several ponies stood around this wedge, silently glaring at one another as they nudged the contraption’s hinges back and forth.

“Seems like they’ve got all of this covered,” I commented.

“Yep!” Luna replied, galloping forward. “Nothing more to see here!”

We heading upriver, following the stream as our surroundings got wilder and wilder. Trees replaced fields, and the terrain grew hilly and steep. More often than not, we walked the edges of slopes, sometimes walking in the sandy riverbed itself to avoid the irritation of trying to stay upright on a loose hill. Night gradually fell as we walked. It was still hard to tell when exactly night began, but I had another way to measure it: crickets. Loud, roaring crickets that never, ever quiet down the entire night. I’d say they drown out conversation, but they drown out a lot of things. Like thoughts.

“How far upriver are we going, anyway?” I asked, struggling to sound dignified as I was forced to shout over the crickets.

“I have no idea!” Discord proudly declared.

“Should we stop and rest, keep trying tomorrow? I don’t want to be walking all night…”

“C’mon, it just got dark,” Luna complained. “We’ve gotta keep looking, even if it’s just for a little bit longer!”

“How can we keep looking if there’s nothing to see? Why don’t I—”

“Ooh, I can fix that!” The shadow of Luna bounced in front of me, face floating from the darkness as her horn began to glow. She reached up to my face and rubbed a hoof over my eyes, pressing uncomfortably. I yanked my head back and politely pushed her away. I blinked my eyes open. Once, twice. The world had become nearly as clear as in daylight, silhouetted in shades of black and gray.

“I-I guess that’s better,” I admitted, “I was just going to cast a little flare spell.”

“But this way we fight the night on its own terms! Through darkness!” I laughed softly as Luna hopped forward to Discord. “You want to see in the dark, Discord?”

“Don’t worry, I can already do that naturally.”

“Cool.”

Two bends of the river later.

“I think we’ve found it.”

I almost couldn’t tell what I was seeing at first. With the spell cast over my eyes, it looked like the river simply stopped, running directly into a gigantic black mass. But as we approached, I noticed its edges. It was a wall, a massive one, filling the entire riverbank. It rose high enough to bridge hillcrest to hillcrest, and dwarfed all the trees around it. I was immediately struck by the size, reminded of the Stallion’s walls in Canterbury. But this wall seemed much more crudely built. It was a crammed together mess, haphazardly constructed with stones and logs, muddy straw serving as its caulk. Water spurted from various cracks and holes, enough to create a small, but steady stream that dribbled into the riverbed.

Without a word, we scampered up the steep hill to get a better look, sliding off the loose soil in our haste. The slopes that we stood on were damp and waterlogged, and each step sunk into the ground, leaving behind thick, muddy puddles among the fallen leaves. Finally, we stood atop the hill, able to look over the massive wall, on the shores of something unbelievable.

Extending from crest to crest, curving back around hills into unknown territory was a massive expanse of black water. The wind rippled the surface, making tiny waves wash up against our hooves, slapping against the makeshift rock dam. Trees became slowly submerged as they moved down the slopes, peppering both shores. Only the center of the watery mass was completely empty and still.

It was as if the river had been plugged up. It never stopped flowing. There was a word for this, I was certain.

“It’s… A lake?” I guessed, unable to take my eyes away. “What’s a lake doing here?”

“I think we can see why!” Discord waved towards the rock wall.

“I suppose so,” I replied softly, “Question now is ‘Who? And how.”

“’How’ can also be answered with the dam…?”

“That’s not what I mean.” I shook my head, trying to stop myself from staring. “I don’t know if this is earth pony work… and it’s definitely not the Shadow Stallion’s. So who would go through all this trouble? And for what purpose?”

“Hm…” Discord snapped his eyes up to me with a revelation, “What if whoever built this was trying to cut off Stallion food sources?”

“So… A resistance group? Hm…” I looked down at my friend, “A plausible explaination…”

There was a squeal. I whipped around to see Luna charge past me, leap into the air, and land in the lake with a heavy splash, splattering water across my legs.

“Eee! It’s cold!” She giggled, spinning and splashing in place.

“Luna, what are you doing?!” I cried out, hovering on the shore. “You don’t know how to swim!”

Luna took a deep breath of air and pouted. She bobbed gently in the waves for a moment before gasping and dunking briefly under the water.

“Did you see that?!” she sputtered joyfully, “I just floated!”

“Luna, you get back here right now! I’m warning you! Don’t make me come in myself!”

I made my disapproval very clear, but Luna continued to splash around in the water, giggling. I looked down at Discord, biting my lip. He simply stared back at me, face blank. At least he had the common sense to not jump in after her, but did he really have nothing more to say? I sighed and turned around. Carefully, I hung my saddlebags from a tree branch, picking up Luna’s from where she dropped them. I didn’t want them resting on the damp ground. Necessary task complete, I walked to the water’s edge and gently tapped my hoof against the water. Goodness, that was cold.

Suddenly, I lost my hooves. I smacked into the lake. My head went under, water jammed itself up my nose, my side stung from the water’s blow. I didn’t dare breathe, and I doubt I could if I tried, organs tightened by the frigid temperature. I kicked myself against the ground, finding the surface immediately. I gasped and spat water and Discord loudly laughed and splashed beside me.

“I was waiting forever for you to take that thing off!” He laughed again, falling back into the water with a wet slap.

“I could have drowned!” I spun and bucked water at him, body burning, face certainly red. Yet he continued to laugh and laugh…

“Hey, calm down!” Discord chuckled, “It’s not like I can swim any better than you two. I wouldn’t do anything too terribly stupid.”

I bobbed slightly as a wave picked me up off the lakebed. I immediately hurried to shallower waters, still glaring at the little hodgepodge of a pony.

“Why in Equestria are we playing in the water if none of us can swim?!” I sputtered. “We’re supposed to be focused on the dam here!”

“It’s celebratory,” Discord replied, hopping as a wave swelled under him. “We found the problem, now we just dismantle the thing, right?”

“Why can’t either of you just take one thing seriously?!” I shouted, “How can you just laugh off death?!”

Discord snorted, “Why do you always think everything’s going to kill us, you—“

“Guys!” Luna shouted, splashing loudly, “Let’s not figh-burble-” A wave washed over Luna’s head, cutting off her sentence.

“Luna!” I shot forward, diving into the water, trying to find her hooves.

And then I saw it.

A beast, a monster, a cross between a serpent and a pony, as big, maybe bigger than the dam. It rose from the center of the lake, displacing waves, rain falling from its massive body, slick and slimy, like an eel’s. A seaweed mane hung wet from its mammoth crest, falling over the scales and gills that folded across its face, down its thick neck. The creature reared up, kicking its cart-sized hooves as it roared, a raucous sound smashing off the hills, splitting my ears. With a whip of its enormous tail, gallons and gallons of water barreled towards the shore, towards us.

I curled my legs around Luna’s body just as her spell cut off, plunging everything around me into a heavy waterfall of darkness.

XI : Discord

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 11
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.blogspot.com/

~Discord~

I was tumbling underwater, pulled by a force I could neither fight nor control. Everything was muted. Movement was difficult. Water kept forcing itself up my nose, and I was wasting precious air trying to keep it out. I kept my eyes tight shut, believing there was nothing to see in the impenetrable gloom. The current suggested an echo of a roar, the sharp scraping and clattering of pebbles and sand colliding.

Slowly, I stopped falling. I was floating, suspended in the most curious way, like I was truly weightless, without effort or motion. I waved an arm around, my legs, feeling the dull splash of their movement, trying to find ground, air, something. What way even was up? I sat, still, until I felt myself gently rise.

Okay, that way led to the surface. I snapped open my wings. I didn’t know how to swim… but if there was a place where I could easily use these stupid things, let it be underwater!

I struggled to drag them up and down. My bird wing moved easily, as easily as my legs. But water slipped through the feathers as if they were nothing. The membrane of my bat wing almost caught too much with each stroke, water like weights pushing into my skin, nearly tearing it. I would retract my wing almost instantly, preferring failure more than a bit of pain.

It was difficult to tell with my eyes closed, but it felt like I spun in place a little. I was still bobbing hopelessly in the exact center of the middle of nothing. Useless, useless wings! In my frustration, I heaved a sigh.

A bubbles rushed from my mouth before I could grab my snout shut. I didn’t have the time to be wasting precious air! Not with the surface so far out of reach, and my lungs beginning to ache for a breath…

I decided about then that the time was ripe for panic mode.

I flipped and rolled in the water, kicking furiously, forcing my eyes open to look through the murk. Up, down, side to side, there was nothing around me, everything vanished. I flapped my wings again, against the pain, pulling currents of bubbles behind me, forcing myself somewhere. Anywhere!

A dark strip hovered into my vision, on one side, something solid, something there. I thrashed furiously toward it, pawing the water with my claws, letting water jam itself up my nose. At this point it didn’t matter anymore. Another furious stroke later, I drifted into the object and quickly gripped it with my claws. Wood! A tree! Hallelujah! I scraped myself upward and moments later I hit air. Cold, frigid, wonderful air! I gasped and snorted, breeze transforming me into an icicle, gravity suddenly deciding to exert itself.

But air!

I shook off some of the water and heaved myself up the waterlogged tree. I was shivering, and my nose and lungs had taken on the smell and feel of burned nuts, but I was alive. I found a branch that looked less than dead, and peered out over the lake.

I was on the opposite shore now, as far as I could tell. The humongous half-pony fish snorted around the other edge, pawing the ground and knocking over trees like they were only bushes, dragging its fish tail after it in the water. Was it sniffing for my friends? Did it have a good sense of smell? How could that be if he spent all day with his nose burning inside out? A cheater, that’s what the behemoth was.

From what I could tell, Luna and Celestia were under a cloak of darkness, or at least… I hope that’s where they were, I couldn’t see them anywhere. The beast hadn’t found them, that was certain. But none of us could swim, so… I mean, I got lucky, but those two…

I stared down at the black water beneath me, waves splashing against my tree trunk. What if they got dragged under as well? My insides shrunk two sizes, limbs retreating tightly against by body. I just barely made it myself, and I could climb trees. Those two… my friends, they, I hope they were as lucky, no, luckier.

I shifted on my paws as I stared at the water beneath me, noticing how much I was shivering. Did I feel this bad while we were falling? Like I had nothing? Like there was no hope? How could I have ever enjoyed this? There was no way out of this was there? Could I find a clever solution for this situation, for finding my friends? All hope is lost, that’s when I pull out all the stops, try everything! Right? There was a solution to finding my friends, there had to be…

C’mon brain! Stop… stop not thinking! Stop staring down at the inky black death lake! This is serious!

“Celestia! Luna!” I screamed. “Where are you?!”

The beast whipped around to glare in my direction, spinning body casting thick waves that smacked and shook my tree. Yep, I’m clever. I clung to the branch as it creaked ominously beneath me, threatening to drop me back into danger.

The beast slunk under the water, turning into a black mass as it swam, a spreading a triangle of waves that headed right for my tree. It rose up, amid the half submerged forest, head hovering over its tops, slowly looking around.

I’ve dealt with adult Draconequus this big before. I did exactly what I would do in a situation where one of them was mad at me: sunk deeper into the foliage and prayed that age had blinded it.

It treaded water, breath a fine white mist.

The monster raised a hoof big enough to squash any pony flat, mud caking its edge, water cascading down the nail’s ridges. With great deliberation, a tree crumpled under its weight, bending, breaking, snapping, splashing, forlorn, into its tree brother, twigs entangled and branches embracing. With another shove it crashed into the water, and was forced under. Drowned.

Let’s not use the word drowned.

The gigantic half horse snorted again, steam rising from its nostrils as it began eyeing my tree. Up went his hoof again. There was a crack, and the whole tree shivered as I did.

With a squeal I leapt forward, flapping my wings desperately as the tree crashed into the water below me. My few desperate beats gained me only a slight amount of air, and was rapidly falling back to the ground, the water. I focused all my power into my feet. If I can’t swim, then maybe I can make the water solid?

My magic failed to act quickly enough. I splashed into the water and it hardened into ice around my claws, trapping them in painfully tight angles. I yelped and released the spell as the monster spun around. My head dunked under the waves, back into the muted world.

Panicking, flailing in the water, the shadow of the beast loomed over me. I cast up a hand. A spell, any spell! Through the waves, white noise coated the monster’s eyes, not bright enough to blind, but dense enough to obscure.

It shook its head. There was an echo of a whinny, and an all too sharp slap of its tail in the water, sending me spinning once more. I didn’t wait to stop this time, I had to concentrate. Something not quite ice, something that wouldn’t encase and kill me…

I transformed the water beneath me, and haphazardly bobbed to the surface, riding a semisolid bubble of watery skin. I stumbled to keep my feet in the waves, threatening to flip over at any moment as I bobbed in and out of the water. The monster scraped at its eyes as I looked around, feverish in my search.

“CELESTIA! LUNA!” I bellowed before I could think. “CELESTIA!!!”

A small streak of light beyond the retaining wall, popping into a shower of sparks, like a firework. There! They were alive! I dunked underwater briefly, and then began to run, as fast as I could while maintaining the spell. So, not even a jog. But it was faster than swimming!

The monster snorted and roared on the far shore. My illusion began to vanish as I distanced myself from it, throwing my concentration into the specificity of the water walking spell. I tried to cast something simpler, a copy illusion of myself moving in the opposite direction. That’s what being clever was!

Of course, it wound up being completely useless when a sudden wave overwhelmed me. My spell popped, and I went under once more, tumbling and turning, directionless and rudderless as I started.

It didn’t last long.

I smacked into something, a sharp object jamming itself in my back. I flipped and turned, current pulling my sideways. I waved a claw forward and it scraped across a long surface, a hard surface. Rock! I had hit the wall! I scrambled alongside it, and it wasn’t long until I hit a soft patch, a thick glob of muddy glue. One tap and it softened, bursting. Water jettisoned itself through the sudden gap, and I was dragged through. I struggled and squirmed to fit my wings through the crack, but finally I popped out the other side.

I tumbled through the air, and braced for impact. If a bruised shoulder was all I was going to get tonight, then I count myself lucky. The ground never came. A golden glow washed over me and I was yanked sideways, slapping right into the damp embrace of my unicorn friend.

“Discord! Oh, Discord, you’re alive! I was so worried!” Celestia cried, squeezing me around the middle with her forelegs. Her mane was splattered across her face, her coat dripping with water, as mine was. “Oh thank goodness we’re all still alive!” I struggled to escape her grip, but she simply clung to me. Luna, also looking soaked, bounced into view and joined in, hugging my tail.

I laughed! This was all just like the fall all over again… The cold panic, the thrilling escape, the aftermath, with Celestia panicking and Luna being Luna…

“For a second there, I didn’t think I’d see you guys again either!” I wheezed, still trying to pry myself loose. “How’d you two get here?”

“When the big wave splashed over us,” Luna started excitedly, “We got thrown into the trees!”

“Not literally into the trees, mind,” Celestia corrected, “but certainly among them.”

“And then the big monster came over, but I snuck us right past him! Like, fwoosh! Shadow sneak!”

“So we arrived down here, and wondered what had happened to you. But luckily, Luna heard you yelling for us…”

“So big sis threw up that huge firework!”

“Not… threw up… But the point is,” Celestia finally set me down, and I allowed myself an actual breath. “We’ve all made it.”

“Yeah…” I smiled and let Celestia bask in the glow of her precious safety for a moment longer. Then I leapt for the wall and began climbing up its uneven ridges. “I’m going back in!” I declared.

“What?! No! Why?!” Celestia squeaked, “Get down from there!” Celestia’s magic yanked at my tail, but with barely a thought I dissolved it. Lovely thing I learned, messing with magic!

“Don’t worry, I’ve got a way to beat it!” I shouted down, scrambling up as fast as I could.

“How?!”

“I’m gonna goad it into smashing into this dam!”

I heard her sputter, far below me now. “That’s ridiculous! We were all finally safe! Let’s just go back to the town and let them deal with this!”

“No way!” I barked, a grin crossing my face. “That’s not what the Adventure Trio would do!”

Celestia moaned as Luna broke out into giggles.

“Go Discord, go!”

“Don’t encourage him, Luna!”

“I suggest you two get to high ground!” I yelled down as I heaved myself over the last lip of the wall.

This was it, that feeling! This energy! I remember falling, being scared out of my wits. Feeling useless, feeling stupid. And then… this thrill! The moment the plan comes together! The giddiness of living, no, of emerging victorious over adversary! I was shivering all over, itching to move, to keep at this! A crazed thought came to me. If the feeling of victory could be a cutie mark, I’d have gotten right then!

Out here, doing this… This was a way to live! No brothers taunting me with only weak tricks as retaliation. No Ruin insulting me and grinding it in me how worthless I was. No elders loathing my existence as a child among them. Today, here, I was the hero! I could accomplish the impossible, stand out among the crowds, better! Smarter! And willing, heck yeah! Bring it on, world!

With my feet on top of the dam, I flapped my waterlogged wings, shaking them free of water.

Out here, I could soar!

“HEY YOU!” I bellowed with my entire body. The half pony fish monster turned its massive head, snorting jets of steam. “Yeah you! HEY! HELLLLOOOO!!”

“HELLO.”

Silence of a killed moment made the air ring. My insides deflated, and the giddiness washing away. I merely sat, a soaked creature staring into the face of… whatever this was.

“Um… what?” I squeaked.

The beast rolled through the water, over to where I sat. Not the angry charge I was expecting and hoping for, but a casual, swimming stroke.

“YOU CAN TALK?” The creature boomed.

“Was, was just about to ask you the same thing, big guy…”

“WELL THIS IS EMBARRASSING,” The beast grumbled, voice still louder than I could ever shout. “I APOLOGIZE FOR ATTACKING YOU. I HAVE HAD MANY PESTS TRY AND TAKE MY HOME LATELY. AND, WELL,” he lowered his head to my level, staring at me with his massive eye, as big as my entire head, “HAVE YOU EVER HAD TO DEAL WITH A KELPIE INFESTATION?”

“No… no, I can’t say that I have,” I admitted in the smallest voice possible.

“WELL THE PALE ONE LOOKED VERY MUCH LIKE HE WAS GOING TO INFEST MY LAKE. I AM SORRY IF I HARMED YOU IN MY PANIC.”

“Ah… well…” I coughed, trying to gain my composure. This was shocking yes… but in a good way. The goading plan was a dumb idea anyway. I straightened my back and tried to appear authoritative. “Celestia’s not a kelpie, or a guy,” I said firmly, “Just your average unicorn pony.”

“OH, A PONY!” I winced and flattened my ears as the beast raised his voice, clapping his colossal hooves together like the bang of a thunderstorm. “OF COURSE. I HAVE NOT DEALT WITH PONIES IN YEARS! I AM SORRY FOR TRYING TO HURT YOU AND THE PONIES, LITTLE CHIMERA.”

“Actually, I’m a Draconequus!” I shouted up at him.

He paused and looked down at me with one massive eye. “THESE ARE SOME STRANGE WATERS I HAVE SETTLED IN...” he muttered, still louder than anything reasonable.

Through the possibility of being deafened, I heard my friends shouting for me. They had climbed up the side of the hill again, and were standing on the shore, among the trees. I looked up at the monster and walked over to the ponies, carefully balancing on the wide and uneven top. Waves of water nearly pushed me over as the behemoth followed behind me, making the walkway slick.

“Hey guys. The uh…” I looked up as the lake monster hovered over us, water dripping from his seaweed mane.

“MY NAME IS BASIL,” he bellowed.

“Yeah, Basil… Well,” I waved at myself, “My name is Discord, and these are my friends, Luna and Celestia”

“IT IS NICE TO MEET YOU.”

Celestia stared up at the monster, stunned, jaw clamped firmly shut to prevent it from hitting the mud. Luna tumbled backwards from craning her neck too high, falling down on the soaked leaves. She giggled.

“Hi Basil!” Luna yelled. “Are you the one who built this wall?”

“YES I AM.”

“Why’d you do that?!”

“I NEEDED A CHANGE OF PACE.”

“A… a change of pace?” Celestia looked to Luna, confused.

“What do you mean by that?!” Luna cheerfully called up.

“I USED TO LIVE IN A LARGE SEA KNOWN AS THE AGE, HAVE YOU HEARD OF IT?”

“No…” Celestia said.

“WELL I DIDN’T GET MANY VISITORS THERE. MY SEA SERPENT FRIENDS DIDN’T STOP BY VERY OFTEN AND… WELL.” Basil ducked his head down to our level, looking between us. “HAVE YOU EVER TRIED TALKING TO A LIVING WHIRLPOOL?”

“No again!” Luna giggled.

“THEY ARE NOT THE TYPE FOR SMALL TALK.” His hoof rose out of the water, twirling slowly in a large circle. “I THOUGHT I WOULD JUST MOVE AWAY. SEE THE SIGHTS. SO I BUILT THIS LAKE. BUT SO FAR, NO ONE HAS VISITED ME. NOBODY BUT SOME UNTALKITIVE SNAPPING TURTLES.”

Celestia edged a few more feet from the shore. “I see… how unfortunate.”

“So this is like your house?” I asked from my position on the wall. Basil nodded slowly, chin making a slapping sound when it hit the water.

“YES, THIS IS MY NEW HOME.”

I looked to Celestia, who jerked her head sideways slightly, staring back at me. Luna looked up at her sister, then began nodding cheerfully. Well this was an unhelpful exchange. What are we even trying to not talk about?

“Well, um.” I turned to Basil. “I like what you’ve done with the, uh, trees.”

“THANK YOU, LITTLE DRAKAN-QWIS.”

“But Basil!” I was firm again in my standing, clear in my direction! “When you blocked off the river, you cut off a major water supply downstream for a lot of ponies!”

Basil blinked. “I HAVE?”

“Yes! So you can’t just—“

“I HAVE NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS?!” Basil whinnied, rearing up out of the water, voice booming once more. Waves rushed to the shore, over the dam. I dropped to all fours and gripped to the log in an effort to remain where I was. “WONDERFUL! ARE THEY COMING TO VIST?!”

“No, they’re not!” I shouted, righting myself, “Basil, you’ve caused a drought and it’s made them very agitated!”

“SO…” It was difficult to tell, but as Basil sunk back into the lake, I could have sworn he looked crestfallen. “THEY ARE NOT FRIENDLY?”

“Not until you return their water, no!”

“Doesn’t that mean Basil has to move, though?” Luna asked, propping herself up on the dam by her forehooves, directing her question at me. “He just wanted to get out and meet new friends… We can’t just tell him to leave…” Celestia yanked her back.

“Well he can’t stay,” she exclaimed. “The earth ponies were using the water first!”

“THE RIVER WILL HAVE TO BE RELEASED EVENTUALLY, EITHER WAY,” Basil thundered. Then, supposedly to himself, “DO THEY NOT UNDERSTAND HOW A DAM WORKS?”

I chuckled and shrugged up at him, “We’re just a bunch of city kids. I’m surprised we even knew what trees were.”

“I CAN EXPLAIN THOSE!”

“Eh, maybe later.”

“Basil!” Celestia yelled.

The lake monster’s head swiveled slowly around to the shore.

“YES, CELESTIA PONY?”

“Can you return the river?” she demanded.

“I CAN.”

There was a moment of silence that was never meant to be. Celestia stared expectantly up at Basil, Basil looked confused down at Celestia, Luna flipped her head between the two and I just sat and watched, waiting for the inevitable.

“Well…” Celestia finally asked, her voice a cough, “Go ahead then?”

Another silence began. Basil carefully raised a hoof to his chin, as if this was something he had to think about.

“MAYBE I WANT TO GET TO KNOW MY NEIGHBORS FIRST,” he boomed. Celestia groaned, bringing her own muddy hoof to her face.

“But you said that you’d give up the water eventually anyway!” she cried.

“Are you going to hold the river hostage for company, Basil?” I demanded, springing to my feet. Basil spun on me, as quickly as he could. “Is that what you want to do?”

“… MAYBE.”

“How cruel!” I shouted, “Is that what a good neighbor would do?! Is that what a good friend would do?” Basil lowered his snout, moping. “It was an honest mistake to block off the river! But to hold onto it after you’ve realized what you’d done wrong? Do you want to be friends with the ponies or not?!” I swear, he was pouting right then. Either that or he was going to vomit on us.

“BUT WHAT IF I GIVE THEM BACK THEIR RIVER AND THEY STILL DON’T VISIT?”

“Don’t worry, Basil!” I shouted, grin returning, “The Adventure Trio would never let the towns do something like that! We’ll make certain that, in return for the water, they come visit you!”

Basil stared down at me once more. Slowly, he backed into the water and flipped around, popping up close to the middle of the dam. I scurried off the dam as he slammed a massive hoof into it. With an echo like a bang, a boulder tumbled off the top of the wall, slamming into the river bed below, crashing and crushing several trees. Water followed it in a jet, gushing from the hole. In an instant, a clear and crystal waterfall was formed, splattering and smacking down to the riverbed, washing downriver in a continuous wave. Luna began cheering, and I followed suit. Celestia dropped to the ground, relieved.

“MY HOUSE WAS BIG ENOUGH ANYWAY.”

~ᴔ~

It was day once more. Basil was flopped over the edge of his wall, waving us goodbye as we began our trek back downriver. A formal letter of exchange was carefully wrapped and packed in Celestia’s waterlogged saddlebag.

“Did Basil really have to talk with us all night?” Celestia yawned, rubbing her eyes, “We didn’t even have much to say…”

“Oh, admit it,” Luna cheerfully replied, “Basil’s a nice pony!”

“Also, that seaweed salad of his was really tasty!” I added. I was following the pair on the ground today, watching the clear water as it flowed naturally in its banks.

“I didn’t like the texture… too slimy.” Celestia yawned again

“Anyway!” I bounced forward, pumping my fist in the air and striking what I believed to be a very action-y pose. “Our first mission as the Adventure Trio was a complete success! Right guys?!”

“Heck yeah it was!” Luna squealed, posing with me, one hoof raised. “Everything got sorted out and nobody was hurt! Victory for the Adventure Trio!”

Celestia sighed, ambling slowly past us.

“I will admit,” she carefully started, “That turned out spectacularly, considering what I thought would happen.” She smiled back at us. “I’m sorry for doubting you both about this adventure thing. But if we keep doing this… Can we call ourselves something other than the Adventure Trio?” She laughed nervously, “It just sounds so silly!”

I laughed and gave Celestia a one-armed hug. “Well, somebody’s finally coming around!”

She smirked. “Oh hush, you—“

Luna gasped, and we both turned to see her turning in place, staring at her saddlebag. One side had begun to glow.

“Omigosh! I’m so sorry! I don’t know how I set it off!” Luna squeaked, trying to buck her bag off. “I didn’t touch it, I swear!”

“I-isn’t that the side with the evil butterfly rock?” Celestia stammered.

“So…” I stared at Luna as her bag finally tumbled off. She ducked behind Celestia. “We just gonna let it sit there?”

“I suggest we—“ She sighed as I proudly sauntered toward the glowing bag of doom. “Just be careful, alright?”

I walked around the bag, as if I was surveying it. Gently, at arm’s length, I unbuckled the radiant sack and flipped it open.

A silver orb appeared briefly, hovering in front of my eyes before shooting directly at my face. I recoiled as it burst apart, vanishing. Eyes clamped down from the glare, something settled around my neck. Heavy, but comfortable. Blinking the light away, I looked down. A golden ring was spun above my shoulders, an silver gemstone set in the center, resting over my heart.

“Discord? Are you okay?” Celestia asked as she slowly approached me.

“Y-yeah, I think so…”

“Okay…” She stared at my chest. “What the heck is that?”

“A… necklace?”

XIII : Luna

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 13
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.blogspot.com/

~Luna~

Another day… another really boring walk! I’m serious, all we’ve been doing lately is walking. We walk down a road, come to a fork, Celestia looks over her map, then declares we need to head in one direction. Rise repeat rinse repeat rinse repeat-- I am really getting bored here! We passed through a town yesterday, but for some reason it wasn’t where we were going. Do we have somewhere to be?

I dunno if we really are heading somewhere, but slowly the forest around us became a different place. The plants here were really funny looking. The trees had little trees hanging off them, and instead of bushes there were lots of big, leafy plants. Ferns, Celestia called them. The air had a really weird smell, damp and muggy, like there was too much rain around here. But the clouds didn’t look like they were more rainy than usual. Same old solid gray mass, even though it had been over a week since we left the city!

I was playing tag with Discord earlier, trying to be less bored, but Celestia got really nervous about us getting lost in the woods, so of course we had to stop. Discord turned to Celestia, on the ground with us this time, and brings up a point I had missed somewhere.

“Weren’t we told not to go past the northern forest?” he asked.

“No, no, they said this road was fine…” Celestia said with a dismissive flick of her hoof, hovering the map in front of her. She was clearly more interested in the paper than Discord’s question. “So once we pass Bolton, we should be on the right path to Stringhalt…”

“Stringhalt?” Discord asked, “Why Stringhalt?”

Celestia looked up from her map, mildly aware of the question.

“Didn’t I say…? No? I thought I told you. Well...” Her eyes flicked back to her map. “Stringhalt is a large Earth pony settlement a bit further north of here. I was thinking maybe they have an adventure guild.” She looked up from her map, “Honestly, I have no idea how these things adventuring things are supposed to work… “

Discord snorted, almost laughing at her. “That’s easy. Adventuring is about freedom, blowing with the wind and doing whatever! Why would they have a guild for that?”

“Well I suppose we’ll see. More importantly!” The map snapped back into scroll form and was swiftly tucked into my sister’s bag. “I’m not naming names.” Celestia glared directly at Discord. “But whoever ate all the carrots last night, please remember, that was a reward for all of us.”

I giggled as Discord made it a point to look at the trees. Discord hiding things always had the silliest faces!

“Funny kinda leaves on these trees,” he declared with a nod, “Looks like they got beards, don’t you think?”

“I think.” My sister trotted forward, trying to keep stride with my friend. “Whoever took the carrots must be feeling fairly guilty right now.”

“Luna…” Discord smirked back at me, “Luna, did you upset Celestia somehow?”

“Nope, it wasn’t me!” I giggled

“Then I wonder what could have troubled her so.”

“And he,” Celestia tried to act passive as she glared down at the back of Discord’s head. “Would be very kind to apologize!”

Discord carefully turned his face upward, slowly turning to look at my sister with the widest shock he could manage.

“Oh! Hello Celestia!”

“Discord.”

“What ever are you looking at me for? I mean, I left the apples!”

“Aha!” she jumped forward and blocked Discord’s path. “AHA! So it was you!”

“Isn’t that what you were getting at this whole time?!” he laughed, shooting by my sister.

“Oh no you don’t! Apologize!”

The two of them began their own game of tag. The kind where Discord cheats and climbs up a tree and Celestia spends her time scraping her hooves on the trunk, yelling at him. It wasn’t a very fun or nice game of tag, to be honest. I moved to try and break them apart, as it was my duty as team –

But suddenly, there was a frog!

With a single shake of a fern leaf, a little green frog just plopped right down into the road. It squatted in the sand, slimy and froglike, staring at absolutely nothing and saying not a word.

“Ee! A frog!” I squeaked. “Celestia, look, it’s a frog! A frog! Can I play with it?!”

“Don’t touch it Luna!” Celestia shouted without looking at me. “Now, Discord!”

“Aw but…” I stopped and stared at the frog. It stared back at me, I think. Well, Celestia didn’t say I couldn’t play. I just had to be extra careful to not catch it!

I crouched. It stared. I leapt forward, just like a frog would!

“Hop!” I squeaked. I landed right next to it, and it jumped up, hopping away from me! “No, frog! Come back!” It dove in between some ferns, but I dashed right after it. It leapt to, and fro, and I hopped right behind it. “I just want to play! Why are you running?”

For a while it became a game of stomp, hop, stomp, hop, driving the frog before me like I was some sort of big, stompy thing! But then, I stomped, and there was no frog hopping away. I stomped again, and nudged around some leaves. No frog again. After a few more stomps and a few carefully brushes of my tail, I realized my playmate was gone for good.

“Aw…” I slowly turned in place, intending to head back to the road. I couldn’t see it anymore, but it was still easy to tell where I came from. With a heart heavy with fear of boredom, I have the ground one last half-hearted stomp.

But suddenly, there was a lizard!

“Lizard!” I squealed as a little slimy black lizard skittered out of a fern, scrambling and squirming on all four feet, wiggling side to side. I began a new game of chase immediately!

The little lizard was much easier to follow than the frog. It wasn’t as fast and it couldn’t turn all crazy. When it zigged, I zagged, and then it zigged back again, but I zagged in front of it! This lizard was a much more reasonable playmate than the frog!

With a quiet plop the lizard ducked into a solid green mass that rippled like water, vanishing as quick as wet lightning. I stopped stared at the place where it had disappeared. A puddle of green? Now that didn’t make sense. I looked up, trying to figure out where the puddle had come from.

In front of me was an empty green space, no bigger than a meadow, strangely flat and still. Steam rose from the surface of the green in quiet little tendrils, tiny lines darting and ducking between them. One of the tiny blue lines whizzed by me, and I saw that it was some sort of tiny line bug! There were bunches of tall grasses lining the green’s sides, with what looked like thick brown caterpillars stuck to their tops. Speaking of plants, there were little pats of flowers, floating in the green substance. I think I recognized those plants, from a picture somewhere. It was a place where frogs lived… lily pads, that’s the word!

And it came to me. Was this a pond? I tapped it with my hoof, swirled it around. The green stuff was pushed aside, and clear water was revealed underneath, rippling gently.

“Woaaaah!” I gasped, “It is a pond! How pretty!”

I raised my hooves and applauded its prettiness. The water received my clapping with grace and silence.

“Well, thanks for showing me this pond, Lizard, but I should probably be getting back!” I spun around, ready to go! And then I just… stared into the forest… for a while. I took a few confident steps before taking a few less than confident steps, and then stopped.

“Shoot, where am I?” I would not let myself be hindered like this! I knew exactly what to do! I took a deep breath.

“CELESTIA! DISCORD!” I screamed, “WHERE ARE YOU?!” I looked around, straining and flicking my ears, and heard nothing. Or… maybe a murmur of something. I stepped forward. “CELESTIA! Oh!” To my left, a little light popped up in the fog, clear and strong. “There you are!”

I skirted the edge of the pond as I followed the light. It didn’t quite feel like where I had come from… but I guess that meant I really was lost. And Celestia’s so smart! If we had just kept shouting at each other forever, I doubt we would have found one another at all! I’d probably get turned all kinds of around if I didn’t have a light to follow! Especially in this thick mist that was forming. After a while, I could barely make out trees five feet away!

I happily followed the light for several minutes, weaving between the foggy trees. Then I slowed, and then I stopped.

“Waiiiit a minute. Celestia’s light isn’t blue.” I looked around. More lights began popping up through the fog, steady in all sorts of directions. They bobbed around me, weaving in and out of trees. “And there isn’t more than one of her either! You guys are jerks. Now I’m really lost.” I berated them. “Apologize!” They quietly refused, still silently bobbing all around me. I showed them my angry pouting face, but it seemed to have no effect. I tried my Celestia pose, standing tall in distain instead, but they still didn’t make them sorry. “Well fine.” I huffed. “I guess I’ll just be—“

A single step forward and I tumbled through the air, flipping head over heels. I opened my mouth to shout, but only a second later and I slammed into the ground, flat on my back. My entire body jarred, and for a second I thought my lungs were stuck. I lay in place, stunned, blankly gaping, until finally my lungs unstuck, and I gasped for breath. Carefully, I rolled onto my feet, shaking, but unhurt. I breathed a bit, staying in place, making sure that I wouldn’t explode into pain if I moved again. It was even longer before I could laugh about it. Wow, that was a fall!

I was standing in a hollowed out cave. Gaps, some big, some small, were all over the celling, letting in light, fog, as well as little tendrils of all sorts of plant life. Moss, ferns, and roots all crept down the holes, stopping several Celestias short of the floor. Under the holes in the roof there were thick patches of green plants, like the one I had landed on. It was as if part of the ceiling had fallen out and dropped all the life from the forest right under it. The floor that wasn’t covered in plant life was coated in a small layer of dead leaves and dirt that could easily be brushed away to reveal flat, dark stone.

Bobbing around the ceiling, or just resting on a wall or ceiling, were dozens and dozens of the little blue orbs. So they weren’t a magic spell being cast… they were actually little creatures themselves! I must have found their nest! One of the blue balls of light floated down in front of me, circling around. I giggled at it. They probably didn’t mean any harm, they couldn’t help glowing! They were kinda pretty too, especially when there was so many of them at once!

I squeaked as its light suddenly flickered out. Stray flecks of ash drifted down from where it vanished. Did it just teleport away? Strange, but I didn’t let that stop me. I trampled down some ferns to stand under the hole I fell down. A few more orbs hovered past me. How in Equestria was I going to get out of this hole?

I magically yanked at one of the roots, trying to see if I could pull it down to climb up. I’m not the best climber but… not that it mattered much. I wound up yanking a lot of roots out of the ground, showering myself with dirt and plant chunks. None came even close to where I stood.

Okay, then what if I try and lift myself? I eyed my right forehoof and tried to magically lift it. I encircled my hoof with my dark aura, and tugged my foreleg upwards. I winced as my magic tried to pull my leg out of my shoulder. I focused more of my magic around me, squinting really hard as I tried to float myself.

I bobbed off the ground, then dropped right back into the grasses, exhausted.

“Well that didn’t work!” I pouted up at the hole as a few more lights bobbed across it. “Oh well, let’s go back to the original plan!” I took a deep breath. “CELESTIA! CELESTIAAAAAAAAAAAA!” I screamed. “Oh, wait, she should know where to stop!” I removed my marbles and Trottingham from my bag and set them in the moss beside me. Then, I hovered my bags up to the lip of the hole. “There! Now they won’t fall in like me!”

I continued to shout for my sister. I don’t know how long I was screaming for, but I didn’t stop until I was exhausted. I dropped to the ground and tried to get my breath back, throat feeling all rough and grainy.

“There…” I panted, “Now there’s no way they can’t find me now!”

There was another soft fizzling sound, and sure enough, two more of the little light balls had teleported, leaving drifting ash down to the floor.

“Hey, where are you guys going anyway? Ooh, you wanna play a game? It might be a while until my friends turn up.” Another one teleported away. More detached from the ceiling and began slowly drifting away. “Fine, I’ll just find another game to play.”

I brought the stuffed purple pony towards me and sort’ve flopped him through the air a little. What kind of game can be played with one doll anyway? I set him down and watched the little blue orbs as they bobbed behind me, deeper into the cave.

“Oh! Duh!” I leapt to my feet. “There’s more to this cave than just this entrance! Maybe there’s another exit somewhere!” I smiled up at the lights, “Thanks guys! You’re not so bad after all!” I spun and magically reached for my bag, but after a moment’s thought, I dismissed my aura. “Better leave that in case Celestia arrive before I escape. AND!” I set a little marble among the plants. “Better leave a trail too!” I chuckled. “And Celestia thought bringing more toys was useless! I am one clever pony!”

I placed Tottering Trottingham on my back and trotted cheerfully further in the dark, pausing only briefly to rub away the shadows in my eyes, leaving behind a careful trail of marbles. It wasn’t long until the dead leaves began to fade, and I saw the floor beneath my feet was carefully tiled stone, warped with age.

Instead of a cave, I found a corridor. Vines and moss clung to the walls, covering the simple stone carvings and decorations. The little orb lights became thicker here, yet never thick enough to need to banish my night vision. The air was musty and humid, smelling heavily of trapped plant stink and mildew. I continued to leave marbles, even though there were only a few simple passages that I could have gone down. Better safe than sorry!

I poked my head into a few of the archways I found. Many of them were empty spaces, large and cavernous, dipping deep into the earth. One looked like a ballroom, with two lines of pillars leading up to a little carved throne, surrounded and lit by the orbs. Another, a vast stone theatre, one of those open air ones. An amphi-theater, I think it’s called. A place to entertain as many ponies as possible. One of the main squares in Canterbury was built like that… Though nothing pleasant was ever showing there.

I wondered, why was this place so empty? Was it a sunken castle? It wasn’t built very well if so. There were no smaller rooms, no leftover furniture or other things. And if I went down any offshoot hall, it ended very quickly, usually in another large chamber. It just looked like somebody carved all of this haphazardly and then just forgot about it. Was it given to be a home for the floaty light creatures? They sure seemed to like it, when they weren’t teleporting away.

I placed my last marble in the middle of the last hallway. In the distance, I could see another chamber, smaller than most, and the outline of a statue, a Pegasus. The first sign that ponies had anything to do with this place.

It was a circular room, not as big as some of the others, but much better decorated. Or would be better decorated. The carvings were much more intricate, ceasing to be just lines and swirls, but figures and forms. Ponies, some standing at attention, some rolling around in laugher, eyes set with gemstones, and lines with precious metals and rocks.

But plants had invaded the chamber as well. They coated the walls, the pictures, shoving out lose rocks, casting them like glitter all around the floor. Moss coated the ground, thicker and in the hallways, coating the centerpiece, crawling with vines.

The center of the room was devoted to a large stone dais, a statue of a Pegasus standing atop it. He was tall, an adult, and in the strangest of poses. His wings were spread wide, reaching towards the ceiling, huge, almost as long as he was. His legs jutted backwards, one raised off the ground, and his head dove down, forelegs thrust over his face. Moss and vines crept up from this connection, coating his face, giving him the appearance of ducking under a blanket to hide. His mane and tail were long, and looked wet for how heavy they sat on him, spilling onto the dais like solid waterfalls. His cutiemark was a little burst of lines, like the spreading sparks of a firework.

I stepped forward, staring at the tall Pegasus. It was such a sad pose to carve… I looked around at all the happy ponies on the walls, and almost felt like they were laughing at the poor guy. Who would spend all this time to just make a sad room? Why was this so heavily decorated when the rest was simple and forgotten?

I squinted at the dais, and scraped off some moss. There were some words, set firmly in the center and framed by abstract swirls.

GOLDEN JUBILEE

TALENTED PLAYRIGHT

VALUED FRIEND

I looked up at the statue again, then it clicked.

“Oh, so this is your tomb! I guess the art in here is one of your plays! Or… summarizing one of your plays.” I frowned up at the statue. “It’s not a very happy play though. Did you write only sad things?” A few of the lights drifted overhead, but otherwise, I was given no answer. “What about the rest of the rooms, were they all sets? Places you lived?” I eyed his blanketed face. “Did you serve the Shadow Stallion? I bet he really liked your sad plays… Though maybe not that much, since you’re in the middle of nowhere and he let the plants ruin your tomb.”

I sat down in a huff, another feeling coming to me. “Yeah… I really am in the middle of nowhere. I’m waiting for my friends but… They’ve gotten lost by now, I’m sure. Silly guys! They’ll find me eventually though, they’re both really smart and mature! It’s just going to be boring waiting. Oh!” I spun back to the statue. “You wanna see one of my plays?! It’ll be a happy one though, not sad and depressing like yours. But you’re gonna have to watch it and like it!”

I floated my stuffed pony off my back and a-hemed myself into a grand, royal voice. “This is the happy story of Tottering Trottingham, Lord of Purplelund!” I paused, then pouted. “It’s not the same without Discord, and all my dolls. Discord was really fun to play with, he would always do crazy stuff with the crowds. Make armies and stuff… but we haven’t been playing really now that we’re out here. It’s been boring…” I stared up at the statue, then grinned, “Oh well, that’s life, I guess! He’s still a pretty cool guy, and funny! Anyway—Eek!” I squealed as a dozen blue lights burst above me, sprinkling me with ash. “Yeesh, you guys startled me! If you don’t want to watch my play, then you can just politely float out!”

I began telling Golden Jubilee the story of Tottering Trottingham, the grand adventure that I just made up on the spot. He was the Lord of Purplelund (duh!) except he was very sad, because he wasn’t purple and all of his subjects were. I immediately switched it around when I realized I was no good at making the doll look any less purple, and decided that, actually, it was his realm that was lacking in purple. In their hearts. Because purple is a very nice color, and to be lacking in it would prevent someone from being a whole pony. Also, it stopped young fillies from getting cutie marks!

So Tottering Trottingham rode into the dark evil forest to find purple and bring it to his people! He fought a dragon! A vine dragon, made out of a single vine! But then the Lord of Purple realized! He didn’t have a sword or anything! So after moping and being sad uselessly, he blasted the dragon with the purple in his heart, which made the dragon his friend!

“But then Trottingham realized he could do this to help all of his subjects!” I said, thinking of a brilliant and quick way to end the play. “So he ran all the way back to Purplelund, brought all of the ponies together, and gave every single one of them a great big hug!” I demonstrated by having Trottingham hug the statue’s hind leg. “And then everybody was happy, and all the fillies’ cutie marks appeared when they should, and they were all happy, and the kingdom had peace forever!” I leapt back, swelling with giddy delight, “THE! END! WAUGH!”

I squeaked as a light burst above me, brighter and more radiant than the little lights that had been running from me all day. I wondered for a moment if this was the king of the floaty orbs, since it was the same light blue color. But then he burst, and instead of teleporting, tendrils shot down to me, wrapping around my neck. I scampered backward, but the light quickly dissappeared, leaving behind a golden necklace, a heavy and circular jewel set squarely over my heart, the same color as my coat.

“Oh! Oh my goodness! This is just like when Discord got his necklace!” I nudged it with my snot, and it pulled apart along the little swirly seams. “It IS like Discord’s necklace! Omygosh! OMYGOSH!” I spun in place, feeling the gem bob gently on my nose. “Thank you, Jubilee! Is this for my play?! I knew you’d like it!” I gasped! “This gives me a great idea! I know how to un-lost my friends! Here!” I placed my doll on the statue’s blanketed head, “Watch Trottingham for me! I’ll be right back!”

I galloped out of the chamber, running past all my marbles with a grin on my face. More of the lights popped as I passed, ornament glowing in my eyes as it bounced up and down atop my snout. I ran all the way back to the original hole, hopped on the island of plants, and began shouting!

“Friendship!” I shouted. The gemstone glittered on my nose and I grinned. This would work! “Discord and Celestia are the best friends ever and I want to help them become less lost! Because I really, really like the both of them!” It glittered more brightly, but not brightly enough! I began trying to hover the necklace from the inside and it glowed, not white, but a lovely shade of dark blue, making that same bell-like tone. “DISCORD! CELESTIA!” A light shot up to the sky, through the mist and above the trees. Through the hole, I saw another ray, a white ray, sweeping sideways.

I took a deep breath, overjoyed to see a sign of my friends, dizzy with the thought of seeing them again. One last time, I shouted!

“I’M OVER HERE!”

My voice blasted like cannon fire, a bell tone bursting blue wave across the cavern. The ground shook, parts of the ceiling crumbled, and I feel backwards into the grass, floored by the sound of my own voice. The bell tone reverberated as my gem’s glow slowly faded.

“Oh wow, that was loud!” I giggled.

XIV : Celestia

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 14
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.blogspot.com/

~Celestia~

In the city, I was my sister’s guardian. I made sure she was safe, was warm, and taken care of. Out here, I thought this would continue. I would always protect my friends, from all danger. I’d be the strong one. The word of logic and reason. The pillar.

Yet constantly, constantly, I was losing both of them. More than that, they could handle themselves just fine, better than fine, while I just react to every situation with fear. While I wasted my time panicking, searching, Luna found the proper solution to her displacement, and led us to her. She didn’t need me to be her big sister, her caretaker anymore.

I held her now, at the bottom of an underground cave, and stroked a few leaves out of her mane. Only a few hours gone and it’s already so messy…

“Tell us not to take risks, and then you go jumping down a random hole…” Discord dropped beside me, landing softened by a few beats of his wings. “Who’s the risk taker now, mom?”

“Oh, hush.” I reluctantly released my sister and took a few steps back, regaining my posture. Luna smiled at me, cheerful as always.

“Man, am I glad to see you guys!” she exclaimed, “Did you really get that lost?!”

“Yeah, if you can call it that!” Discord snickered, “Searching on the ground was hard, and of course Celestia said we shouldn’t split up, so…”

“It was a haunted forest!” I snapped, “I dread to think—!”

“No, hey, it was a good idea.” Discord raised an eyebrow at me, “It would have been near useless to look separately.”

“Yes…” I pawed the ground, face hot. At least I could attribute any tears to my relief. I coughed a little, trying to maintain at least some form of dignity and poise. “Anyway… Luna?”

“Yep!”

“You’ve gotten one of those necklaces as well…” Luna looked down to reaffirm my statement, then gave me a single nod.

“Uh-huh!

“How did that happen?”

“Well I was showing Golden Jubilee a play of mine, and—“

“I’m sorry…” I waved a hoof to quiet her, “Golden Jubilee…?” I looked deeper into the cave, puzzled. “Is there another pony down here?”

“Nope! Well… yes, but I’m pretty sure he’s dead.” Dead?! A body?! Luna was subjected to such an atrocious sight and she’s still smiling as she always does?! Apparently ignorant to my disgust, she continued. “Do you want to come see? I left a marble trail!”

“No! Luna! You put on a play for, for a dead body?!”

“No, no, no, silly!” she giggled, “It’s his statue! C’mon, lemme show you!”

Luna spun round and began running off into the shadows, further into the cave. My worries failed to be alleviated as I lit up a small light and followed, keeping my pace steady. I heard Discord scamper behind me, and snicker softly at my side.

“The look on your face!” he laughed quietly. I refused him an answer, and continued to press after my sister.

Abruptly, the uneven walls of the cave led to a square corridor, carvings speaking clearly of unicorn stonemasonry. Floating on the celling, among the roots and vines of massive plants, were little blue lights. Believing them to be a magical feature, I was startled when one drifted towards me and hovered away. So they were alive!

And yet, Luna ignored them. Did that mean they weren’t dangerous, or did it mean she still doesn’t understand the concept of danger? She was still such a young filly, still so ignorant of the world! Should I just trust her, just as I would a friend? It felt strange to think that… Wrong.

Finally, we came to what she wanted to show us. A circular room, intricately detailed by fine craftsponies, yet heedlessly left to become overrun.

“So, what happened!” Luna began, “I came into this room with the sad statue, and the little markings said he was a playwright!” She pointed to an epitaph at the feet of the Pegasus. “But he looked so sad, and I thought, maybe he has to see a happy play! So I put on a play for him, and when I was done, this light came from above and POOF! Necklace!”

I walked up to the statue as Luna spoke, looking over its form, its artistry. The halls and chambers of this place were simple, a few stone-shaping spells here and there, a unicorn with the right spells could have this place carved within a week. This statue, on the other hand, was different… Just looking at the cutie mark, it was neither a raised nor sunken relief, as would typically be the easiest way to represent the design. It was instead another type of stone, seamlessly inlaid into place. It was unlike anything I had ever seen… Certainly possible, but almost needlessly complicated in procedure.

The attention was not lost to other sections of the statue’s body. The heavy mane and tail were similarly colored and smoothed, tightly packed into gently descending spirals. The divide between hoof and fetlock was crisp, carved almost to the hair, without a hint of weathering or damage. I began to wonder… What did the face look like, hidden away under the years of plant life? Damaged by the roots, probably. But…

Luna finished her story as I began brushing away the plants that coated his face. His expression poked out from under the moss, twisted in pain befitting his posture, almost frighteningly lifelike. I could make out the shape of individual teeth, the exact creases of his snout… Even his eyelashes, something so delicate and small, were still in place. And they were not merely a suggestion carved into the face, but actual raised hairs, each one painstakingly separated from the others.

And that had survived damage from plant life! What in Equestria was this statue made of? Who could possibly be its craftsman? Should I try and snap an eyelash, to see if it was even possible to harm? I held myself back, but continued to move aside the plants that had overtaken the playwright. With a swipe of my hoof I pushed aside more vines, but, halfway across his head, my hoof scraped into something hard, something immovable.

Surprised, I moved around it, trying to reveal what had stopped my foot. Stone, another section of the statue. Still partially hidden, jutting from the center of his skull, was a slowly spiraling horn.

My eyes snapped up, reconfirming that there were wings on this rock’s body. Wings and a horn? An alicorn! Was this a character from Golden Jubilee’s play? An idealization of the playwright? That made the most sense. It was as if, in death, they portrayed the stallion as ascended to a higher state of being.

But who would put so much time and attention into one lost and forgotten playwright, into carving him in such pain? No pony was worth this much, no matter how beloved.

But what if this Jubilee himself was an alicorn?

If he was… I slapped a hoof over my mouth.

“Guys… I’ve got this crazy idea. Please help me get rid of it.”

“Okay!” Luna said, “What is it?”

“No, oh goodness,” I shook my head, “It’s, it’s absolutely crazy, positively absurd to think—!”

“C’mon, tell us!”

“The… the statue is an alicorn…” I waved a hoof at it. Discord peaked around my shoulders, silent. “And Luna, you got a necklace that was practically identical to Discord’s, and… oh my goodness. Discord, Luna…” My friends leaned in close as I stumbled with the absurdity of my final sentence. “What if these artifacts are the Elements of Harmony?”

Silence greeted me, my friend and my sister staring up at me, stunned.

“I-I can’t think of what else they could be!” I tried to recover, “I mean, it was a story book, but… The Elements were owned by alicorns, as both of these were. They reacted to friendship and teamwork, and the storybook pictures look exactly like these necklaces, like little golden bands! The gemstones aren’t the right colors, but I—“

“WOO HOO!” Discord leapt up and punched the air, refusing to let me finish. “Holy crap! We’re not your ordinary adventurers, heck no we aren’t! WAHOO!” He continued cheering wildly, leaping and gliding around the tomb in a crazy joy. Luna laughed and started chasing him, echoing his cheers.

“You’re not supposed to just accept this!” I cried with a stomp of my hoof. “Tell me I’m wrong! It’s just ridiculous to think this!”

“You seemed pretty adamant to defend the idea just a second ago!” Discord laughed.

“Elements of Harmony! Elements of Harmony! YAY! Hooray!”

“But it was just a silly storybook!” I tried to assert, “A tale for children!”

“Yeah, a storybook with gold foil on every page!” Discord retorted, “Somebody must’ve thought it was a pretty dang important story to dump their bits into it!”

“That’s ridiculous! Arguing that a story is considered real because somebody wanted to tell it well!” Discord and Luna continued to cheer and play around me, tearing around the tomb and squealing. “You two! AUG! Why did I even bring this up?!” I dropped to the ground. I tried to pick through my thoughts, trying to comprehend this, and what it means. Alicorns were just a legend… and this statue could just be a representation. Well made, certainly, but proof of nothing!

But the original bizarre stone from Discord… That was in the hooves of an alicorn, a real one. But all that proved was that aspects of the story were true, not necessarily every detail of it. I never got proof that the Elements weren’t real, but… Oh, I just don’t know!

“Hey Luna, I didn’t know you could use sonic magic,” Discord said somewhere behind me. “Why didn’t you use that sooner?!”

“Because I didn’t know I had it either!”

Discord barked a laugh, “The Elements of Harmony must have activated your secret powers!”

“Omigosh you’re right!” There was a clatter of hooves, Luna supposedly bouncing around. “Discord, Discorddiscord! Did you get secret powers?!”

“I dunno, but I was always weak in shadow magic! Maybe the Element’ll help me cast some of that!”

“You know shadow magic?!”

“A little!”

“OMIGOSH!”

“HOLYCRAP!”

I covered my ears as they began to have a squealing battle. Those two are still just kids! They’re just taking what I had to say in one stride, accepting it without thought or question. Am I the only rational one in this team?!

“I wonder which Elements these are?” Discord asked.

“Well, we’ve only got six to pick from! Kindness, magic, laughter… uh… honesty.” Luna popped into my vision. “Hey big sis, what’s the other two?!”

“Loyalty and Generosity,” I grumbled.

“Yeah, and those!”

“So, so yours, Luna! You put on a play for this guy so um…” I watched Discord as he tapped his chin, “Kindness? Generosity? Actually, what’s the difference…”

“But it was also a funny play, so maybe it’s Laughter?”

“But if this guy only put on sad plays, why would he have the Element of Laughter?”

“Maybe people thought all of his sad plays were really funny!”

Discord doubled over with laughter. “Oh jeez, that’s really depressing!”

“Anyway, anyway,” Luna bounded forward and pushed her snout against Discord’s necklace. “If we’re going to guess by ownership, yours is gonna be real easy!” She stumbled back. “What do you think the Shadow Stallion would have?”

“Um…” Discord’s smile fell as he dropped down on his haunches. “Yeesh, that’s a hard question. Uh… Honesty? Generosity?”

“Generosity?” I snorted.

“Well, I don’t know, he doesn’t seem to be a virtuous guy!” He laughed nervously. “Of course, he wasn’t wearing the element either, so…”

“And you’re sure he was an alicorn?” I asked. Doesn’t hurt to double check...

“Positive.” Discord nodded. “He had wings, and I definitely saw him cast magic. Heck… the guy just looks magic. He’s got…” Discord waved his birdlike claw, trying to grasp for the word. “This really bizarre aura. Like a living shadow.”

I winced. “I think that’s really more than enough about that...”

“Yeah, and it’s not helping us learn anything about your element!” Luna said. “Back to when it was earned!”

“Hm…” After a moment’s thought, Discord smirked. “Well I did generously let Basil keep the dam.”

“That wasn’t yours to give, Discord!” I snapped. “That’s not what Generosity is!”

“Well then uh… I was using a lot of magic.” He shrugged. “Maybe it’s Magic?”

I sighed loudly and threw myself up to my feet. I can’t think like this, with two, two children yammering about their toys! “Can we please leave now?! I don’t want to spend the night in this place!”

“Oh, right, sorry!” Discord dropped on all four feet. “We should get out of here…”

“Now Luna,” I spun on my sister. “Pick up your toys…”

“Okay!” She nodded, stopped, then shook her head. “Wait, no, not okay.” She waved at the statue, where Tottering Trottingham was positioned. “I think Mr. Gold needs a friend more than I do! Now he won’t be lonely!”

I frowned. It’s not like the doll was originally mine and held a good amount of sentimental value. To even suggest just leaving it, like it was some sort of throwaway object!

Oh Celestia, get ahold of yourself! I trotted off, not wanting to give the matter any more attention than it deserved!

~¤~

It was dark by the time that we got back to the road, and I was glad that we managed to make it back at all. Discord and Luna wouldn’t stop yammering about the Elements and magic… they didn’t even notice I wasn’t talking. I just dropped by a tree and tried to get to sleep, trying to sort things out… Trying to come to terms with the fact that my friends only listen to me when they want to. When it makes things more fun to them.

How could they listen to me one moment, then ignore me the next?

Did they even care what I was saying?

And they were just so overjoyed. There’s nothing wrong with sleeping on the side of the road, with barely subsiding off wild grass and the rewards of odd jobs! And some magic items are clearly the mystical long artifacts of Harmony! I mean, what else could they be?!

The other two had long since fallen quiet and gone to bed, no matter to a reasonable sleep schedule. I was still awake, working myself to tears, face burning hot.

“I feel so lost…” I whimpered to myself.

Discord chuckled above me. I pressed my forelegs down on my snout, suppressing a sob.

“How can you say that, you’re the one who has the map!” he snickered.

I tried to keep quiet, curling up tightly.

“Aw… no ‘hush, Discord!’? No ‘Thank you for pointing out the obvious.’?”

I dug my snout deeper into my forelegs, shivering, throat aching with the effort of trying not to reply. Discord was silent above me.

“Woah, are you crying?”

I wiped my nose on my fetlock and refused to answer. What if I opened my mouth and all that came out was a sob?

The shadow of Discord bobbed into my view, two pale lights serving as his eyes. They settled right next to me, hovering ominously, simply staring. They tipped sideways.

“Do you uh… need a hug?” I failed to reply once more, but my friend didn’t need an answer. I only heard him shift, one light vanishing, and his paw was around my shoulders. His wing was folded, but I could feel it shift against me as he breathed. I winced as his head rested against my neck, his stiff fur an irritant, and the bizarre white horn already getting tangled in my mane, hooking on knots.

“What’s the matter, Celestia? Jealous?” he laughed softly, “Nah, that’s not funny… Um, sorry.” His arm slipped away, and he sat quietly beside me, watching. “Please tell me what’s wrong…” he finally muttered.

“I don’t think I’m suited for life out here,” I replied softly, “Not at all…”

“Why do you say that…? Out here, Celestia… we’re free, you know? We can do anything, go anywhere. There are no walls that can hold us anymore.”

“Is that how you see it? You and Luna?” I asked, mopping up my face with a fetlock once more. “I don’t feel that way… Without walls, there’s no guidance. There’s no point, or purpose, or direction. We’re just lost, aimless and… there’s just no control, not to anything.”

Discord shifted beside me. “Honestly… I kinda like that.”

“I don’t. I like an order to things. A system to work with, or even to work around. Out here… I feel rudderless, pulled around without control. And it scares me.”

The two lights in his eyes flickered.

“I think I can understand that. Being rudderless…”

I hacked out a snort. “Can you now?”

“Yes. I can.” His eyes vanished. Closed, or just turned away, it was hard to tell. “In the city, I was the one being controlled. No direction I chose was going to be my own… I’d just wind up on patrol eventually. That or dead…” One little reflection reappeared, tilting up. “But out here, nothing holds me back. I chose where I go and what I want to do. Having no direction, it feels like my direction. Thinking, woah, what’s beyond that next hill?! I don’t know, but I wanna go see. And I can go see.”

“I don’t really work like that… And… and it frustrates me, when I get pulled around like that.” His reflective eyes vanished again. I hoped he could see my expression, get what I was trying to say. “Just living moment to moment… We’ve got to have a plan larger than that, we can’t grow up just running from hill to hill, only thinking in the short term!”

There was another shifting sound beside me, as well as an annoyed sigh. Angry blood returned to my face, why would he not listen?!

“When you’d get so passive aggressive, Celestia?”

I kicked him. I smacked my hind hoof right into his side, bouncing off his flank. He didn’t make a sound, his eyes reappearing, suddenly far too close.

“That aggressive enough for you?!” I hissed.

“Ow, Celestia,” he replied. That’s it?!

“I’m upset, I’m scared, and you just keep sniping at me!” I quietly cried. “You keep ignoring how I feel!”

“You’re ignoring how we feel!” Discord snapped back. A claw dug into my chest, jabbing at my ribs. “You are so convinced that Celestia is always right, in every case! News flash! You. Don’t. Know. Everything! So stop acting like you’re some ultimate authority over the two of us, because, as you just said, you aren’t suited to wandering around out here!”

“You’re, you’re incorrigible!” I sobbed, at a loss for what to say.

“For once, I am glad I don’t know what a word means!” Discord snapped back. I felt him stand, but his heat never left. There was a thud beside me, and Discord’s eyes reappeared. “I sorry…” His voice was low, still not entirely sympathetic. More like a child who’s been scolded. “I was trying to make you feel better, but… I think I failed. Forgive me?” I refused to reply, staring at him, knowing he could see my face like this. “What if I apologized for eating those carrots too?” I snorted, but felt myself ease.

“Apology accepted,” I muttered.

“And if you want a long term goal… well, I think we have a clear one now. Get all the Elements and take down the Shadow Stallion.”

I let my head drop again. He was only trying to be nice, I tried to assure myself. Never mind how ridiculous that sounded.

“How could we even attempt to do that?” I asked.

“We’ve already got two,” he urged.

“That’s just… ridiculous! Overwhelming! Impossible!”

“Celestia… the Elements are right in front of you. I’m wearing one!” There was a little clatter, the shifting of his necklace, and then it was lying across my foreleg, still warm from his neck. “It’s not only possible, it’s happening! You said that your cutie mark meant you wanted to bring the sun back to Equestria. Well, this is how we can do that!”

His words stung. My silly, lofty goal... it is absolutely comparable to this situation, comparable in its airheaded insanity. How could such a ridiculous dream, imagined in a moment of weakeness, wind up being my brand for life?

“But we’re just two fillies and a colt,” I pleaded, “We can’t handle this!”

“Yes we can. Yes you can.”

“No I—“

Suddenly, Discord threw his weight across me. He dropped his head atop mine as he hugged my neck, side digging into my back, and the strangely slick texture of his lizard leg jamming into my right flank.

“I’m trying to help you, Celestia!” he exclaimed. “Bad as I’m failing at it, I think this is something we can all get behind! And, as your friend, I believe in you. Once you figure this out, you can do it. You can do anything!”

I sniffled as the necklace’s gemstone sparkled intensely on my head, shining in my eyes.

“That is so corny. Even the Element thinks so.”

“Corny is the best kind of story,” Discord replied firmly.

“Life is not a story.”

“If we succeed at this, it will be. Right in a little gilded volume, Elements of Harmony, part 2. The part where Celestia, Luna, and Discord were all awesome adventurers. Friends forever!”

“Gilded? The proper term,” I laughed, wiping away the rest of my tears, “Is illuminated.”

“Both. At once.”

“Sure.” I laughed. “Sure, why not.”

There was a little gust as Discord hovered himself off my back, dropping next to me once more.

“Feel better?” he asked.

“Yeah… yeah a little bit. I’ve just got to think this over a bit more, but I think I’ll be fine. Thanks, Discord.”

He nodded, and his eyes vanished. I heard his claws scraping on the tree trunk. But with a soft whump the reappeared. His wing brushed my back as it retreated to his side.

“I got it,” he said.

“Got what?”

“Why don’t I start calling you Tia?”

“Tia? Why Tia?”

“Well…” A suggestion of his paw began waving beside me, making his eyes flicker. “Celestia is ladylike and refined. She always does the proper thing, and never ever toes the line. But Tia! Tia isn’t afraid to get her hooves dirty. Tia is nice and gentle, but she’ll do anything, go anywhere if it means she can protect her friends.”

“Do you really think changing what you call me will do anything?”

“Well, why did you want to call me Resonance? There’s more to a name than just random sounds, you know that.” He was silent, letting the idea sit. “I think this’ll help you see things as the new you.”

“Do I need a new me?” I asked him quietly.

“I dunno, you’re having trouble, so maybe?” A suggestion of a shrug. “Um… sorry if I’m offending you again… I’m just trying to help.”

“Perhaps we can try it out, for a few days.”

The lights bobbed vigorously then vanished again as he climbed his tree, claws scraping at the bark, leaves rustling. Then things became quiet… as quiet as they could be, at night in the wild.

“Hey Discord?” I called up softly. His eyes appeared above me, floating, attached to nothing. “What about… the Bringers of Harmony? For our adventuring group name?”

“Sounds weighty. I like it.”

“And… you think we can talk more? Just about serious stuff?”

“I’d love to, Tia.”

XV : Discord

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 15
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.blogspot.com/

~Discord~

Contrary to what you may have heard, trees are not comfortable places to sleep. Bark is just as jagged as it looks, and leaves can actually get fairly scratchy, especially since they never sit still. Branches are always exactly where you don’t want them, and that can never be fixed, because it’s a different tree every night. Not to mention the ants, and the need to find a perfect place to balance, or whoops! Off you tumble in your half-awake stupor, probably to break a wing, or something.

Yet, I always love staying up in the trees. Taking a wild stab in the dark, I can guess it’s because sleeping in a tree is something so different. It’s difficult, but that made it fun to try, to get used to. I don’t think I could call any rest there a good’s night sleep, but somepony around here needed to be more aware anyway. You know, in case some… bear or something decided to sneak up on us.

It was hours after my conversation with Celestia, or, Tia. Still night out, though I couldn’t even attempt to guess the time. I wasn’t very aware of those things. I was in a weird state. That place between a dream and reality, where you realize you’re asleep in a tree, but dreamy thoughts dominate your mind. I had become convinced that rain was made out of cottage cheese, because the water of the sun baked the hayseed clouds to the boiling point. It made absolute and perfect sense, because it was absolute and perfect nonsense.

Of course, I was fuzzy on the details, because, what does cottage cheese taste like? Like oatmeal? Or… blue? Or…

A scream shattered my mind, whiplash to the waking world, light blasting by my eyes. I stood, tipped, unaware of my limbs as the bark scraped off some of my skin, claws nearly yanked away from me. My legs pinwheeled, leaves invading my face, jabbing and scraping at my gut.

“What’s going on?!” I demanded, trying to force away the leaves with my chin, spitting at the green that snuck in my mouth. I heaved myself up and swatted the branch with my paw as Tia screamed again, mixed with loud and foreign whinnies and snorts. Finally stable, shaking with the hyper awareness only brought with being startled awake, I dropped my vision down, trying to get a grasp of the scene.

Tia had slammed herself against my tree, eyes screwed shut, horn glowing brightly as she screamed, trying to get away and failing miserably. I looked in front of her, and saw a second pony, one I had never seen before.

It was scraggly and thin, blue fur lumpy and uneven, violet mane hanging to one side, in a damp and uncombed tangle. The pony was stumbling away from Tia, twisted its forelegs around his face, whinnying and bucking, making a grimy satchel around his neck bounce. With each buck he left the earth, furiously beating wings holding him aloft, inches from the ground. Clipped to both wings was an iron ring with a feather bangle, that released a puff of dark smoke every time it moved.

“Stop yelling! It’s a Pegasus!” I yelled down to my friend, easing my head over a few more branches.

“Big sis…? Pegasus…?” Luna? I scanned the glade for my other friend. She was barely visible, obscured by a patch of grass. But she was trying to get to her feet, rubbing at her eyes.

“What?! Oh!” Tia gasped, “It is a Pegasus!” she said, almost in awe. I flipped myself around to look back at Celestia, who had begun peering out from under her own hoof. Then, her body tensed, and she stomped forward, shaking an accusatory hoof, “Who are you?! What were you thinking?! Dare to sneak around us like—!”

“Tia!”

She stopped at the sound of my voice, jaw clicking shut. I eased myself off the branch, then dropped to the ground beside her, landing heavily on all fours. I looked over the stranger once more, and turned to Tia. “Look at her flank,” I said, “Look at her cutie mark. That’s an escaped slave.”

Tia’s eyes flicked away from me. Briefly obscured by the occasional flap of the Pegasus’ wings, one could still make out the mix of different shapes. Only one part seemed like it was a natural cutie mark, a pale pair of outstretched wings. Big black letters, STR, were imposed over them, covering the left far more than the right. A black outline of a cloud was overlaid on the letters, tilting slightly upward and overlapping with the top of the ‘R’, leaving a larger blank space in front of the ‘S’.

“A slave?” Tia asked, “There’s slavery out here?!”

“Slavery’s not out here, far as we’ve seen. It’s up there.” I pointed up at the black sky, completely featureless with the onset of night. “How do you think the Stallion perpetuates the cloud cover?” Tia gaped upward, face blank.

“I ain’t a slave! Not no more!” The Pegasus shouted, hoof still over her eyes. Her voice was girlish, but gurgling, as if she had a sore throat. “I bust outta there two days ago, and not no griffon or pony gonna take me back!”

Tia gave me a strange look, eyes stuttering back at the Pegasus.

“You know about this? This situation? How…?” she asked, wavering on one forehoof.

“Well uh…” I looked away, flustered. A lesson from Ruin, a clear cut answer, but one I didn’t want to admit to. That I hoped to never admit to. C’mon, Discord, there’s a simple way to reply. I shrugged away my fears. “You think the Stallion only captured unicorns off the streets of Canterbury? Other ponies were brought through the castle, often enough.”

Tia seemed to accept the answer, and turned away from the conversation, hesitantly approaching the emaciated Pegasus. I looked as well, as she squinted back at me, out from one bloodshot eye, half hidden under a foreleg.

“Hey, it’s okay…” Tia said, approaching slowly, “You just startled us. We’re not going to hurt you.” I kept by Tia’s side, and Luna crawled between her sister’s feet, yawning.

“What are you?!” the Pegasus cried.

“We’re ponies, just like you.”

“Though, not me,” I chuckled. “I’m a Draconequus.”

“Liar!” the Pegasus spat, “If you were, I’d be dead.”

“Eh, I’ll give that. It’s true if you met most Draconequus. On the other hand, I’m special.”

“Sheyeah right you are!” the pony snorted. She blinked both her eyes, hesitantly squinting over a scrawny and patchy leg. “Whadcha you hit me with?”

“Sorry…” Tia apologized, “Reflexive unicorn magic…”

“Unicorn? Shyeah right, there aint no unicorn down here!”

“Fine. Don’t believe anything we have to say.”

“Done and done!” She dropped down to all four hooves, wings falling still, squinting over us through the greasy strands of her mane. And so the group was overcome by silence, Luna nodding off, and Tia was too caught up in her own flabbergasted staring to say a word. I’d surprised the Pegasus didn’t leave right then, but she seemed busy eyeing Celestia’s horn, still glowing softly. I stepped forward.

“So,” I started. “Why were you sneaking around our camp?”

“That weren’t sneaking,” she snapped.

“Yes it was, you walked right up to me!” Tia asserted. “You snorted right in my face!” The Pegasus flicked her tail and shook her head.

“Can’t see nothing out here after dark. And there’s junk everywhere, jus lying around to trip me up! I run into lots more than ponies, I can tell you that much. Didn’t mean to surprise you none.”

“Ah…” Once more, Tia fell to silence, but the thin pony had something to say this time. She turned in place and spread her frayed wing, pointing at the iron band.

“Hey. If you’re really unicorn, can you unicorn magic these darn things offa me?” She waved her wing at us, making the black-spotted feather jingle. “I could fly right outta your mane if you could.”

“Um…” Tia looked it over, refusing to edge closer or further away. “I don’t think I have a spell that can help...”

“Shoot… Then do you bunch have something to eat?”

“I’m… sorry?” Tia stammered.

“Said I’m hungry, and I’m willing to pay for any kind a food.”

Tia looked at me, confused as Luna snoozed beneath her. I glanced at the road, double checking that there was at least a few patches of grass around it.

“You don’t need to waste the bits, there’s grass here you can eat…” Tia said.

“No I can’t, that’d kill me. I got the bits, I’m hungry.”

“Um…” Tia looked to me for advice, and I was more than willing to walk over to her saddlebags and pull out two of our apples. If the starving pony was hungry, then heck if I was going to let that continue.

From her ragged satchel, the Pegasus withdrew a copper bit, clenched between yellow teeth. With a flick of her snout, she tossed the coin at Celestia, who nearly tripped over her own sister trying to dodge away. The apples were snatched out of my hands before I even offered them, snapped between her jaws. She began chewing through the whole apple, struggling to bite through as chunks were spewed out from her breath, juice edging out the sides of her mouth. Celestia looked absolutely horrified, but still refused to move anywhere. It was actually funny to watch Tia struggle internally like that, caught between two conflicting sets of manners. Sympathize with the downtrodden? Be frightened by poor manners? I chuckled quietly to myself.

Suddenly, a thought occurred. A question I should have asked ages ago.

“What’d your name, miss?”

“Clou’estier, number… uh…” She swallowed a mouthful of apple, smacking up the leftovers from her lips. “Flea’s the name.”

“Um…” Tia struggled with a question of her own, “What’s with your cutie mark?”

Flea grinned, then posed, flashing us her jumbled cutie mark.

“Pretty, innit? I got triple shifted once that beaut’ appeared, but I never been prouder! First in the family since grandpappy Rainbow Wing! Pity the brand covers it, wish I coulda seen it otherwise.”

“That’s a brand?”

“Yep. Camp I was born to, and the job I was made to do. Cloudstirring.”

By chance, or maybe reminded by her job, I looked up. Somehow… the sky wasn’t quite as featureless anymore. I climbed a tree, trying to get even a little bit higher for a better look.

Through the branches and leaves, high above us, I saw four little orange orbs, light bouncing off cloud cover and illuminating shadows of what looked like four heavyset ponies.

“Cut the light,” I snapped, pointing up. “There’s something there.”

Flea didn’t even bother to look before rearing in a panic and ducking past Celestia. “Darn! I gotta go! Thank yeh for the apples!”

“No!” I shot down. Flea hesitated, shifting from hoof to hoof nervously. I gave her my grin, my brilliant, brilliant idea grin! “Let’s hide!”

“You dumb or something?” she snorted. “They’ll find us!”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got a great plan!” I dropped out of the tree, stumbling in my attempt to land in front of the Pegasus. “We’ve got some pretty good hiding magic! So, if you stay here, they’ll pass over us, then you can go in the opposite direction, or somewhere they wouldn’t think to look!” flea stared at me, quiet for a moment. Her eyes flicked up and she hastily nodded.

“That’s mighty nice of you, lil dragon.”

“Our pleasure!” I nodded, ignoring the dragon comment. “We’re adventurers! The Bringers of Harmony, and we’re here to help every pony in need!”

“Ooh, that’s our adventuring name?” Luna asked sleepily, “I like it. Let’s use it.”

“Now cut the light! Under these ferns!”

Celestia’s light went out as she scootched Luna underneath the thick leaves. I dove into cover, and Flea settled next to me, stumbling and crashing through the underbrush. Flea brushed against me as she sat, and I tried not to recoil. She was cold with sweat, and, finally still beside me, I could smell the stench of it wafting off of her. That, and another smell. It preoccupied my thoughts as I watched two lanterns pass overhead, now clearly held in the beaks of two vague and shadowy griffons. It was that rotten, greasy stink, like oil and bodily wastes, the stink of the overcast cloud cover.

“Luna, can you cast the spell?” Tia asked quietly. Luna was on my other side, resting her head across her sister’s leg, blinking blearily at the question.

“mm… Maybe.” She yawned.

“It’s alright, let me try!” I asserted. “I’ve been wanting to see if my shadow magic’s gotten a boost anyway.” I spread my hands on the ground and closed my eyes, letting the spell flow from my fingertips. With so little light, it was easy to lift the shadows from wherever I wanted, coating our space, obscuring us completely. When the spell finished, I tried to move my claws. The shadows faltered, and I slapped them back in place, frustrated.

“Dang… still a strain. But don’t worry,” I looked over at my friend, her eyes peering at where she thought I was. “I can hold it for a while, if I focus.”

“Hold what?” Flea demanded quietly, “Nothing happened!”

“If someone looked at us straight, we’d look like a shadow.” Tia explained. “We can see through it just fine.”

“Quiet, guys! They’re coming!”

I watched, focused as the lights circled overhead, two, then three, figures obscured by the thick leaves. In the distance, I heard the griffins speak, voices like low chirping, beaks clacking. I couldn’t tell if it was the pony’s language or their own. Did griffins have their own language? I tried to not think too hard about these details.

With a heavy thud, one dropped into our clearing. He took his lantern out of his beak and held it aloft in a taloned hand, illuminating portions of himself in a near-useless light. Its armor was in thick segments, leather that was seemingly stitched together. A metal helmet curled around its face, framing his beak, with a long feather sprouting out the top. It thin, furred tailed curled, then snapped as the griffin released a frustrated huff. He shuffled in place, swinging his lantern around slowly before approaching a bush, pushing it aside. With a swipe of his paw, he tore it apart, green chunks flying, his voice a rolling growl.

I smirked and curled my fingers around the shadows. You trying to scare us? You don’t intimidate me, you big chicken.

From somewhere above, a gruff male voice. “Anything, Demelza?”

“Don’t bother asking,” a different griffin, again from one unseen. “The skarn couldn’t catch a mule with its head smashed in.”

A voice above made a strangled, squawking whinny noise, surrounded by laughter.

“HEY!” The griffin spun around, waving its lantern at the sky, voice gruff, but clearly female. “Stop picking your noses and keep looking! They could have moved by now!” With a whip of her tail she smashed down another bush, then flipped around, peering in our general direction.

“Hey, you little mud ponies! We saw your little light over here!” I stayed in place, solid, unflinching. You don’t scare me, not at all. “We’re just looking for a bit of live cargo, and that’s all we’ll take, if you show your stupid candy-coated selves.” She clucked once, glaring in our direction. “Well?!”

I felt Flea shift beside me, and I snapped my eyes to her. Her face was fearful, backing away slowly, tail falling out of the spell’s effect. I stuck out a hand to stop her, grabbing her thin ankle, trying to keep my focus. The griffin can’t see us, I wanted to assure her. She’s bluffing! We’re safe!

The griffon smashed another bush, just to our right. Her feet, one of a bird and two of a lion, planted themselves in front of our bush, falling still. The lantern hovered above our heads, as a single orange eye peered through the leaves over us.

Flea whinnied, yanked her hoof out of my hand, and bolted, smashing and trampling past the undergrowth.

“Flea, no!” I flipped around, spell breaking around me, and charged after the Pegasus. There was another blast of Celestia’s light behind me, and a shrill shriek, unlike any other I had heard.

Thoughts rang through my mind as I struggled to catch up. I would not let them catch this Pegasus! This is our duty as heroes! I had to see this through! I couldn’t abandon even one pony! Especially not this one, not like this!

Flea struggled vainly through the dark, colliding with trees and bouncing off the ground, leaving behind her a trail of smoke, easy to follow. Too easy. An orange lantern shot overhead, flying past us, circling around, shouting nonsense. I grabbed at her tail, but on contact Flea brayed again and shot upward, crashing through branches, getting entangled, breaking boughs that crashed down atop me. With several strong flaps, she broke through, then zoomed off, a streaking trail of smoke at a speed I thought impossible.

“Get it!” screamed a griffin, “Catch the mule!”

I scrambled up after her, flapping up to a branch and launching myself higher, never able to fly for more than a few feet at a time. Darn it! Darn it! With a burst of energy, I launched myself above the treetops, hovering shakily, resolving to chase after her. Slap some reason into her!

“The heck—“

“DRACONEQUUS! DRACONEQUUS IN THE TREES.”

I squealed and let myself drop back down, crashing through brittle twigs before slapping into a thicker bough. Stupid! They were looking for me too! Stupid! I glued my eyes to the skies, as two guards looked down, another flying past, over their heads.

“Grab the darn thing, moron!”

“Forget you, where’d the little skarn go?!”

There was boisterous laughter from one of them, loud and wild.

“Grab the stupid lizard, Rigby! Easy bits!”

Okay… I scrambled atop my branch, another plan, a better plan forming. So I’m the better prize here? Fine! If I can draw the attention of all the griffins… then maybe Flea can escape!

I tossed up my hands and from them bloomed an illusion of myself, flapping and flying in tight circles, blurred features, making it easier to move. Not like the birds could tell the difference with their terrible dayball eyes.

The bigger guard took up a length of looped rope on the end of a stick, started charging after the illusion. It took care with its swings, sometimes missing, often hitting, grunting in frustration when the illusion slipped through. C’mon, you dumb chicken. You can’t deal with this alone! Call the other guards! I buzzed him, not close enough to be caught. The other griffin watched, clucking a chuckle.

“Spry one, innit he?”

The one with the stick grunted through his mouthful of lantern. “Shuh up ‘nd ‘elp me, Kipp!”

“Fuh, no,” the one called Kipp snorted, folding its arms, “I’m surprised the little thing hasn’t bit you yet. It’s just yanking your chain, and you still can’t catch the stupid thing!” Call over the other two, you moron! Do it! Your friend is obviously incompetent, even if you do it sarcastically, call off the other guard!

A jolt down my spine, preceding a scream, a voice I recognized. I whipped my head around, dropped my hands, illusion dissipating in a flash.

“Luna?!” I cried. Luna! No! I just left my friends with that Demelza! No! Aug! I clawed at the branch, scraping myself towards the sound. What am I doing here?! My element burst bright silver, resonating with my guilt, my urge to run and help.

“There, in the trees!” I slammed a hand over my Element, far too late, entire body flushing cold. “Got you, you little!”
I threw myself down as two griffins crashed into the branches above me, cursing. I slammed sideways, body deafened by the thump, suddenly too heavy as my shoulder bloomed into a bruise. I forced myself to run, panicked, worried, lost, and absolutely detesting the feeling, the horrible sinking feeling of fear. Of utter and stupid uselessness. What help can I be if I don’t help my friends first!? I just wanted to scream at myself!

I tripped and tumbled, crashing over an overheated body, smashing my snout into the all-too-hard ground. No time! I whipped around and there she was, Tia, gripping her left ear, gritting her teeth and silent, but alive! I scrambled toward her, relived, ecstatic, and she pushed a hoof over my snout, quickly shaking her head, face flush, serious. On the other side of her, Luna was curled up, repressing sobs with a tightly screwed up face, horn glowing blue, blood flowing down her snout, spreading onto her neck.

I opened my mouth to ask, but Celestia shook her head again, and pulled me low. Once more, I brought the shadows around us, and we all waited quietly as the griffins squawked and shouted, never more than a bobbing orange light in the veil of night.

All of this, an entire crazy night, begun and over in the span of twenty minutes.

Oh, how quickly things can go horribly, horribly wrong…

XVI : Luna

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 16
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.blogspot.com/

~Luna~

My snout hurt, shallow scratches throbbing across it, burning in the air. Celestia had washed the cuts, but when it came to bandaging, she couldn’t figure out a way that would also allow me to breathe. The wounds had stopped bleeding, but Celestia was taking extra care to make sure I wasn’t getting anything yucky in them. So no exploring for me. Just the sad, sad task of watching Discord and Celestia work themselves into a tizzy as we continued to follow the road to Stringhalt.

It was like we had fallen out of Canterbury all over again, minus the actual falling part. It was just a little bit after breakfast, and Discord was up in the trees, never removing his eyes from the sky. Celestia asked him, over and over, do you see anything? And every ten steps she would unfurl the map, only to fold it back up again, never even looking at it.

“Flea probably made it, Discord…” I tried to say.

“Yeah but,” he refused to look down at me, eyes planted directly up at the clouds. “There may be a griffin camp around here. We’ve got to be extra careful.”

Failure! I needed another plan…

“Hey Discord?” I asked.

“Yeah? One second.” He crashed into the next tree branch and scrambled to the top of it, eyes only briefly attending to what he was doing.

“I saw that you used shadow magic last night!”

“It’s not any stronger than it used to be,” he stated flatly.

“So then… maybe you got another type of magic?” Without looking down, he shook his head to my awesomely cheerful statement.

“Draconequus are very limited in magic types,” he explained, “Most only ever learn shadow, and only a few learn to derive illusion from it. Most adults don’t see the point in illusive tricks…”

“That doesn’t make sense!” I squeaked, “You know the deriv… derive-ing magic more than you know what it’s derive from?” Discord flicked his eyes down to me.

“What?”

“Celestia!” I whined, forcing myself between her and her ever folding map. “Celestia, can you explain what I’m trying to ask? I don’t know how to um… change the word derive.”

She blinked away surprise. “You mean conjugate?”

“That doesn’t sound like derive at all, big sis! Why do you two always throw around big words?!”

“Well, consider it your lessons, since you’re not attending school anymore.”

“No! Anything but school!” I moaned as loudly as possible, making a big fuss and spinning around, dramatically sick. With one eye, I leered at Celestia. Was she going to scold me? That might break the gloominess spell! But no, she just walked right by, still messing with her map. There was another loud rustling in the trees, Discord had jumped to the next branch. I scurried over to trunk, trying to pout, but the cuts on my snout hurt more when I did. I needed another plan of attack…

“Hey Discord?”

“Yeah again?”

“Um…” He almost sounded frustrated! It’s worse that I thought! What could I possibly ask now?

“Discord.” Celestia snapped, jamming the map back in her saddlebags. Determination was in her eye, but her tone of voice said told me this was not good sign. “Last night. You said ponies got taken to the castle, like it was something you saw often.”

“Well, yeah,” Discord replied absentmindedly, “I lived there,”

“No you don’t. You told us that you lived underneath the city.”

He stopped, frozen, and carefully looked down at my sister.

“When’d I say that?”

“The night we met.”

“Oh.” A moment’s thought. “OH! Right! That was a lie, sorry!” He chuckled softly into his griffin claw.

“I realized not long after.”

“Wait, so, you both knew I was lying?” I didn’t answer, looking between my sister and my friend. Celestia wasn’t going to just leave it at this. This is not a good direction, not at all! Discord continued, rubbing a paw through his mane. “Yeesh! Well hey, forgive me for that? I didn’t really think we’d become friends at that point, so uh, sorry! Again!”

“What is the truth, Discord?”

“Well, oh, hang on.” Discord finally got out of the trees, dropping with a few flaps of his wings, wincing as he landed.

“Do we have to bring this up now, guys…” I asked, desperate.

“No, it’s okay Luna,” Discord tried to wave my worries away. They were not woven like that! “The true story isn’t that different.” He started to follow Celestia and I scampered after him. “We lived in the underground floors of the castle, for one. And we weren’t forced to serve the Stallion.” He frowned. “In fact, I’m pretty sure most of them were more than happy to serve.”

“What happened to the ponies the Draconequus caught on the streets?” Celestia snapped.

“Hey, I didn’t say anything about the Draconequus outside the castle …”

“You mentioned, last night, that you’d eventually wind up on patrol.”

Discord stared face forward, blank.

“I did?”

“I severely doubt that was a patrol within the castle walls!”

“Tia…” Discord chuckled softly, “Why are you suddenly so interrogative?”

Again, there was that name. Discord had used it last night, and I thought my sister would hate it. She’s Celestia, that’s all she can think of herself as. It took her a while to accept me calling her ‘big sis’ instead of ‘older sister,’ like a ‘proper mare.’ Using that weird name now, that was only going to rile her up more!

But Celestia backed down, looked embarrassed even. She examined her hoof, kicking a little pebble of the road.

“It just… makes me nervous,” she admitted. “Last night, it was like we were back in the city… and we were out after dark.” She shook her head, mane bouncing. “It was terrifying. Please.” She looked back at Discord. “I just want to know what happened to them.”

He returned her a shaky smile.

“You’re better off not knowing.”

“That scares me even more.”

“GUYS!” I shouted, a brief burst of light popping from my element. “Stop scaring yourselves! Stop being big worrywarts! Don’t, don’t make me make both of you hug or something!” I pouted at the pair as hard as I could, ignoring the throbbing on my nose. “Now I gotta question!”

“Y-yes, Luna?” Celestia stammered.

“Big sis, how come Discord is calling you Tia?!”

“Well um…” She tapped her hoof to her mouth, looking away from me. “He thinks the name change will help me get into the spirit of adventure, I suppose.”

“Cool!” I nodded my approval and leapt forward, grinning up at my sister. “Does that mean I can use it too?!”

“Sure, I suppose…” We all began walking again, and my sister looked down at my friend. “Now Discord, please…”

“Tia!” I squeaked. Tia (teehee!) gave me a blank stare as I grinned up at her. And again, she looked back at Discord.

“Well…”

“Tia! Tiiaaaaaa! What? I like it!” Silence, except for the steady fall of our feet. “Please stop making yourselves sad, guys. We’re all really really tired and scared from last night. Can we talk about this when we’re less depressed?”

“Yes, please!” Discord charged up to meet me, grin wide. “So Luna, you wanna do some magic experiments?!”

“But Luna,” Celestia complained, “you always say honesty is the best policy…”

“Discord can be honest later, okay? Please? …Tia?” Again, the name caused my sister to pause, like each time I said the word it caused her brain to temporarily scramble. She sighed and tried to smile.

“Okay… Discord. Talk to you about this later?”

“Yes! Definitely!” He wrapped a foreleg around me and drove me further forward, unusually chummy, and suddenly serious once we got far enough away. He spoke, out of the corner of his mouth. “You just saved my butt there, Luna. Thanks.”

“You’re not going to be able to not answer her forever,” I warned. He turned away from me, looking a little bit sick, cheeks sunken in by his frown.

“It’s not a pleasant truth.”

“Doesn’t sound like it will be. When you can, kay?”

“Kay.” He granted unto me a single nod. “Aheam. So magic.”

“Uh-huh!” I gave back to him another single nod, but with a smile! “So I realized last night I can deafen sound as well as amplify it! Pretty cool, huh?”

“Wow…” He drew away from me, probably surprised. “Is it really that easy for a unicorn to learn a new spell?”

“Well,” Celestia, no, Tia, finally caught up to us, walking on the other side of Discord. “Usually the unicorn in question is bound by the realm of her cutie mark, and whatever’s within that tends to be fairly easy. With practice, of course.”

“So, what, Luna doesn’t have a cutie mark, so she gets more magic?”

“Typically, it means less…” Celes-TIA said slowly, “But, well, that is the Helios bloodline!” She nodded, chin held high. “Powerful magic flows through Luna’s veins!”

“Soooo what happens if you get your cutie mark, and it has nothing to do with shadow or sonic magic?”

“I dunno!” I giggled. “I guess I’d just forget!”

“What? Just like that?”

“Oh, that kind of thing happens a lot!” Tia replied, still in her high-chin explain voice. “The foals of unicorns are actually quite powerful, with magic that surpasses years of training! That gets lost and forgotten as we age, so it’s not that much of a stretch to forget even more magic when a cutie mark appears.”

“But the foal thing is completely different.” Discord said, frowning up at my sister. “When a unicorn foal is born, it has a higher concentration of alicorn in its skeletal structure, which is lost or reconfigured into normal bone as… uh…” He stumbled to a stop as Celestia gaped back at him, jaw un-character-ly unhinged. “Ho! What do I know!”

“What was?! How do you?!”

“No!” I stopped my sister, jumping between her and Discord. “Another time, Tia.”

“Yeah, I was getting off on a tangent! Magic, huh?” He waved a forefoot, grinning at the sky. “You knew light magic before you got your cutie mark, Tia. Weird how that just magically lined up with the whole sun thing!” Again, my sister looked scrambled, struggling with herself.

“Any filly can make lights…” she said slowly, still eyeing Discord. “I don’t know anything special or complex, I’m just a bit more trained with it than the average unicorn.”

“Though, with that sun cutie mark, I’m sure you’ve got all kinds of uh… sun powers,” Discord said. “Fire, maybe?”

“I suppose. Probably.”

“Care to test it?” He bapped at a leaf, flinging it towards my sister. She eyed it suspiciously.

“I wouldn’t really know how to.”

“C’mon, fire’s just, like, really intense light, right?”

“No, it’s a process.” She narrowed her eyes at Discord, shoving away the leaf. “Don’t play dumb with me.”

I groaned and dropped to the ground, rolling onto my back and flailing my legs.

“Stop! Fighting!” I shouted, “Holy CHEESE!”

“Stand up, Luna, it’s improper to roll about in the dirt,” Celestia snapped, “You’ll get an infection.”

“Improper? What do we care what’s improper?! We’ve been sleeping on dirt beds for ages now!” I made ridiculous sounds as I rolled around some more, kicking and whinnying like a little whiney foal. If being a baby doesn’t stop their fighting, nothing will!!!

“Ma’am, is she alright?”

My eyes popped open. A brown farmer stallion pulling a cart full of straw had stopped beside us, looking down at me. Tia nervously assured him of my sanity as I stumbled to my feet and blushed indigo. The cart stallion nodded and kept going, wooden wheels bouncing and squeaking down the uneven dirt rock path.

I shook myself free of soil, we all exchanged embarrassed looks, and we kept walking, in silence.

“So uh… Helios,” Discord started, “That’s your family name? I didn’t know ponies had those.”

“Prestigious ones do,” Tia commented. “Usually it’s a common name passed down the male line. So, my father was Helios, and if he had a son, that foal would also have been called Helios.”

“I do remember Luna telling me her name was a family’s name,” Discord replied.

“Well, it’s still within the theme of the line… Honestly, a lot of families do that, not just high society ones. I worked at the Bun Bakery for a while, and the family that owned it had a theme name. The father was Hot Cross, his two daughters were Honey Bun and Sweet Roll.” Suddenly, Tia laughed! Sweet, sweet laughter, that wasn’t nervous or scared at all! “Oh, and how could I forget the Apple family? I spoke regularly with a mare named Apple-a-Day, and she would go on and on about how many relatives she had. I swear, to hear her tell it, half of Equestria was an Apple!”

Tia smiled, Discord smiled, and I smiled. Crisis! Averted!

Time passed, the day wore on, and we talked about absolutely nothing of substance. We came to a crossroad, and a second cart rolled by, flanked by four earth ponies in decorative and shiny gold armor. Discord scurried into the bushes as it took the corner, heading in the direction of Stringhalt once more.

“We must be getting close to Bolton, it’s right outside our destination,” Tia said, pulling out the map. “We’ll probably be running into more carts along the road… Discord?”

“Sorry, um…” He poked his head out of the bushes, hesitantly smiling. Tia tried to return it.

“We passed through half a dozen other towns, and now you’re getting nervous?” she asked.

“Well, there weren’t exactly guards there, or anypony that cared about what I was. This is different.” He ducked back down as another cart rolled by, a farmer pulling barrels.

“Well, our best bet for finding information on the Elements is in Stringhalt, I don’t want to just skip it…” Tia looked down the path to Bolton/Stringhalt, “I’ve got an idea. Let’s just get to Bolton and—” Discord backed away once more with the passing of another cart. “Or, I’ll be right back. Bolton shouldn’t be much further.”

~Θ~

Discord and I sat a little bit off the road, behind a fern and a bush or two. I glared up at him, and he just stared back. I glared to the side, and he grinned a lazy smile. I got up in his face, and he rested on a paw, confident as, I dunno, some confident thing. I blinked, then fell back, defeated.

“Nooo! You’re too good at this game, Discord. That’s, I dunno, ten staring contests in a row! Aren’t you getting tired? At all?!”

He shrugged silently, smug as a snake. Yes, a snake sounds like something that can be smug! The game was wearing out as Tia came strolling back down the road, one saddlebag weirdly more packed than the other.

“Okay I’m back…” she said, pushing aside out hiding bush.

“Welcome back, sis!”

“Yeah, welcome back!” The Discord that was right beside me poofed away, vanishing into smoke, as a different Discord poked his head out of a tree above me, still smug as a snake.

“What! That was?! Ooh, you cheater! You’re a cheater, Discord!” I kicked the tree and Discord laughed, gliding down beside me.

“Okay, okay, get over here you two…” We both scampered to my sister’s feet as she popped open one of her saddlebags, the unusually full one. “When we get into Stringhalt, we’re probably going to have to find a job or two to fill up our funds, but…” Out of her bag she drew out a simple piece of green cloth, with a plain gray trim. She wrapped it around Discord and pinned a silver clasp over his Element, pulling a hood over his head. It was a large cloak, one that obscured a lot of his body, just barely hovering above his feet and tail. He looked over himself, shifting his feet and tail, face blank. “Does this obscure enough to make your pony illusion easier?” Tia asked. Discord flicked his tail, then grinned.

“Yes! Now I can just lay a color over my feet…” In a flash, his feet transformed into gray hooves, the same color as the fur on his face. His lizard tail, still poking out the back of the cloth, transformed into a black pony tail, still curling and moving weirdly, like it wasn’t made of hair at all. But when he stopped and held it place, it looked natural, like normal. “How’s my walk?” He jumped on the road and walked by us, demonstrating the illusion. “I can’t do much about my body shape, but…”

“It’s a little strange…” Tia admitted. “But it doesn’t really stand out that much. Especially since most won’t be paying close attention. But what about your face?”

“Huh? My face?” He poked his nose with his new hoof, rising leg suddenly transforming into from gray to yellow. “I thought it was close enough.”

“Yes, but you still have those fangs… The ones that hang over your lips?”

“Oh! Right…” He frowned, and pulled his bottom lip around one. “Eh. Hiding them would be tough. That’s shadow, obscuring them…” He pulled the hood tighter around his face, and he became slightly masked in shadows. Then he laughed, and all the spells dropped. “Y’know, like this, I’d still stand out, being the only one cloaked.”

“Oh, I thought of that.” Celestia remarked with a wave of her hoof. “It’s why this got far… far too expensive. But it’s worth it, if it will keep us all together, unnoticed.” From her bag, Tia pulled out two more pieces of cloth, a small blue cloak that she dressed me with, and a dark red covering for herself.

“Alright!” Discord’s spells popped back into place and he grinned, completely obscuring his face, making his eyes glow an evil red. “To Stringhalt!”

XVII : Celestia

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 17
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.blogspot.com/

~Celestia~

I’m nervous, though I’m not entirely sure why. Arriving in Stringhalt… it’s a culmination, a conclusion to a lengthy first leg of our journey. It was a goal, a short-term goal formed to give us a vague sense of direction, but a goal nonetheless. My heart felt all fluttery while I walked. What would we find here, our first city since Canterbury?

The dirt path we had been following for so, so long suddenly turned into compact white cobblestone. And suddenly, walking was easy. I had hardly realized just how much effort it was to walk on dirt, but the compact stone felt like a dream to my hooves. Carts packed with all sorts of goods clattered by us, some off for Bolton, a wayside town loaded to the brim with all sorts of traffic. It had been easy to find a clothes vendor, even though their streets were an uncontrolled chaos.

I watched the gray sky, light of step and jittery of heart. The day was starting to fade away as we left Bolton behind us. Should we have stopped at a stable for the night? Did Stringhalt have the same strict ‘curfew’ as Canterbury did? Would we even be able to get into Stringhalt? There was no gate into Canterbury, no entrance or exit. Certainly Stringhalt couldn’t be the same, not with all this ground based traffic. We used to have the road all to ourselves, now we had to proceed in single file, lest we become overrun by the continuous cart stream.

And really… There was a really strange stink in the air! I wrinkled my nose, wondering what it was. Sickly sweet… But putrid, and overpowering.

Finally, the forest around us abruptly cut off, and the city walls came into view. Surrounded by other ponies, and several carts, we were confronted with our first true look at the Earth Pony city.

“Ew! Gross!”

Stringhalt was, in fact, surrounded by a wall. A gray brick-and-mortar one, with a large wood and iron gate as a point of entry, road, and obviously the line of carts, leading right up to it. Surprisingly, this wall did not reach the cloud cover. In fact, jutting down from the cloud celling was a solid wall of white fluff, slowly billowing upwards, coloring and swirling with the normal gray cover.

But what really caught my eye, and demanded the attention of the nose and currently upset stomach, were the massive piles of waste. Black rot streaked down from the top of the bricks, collecting in massive sprawling piles, staining the earth, and casting up that putrid, putrid stench. Black birds squawked and cawed around the piles, rooting through, fighting for scraps. I wished I had an efficient and non-magical way to plug my nose, because as we approached, we had to pass piles of the garbage on either side of us, ditches dug far into the ground to keep the rotten spillage off the road.

“Heavens,” I said, “I hope the city itself doesn’t smell this bad…” I eyed the crowds. Some ponies seemed to be reacting the same as I was, but the majority seemed unaffected by the sights and stench. Luna did not respond, her cloak lopsided as she stuffed her nose into the side of her hood. Discord’s expression was difficult to see under the shadows… But to my comment, he snickered.

“You think the entire city is just an ocean of filth so big, it leaks over their walls?” He laughed into his gray hoof.

“Does that mean…” Luna said slowly, voice muffled, “They would have to take boats to school? Or…”

“No!” I cried, “No, we are not having this conversation! Please, let’s talk about something else! You two are disgusting!”

“Fine, sorry!” Discord slowly stopped laughing, and looked towards the gate, retreating as a cart rumbled by his head. “Sooooo uhhh… Getting into Stringhalt seems pretty straightforward so far,” he finally said, “Lot more straightforward than getting in and out of Canterbury…”

“This place is a bit more active, a major trade city, far as I’ve gathered.” I thought for a moment. “You know…” I slowly started, “I’m not even sure what Canterbury offered, what they traded with other cities… Other than being the seat of the government.”

Discord shrugged. “Yeah me neither.”

“Eh…”

Conversation dying off, we fell into a crowded and quickly moving line, exit traffic still spilling by our left. The gate wasn’t as big as I would have expected, maybe only three or four ponies high, the wooden structure lifted off the ground. Several earth pony guards stood around the entrance, their armor silver, red sashes hanging across one shoulder or the other. There was a small wooden booth beside the gate, and people seemed to stop there briefly before heading inside Stringhalt proper.

The Shadow Stallion’s banner waved above the gate, the entire thing, not just the plain star symbol that we saw in our travels. A thin flag, the black and five-pointed star in a field of purple, crude gray alicorn imposed in its middle, wings outspread. Expected, but no more welcome for it. On the other hoof… for the first time, the banner was accompanied. Two identical flags flanked it, with a pattern I didn’t quite recognize. Both were divided into four segments, One showing fields and another brimming with flowers, one panel decorated with the sun, the last, a blue sky.

Were they old Earth Pony flags? I vaguely remembered seeing these before, and they definitely give a sort of Earth Pony feel…

“Next, please!”

“Oh!” Well that was fast! I hurried forward, called over by the Earth Pony in the wooden booth, coat a dusted gray from his age. He clenched a quill between his teeth, feathery part shorn off for an easier grip. He dipped the pen into its well as he methodically pulled a piece of paper out of its stack.

“Names,” he said, voice impossibly flat.

“Celestia, Luna, and um… Discord.”

Without question, he scrawled on the page. I nervously eyed the guards, chatting lazily across the road. ‘Discord’ was so clearly not a pony name, I would be surprised if—

“Tribes.”

“I’m sorry?” Tribes? What in Equestria…?

He turned his head to us and blinked, bags very clear under his eyes. He looked over us, and then scratched three triangles on the paper, under our names.

“Sponsor.”

“Uh…”

“Family,” again, he slowly turned to look at us. “Are you privately owned?”

“Um… owned? We uh…” I floundered as the pony stared at us. “Helios?” I quickly offered.

He looked over at me once more, eyes dim. “I see. So you’re students?”

“Yes, sorry,” I immediately jumped on the alibi. Oh, Luna, please don’t ask me why I jumped to that answer, at least not until we’re inside the city! The old pony scrawled one last note, stamped it with a rubber, well, stamp, and pushed the page towards me with his nose. I yanked it towards me, ready to get the heck out of here!

“Toll is two bits, miss,” he said.

“Oh, right!”

I floated the coins towards him and scurried through the gate, watching the guards, who seemed to pay us no mind. I hovered the printed paper in front of my nose, intending to read it over, then stow it.

But I stopped myself. Because over the edge of the page was a place of, well, surprises.

The city itself wasn’t filthy or dark… in fact it was dazzling. We had entered into a kind of open area, where buildings were sparse, and gardens plenty. Green pastures, scattered with trimmed floral trees and stone paths. There was grass, not long like in the wild, but neatly cut and evenly grown, petals coating nearly everything, making the road almost vanish. Ponies milled about the streets as carts clattered by us The city slowly ascended, miles from where we stood, into a stone and brick acropolis. Lights winked to life on its distant streets, beginning to glitter with the fall of the sun. Jutting from its peak were dozens of stone and tile towers, barely even attempting to reach the sky above their heads.

But, curved over the city, in a gigantic reverse dome, were a number of massive structures built entirely out of soft white clouds. It was a castle or city, spires and minarets hanging like stalactites in a cave. Towers swirled together, black and stormy streaks lining soft white puffs, enclosing Stringhalt in its own personal dome. Some of the… highest? The low-hanging outcroppings even came close to touching the earth. They still hovered far beyond and one pony’s reach, but were considerably closer that the continuous sky ceiling. Staring up, I could spy movement, masses of flying creatures, too high up or far away to determine what exactly they were.

“Goodness!” I exclaimed. I glanced around, hoping my idleness hadn’t blocked traffic. Thankfully, no. I pushed Luna forward, her head stuck upwards, cloak still lopsided over her nose, exposing her Element. Discord followed after us, silent and expressionless as the shadows made him. “Well… well that was stressful!” I stumbled over my words, looking back down at the paper I held. “Thought we’d be noticed immediately by everyone, back there… Fumbling over our responses.”

“I think they cared more about the line moving than they did about us specifically,” Discord commented, also trying to encourage Luna forward.

“Thank goodness for that… though, Discord…” He looked up at me, as a question bubbled to the surface in my brain. “You said there’s no slavery out here? He asked if we were owned.”

He shrugged under his cloak. “I don’t know any more than you about that. We haven’t seen it in the towns.”

“Well…” I returned to the page, looking over it… when something very strange caught my eye. “Huh.”

“’Huh’ what?”

“I don’t see Helios written on here at all,” I replied, eyes rescanning the page. “And under ‘Affiliations’ it lists ‘Canterlot.’” I looked to my friends, Discord still trying to keep my preoccupied sister in pace with us. “I didn’t mention anything like that, did I? I don’t remember saying anything about Canterbury either… Not to the gatekeeper, at least.”

“No, you definitely didn’t,” Discord replied, distracted. “C’mon Luna, Tia’s going to leave us both behind at this rate!”

“I would not!” I retorted.

“It’s so pretty!” Luna squealed, snout stuck pointing up.

“Well if anyone asks, we’re students from Canterlot now.” I folded up the paper, considering the conversation complete.
We quickly left the floral garden paths, and began our ascension into the city proper. Buildings became closer together, tightly packed, squeezing away any hint of a garden or flora. They grew taller, but I never saw a structure get more than four stories, practically minuscule compared to the walls of Canterbury. They became lopsided, growing and blending together in a mix of stone, straw, and mud brick, balconies of cloth jutting across the streets, which had become far too narrow. Or simply unable to accommodate for the traffic that packed them tight.

Even at such a late hour, when most would be fleeing for their homes in Canterbury, the streets were filled with ponies. Carts tried to shove their way through the foot traffic, pushing aside what were already cramped crowds. Just walking, we were all jammed shoulder to shoulder, flank to flank, voices and wagon wheels providing a persistent rumble.

Canterbury was quiet, looming. Even in a crowd, there was a level of dignity. No, more likely quiet fear. Even in the crowded blocks, the most packed streets, you could barely see more than a dozen ponies at one time, let alone be packed so tightly that staying close to your friends became an issue. I tried, fruitlessly, to speak with Discord or Luna, but couldn’t be heard over the din, even as they tried to remain as close as possible.

And it wasn’t just ponies I saw… So many crazed things clamored for my attention, demanding focus before vanishing a few seconds later. Griffons screeched laughter in an open bar, banging their mugs on the table as dozens of ponies crowded for a seat. Four or five slow and plodding creatures, massive and hairy, horns curling over their ears as they carried blankets and other cargo on their backs. A striped pony rested in a dark alleyway, pushing strange plants and powders quietly, eyeing all that passed. Two knobby creatures that looked like ponies, but with long ears and no cutie marks, one pulling a cart that stunk something fierce, the other barking, slamming together two metal sheets strapped to his legs. “Last call! Last call!” he shouted, over and over. More striped ponies, golden jewelry jangling, chattering as they pulled a cart full of barrels, all marked and stamped in symbols I didn’t recognize. We stepped aside for a silent entourage of hooded ponies, the banner of the city held above them, a casket carried in a finely carved chariot. And over the crowds—

“SHOWER COMING, HALF HOUR.” Someone shouted. This was echoed and repeated, rising from the masses, passing us by, a mantra carried by the ponies surrounding us. I wondered… did that mean a rain shower that could come in half an hour, or that would last…

A raindrop plicked onto the end of my snout. Well that answers that! I stared up at the sky. A dark cloud passed overhead, pulled by a Pegasus, ridden by a hint of a griffin. It was followed by a line of clouds, like an unfurling blanket. Two more drops splashed my face… The streets emptied almost instantly, faster than instantly. How did that happen so quickly?

Discord yanked at my cloak with his… hoof, apparently. He ducked under the overhand of a store, in front of a frosted window, and I quickly followed. I hoped no one noticed how bizarre Discord’s action looked… He could at least pretend his claws were actually hooves!

Ponies still rushed by us occasionally as the air around us cooled, rain becoming a steady shower. A pair of guards stood under a different awning, yards away, chatting. Don’t look at them, Celestia, don’t even worry about them. They don’t know who you are, they don’t know—

“Stringhalt is louuuuud!” Luna declared with a laugh, her cloak finally straightened out.

I laughed nervously, “Yes, it seems to be!”

“Did you two see all those weird ponies?” Discord asked, looking down the streets, “What were those?”

“Discord, are you feigning unintelligence again?” I asked.

“What? No. Why would I?”

“I thought they would have brought some these through the castle… “ I was actually kind of hoping that he knew what some of the different ‘ponies’ were. Apple-a-Day never told me about anything but Earth Ponies and Unicorns…

“No, nothing like that,” he replied.

“Or you would have learned about them, in your weird… knowledge repository…”

“Sorry, still no,” Discord said flatly and honestly.

I stared down at my friend, hood shrouded in darkness.

“What you seem to know is very random,” I commented.

He shrugged, “I had a random education. You went to that baroness school, right? With structured lessons? Well, my lessons were like…” He changed his voice, as if he was trying to do an impression. “‘Hey little one, this is something I want to tell you, because it just came to my attention right now. Got it? Well … The End.’”

“That’s a terrible system!” Luna laughed. “How’d you learn anything that way?”

Discord’s hooves shot above his head in a very confused shrug.

“Well anyway…” I started, “We can’t keep wandering these streets forever!” I looked out in the rain, dreading what will probably be a very dull wait. “We’ve got to find somewhere to stay, hopefully somewhere that can offer us board for a job. Or maybe…”

“HEY!” I leapt into the air as the shop’s door slammed open beside me, “Either buy something or get the heck away from my bar!”

“Oh! Um…” I fumble over my words as a mint Earth Pony in a white apron glared at us, propping open the door with one hoof. “I’m sorry, but we’re new to the city, and a little bit lost…”

“There’s a good stable just two streets that way, the Apple-Blossom,” the pony barked, waving vaguely down the street. “They can answer whatever questions you have!”

“Well, it’s still raining, so do you mind if we just stay here just a little bit longer…” I dipped into my begging voice almost unconsciously, hating myself all the more for it. Is this my automatic response to having no money? The storekeeper was unimpressed.

“I don’t want any riffraff hanging round my shop, not paying for anything!” he snapped.

“Why don’t we just get something while we wait, Tia?” Discord offered, glancing up at me.

“Are you kidding?” I replied, “I don’t even know if we have enough bits to stable for the night, we can’t just drop money on, um, whatever he’s selling.”

“I’ve got some of the best cider this side of Stringhalt, some soup and fresh bread!” The shopkeeper pitched this to us like he was throwing rocks. “Just buy something or get out!”

“Oi, Ratty!” Another voice rose from within the store, “Why’re you still yelling at plebs? I’m dying of thirst over here!”

Two pale Earth stallions shoved past the owner, movements slightly exaggerated. One had three small green apples on his flank, the other, a horseshoe imposed on a green apple. Both wore simple red doublets, right sleeve emblazoned with the flag of the city. The shirt cut off in a simple cloth belt, and when one turned, I could see that he carried a whip, curled neatly into his sash.

“Aw, Ratty. Ratty, Ratty, Ratty…” the one with the horseshoe cutie mark shook his head. “How could you yell at these poor, poor downtrodden fillies? Do you see her poor little face?” He strolled up to me and threw a heavy leg around my shoulder. I tried to pull away. The man stank heavily of cider. “See this face? You want to throw this fine gal out in the streets?”

The storekeeper, Ratty, grumbled something, but the other pony just patted him on the back.

“Don’t worry, Ratty! We’ll pay for them!” He flung a hoof towards the open store door. “Come on, all of you! Don’t be shy!”

I yanked myself out from the stallion’s leg as all three ponies headed inside, the horseshoe throwing me a very obvious wink. I spun around.

“Well I think I’ve been convinced. Rain it is.”

“But Tia!” Discord cried, already at the closed door. “They’ve offered us a free meal!”

“Yes, but… They’re drunk, and it’s best not to take advantage of the mentally impaired.” Discord stared at the door, then walked back to my side. “Let’s just head out, and we’ll find…”

“Hey, I said come inside!” The green apple stallion’s head popped out the door, no longer cheery.

“I’m sorry,” I said as politely as I could, “Your offer is generous, but no thank you.”

“Hey cutie…” I felt my nose curl as he addressed me directly. “There’s a lot of guys, a lot of guys that you just don’t say ‘no thank you’ to.” He wobbled on the door, and thrust his sleeve forward, grinning stupidly. “I’m one of those guys.”

“C’mooon doll baby,” the other stallion poked his head around his brother’s shoulders. “We won’t hurt you. Just want a nice face round this nasty, nasty city…”

I realized something very important right then. My biggest, most grave mistake of this entire trip. I did, in fact, pick the absolute worst place to hide from a storm. I strode confidently out into the rain, the loud shower instantly drenching me. My sister and my friend followed quickly behind.

My cloak was yanked, digging in my throat and stopping me short. I flipped around, and its hem was held in the stallion’s mouth. I tried to pull it loose. My eyes flashed over to the guards. We were making a scene now, how would they react? Hopefully in our favor, oh please let it be in our favor… For the moment, the two of them simply watched, their attention held, but no alarm raised.

“Let go!” I demanded.

“You said you were new to the city?” The pony slurred. “Well, new face, there’s a bunch, a bundle of things you don’t do. One of those things is opposing the Apple family.”

“I’m not opposing a family, I am rejecting your offer!”

And suddenly, my cloak loosened, and Luna was in front of me.

“Leave my big sis alone!” she shouted.

“Big sis?”

“Aw, that’s cute…” the second stallion, the green apples one, strode forward, crouching down to Luna’s eye level. “What’s your name? How old are you lil filly?”

“Okay,” Discord hissed up at me, “While he’s distracted, I’ll make a copy of you standing here, then we can sneak away. Just hold still for a second.”

“Why can’t we just run?!” I whispered back. Discord gave me a blank stare, or I take that’s what his silence meant. I turned back to my sister wondering if I should just… grab her! This isn’t worth making a fuss over!

“Can you tell your ‘big sis’ to stop being such a stick-in-the-mud?” said Green Apples, “Just sit down, have a couple drinks…”

“I said…” A light flared from Luna’s face, and both stallions recoiled.

“Luna…!” I cried in warning.

“LEAVE US ALONE!”

Luna’s voice blasted like a strike of lightning, sending the two stallions sprawling, glass fracturing, certainly not only on this store’s window. Stunned, ears ringing, I grabbed the back of Luna’s cloak, certain that—

“OI! STOP RIGHT THERE.”

“Guards!” I squeaked, spinning around, seeing the two guards running right for us, pulling out their own whips…
“Run!” Discord shouted. He slapped his hooves down on the pavement, water snapping into ice, making the guards stumble and slip. Just like in Canterbury… Will we have to run here, without answers, without any gain at all? I shoved Luna in front of me and broke into a gallop.

There was a strangled sound, and I whirled around. Around Discord’s neck was a thick, bulging leather strap, pulled tight by one of the guards, standing firm as the ice transformed back into water. Discord dug his fingers under it, falling onto his back, his own illusion vanishing. His forefeet fell away, and he sort of… slumped a little.

“Discord!” I screamed. Was he…?!

“Stay right where you are, nice and easy.” Another guard, in front of me, three others splashing up behind him. A metal rod was clasped tightly in his teeth, head low, glaring at me with one eye. “No funny business, and no one gets hurt.”

Luna’s horn flared up, and there was more shouting. A second guard yanked a whip, no, a lasso from his belt, and in an instant it snapped around Luna’s neck, dragging her forward. She blinked slowly, and ceased to struggle, dropping down into a puddle.

“Now, you’re going to cooperate!” the guard barked, “Got it?”

“Y-yes…” I refused to remove my eyes from my sister. It was like she just… fell asleep. Please, let them just be asleep!

One of the guards began question the two stallions that heckled me, while another went to look over Discord, examining him as rain seeped through his entire coat. A number of ponies, other creatures, peered from doors and windows, some grumbling and shouting about their window panes, about the guards, about crazy unicorns…

“Do you have a permit for this, miss?”

“For…?” The questioner nudged Discord with his hoof, nearly kicking him. Oh, I could feel the water on my face boil. “Discord is not a ‘this,’” I snapped, “He is an intelligent being.”

“Alright, alright, let’s not get all huffy,” I looked back at the stallion who had stopped me, shoving his weapon back into his sash. “I just want to see identification, your operating license, as well as a voucher or permit proving the beast’s intelligence or ownership otherwise.”

I stood, still, and fuming. But more importantly, completely unable to respond. What were all those things? Why were they necessary?

“Some identification, miss,” the guard demanded.

“Alright…” I reached for the pass we had gotten, horn lighting up.

“WOAH!”

“What are you doing there?!” The rod shook in my face once more, and I recoiled as two other guards reached for their lassos.

“I was just going to get the papers out of my bag!” I shouted.

“No magic. Get them out the old fashioned way.”

The two stallions that were heckling us were let to leave, and they promptly ran off into the rain. I rooted through my bags with my mouth, something so simple, yet made so difficult without magic… Finally, I drew out the page we had gotten not a half hour past, holding it open in my mouth as rainwater began to splotch and blur the letters.

The guard gave it one glance, and said, “Alright, that’s one crime, lying on your entrance papers. Now show me your identification and your permits.”

“Lying?” I said, nearly dropping the page. “What..?”

“Your identification, miss.”

"Well, I'm um, a student from Canterlot, so I didn't realize..." I said softly, looking away, for an escape. “I didn't realize I needed any?”

The guard regarded me silently, then yanked his head to his second. In just a moment, the stallion’s lasso was within his grip, unfurled.

“Alright, you’re all coming in.”

“No!” I squeaked, letting my papers, backing away.

“Now look, miss, don’t make us—!”

There was a loud cawing sound, apparently from nowhere. The guards looked around, the ones holding my friends drawing them underfoot as the sound built up, echoed by two voices, then more.

“Not again,” one of the guards groaned.

“You will oppress the ponies of Stringhalt no longer, authority scum!” A new voice rang out, a young voice, confident and clear.

“Uhg, where is that dumb brat…”

“Up there!”

I followed a pointing hoof as it jutted to a place behind me, up above. Standing on a rooftop, getting soaked by the rain, was a pony, a colt no older than I was, coat a splotchy white and brown, wearing nothing but a drenched and floppy cap.

“Sickle Ravens!” he shouted, throwing out his chest, “TO THE RESCUE!”

A dozen uneven voices cawed and screamed bird cries as smoke and flashes of light engulfed the entire street. I stumbled backward, lighting my horn as shadows and shouts closed around me. And I clearly wasn’t the only one disoriented.

“Darn stupid kids – fifth time this – for the love of! – GET THE HECK OFFA ME!”

“Caw! – Take that! – Release them, you foul ogres! – CAWCAW! – Sickle Ravens, yeah!”

“This way miss!” A brown earth colt only Luna’s age appeared out of the fog, tugging at my cloak, pulling me towards an alleyway.

“Oh! But my friends…!” I turned in the fog once more. Luna was just a few feet away, I could find her, couldn’t I?

“Don’t worry, the SICKLE RAVENS will save them!” the colt declared, “Now hurry! Hurry!”

Hesitantly, I stumbled a few steps forward, then quickly followed the vanishing boy. I dashed down the alleyway, splashing through puddles as I watched the running colt, wondering where in Equestria this would take me.

XVIII : Luna

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 18
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.blogspot.com/

~Luna~

Things were happening. I didn’t really know why. I didn’t really care why. I didn’t think about it. Trying to think was hard. Trying to move was harder. So I stopped doing things. I watched.

There was some smoke, some ponies appeared, but then they left. Other ponies wandered around, then I was lifted onto a cart. I stayed there until they took me off, and brought me indoors, somewhere else. They may have said where I was, but it didn’t really matter. Then they took my cloak and necklace and saddlebags, then there was only one guard. The one who held the pillow I rested on. It was moving, pushing at my face sometime, sloshing around the leather bag. That would be strange, but I guess it wasn’t really.

Another pony entered the room, a unicorn. He was pink and wore glasses. He yelled at the guard. ‘Do you know what the something something young minds damage something.’ My pillow was taken away and my head clunked on the floor. And it sort’ve… sparked a little, tingled. I could feel my skull pressing into my skin.

“… Ow. …” I think I said.

I took a breath. Had I been breathing before?

The glasses pony was trying to be comforting by stroking my mane. I could feel the hairs on my back being tugged… but it was like he was pulling at my clothes. I could feel the movement, but it didn’t feel like I was being touched at all.

“Don’t worry, child, don’t worry,” He started repeating himself, over and over, almost humming as he tried to shush me. “You’re safe here, nobody wants to hurt you. You’ll be taken care of, you’ll be taken care of. They shouldn’t have used that nasty, nasty stuff on a filly like you, don’t worry…”

“We did what we had to.” I think the guard said that, but it was hard to see past the pink pony’s big head. “And you better careful with that one. Spurs saw her break at least a dozen windows on one block.”

“Really?!” The glasses looked up, dropping his babying tone. “Was it raw? Or an actual spell?”

“Yeesh, I don’t know. She just shouted at them.”

“Hm… it could be either then…” Glasses glanced at my side, then grinned down at me, teeth perfectly white and straight. “Don’t worry, you’ll be taken care of here!” He sunk down, trying to get at my eye level. “I’m Pockets, the patron here. What’s your name? Can you tell me little filly?”

“…I.” My snout felt numb, and moving it was difficult. Pockets leaned in closer, nudging up my chin with his hoof.

“Yes?”

“Loo… Luna,” I sputtered.

“Luna! What a wonderful name.” He gently set me back down, turning to the guard again. I could clearly see his cutie mark, a big lollypop, one with rainbows slowly circling outward. I wondered, did he have a sweet tooth? “Don’t worry,” he continued, “I can take this from here.”

“You’re sure?” the guard replied, “We still need some answers from her.”

“Nothing I can’t handle. Now, it’s getting late. I’ll line up her report for you by noon tomorrow.”

The guard nodded, then walked out the door. Pockets was back beside me, holding a stiff and toothy smile, like his teeth were plastered in place.

“Now, Luna, you must be so tired!” And his voice changed again, back to high and cutesy. “Getting dragged in by the city guards… let’s have you sleep all these nasty feelings off, and we can talk about the bad, bad things you’ve done in the morning?” He leaned in close, “Okay, Luna?”

I may be little… but I didn’t really like how he was talking to me. I wasn’t a full-grown mare, but I wasn’t a tiny little foal either. I tried to raise my head, move my mouth and tell him my age.

“I… aup… egh…” I screwed up my jaw, “Aeim… buh!” I flopped to the ground, defeated. “Kaae. Oh-Kaaye.”

He nodded, then waved off to somewhere I couldn’t see, calling over another pony. I closed my eyes and was lifted off the floor, letting them take me wherever again.

~Θ~

Clang clang clang clang. “Good morning, My Little Ponies!” Clang clang clang clang.

My face scrunched up. What was that banging sound? I lifted my head, and it a sort’ve… didn’t go as planned. There was a sheet on my head, stuck on my horn. I waved my face up and down and up and down, light peeking in on the ups, and vanishing on the downs. The sheet wasn’t coming off so easily.

“Eaugh!” I rolled sideways, pallet scrunching under me, sheet tangling on my legs. I shook my head again, squinting and blinking through the small gap in the sheet. I still wasn’t thinking straight at all! My brain still felt all muddy and soppy, I could almost hear it sloshing as it rolled around my neck. And there was that clanging! Why was there clanging?

“C’mon sleepyheads, time for another bright and shining day!”

Through a gap in the covers, I stared over a line of beds, several squirming with sleepy ponies, but many empty, without sheets or pillows even. The floors were wooden, the walls white plaster, and on the far side of the room I could see a line of little wooden cubbies, some empty, and some packed with stuff. Daylight was streaming in from somewhere above me, brighter than I ever remember it being. An older green mare moved into my vision, back to me, banging a little silver gong above the heads of some of the sleeper.

“I’m up first!” somepony squealed.

“No, I was!”

“Five more minutes…” one pony moaned, a pretty young voice.

“Race you to the washroom, Chip!”

A thunder of hooves, of shouts, of more clanging. There was more squealing, and suddenly a wet snout shoved itself under my sheet, sniffling inches from my face.

“Miss Buttercup! Miss Buttercup!” It screeched right in my ear, “Is that a new student?! There’s a new student!” The sheet was yanked off of me, and I stared up at the face of a very eager blue filly, maybe a little younger than me. She jammed her hoof in my gut, propping herself up into my face. “Hi! Hello! Who are you?”

“Taffy! Go freshen up, you can talk to the new girl later!” I green aura lifted the pony away from me, and the older mare replaced her, still holding up her iron gong… thing. “Good morning, Luna. How are you feeling today?”

“All sloppy and weird.”

The pony tutted. “Poor filly… You should be all better in a few more hours.”

“Okay.” I looked for my sheet and yanked it back on the bed, flopping around on the pallet. More sleep sounded pretty dang good right about now. Ding Ding Ding. I popped open one eye, the mare was still clanging her gong, specifically over my head.

“I’m sorry, Luna, but Mr. Pockets needs to see you!” she said, “Can you get up for me?”

“But I’m all sleepy and wobbly!” I whined.

“Come on! Wake up!” Miss Buttercup said sweetly. Too sweetly. It was that tone again. That little kid tone, meant for teeny tiny foals. Did I look that little? I frowned into the pillow. Well, the first thing I should do is show them that I am no baby!

I stood up on the pallet, and with my head held high and proud, I gracefully hopped off the bed. Using all my years of duchess or baroness training or whatever, I magically made my bed all neat and tidy, tucking and folding the edges under the pallet, gently placing the pillow over the top. Now, how would this gong lady take this clear proof that I was a mature filly?

Her smile was exactly the same, but she may have nodded a little.

“Nicely done, Luna.” No! There was no change! “Let me wake up the other fillies, and I’ll take you to Mr. Pockets.”

She walked away, and I stayed where I was left to wonder. Were Celestia and Discord here? Did they have to deal with cutesy-wutsey voice? We needed to all meet up and get out of this weird place, fast.

It wasn’t long until the green mare, Miss Blossom, led me out of the room. The rest of the building was very clean, walls all covered in plaster, floors and corridors and even wood. The halls had glass windows a few times, peeking out over the city, almost bright and cheery compared to Canterbury. Were the white clouds up above letting in more light? Was there actual sky here, poking through the cloud dome? I couldn’t tell. I was on the city’s hill, and could see long rows of buildings, but some windows only showed the wall of a structure nearby. What a silly place to put a window!

We headed down a wide wooden staircase that squeaked quietly with every step, or loudly when more fillies or colts were running down it. The first floor had really, really cold stone floors, as well as bigger areas. At the bottom of the stairs and to the right looked like a cafeteria, and across the hall from that, a door opened into a small piano lounge. Or… that’s what it looked like, it had a piano.

No matter where we went, there were small ponies, led by mares or just running around. Some were littler than me, but most were older, around Celestia’s age. But that’s not the weird part. It took me a bit, but I realized as we passed an orderly line of Celestia sized ponies, that all of them were unicorns. All the older mares and stallions, all the little and older kids. All unicorns.

Was this some sort of unicorn… only… sleep-inn… orphanage? I frowned. I thought my head was done being so sloshy!
“Here we are Luna.” We had walked down a wide little corridor, lined with doors and no windows. Miss Blossom pulled open the door at the end, and I walked inside, head low and curious.

One time, way, way back in Canterbury, I was sent to the headmaster’s office for something that was totally not my fault. It was a rich room, packed with books and knickknacks and really expensive looking stuff, none of which I was supposed to touch.

Well, Mr. Pocket’s room looked like that too. The desk was varnished wood, he sat on a throne-like plush chair, and there was a very pretty rug on the floor with a complicated design. That must have taken ages to make, even for a unicorn. A big window was framed behind him, though it was one of those that just looked down a street of fancy houses. It was a hint of wealth that I hadn’t seen in a while, even more than the plaster and glass corridors. I mean, plaster is kind’ve nice, but not super duper nice…

“Good morning, Luna.” Mr. Pockets grinned from his armchair, comfortably resting his forelegs on the heavy desk. “Please, have a—“

“Mr. Pockets!” I declared regally, snapping spine straight. “We have something of utter importance to discuss!”

He placed a hoof over his mouth, smile growing a little wider. “Oh? Really?”

“Yes!” I bounced up on a wobbly wooden stool and smacked myself down into a sitting position, spine still straight and very serious! “Thank you for letting me sleep in a comfy bed last night, since I haven’t done so in a very, very long while! But I really must be going now! Inform me of where my friends are, and also my stuff, um, I mean things! My friends and my things, so we can continue our very important quest!”

Mr. Pockets stared at me quietly, eyes wide, hoof still suppressing his plaster smile.

“Your, your quest, little Luna…?”

“We’re the Bringers of Harmony,” I declared, “A very, very important adventure team!”

“I see! Well!” He straightened himself, horn glowing as he pulled open a drawer, or something. I heard the sound of wood scraping. “I regret to inform you, little Luna, but you’re going to have to stay here a while. I’m sorry, but your ‘quest’ will have to be put on hold.”

“Huh?! Why!”

“Well for one, I need to ask you a couple questions for the authorities.” He waved a fancy red quill towards me, peering over his glasses. “You made a lot of people angry with that spell of yours, young lady!”

“Oh… well…” I catch myself. “Those two guys were making my sister feel really bad, and were jerks!”

“Yes, yes…” he nodded at me, setting a piece of paper on his desk, quill hanging over it. “But also… well, I take it you’re a traveller? Where are you from?”

“Canterbury.” Oh shoot, I was supposed to say I was from Canterlot! Silly lies, always coming to me a second after I say something! And this, of all things, is what makes Pocket’s smile vanish.

“Really? Canterbury.”

“Um… nnnnn….y-yeeeeesss.” Shoot! I know we always make fun of Discord for his really terrible liar face, but I just can’t do this at all!

“Well, then you really wouldn’t know.” And his smile returned, as fake as it ever was. Ooh! I just realized! That’s why it’s weird and plaster-ish, it’s so fake! He’s not happy at all! Wait, is he still saying things? “… And unicorn magic is very dangerous.”

Dangit, missed some! “It is?” I asked.

“Let me finish, Luna.” He leaned on his desk, fake beaming directly at me. “Now, even though we unicorns are very, very dangerous to keep around, there are just some things we can do to make life easier for all ponies. So Big Apple, our chancellor, makes sure all unicorns are properly and safely taught, here at this school. And when they begin working, he watches them very, very closely, so that nopony gets hurt.”

He’s still using that baby voice! Like I just wouldn’t get it!

“Mr. Pockets, please!” I demanded with a stomp of my hoof. “I may be a young filly, but I’m not that young! Tell me exactly what’s going on!”

For a second, his smile twitched into a smirk.

“You’re going to be kept and taught here. And when you graduate, you’re going to work for the city, your magic tightly regulated and controlled.”

“What? But I don’t want to spend time on school or a job. I’ve got better stuff to do!”

Pockets dipped his quill into an inkwell, tapped it twice against the rim, and hovered it over the page, smile returning to its normal fakey state.

“For now, I have a few questions for you. If you answer them all honestly, I’ll give you a piece of candy.” He placed a piece of taffy in a wax wrapper in front of him, and looked up at me expectantly.

I frowned down at it. It seemed… really wrong, in a really strange way. Was this a bribe?

I don’t think I like this place.

XX : Celestia

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 20
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.tumblr.com/

~Celestia~

“What do you mean my sister isn’t here?! I was assured that they would be rescued as well!”

Deep in the city, where the buildings seemed to crumble with age, I stood in a narrow alleyway. The air was muggy, ground a filthy slurry from the recent rain. Streams of garbage collected along the walls, and I swore I saw a rat or two snatching up apple cores and discarded bread crusts. I shivered, but held my ground. These ruffians, these ingrates…!

“Where is my sister?! Where are Luna and Discord?!” I screamed at the door. They had half hidden it beneath a moldy blanket, an extension of the alleyway’s slop. Through the barrier, I could hear voices, hardly muffled.

“Sprout, what the heck?! You led her here?”

“Well she said she had nowhere else to go, so…”

“A secret base is supposed to be kept a secret, Sprout! That means nobody comes here but us!”

There was a quiet mumbling, probably an apology. I leaned closer to the door, glaring at the peeling paint.

“I’ll, I’ll kick this door down, if you don’t give me answers!” I shouted, face inches from the frame, “I swear, I’ll do it!” Kick the door down? Preposterous! What is coming out of my mouth? I’m panicked! I’m panicked and worried, and… and Tia would do this! For my friends!

I spun around and with an angry squeal, I bucked the door with my hind leg! It barely scuffed the surface, sliding away before it had fully contacted. And… Ow… did I pull something? Ow… Wait no, I can’t stop now! I scooted a little closer, and with a squeal I bucked it again!

“Go away!”

“Yeah, no girls allowed!”

“No girls allowed?!” I cried, flabbergasted. I spun round, shouting at the door once more, “I thought I was rescued by a legitimate resistance! Not some little boy’s secret club!”

I squealed as the door slammed open, flung wide by an earth pony a little older than me, a tattered scarf around his neck and face twisted in fury.

“Don’t you dare insult us, you, you you pompous filly! We are a real—!“ In an instant I had charged by the colt, knocking into his side in my haste. I fell down a short flight of steps and bounced off a dilapidated railing, wooden structure shaking as I stumbled to my feet. I charged down another flight of stairs, skidding onto another platform. The door colt shouted angrily above me as I flung my hooves atop the rickety railing.

“I demand to speak with your ringleader!” I sputtered, face boiling. “Take me to him!”

I stood tall on the staircase’s second wooden platform, a line of steps leading up to the door, and another short line leading down a wall, to the ground. Over the crumbling railing, I saw a sunken room, gaps where windows would be near the ceiling, most boarded up, or covered with cloth. The walls and floor were stone, dusty and dry, save a leaking puddle here and there. To me, the room looked like a gutted store, if only because the only permanent feature was a single lonely counter. Its wood was thick, and maybe once it had been varnished. But age was taking its toll, its surface scuffed, and the edges looked like they were gnawed on by rats.

Empty as it was, it was very thoroughly decorated. Paint, angry graffiti, was splattered on every surface, the walls, the floor, even the steps and counter. ‘Down with the city,’ ‘rise of the earth ponies,’ sometimes just nonsense, and sometimes distastefully lewd images I don’t dare describe. There were exactly two doors, one behind the counter, and one on the far wall. The latter was adorned with a patchy banner of a crescent moon and a suggestion of a bird, the former unadorned.

There were only a few ponies in the room itself, some resting on blankets, playing games by lamplight. A rubber ball bounced away from a game of jacks. There was the rustle of cards being dropped. A bulky Earth pony dropped down from the counter where he was resting his forelegs and opened the door behind him, vanishing beyond it.

“Lady!” a sweaty leg was thrown roughly across my shoulders, trying to drag me down. The scarfed pony from above had finally come for me. “We rescued you, so show some freaking gratitude and leave us alone!”

I spun on him, face tight from my glare.

“I didn’t want to be rescued if that meant I’d be separated from my friends!”

He snorted, “Well, sor-ry! We did all we could back there! Now—“ He grabbed my cloak in his teeth and yanked, clasp digging into my neck…

“Stop! Stop or I’ll scream!”

“You seem to be doing enough of that already.”

The splotchy pony I had seen earlier, the one from the roof, exited from the rear door, standing behind the counter and looking up at me. Without his floppy hat, I could now tell clearly that he was a unicorn, and about my age. The heavyset colt stood by the door as the unicorn looked up at me, calm, unaffected by my shouting.

“Let her go, Courtie,” he said, “She’s already inside, so there’s no more harm in letting her talk.” I was released, and just as I dropped back on the platform, I was shoved. A jolt of panic shot down my spine as I nearly tumbled down the last flight of stairs, somehow managing to keep my feet. I ran into the far wall, straightened myself, and shook my sopping hood off my face. Straightening my shoulders, I strolled over, jutting out my hoof in greeting.

“Baroness Celestia,” I stated swiftly. Although… when was the last time I used that name? It sounded very strange to me… “My friends call me Tia,” I hastily corrected.

“Rock Pith.” He stated bluntly. There was a moment of silence as he looked me up and down. I let my mind wander for a moment… what is the cutie mark for leading a boy’s resistance force… thing? I glanced over, but to my surprise, there was only a hairless scar on either flank, where his cutie mark should have been. “So?” he started. “What’s your problem?”

I frowned. Such a rude way to phrase the question! But he seemed to be sincere…

“You see, Rock.”

“Call me Pith.”

“You see, Pith… It’s not that I’m ungrateful that you were able to get me away from those guards…”

“Of course you’re ungrateful, why else would you be banging down my front door?”

My frown grew even deeper as he calmly shot back his retort. Someone in the room snickered.

“Fine, I’m not grateful,” I replied. “When I was being led away, I was assured that my friends would be saved as well! Now I don’t know where they could be, or what I should do. So tell me, Pith, why were your ‘Sickle Ravens’ only able to save me?”

“Seriously?” He snorted, covering up a wry smile with his hoof, “You’re asking me why? Why we couldn’t do more, risk more for two ponies we didn’t even know, nor care about?” He shook his head and sighed, raising his voice. “I’m sorry, Tia, but it was a lost cause. Be grateful that we were able to get you away. Be grateful, and leave my generous brothers be.”

Other ponies began poking their snouts out of the other doorway, sneaking into the main room. All of them were colts, young, or younger than me. Their faces, their tattered clothes... Pith was the only one who looked like he washed up regularly, and as more and more colts entered the room, I noticed it getting warmer, and smelling more like hot fur and sweat. Hidden in the new crowd, somebody cheered for their leader.

“You tell ‘er, Pith!”

“Why’d you invite me down here if you were just going to talk to me like this?” I snapped.

“I only want you to see the plain logic of this, lady. Or is it too hard for your frail, emotional filly mind?”

My jaw dropped as Pith smirked at me. What a… not even a slap to the face was that—!

“E-excuse me?!” I stammered, completely stunned.

“My brothers!” Suddenly, seemingly for no reason, Pith hopped up on the counter, voice turning into a declaration. “Look at this wretch! Crying, screaming, beating at our door… All because of her separation from her friends!” He looked over the crowd of three or four dozen colts, face stern, pose bold. “This is why, my brothers, we do not bring any filly back to our secret base! They’re unstable, and jeopardize our—“

“You ingrate!” I shouted up at him, flabbergasted, on the edge of tears. He was silent, his back remaining turned to me. “You do not talk about another pony that way! What kind of colt are you?!”

Shouts rose from the pack. “He’s Pith!” “Pith, yeah!” “We’re the SICKLE RAVENS lady!” “Yeah!” “Caw!” I could feel my face, boiling hot, disgraceful, disgraceful insults digging in me like knives… I was being put up as some kind of spectacle, humiliated...

I snapped my jaw shut. I would not stand for this kind of treatment! Not after all that I had been through! I scrambled up on top of the counter, barely wondering if the old thing could hold my weight.

“Well, well you know what group I’m a part of?!” I stammered. “My friends, the two that you Sickle Ravens failed to rescue, were the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony!” The room was silent, colts staring at me. “That’s right, you’ve just let all hope for Equestria drop right into your enemies’ hands!”

“The Elements of Harmony?” somepony murmured. More and more followed, a swell of whispers. “What the crap are those?” “Never heard of ‘em!” “What’s the filly talking about?”

“Never heard of the Elements of Harmony?!” I jumped as Pith’s voice suddenly boomed beside me. The room fell quiet to his words, enraptured. He laughed and shook his head. “Never heard of… didn’t I ever tell you, my brothers?”

There was a general murmur of denial.

“Well,” I began, “The Elements…” Pith’s leg thrust out in front of me. I stared at it.

“Allow me. The ELEMENTS,” Pith shouted. “The Elements of Harmony, the last hope for Equestria!” He paced up and down the short stage, eyes never leaving his audience, voice heavy with an overdramatic gravity. “Ancient spirits, born to protect the world! Hidden! Stowed away by our enemies, by Big Apple, for fear that they would rise against him! Because only the Elements can lead Equestria to peace and prosperity. This changes everything. Everything, my brothers!” Suddenly, his face whipped around to me. I recoiled, almost falling off the stage. “Baroness Celestia… that’s not your true title, is it?”

“Well,” I fumbled, confused. So, so very confused. “Well that’s a tricky…”

“You are actually a Princess aren’t you?”

I coughed up a laugh, exasperated. “A what…?!”

“It’s alright, Princess.” He placed a hoof on my shoulder, voice, posture, everything very quickly becoming sympathetic. What in Equestria…? “You don’t have to hide anymore. You can admit, you’re so much greater than a baroness.”

“A Princess?!” “I’ve never seen a real live Princess before…” “Woooow.”

“Sickle Ravens!” Hoof still on my shoulder, Pith spun on his audience. “Do you know what this means?!”

There was a bit of murmuring, then loud and clear, a single shout.

“WE’VE RESCUED A PRINCESS!” A colt squealed, “A REAL LIVE PRINCESS!”

Cheers, a stomping applause erupted around the room.

“And we’ll rescue another!” Pith shouted, somehow louder than the crowd. “The Elements need our help, brothers! This will be the greatest undertaking of our lives! The greatest blow we will ever deal to Big Apple and his evil tyranny!”

Suddenly, his face smashed into me, his lips quickly mashing against mine. My entire body seized up, and I slapped him away with the back of my hoof. What was?! What is all of this?! He took it, eyes have closed, full of contempt. The crowd gasped and laughed “She got you good!”

“How dare you...!”

“I’m sorry, but I think I love you Princess Tia.” I tried to stammer something else, but he shoved a hoof over my mouth. “Even if you’re an emotional filly. I’ll help you find your friends, and the Elements.”

I swatted his hoof away, wiping the dirt, the drool from my face. “What?! What?! What is wrong with you?!”

But my voice was drowned out by the cheering and the stomping of the crazed Sickle Ravens. Have I been transported to the moon?! What is this moon logic?!

“Alright, everybody, now go to bed!” Pith somehow shouted over the crowd, “We’ve got a long day tomorrow if we’re going to rescue the Elements!”

“Alright!” “Pith Pith Pith!” “Go Sickle Ravens!” “CAW!” “Caw caw!”

The colts began uproariously cawing as they streamed through the far door, shoving past one another in their haste to go... wherever. Pith hopped off the counter, completely and totally tranquil.

“That was a nice hook Tia, the ‘Elements of Harmony.’” He said calmly, as if we were talking about this over tea. “Did you just come up with that on the fly?”

“A-are you this group’s fool?!” I sputtered, still wiping my mouth on my fetlock. “Did I get dragged into some kind of stage play!?”

“No, and somewhat.”

I dropped down. “Then what was…?!”

He turned and walked back through the doorway he first came from.

“Through here, let’s talk in private.”

“I-I refuse! You’ve insulted me, violated my personal space…!”

“Fine. Have it your way.”

I stammered as he vanished. The pale blue Earth pony that had originally fetched the leader waited by the door, holding it open for me. This is just… what preposterous group have I gotten myself involved in? And yet, he’s already agreed to help get my friends back… Wary, reeling, I headed through the door myself. My brain was aching. Just twenty-four short hours past we had been hiding from the griffins… This is too much. Far, far too much for one day.

And I was certain this would prove to be even more exhausting…

Inside the door was a small, tight hallway, leading to two other doorways. There was barely room to turn around, especially with the heavy earth pony trying to squeeze by me. Pith pushed open the right entrance with his shoulder, allowing light to seep into the hallway. I peered inside, but was almost shoved in by the thick earth pony, apparently following after us.

The room I entered was windowless. Narrow, but long. A shotgun room, I think it’s called. A straw mattress sat on its own box, and the space was barely wide enough to fit two of them side by side. It was lit by several lamps, one resting on a thick chest of drawers shoved perpendicular with the bed. One on a cluttered desk, one hanging from the ceiling, over a threadbare rug thrown across the one barely open portion of the floor. A coat rack with one arm missing sat by the door, Pith’s wet cap slung across it.

“Feel free to hang up your cloak,” the thin colt offered, hopping up on his bed. “Take a seat.”

I peeled off my wet cloak, immediately struck by how cold it was. I wasn’t going to get any warmer wearing this… Hoping the coat rack’s arm didn’t snap off, I hung my cloak from it, and shrugged off my bags to the side. I watched the bizarre colt as I settled into the one chair, a rickety old thing that looked like one of the legs was coming off. The Earth pony settled alongside the wall, resting on the ratty rug and looking to his leader.

“So, what can I—“

“What. In Equestria. Was that?” I cried through grit teeth, interrupting the splotchy leader. “First you insult me, then you call me a princess, then you insult me again?! What’s going on?!”

“Well, at first I was just going to turn you away,” he admitted with a shrug. He was just suddenly so... nonchalant! “But then you dropped a great hook, one I thought would really rev my Ravens up. It’s been a while since I’ve had a good story I could get them behind.”

“A story?” I wheezed, “You only decided to help me because you thought you could turn it into a great story?”

He nodded placidly.

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“And, to be perfectly clear, are you actually crushing on...?!”

“Nope, part of the act.” He flickered into a smile. “Sorry to disappoint.” Holy... he has no idea how much of a relief it is to learn that little... aspect of his performance was fake. Uhg, my mouth still feels dirty... But there’s still so, so much wrong here...

“I, I don’t believe you. This is…” I stared at him, casually resting on him stomach. “This is the resistance force in this town? A bunch of colts getting excited over stories?”

Again, he nodded, accepting.

“One of them, yes.”

“You… this…” I stammered, “What kind of leadership is this?!”

“The kind where I manage several dozen young colts, half of which aren’t even old enough to have their cutie marks yet.” He shrugged. “Sorry, I’ve just found this method works best with them.”

“You tore me down, Pith!” I interjected, “You say you’re managing colts, but that’s not something you should be teaching them!”

“Let me make it up to you Tia. We will be rescuing your friends.” He suddenly smiled, dark, and pained. “Heck, I’ve already got a good idea where one of them is…”

“You still shouldn’t...!” He rolled his eyes, and I looked at the colt sideways. Wondering… “Okay then. Where? Where are my friends?” I asked.

“I’ll show you tomorrow,” he dismissed with a wave of his hoof. Oh no you don’t...

“Tell me now.”

He frowned. “Well, the unicorn...”

“Luna.”

“Well, Luna... she, right? She’d be taken to Pocket’s place, the unicorn hostage correctional facility.” He almost seemed to spit out that name. “I can show you that tomorrow. It’s too late for us to be wandering around out there, just to take a look.”

“And Discord?” I asked. He smirked again, suppressing a laugh.

“That’s an odd name,” he said lightly.

“Where would he be?”

“Well, if I was to make a rough guess? In a cage.”

I frowned. “That’s a horrible guess. Don’t talk about Discord that way.”

“I’m serious. He’s not a pony, so he’s probably caged up somewhere...” He thought for a moment, pulling at his fetlock, as if he was trying to straighten it. “He’s weird looking, so maybe Big Apple’s menagerie, if they don’t ship him out of the city altogether.”

“Alright.” I nodded. “Alright. Thank you, Pith, for being honest with me.”

“Your welcome?” he suppressed a quiet laugh again.

I still felt... well, these Ravens are going to help me. But what was up with this leader? It came to me then that this could just be another act, just saying exactly what I wanted to hear, trying to calm me down. That... really doesn’t sit well with me. The silence wasn’t sitting well with me.

“Oh, and by the way?” I suddenly said. “I wasn’t lying. About the Elements, I mean.”

“It doesn’t really matter at this point if you were or not,” he calmly replied. “I’ll help you either way.”

“I. Wasn’t. Lying.”

Now it was his turn to give me a strange, sideways glance. Was that him? I still doubt it...

“Well then.” He settled into his forelegs, face serious. “You better tell me exactly what I’ve gotten my Ravens into.”

XXI : Discord

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 21
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.tumblr.com/

~Discord~

I was awake. Who know for how long. Hours, I guess. I had that feeling again, that really, really irritating feeling, growing so large that it was becoming difficult to sleep. The feeling of emptiness, like a pocket of air was stuck in my throat, in my gut. It was like my stomach was mad at me, and all it could do was stare until I did something. Well, I can’t. Go back to sleep. Please, just let me go back to sleep.

Usually the feeling is pretty easy to ignore. It’s not like it hurts or anything… When I run around, chatting with Celestia and Luna, I can forget about it practically all day. But right now, all I had were my own thoughts. My breathing, and that little crackle in the back of my mouth. What even was that, spit bubbles popping? I tried to swallow them away, but no. Still crackling.

Last night, they led me here. I was forced to walk, even though all of my feet were numb. Every step, it felt like I’d place a foot wrong and it’d twist, or just break. But somehow, we made it. Wherever this is.

It’s not like anything had changed the past few hours. I was on my side, on a little pillow, right where they left me. I was still bound, but instead of the lasso, there was a cushioned shackle on each limb. The effect was the same, however. My hands and feet felt thick, felt numb. Whenever I tugged on them, trying to scratch and itch or something, there was a light clatter of a metal. In the dark gloom, I could see the chain coming off the cuffs converge, then loop around a kind of big brass ring, one that circled around the entire room. Tons of chain hung loose off the end, collecting in a pile to the side.

As for where I was, it was a round glass house in the middle of a lush park, curtains drawn over every window. Through the dark, I could make out simple shapes. A low table on thin, almost wire-like legs. Vases. Potted plants. A four-post bed, also with its curtains drawn. A spiral staircase, leading up to a second floor. Occasionally, I could hear a shifting of cloth, a quiet clatter of pebbles, or maybe more chains shifting. There was a stream of water in here somewhere, burbling softly. Honestly, it would seem rather peaceful, if it weren’t for the fact that I was obviously a prisoner. What kind of jail is this?

I made a small noise, just out of boredom, annoyance. Please be morning now. Please, something, happen!

Nothing!

Then... I’ll make something!

I struggled with the chain cuff, worming my hand around it for about the billionth time that night. If I just felt a little less numb, I could magically make the shackle’s surface slick, and squirm my thin bird’s claw out. But no, I feel a little swell in my bones, and then my magic just stops, frozen, no matter how hard I push at it.

Plus, the padding on the manacles… I was feeling it squirm on my wrists. Really weirdly. At first, maybe a few hours ago, I thought it was because I was shaking it around. But even long after the material settles, I’ve felt it moving. Eaugh. Is my mind playing tricks on me? Is my body finally fed up and instead has decided to rebel, messing with my head? I have no idea.

Morning.

Moorrrrrniiiing.

I could see light coming through the curtains, just barely! Something happeeeennnn.

I swallowed back emptiness. Stomach’s being passive aggressive again. You shut up, you stupid—

Wait, a new noise!

My head jerked up as I strained my ears. I wish my hearing was sharper, what is that?! It was a clattering, a sort of heavy jingle, rhythmic too. Jingle JINGLE jingle JINGLE. And it was getting louder! I craned my neck up higher. It was definitely coming from outside…

It stopped! What did that mean?

I nearly shot out of my skin where there was a loud CLICK, the lock popping open. Light streamed in from the double doors as a pony in a black doublet pushed it open, letting in the pale blue morning light. A silver platter hung in the air beside him, held aloft by his yellow aura.

I stared at him. He looked down at me. I frowned, and opened my mouth to say something, but he didn’t quite let me get there. The pony strode past me, walking over to the brass table and placing atop it three white plates, two with weird lumps of… food, I guess, and another with rocks? What? I watched him as he circled the room, pulling all the curtains open, flooding the room with the pre-sunrise light, giving me a better view of the garden park beyond.

Finally, he walked up to me.

“Hey, um…” I started.

The pony ignored me. Instead, he shifted the padlock so the yards and yards of loose chain were giving me slack instead, locking the final few links in place.

“Uh…”

He ignored me once more, and in just a moment he was out the big double doors, locking it behind him. I heard the rhythmic jingle as I watched him walk down the little cobblestone path, keys swinging off his belt.

“Okay…”

I looked over to the chain. Theoretically, I could move around the room a bit more now. Practically, I doubted it. I placed my paw on the floor, feeling how numb, how stiff and unmovable it was. With my other elbow, I heaved my weight up and AH geez, that’s my shoulder, that did not feel right, that did not feel right at all. Friggin… weird manacles! Why’d they even need them to work like this?!

Cautiously, with all the dignity of a beached fish, I heaved myself up, and then flopped over onto my other side, crashing onto the cold floor, and onto the even colder chain.

“Ah, mother-of!” I snapped.

“Sheen?” Something vaguely feminine grunted, “Izzat you?”

There was a sharp intake of breath, and a rustle of cloth. Still trying to get on my feet, I watched as the four post bed shook lightly, the curtain fluttered, and out popped the strangest looking face I had ever seen in my life.

I admit, my exposure to cats is pretty limited. A few detailed illusions, maybe I had seen a couple in a street once. So, even though my first was impression was that this being was some sort of cat, it was the strangest dang cat I had ever seen. It had a black nose, a cleft lip, like a cat would, but its face was flat and hairless, with almost no snout to speak of. A thick forest of tawny hair encircled its entire head, a silver collar was stuffed over the mane. A silver chain hung off that, slowly unfurling down to the floor as she blinked blearily up at the ceiling.

“Sheeeeeen,” she yawned. “You alright?”

“HZUNUH?!” There was a loud clatter, like a landslide of pebbles. I shoved myself backwards as two, then five shiny rocks plummeted by my head, bouncing and ricocheting off the polished floor. There was a strangled sound, and I looked up. Above me was another platform, a loft or something, a circle that was maybe half the size of the room. A head shot through its railings, red, lizard-like, and contorted into absolute horror.

“No!” It screeched, “My babies!” The face vanished, and there was a scraping of claws over stone. “What have you done, Cleo?!”

“What have I done?” the not-a-cat whined.

The lizard-like creature barreled down the stairs, and suddenly, it clicked. That was a dragon. About the same size as a griffin, scrawny and bony, panicking and scrabbling on all four feet. Yet another chain trailed after it, also hooked to a collar around his neck, with one of those leathery pouch lassos bound over the base of his wings.

Suddenly, he went sprawling backwards, hacking a cough as his chain snapped tight. He spun and yanked at it with his claws, still clearly panicking.

“No, where’s it caught?!” He whipped his head around, then locked eyes with me, eyes bulging. “You, small thing!”

I blinked. “Uh, me?”

“Hand me those gems! Hurry!” I stared at the fallen rocks, then looked back at him. “But don’t scuff them!” he snapped.
I tried to walk again... no, this isn't going to work at all. Instead, I dropped onto my middle and tried to scoot forward, pawing the vibrantly colored rocks together with my useless, useless hands.

“Lovely, we have a new face!” The cat... mare? had eased out of her bed, and I saw that most all of her looked exactly like a lion. So the only difference was her strangely smooth visage... Pretty odd. She smiled at me, mouth full of sharp fangs, “What’s your name, little creature? where do you hail from?”

“Discord,” I said simply, still trying to get all the gemstones together. I don’t know why, but it bothered me, back to being called a creature… I was a being, not just a weird-looking beast. She waited a few moment more. If she was wondering where I was from, well, the less people that knew, the better.

“Quite a strange mix you are!” she finally declared. She took a deep bow, arm twirling by her side. “I’m Cleo, of North Quaggatalia. And this panicking dragon would be Sheen, origin unknown.”

“Nice to meet you two,” I muttered. Finally having gathered up all the gems, I pushed them across the floor, much to the dragon’s horror. Well, what else could I do, try and carry them? When I reached Sheen’s feet, he dropped to the ground, scooped them up, and ran back upstairs, pausing only briefly to grab a plate off the table. Cleo chuckled as there was a loud clattering of stones up above.

“Oh, don’t mind him. He’s just a bit fussy about his rocks…”

“Gemstones!” Sheen cried.

Cleo rolled her eyes, and sauntered over to the brass table, chain trailing silently after her.

“Here,” she pushed the plates apart with her paw. “Have some breakfast.”

“Breakfast sounds wonderful,” I cried as I tried to scoot myself forward. The crawling motion seemed to work fine as I inched myself over and heaved myself up on the table, elbows slamming down on the surface. Cleo jumped a little as silverware poured out of a crisp napkin in her hand, but screw that, finally, something to eat! I haven’t eaten since...!

“Wait,” My face creased down into a frown. “What the crap is this stuff?”

The plate came in several different flavors of weird, which I will attempt to describe. There was yellow mush, slightly burned white mush, cut circles of mush, and a puffy brown breadlike… mush. And a lump of… I have no idea. It looked like a chunk of meat, but it was white, and looked dried out. There was no fluid or anything. What kind of animal does that come from, and how long had it been sitting out? Is it... moldy or something? Doesn’t smell like it...

The only thing I recognized on my plate were three more chunks of bright and colorful gemstones. Is that some kind of really weird garnish? How in the heck would rocks count as breakfast?

“Oh, did you tell anyone what your diet consists of?” Cleo asked, looking over to my plate, “Apple Dumpling probably just took a shot in the dark... Is any of this correct?”

“Well, I don’t eat the things…” With the back of my paw, I pushed the glittering rocks off the plate, clattering onto the table. Sheen’s head was beside me just a moment later, chain still rattling down the stairs.

“Can I have them?!” He demanded.

“I... guess so?”

He snatched the rocks off the table and popped one in his mouth, munching on it as he trampled back up to his nest. I stared at his retreating back.

“He eats rocks?!” I cried.

“Gemstones!” he shouted back.

“Okay then...” I turned back to my plate, hoping that would be the strangest thing I had to deal with today. “Soooo,” I looked to Cleo for guidance, “What’s the rest of this stuff?”

She looked down to my plate, then leaned over, holding her fork over the yellow stuff.

“Well those are scrambled eggs…” she said. I frowned.

“Those don’t look anything like eggs.”

She shrugged, and moved her fork to the white mush.

“That’s potato hash.”

I forced a laugh, “You’re kidding me, right?”

“No, I’m not,” she replied, getting irritated. “And this here is chicken.”

“No it’s not.” She frowned. “Chicken is all… pink. And slimy.”

“Well, this chicken has been cooked.”

“It turns white when cooked?” I asked as she retreated to her side of the table. “How does that work?”

“I have no idea,” she snipped, scooping up some of her own ‘eggs.’ “If you don’t want it, I’ll have it.”

“No I…” I stared at the chicken, and let out a little breath. You know, I don’t have a right to be picky. I am freaking starved. “I guess I’ll just try some of this, see how it is.” I reached for the plate with my paw, then thought better of it. If I can’t walk, I doubt I could use my fingers correctly. Embarrassed, I placed my hands on the table and leaned down to the plate, taking a bite of the eggs.

I scrunched up my face. Mushy! Wet! Gross! Bleh! I swallowed it quickly, trying to force it down. It crumbled easily, dissolving... Ick! Nasty! Crumbs, or chunks, whatever, were left in my mouth, and I tried to swipe them away. It was only about then that I got a good taste of the ‘eggs.’

“Hey.” I said, “This texture is terrible, but I like the flavor.” I took another bite, scrunching up my face, forcing myself to swallow quickly. “Euagh... It’s not really like eggs at all. It’s kind’ve... sharp?”

“Oh, that would be the pepper,” Cleo told me, “Apple dumpling really loves to load on the spices.”

“Pepper? Oh so, is that this black stuff? I thought that they were just burned.”

Cleo chuckled, mood apparently restored. “Where in the world are you from that you don’t know what pepper is?”

“Nowhere special,” I said quickly. “I’ve just never had cooked food before. It’s always been raw.”

“Really?” She blinked down at me as I went for a bite of the potatoes. “Is that healthy?”

“Sure, why wouldn’t it be?” I chewed on the potato hash, still mushy and goopy, but to my relief, a bit more crunchy than the eggs. And! “Oh my god,” I said through my mouthful, “This is what cooking does to potatoes?!”

“Cooking, a bit of butter, some spices…”

“This is delicious!”

I quickly down the rest of the potatoes, forcing bites of egg in between. Then I decided to… My eyes passed over the weird, white chicken again. Iiiii decided to try the bread thing, yeah. I tore off a chunk, wondering what that would be like. It was kind’ve dry, and it quickly dissolved into yet another unpleasent mush, but as I chewed, I bit into something hard, and—

And my throat slammed shut. I shoved myself away from the table as my body retched, trying desperately to fight my gag reflex and force the bread down. My body sobbed betrayal, already working itself up into a frenzy of sick feelings. I glared down at myself, face heating up. You’ve been hungry all freaking day, and the first food you get, you spit back out?! Picky! Not the time for! You stupid… gah!

“You alright Discord?” Cleo said, peering around the table’s corner, “Don’t like raisins?”

“Yeah just… don’t like the texture. Or maybe I ate to fast, I don’t know.” I pushed myself back up to the table, shaking, an aftereffect of the reflex. I stared at my plate, less than half of it eaten. It didn’t look good anymore... I could probably… I hoped that they brought us something less mushy for lunch, or dinner, or whenever I’d eat again. If they didn’t let me go by then.

Or just.

Bleh.

I dropped my chin on the table, pushing my food away with the back of my paw, dejected. You know, I was half looking forward to sharing my first cooked meal with my friends. Celestia worked at a bakery once, she said there might be a day where she brought home a few things. Of course with this adventure trip, we never had the bits to afford something special or fun like that. I wondered, if we actually did spare the bits, would I have thrown that up? Just toss the gift back at her, no matter how much I enjoyed the flavor?

I apologized mentally for the possibility. Geez. I hope they’re both doing alright. Better than me, at least. Being ponies, and all that.

“Hey, don’t look so glum,” Cleo said from across the table, watching me uneasily. “When the servant comes back to take the plates, tell him what you like. They can work something out, they always have to deal with the diets of exotic creatures.”

“Right.” Because that’s my only problem here. “So uh.” I lifted my head off the table, looking around. “Is this what prison is like? This seems pretty nice, even if the food’s a little weird.”

“Prison?” Cleo balked, “Did you commit some kind of crime?”

“No. Not unless being heckled is some kind of crime.” But I could feel it. There is something very wrong here. “So, you weren’t imprisoned?”

“Sheen and I were captured!” she declared. “We’re rare beauties from far away and distant lands. Luxurious creatures…”
“So…” I frowned. She seemed to get way too into that description. “You’re slaves?”

Cleo gasped. “What a crude word! We’re not slaves, we’re not made to do anything! We’re the stars of the scenery, the crown jewel of the Apple family’s menagerie!”

“A menagerie… I don’t like the sound of that word. Sounds familiar.” I stared at Cleo, wracking my brain for the few times I heard that word. Like… a collection of beasts, of animals? I recoiled.

“I’m in a zoo?!”

“Zoo is a bad word as well!” Cleo snapped. “The reason why you’re here is because they thought you would make an excellent addition to this exotic display. However, if you’re going to be rude about it…!” She threatened me with a wave of her fork. I just stared at her. This is wrong, this is very, very wrong... Yet, she continued to defend it. “This is a comfortable life, Discord. You’ll grow to love it. Sheen and I have been here happily for years, haven’t we, Sheen?”

“Not now!” he cried, “I’m trying to get this stack just… GAH!”

I just... I stared down at my mismatched hands, shackled and bound. I may not be a pony, but, but I can’t be treated like this! Why was I taken here, of all places? No, I know why, it’s obvious, and wrong! Completely wrong! I’m a being, dangit, not a thing, not a creature! I am not some sort of freak of nature to be gawked at, not some animal curiosity!

I am not!

XXII : Luna

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 22
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.tumblr.com/

~Luna~

Today has been a very, very stupid day!

First doctor mister plastic smile asks me all kinds of dumb questions, half of which I can’t answer without his going “really?!” and “is that the truth?!” If it wasn’t, then why would I be telling you, huh?! Yes, my father was a baron. Yes, I’m from Canterbury. And yes, I’d been sleeping on the ground for the past couple weeks, and not because my sister didn’t love me, why do you keep insisting that?! This isn't really that weird and strange! Really!

Then he says, let’s put you in a class! So I go to class, and everyone’s like “woooah, you can hover stuff so easy!” And I say yes, yes I can hover things! Hovering is not hard! Sheesh, you guys live in a school, why haven’t you learned how to properly hover stuff yet? And yes, I know sonic magic, I know shadow magic too! Don’t you guys know at least one kind of magic already?!

Though, I guess I shouldn’t get mad at the other kids… some of them were really, really little. Like, really little. Half my age little. I’m not sure why I was put in a class with them, actually. But the teachers!!! Ooh, those teachers. All fussing over me, saying what my cutie mark should be. Luna, why on earth don’t you have a magic cutie mark yet? Shouldn’t you be magic? You have so much magic, do you know what a magic cutie mark is?

No, I don’t, and stop being all fawny pawny GRR! I wanted to just, just growl at someone! Rawr! Bark! I don’t know what my cutie mark is, and it isn’t magic, because I don’t like magic! Stop asking me about this!

But what really boils my cheese is that one teacher said “oh hey Luna, your stuff is in your own little cubbie right over there!” And I thought YES, first thing first, I need my Element back. I’ve gotten so used to having it around my neck, and I felt really naked without it. I don’t think I understood what being naked felt like until I started wearing clothes regularly… or… a necklace, regularly. Is a necklace clothes? ANYWAY.

My cheese is being boiled right now, because I searched through my bags, and all that was in there was the marbles! I rooted around the cloak, and it was the same thing!

Now that just is the cheese topping to a VERY VERY BAD DAY.

“Who took my necklace?!” I shouted, spinning around to the mostly empty bedroom place. “That was very very special to me, and whoever took is the biggest… big meanie head!”

The few fillies in the room looked over at me, muttering to themselves, shrugging denial.

Hopping cheese wheels, I just wanted to blast something right about then! I had already been warned once. Unauthorized use of magic… and you get THE CORNER. Fwah! The corner, oh no, I’m so scared! Also something something about privileges and you really don’t want to do that and whatever. I could give less of a care, but Tia’s always telling me, Luna, be a lady, ladies don’t blast things. And my lack of ladylikeness is what got us all separated in the first place. So no blasting. For now. Not until I find my sister, who, for some weird reason, isn’t here.

In a huff, I bucked the cubbie. It didn’t make me feel any better. In fact, it kind’ve made my hoof hurt.

One of the older students approached me, hesitant.

“I can take you to the lost and found, if you’d like…” she said carefully.

“Yes!” I declared, “Take me to that place!”

And so, I was promptly taken. It was down the stairs and in one of the teacher’s offices, I dunno which one. It wasn’t a very nice place compared to Pocket’s office. It was smaller and the furniture wasn’t nearly as nice. But I didn’t care, as soon as she popped open the little chest that was supposed to be lost and found, I dove in. A doll, a hat, an old shoe… but no necklace!

“I’m sorry it’s not here,” the teacher stammered, “Maybe it’ll turn up another time. Why don’t you go and have some dinner, or—”

“But I need it!” I cried. No! Retorted! “It’s important now!”

“I’m sorry!” And somehow, I was forced back into the hall, still stewing, still without my Element.

I felt like crying.

But no!

I snorted that away and strode down the hall. There was still one more place to look! I found the proper door and I bucked it right open!

“Mr. Pockets!” I declared. “I can’t find my necklace!”

“Luna! What are you doing here?!”

So, by the time I arrived, it was already pretty late afternoon. It was almost time to turn on some lights, which Mr. Pockets hadn’t done yet. Also, he wasn’t alone. Another big purple pony stood by his desk, covered in a simple black… no, a dark red cloak with a gold trim. She turned to me, and I could see that she was a she, and also a unicorn! I wondered if she was a teacher, but that was silly, because this was the first time I had ever seen her.

“I just said I’m—!” I shouted, then gasped. As I stepped into the office, there was a small flash of gold. Was it...?! I had to make sure! I ran right up to the desk, propped myself up, and there it was!

“My necklace! Finally!” I reached out to grab it with my aura, shouting a quick thanks. But then something crazy happened. My aura was overridden! A deep red glow surrounded the Element and yanked it away, moving to hover beside Pocket’s head. “What’s the big idea?!” I snapped, “That’s mine, give it back!”

“Luna…” Pockets said, peering over his glasses with a warning in his voice, “The adults are having a conversation here…”

“I’ll be outta your mane in a second, just give me back my necklace!” I reached out for it, mixing the auras, and trying to tug the Element away. But Pockets resisted, pulling it back.

“This is a very valuable, very old piece of jewelry, Luna!” he said. “I wouldn’t want you to be upset if it gets lost or stolen, let us take care of it for you—!”

“That’s my problem, let ME deal with it!”

“Stop, Luna, stop!” His head tilted forward a little as my horn began to glow more brightly, voice becoming strained. “You’re going to break it! You don’t want that to happen, do you?!”

“No, YOU’RE going to break it!”

I yanked at the necklace, and Pockets’ head and shoulders were pulled forward, struggling to steady himself on the desk, eyes wide.

“Fascinating.”

Startled, I let go of the Element. Pockets tumbled backward, throwing out his hooves for balance. I stared at the purple pony, who was looking down at me over the bridge of her nose.

“What is?” I demanded.

“How old are you child?” she asked.

I pouted, glaring at her stupid... haughty attitude, “You didn’t tell me what was fascinating!”

“Now Luna…” Pockets interjected, creepy smile creeping back. “Why don’t you leave the adults be? Go get some dinner, I’m sure you’re hungry from such a long and stressful day.”

“It was only stressful because I didn’t have my necklace!” I shouted back, stomping a hoof, “It’s very important to me, so give it back!”

“No,” he snapped. Then, Pockets ignored me! He popped open a drawer in his desk, making to drop the necklace inside.

“But that’s—!”

“Pockets.” The purple pony stepped forward. “Are you trying to stow the item?” Pockets hesitated, and in that hesitation the purple pony snatched the necklace away, hovering it beside her.

“Applebark, please,” Pockets pleaded, still displaying his fake smile. “Can’t you see the child is upset? Let’s leave the adult matters until she is gone.”

“NO!” I screamed, “No, give me it now! Or, or I’ll!—“ I revved up a spell, any spell. Screw being ladylike! They cant keep what belongs to me from me!

“Luna!” Pockets cried, attention snapping back to me. “Luna, what would your father think of such a display?!”

“My father isn’t here! That’s a silly thing to bring up!”

“But he is!” What? My spell instantly dropped, and Pockets fakey smile got a little wider. “I thought it was very strange when you said you were a baroness. Helios family, very confidently. The name seemed familiar, so I asked around.” He leaned over his desk. “It seems like there’s a Helios in this city. One, strangely enough, from Canterbury.”

“Really?” I stared at Pockets. My father… here? How did he get here? Did he... run away with mom? Is this what happens to ponies that get picked out after dark...?

“Now, I’m trying to get in contact with him,” Pockets continued. “Do you really want the first thing to hear, after so long, is that his daughter is recklessly harming other ponies?”

I stared at my hooves, still sorting out my brain, feeling empty, weird...

“I…”

“Now how about we ask him when he gets here if you can keep the necklace or not. Can I just keep it safe until then, Luna?” It was that baby voice again, that little voice for little foals. I frowned, refusing to look at him. “Will you allow me to keep this for now?”

I looked up, but not far, staring at the finish on his desk, brain still tumbling around, like it was rolling down a big, steep hill. My father? My father...?

“I… I guess?” I stumbled, unable, unsure of what exactly to say.

“So Applebark.” Pockets said sweetly. “Give the necklace here.” Now I looked up all the way, confused, at Applebark. It was getting really dark, but I could see that she had a look on her face. A very, very sour look.

“I said that I would be—”

“Now Applebark!” Pockets exclaimed. “Don’t upset the little filly further! It is hers, after all.”

Her sour look got even more sourer. With a face that looked like she might spit, she half threw it onto the desk. Pockets instantly wrenched it away and swept it towards his open drawer. In his haste, the necklace tumbled past and fell to the ground, clinking softly. I stared at it. Pockets closed his drawer, not even noticing that the Element had fallen. He just...

My face snapped down into an even tighter frown. How could he treat my necklace that way?! Thinking he’s gonna keep it safe better than I would, and he just lets it fall down like that?!

“I’ll be leaving,” Applebark snapped, spinning around.

“Let me show you out!” Pockets shot up, and I watched his feet as they passed over my necklace, almost stepping on it in his haste. “Come along Luna!” he said behind me. I heard the door open...

That’s it!

I yanked the Element to me, snapped it around my leg, and instantly coated it in shadows, blending it right into my dark fur. Only seconds later, Pockets turned back and waved me forward. I did so, covering my horn in shadows, trying to block out its light. And then I was in the hall, and walking upstairs, totally and completely ignored by everybody.

I nodded proudly to myself. Victory!

~Θ~

It was night, and pretty late at night. I could hear everyone around me shifting and snoring in their beds, me sitting in my own, blankets pulled over my head. I had removed the shadows from my eyes, was was nudging my Element with my nose. Just thinking...

I can’t sleep. I’m not afraid of the dark but… I had gotten so used to having Celestia beside me, using me as a pillow, or whatever Discord wanted to call it. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine her beside me, breathing lightly, but it only made me feel all alone.

Where are you guys? Where could you have gone? Can you rescue me from this weird place?

Or… do I want to be rescued? From this place, definitely, totally, it’s really dumb here. But… my father’s here, in this city? Is this is what happens to ponies that get caught in Canterbury? Do they get taken out of the city, shipped here, or all over Equestria? I imagined the pain on Discord’s face… how he refused to meet my eyes. Is this the huge secret he was so eager to avoid? Somehow, it didn’t seem... bad enough, I guess.

But another thing was... Do I want to see my father again? I closed my eyes really hard, trying to imagine what he looked like. It was so, so long ago… He was the same color as me, definitely. And he was really, really big. I remember his feet especially, his really shiny hooves, how smooth they were. I must have been still a foal the last time I had seen him. No face came to me, no mane color or clothes. I couldn’t even remember a cutie mark.

I nuzzle my Element again. My friends are my family now, really. They’re all I need.

But… My father?

I scrunch up my face. This is not the time to get all… tangled and silly! My friends aren’t here… so where are they? Why haven’t the come to get me yet?

Then it clicked! Maybe they don’t know where I am!

Well... I have a good way to help them find me!

I flung off my sheets, pulling the Element around my neck. I snuck out of the room, peering down the corridors. Empty! Good! I dashed across the hall and propped myself up to the window, pushing my feelings into the Element. Not enough to make a beam, but quite a lot, making it glow, warm and bright against my neck.

I’m here guys! I’m here! Please come get me, please come find me!

I don’t know how long I did this for, nonstop, but it was important that they saw. The city may be really, really big… but I’m near the top! Please, let this light shine far enough for them both to see it!

I squeaked as I heard footsteps. Instantly, I dropped the spell, hiding under some shadows. A teacher trotted by and looked around, puzzled. He left, I unhid myself, and went back to the window to make the Element glow again.

Celestia! Discord!

I’m here!

XXIV : Discord

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 24
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.tumblr.com/

~Discord~

I watched the little blue light from my window, glittering in the jumbled mass of the city. Frustrated. Angry. Luna’s right there. I just talked with Tia! We’re so close... and yet we can’t quite reach each other. I can’t stare at my friends in the face, come so close to a solution... and then just let it fall apart.

I can’t take it! I can’t take being cooped up anymore! I can’t just sit here and do nothing, thinking about everything I could be doing. Things a billion million times more productive, more fun! We could’ve explored this city, we could’ve left by now, wandering the woods. We could’ve gotten a really cool job, or even a really boring job, and it would’ve been better than this stupid... stupid...!

Even back at the old castle, trapped, cooped up in the cold, cold walls, I could weave and illusion to pass the time. Screw around, prank people, find a new cubbyhole to sneak away to. Watch the ponies in the streets for cripes sake! But here, all there is is just staring at a wall, watching the fancy ponies walk around and point at me, laughing in their shrill little voices...

‘Ooh, there’s a new monster on display, isn’t he a cute one? Look at his widdle monster horns! What kind of monster you think he is? Would you like a sweetie, widdle monster?’

I am not a beast to be gawked at! I am not a being that can just sit there and smile for the fancy ponies! And I am NOT going to take this for one more freaking day! Screw you! Screw you screw you screw you SCREW ALL OF YOU!

I slap the glass with my useless paw and throw myself backwards, rage stewing around and around my head. Why did Celestia have to come and give me hope, only to just... just leave me like this?! If it were me, I wouldn’t leave! I’d hide, stay by my friend’s side and... wait. Wait a minute...

My rage takes me to a dark place, a dark thought. So, it was only the smooze that was preventing what’s-his-face, the stupid pony who called her ‘Tia.’ Who the heck does he think he is, using the name her friends should be using... No, no, I’m getting distracted. It was the smooze that stopped him from unlocking these shackles, from freeing me. So he...

He...

He could’ve opened the door, then removed the padlock from the brass circle…

“NO!” I cried, beating a shackle against my head. “Stupid, Discord! STUPID! Why didn’t you think of that sooner?! Why didn’t that jerkface think of that either?! WHY.”

“Will you shut up?!”

I nearly jumped out of my skin as Cleo ripped apart her curtains, her mane a angry tangle as she squinted in my general direction.

“I am trying to get some beauty rest here, and if you keep making a fuss, I swear! I will…” she stammered for a moment, gaze faltering, “I will be very, very cross!” she finally shouted. “And you won’t like me when I am cross! Now Good! Night!” She threw herself back down, huffing in anger as she ripped her blankets around her head.

“Well this place is terrible!” I shouted back, “And you should feel terrible for liking it!”

“GOOD. NIGHT.”

I shook my chains angrily, making as much noise as possible. I just wanted to… I don’t know! Hit something! Make something explode or, or, or throw something! I was this close to freedom, and I just let it get away! And you know what? I am not spending an entire other day here! These stupid cuffs are coming off, whether they like it or not!

Properly enraged enough to not give a crap about appearances, I bit down on the leather lining of the shackle, tearing at it, growling like the animal they think I am… Well… Well you’re not keeping me caged here for any longer! I’ll sink to this level, but only this once!

First bite! I gnashed my fangs and tore at the sack, but my teeth just slid right off.

Second try, then! With a growl, I snapped my jaws shut and... about the same thing happened.

I tried to work one of my longer fangs in between my wrist and the bag, gnawing sideways, bottom jaw scraping painfully on metal. Failure. Again. And now my mouth was starting to feel numb… I removed the shackle, glared at it, and spat on it for good measure.

“Freaking piece of…!”

“Find a seam.”

My head snapped up. Sheen settled beside me, staring at my cuffs, his own chain shaking, almost taut at the end of its length.

“A seam?” I asked. He nodded, face solemn.

“A seam. It’ll rip easier along a seam.”

I looked back over the sack, squinting. Was there a seam on this thing...? Even with my night vision, trying to make out little details like that was a little hard…

“You wanna help me look?” I asked, showing my bird claw to him. “Or maybe, you can try and pop this one while I rip open the other one?”

“Filed teeth,” Sheen stated. “Filed down years ago.”

“Oh…” I look over the cuff quietly, then glance up. “Um, sorry to hear that.”

“I’ll get new ones. Just can’t help now.”

I nod, mind wandering for a moment… Why was Sheen just suddenly helping me? Wasn’t he in the same boat as Cleo, just enjoying himself here? I offered him a quick glance, as if to ask but... the answer was obvious. Of course he wasn’t, and I shouldn’t get caught up on my blessings.

From the look of it, there didn’t seem to be any kind of break or seam or nothing. I tried to shove my numb talons into the small gap, feeling for something out of my sight but… No, this isn’t going to work either. What else could I use to probe the area…? I stuck out my tongue, then retracted it. Uh, no, that’s a stupid idea. I got a better one. I scooted sideways, resting on my flank as I flicked my tail up. I winced as I shoved the tip into the shackle’s gap, my puffy tail’s hair getting yanked and pulled. Now to get a feel before this also went numb…

“I think…” I said, feeling around a bit more. “The seam is almost… all the way around. Like a ring around the middle.” I pulled out my tail, leaving behind a few stiff hairs. “I’m not sure if I can get my teeth into that.”

“Try.”

“Will do!” With that, I began again, gnawing, pulling, trying to affect the darn leather bag any way I could.

“You two aren’t serious, are you?” Cleo spat, rising from her bed again. “Where do you think you’re going to go, anyway? Into the city? Through the griffin’s clouds?”

I ignored her, retreating from my attack, for now. I wasn’t going to get anywhere with half of my face numb. I tried to shake off the feeling. Movement gets rid of normal numbness... why not the magical kind? It faded somewhat… But I couldn’t tell if it was me, or just time. What I could tell is that the cuff was shaking lightly, pushing at my paws.

“Thith smoothz…” I said, spitting the numb off my tongue. “Ith uh…” Spit, shake. “Ith it alive? It keepth moving on ith own.”

“A mind of its own doesn’t make it alive.”

“Gueth… Guess not.” I shook my head again. Bit better now. “Alright. Trying again!” I bit at the cuff once more, worming my fangs down... And back up again! I frowned. “Thith ithint working! I jutht can’t get my teeth down there…” I screwed my face up tighter. “Lemme try thomthing elthe.”

I worked my jaws a little. No cuff for now, just rotating them back and forth. Feeling. Cold feeling. Leave now. Eh. Good enough.

I snapped my teeth on either side of the bag, digging my fangs in, metal stuffed in my mouth. I recoiled from the taste, but bit down even harder, feeling my fangs sink...! Rise. Sink!!! Rise… Sink rise sink rise c’mon! The thing was practically making a squeaky sound this was so useless! Stupid freaking piece of unbreakable...!

I felt a scaly hand brush under my lower jaw, and I only had a second to wonder what that was doing there before Sheen bashed down on my snout. The fabric gave, my fang sunk in, then snapped to ice cold. I shouted, let my arm drop, and something wet, something frigid slapped across my face, clinging to...

“EW! EAUGH! GETITOFF!” I slapped furiously at the mass with my talons, flailing in the air. The substance splattered as it hit the ground, a mass of dark, shapeless jelly, like the color and shape of congealed blood, only leaving purple trails instead of red. I stared at it, trying to get the taste out of my mouth, the purple residue off my face...

And it shook a little. From me throwing it, I assumed. But time passed and its wobbling grew more pronounced. In awe, I watched as the little mass seized up, an arm forming, a tendril that arced forward, reaching for the ground, trying to pull the rest of its body forward. It heaved and shook, light glistening, and I froze, stiff, as two white spots rolled across his back. Eyes, eyes with tiny black pupils, staring at me…

Then Sheen slapped a napkin over it, scooping up the living glop and neatly trapping it inside. The makeshift bag wobbled and began growing dark, wet as he dropped it back to the ground.

“Well…” I sputtered. “So, that’s smooze? Looks pretty alive to me…” I looked at my other limbs, sincerely dreading having to break open all of them. Was there another nasty little thing in each of of these? Well, duh, of course there was. But... Ew.

“Is your hand usable?” I looked up at Sheen, his face still calm and solemn.

“I guess it will be, in a second…” I wiggle my fingers. Yep, still numb. I am getting so freaking sick of this feeling. I tried to cast a spell… just, any spell, maybe that would help. I could feel the magic rising, boiling, making my hand tingle, like the blood was returning to it after so, so long. I grinned, feelings swelling with my magic. I’m really doing this. I have a shot now. I’m actually getting out of here! “The feeling’s coming back fine!”

“Then untie this.” Sheen flared his wings, showing off the large smooze bag on his back. Tucked under the crook of his wings, I saw a collection of tightly folded knots, string digging into his scales, almost rubbing them off. It looked like it hurt him... but I guess the bag meant he didn’t feel a thing.

Of course, another question came to mind about then.

“It’s not locked?”

He grinned, baring his uneven mess of teeth.

“Never tried to break it before,” he replied.

“You are taking advantage of their kindness, their leniency!” Cleo shouted. “They’ve offered you so much, Sheen! How many years worth of gems have you squirreled away, how much money have they poured into your upkeep?!”

“Given and taken,” Sheen replied. “Different from offered.”

“And seriously Cleo, you still care enough to shout at us?” I fiddled with the tangles, fingers still not as in control as I wanted them to be. “Go to sleep already, and stop yelling at us.” She huffed again, and I returned to the knots. Pull here... No, that’s not working, how about a different spot? Bleh, darn numb fingers... Frustrated, I bit into the thin rope, and it frayed easily. It may have been taking its toll on Sheen’s scales, but not without damaging itself as well. With a couple unsteady yanks, almost pulling Sheen over, the rope snapped, and the sack fell away.

Sheen’s wings instantly spread wide open. He took a deep breath, grin growing even wider.

“Now we’re getting somewhere!” he barked.

“I’m...” Cleo sputtered, still half wrapped in her blankets. “I’m going to call the guards!”

“If anybody was going to respond,” Sheen said, “They would have come by now.”

Cleo sputtered once more, this time without any words, looking desperately from curtain to curtain.

Well, no use continuing to talk to her. I worked my fangs around the second bag as Sheen kept trying to catch his breath, gasping a ragged rattle. It wasn’t long until the side of my face was numb again, fangs refusing to dip into the bag a second time, sliding and slipping around the smooth surface. I grunted and adjusted my bite. Finally, it sunk in… too little. I grimaced, found a better position, then quickly slammed my jaws down.

There is slime up my nose there is slime up my nose ew augh get it out! The purple loogie seemed to tear out my nose’s membrane as it splattered onto the ground, a nasty pile of gooey... snot! OW! I clawed and pawed at my face. The cold burning does not belong in my nose!

“Augh. Ack. Jeez, nasty, nasty stuff.” I snorted, whimpering. It only made it hurt worse! “Sheen! Do I have a nosebleed? Gah… feels like its freaking frostbite or something.”

I couldn’t tell if Sheen looked at me or not, but I heard him scooping up the second smooze, breathing still heavy, maybe a little less ragged. I showed him my face, and after a brief glance, he shook his head.

“Well.” I sniffed, and ow, and flexed the fingers of my paw. Ah, the burn of blood returning to the system. This was a pain I could live with. “I’m going to try and pry these off, then.”

First thing’s first. Slick the inside of the shackle with magic, yank bird claw out. But before I could do that… I needed a better handle on my magic. I stared at my hands, focused. C’mon magic. Magic magic. Comes so easily to me, when was the last time I had to force it? I don’t even remember. But I could feeling it swelling in my bones, trying to push past the tingly gloves that currently were my hands. C’mon! I forced it, and there was a jolt in my index finger, a single patch of heat. Okay... good enough.

I tapped the shackle. Nothing. Going to need to do this the hard way. Brow knitted, I forced the magic from my fingertips, manually spreading the magic, working my hands all around the empty leather bag. Satisfied, I held the shackle tight, and began trying to yank out my bird’s talon. The thumb folded up, hand squeezed tight. I yanked again, squirming it around in circles, spreading the magic a bit more. C’mon! Get. Out of. The stupid…! Yes… YES! Finally!

One last yank and… yes! Free at last! Purple residue streaked across my hand as I pulled my fingers free, but just about then, I felt like I could kiss it! Oh sweet, glorious hand! Never leave me again!

“Now for the other one!” I declared. but before that, I checked up on Sheen. His head was low, staring at the two soaked napkins, whole body moving with each deep breath. “Hey Sheen…” I asked, “You doing okay?”

He snorted, and a plume of orange flame spilled from his nostrils.

“Oh!”

Sheen shifted on his feet, lowering his head even further, even with the two napkin bags that oozed purple smooze residue. One last deep breath, his wings flaring, and on his exhale a bright blast of fire spilled forth, engulfing the bags in an instant. The air instantly filled with the stink of kerosene, with burning heat, and light.

Cleo screamed. I laughed.

“Holy crap, that’s freaking awesome!” I shouted, giddy. Sheen smirked, a small burst of fire snorted from his nose once again.

“Are you trying to kill us all?!” Cleo screeched.

“Just the smooze,” Sheen replied. His wings arced upward, drawing in another deep breath...

“Don’t do that! STOP! MADMEN!”

“Well!” I laughed, “It’s probably dead, or whatever now, so...” I looked to the charred remains but the lumps were still moving! Ash crumbling around it, floor covered in black scorch marks… but ‘alive’! “What the?”

“Very difficult to kill, smooze.” Sheen explained just before another blast of heat and light engulfed the oozing piles.

“The curtains are going to catch fire!” Cleo screamed. “Stop, stop! You’ll kill us all!”

The flames died, and again Sheen took another breath. Ecstatic, I returned to my cuff. Let’s get this thing off next! The magic came to me easier now. I just had to tap the metal two, three times, and the entire thing was slick, ready to be removed. But as I squirmed my paw this way, that way, I realized that no matter how much I pulled, my thicker paw was not going to get through.

I frowned as there was another burst of heat, of orange light. Wow, it was really taking that much effort to kill something that wasn’t even alive? Tough stuff. Anyway. I can’t get this shackle off by just working it… But now that my magic’s back, and the smooze is removed, maybe I can try to unlock it?

I bust out a laugh, because why not?! I have no idea how magical unlocking worked, but experimenting with magic, something I havn’t been able to do in so, so long... It sounded like so much fun! I shoved my talon in there and just started blasting willy nilly, loving, delighting its feel again! I could even feel how tight the mechanism was on my finger, pinching it uncomfortably. But after a whole day of nothing at all, stumbling around on dead limbs, a little pain was welcome! I missed it so!

I let lose another burst of formless magic, just a blast of color. Nothing! I laughed, jiggled the lock, and blasted it again.

And it popped open.

I stared at the shackle as it rattled to the floor. Okay… I didn’t expect that to work, I was mostly just joking around…
Well, I’m not complaining!

Sheen finished frying the smooze into oblivion as I turned to my feet, still held in their smoozy shackles. I could probably encourage my hoofed foot out pretty easily, even without magic. But my lizard one? Impossible, not with my back claw jutting out like that.

With only a couple tries, I yanked my hoof out, and propped up my lizard’s foot on my knee, staring at it. The burning inside my nose is still a lingering reminder of my last attempt to bust open a bag, so I wasn’t exactly leaping at the chance to bite the stuff again. I want to try the thing with the lock, the magic blasts, even though I know the smooze inside would just absorb it instantly. Well, won’t know unless I try! I shove a talon in and blast away!

There was that swell again, that swelling feeling that stopped short of actually going anywhere. The smooze bag shook violently as I tried, surely eating my magic before anything significant is built up. I try a few more times. Still nothing. Drat!

I pulled my finger away and looked at them, rubbing away the cold. What did I do the first time, anyway? When I was just blasting without regards to what I was doing. I held my thumb and forefinger an inch apart, and let my magic arc between them. A burst of white light, like a lightning bolt, a spark suspended between them. Pretty predictable. Then it just… stayed there. Not fading, not vanishing. I frowned, and moved my fingers apart. My ‘magic’ snapped in half, a crumbly residue clinging to either talon. I smashed my fingers together, and the magic rubbed away, a solid powder that quickly vanished into nothingness.

That’s not right… Raw magic like this, my raw magic. It’s just supposed to be light… Right?

I formed a basic illusion, just a little green ball, and let it fall into my hand. Now usually, I wouldn’t feel anything. Make it react so that it rolled and bounced naturally maybe, but there was never any substance to the stuff. But it touched me, hit my hand, and little cracks appeared, crumbling, hollow. I crushed it, and stared as the powder fell away, vanishing into thin air. Then it clicked.

My Element. Distanced as it was from me, I still must've gotten a new magic from it. And it didn’t give me better control over shadow magic…

Blankly, I returned to basics. I traced a skeleton key in the air, and actually reached out to grab it. Solid. Felt like plaster to the touch but… I shoved it into the final lock, turned it sideways. The flimsy illusion snapped right in half. I stared at it, threw it away, and tried to turn what was remaining. With a click, the shackle popped open, and I pulled it off my foot.

“Sheen.” I said, wiggling my toes in awe. “This is the greatest night of my life.”

He burst out laughing as I scrambled forward, grinning like crazy, making another key. I tried to focus on another aspect to the illusion, weight, mass… what a curious thing to think about when weaving a spell! The key was heavy as it fell into hands, still rough and papery, but it doesn’t snap as I turn it in Sheen’s collar, freeing him, both of us.

I felt like I could explode. What was this called again, this crazy, crazy kind of illusion?! For all the life of me, I couldn’t remember, all I knew was that I couldn’t do this before! Never easily, no, it’s not supposed to be easy!

“Alright!” I shouted, spinning to the door, mind already racing with the possibilities. “Now let’s get out of…!” There was a clatter of claws behind me, and I turned to see Sheen running back upstairs. “Uh… Sheen? Where are you going!” I run up after him, legs still numb and fumbling a bit, but who cares about that right now! “Sheen! You can’t just...!”

I stopped dead, freezing as I reach the top of the steps. Sheen stood in the center of a dazzling array, piles and piles of gems. They were all organized neatly by color, by shape, by size, by shine, by a dozen different things I’m sure only Sheen could determine. The pile circled around the platform like a solid, glittering rainbow, almost twice the size of the dragon before them.

“Sheen,” I chuckled, “It’s a nice collection, but you can’t take this all with you,” I flipped around, waving him down the stairs. “C’mon, we’re free! Let’s get out of here while it’s still dark out!”

He looked over his shoulder and smiled, taking a deep breath…

And letting loose all across the glittering pile.

Cleo screamed again as the flames burned brightly, scorching the glass on the ceiling, rolling over the railing. I stared at the dragon’s illuminated red back, wondering if Sheen would rather have his masterwork destroyed than left behind. Heck, that was the only way this was making sense to me. Then I saw the edges vanishing, curling together, swirling into a bright orange ball of magic...

Sheen flapped his wings and nodded up at the massive swirling aura that spun like smoke around the ceiling. Work done, he dug in his feet, scraped the ground, and charged forward, crashing through the glass, aura sucked out behind him, spilling into the night. I ran to the window and stared, dragon swiftly becoming a shadow in the sky, following the trail of orange to who-knows-where.

“We could have just used the front door, Sheen!” I laughed, still elated, still... still free! That breeze, that night air! And an entirely new way to enjoy it, explore it! I snapped open my wings. I knew I couldn’t fly far, but I could at least have a safe trip to the ground!

“You two are crazy!” Cleo squealed, so far away. “Crazy!”

I laughed again, entire body shaking. “Do you want me to pop your lock before I go, Cleo?!” I shouted down.

“Get out of here, you madman! You are ruining my home!”

“Suit yourself!” and with that, I jumped into the air. Into the glorious glorious air!

Trees beneath me, limbs free, a new magic to experiment... And no pony to stop me! I snapped my wings open wide, gliding down, feeling the wing rushing across my face, in my mane and across my feathers, my fur. Maybe flying wasn’t so bad after all. Just one more thing I need to practice! I look around the garden beneath me, slowly approaching, then lifted my eyes over the wall, to where I saw Luna’s light. It was gone now, buuuut...

I landed hard, then charged forward, bouncing into the air with every other step. Maybe I still have a chance to find it!

XXV : Luna

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 25
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.tumblr.com/
(And here's google docs for, um, readability)

~Luna~

They never came.

And I don’t know what I should think about that.

Should I have pushed myself harder? Stayed up later? Made the Element all beamy, spun around like a lighthouse? Were they stuck or trapped somewhere? Should I be looking to go find them? Was I being too hopeful, thinking they’d come to me when they saw my light?

All these questions just keep coming back, tapping at my brain, over and over. I couldn’t sleep. Maybe because my bed was so uncomfortable, or maybe because it bugged me. It bugged me a lot. Where was my sister? Where was my father?
Where was my father?

He could come and pick me up, take me home, back home to all my stuffed animals, to sleeping in the drawing room while he worked upstairs, tapping, tapping away at his paperwork. He smelled like old shoe varnish, I told myself. That’s what he smelled like as I played at his feet, nuzzling the hard nail of his hoof, rising almost all the way up his leg. That was my dad, tapping, tapping hard at work. My legs didn’t move right, but of course they wouldn’t, because I was so small. My legs were so short, all they could do was knock against the floor.

I dug my face into my dad’s leg, tap tapping away. My horn hit something stiff, something really hard. That’s my dad. A pillar. That’s what he is. One pillar blending into a dozen.

I blinked, world blurrying, and becoming clearer. Dad’s fur sure looks veiny... Or maybe that was just wood. When did my dad get a wooden leg?

Maybe that was just the wall.

Oh.

My knee knocked into the wooden planks, painfully stiff, prickling and hurting to move. I whined a little and forced it. It’s bad to just let it be like that...

But I still heard my dad, tap, tapping away.

I frowned. No, it was not my father. It must be some kind of bird or something, rapping at the window. I looked up to the ceiling, morning well on its way, light easily able to push through the white cloud city. But why would a bird be...? I wobbled to my feet, stiff, only just barely glancing at the window...

“Discord!”

The Draconequus vanished, and, wait, where’d he go? I shoved my face against the glass, trying to look down. There were more scraping and scratching sounds as Discord tried to claw his way back up the wall, wings flapping to try and keep him up. But it was him! He made it. He made it! He found me! Am I dreaming? It would be terrible if this was a dream too...

“You saw my signal?!” I shouted

There was a muffled reply, and a laugh, just... really light-like. I pushed my face against the glass and wondered if I could make myself hear better through it. It got warm, Discord’s snout meeting my ear.

“How do I get in?” he asked.

“Well I don’t know that!” I shout back, looking back at him. “If I knew how to get in, don’t you think I’d know how to get out?”

He frowned off to the sound, mouth moving, but words stopped short. I turned to listen, and--

“EEK! WHAT IS THAT?!” I was shoved away from the window, Discord vanished again, and Ms. Buttercup stood beside me, mane tangled, eyes wide, gong clanging in her mouth. She looked this way, that way, then down at me just as I finished wrapping shadows around my Element. “Luna, dear! Whatever are you doing here, what was that creature?!”

“Um... A... uh....” I stared up at the teacher, brains turned off. “I was um... asleep... and um...” Gosh, just say something! “Something!” I smiled, snout shivering.

“Well, it certainly was something!” Ms. Buttercup said, amused, shoving me down the hall, “You know you can get a cutie mark for illusions, if you try really hard...”

I trotted away slowly, staring back as Ms. Buttercup vanished into a doorway, staring past her, watching the windows.
Discord poked his head up, waved, then vanished again.

And I smiled.

A small smile.

~Θ~

So the day went on, all dull and dreary in even the simplest easy classes, with teachers who wouldn’t stop fawning as I tried very, very hard to maintain the shadows with subtlety. It was kind’ve giving me a headache, focusing on it for so long. I’d think, okay, this is it. But then I’d hear some ponies shouting, or look out the window and see a glimpse of a little red tail, or a poof of blue feathers, and it made everything just okay. Everybody was running around in a panic, guards were summoned, teachers were distracted... but they never caught him. And I couldn’t be more happy for that. I could take the dumb classes and the dumber teachers if it meant Discord was working to rescue me!

Right. I can take this.

It was around lunch, and I had a bit of time where no teachers would be watching me. I started to wander up and down some of the halls, trying doors and windows, noticing that barely any of them would budge. None of the windows looked like they opened at all, and most of the doors were locked... Really, despite having no one watching, there was only a few places I could go. The cafeteria, the dorm bedroom things, one of the classrooms...

And then there was a “Hey! Luna!”

I snapped to attention, peering around corners. There! I saw a little wavy paw, poking out from behind an open door frame.

“Over here!”

I charged into the classroom, the door slammed behind me, and a very familiar Draconequus ran right into me, hug all tight and prickly.

“I was wondering when you’d get in here!” I squealed, worming under his tight grasp.

“Yeah, it was no easy feat, I’ll tell you that!” Discord laughed, grinning like crazy. “But hang on a second...” He dropped me and moved to the door, looking in the cracks in the frame. “Make sure we’re not disturbed.” He grinned back at me, then scraped a claw over the frame, leaving behind a trail of what looked like cement. “So, holy crap, what is this place? None of the windows open, none of the locks I tried actually unlock when I zap them, there are guards everywhere...”

“Zap them? With what?” I think for a second, then start again, slowly. “Did you get electricity magic...?”

“No, no! I can zap em with my illusions! Reality’s Illusion!”

“So um...”

“You know how I didn’t get more shadow magic with my Element?” Discord interrupted, giddy, practically bouncing on his toes. “Well, I got this instead! Reality’s Illusion, it’s like... the illusion of touch!”

I looked around my friend still... frowning.

“How the crap is that going to hold the door shut?”

He deflated a little, looking at me out of one eye.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, an illusion’s like, a mind trick right? You can’t mind trick a door.”

“Not it’s...” his eyes flicked back to the door. “It’s actual, solid stuff.”

“Then that’s not an illusion it’s um... material...” I frowned. “You know what? You can call it whatever the hay you want, it’s just cool to have you here! Though...” I look him over, “You don’t have your necklace on you.”

“Pff, yeah.” He frowned down on himself. “This unicorn called Applebark has it, far as I know...”

“Applebark?” I asked. “I saw Applebark, she was trying to get my necklace...”

We were both silent for a moment. Why were we?

“You think they know?” I blurted out.

“Yeah...” Discord said slowly. “Yeah, they’ve gotta know what these are... Though if they did, why’d they let you keep yours?”

“Probably ‘cuz I stole it back.”

Discord grinned. “Good. Um, anyway,” he waved the subject away, “I finally got in here by sneaking in the kitchens. A chef propped open a door to bring some crates through... Almost got caught like a half a dozen times, but with your shadow magic, I’m sure we can sneak right back out of here! So let’s go!”

“Yeah!” I trotted forward a few steps, then stopped. “Wait no. No, I can’t.”

“Uh, No?”

“I’ve gotta stay here, Discord, just for a few more days. Then we can go.”

“Why?” Discord whined, leaning in close to me. “Why the crap do you want to stay here?”

“It’s... my father.” I stared at my hooves. Same color as his hooves... “Pockets told me that my father’s in the city, and he’s trying to get ahold of him.”

Discord looked confused. That didn’t... I didn’t like the look of that. I don’t know why, but I didn’t.

“How did he wind up here...?”

“I dunno. I thought you’d know.” I glanced up, “When... ponies get taken to the castle... Do they sell them?”

Discord almost laughed. A nervous, quick exhale before he stopped looking at me, smirking sideways.

“Well uh...”

“So, they don’t?” I didn’t think they did... but...

“Well, uh... I’ve never heard of it, but maybe!” He shrugged, jerking his arms upward, stiff. “Hey, if you want to wait for your dad, we can just--”

“Does ‘never heard of’ it mean it never happens?”

Discord was silent, sideways grin faltering away. He nodded, looking right at me.

“Yeah, it never happens. This Pockets, he’s either mistaken, or he’s lying to you. So!” With a wave of his paw, the cement around the door vanished. “Let’s get going while--”

“So then,” I squeaked. “What did happen to my father?”

There was a moment of silence, too long of a moment. Why did it feel too long? I frowned at the feeling. Stop being... silly! Discord’s back remaining turned to me. I watched him breathe, fur along his back prickling a little, standing on end. He looked at me over his shoulder, still trying to smile.

“We’re kind’ve in a rush here Luna! And, well, Celestia’s not here, either. I don’t want to tell this story twice. Why don’t we wait until we find her?”

I stood firm. “No. No, you’re just going to keep avoiding the topic and hoping we forget.”

“Luna.” Discord nervously scratched his foreleg, took a deep breath, then placed both of his forefeet on my shoulders, gripping them tightly as he stared at me, right in the eye. “Luna, I really, really don’t want to hurt you.”

“It hurts me more when you try and find an excuse to lie,” I stated. Simple. It’s very simple.

“Ouch, Luna.” Discord laughed nervously.

“I’m serious!”

“He...”

“He what?”

“Don’t...” Discord shook his head. “He died, Luna. All the ponies taken to the castle die. They’re held for maybe a week tops before they get killed.”

Okay. Okay, that made a whole lot of sense. I guess I kind’ve assumed that already. So now there’s no reason to...

“So...” I squeaked. “So my dad is dead?”

“Well...”

“TELL ME!”

“Yes, Luna, geez! He’s dead, alright?! Good enough?”

“Well that’s...” I fell quiet, looking inside, thinking, feeling a bit dizzy, like the room was leaning forward, all of a sudden. Why? Why why why?

“Luna?”

“I guess I already kind’ve assumed that? I mean,” I shook my head, feeling my brains flop back and forth. “My dad’s always been... dead anyway. This doesn’t change much, in the end. Just gives me another reason to leave, right?”

“Right! So! Let’s get going!”

“But...”

Discord spun on me, face contorted into a face that just screamed ‘why?!’ right back at me.

“You know, this was a really, really great day! I got a new magic, I’ve been all clever in avoiding the guards, I found you. Man, things were great today! Then you just bring up death and despair and...” His face snapped down into a frown, staring downward. “I didn’t like that place, Luna! I hated it! It may hurt to hear about it, but darnit, I don’t want to think about it either!”

My face felt really, really tight. I felt... I felt, I don’t know what to think about this. Celestia? She would have an answer... Or...

“That’s...?”

He snapped his teeth a little, making a disgusted sound. “Bah! Total buzzkill. I mean... bah!” He spun on me. “Can we leave now or what?!”

“I need to go get my stuff...” I said quietly.

“Sure, fine, but let’s just get going.”

I stepped into the hallway, snapping shadows around us.

What do I think of this?

Of any of it?

~Θ~

“Well,” Discord peeked around the alleyway’s corner, and popped back, “Looks like it’s going to be hard sneaking around in the middle of the day.” He frowned. “Guess we’re stuck waiting her until nightfall. you alright with that, Luna?”

“Why’d you break me out of there if we weren’t going to go anywhere?”

Discord stared at me. “I dunno, I thought you hated it.” He grinned, “No way I was going to leave you there for even another hour!”

“Yeah, I did hate it. It was terrible.”

“Um... okay?” He settled down beside me, sneaking into the shadows. It didn’t feel right having him near me. I didn’t want him close. I wanted my sister to save me. Not... not... Why was I feeling like this? So angry and bottled up, staring at the school until it went all blurry...

“Geez, Luna.” Discord looked over me, confused. “What’s wrong?”

And then, my entire face seized up.

“Being... I’m being stupid, that’s what’s wrong!” I snort and look over at the school. “I keep thinking that maybe I’ll see my dad just walking up to the doors, looking for me. I kind’ve want that to happen too. I don’t know why. I’ve never seen him before, or have any kind of connection or anything...”

Discord chuckled lightly. “He’s not going to, he’s...”

“DON’T LAUGH ABOUT THIS!” Discord stared down at me, eyes wide. “My... my dad is dead, Discord...”

“I... you said it didn’t upset you that much.”

“I didn’t think it would! It shouldn’t, it’s stupid! I don’t know why I’m crying... but... all I had was a color. All I had was, was my color. Now I don’t have anything...!”

“Luna! Don’t yell” Discord said, looking around nervously.

Discord was silent for a long time after that, blurry. Why was I crying? I don’t cry. Why did this matter? Celestia was my family, she’s all I’ve ever needed. I’m a happy filly and this never mattered. Who cares about some stranger, some stranger I never met, who never... never loved...

I sobbed.

“Luna, Luna please... calm...”

“NO!” I said, gritting my teeth together to make the tears stop. I’m not crying, and I’m not sad and THIS IS STUPID I AM CALM.

Discord reached a paw over to stroke my mane, to comfort me, but as soon as he did my stomach churned, and I drew back before I even knew what I was doing. “DON’T TOUCH ME.” I screamed at my friend, voice strained. He was only trying to help, why couldn’t I just let him? These were things I needed to here!

His hand froze, frown snapping tight, snapping angry.

“Why are you acting like this?!” he shouted back. Hypocrite! “He’s dead. You said nothing’s changed!”
“Everything is changed.” I squealed, “He didn’t leave us, we wern’t abandoned. He wanted to see me again.” Before I even thought it through, the words hit me, just as I said them, along with everything that they meant. The alleyway was spinning, maybe because my legs were made of jelly, unable to hold me up.

“Well that’s a good thing, isn’t it?!” the frustrated Discord blur asked. He was sounding angrier, like he did at the school. He didn’t care then either! “‘Yay, you had a happy family and they loved you.’ Why can’t you be happy with what you have?!”

“BECAUSE YOU TOOK HIM FROM ME” I screamed at him. I guess I was trying to walk because I stumbled into a wall. Stupid stupid stupid. Where did I think I was going?!

“No!” Discord yelled back at me. “That’s not fair Luna, that’s not fair. I didn’t take anything from you, so don’t lay this on me. You said you’d hurt more if I didn’t say, but that wasn’t true, was it?! You’re treating me like I killed him or something!”

“WELL MAYBE YOU DID!”

“I did NOT!”

I couldn’t think, not any more. I didn’t want to hear it, I didn’t want to talk. I think Discord was making sounds, but they weren't words. The Element on my neck burned so badly, and my jelly legs felt like four back hooves, tripping all over the place. I just wanted to be somewhere else, anywhere else. Not here, not now, not this.

Everything turned to shadows, cool and dark, and then I was alone. No Discord... just ponies wandering the streets, ignoring me.

I threw up my lunch and cried.

~Θ~

I don’t know how long I just layed there. A few hours I guess? I just knew I was all cried out, and I just couldn’t anymore. My eyes could not be blurry again but my head was still empty. I stood up and started walking through wherever I was. Still Stringhalt at least, but not on the hill, nowhere nice. The alleys were dirty, full of yuck and garbage, and the ponies that walked by were really, really quiet. I didn’t know where I was going, I just walked, turned, walked, turned. Trying to get somewhere.

There were voices, colts’ and fillies’ voices one way, so it was the way I decided to go. Even if it was the school again, anything would be better than going nowhere at all. Then I turned the corner, and I saw her. That while coat, dirty and grungy, and the cutie mark of a blazing sun, standing among a ton of little colts like a determined general.

“Celestia!” I cried.

She turned, looked at me and froze.

I started trotting towards her, one foot in front of the other. But she charged for me, and reached me way faster, talking on and on, even though I couldn’t make out what she was saying. I just rested my head against her neck and listened to the silly sounds in her throat, hearing her voice without words.

I still had family. And we had found each other.

I thought I was all cried out... but I guess I was wrong.

XXVI : Five Til One

The Steadfast Sky : Five Til One
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.tumblr.com/

~Celestia~
Eleven in the Morning

A question ground at me all night, pressing into my temples, too tense. How could I leave Discord behind like that? I should have been able to save him, he was right there. How could I have just left? Let us both leave, with nothing accomplished?

What was worse, I felt like I could’ve done something, if I had just tried. Days ago, whenever it was, Discord had wondered if my sun gave me fire magic. And now, I was wondering it myself. I had to try... it didn’t feel like it would work, but I had to, had to try.

Lying on the inside of my cloak to avoid contact with the floor, I stomped a piece of paper into the ground, stabbed it with my horn, and tried to burn it. And not the narrow beam of light kind of burn, that would never get hot enough to melt metal. I felt my anger, my frustration spill across my skull, base of my horn tightening, heating with my effort. Never done this before... but...

Fire!

There was a sort of popping noise, and nothing.

Okay... Do over!

I grunted with the effort, stitches tightening over my brow. Fire! Fire, dangit! Alright. Alright... brute force isn’t working. I’m not going to discover anything this way. Deep breaths, Tia. Nice, deep, inhale… exhale…

I eased my horn down, tapping the piece of paper, once, twice, and closed my eyes. Inhale… Exhale. I eased magic back into my horn, feeling my skull tighten around the warming aura. Now. Fire. Flooowwwww onto the paper. Flooowwwwww… I frowned, tapped it again. Buuuuuurn… buuuuuuurrrrrrn, darn youuu.

I peeked out of one eye. The spell, whatever it was, had blown some dirt off the page, but otherwise, nothing had changed.

I huffed a sigh. I pretty much expected that exact result... but it was still a disappointment. My sun wasn’t about burning or heat. It was about… well, ideals and goals. I don’t even know what kind of magic I could get from it. Maybe I was just stuck with light magic for the rest of my life. Goodness, what a sour fate, being absolutely useless as a unicorn. Well, better this than whatever magic a begging cutie mark would have given me. Is there such a thing as...

Oh! Who could this be?

A tiny little colt, younger than Luna, peeked around the corner of the counter where I was sitting. It was that same little colt that had so kindly brought me back to this hideout in the first place.

“Good morning, Princess!” he squeaked, smiling.

“Was it um...” I scrambled for a name. C’mon, Tia, it wasn’t that long ago! “Seeds?”

“It’s Sprout, miss!” He nodded away, mane bobbing over his eyes.

“Well... Good morning, Sprout!”

“Have you had breakfast yet, Princess?” Breakfast? Wasn’t it nearly noon already?

“Yes, I had a few things left in my saddlebags... ”

“Ooh!” Another head popped over the counter. Again, distantly familiar, “Did you like my apple, Princess?”

“Well, um...” Was that stolen apple still in my bag? Goodness, I can’t remember. “Yes! Yes, it was very, very tasty. And what’s your name?”

“Swift Snatcher, miss!”

“O-oh...” What parent would give a child a name like...?!

“I’m Golden Orange!” another piped up, skidding into place beside Sprout, yet still barely peering around the corner of the counter. “Anything I can do for you, Princess?!”

“Well, ah...”

I remember getting this kind of attention yesterday before Pith walked me around town. I’m honestly not sure how I should receive it. I didn’t like the idea of just allowing it. I’m not a Princess, and I will not carry false pretenses of the sort. I’ve done nothing to deserve that level of respect.

“Now, now, Ravens. Leave the Princess alone...” And there was Pith, coming out of his special back room, hat already placed firmly around his horn. “Go wake the rest of the Ravens, will you? Princess Tia here has got a special announcement for you!”

I stared at Pith as the Ravens scattered. He wasn’t being serious, was he...?

~Discord~
Twelve Noon

I sat, shielded, blocked off from the world. There was no way I could maintain a shadow spell for half a day, so I went for the poor-pony’s alternative. An illusion of a barrel, woven around me, blocking out most light, and cutting me off from all vision. A pony could walk right into me, and I wouldn’t know it. Sure, now I could make the barrel solid so no one walked through it but...

I curled around my legs, cold brick to my back. This. Sucks. My body already complaining about a lack of breakfast, maybe even lunch at this point. My backside was numb from the cold, from doing nothing for who-knows-how long, wing joints aching from being splayed into the brick behind me. What the heck was Luna thinking, just leaving me like this?

No, why the heck was Luna acting like that?! I had never seen her cry before... maybe a few tears of pain if she scraped her knee, or that one time when the griffin scratched her. But nothing like that! Not... an emotional, teary explosion! And did she lie to me? She said she was fine, that she’d feel better if I told her, then she just blew up in my face! Clearly admitting to what happened hurt her more! Geez, if I had told her the whole truth, how the heck would she have acted then?

I curl a little tighter, blowing my mane out of my eyes. Throwing around such painful memories, such hurtful accusations like that... Geez, what did that place do to her?

Where’s my Luna?

Trapped in this illusion of a barrel, hours and hours until nightfall, all I could do is fiddling with my magic and think, over and over. Quite the rescue that was, Discord, look at where that got you. What a bombastic failure. I was completely unable to help Luna when she was hurting... And then she had to go and hurt me.

Geez... done thinking now. Just stop brain, refocus your attention. I lifted my fingers int front of my face and rubbed them together, summoning some magic to mess with. I unstuck my fingers, trying to make my magic soft, malleable, following in stretchy, taffy-like lines. I hope I can find her again, so we can just talk all this over. I may have been insensitive, but at least I was trying, you know? I have my apologises to give, but she better apologize too, for how she was acting.

Arrrg, no, I said to stop thinking about this! I slapped away the spell and tried again, making a liquid boil from my hand.
Whats the big deal, anyway? Father, no father, who cares? I never knew who my father, my ‘biological’ father was, but heck if that mattered in my life. Then again, ponies grow up in those kind of family units, so... Does this turn her situation into something like being outside the norm, and pitied for it? Disliked? I don’t know! Maybe I’ll ask. Its something that really, really needs to be worked out. Between all of us...

I growled, but quickly repressed the sound, small illusion evaporating the second I removed my focus from it. I literally cannot stop thinking this over can I? What’s done is done, and there’s nothing I can do about it now, okay?

I messed with my taffy illusion again. It was strange, having to focus on these new properties. What substances, objects look like in motion, I had gotten use to that. It was almost a second nature in my illusions. But trying to think about how an illusion would feel, how it would behave and flow... You’d think it would be a pretty good distraction, focusing on that. But no. I just get sidetracked by my own thoughts and the illusion loses its physicality.

I wished I could be running around right now.

Yeah, that’s a helpful thought, brain.

There was some shouting outside my barrel, down the street somewhere. I barely paid attention to it, ponies, guards and such, had been shouting about stuff all day. This was nothing new. Instead, I focused my attention on splattering a stream of water across my paw. I tried to get the splashes to look just right, trying to make it stop feeling like a stream of grainy sand...

“I am not taking your excuses, Pockets!”

The illusion between my hands instantly vanished. No, it couldn’t be. I fidgeted in place, then poked the tiniest hole in the barrel, peering out, back at the school.

“Please, Lady Applebark, we’ll find the girl soon!”

It was!

I watched as Applebark descended the steps of the school, whipping into a turn. Her cloak billowed behind her, echoing her frustrated huff of a stride. Some other pony in glasses stumbled after her, flustered. His step was stumbling and halting as he tripped all over himself, trying to keep pace with the mare.

“It’s not just the girl, Pockets!” the large unicorn snapped, “You knew her capabilities. Didn’t you think to keep a closer eye on her?!”

“We’re spread thin as it is, Lady Applebark,” from this distance, I saw the second unicorn flash a hesitant smile, “If anything, this shows we should have more...”

“More what?! Money? Unicorns?! How dare you beg after such a massive failure!” She turned to flick her horn at him, stomping and snorting. “Begone! Out of my sight!”

“But, my Lady...”

No! I scrambled to my feet, horns cracking holes in the fragile structure as they vanished from the narrow view of the alleyway. I have to follow! She must still have my necklace... My only lead! But how the heck can I...?!

Aw, jeez!

I rolled my shoulder and dug my hands under the shadows, crawling under them. It felt like I was forcing my way under an especially tight blanket as I scraped forward on my stomach, minimal magic just barely leaving me enough room to move. Please, please let it be enough to remain hidden while I move...

~Celestia~
Quarter Past Eleven

There was a burst of crowing as more of the colts shoved their way out of the bedroom into the main area. Some were still half asleep, and stumbling into others and tripping over their own feet. But many more just as hyper and excited as I usually saw them. From one corner of the room, bread and fruits were being chucked out of barrels into the growing mass of children, the scraps scrambled for, but not quite fought over.

“Listen up, Sickle Ravens!” Pith walked around the front of the counter, head held high, already shouting. “Princess Celestia herself has something important she wants to tell all of you!”

“Um...” I stood up on the counter, trying to not fall off one side or another, staring over the crowd... They had begun to stare back, gnawing on their breakfast. “Well, uh...”

“Well, Princess Celestia?!” Pith loudly demanded, face stiff and serious. I bet a thousand bits he was grinning his head off on the inside. “Don’t you want some changes around here?”

“Um... well... y-yes.” I took a deep breath. Steady yourself Celestia. Take charge. You’re in control. “This operation we’re on... its vitally important! Very, very vitally important! So important, that your leader has handed over control to me!” I nodded, teeth tightly clenched. In control. “Because, you see, it’s no longer a game, so--”

“Yes it is!”

The crowd snickered, commenter lost among the countless faces. The colts lightly stomping their hooves in applause. I felt my face flush away.

“No, please!” Aug, was that a whine? “This is very, very serious! We’re talking about my sister here...”

“The other Princess?”

“Well, um...” I really, really didn’t want to perpetuate that lie. “N-no...” I stammered.

“Wait, your sister isn’t a Princess?”

“How does that work?!”

“Yeah!” “How?” “Caw caw!” “Tell us!”

“Please! Everybody, quiet down!” I shouted over the swell of voices. For a moment, it almost seemed to work. “It... it doesn’t matter what Luna is, right?! We’re going to free her either way!”

“Yeah, save the Princess!” “Yeah!” “Caw!”

And then the room broke out into a massive cawing battle, hoof applause beating loudly into the ground. I rubbed a hoof into my eyes. Okay... clearly, I cant fight against this at this point. Pith declared us both Princesses, so we’re both Princesses. Let’s just go with it. For now.

“So... So! SO!” The applause slowly died down, but the cawing never stopped, three or four colts in the back trying to not-so-quietly be the very last to crow. “Let’s all gather together, and focus.”

“HEY WAIT!”

A Zebra on the top of the steps, apparently guarding the door and maybe a year younger than me, waved a hoof in the air.

“Um...” I stared up at him, “Yes, you...?”

“How can you lead us if you’re not a member of the Sickle Ravens?!” he demanded, leaning over the railing. There was a general murmur of agreement, along with another swell of that darn crowing. Will they ever just stop?

“But girls cant be part of the Sickle Ravens!” “Celestia’s not a girl, she’s a princess!” “She’s special!” “Caw!” “Let’s let her join.” “The proper way!” “CAW CAW!” “Yeah, the proper way! she’s gotta pass the tests!” “The tests, yeah!”

“Please!” I shouted again, feeling my voice crack from the strain, “We don’t need to waste time on this! My sister is what’s important, rescuing...!”

There was no getting through that tidal wave of hoofbeats, of screamed birdcalls...

~Discord~
Half Past Noon

I squirmed forward, trying to focus on too many things at once. The spell, the stalls, Applebark... I thought crawling behind the stands on the street would be easier than making my way through the legs of the crowds. Fewer ponies to trip over, more shade to hide in.... But in reality, it was more stuff to get around, with less visibility. Shopkeepers turned their heads as barrels tilted all on their own, as their wares tumbled to the ground without provocation. I winced as my claws scraped on some wood siding, making the pony manning the stall turn his head, staring two inches to my left. This was a dumb idea, this was a dumb idea, dumb idea, dumb.

I fought the urge to just jump onto the next stall. I wished, I dreamed I could just dash along ton top of these stupid blanket awnings and still have enough shadows to hide under. I wish I could just walk in the crowd. A normal pony, neither cared about nor noticed. That would be nice, no, wonderful.

And while we’re piling up fruitless dreams and needless worries, I still hadn’t eaten since yesterday. Yes, this is clearly what I should be focusing all my attention on. Right now. Screw you, body. You’re more trouble than you’re worth.

I double checked my shadow lining, then quickly grabbed a carrot from a slouching burlap sack. Please don’t pop the whole spell please don’t pop the whole spell... Okay. Looks like that worked. I shoved the pathetically small scrap into my mouth, gnawing as I wormed my way through four more barrels, pinching the corners of the fraying shade.

Now, where’s that Applebark...? I peered out from under the spell, trying to pick her wide berth from the crowds. Ah, there she is! I shot forward, stopped, fixed a rip that had appeared. Munched on the carrot, ducked under some cloth, avoided a flicking tail, and walked around another barrel. Back into the street, back behind a stall, double checking on Applebark... Crap, where was she? Oh, there she was. Relieved sigh...

CARROT!

I hacked up orange flakes, a chunk, stuck down the wrong tube, the size of a fist, I swear, it was! My whole body heaved as I hacked, wings flaring. Chunk finally dislodged and I spat it to the ground. It was no bigger than a thumbnail. Friggin stupid... I slapped it away. Into the hooves of a shopkeeper. Who was staring down at me.

What a frail hold I have over shadows....

“Uh... h-hi...?”

And then the screaming started.

~Celestia~
Half Past Eleven

Quiet, firm control. Quiet, firm control. That is how we are going to fix this situation. Show that you’re the one in charge. Be firm. Control, even in your breathing. Breath in, breath out.

I flicked back my mane, head held high.

“I refuse.”

“Aw, c’mon Princess...” the little purple colt whined, holding out his sullied hoof. “It’s war paint! You gotta wear war paint!”

“That is not war paint,” I explained. Concise. Clear. “It is mud from the streets. No, a rain gutter. I saw where you got that, and I am not allowing anything like that near my face.”

The child pouted, mud dripping down his hoof.

“Do you want to lead us or not?!”

“This has absolutely nothing to do with leadership.”

“Of course it does, Princess Celestia!” Pith boomed, appearing from who knows where, head rivaling mine in arrogant angling. “Accepting the gifts the people have to give you is very important in leadership! Speaking of” He turned and yanked his head sideways, almost forcing a shifty-eyed colt in front of him. “One of your boys has a report to give you!”

I practically marched up to the shifty colt, clicking my hooves loudly on the cobblestones. Goodness, am I showboating? I quickly shook the idea from my head.

“Yes...?!” I asked, maybe a bit too loud, “What is your name?”

“I’m Stone Skipper,” he mumbled, “I watch the guards, and...” THERE IS A WET HOOF IN MY FACE AUG AUG EW AUG! I skitter sideways, shaking my head, spitting out.... ITS IN MY MOUTH! “Yeah, uh...”

“YES?!” I squeal, all composure lost, “Continue!”

“Yeah, guards are getting real agitated today,” he said, eyebrows lazily raised, “Some creatures escapes from the zoo or something, and they’re going crazy trying to find ‘em. Nopony’s been bit or nothing yet, but...”

“Yes, thank you!” I squeaked, avoiding the wild swings of the filthy, filthy filthy! “Iwillkeepthatinmind!”

“Welcome Princess...”

Satisfied, the purple colt who’s name I never got backed away from me, nodding as his horrible, horrible handiwork.
“Okay!” he shouted, “Now you gotta run into the town square and filch something, broad daylight!”

“What?! I refuse! I could be arrested!”

“No you wont, you’re supposed to run!” he nodded, grinning, eager, “It’s a very important test!”

“That has nothing to do with leadership! Please, listen to me. Or...” I turn to find the reporting colt, but he had already wandered away. Calm, Celestia. Calm, even explanation. “I need more things like what Stone Skipper told me. Information, plans. We have to plan for this attack, we can’t just stand around and...”

But of course, I was shoved, pulled away, surrounded by half a dozen little cawing colts, caught up in their ‘fun’ ‘tests’. Oh, will I ever manage to rescue my sister?

~Discord~
Fifteen Til One

I hate running. I hate hate hate hate hate hate RUNNING. I hate feeling powerless, I hate feeling weak and useless! I wish I had some sort of, I dunno, a laser blast to just overpower everything because I hate this feeling!

I slam myself between two barrels, knocking one over, flapping, struggling upward. Clutch at the cloth awning,tear it, shove myself up, bouncing across the heated cloth. For all the life of me, why is it this hot?! Ponies shout around me, ‘what is that?!’ ‘Guards!’ ‘Get it!’

I’m not gonna find Applebark either! For frig’s sake! No, just get away, Discord! Just get away and try again! Just get away and try again! My wings stretch and snap fitfully, weak weak stupid wings, go up you darn things!

And then the cold, the all-to-familiar numbness strikes my back, scraping at my feathers. Wing’s been smoozed! I try to flap, but the world spins upside down, falling too fast, out of control. I draw breath to scream, cobblestones under me...

My stomach smacks into an awning, winding me, bruising, I can feel it. But control, enough control to land on my feet when I tumble off. I smack down below, on the rocks and concrete on all fours, gasping for breath, body tense, jittering, twitching.

“Stop right there!”

I spring away, almost on instinct, body tense, fast, devoted, dodging, weaving in and out of hundreds of scampering pony feet. Left, right, left right, left left, moving, go, just go.

“Move out of the way! Please move!”

There’s shouting, guards, baritone and bass. What? I glance back, spin around. An idea, a snap judgement. I’ve always had to trick the eye, trick the mind. There’s a wall there, honest. But one touch,and trick’s over, they keep coming.

But now, I don’t have to trick.

I fall back, flick my hands up.

And there’s a wall.

I drop back onto my hands, surging forward, not even seeing if it worked, if it was spread too thin, or a million other things that could’ve gone wrong. There’s a crash, like a shell breaking, maybe louder. Was it still effective? My gosh, was it a breaking through smash, or a ‘we just hit a wall’ smash? Am I that...

I glanced back, stumbled, and slammed into a brown paw.

“Gotcha, you little skarn!”

A hand yanked at the scruff of my neck, talons digging into my fur. I beat my wings furiously as I was dragged upward, looking right into the orange eye of a griffin.

My hand snapped forward and filled it with raw magic.

The griffin swore, throwing his arm around, but not letting go. Digging claws deeper, into my skin, blood! I cry out, afraid to struggle, wings twitching and tense with restraint. if it tore my... What am I thinking, the griffins have me! There was laughter, a clacking of beaks.

“What, can’t handle a baby, can you Olaf?”

“Shaddap! The prick scratched my eye!”

“Oh dont complain, your momma can fix it, can’t she?!”

“Halt!”

~Celestia~
Fifteen Til One

“Okay, so we’re heading back to the base... Does that mean we’re done? Can we finally start planning this?” I said, feeling broken... No! Exhausted! These little...! It’s like raising dozens of hyperactive little toddler Lunas, except none of them will listen to me. Luna at least listens to me, and she’s younger than half these kids!

“No way!” one colt exclaims. Like a knife to the heart.

“Yeah, we just forgot the silly hat!”

“You gotta wear the silly hat, Princess!” “It’s very important!” “Uh-huh!”

I felt like screaming. I held myself back by a hair.

“Why?!”

“Cuz it proves um...” the purple colt looked to his friends. Oh, he didn’t even know. He didn’t... even...

“No shame,” another colt pipes up. The purple one nodded, happy.

“Right, is shows you’re not afraid to wear the silly hat!”

“Wouldn’t this mud on my face show I wasn’t afraid?!” I squealed, trying to stop myself, digging my hooves into the cobblestones. Don’t get up in his face, don’t he’s just a poor, uneducated, little freaking brat! “Wouldn’t you tying my mane in pigtails show that I didn’t feel shame?!”

The colts around me looked honestly surprised.

“We didn’t try to tie your mane...” one piped up.

“But it would have done the same thing, wouldn’t it!?! Ooh, look, Celestia’s hair is in pigtails, isn’t that just fan-ick-AUGH!” I bit my tongue, stomping around in place, “Why do you need a silly hat for this kind of test?!”

The colts looked between each other, “Because um...” “It’s really silly...” “I like the hat.”

“Well I do NOT!” I shouted! “We do not need a silly hat to prove ANYTHING!”

The crowd around me froze, staring. Quiet for once in their tiny little lives? Oh, Goodness, Celestia! Tia! Get a hold of yourself! They’re just... I shouldn’t shout, it’s not...!

The little purple colt shrugged.

“Well, okay then.”

“Yeah, the silly hat was kinda a silly idea.” “Uh-huh.” “It’s a silly hat, but...” “Yeah...”

Of course this is all that they respond to. Shouting means authority. Oh horsefeathers I wish I had been proven wrong, that acting calmly and rationally had just gotten through to them! Having to resort to screaming to get them to do what I want... Such poor, undisciplined youths... Do you think this is funny, Pith? Conditioning them like this?

I took a nice, deep, shaky breath.

If this is the only thing I can do...

“NOW!” I shouted, already feeling my throat strain. “I, PRINCESS Celestia, am still very, very worried about my sister!” I glared into the eyes of every single boy that surrounded me. Now, finally, they were quiet. “What are we going to do to save her?!”

There was a wave of muttering, “I dunno” repeated over and over.

“Well I... I tell you what we’re going to do!” And then I got a little bit more cheerful. No, crazed. That’s a much better word. “We’re going to go right up to that school!”

“And we’re going to attack it, right?!”

No! They were starting to rev themselves up again. They never listen when that happens! Somehow, I managed to shout over the rising sound of crowing.

“No! No, if we attack it, Princess Luna might be hurt!”

“Oooh.” “Yeah, that’s true.” “Caw!” “Uh-huh!” “Cawcaw!”

“So!” I clicked a hoof into the cobblestones. “We’ve got to...!”

“Celestia!”

I looked around, confused. That didn’t sound like the voice of a young colt... It sounded far to familiar to be one of the Ravens. Like... like it was...

I turned, and saw her.

“Luna!”

I ran, hooves on air, meeting my sister, clinging her tightly to me. She buried her face in my chest, wet from tears, already sobbing and sniffling. I comforted her, shushed her, weight lifted from my shoulders. When did that get there? Yet I was so glad for it to be gone. Luna, my sister! How in Equestria did she get here? This didn’t feel real, planning for long to come get her, and she just appears? Oh, I’d ask her in a moment, I... I hugged her again, her face warm against my neck.

“Oh Luna...” I softly said, “I’m so glad you’re safe...”

“You hear that, the Princess is safe!”

“That means we can attack the school!”

I snapped my neck around, trying to find the energy to shout again, against the massive swell of crowing.

“No it...” I said. “Wait...”

~Discord~
Five Til One

The grip loosened. I allowed myself to breathe, to open my eyes. I recoiled as a pony pushed past me, hugging the wall, inches from my snout. Another did the same. Our eyes meet and she looked away, shoving past. I was drawn back a little, tail drifting against the cold shingles of the griffin’s armor. Three pony guards pushed through the crowds full of worried faces.

“Thank you for assisting in the capture of the escaped creature,” the central guard states, voice loud and clear over the sound of the crowd.

“Well, you’re welcome!” the griffin cackled back.

“Now, please allow us to take him into our custody.”

“Hey, hey...” another griffin said, out of my sight, armor clinking, “Don’t you remember? Draconequus escapees, our jurisdiction.”

The guard glanced over to those following him.

“We have not yet identified the species the creature belongs to...”

“You’re blind!” the griffin laughed, whipping me around, pain pain, pain again! My eyes squeezed shut. “It’s a Draconequus!”
“Hey!” A cart pulled by a single pale pony clattered up behind the guards, taking up the majority of the road. “Move outta the way, I gotta get through!” Other ponies squirmed past the cart, by the guards, by the griffins. The streets began backing up, ponies glaring everywhere.

“In a moment, citizen.” The guard nodded, helmet bobbing as he turned back, then forward again. “Until we can confirm the species, we ask you hand the creature over.”

“Pfft, no friggin way, you dirt rutters.” One of the guards snorted, and I was yanked backwards, still held at arms length. I struggled, flapped my wings, and the nails dug deeper. Ow owowowow ow ow! Stop struggling, body! I squinted out of teary eyes, trying to hold myself still against my will. Ponies were trying to move past the griffins, past me, trying to get away, trying to hurry along...

“May I remind you,” the guard said, “We are the standing authority in Stringhalt...”

“Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah, heard it a million times. Now if you don’t mind, we’re going to go collect that bounty now.”

I heard a stomping of hooves as the griffin turned sideways, showing me down the long, narrow street, outer wall far, far in the distance.

“You will remain here and respect--!”

“C’mon, you’re taking up too much space!” Someone cried out, “Move outta the way!”

“SHADDAP! You buncha mud-soaking skarns! Know your place!” The griffin rolled his shoulders, yanking my head back and forth, and glanced back to the guard. “Respect nothing! You dirt rutters can go back to your Big screw-off and just--”

I crashed into the ground, slammed out of the griffin’s claws. One of the guards had charged, digging his helmet into the bird’s neck, pinning him to the ground with a grinding hoof. The two other guards charged forward, to stop their friend. I fail up to my feet, staring up at the shocked beak of the second captor...

And then a pony, just a face from the crowd, spun around and bucked the second griffin straight in the chest.

~Celestia~
Five til One

When Luna turned up, I thought, I must be dreaming.

I don’t think the feeling’s faded at all.

I watched the Ravens run down the street, into a main passage, sticks in their mouths, bucket helmets on their heads. They just ran through the crowds, beating, bucking, stomping ponies out of the way. A guard ran up, but then they engulfed the scene in smoke, cawing and chanting,

“Fight! Fight! Fight five hours! Fight five days!”

And the people echoed it, repeated it, carried it down the street. Like it was just another rainstorm, a vital piece of news. Some ponies looked at each other, confused, but others... Some pony, just a normal adult, maybe a bit nervous in step and shifting in eyes, bucked a guard.

Am I dreaming? I felt a bit faint, a bit empty in the head. Did I pass out somewhere?

“Look, you made this mess, now fix it!” Pith screamed, somewhere to my side. “Your Ravens have started a panic!”

“My Ravens?” I frowned, staring through the cloud of smoke. “Since when are they my Ravens?” I laugh, hollow, strained, “They didn’t start acting like this until I started acting like you.”

“That pathetic display?! You call that acting like me? Like a leader?!”

“Last I checked, you’re the leader of these boys, Pith...”

Pith tried to force himself into my vision, face contorted, twisted in fury. “I handed control over to you!”

“Well, then you’re a very, very poor decision maker.”

“Big sis...” I felt a nudge on my neck. Luna looked up at me, face still so sad, strange... “I left Discord behind by accident. We gotta go find him.”

“And we will.” I nodded, and turned down another street, world sort’ve tilting to the left a little. No, right... “Let’s go Luna.”

“You can’t just leave!” he screamed. “You witch! I should’ve never helped you in the first place!”

“Since when was this about helping me? I thought it was about using me. Well, there you go.” I nod to the clearing smoke, feeling like I’m about to fall over. The Sickle Ravens had passed, run off. “They’re properly excited now, aren’t they?”

Pith swore as I trotted off, head still spinning, yet so, so blank. I don’t want to think about this situation. I don’t want to think about who’s at fault. I just want to leave. I just. Want. To go. The mantra followed us as we walked. “Fight, five hours!” “Fight, One to Six!” “Riot, five hours!” I closed my eyes, tight, then opened them. Nothing changed.

I don’t understand this place.

~Discord~
One in the Afternoon

I think, maybe, I should be running again?

No, no, its not like I haven't seen this before. The act itself isn’t strange.

It’s just

Ponies surged forward, trampling, stomping on the griffins. Multiple ponies rushed forward to stop, to pull their friends off. Then someone bucked a guard... I watched the back of a griffin’s head bob loosely in a helmet half fallen off its head, jerking back and forth as his body was kicked and beaten. No resistance. Like a doll...

Ponies are capable of this?

I looked away, between the rows and rows of colorful legs, rising and stamping on the concrete, worming around one another. Shouting rising and rising and rising... how could it possibly get any louder than this?

A guard fell beside me, bucking and whinnying as the crowd surged around him as well. A well placed kick dented his breastplate, another knocked his helmet askew...

I think I should run.

I flipped over to my feet, tail close, wings close, body low, finding plenty of shadows to hide under as I wove my way under the legs of the masses. If I can find my way behind a merchant stand again... But where is that? What direction?The streets aren’t that wide, but with everybody crowding together...

The crowd thinned, but that just meant there were more running. Streaming, stampeding in one direction, pitch of their voices rising. They drain into a single side street, almost becoming single file, or two by two. But with all the frightened faces around me, who knows how long this will last, this order...

“Discord.”

Me? I looked around, the single clear word rising from the noise. It’s almost funny to think someone actually meant it as my name. With all of this happening, it was probably used as a well-fitting adjective...

That’s a little...

“Child!”

A pair of purple feet fall into my vision, stomping under a red cloak with a fancy gold trim. Wait. I look up, and it’s Applebark, staring down at me, stern jaw twisted even tighter than normal.

“There you are... No, no, dont go back out there!” Her feet twirled around, tail poking out from the bottom of her cloak, a mix of white and violet. “Come. Follow!”

A call rises from the crowd, echoing down the streets, but instead of passing by, remaining.

“Fight, five hours!” “Rebel, one to six!” “Fight, one to six!”

“Stop standing around, child! We need to go. Now!”

XXVII : One To Six

http://cosmicponyfanfiction.tumblr.com/

~Celestia~

With a goal to reach, I cannot be swayed.

Initially, there were crowds. There’s always crowds here. But these all seemed to move in one direction. Down the slope, stumbling on loose rocks, half trotting, just barely on the brink of a stampede. There were shouts, yelling, the ponies, the zebras, the people carried the mantra with them, jumbled together in one loud, almost unintelligible shout. I could only tell what one was saying when they barreled by, skidding around us.

“Riot, One to Six!” “Rebellion, all night!” “Fights, five hours!” “Rebellion, all night!”

I inched upward, against the current, trying to not get trampled, trying not to force myself too hard, wondering what I’d find beyond those smart enough to flee. Luna clung to the corner of my cloak, and even as I felt her rub against my flank, I constantly checked back for her. Yes, she’s there, looking back at me, eyes still watery, still scared.

What is there, beyond this?

The crowds weren’t thinning, but their pace increased. I tried to stay near a wall, a building, tried to stay out of the way as ponies brushed by me. We were coming up to a level square, and a shout rose above the rest.

“PONIES OF STRINGHALT. RISE. REBEL. POWER TO THE RED DAWN. DOWN WITH THE APPLE AUTHORITY. REBELLION, TONIGHT. REBELLION, FOREVER. PONIES OF STRINGHALT. RISE. REBEL”

A unicorn stood atop a palenque, flanked by dozens of creatures in red hoods. His horn glowed a bright green as he shouted, voice magically magnified. Sticks, held aloft by aura or grasped in the mouths of other ponies, flicked back and forth like switches around him, parting the crowd as they passed through the square.

There was a squeal. A guard on the run, helmet and lasso gone, followed by half a dozen cawing colts, the Ravens. A blue unicorn in a red hood smashed the guard over the head with his stick and the Ravens jumped on the fallen pony, yanking at the straps in his armor... Just before the entire scene was shrouded in smoke.

“POWER TO THE RED DAWN. DOWN WITH THE... OH, GREAT, YOU STUPID KIDS AGAIN. NO, HEY, GET OFF! STOP IT! YOU STUPID BRATS!”

I continued upward.

~Discord~

“Applebark, c’mon!”

I looked back, flabbergasted, as Applebark slowly picked her way through the crowds. Earth ponies had begun smashing windows to our right, but most ponies almost shifted back and forth, not running, but not smashing anything either, mumbling to themselves. “Riot.” “Rebellion.”

“I’m sorry, but this is as fast as I go.”

“C’mon, can’t you run?!”

“Inadvisable,” she huffed.

“C’mon... I mean, it must be hard, being, um...” I looked up the hill, then back down at her, “Well, uh, large... But you’re the one who told me to hurry!”

“We do not have very far to go, and I’d prefer to not strain myself...” She gasped as she tried to walk around a group of five or six mares, muttering among themselves. “Oh for goodness sake.”

Again, I wondered.... I darted back to Applebark, and with a flick of my hand, a wall sprung up, pushing a line through the crowd, and, with a jolt in my throat, some ponies were caught halfway through it. They easily pulled themselves out, thank life, the wall was already crumbling like an eggshell. Those around stumbled back, staring at the strange appearance, making a clear path. I banished the illusion and looked up as Applebark passed by me.

“Do not bring attention to yourself, do you want another griffin to come and catch you?”

“I got the ponies out of the way, didn’t I?”

“Yes...” she muttered, looking straight forward. “Now, veil yourself, it’s only just up ahead.”

~Celestia~

The crowds were thinner now, higher in the town, in the richer sections of the city.

It wasn’t a good thing for the crowds to thin. It meant all the sensible ponies had left.

Ponies bucked at doors until they crumpled, rushing inside. Rocks, sticks, lose bits of cobblestone were hurled through the air without abandon. A couple dozen ponies crowded around a stone tower, beating at the door, battering ram improvised out of a city bench. I stepped around bits of fallen glass and broken beams, watching a tan unicorn as he grit his teeth, sending sparks over a torch dipped in pitch. It caught alight, and he held it through a broken window, watching it quietly, head tilted slightly to the left. I walked by a lasso without a guard, thick bag punctured by a file and a knitting needle, a purple liquid nearly dark enough to be black oozing out, rolling down the gentle slope of the street.

There was a screech, and Luna slammed into my leg. An ungodly sound, the call of a hawk in hunt, but louder, echoed, a new mantra to fill the streets. I looked up, and the sky, the white cloud spires, had begun to fill with black specks. Thick bodies raced overhead, griffins, the sound of their wings an ever-increasing gust, a heavy backdrop to their high-pitched screams.

One dove, barreling through a group of ponies, scattering them, heavy bodies slapping sideways into the ground. The griffin rose, body rising and falling like a wave with each beat of its massive wings. It turned, circling, sharp eyes flicking back and forth, looking for another opportunity to strike.

I jumped sideways as a bit of wood tumbled inches from my head, clattering loudly into the ground. I stared at it, making out the vaguely familiar shape. Was it... a wooden sword? It had almost seemed to have dropped straight down. Again, I looked up. Above me, beyond the swell of charging griffins, there was a low hanging spire, maybe a hundred feet above my head, and a griffin was falling from it.

She landed beside me, on all fours, with a heavy ‘thud’. She straightened herself out, shifting and flicking her wings back into place by her side. She was dressed unlike any griffin I had seen before, not in armor, but a loose-fitting piece of gray cloth, baggy folds tucked into a thick sash. A patched cloth was loosely tied around her head, tied back feathers poking out of the top of circling folds.

She looked down at the wooden sword and scooped it up into one of her claws, eyeing me.

“Scuze me, miss,” she muttered, voice gruff, “Young master dropped this.”

And with that, up she flew, vanishing back into the descending spire.

I kept walking, Luna tugging gently at the edge of my cloak.

... Where was I going?

~Discord~

I remember, however brief that time was, when in the Stallion’s tower. It was the nicest place I had ever seen, as well as the most dead quiet place I had ever been in. Objects and paintings staring at me, demanding why I was there, almost accusing. Yeah... it was pretty unpleasant, despite the wealth it showed.

The place Applebark brought me wasn't nearly that quiet. I could still hear the crowds outside, and maybe once or twice some pony in a silk doublet or a pressed apron would run by, hoofbeats muffled on the crushed velvet carpets. So, more noise, and with it, wealth double, maybe triple fold.

Every surface was made of varnished wood, polished to an almost golden brown shine. Yet, that was only the start, because everywhere I looked there was some kind of thick oil painting, or a marble statue, or something coated in gold foil, or something impossibly grand, cluttering and filling the space with an opulent white noise. I think that was a good word for it. Opulent. Like an opal, or an opiate. Something shiny to overwhelm the senses, to drown in. Even the floor itself, something that was supposed to be boring and without distraction, was an infinitely weaving pattern of red, blacks, and browns, a line of carpets tightly pressed together, never allowing itself to end. And it was soft. Fuzzy.

All my life, I’ve had dirt, rocks, sticks, mud, everything underfoot. I had gotten used to them, gotten almost comfortable with being able to feel these things. I can see the appeal of a fuzzy floor, I guess, gentler on your feet. But the lack of things between my toes was a strange feeling, like my feet and hands had gone numb all over again. Or like I was walking along the back of some creature, about to rear up and attack me.

And yet, in a place I felt so... so distanced from, so alien in, I was allowed to walk free. Applebark told me to hide from the rows and rows of guards as the wrought iron gate, but once we passed through the giant double doors of the mansion, she told me I didn't have to hide anymore, and strode off without another word. Now, the passing ponies glanced at me, maybe avoided me, yet never said a word, never screamed or pointed me out.

This place is strange. Very strange.

“Here we are.”

Applebark pushed open another pair of double doors at the end of a hall, opening the way to the largest pile of wealth and clutter. It took me a few looks to even see that it was a study, and not some sort of poorly guarded vault. Every surface was patterned in fine wood and gold, no cloth left simple or plain, no surface of the wall not coated in overlarge, complex tapestries. Trees with faces as leaves. Battles between great beasts and alicorns. The banner of the city, stitched to a whole new level of complexity, hung off a balcony rail, behind a grand oaken desk, nearly clean besides a few leaves of carefully stacked paper and half a dozen whirring knickknacks. Applebark ascended a brief staircase, railing and base of each step carved into swirls, pressing into my palms, almost sharp with disuse, sticky from the varnish.

On the balcony, the loft or whatever you would care to call it, stood a heavyset Earth stallion, cream colored with faded red and green mane and beard. His thick body hinted at a musculature that had passed him by, and his thicker golden necklaces and armbands clinked each time he took a breath. Across his flank was a single apple, bright red, and adorned with a single silver sparkle.

This stallion peered out of a little golden telescope down into the streets, staring out two huge, thrown open windows, flanked by heavy purple and gold curtain.

“Ah, there it is again... ” he muttered to himself.

“Apple,” Applebark said clearly, stepping forward, “I’ve brought the escapee.”

Apple, Big Apple, as I heard some ponies call him. Head of the city. He turned and looked right at me, face stiff as Applebark’s. He turned to her, bushy eyebrows raised.

“You mean the Element?”

“I...” Applebark made a small choking sound. “I wasn’t going to admit to that knowledge, Apple.”

“Ah, I see.” He shrugged, and trotted past me, jingling like a bag of bits. “Well, now that we’re done tiptoeing around that issue, let’s get down to business!”

~Celestia~

I don’t know why we were here, or why I agreed to do this, but here we were. I poked my head around the corner, staring at the sky. No griffins right now, though I could still hear them screeching, all around us. I hoisted my sister onto a low roof and she immediately began to make her element glow, shooting a beam upward, fading before it hit the clouds. A beacon. For Discord, of course but... Who, what else would come for it?

It wasn’t even five minutes before a griffin landed right beside her. I scrambled against the stone, trying desperately to look over the ledge.

“Luna! Luna, get back here, please!”

“Just what do you think you’re doing, little skarn?!” The griffin barked. Luna’s light instantly vanished. “You sending a signal to your rebel friends, huh?! Tellin’ them to...!”

“Mr. Griffin!” Luna snapped, “My friend is lost and all alone out in the riots! I just wanna find him, and this is the only way I know how!” There was a tiny, tiny sound, her hoof being stomped against the stones, a small flash of blue. “I’m not doing anything wrong, and you’re being a jerk for stopping me!”

There was a flutter of feathers, the griffin shifting his wings. I pictured him, just smacking my sister. Oh, why did she have to be so direct...! I scrambled against the wall, trying to look up again, teetering on the precarious stack of barrels...

“Well uh.” He snorted. “If those rebels do turn up, you’re in big friggin trouble, missy, you got me?! We got this city surrounded, so no way we’ll miss ‘em...” Another loud flap of his wings, “But right now, I got better things to do than listen to some snot nosed dirt rutter!”

I jumped up against the wall again, finally able to peer over. Luna was firmly on her feet, alone, and shining the light into the sky.

~Discord~

“You’re quite the little troublemaker, you know that, boy?”

“Always have been, um, sir.” I frowned, staring sideways a little left to Big Apple’s head. How do I treat this situation? This is the man who technically imprisoned me, imprisoned Luna and made her all funny in the head... But I don’t know, he seems a little funny in the head too. Not the stallion I was expecting. “You know...” I said slowly as Applebark hovered a dark wooden box, carefully carved and gilded, in front of Big Apple. “I already kinda knew you guys knew it was an Element.”

“You see?” Big Apple looked up at his... assistant? Advisor? “Now he admits to what it is.”

“He could just be clinging to whatever we tell him it is, Apple.” Appplebark sighed, letting the box fall with a ‘clack.’ “We were going to let him name it himself, remember? Now he could just be conforming to our expectations.”

“True, but... Technically we work against the Elements, don’t we?” Big Apple grinned at me, teeth straight and white. “So, boy, you willing to keep calling it an Element?”

“Can I just have it back please?”

“Not quite.”

“Why?” I demanded, “It’s mine.”

“Oh, if we know one thing for certain, it’s that this isn’t yours.” Big Apple nudged open the box with a heavy hoof. “See, we got a message a few weeks back...”

“He doesn’t need to know that, Apple!” Applebark snapped. Big Apple rolled his eyes and slapped her flank with a flick of his tail.

“Always cutting me off, this woman.” He chuckled and patted her on the shoulder, pulling the cloth askew. “Easy does it Applebark, you’ve had far more than enough excitement today. Think of your health.”

She snorted and magically straightened her cloak.

“Ah, and I forgot what I was going to say! Anyway.” He dipped his snout into the box, and pulled out a golden band, all too familiar. He held it carefully between his teeth, setting it on the desk in front of him as he pushed away the box. A dozen ways to just grab it flitted through my mind, a dozens reasons why I should and shouldn’t just take it and run.

“Darndest thing,” Apple laughed. “Tried to activate it, examine it through hundreds of different spells, and not one unicorn came close to figuring out what it does. Couldn’t even manage to put a scratch on it, and believe you me, some of those unicorns stomped pretty dang hard! Powerful, powerful little thing you stole, boy.” He smiled, warm, almost proud. So... he didn’t work for the Shadow Stallion...? “Could be an Element, could not be. But let’s just work in hypotheticals here.” He nudged the necklace towards me. “Assuming this is one of the Elements, then that makes you an honorable little colt, doesn’t it?”

“I um...” my hand hovered over the necklace, then carefully scooped it up. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“But it’s not honesty, Apple...”

“Right, right... but a good kid, if it’s activated like this. So, show me. No creature can use an Element but its owner...” He frowned, then looked back to Applebark, “Right?”

“Yes, Apple.”

“Yeah, so if you can use it, then that must mean something.” There was a pause as Applebark quietly rubbed a hoof into her forehead, Big Apple watching me expectantly. With a wave of his hoof, “Well, you going to activate it or not, boy?”

“Oh!” I pecked the back with the tip of my claw, then focused on it, gently easing my magic through... And a burst of silver light popped from the necklace. I smiled and pulled it back around my neck, finally feeling comfortable again, even as the cold metal stung across the cuts on the back of my neck.

“Excellent!” Apple exclaimed, “So that proves it’s an Element, right, dear?”

Applebark continued to rub a hoof into her brow “Well it... helps, I suppose.”

“Oh, Applebark, stop being a skeptic!” Big Apple laughed, “There are no lies here! We’re all honorable ponies, right?”

“So um...” I eased out of the too-soft chair onto the too-soft floor, “I’m gonna get going now, thanks for returning this to me!”

“Oh, no, no you don’t!” Big Apple snapped. Then he frowned, off in thought. “Well, yes, you can go, but hang on just one moment!”

“We can’t just let him go, Apple...” Applebark mumbled as Big Apple shuffled through the contents of his cleanly cluttered desk.

“Not at all! Not without this!” He scrawled a note on a scrap of parchment and stamped his seal on the bottom, nudging it towards me. “Here you are, boy! Soon as this kerfuffle clears up, head to this address. The ponies there can help direct you to where you need to go next.”

“I’ll need my um...” I take the note... but... Kerfuffle? The riots...? “My cloak, as well.”

“Right, right.” Big Apple waved a hoof at me, dismissive. “Just ask one of the servants to lead you to acquisitions. We probably didn’t throw it out.”

“Apple...” Applebark said slowly, as if speaking to a child. “We can’t just send him on his way. We need the Element to keep the peace, to clear the rebellious shadows from the city, and purify the hearts of the people.”

“Wait, what?” I stared down at the silver bangle, listening to it click as I shifted, “It can do all that?”

“Oh, there are legends and such... Boring lessons, those were. But if I know anything, I know Equestria needs the Elements, Applebark. Not just this city.” He flicked both hooves at me, suddenly... bored with all of this. “Now hurry along, boy. See you after you’ve saved the world and such!”

~Celestia~

I sat quietly by the building as Luna continued to shine her light upward. I don’t know how she managed it for so long. She was up all night... and I don’t think we had ever had a day filled with this much turmoil. Not even our escape from Canterbury was this hectic. Yet there she sat, Element perched on the tip of her nose, shining her light into the sky.

And I wasn’t the only one to stood below her. It was like all the ponies who had come to loot or smash the buildings around up were snared by that light, only watching it, or looking between each other before trotting off, trotting away. The crowds grew thinner as the streets began to dim into sunset, and though I could still hear shouting, screeching in the distance, there was very little going on around us.

And then Discord’s silver light appeared on the crest of the hill.

Luna wasted no time. She slid down the wall, landing, then tumbling off a pile of barrels, barely getting to her feet before she ran off, between the legs of the little flock she had gathered. I followed in her wake, watching the Element as it glowed brighter and brighter, silver light in the distance getting closer and closer. Five streets, three, one block...

Luna slammed into Discord, knocking him down, instantly breaking his feeble cloaked pony illusion. She hugged him around the middle, digging her snout into his stomach as her light appeared and disappeared beneath his fur, his own element still glowing bright. I awkwardly wrapped my forelegs around the tumbling pair, dropping to my knees as Discord shouted a dozen jumbled comforts. Laughing, crying, who knows.

I just hugged as tight as I possibly could.

XXVIII : Luna

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 28
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.tumblr.com/

~Luna~

Things were so quiet now. I lost my place somewhere, and now I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t know this city, its streets. The sky was too bright for it to be sunsetting, and everywhere, there were strangers. Dangerous ponies, streaming away until everything was quiet, leaving behind all the broken things. Glass, wood... an overturned dairy cart spilled milk down the streets, rivers flowing through all the little criss-crossing cobblestone cracks. We were going down the hill, I knew that. But I didn’t know if we were leaving or going or arriving or nothing.

I snuggled tighter against my sister’s leg, still refusing to let go of her cloak, even as it got soaked and yucky from my spit. I don’t want to lose her again, not her, and not Discord either, I guess, but he kept moving away when I got close... Even though that was my place, snug by both of their sides.

“Luna, don’t walk so close,” big sis laughed, nervous, “You’re going to make me trip.”

“I dun wanna ge’ losht.”

“Ha, don’t have to worry about that,” Discord chimed in, “Heck if we’re going to let that happen.”

Yes, they weren’t going to let it happen. They’re both really smart and stuff, since they both found me so easily in the huge city. They always make sure we’re all back together in the end. But I really, really didn’t want to let go. I’d fall of the world, if I did. Just fly away and never be seen again.

I held back a yawn, air escaping through my back teeth and I continued to cling on tightly, shoving my face into the cloth. This day had way, way too many hours.

“Where’re we goin....?”

“Out of this horrible, horrible city, thank goodness.”

“Yeah,” there was a crinkle of paper as Discord spoke. “The address big Apple wants us to go to is a few towns away, so...”

“I don’t think we should head there, Discord,” Celestia said in her ‘delicate matters’ voice. “I don’t trust the pony. He works for the Stallion, this city is a mess because of him...”

“I dunno... I met with him, and he made it pretty darn clear that he was on our side!”

“Yes, he told you...”

“Hey, he had me ‘in his clutches’, couldn’t he have grabbed me and sent me back to Canterbury right then? And he knew I stole the element. Doesn’t that count for something?”

“Discord...!”

“No more fighting!” I squealed, neck snapping back. “No fighting!”

I gasped up to the sky. Where was the cloak?! It fell out! I stumbled forward and stuffed it back in my mouth before I fall off the world, clutching it tightly. Don’t disappear, don’t vanish, I’m here, we’re together again, no one’s going anywhere...

“R-right...” my sister said, somewhere right beside me. “Discord, really, it is wonderful to see you again. To see both of you safe.”

“Yeah, this city is, was freaking horrible. Let’s just get out of here, fast as we can. We can figure out where we’re going later, after some food, and some sleep.”

“Yes. Definitely.”

So they walked, me in tow. The slopes evened out, the roads became covered in petals again, sweet and white, stuck together in the mud. Flowers and grass sprouted from the cracks in the stone, smashed flat by the cart wheels, by pony feet.
“Oh, no,” Celestia moaned, “I just remembered...”

“Remembered what?” Discord asked.

“It’s going to stink for miles, if the wind is blowing with us.”

“What? Oh... the garbage.” Discord paused, making an irritated thinky noise. “Well we can’t spend the night here.”

“Oh, definitely not, definitely not... Horsefeathers, we didn’t manage to make any money either!” More whines, more irritated thinky noises. “Oh well... it’s grass and grass alone until we reach the next town.”

“Uhg.”

“Yes. Bit bland, but I suppose we’ll manage. Well. Well, Well um. Here we go!” Celestia took a deep breath as we passed through the city gate, or what I think was the city gate. There was a sudden wooden beam in the road, and then everything became really, really stinky. Her pace quickened. I stumbled to keep up with her, tugging at her cloak. When she broke into a run, I cried out, pulled her back, cloak taught in my mouth.

“Don’ lea’f me, don' lemme go!”

“GASP! What, Luna?” She looked back over the tight red cloth. Shock, then disgust. “Oh, ewwww.” She sneezed and tried to plug her nose, garbage ditches dipping on either side of the nearly empty road. “Come on Luna, let go!”

“Noooo.... noooooooo.”

“Well... let’s at least hurry, please!”

We hurried up another steady slope, rising into the forests... a different forest, a different road. We weren’t going back south again... Now I really, really felt lost, like falling off into space. But I didn’t quite feeling like asking where we were going. Celestia and Discord are smart, they know stuff I don’t...

Before the city became lost among the trees, I looked back at the walls, the impossibly huge white dome, orange glowing through the cracks in the cloud cover. Sunset with unclouded sunlight, way, way too bright.

~Θ~

I slept close to my sister again last night. Her cloak was my blanket and I was her pillow. That’s where I wanted to be, that’s where I belonged. I missed the woods, the dead leaves. The stray grasses I could nibble on and Celestia right here beside me. Discord vanishing in the middle of the night and crickets going crazy. I didn’t need to sleep, I had all of this to keep me safe. And every time I would nod off, lose feeling of Celestia beside me... Then, in my head, I was gone, lost forever, in the--

“Morning Luna.”

I yanked myself awake, feeling the back of my head slam into something hot, something hard. Slowly, Celestia rose away, yowling.

“Auuuu.... Luna?!”

“Crap!” Discord pushed his face through the grass, eyes wide. “Were you actually asleep?”

“I um... Celestia?” I twisted myself around, trying to see my sister. She clutched her snout, face all twisted up as she rubbed it with her fetlock. “A-are you...”

“Ow Luna,” she hissed, “I’dve gotten off of you if you asked, didn’t have to hit me...”

“N-no I...” I stammered, squirming closer to her. “I’m okay with you sleeping on me, really!”

“I just startled her, that’s all...!” Discord piped up, easing around the little grass clearing. Celestia inhaled sharply, lowering her leg. She squinted up at the sky, still well before dawn.

“What time is it...?”

“I dunno... Sun’s not up yet.”

“You’d think the city wouldn’t throw off our clocks that badly,” Discord chuckled through a mouthful of something.
“You guys...” Celestia sighed, “You’re such early risers...”

“You can go back to bed, Celestia, I don’t mind!” I snuggled up even closer, trying to find her warmth again... She shifted away. Why? Whyyyyyyyyyyy

“A few days in the city, and we’re back to my old name, huh...” she laughed lightly. “Well I guess...”

“Sorry, Tia!” I blurted, “Big sis, you can go back to sleep!”

“No, I think I’m...” She stood up, and I shot to her legs, hugging them tight. “Uh, Luna...?”

“You um.” My mouth moved, but my words were blank. They didn’t exist. “You haven't combed my hair in ages, big sis.”

“And your hair is becoming quite a mess as well!” she laughed again. I didn’t like that laugh. She was gonna stand up again, out of my reach. “Lemme just, well, take care of some morning things, and then we’ll get you cleaned up.” She tried to pull her leg out of my grip, and I clung tighter. She stared down at me. “Luna...? I kind of got to go...”

“No.”

“Luna, I really, really have to go...”

“You don’t have to go!”

“What...? Oh, I mean go to the bathroom, Luna! I don’t not have to... do that?” she laughed again... “Goodness, it’s early...”

“Well... Be quick, okay?”

“Of course, Luna.”

I watched her go, my necklace tangled in the back of my mane, almost like it was biting at my hair. she could get hurt, walking around in the dark. She doesn’t have the vision I do... A light, her light popped on, between the trees. But that didn’t matter at all.

“Hey Luna?” Discord edged his way into my vision, obscured without my magic to make it lighter.. “You doing alright?”

“Uh-huh.”

“You sure?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Um...” He held up the little oat bag. “Blueberry?”

“No thanks.”

“You seriously don’t seem like you’re doing alright.”

“Celestia might get lost.”

Discord looked into the tree cover, then back at me.

“She’s just a few yards away, Luna.”

“But she’s taking really, really long...”

“I’m FINE, Luna!” Celestia shouted back. “Just, um, this may take a bit...okay?”

I didn’t reply, staring at that little light, making sure it didn’t disappear. Celestia doesn’t have an element, if she were to get kidnapped and disappear... How would we find her?! I felt my face go tight and--

“Luna!” Discord put his hands on my shoulders, “She’s just taking a dump!”

“Discord!” Celestia squealed, “She understands that!”

“But,” I said, very, very quiet, “what if she falls down a hole or something...”

“She’s right there, Luna.”

I shook myself out of his hands, staring into the trees. If one little thing went wrong, I’d be there, in a flash! I didn’t need anything to hold me down!

“Luna...” Discord said, “are you sure you’re doing alright?”

“Uh-huh!”

“That um... what happened yesterday, it’s still not bothering you, is it?”

“No.”

“You really really sure?”

“Yes.” I think I coughed or hiccuped, “He’s dead and that’s all there is to it.”

“Who’s dead...?” Celestia wandered out from behind the trees, and I immediately ran to her side, snuggling against her legs. “Luna! Did something horrible happen in that city?!”

“No. Just a dumb school.”

Things were really quiet for a moment, except for really loud crickets and chirpy pre-morning birds.

“Luna...?”

“Comb my haaaaiiir!” I whined, “I really really missed you combing my mane...”

“Well... alright...”

We sat down, in silence as the day slowly grew a little brighter. Celestia tugged at my mane, carefully teasing out the knots, pulling a little too hard, pulling out my hair. It was comfortable to feel her there, feel her steady my head with her ankle, tugging the brush with her magic. It didn’t matter that no one was talking. This was okay. I reached forward for a small bite of grass, but I wasn’t hungry, so I just gnawed and gnawed on it, turning and twisting it in my mouth.

“At the school,” Discord said suddenly, voice rising. “Luna was told that her father was coming to pick her up.”

“Really?” The combing stopped. “He was in the city?”

“No, it was clearly a lie. I um...” suddenly, he faltered. There was a shifting sound as he repositioned himself. “I told her, and am telling you now, that I am um, very, very certain, to say, that your parents are dead. HOWEVER. I think it’s what’s upsetting Luna. She got so--”

“I’m not upset,” I snapped. He made the combing stop! “And I told you I knew already, so it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter, he just left...”

“Luna... He didn’t just leave...” Celestia stood up, floated her bags to herself as I scrambled for her legs. “Goodness... I hardly remember him myself, but, he wasn’t the kind of pony who would abandon us.” She looked down at me, “Is that what you think he did?”

“I dunno what he did and I don’t care.” I rubbed my face into her fetlocks, holding her in place. “Big sis, you didn’t finish combing my hair.”

I listened to my sister breathe. The grass rustle and snap as Discord skittered off somewhere, I don’t care. I felt the straps of my bags settle on my back, soft tinkling of my sisters magic tying them in place.

“Do you want to hear a few stories, Luna? Would knowing a bit more make you feel better?”

“No.” I said quietly.

“Not even one? How about something fun? Did I ever tell you about the I snuck an alley cat into the house?”

I relaxed my grip a little, staring at my own feet. The same color as his feet...

“Okay, maybe one.”

XXIX : Parents

The Steadfast Sky : Parents
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.tumblr.com/

~Celestia~

“So... when I was little, before you were born, I was walking home from school and I found this cat on the street. I brought him home, thinking I could hide him, but,” I chuckled. “His paws were dirty, and he was leaving tracks everywhere! I tried to get some water to wash him, but that only made things worse, running around the house, hissing...! Oh, mother was throwing a fit, but father!” I laughed aloud. “The look on his face! He picked up a broom and shooed the little thing out!”

Luna leaned against me as we walked, dragging her hooves and kicking up the sandy dirt of the road. Why wasn’t she saying anything...?

“Luna?”

“That story didn’t really have to do with dad,” she said, kicking at a pebble.

“Sorry?”

“He only came in at the end. You just told me a story about you bringing home a cat.”

“Well, um...” I tried to picture the scene in my head. I could see father, how he moved and acted. It certainly seemed about him to me... I nudged my sister’s head, a smile to encourage her own. You can do it, Celestia! Your sister needs you! “Let me see if I can describe it for you.”

~¤~

Mother leaned over the railing, red hair frazzled, sparkling shawl askew. She flicked her hoof, almost afraid of the little mudball ten feet below her. “Get it, dear!” she almost spat. “Get it! Get rid of it!” I looked through the railings beside her, staring down at the poor little kitty, its fur still wet with layers of mud and the soap that was supposed to clean it.

Father, tense, jaw squared under his perfectly coiffed blue mane, eased sideways, broom held aloft in his aura. He didn’t mind the mud from the floor, even though it scuffed his perfectly polished hooves. He had a purpose, and nothing swayed a stallion of his composure. He lowered the broom’s straw end, and lightly swiped it forward, nudging the cat, making it tumble sideways a few steps.. The cat looked almost indignant. Yes, thats what that cat’s face was like. Irritated and downright offended! But Father nudged it again, forcing it to stumble even closer to the door.

The cat hissed, looked like it was going to pounce! Arched its back and everything, hair on end. “Look out, father!” I remember shouting that. He didn’t look up at me, I think, and then he just bonked the little cat on the head! It hissed again, but he wasn’t afraid as he swept it right out the door, slamming it right shut.

One of the maids, um... Gab? Gab brought out a bucket to wipe up the mud, but father shook his head. “Celly, get down here and clean up this mess.” So, I cleaned up all of the floors... and it hurt, mind, I wasn’t used to cleaning. But afterwards, he gave me a cup of ice cream!

~¤~

“Is that a bit better, Luna?”

My sister frowned at the ground... angry? Was that better or worse than sad?

“Luna...?”

“Why would mom act like that?” she asked, so suddenly, kicking up a puff of dirt.

“Hm?”

“She was scared of a little cat?”

“Well, no,” I laughed, up at the clouded over sky, “I suppose she was more afraid of getting mud on her fancy dresses!”

“Really? Is that what mother was like?”

“Hm...” I let us walk a bit longer while I combed it over in my mind. “ You know, I actually didn’t see much of mom. But don’t fret! Let me try to tell a story about her.”

~¤~

Orange. Mom was dressed in this kind of poofy dress, and the light going through it made the floors orange. I don’t know why, but I found it fascinating. I tried to fiddle with the cloth, tried to make it light different areas. I think I thought it was a mirror, and I could direct its light...? I’m not certain, I remember I was very little at the time.

“No no, Celestia. Mother can’t play now. Mother’s getting ready for ___!” I’m sorry, for all the life in me, I can’t remember what she had to go to. She was a socialite, you see, she had a lot of fancy parties and such.

Anyway, she’d step lightly around me, trying to tug the cloth from under my hooves “No, no, Celestia. You’ll tear the material!” She had a really sharp voice... no, a very practiced voice. Fine, and clear, specific and enunciated. It was... like our crystal glasses, you remember those? Glittering, detailed and specifically carved. That’s how mother felt.

“Honey. Honey Dough.” She would always call for the nanny in a very specific way, and it was always my cue to hold on tightly to her. But I’d be pried away, “Celestia, be good for the nanny, mother will play later.”

~¤~

“Why would mom do that?” Luna snapped me out of my daydream. I fumbled with a few more words and... Oh, she had such an angry look on her face... Was it something I said? I floundered with words for a moment, crippled. Such anger...

“Well... well, well she hired a nanny to take care of me, so I wouldn’t always be under her feet. I mean... Mother was always so sweet when we were together.”

“She sounds stupid.”

“Luna!” I snapped.

“She sounds like she didn’t care about you at all.”

“ No...!” Luna, are you hurting this much? Goodness gracious... “No, she was very nice! Let me tell you a better story.”

~¤~

Every year, the Halls... you remember the Halls, right? Well, they would always throw an absolutely splendid Hearth’s Warming Eve party. But it was, well, an adult party. The kind where everyone stands around with drinks hovering at their sides, talking about things I didn’t care for. The kind where none of the hors d'oeuvres looked like something a child would like to eat. Like celery sticks without peanut butter, and desserts made without sugar. Where you have to wear a fancy saddle dress, even though it itches and doesn’t let you run around without tripping. And the Halls themselves, well, they didn’t have young kids anymore, only older stallions. So they didn’t think to have a play area for the younger children that attended. Not that many of these parties had a proper play area anyway... I think only one party I ever attended ever did... Nevermind, I’m getting off track.

When I complained to mother, she asked me to walk beside her and talk to the guests. She would introduce me, and tell me to say hello, proper and ladylike. The other guests asked me questions, the same questions, over and over, and I answered over and over, bowing and curtseying all the time. Lots of ponies complimented me on how polite I was, and mom left early, long before sunset, to buy me a piece of cake on the way home, because I had been a proper lady. She was very, very proud of me.

~¤~

“Well?” I smiled. I remembered this being a good memory, though all the details blur together. The party, mother, the faces of the guests... Was father even at that party? It wouldn’t make sense for him not to be, but... Such a warm, wonderful memory. Even in that horrible city, there could be some wonderful, gentle times.

“Maybe I’m missing something.” Luna sighed, my cue to remember how bad I was at this. “I’m not getting a good picture of mom...”

I laughed lightly. “Maybe I’m just bad at picking these stories...”

And then, another silence fell between us. I stared up at the clouds, the leaves that blocked out what little light there already was. There must be some story I can tell. Something, anything... finally, Luna spoke up, demand clear.

“Can you tell me about dad again?”

“Alright!” I wracked my brain, trying to find a good one. “Let me see...”

~¤~

I remember lying on the library floor, flipping very, very carefully through my favorite storybook, trying to not tear the pages, trying to not disturb the gold foil, already starting to crack and flake. Father sat behind his massive desk, in a cushiony leather armchair. I remember trying to crawl up onto it... not then, I mean, another time entirely. He, and the chair, they smelled like his cologne. Even when he didn’t leave the house all day, he always put on his cologne. It was always really heavy. Kind of sour, but floral, underneath it all.

Now, his desk. You wouldn’t remember, they took it away almost immediately. But his desk, the bottom half of the front board wasn’t all the way there, leaving a gap just above the floor. I don’t really know why, but I remember being able to crawl under it.

Back to that day, I nudged the book ahead of me as I scrawled under that gap. My father’s pen was scratching away, and on a quieter level, the light tinkling sound of his aura, something so difficult to hear unless it’s quiet... I pushed the book between father’s hind feet, placed firmly on the ground as he sat in his armchair. They lifted, so slightly, as his body shifted to look down at me, forehooves still on the desk.

“Father, I don’t know a word.” And he asked which one, so I pointed.

“That’s ‘star’.”

“Oh. And this one?”

“Playful.”

“That one?”

“Friend.”

“That one?”

“Celly, do you need me to teach you how to read?”

“No, I know how.”

“Do you?”

“I know how.”

Then, he got up. The chair scraped backwards, I remember it being very loud. His aura picked up the book and he told me if I wanted to learn, it was far too advanced for me. He gave me a different book, a smaller book with flat colors painted on the cover. He told me to recite my ABC’s while I looked at it.

~¤~

She sighed. Such a small little sigh, trying to hide her exasperation certainly! Recover, Big Sis!

“Oh! And when you were born!”

~¤~

Father had told me that it was very, very quiet time, and I was supposed to stay in my room until I was called. I could hear strange voices in the hallway, hooves I didn't recognize beating up and down the stairs, and I couldn’t help myself. I kept poking my head out the door, only to be shooed back in. “We don’t want you caught underhoof!” But being alone in my room almost felt like a punishment.

The next thing I know, I was in father’s office again, reading books as he--

~¤~

“What was I like when I was born?”

“What?” Well that was sudden! I didn’t even have time to get to the good part...

“What did you think of me, like, the first thing?”

“Well... Oh!” I laughed, suddenly struck by a memory, clear and perfect. “Oh my goodness, such a funny little thing!”

~¤~

Things were really quiet as we walked down the hallway. A strange pony, one I had never seen before with a doctor’s cutie mark passed by my father, nodding his greeting. We entered what was going to eventually be your room... but back then, it was more of a secondary tea room, or drawing room. Though it was still day out, the room was filled with light from four or five lamps, and it smelled like them, like hot copper and milk.

Mom was splayed out on the couch, that same ratty old thing that was in our drawing room. Her hair was tangled, brow sweaty, but talking with one of the maids, I don’t even know if she saw me come in. She was flopped on her side, tummy still bloated, udders popped out and round. I remember that clearly, because it looked so strange to me. I wasn’t used to seeing my mother like that, with strange bulges hanging off of her... I felt like I was staring, and I knew staring was bad, especially with mother in such a... a bizarre state. So I tried to find something else to look at...

And there you were, on the other side of the room. Just a little blue ball of ruffled fur, hardly a mane to speak of, eyes wide as you stared at the world around you. You always had such wide eyes when you were little, like you were constantly shocked. While I watched, you struggling to your feet. Honey was urging you to stand, to walk.

“So missus, what do you think you’ll name the little bundle of joy?”

“Oh... it’s a girl, right?”

“Yes, missus.”

“We decided on Luna then, right father?”

I don’t think I quite understood what was going on, as father walked past me. I was just watching you, walking back to you, stumbling towards Honey and staring at your feet as if you didn’t expect them to work, and were just so surprised when they did. Your legs were held too wide, and you kept slowly slipping back down to the floor, onto your stomach.

“Come here, Luna. Just walk a little bit more.” You stumbled forward a bit, stood still, and slipped back down again.
“Should it take this long, Honey?” Mom’s voice drifted from the other side of the couch, “Celestia stood just fine in the first five minutes.”

“Some foals take longer than others,” Honey replied, voice tired, “Don’t worry, missus. She’s a healthy one, your Luna.”
I walked right up to you then, I don’t think you even noticed, so alarmed by your own feet. You smelled like talcum powder, I think you had been washed. Honey Dough was saying a few more things, like ‘isn’t she cute, Celestia? that’s your little sister, Luna!’ You fell down again, and your hoof bumped against mine. Really soft, really warm.

Now, I have no idea what was going on in my head at the time, no idea.

But I picked you right up, scooped you in between my forelegs best I could, and dragged you over to mother, like a particularly large doll. I clung to you, warm and soft against my body, and stared up at my mother, my father, the maid...

“I’m keeping her,” I declared.

~¤~

“And then, everyone just started laughing!”

“They laughed?!” Luna stared up at me, eyes wide, maybe a hint of a smile on her face!

“I have no idea why!” I laughed along with the memory. “I didn’t know where you had come from, barely knew what you were! I don’t know, maybe I thought you were some sort of toy?! But goodness...” I slowed down a bit, trying to collect myself. “You were a lovely little foal. Rather adorable!”

“Was I really, really little?”

“Really, really little.”

And there she returned to a frown. But more of a puzzled frown, no longer quite so upset.

“I don’t remember this at all...” she said, “What was I like back then?”

“Well...”

XXX : Sisters

The Steadfast Sky : Sisters
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.tumblr.com/

~Luna~

I’m not certain how much time had passed, but I remember what your cradle looked like. It was fine, made out of wood, carvings almost flowing onto the rocking legs. The headboard rose, well, over your head, and there was a little mobile that swung above you, with little wooden stars, all painted a bright yellow.

It was just big enough so that I could place my hooves on the lip and tilt it over to take a look. You were always resting on your stomach, among dozens and dozens of white ruffles, your adorable little baby outfits. But when I tilted the cradle, you’d topple into the side. Then you’d try to stand again, and oh, I couldn’t get over how adorable you looked.

So, mother and father, they--

~Θ~

“Did you play with me a lot?”

“Huh?”

Big sis keeps getting so lost off in la-la land, sometimes she forgets the stinkin’ point of the story! I asked her to describe me when I was little, and she wants to make it about mom and dad... Well, I guess I thought that would make me feel better, hearing about them. But... It always feels like she’s talking about two strangers, so, um, in-ta-mentally. When she finally started talking about me, things just felt a little bit more in place. You know? I try to explain it to her slowly.

“So, I had a nanny.”

“Yes, Honey Bun, who--”

“But you played with me a lot too, right? I mean, I think my earliest memory is playing with you!”

“Oh?” Celestia’s been scrolling through some really weird faces today, but I think dumbfounded surprise suits her nicely. “Really?”

I nodded so hard my head kinda hurt.

“Yeah!”

~Θ~

So, I was really, really little, and my memory doesn’t really work all that well back then, so I don’t know how I came here or what happened after. But I remember that I had a tiny piano, painted bright blue. I remember the blue, like, a sky blue, my hair blue. I could see the wood under me, or I can see it now, in my head.

But I remember staring at that box thing, and wondering, what the heck is this? Somehow, I knew it could make sounds. It was a soundmaking box. Maybe Honey had tapped a few keys to show me, I don’t know. All I knew was that it was weird and a mystery.

I think I kicked the top a few times, then started placing my stuffed animals on it. One tumbled off, and it made the noise! So I shoved more up there, trying to get it to happen again.

Then you were there, just out of nowhere. I dunno, I’m pretty sure you walked in, but I wasn’t paying attention to things like that, I was really, really little. So, you picked up Tottering Trottingham...

~Θ~

“Oh, right!” Celestia interrupted, “Yes, I remember this!”

~¤~

So there you were, flopped on top of that little blue piano. Your toys were hovering all over the room as you tried to ease them, or force them beside you, sliding them around and knocking them all over the place. You were whinnying, a high pitched whinny, kicking your legs and tearing at the fabric of your dress, even through your little booties.

“Wassa matter, woona?” I remember Honey speaking just like this. It was the proper way to talk to you. “Wassa matter?”

You squealed, pushed some more of your toys off the piano, then tried to place more on.

“Wassa matter?”

“Guh!”

“Wassa matter?”

“Guwauh!”

“No, no, silly woona, that’s not how you play piano!”

You beat your little booties against the piano top as I picked up a random toy, one I thought wouldn’t upset you. You were very clingy back then, to almost anything you could get your teeth around. And Tottering Trottingham used to be mine, so... anyway.

“See, Woona? Watch Tot-tot!”

“Aoup-Auop!”

“Yes, bwah-bwah! Watch what he does!”

Then, I made Trottingham place his little hooves on the keys. The second I did, you squealed, really loud. I almost thought you’d start crying, or... maybe I didn’t, because I hit the keys again, and you laughed!

You spun around on your stomach, leaning over the keys... goodness, I can almost remember what your breathing sounded like. Almost like you had a fever, or your nose was stuffed up. Anyway, I played a few more keys, and you laughed again, and began bashing your hooves into them.

~Θ~

“I wouldn’t call the sounds music, but...”

“I would!” I shouted, “That sound was beautiful, amazing! We made a really great song together!”

“Really?” Celestia chuckled.

“Now tell me another one!”

And then she was puzzled... such strange faces today!

“Another what?”

“Another story from when I was really, really little!” Duh!

“Hm... oh! Oh, I’ve got a good one!”

~¤~

“Goodness, Woona, look at all this hay on your head!”

You looked up at me from your highchair, face the most foalish perplexity I had ever seen. Dribble was running down your bib as I stood over you, propped up by a stool. Hay was indeed on your head, spilling down your face and sticking in your mane. And you had no idea why it was there.

“Woona, what are you doing with all this hay on your head?!” I dropped another aura-full on the crest of your mane. You looked up, and hay spilled down your back. You babbled, not excited or scared, but confused, horn lighting up on instinct.
“Goodness, Woona, look at all this hay! Aren’t you going to eat it?!”

You tilted back a little more, then forward. Hay tumbled down from your head, and your eyes grew a little wider. Your aura lit up around the straws, and with an excited squeal, you blasted the hay all around the kitchen.

~Θ~

“Goodness, I thought I was going to get in so much trouble for making a mess...”

“Then why’d you put that hay on my head?!”

“I don’t know! I was little, I thought it was funny!”

“What’s funny about it?”

“Well...” Celestia stumbled, smile growing a little wider. “It’s cute, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, I guess the story’s pretty cute...” I almost want to stop, but keep going, right as another question pops to mind. “Why didn’t I hear this before?”

Celestia shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just a little random story.”

“Hm... Hey! I just thought of something.”

“What?”

~Θ~

Once, a really, really long time ago, again, I remember being really, really scared of the dark. I couldn’t see through it, and--

~Θ~

“Strange to think of,” Celestia said idly, “There was a time when you were afraid of the dark.”

“Lemme finiiish!”

~Θ~

So, anyway, I was buried under the covers. I tried only sticking my snout out to breathe, but the blankets kept slipping down... and then, I saw my piggy bank, on the top of my dresser. I had convinced myself it was moving, dancing around and doing somersaults, like a little pony clown.

I was terrified. I couldn’t look away. And I couldn’t move, or else it would see me. And who knows what it would do! So I was getting more and more and more terrified...

Then I just burst right out of those blankets and charged right out of my room. There were weird shadow shapes everywhere, and I didn’t know where to go. But I knew that if I ran to your room, I’d be safe! I didn’t think to go to my parents, or my nanny... I knew I just had to get to my big sister, and she’d protect me.

So I burst into your room, and you were really, really confused. Bucked off your blankets and everything.

“Luna! Luna, what is it?!”

“A monster’s in my room, the clown! The little somersaulting clown!”

You sort’ve sat there for a second, a really, really still shadow.

“I thought we banished the little thing last week.”

“It’s back again! Banish it please?”

“How about we banish him in the morning, Lu--”

“No, he’ll get me!”

“Of course he won’t get you, you’re staying right here with me.”

You scootched over in your bed and held open the covers, letting me crawl up beside you. You tucked the covers really tight around me, making sure I was safe and secure.

“Better, Luna?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well... sweet dreams.”

“Lullaby.”

“Sorry?” You were almost snippy, always trying to chide me into saying the right things. “What was that?”

“Please sing a lullaby, big sis?”

“Big... Oh, alright.”

~Θ~

I walked tall and proud, the best teller of the best memory stories ever! I waited, almost impatient for Celestia to start saying how cute it was and chime in with her own story... But she didn’t. She was really quiet, staring and frowning at the ground.

“Was this...” she spoke up, slow and deliberate. “Before or after our parents were gone?”

“I thought it was before,” I replied, “I mean, I chose to go to you. I remember feeling like I had that choice.”

“I actually think... That was after everyone had left, it must have been.”

“Really?”

“I mean, you didn’t start talking until after mother and father had gone.”

“Oh!”

I opened my mouth to say something else, but it kinda died on the way and I lost it.

“I feel like that sound upset me,” I said suddenly, “But it doesn’t really.” Celestia stared at me for a moment, nearly tripping over a root that was poking through the crappy dirt road. “I always remember, whenever I got really upset, that you’d be there for me, big sis. More than anyone else.”

“Yes... I did my best, but...” and then it was Celestia’s turn to flip through her thoughts. “But I’m not... your mother or anything. It actually kind’ve upset me when you’d try to call me that. Or thought that I was. Let me tell you...”

~¤~

I poked my head around the door to my father’s office. Strange men were in there, flipping through his books, analyzing them through tiny little lenses. Sometimes they dropped them to the floor. Other times they were set gently into what, to me, looked like a rickety old wheelbarrow.

I cleared my throat lightly. None of the men even offered me a glance.

“Um, Spit Shine?”

The gray pony looked up from the wheelbarrow and grinned, a wide grin.

“Oh, young Baroness! I didn’t hear you come home! How was your day, darling?”

“Well, I suppose school was fine, however...” I took a step into the room. Father’s smell, his cologne was fading from it. Now it just smelled like musty pages, old candle ash, “Father’s library as well?”

“There are still so many expenses, young Baroness!” he said, voice smooth, demeanor jovial, “Do not fret, some of these volumes will fetch a very, very good price. It might even cover the last of the tertiary fees!”

“Well...” I was hesitant, how could I not be? But I had no head for these things... and well, it was Spit Shine’s job to know the numbers. “Alright, if you say sooOOOAUGH!” I slammed myself against the doorframe, shaking. “NO LUNA!”

You stared up at me. Still a foal, still confused. no longer dressed in your nice, lacy frills, but not because you had stopped being a baby. You approached me again, lowering your head, little snout probing for milk...

“Luna! No! BAD! BAD TOUCH!” I ran down the hallway, trying to get a bit of distance, face burning a furious red as some of the stallions snickered. I turned back, and there you were still standing, tottering on your feet, staring at me.

“Luna,” I tried to explain calmly as you waddled towards me. “Woona, dear. I’m not a wet nurse. I’m not your mother. I’m your sister. Okay, Woona? Luna?” You stopped and stared up at me, they tried to walk to my side...

I stepped back.

“No, Luna.” Your face was blank. “No, sister. Sister! Not momma! Big sis!”

But you came right up to me anyway. You didn’t look for milk again... thank goodness. You dug your face into my neck, and slid down as you hugged my leg, your butt sticking up in the air.

“Mwam.”

~Θ~

“That always... always hurt me, a reminder that I couldn’t be that for you...” Celestia rolled away her bad posture, neck jutting straight up. “Sorry, I wanted to make you feel better about mother and father, but we wound up getting sidetracked, didn’t we? Do you want to hear a different story?”

“Tell me another one about the two of us.”

“...Really?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well...”

“No, no, wait, I got something I gotta say, I think.”

I stopped for a bit, trying to get it all together. But I guess I took too long, because Celestia nudged me in the side.

“Luna?”

“Um, well...” I nodded. “I think I have the words now.” I took a really deep breath, and looked up at my big sister.
“I was really, really upset that I lost my dad. But... he never really existed in the first place. I dunno why I’m afraid of losing him. You talking about him, it reminded me... He’s just a stranger, some thing that happened in my past, somewhere. None of your stories about him helped at all.

“But Big Sis, you’ve always been there for me. I think... what I’m most afraid of is just losing you. I dunno... I think, in that last story, I called you mom, and it hurt your feelings. And I’m sorry, because, you’re more than my mom, than just a word thing. You’re my sister, teaching me important girly stuff, playing games with me, protecting me...

“If you vanished from my life... Yeesh, I dunno what I’d do. So um.”

And then my sister hugged me. Close warm and tight, dirt from her hooves rubbing off into my coat as she squeezed me, maybe too tight. I nuzzled my face into her neck fuzz, element warming against her skin, just so glad to have her back, right here with me. It’s kinda silly how just a few days made me miss her so much.

“Alright... so...!” Celestia let me go, straightening herself out again. “Another story! Though, most of the ones I have you’d remember, wouldn’t you?”

“I don’t mind! Tell it anyway!”

“Okay, so...”

~¤~Θ~¤~Θ~¤~

XXXI : Discord

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 31
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.tumblr.com/

~Discord~

I followed after Luna and Celestia that day, in silence. At first I thought, hey, I have some cute stories too, right? Maybe offer a few of them, simplified, scrubbed of a few unsavory details. But I listened and listened and listened… And well, the things I felt I could say just shrunk, then became nothing. They went on and on for hours, and I began to question if even my best memories were any good at all. Like little lights of kindness that seemed so significant to me, yet were almost routine to a pony.

I guess I started to feel a little embarrassed. Not just about the memories, either. Like thinking that a hug could just cheer someone up. That a few comforting words meant a lot more than they really did. It had worked before! Gave Celestia a hug or two, shared some kind words with her, she cheered up! Eventually. But how long, how many times and false starts it took Celestia to get Luna smiling again? And I don’t know, maybe that was just Luna? She’s always so cheerful, it took a lot of stress to crash her mood in the first place, maybe it takes that much longer to bring her back up to normal? Or did Celestia just pretend to be cheered when I talked to her…?

Gah!

I felt freaking stupid. Stupid and, and like I’m some sort of weirdo.

Uhg.

Bleh.

Other noises.

Bleeeeeh!

At some point I had to cut myself off from the self-attacks. No use spinning my head in circles, beating around the same points over and over. Put on a straight face and move past it. Try harder next time someone’s hurting. I let the pair talk, and distracted myself with magical experimentation. But it couldn’t hold my attention all day. Every little zap and pop of magic drained me more and more, digging in my gut, reminding me how little I really had to work with…

“So!” I finally piped up, after a long stretch of bored, bored silence. They both looked back at me, almost surprised?

“Oh! Discord!”

“Hiya!”

“Um… it’s starting to get late…” I looked up at the sky, double checking. Still light out, so my general exhaustion was all I was going on. “Think we should stop for the, uh, day? Night?”

“Goodness!” Celestia glanced up at the sky as well. “Yes, we probably should. Didn’t run into even one town today, did we? Another time, I suppose.”

“Discord?” Luna asked, “Where did you go today?”

I picked at the dirt under my claw. Wait, was I stalling?

“I was here the whole time.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Luna, head level with mine, looked directly at me, blank. Or curious. Or…

“Did you have a story to share?”

“Uh, no. Not any good ones.”

“Are you doing okay?”

“Uh… well enough.”

I failed to say something again, but Luna refused to move away. Just stood there. Eugh… Why were things suddenly just so awkward? I watched Celestia for a moment as she stomped down some grass, set her bag down, spread her cloak across the ground… Okay. Okay, say something Discord, Luna’s going to get worried, and the last thing I want to do is hurt her. Again.

“I just uh… had a pretty bad childhood.” I laughed, trying to relax. “It’s really, really nice that you two had each other, even with your parents, um, gone.” Didn’t even realize that was a thing really. Not having parents in your life. Practically a standard among the Draconequus.

“Oh right!” And there’s Celestia, voice ringing in, like a trap snapping around my tail. “Discord… Well, when they take ponies to the castle…” she faded off, as if she was still uncertain if she should be asking.

“They kill them, yeah.”

“Thanks for finally telling me this, Discord.” Oh sweet life, she’s letting me off the hook! “But isn’t that kind’ve strange,” she said slowly, carefully, “Just capturing ponies, only to kill them?”

I stepped off the road, into the grass, uncertain if I was approaching Celestia or not.

“It’s all about scaring ponies into their place isn’t it?” I finally replied, “Showing absolute authority by taking all those that disobey?”

“But, there’s slavery out here. Wouldn’t it achieve the same effect to sell them?”

I just shrugged, as honest a response as I could offer. She was quiet again. There was more staring involved… Luna moved beside her, trying to find her own spot in the grass. For a while, that was all I had, Celestia’s eyes and that rustling sound. A day without talking to me, now they can’t take their eyes off me? And why, why this topic?

“You know Celestia,” I piped up, “This is really, really depressing talk to end a day on, especially one filled with happy memories.”

“Yes. So it is…” She laughed, just once.

“Let’s just set it aside for now. Eat some dinner, get some rest.” I reached for her bag, wondering if there was any food I could snatch from it before I just went to bed. A comfortably uncomfortable night back up a tree... But she nudged it away with her hoof, almost on instinct.

“But really, you’ve finally admitted to this,” she said. “You were hiding it for so long, I feel like, I don’t know, there should be more I should be asking, while you’re forthcoming with answers.”

“I don’t have many answers,” I pleaded, “I was still just a kid to them, Celestia. I didn’t know the why of things, and they didn’t share reasons very easily.” Oh please, just be satisfied.

She took a breath…

“Well, alright.”

Yes. I dove for Celestia’s bag and yanked a few apples out. She seemed almost overjoyed that I was taking them, actually. Well, happy to have something, I ran right for the nearest a tree and scurried right the heck up it. It felt wonderful to be climbing again, scratchy, sappy bark under my claws, heaving myself up with my own two hands… I half wondered if I could fly up to the branches yet, but I almost don’t want to try. This action, this movement is smooth enough.
I like trees. Yeah, let’s focus on the positive. Trees are comfortable. Apples taste awesome. And if I can get a bit more food, I can keep messing with this illusion stuff, right? Though maybe I should just get to sleep, save my energy. There was a quiet tearing beneath me as the girls started munching up grass. I settle onto a particularly sturdy branch and shove aside some leaves as I crunch through an apple. Secure on my stomach, head laying across my fuzzier arm, I focus on my hand. If I can try and capture the flavor of the apple, work it into the illusion… I mean, I can probably just do a little bit more, if I keep it small.

I formed a little apple slice in my hand, pale and rough with a smooth red skin. See? That wasn’t so hard. I yawn anyway, stretch out my wings, airing them out a bit as I shove through a few more springy leaves. Now who’s underneath me…?

“Hey Luna.”

She glanced up, mouth full of grass.

“Uh-huh?”

I released my hand between the leaves and dropped the apple slice. I made it spin and twirl to the ground like a leave, only losing brief focus to another yawn. Guy’s gotta entertain himself somehow, right?

“Eat it,” I told her.

She glanced down at the little slice, a small sliver among the half-picked grass. She swallowed her mouthful and looked up at me again.

“I thought you ate your apple!”

“I did.”

She was quiet for a moment, then frowned. Pouted, really.

“Is this made of something gross?”

With a laugh, I released the springy leaves, and was unable to prevent them from smacking me in the face. “No, no!” I asserted, beating away the branches.

“Goodness, Discord,” Celestia called out, from somewhere else. “We may have been separated a few days, but that doesn’t mean you can prank us so bluntly.”

“It’s not a prank, I’m just trying out a new kind of magic.”

Celestia eased into sight, hovering over the tiny slice, making it vanish from my sight. There was a slight rustling again, her shoulder shifting slightly.

“It’s solid,” she stated.

“Uh-huh.”

“Okay, lemme try!” Luna said, her sister tutting as she backed away. There was a quit crunching… and she spat the illusion out, “Ew!” Luna cried, craning her neck up to show me as clearly as possible her disgust, “Ewww it’s sour! Yeck!”

“Dang. Well.” I released the branches a bit more slowly, pressing an ear back into the fuzzy crook of my arm. “I guess I can actually flavor illusions, just a matter of practice now.”

“Are you saying something, Discord?”

I open my mouth, shut it again. Meh, not really worth repeating myself. I begin to weave another wedge, slowly, carefully, not wanting to overextend myself…

“Wanna try again, Luna?”

“Um… no thanks.”

“Aw, c’mon. How am I supposed to learn if you won’t help?”

“Okay, okay, this is just silly.” And that was that, straight from ‘big sister’s’ authoritative mouth. There was the sound of a lot of movement. Celestia was probably trying to find a position to see me through the leaves. “Discord, get down here, we need to discuss our next course of action.”

“I thought that was pretty obvious. We go to the address Apple gave me.” Maybe it’s not so much about trying to replicate the exact flavor… maybe there’s some trick to it. Like… yummy. I think yummy thoughts…

“I don’t know Discord…” Celestia huffed, “He worked for the stallion, we can’t take him at face value.”

I shrugged into my arm, knowing full well Celestia couldn’t see me. “He had me right there in his office, and he let me go. Guards were right outside and everything. Even said ‘save the world.’”

“Well… that might be what he wants you to think.”

I rolled my eyes and dropped the next slice, not bothering to watch it fall.

“Try that one, Luna.”

“I’m serious!” Celestia said, “Apple could be trying to use us. Vinegar, imprisonment, didn’t work on either of you. Maybe he was tempting you with honey, flattering you, trying to make you feel heroic.”

“This apple tastes like butter.” Luna whined. “Butter and pennies.”

“Really?” Well that’s weird. “Is it better than the sour one?”

“Nuh-uh.” She spat, somewhere below me. “Not better at all.”

“Dang,” I heaved a sigh. “This is hard.”

“Discord!” Celestia barked. “I’m serious!”

“You know,” Luna said, “Do I get a say in this serious business?”

“Oh! Well… of course, Luna, what do you think we should do?”

“I say we find out where the next Element is.”

“Yeah,” I chimed in, “And this place--”

“Nuh-huh,” Luna spoke up, “There’s gotta be other ways to find the next Element. Sure, Stringhalt, this letter, they’re good ways. But it doesn’t mean we can’t ask somewhere else about them. Or… alicorns!” she gasped, and there was a bit of silence as she tromped through the grass. “Big sis, We could ask if there’s any alicorn statues around. That might make things easier!”

“That way we could avoid mentioning the Elements altogether,” Celestia said.

“But if we don’t find anything, then we’re going to… um,” I root around underneath me, trying to find that darn slip of paper. It nearly tore as I pulled it out, eyeing the slip with one lazy eye. “Uh, Hock.”

“Yeah, I’d think that’s fair!”

“I’m almost certain that asking about a statue will lead us true.” There was a crinkling sound, Celestia opening up her map, I think. I swatted at the leaves, trying to get sight of her. But it wasn’t long until my arm got tired, and I released the leaves, returning me to the silent green cocoon.

“Hock’s the next town on this road!” Luna giggled, “Wow, are we getting close then?”

“Well…yes, I think so. Sometimes distances aren’t entirely accurate on this map, but yes, we’re getting close. But! There are a few more little hamlets around the area. We look at them, then go to Hock.”

“Alright,” I mumbled, “Whatever.”

I yawned again. Maybe get a little bit of sleep before I go running around again, looking for a bit more to eat… I dozed off, best I can with just an arm and some bark as a pillow. I was wondering how soft leaves could be when…

“Discord? Going to sleep already?”

“Um…” I rub my eyes across my fur. “Celestia?”

“We never did get to have another serious conversation.”

“Yeah… uh…” I fished around the leaves again, trying to find an opening I didn’t have to constantly hold in place. “What do you have in mind?”

I continued to mess with the leaves in silence, stuffing them under my back leg. When did it get this dark? Did I fall asleep that easily? Up here? Wow, I must’ve been more tired than I thought. Celestia cleared her throat as I was finally able to spot her puff of pink hair, the top of her shoulders and backside.

“I um…” She started, stopping quickly. Wait… I laughed.

“Not much to talk about, huh?”

“Well there’s lots to talk about!” And she was silent again, “But… … … Discord?!”

I jolted. “What?!”

“I actually did enjoy the name ‘Tia’. I’m a little bit disappointed that it didn’t stick.”

“Really?” I sunk back into my arm. It’s quite cozy, relatively speaking. “I could try to keep calling you it.”

“No, that’s fine.” And there she fades out again. Goodness freaking gracious, could she pause any more? She laughed somewhere out there, and I began dozing again. I just wanted to go to sleep… Was I this out of shape, after being locked up for a few days? The tree started shaking under me, and I dug my claws in. A breeze?

“Hello?” Nope, Celestia.

“Yeah?”

“What about your name, Discord?”

“What about it?”

“Will you accept my offer?”

I dug my eyes into my elbow. Geez, what is she talking about?

“Sure, whatever. Whad’ya got?”

“Um… I was trying to think of a short way to say your name. Not, like, changing it, like Resonance.”

“Well, good, ‘cuz that name sucked.”

“So I was thinking, maybe Dizzy?”

“…’Scuse me?”

“Sounds a bit more friendly than Discord, doesn’t it? It could help you think--”

“Wait, you meant that random word was supposed to be my nickname?”

“Yes, it was.” She fumbled with her words a bit, thrown off her even keel. “What do you think of it?”

I leaned over the branches, stuffing them back under my legs, holding them firmly in place as I stared down at Celestia. She looked back up, probably unable to see a darn thing. But whatever, good enough.

“That name,” I clearly stated, “Makes me want to puke blood.”

She stomped one of her hooves. “You’re just being obstinate! It’s a perfectly acceptable name!”

“No, you are just really, really bad at this, Celestia!” I laughed and laughed, rolling onto my side, just so I could laugh at her harder. “Geez, at least come up with something cool sounding! Like… I don’t know.” I flipped onto my back, trying to avoid resting on my wings wrong. “My name’s pretty good, really.” I knotted up my snout, and… “Discord.” I chuckled. “Spit it out like a swear word. Discord!”

“It’s a cruel name to be saddled with,” Celestia snapped. I just laughed again.

“Discord!” I growled.

“Discord!”

“Luna!” Celestia cried, “What are you doing up?!”

“Listening to you two.” She giggled, then said my name again, trying to imitate my growl. I laughed again, heaving.

“Nice one, Luna. No, no…Luna!”

“Lou-NAH!”

“Celestia!”

“Big. SISTER!”

“Luna! Shouting!”

“Wow, that was a good one big sis!”

“I’m being serious, Luna. Too loud.”

“Oh.”

“Luna!” I snapped, imitating Celestia’s snapping, “You’re being too quiet!” She broke into a giggle fit, struggling to say
something through her teeth.

“K-kay! A-hem…!”

“Luna…!”

I know Celestia was trying to be firm with her sister, but it was just too silly at this point! I giggled into my hand, watching, titling over slightly as a little blue light grew beneath me.

“DISCORD!”

The tree shook, branch shook even more. On my back, arms in front of me, wings scraping past bark and twigs, I tumbled off, and there was nothing to stop me from falling.

XXXII : Celestia

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 32
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.tumblr.com/

~Celestia~

“I said I was fine!”

“You are not fine. You passed out on your way here.”

“I did? I mean… I probably just fell asleep.”

“No, you passed out. Now, let the nice man examine you.”

“Don’t talk down to me like that.”

Discord curled up in what little space was allowed, practically falling off the edge of the squat table. A red welt burst from his shoulder, specks crawling all the way down to his elbow. The walls of the small room could hardly be made out in the light of two guttering candles. Lining the shelves were strange bottles, and stranger instruments, curling hooks and curving blades made the space seem, well, rather unlike a Healer’s office. Honestly, it was a little hard to believe the sign out front. But the unicorn attending did have the Healer cutie mark… He adjusted his glasses, looking down over Discord.

“Fascinating creature…” he muttered. Discord did his best to pull away, glancing over the edge of the table, ready to drop at a moment’s notice. I hovered behind him, ready to catch his stupid… We were here to help him, and here he was being obstinate about it! The nerve! “However,” The Healer continued, “I really only deal with ponies. I’m not sure how much I can help you here.”

“Can you please take a look?” I said, firm, “It’s just his foreleg.”

“Well… lie down, ah, what was your name again, young man?”

“Discord,” he snarled.

“It will do you no good to snap at me, now lie down, on your stomach.” He looked over his shoulder, distracted. “Let me just
get some supplies, I’m sure I have something somewhere… “

Discord watched his back, then waved me over with his good arm.

“He’s gonna cut me up,” he hissed.

“He is not!” I shot back, whispering, “Did you see his cutie mark?”

“Do you see the knives?!”

“He won’t use those on you, I’m sure.”

“Are you?!” Discord snapped, “Why’d you bring me here?! He’s going to--!”

“Look,” Luna piped up, holding herself high. “I’ll clear this whole thing up, kay?”

“Luna!” I snapped at my sister, moving to stop her… But then what if Discord fell again? And so, my sister trotted over to the Healer, stiff with self-assurance.

“Mister Healer!” she proclaimed.

“Hmm?” He glanced down at her, half a dozen little jars hovering above his head, “Yes?”

“You’re not going to cut up Discord, are you?”

The Healer chuckled. “No, no, no… well, if he needs an amputation, then maybe.” Discord fell back, clutching his arm, and I had to physically shove him back on the table. I knew this would happen! “But I doubt it’s that serious. Just had to find a pot of this.” The Healer hovered down a small clay jar, carefully prying off the cork top. “Now then, Discord? Where does it hurt?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Discord grumbled. He hesitantly held out his thin, birdlike arm, suppressing a wince as he shifted his shoulder.

“Just the arm then? Please, onto your stomach.” His horn began to glow a bright green, filling the small space with a strange light, drowning out the weak candles. The Healer waved his horn over Discord’s shoulder as my friend settled onto his stomach, still refusing to look away from the unicorn.

“Yes, it’s just my arm. Friends are just overreacting.”

“Worrying isn’t an overreaction!” Luna stated, nudging her chin up over the table, “If I fell out of a tree, you’d rush me somewhere, wouldn’t you?”

“You can’t climb trees.”

“But you would.”

“Yeah, sure, I guess…” Discord flipped away from my sister, swiping at the Healer’s horn. “There is nothing wrong with my back!”

“There were lumps under your fur, I assumed they were bruises,” the Healer explained. “Are they natural?”

“What?” Discord shifted again, rubbing his good paw down his back. I looked more closely myself but… I could see nothing, not in this dim light. His fur looked a little matted, but Discord’s always been a bit of a mess, fur-wise. “Lumps? Were there bruises?”

“They seem more like hives,” the Healer said. Then, more carefully, “But since I am unfamiliar with beings of your type...”

“Yeah those aren’t…” Again, Discord ran a paw down his back, prodding certain spots. “Right…”

“An allergic reaction, perhaps?”

“I didn’t think I was allergic to anything,” Discord mumbled.

“Have you eaten anything strange lately?”

“I dunno, some berries…”

“You’ve still been eating those, Discord?” I cried, glaring up at him. He avoided my gaze. “I told the both of you not to pick up any random fruits! It’s dangerous!”

“Eh.” He just shrugged away my comment, like the advice was hardly worth minding. Well! No wonder he fell, with how much he was already hurting himself…

“Why do you keep eating them?!” I demanded, a sort of unintended whine edging into my voice.

“I like the taste maybe?” he snapped back.

“Well, I think you should probably cut back on the berries. Focus on your grains, your vegetables… Not enough nutrition in berries, it’s not healthy for a, ah, growing boy like yourself. Now please, lie down so I can mend your arm.” Discord hesitantly laid back down, digging his head into his unhurt arm. The Healer hovered a silvery substance from the pot, magically applying it to the wound, weaving a spell around it. The bruise glowed green, then the flesh almost seemed to almost turn silver itself. Apparently satisfied, the Healer wrapping a bandage around the silvery mark. “There we are. Keep off of it for a few days, nothing strenuous, and it should be fine. Now…” The Healer turned right to me, adjusting his glasses once more. “My payment…?”

“Oh! Right…” I looked back to my bag, though… Goodness, knowing the standard prices in Canterbury, there is no way we would have enough. “Might be well, a little bit short.” And there’s the beggar voice again, light and pleading. Why? Why does it come to me so easily? “But um, is there anything we can do here, in the town for a little spare change?”

The unicorn stared at us.

“I’d be willing to exchange for one of your necklaces, if you’re a little low.”

“No.” “No, no, no way.” “They’re very special to us.” “Not for sale.” “No.”

The Healer was silent once more as our voices all stopped tumbling over each other. I don’t know about the other two, but, even though I don’t have an element of my own, the thought of losing one of the Elements felt like a literal punch in the gut.

“Okay…” he glanced at the clock, a small thing stuffed around the sharp clutter. “Can I just see what you do have?” I took a tiny little breath and hovered him the very last of our cash. He stared at the miniscule stack for a moment, then glanced up at the clock again. “I’ll just… put it on your tab. Now hurry along.” He pulled a cloak from the shadowy mess around him, dragging it over his shoulders, “It’s late, and I should’ve been closing up fifteen minutes ago.”

I curtseyed briefly, hurrying towards the door, watching Discord struggle with the ledge, staring over it as his wings fluttered open. Luna circled around the table, watching him.

“Discord?” she asked.

“Uh-huh…”

“I’m sorry for shouting you out of the tree.”

With a single flap of his wings, Discord eased himself down. On the ground, he lifted a paw to rub his shoulder, stopping
before it even hit the bandage. Instead, he snatched up his own cloak, practically yanking it out of my saddlebags.
In a low voice, almost angry, “No. I’m sorry for falling.”

“But…”

“Look, we can’t go around in circles, apologizing to each other. It was no one’s fault. For now, let’s just…” I nudged my head towards the door and hurried out, everybody following after me. The Healer practically ran past us, hooves clicking in a familiar way, too familiar for my tastes.

“I guess not…” Luna yawned, “Can we just find a place to sleep for now? Maybe head out of the city, find a nice soft patch of leaves…”

“Or we could, you know, go here.” Discord waved the letter around with his good hand, crumpled and torn. “And maybe they’d be able to help us. Both with a bed and this money issue.”

I looked down at the crumpled note, jaw set, ready to put my hoof down. Not in this town, not in this strange, creepy town. But with Luna tired, Discord injured… maybe I’m being a little too obstinate.

“Alright. BUT!” I whip my own cloak on, glare split between the two of them. “If any funny business starts happening, we’re getting right out of Hock, okay?”

At the first sight of the town of Hock, I wanted to turn us right around, run to another town, see if they had any kind of Healer there. The town, larger than a hamlet but nowhere near as big as Stringhalt or Canterbury, was constructed out of that smooth black cobblestone, the same stone Canterbury was constructed from. If anything, Hock looked like something Canterbury spat out, splattering down the countryside, walls replaced by roads that crisscrossed up and down little farms in the hills.

I didn’t want to go there, of course, but taking a chance on a different hamlet was a shot in the dark. Why would they even need a healer, if they could just travel to this dark, dark city? In the end, it took Luna marching right down into the heart of it for me to work up the courage to follow. It’s rather embarrassing to think about, actually, having to be directed by my little sister.

It was lucky that we had settled down early, as we caught the doctor before he closed down his shop for the night… But… wandering corridors of black stone again, and at night of all times. I know Stringhalt didn’t have Draconequus kidnappers, nor did any other town we arrived in. But that stone… The knives in the Healer’s office were nothing compared to it. Healers have weird tools. There was only one other place this stone shared similarities with. But now we were walking the roads at night, and I’m sure I was not the only one put off by the color of the rock, even if it didn’t have the intimidating walls to go with it…

And another thing, unrelated to the architecture. This place, this little city of Hock, it had its own style. In its own way, each town we passed through did. In every town, the people lived and spoke in certain ways, gathered in certain places, wore a certain style of clothing, or none at all. Canterbury was a town where most would go bare, save a ruff here or there, only pulling out fancy gowns for parties. Wherever I went in Stringhalt, everyone was wearing some sort of scrap across their shoulders, and I saw a lot of tunics, a lot of doublets.

Here, apparently, they all liked to wear cloaks? The kind where you can easily hide both your face and cutie mark? We were talking to one such individual now, a shadow on the walls, face gone, cutie mark firmly hidden.

“Good evening children,” he drawled, voice strangely high-pitched, almost nasal. “Are you attending the ceremony?”

“Uh…”

“Hey,” Discord interrupted my thought-sorting moment, waving around the scrap of paper in his good hand. “Where’s this place, Fallow Street, The Chapel of the Hurricane?”

“Oh! Such loyalty, from such youth!” The pony sniffled as dramatically as possible, “Such a wonderful thing to see, and from strangers as well! Are you from one of our sister towns?! Are you from Cob? Gaitsville?”

“No.”

“Well, you go tell all your friends, wherever you’re from. The Stallion will be pleased.”

“Sure,” I squeaked, looking pointedly at Discord, “Sure we’ll do that. Where is it?”

“Just follow the crowds,” the strange stallion waved to a modest line of ponies behind us, a strange sight for this late. “They’ll lead you right there.” Goodness gracious, did we start talking to the town fool accidentally? This is almost embarrassing to listen to. I mumble my thanks and shove our group away from another cry of youth and loyalty and—

“The Stallion.” I hissed.

“You know,” Discord retorted, stuffing the scrap back under his cloak, “‘stallion’ is such a generic term. If we reacted to every single instance of that word--”

“Don’t give me that, he said ‘THE’ Stallion. What if he’s here?! Apple could’ve known where The Shadow Stallion was going, and sent us right to him!”

Discord was silent as well fell behind the modest line of ponies, completely blending in with the simple fact that we were also wearing rather large cloaks. Discord forced a sigh.

“I am tired, hurt, and hungry. I don’t wanna argue this.”

“We did say that we’d go take a look,” Luna said with a nod, “And if funny business happened…”

“This is the funny business! There is nothing funnier than this!”

“The knives were funny business,” Discord said low, hissing again. “Thought I was going to get my arm cut off, you didn’t care.”

“Evening, kids!” We all jumped as another group passed us by on the wide street, a black faceless mass of flowing cloaks. “Heading to the Ceremony are you?”

Luna nodded, “Uh-huh.”

“Well, don’t dilly-dally! You don’t want to be late tonight!”

I smiled as the form passed us by, then ran up to Discord, wanting to talk face to face…

When Discord had fallen out of that tree, he had a very particular look about him. No, he looked like a totally different person. His fangs were bared, a mismatch of jagged canines and flat molars. His eyes, when they opened, were sunken in, the yellow ‘whites’ almost turning brown. As he curled up, clung to his arm, I could almost see his bones pressing against his skin, his ribs. I wondered, was this a result of the pain? When was the last time I really looked at Discord? This felt strange but… was he always like that, and I just never noticed the details?

Here, now, he looked no different. He looked ill as drew away from me, yanking his hood over his eyes. Even in the dark, I could still make out the bones in his ankle, down his arm.

“Celestia, the pain is killing me,” he grumbled, “If we get in trouble, we can just blast them. Apparently an element can purify a heart.”

“Ooh, really?” Luna ducked her nose under the pin of her cloak, pulling up the glittering blue gemstone. “That makes sense I guess…”

“Luna, put that away. And…” I was going to say how the Elements only worked when they were all together. How this was still a crazy idea, how we were all going to wind up worse than before. But I couldn’t. If I was the one looking out for the good of the group, then…

I looked back at Discord. I can’t argue with him. Not when he’s hurting. Any other time, I’d have us all run somewhere else, because I knew we could put up with it. But right now, discord looked about ready to drop. I couldn’t force him somewhere else in this state. He still needed help. And as slim as the chance was, maybe this Chapel place could do that for him.

“Well…” I cleared my throat, “Well alright. Let’s go.”

“We’re here!” Luna cheered.

“What?!”

“That’s it, right?”

Luna pointed to the stream of cloaks, like living shadows flowing to a single location. The Chapel, and it did seem to be The Chapel, was a low building. It was bigger than those around it, but in berth, not in height, and oddly shaped at that. It was circular, built from that same black cobblestone… It was strange, seeing the familiar color in such an unfamiliar shape. In Canterbury, anything with an official sounding name like ‘Chapel’ would be built high and tall, competing with the never-ending walls and towers.

But it wasn’t only the shape that was strange. While there were a few stallion banners here and there, another one joined it. A gray tornado and storm cloud, imposed on a field of blue. I wondered, was that the symbol of this town? Were they allowed to have their own banner, like Stringhalt?

I set those thoughts aside, and did as the strange cloaked stallion had told us, follow the crowds. Even here, the streets weren’t Stringhalt packed, but they were lining up at the doors of the Chapel, making the crowd seem larger. They would have all fit through the door nicely if it wasn’t for two pony-shaped figures at the door, greeting each pony with a single hoof that almost seemed to appear from nowhere in the dark.

“Are we going through the front?” Luna asked. And before I could reply, Discord marched forward, shoving himself as close as he could get to the front. I followed him, what else could I do?

“You.” I reached Discord as he approached at the greeter, “We’re looking for…”

“You’re right on time, child!” the greeter replied, overjoyed. A pink hoof emerged from his shadow and waved excitedly inside. “Now hurry and find a seat!”

“But we were sent by Apple…”

“Oh, Green Apple sent you?” He squeaked, “How lovely, we thought he was lost! Now hurry along!”

“No, Big Apple!! Stringhalt’s…!”

“Hurry along now children, more people wish to enter! Welcome! Welcome!”

Discord was shoved inside, and I followed after, dodging away from the greeter’s mysteriously hovering hoof. The crowds forced us to some sort of antechamber, filled with the whispering breath of hundreds of ponies, the loud clatter of their hooves. I could only just barely pick out Discord’s frail frame from the lot, as he made his way to a wall, squeezed against it to avoid being swept through of the many archways that lead into what looked like a dimly lit amphitheater, the chapel proper.

He glared at me, as if daring me to say something.

“We’ll wait until this ceremony’s over.” I refused to reply, honestly not wanting to argue the point any more than he did.

“Hey, um, guys?” Luna called out, trying to be heard over the whispering. I lowered my head, trying to find her through the sea of multicolored hooves. Her little cloak, blending almost perfectly into the sea, was standing next to an open archway, one that lead to the chapel proper.

“Luna?”

She stabbed her hoof through the archway.

“Look! It’s a statue, an alicorn!”

“What?!”

I dashed over the archway my sister stood under, waiting for several ponies to pass before I could see it for myself. Lit by a sort of magical glow above… yes. Yes, it was an alicorn. But was it the same kind of… A body moved into my line of sight. I pushed my sister forward.

“Front row, now.”

“Why? We can see it from here.”

“I have to see the details, if it’s a replica, or actually like the other statue…!”

I pushed my sister down the stone rows, lined with candles, all the way to the front. Everyone settled directly on the cold stone steps, so when I reached the front, I did the same. It was cold. I expected cold. I tried to not mind the cold. Instantly, I glued my eyes to the statue.

Rearing up at an impossible angle, frightening, or frightened himself, I couldn’t tell. The figure was huge and muscular, slightly larger than life… but then, so was the statue of Golden Jubilee, right? This alicorn was dressed in a studded barding, a style I had never seen before, and his mane whipped around him, between his massive wingspan, as if caught in a tremendous gust. Individual strands rose and fell from the stone, thin enough to be practically unbelievable… Fetlocks carved, teeth and mouth unbelievably twisted into an enraged scowl. And the cutie mark, the same that I had seen on the banners outside. A thick tornado descending from a cloud, inlaid like Jubilee’s was, darker than the stone around it and smooth as can be.

At his feet, an epitaph. A very familiar epitaph.

GENERAL HURRICANE

SKILLED TACTICIAN

VALUED FRIEND

“That’s it!” I whispered to my sister, “It’s the real deal. This must be his tomb! Where he was buried.”

“So that means his Element should be here, right?!” my sister whispered back to me.

“Somewhere.” I chuckled, honestly surprised. Taken aback, even! “Apple wasn’t kidding, I guess. This is exactly where we needed to go. Now let’s get to…”

Discord, wounded arm held tightly to his chest, shot beside me, taking a seat right as a blast of organ music filled the chamber. Its blast shook dust from the ceiling, and only barely drowned out the sound of the doors being slammed behind us.

XXXIII : Celestia

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 33
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com/

~Celestia~

I sat quietly on the stone bench, just watching the ceremony… No, the farce of a ceremony. Run by that crazed, jester off the streets…!

Now, now, Celestia…

“YOU! Minty mare…” the stallion bellowed, waving a hoof over the crowd. “What will you do to prove your loyalty to the General?!”

“I, I will give him fifty bits! No! Seventy five!”

“SUCH LOYALTY. You are blessed by the stallion, he smiles upon you!”

The speaker paced up and down in front of the rearing statue, cloak billowing so dramatically behind him. Only his nose poked out of his shadowy hood. I could picture him sniffing at the crowd like some dog in search of some garbage to dig through. The crowds beat their hooves, whinnying like crazy. They loved this fool! Each shout just wound me tighter and tighter and tighter…

“And you, fair stallion!” he roared. There was rustling somewhere out of sight.

“Me?” came a distant squeak.

“Yes, you!” For goodness sake, you don’t have to scream every. Single. Word. “How will you show your loyalty to the General?!”

“I-I don’t have any money, things are so tight…”

And the crowd just… titters. Ooh, oh no, he doesn’t have anything to prove he’s loyal? Anything physical? He needs to have money to prove that he’s loyal! Gasp! I can hear the pony behind me chitter among themselves. “He has to give something!” “The general might not give back…” “Not going to miss out because he’s not loyal!” The jester waved them silent, at least that’s what they took his flailing to mean.

“Do you deny your pursuit?!” he demanded, “Do you think that, no matter what you do, you will not be CHOSEN?!”

“I, but,” the tiny voice piped up, “I will come every Saturday, every single Saturday to help clean this most sacred place! That’s how loyal I am!”

And the crowd cheered! Such loyalty. What a generous pony. So relieving that he came to his senses!

“And… oh, some fresh faces are with us tonight!” The stallion swung towards us. “Such young fillies, yet clearly so loyal!”

Yes, yes clearly we’re loyal because we arrived here. The crowd agreed. The faceless, nameless… I thought the Sickle Ravens were idiotic because of their youth, but this…! Just the thought of those stupid moronic little… it stabs me, a very raw wound. I don’t want to be reminded of them! I don’t want to deal with this! No!

“So child…” he walked right up to my sister, billowing over her. “How loyal are you?” Luna stared up at him, tipping her head to the side. “What do you have to prove your loyalty? Don’t worry,” he chuckled, “Since you’re a child, your donation can be small.”

“Well…”

“She doesn’t have to prove anything,” I snapped.

“Hm?” The jester’s fat nose spun on me. “Yes, I suppose arriving in our fold is enough for now. HOWEVER!”

“There is no however!” I shouted, “She doesn’t have to prove anything!”

“Certainly, loyalty demands…”

“You don’t even know what loyalty is!”

I find myself nearly standing, one leg already off the stone seats, horn lowered and face burning.

“Uh, Celestia…”

The jester squared his shoulders, standing tall. “Bold words to say to a Priest of Loyalty,” he said, “Do you not think I do not know my own religion?”

“Religion, is that what you call it? And no, you don’t know!” I pushed off my seat, throwing a hoof at him. “This is a mockery of loyalty, no matter what you call it!”

He took a deep breath, probably to shout his stupid, stupid. I stomped my hooves, cutting him off right then and there!

“I don’t want to hear it! You are driving me crazy! Loyalty has nothing to do with pledges, or the things you do! No matter how much time or money somebody dumps on you, that doesn’t make them loyal! Loyalty exists when there’s no incentive, when you’re all alone and there’s no other reason to follow! Loyalty can involve giving, but it doesn’t mean you’ll get back! You just have to like the guy, or your statue, or whatever!!” I’m rambling, I’m shouting, I’m stomping in place and making a fool of myself, I don’t care. “All you’re doing is corrupting your message! How many people would be here without the promise of a reward, huh?! Ten?!”

“There were, uh,” he coughs into his hoof, glancing around. “Almost twenty-five when I got here. But really, miss…”

“Twenty five?!”

“Kid,” the jester spat, “Sit down.”

“No!” I squealed, “I am not a child, you’re more childish than me, and I refuse to continue listening to this farce! This is not what loyalty is, and I EEK!”

A flash from above made me skip back a step, teetering on all four hooves. A light, the light above the rearing alicorn statue glowed even brighter, and, though it was difficult to tell, it began to descend, making the chamber just a little bit brighter. The crowd around me began whispering and half shouting, as stunned and surprised as I was.
It hung in the air, then shot forward, straight at me!

I reared up, nearly fell as it smacked me directly in the face. I somehow managed to remain on my feet, bumping back into the pew, blinded. Something began wrapping around me, and I tried to shake it off. Was it some crazy spell from the priest? What was he doing?! I bucked the stone behind me, tried to shake off the heavy weight as it settled, snug around my shoulders, bouncing off my front.

It took me a while to realize the weight wasn’t coming off, and longer to realize it wasn’t trying to choke me. I slowly eased open an eye, trying to see in the significantly darker chamber. A golden band had wound around my neck, over my cloak, with a bright orange circle set solidly in the center. I instantly saw the comparisons to my friend’s necklaces. Where Luna’s stone was heavyset and uncarved, and Discord’s was smooth and ovular, mine was carefully carved, a warm orange circle with a smaller, raised circle in the middle. Like the center of my sun cutie mark.

“Well,” I said to no one. “It’s an Element.”

“Yay! Hooray!” Luna stomped her hooves, almost bouncing in her seat as she cheered. She was the only one doing so. “Congrats, Tia! You got your Element!”

“Huh.” Goodness, I feel drained and shivery. And I could feel my face heating up even more. Did it really take a display like that? I just made a fool of myself, and I got an Element for it?

“Hey!” There was some clattering in the back and someone leapt onto their feet. “I, I was thinking the same thing, you know!”

“Yeah, me too!” “She’s new, how come she got chosen?!” “I’ve been attending for weeks!” “I’ve been attending for months!”

“Um…” I spun on my friends, “Guys?”

“Out of here, got it.” Discord fell down on his forefeet, crumpling sideways on his bad leg. He leaned back, clutching his claws to his chest. “I don’t need that arm to cast,” he mumbled, “Just tell me what to do.”

“I don’t even know where to go…” I look up at the doors surrounding the outer rim of the amphitheater. Ponies were already starting to seep into the steps, daring us to run past.

“You’re not going ANYWHERE!” the jester priest bellowed, his gusto back and cloak re-billowing. “You have stolen our sacred artifact of Loyalty, heretic! Return it, or pay the price!” All around us, there were squeals of agreement, two or three lights popping up in the rows, unicorn horns flaring…

“Oh my…”

Before he could come any closer, Luna hopped in front of me, horn and Element radiating a cool blue aura.

“Harmony blast!” she shouted.

“What?”

“With the three of us together, maybe we can blast them into being harmonious!”

She turned and smiled at me. I just stared back.

“Now hold on a second! That doesn’t make any kind of sense!”

Heedless, my sister dipped her snout under her Element, breathing it even brighter. The jester priest took a step back, red aura still held in place. I looked down at my own Element, wondering what in the world we could hope to do with it, or if I could even get it to work.

Still staring, I eased my horn alight…

And there’s a popping sound in my ears. The world flashes white, blinding me, my ears ringing and deaf. Was that me? I barely had enough magic to light a candle, let alone… I blink a few times, and realize I’m not blind, all the candles had just been snuffed out. And I can’t hear anybody around me, not a soul.

What in Equestria just happened?

I take a step back, trying to find the pew, but my hoof hit something else. Sticks? They rattle around me, clattering to the floor, straw ends scraping at my ankles…

“Ow!”

“Discord?”

A shadow shifted beside me, bright eyes flicking open in the darkness, wide open in shock.

“That flash…”

“Yeah, I saw it too.”

“It was white, the color of your Element.”

“What?” he squeaked, “I didn’t do anything.” A black mass waved at nothing in front of me. “Luna was the only one doing anything magical.”

“Cool, I can teleport?!”

“Luna? Teleport?” I babble, “We’ve moved?”

“Lemme try again!”

My eyes slammed shut as another flash seared into them. One foot lifted to block, I toppled sideways, crashed through a stack of buckets. Wood bounced off my back, instantly bruising, as I stepped, slipped, and slapped into the stone wall beyond.

“For goodness’s sake, Luna!” I cried.

“Sorry…” Luna’s light instantly vanished, leaving a blue smear across my eyes. “Just wanted to try it again…”

“Maybe that wasn’t us. There were dozens of unicorns in that hall.”

“I guess so…” there was some more clattering, and a squeak from my sister. “Wow, this place is pretty small. Where are we?”

“Looks like a broom closet,” Discord said.

“Does it? Hang on, I’m going to make a light.”

“Might not be necessary…”

“Why not?”

Discord was silent, and his eyes vanished. I could hear a light clattering, the uneven sound of his claws on the stone. There was some clopping, Luna moving, I guess, and a scratching sound. I just stared in the dark, trying to make out shapes. If we were in another room, shouldn’t there be a door? And shouldn’t there be light coming from there? I couldn’t tell, all I could do was listen to the rattle of heavy metal, some light squeaking, silence…

There was a loud banging, and I blasted a light to life.

“For goodness sake!” I shouted.

“The door’s locked,” Discord replied, guiltily pointing at the handle he hung off of.

“Who locks a broom closet?!”

Luna pushed herself into the wall as Discord dropped awkwardly to the ground, surrounded by fallen buckets and brooms, along with a few other random bric-a-brac. Beside what looked to be a slab of marble was a tangled pile of netting, fishing rods poking out of the top. Discord took two dragging steps to drop back beside me beside a gigantic and often-carved lump of pearly white soap, pulling his cloak tight around him.

“I’m sorry…” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. “This was a trap. It was an obvious trap.”

“What?” I stare down at him. “It’s a very strange trap, if it was. We were allowed into the chapel. Everyone seemed shocked that we were able to get the Element. Then they teleport us to a locked broom closet with said Element? When they could’ve just taken it then and there?” I pause, waiting for his response. He fiddles with his fingers, refusing to meet my eye. “I think things just got a little weird. Maybe this was supposed to be safe… Maybe we weren’t supposed to go to that cult meeting thing.”

Discord continued to fiddle with his fingers. Luna looked at the fallen debris around her, trying to step around it quietly, trying to find a seat for herself. Finally, discord sighed.

“Thanks, Celestia.” Thanks…? “And you know.” Discord chuckled quietly, exhaustion clearly coming through in his voice. “Never thought you had that in you. Shouting at the priest in front of everybody…”

“Goodness, I don’t know what got into me!” I could already feel my face heating up. “It was only a few minutes ago and I already regret it. Goodness, this is just embarrassing…”

“The Element agreed with you.”

“But I didn’t need to shout it over an adult, a priest of all things…”

“What even is a priest?” Luna piped up.

“I don’t know!” I cried. “But it sounded important! I just, can we talk about something else?!”

“So uh…” Discord looked over the door, resting his head in his good foreleg. “How are we getting out?”

“Well that’s easy!” Luna squeaked, smile smacking her across the face. “We can harmony blast it!”

I stared at my sister.

“Where is this sudden obsession with blasting coming from, Luna…?”

“We all have our Elements now, I dunno.” Luna looked down at her Element. “Maybe that means we can all work together?” Discord snorted, rubbing one eye.

“So… Harmonize?” he chuckled.

“Yes! That! And we could shout something really cool like—“

“We don’t have to shout!”

“—Bringers! Harmonize!”

I laugh. “Luna, where are you getting all this energy from?”

“Aren’t you excited, Celestia? You finally got your element! Now we’re really the Bringers of Harmony!”

“I suppose…” I looked down at the necklace firm against my neck, glittering in the light of my aura. It felt… comfortable, and warm. Like a part of me put into place. Or something that was a part of me all along. Neither Luna nor Discord really mentioned that feeling at all… But it’s not like they ever removed the bands, and they looked perfectly in place around their necks. “You know, it’s just crazy, just thinking these are the Elements…” I look up at my friend and my sister. “I mean, that was just a random guess of mine, based on an old story book.”

“But I got proof that they are the Elements,” Discord said, “Remember?”

“Yeah but… yes, fascinating.” I nod, watching my Element bob. “Let’s see if we can Harmonize. Or just see if we can do anything!”

“We could focus on the door, pump a lot of energy into the Element”

“Or focus on eachother!”

“Or maybe we should unify in one task, one mind. Like… Escape!” I thought for a moment. “Maybe we teleported ourselves out of that situation.”

Luna stared up at me.

“Huh. Maybe we did!”

“So if we all focus our thoughts, and just think… I don’t know.” I finally sit myself down, collecting ideas. “About the square outside. Maybe we’ll all teleport.”

“Okay!”

I’m surprised how easy, how naturally I can push my magic through the Element. I remember what it was like trying to force myself through Discord’s necklace, when it was only a necklace. I remember how my magic kept sliding off. But I can almost feel myself in this Element, my Element. Like a brightly glowing focal point, or another horn. I wonder, briefly, if Luna and Discord are feeling the same way, or if they even notice how odd the feeling is.

I focus my thoughts, my magic through this new source. I don’t know how to teleport, but if we’re all focusing on the same thing… The room fills with the lights, silver, blue, and orange, becoming almost as bright as the sky above the clouds. There’s a ringing sound, each in our own tone, chiming in, well, Harmony. I listen to the chimes, maintaining my own quietly.

But after about five minutes…

“Um…”

“Teleport!”

“Luna!”

“Shouting, I know!” Luna plopped down into her forelegs, light fading as she pouted. “Just thought maybe the elements needed a bit of help…”

My light falters as well, looking around our broom closet prison.

“Well.”

Luna hopped up again, instantly re-energized.

“I guess we try blasting the door now!” she exclaimed.

“No,” I said. “We’re just firing blind. Why don’t we try and use our normal magic?”

“I think I’m drained for the night,” Discord mumbled. “And I’m kind of thinking we need all the Elements to actually do something.”

“Yes, maybe…”

Luna stared up at the door quietly, shifting in place. She flicked her tail, her ears in a pent-up irritation. Finally, with a little stomp of her hoof:

“Man, these things are useless.”

“Luna!”

“What?” she glanced back at me, shocked. “I didn’t shout that.”

“You insulted a set of highly powerful artifacts, the very artifacts that were used to save all of pony kind, I assume!”

“Well if they can’t do anything without all six, then that’s just silly!” Luna said back, “Why can’t we just do the same stuff, but weaker with three?”

“It’s not like we got them to do anything spectacular with two,” Discord pointed out.

“But now this is all of the Bringers working together! All three of us!”

I sighed. “I don’t know how these things work anymore than you do, Luna. But if it makes you feel better, we’ll try, um, blasting the door.”

Luna’s head bobbed vigorously, and she hopped to face the shadowy planks, head lowered, scooping her nose under the Element. I squeezed up beside her, shifting aside some buckets and brooms to stand more firmly. But even with all my shifting, I still wound up leaning a little bit sideways, with one leg parched atop an overturned bucket.
Discord slinked into position on Luna’s other side, never standing up. More like he flopped around until he was good enough, knocking the fishing poles aside and barely blinking when they fell of him. I couldn’t help myself, I had to laugh at the sight. Quietly, of course.

“You doing alright, Discord?”

“I am exhausted. Can we please get out of here?”

“Are you going to have enough magic for this?”

“For this? Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“So um… Harmonize again?”

“Uh-huh!”

The air began to hum again. Luna, bright and vibrant, my own light about the same… Discord’s little silver light almost seemed to be swallowed up by our auras. Goodness, even Luna alone was drowning the both of us out. This felt like it would work even less than our first attempt, we didn’t feel in sync at all…

“So…”

“Boom!” Luna shouted.

“I don’t think that’s going to—”

The door flew open, everybody screamed, and a pale blue pony got blasted by a flood of light.

~¤~

I sat on the cold floor, a bare table in front of me. Still night, of course, but the falsefire candles hanging around the circular library made the place bright, as bright as that black stone can get, at least. Luna was beside me, eager and chipper, while Discord…

“Discord,” I hissed, poking my head under the table, “I know you’re tired, but it’s rather rude to be sleeping at a time like this!”

He grunted, and tugged his cloak tighter around himself, curling up into a ball. He mumbled something about the morning and his arm, and fell still. I shrugged at my sister, who continued bouncing in her seat.

“Aren’t you getting tired, Luna?”

“How could I get tired at a time like this?!”

“I don’t know… It’s been such a long day.” I stared down at the table, just trying to recount our step. “We left Stringhalt yesterday night, stayed up far too late. We talked about our family all day, Discord fell out a tree. And just an hour ago there was that ridiculous ceremony…”

“It will be midnight in just a few short minutes.” An old pony who might once have been a brilliant blue hovered a platter towards our table, decked with a little cups, saucers, and a simple tea kettle. He wore that same kind of heavy cloak the jester priest wore, but this one was perhaps a bit older, with his middle tied with a bit of rope. “And yes, I am sorry your first experience with the Shrine of Loyalty was so… hectic.” He set the platter on the table, using a very pale aura to lift and pour the tea kettle. Oh tea, how I missed you! I politely wait for my cup to be poured and take a light sip of the delightfully nasty drink. It has been too long, my beloved status symbol. Far, far too long!

He finished pouring the third cup, and stared quietly at Discord’s absent seat. He carefully ducked to look under the table.

“Is there something the matter with your companion?” The old pony asked.

“Discord’s just tired. He was feeling ill earlier, and I’m not surprised the stress has gotten to him…”
Discord grunted, probably trying to acknowledge that he’s awake and can hear us, but I have my doubts to that. The older pony glanced down at him again, then took a seat across the table, pouring himself a fourth cup.

“In any case. I am Curling Quill, the Head Illuminator here at the shrine. And, well… Hm…” He took a careful drink, staring into his cup. “And I had a very well written speech for when the Elements would finally arrive here, but it’s gotten all muddy, what with this whole…” He waved and irritated hoof. “Cult business Bolster has dredged up. Yes… Again, I am sorry we haven’t met on the best of terms, I do apologize, yes… But everybody’s gone back to their homes, rather quickly, once you vanished. I doubt we’ll see most of them back, yes…” He poured himself more tea and stared at it silently. I poured myself a cup, waiting quietly for his continuation. … Um… If he will continue… He began staring into his cup, not even drinking it, quiet as the grave.

“Curling Quill?”

“Oh, yes, sorry,” he mumbled. “Where was I?”

“You had a speech…?”

“Yes, yes, totally useless now, what with the mess.”

“Well, what was it about?”

“Lots of things, so, so very many things,” he croaked, voice cracking with age. “Your Elements. The journeys before you and the past behind, the hope you present, so on and so forth.” He took another drink. “All a jumbled mess now, of course.”

“Well, we’d still love to hear it!” I cry, almost laughing, “I mean…” I stare down at the Element, still settled so comfortably over my heart. “It’s really strange to think about, we’ve been gathering them with the thought that we’d help people… maybe? And there are just so many questions, it’s a little overwhelming, and…”

“Hey Mister Quill?” Luna spoke up.

“Yes?” he creaked, “Luna, was it?”

“Do you know what Elements we have? I’ve been wondering about mine for weeks now!”

He leaned forward slowly, and looked carefully at Luna, at her necklace, half hidden under her cloak.

“Well, I suppose…” he mumbled, “From what tomb did you take yours?”

“Golden Jubliee’s!”

“Ah.” He nodded. “Yes, then you would be the Element of Laughter.”

Luna squeals, clapping her hooves.

“Yay! I guessed that!”

“And I guess mine would be Loyalty…” I said.

“Yes, you are Loyalty.”

“It’s funny,” I shift the Element a little. “I don’t feel particularly Loyal… I mean, I feel like I understood it better than that priest, but that was just a tirade I went on.”

“You were Loyal enough to be accepted,” Curling Quill replied, “And that is proof for anyone who would contest your position.”

“Alright…”

“As for the boy…” Again, Curling Quill slowly poked his head under the table. “From where did he get his Element…?”

“Well,” I paused, half wondering if Discord will speak up. “Discord stole his from the Stallion.”

Very, very slowly, Quill’s eyes widened, shoving aside folds and bags of skin.

“Really? It was this boy?”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, no. Well… Yes, he stole an Element. But it nonetheless accepted him, so I suppose it’s… ordained…” He cast a shifty glance downward. “Though I had hoped that the other Elements would be coming into their own, but we shall see, we shall see… The other three should be encountering the Gravekeeper, they’ll know where to go, yes…” And with that, he fell quiet once more, staring down at him cup.

“Um…” I stared at the old stallion. “Sorry? What was all that?”

“Yes, the boy.” Quill nodded to himself. “He is Kindness.”

I spit into my drink, splattering the tepid fluid across my snout.

“Kindness?!”

“Yes…” He slowly blinked as I tried to wipe my snout on my cloak. “Something the matter?”

Yes! Discord? as Kindness?! That’s laughable! That is a mistake! But heck if I was going to say that with Discord sleeping exausted at my feet.

“I, uh,” I stammered. “That doesn’t really seem to suit the Shadow Stallion’s, uh… attitude?”

“Of course not,” Curling Quill sighed and sluggishly shook his head. “He has succumbed to his nightmares, hasn’t he?”

“I wouldn’t know?” What in Equestria is that even supposed to mean?

“Hm…” Curling Quill looked at me, noticing my confused expression. Finally. “How much do you three know?”

“When Celestia was little,” Luna chirped, still very excited. “She had a painted picture book about the alicorns that had the Elements and learned about friendship! I never saw it but she told me all about it and it sounded like a wonderful story! Is it true?”

“Yes… in a way. By chance, did a copy of The Way of Elements, The Way of the Gods made it into your library?”

“I don’t know if that was the title...” I replied, “I’d be astonished if it was!”

“I can go fetch our copy, if you would like.” He started to slowly get to his feet, but I threw out a hoof, waving at him to stay.

“I think what’s important is that we don’t know anything!” I cried, “There’s another group like us looking for the Elements? Who’s the Gravekeeper? And nightmares? You keep saying things assuming we know what they mean!”

“Hm… well yes, they were going to be mentioned in that one mess of a speech… Though not the Gravekeeper, of course. And nightmares are only a passing section…”

“Well, can we please have an explanation?”

“To what?”

“Anything!”

He took another sip of his tea, leaving me to simmer. I don’t want to get angry, not at someone who has all the answers to questions I never asked, but really, really feel I should know. He’s just so… SLOW!

“Well,” he mumbled, “If you’d like a quick answer, the Gravekeeper manages the Tomb of Magic. Still waiting for its recipient, I believe.”

“That… I’m sorry, that explanation only raises more questions. And I don’t even know if they’re relevant questions.”

“So um,” Luna piped up. She watched me, probably wondering why I was getting so worked up. Well, wouldn’t I like to know… “Are all the Elements are kept in tombs?”

“Yes. Well, all but Kindness, of course.”

“So all the poor alicorns died?” Luna asked.

“No, no, no,” he shook his hoof back and forth, waving the idea away. “Ascension comes with immortality, they could never actually die, even if they wanted to. Though… I suppose that doesn’t mean they don’t succumb to old age, in a sense of the word.”

“So then why are you calling these places tombs?” I ask, finally glad to be on an informative tract.

“Because they contain the essentially dead,” he simply replied.

“What,” I laughed, a crazy idea coming to mind, “Are these ascended beings trapped in the sarcophagus under the statues?”

“No, no, no. They are the statues.”

Stunned silence. A moment to figure out what I had just heard.

“What?” I squeaked.

“Pardon, but I thought you understood that.”

“I…” I stared at the stallion across from me. They are the statues? How does that even work? I remember looking over the careful, crazy detail on Golden Jubilee, how even the eyelashes were intact, the inlaid cutie mark. It was all stonemasonry, from very strong stone. Right? “Can you just give us the speech?” I finally asked.

“Yes… but no. It’s ruined, no point in saying it now.”

“There is a point! I am so, so very confused!”

“Hm…” He took a drink, “Yes, let me fetch it.” Then he rocked to his feet and tottered off, into the stacks. He returned in a surprisingly short amount of time, carrying a poorly bound stack of parchment. He carefully set it on the table and flipped it open.

“From the beginning then, yes… I’m going to have to modify some things, it was meant to be presented to a crowd… Ah, but no matter, no matter, let’s see if I can get this all to make sense. Ahem. When Starswirl the Bearded first looked upon the Elements…”

“Is this... really necessary?”

He glanced at his notes, flipped through them a bit, then up at me, frowning.

“Do you want to go back to questioning me?”

“From the beginning, then.”

He cleared his throat.

When Starswirl the Bearded first looked upon the Elements, he knew not their purpose or power. They had been forged in the flames of war, summoned from the greatest acts of Harmony ever known. All three of the tribes coming together had sparked events of such Generosity and Kindness. The union had hewn through the cruelty of war with Honesty and Laughter. And of course, formed unbreakable bonds of Loyalty, ones that were never to be broken. So did Starswirl observe the Elements, created without hoof, but with heart.
In his life, he would never know the Element’s full potential. His final act of supreme magic, defeating the forces of Tartarus, combined all the Elements, from himself, and from the harmonious army of ponies beneath his hooves. Those who looked upon the mighty blast would see the formation of Magic, and would offer a hint of the Element’s purpose. For but a moment, Starswirl ascended with a pair of ghostlike wings.
He passed his research on to his heir, Clover the Clever, still thinking them merely a superweapon of pony kind. After Clover assisted with the formation of our proud nation, he began looking into its defense, and its leadership. For the country was founded on the principles of harmony, but its intent was not being carried out by the old lords of the fractured Tribes. That is when he found the First Gods. Two of the Earth Ponies, Two of the Pegasi, and Two of the Unicorns. Each an Element of Harmony, each transformed into the perfect form of the Alicorn. These six stallions ruled in an unprecedented peace, making Equestria The Land of Harmony.
But now, their time has passed. Age and nightmare has taken them from the light of Harmony, and we must now accept our new Gods, the Second Gods of Harmony.

“And then I would talk about your Loyalty, which you have displayed, so let me flip a bit further…”

“Gods?” I squeaked.

“Cool!” Luna squealed. “We’re going to rule Equestria!” Curling Quill nodded at my sister, face folding into a very wrinkly smile.

“I assume once all six of the Elements harmonize, the transformation will begin, and then your place will be clear, yes… The Shadow Stallion will no longer be our god, and you six will replace him.”

“But… surely… the qualifications for this are just… these…?” I yanked forward the orange gem, feeling the golden band unravel around my neck.

“Well, duh!” Luna nodded furiously. “That means we’re good and moral ponies!”

“That is the idea… They decide you worthy to become alicorns, a moral basis of ascension. Of course, we will train you, give you the ability to bear the mantle of a god.” He chuckled. “If anything you three have a head start on the last six. You’re young, able to learn what we have to teach, yes… They were fully grown when they accepted their duties, already full of dangerous ideas…”

“So the last six…”

“The First Gods.”

“They all succumbed to nightmares?”

“That’s skipping ahead a bit, but…” He flipped through his speech, passing by dozens of pages. “Yes, one by one, they all fell to their own nightmares. And with no one to entomb Kindness, his corruption becomes the land’s corruption… Once you all get together, your first duty will be seeing to the Shadow Stallion’s final rest. You will have to entomb him in stone, and lament his fall from grace.”

Lament his fall from grace? I stare at the window, the thick clouds, blocking out what might have been a very bright night. The enslavement of the Pegasi, the neglect and fear he wreaks in Equestria, across the countryside. I’m not lamenting that, when we ‘put him to rest’ I am chucking that statue into the woods, or breaking it into a million pieces, if I can.

“But what about Magic?” Luna asked. I looked over to her, confused.

“What about Magic?” I asked her.

“Curling Quill said no one was left to entomb Kindness, but then he said Magic’s tomb was empty. Does that mean Magic is still wandering around?”

“Hm, yes, I did…” he glanced over at his empty cup, then down at his speech. Carefully, he began collecting and closing the pages. “We seem to be out of tea. But yes, your question first. No, first, an explaination… Magic is a special Element. It’s not a Harmonious attribute, not a guidepost for good moral behavior… But it is very important. It is the Keystone, the Glue, the pivot point that binds all the other Elements together.” He lifted his speech and tapped the pages together, trying to get them orderly. “It is a very powerful Element, but its existence is tied to the existence of the others. When Harmony dissolves, so does Magic dissolve.” He went to take a drink, then realized his cup was empty. “It was about twenty years past that Magic fled, yes. Right after the entombment of Generosity. He was no longer able to bear his burdens as a god, and the sky has been dark ever since. So I suppose, when the First God of Magic returns, you will have to entomb him as well.” He nodded, as if that was that. “Now, I should go make some more tea.”

Things were silent as he collected the cups and clattered away. Then, slowly, Discord poked his head up over the table, rubbing his baggy eyes.

“This is messed up,” he croaked.

“So you were awake for that?” I asked.

“It’s important for me too. I couldn’t sleep through that. I mean, for one, just… they’re picking leaders because of a bauble?”

“Not just a bauble!” Quill returned, carrying another hot pot of tea. “I thought I explained… I will again anyway, yes… The Elements were formed from the purest, most sacred moments of pony good will. The Will of the Elements is the Will of Ponykind, and the light it shines nurtures true Gods.” He nodded at Discord, who looked far too tired to return any pleasant looks. “Well, look at it this way, young stallion. There is no lords squabbling over this power. Proper training can assure the leader is well-built, and their leadership can last decades, or centuries, gaining far more wisdom than any single lifetime will allow.”

“We just saw people squabbling over the Element downstairs,” discord replied flatly.

“Yes, yes,” again, he waved the retort away. “But that is a small blip on the spans you will live. Really, this rule by magical means is not so strange. What history was taught to you, hm…? Are you not familiar with how Zebras rule their land?”

“No…” Discord mumbled.

“I had never heard of a Zebra until I was in Stringhalt,” I reply.

“Well, the Zebra have their own god, The Living King. His spirit is contained within a special mantle. Through training and ritual, the new heir takes this spirit within him, and is granted all the wisdom and strength of all his former lives. The mantle decides who will serve their country with the purest of hearts and intentions.” Curling Quill nodded quietly to himself for almost half a minute before starting up once more, almost shouting. “This is what was lacking in our barbaric prehistoric times! A good judge of character, ensuring that our King, our Gods would rule with ponykind in their hearts. It was only due to the Elements of Harmony that we finally managed to grow into our own, as a country.”

It sounded… reasonable to me. I liked it in theory. But only one look out the window seemed to refute this argument. Surprisingly, Discord seemed to agree, snorting quietly into his good arm.

“Well we don’t seem to be doing so hot now,” he mumbled.

“Again, must I repeat myself? This time, this rule we live under is but a small blip on the centuries of peace this system will grant us. Now… I saw as I was preparing tea, but it’s getting rather late, later than expected. Let me lead you to where you’ll be sleeping, and then you’ll be heading directly to Canterlot in the morning. For your training, yes…”

XXXIV : January the Nineteenth

The Steadfast Sky : January the Nineteenth
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.tumblr.com/

Authors Note, A Caveat: I must first apologize if things get sloppy or poorly composed in the course of this collection. So rarely do events happen so quickly, and even more rarely do we Illuminators get to observe such events firsthand. I did my best to take notes, and was able to capture a good deal of the Second God’s adventures. But in my haste to observe and capture the moments that unfolded afterwards, this collection turned into a treatise of personal observations, field notes rather than a constructed historical record.

Forgive me for my amateurish mistakes. Praise the Alicorns, may their wisdom grow ever more infinite.

~Observations, January the Nineteenth ~

On January the Eighteenth, Year Ninety Three of the Equestrian Age, at half past ten at night, the Elements made themselves known at the Shrine. Let it be written that they arrived in an atmosphere of heretics, one cultivated by our neglect. Our order had been blinded by the supposed love of the uninitiated, love solely stoked by our fire-tonged Priest, Bolster Brass. His love sought out true Loyalty, but his beliefs were cleanly sundered by the words of our Second Gods, arriving to strike him down and display for all the fact that his words as poison. Only the Alicorns know the truth of the Elements, so are they allowed to bear them, harbingers of true harmony. Bolster Brass was expunged from our order that very night, and his willingness to beg for forgiveness spared him true punishment.

Our Head Illuminator, Curling Quill, then confided in the three Second Gods, identifying them as Laughter, Kindness, and, of course, Loyalty. All are astoundingly young, like empty vessels to be filled with the wisdom we have to offer. They unaware of a great many things, as I have heard, including the true purpose of the Elements of Harmony.

I will now take a brief time to describe the Elements up close, as it is so rare we are allowed close contact with such noble creatures, especially in a time prior to their most glorious rise.

Kindness, birth name Discord, is a most unusual specimen I have yet to encounter, and it is bizarre that such a creature could have come into possession of a pony-centric artifact. He is a Draconequus, and there is little I know of their physiology and behavior. Certainly, there must be a record somewhere, and I will add them as a note if such records are found.

His behavior was not knowledge I could easily observe on my own, as he was very ill at his time of arrival. But I was given very helpful notes by the Element of Laughter. She has told me that Kindness is very playful. A ‘tricksy pony’ were the words she used, her vocabulary slightly limited with her age. She went on to say that Kindness likes to take care of himself, but very much cares for his friends in his own, often lighthearted way.

Loyalty, when asked, wondered aloud the question of why an independent creature such as Kindness could come to bear his Element. But she quickly accepted that things were acceptable because the Elements’ judgment is absolute. She is a very wise mare. I will describe her next, before moving on to the one I feel I know the most about, Second Laughter.

Loyalty’s birth name is Celestia Helios, once a Unicorn baroness born and raised in Canterbury, along with Kindness and Laughter. When presented with the truth of her nature, that she is to become a god, Loyalty withdrew to uncertainty and self-doubt, a noble and wise action. She retreated to the library in search of a book, and when Laughter went to fetch her, you could already tell quite clearly that she had grown and changed. I curse my personal lack in foresight, as she should have been provided with paper to document her glorious transformation. Her process of thought will have to be left to our own speculation.

~LOYALTY~

I heard my sister rocket out of bed barely as it began to get light. I wonder if she slept at all last night. I know I didn’t. How could I? God? Ruler of Equestria? How can I handle a country when I can barely even handle my own life? I slid off the pallet and felt the sweat cool. Tears dry.

I had no idea where my hooves were taking me. Each hoof might as well have been in space, I couldn’t feel them moving, I just saw the world slide by, blurring. I wound up wandering back to the library , a nebulous idea of that book rattling around my head. There was a book I needed to see.

I looked at the rows of carefully bound and placed books. Dozens with dark blue covers. Equestria one, Equestria two… Manuals on recipes, gilded accounts of an old war, tiny leaflet journals about this or that plant, a rudimentary guide to magic. Not sorted, merely collected, stuffed onto shelves and left to the dust.

At one point, Discord stopped by, exhausted, asked me about Kindness. I gave him the same answer I had been hearing from the librarians, scribes, whatever. The Elements say so, so there’s no questioning it. They said he was kind, so he is. Though I couldn’t stop myself from slipping and saying I think him being Kindness is crap. He didn’t need to hear that. Not with how sick he is. And not with how sick I made him look. I should have gone after him, but caught up in my own thoughts…

I don’t know, was I stupid? Being a hero was a responsibility. Being a hero was about taking care of others. It wasn’t about just doing and going where you wanted. What about this made it different. What about it, Celestia? You have been chosen to do this. This is what you are. This is what has been asked… No, there was never any asking, just assumption. Am I mad because it was just that, just handed to me? This is what you are now. What happened to choosing my own fate, my own place to be happy?

Isn’t that what a cutie mark is for? Your path of happiness…

But oh god… my cutie mark.

The sun. The sun the sun, the silly little dreamy sun, a lofty goal above the clouds. Return the light, be the light, be the sun. Isn’t that what I wanted for myself?

What girl when they’re little doesn’t dream of being a Princess? They want the fancy dresses, the nice food, the social atmosphere. Just getting what they want, all day long. But every princess becomes a queen, every child has to grow up and take some responsibility. And for a Princess, it’s ultimate responsibility. The leader of leaders, the caretaker of thousands or more.

I can’t even take care of my sister. I can’t even do that much. I can’t do this, I can’t.

What kind of system is this?

I returned to the stacks.

~¤~

It was the same book.

Not the exact book, not a direct copy. A full recreation, maybe taken from a single template. I hovered it over to a table, the same table we sat at last night, and carefully peel the cover open.

The first true page, a green field, painted on in watercolor, bright and vibrant as I remembered, emerald bound carefully between raised black lines, to separate it from the painted sky. Six figures danced among the clouds. Blue, Brown, Pink, Purple, Red, and Green. Outlined in gold, surrounded by the aura of their manes, six stallions with massive wings and horns, shining their light on all the happy ponies beneath them.

My eyes flickered over the words it accompanies. Peace. Harmony. Friendship between the tribes. Praise the alicorns, the chosen Elements of Harmony.

I turned a page.

Blue Magic, the stallion that will eventually break and abandon his country. He often listened to his tutor. However, once he disobeyed, tried a dangerous spell on a living being. It worked, but the creation offended the natural world. He is forgiven for his innocence, but punished for his disobedience. Be aware of others, but know not to harm. Praise the alicorns, their wisdom grows infinite from this lesson.

Pink Laughter, the stallion that will hide his face in a crumbling tomb. He once penned plays, but was not allowed to create as often as he liked when he inherited Equestria. He resorted to leaving his duties behind, putting strain on the other Elements as they attempted to keep up. When he returns, he apologizes, but is punished for his disobedience. There are priorities that one has, and while fun is important, one should put the needs of others first. Praise the alicorns, their wisdom grows infinite from this lesson.

Brown Kindness… The Shadow Stallion. I stared at him. His aura, his mane was like flowing blades of grass, thick and angular from his head, glittering from emerald dust. His eye, staring blankly sideways, was an inlaid blue gemstone. His cutiemark was a single swollen butterfly, painted a runny blue.

He tried to teach a speckled little dog a funny trick. But the dog is too old to listen, so Kindness tries to cast a spell over it. Kindness doesn’t know what he’s doing, and with Laughter goading him on, Kindness winds up hurting all three of them in a blast of magic. While it is noble to experiment with boundaries, it is dangerous and must be approached carefully. Praise the alicorns, their wisdom grows infinite from this lesson.

I can’t take my eyes off of Kindness casting his spell. He’s reared up on his hind legs, horn surrounded by a field of silver, painted and polished directly onto the page. Billowing clouds surround him, swirling lumps of gray and black…

I slap the book closed, a little gust of wind curling past my clenched jaw.

~Observations, January the Nineteenth ~

I spent the most time January the Nineteenth with Laughter, birth name Luna Helios and the younger Unicorn sister of Loyalty. She is, or has developed fully into the true epitome of her Element. She is cheerful and bubbly, taking her rise to godhood very well. This may come in some part from her childishness, but the fact that she is Laughter points to a deeply ingrained and long-term commitment to who she naturally is and will be.

As expected for a child who has not yet developed a cutie mark, her variety of magic is large and unstructured. While her sister has yet to discover the true abilities of the sun, Laughter has dabbled in shadow and sonic spells. She is unusually powerful for her age, but this is almost certainly due to the influence of the Element, as long term exposure has certainly had its effects on her structure by now. If the other three Elements were present, she would be ripe to ‘pop’ so to say.

In any case, she regaled to me the full extent of her adventures thus far, which I have attached at the bottom end of this document. Her retellings were childish and energetic, and the notes I’ve taken will probably require a good deal of extrapolation and fact-checking, from both the sources of her adventures and her fellow Elements. Both Loyalty and Kindness were unavailable at first to comment on these stories, Kindness for his illness, and Loyalty for her admirable engrossment self-reflection.

It is now that I turn my observations over to actual events. I have attached my original notes, the messy scrawls that they are, but have attempted to clean them up for a proper presentation and analysis here. I am eternally grateful to Dashing Pen, who made sure I knew how to speed write. While the observations are my own, the words spoken aloud are verbatim, and highly accurate.

~Events, January the Ninteenth, Eleven in the morning~

As stated, I had spent the morning listening to the stories of Laughter. Despite their childishness, they were endearing, and had an honest truth about them, even the parts she did not seem to understand. She told them in the primary chamber, supposedly for General Hurricane’s benefit, though her central location meant several Illuminators stopped to listen as well. I wish I was able to record the flow of her voice, but I was more concerned with keeping the facts straight at the time.

In any case, after a few hours of this, Clear Chime entered the chamber, not to listen, but to fetch one of the unicorn scribes, Glitter Dawn. Though I did not record the specific of their conversation, the gist was easy enough to remember. A fox had broken into the chicken coop, and wasn’t leaving. Clear Chime hoped that Glitter Dawn would be able to use her magic to extract the offending creature, but Glitter Dawn was equally disgusted and frightened by the presence of the beast.

At that moment, Laughter plainly demanded to be allowed to remove the creature. She explained that it was her place as a god to help those around her. Her logic was childish, but after claiming to know how to teleport via the shadows, none would stop her. Each person attending followed in her wake, wishing to witness her bragged abilities first-hand.

We easily reached the chicken coop, and all was silent within the structure. I was uncertain how many chickens we had, but a good many were clustered in the corner of the courtyard, clucking among themselves quietly. It seemed that only one or two may have been harmed, but it was difficult to tell. Two of the trailing Illuminators moved to one side of the barn to try and remove the side, the entrance we often use to access the eggs. But before it could be removed, Laughter snuck herself right into the smaller entrance built for the chickens. This, despite the protests of the Illuminators, many insisting that the fox could be rabid, or otherwise hurt her.

I remember clearly where I was. I saw her four little hooves turn themselves, body and head obscured by the structure. She said something cheerful, like ‘don’t worry mister fox!’ or something similar. Then, her hooves stopped bouncing in place, became firm on the ground. In a voice serious, quite unlike her normal demeanor, she said thusly:

“Discord?”

~KINDNESS~

I can’t move. I can’t even close my eyes. All the water kept leaking out, leaving them dry and sandy, unfocused. I think I’m dying. I stare at my paw, stiff and still beside me, and think… Well, at least it doesn’t hurt. I feel like all my insides are hollowed out, but it doesn’t hurt much.

I wonder if I’ll see Ruin in hell. But it’s stupid, why would I see him there?

I don’t want to die, I don’t want to. I don’t I don’t I don’t I don’t. I know what I need, what I’ve been needing for weeks. Back at the castle, I never let it go this far, didn’t have the willpower. But out here, I had a purpose. I had a reason to just… not eat. I couldn’t, not with how Luna reacted in Stringhalt. Her horror and disgust, just with being associated with death. For her to learn more…

I don’t want to lose my friends. It just seems so close now. I could lose my friends.

But I’d lose them if I died too…

Is this what Kindness is? Self-sacrifice? But to let myself die for that philosophy… it makes me feel nasty, dirty. It’s a perversion. This choice, both choices. Why do I have to be forced to make it?

I stared at my hand, forced it to move. If I have to choose between two perversions of kindness, I think I’ll go with the one where I live.

Just my body awkward, limping along to a slow beat, cloak trailing in the dirt. Just emotion, no thought, stumbling around. What is kindness, am I kind enough to hold this Element, what would everyone think, do these librarian know? Apple knew what a Draconequus was, does anybody else here know? Do they understand why thousands of unicorns are locked up in a pen with hundreds of Draconequus? Why even unicorns specificially, I don’t know the answer to that. It’s sloppier with unicorns. Lots sloppier, that black gunk everywhere. I think I’d feel sick if I had anything left to be sick with. I’m not going to hurt anybody. Not any pony, none at all. Does that make me better or worse? What am I? Am I Kindness or a Draconequus… they’re mutually exclusive, I know they are. I know.

I know I hurt so badly right now. Even if the pain is just emptiness, it just… hurts.

I don’t have answers to anything important. I no longer know what to think of myself. And I don’t know how I got here. Why I’m here, that’s easier. It’s a little wooden hut, raised off the ground with a little ramp up to an open doorway. Slightly taller than me, straw and feathers strewn around the bottom.

I scrambled up the ramp, wriggle my way in through the little doorway. I probably only fit because of how thin I’ve gotten, how starved. Three fat hens cluck inside the tiny house, eyeing me, suspicious. I know they are. I can see the body language… all these animals, they’re aware. They can’t speak, but they can communicate. They can understand. I wish they didn’t. I wish they didn’t give me those eyes…

I take a deep breathe of that fetid air, gulp back a mouthful of spit, and jump on one of the clucking birds. I pin it in place, not knowing where I get the strength to do so. I dig my jaws around its neck, knowing it’s kindest to let the creature die quick.

~Events, January the Nineteenth, Half Past Eleven in the morning~

I pulled out my paper, dropped down to the cobblestone, and prepared myself for observation. I suppose I didn’t know what else to think at that moment, what else I should be doing. It was beyond my understanding why Kindness would be in this situation, beyond my right to analyze. I only observed.

“What are you doing in here?” Laughter asked.

“What does it look like?”

“It’s dark.”

“You can see through it,” he growled.

“I don’t want to.”

Quietly, just within my hearing, “Of course not.”

Clear Chime stepped forward.

“Prince Discord? Are you alright?”

“No!” He swore at the Illuminator, then things were quiet to me. Later, after confiding with Clear Chime, the scribe quietly relayed to me that after his question, Kindness had begun to cry under his breath.

“You must hate me now,” Kindness said aloud.

“I don’t hate you,” came Laughter’s reply.

“I’m a… I eat meat.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why do you think?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“You do.”

“No, I don’t!”

“Of course you do! What do you think I ate, all of the Draconequus ate in Canterbury?”

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t you?! It’s obvious isn’t it? What else would a carnivore eat?!” Laughter mumbled something, to which Kindness spat back: “Have you ever seen me eating grass?!”

“Well I saw you eating apples and carrots and stuff!”

“Probably why I survived this long! Haven’t touched meat since Canterbury…”

“Well, that’s good!”

“That’s why I’m half dead Luna!”

“Oh…”

My pen hovered over the page, waiting for the Elements to speak again. They did not for a good while.

“Well?” Kindness snapped, voice raspy.

“Well what?”

“Well what are you going to do about this?”

“I don’t know.”

I could hear him hiss words, but, behind on my scrawling, I was sadly unable to record his words.

“No!” Laughter shouted, clearly able to hear Kindness.

“Then what do you want to do with me?!”

“I don’t want to do anything! I don’t… I don’t know! I don’t know! Stop looking at me!” Laughter forced her way through the coop door, screaming for her sister Loyalty as she charged past our group.

My notes grew a little hysteric at that point as well, and their confusion can mostly be disregarded. I considered this argument a corruption of the Elements, which is altogether untrue and heretical in nature, Alicorns forgive me.

~LAUGHTER~

I’m usually very sure of what I think. I don’t like not knowing what I think. It’s like I’m not thinking anymore. Seeing Discord hurt, a limp form with two little lights for eyes. Yet he stood over a dead body, a ripped open skin… I had never seen something that looked so much like nothing, yet so clearly used to be something. It’s like my brain turned off then. What am I supposed to think about this?

I don’t know anything. That’s all I can think with my brain off. I don’t know any single thing.

I need my big sis.

~Events, January the Nineteenth, Quarter til Noon~

While my notes are mostly unhelpful and ultimately become discarded, I remember clearly what we Illuminators did next. Glitter Dawn successfully removed the side of the coop and exposed the Prince Kindness all to see.

I remember very distinctly his appearance as we opened the coop. Even under his cloak, we could all see clearly his thin, scraggly form, and rabidly fearful would be an accurate description of his eyes. The poor Prince had been badly damaged by his hunger. He flinched in the light, snout and paws painted red with an empty carcass at his feet.

For a moment, none of us knew what to say either. My hysterics, heretical as they were, explain clearly what I’m sure the lot of us were thinking. He is our new god of Kindness, and this, for most of us, was our first encounter with him. In a moment of such weakness, in the lowest point of his life. Glitter Dawn shakily joked that the first gods had their problems as well, and everybody followed her in a laugh. Another of the scribes, Gilded Brush, urged that the Prince remove himself from the coop, remarking its filth. Kindness did, and I was relieved to see him hang his head in shame.

It was a mistake, is all. He has the wisdom to see his sins, and will grow more the wiser from this happenstance. He mumbled apologies at this time, expressing sorrow for the chicken. Explaining how close to death he was. He even attempted to describe the feeling, curled tightly around himself, clutching his cloak tightly around his stomach. While I wish I could recreate the sound of his voice, the pain of his description, I cannot. I offered Kindness my pen and paper, to record him feelings on the matter. But he returned to me a sour look, and mumbled that he would only soil the paper.

One of the Illuminators returned with a soaked washcloth and offered it to Kindness. He took it with his thanks and began to cleanse himself.

Before Kindness had a chance to even set aside the damp cloth, Loyalty bore herself into the courtyard, Laughter directly at her heels. And from the stiff way Loyalty held her body, she clearly meant business with Kindness.

~LOYALTY~

The sun the sun the sun. Did I really think that it was all just about the real sun? That all I ever wanted was a clear sky? How did I think I was going to accomplish that? What did I think that entailed? Fairy tale wishes and a bit of good luck?

I wanted this. I wanted this, I did. I’ve always wanted to be in control, I just never thought I had the ability to. I always wanted free the sun… no, not just free it. I wanted to be that sun. I wanted to be free to shine, the brightest thing in Equestria. The giver of life and protector of those under my warm rays. I love them, I love everybody. Even the mean ones, the stupid ones. Spit Shine and Pith, just lost little foals under my warm and loving rays. I can take care of them. It’s what I want. I want to take care of everybody.

I get it now. I don’t know if it’s strange to not get a cutie mark for this long, but I get it now. I know why it appeared when I saw that sun. I know why.

And I will live for my people. I can feel my jaw clench tighter. How dare that selfish, selfish beast of a Stallion hurt Equestria for this, for nothing. He was chosen for his Kindness, but clearly he didn’t have the heart to bear it. He was a false god, and that’s why he fell to his nightmares. That’s why he’s hurting people. I’m better. I’m stronger. I am Loyalty, and my loyalty to all living creatures is who I am, plain as the cutie mark I bear. Plain as day should be, and was above the heavy clouds of oppression.

I feel the Element beat on my chest, or maybe my heart thumping into the Element. Does it matter which? We are clearly one in the same. That’s who we are, that’s who I am. The Sun. I am the Loyal Sun.

I shake the tension from my shoulders and hold my head high. I folded my legs tight and snapped into the proper pose, the pose I had let myself fall out of all these weeks sleeping on dirt and filth. Celestia, you are a Princess. Start holding yourself like one.

And just then, Luna dove between my legs, shivering like a leaf.

~Events, January the Ninteenth, Noon~

Again, on instinct, I dropped to the pavement to record the ensuing conversation, eliciting some strange looks from Loyalty. She scanned the attending Illuminators, and her posture shifted slightly, tightened even further.

As with Laughter, her first word was Kindness’ birth name.

“Discord.”

“Morning, Celestia…”

“Do you mind explaining yourself?”

“I was dying.”

The conversation devolved, but Alicorns forgive my short sited mistake, at that time I had run out of ink. It was but a few moments I missed searching for my spare well, but in that time the conversation quickly devolved into a battle of words.

“And you know what?” Kindness spat at Loyalty, “You’re just being confrontational! What is your actual problem here?!”

“C…Confrontational?”

“You’re just looking for something to be wrong!”

“That’s because something is wrong! You killed a living creature! How many deaths have you been hiding from us?! Is… is that why you even came into our house in the first place? Were you looking to snack on Luna when you invaded her room?”

“Never! I would never even think of doing that!”

“I wish I could believe you…”

“Hasn’t this past couple months proven it to you enough that, that you, that the both of you mean the whole world to me? We’ve all thrown away our old lives for this friendship…”

“A friendship you abused by lying to us constantly—!”

“Okay stop.” Laughter stepped between the two, voice level and controlled.

“This was my problem to handle by myself!”

“And we see how that turned out!”

“Stop!” Laughter cried, “Stop it!”

“Luna, please!”

“Discord won the argument. He’s right.”

“There is no winning or losing an argument, Luna,” Loyalty stated, “That’s not how things work!”

“Well I finally know how I feel. And I still trust Discord. I didn’t like seeing him hurting. And as friends, we’ve got to help him find a way to handle his problem.”

Frankly, I was ecstatic to witness a fight among gods, and the nature of this battle was biblical to behold. Yet, at this point Curling Quill made his own entrance into the courtyard. Preoccupied with the grand events unfolding before my eyes, I missed initially Curling Quills comments. But it was then that Curling Quill informed the watching Illuminators of how to look at the scene unfolding in front of us, very proud that he was wise enough to interpret the events.

Curling Quill explained Kindness’ moral quandary as a boon. His desire for meat clearly connects him to the savagery of the animal world. And with this boon, he can more clearly understand the worldly vision of kindness, encompassing a great number of people, not just ponies. His wisdom is invaluable, and clearly he is to preside over the Earth and Worldly Matters, as his predecessor did before him. This is juxtaposed with Loyalty, who bears the cutie mark of the sun, and clearly presides over the Sky and Heavenly Matters. It is no wonder then that the two would fight so, as Heaven and Earth are never meant to touch. It is practically expected of them to be at odds.

Almost as an afterthought, upon looking at the three Elements, he also claimed that Laughter’s interference pointed her to be the presider over the domain of the Mind and Emotion. The role previously held by First Generosity, as I feel I must point out.

While the explanation properly assuaged the fears of all the Illuminators around me, I must continue to describe my observations of the Elements. For their reaction was not relief, nor did they continue with their argument. Forgive me for admitting weakness in our Elements, but at that time they exchanged wordless looks of a painful confusion, praise them. They had the wisdom to question even the most trustworthy of sources, though I do hope their wisdom sees them to the truth behind Curling Quill’s words.

Curling Quill offered our Prince the spoils of our fishing trips, as we must often catch these fish in order to make ink. Kindness quietly accepts before leaving with the other two Elements. As I was to eventually learn, they retreated to their room.

I do hope that these records find some use. Praise be to the Alicorns, and may the Second Gods find peace in this troubled time.

~Conclude Events, January the Nineteenth, Three in the Afternoon~

Curling Quill, A Final Note: This collection of facts and observations is very useful, and your initiative to take them far exceeds any of the other Illuminators’ present. We will use it as reference when we construct the official record.

XXXV : Luna

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 35
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com/

~Luna~

“How did I not notice how bad Discord was feeling? I mean in the city… Well, I guess I wasn’t able to judge him there. He seemed happy until I freaked out at him.

“Lately, I’ve just been feeling like I’m wobbling on two feet, ever since that orphanage school for unicorns. Losing my friends made me a little wobbly, losing the idea of my parents made me super wobbly. Celestia was able to cheer me up then, but… A part of me was just so scared, heart beating all crazy, telling me I shouldn’t look at Discord. But why? Why wouldn’t I want to look at my friend? I sided with him too, I feel bad for him. But why am I still all wobbly?

“And I think Discord and Celestia are getting all tipsy turvy too, but for different reasons. They started acting funny once they learned about this big god thing… But I don’t know why! This is a really good thing that’s happened! We’re important and special, and we’re going to save Equestria too! Why are my friends acting like everything’s all broken?

“Is that why I feel like everything’s all broken?

”I really don’t like it when I don’t know how I’m feeling. And that feeling,” I nodded into my hooves, “Is really awful.”
The purple Illuminator glanced up from her notes, pen gripped tightly in her teeth. With a flick of her head, she shifted the blackened stick into her back teeth.

“Um… Well…” she stammered, “I wouldn’t know, but wouldn’t that feeling be ‘sad?’”

“Nooooo! I know what ‘sad’ feels like! This feeling is like… like when I was falling off the walls. Or when I was staring up at the infinite sky above the clouds. But the more I get the feeling, the more it hurts.”

“Pardon… falling off the walls?”

“When we ran away from Canterbury, we had to go on top of its walls. Then we fell off.”

The Illuminator spat a black splatter across the parchment.

“What?” I said, “I told you that, didn’t I? This morning?”

“The details were… well… By the Elements!” she exclaimed, “However did you survive?!”

“Discord and Celestia made a rubber bubble ball,” I said with a wave of my hoof. The Illuminator scratched more notes around the spit splatter. “But before then it was… really… really terrifying. But that doesn’t sound like the right word either!” I rolled onto my back, kicking my legs into the air. “It just, like, a really, really big feeling! It makes my entire body feel like a big lump!” I flipped and rolled back around, finding a cool spot on the black cobble to pout into my forelegs. “And I feel like a huge lump right now too. A big useless lump that can’t help her friends laugh. Even though that’s supposed to be my strongest trait!”

“Well, you see…” She finished scrawling her notes, then flipped the pen back again. “Genuine reflection on one’s own Element and its meaning is not a bad thing. I’ve often debated with my fellow Illuminators what the true purpose of Laughter is. If it means to bear joy, grant joy, or remind all that positivity and optimism are important to… Um…” I flipped this way, that way, this way, but my body flipping around wasn’t helping my thoughts turn around at all. “Sorry, my Princess. I’m probably no help at all.”

“I don’t think philosophy is gonna help me here…” I mumbled.

“Philosophy has a great number of positive uses! … But yes, perhaps another time. So… Um… Would… uh… consulting with your fellow Elements help?”

“I tried, but they’re both doing worse than me!” And she was right back to scratching notes. Weird Illuminator, but at least she was paying attention. “I don’t even feel like I have anything to complain about! Discord was starving himself, and my sister is having this big huge deal about… being a god and stuff. I don’t think she can just be my sister right now. I even reached for a hug, and she just wandered past!”

“Hm…” She stopped scratching notes for a moment. “The Sky rejecting The Mind…? What could this mean?”

“No, it was my sister being too caught up to hug me. It doesn’t have to mean something!”

“I’m sorry Princess, forgive me!” She bowed into her notes over and over, making the pages scatter. “It’s my training to recognize these kinds of patterns! But, in any case, I think I may be able to help you!”

“What?” I stared at her, “Help me? I was just talking here.”

“Well, if I may, as your humble servant, I mean! You seem to be having a great amount of trouble with the uncertainties in your life, Princess.”

“I know! I’m usually so sure about everything!”

She shook her head “…But you will never stop being uncertain about some topics, even if you are able to grow to be hundreds upon hundreds of years old. Learning how to deal with and handle unknown factors is not only a key skill in becoming an adult, but in becoming a ruler of all ponykind.”

“But how do I deal with unknown stuff?”

“By acknowledging your limits. Admitting that there are things you don’t know.”

I sat straight up and stared right at the Illuminator’s weird, ink-splattered face.

“That doesn’t sound like a way to deal with anything,” I told her.

“You’d be surprised what the right mindset can do to a situation, my Princess.”

“Hey!” Another Illuminator nudged his nose through the door, cloak fluttering as he bounced on all four hooves, “Oh, Princess, good to see you!” He hastily bowed, then turned to my Illuminator. “Bookends, we’re about to start the procession, do you want to join?”

“The pro…Oh! Yes! Yes, I would love to!”

I eyed the new Illuminator as the old one nudged all of her notes together, trying to pile it with the tip of her nose.

“A procession?” I asked.

“Would you like to grace us with your presence, my Princess?!”

“Um… I guess. But what’s a procession?”

“I’ll tell you along the way…!” He twirled in place, brown tail nearly blowing across his nose. “Oh joy, we have the approval of our Princess! Come now, let’s hurry!”

~Θ~

It was a cramped little room on the ground floor, little slitted windows barely letting any light in at all. The floor was sunken slightly into the ground, and looked slick with a thin layer of ice. A pump rose in the middle of it, alone in the room save some toppled buckets. And of course, Discord. He sat awkwardly to one side, out of place. He was using a thin, gray rag to sop water from a wooden bucket, pinching the fading welt on his bad arm, slapping the wet cloth across it. Rinse, repeat process down the rest of his arm.

I watched quietly, still feeling like a lump.

“Um…” I finally spoke up. Discord flinched at the sound of my voice, slapping the wet rag over his shoulder. “Hey Discord…”

He began to relax as he saw me, peeling off the little gray rag. But he stopped, looking me up and down, little curly frown on his face.

“What are you wearing?”

“Um…” I clink a little as I look down at the bangles up and down my legs, tiara slipping and bumping into my horn. “Costume jewelry?”

“Why?”

“Well…”

“Princess? Are you going to lead us in?”

Nine Illuminators formed a line behind me. Four awkwardly bore banners over their shoulders, General Hurricane’s storm cloud and the Shadow Stallion’s alicorn. Two banners I didn’t recognize of the sun and moon, encircled by alicorns. Every nervous movement shook another puff of dust from the material, and the ponies in back tried not to sneeze, ducking their noses into the hoods of their cloaks.

“Luna?” Discord asked, leaning a little sideways. I shook my head and mouthed I was sorry.

With a regal flick of my mane making my hair slap my face, I held my head high and stiff, marching like a Princess into the tiny chamber. My metal shoes clinked and stabbed into my forelegs, obviously too big. The gauzy white cloth across my back dragged on the damp floor, tugging the material further and further from my shoulders. At least I didn’t have that far to go. I stopped right in front of Discord, peering down at him through my regally slitted eyes.

“Prince Discord of the Element of Kindness!” I shouted. “The Illuminators of the Shrine of Loyalty come before you today to give unto you an offering! They are humble in this delivery, long live the Elements, and praise their wisdom.”

Discord stared up at me, making little noises in the back of his throat, face curled up.

“Aren’t we the Elements?” he mumbled. My shoulders slacked.

“Oh yeah… I should’ve probably said praise our wisdom…” I glanced back at the procession, lost. “Should I start over?”

“No, no, it’s wonderful,” a flag bearer squeaked. Another flicked his hooves at me, urging me on. “Keep going!”

“Okay!” I turned back to Discord, clicking my heels. “They are making an offering to you… wait, I said that. Anyway, they hope this gift will help you in the future, and um… They offer it, humbled by your glorious presence. I think. Um, anyway!”

I watched my feet as I marched, knees almost smacking my snout as I turned in a circle. Gotta do the right walk to… Oh no, I went too far! I march back a couple steps… then look up at the Illuminator organizer. He smoothly bows. A moment passes, and he flicks his head to the left.

“Princess… I need to step forward…”

“Oh right!” I scootch over, and remember to march halfway through. Where should I be standing now anyway…? I guess it didn’t matter. The Illuminator organizer bowed, and politely stepped over the train of my dress. I tried to bite into the material, tug more of it out of the way as he started talking.

“Prince, Our Element of Kindness,” the Illuminator declared. “We have seen the struggles you have been forced to endure, and after today’s incident, we have decided to present unto you the fruits of our labor.” The Illuminator nodded another stepped forward, stumbling on my still trailing train. A silk bundle hung from his mouth, which he placed in front of Discord before scurrying back. Discord stared at the gift, then carefully reached out, peeling the top of the boxy bundle open. “We use this fish to create our ink!” The Illuminator boomed, bobbing for nods, “We catch it every day, their lives given to create the words of history! We offer you this noble fish, so when you consume it, you may gain strength for the great journey ahead of you! So that you may forge the road to your own history!”

Discord’s face twisted up even tighter, eyes finally falling on the black and silver mess inside the gift. He tugged the bundle closed, mumbling thanks.

“Well?” the Illuminator asked.

“Well what?”

“Aren’t… aren’t you going to try it? We are woefully uncertain about the preparation of this flesh… for consumption, I mean! We have done our best, and now desire to know if it is to your taste!”

For a long time, Discord stared at the bundle in front of him, silent. The Illuminators shifted on their hooves, trying to peer over each other’s shoulders, get a better look at their Prince.

“It’s a long journey to Canterlot, isn’t it?” Discord mumbled, “Shouldn’t I ration this uh, gift, the best I can?”

“Ah! Well… Yes!” The head Illuminator nodded, and everybody else hesitantly followed suit. “Such wisdom from our Prince! Yes… but please. Just a bite? It would be a terrible burden to learn you were eventually unable to consume…!”

“Stop.”

Discord looked away, looked at me. I shrugged, tried to smile. He rolled his shoulders, and peeled back the cloth again. He picked out a slab of the fish, a fat silver sliver with black veiny lines running all over it. He frowned down at it, then took the smallest of bites from the center. There was a small wave of clicked hooves, the Illuminators trying to glance around everyone else’s shoulders.

“It’s really um…” Discord stared at the fish, almost confused. “Salty? Is there salt on this?”

“Yes! For preservation! It is a very long walk to Canterlot, you see!”

“Right… well… thank you.”

“Is it to your taste, our Prince?”

“Uh, yeah, I’ll eat it.”

“Huzzah!” And another clatter of hooves as everyone shuffled back into place, mumbling and muttering to themselves. “Yes, well! Bear it with you, then! Yes, thank you, Prince of Kindness. May your wisdom continue to grow ever more infinite.”

And then the procession turned and left. Some of the ponies looked at me, expecting me to follow, but I refused. I stayed right where I was, shaking off all the costume jewelry, and once all the ponies had shuffled out, a unicorn Illuminator came back to hover the items away. In the end I was just wearing my dull Element, clasp twisting up in the back of my mane.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, “that was stupid.”

Discord snorted.

“Nah… it’s funny, isn’t it?” he replied, picking up the little gray cloth again, “The attention they pile onto this mundane stuff…”

“It’s not mundane though, is it? It’s something you were trying to hide away since we met, and—“

“Can we just not talk about this please?”

“Sorry…” I laughed quietly. “I probably shouldn’t have given them my blessing, I barely even knew what was going on anyway.”

Discord shrugged and began washing his other arm. Up close… I don’t know, how couldn’t I have noticed how thin he had gotten? He was always pretty small, I guess. Shorter than me, but longer if you measured him snout to rump. But now, I could practically see the shape of his ribs under his fur, his mismatched arms more like mismatched sticks. And under the thin fur of his eyes, I could see vague little black shadows.

And he was doing his best to hide it… but he just looked so sad.

I thought… I don’t know, I’m Laughter right? Can I cheer up this situation, laugh it away?

“So um,” I piped up, “Discord.”

He dunked the rag into the soap bucket.

“Yeah?”

“So um…what… do you get…” Jokes? Jokes! That’s a good way to make people laugh, right? What’s a good joke? I stammer for another few seconds while I wrack my brain. “When you have half a tuba?”

Discord stared up at me, poking at the space under his claws.

“What…?” he asked.

“A oneba!”

“I don’t get it.”

“Oh.”

Discord looked up at me for a moment more, then curled his wings up, twisting around to grab the bird-looking one, patting it down with the rag.

“But I got another one!” I exclaimed. “Um… What do you get…” Nothing else is coming to me, nothing at all! “A um…” Noooo I’m a terrible Bearer of Laughter, or Element of Laughter or whatever! Come on Luna, think of something! “A fox, in a house!”

“What? I don’t know…?”

“A fox out the window!” My joy at completing the joke lasts maybe three seconds. “Um, wait, is that how it goes?” Discord kept just staring at me, flicking the water from his dripping wing, not laughing at all. “So what do you get—“

“Why are you doing this?” Discord interrupted.

“Well I’m the Bearer of Laughter, right? You don’t look so happy, so I’m going to make you laugh!”

“By making jokes?”

“Uhuh!” I nodded furiously!

“But you were Laughter before, and you never told jokes.”

“Oh yeah…”

And he turned away from me again, dunking the rag and using the water to pat down his bat wing. It sort of struck me then, looking at the light frost on his bird wing. Doesn’t the cold water hurt?

“You’re pretty fun just being you,” Discord spoke up. “You don’t have to force it.”

“But how can I cheer you up?” I asked.

“I uh…” Discord’s face fell as he fiddled with the fur on his tail.

“No, don’t make that face!” I cried, “That’s the saddest face!”

“I think I can make a sadder face,” he snorted.

“No you can’t!”

Discord smirked at his tail fluff, rubbing it with the rag.

“I could be crying.”

“No! Please don’t cry!”

“Maybe I will. What are you going to do about it?”

“I’ll tell more jokes!”

“Yep, I feel like crying now.”

“No!” I dropped my head on his upright shoulder and glared directly at him, daring him to cry. I don’t think he could now though, he had a smile on! An actual smile that wasn’t sarcastic or tired or nothing! Yes, victory one for Laughter! Or is it victory… three? Three hundred? How far back am I counting? When did I start being Laughter? Was I Laughter before I got the Element of Laughter?

But then Discord’s face became less and less smiley, tired all over again. I began wracking my brain for another really bad joke, because darnit, Discord is going to be happy! No more sad Discord hurting over all of his problems!

“Hey um, Luna…”

“Uh-huh?”

“I think Laughter fits you pretty well. You think so too?”

“Hm...” The question’s been kind’ve rolling around my head... But I don’t want to take too long answering this! “Yeah, I think so!” I nodded again, bonking my chin into his tan shoulder.

“Do you uh… think Kindness fits me?”

Automatically, I gave him an “Of course!” Yet, he frowned, tried to shrug me off his shoulder, slapping the rag around his scaled leg.

“That was quick,” he snapped, “Didn’t even stop to think about the question.”

“I didn’t really have to, did I?”

“No…” he snorted, shoving the rag up and down his leg. “Well it’s driving me crazy. This isn’t something that can be answered with a simple yes! Do I really deserve this, after what I did today…?”

“Yes!”

“You’re just saying that!”

“Why are you so angry about that?”

“Because it’s not true!”

“… But it is true! The Element—”

“I don’t feel like it is! Not after losing myself like that!”

With a strangled yelp, he toppled his washbucket with a smack of his hoof. For a moment, we both just watched the water spread, draining out little sun-lit cracks in the wall. He snorted, rolled his shoulders, and curled around his scaled foot. I stared at the upturned bucket, then back at Discord.

“So am I allowed to ask about what happened now?” I asked.

“No.”

“Please?” There was a small flash from my element, and for a second we both stared at it. It definitely seemed a bit more glittery than it did earlier. Discord turned back to his foot, worked the rag carefully between his toes, breathing through his nose.

“Everything seems so much simpler for ponies,” he finally said, yanking the cloth away. “You can just eat fruits and veggies, nobody’s scared of your appearance or wants to kill you. Everyone’s friendly and loves each other, and you don’t have to hurt anything to live.”

“I think uprooting a plant definitely counts as hurting it.”

“You know what I mean… Never have to hurt anything…” The corners of his mouth curled. “Sentient.”

He dropped the waterlogged rag, curling up around both legs.

“I thought I was kind, actually,” he said simply, “Trying my best, at least. Even before I knew what my element was. I’m definitely better than most Draconequus. But I’m not as good as a pony. I’m not as kind as a pony, and I know I never will be.”

And I didn’t know what to say to that. He had already snapped at me when I immediately refuted him. And I just… I couldn’t relate to the situation he was in. Discord to me was a pony, why can’t he just see himself as one too? But before I could ask…

“Do you hate me, Luna?”

“No.”

“You should.”

“That’s stupid. You’re my best friend.”

He heaved a sob, then bit it back, still, tight, and quiet on cold, icy floor.

I didn’t know what to think about Discord’s really big lie, or him not thinking of himself as a pony or very kind. I just felt what I had been feeling the entire conversation.

I stepped a little bit forward and gave him a friendly nuzzle on his prickly, sad face.

“You know it really hurts to see you hurt, Discord.”

His arms snapped up and wrapped around me. I could feel my heart jump, panicked. I guess my reaction to the meat eating thing, too late thinking he might bite me. But he just held me, and after I stopped panicking, I did the same, snout laying sideways on his shoulder, his head atop mine. I could feel the hot metal of his element under my chin, the golden band a comfortable heat on my skin.

“You’re really comfy, Discord!”

“Um...”

“Hm?”

I took a step back, our necklaces clicking together, glowing softly. I was smiling, but Discord just stared at me, eyes wide, quiet. Glanced down, back up at me...

“What?”

“Just got this really weird feeling,” he scooted back, trying to get up on his elbows, looking down over himself. “I think you broke something when you squished me. Or… life,” He slapped himself in the forehead and let out a nervous laugh, “I have got a real awful stomachache.”

“From…?”

“Yeah… Bleh. Bleh.” He shook his head, shuffling a little bit further back, flipping onto his feet. “Uh, Luna.” He turned to me. “You can go back now. I… um, I kinda need to finish washing up.”

“Well I don’t want to head back without you.”

“You peeping on me?” And then he smirked. Finally! Finally a smile! I stuck out my tongue at him. Laughter success number… five hundred! I’m sticking with that number! “But jeez… Wish I could just eat grass and be done with it, you know? This whole thing is just… dumb.”

“Grass is kind’ve bland,” I admit, “You’re not missing much.”

Discord forced exactly two laughs and took a deep breath.

“Alright then.”

XXXVI : Discord

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 36
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com/

~Discord~

I ran my thumb up and down the taut skin of my ribcage, head finally clear. It was early morning, hours before it would become light, and I was having the most lucid thoughts since leaving Stringhalt.

That feeling is gone. Well, a lot of feelings are gone. The feeling of emptiness, of a void hand scratching in my throat. Replaced by that feeling of a thick, impatient lump in my stomach. Replaced by nothing. The feeling that I got when Luna hugged me is gone, like a hot spot in my guts. Made me feel jittery, kinda feverish, I couldn’t breathe right. That was with me for hours and hours, keeping me awake, keeping me thinking. It was an Element thing, I was sure. Something about the Elements. Something released with my secrets, maybe. A physical feeling of forgiveness, counteracting that tight, curly feeling of secrecy.

Now I just feel… normal, I guess. Alive. No longer afraid of dying, body relieved… There was a moment, I remember clearly, when my body wouldn’t stop shaking with that relief. That feeling left real quick. Gone by the time I was caught in the coop.

Now it’s just normal.

Normal, but not better. Not yet. I run my thumb down my ribcage, back up. Feeling the taut skin, the little hills and ridges that sprouted from weeks of restraint.

Man.

That kind’ve stupid of me, wasn’t it?

Was it selfish of me to think of this as my problem, to bear my own pain with pride? Should I have just told my friends what was going on, right from the start? Celestia blew up at me, of course. But after her scene, she hasn’t said a word. She’s letting it be. And my entire conversation with Luna… Well, I guess I’ve spun that round and round my head enough. Never letting me think I was unfit to bear Kindness. Always asserting that she cared. That she was my friend. Even after all this. She’s my friend. She’ll always be my friend. She’ll always be there…

I stop thumbing my ribs, flop onto my stomach. Shove my snout into the cot, horns resting on my little arms. Feeling a strange little thrill as my thoughts spin.

Understanding. Comfort. And Kindness. Especially Kindness… Ponies. They always have me beat.

But there’s hope.

I can learn.

~ᴔ~

There was… something I was unable to do for a long, long time. Something I always held myself back from, just on instinct. What if I spent myself, left myself weak? Left myself unable to defend my friends when I needed to? What would happen if I went too far when I cast my spells? Can a pony die from casting too many spells when hungry?

It was appealing to test my limits, to experiment. I wanted to experiment. But I always held myself back.

Now, with the fear of spending myself lifted, consequences for casting gone…

I dropped the illusion of a spider onto Celestia’s ear.

She kept walking, chin held high and legs tight, same as she had been walking the past hour. Completely and totally oblivious to everything around her. Including the spider.

I made extra sure the little guy was solid. I made him move a leg. Flakes, sparks popped from its joints, sprinkling onto her skin. She flicked her ear, a mindless reaction, not really the one I was hoping for. With a twitch of my finger I sent the spider crawling down towards her mane, popping and flashing as it moved. I make a mental note: figure out how to make movement natural. Later. It got all the way to the back of Celestia’s head before the flashes had caught Luna’s eye. She stared at the little popping dot. Looked at me, back at the spider, then giggled into her hoof.

“Yes?” Celestia flicked around to look at us. “What is it?”

I grinned. “Nothin’.”

Luna pretended she was coughing, burying her snout into her hood.

Celestia turned back, and the spider progressed maybe an inch more before she slapped her ear. A black, dusty smear dragged across her scalp behind her hoof, practically disintegrating by the time she got a look on it. Celestia watched the remnants of the plaster spider as it crumbled, vanishing into nothing.

She gave her empty hoof a haughty snort.

“Really, Discord? Don’t you have anything important to say?”

“Hm? Not really...” I grinned up at the sky. The gray cover was darker than normal, nearly black. We had been walking in an early-morning shroud for nearly two hours, and only now did the slightest thing change. Little floating specs of white, barely visible. “I think it’s starting to snow?”

“For goodness’ sake!” She shouted, snapping her neck upwards. “I knew it looked like rain when we left!”

“Wait, snow?” Luna followed me and Celestia, turning to stare at the dark gray ceiling herself. “How does snow just happen like this?”

I shrugged. “Pegasi let a rainstorm get away and it went cold?”

“Huh,” Luna said, “So that’s how it works…?”

“Negligence!” Celestia barked, “The farmer’s crops will go cold! Our subjects might go hungry because of this, this oversight!”

“What?” I said, “Our… subjects, Celestia?”

“Yes! Our…” She looked back at my raised eyebrows. “Well, this is an, an unmitigated disaster. Nonetheless.”

“I see.” I turned to her sister, “Luna! Your sister’s talking funny.Talk some sense into that poor mare!”

She giggled. “Yeah, she is sounding funny. Should I tell her a good joke?”

“I’m right here, you know!” Celestia shouted, “And I can hear you mumbling about me!”

“Then tell me!” I shot back, “Why are you talking like that?” She flicked her mane, remaining quiet. “And why are you stretching out your legs like that? You look like you have to whizz really badly.”

“C-crass talk! In front of a lady!” Her face twisted, like she was trying very hard to not swallow a lemon. “Clean your mouth!”

“W-what? What does that even…? Oh jeez!” I laughed, she grew tighter, and I laughed again, jabbing my snout into my elbow. “T-the look on your face…!”

Celestia snorted, a puff of steam causing little snowflakes to go swirling. She marched off, snapping her knees so high I wouldn’t be surprised if one hit her in the jaw. Luna wasn’t far behind her, ears flat, sparkling with some level of concern, yet still trying to suppress a fit of giggles.

“What’s the matter, big sister?”

“Nothing. I feel fine.”

“No you don’t.”

“I am fine. Better than before, even! I am reminded that I should be acting like a proper lady, like I…” She glared down at her sister. “And you for that matter should be behaving ladylike as well! Straighten that spine, hold your head straight! Remember your lessons, for goodness sake! Horsefeathers, a few weeks on the road, and we’ve become… we’ve become… aniiimmm…” She sputtered, whipping her mane around again. “Wild horses! Woodponies, yes!”

“Celestia…” Luna pouted.

“Chin up!”

An octave lower, “Celestia…”

“What?”

Snickering quietly, I snuck forward, on Celestia’s other side.

“Cel-estia!”

“Stop it,” she snorted.

“Celll-EST-tia!”

“What?! What, what do you want from me?!” She staggered forward. “Leave me alone!”

“Jeez,” I said, “And I thought you were high-strung before…”

“Big sis, please! What’s wrong?”

Celestia mumbled to herself, straightening her cloak, squaring her shoulders, generally acting nervous as she continued walking.

“It’s um…” she sighed. “Give me a moment… I…”

“Yes?”

“Hmmmmm?”

“Hmmmmmmmm?”

“Stop! Quiet! You two…” Her shoulders drooped. “How can you both just be so cheerful? With everything that just happened?”

My smirk remained right where it was, maybe even grew a little bit.

“I’m not dead,” I said, “Is that a good thing?”

“I, well, I didn’t mean to imply…” Celestia stammered. “It’s very, very good to have you, well, alive, Discord. It’s important. But… The fate of Equestria, you two. It’s in our hooves. And not just now, with this!” she waved at the sky, “This isn’t just about the Shadow Stallion! For the rest of our immortal lives, Equestria will depend on us. Just… just stop and think.” She stopped, giving us said time to think, I guess. “Isn’t that just so… so overwhelming?”

And then things got quiet. Really quiet, with the snow muffling all the noise except crunch of our hooves. I mean, I had nothing to say to that. Not many thoughts to spare either. I remember hearing what Curling Quill was saying about the Elements, remembering thinking it was crazy… But it’s not like I was mentally all together that night. I had been so concerned with making sure my life continued, I hadn’t really thought much about what happens when that’s no longer an issue.

But’s so strange to think about. I boggled for a moment, trying to summon a picture of myself… but older. Would I be… stronger? Bigger and tougher? I’d tower over most ponies fully grown. What’s life like when you’re not staring at knees all the time?

“I barely think of what life’s going to be like as an adult,” I admitted, “Let alone an adult with crazy amounts of responsibility.”

“So you never thought about it,” Celestia said flatly.

“Nope, sorry.”

“You know, big sis,” Luna piped up, “I don’t really feel any different.”

“Not at…?!”

“Because,” Luna interrupted, firm and direct, “I never really thought about what will happen. I guess before all this, I’d just be a Baroness. It’s like a Princess, except a little less Princess-y? I dunno.” She shrugged. “I was getting taught to be a Baroness. Now I’ll be taught how to be a Princess. Both are pretty cool, but I’m not scared of it. We have teachers waiting to tell us everything we need.”

“I see.”

And then, Luna looked right up at her sister and pouted.

“’I see’?” she snapped, “That’s all you’re going to say?”

“P-pardon?”

“Doesn’t that make sense? Doesn’t that help stuff? Help you?”

“Yeah! Jeez, Celestia!” I exclaimed, “I thought you would be all over this Princess stuff. What with your, ‘shine on all the people’ cutie mark.”

“I’m sorry to give off that impression…” Celestia replied, still staring down at her sister, “You are right, both of you. I don’t doubt Canterlot’s abilities to teach us. And I am excited. Princess Celestia…”

“You like goals, don’t you?” I said, “And this one’s long term, set in stone...”

“Yes… But…” Celestia fiddled with a pebble, kicking it up over the slowly collecting piles of snow. “Is it the right goal?”

“YES!” I shouted.

“Of course it is!” Luna cried over me.

“This is how we’re going to save Equestria!”

“What he said!”

“Why are you dragging your feet like this?!”

“Okay!” Finally, her voice dropped down to its normal level. Her walk normalized into a natural gait, tight posture gone. “I get it, stop yelling at me!” Once again we fell to silence. A more awkward silence.

“I’m sorry for shouting…” Luna said softly.

“I never did find out what a Nightmare was!” Celestia squeaked, ignoring her sister. “All those books in the library, all the Illuminators… Not one could, or would answer me! I just know that something did happen to those alicorns, to each and every one of them. It was Loyalty first, you know. He ‘succumbed’ first.” She stared down at her element, almost repulsed by it. “Then it was Honesty. Then Laughter, then Generosity… Magic left, and Kindness was last, his Nightmares realized on the land itself…” She shuttered, shaking her head at the ground. “It scares me! Why won’t anybody tell me how it happens? Shouldn’t this be something we should be concerned about? Is it inevitable? Are they afraid, that if they tell us, we’ll throw away the Elements?”

“Maybe we’ll learn at Canterlot,” Luna said.

“Yeah,” Celestia snorted, “After we’ve gained our ‘infinite wisdom.’”

“Oh, Wow!” And despite myself, I laughed. “I thought you more than anyone else would buy into that!”

“Just because I want to be a Princess doesn’t mean I wasn’t weirded out by how they acted.”

“Heck yes, me too.”

“Me three!” Luna squeaked.

“Did I tell you, about the little ceremony they put me and Luna through?”

She grinned. “I heard about it. But…”And she frowned again. “Discord?”

“Yes…?”

“I’m still mad at you for lying to us,” she snapped, head held high again, “But I’m sorry you had to go through all that.” She took a breath. “And don’t let anypony tell you otherwise, you deserve to bear Kindness, or be Kindness. Okay?”

“… I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Oh… hush, you.”

“No, I’m serious!” I leaned in close to Celestia, leering up at her. “Is this some sort of bribe? Should I be expecting a qualifying ‘but’ to come up now?”

“I said hush!” She smirked. “No qualifiers. Today.”

I sniffled loudly in her ear, swiping an arm over my all-too-dry eyes.

“I-I think I’m going to cry!” I snorted. Celestia grinned, and flicked a puff of snow into my snout.

“You’re just making fun of me.”

“Well, if you said nice things more often…”

“But—”

“No!” I cried, “The qualifiers, why!”

“It’s a change of topic, not a qualifier! Calm down! But…” Celestia paused, staring down at me. Her posture corrected itself, became slightly stiffer. “There is something I want all of us to try. Before we head to Canterlot, I want to test something.”

“Alright, what?”

~ᴔ~

It wasn’t long before we stopped. The snow was falling a little bit heavier by then, in big feathery blobs. I tried to dry off a spot to sit down, shaking off and patting down long shoots grass. Kicking aside the ankle-deep coat of snow. But everything was frosted over, leaves damp and icy under the wet blanket. Every time I tried to touch it, my hand and fur would come away with a little clinging coat of ice.

“I don’t know what’s worse,” I admitted, trying to pry off the little bits running nearly up above my knees. “This or rain.”

“I like this!” Luna squeaked, deliberately kicking up white waves with every step. “I don’t think I’ve ever gotten to play in snow before! Last time it happened, it was night. And it all melted by morning.”

“Hm… I think I remember that. Last year, right?” Luna looked up at me and nodded. “That night was horrible in the castle. It’s cold enough in that underground icebox, more freezing was not what it needed.” I chuckled and looked up at the sky, tearing at a little chunk clinging to the hair of my furry elbow. “You’d think the Pegasi would have caught up to this thing by now.”

“Negligence!” Celestia called from across the glade, “I’m telling you!”

“Don’t start rambling in fancy again, Celestia!”

Celestia grumbled something, I couldn’t hear it. Seemed like her good mood was all but dried up. She wasn’t prancing around like she had something to prove anymore, but when we asked what she wanted to do, all she gave back was a ‘find an open space…’ And then her expression wouldn’t stop falling. Now, she looked up at the trees, pacing back and forth on the edge of the clearing, frown staying right where it was.

“So can I ask you what you’re looking for now?”

“In a moment!”

“I’m going to have lunch, okay?”

She stopped for a second, one foot hovering in the air.

“Yes. Yes, go ahead.”

Still not comfortable with it, I see… I shrug off the little cloth sack, letting it drop off my back, over my bat wing. It’s not that heavy, but I stretched out my wings anyway. Not used to carrying something around, no matter the weight… And heck if I was going to force either of the girls to carry this with them. Their packs already got loaded down by the Illuminators, and, I guess, even with the truth out, I still see it as my issue.

Anyway.

I carefully peeled open the pack, and, as expected, it was full of little veiny slabs wrapped in stained paper. I picked up the top one, the one that already had a little bite in it. The oversalted taste wasn’t anything to die for, and the texture was a confusing mix of chewy and powdery, but it’s better this than nothing, right? I ripped off a chunk and forced myself through it, watching Luna plow her way around the field, using magic to create two thick waves of snow and dead leaves.

After a short while, Celestia’s horn lit up, and a crooked little branch along with it. It shook as she backed away, thick wet clumps of white slipping easily off the green foliage. With a shake of her head, a snap, and squeak as she stumbled back, the branch tumbled to the ground. She flipped it around, stripped it of a few small twigs, then jammed it into one of the muddy trails Luna had left behind her.

“Okay,” Celestia huffed, composing herself, “You see this stick?”

“Yeah?”

“Uh-huh!”

“We are going to try and Harmony Blast it.”

“So that’s a thing we can do now?”

“Of course it is!” Luna cheered, trotting up to her sister. “This sounds like fun!”

“I, well, I did say try, Discord.” Celestia nodded me over, and I quickly packed away the remaining fish. I guess I was taking too long trying to get the package back around my shoulders (fiddly little knots…) because, while she was waiting, she pulled out an apple to mindlessly munch on. “That was another thing I couldn’t find out from the library,” she said, being careful to not talk through a mouthful of fruit. “All the Elements work in tandem, and it’s well-recorded what they can do together. With unified souls, the six who bear the elements can accomplish miraculous things no single pony can do on their own.” She stopped, frowning. “A lot of the stories were pretty hard to swallow, actually. Summoning huge rainstorms in deserts, tearing holes through mountains... There was even one story where they brought a dead pony back to life. And it was written that, you know…” She waved her hoof. “The Bearers transform into alicorns because of the Elements, their own personal magic becomes amplified, so on so forth... ”

She took a few more bits of the apple, staring at her little stick dummy.

“But!” Celestia snapped her hooves together, posture re-tightening, descending further into what I’m going to label the ‘explainy voice.’ “All the First Gods got their Elements at the same time, and the only time they were used was when they were all together. And, while it’s shown that other alicorns could use each other’s Elements… That’s how they… you know. Put each other to rest.” She shoved the apple into her mouth, trying to bite off an oversized chunk. “But the books didn’t say anything about using a few Elements at a time, what that would do.”

“So what are we waiting for?!” Luna popped in front of her sister. “Let’s try things! Whatever we can think of! Like what would happen if we all used our sky… beamy…” She stared into space. “Flashlights! All at once!”

“We do need to come up with better names for these things,” Celestia said through a bite of apple. “Don’t want to wind up with another name like ‘Adventure Trio…’”

“C’mon,” Luna laughed, “Adventure Trio wasn’t that bad!”

“Yes, but, Flashlights?” Celestia said, “That barely even fits, there’s not one flash involved.”

“The lights appear in a flash!” Luna retorted, “Remember how quick it smacked Discord in the face that first time?”

“No…”

“I do!” I interjected, “You wanted to destroy the Element after it blinded me!

“Oh. Right.” She threw away the apple core. “Well, that’s hardly relevant now.”

“I guess not…” I continue to grin. “Anyway, those books couldn’t tell you their names?”

“I’ve told you already, they were pretty much all history. I had to glean what I know from stuff like ‘Generosity funds Redheart Healers, praise his wise soul, may he become smarter evermore, hail to the alicorns’.” She sighed. “I guess we can call the skybeamy thing ‘Flashlight’ for now. Until we think of something better.” Celestia stepped forward, nodding me to my feet, Element glowing gently as her horn lit up. “So let’s try this.”

So we tried. I tapped my Element, focus coming to me easily. Focus coming to all of us easily. I stared at the branch, broad leaves already coated in a new speckled film of snow. Briefly, our Elements glittered…

And three solid beams shot forward, blue, yellow, and white. To my surprise, maybe everybody’s surprise, the beams joined together, snapped into place in a single flat beam. A faded rainbow the colors of our auras arced from the connection, singing in a resonating bell tone, spilling over the stick figure, encasing it in a splashing pool of light.

Celestia’s aura vanished, and the rainbow popped apart. She stared at the spot where the rainbow struck. The snow pushed away, revealing a wide circle of mud and wet leaves.

“Goodness! Oh my goodness…” She squeaked. “That, that certainly was a result.”

“Who knew a Harmony Blast could be so easily done?!” Luna cheered, hopping in place. “Let’s do it again!”

“I, I’m not sure what that did,” Celestia stammered, “I don’t even think it damaged the branch…”

“It looks a little greener,” I offered, staring along with my friend.

“No. No, we just knocked more snow off it, that’s all,” she replied.

“Or melted it.” I took a step forward, without even realizing it. I had to see… I wound up next to the spot, the cleared brown muck around the twig dummy. I placed a hand down on it.

“It’s wet,” I stated, “And warm.” I lifted my hand, bringing with me a small chunk of leaves. Underneath the area, little green sprouts were worming their way around the mud, two or three beetles scrambling for deeper cover. Were these always hiding under the leaves, away from the snow?

“Well um. Good work!” Celestia called. “So… what else could we try?”

“Remember?” Luna piped up, “When we were in that broom closet? We resonated a little bit! What happens when we do that?”

“Should we form a circle, maybe?” I offered. “Around our test stick?”

“Yes…”

Luna was by my side in a flash of her Element, already glowing in her eagerness. Celestia was a little slower, preoccupied with her element, gently picking it up in her aura to get a closer look.

“Problem?” I asked.

“Just… feels strange to finally have one of these. Strange how natural it feels to wear and use.” She laughed lightly. “You know, I was never one to wear necklaces or shawls…”

“And you think I was?”

Celestia stared at me.

“Strange.”

“Yep.”

“Anyway. Resonation.”

“Double yep.”

Celestia found her place across from me, and I closed my eyes, focused slowly on my Element. You would think, since it took less magic, this ‘Resonation’ would be easier. Just enough to make the little gemstone ring out. But after the ease of the rainbow, the Resonation took more than a minute of slow adjustment and build into that single, bell-like tone. And, after a minute of standing in the bright glow, it vanished the moment one of us broke concentration. And by one of us, I mean me.

“Aw.” Luna said, blinking away the bright from her eyes as her own Element faded, “I thought we would do something way more spectacular than that.”

“The snow hasn’t even moved,” I noted, fiddling with the leaves. Still warm, still wet, still with little sprouts hiding in the fallen foliage.

“Maybe there’s something more to it,” Celestia said, “Something we’re missing. Like a next step.”

“Or the other Elements,” I pointed out.

“I hope not…”

“So big sis! What now?”

“I don’t know…” Celestia walked around the circle, staring at the ground. “There’s so little we actually got out of that. The results are a little… I don’t know what we did, in either case.”

I think most other times I would have just let this be. We knew we’d learn how to use these things later, we knew it might take more than three elements to do anything. It’s interesting what we were able to do, but that’s all it was. Interesting. Best to just put this aside for now, just learn what’s what at Canterlot.

But that little look on Celestia’s face…

“Alright, Celestia. What’s up?” I laughed, an idea suddenly popping to mind. “Were you hoping we’d play unicorn scientists again?”

“Holy crap!” Luna shouted, “Why didn’t I think of that?! I haven’t been announcing the test numbers or anything!”

Celestia bit the corner of her mouth, fiddled with it. Sighed out her nose, snowflakes swirling in the steam.

“No, that’s not it,” she said.

“Aw…” Luna huffed. “Can we still play Unicorn scientists anyway? After you tell us what’s still bugging you?”

I rolled my eyes, “We keep finding problems, but then you keep digging up more. And you complained to me about lying!”

“I didn’t lie!” Celestia snapped, “I wanted to know what the Elements could do!”

“For what reason?”

She took a quick breath.

“I don’t think I want to go to Canterlot anymore.”

“Why not?”

She looked up, stared at me.

“You’re not going to… I don’t know, snap at me? Pick on me for it?”

“Just tell us why not.”

“Oh. Well… Discord…” She continued to look at me, once more correcting her posture. “Since you showed us what was really going on in Canterbury, I can’t stop thinking about it. About all those ponies locked up… about what happens to them… About what’s been happening to the Pegasi, and things as small as the neglect we saw in Rearing Town.”

I stayed silent, feeling guilty, and a little bit attacked. I almost expected this to be her proclamation of denouncement, telling me I need help, that I should fess up to everything I know or something. We had been getting along so well too…

“We cannot let that keep happening,” she continued, oblivious to my thoughts. “We’re the new gods. We have to protect them. All of them.” She shook her head. “Everybody wants us to sit on our hooves for however long. Wait around for the other three Elements, whoever they are. Spend that time learning in Canterlot. But we can’t do that. Discord, Luna,” she pleaded, “We have the Elements! If we just find a way to use them, then we could free Canterbury now. We could stop all of this pain and suffering now.”

“Please. Hear me out” Celestia took a deep breath, looking between the both of us. She was firm, holding her tight posture, but not in her hoity-toity way. Serious. Very serious. “Let’s go back to Canterbury. Let’s go back, and stop the Shadow Stallion once and for all.”

XXXVIII : Luna

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 38
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com/

~Luna~

You know, if there’s one thing I feel like I don’t do a whole lot, but I’ve been doing a lot of lately, it’s thinking hard. Stuff was really clear all the time. I knew how to make Celestia happy, I knew how to make Discord happy. I knew how to stop a fight and make everybody feel a whole lot better about everything. I was just okay with how things were. Happy a lot.

Then some stuff happened and everything became a little different.

You know, it all started with everybody making their brains all silly from fighting.

We were travelling, and the snow was still following us around. We found shelter one night, but then the next we had to sleep out in the cold. Now… sleeping outside was comfortable before. Grass, bugs… well, bugs weren’t nice, and grass was itchy. But it could be comfortable! Sleeping outside in the snow was terrifying. I couldn’t even get to sleep, it was too cold. I remember blowing on my hooves like crazy, trying to make them warm. When we got up the next morning, the snow beneath us had turned to ice, and was frozen to our tummies. Celestia wouldn’t stop mumbling about how primitive ponies used to sleep in the cold all the time, that it’s normal and it’s no big deal… but she was on edge. She was driving herself crazy, and it was driving Discord crazy, and that was driving me crazy.

Of course, Celestia’s crazies were deeper than a frustration about the snow… We were heading to Canterbury, she wanted to be certain that we were ready. At one point she grit her teeth and banged her knee against a tree, beating it until her coat was scraped up, covered in little pinpricks of blood. She lifted it up to us and demanded we test the Element’s healing abilities. With some futzing with the Resonation, and an accidental shower of snow falling from one of the broadleaved trees, we made the wound disappear. Celestia trotted on, and me and Discord spent an hour tossing back and forth silly names. Eventually, we settled on “The Bright Northern Lights that Illuminate all of Glorious Equestria, Hail Our Wisdom For Relying Random Outcomes, For We Are The Alicorn Gods.” Or “Aurora” for short.

I think that was the only laugh we had all day… The second time Celestia tried to pull a “here’s a problem, let’s find a solution…”

I don’t even know what she was thinking. We were just walking alone the road, trying to stick to the flattened tracks of carts. Celestia was staring off the road, not really talking much. Discord and me kept trying to get her into the silly naming, but she never got into it. Always kinda distracted. She stopped suddenly, pointed her hoof off the road.

“Look,” she had said, “A fox.”

And so it was! It was just a fuzzy red furball, making two tiny little tracks through the woodland snow. It looked up at Celestia’s words, ears perking. It was then that I saw another little fuzzball in its mouth, a brown rabbit…

I stuck out my tongue, “Yeck, it’s got a dead thing.”

Discord chuckled uncomfortably behind me, and I watched him step around me, continue on. But Celestia... she stepped off the road, walked towards that fox. Carefully finding each step, she never took her eyes off the fox, approaching it slow as could be. And the fox watched her too, wary. He turned a little, rabbit flopping in his mouth.

Slowly, carefully, Celestia used her aura to scoop up a ball of snow. Discord called out about then, joking about her intentions. With a sort of desperate squeak, Celestia chucked that snowball. The fox darted away, annoyed… but then she grabbed its tail.

“Celestia!” Discord cried, “What are you doing?”

“Annoying it!” she shouted back, “We need to try and Harmony Blast it!”

~Θ~

Celestia and Discord argued the most I’d ever heard them fight when that happened. The angriest I’d ever heard them, even angrier than when Discord was found in that chicken coop. It was a stupid risk and a danger, Discord screamed. We learned that the Harmony Blast can calm things down, Celestia screamed. I had to resort to standing between then, forcing them apart with hoof and spell.

Discord wouldn’t really talk to me after that… Couldn’t believe that I wouldn’t immediately denounce my sister. Couldn’t believe that I still wanted to go to Canterbury. He was starting to get more desperate about the issue, pressing it more when he realized Celestia wasn’t changing her mind.

Then, as the sun was setting, and we were all sick of not being able to feel our feet…

Celestia stopped again, making Discord tighten up a little, shoulder stiff. She poked at a muddy patch of snow, and her horn flared to life. She lifted a leaf down, and scooped a big, squirmy worm into the little cup. It rolled and curled around, tightening into knots. Celestia held it in front of me.

“Let’s try and turn it into stone.”

“No!”

She blinked.

“It’s just a cute little bug!” I cried, “It’s not hurting anybody!”

“First of all, it’s not a bug,” Celestia huffed, “And in any case, we have to test this on something! And there are millions of these things around! One won’t be missed!”

Quietly, under his breath, Discord spoke. “Just like there’s millions of ponies in Equestria?”

Celestia heaved a sigh. “Oh, you would say that! You’re just trying to get under my skin!”

“Just saying. I’m with Luna on this one,” Discord said, “Just leave the little bug be…”

“It’s not a… Nevermind!” She shook her head, almost dropping the worm. “Anyway, what happens when we get to the Shadow Stallion? We need to know how to turn things to stone!”

Discord rolled his eyes, and for a second, I thought he was just going to leave. I watched my sister, hoping, praying she’d just let Discord keep walking. Really not the best thing to hope for…

But then, Discord turned back to me. Waved at me. “C’mon Luna,” he said, “Your sister’s gone freaking bonkers. Let’s get her to Canterlot, maybe they can cure her of the crazies.”

“No! Luna!” Celestia finally dropped that worm. But it was only to skitter in front of me, head low and eyes wide. “We need to go to Canterbury! How could you live with yourself if you just went and hid from this?!”

“We wouldn’t be hiding! We’d be learning!” Discord moaned. “We’ll figure out how to do this stuff properly!”

“But we can figure it out right here and now!” Celestia cried.

“On an innocent creature…!”

“It is!” Celestia squealed, shoulders heaving, “A LITTLE BUG. You’re just being contrary! That’s all you ever DO!”

“No! Me an Luna are the only ones with any SENSE around here!”

“Luna and I are the only ones who know what DUTY MEANS!”

“Hey!” I shouted, somehow not the loudest of my friends. “Why are you guys tossing my name around like that?”

“Because!” Celestia heaved, “You are on MY side! We’re going to Canterbury!”

“You’re just using your sisterly bond to bully poor Luna!” Discord shouted back. He darted around Celestia, and flung his foreleg around my shoulder. “Luna knows the logical thing to do is head to Canterlot! She’s just scared of the YELLING!”

“Hey,” I snapped, “You’re yelling too, you know!”

Discord snorted, “Only so I can be heard!”

“That’s stupid,” I told him. “Now stop fighting! The Elements of Harmony do not fight!”

Celestia laughed, a crazy laugh that was so unlike her… “That’s a lie,” she spat, “Those First Gods fought like griffins over a gold coin!”

“Well the Second Gods shouldn’t fight,” I returned.

“Luna,” Discord pleased, “If you want the fighting to stop, just say Canterlot. It’s two against one!”

“Celestia will go to Canterbury alone if we leave—”

“That I will!”

“And we can’t split up,” I said with finality. That was something I definitely would not allow.

And yet… “Why not?!” Discord cried.

I stared at him, “Because Celestia will definitely get hurt?”

“Well… Well we’re all going to get hurt because of this!”

“Well not nesc—“

“Luna, please!” Discord stared me right in the eyes, desperate. “Have some sense!”

“Going to Canterbury makes some sense!”

“Ha!” Celestia laughed, “See?!”

“No it doesn’t!” Discord spat, “Not at all!”

“Look! Both makes sense! Both have reasons! BLEH!” I could feel myself whining, voice catching in the back of my throat. “Can we all just stop yelling at each other? Please?! That’s all I want right now!”

“No!” Discord shouted, “We have to decide now!”

“You gave us until the time we reached Canterbury!” Celestia pointed out.

“Well I changed my mind!” Discord shook his head. “It’s crazy! And I don’t know how long my stock of fish will last…!”

Celestia recoiled, lips squeezed tight.

Discord’s face fell. “Don’t look at me like that, Celestia!”

“I-I’m not!” Celestia stammered, “What look?!”

“You’re still—!”

“Stop!” I could feel my voice boom with a noisy blast, Element flaring along with a burst from my horn. Celestia and Discord both stumbled back, unable to keep their footing. “Stop it! You!” I jabbed a hoof at Discord “Over there! Celestia!” My hoof snapped around to my sister. She looked shocked. Hurt. “Over there!” I shouted.

Celestia stared down at me. “… Why I never! I am the older sister here…!

“It won’t make us any more harmonious to be separated…” Discord mumbled.

“It won’t solve anything to keep yelling at eachother!” I squealed, really, really whining. “Both of you just… go and freaking calm down!”

“But what—?!”

“I don’t know! I don’t know I don’t know stop fighting!” Then I did something very, very childish. I don’t even know why I did it, looking back. I just threw myself to the ground, kicking my legs and pounding my head into the cold snow, screaming. Horn sometimes flaring with crazy spells, blasting the words from my mouth. “STOP FIGHTING. SHUT UP! STOP IT!”

It was a long, long time until I could get myself calmed down enough to sobbing hot tears. Longer still to just lie there, pouting, and feeling ashamed of myself. I’m kind’ve a little kid but… but to throw a fit like that… I was kind’ve proud about how grown up I could be. About solving all the fights. About being a problem solver…

When I finally sat up, I saw Discord was staring at me. Stunned, unable to really say anything to me.

And my sister was just gone.

~Θ~

The past few days we had been sleeping really really tight knit, since the snow and cold never left. But Discord’s up his tree… And when I went to snuggle up with Celestia, she backed away, said she needed some alone time. At least she didn’t run away…

But I think… besides those two nights I stayed alone in Stringhalt, this is the only night I’ve ever slept completely alone. Even when we lived in Canterbury… I thought it was silly that my sister tried to keep me so close… dragging me down into the sitting room to sleep together. But now, I really miss her.

And it’s still really, really cold.

They’re not just mad at each other… they’re mad at me. They’ve never been mad at me! I’m the peacemaker! Aren’t I? I bury my nose into my forelegs, cold Element resting on my nose, and stare up at the sky. Even as peacemaker… It’s always either or. It’s either Discord or Celestia. My friend’s stance or my sister’s stance…

What about my opinions? Can’t I add more than ‘stop fighting’ to every conversation?

I dunno… Why are we fighting? Isn’t this a time we have to be the most harmonious? All friends fight occasionally but… it’s weird to think that saviors, heroes, and eventual gods like us can still snip at each other. Aren’t we chosen because we’re above those little arguments? I stare up at the sky, trying to see the flakes as they fall, quietly muting the dark night. But even the snow’s left me… guess the Pegasi had caught up to that storm…

And, as I stare up at the clouds, I wonder if that’s exactly what I’m seeing. There’s a big white lantern up there, above the clouds. I tense up… I remember the looks of the griffin lanterns! They looked um… Orange. And a whole lot smaller than that. I wonder if they had some sort of big, massive lantern they haul around for cleanup.

Or maybe I’m just completely wrong.

I keep quiet, just in case. If it is a giant griffin mega-lantern, shouting for my friends is probably not the best idea. If I can see it, they can see it, and they’ll know how to act.

But as the lantern got brighter and brighter… there was no response from my friends. Not even a shiffling of snow or a whisper of branches. And that was weirder than the light even being there. Discord should at least be reacting to being taken, or something. Were they both asleep? I stared at the lamp, watching it for sudden movements. But it didn’t move at all… just started to became less and less like a blob of light, and more like a big hoofprint. Getting brighter and brighter, outlining little puffy lines…

And a little black speck darted in front of the crescent-shapes spotlight.

“Guys!” I shouted. Quietly. “Celestia! Discord!”

There was a shuffling, a sleepy groan from my sister. “What, Luna…”

“It’s… it’s… the clouds!”

Layer by layer, streak by streak, dozens, maybe hundreds of itty bitty mites weaved in and out of the clouds. The clouds, the permanent, never-go-away, dreary ceiling layer that I had only seen over once in my life, but never leave. Slowly, not so slowly, it vanished, and the real sky opened up.

Right in the center was that big silver print, bright and shiny like a light over a flick of silver, almost bright enough to see the glade without my spells. I could see little dark marks all over its surface, speckling, but never dimming its calm and gentle glow. All around it, instead of an infinite sea of impossible blue, it was all black… But more than black! A giant speckled streak splattered behind the hoof print sliver, glittering and glowing with the same calm stillness. These little dots were dimmer, but each speck an individual, radiating outwards, filling the sky with an ocean of sparkles.

“The moon!” Celestia cried.

“That’s the moon…?” I asked.

“And the rest are stars,” she replied.

“Wo~ow…” I laughed out loud, “Look! The moon! It’s smiling on its side!”

But, almost as soon as it the sky was revealed to us, little specks flew this way and that, silent little bodies leaving behind them a network of cloudy strings, eventually forming back into a single spun web… Then it was all back to normal. The normal, dreary, cloudy sky was put back in its place. I could already feel it getting warmer.

“The snowstorm must have invaded the permanent cloud layer…” Celestia mumbled.

“Maybe…” Discord spoke up, the first I had heard from him since the argument.

In my mind, the image of that little moon, a little sliver of a hoof nail in the sky. It was nothing like the daytime sun, that big bright burning thing that left holes in my eyes. The night sky was nothing like the endless blue, a blue void to fall into. It was full of light, full of things to look at, almost too much to take in at once… Yet…

That sky was beautiful…

~Θ~

I didn’t know if I could sleep that night, for the second night in a row. It was warmer, sure, but wetter, and stifling. I spent a long time thinking about that moon… just getting a feel for the word. Wondering how all those stars got there, and how the moon was positioned so perfectly, not running into any of them. But those entrancing thoughts couldn’t hold me forever… and the later and more uncomfortable it got… the more negative my thoughts became. The fight between us all… and the fact that I was sleeping all alone.

I just feel like I’m just standing back and watching, or putting a stop to the fighting. When I enter the conversation… it stops. I guess it’s a good thing that my friends listen to me… But Discord wants to go to Canterlot. Celestia wants to go to Canterbury. I’m just thinking about their reasons to go places, weighing their words. Don’t I have somewhere I want to go?

Should I just say ‘go in a random direction!’ for a third option? I think that’s kind’ve dumb. But am I always gonna be between Celestia and Discord, deciding which ones right and which ones wrong? I feel like anything I’m gonna say that’s purely me is gonna be wrong. I don’t know anything…

And then some words popped into my brain.

Nobody really knows what’s right. What we ‘know’ is always going to be really, really incomplete. So I know that I don’t know anything.

Why am I assuming Discord and Celestia know any better?

The idea stunned me for a second, made me feel all swirly sideways. Maybe they don’t know what’s best either. Maybe they’re just as dumb as I am!

Wow.

So um…

If both options are dumb, what the heck should we do? Is there a smart option at all? Canterlot seems smarter… but does safer mean smarter? Catching an enemy off guard is smart too, even if Celestia’s being all emotional and dumb about it…

She’s too intense. Like the sun was. Warm and strong, giving light to everybody, but burning holes in your eyes if you look too hard.

There’s another, better way to look at the sky…

And there’s a better way to look at this solution.

There’s one thing that’s really clear to me now: while my friends were fighting, I couldn’t think straight! Who can think straight when they’re getting all worked up over the right answer, you know? Fighting’s not helping! We gotta approach this stuff in the calm and quiet. It’s not really about my own opinion and not getting a word in, not really. I like the thought of weighing all the options and reasons, both logical and emotional, and offering the answer with an even temper! Radiate the response not with the heat of the sun…

But with the cold light of the moon!

So… Celestia If she’s going to be Equestria’s sun… Well, then I want to be its moon!

“And as Equestria’s moon!” I whispered frantically to myself, a rushing feeling in my head, flashing lights coming from behind me, “I say the best option for my country is to see if we can save it now! We must go to Canterbury, and stop this evil once and for all!”

~Θ~

I remember, almost a million years ago, how important a cutie mark was. All the kids in school would panic about what they would get… And those that found their way were always so excited. I was invited to a ton of parties celebrating cutie marks. Not because I was popular or anything, but because cutie marks were a BIG DEAL, and every foal had to go to every party, just to make sure they knew that.

I think, one time I planned out what my Cuteciñera would be like. Celestia looked at it and said maybe. Then she rubbed her eyes and told me no. I wouldn’t have a party when the cutie mark appeared. A cutie mark wasn’t THAT BIG of a BIG DEAL.
So I took her word for it. I mean, she didn’t have a cutie mark either, and she was almost an adult. It must not be that important. Someday I’d get one, when I was ready for it. Knowing it really wasn’t a BIG DEAL stopped me from really getting worked up and worried, like some of my peers. Stopped me from hurting myself or wrecking my coat with paint… like some of my peers.

And my patience was rewarded.

I naturally came to a conclusion about myself, about what I feel. I feel happy. Still happy. And my cutie mark is… beautiful. Unique. Like the moon in the sky, one of a kind. A little sideways smile, a small tap of a hoof, sitting in its own blotchy nighttime shadows. A little light in the dark.

I am Luna, Equestria’s long-lost Moon. Still trying to shine, even though the clouds block my light. A cool and careful nighttime guide.

And I’m comfortable with myself.

XXXIX : Discord

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 39
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com/

~Discord~

Has everyone gone freaking bonkers?!

When Luna decided to side with Celestia on that wet, muddy morning, it was like a punch to the gut! I felt honest to goodness betrayed, wondered why in the world Luna would do that. To me. She didn’t mean it as a jab against me, I’m sure but…

It frustrated the hell out of me!

“Luna,” I said, approaching her. I was sinking up to my ankles in mud and ‘splorch’ing as I walked. Yet, I couldn’t help but stare at her slowly swaying flank… I admit, I don’t know a ton of ponies personally. But I think I’ve seen plenty of cutie marks by now. And hers was different. A big splotchy blob that almost ran down her leg, up to her tail… Then she turned sideways, smiling back at me. I stopped staring.

“Uh-huh?” she said. And she almost seemed to carry herself differently. And not different in the forced way, like Celestia. Luna looked more relaxed, more at ease… more mature. Was that an effect of the cutie mark? Or… for life’s sake, I’ve got to stop staring at her flank. I’m getting cutie mark envy on top of all other stupid things…

“Luna,” I stared her right in the eyes, coming up on her left side. “I just got my life back again. I’m very, very happy to not be dead. If we go fight the Shadow Stallion, I’m telling you, we’re going to die.”

I guess I half expected her to laugh me off. I mean, she sided with Celestia this morning, and was very, very proud of her choice. Of course she was going to laugh this off, laugh me off. But she didn’t. She looked straight ahead, and actually seemed to be thinking about it! Maybe there’s a way to convince her after all!

“Hey Discord,” she asked casually, “What do you know about the Shadow Stallion?”

“I told you already. He’s a top dog to rule top dogs. He’s stronger than any Draconequus!”

“Like… how strong? How does he keep the Draconequus in line? You said he doesn’t use magic…”

“He just… beats them up? Rips them to shreds.”

“With alicorn magic?”

“Jeez, I don’t know!” I cried, “I don’t watch you know!”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t either…” Luna fell quiet, head tilted up at the clouds. “I’m just kind’ve thinking! Depending on what the Shadow Stallion can and can’t do…”

“He can do a ton. He’s an alicorn.”

“Celestia doesn’t seem to think so,” Luna piped up, “She thinks his magic isn’t all that.”

“Does… does she have a reason to think that?” The idea made my head want to spin. The Stallion, Father, he was all-powerful. There was a question about that?

“He hasn’t found three dumb kids, for one.”

I blink. “I guess there’s that.”

“And he can’t keep his head stallions, or the guys who worships him in line.”

“Yeah but,” I objected, “That’s just because his attention’s divided. Remember? We guessed that ages ago. He’s powerful, yeah, but he’s just one alicorn!”

“But how hard can a couple scrying spells be? Look where we are, shout at the griffins to get us…”

My mind was reeling, “I don’t know. Maybe… maybe it’s outside the realm of his cutie mark?”

Luna grinned. “Sonic magic’s outside the realm of my cutie mark.”

“So… you can still cast that?”

Luna giggled. She threw back her head, and with a flash of her horn, she squeaked at the sky. I jumped as the blast of sound rocketed past me, shaking the wet remnants of snow from every branch around us.

“Luna!” Celestia cried. “Shouting?!”

“Sorry!” Luna giggled. She plucked her feet out of the mud, and kept walking, smiling at me. “We’re already special enough to get this extra magic stuff, so the Stallion should be too…”

“And that makes him crazy powerful—“

“… But he’s not, somehow. He doesn’t have access to every spell or nothing. There might be lots he doesn’t know. I mean… what spells did you see him cast, in the castle?”

“Um… I don’t know.” I wracked my brains for the scant few times I had seen Father… “He can levitate huge things. Stop a Draconequus with a glance. He might be able to teleport… He um… twice a year…” I laughed nervously, “Twice a year, well, he regulates Draconequus breeding. So twice a year he makes it so the females can, um, conceive again.” Oh, that is a bizarre look, Luna! I hastily continue. “He also has this shadowy aura that he totes around him, but I don’t think he does that on purpose! His horn doesn’t glow when he does that! Anyway, I hadn’t seen him do anything really, really crazy or powerful. But!” I hastily add, “That could mean that he keeps most of his powers a secret! I mean, this cloud cover comes from him! He can probably do a lot we don’t know about…”

“Maybe. Probably. But… there aren’t any stories about how awesome he is either!”

I chuckled nervously, “We’re discouraged from talking about Father lightly.”

“Oh.” And Luna’s head was back up in the clouds. What in the world was she trying to see up there? “You know!” She exclaimed, “The Elements chose us. They probably want to, and will protect us.”

“What? These rocks…?” I stare down at the little gem bouncing off my neck. It’s just an inanimate thing, just another part of me… But no, it wasn’t always like that, was it? “Maybe. Maybe you’re right.” I returned to staring at my friend. “You remember when I first brought back that butterfly rock, right?”

She grinned and nodded furiously, urging me on.

“We wear these Elements so easily, they almost feel part of us, comfortable around our neck. But that comfort has led us to forget just how alive these things are. They might even be aware.” A flood of ideas hit me, things I had maybe thought about once or twice, but never dwelled on. They poured out of my mouth, somehow, just sounding right. “I don’t think Loyalty judged Celestia just on that outburst, nor you on your story. They watched us for all those weeks, through…” I flicked my Element, making it glitter. “Maybe they even led us where we needed to go. We haven’t run across a single Element that we couldn’t pick up, even though it was a fifty-fifty shot whether it belonged to us or that other group. And… well.” Another thought popped to mind, one long, long since forgotten. “When I was fleeing from those guards, all the way back in Canterbury. On the last day we were there…”

Luna looked ecstatic, continuing to nod through my speech. “Did something magical happen?” she asked.

“Not really, really magical. But when I ran into that first guard… I thought I was dead for sure! There were so many pegasi and griffins I had passed on the way up… Yet, I kept getting lucky. I kept ducking into empty rooms, finding passageways… I kind’ve thought I just knew the pattern of the castle well, even in the parts I had never been in before. But maybe…”

“So you see? We got a leg up on the Stallion! The Elements are here to protect us!”

I smiled. “You thought of this, what, last night? Why didn’t you bring it up sooner?”

“Nah, I Just remembered it now while we were talking!”

“Wow, really?”

“Yep!”

“So you were completely self-assured, just on the idea that the Stallion was weaker than he seemed…?!”

“Well, that, and because it’s the right thing, our duty to—“

“Oh no, no, no. Not this again!” I moaned. “Don’t tell me your cutie mark is the same as Celestia’s… All of that Duty and responsibility crap!”

“Nope!” Luna squeaked, her voice dreamy. “I just realized that I like being a mediator. That making clear and direct decisions is my special talent! Kind’ve like the moon!”

“I um…” I stared at her, confused. Definitely confused. “I never thought of the moon as a great decision maker…”

She blinked, tilted her head and thought quietly. “It’s kind’ve silly when you say it like that!” She happily declared, “But it all made sense at the time. My cutie mark isn’t like… literal, or anything. Represents something more.”

“Anyway, self-assurance—”

“Yep. Got that too.”

“Why?”

“You mean besides the Stallion being weak and the Elements protecting us?” She stuck out her tounge, mocking my question. “I just do! It’s the right thing to do, so we gotta go do it. Dunno if we’ll succeed or fail, but,” she giggled, “I’ve got faith in us! We kind’ve hit some rough patches with the fights yesterday… but… Celestia will protect me. I’ll protect Celestia. I’ll protect you too, and you’ll protect me, right Discord?”

“Of course I will!” I frowned, “Would never think otherwise…” I stare at Celestia, still trotting ahead of us in a tight posture. “And I’d never dream of letting Celestia go, even if she is a pain sometimes.”

“You’re a pain to her, you know!”

I laughed through my teeth. “Oh yeah, I know. Now, if I had to choose one of you…” I grinned at Luna, just trying… I don’t know what I’m even saying…

She nodded. “Pick me so I can teleport us all away! Very clever, Discord!”

… And yet, somehow, it feels like she missed the point.

~æ~

We spent our week or so testing out the boundaries of our magic, working with the elements, working alone, working things out with each other… We never could get Celestia to calm completely down, but she wasn’t doing anything crazy anymore. So that’s good, I guess? Good to have a level head when you’re trotting right into a death trap. Together, we found a way to turn some leaves to stone, which Celestia packed away, checking constantly for cracks. We got comfortable with using our Elements, with this idea of duty…

Though I think I was the only one having any trouble with that. I’m following the suicidal plan, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.

But I think, as the days went on, Celestia and Luna were less and less gung-ho about this plan as well. Our conversations got shorter, further apart. Slowly, we found ourselves with very little to talk about. All of the spells we could think of were tried. We had discussed endlessly about what the Stallion could and could not do… Nothing else really seemed as important as the upcoming confrontation. And so… we just, slowly stopped talking. Luna brought up a topic or two, here and there. Trying to cheer us up, eyes and Element glittering. But even knew there was little a couple jokes could do.

“Well…” I said, breaking an hour-long silence as we followed a familiar road to a familiar place. “Rearing Town, you guys.”

Celestia nodded numbly. “Looks like it’s doing better.”

It was, actually. Even in the short amount of time we were gone, the fields looked reseeded, and little green sprouts were popping up all over the previously dead and dry areas. Ponies wandered up and down the banks of the properly-flowing river, grabbing buckets full of water and carefully sprinkling the crops.

I don’t know how, but we all mentally agreed to just skirt the town… There were a few muttered words here and there about Basil, wondering what he was doing, if he really managed to get along with both towns. But bigger things were on our minds than catching up with our first adventure… More than the Stallion, in my case. My store of fish was quickly wearing thin, and the riverbanks would be our only stopping point before rushing off to Canterbury…

I think, at one point, I had decided if I was to ever go fishing for myself, I would have tried to deliberately gross the girls out. Make fun of this annoying, nasty little need. Ease the tension a little. But any jokes now just seemed… out of place. Inappropriate. The enormous tower of Canterbury was already invading the horizon, like the fat black shaft of a spear stabbing Equestrian soil. It was impossible to ignore or avoid now.

So we just quietly settled down at the river banks. I slipped into the rushing little current, very glad that it was no longer snowing and chilly. Very glad to see how clear the water was. It showed me that there’s weren’t currently any fish anywhere around me. I let the current wash over my legs, glaring at the rocks, really hoping for a sunfish or a salmon or something to catch. I paced in the river, finding a little magic in my fingertips. If I spotted one… maybe I could use a wall to trap it?

“Gosh,” Luna suddenly spoke up, chuckling nervously, “I wonder if our house is still there!”

For the longest time, neither me nor Celestia replied. I don’t know about Celestia, but I winced a little at the question, kept looking for some stupid sunfish in some still pools.“Do you think some other pony family is living in it?” Luna quietly asked.

“Probably our no good uncle started renting it out…” Celestia mumbled, eyebrows creasing.

“Yeah… Oh!” Luna squeaked, “I left all my toys in that house!” Celestia snorted up a laugh, and I felt the same way. What a silly little thought! Yet, another part of me panged. I didn’t want to embarrass Luna either… “I hope,” Luna muttered, “Whichever unicorn baroness got them is treating them nice...”

I waited for Celestia to offer an “I’m sure they are,” but none came. I took up the responsibility, distracted with a little spell… Water spilled around my simple wall, gushing around my trap. The fish darted away from… No! I snapped my head under the current, trying to catch a freaking sunfish! I felt its tail slip out from between my teeth, but charged after the stupid little thing.

“Hey Discord!”

“Pppftlth… Yeah?!”

“What about your house?” Luna called, a good distance away. “You think some…other Draconequus might be living in it?”

I splashed back upstream, staring at the river. “Never had a house,” I explained. “Just had a stupid bunk with three other idiots. Nothing to miss in that hole…” Quietly, I stared at another fish as it tried to squat in another still pool. Maybe a different tact. Using magic to block off the pool, a wall parallel to the current… My jaws snapped around the squirmy little thing… got one! I um… I ran and dropped it on the opposite shore, trying to hide it behind my old little bundle. Unsuccessfully.

“What about old friends?” Luna softly called.

I cringed, pinning the flopping fish to the ground, and really, really not wanting to talk about this. “Did you guys have old friends?” I called back.

Luna slowly shook her head. “Not really… The fillies at school talked about dumb stuff...”

“It was either work, or socializing.” Celestia stated, staring at the water. “And I needed that work… I, I barely even remember my old acquaintances.” She looked up, silent while I reentered the water. “Might be nice to see the bakery again…” she mumbled.

“You really didn’t have a single friend before us, Discord?” Luna asked. “Nobody liked you at all?”

I snorted. “Heck no, I was a little troublemaker…” I scanned the river, trying to spot something. Anything. Even a crawdad would be welcome. “I think the only guy who put up with me was my brother, Ruin. But even then…”

“You have a brother?” That perked Luna right up, her eyes wide and body straight, leaning towards me. “Like a big brother? Like Celestia?”

“Yeah, a Celestia that’s ten times as demanding, if you can believe it. He’s just the guy who raised me...” I dunk my head under, snapping at another elusive fish, failing again… “Ffpth … We’re just encouraged to think of all the Draconequus as brothers. Generations don’t really matter much.”

“Even… even the girls are brothers?” Luna giggled, a strangely uplifting sound. An actual laugh… I smiled.

“Very funny,” I replied, “Anyway, the guy’s still a jerk. Just slightly less of a jerk than most of the Draconequus. Friggin glad to leave all of them behind.” I stared at the water, not even looking for fish. Just… staring. Finding my own words strange and hollow. “And I’m sure!” I barked, “That he was ecstatic the day I left! Didn’t have to deal with the idiot who can’t keep his stupid nose clean…”

I was silent, and so was Luna. With nothing else to talk about, I wandered up and down the shores, actually catching another couple fish. But a thought came to me, as I returned to my bundle with my fourth catch.

“Y’know,” I called, “When we defeat the stallion, the griffins will probably bail. Not being paid, they’ll probably settle down here, like in Stringhalt. Or they’ll just leave the country for a new mark.” I frowned. “But the Draconequus…” I looked back at my friends, wondering if they saw where I was going. Neither of them looked happy. “We’re going to have to find a way to deal with them. They’re not going to be bound to Canterbury anymore… Not bound by the Stallion. They might go crazy and—” I stopped, jaws stiff, “Attack Equestria.”

I think both of them knew exactly what I meant. Luna closed her eyes. Celestia stared dead at me, boring holes into my skull.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Celestia remarked, voice a forced casual.

And that was that. I had caught my fish, so cleaned them up and coated them in salt, hoping that was enough to keep them. Now there was nothing stopping us from approaching that dark city coated in shadows.

We walked in silence, watching the pillar get bigger, bigger, bigger. Looming higher, wider than any of us ever remembered it being. In the distance, you could see the edges… Yet as we walked, it seemed to lose those edges, invading the entire horizon. And for over half the day, block out what little light the sun gave, leaving us in a massive second shadow. At one point Celestia waved us off the road, and we numbly followed her. We followed what little paths we could find between the trees, trying to look away, but never able to deny that the sky had turned from gray to black. Slowly, bit by bit, after a full and silent day and fitful night of travel, we somehow reached those impossible walls. I think with how far we had fallen the first time… we never actually had gotten up close to the base…

Now, we walked right up to the structure, and touched them. Touched that cold black stone… The pillar almost seemed flat, stretching far and away into the forests, cutting lines through subtle hills. We stared upward as it pierced the clouds, almost seeming to curve outward, preparing to collapse on our heads… Just looking up was dizzying, I actually heard a small squeak as Luna tumbled backward, unable to crane her neck high enough.

I, for some reason, put my ear to the wall, just wondering if I could hear the streets, or hear Draconequus fighting. But there was nothing. Nothing but a long-forgotten cold that drains the life, the light from your eyes.

“So…” I mumbled, almost afraid to be heard. “How are we going to get in?”

Celestia sniffed. “Hm…”

I guess there were a lot of things we failed to talk about…

XL : Overcast Return

The Steadfast Sky : Overcast Return
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com/

~Celestia~

There is a way in. Doesn’t matter if I spent most my life not knowing a way out. There is a way in, somewhere. We’ve just got to find it.

I watched Discord climb with a focused intensity, really seeing how he does it. I watched him as he ran his hand across the stone, trying to find crack or a wide groove to grip as he ascended. It wasn’t hard, or it didn’t look hard to him. The stones were uneven, jutting out at odd angles. And when he couldn’t find the next handhold, he’d just slap his hand down and use magic to haul himself up. It was slow compared to how fast he could scamper up a tree, but it wasn’t long until he rose above tree line, staring downward, back up… With more than a mile to go.

He paused for a moment, staring into the brick before he let go, gliding in a wide circle back down to us.

“I’m sorry Celestia,” Discord shook his head, “But no. This is crazy.”

“You were doing so well!” I urged, “You could probably make it!”

“Yeah… maybe I could. But…” He looked up again, frowning, “You remember how long it took to run up those stairs. Maybe I could make it up by myself, but no way could I carry one of you. Let alone carry you both.” His eyes kept flicking upward, and back down, glaring at the base of the city, trying to avoid staring up. “And I don’t even know what I’d do if I got myself in…”

“Unlock the secret passage into the city?” Luna offered with a weak giggle. Yet, Discord’s frown only grew a little bit more sour.

“Don’t I wish…”

I jerked my body to the right, forcing myself to walk through my thoughts as I stared up that massive black wall… This is just one little obstacle, one tiny little problem that should be easy to solve. We can do it. We’re the Bringers of Harmony. We have to do this.

“There’s got to be some way in from the ground,” I finally spoke. “The trade carts, they can’t all come from the Pegasus. Can they?” I stopped. “What if an earth pony wants to sell in the city… Do they just, I don’t know, turn him away? Ignore them maybe, with no obvious entrance…”

“You owned property,” Discord quietly pointed out, “Don’t you know how this stuff gets in the city?”

I froze, the reminder like a cold twinge on my brain. Why didn’t I know? I cleared my throat, throwing aside the moment.

“I did assist Hot Cross in bringing home supplies from some markets,” I snapped, “I uh… am not entirely sure where the good came from. I assumed they were all a tax thing. Teleported in by the Shadow Stallion.”

Discord’s face curled, sighing in disgust. “No way we’re going to get in if they’re being teleported.”

“Well I guess we could—“

“Guys?” Luna squeaked, backing into the bushes and trees, “Griffins!”

I looked up, surprised my neck wasn’t permanently stuck in this gaze by now. I tottered back… and couldn’t see what Luna was seeing. But did that matter? I trotted back into the tree line, unable to avert my gaze until the leafy barrier was well over my head.

“I hope that the only way to get in,” Discord chuckled nervously, “Isn’t just to get caught.”

“Goodness!” I gasped, “There’s an idea!” Discord recoiled, eyes wide. “We’ll look at our other options first, of course…”

“No,” he snapped.

“But as a last resort…”

“No!” Discord cried, “We don’t need to make this even more suicidal, Celestia!”

The look on Discord’s face… practically horrified. This wasn’t the time and place to be arguing. It was only a passing thought anyway… I tucked the idea away for later. If it really came down to it.

“Goodness,” I chuckled faintly. “I’m sorry. We’ll find another way.”

“Don’t make this worse than it already is, Celestia,” Discord mumbled, “Don’t make it worse…”

Alright… now what? I stared away, trying to find an idea. I couldn’t help continuing to stare at the wall, eyes slowly rising, only stopping when they bounced off the tree’s leaves. Grass tickled my chin as I looked back down, bending and brushing around my jaw. I swatted it away.

“You have any idea, Luna?” Discord asked behind me, out of sight.

“Hm! Good question.” There was silence for a moment, “The walls can’t be exactly the same all the way around the city, right? Maybe we just gotta look for a place that looks climbable, or more open, or something.”

“The city can’t be the same on every side,” Discord said.

“That would take too long,” I huffed. “Maybe even days. We could be spotted.”

“But, but while we look, we could think of another plan,” Luna said.

“How about…” I found myself tugging out the well-worn map, unfolding it into the grass. “Stringhalt… it had that little trading town outside of it. A traveller’s waypoint. Bolton, I think? Maybe Canterbury has one of those?”

“That would involve far more walking than just circling the city,” Discord grumbled, “A town like that could be anywhere. Or just not exist. The Stallion could teleport stuff in, remember?”

“From anywhere at any time?” I replied with a frown, “If he could do something like that, he could have teleported himself or some griffins all over Equestria. He could have found us easily.”

“Maybe he did,” Discord shot back, “And we’ve just been lucky.”

“’Just been lucky,’” I scoffed, “After being spotted twice?”

“I don’t know, alright?” Discord rubbed his eyes. “I don’t want to wander around, looking for some mystery town that may or may not exist.”

“Better than a mystery set of stairs. Or a mystery hole in the wall.”

“Really? Is it really?”

“It’s not back near Rearing Town or Broncsburg!” Luna exclaimed over us, “We know that much!”

“Yes… We do know it’s not either of those towns…” I do need to stop fighting with Discord, especially in such a stressful situation… Goodness. I stared at the tiny little lines on the map. Canterbury was obvious. A big tower, actually drawn onto the page. Big curly letters curved above it, one of the few cities given that privilege. Scattered around the tower were a number of tiny dots, maybe half a dozen… five without Rearing Town and its sister village. But the closest, almost touching the big outline of a tower…

“To the southeast,” I pointed, “Gelding. I think we should check there first.”

“Celestia,” Discord huffed, “It’s on the exact opposite side of where we are.”

I flicked my mane out of my eyes, tucking the map back away. We had a direction now, and heck if I was going to let any more doubts waver me now that the direction was clear.

“A little bit more walking isn’t going to kill us,” I stated, firm as I felt.

~¤~

It took more than a day to trudge around the city, with the wall a constant line. Curving somewhere in the distance, but to our eyes, flat and straight. I don’t know about Luna and Discord, but my neck was starting to hurt from its constant craning. I wasn’t even trying to see the top anymore. We just had to keep a constant vigil for the Griffins, and strange, armored Pegasi bobbing in and out of the clouds.

“You think those Pegasi will help us?” Luna had asked.

“They’re slaves given privilege…” Discord mumbled, “So…”

“So they have the power to help the other ponies!”

“I don’t know… I don’t know.”

Sometimes a pack of griffin-driven pegasi hauling carts sliced overhead, ripping through the cloud layer, little smoky trails left in their wake. They were like bizarre symbols to my eyes. I mean, they weren’t a good sign, no. But what were so many carts doing on the ground? As each one passed overhead, I drove myself even faster, knowing my guess was the correct one, knowing it.

Night bore over us, and we muttered back and forth constantly that we should sleep. That we needed to be fresh and ready to fight the stallion. I agreed, it was a smart move, right? We talked it over and we talked some more and we kept talking, and all the while we kept walking around the wall, still hearing the carts rattle and squeal over our heads, the cracks of whips and the screeches of the griffins. We walked and talked long past the thought of sleep, body aching and tense, eyes heavy, but still so painfully awake and aware. I jumped at the wind through the trees, froze at the screech of an irritated griffin.

Luna tried to give me and herself enough vision to see in the dark, but the spell kept flickering off as she sleepily stumbled over roots and rocks, plunging us into the impenetrably dark night. We slowed to nearly a crawl, trying to save Luna’s energy, trying not to trip in the dark. This entire time, I had been leading. But in the dark, I constantly saw Discord’s little reflective eyes, flicking back to check on us, warning us of particularly problematic spots.

Beyond even that, between garbled by I’m-not-tireds and suppressed yawns, Discord offered to carry Luna on his back. In his words “since, well, I can see pretty good…” and not much beyond that. I was mutely handed off his smelly fish rot to carry. I had to shove it in my bag with my teeth, lest my bright yellow aura attract unwanted eyes. The taste wouldn’t leave my mouth, awful. Vile. A gust from the right direction blew hints of the stink up my nose. Why did I never notice it coming off Discord before?

There was no way to judge exactly how late it got… but when I saw the not-curve of the wall getting bright, orange light soaking and reflecting off the clouds, a dazed part of my mind thought it was sunrise. As in, we were starting to approach the sun before it rose into the sky. Because where else would the sun be at night, other than on the ground? I shook my head furiously, bashed my hoof into my forehead. No, Celestia. Dumb. That’s dumb. Wake up, stay focused. A light in the distance, what else could that be?

“It’s… Is that the town? Did we make it?”

I saw Discord look back at me. Actually saw a faint shadow along with his little glowing eyes… Luna mumbled something behind me, Discord quietly trying to encourage her awake. But somehow, despite the aching, walking for nearly a full twenty-four hours now, dazed and confused, I charged for that light, as if I was renewed. I forgot for the moment the griffins casually coming and going over our heads, pegasi carts still rattling, getting louder and louder. It wasn’t just a sign, it was a better sign. A clear sign! Clearer and clearer now, a brightly burning torch, illuminating the black wall behind it. And running up to it, I tripped, not on a branch or rock, but on innumerable wagon ruts, digging deep into the bare earth. Gradually getting fainter and fainter as they vanished into the grass, stopped existing. Almost as if the cart had flown away…!

Discord had to drag me back into the tree line. I was all too eager to walk directly beside those wagon tracks, find where they led. Instead, we followed the wall in the woods. The path of torches, goodness yes! The torches along the wall multiplied, created a row following a black cobblestone road… Both Luna and Discord began plucking and fiddling with shadows, prepared to hide at a moment’s notice.

“Do you hear that?” Discord suddenly whispered.

“What?” Luna whispered back.

“A cart. Coming down the road.”

“Hm?” I flicked my ears up, as forward as they would go, but stopping helped my hearing more. I could hear it too. A loud clatter of wheels, getting louder.

There was a crack, a whip, and a Pegasi team charged down that road, snorting and whinnying as the cart bounced and rattled behind them, smacking into the wall once to an angry screech of the griffin driver. They were by in a flash, but I ran out of the tree line, watched the pegasi take off into the sky, aiming for the high, high clouds. I fell back into the trees just as fast, charging, back on track, not even bothering to check if Discord and Luna were following me.

There was a way into the city! There was a way in!

“Celestia! Celestia, slow down!” Discord ran up behind me, out of breath. “Okay. Okay. This looks really promising, but…”

“I was right!” I gasped, “First guess, Discord! I was right!”

“Yeah, alright, you were right!” Goodness, happy little shot rocked through me to hear Discord admit I was right! “But hold up, jeez! Should we at least take a nap or something before heading in?”

I slowed down, if only to let my sister catch up. She had never started running… “With all of these griffins around?” I said, “What would happen if they saw us here?”

“One of us could keep an eye out, right? I sleep for a bit, then you sleep… ”

“I dunnoooo…” Luna yawned, finally catching up, “We’re all so, so tired. Would any of us be able to stay up all by themselves?”

Discord straightened his shoulders. “I would!”

“With nobody to talk to?” Luna mumbled, “Nothing to do?”

“I… I’m not sure.”

“It’s gonna be all…” Luna continued, rocking her head back and forth, “Daylight soon enough, too. Then it’d be all really easy to see us, and really, really hard to sneak in and stuff…”

“Luna,” Discord said, “You sound exhausted.”

“Mmnn…” she grumbled, rubbing her eyes, “We can find someplace to sleep inside the city.”

“What, at night?” Discord softly hissed.

Luna frowned, staring at the black little runway. “The griffins are going in at night. They’re not afraid. Maybe they got someplace to stay.”

Discord glared at the track. In the soft torchlight, I could see he was pouting. Of all things…

“We’re…” he finally started, “We might do something rash. You’re too tired to think straight, we all are!” Discord laughed nervously. Then, quietly. “We can still change our minds. Not too late to go to Canterlot. Please. Let’s just go to Canterlot.”

Luna shook her head, blearily knocking her forehead into Discord’s shoulder. “I don’t think anyone wants to go there now…”

“Yeah… yeah… Guess not…” He rubbed his eyes, trying to force them open. “I guess… I’m on board with going now. It will be harder to hide during the daytime. Let’s use the shadows while there are still plenty around. And—”

Another cart rattled by at his words, barrels and boxes bouncing in the back. It jerked towards the wall, trying to straighten out. One crate tumbled over its side, smacking into the ground with a crash, rolling and spewing a number of glass jars, splattering contents into the trees. The shattering was only punctuated by a fleeting screech of a swear word, griffin already long gone, darting around the wall and up into the clouds.

“And um…” Discord muttered, in shock, “Let’s be careful about it.”

We stayed within the trees as we crept forward, but eventually that became next to impossible. Trees began to vanish as the rutted, torch-lines roads multiplied. Pegasi carts dashed down each one at regular intervals, charging off into the overcast clouds. It was only when we could see the city proper did we dare go out into the grass between the roads, praying nothing else fell off the carts as we ran… Besides that crate, we managed to see one Pegasi cart spill off the track, dumping barrels of fizzy liquid into the grass, Pegasi flapping and whinnying wildly with their legs in the air. Thankfully nowhere near us but, just the sight of it… I just kept moving forward. I had to keep moving forward, towards that little ramshackle town.

Gelding looked like Canterbury had bled out a little sister city. Black stone spilled everywhere from the mighty wall, digging out black, torch-lit lines that Pegasi carts dashed off or landed on. Among the stone, at the epicenter where all the roads originated, there were wooden huts nailed together crudely, blending in with various brick buildings. Silos and warehouses spilled out from the town center, ranging from obscenely crude to passably decent. And up in the sky, the same up-side-down cloud spires we had seen in Stringhalt, swirling down over the tops of the crude buildings. White clouds streaked with brown smears, griffin homes. Or possibly Pegasi barracks…

We made a beeline for that center, and tried to find a way through its randomly placed, empty streets. However…

Discord poked his head out from behind a building, looking up and down the torch-lined Pegasi runway. Empty, for now. It cut right through several other streets, dividing some of the rickety buildings from the others. He frowned, opened his mouth to say something. The words didn’t quite make it.

Instead, with a painfully loud yelp, he scampered backward, in just a moment more the impossibly loud cart wizzed by, bouncing off the stones. It heaved itself into the air, veering right, back tire smacking a weathervane right off a roof.

“Quick!” I hissed, “Before another one comes by—!” I galloped across the street, into another alleyway. Discord and Luna quickly followed after. I stared back, up and down the little road we were on, following it as it split into two parallel streets, cut by three other alleyways… Was this street unusually well-lit compared to the others?

I jumped as another cart crashed behind us, Pegasi squealing and screaming. I practically dove for one of the alleyways, knowing Discord and Luna would follow. Got to find where they’re loading the carts, and, and see if there’s a safe looking one… There is going to be one. There is.

“No.” I jumped two feet in the air, a whisper right behind me who—?! I spun around, and Discord stared back, giving me a funny look. He pointed to another alleyway. “Uh… down this street? Hear that? The carts?”

“The ones taking off all the time…?”

“No… like…” he heaved a sigh and rubbed his eyes again, “Like… like normal traffic sounds? Down here?”

“Oh!” I didn’t even have to strain my ears that time. I could actually hear normal creaking and clattering. At normal, reasonable speeds. “Yes, that way…”

A few of the strangely empty streets cut through ours at odd angles, leading to dead ends, to more of the rocketing pegasi paths, to—

“Oh!” Luna excitedly squeaked. My shoulders twinged at the sound, and I slapped a hoof over her mouth, trying to suppress a shout. She stared at me as I slowly lowered my leg. “Over there,” she pointed, “Ponies!”

It was a main street, all right, and it was packed with carts, with Earth Ponies. In stark contrast to the speeding Pegasi streets, the traffic was barely moving forward. Ponies slept under blankets in the back of overstocked carts, while those in the reigns took turns between standing naps and chatting with other drivers. More than one group would walk away from the cart to chat, only to hurry back if the line began inching forward.

“Hey!” A griffin barked somewhere overhead, voice somehow amplified, “Keep the line moving! Let’s go let’s go!” I remained mute, glad the shadows hid me so well. And I expected some grumbled from the Earth Ponies, they had to be here, right?

But the griffin’s orders were followed by shouted complains and more than a few thrown objects.

“Operate at reasonable hours, you fat sack of fluff!”

“Give me my money back! Miser!”

“This system is bullcrap, and your tariffs are too high!”

“Have a gate like a normal city, you, youyouyou… Giant… flying bird!”

“Listen you stupid skarns!” The griffin screeched, “The faster you go, the sooner you can get back to your lousy, flea-bitten beds tonight! Let’s go you little dirt rutters! Move it!”

The exchange continued like that for at least another minute before the line slowly rocked forward a few yards. Then ponies went right back to what they were doing. They shrugged out of their harnesses, pulled down their lanterns, and returned to visiting with one another.

And I turned back to my friends.

“So. So, so… Should we hide in the shadows, or just walk out in our cloaks?” I struggled to pop open my bag with my snout. Both Discord’s and my cloak were folded neatly inside. Under a bag of oats and the sheet. Hm… “Luna’s already been doing a far too much for keeping us hidden. You think you can try and disguise yourself as a pony again, Discord?”

“Of course,” Discord mumbled. He strode beside me and reached in my pack, tugging out the two pieces of cloth. “Won’t be too much of a drain.”

The three of us put on our cloaks somehow without magic. Mostly with Discord’s help, I’m embarrassed to admit. Anyway, under his own green hood, Discord silently wrapped the illusion of a gray pony around his snout and feet. Silently nodding to each other, we slowly stepped into the main thoroughfare.

We were instantly ignored. Thank goodness…

Immediately, I set my thoughts to finding the perfect cart. I thought the best target would be one with nobody sleeping in the back, and missing or sleeping ponies in the cart behind it. And looking to my friends… well, they were following my lead. So I kept leading. We began walking down the rows, my eyes peeled and ears open, completely and silently ignored.

“Yeah, Hock’s had it pretty bad this year—” “—and that crazy frost a few days ago? That’s not helping anybody—“ “No, no, just go back to sleep sweetie—“ “—grow up, can I grow wings like a Pegasus?” “First a drought, then a flood, and you say there was a—” “—of the frost, I’m just glad Stringhalt’s climate controlled—”

I stopped, the name flicking over my ears. Already, the speaker was behind us, as we stood beside his cart.

“I don’t think that frost affected the apples all too badly, but hell, the Apple family’s practically has a monopoly on apples in Canterbury. They’ll push ‘em fine, damaged or no.”

“Lucky. There’s a glut in the market for fabrics, and I only got crappy burlap in the back right now… Thinking of diversifying… “

I looked in the back of the cart. That insignia watch roughly etched on the barrels, the four pictures of the farms, the suns… and beneath it, a burned on brand: APPLE FAMILY GOODS.

And it a moment more, the line started rocking forward, cart clattering past.

“Celestia?” Discord asked.

“This one,” I replied.

“The one with the heavy barrels…?”

“Yes. I’m certain. It had to be that one. It had to be.”

“Uh…”

We trotted up to the cart… and I glanced back. The two cart ponies behind us were dragging massive spools of cloth, one of which immediately unhinged himself to continue chatting with the Apple pony. The other, a dark gray stallion… noticed me staring.

“What are you kids doing up so late?” he asked.

“We uh—“

“This is our cart, right?” Luna yawned, propping her hooves up on the back ledge. “I’m just going to find a spot to take a nap…”

“Yes!” I squeaked, “Appleseed… you’re up far past your bedtime. Up you go…”

I nudged my sister over the edge of the cart, into the bed, knowing the pony behind us was eyeing us strangely. Please just don’t say anything, please just ignore the three little ponies... I hopped up after my sister, making the cart lightly shake.

“Hey!” cried the Apple pony. “I just felt my cart move?”

I rubbed a hoof into my forehead.

Discord grabbed my cloak with his apparent hoof, urgently trying to pull me down, try again. But… but this was the cart. I knew it would keep us safe, I knew where it was going. This was our best bet, wasn’t it?

“Uh, hello?!” The orange Apple pony jogged around the corner. “What are you kids doing?!”

“Well um…” My brain was in a tizzy. Was it because I was tired? Or just because… no, no, focus on the situation, Celestia! Think! “Hello… father.”

“Father? What? No way, you have the wrong cart kid.”

Think brain, think! “No I don’t father!” I cried, actually shocked how convincingly desperate I sounded. “Don’t you recognize me?!”

“Kid,” the stallion snorted, “Get off my cart.”

“But… but Apple …”

“Um, Celestia…?!” Discord hissed.

“Come on now,” the apple pony continued, flicking his hoof. “Go back to your family. Go. Uh… shoo?”

Was he trying to swat me away like some cat?! I stared at him and… Oh goodness, my brain was absolutely at a loss. But… but this cart! This was the right cart!

Panicked, blood rushing to my head, I squeezed my eyes shut and let lose a blinding flash of light.

There was shouting, some in pain, lots annoyed, some confused. A Griffin screeched above us, one shouting through the amplifying cone. I grabbed Discord’s cowl and dragged him up, somehow finding the strength to haul him into the cart. I jumped in afterward, forcing myself into a spot between the jam-packed barrels.

“They’re gonna know…!”

“An illusion!” I hissed, “Make it look like we’re running away!”

Discord scraped at his eyes, nodding through his frustration. He found a shadow and vanished under it. I watched briefly as three little cloaked blurs darted away from the cart before ducking down myself.

“What the heck?!” the Apple pony cried. “Snotty little brats…”

“They might’ve been trying to filch some apples, Apple Core. This town’s full of little street rats, they practically run wild.”

“Great… I’ll check the barrels…”

Discord dropped back beside me as the whole cart shook. His hand shot above my head, tearing at the shadows, ripping them. There was a light in front of me, behind a barrel, Luna’s light. Shadows fell over us like a blanket, obscuring some of the bottoms of the barrels. For a moment, there was silence.

“Anything?” a cart pony asked.

“Nah… too hard to tell in this light. How many apples could they grab anyway? Six or seven?”

“I dunno, of them was a unicorn. They could’ve grabbed a whole barrel.”

“You kidding me?” Apple Core exclaimed, “I think I’d notice if a barrel was stolen.”

“Right… Guess so.”

“Anyway.” With a rattle, the pony dropped off the cart. “Apples smelled a little foul back there... maybe that frost did rot them...” His voice grew distant, quiet as a murmur. Shortly after, the apple cart began to clatter forward.

“That was stupid and this was stupid,” Discord quietly hissed, “What are you thinking?!”

“We’re on a cart,” I shot back, barely whispering, “And my leadership got us here.”

“Your leadership is what’s going to get us killed!”

“Guys…” Luna piped up. “Keep talking and we’re gonna be really loud, and that’s bad.”

Discord grumbled. “Okay… okay.”

I took a deep breath and tried to find a comfortable place on the hard floor. Barrels rattled on either side of me, shifting slightly, pinning my sides. And that’s just from slow and steady starts and stops. There was no space big enough for all three of us to sit, and each of us was jammed between at least two barrels. I could only see Discord’s head, to my left. Luna was hidden from me, behind another heavy barrel...

Maybe finding a cart of hay or something soft was the smarter idea... and another thought bubbled to the surface of my brain, something I should have thought about ages ago. Wouldn’t the griffins unload this cart, and load up one of their own?

I pushed my ankle into my fetlock and ground circles around my temple. For goodness sake, why didn’t I think of that sooner? There’s been almost no stopping all night, we’ve needed to rush, to get where we’re going. I guess, now, there’s nothing left to do but sit and wait. Sit, wait, and hope my decisions were the right ones.

Discord’s paw edged into my vision. I watched it, bleary, as it gripped my hoof, clutching it tight. And warm. I looked up at him, and he gave me a very strange face. A sideways frown and a shrug, eyes staring back, determined. He sighed, and leaned down, away from me, other arm moving to the other side of the barrel, probably to grip Luna’s hoof as well. I stared at my barrel, wondering if she was feeling just as many apprehensions as Discord, or maybe she had fallen asleep... funny how a single barrel can make us a world apart...

Especially when the hopeful glitter of an Element might expose our hiding place. Discord squeezed my hoof, thumbing the nail. I guess a physical connection might be all we need right now... I dropped my head down, staring at Discord, exhausted from the long day.

The next time the cart rattled forward, Discord frowned, and the barrels slowly rattled apart. A black crust formed over our heads, one of his solid illusions. It squeaked and cracked as the barrels moved, but the sound easily blended in with the squeal of the tires, and the clattering of the cobblestones. At least, I convinced myself that it did. It was relieving to not have the barrels pinch my sides tighter and tighter with every bounce. There was actually room to breathe now.

But what was especially strange to me is that it blocked out some of the light... and not just the orange light from the torches and lanterns. A gray light that made everything around a little bit clearer. I could see my sister’s hoof, and the baggy shadows under Discord’s eyes...

It was nearly sunrise.

~¤~

I think I’ve been up and awake for almost thirty hours now. Things were hectic at first, avoiding griffin eyes, reinforcing the solid illusion as we took off, nearly getting crushed as the barrels threatened to fall over. But after that… there was a howling wind and a strange rocking, like being on a boat. A jolt as we landed. An a long, long silence. Discord and Luna fell asleep after things got quiet, and it’s a miracle than the illusion above us held by the time we got moving. I couldn’t sleep myself, of course I couldn’t. I kept watch. For the both of them, staring at the Apple Family logo in silence.

There was a long, slow drive… Going down. Very far down, cart too quiet to be driven by the rowdy griffins. I still could only see the black ceiling, squeaking and flaking into my hair. But we were inside. For the longest time, I knew we were inside somewhere.

Then…

I edged out of my spot, to another space without the ceiling as the world got brighter. There, above me, was the sky above the walls, the gray ceiling now so familiar to me… And I knew then it was early morning. Maybe around nine. I remember being able to tell time like that. Using these walls, their light and shadows. Accurate as any clock.

The air smelled funny. No, it smells familiar. It smells like trapped heat and baking stone. Like sweat and blood, thousands and thousands of ponies trapped in a tight little city. A caged city of shadows, none are allowed to leave. None are allowed to live on their own terms.

Why would any pony be dumb enough to come back here?

The cart rattled to a stop, and I could hear the street around us… Nowhere near as busy or unfriendly as Stringhalt, and not quiet empty as a small town. A quiet bustling. A few friendly calls and ponies chatting with street vendors. Pleasant and quiet, I always thought. I always thought, at least the ponies are nice. My fellow prisoners. A hushed familiarity that I hated to say I missed, or at least forgot I missed.

In a flash, the barrel beside me began to glow bright pink, and was yanked away. The black illusion cracked and broke, fragmenting and vanishing into nothing. I spun around, finally free and curling up from stiffness, staring at a burly brown unicorn.

And he was staring back.

“What in the world…?!”

“What is it sweetie?” A kind old voice called. “We got a rotten barrel or…” A green head poked around the edge of the cart. A familiar green head.

“Celestia?” she asked.

“Apple-a-day…” I choked, “It’s so good to see you again.”

XLI : Overcast Retribution

The Steadfast Sky : Overcast Retribution
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Luna~

Half awake, half asleep. Everything made sense in a way that, later, doesn’t make any sense at all. I dreamed, stuffed between barrels, that I was being pressed in half. Folded up like paper. Smaller and smaller, safer and safer. Eventually I was just a little speck, a little speck that could easily be tucked away in a warm pocket. That’s eventually what happened, too. I realized I was being led off the cart, carried by other speck ponies and placed in a bed. Into the pocket where I belonged.

Discord wouldn’t stop gripping my hoof. Which was weird, because he was normal size (of course) how could he fit in my pocket? I guess my hoof didn’t fold up along with me. I was just a speck with one big leg.

And Celestia… I couldn’t see her, since it was dark in my pocket. But I could hear her. Talking and mumbling with another mare, somewhere nearby.

“Celestia…” The other mare said, “I haven’t seen you stop by my cart in ages, sweetie…”

“Been away,” Celestia replied.

“However did you wind up in the back of my apple cart?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Shining Apple said he didn’t see you or your friends get in the cart the whole ride. And you just drop on my doorstep, exhausted.” There was a small clattering sound. “Don’t you think you owe an old mare and explanation?”

“Apple-a-Day… You told me hundreds of stories about Equestria, about what’s out there… I always loved to stop and listen.”
A little laugh, like, ah-heh-heh-heh. “Yes, ever since you were just a little filly.”

“I never used to believe you. But they’re true. I know they’re true.”

The clatter of china, and a heavy weight hitting wood.

“Goodness Celestia, you left Canterbury?”

“We did. All three of us escaped, Apple-a-Day.”

“Then what in the world possessed you to come back?!”

A sharp intake of breath.“Well...”

“Celestia, dearest! You were out of this godforsaken place! Whatever crack you found in the wall, use it again, and run! Be free, child!”

“No, Apple-a-Day. We… uh…”

“Nothing in this city is worth returning for, believe you me!”

“Yes, it is worth returning for. We’re here to save everyone, Apple-a-Day. We’re… we’re here to.” Silence, followed by the hissing of a whisper.

“Sky above child! You can’t do that! You, what has possessed you?!”

“These are the Elements of Harmony, Apple-a-Day! Me, Luna, Discord… We’re all going to be Equestria’s next gods. We’ve come back to save the city, and all of Equestria along with it!”

For the longest time, only breathing. Occasionally, the clatter of a dish.

“You’re not pulling an old mare’s leg, are you?”

“No. I’m not.”

“What you’re saying is, well, I know I say some crazy things. But what has gotten into your head, child?”

“You must have heard of the Elements of Harmony. I showed you my storybook, didn’t I?”

“I know of the Elements. When I was your age…” China clicking together. “Well, that was when Magic and Generosity were around. When Canterbury wasn’t a prison” A low sigh, a long exhale. “But the Elements were lost! Or sealed, or, or certainly out of the hands of any average ponies!”

“Then my sister and I are not average ponies. You have to believe me. Or believe … I saw the sun on the day Discord retrieved Kindness. I knew then, I was going to bring that sun back to Equestria. And sure enough, I found a way. Believe me, Apple-a-Day. This is an Element. And we’re going to use them to take down the Shadow Stallion!”

Heavy breathing slowly fading away …

“Thanks for letting us sleep the day here, Apple-a-Day. But we’ve got to go. We’ve got to do this before sundown.”

“At least let me make you a little supper, darling. You can’t leave again without a nice warm meal tucked away. I won’t let you.”

“Thanks for your kindness, your generosity, Apple-a-Day.”

The scrape of metal on wood. Chopping, rhythmic.

“The Sun… And Luna too. The Moon.”

“Yes.”

For the longest time, chopping and scraping. The splash of water.

“I’m very proud of you, Celestia. And if your parents were here, they would be too. Now, rest dearest. Let me cook you some dinner.”

A deep breath and a long, long sigh. The fall of a weight. Then silence.

~Θ~

I sat in that pocket for a long time, trying to think like a piece of lint, wondering what would happen to me when it rained. Then a cold nose snuck into my pocket. Probably there to pick me up by my hoof. It nuzzled against my forehead, over my ear. Strange, how was the snout that small?

“Luna,” Celestia said quietly, “Luna. It’s time to wake up.”

“Huh?”

“Breakfast… Dinner is waiting.”

“Oh.”

It was almost like I was still dreaming. We were trapped in a little box room, a table taking up a whole quarter of it. Patternless blankets were draped on every wall, little black lines of stone peeking out from behind the cracks. It was almost like a really, really colorful prison cell. Except the door wasn’t locked and there were stairs running up the side of it.

I tried to stand, but my legs were numb. Sore and numb. I had been sleeping on straw, but it wasn’t much. Just standing up, my hoof hit stone with a pretty loud CLACK. Straw stuck to my tummy, and it itched a little. I went to scratch it, and Discord’s paw fell off my foot. Fwump, to the ground.

I followed his arm, and saw him in front of me, flopped on his stomach on his own little pile of straw. He blinked up at me, barely awake. The bags under his eyes looked puffy and swollen, like two fat bruises.

“Goo-morn-evenin’…” He mumbled, rubbing his forehead into the floor, horns clicking as they hit the floor. “Uhg… where are we?”

“I unno. Somewhere where we’re not dead?”

Discord’s face flipped up. Now he kind’ve looked sick.

“We’re with a friend of mine.” Celestia stood beside me. I dunno how long she was there for. “We’re safe.”

“For now…”

“Oh, hush Discord.”

“No need to worry, young’uns.” A green mare, the mare with the voice from my half-dream walked up beside my sister. Her smile only had a few teeth left to it. “Though I don’t rightly know what to call you, little colt.” With a jolt, Discord yanked the covers back over himself.

“He won’t hurt you,” Celestia said quickly.

Apple-a-Day turned to smile warmly at my sister. “Why in the world would I think the child would hurt me?”

“Ah… No reason. Forget I said anything.”

Apple-a-Day gave my sister a little laugh, creakily trotting away. “Alright, young’uns. Hurry and wash up before dinner.”

I think I’m awake. But maybe this is one of those dreams where you wake up and wonder why you ever thought stuff was real. I sat down on a pillow at the table after we washed our little hooves, and we drank some carrot and celery soup with the green earth pony mare. There were no spoons or anything to drink the soup, so I had to hold the bowl the Earth Pony way, sip it from my forelegs. Is that the Earth Pony way? Or is that just what my sleepy brain has convinced me is the Earth Pony way?

It’s all very confusing…

But the soup was warm and filling, so I drank it. I think I was hungrier than I felt, because it went too quick, leaving me feeling warm. All the aches in my body becoming pronounced in the heat.

“Goodness, do I have a pack of ponies on my hands, or a pack of ravenous pups?” Apple-a-Day chuckled, “You all went right through that soup! Well…” She turned away, went and opened a little metal box by a small fireplace stove. Carefully, she reached in and pulled out a little wooden plate. “Anypony want some dessert?”

In front of me, three flaky little rolls sat. Their tops were split open, a bright red filling glistening through the tan crust. I hovered the dessert over, a little line of crumbs following in its wake. I bit in… Soft, crunchy, with a melty-hot center, too sweet and a little bit sour. Cherries. When was the last time I had cherries? A sort of cream mixed with the cherry filling, and, and—

“What is this?” Discord squeaked, “What is this stuff?”

“A cherry and cream cheese Danish,” Celestia said softly.

“Um…” I looked over to him. He looked stunned, staring down at the half-eaten pastry. “Is it bad?”

“It’s the greatest thing I’ve ever tasted.”

“Oh!”

Discord swiped his paw across his eyes, sniffing once before wolfing down the rest of the pastry in three bites. Still chewing, he licked at his paws, eying the crumbs still left on the table.

“Thank you, Apple-a-Day,” Celestia said. “The soup and the Danish were delicious.”

“Come back any time. All of you.” Apple-a-Day’s smile was broad, nodding to each of us in a slow turn. “Whenever you’d like.”

“We will, Apple-a-Day.” Celestia nodded, “Maybe we’ll make you dinner sometime.”

My sister sat quietly for a moment, smiled, then returned to her stoic stare.

~Θ~

“This way,” Discord mumbled.

We were following Discord now. Celestia kept trying to walk in pace with him, skittering forward sometimes, then falling back, glancing down at him. It was a struggle to keep up, but I didn’t ask to slow down. I didn’t feel like slowing down. None of us did. We were lucky. Nobody would stare at three little ponies in a hurry. It was the hour where all the ponies were trying to get where they’re going, glancing at the sky and occasionally breaking into a nervous gallop.

Celestia was a little winded by the time Discord stopped. He took a deep breath, glanced around the street, and ducked into the alley.

“Luna!” he squeaked, “Shadows.” He didn’t need to tell me twice. I hurried forward, helping him pull the shadows around all of us as we snuck down that alleyway. Really down, like a ramp descending further and further into the dark.

“We have to go down before we go up,” Discord mumbled. “Luna. Celestia… stick close to me. And whatever you see, don’t, don’t scream.”

We froze. Even Discord. He knew what was down there, and even he didn’t want to go. Celestia made a small squeaking sound.

“Luna can take care of that,” he mumbled. “Your sonic magic. Take away the sound. Do it.”

“Oh.” I frowned, trying to remember how it went again. Last time I had just… tried to throw away my voice, since the griffin could hear it? I tried to focus on that idea, horn and Element glowing.

It was like night out in the snow again. My spell muffled everything, most importantly our footsteps. I hadn’t noticed just how much we were jittering in place until the clicks of our hooves were gone. Discord turned to me, opened his mouth and tried to talk, but there was nothing. Or, maybe a something. Far, far away.

He nodded, readjusted the shadows around us, and began slowly walking forward. I snuck up behind my sister, grabbed the hem of her cloak in my mouth. She looked back, then did the same with Discord’s cloak. We descended a little quicker, in a silent single file.

There was one tight corner, just one turn further down in a sharp ‘u’. Discord rounded it first. From him, I heard the distant echo of a squeal.

There, down at the bottom of the road. An opening, a big opening. And sitting under the arch of it, half covered by shadows, was a beast. Heavy, huge, body like a lion. Head speckled red like it was rusting. Two horns scraped at the ceiling above it, one massive claw picking at its yellowed fangs. Its eyes flashed, reflective like Discord’s. It was an entire monster like Discord. An actual, adult Draconequus.

Celestia’s cloak tugged me forward, and I almost fell. I felt the shadows snapping away behind me. I tugged them back in place. He can’t see us. He can’t, nothing can. Even things that have shadow magic can’t see us. But it felt like, at any second, the Draconequus would look up and—

He glanced our way, and Celestia tugged me forward harder.

We went right up beside him, pressed against the wall and edging past his humongous body. Massive shoulders far, far over our heads, deep growl resounding from his body. That close, I could see his six-foot ribs shift as he breathed. I could see his skin almost spill over the ground, loose on his body. I could smell him, and smelled wrong, horrible. Like filthy fur. Like a dead dog. Like hot trash, or more.

We crept by its massive purple tail, like a fat, exposed bruise. A tuft of tan fur flicked back and forth, yards upon yards behind the main body. I watched that tail, as it slowly slunk away, so far out of sight before it then came lazily rocking back. Discord tried to hurry us by, around another corner, into a dark tunnel. But I don’t know if he noticed the tail or not.

Because, as I tried to shove my sister forward, the fat tip of his tail lazily fell over my back, sliding to the ground with an all-too-loud ‘fwump.’

The beast stopped breathing.

The front of my cloak was yanked forward. My sister had spun around and was trying to pull me forward. The cloth yanked over my nose, pinching at the sides of my eyes. I tripped, landed in something wet, the splatter distant and muted. But what if he could hear it? He had huge ears, what if he heard us?!

I felt a hot gust behind me, a rotting stink, his breath, his breath right behind me, right behind me, right behind me rightbehindme!

We ran. Didn’t matter where, we ran. Barely concealed through barely-lit black corridors. Sound around us fading in and out. Didn’t stop until I heard Discord. Right in front of me, yet sounding so far away. Stop, he said.

And we did, all facing each other, all breathing heavily, suppressed and muffled.

“Okay,” Celestia said in a far-away voice, “Let’s all just calm down.”

“Ferrous,” Discord mumbled. “Why did it have to be Ferrous…”

“What? Who?” I asked.

“No. Nevermind.” He closed his eyes. Trying to breathe through his nose. “Let’s just keep going. Please.”

I nodded. Adjusted the shadows. Brushed away the excess sound. A little headache was starting in my forehead. Too much magic was coming from me. I ignored it. With a few more muted nods, we continued on.

It wasn’t long until we started going up on a slowly circling ramp. There were rarely any torches on the walls, and the few that existed had burned right out of their brackets. But that was good. Lots of shadows to hide in. But other things caught my attention. The whole place stank of dogs and body waste. Straw was scattered all over, clumped and wet along the wall’s edge. Sometimes, another huge Draconequus would wander by, or be lying in the middle of a corridor. We always held our breaths, moved forward at a snail’s pace. None were as big as the one by the entrance. But they all had that weird, lazy ease. Like big dogs or lions laying around. More like animals than anything smart like Discord.

A weird thought came to me then. Discord said we’d have to deal with the Draconequus once the Stallion was gone. And here we are, sneaking around, terrified of one just finding us. Could we really deal with these beasts with how we were now? Why are we doing this now, when we can’t deal with the problems we know we’ll cause? I thought, frantically, as the stench grew less and the Draconequus vanished… What are we doing here?

And yet, up we went. Higher and higher and higher. Discord led us as the corridors became filled with milling Griffins. Armored Pegasi milled about the groups, and laughed at the same cruel jokes.

Finally, we turned one last corner, and the corridor was empty. More than that. It was flat. Before us was a white set of stairs. Actual stairs, going up even higher. Discord led us to them, and looked back. One foreleg hovered over the first step.

My sister stepped right out of our quiet little bubble, hooves offensively loud on the white stone.

“Celestia!” Discord hissed, grabbing for her pink tail, “What are you doing?!”

“We’re here to face him, aren’t we?” She quietly replied. “We can’t hide anymore.”

I didn’t want a fight. Not here and now. I charged up after my sister, and Discord quickly fell behind me. All three of us, side by side, ascended those steps, into a place quieter than any spell I could cast.

I felt like, in the towers down below, there was always something moving. Somebody talking, water dribbling. Stones crumbling, mice scurrying around. Up here, there was none of that. It was just the loud clicks of our footsteps, and the buzzing my ears made when it tried too hard to hear something.

Down below, everything was dark, compact, and full of shadows to hide in. Here, even though there were no windows, the bright white walls and high ceiling themselves seemed to glow, seemed to fill everywhere with light. Big suits of armor cast no shadows. And the eyes of huge oil paintings followed us everywhere we stepped. I got this scary feeling, curling up in my gut, that we were being watched. That there was no way to miss us entering this private space. And we were committing some horrible crime, just walking through there.

The Stallion had to know we were here. How could he not? What was he waiting for? Was he just taking his time attacking us?

“Over there,” Discord whispered. We had just went up another small flight of stairs. He waved to our left, at a massive golden door. “I got the Element from that room. It’s a dead end, so…” He looked right, further down a hallway lined with open doors. Celestia strode down it, still stiff with resolve. We followed.

The hall was long, cavernous with the same high ceilings. Down, far, far away from us, there were several open archways. Doors, blocked off by another kind of out-of-place invader. Plants. Dark, thorny vines, seemingly planted into the stone itself, creeping over all the entrances all but one…

The closest one. The one coated in shadows.

The one the shadows exited.

He didn't even seem to move. He just faded in from nowhere. Something like a pony, but not at all. He was long, gangly, and wrong. When I could see through the shadows that followed at his heels, his body was knotted and tense. His wings were frayed and molting. His mane was like a blanket of trampled grass. Eyes a dead reflection of green.

And that dark thing began to walk toward us.

“There! There he is!” Celestia squealed, “Blast him! Harmony Blast!”

“I—“

“NOW!”

My horn burned on my forehead, and with it, my Element blared, brighter, louder in tone than I ever remember it being. The other Elements rang with mine, screamed. And together, our off-color rainbow snapped together, shooting forward.

The Stallion watched as the beam slammed him square in the chest.

For a moment, it was just that whine. That harmonious scream of our Elements. Our own screams. The light spilled around the Stallion’s shoulders, bubbling into white. A wound seemed to sprout from the rainbow. A little line of gray getting bigger and bigger. Cold stone crept up the Stallion’s neck, down his legs. He watched us. He didn't even glance at the slowly advancing stone.

With a toss of his mane, a few of the chunks flaked off. They were replaced almost instantly. With a stomp of his leg, another chunk fell off. A shake of his body, more clattered to the ground, crumbled. Stone peeling and flaking off his body, he began walking forward. The Elements barely even slowing his trot.

His gaze fell directly onto me.

And Discord’s beam of light died.

“No, no, no no no no,” Discord squealed, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry Father!”

“Discord!” Celestia screamed, “What in thhauuuAAAUG!”

My sister’s beam of light died. She collapsed to the ground, screaming and clutching her head in her knees. Her Element sputtered, rhythmically pulsing, spewing bright yellow sparks.

I stared at my writhing sister. My beam of light died. Shadows billowed past my ankles, over my sister’s body.

“Look out!”

“huh?”

At Discord’s shout, I looked up. The Stallion stood above us. Corpselike eyes bore through my head. Horn glowing in a sickly blue-green. He silently reared up, becoming dizzyingly, impossibly tall.

“Luna!”

Discord’s claws sunk into my shoulder, yanking me off my front feet. I fell back two steps. Watched as the Shadow Stallion’s hooves slammed down in front of my eyes with an almighty CRACK. Chips of the white stone bounced off my nose.

“Luna, run!”

A black wall, crumbling like plaster, burst in front of my eyes. I spun on Discord. Saw the frightened look on his face, my sister under his arm, trying to rise to her feet as their Elements glowed in unison. His other hand was outstretched past me, fingers splayed. The black wall swelled, slamming into the ceiling and showering us in black flakes.

“Y-yes. Run!” I stammered, “We gotta run!”

I stumbled into my sister’s side. Tried to heave her up, push her forward. A nagging thought beating in my head as my Element flared blue. There was something I could do, something more I could do. We didn’t have to run, did we? Something I can do to save us, something, anything!

We didn’t get far. The wall burst behind us, a gust driving plaster needles into our skin. Another blast sent us tumbling. I fell to my stomach, cold marble sending a shock through my gut. My sister collapsed again. I tried to stand, tried to run for her.
A black hoof slammed down on my element. There was a sound like breaking glass. Shadows poured over me, lukewarm and moist, a sticky fog. I shot up, tried to stand, and my back leg bumped into his other hoof, his thin ankle. Clasp digging into my neck, I tried to look. On top of me, standing over me, there he was.

Those dead eyes stared down at me, other hoof lifting, poised directly over my head. I screamed.

My horn flared, and I screamed.

The world wobbled and cracked, sound deafening me. A hot white light burst over those eyes. A black spike burst from the ground, whizzing past my ear, slamming into his neck. He took a step back. Just a step, a single step. Element free. His hoof bit into my foreleg as it dropped. Searing, nail pinching and ripping the skin.

I didn’t care. I wormed free and ran. I ran for my sister. Ran for my life.

“Luna!” Celestia moaned. She was finally on her feet. “Your Element…”

“Not now!” I squealed.

Discord shot by my other side, tearing down the steps. Practically clawing his way down them.

“What now?!”

“We, we need to get out of this tower!” A wild idea half formed in my mind. I didn’t dwell on it. I just threw myself into my gallop. Each step of my right hoof shot dull pain up into my shoulder. “Get to the black stone!”

“Going!”

We hit the bottom of the steps, running through the corridor full of the suits of armor. There was a stretch in front of us. A long, long stretch with the exit so far away.

And a spike drilled its way through the back of my head.

The world flipped and melted, tore itself inside out as the pain ripped my brains in half. It actually hurt my lungs, dragging in enough air to scream. But that was nothing, nothing nothing nothing nothing compared to the pain rocketing its way up, down, and around my skull. Bright lights blurred the world, white and blue, searing my eyes, stabbing holes in my spine. I couldn’t breathe anymore. I couldn’t breathe I was screaming so hard, world ringing, blood beating at my ears, trying to escape the pain in my head.

And as suddenly as it came, it left. Somehow, Celestia and Discord heaved me forward. Dominating my vision, Elements blaring. I tried to find my feet, but they were lost. I could barely move. My head still throbbed, but my shoulder ached more. It felt wet. I looked at it, and it was stained with some dark color.

“Resonate!” Celestia cried, “Luna, try and Resonate!”

“I—“

“Look!”

Clattering and banging surrounded us. I watched under Discord’s arm as a suit of armor rattled, awash with the Stallion’s sickly aura. Its spear was yanked from its side. Din was coming from all directions, banging metals.

“No, no, no, no…”

“Stairs…” I mumbled.

“Almost there!” Celestia glanced back, and what little color that was in her face drained away. I tried to do the same, follow her gaze. I only got one eye peeking around my bad shoulder. One eye trained on the Stallion. He was walking towards us, casual, steady, determined, focused. Behind him, suits stepped forward, rattling bows in his wake. A cloud of spears hovered above his head, shafts rattling together as they compressed.

Discord snapped his hand up. Another wall between us and The Stallion. But with a loud whizzing sound, just one spear smashed its way through the plaster of his spell, bouncing off the stone and spinning off over our backs.

Discord squealed, yanking at my bad leg. Two more spears burst through the barrier. One bounced off the ground. I heard Discord scream, and he dropped my leg. I tried to see what got him, if he was hurt, if he was hurt badly—!

“Don’t stop!” Celestia cried. Her aura encased us, shoving us forward. “Just a few more feet! Just a few more!”

We were falling, tumbling over the lip as half a dozen spears blasted above our heads. I saw Discord fall past. He gripped his green leg, curled up in pain as blood smeared between his claws. Finally, finally I found my footing, still racing down the steps. I tried, gingerly, to bring magic into my horn. I hoped, pleaded with myself. Don’t let the headache return. Let me have enough magic left, just to do this.

My horn flared, blue sparks twinkling past my eyes. The welcoming shadows of black stones, still far beneath us, began to churn.

“Guys!” I shouted, “Get in!”

“We can’t just hide!” Celestia squealed, “He’ll know we’re there!”

“Trust me!” I screamed back, the pang of my own magic pumping through my head. “Get in! Both of you!”

Discord’s wings flared open. Still clutching his leg, he threw himself to the shadows, gliding as he dove in, headfirst. He vanished. My sister charged down the last few steps. She screamed. Her legs sunk into the shadows, her body and head quickly falling after without much fuss.

I didn’t wait any longer. With one last hop, I dove into my shadow portal. I was shrieking for joy as the world faded around me, and a different world began blooming in front of my eyes.

~Θ~

“It worked!” I squealed as I tumbled into my friends. They stood, stunned at the world around them. The portal hadn’t let us leave the city, but we were certainly out of the castle. The dark walls rose on all sides of us, and I could barely make out the shapes of the buildings in the dark. I quickly began wiping the shadows from my eyes, surprised how much my leg was shaking. “It worked, we’re free!”

“No we’re not…” Discord croaked. “He’ll come after us. We’ve only just earned a small reprieve…”

“Safe? A reprieve?! Is that what you call this?!” Celestia squeaked. I looked at her, she was shaking like a leaf, head spinning to and fro. “We’re outside. At night. In Canterbury. What exactly is safe about our condition?!”

And far away, in the distance, I heard a Draconequus roar.

XLII : Overcast Run

The Steadfast Sky : Overcast Run
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com/

~Discord~

A oily purple fog seeped around every dark corner, down every street. We were caught in its dim glow, breathing its hot, damp fumes. It was the stallion, I knew it. This was his doing, but it probably wasn’t poison. That would be too deadly, too many losses. Then what? My mind spun through a dozen possibilities. I felt like there were too many. He could do anything. And here we were, just sitting ducks.

Stones were mushy and muddy with something. The water splashed up my legs, chilling them to the bone. Unbelievably, unspeakably cold. It was hard to move my toes. They were going numb. I tucked my paw in my armpit, would’ve done it with both if my hind leg wasn’t throbbing like crazy. I could walk, but I wasn’t about to test it now. Not out here…

A Draconequus roared in the distance. I used to ignore those calls, just an idiot announcing he caught something. Or won a fight, or was frustrated. But now I found myself focusing on the sound. How far was it? Why was he roaring? Was he covering up closer sounds?

A pebble rattled somewhere and I dove against the wall, heart beating like crazy. No, stop that, pull yourself together Discord. You knew, all this time, this would be deadly. Stupid and suicidal. Well, now you’re allowed to go. You’re allowed to actually save your friends, get them out of here for the second time. You can do this. You know this city. You can do this.

So.

Why weren’t we hiding in the shadows already?

Celestia was shivering like a leaf, hooves wavering back and forth, thankfully only making small splashing sounds. Luna’s proud grin had long since left her. She was wavering now, looked like she needed to sit down.

“Luna.” I hissed, worried. “Shadows?”

“Mm…” She nodded, stumbled left. Her eyes closed. A few jolts of light shot up her horn, and her face curled up. “Ow… um… lemme try…” There was a small burst of light, and she cried out, gripping her forehead. “Um, gimmie a sec.”

“Luna please!” Celestia squealed, “Luna, you’ve got to do this, keep trying!”

I winced as there was another pop of light. We’ve been demanding far too much of Luna. I felt like a jerk even asking her to cast now. My turn. I grabbed the shadows and yanked them up. Even now, even in these dire straits, it was a struggle to pull them. Even more of a struggle than usual. I barely managed to yank them over Luna’s head. And when I waved Celestia in, the shadows snapped and retreated in spots. Our cloak was now patchy, faded. We were only mildly obscured at best.

Luna collapsed under the tension of the cloak, shadows pushing down on her head and back. She whimpered, horn still sparking… It was like something sharp had jammed itself in my heart, watching her.

I threw my arms around Luna’s shoulders. “Luna. Stop. It’s okay. You can stop now.”

“Nuh-uh,” she responsed, “We need a bubble.”

“We’ll just keep quiet. We can do that until…”

“Oh Luna…” Celestia moans, and another wave of guilt curls in me. “Your Element…”

“Later,” I hiss.

Yet, even my mind couldn’t leave it for later. The gemstone had been shattered, most of the pieces fallen out of its socket. The metal itself was bent horribly. The only stone left was caught in that folded crevice, broken sliver curving like the wicked edge of a sickle. I felt, so easily, that the stone could jiggle loose. Could dig into my friend’s hoof when it did fall…

I looked away. At Celestia.

“What we need to do is find a way out of the city,” I said. “Run up a tower and skirt the walls if we have to. We’re done here.”

“No,” Celestia whispered. “This isn’t the end.”

I bit my lip. It was all I could do to stop myself from shouting. “Yes, it is! We lost!”

She stared away, almost forgetting to meet my eyes. “We’re still alive. The Shadow Stallion doesn’t know where we are.” She frowned. “There has to be something we can do for the people. There has to be.”

Luna tried to stand up, struggling against the tightly pulling shadows.

“Luna, just stay down…”

“Don’t wanna. My tummy’s gone all numb.”

Mine had as well… The cold was already inching its way up my wings. With a few shaded glances, Celestia and I both stood.

“We can’t stay here,” Celestia said. “We’ve got to find somewhere to hide. Wait until morning, when the Draconequus leave…”

“They’re not going to go back underground,” I replied. “If The Shadow Stallion wills them to stay during the day, then they’ll stay. And they’ll find us.”

“We can find an empty house…”

“They’ll send the smaller ones inside to get us. Then they’ll find us…”

“What can we do?”

“Leave.”

Celestia snorted, “Then, by your logic, he’ll just send the Draconequus out there to find us.”

“No. He’ll send the griffins. He can’t risk a Draconequus escaping into the countryside.”

Celestia make a small choking sound. For a moment, she couldn’t look me in the eye. I didn’t want to think about it either. I shook out my feet instead, trying to fling the water off them.

“We can’t just leave, Discord…” Celestia continued. “All these ponies here, trapped in the city, waiting to die. We can’t just leave them. I won’t just leave them.”

“For life’s sake, Celestia. You wanna die trying to save them now, or come back another day and actually help them?”

The scrap of claws on stone. Celestia and I froze. I don’t know about her, but my ears were strainging to hear every tiny little sound. They didn’t need to try so hard. A heavy flap of wings, a massive gust of air. Loudly dislodging a number of tiles, a Draconequus scraped down the side of the tower before us, landing right beside us. Just to our left. Too close. Too close.

I refused to blink. I refused to look away from the creature, entire body tense. He was tall, not a full adult. Head low. Ears flicking. Growling as he looked up and down the street. Couldn’t see us, just heard us. Why did we talk, why did I let us talk for so long?

Another hole snapped open in our cloak. Dead silent, I tore at the shadows. Waved my claws over the ground. Had to be more around, had to be… It’s night out! Glowing fog or no, why was this so hard?!

Luna fell back to the ground with a soft splash. The Draconequus turned, eyes narrowing in our direction. Three steps and his neck passed by us, staring right past us, down the street. He snorted. I stopped scrambling for shadows.

He cocked his head, snorted again. His snout wrinkled. Jaws parted, grumble rising in his throat…

“Feesh?” he grumbled. “Dead feesh?”

I slapped a hand over my mouth, trying to suppress a cry. Threw myself over Luna’s back, yanked open Celestia’s saddlebags. On top of the sheet, squished between the bag material and the bottle of rubbing alcohol. It smelled, rank and rotting, why didn’t I notice how bad the smell was before?! Stupid!

I yanked it out and tossed it, hoping the sound, the smell would drag the Draconequus across the alleyway…!

Didn’t aim right. It splattered right into his knee, spilling to the ground.

He looked down at the gooey mess, dumbfounded. Looked right up, right at us…

“Harmony blast!” Celestia squealed.

I didn’t think. Just did.

Two colors shot forward, Gold and Silver. They washed over the Draconequus’ head, making the ground at his feet splash white with radiance. The temperature around us grew to almost comfortable levels, cloud pushed away by our Element’s light.

But a sick wave of déjà vu hit me. The Draconequus blinked stupidly and stepped through the light.

I swore.

And with an almighty SMACK, the Draconequus’ massive head slammed down just yards from our feet. He yowled in pain, hot breath rolling over us. Was he struck down, by what, where? I tried to look. Celestia shoved me, hissing panic in my ear. I ran. Luna at my heels as Celestia drove us both forward. But she couldn’t stop me from glancing backwards.

Where the rainbow had hit the ground, where the Draconequus’ foot was. A chunk of stones were missing. I watched as another stone slipped down, black mortar slick and gooey, as if it had melted in the blast.

But the Draconequus wasn’t done with us. Briefly, a thought spun through my head. Captured quarry like us, any ponies on the street. We’re valuable. Not worth letting slip away.

And all Draconequus on patrol have shadow magic of their own.

Magic sparked between my fingertips. I heaved up an illusion. An old favorite, especially for a situation like this… The Draconequus tried to yank his foot from the hole, eyes only for us. But then, another group, a direct copy ran right past his nose. He snapped his jaws at the illusive heels. But by then, two, three, four more sprouted from the spot. They all ran, blurred, as my toes aches from the effort of my creations.

The Draconequus waved his free paw. Under three groups, the shadows swelled into a black well. A familiar well. A shadow teleport. The Draconequus snorted as all three kept running. Failed to be caught. And, as the real us exited the street, he snarled a single word.

“Deescord!?”

“I told you,” I hissed to Celestia, “Shout my name like a swearword, it sounds fantastic!”

“Don’t joke like that!” She cried back, “We almost got caught! How many of them can do that spell, anyway?!”

“All of them! RUN!”

The thrill of the minor victory wore off so much quicker than I wanted it to. The sound of the Draconequus’ shouts will draw so many more to us… And with Luna barely able to run, barely able to keep up with us without help, The reality was so much closer to me now. A horrible, sick image creeping in my brain. Celestia and Luna, horns cut off, sitting in those cells and just waiting to die. I forced away what came next, not wanting to even think, even imagine what came after. I beat it back, beat it all away.

There was no way I was going to let that happen to them. I pushed myself harder, ignoring the pain and the numb feelings. No way I’d let that happen! No way in hell!

Focus on escape, Discord. Focus on it!

My focus paid off. A black well slowly boiled to life in front of us. I threw up a solid wall, bounced off it, and shoved the girls down another alleyway. There was an angry snap of jaws. And… above that, a frightened whiney. Another punch to the gut. The trap wasn’t meant for just us.

I looked to Celestia and, maybe for a second, with the image of the cells in my mind… I think I understood her.

“When we find a way to leave,” I shouted over the sounds of our gallop, “We’ll find a way to help!”

Celestia nodded heavily, eyes forward.

I let my element flare. A risk, could be seen, but it forced the numbing purple cloud away. I dug a hand under the shadows as I ran, glow banishing and pronouncing them in certain places. My claws stuck in the cracks between the mucky cobble and dredged up shadowy strings. We dove under them as we spun around a corner. Just a little obscured. Footsteps muffled by the mud.

I heard a Draconequus soar above us, wings cracking as they snapped up and down. Did he see us, did he not? We kept running, and the beats faded. There was a roar in the distance, two roars. One closer.

“Haou,” Luna gasped. “A house. Get to the house…”

“I—“ I fumbled, staring back at my exhausted friend, “I said that won’t stop them.”

“Too… Can we stop a bit…?”

“Um…” I thoughtlessly slowed, watching Luna as she trotted past. Thoughtlessly? No. No, we needed a break. She gasped for a bit, trying to catch her breath. Then…

“We’re two streets from our house.”

“Goodness!” Celestia cried, “So we are!”

Celestia galloped ahead. I couldn’t hold the shadows around her. It wasn’t long until she pushed herself right out of the cloak.

“What would we even gain from there?“ I called after her. I couldn’t repair her abrupt exit, and the cloak dropped away from my own shoulders. I tried to follow, and there were roars. In the distance, always in the distance. The Draconequus can’t be everywhere at once… Nobody ever talked about ponies that escaped, but they’re had to be some? Right? Some?

We turned another corner. She was waiting, and the street was empty. Thankfully…

“Even if it’s just a little break…” Luna said, “I’d like to stop by our house. Just for a little bit…”

“And what? Gut a place that’s already been gutted? Find the storybook Celestia’s always been railing on about?”

Suddenly, Celestia laughed. An inappropriately loud, high-pitched titter. She slapped a hoof over her mouth soon after, face flushing red.

“This, um, street!” she exclaimed, “I ran into you on this street… The first night you came into our home. That was you, hiding and scaring me in the street. Wasn’t it?”

I stared down the row. The shape of the walls, the few carts and stacked barrels slightly shifted. But…

“Huh. Yeah, it was.”

“And look!” Down the street was her house. It was still standing. Still standing and pitch dark. “No one’s in! It’s still empty! Let’s—!”

She trotted a few feet forward, and screamed.

Black tendrils shot up from the ground. Celestia’s legs were grabbed, branchlike hands snapping down on her back. She squealed as the nails dug into her back. Froze there. Solid.

I shouted as well. Not scared, definitely not. It was a warcry, dangit! A dense illusion, a rock, a knife. I solidified it in one paw and slammed it against the briar. Luna was right behind me, jamming her horn into the arm, horn sparking. What did we think that would do? My illusion crumbled, blunted. A few flecks of hard glass peeled off the arm from our blows.

“Get it off!” Celestia screamed, “GET IT OFF ME!”

“I’m trying!” I shouted back, staring at the little glass shards. They seemed to vanish as they fell, disappearing into nothing.

Luna gasped. “Beneath us…”

I was already looking, but what I was seeing snapped to my attention. The shadows were condensing at my feet. Bubbling…

“Celestia,” I cried. “Light!”

I didn’t need to ask twice. A glare as bright as the sun filled the alleyway, banishing all shadows.

All of them.

The well beneath us was instantly banished. The shadows peeled away from every surface. And a Draconequus hiding in the shadows suddenly had nowhere else to hide. Massive, a reedy adult stepped out of the middle of the street. Face calm, back straight, eyes sharp in the light. Intelligent. Gaze directed right at me, slitted pupils narrowing in recognition.

Head furred black. Body strangely uneven for a lack of a wing…

The second to last Draconequus I’d want to see right now. The only Draconequus I knew I couldn’t outsmart. Ruin. I did the only thing I thought I could do. The only thing I knew he wouldn’t foresee. I slapped my Element into my palm and—!

“Ah. Pardon, little one.” Ruin said, waving his claw as casually as he spoke. Celestia dropped to the ground, illusionary glass fragments vanishing all around her, her face in confused shock.

“Wh-wuh?”

“You desire to take these two in, don’t you?” The Draconequus stated, more matter of factly then a question. He moved forward slightly.

“Uh…”

“Your first catch,” he waved a claw at the girls, his eyes never leaving me. “Forgive me for intruding, I did not realize they were your quarry.”

“O-oh yes. Um. Thanks for uh, letting me uh… catch ‘em.”

He watched me silently for a moment. Face cold and calculating. It was always cold, as far back as I could remember it.

“So uh,” I stammered, rolling with my lie. “Yeah. You... You can go now.”

“You do know the proper spell, don’t you?” he growled, “You have not been neglecting your studies? Your shadow magic?”

“‘Course I know the spell.” I answered quickly, feeling a quick flash of indignation at the question.

“Discord?” Celestia mumbled with worry. Her light spell was still glowing around her, slightly dimmer now. “What’s going on?”

I snapped a hand over her mouth. She stared at me. We stood there for a moment, silent. With a wave of my claw, I summoned my own illusions around their legs, binding both the girls in place. Ruin watched my movements closely. My technique.

“Discord?” The deep voice inquired again.

“Yeah, uh…” I glanced back at the Draconequus. “I’ve got this.”

“Have you? Are you very sure?”

“Yep. You can um, go now.”

He stared down at me. Please just leave, please just leave…

“Fine.” He eased himself backwards. “If you are in no need of assistance…” He kept his eyes on me as he walked, before slowly turning back into the alleyway. “I do believe that our brothers have, for the most part, cleared the streets. Perhaps I shall retire for the night…”

“Um. Right. Yeah.”

He walked casually into the little square, plucked easily at the shadows, and vanished silently into them. I watched him go, confused. Thoughts spinning around my head.

“What just happened?” Luna asked.

“I have no idea,” I replied. I really, really didn’t.

“Can you free our feet now?”

I turned to Celestia, banishing the spell. “Uh, yeah. Can you turn off that light?”

“Oh! Well…” Her glow was replaced by the cold purple haze all around us.

“Now um… there’s no way others didn’t see that, so uh… your house! I guess we could…” I stepped forward. There was a quiet scraping sound. The stone shifted a little under my foot. Slipped down…

“Crap.”

“What? What is it?”

A roar pierced the air. Not a victorious roar. A roar of pain. We didn’t have to wonder what it was long. A gigantic body tumbled from a tower, an unfamiliar Draconequus smacking the ground with a sick crunch and another pained roar. The ground beneath us shuttered, stones shifting from the blow. Celestia shoved herself into me, pushing me and dragging her sister towards our house.

But on our other side, another Draconequus dropped. In control of himself. Massive, wings spread wide, still hitting the ground with an earth-shaking force.

Of course some other Draconequus would see that light. Already in the distance I could hear more wings, more roars and claws on stone scrambling to get us. But why in dear, sweet Equestria did it have to be that massive lion of a Draconequus.

Why did it have to be Ferrous who got here first? Why did he have to be grinning? Advancing on us with his teeth bared. Capture? No. Murder on his mind. A casual killer. He’d tear through us. Break… Sick memories shot through all the bones he had broken in me, all those years ago. Does it matter now? So many people hurt me in that place. But he—

I screamed at myself in my own head.

Not the time!

Just run!

“Harmony Blast!” I shouted, grabbing my Element.

“But that doesn’t—!”

“Down!”

I blasted the ground with my silver beam. Celestia’s light bloomed beside me. Even Luna’s element flickered with the vague spark of hope. The purple fog curled away, and in a single cold blast I could see, actually see the stone itself melting.

And feel as it gave away beneath us.

Luna squealed beside me as the black underground opened up. But only briefly. We hit the lower floor in barely a second, not even long enough for me to open my wings. Landed in an ice-cold puddle of semi-solid rock. Cold instantly numbing. Cold causing me to barely be able to control my limbs…

But there was no time to wait for them to respond. Celestia was already pushing her sister down the corridor, and I splashed right after them. I found my own hands and feet awkward to run on, but like the wound on my leg, I ignored it. We only had a small escape window. We took it. We took it and ran.

Because it was only moments later that Ferrous’ head shot down the hole. Shoulders heaving and body writhing. Trying to fit in the cramped space. He wouldn’t lose his quarry, not this easily.

“He’s right behind us he’s right behind us—!”

“Save your breath! I know…” I whirled around a corner, slapping the ground, making it slick. Another brief delay. “I know a place where he can’t follow!”

I knew these tunnels like the back of my hand. All the places to avoid. All the places that I knew would protect me. Protect any being my size and unable to fight… A fleeting hiding place, but one vital to surviving in this pit. I took only a minute to get my bearings…

Then I pushed my friends into a tunnel. A small thing with a sideways roof and a dirt floor. They bounced off the walls and stumbled into the dark corridor as Ferrous blasted past, massive claws scraping on the solid stone. I watched the entrance, watched as Ferrous’ paw wormed through the hole. His yellow eyes, rimmed in iron raw, glared at us in the hole…

“Light, Celestia. He could still teleport us…” Wordlessly, light filled the tunnel. My own shadow became elongated, started to bubble… but with a flash of my own Element, even that shadow vanished.

Ferrous snorted. Barked something over his shoulder. Returned to staring, glaring at us.

And a little idea struck me.

“What are you doing in my saddlebags?” Celestia asked.

I pulled out the rubbing alcohol. “Need this.”

“For your leg?”

“For worse wounds than that,” I hissed.

I spun on Ferrous. He watched as I approached, trying to see me through one eye, then both again. Curious? Or just stupid? I think I’ll go for stupid.

I tore out that cork. He didn’t react. Before he could think, before he could realize what I was doing, I threw that bottle in his face. I made sure it shattered. The burning liquid exploded over his eyes.

He roared, body writhing, slamming into the entrance. The whole tunnel shook.

“That’s what you get!” I screamed, “YOU THINK YOU CAN KILL ME?!”

I swore at him until my lungs hurt. Swore and swore with the clasp of my Element curling up in my mane, tangled in my hair. Swore until Celestia bit my arm.

“What the heck is wrong with you?” she squealed. “We’ve got to keep running!”

“You don’t—!” I hissed in a breath. What this must look like from an outsiders perspective… What it must look like to the ponies. What I’d think of myself later, for that matter… But right now? Ferrous deserved that. And I knew no amount of explaining would ever justify why. “It’s a long story,” I admitted. “A long, painful story. Believe me. He deserved it.” I forced my way past her, deeper into the cramped gap. His screams still echoed past me. Probably dragging more Draconequus his way. But none would be able to fit, none but those I know I could take…

“What a horrible… horrible day…”

XLIII : Overcast Risk

The Steadfast Sky : Overcast Risk
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

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~Celestia~

“This is stupid. If Discord’s hiding down here, there’s no way we’ll find him. He’s a slippery little coward.”

“For the last time. He’s got two ponies with him. He can’t be too many places.”

“Lucky lucky...”

“And if the adults say look, we look. That’s all we have to do.”

“So let’s double back, say we searched all we could.”

“Why would you want to give up? Crusher! Two ponies. If we find them, do we get to keep them?”

“The adults probably wouldn’t--”

“They don’t have to know that we found ‘em intact.”

For a moment, it sounded like one of them had stopped moving, somewhere beyond our dark pocket. One of the voices snickered, breath hissing between his teeth.

“But how will we split two whole ponies between the three of us?”

“Same as we always do...”

There was a snap, a yowl, the sounds of scuffle punctuated by squealed swearing.

“Get offa me! Save it, Gnash!”

“So,” a third voice rose in a tittering chuckle. “What are you going to do to Discord, if we do find him?”

“Rip his throat out.”

“He’s slippery, he’s slippery, I’m telling you. We’ve got to have more of a plan.”

“Yeah, grab his legs first.”

“But I want to bite him!”

“Then bite his stupid legs for pete’s sake!”

“Hang on.” Once more, the tunnel was silence. “There was another section here. An open one, I swear there was.”

“Of course you’d know, you little coward...”

“Clamp it. There was like… a little hallway bit.”

I looked to Discord. His reflective eyes stared right past me, steady as ever.

“Liar.”

“Look.” There was a small scraping sound. “He has those illusions and stuff.”

“And? Look again.” Thump thump thump. “That’s freaking rock.”

“But I could have sworn…”

“Of course Crusher. You swear by your constant visits to this filthy little hole. You know the place like the back of your claws.”

“You shut up! I’ll kill you!”

“You couldn’t kill a week-old kid.”

“I killed Turmoil, I’ll kill you too!”

“Wow, still bringing that up, are you...”

“Who’ve you killed lately, Crusher?”

“Not like you’ve done any better!”

“You see those new kids? They’re all teeth and no body, it’s not even worth it.”

“So don’t insult me!”

“I’ll insult you all I want you little piece of--”

There was a yowl, and then, further away, a bark. The squeals and swears of a squabble faded, echoing away. I strained my ears, hoping the crumble of rock, the skittering claws of who knows what were not signs of their return…

“Okay…” Discord mumbled. “Think it’s safe to turn the lights back on.”

“They’re just a bunch of colts, Discord.” I breathed, barely able to talk as I eased the light back around us. How many times must I hear a bunch of squabbling… “How could… how can they just talk like that?”

Discord didn’t answer. He couldn’t even find it in himself to look at me.

“So…” Luna’s horn flickered blue as she spoke up. She turned away, and began dragging the sopping wet sheet out from one corner. “I collected some of that water, so we can—“

“Luna!” I whimpered, “Don’t exert yourself, not so soon.”

“I’m feeling okay.”

“You’ve already overexerted yourself too far, Luna. Please…”

She pouted, “It’s just hovering, and I wanna help. Lemme do this.”

“Well…”

“Not like I can help with the um… Super… alicorn magic… because we’re awesome all powerful gods, hail the alicorns’ wisdom… something something... The Aurora Spell.” She frowned. I was still very surprised to see her bent Element still intact. Even in the dim light, I could still see the little blue sliver stuck firmly in its place. “I wish I could remember its whole name. It was a funny one. We could use some laughter right about now.”

Again, she pulled forward the dripping sheet. It looked… Well, it may have been a trick of the light, but the water dripping off one end looked practically brown.

“Goodness, don’t even know if this water is sanitary,” I said. “If we still had that rubbing alcohol…”

“I grew up drinking this crappy water,” Discord said. “I can handle it.”

“Well then,” I said, “Where were we?”

Discord stuck out his green leg as Luna moved forward with the sheet. A red gash had smudged and scabbed up his flank. Shallow… Already closed, or at least, no longer bleeding. But if we expected to keep running, then it was probably better to fix this up, as best we could.

Discord’s element eased to life, and I let my own glow in tandem. A steady little dribble of brown water fell over the wound. The droplets clung where they hit, glittering with tiny gold bubbles. They magnified the red wound as it slowly zipped up. We released the spell, and the blood washed away, streaking down his leg. His skin looked a little stretched, a lighter shade of tender green with a chunky, pale scab marking the point where the skin came together.

Discord looked over the healed cut, thumbing the pale line.

“So um,” Luna spoke up, magically wringing out the rest of the water with a grimace on her face. “What now?”

“Well, we can’t stay here.” Discord stood up, gingerly putting weight on his bad leg. “It won’t be long until they try something besides sending the kids after us.”

“What else could we possibly face tonight?”

“Anything.” Discord stared blankly at his illusion wall. Stared beyond it. “We’ve got to go now. Shadow magic or no.”
The wall in front of us vanished, Discord briefly looked around before he slipped around the corner.

“The sheet…!” Luna whispered, hastily trying to fold it up as she too left our hole-in-the-wall. “Discord!”

Softly, we trotted through the twists and turns of a maze only Discord knew. Roof low, no torches to speak of, shadows thick and heavy on the eyes. And yet, as Discord pulled us under the blanket of darkness, they still felt uncomfortably tight. My sister edged past me, wet sheet flung over her back like a poorly tied skirt. She snuck right up beside my friend, and whispered a question into his ear.

“Where are we going?”

Discord looked around, and led us down another passage.

“We can punch a hole through the outer wall now,” he said softly. “We go there, blast it open, and we’re home free.”

“Oh…” I frowned, wondering why I didn’t think of that sooner. Or why we hadn’t tested the Elements out more before entering into the city. But a more important feeling began bubbling to the surface as we walked through the twisting, tight paths.

“Discord,” I said, “That means we can use this power to create a passage for other ponies to escape, right? That’s got to be our plan now.”

He was silent. Silent for far, far too long. There were voices in the distance, footsteps. Yet, maybe those were our footsteps, our own voices slowly echoing back to us. With how my ears were straining, everything sounded like some dark creature, creeping and whispering right up behind us.

“That could mean,” Discord said, at long last, “That Draconequus could escape too.”

The tunnels were getting brighter. Or was it just my eyes getting used to the dark? We turned a corner, and the passage opened up into a large hallway lit by sparse torches. Discord nudged his nose out into the new space, but he quickly retreated. We all held our breath as the feet of a massive Draconequus casually lumbered past. It was a long, long while before I stopped hearing the echoes of those padding, clicking feet.

Discord slipped into the corridor, pulling shadows along with him. Yet, this cloak squeezed and relaxed as we approached and walked past torches. It felt like… Well, I tried not to think about what it felt like. Something absolutely nightmarish.

I spoke up, quiet in a lonely moment. “We can find a way, right? Stay here as long as it takes… You know I won’t leave this city with nothing accomplished, Discord.”

“I know.”

“Big sis…” Luna whispered ahead of me, “You told us, all the way here, that we had to try… And we did try.” She sighed, face puckered. “But we lost. There’s nothing we can do now. We just gotta get out of here.”

“I can’t accept that.”

My sister bit her lip and turned away. Ahead of me, Discord nodded, following the slow, spiraling curve of a wall. When did they start to curve like that…?

“I know,” he said.

“Oh!” I exclaimed. “So you agree we have to do something about this.”

“Yes, Celestia. I know.”

“Well!” Discord actually understood what I was going through? He knew that we couldn’t leave without helping someone? Well… Well finally! “So then— EEP!“ I squeaked, offensively loud. My foot had dropped through what had felt like solid floor into a pile of something nasty, something wet and frigidly cold. I looked down. The puddle of hopefully water had been iced over, discarded straw trapped in the film.

In the distance, there was a little clatter of stones… or was it claws on stones?! Our entire group huddled together, painfully close to one of the guttering torches.

Discord plucked a little at the shadows. Silence. Not long after, we were off again.

“I think,” Discord said slowly as the corridors wound tighter. As doors began cropping up on one wall, little rags hanging from each one. “If we want to get out. If we want to make sure no Draconequus find the hole. And especially if we want to set up a regular road out of this city…”

He stopped walking. There didn’t seem to be anything particularly special about the spot. I strained my ears for a Draconequus, but there was nothing. Nothing larger than a drip of water, or the scratching of a rat. To our left, there were three apparent doors, each with their own scrap marker. A crude red claw. A jagged white set of fanged teeth. And a black star with six sharply drawn points.

“Well.” Discord took a deep breath, and the shadows around us snapped back against the walls. Exposed! My eyes flicked up and down the corridor… nothing. Please, let there be nothing…

“Discord?”

Jaw set, Discord walked up to a door. The one adorned with the black star. “To set something, anything up… We’re going to have to speak with Ruin.” He placed his paw on the door. “I dunno what’s going to happen, but I gotta talk to him alone first… okay? I can hide you here, with an illusion…”

“It’s okay. I got it.” Luna nodded, and her horn flared…

“Luna,” I put my hoof on her shoulder, “Luna you don’t have to…” But with a little wobble of her head, the shadows once more rolled over us. She dropped to her knees, making herself small. I did the same, trying to make things easier for her.

“Luna…” Discord whined.

“Just don’t be too long, kay Discord?”

“Right.”

He spun and forcefully pushed at the door. It squeaked a little in its frame, and barely opened. I frowned. What if somebody heard…?

“Stupid… door!” He slammed his shoulder into it, and it popped open a little bit further with a horrible squeal.

“Discord!” I hissed.

“Shh! Darn thing never quite opened right…”He heaved into it again, and it swung just barely open, stuttering from the impact. I tried to see what I could of the room beyond. It was small for something as big as a Draconequus. Lit by an overhead lamp, dry with a pile of straw in one cornor… I didn’t see anybody, but right after Discord wormed his way through the narrow gap, it slammed immediately shut after him.

“I…” I stammered, “I really do hope that wasn’t a trap.”

“We stay as long as I can hold this shadow,” Luna said, “And then you can blast the door open.”

“Oh yes, I agree.” A fleeting image of what we might find passed through my head. But… “I don’t think it’s going to come to that. Discord...” I mulled over my words in my head. “He’s been afraid of the danger in this city long, long before we got here. If he thinks Ruin is going to help him, then, well, I trust him.”

“Uh-huh! Me too!”

I winced. Her voice was creeping upward. Nothing loud, and there were no Draconequus around. But… I put my leg around her shoulder, holding her to me.

“Let’s just be quiet and wait, alright?” I whispered.

“Oh…” She nodded up at me, wincing a little as her horn sputtered. Then, we both simply watched the door and waited.

I could hear small things. Occasionally the muffled baritone of the Draconequus beyond the door, calmly speaking in words I couldn’t make out. Even more rarely, I heard Discord’s little voice rise and fall. I strained my ears when I could hear him… He sounded upset. But, with nothing to do but stare and wonder, my own thoughts quickly overtaking my attention.

I knew, as soon as we escaped the horrible Stallion’s attacks, that there had to be another approach to this. Another way to help these ponies. And it almost causes me a little swell of pride in Discord to know he feels the same way. Or, at the very least, cares enough about me that he’d find a way to help.

Because that’s what we have to do. It doesn’t matter if we can’t handle this, or if it seems too overwhelming. You’re supposed to throw yourself at a problem. Try, try, and try again until you find just the right way for everything to work out. It may not be the most comfortable or best policy, and it can hurt quite a bit to get to a good position… But it’s what I have to do. There’s no point in complaining, crying, or thinking that you can’tdo it. You just have to do it.

I squeeze my sister’s shoulders, nodding quietly to myself. I didn’t know all the ins and out of raising my sister. I spent months feeling horrible and inadequate, lost and uncertain. But things fell right into place in the end, didn’t it? And she’s turned out wonderfully, a healthy and happy little filly.

If I can learn as I go with raising a filly, than for goodness sake, I can learn as I go with taking care of Equestria. And with Discord finding a way to help our people, well, throwing ourselves at the problem was the right thing to do after all.

With another loud scrape, the door heaved open. Luna dropped the shadows, startled, as Discord stepped out of the room. His eyes were puffy, he was fiddling with some string on his neck… and he wasn’t alone. Towering over him, reaching up to a ceiling lamp to douse it, was a fully grown Draconequus. The one that Discord had chatted casually to in the streets.

“Oh!” Luna exclaimed. “So that was Ruin!”

“Um, yeah. This, this is my mentor. Ruin.” Discord turned back to the large Draconequus, poking a finger under a string around his neck. A flat, brown bag was flung over his shoulders, cradled between his wings.

“What do you have there?” I asked.

“Some personal stuff,” he quickly replied. “Um, anyway. Celestia, Luna, Ruin says that he’s going to help us.”

“Really?! I mean um,” Too loud, Celestia, much too loud! “So, we have to work out a plan, or…?”

“Not here. Follow me, and we will discuss plans when we have arrived.” Ruin said. He smoothly stepped over Discord, and in just two strides, he was already a ways down the tightly curving corridor. He glanced back at us, over an old scar in his side. He lifted his eagle talon, and the shadows swelled around all three of us. Not a tight sheet or an easy blanket, but a gentle, unpopable bubble, only visible but for the lacking shadows beneath our feet. “Let us go.”

And, just like that, we started walking. Just… walking in silence, following this, honestly, quite massive Draconequus as he led us down torch-lit hallways. Following this calm, stalking creature… To say the least, I found the situation to be very bizarre. Discord said that his brother would help, though he was so adamantly against it before… I wondered what Discord could have possibly said to change this Draconequus’ mind.

No, no, the answer to that is obvious! Discord simply misjudged his brother, quite completely. This Draconequus, distant and estranged as he was, actually cared for his little brother! It actually felt very sweet and cute. A misunderstood, protective big brother looking out and raising his younger member of the family…

Not that… I was just placing my own situation over top of this, wasn’t I? I tried to talk to Discord about the matter, but he just waved me silent, face solemn. Alright.

We were moving out of the curving-wall section, and into a place of just flat, straight halls. Slowly rising upward, and getting warmer. We reached the end of one, where the passage beside us veered at a sharp angle upward. I could see a dim light coming from its top. A light to the outside.

Morning. Morning already.

“This. Here.” Ruin said, voice grumbling from deep in his throat. He lifted his massive paw into the air and place it on the wall in front of us. “This is the escape you’re looking for. Dig through here, and you should find yourself out of the city.”

“Well I…” I stared up the ramp, at the gray opening. “Isn’t this a little exposed here?”

“It’s very rare that a tunnel should come so close to the last wall itself,” Ruin carefully explained. “And due to its distance from the home castle, I suspect that it would be rarely used by the Draconequus… However,” he rumbled, “It would not seem strange for one such as myself to use this exit. I can defend it with little question.”

“Oh! So… Ruin.” He looked down at me, almost, in a creepy way, coldly judging me. Maybe it was just his face… Well, I stood against it. “We still need to discuss the plan. How are we going to get ponies out of the city?”

“I am going to handle it,” he explained.

“I would still like to know what you’re planning.”

“Celestia…” Discord warned. Ruin nodded slowly down at his brother. Then, once more, his gaze returned to me.

“You three are going to carve your way to freedom. Then, once things have settled, I will free some of our prisoners, and reason with them about my intentions. They will help me convince the ponies up above.”

“I suppose that makes sense…” I nodded, but I felt a little bit left out at the same time. I wasn’t invited to help with the plan? I had my own ideas… And how could I be sure this was a good one? I mean… I looked to Discord. I trust him and his judgment here, but was this really the best way? “Anything we can do to help?” I finally asked.

“The sooner you escape,” Ruin stated, “The sooner you find your way to safety, the more help you will do.” He waved to the wall. “Start tunneling.”

Discord immediately moved to blast the wall. By the time I fell by his side, he had already melted a hole the size of a watermelon. Even Luna’s element managed to shine a shimmering blue beam, soft and flickering in and out. Thank goodness, I thought, her Element’s not completely lost… Be silly if they could be destroyed by a little damage, right?

Even with all three of us together, our progress was slow. Frigid, melted stone rolled around our ankles, flowing slowly past us into the hallway. Eventually my entire body was standing in the icy makeshift cave, and we were still blasting our way through the rock. Little darting illusions zipped and dipped around our feet, scooping and pushing the gooey remains away, creating a massive spill behind us. I wondered, looking back, where exactly all this rock would be hidden. In another drainage tunnel? Would Ruin take care of that too? Was that part of the plan?

We were nearly five or six body-lengths into the tunnel… And… I started to feel, I guess a lil bit loopy. Drunk or… Goodness, it was cold. Really, really cold. My entire body was numb, I didn’t even think I was casting or nothing or… anything…

I blinked, head yanking up, spinning a bit as my Element sputtered and… It was dark, a dark place. Still in the tunnel, still… blasting away. But behind me, Luna had collapsed, blinking slow and bleary. I felt like, my own breath was slow. Sloooow slow slow… Hm. Odd feeling. I stopped, closed my eyes, and thought… was I drunk? I was too cold to be drunk. Practically a popsicle. No… a Ponysicle. A… Celest-i-sicle.

I think.

I think that was the best one.

Uh-huh.

Oh Celestia… I creased my forehead, trying to rub it with my hoof. I couldn’t feel my hoof or my forehead. I think, maybe a little bit, I poked myself in the eye.

My hind flank stung. Discord slapped it again. I stared at him.

“Elloo-men’.” He spat, screwing up his mouth. “Dis.” He flipped his Element up and shone it in his eyes. He spat again. “Use the Element. Clear your head.” He turned around and blasted Luna. She stood up straight, stunned.

“Was… goin’ on?” she asked.

“I think…” Discord mumbled, “I think defensive spells? Stop people from tunneling?”

“From doin’ wha’ we’re…” I nudged my Element, and let its ray wash over me. “Goodness! It’s like clearing my mud from my mind! But…” I blasted my feet, trying to get them less numb. They only fell through, into a puddle of goop they created. “Drat. Well, let’s hurry.”

“I don’ think… Yes!” Discord’s ray of light vanished, but the light in the tunnel didn’t dim. There was a hole, just the size of a hoof, oozing this nasty blackish material. And through it, trees. Light.

“Daylight!” I blasted the rock again, and the hole grew wider, spilling out the other side. “Yes!”

Discord looked back as I stepped forward. Ruin was behind us, outside the wall, watching us from so, so far away.
“Well,” Discord said, “Be dangerous to stay here much longer.” He looked out of the hole along with me. It was a short drop, maybe two or three feet, onto a grassy hill… Goodness, it seems like too long since I had seen nice, healthy green grass.

I hopped down, and my legs buckled – Stupid, Celestia, your legs are still numb! My hoof twisted and I tumbled onto my back, slapping into more of the stone goop before rolling down the dry, warm hill. A bit startled, but unharmed. I watched as Discord and Luna approached me, uneasy on their feet. And behind us, our hole snapped shut, slowly oozing and blending with the rest of the stone work.

“Is... that really all?” I asked.

XLIV : Overcast Reunion

The Steadfast Sky : Overcast Reunion
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Discord~

Ruin…

He was just like the rest of them. No. No, he wasn’t like everybody down here. He wasn’t as violent. He was clever. Didn’t kill anybody because he was bored, didn’t fight if he didn’t have to. In any other case, other Draconequus would be all over him, beating him up in shows of power. But nobody messed with Ruin. No one.

I’m getting off track. Whether or not the Draconequus messed with the guy isn’t important.

I just don’t know if I can really trust him.

It’s stupid, really, why shouldn’t I trust him? He’s always looked out for me, always made sure to answer my questions. Though, I mean… All his answers, they’re like the answers the Illuminators gave: The alicorn in power is never to be questioned. Everything is the way it is, you’re the bottom of the food chain, and he’s at the top. Ruin’s loyalty was unwavering.

Then, why didn’t Ruin just take me to the cells? Why didn’t he just catch us all and be done with it? Because he didn’t know I had switched sides?

But those kids that passed by. The ones in the hiding tunnels… they knew I had turned. By name. The adults had told them to go get me… Ruin, smart as he is, how could he not have known?

I felt stupid when I realized what was going on. Really… really stupid.

Why would he possibly help? I mean, he’s just… he never liked me. I was just a burden to him. Yeah, I think maybe in a small spot in his black heart, I was probably a prized student. The only Draconequus that wasn’t an idiot… But he’d still snap at me! Smack me sometimes, try and get it in my skull what I am and who I serve!

Why would he help me?

Help me?

I got a stupid urge, sitting there in that dark room with Celestia and Luna. I got the stupid, stupid urge to go and talk to Ruin again.

I just had to. Once more before we get out of here. Not for Celestia, not especially. Maybe, if we’re lucky, he’ll help us with this escape thing. But this was for myself.

I noisily shoved his door open, and slipped myself inside.

And it immediately slammed shut after me.

Ruin loomed over me, almost standing at his full height, his arm outstretched and body taut. He looked like he had just thrown himself at the door, in a great hurry to snap it shut. Disturbed papers fluttered around his feet in the remnant of a gust. He looked down at me, face the same as always. Cold, distant, full of disdain.

Ruin eased off the door, and looked at the loose pages. He leaned over, picking everything up gently, piece by piece.

“Discord,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

I watched him gather his papers, silent as he was. I don’t think it mattered much what he asked. I didn’t have an answer.

He glanced up. “Speak.”

“Why do you care,” I started slowly, “What’s on my mind or not…”

Again, his eyes rose to mine. Steady this time. “And why would you think something like that?”

“Because, what I’m thinking, it’s usually the wrong idea. About stuff.”

“Your head certainly was full of the most foolish thoughts, Discord,” he grumbled, “Thinking you were better, smarter than everyone around you.”

“But I was smarter.”

“Yes, you were,” he said, “But it’s a dangerous thought to harbor.”

“Yeah, um…” I was smart? I mean, yeah, I knew I was smart. I was just never smart enough for big, dumb old Ruin. I snorted, “Yeah, I know.”

He gathered up the last of the papers on the floor, and moved the entire one step he needed to sit by his roughly hewn desk.

“Discord,” Ruin stated, meticulously piling the brown sheets. “How have you been?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I mumbled.

“I haven’t seen you for a very, very long time.” He reached up to his single shelf, palming a little pot. He placed it atop the modest stack of papers, weighing them down. He stared at them for a moment and then turned. Looked at me again. His face wasn’t quite as cold anymore.

“Um...”

“So how have you been?”

“Well it’s um… a bit of a mixed bag, I guess. Sometimes really, really great. Sometimes… kind’ve horrible.”

“Is your new life suiting you well?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I think it is.”

“You look thin.”

“Oh." I nervously laughed. "That part’s kind’ve sucked. I’m... working on it.” There was so much more to say, so many little details I could have told him. About not eating meat, killing the chicken, the Illuminators... but it just didn’t feel right. He doesn't have time for stories. For excuses.

“That’s all?” He asked.

“Yeah." I stopped. "Well, no. I’ve felt, really, really… ashamed of myself sometimes, for not living up to my ideals…” Ruin gave a small snort at that, and I moved on quickly. “But I’ve been happy too! It’s different outside the walls. It’s hard, but I can live out there. I can exist, and I can change to fit in. I’ve made friends...” I was rambling, I knew I was rambling. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but I knew, I wanted him to understand.

“Although…” I admitted, laughing nervously “I actually came here, to see you, on a lie.” He still, still, still didn’t say a thing. Darn it... I just refused to just lift my head anymore. “Maybe I haven’t changed at all…”

Passively, “Tell me, Discord.”

“It’s a long story.” He wasn’t mad?

“Tell me.”

I peeked, no, actually craned my neck up to see my brother. My mentor. His face was almost soft now. Chiseled away and melted. No longer sharp, just… old, and tired. Strange…

“Tell me everything, Discord,” he said, “How have you wound up in my chambers once more?”

I went right up to him and sat by his side. And he made no motion to stop me. I looked back at the door, heard him shift a little beside me. Still no objections.

“Alright…” I started. My thoughts were jumbled. But, I started.

“A… A few months ago, I made some friends. Two ponies, one older than me, and the other younger. One named Celestia, and the other Luna. They, and ponies… they’re something else. So kind, so gentle… I just knew, I wanted to be with them! I felt like I… I don’t know. I’ve never felt like I fit in with them, per say. But I’m better off with them than I am down here. I always knew that. This um...” I couldn't see my mentor’s face, but I could see the tuft of his tail. I stared at it. “This isn’t too far back is it? Too much?”

“Continue.”

“Okay…

“After visiting them near nightly for, well, I suppose a month… I got this.” I tapped the Element on my chest. I wondered, could he see this movement? “It’s an Element of Harmony. The Element of Kindness.” Coming out of my mouth like that, it almost sounds ridiculous. “I guess I don’t have a way to prove it… but Celestia and Luna, they got Elements too. They’re Loyalty and Laughter. And we’re going to save Equestria. Somehow…” I took a deep breath. “Anyway… We ran from the city after I got this rock, and we wandered all around Equestria. Just going from town to town, not a care in the world, but for each other…”

I frowned, “But when Celestia got her Element… when we really first learned of our true burden… To rule Equestria as gods… She couldn’t take it. She said she had to come here, and save all the ponies inside. She wanted to fight the Stallion, Ruin!” I found my words harder to say. Just hard to talk, words tightening in my throat. “And I knew well enough that we weren’t anything compare to him! I knew that if we challenged Father now, he’d kill us! And he nearly did! But Celestia…

“She’s a friend!” I cried, voice creeping into a shout. “A good friend! I fight a ton with her, but I never want to see her hurt or anything! Her and Luna both, I, I was so relieved that we actually survived an encounter with Father! I thought, yeah, that’s it, we can go now! But, but she’s still not going to leave! She’s going to try and stay here, try and save somebody!

“So, so… I gotta do something horrible. I’ve got to lie to her, Ruin…

“To make sure she, Luna, and the whole city is safe again, I’ve got to lie to her face. And I feel absolutely awful, just knowing I’ve got to go out there… Tell her… well.” I stared at my heads, not even managing to look at the tuft of my mentor’s tail. “You’ve got to say that you’re going to help ponies escape while we’re gone. Tell her that, and maybe she’ll be satisfied enough to leave.

“Because if we don’t leave as soon as possible, Father is going to kill ponies. He’s going to rip apart the city to find us. He’s going to bust open houses, he’s going to, t-t-to let the Draconequus feast. He doesn’t care. I saw it myself, in his eyes. He doesn’t care! I just…!”

A heavy paw fell atop my head, gently weighing me down. I could feel heat radiating off of its leathery pads, trapped in the soft fur. Gently, more gently than I thought Ruin was capable of, he patted the tuft atop my head.

“Discord,” he muttered. “I understand.”

I reached up, and I grabbed his wrist.

“And," I babbled, "And I really, really wanted to talk to you one more time. I thought you’d just kill me, bring me in like everybody else… But, but you didn’t just take me in.”

“Stupid boy,” Ruin mumbled reassuringly, “You never belonged here. I always knew each time I saw you that it might be the last time. Our last meeting before I’d find your body somewhere, ripped to shreds. But I was proud of you. Of your ideals. You lived your own foolish way. The way I could not.

“You give me so much hope, Discord. Maybe Draconequus can be more then we are… More than just so much death, pain, and rage.” He gave a single low laugh. “You never realized that I was stupid too.” He pulled away, and this time, I let go. “For you and your friends, I will help you, Discord. Although… I must also ask of you a favor.”

“S-sure.” He turned to his desk. “What do you need?”

“Just one request…” He tapped his papers together, carefully, tenderly, and slipped them, along with the little pot, into a beat up, leathery bag. His satchel… yet, when he held it out to me, it was more a full backpack on a single, thick string. “I want you to take these notes. Take care of them, and see that they are bound into a proper volume.”

He dropped the hefty bag into my paws. Stuffed full of loose papers, it almost looked like a single, thick square. I immediately slung it over my shoulder, trying to tie it over my back.

“S’all I gotta do to win you over? Well…” I noticed Ruin’s look, and I stopped joking around. “Of course I will Ruin.”

He nodded down at me. “I suppose you have learned as much as you can from me.” He gave me a small warm smile. “You are my first student to ever fully graduate alive.”

~æ~

I spread my wings, maybe hoping I could glide right out of the exit we had blasted. But no matter what I would do, the numb feeling throughout my whole body would always mean my landing would be awkward. I made sure both Luna and Celestia had safely dropped and rolled away before letting myself fall. I clutched Ruin’s bag closed, lest the papers escape me.

I tumbled a little ways down the hill, and only righted myself as the wall snapped itself closed. I noticed Celestia staring, almost suspicious.

“Is... that really all?” she asked.

“It’s an illusion,” I quickly covered, “He’s got to hide it, doesn’t he?”

Celestia leered back at me. Or… was she really leering? Or was I simply paranoid that she had seen past our ruse?

“Of course,” she said at last, “I know that.”

I nodded, trying as hard as I could to keep my face blank. Or maybe I should look away, look at my feet and try to stand.

“I suppose…” Celestia said slowly. “What now?”

I shrugged, even though the answer was obvious. “Canterlot?”

“I…” Celestia stared back at the walls, the massive things looming over us once more. “It almost feels abrupt, you know? We’re just supposed to rely on Ruin now?”

“Yeah… he’s smart. And, I guess, a pretty good guy, for a Draconequus. Just let him do his thing.”

“I wish we could’ve done more.”

“There’s nothing more we can do now.”

Luna darted between us, fumbling on her feet and showing us her best smile.

“Okay then!” she said. “Let’s just get ourselves to Canterlot.”

~~~ Overcast Remnants ~~~

Overcast Remnants

~~~

Don’t much care for night. Day’s nice when the sun’s nice and high, minding its place above you. But heck if I like staring at the sun when it shows its first face, pecking at your eyeballs right when you’re getting nice and cozy with dawn. Blast that sun right out of the rutting sky if I could, make it not shine so bright and cocky. For now, it’s a stare down I can’t avoid, and can’t win.

Heck if I’m going to lose it gracefully.

“Oi Calder!” Wind roaring in my ears, I could hear Garrik’s approach, flapping and clattering like a pile of pots and pans caught in a tornado. Some days, I wonder how the heck Garrik ever learned to fly in his overburdened plates. You see, he’s just so darn small! “Calder, you cloud-snorting skarn! Where the heck do you think you’re friggin’ going?!”

“Gotta report, don’t I?” I screeched back. “You want our Glorious Employer to get his news late, do you?”

“Send a snotball to deliver the news! You don’t gotta do everything yourself anymore, you soft-headed, uh—”

I banged a fist against my helmet, feeling it ring around my ears. “For land’s sake, just drop the freaking small talk. It’s too early for this crap. I just want to deliver a freaking report, and go to freaking bed!”

“Calder. Calder, I hate your parasite-filled guts, you know that right?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’ll try to come back alive.”

“Better be with a drinking story, Calder!”

“Screw you, Garrick!” I squawked.

And up I heaved my wings. Only in the mornings, only when I’ve been up all night do I feel my blasted armor’s weight. All shifted and uncomfortable, feathers ruffled. Metal freaking jabbing into my wings as I rise and fall. Jab, scrape, jab, scrape, jab, scrape… I grabbed my helmet, my sword, and I just tumbled through the air, flipping over and over trying to straighten the darn thing. But of course, now my rutting scarf was twisted around my rutting face…

Least I didn’t need to see to land, not here. I tore at the stupid thing and slowly descend onto the pearly, pearly balcony. Prettiest darn thing in this whole freaking city, nice shiny gold-and-white tower just jutting out from the black hunk of rock they got everywhere. If I didn’t know how solid this rock was (and I kicked the darn thing several times to make sure), I would’ve sworn it was made from the purest white of the fluffy frigging clouds.

Course...

I chuckled to myself, thinking just how odd it is. Prettiest little white tower holds the darkest of the shadows in the city. Wouldn’t our Glorious Employer be happier surrounded by the stone as cold as he was?

Well, maybe the nice, bright, downright cheery location will make him a bit more charitable about the bad news. I finished tossing my scarf into place (Equestrian skies are just stupid cold at night), ripped off my helmet and tried to use the reflection to not look like baked roadkill. I managed to get myself looking like an ugly crow’s nest. Good enough, I guess.

No point in delaying this anymore.

I stared at the opening, a glass set of double doors glinting in the sunrise. Blinding me, again. Should probably get inside now, tell him the news I got.

Hrm.

Yep. Probably should have gotten a snotball to do this.

Too late, no time like the present, a million other pony adages, let’s get my stupid feathery butt in this tower and get the Glorious Employer what he needs to hear, nice and quick. Quick and easy. Fast and—

Calder. You are a coward and you make me sick.

I slammed my shoulders into the glass double doors and they popped open, bouncing and rattling around in their hinges. It was dim in here, near black with all the curtains drawn. Pony chairs and couches, all dusty and funny smelling. I would’ve waited and let my eyes adjust, but I’d already played the part of a chicken once today. Glorious Employer wasn’t here, so who gives a crap, keep moving your stupid feathery butt, Calder.

The hallways were dead quiet, so of course he knew I was here. Plates in my armor clinked and clattered no matter how tight they’re packed together. And the echo in this place! It was downright offensive. I could’ve probably heard a finch fart from a hundred paces.

I glared into each room briefly as I passed. No, not here, not there, best not to pry, let’s get this over with, let’s go. C’mon, Calder, keep looking… Even if you don’t want to particularly find, keep moving, keep yourself moving.

“O… Hello?” Best I was polite, right? Ponies, they've got all these rules about how to talk to who, and if you do it wrong, they get offended. You'd think, leader of these little ponies, he’d care the most about how he’s talked to. They’d have laid down some special protocol.

But the only way a griffin knows they screwed up if they don’t come back. It feels like being an actor on one of those stages. Except, instead of getting a bad review if you mess up, you get iced. Not like that’d happen to me. I don’t even have real bad news. I can make it sound like normal news. Change of plans, that’s all. That’s nothing to be offended by, right? Won’t swear about it or nothing…

I noticed, I’d been staring at a room for a long time. He’s not there, Calder. Keep walking. Keep your stupid, feathery… No, best to scrub any insults from my brain now. Don’t want one to accidentally slip out…

“Glorious… God of the Shadows… Stallion?” Oh, if Garrik heard me sounding so much like a baby chick… “I have an important message for you! … Sir?” All my feathers feeling a bit on edge, I was neither approached, nor notified of anybody’s presence. “Your Majesty, Sir? Any, uh, anypony home?” That was polite, right? Mentioning ponies? I heard some of those spineless little… Pegasus (no more rude thoughts no more rude thoughts). They drop ‘pony’ into half their words, that’s how these things go, right?

And it was right about then, I noticed the smoke. That smoke. That curling, hot smoke that always follows at our Glorious Employer’s heels. I prayed to the Saints that he heard me coming. I don’t want to test whether or not he likes surprises.

So... I just followed that smoke. And it’ll lead me right to him. Plain and simple.

The room I found, well, I would’ve sworn up and down that it was his room. High ceilings. Gigantic, golden double doors, both open. Really regal. It was covered in black cloth. But not just any black cloth, it looked like shadows themselves sort’ve… twisted and lifted, sucking the light from everything and everywhere. They spilled from the roof, flowing to the floor in big mounds. And right in the middle of it they seemed to twirl into a single point…

I thought I saw a little line of blue, just a sliver floating in that dark. I, well, I had to take another step forward, just to make sure…

And just one of his eyes popped open. A neon point, practically glowing. Staring right at me.

I nearly knocked my helmet off, with how hard I saluted.

“Your Lordship!”

No, stupid, Calder! Not polite enough, not nearly polite enough! He remained silent, didn’t even move to the sound of my voice. Didn’t even blink.

“Reporting!” Saints shoot me if I stutter… “On my regular rounds on the north side of the city, I saw the escaped Draconequus! The one with the golden necklace!” I had dared to joke about that once, with Garrick, with Grenda and Brent. Funny little thing to want, a necklace. But it wasn’t. Not funny. Not my business to laugh. Calder, Calder, keep going you fool! “He and his two companions seemed to be heading North Easterly! My own team is still scouring the area, and we’ve sent messenger ponies up to both Greindbrent and Aldrychmoor. We’re just awaiting orders now, Your Almighty, Glorious Lordship!” Yes, better, much better conclusion. Please, let it be enough!

He didn’t even move. And I couldn’t look away. I stared into that one unblinking eye, watched as smoke and shadows curled past it…

And in a flash of green, the double doors slammed shut.

The boom echoed around me for the longest time, my deathbell. I was frozen in place, convinced the cold hand around my heart was going to make me drop dead in an instant. But the echoes died away… and the blood was still pumping in my ears.

So I spun right around and hightailed it as fast as I dared to depart.

Well, well that wasn’t so bad! Nah, it was freaking easy! Gave my report and walked away without a tail feather out of its rutting place! Heck yes, this is going to make one heck of a bar yarn.

XLV : Luna

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 46
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Luna~

I don’t think we’re ever going to be happy again. I can almost not see any time where we won’t be running, scared. Where I won’t be tugging at shadows and holding them close. I’m tired of it. I’m really, really tired of running and hiding.

We all were bunched together, just staring up at the sky. Lanterns were bobbing and weaving in the clouds. A lot of lanterns. Sometimes, I could hear the griffins screaming and screeching at each other, and I think all three of us were all hoping those calls stayed far, far away.

“How are they still able to find us?” Discord mumbled.

“They wouldn’t have been able to find us,” my sister quietly snapped, “If you didn’t fly up to that patrol and—!“

“Do you think we’ll ever see the sky again?” I asked.

My two friends both fell silent. I looked at Discord, and he looked a little puzzled.

“What do you mean by that, Luna?” he asked.

“The sky was so pretty, especially at night.” I quietly watched a hazy orange ball as it drifted over our heads. “Do you think someday we’ll make all these clouds go away?”

“Of course we will?” I liked that he phrased it like a question. Like it was a fact, and that it was strange to be asking it. There was a reason to be confident. Discord was confident. Why couldn’t I be?

“Going to be the first thing we do,” he continued, “Get rid of all these gloomy clouds. And then the system that keeps them in place.”

Things were silent again. I don’t even think the forest was making a sound. Just clanking armor and screeching birds…

Suddenly, my sister sniffed.

“I detest being powerless,” she said, voice low and scathing.

“We’re far from powerless,” Discord mumbled.

“We were powerless in Canterbury, and we’re powerless now,” my sister shot back. “I can’t wait until we get to Canterlot. Maybe there we’ll stop being so useless.”

I snuggled up close to her, trying to give Celestia quiet hug.

We didn’t say much else for the rest of the night.

~Θ~

We’re on the road again! Or… at least travelling. We couldn’t really stay on the road right now. No more pushing ourselves to exhaustion, though! Even though Celestia sometimes really wanted to. But at least there’s no more scary stuff chasing us all over the place. Except sometimes griffins. Sometimes. Well, at least my friends aren’t fighting. Right now.

But they were five minutes ago! Oh my gosh, how can I be so happy when stuff’s still not fine?!

“You know,” I said to Discord as I kicked my way through a bush, “It’s almost like you guys like to fight!”

“I guess it’s a little funny how worked up she gets,” Discord mumbled. “She probably thinks it’s funny that I stand up to her.”

I stuck out my lip, watching Discord as his eyes never left the ground. He’s been like this for days! DAYS! Snapping at Celestia, mumbling at me, avoiding the both of us sometimes! Well, I’ve seen plenty of sad Discord to last me a lifetime! I poke my hoof into his side, and he slowly looks down at it. Slowly looks up at me.

“Discord?” I huffed.

“What?”

“What has got you so down?”

He snorted, “Besides Celestia’s never ending attempts to chew my ear off?”

And of course, off in the distance and half hidden by a fern, my sister spun around.

“I’m still mad you know!” She shouted.

He rolled his eyes. “I know!”

“Well GOOD!”

“Why can’t you just understand?!” Discord shouted. “I had to make sure they knew we were out of the city, Celestia!”

“No you didn’t! The longer the Stallion didn’t know, the longer we had to get away without them chasing us!” She rubbed her hoof across her forehead, turning slowly in place. I could hear her still, extra quiet. “Goodness, we haven’t set foot on a road in days…”

“Guuuuys!” I groaned, rolling my eyes. “If this is supposed to be fun, can you just tell me so I don’t keep separating you?”

Celestia grumbled something about fun or not fun and mashed her way nosily through another bush. Certainly didn’t look fun to me. I turned back to Discord, staring at the ground again.

“So, that’s over.” I said. “And I don’t think that’s what’s bugging you, Discord.”

“I’m, um. Gimmie a second.” He ducked ahead of me. I could still see as he pressed his thumb into his forehead. “I’m also so, so very sorry that I left you in that hallway!” he exclaimed.

“Hallway?”

“Remember, when I went to go talk to Ruin?” He frowned at me with everything but his eyes. “You were hurting, barely able to cast. And I just left you there. It was selfish, and something could have happened, and—“

“But nothing did happen,” I pointed out.

“No. But what if it had?”

“I dunno!” I shrugged, “I don’t think it matters.”

“Yeah!” he nodded vigorously. “We all got out of the city safe. That’s what matters, right? That we’re all safe?”

Well he agreed with me quick! I must be pretty good at this!

“Of course!” I said.

“Nothing else matters, right?”

Wait, maybe this was too quick? I gave my friend a good, hard looking-at. He tried to look back, make eye contact and stuff. But he just couldn’t hold it. Maybe because we were moving through all these trees and plants and things, he had to keep his eyes on his feet.

Or maybe that was his excuse!

“Why do you keep asking me?” I said, “You keep trying to ask, over and over, with such a sad look on your face.”

“Aheh,” He looked away from me (again!). I could tell he was trying to force a grin. It was easy to see, because he was failing pretty terribly. “Well… bleh! Just glad to be out of there.”

“Me too! I mean,” I glanced up to my sister’s bobbing pink tail. “Glad we tried, glad it’s over.”

“Well good! Good that it’s good…”

“Discord.”

“Um?”

“You’re really, really bad at not acting sad.”

He snorted, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re still not happy about something!”

“Of course I’m happy.”

“Of course you’re not happy.”

“Everything went as well as it was going to go!”

“Uh-huh,” I nodded. “But are you guilty?”

He recoiled, face falling from sad to stunned. Jackpot?

“So you wanted to stay too,” I said.

“No!” He shook his head, “No, us leaving was the best possible option for the ponies. They’re going to be safe now. With us gone, they’re going to be safe.”

In the distance, Celestia fell quiet. I couldn’t even hear her beating through the underbrush anymore. I tried to catch up to her, following in her path. Discord glided over my head, falling a bit beyond my sister’s stubborn head.

With an audience in place (I seriously think that’s what she was waiting for) Celestia sighed.

“I really wish I could have been a part of that,” she grumbled. “Seen with my own eyes that somepony was being helped. I guess it was just an impossible dream.”

“We did the very, very best we could,” I said. I was kind’ve getting tired of saying this over and over and over. “What’s done is done, right?”

“Yes,” She nodded, firm, “Yes, I suppose it is.”

Discord nodded, and we all continued stomping our way through the forest. I thought, just for a second, that maybe I should ask Discord again what was bugging him. I never really did find out! He’s just so snake-y! But as we walked, I saw him hold his chin a little higher. I saw as his shoulder relaxed a little, walking beside Celestia like it wasn’t any big deal.

So... did the problem get solved without me? It was kind’ve weird, not really knowing what made things all better. But I guess, I was just happy that he was happy. And things were left just like that.

~Θ~

I love the sounds of night. Whether I'm sleeping or not, it always sounds like a song. The bugs and owls mix together with the wind though the trees. Dogs yip and yap in the distance, and, along with a few other animal calls, the whole forest becomes an orchestra. The world is one big stage, and the song is everywhere.

But sometimes songs can be sad. And sometimes they can be scary.

It sounded like a baby animal. I think all animals sound like babies when this happens. A continuous squealing screech, rising and falling. An animal sobbing, a raccoon, or a bunny hurt and screaming for help. In my half-awake brain state, I stared at the grass in front of me and wished I could mute the poor thing. But the thought of a poor bunny going unheard scared me even more.

“Put it out of its misery already,” Celestia mumbled beside me.

“Celestia, what…?”

“Dumb fox. Must have gotten spooked, and now it’s just left the poor thing to die.”

“You can tell it’s a fox?”

“I can guess,” she harrumphed into her leg. “I can never sleep when this happens.”

“Me neither.” I paused, unable to stop listening to the poor thing cry. “Do you think we should go find it?”

“I don’t think there’s a point in that. It would take forever to find, it could stop if we try to look. And it might, well, die anyway. Despite our best efforts.”

“I don’t know if I can keep listening to this...”

The branch above us shook violently. There was a heavy snapping of wings, and a soft thump beside us. I saw, with shadows still stuck in my eyes, as a dark Discord-shaped blur darted past, little yellow eyes flashing. I listened, frozen, as he trampled through the grass, growing quieter and quitter until his steps were lost in the wind.

Not long after, the screeching stopped.

Discord didn’t return for a long time.

~Θ~

“Your Element’s looking better.”

“Oh, it is? Gosh, I hardly noticed!”

I looked down at my Element, shifting it up with my knee as I walked. The metal setting, the place where the stone sat was still squished and scrunched up. But the back was smooth now, metal all straight. And the little sliver of blue that was left, that was also smooth and shiny now. It rested in the center of the gold, just a little slice of curving blue. It looked to me like a crescent moon, just like my cutie mark.

“If I didn’t know better…” Discord said slowly, “I would have thought you just got it that way.”

“Yeah! Wonder how it did that? Just like it healed itself or something.”

Discord stared at the little gem as it dropped back around my neck.

“Maybe it did.”

“You think so?”

“I told you,” he muttered, “These things are alive. Maybe it can just heal itself, like we can just heal our bruises, our cuts naturally. Actually…” He fell quiet, staring down at his own silver little Element.

“Actually what, Discord?”

“Just thinking back to when I first found my Element,” he said, “I mean, both Celestia’s and yours, you found them as orbs, right?”

“Um…” I tried to remember my own Element before I got it, all the way back to Jubilee’s tomb. “Well, I thought it kinda looked like a ball! But I also thought it was the King of the wispy things.”

Discord blinked. “The what?”

“It’s kind’ve not really related. But!” I continued, “Celestia’s looked kind’ve orbular when it was above the statue, didn’t it?”

He nodded. “But mine wasn’t. It was carved into a butterfly. In a room covered in dust, the same color as the Element. And,” he waved his hand, smacking branches and trying to fish for a memory. “The dust also seemed to collect around that butterfly… In crystals, I think?” He frowned. “I’m wondering, did the Shadow Stallion try to powderize his Element, but it just collected itself back together?”

“Um…” I shivered, the mental image of my own Element shattering in front of my eyes. “He… it feels like, he’s the kind of creature who would try to do that, I think. But would that mean, after we left, that the stone would have still tried to collect itself up into an orb?”

“Yeah, probably,” Discord mumbled, “We didn’t notice anything, did we?”

“But,” Celestia suddenly piped up, “Why?”

Celestia trampled a bush on my other side, just as lost in thought as Discord was. It was only a couple hours into the day, and the lack of roads was already starting to show on my sister. Her normally carefully brushed hair was all tangled. Mud ran up her legs, and her saddlebags were askew. I looked down at my own feet, and wondered if I looked as bad. Discord, well, he always looked like Discord. He didn’t look any messier than usual.

“Why didn’t we… check?” Discord asked. “To see if it was regrowing?”

“No. Well,” Celestia huffed and tried to straighten her mane. “Why would he do that? Why would the Shadow Stallion try to smash up the Element?”

We all got quiet again, probably thinking very hard. But the answer was obvious, wasn’t it? Why wasn’t Discord pointing it out? He likes to do that, doesn’t he? Pick on my sister?

“Well that’s easy!” I finally said, “Because, all together, they’re the only things that can stop him!”

Discord chuckled, “That makes sense.”

“Wait,” I stopped, another nagging its way through my brain. “No it doesn’t.”

“No?” My sister looked confused. “Why not, Luna?”

“Think about it again,” I said, “Why were the other Elements just set out in the open? Left alone in the tomb and the shrine for just no reason? Once he knew his was gone,” I pointed a hoof at Discord, “Wouldn’t he grab the rest of the Elements and to try and destroy them instead?”

Discord shrugged. “Maybe he thinks they’re well hidden.”

“Maybe he thought that…” Celestia muttered, eyes on the ground. “He has proof that they’re not well hidden anymore.”

“Oh…”

“Whoever the other three are,” Celestia said, “I really hope they’ve gotten their Elements already.”

I agreed of course, right before everybody got quiet again. I didn’t want the other three to have any troubles! I wanted them to get their elements nice and easy, just like we did. Then we could all meet up in Canterlot and…

Be friends, I guess?

That seemed strange to say. Even stranger to think about. I pictured three strange ponies, faces and flanks blank. I saw us and those three blank ponies all hugging and getting along, right before we blasted The Stallion. Then we were just friends forever, I guess? Wearing crowns and trusting everybody equally? I’m not above making friends, but…

It just feels really, really strange.

~Θ~

“What do you think Canterlot’s going to look like?”

“Black stone,” Discord replied with assurance, “More depressing black stone.”

“Hmmm… You think so?”

“Canterlot. Canterbury.” He shrugged, “They sound the same, probably sister cities, built around the same time. Same as Hock. Government buildings, they’re probably all going to be dark and spooky.”

“Oh…” I thought for a bit. “But Stringhalt wasn’t dark and spooky. It actually seemed pretty nice.”

“Minus the slave camp, griffin barracks, and the crazy mob people.”

“Well it looked kinda pretty. You know, swirling up a hill with pretty white clouds! Sheesh!”

“Well, Canterlot… It will be…” Celestia piped up, squinting up and down her map. “It’s built on a mountain. Canterlot mountain, I suppose? And it must be pretty big. They’ve drawn a picture for it, only cities get that treatment.”

“Ooh, lemme see!”

I snuggled up to my sisters side, trying to look over her shoulder. Discord did the same, but over my side! I giggled as his fur scratched at my shoulders (even through my cloak!) and shrugged him off.

“You won’t see it over me, go look on Celestia’s other side!”

He snickered, maybe a bit too long. But he did as I asked, poking his nose under Celestia’s neck. And after a minute of being pointed and directed and…

“That’s it?” Discord snorted.

“What do you mean ‘that’s it’?” Celestia scoffed.

“It looks like a bunch of cupcake frosting blops,” I giggled.

“P-pardon?”

“Like if you frost a cupcake right, it makes that sort’ve… squished, swirly…” I waved my hoof in front of me, trying to simulate the idea of the blop. “Raindroppy shape.”

“I… well…” Celestia stared down at the page, frowning. “Those are supposed to be the tops of towers, Luna.”

“Well I’ve never seen a tower topping that looked so silly!”

“Were they supposed to be imitating the shape of baked goods?” Discord said.

“What if they’re actually made of frosting?!” I squealed

“… ew.”

I frowned at Discord. “Ew?”

“Think about it, all that sugar just sitting out in the hot sun, rotting away… And of course, birds and other animals would be all over that, crawling around in it.”

“Oh, gross!” I giggled, “Ew!”

“Why I never, you two!” Celestia huffed. “This design is, is um… clearly classical Unicorn architecture!”

Discord grinned. “Did you just come up with that?”

“No!” Celestia retorted. “It merely took me a while to remember correctly.” She slapped the page, poking a hole in her aura. “This style is clearly reminiscent of pre-Equestrian Unicorn architecture. It’s very efficient for keeping heavy snow from collapsing a roof!”

I frowned, “Snow’s not that heavy… We could kick it around really easy.”

“And it all melts in a few days anyway,” Discord continued.

“Well, unicorns used to live in ever-frozen mountains,” Celestia explained, “Unmelting, eternal snow would have been a big problem for them.”

Discord stared at my sister, then poked his nose over her tangle-maned shoulders.

“What do you think, is she making it up or…?”

“I’m not making this up!”

I giggled, “I dunno, I never got real far in my history lessons.”

“Luna, you’ve seen a Hearth’s Warming Eve play!” Celestia pleaded, “Several times!”

“…I have?”

Discord snickered into his elbow.

“You know, Hearth’s Warming Eve?” Celestia said. “We didn’t manage to get to one this year, but the previous two we saw a lovely play. Remember? The Windego Blizzard? The Exodus? Princess Platinum and Clover … Commander Hurricane?”

“I guess it kinda sounds familiar.”

“… Chancellor Puddinghead?”

“Oh! Puddinghead!” I nodded. “He was funny, I liked him.”

“You both lost me,” Discord said. “What are you talking about?”

“Hearth’s Warming Eve,” Celestia explained, “is a holiday celebrating the foundation of Equestria, and the true unity of the three tribes of Pegasi, Unicorn, and Earth ponies.”

“And there’s a feast, and presents, and a funny play!” I stopped, midsentence and midstride. “Wait… Celestia?

“Yes?”

“What does the play have to do with the roofs over Canterlot?”

Discord lost it. He broke into a loud, roaring laugh. “It, it was a distraction!” he stammered, “She tried to change the topic!”

“I did not!” Celestia retorted, “I brought up the play for a reason!” And then she turned to me! “Don’t you remember the look of the backdrops, Luna? When the Unicorns were onstage? The appearance of their castles?”

“Um…”

“They had a specific sort of cone on top. A cone that swirled upward, like, well, a ‘blop’ of blue and gold.”

“Hm… Nope. I don’t remember that at all.”

“Oh stop snickering, Discord!” Celestia groaned, spinning on my laughing friend. “It’s not even that funny!”

~Θ~

“What even is this?”

“What even is what?”

“This pack you’ve been pulling around,” Celestia nudged Discord’s brown leather bag with her snout. “You haven’t even opened it since we left.”

He shrugged, “There’s no reason to open it. The contents will just get lost.”

“So…”

“It’s a stack of papers,” he explained.

“Just paper?” I asked, “Blank paper?”

Discord grinned. “Now that makes no sense. Why would I haul around a bunch of blank paper?”

“Because your brother told you to?” Celestia asked.

Discord opened his mouth, then stopped and frowned.

“Well,” he said, “This paper has stuff on it.”

“And what exactly would that be…?”

“Stuff he’s been writing since before I was born.”

Celestia continued to stare at Discord’s face, waiting for more. But he looked back, and darted in front of her, letting a cart pass cleanly beside us. We hadn’t seen the griffins days, and Celestia couldn’t take any more treks through the wilderness. Soon as we saw a road again, she jumped all over that opportunity. Personally (and by personally, I mean “according to Discord”) her need to keep her mane fresh and clean trumped the safety of the group.

“Go on?” Celestia prodded.

“About what?” Discord asked. “The pages?”

“Yes!”

“Sorry. I can’t.”

“Why not? Oh!” She retreated, hoof over heart. “Goodness, it isn’t personal, is it? Some private dairy, for your eyes only?”

He shrugged, “Might be.”

“But… you don’t know?”

“Nope. Could be anything.”

“You haven’t even thought to check what they are?”

Discord chuckled. “Be a little pointless. And like I said. They could get lost, and I really don’t want that to happen.”

“I don’t think it’s pointless!” I suddenly said, “What if it’s secret instructions? Telling you all the secrets that you need to know right now?!” I stared at the bag. “Everything, every question we don’t have answered. How you should learn Shadow Magic. Everything secret about the Shadow Stallion and The Nightmare. The locations of the other three Elements. It could all be in that bag!”

“How much do you think Ruin knew?!” Discord laughed.

“I dunno. A lot of stuff?”

“He knew a lot, yeah, but he didn’t know that much. Especially not that much directly related to The Elements. I don’t know if he even knew what those were.”

He snickered again. He’s been getting happier and happier the further we’ve gone on, it’s actually really nice to see!

“Well let’s see what these pages contain!” Celestia exclaimed. She motioned to the bag with her horn. “Discord? Can I remove the top sheet?”

“Alright... But be careful. It might tear.”

Celestia nodded. Her golden glow encased the satchel as we walked. With a flick of her horn, the bag popped open. First, she floated out a little brown clay pot. And then she stared at it.

“That’s just some petrichor,” Discord explained, “For cuts and such.”

“Alright...”

She hovered the pot above her head, and returned to her task. One of the wrinkled brown pages lifted off the rest and smoothly slid out. I looked over Discord’s shoulder, trying to get a closer look as she shut his pack. The page looked creamy and smooth, covered in a tight and cramped ink scrawl. Celestia frowned at it. She flipped it over, and the other side was rough with sandpapery brown patches.

“A, A, A, A, B, B, B, B…” She mumbled. “So he was trying to teach himself to read?” She flipped it over again. “Star…swirl the bearded… had many….questions… This is copied from a colt’s school book, isn’t it?” The page flipped over and over, Celestia’s face wrinkled in disbelief. “Are they all like this?”

“Beats me!”

“Well, why would he give you his writing lessons? There must be more.” She slid the page back in, and another paper began sliding out.

“Don’t get them all out of order!” Discord warned.

“I’ll mark my place with the little pot, don’t you worry.”

Again, Celestia glared at the page. But this time, her eyes followed a slow, more reading-like pattern down the teeny tiny scrawled notes.

“I’m honestly surprised how small he could write!” she huffed. “He had very large paws! How did he even hold a pen?”

“He didn’t,” Discord said with a shrug, “He wrote with ink on his claws.”

“Oh.” She scanned a few more lines, flipped it over and back, and then:

“While the season has been very… fruitful? For my studies on the…” She frowned, and dove further down the page. “My participation in the… something season has granted me another unforeseen boon. Two Draconequus… fingers.” Celestia stuck out her tongue. “Blech!”

“How is that a boon?!” I cried.

“He…” She stared at the page. “I can now test my own… processing? On… something-enriched bones. Now all I need is an everflame and…” Celestia snorted, “And this is very difficult to read! I suppose it’s some kind of journal?”

“You tell me!”

“Aren’t you curious at all, Discord?”

“When I can read it, I will. But right now? I just want to get it bound.” Discord grinned, “Izzat good enough for you, Celestia?”

“I suppose so...”

The page got tucked back into Discord’s pack, and I guess that was the end of that.

~Θ~

“Hey…” I stopped, panting for breath, “Hey guys…”

“No. Luna. Don’t stop halfway.” Discord’s shoulder heaved, wings limp and pack hanging off one of his sides. “Don’t be your sister. She’s…” he laughed, “She’s never going to get up this hill.”

“Who… Who puts a road!” She shouted, far, far beneath me, “Who puts a road on a sixty degree incline?!”

Discord looked down the from top of the hill, pebbles bouncing from his feet down, down, down… Past me, past Celestia, past another cart… Said cart rattled past us, no, practically rocketed past. Two buff stallions huffed and puffed as a third ran behind them, keeping an eye on the tarped back, catching odd rolling vegetables as they bounced out.

“Man!” I gasped, “Look at them go! Woo! You can do it!”

And one of the stallions laughed! He nodded at me as they passed by, crested the hill, then rolled out of sight.

“Man, those guys took the hill quick. Blaaaaaah!” I threw my head back, “Why are there so many hills?!”

“I can’t, I can’t BREATHE you guys!” Celestia cried, “I can’t do this! I’d rather be chased by the griffins! I can’t DO THIS!”

“You took, like, the last four. Or… was it more? Ooh!” I squeaked, “I just rhymed!”

“That’s not… oh my goodness…” Celestia dropped to the ground. “I can’t do this! I just can’t, I can’t! All my legs hurt, and, and my pack feels too heavy, and the straps are digging into my back, and no! No!”

“Geez!” Discord said. He un-broached his cloak and yanked the bag over his head, dropping them beside him. His wings, finally free, slowly folded open, rising far above his head. He gave them a flew test flaps. Discord’s entire body arched as he stretched, rolling down, and up again like a cat coming out of a nap. After a few more flutters of his feathers, he hopped down the hill, slowly gliding towards me.

“Who knew all it would take to break Celestia again is a few odd hills?” Discord said, landing by my side.

“This isn’t like, a few hills. These things are like… everywhere!” I waved my forehooves at him, which he deftly avoided. “And they’re huge! And oh, Discord! Discord? Discorddiscord ahh, what are you doing?!”

In one quick motion, Discord ducked under my forelegs. He flung me in an awkward position over his prickly shoulders. With a snort, he shot forward. His wings slapped at my sides as they flapped, his feet bouncing off the dirt and rocks, kicking them up as we bounced higher and higher, and higher! Ground was never more than a foot away. But to look down! To see our shadow as it separated from Discord’s feet!

It was fun! It was scary! Them he came crashing into the ground, smacking and scraping my legs before bouncing up again.

“Nonono!” I squealed, laughing and giggling like crazy, “I can make it, I can make it on my own! Ow! My forelegs! Your back’s all sweaty! EW!”

We fumbled like that all the way to the top of the hill. Skidding and stumbling, probably screaming right in his ear! I saw the peak, and I flung myself from his back. Pebbles and sand stuck and scraped all down my back as I tumbled, earth, cloud, earth cloud…

I found my feet, but that didn’t stop me from skidding, rocks bouncing up to my chin, dust clogging my nose. I skidded a few feet down the other side before I could stop! But I just charged back up to that silly Draconequus, laughing and giggling with all the energy in the world. He was standing there, gasping for breath…

So I spun around and whapped him! Right with my tail!

It probably didn’t hurt much, because he gave me a stupid grin.

“Just wanted… to see if… I could do… that first… Just…” he gasped, “I’ll go back and get Celestia too… just let me catch my breath.” He dropped to the ground, tongue stuck out like a dog’s. “Woo! Woo…” he laughed “Wish we had some water or something!”

“Nope! No water.”

“That’s dumb! Next town,” he gasped, almost too long. He was just being silly, wasn’t he?! “We-buy-a-bag-of-water. Or something.”

“That’s silly! You can’t buy bags of water!”

“Course we can. Why not?”

“Because water comes in barrels.”

And he laughed! He laughed really loud, throwing back his head and pointing his snout at the sky. It was a real deep laugh too. Usually Discord snickers, or snorts, with a little hiss clicking in the back of his throat. But this was different!

It was so happy! It made me want to just rock on my heels and laugh along with him!

“It wasn’t even that funny! Laugh at my actual jokes next time!” I giggled. And I looked up… “Oh! Hey Discord!”

“Yeah, Luna!”

“Do the clouds look closer to you?”

“What?”

He opened his eyes, easing his jaws shut. He frowned, but it was a puzzled frown, so that made it okay.

“I think… Maybe?”

“I feel like, if I or you jumped off the top of the tree, we could touch those clouds. Look!” I waved a hoof up at them, “You can actually make out shapes and stuff! I can see them moving!”

Discord continued to look up as his breathing slowly steadied, wings drifting back in their folded position. We quietly watched, together, just for a moment. It was hard to see, but they looked a little bit like rows of a garden freshly plowed, rows and rows ready for seeds. The mounds, huge and long, shifted above us, flowing and curling at a ponderously slow pace.

“Did they look like that when we fell through them?” I asked.

“I don’t know… But now that you mention it.” His head fell back down, and he frowned at the struggling Celestia, still barely halfway up. “Each hill has been higher than the last, hasn’t it?” He looked beyond me, to our distant goal. “Though you can obviously see why.”

I looked back as well. Another cart bounced and crashed past us, not even pausing at the top before charging back down the hill.

It was a strange sight, these hills. I was very used to swaths of trees blocking my view. Maybe sometimes there was occasional hill here and there in the forest, just tall enough to get a good look around. They were tough to climb, but rare when they happened. Stuff was mostly flat around both the top and the bottom.

But there was nothing around here that I could call ‘flat’. Hills, big, big hills rolled like green waves, creating walls against the sky. They didn’t even look climbable, and in the far, far distance, I could see that the road didn’t even attempt to go up those monstrous mounds. Little black specks wormed their way around a dim brown line at the base, trying to slowly follow their way past the monstrous wave.

And that wasn’t even the biggest hill!

In the far, far, far distance, hazy, almost too far away to see, was something huge. A big, big, big dark stone wave. It was like the clouds themselves just spilled to the ground, solidifying into a huge chunk of earth that went on and on and on forever. A gigantic black wall, just like the ones that surrounded Canterbury.

And just like that, a thought came to mind.

“Do you think that’s the edge of the world?” I asked Discord.

“What?”

“Like, do you think that the outer wall of all Equestria?”

He stared at me. “Is it even possible to wall in a whole country?”

“Maybe,” I looked down at my Element. “You think all the alicorn First Gods together, maybe they could have done it?”

Discord chuckled. Not his big laugh, but still, a nice and happy sound.

“That seems a bit excessive ,” he said.

“Maybe they did it to keep the Windegos out!” I gasped.

“The what? No, hold that thought. Better go get your sister.”

He looked down the hill, flipped open his wings, and with a tiny hop he was off. With nothing better to do, I just stared at that big, big rock wall. It made sense to me. The Stallion liked his walls. Maybe it was something to keep stuff out… Or maybe, like in Canterbury, it was a big, scary way to keep everybody in. It took up hours to climb our way out of Canterbury. A wall like that, just that big? Who knows how high it would go? Maybe it would take days.

Discord slowly dragged himself up and over the hill, legs shaking violently, hauling a pink-faced Celestia on his back. He collapsed right in the crest, gasping and heaving for breath. Celestia shrugged off him, collapsing on her side, panting as well.

“M *gasp* Man,” Discord panted, “These *gasp* these hills *wheeze* suck.”

“Hey Celestia!”

“How… How do you…” Celestia gasped for breath too. “Have energy?”

“I’ve been sitting here waiting!” I explained, “Do you see that big rock wall over there?”

“Over…?” Her eyes peeled open, and she slowly stared into the distance. “That… that’s a mountain… isn’t it?”

“Is it the wall keeping Equestria in, Celestia?”

“What? … No… you see…” Celestia took a deep breath, and her aura flared unnaturally bright around her horn and bag. The map flopped out, along with a couple apples and our bag of oats. “After Canterlot… Look…” She slapped the paper. “Beyond it… yes, unexplored… But there’s more country to the north… The… The north.” She groaned and flipped onto her stomach, fanning herself. “I had no idea… hills would be so hard… to climb… Oof…” She looked around again, slowly glancing at her map, at the gigantic mountain wall. “Oh!” She exclaimed. “Look… Over there.”

She flung her hoof into the air. It fell into the dirt. A puff of dust floated into the air and vanished. I looked where she was pointing anyway. Off in the distance, there was a little black smudge dropped in the green. Little lines wove their way up the side of the gray wall, coiling and pooling into a weblike center.

“Kind’ve looks like Hock,” I admitted.

“That’s, that’s probably…” she looked at her map. “You know… The little trading town before the city… like Gelding or um…”

“Does...” Discord gasped. “Deos every city have to have one of those?”

“I suppose so,” Celestia slowly retorted. “Canterlot’s up the mountain… So you need … someplace to stay the night… before climbing. Right?” She took another deep breath, and tried to struggle to her feet. “We’ll probably spend the night there… if we can get there before dark.”

“I guess so!” I nodded. “What’s this one called, huh?”

“Huh? Oh…” She looked at the sheet from her knees, then heaved herself up. “That town? That’s Ponyville.”

XLVI : A Canterlot Arrival

The Steadfast Sky : A Canterlot Arrival
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

In all of Equestria, there is no city that rivals the importance, history, nor the beauty of the stronghold Canterlot. Founded on the very mountain where The Equestrian Truce was drawn up and signed, Canterlot was officially conceived to be the country’s capital. Only for lack of imported masonry did this city lose its distinction, and thusly did the much more quickly constructed Canterbury became the center of the newly formed Equestrian government.

However, despite the physical loss of power, Canterlot never lost its spiritual power as a symbol of hope, as a symbol of the newly founded country’s prosperity. Construction continued, even as the provisional government struggled with the Exodus from the Frozen North. Canterlot was eventually completed years and years later under the keen and discerning eyes of Magic and Generosity. Only the alicorns, infinite in their wisdom, truly saw what beauty and light the city could hold. For all who has laid eyes upon Canterlot must agree, it is a beautiful city, worthy of holding and housing a country’s gods.

Words cannot do justice to its current appearance, and my pen is not laden by the ink of a poet. Instead, let me transcribe a recollection from Regnant Clover the Clever:

“Impeccable white towers, carefully crafted with dazzling purples and golds, formed into innumerable shapes, sizes, forms … The city was more a finely crafted sculpture than a place a pony would use. A select few towers imitated the night sky as I remembered it above the Frozen North. Others swirled into delicate floral shapes that, from a distance, seemed almost too fine and thin to truly exist. Some simply followed carefully measured patterns, swirling and shifting as the eye passed over them; Clearly solid, not really moving. …Golden balconies rimmed with stars and shapes drawn only from dreams. Reflective pools of pure, golden light, spilling and vanishing into the misty white below. Bridges and railings of a glimmering gold brass, far too fine and delicate to be more than ornamental. Shining figureheads atop prominent spires, hovering in place and held by some unseen magic. … Truly, the alicorns have outdone themselves. What finer purpose could there be for the magic of light and harmony?”

Much has been added since Clover’s time. The lighting in Canterlot now relies on multicolored crystals, as well as the addition of the residential housing curling down the mountain’s cliff. Though gone unmentioned in Clover’s texts, the township of Ponyville, just below Canterlot, remains an important part of our history. Poorly planned and constructed hastily from miscut wood and loose rocks, Ponyville was initially formed to dig for stone to aid the growth of Canterlot. However, the small town grew exponentially with the discovery of the rich crystal caverns deep underneath the mountain’s surface. A pony can make a substantial profit in the dark tunnels, but the work is both difficult and deadly. Despite, or in perhaps because of this, the town now houses a great number of refugees and runaways seeking the key to a better life in the cramped and dust-covered streets.

Yes, I do claim that this boom town is a key part of Canterlot’s meaning and purpose. For, a city founded on hope must take care maintain that reputation. In these dark times, under a Nightmare King, many wonder if there is hope left at all in the land. Some ponies leave the country for Zebra lands, or return to the Frozen North in hopes that the Old Country can be revived. These poor ponies are lost to us, misguided and driven by desperation. They follow a false hope for a better life elsewhere. But others know what hope means for all of us. Others know that Canterlot should be, and is, Equestria’s hope.

For you see, so many come to her doors to learn, to educate, to protect, and yes, to hide. For those within the country, and for others so distant on the horizon. Because even an Alicorn trapped in a nightmarish phase, must surely realize that Canterlot must be above his oppression. For a God who cannot and will not raise the sun and moon, it is imperative that Canterlot stands firm, high above the clouds. Even if it is the proper order of the world to bow to ones’ masters, one exception is, and always will be made for the glorious city of Canterlot. Canterlot remains strong, remains a beacon, proclaiming to Equestria’s citizens and to world that all is just and right in her country. That soon, new hope will be born.

Today, we have received unto us that precious reminder of a brighter future. Today, we Illuminators have received three of the Second Gods into our fold. It is any Illuminator’s greatest honor to protect and care for these three precious lives. For it, Canterlot continues to carry its message of hope, of Beauty and Harmony in Equestria. As of my writing, they have been housed in the royal rooms, perfectly preserved and maintained for their new guests.

Hopefully soon we will receive news from the Gravekeeper about the arrival of the other three Elements, though it seems like they have not approached nor been approached by any other shrine as of yet. It is possible that, like the Elements we have just received, the remaining three have become sidetracked, or otherwise lost. I pray for their safety, even though I, nor anyone else here, dare ask the three gods-to-be to look out for them.

Praise the alicorns. Praise the Second Gods. May their wisdom eternally grow more infinite.

Illuminator Ivory Inkwell

~Luna~

There’s this one thing that I can’t stop thinking of. It’s a really little thing too! It’s my feet! They’re really, really clean. I wash them nice and proper when I can, make sure to get most of the mud and rocks and grass and everything off. They always look okay, I just thought the bottom of my hoof was a yucky brown color and there was nothing I could do about it.

But for the first time ever, the bottom of my hoof is actually blue. Blue and tingly! When I step down, it’s like I can feel whole new worlds of feelings. I can feel the carpet hairs brushing against my sole as I walk, and gosh, that is the weirdest feeling.

The rest of me has been scrubbed crazy clean too, of course. Celestia said we all needed to take a bath, and like, eight ponies leapt from nowhere to scrub us down. My mane and tail have been trimmed, my coat deep cleaned. And there was this one unicorn with tweezers, she spent a forever just picking bugs off of me. I didn’t even realize I had bugs on me! That’s so weird… and kind’ve gross too. And at the end of it, they gave me my Element back, and it was so sparkly and shiny! I’m really grateful to all of them!

“And everything here is crazy and wonderful, and woah!” I squealed. “It’s like a magical dream come true!”

“I know!” my sister replied, “Never in my wildest dreams!” She sniffled, struggling to hold her tiny little makeup brush still. “It’s like I’m a Baroness again!”

“Baroness? Nuh-uh! We’re Princesses!”

“We are, oh goodness we are! We are. We are!” Celestia giggled like crazy. Her jittery aura dashed a line of red makeup across her nose.

I sat on a velvet pillow (which was really squishy and nice!) watching my sister fuss in front of a mirror. She squinted at her face, and conjured another light behind her. The glow mixed in with the pale blue glow of the crystal stands and chandelier, making her room even more warm and colorful. She was wearing a poofy pink dress, and I was wearing a poofy glittery blue dress, and I don’t even remember the last time I was even allowed to touch a dress, let alone wear one! My sister’s coat was really pale in a way I forgot it could look like. And her mane was properly poofy in big curly cinnamon buns again!

And we were in her room! Because I have a room, and Discord has a room, and she has a room and I just mentioned that, but WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN ROOMS! Hers was like autumn, with decorations in deep, warm orange and red. Patterned cloth with little gold tassels was draped over everything. And I mean everything! The bed, the floor, the ceiling, the mirror, the WINDOW! Whenever I wasn’t looking at my sister, my eyes were sucked over to that window. It was night outside, actual, real night. No clouds, no gloom. Just a dark purple peppered by all those sparkly stars.

“And they’re holding a party for us!” I squealed, thoughts just tumbling out my mouth. “And the party is at night, big sis! AT NIGHT! This place is CRAZY!”

There was a fast rapping on the door. Celestia dropped her brush, splattering a big stain across the top of the mirror dresser.

“Who—?” Celestia stammered. She straightened herself. “Whoever is it?”

“My Princesses!” A guard clad in gold clinky armor poked his nose in the door. He looked pretty much just as nervous as Celestia did. “I heard shouting! Are you alright?!”

“Yes. All’s fine,” she squeaked, “Just getting ready for the ball! Luna’s just, you know, a bit loud when she’s excited!”

“Oh. Well.” The guard shifted on his hooves. Quickly, he bowed to both me and my sister. “Very well. Carry on.” He bowed again. And then out he went, back into the hall.

“Always eager to help us. Maybe a bit too eager?” Celestia picked up her brush again, giggling over and over, “Did you know? One of the maids actually offered to help me with my makeup? I told her no but… I think I probably needed the help! Ah well. This looks nice.”

She did a few more dashes with the brush, then popped her lips. Leaned left, leaned right… Nodded to herself too. Then she picked up the pot, being extra special careful and dainty as she screwed the top back into place. A few more pots and brushes lit up as she trotted, still extra dainty, over to where I was sitting. It took her a bit to settle beside me, because she constantly looked down to adjust her ruffles.

“You’re turn, little sister. Close your eyes.”

“Uh-huh!”

I waited quietly with my eyes closed. Wondered when the makeup-ing was going to start. Or if it would ever start! What is Celestia even doing?

The brush came from nowhere, a cold little splatter on my eyelid. I resisted being tickled as hard as I could.

“It’s just so relaxing,” Celestia said. “Knowing we’re safe, we’re protected and cared for. Goodness, I’m just so giddy! I could get used to this kind of treatment.”

“Mm-hm!” I replied. Celestia nudged my face with her hoof, turning it a little. “Too bad it’s just until the other three Elements get here.”

“Oh, I know that. I’m, well…” She laughed for the millionth time. But this was a little different. More nervous. My head was turned the other way. “A part of me is actually a little guilty.”

“Why?”

“Close your eyes, Luna!” I squinted shut the offending eyelid. “I just, well, I know there’s still so many problems down there, in Equestria. I still can’t believe how Canterlot gets away with being so above it all…”

“They told us that Canterlot has to be!” I said.

“I know, but… I don’t want to stay here long. I love it here too much, you know?” She was quiet for a moment, a poofy pad fluttering over my cheeks. “I would like a short time to relax, but we should be out helping Equestria. Somehow.”

“I don’t know if there’s much we can do on our own, big sis.”

“Surely, there must be something.”

“Celestia.” I couldn’t stop myself again. I peeked at her out of one eye. My sister was still smiling… but not in a giddy, giggly way. “I really don’t like it when you get crazy about helping ponies. You’d hurt yourself to help people.”

“I won’t obsess!” The brush dipped too close to my face and ran across my lips. “I’m just going to check with some of the Illuminators. If there is even a small way to help, I want to know. We’re Princesses! Right? Alicorns or no, full set of Elements or no, a Princess has the power to order something for her people.”

“Don’t get craaaazyyyyy,” I teased.

“Don’t you worry, you funny little sister!”

“And that’s another thing!” I huffed. “You’re already talking funny, Celestia!”

“Ohhhh, well! It’s best to act proper again, no?”

My shoulders sagged, “You’re going to pick on me for my manners, aren’t you?”

“I won’t have to if you remember how to act properly!” Celestia teased. The brush withdrew. “Alright Luna, you can stop trying to sneak peeks at me. Open your eyes and come to the mirror.”

I did as she told me to, rushing to the full body mirror and wondering if my sister would snip at me about my stride. To be fair, I did trip over the super poofy dress’ hem like, three times while running. But I had to see! There was now a blue color on my eyelids (I winked at myself a TON to see it properly!) And big shiny streaks of purple over my lips, almost the same color as the frilly frou-frou dress.

“Well,” Celestia asked. “How does it feel?”

“Like my face is covered in paint?” I stuck out my tongue. Bad idea! “Oh crap, my lips taste awful!”

“Well don’t try to taste then, Luna!” Celestia kneeled in front of me again, brandishing the purple brush. “Now I have to do some touch-ups…” And the wet feeling returned to my lips, swiping to and fro.

“Okay, okay!” I ducked back as soon as she was done. “I’m pretty now, so let’s go get Discord and go to that party!”

“Oh goodness, Discord!” Celestia gasped. “Do you think he’d know how to put on a doublet properly?

“Discord’s smart I’m sure he could figure a shirt out!”

I made a dash for the door, yanking it open before I smacked into it. Nearly tripped over myself and the nervous guard as I ran into the super-high-ceiling and marble-white hallway. Charging down a big carpet that shimmered and reflected dozens of colors in both moonlight and glowy crystal light--

“Luna, slow down! Walk properly!”

I knew it! I knew she would snip!

“Princess Luna! Princess Celestia! I must escort you, please slow down!”

And she’s still right. Darnit!

~Discord~

I reached for another of the candies. Dozens of empty wrappers crinkled all around me as I pawed at the bowl. It nearly tipped completely over again, of course. This mattress was crazy soft, and stuff sinks in a lot, even for something as light as a carved crystal bowl.

My jaws were stuffed full of these weird gummy things. A blue one, a pink one, a pale white one, and that’s just right then. I didn’t know what the heck they were, but they’re sweet, they’re chewy, and they were freaking good. Think maybe I’d gone through a metric ton of these? Don’t know exactly how many, and eh, I didn’t really care enough to count.

Anyway, I picked up another one and dropped it in front of me. The candy’s stuck in a kind of waxy paper, twirled into a bowtie shape. I was actually eating the paper for the longest time before I realized I was supposed to unwrap the darn things. Much better without the paper mucking the flavor and texture up.

But you know, after a while, just swirling and peeling the paper off the candy was boring. Easy reward, easily gotten. There was a better way to do this. A fun way, somewhere.

So heck yes, I found a fun way.

I adjusted myself under the blanket, making sure my arms were warm and covered again. Then, I stared at the current target. It was a white one with a pink swirl. I freaking love the ones with a pink swirl. They’ve got a curious cold taste to them, makes everything so much sweeter. Okay, like I’ve been practicing. New spell. Which is actually a reworking of an old spell. Let’s do it.

I sunk further into the cloud-soft bed, working my aching jaw over the wad in my mouth, feeling it stick all over my gums and teeth. Feeling while thinking. Focusing. Solid illusions. I can make stuff move, but only stuff that breaks and squeaks like bits of charcoal. I should be able to do way more than just that. Just like I can create an image of anything, I could create an object that felt like anything. Right?

I tapped the bed in front of me, glaring down at the wrapper. I thought of strings. Little light strings made of flax. I tried to think about how they felt, how they moved. Not all at once, couldn’t just pop a string to life. I had to weave it to life. Paint it. The basics of illusion crafting. I once weaved light, now to weave in physical properties…

I breathed evenly, gulping own my sugary spit. Magic crept from my claws.

And tiny little strings wove themselves around the wax paper. Little white strings, where each thread could be seen clearly. Perfectly. They dug through the paper, poking holes in an out as they grew. Okay.

I imagined it bending, several of them bending. If I could just move one side without any flaking…

And the corner of the wrapper slowly curled up, as natural as magic can be.

Alright! Now we’re getting somewhere! Tip of my claw tingling, I made the strings tug and twist. The paper elongated. Shivered. Rolled end over and as the strings twitched the wrapper loose.

And the only crackling came from the wax paper as it peeled open.

“Yesh!” I exclaimed, words catching up in the gooey mess the other candies were leaving in my mouth. I slapped the wrapper-covered bed, and eagerly pulled together a purple charcoal catapult. It worked its way under the candy, pinning, peeling… Flaking too, but who cares? With a snap, the catapult flung the candy into my awaiting gums.

Oh yes, even when it hurts to chew, the pink and white swirly pieces are still amazing. I am the frigging greatest spellcaster Draconequus ever! My claw shot out for another sweet, ready to keep practicing until the real illusions are just as easy as the intangible ones.

Except suddenly, my door banged open.

“Discord, are you ready yet!?” Luna shouted. At least, I think it was Luna. And I think it was Celestia. They were both wearing their Elements, must be them. But honestly, I had to blink a few times. What the heck were they wearing? Was that a dress? That thing with bulbous sleeves and dangerously voluminous skirts? And what was all that gunk on their face?

“Redfy?” Spit dribbled from my mouth as I talked. Um. That’s embarrassing… I wiped it away immediately, eyes flicking up to Luna. “Fsher wha’?”

Luna stared at me. Briefly, one of the golden armor guys poked his nose into the door frame. What did he want? But as soon as I saw him, he turned tail, and just stood there, staring at the marble wall. Right. Guard. Guarding. Anyway.

“Why’sh yer fasche covber’d n’ paintsh?” not that it was a bad thing, I don’t think. She looked cute. Like when she used to dress up, months and months ago… Celestia, eh, she looked like Celestia. But in a dress.

“Why are you talking like that?” Luna asked, head tilting sideways.

“Ish dish candysh,” I shoved the bowl towards her, sending wrappers and more than a couple candies tumbling off the bed. “Wan’ shome? Ish rel goodsh!”

“Ooh,” she lifted one from theground. “Saltwater taffy!”

“Luna, not with your lipstick on,” Celestia said. “You could smear it.”

“Aw…”

Her loss, then. I unwrapped another taffy, with fingers this time.

“Why are you in bed Discord?” Celestia demanded, “We have places to be! And how many of these have you eaten?”

“Wha, you wantsh shome too?”

“Discord,” she huffed. Not an angry huff though. Concerned. “You are going to make yourself sick.”

“Wha? No!” I shook my head, chomping down on a yellow piece. “Deesh thshin’s rock. Sho goo’!”

“I… nevermind. Can you just get ready so we can get going?”

“Mm-hmm. Din’d realshize ith wash sho latsh.” I stuffed another candy in my mouth and set aside the bowl. Getting ready sounded easy enough. Though I guess to do it, I’d have to leave the comfort of this bed… Life, sleeping on that is like sleeping on a dream. Anyway. I strode across my purple-and-star coated room (Luna was pretty envious of it, maybe we’ll switch later) to the dark dresser… thing. They had taken my Element to be polished or something, and honestly, it looked pretty dang snazzy now. I dropped it back into its rightful place around my neck, then turned to the girls.

“Alrighsh. Ready.”

Luna giggled, Celestia shook her head.

“Wha?”

“This is a formal ball, Discord,” Celestia explained. “You’re going to need to wear a doublet.”

“A whatshit nahw?”

“For goodness sake,” Celestia cried. “Finish off your candy already!”

“Nah, ahym makin’ dish lasht.”

Luna continued giggling and Celestia continued shaking her head. Sometimes, my friends are so predictable. Celestia strode past me towards another one of the wood boxy furnitures. She popped open a big double door thing and—

“Holy crapsh,” I swallowed a big chunk of the taffy, “Those clothes weren’t in there before! I checked!”

“You remember when they took your measurements?”

“Uh… the guy with the yellow tape during the bath?”

“Yes. They’ve had these tailored. Just for you, special. To wear.”

She hovered a red shirt… coat out. It looked more like a tapestry molded into a shirt like shape than anything anybody would wear. And I swear, it had the poofiest sleeves I had ever seen. They had been cut open in some kind of attempt to make them even more poofy.

“This is a doublet, Discord,” Celestia said, “You need to wear this.”

“Okay,” I reached for it, but—

“No, Discord, you have to put this shirt on first.”

She pulled out another thing that looked a little bit more reasonable as clothing… You know, if it wasn’t so frilly and covered in fancy lace.

“You ponies and your clothes,” I snorted. “What the heck even is that called?”

“A shirt? Put it on.”

I shrugged, “Whatever you say, Princess.”

Celestia blushed a bright pink, barely restraining a smile. Of course she’d like a title like that. I wouldn’t say it suited her, but uh… Princess Celestia. Yeah, that rolls off the tongue really nice. Anyway, she carefully laid the things on my bed, trying to brush away the candy wrappers as she did. I, well, I immediately struggled with the buttons. But I also pretended as hard as I could that it was no big deal.

“So Discord!” Luna said. Oh geez, did she notice my struggles?

“Yep, Luna?”

“Your mane looks really nice!”

“What?” I glanced up… And then felt dumb for doing so. “Does it?”

“You saw it in the mirror, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but, uh…” I returned to the buttons. Okay, dumb fingers. Try not to rip each one out. “It feels really weird on my head now.”

“Really?” Luna asked. “Like how?”

“It’s just all… fluffy. And weird.”

“You mean not full of grease and dirt?” Celestia teased. I rolled my eyes, finally managing the weird shirt open.

“Oh, give it a rest, alright?” I snuck into the shirt and… oh god, now I have to reattach all these buttons! “So!” I said, “This place is pretty fantastic, you guys. Free room, free food, treated like, well, royalty!”

“Oh yes!” Celestia said. “It is fantastic.”

“But don’t get too comfy!” Luna said, “We’re only here until the other three arrive!”

“You’re kidding me? We’re here for the long haul.” I shoved my wings through the holes in the back of my shirt. Pleased to find them there, to be honest. “Yeah, we’re waiting for Honesty, Generosity, and Magic to turn up. But then what? We take some time to get to know them, however long the Elements think we need to do a full Harmony Blast. Then we leave, blast the stallion, and come right back.” I struggled with the doublet, staring at the winding tapestry on the ceiling. “The Illuminators gave us the grand tour guys. They set us up in our own rooms, that they offered to personalize. I overheard a couple of them talking about setting us up with specialized tutors. What do you think happens when this is all over? Where else did you think we’d go? Back to Hock? Stay in Canterbury? No, we’re coming right back here.

“So, let’s get comfortable. Settle right the heck in and… and just… darnit!” I struggled with the doublet, trying to pull it around my shoulders. But the cloth I was wearing was catching on the cloth I was putting on and… “Is it supposed to bunch like this? This thing is uncomfortable!”

Celestia helped me struggle with the heavy doublet, mindlessly tugging it closed.

“Well then,” Celestia said. “That does make sense. And I've very glad to hear it. I think we can all agree,” she looked over me, then Luna. “Things seem nicer here. More than any other place we've been.”

“We're safe here,” Luna added.

“Hey. Free food,” I added. "Ponies that actually care about how we're doing."

“So let's go to that ball,” Celestia spoke up, nodding. “And let's have a fabulous time.”

XLVII : A Canterlot Gift

The Steadfast Sky : A Canterlot Gift
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Celestia~

This is unreal. This is a dream. A very, very vivid dream. I’ll wake up, and I’ll be sleeping on dirt and straw. I didn’t just arrive here, in this wonderful marble world.

And yet, my eyes are open, the world is sharply in focus, and here I am.

I walk, and the room ripples before me, waves of colorful ruffles and shimmering cloth parting like curtains in a breeze. The floor a reflective pool, so full of color and light. Gold everywhere. Statues proud. Paint coating the ceiling, drifting into an open garden, more fresh and alive than anywhere in Equestria. Above it all, a bright and welcoming moon. Something I’d never think would look so casual, so natural in the sky.

Ponies surrounding me, their voices soft, rising and falling in a wave of murmurs, coming from everywhere and yet from nowhere. An orchestra of ten plays. Harps, lutes, and flutes provide a melody to the people’s chattering song. Silver trays of little shredded carrots and crackers with celery dip, bobbing and weaving among miles of multicolor coats. Tiny crystal cups that shimmer in each unicorn’s aura, in their own special way. Earth ponies perfectly balancing delicate things on one hoof, picking their way through crowds. Pick their way over to see me.

Clean cut ponies offer me drinks. Lacy ponies offer me tiny wrapped gifts. Lightly dressed ponies offering me nothing wonderful words alone. They all blur into a multicolor mass, an infinitely detailed, infinitely faceted, infinitely colored ocean. I cannot hope to pick any individuals out, and I greet each and every one with a draining amount of care and attention.

I was dumbstruck. Drifting with the crowds. Answering weightless questions with automated manners. Did I even know my manners anymore? Was I walking properly, talking like a lady? I stared at a lot of broaches, at neck ruffs, still so short and small. Painfully reminded of my age. No longer a foal, and yet not quite a fully grown mare. I couldn’t tell if any of the ponies treated me like a youth, or an idol. My voice was lost in the swell of murmurs, but nobody seemed to mind at all.

This was what I wanted, for so long. To walk among the pretty party ponies, to be one of them. A baroness among the elite. And yet, here and now, I felt lost in in the swell. Immersed over my head, soaking in the high life, yet separated from it. I’m drowning, I thought. I’m lost in my own element, and I need an anchor, a boat, something.

Where have Luna and Discord gone? Are they lost in this sea as well? Could we at least be lost together…? Where did they say they were going to be? Outside? Into the garden?

I excused myself, over and over, each time a new loss. I wanted the energy to offer every guest my attention. I wanted to hear their stories and praises. Some have come from so far away, and others were so happy to finally have me arrive. They all deserve a welcome, don’t they? I must be appearing like such a rude and inconsiderate princess! Should I be fostering my own appearances so thoroughly? Oh Luna. Oh Discord. Where have you gone?

I made my way across the ballroom, towards the massive black windows holding back the night. They left through here, right? But it’s strange, was the wall curved like that when I entered? Was it not straight before? I arrived, and the wall wass merely covered in windows. No door to speak of, no garden beyond, only the infinite night, and the black carpet of the clouds below.

“The Shadow Stallion’s clouds…” I mumbled. I rub a hoof against my forehead. The image of the Stallion was in my head, a beast, a monster, hunting us down, griffins always at our heels… That too seems like an unreality, more distant and bizarre than the waking dream I currently inhabited. We escaped that beast? We avoided something like him, leaving his world?

“Princess Celestia!” A baritone erupted from the sea of polite murmurs. “It’s good to finally meet you in the flesh!”

I frowned. Not now. Not through these conflicting dreams. No, not while I search and sift for my friends.

Yet, I turned, curtseying, eyes lowered in respect. “Pardon, gentle stallion, but I am currently preoccupied—”

“Ah ha! Taking in the sights are you, young hero? Always good to see the moon when I come to Canterlot. Reminds me she still exists! Ho!”

Young hero? While I wasn’t quite used to hearing ‘Princess’ or ‘Loyalty’ yet, those were the only titles given to me in this place. The only allowed, I could guess from their frequency. It was strange to hear something else, strange enough to catch me off guard. To look up and see this strange stallion, the one who defined himself so clearly from the multicolor ocean.

In face and body, he was normal enough. An older Earth Pony, thick and heavyset, faded yellow coat with bushy green and red hair. But in his choice of wardrobe… Goodness, how he stood out. Most ponies here wore light satin, lace ruffs, very light and fluffy clothes. Yet, his clothes were not light in any sense of the word. Heavy dark red cloak. Hewn and heavy golden necklace constructed from old coins the size of saucers. More scratched and aged gold clinked around his ankles, continuing to weigh down appearance.

I got the sudden impression that this looked like something out of a history book, a noble from before the Exodus ripped right from the page and dropped in front of me. … Perhaps… a ghost from the past decided to welcome me to Canterlot? No, no, what a ridiculous thought. Am I so mentally lost that I resort to such ridiculous ideas?

“Pardon my poor manners,” I mumbled. “But may I ask your name?”

He smiled wide and raised his perfectly balanced crystal glass.

“Apple, my Princess. At your service.”

“Apple… what, pardon? I must have missed it.”

He laughed, loud enough to be rude. “Oh! You really don’t know who I am! I am Apple, Stringhalt’s chancellor, or, I suppose Regnant? Ha!” Again, a bark of a laugh. “Never figured out how much I was supposed to lie about how much power I had, you know?”

“N-no…?”

“Sorry, sorry!” He happily shook his heavy head. “Bit of an in-joke. Anyway, you were in Stringhalt! Some of my people refer to me as ‘Big Apple’? Certainly you must have heard that name in my city.”

“I… yes?” In my mind, black memories stirred. I’d rather avoid them. I carefully pressed them down.

“But that’s such an endearing term, don’t you think, Princess? Certainly not something you introduce yourself by to a leader. However!”

He clicked his back hoof against the floor, and a pony cloaked in Stringhalt’s banner materialized from the crowd. A woven basket hung from the servant’s neck, stuffed full of bright crimson paper. Carefully arranged contents poked over the lip. Caramel apples wrapped in wax paper and tied with little bows. Little wedges of sugared and candied apples, decorated with caramelized sugar flakes. A small stack of tarts and turnovers, and rising proud on the left size, an amber bottle of what was certainly cider.

“A gift for the lady!” Apple bellowed, “Glad you’ve made it to Canterlot safe and sound! I’d say welcome, but, you know… Guest of the city myself!”

“Oh! Thank you very much, Apple. It’s certainly a lovely gift, but I am sorry,” I recited, as I had a dozen times this night, “I cannot accept it. I have no means to easily carry it with me, and if I started accepting gifts, I honestly worry that I might misplace them.” I carefully shook my head. “I mean no disrespect, it would simply be a crime to loose such a thoughtful gift.”

A gift given, I knew, is a gift requested. It is a question, asking the receiver to dance. I didn’t wish to receive yet before knowing what noble games I’d soon become entangled in. But more than that, it’s never becoming of a young lady to juggle many gifts in her aura, lest she be seen as unseemly. This was very much the proper response for a proper mare.

Apple shrugged and waved his drink hoof, not spilling a drop.

“Quite polite, Princess! Very well practiced. Did you read up before the party?” I flushed red as Apple turned away from me. “Take the gift to the young hero’s room, Crumbles.”

“Oh! But… It has been a long time, and…” The servant vanished before I could form an objection! Oh… oh no, I… Crap! Wh-what do I do now?!

“Horseapples, have I embarrassed you, Princess?” He seemed shocked, armbands rattling as he attempted to wave away the bad air. “You must have had to refuse a lot tonight, eh? Myself as well! Nice generic response, lets those nobles down easy! Or hard, to the persistent ones!” He paused to laugh once more, and yet, it never arrived. He looked down at me, smile a little sideways. “I must seem rather forward to you, but you see, I had already given my gifts to the Prince and Young Princess. Don’t want the elder Princess to be left out now, do I?”

“Y-yeah. Yes.” Oh goodness, don’t lose your cool now, Celestia. Straighten up, don’t blush, don’t be so unbecoming. You are a Princess, act like one. Think like one. “My um, sister has received the same gift? Strange, I was just looking for her. Where have, ah…” Should I use their names? Their Elements? “Discord and Luna gotten to?”

“Lost track of them, have you?”

“Unfortunately, yes. We’re usually together, so I often worry about them when I find myself alone.”

“Ah, such a beautiful kinship between The Elements. How wonderful to see such a friendship once more!” He shoved his drink onto another of his servants, then held his freshly empty hoof aloft to me. With a bow, “My Princess, I would be honored to escort you. At least,” His expression grew dark. “As far as it is within my power…”

My insides chilled. “Are, are they not safe…?”

His rudely loud laugh returned, not even gone long enough to miss it. “It’s just a joke, milady! Lighten up, you’re taking this chat much too seriously! Here, here.” His hoof slapped down on my shoulder. “Walk with me. We talk, and I show you the way to your sister and friend.”

With that, he spun round and strode into the crowds, clip closer to a canter than a trot. I hurried, dreading the looming inevitability of tripping over my hem.

So I was back in those dizzying crowds, waves of cloth still parting before me, mumbles, maybe louder now. A leader convening with a leader, that was an event to gossip about. I wondered, what other important figures would I have to deal with? What other cities were large enough to need something like a Chancellor? Was Canterlot? But wouldn’t Canterlot’s leader have introduced themself to us soon after we arrived? I remember being introduced to the Head Illuminator…

“Well, Princess!” Apple boomed, glancing back at me, “Forgive me, but I think I have forgotten to ask the most important question of these polite exchanges.”

I blinked. “Have you?”

“Yes! My Princess, are you well?”

It was my turn to laugh, but at a much more polite volume. “Yes, such a mundane question, but it does demand to be asked, doesn’t it?”

“Right on the nose, my Princess.”

“In answer to your question, however: I am most certainly fine, thank you. Yourself?”

“As well as I could be! Stringhalt’s secure, trade is continuous, and the Elements have arrived in Canterlot, no worse for the wear! Though it behooves me to wonder, you see…” He slowed down, gaze more steady, more curious. “What’s took you so long?! The Shrine of Loyalty didn’t capture your interest that hard, did it? Did the illuminators demand you recount every boring detail of your adventure?”

“Oh, yes, they certainly demanded our story. And there were, well, a few other things that delayed our departure. But we only spent a few days in Hock. For most of the time, we were on the road—”

“On the road two weeks longer than you should have been! What’s the problem, Princess Celestia?” He grinned, “Lost? Or just take the scenic route?”

I opened my mouth, but stopped shortly after. What should I tell him? What was appropriate? Was it wrong, a bad thing that we went to Canterbury? Something horribly unsafe, risky, and stupid to attempt? Or did going there prove that I thought the country was more important than my safety…

Automatically, “Scenic route… yes. Something like that.” And after a thought: “For my country, a very dangerous scenic route.”

Apple’s face grew sour. “It’s not good for Equestria to have their Princess taking risks.”

“I still had to do it,” I recited, answer so clear. “I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try.”

Apple nodded. “Alright, good answer! Your own Loyalty is clearly banging around your head, must be difficult to ignore!” He lead me through a thick crowd, ponies feet almost stumbling in their attempts to politely shuffle away.

“But, while we’re on the scenic topic…” I said. “I do have a question, too.”

“Alright, shoot!”

“This ball… Won’t the Shadow Stallion know we’re here?”

Apple chuckled, “Who here would report you to him? An Illuminator? One of the party ponies? You? Do you want to tell him?”

“Oh, no, no!” Again, the dark memories crept up my back… “But, some pony must be loyal... right?”

“Ha. Loyal,” Apple snorted, “To the Stallion, ‘Loyal’ means quietly pretending to follow. You see, The Shadow Stallion takes silence to mean all is well. Not just here, but in my city as well. And the last place he would confront is, essentially, his foreign embassy! I think some part of that thing understands his limits, yeah?”

“I don’t know…”

“Oh, Princess,” again, his hoof cupped my shoulder. But in the tightness of the crowd around us, he was close, and too quickly, holding me under one leg, an uncomfortable uncle. I mean, I could smell him, hot metal and musk. I tried to stop breathing. “He can neither look for you, nor see for you. He does not know your name, your cutie mark, and beyond that.” I felt a cold shiver as his hoof tapped against the Element, “This will keep you safe from all evil, right? Damn near indestructible, that Element, always there to protect you! Well!” he laughed, and released me. “To an extent! Don’t go jumping off any cliffs now, you hear?! Broken leg’s a broken leg, and no element alone can stop that from happening!”

“Well, of course not!”

“And, young hero,” Apple bowed low, necklace clattering against the floor, “If you’re ever in need, do not be afraid to call for me! I am your humble Chancellor Apple, at your beck and call! ”

I could hear the room murmuring around me. Of course they saw a display like that, we must be the center of attention right now. Goodness, what do I do?! I mean, of course I must accept, but, but what was the graceful way, the Princess-like way? Do I offer a hoof to kiss? Tell him to rise? I dunno, giggle?! Oh gosh, ponies are watching you Celestia, don’t mess up!

No, you’ve even stopped thinking like a princess! You’re horrible! Horrible, Celestia! The worst pony!

In my panic, and influenced in part by the ancient garb that defined the Chancellor, I found myself leaning down. In as smooth an action I could manage, I tapped my horn once, twice on each of his shoulders.

“I accept your Loyalty, Chancellor Apple.”

He stood smoothly, naturally, as if what just happened was not strange in the very least. The waves of murmurs didn’t stop, of course, but were they louder? Quieter? Nobody seemed to be looking my way, but these are nobles here! Everybody uses their peripherals! Oh goodness, I would just simply like to exit the situation now, please!

“Thank you, my Princess. Oh! And here we are!” He waved a hoof at a series of windows, but instead of leading to open sky, these opened into a finely trimmed garden. “Your friends should be just beyond the first row of hedges!”

“Thank you, Apple.” I curtseyed, “I hope to speak with you again soon.”

“Politely cutting me loose, eh?!” he bellowed, “Well alright, I will be seeing you again soon!”

I charged off into the garden, hardly minding my hem and I ran for my friends. The party pony’s murmurs were never gone, but other sounds began to supplant and override the chatter, sounds of nature both familiar and unfamiliar. Among the familiar, a rising squeal that only belonged to one special pony.

“Noooo!” Luna squealed happily. “I’m no good at music!”

“C’mon!” Discord shouted. “It’ll be like humming a tune! Y’know, like’ twinkle twinkle’ or something.”

“No, no, no, noooo! That’s silly! I don’t know how to do that at all!”

“That’s why you practice! You can only do it right if you do it wrong a dozen times!”

“Stop, stop!” Luna giggled even more furiously, “I don’t wanna! I’m good at explodey noises!”

“C’mooon!”

I trotted around another corner, and finally, finally, there they were! Discord and Luna had practically set up a home base on a bench. Piled gifts, opened and unopened, served as squat walls around them. Ribbons and wrapping paper defining the borders of their territory. I, well, I ignored the scene, deciding to simply charge through it. I mean, nobody else was around to see such a horrible sight! But for my crime, nearly slipping on an upturned box.

“Oh my goodness you guys,” I said, “I have been looking everywhere for you!”

“Big sis!” Luna cheered. She hopped off the bench and slammed into me. “Where’d you go?! Did you see?!”

“See what?” I asked.

“No, you missed it?! Me and Discord made fireworks! He made the explosions, and I made the explodey noises! It was so much fun! This part is great! Did you see?!” She hopped away, magically grabbing a dozen boxes and spinning them around her head. “PRESENTS! It’s not my birthday, or Hearth’s Warming, but we missed Hearth’s Warming, so presents! I GOT SO MANY PRESENTS!” And that’s exactly when she started to spin in circles and squeal, absolutely beside herself.

“Goodness,” I mumbled. “How many of those presents were sweets, Discord?”

“I dunno, pretty much all of them?” Punctuating his point, Discord popped open another box, shoving a chocolate truffle in his mouth.

“Luna. Luna, I know it’s hard, but please calm down. You’re not acting like a proper lady. You’re not even acting like a very mature filly.”

“I. Don’t. Care!” She squealed again, hopping on the bench and leaping off. “I’m just so excited! This is the best place ever! Best. Place. EVER!!! Discord! Discord, let’s make more explodey things! I want to just go…” She took a deep breath. “PCHAAAAAOOOW! BDSHHOOOOOM!”

“Okay, Luna, no more sweets tonight.” Carefully, I tried to collect the boxes and tie them up properly. “You’ve had too many.”

“But! But they’re all so tasty and new and really good! Except this baklava. BLEH!” She flicked a box with her hoof, almost upturning it. “Baklava is papery and gross and tastes like NUTS! Bleh! Bleh!”

“Oh, so you won’t mind if I have it?” Discord asked.

“Luna,” I said, “If you eat all your treats now, you won’t have any for later.”

Somehow, her wide eyes got even wider.

“Oh NO!” Her own aura supplanted my own, snapping boxes and bags closed.

“And Discord…”

“Hn?”

“Just… stop. You already had a ton of taffy. You’re going to make yourself sick if you keep eating all these sweets.”
He wistfully looked down at the box of half-eaten baklava. “But they’re all so tasty…”

I shook my head.

“Guess I could just…” He grunted, leaning over the bench railing. “Eat some of the stuff in this gift basket from Big Apple.” Discord dragged the basket up after himself, and I was surprised to see how different it was. Sure, the big bottle of cider was there, along with the carefully wrapped caramel apples. But instead of the sweets and cookies, there were egg custards, cheeses, and two strangely shaped masses. Three oblong paper boxes tied in bows. And coiling around the entire basket, what looked like a dark red train of sausages. I didn’t quite…

“So, what’s your read on Apple?” Discord asked.

“He’s…” I thought for a moment. I had long since tucked away that embarrassing little conversation. It was so much fun to just be with these two again, even if they were, well, acting incredibly improper. Anyway, Apple? “He was jovial. Very direct, and loud as well. And somewhat strange for it.”

“Jovial? Really?” Discord snickered. “Holy crap, Celestia, not even a night and you’re already talking like these fancy types!”

“Big sis, noooo!” Luna giggled, “They’ve got you in their claws! Now you’ll never escape!”

I blushed, knowing my own desires, and knowing how much they didn’t matter at all to these two. Discord immediately went for the block of cheese.

“So why do you ask about Apple?” I asked. … Queried.

“I dunno, thought he was kind’ve an oddball to,” Discord responded. “Nice enough guy, but crazy different from everyone else here, you know?”

“He’s loud!” Luna squealed, bouncing on the squeaking bench. “He’s loud and nobody cares that he’s loud! Is it cuz he’s a big stallion?! Because he’s a leader?? Does that mean that I can be loud, big sis?!”

“No, Luna,” I laughed nervously. “I wouldn’t…”

I stopped. Discord began gnashing his way through the block of fine cheese, no bread or wafers to even go with the appreciable gift. Cheese like that was something to be savored, not… There was a peal of laughter behind us. And I do swear, it was directed at us. Look at the young royalty, how poorly they hold themselves.

Oh, can I not just be comfortable with my own friends…? I must be so furiously red right now, heat was creeping and stinging at my ears and neck.

“It’s rude, you know,” I mumbled, unconsciously, “It’s very, very rude to accept so many gifts.”

“Is it?” Discord shrugged. “Thought it would be rude to refuse. Somebody gives you something, then heck yes, I’ll take whatever they’re willing to give.”

Luna giggled nervously. “I kinda remembered it wasn’t a good thing… but they were very happy to give us stuff! And then it piled up and up and up, and now, we’re here!”

“Mm-hm!” With a jab and a twist of his claw, Discord yanked the top of the cider bottle.

“I wouldn’t drink that if I were you,” I said, “It’s certainly alcohol.” And yet, there he went, drinking right from the bottle. Nothing to him. A little stab wound to me.

“Wow! Yeesh!” he smacked his lips, shoulders curling up. “That friggin stings! Augh, it… So that’s cider, huh? Eh…” He took another swig, and again his face turned sour. “Oh jeez, why did I take a second drink?! Auuuugh!”

Okay, I can’t do this.

“Well, it was great to see you guys, but, um, I should get back. To the um, party.”

“Big sis?” Luna asked. “When did you become so pink?!”

I giggled nervously and quickly rushed away. Back to the endless color waves…

I do not think this party was nearly as fun as I thought it would be.

~¤~

Of course, my own obsession with proper etiquette and politeness was my downfall that night. It was hours before I felt comfortable about getting away, and I never did meet up with Luna or Discord again. I wondered, walking back alone, what had happened to them? Were they back in their rooms, or still tearing through their gifts in that garden?

In any case, I expected Apple’s gift basket in front of my door. But much to my surprise, a few other little boxes and bows had joined it. A few tokens and desk items from the Illuminators. A tiny, wrapped mont blanc from the funny guard, Apple Brandy. And finally, a particularly heavy box from a name I didn’t recognize. Some noble, judging from the tight and fanciful handwriting.

I carried them all inside, and over the course of my nightly preparations, discovered the two noble gifts were far more than they first appeared.

From the basket of apples and apple-based products, I hovered out a little bronze lamp. It looked to be oil or kerosene, but there was no wick. And it didn’t smell so much like kerosene, as it did like burnt hair, or rotten eggs. Little patterns wove their way up and down its body, embedded with rubies. So, ‘a pretty gift for a pretty mare’ obviously. But why a lamp, of all things…? I giggled at a small joke. It didn’t even look like an apple!

Of course, all I had to do was return to the basket. Nestled in its weave, there was a little note on heavy stationary.
“Princess, this lamp contains a very powerful and rare material known as Dragon’s Breath. It bursts to flame as soon as it contacts air, and has a number of magical properties. The container is keyed to deliver any object burned to my person. Simply place any letter above the wick, turn the lever, and the pot will do the rest.

Contact me whenever you need, my Princess.

Chancellor Apple.”

Dragon’s Breath? This? I turned the knob, just to see, and a fat flame licked from the mouth. Bright orange, in an unnatural hue. It glittered and sparked like a firework, even for the brief moment I allowed it to burn.

A pretty gift for a pretty mare indeed… But now, finally free of all jewelry and dress, what was in the other box?
Easily opened, inside, among a pile of satin paper, were two crystal foreshoes

They glittered and glimmered clear and pure, like carved ice. No, clearer than any ice I had ever seen. It was like water from a stream, captured into this form as it flowed. Were they glass? Were they too fragile to wear? I feared touching them, even in my aura, lest they shatter from my touch. Who in the world gave me this…?

I checked the note again. The cursive was still almost too elegant to be read, but I eventually managed to make out a single name.

Well, good showing Blueblood, whoever you are! But only a giggling dandy would dare to wear such a fine gift from a scheming noble. You won’t control me that easily! Even if they are quite gorgeous shoes… I tucked them away at the bottom of my bureau, next to the golden pair provided by the Illuminators. Even the bright gold seemed to dull next to the beauty of the crystal shoes… Oh, such a shame to not wear them… Maybe in a month. Or two weeks. Enough time to not be showy or scandalous. Yes, that is the proper way.

More than anything else. I will be proper.

XLVIII : A Winding Canterlot Road

The Steadfast Sky : A Winding Canterlot Road
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Discord~

Sun wasn’t even up yet, but I throw off my covers, bursting and to the brim with energy. I left an experiment overnight, and I still have an image of it in my head. What’s there? What’s still in my room? Is today finally the day I wake up and nothing’s changed?

I grope through the dark, rubbing the gumminess out of my eyes. Hand bats against something solid, something swinging loose. Rope’s still there! I dig my claws into the fibers… Alright, it still has fibers! That’s good! Good start!

With both hands, I yank the rope down, and the structure doesn’t collapse. Still looking ab-so-lutely on target! Pulleys whirr over my head, in ten different styles. One’s set to whizz, another pop, a third squeal... So on so forth. All the pullies, all the ropes, everything works in perfect, complete harmony. And with four distinct, ringing ‘tings!’

Lo and behold, my room is flooded with light. ALL the crystals light come on.

“Yes!”

I kick around my sheets in a small victory dance, Element bouncing on my chest. Maintaining complex illusions while I’m asleep? Check.

And with a snap of the claws, pop, the pulley system vanishes. All illusions gone. Well, not all gone. I leave my room’s color alterations. Been maintaining that for months, part of a completely different experiment.

I turn shades of violet, green, and yellow just crossing the room to grab breakfast… oh, the servants are such sweethearts. I think they cook my meals the night before. Nobody around here wants to wake up at… four? Three in the morning? Anyway, nobody wants to wake up that early to just make breakfast for a hyperactive Draconequus. I lift the silver lid, and the magic exhales across my eyes. Hot, magically warmed eggs await me, slathered in today’s mystery sauce roulette.

Also, some peppermints. I sprinkle a handful of them over the eggs. For good measure I drop a couple into the glass of milk. Plop plop fizz fizz. No morning is complete without a liberal dose of sugar. And mint. Can’t get nearly enough mint. Coat something in enough mint, sugar, whatever, and I’ll probably eat it.

I guess that’s why they’ve taken to coating the ham in a gallon of raspberry jam. They’re trying to trick me into eating slices off a corpse. Oh, why can’t they just leave me alone and let me eat all these unborn chicken babies, like a civilized pony?

Well… I slowly chew on the tough meat, having a moment of silence for the body they probably have stuffed in an icebox somewhere

Think fast! Click my claws and back come the pulleys. Cross my room, platter balanced in hand, turn green, orange, blue, and I give the rope a tug. Listen for the ten different kind of clicks, and after four tones, off go the lights.

Storing and rebuilding a complex pattern at a moment’s notice? Check.

Though… I dig my fingers into the rope. It squishes like putty under my fingers, splitting open with sharp snaps. Details are still a ‘not check.’ Working on it. Also working on a new term for ‘not check’. Every time I say that phrase, it just sounds sillier and sillier.

I fix the details of the illusion, refining every part back to perfection before I click the whole structure away again. And, blue, dark blue, purple, black, I’m over at the window. Turn the eating utensil into an ice scoop. Wolf down the rest of the eggs, guzzle the milk, crunch through the unmelted remnants of the peppermints. Now comes the hard part, and don’t laugh. I heave a wave of magic from my fingertips, trying to carry the plate and glass back in the yellow zone so the maid doesn’t accidentally step on them again.

The platter spins midair, upends, and everything clatters to the floor. The plate and cup spin out, splattering little flecks of jam and milk over everything.

Uhg, screw hovering things. That’s just embarrassing. Should have just walked the half room it would have taken to place an object down. I stare at the dishes for a while, and with a frustrated huff, I walk over to at least put them back on the platter. Only proper, I guess.

Back to the window. Open the window. Breathe the night air. Wait long enough to see the spotty mess of the constellations wipe themselves away, slinking back into their jars from a night illuminated really good and awful.

Open my uneven wings. Still find it strange how tight my shoulders feel these days. I Feel very aware of my muscles, and briefly, I tick off each one’s name. A memory comes to me, twinging at my brain. “Useless information.” “Useless” my big toe. Pfeh. Screw those Illuminators.

I heft myself up onto the sill, balanced on a small strip of white marble. Cold from the rock seeps between my toes and fingers, and my body has a tense shiver. I flap my wings a few times, stretching out knots, lifting myself to my fingertips.

And I spring away from the windowsill.

Ease the drop with an illusion at my feet. Slap the texture of wood across it, as a private joke. Shape snaps into a triangle, downward force yanks me to the left. A low arc, skimming over towers. Now I begin really pumping my wings. The illusion falls away and disintegrates, and I heave my awkward body upwards. Shoulders already hurt like none other. My toes knock against gold steeples. I drop, run, and launch off another roof. Glide for a bit, pressure pushing up on my wings.
I glide between the towers of the castle, over the river-like steppes of the city. Watch the moon naturally sink into its place as I circle the mountain, bank around, pump and pump my wings upward.

Flying, not that bad at all. Needs improvement. But checked a long time ago.

A tower sits at the top of a tiny, winding path, peeking its tower into that great sky. A simple tower, simple steeple dome held up by four basic posts. Attached to a small guard house, but otherwise, it’s a place empty and disconnected from the city below it.

I circle around it a few times, dipping and pumping my way back up. Got to get the timing just right... And I hope the spell’s still there. Snap my wings open, go into a steep dive. Tower rushes to meet me. I bust through its curtains, slamming into squishy, half-realized pillows. Landing? Controlled crashing more fun. Also, long distance illusions? Doing better. Not-yet-checked.

I snap corrections over the pillows, stare up at my room-away-from-my-room, and absentmindedly start flicking whatever illusion experiment thought to cross my mind.

So Discord, why do you need a distant room a long, long way away from your room? None of your business, that’s why. Privacy’s such a novelty, maybe I want to hog it to myself. Find a place where nobody yells at me for my more bizarre experiments and decor. A place where no servant will start screaming once their mane catches for real fire. Guards, Illuminators, whatever, they leave me alone here. Long as I do my one single chore, nobody could care less that I housed myself here.

In an hour, maybe two, I banish every experiment from the room. The glittercano experiment, some more simple “machines,” including two wheeled devices, five fake birds constructed of numerous materials, and one independently shuffling cat. Lights blink out, doodles vanish, and I stretch my way out of a particularly restrictive personal disguise. Even the curtains and pillows vanish. It’s just an empty marble landing now, sharing its space with a single, actually-really-here rope. The breeze starts creeping in, wafting away the overheated, stale air. The wind is actually pretty warm this morning, very gentle. Enough to just barely tickle my fur.

I pick myself off the floor, pop my aching fingers, and saunter over to one of the open balconies. Focus on something simple. Trying to summon refractive lenses. Should be starting soon. I can already see a few of the Illuminators collecting downslope from the ceremonial platform, like fat little ants or bees.

In the distance, down the mountain, there’s a stone dais. And it’s not Canterlot Marble stone. It’s some sort of black granite. Very old, as far as I have heard. Dragged all the way from the Frozen North during the Exodus or something. Centuries of Unicorns have worn the stone almost smooth, obscuring the patterns and carvings of an intricate calendar.

Of course, I won’t be able to see it that well if I can’t get these dumb lenses polished right. I weave the curve of the convex lens, slap a chassis around the outside. The illusion doesn’t have to be fancy, but I make it black and gold striped anyway. Check inside, nope, blurred. And also upside down? Stupid, ultra-specific, finicky bullcrap. The Illuminators tell me there’s a math to figure this out, but they refuse to give me the information. Say I need to learn crap like algebra first. Bah. I try again, rubbing my thumb across the lens, adjusting the casing. Better. A minor adjustment or two. There we go.

I glance down at the tiny, distant ants, and bam, cloaked ponies they become. I swear, the Illuminators are the most somber pre-dawn and pre-dusk. Catch them during the day and they’re just snippish blowhards or pursed-lipped librarians, hissing over their hooves for silence and obedience. But catch them before this ceremony, and they turn into looming, stone-faced statues with eyes that could eat holes through the walls.

No different today of course. There’s sallow old Pitter Paint, magically adjusting his cloak. Head Illuminator Golden Foil standing at the head. Junior Earth Ponies Rubble Road and Spring Breeze holding the flags, trying their absolute hardest to look just as stiff and stony as their superiors. Where is she, where is she…

There. There she was.

She doesn’t wear the same cloak as the rest of the illuminators. She deserves better, and she gets better. Deep, deep dark blue, hem speckled with silver stars. Every day she stands just a little bit taller, back straighter, head higher. She holds herself like a Princess now. So proud. So elegant. Mane cut perfectly and settled right and straight around her neck. One tiny, perfect curl under her ear. Her mane almost seems to flutter in its own personal breeze, even when she stands still. Little Laughter Element shining from her front, and silver shoes on her feet.

Her horn flicks to light, and her magically cast voice rises beside me, sending shivers down my spine.

“Good morning, Discord.”

I wave. Tilt the spyglass away from my face, scrawl my message onto the stone in front of me. What should I write, what should I write… don’t overthink this, Discord! You’re going to say something stupid if you overthink it! But it’s got to be cool. Really, really cool. The coolest thing I have ever said to her.

“Luna, Luna, Luna.” I scrawl. “Yore lookin gr8 2-day!”

I slapped my hand over the message, swiping it away. It reforms as a hovering mist before her eyes. She stops to read, then seems to laugh, shaking her head.

“Your spelling is still really sucky, Discord.”

“Give a gaye a br8k, lernin 2 reed is reely hard!”

“Have you been attending your classes?”

I huff, scrawling a very hasty reply about faith in your friends and other poignant stuff. But before I can finish, her voice wafts into my ear again.

“Can you please go today?”

I roll my eyes. Carefully, I spell out my response.

“Yes. I. Will.”

I think of sending another response, about how hard classes were. About the lack of respect, the browbeating, the unreasonable demands. My words are just starting to look like one big scribble, and she’s probably had her ears stuffed full enough times by my rants. So while I don’t have to attend classes, and even though I learn so much better on my own… Might as well humor her. Only proper. I mean, she did say please.

I press the spyglass back to my eye, watching her, waiting for her response. But no, talking to her older guard friend. Apple-bleh-whatever. Brandy. And now she’s talking with the Illuminators… and that’s it. That’s all I’m going to talk to her today. Boooo.

I keep watching her anyway, eyeing the sway of her body. The quick, yet careful and gentle placement of her hooves. Like she’s afraid of crushing even the tiniest blades of grass. She moves better than everybody else. Everyone else is a big, clunky, pile of meat and stupid. She’s like as a leaf propelled by the breeze. Direct, purposeful, graceful. Perfection in an adolescent pony body.

I jump as her voice drifts around me again. “We’re starting soon, so be ready, okay?”

I hastily scribble back my sloppiest YES. She giggles in my ear, and I melt inside.

“Horrible spelling!” she chides. “What the hay even was that? An egg?”

“Dragone eg. 4 brekfast 2-day.”

“Gross! Liar! Now shush up, you’re going to distract me!”

Oh Luna. Luna, Luna, Luna. Even just a few more words are better than none more words.

I keep my spyglass tightly pressed to my eye, watching her as the Illuminators do their twice-daily ritual. They form into two lines, ascending the steps up to the dais. They reach the top. They slowly spin into patterns and circles. They chant. They sing. Some old poem, I only heard it clearly once or twice. The rest of the stars hurriedly vanish from the sky, like they finally realized they have to get the heck out, make way for the sun.

Luna steps forward, six Illuminators following by her side. Her hood gently pulls back. Her horn shines brightly, illuminating her face, displaying her closed eyes, mouth open and singing that old poem. Her aura flares brighter and brighter, sparks hissing and fizzing as they swirl past her chin. And not one sign of strain from Luna.

Lazy and lonely in the empty black sky, the moon slowly drifts down, beyond the mountain, resting for yet another day.
Luna, Luna, Luna. You’re so good with magic. So strong. Why is it so hard for you to see that sometimes? Her and the six Illuminators set the moon. She counts as four of those unicorns. See, as the moon-setters step away, ten come to raise the sun. She could handle the moon with less Illuminators at her back if those scholars weren’t fretting so much about tradition and dignity and whatever.

I retreat from the balcony as the sun nudges over the horizon, watch as it grows bigger, and bigger and bigger, searing its crazy bright light across the land. When the final bit of its butt nudges over the black cloud sea, I grab the rope with both hands. With all my strength, and several pounds of illusion weighing me down, I yank.

Above me, bells ring, echoing with other towers, waking the marble city from its slumber.

Yep, that’s my chore. Luna gets to manage the moon, and ring a bell twice a day. I’d say division of labor was a little messed up, but knowing me, I doubt I could stand all the pomp and circumstance every single day. Ringing a bell in exchange for a tower suits me just fine.

I weave the basic living illusions back in place, the curtains and pillows, watching Luna as she strides away with the rest. Off to her own classes…

Uhg, I really don’t want to go to my own lessons. It’s just an exercise in futility by this point. Worse than futility. Me and the Illuminators, we will never see eyes to eye, but…

If I do go to my own classes...

I can walk Luna to her classes!

“w8 up!”

I slap the rest of the illusions in place and charge off the tower. Gliding down to meet her, my whole body soaring. Landing sucks. I basically overshoot by several yards, skid down the slope, and tumble into a bed of summoned feathers. But it’s okay, because physical comedy is funny, and Luna laughs at everything I do. Including this! Score! Ignoring the exasperated eyerolls of the Illuminators, I stride right up to Luna and get to chatting.

We just talk small stuff at first. Hey-how-are-you’s and this-one-thing-bugs-me’s. Normal stuff. Casual stuff. Feel like I should do something cool again. Like, like maybe more tricks? Something crazy. What hasn’t she seen yet?

But before I get to that, Luna brings up another question.

She asks, “Have you talked to Celestia lately?”

I snort. “Uh. No? She doesn’t have a single thing to say to me.”

Luna sticks out her tongue. “Have you even tried talking, Discord?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I have. I call out to her, sometimes.” I shrug. “Just try and say hello.”

“And?”

“And, she ignores me. Trots right off to find the best dressed group she can, and just chats with them instead.”

Luna frowns. “Strange…”

“Trust me,” I replied. “When she blows you off a half dozen times, it stops being strange at all. Celestia…” I shook my head. “I don’t know what happened, but she’s changed.”

Luna keeps walking, eyes straight ahead, face unchanged. After a short little silence, “We all have, Discord.”

“What?” I laughed, “No, it’s just Celestia. I know I haven’t changed at all.”

“Your voice has.”

“My voice?” I heave a few breaths into my hands, then cup the sound to my ear. “I don’t hear a thing.”

“Like that would work, you goof!” She bumped her shoulder into mine, and my heart skipped right into my brain. “And I do mean what I say. You sound completly different. You used to sound like… ” She waved a forehoof around frantically. “Yipyipyipyipyipyip! You talked so fast and quick, all your words got jumbled together!” Her hoof fell. “You’re much more deliberate with your words now.”

“Yeah, well, guess that happens after so many lessons with Madame Opal. You know how picky she is about manners. Manners and,” I cleared my throat, jabbing my nose into the air. “E-nounce-i-ation!”

She giggled through her teeth. “That’s a pretty accurate impression!”

“I’ve per-fect-ed it,” I snoot, “Through years of training.”

“Oh stop, that’s just mean!”

Again, she bumps into me, and my head goes a spinning away.

I remember the walk to classes being much, much longer than it turns out to be. Oh well. I got to talk to Luna almost four times more than I usually do. That should be enough. I think.

Trying to avoid suspicious looks, I find my way to the classroom they always shunt me into. A little room with two walls dominated by books and a bland wooden table with stiff seating. There’s a window, but its frosted. Can’t look out it, can’t enjoy the design of it. Just a window there to let light in, but no view beyond. Wouldn’t want the students getting distracted, would we? One crystal rotates above my head, giving off a bland sort of light. Pale and quartzlike. For about a minute I slip color sheets over four of its faces. But then I eye the door, and remove them. Any Illuminator could enter at any time for all I know. And the punishments they dole out for my “ridiculous tricks” can be anywhere from slaps with a ruler to scrubbing every floor of the whole damn library.

So I wait.

Doodle on my hands some. But mostly wait.

…

Wasn’t I supposed to be here at nine? What time is it now? Nine thirty? Ten? Did the Illuminators give up? Am I unteachable. Why is there no clock in here? Why--

The door cracks open, and a brown mare pokes her head in.

“Hello Kindness,” Book Binding says, not even looking at me. “Not here? Bye then.”

She’s almost done closing the door by the time she notices me. She blinks over her spectacles, hard eyes staring right into mine. I smile, and give her a small wave.

“This isn’t a trick, is it?” she huffs.

“No?”

“I’m not going to bother teaching an illusion, you know.”

“This is really, seriously me.”

She continues staring in silence, as if her eyes could pop any illusion of mine apart. Or maybe she was hoping I’d get bored and stop fooling around. Either way. She really did not believe I was here at all.

“And,” her stern voice snaps, “You’re really here to learn something?”

I shrug. “Try to.”

“Well well then.”

She strides in, her nose held high, high in the air. Without even bothering to look at me, she tugs her books down from her back, and flips through them quietly. I can see her eyes zip back and forth, trying to remind herself of what we were doing. To be honest, I can’t remind her or anything. I haven't the faintest idea what we’ll be doing today.

It was a long time before she cleared her throat, glancing back up at me. Or, more accurately, at the table space just in front of me. Four strips of paper are pushed into that space, followed by a quill and a small pot of ink.

“Pre-Tribal History then,” she says.

Balls. Of all the days I had to come to classes... Worst Possible Day. I don’t dare say anything, though. Booky knows I hate the stuff, and complaining is only going to lead to reprimands. So... onward, I guess? Booky begins without my consent, droning on in her low, monotone lecturer voice.

Without an ounce of context, nor any reason why it’s important, her words immediately slip from one ear and out the other. But damned if I’m not going to try and give it my all. I listen as intently as I can, just try and absorb it all in. I stare at my hands, and mindless little illusions dash between a finger made circle. Like pictures projected on a soap bubble. Insubstantial things from an idle mind. more feedback to try and help my memory.

Booky talks about magically created plagues. I make a unicorn, dressed in the dark robes of a dark evil wizard. Magic crackles around his horn. Fear and distrust of Unicorns stemmed from these magic accidents. She asserts, they were very often accidents. The unicorn shrugs, mouth open with its tongue lolling out. A very stupid science wizard unicorn. One such plague rotted the soil itself. I paint a bubble of a tree melting under a unicorn’s tossed alchemy flasks. The dirt bubbles, and the unicorn sinks in, flailing. My fingers part for a second, and the image stretches. My hands snap back, and the unicorn is saved by a Pegasus. A very sarcastic Pegasus. She rolls her eyes. The unicorn’s eyes go googly.

She stops. The pictures stop flowing. I look up at her. She does not look happy. She never looks happy.

“Kindness,” she snaps.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Care to repeat what I just said?”

I sigh. Roll my neck back and just try and recreate the scene in my head.

“Pre-alliance tribal relations were made tense because of the mistakes of undertrained unicorn magicians,” I recite. “Lesser magicians, in their experiments, sometimes accidentally caused artificially created plagues. You just listed an example about dirt melting.”

“It did not melt, Kindness, it rotted into a black slurry.” I rolled my eyes. Same difference, Booky. “More importantly, can you tell me the name of this plague? The dates in which it happened?”

Yep. Here it comes. This lecture again, for the millionth time. I’m suddenly and very frustratingly reminded of why I gave up on this bullcrap. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to say to make it not happen. I stay quiet, just waiting for it to come and go.

“I thought not,” Book Binding huffs. She taps at the books in front of her. “Prince of Kindness. You need to be able to recite the name and dates of every event I teach you about.”

“I understand.”

“Can you repeat to me any events and dates I have taught you?”

“Yes,” I say, “The Exodus began the First Year of the new Equestrian Age…”

“Of course,” she sniffs. “You pick the easy fact. What other dates can you recite for me.”

I bite my tongue. Just say it and move on already. Just say it again. Just say it...

“What year did the Tribal Age end?” she asks,

Nope. We’re doing this all the way, apparently. “Five-eighty-eight.”

“The Plight by Windego began when?”

“Five-eighty…” I frown. “Three? Four?”

Oh, she jumps on my fumble like a cat on a fat mouse. “Date of first snowfall? Leaders of the tribes?”

“Mid-summer season,” I recite. “Puddinghead wasn’t in power yet, and the Pegasus had their peacetime leader. The King of the Unicorns was indisposed, so Princess Platinum did a lot of hard work…”

“Names, Kindness. Names and dates.”

“I got the gist of it,” I mumble. Crap, that was out loud. No whispers can hide in such a tiny room. Her nostrils flare, jaw set tight.

“The gist is not enough, Prince of Kindness. I thought we went over this! Or have you forgotten in your long unexcused absence!”

“Didn’t forget,” I mutter.

“Then please, refresh my memory!”

Quickly, still staring at the ceiling. “Remembering names and dates gives greater context and meaning to the broader sweeps of what’s happening in the world.”

“Exactly! If you understand that, then why won’t you just learn?” Her voice cracks a little. “I thought, you returning to lessons, you would at least understand what I’m saying!”

Oh, Booky... I can tell you’re not malicious. I can tell I’m frustrating you more than you’re frustrating me. You’re trying to reach out, to just teach me. But you’re teaching all wrong. You’re focusing on stuff that doesn’t matter, missing the big picture of the thing. And thinking I’m not learning because I can’t spout back some king’s favorite kind of tea kettle.

But I’m the king-to-be, have-to-know-things, have-to-master-all-knowledge-and-become-some-sort-of-useless-garbage-spewer. That’s her response. Can’t even reason with this woman.

Never feel like I learn a thing here. This isn’t even worth it for all that Luna Time in the world.

Book binding sighs. Taps the table in front of me with her hoof. “Please. Just take notes. It’ll help you remember.”

No, it won’t. Whatever. I pick up the quill and pretend to dab it in ink. Holding the quill all nice and proper, a wiggle my pointer finger just a little bit further forward than the feather tip. I’ll write better with my claw and a basic illusion stain than I ever will with a quill and ink. And anyway, that’s how Ruin always wrote. It’s tradition to write with my claw. not that any of these Illuminators understand that.

“Now.” Book Binding sighs. “The Reaper’s Joy.”

“The what?”

“A magically induced land plague.”

“Right.”

“Was started in the Pre-Tribal year of One-Hundred-Twelve.”

“Mm.”

“By a unicorn going by the name Ichor Wings.” Her neck crans as she leers over my notes. “It’s spelled I-C-H-O-R.”

“What does it matter? They’re my notes.”

“It matters because you need to learn how to spell, Prince of Kindness.”

And so the lecture goes on exactly how she thought it should: By droning on and on and on and not even giving me a chance to take proper notes. I just began mindlessly scribbling when she said any kind of word that sounded important. I wasn’t even looking at the paper. I was staring at the bubble cradled in my paw. That’s where my focus was, recreating her words for myself.

Maybe as a joke, or maybe to help myself through all this dumb, every pony she described, I recreated it as Luna. I removed her horn, put her in a burlap cloak. Now she was the earth ponies. With wings and some of that guard armor, she was the rough and tumble Pegasi. It was funny, making Luna talk with Luna, and her advisor, Luna. An army of shock Lunas went out to investigate a problem with all the little cloak Lunas. When things went wrong, big bubbles of tears would well in their eyes. When everything was fixed, they hopped around and squealed silently. Or in Pegasus Luna’s case, rolled loop-de-loops through the air.

I wonder, will there ever be a day when we’ll fly together? We’re all going to be alicorns someday, right? We’ve been here for... I don’t know, forever. No transformation yet. No other Elements yet. Just doing the same thing day in day out, sitting on our hands and rolling with what we’ve got...

And I haven’t seen Luna hop around lately. I wonder if she’s been sad or lonely or…

I make the little bubble show me giving her a hug. She smiles and hugs me back. Illusion me blushes. Illusion Luna... The illusion rolls like boiling water, twists into a big, magically uncontrolled wad of crunchy gum.

Can’t even control my magic, just feeling all hot and bubbly on the inside! I willed it away, and tried to stop myself from laughing. Fail a little bit, Booky narrowing her eyes at my snickering. Darnit! I have a lesson to bullcrap my way through, Luna! Stop distracting me! But with how idle and brainless my illusions are, they still transform occasionally into little Lunas.

Fidgeting in my seat, unable to control my own squirming thoughts, I think... holy crap, I may have a problem.

~æ~

Late. Doing “private study.” As if these books will be less boring outside of the classroom. I lie on my stomach, in bed, and peck my way through the dry tome. Flip a page. Flip back. Connect the words I read with little lines, make simple shapes. Circle important words. Erase words I don’t know. Slam face into book and breathe its pulpy scent.

What the hell do these Illuminators expect from me?

Slowly, face crammed into a pillow. I nudge the book off the bed, delighting in the sound of its mournful drop to the floor. Yeah, screw you pre-tribal history. You have nothing to do with anything important.

Now something important, I got a different book for that.

I inch myself over the other side of the bed, horns knocking into the floor as I peer under the springbox. Fingers, searching, a stiff blob hidden in shadows, away from prying pony eyes. Carefully, with both hands, I drag out a crumbling volume, held together with two tightly strapped belts. I hold it to my chest, breathing its foul scent. Like straw, rot, and blood.

Jeez, Ruin. Your journal stinks.

I pluck open the belts and gently ease the pages to where I left off. Nothing’s pleasant in this volume. Ruin went through as much, if not more horrible things than I did. And yet, he spent that time being productive. Documented a lot of stuff. Wrote a lot about Draconequus society, physiology. Stuff about magic, and his successes and failures in teaching it. Some entries were just stuff that just happened to him…

But I guess I had something I wanted to double check with him.

I pick and choose his memories at random, flipping from entry to entry to entry. Or maybe they just seem random. Lots of stuff Ruin himself went through, what he was thinking about when he was my age. And what he thought about his time when it was all over. A lot of what he’s written, it feels almost too personal. Stuff I shouldn’t be looking at. But when I do read, everything makes sense. Everything falls together.

Ruin, you just keep on teaching me. More than those dumb Illuminators with their facts and dates, you tell me things how they are. No stupid numbers, just straight, relatable events and relationships. Giving me this book, I think that was the smartest thing you’ve ever done.

I close the book, my suspicions confirmed. With days ebbing and flowing through my head, well, nothing significant happened on every day. But from the flow, I can see a pattern swimming towards me. Bubbling up from dark waters. The same pattern Ruin went through when he was my age. What every Draconequus... heck, maybe even every pony goes through.

The way Luna talks makes me feel like laughing. And the way she moves makes me want to watch. When we get close, the heat and smell of her fur makes her all the more present. And when she’s gone, every idle illusion is, in some way, for her. This will impress her, I think. I know just what I’m going to say next we meet. She’ll be so impressed. I’ll get a hug. It will be the greatest feeling in the world. Fireworks will go off and everything.

Then I’ll…

What, taste her?

Sweet life, my brain goes to weird places past that point.

It’s a pattern so stupid clear, I wonder why I didn’t think of it sooner. No. I had thought of it. I just thought it’d be far in the future, something I wouldn’t have to worry about until I was so much older…

Deep breath now, Discord. You gotta face this. You gotta accept what’s going on with your feelings. They’re totally natural. They’re nothing to be afraid of. You see…

You are going through puberty, and your body’s telling you to go grab yourself a mate.

Well! That settles that! My reactions to Luna are purely physical. This is just another urge, like hunger or thirst. And I’ve been repressing stuff like hunger for a good long while now. Practically a master in the art of not obeying my own body. So, if I can stop myself from eating meat, I can stop myself from getting all gross over Luna. This should be easier, actually. This isn’t some life or death situation here. I won’t keel over from not mating with something. Because that would be dumb.
I guess, now, the only problem is how to act around her. Yeah, normal, but it’s like I’ve forgotten what normal was. Stupid puberty, it’s addled the heck out of my brain. No wonder all Draconequus adults are dumb as rocks, they’re probably all frazzled from this brain-wiping garbage. On top of, well, everything else that makes them dumb, and not smart.

Well, I am Discord. I am the master of self-control.

I can totally handle this.

XLIX : A Canterlot Dance

The Steadfast Sky : A Canterlot Dance
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Celestia~

Every morning I am awoken by the curtains opening. One of the servants parts them, letting the sun gently rouse me.

I enjoy imported Darjeeling Tea out of my usual fine china cups. The ones with gold foil and bluebells twisting along the rim. I take my tea with one spoonful of honey. No milk. My morning biscuits are honeyed and buttered for me, spread always laid to the perfect thickness.

I undo my night braid and have a servant brush my mane clean. One hundred strokes for each strand, coating them in natural, perfumed oils. My mane shines, well maintained and bobbing just above my knee. I have never been able to afford such a luxury, this symbol of wealth.

After brushing, my hair is rebraided, and I am dressed. My closet is overloaded with dresses, both casual and formal, and every day I have a brand new outfit to wear. The servants dress me, tightening, straightening, and perfecting my look in ways I could never do alone. I don earrings, forshoes, aftshoes, and a beautiful golden tiara, all gifts. I wish, some days, that I could experiment with necklaces. But no, my Element must remain firmly affixed to my front.

I tip the servants after my makeup is painted. Five shining bits.

I attend morning classes. My tutors love me. They’re impressed by my retention of all knowledge, and the grace of my penmanship. I’m well on my way to mastering all things political and economic, and have already put this mastery to good use. My repertoire of spells has expand as well, far past my foalish understanding of light. As the sun, I am guidance, radiance, and warmth. Order, repair, and heat fall under my domain, each carefully and constructively mastered in turn.

Past noon, I convene with Fairy Lights, my personal assistant. Chancellor Apple graciously hired this stallion to manage my time, connections, and finances. He also serves as a good butler in trying times. On most days, I have at least one public function to attend, and at least one meeting with a foreign dignitary or chief advisor on important matters. Of course, I have no real power, no role beyond a figurehead at this point. But it is of vital importance to maintain these connections for when I do assume my role as Queen.

I am tall. I am proud. I am beautiful and in complete control. Every pony is incredibly eager to get on my good side. Every pony is incredibly flattered by my presence. Wherever I walk, subjects aim to appease. They know me as the Princess of Loyalty. They know I will never waver from supporting them, as long as they never withdraw their own support.

Stallions are forever entranced by the sway of my hips. I have a number of different suitors after me, all foolish enough to believe they will win my heart.

But, as royalty, I am above showing how overjoyed I am. Being happy or excited for anything is absolutely beneath me. I may be pleased, displeased, or simply detached. Even in my most private of moments, I must be aloof and high-minded, completely above everything, looking down on it from afar.

I am the shining example of a perfect princess pony.

I am living my dream come true.

I am drunk off this life.

Really.

Actually and probably a little bit drunk.

“Wine!” I cried, “Why in all my life would I ever drink another drink? Who drinks cider anyway? Not I!”

Apple smiled at me, possibly bemused. “That alcohol is expensive and rare, my Princess!”

“Well, I wouldn’t have guessed that from how much these stallions shove it on me!” I giggle and drain the glass, “Apple! Aren’t you supposed to be protecting me from these shameless nobles?”

“Who am I to stand in the way of a Princess and her sport?”

“An excellent response, my chancellor!”

I lean heavily into his cloak, and just watch the dark ballroom swim before me. No one dares talk to me while I stand with Apple. He’s like my guardian earth pony, or an uncle. A proper uncle that doesn’t try to steal my name and money. In fact, Apple has given me a world of advice and help. I trust and rely on him more than any other pony in this city.

Oh, I know he’s just playing the Noble Sport. Just trying to get on my good side so he gets all of my favor. But let’s be honest, if you don’t play, the court will eat you alive. And for goodness sake, the man has a teddy bear for a soul! He’s a soft, bumbling politician. Aged, wise, and content with life. And contentment is the number one betrayal inhibitor. He’s fine! He’s happy!

But really, whatever festivity I was currently attending was quite dull. Dim lights, low ceiling, a few mumbled toasts, and then everyone simply grazes and mingles like a herd of well-dressed cattle. I do believe this so-called ‘ball’ has simply become a gentleman’s get together. Pipe smoke’s heavy in the air, older stallions mumble through fat white beards. Mares in attendance are brides, merely there as rusting trophies. The younger colts are dapper and bright-eyed, they chase after me like it’s their proprietary business to. A few I recognize as returnee suitors. Fritter, Polar North, Apple Dell… Apples, apples, apples, everywhere I look and turn!

I know I could never take an Apple for my own. With the original Big Apple as a close friend, it would feel like I was marrying a cousin! No, no, no, there is but one stallion who has ever had my eyes… Distant and detached as they are! I am not some lovestruck foal! Just, a mare who enjoys reveling in the Noble Game...

He’s here, you see. Even the married old mares turn their heads to glimpse at him. A strong and proud stallion, coat pure white and mane jet black. Cutie mark a simple and elegant goblet, a thin silver outline complementing the curve of his muscular flank.

Baron Blueblood, the son of Canterlot’s Chancellor. My male counterpart. The highest caliber of bachelor of status and wealth in this whole city.

It’s quite obvious that we were made for each other.

He and I, we are engaged in a lockstep dance of stolen glances and snatched words. It’s a competition neither of us speak of, but both understand. I entangle the stallion’s hearts as well as he ensnares mare’s eyes. Ponies fall before us, running hither tither as they try to appease us with drinks, with dances, with gifts and treats and invitations. Yet never would he and I dare to approach each other. Approaching would demean us. Make us just one of the flock. A pursuer. Our little game of chess would fall apart, battle of wits over.

Once, Luna had asked me if Blueblood even knew about “our game.” I told her that asking would make me a fool, and looking the fool is a loss.

For this is, ultimately, a battle of wits. And here, deprived of his girlish flock, is my perfect chance to further our game. Tonight is the night. It’s firmly decided and nothing can persuade me otherwise. He is being approached by the wine server. I must depart.

“Apple,” I say, “Please do not leave.”

Again, he seems on the edge of laughter. “Oh?”

“I’m going to go get us some more wine,” I say.

“But my Princess, your glass is still half full.”

I blink— “So it is,” — and redrain the glass. “There. I have secured my pretense.”

“Pretense for…?” He follows my gaze, and merrily barks, “Have eyes for Blueblood do you?”

“Who can say?” I flash him my very best mysterious grin.

“Don’t you think he’s a little old for you?”

I snort. Oh, this was a concern I had heard from far too many sources! But to hear it from my highly respected uncle? The gall!

“Young Blueblood isn’t that old!” I haughtily retort, blush burning in my ears, “It’s not like he’s some middle-aged bureaucrat! He is… well, like this wine!” I raise my glass once more, watching the fluid roll around its pitcher. “He’s mature. And I am not some confused little filly! I am a blossoming mare, dearest Apple! Now silence your concerns, I’m off to fetch us more wine! Ta!”

I make my way through the crowd, hurrying towards the server with a perfected, graceful trot. Or at least, as perfected and graceful as I can be with the floor rudely wobbling beneath me. Most of the old stallions parted before me, heads bobbing into bows. Silly Polar North tried to approach me again, strike up a conversation. But I easily brush him off, asserting very clearly to him that a lady can fetch her own drink from time to time.

Blueblood turned, oh so very slightly. His big, blue eyes secretly sparkled as I approached. They go wide when he’s surprised, when he’s happy. Always accompanied by the slightest smile. A grin so coy, so restrained, and yet so natural to his noble snout. He turned, broad body shifting in my direction, granting me the slightest of bows. A proper response, dignified and simple. Anything more would give away at our personal, private connection!

“Princess Celestia.” Goodness, his voice! It is like ear chocolate! “I didn’t realize you were in attendance.”

“Oh?” Only now do I look directly at him, and act surprised to see him there. “Yes! Good evening.” I curtsey, head dipping fast enough to feel my brain slosh around my skull. “Blueblood the Younger, was it?”

Yes, Blueblood! By showing how little I regard your position, I have gained the upperhand! Now, if you pursue this line of conversation, it will show your vanity and weakness. And I will come from this victorious!

He raises his glass, “Honored you remember, Princess.”

Indifference. He concedes me the point, but the game is still afoot! I float my glass to the servant’s tray… still half full! How often have I tried to drain it now? In any case, I ignore my gaff, and do hope Blueblood does not notice either. I float two glasses from the platter before the small colt skitters away.

Blueblood raises an eyebrow at me.

“One for myself and Stringhalt’s Chancellor,” I explain loftily.

“Aren’t you a little young to be drinking, Princess?”

Was that honestly what he noticed? No wonder he shrugged off my indifference and the glass, he had a much better card tucked into his breast pocket! My head spins for a comeback.

“Goodness, do I look that young?” I giggle. “I assure you, Blueblood. I am no little filly.”

“Even grown mares can have trouble with wine,” he replies with a reassuring smile. “Go easy on it, will you?”

Oh, does he still seek to patronize me? Or maybe…

There was that twinkle in his eyes again. The shimmer from his smile, so comforting and reassuring. Does… Goodness, is this another move in our game, or… or is he actually, purposefully showing weakness, showing that he cares about me beyond our courtly battle?

I stand, flabbergast, heart pumping in my ears. Is this an invitation to just relax? Or if I pursue, will he cut me down all the more. Oh, Celestia, don’t just stand there with your mouth hanging open!

“Actually, Blueblood,” I say, “Might I ask you a quick question?”

“A question?” His head tilts a little, in askance. I try not to swoon. “Personal or business?”

“Business.” I think of asking about his father. Ooh, that would burn. But today, right now, I am gauging his sincerity. “You see…” I lean in close, watching Blueblood closely. “What… do you think of Apple?”

“Apple?” he smoothly replies, “Which one?”

“Chancellor Apple,” I explain.

“Why would you ask me?” he laughs, “I thought you and the Chancellor were close.”

“Certainly we are!” Secretly, this is why I’m asking the question. Apple understands gossip is a tool like any other. Certainly he won’t mind being a topic for intrigue. “I simply would like an outsiders take on him. Doesn’t really matter who.” The burn slips out before I can stop it. “But we were already talking, so, I thought…”

Blueblood’s shoulders roll like a waving cloth. It is the most graceful shrug I have ever seen. His lips part, and I am close enough to hear him inhale a tiny, chocolaty breath.

“He’s an upstanding stallion, a gentleman from another age,” Blueblood says. “Loud, but boisterous. If you’re thinking his forceful approaches may hurt you or your reputation, well, I wouldn’t worry. He’s kind. Rather like a big teddy bear, really.”
Like a big teddy bear. We’re on the same wavelength! The exact same! And he’s worried that I may get hurt!

Oh Blueblood, are you admitting your care and fondness for me?

My face flushes pink, I can feel its heat rising.

Is this…

Is this really…

The time when…

When I should ask him to another party?

As a companion?

No, no, that’s going too far! I should ask for a stroll in the garden, to just talk. About things. Oh, it would weaken my position, but Blueblood has practically already invited me! Head spinning, I look up into his eyes, and prepare to ask nonchalantly for a brief, friendly and cordial chat.

But before I can, there’s a crash, glass shattering, and a mare’s high-pitched scream.

I whip around, yanked out of the moment and oddly furious because of it. Head spinning wildly, I need to know what servant was silly and clumsy enough to drop a tray!

What I see is an upended table. There’s a dull thud, a mumbled ‘ow!’ And from the tangle of the tablecloths rises the absolute last thing I ever wanted to see. Long, lanky, dimwitted and underdressed. Discord, fumbling backwards and flat on his rear.

“Whoops!” he shouts, no, screeches, “Uh, don’t mind me!”

“What were you doing under there?!” the servant cries. Then, hastily adds, “My Prince!”

“I didn’t know Prince Discord was invited,” Blueblood mused.

“He wasn’t,” I hissed.

“Oh?” Blueblood’s eyes twinkle towards me. “Why not?”

“He’s not exactly the partying type,” I snort. “He can’t control himself! Just does whatever he likes, not a thought to other people.”

“Just… yep!” Discord shouts again, grin lopsided. “Sorry! Leaving! Return to your uh… fancy dinner party. Thing! Fare thee well!” Laughing nervously, Discord backed away to the window. He bumped it open with a flick of his claw and a snap of magic, then threw himself out, soaring off into the clear night.

“Sorry,” Blueblood laughs, “But isn’t he your friend?”

“Of course he is!” I reply, “What of it?”

“Have you tried helping him learn?”

And I realize I am angry. My face is boiling. And I’ve lost my cool in front of my courtly arch-rival. Months of artly courting, ruined because of my association with that Draconequus buffoon! Blueblood’s smile is understanding as ever, but goodness do I know better! He is smug, his victory absolute, his single moment of acceptance thrown away like garbage. I’ve been absolutely humiliated, and there was not a thing I could do to recover. Blueblood probably thinks of me as just some child now!

Bright pink, I curtsy. “Maybe I should sometime. But really, thank you for this chat, Blueblood. I must return to my Chancellor.”

“Farewell.”

Farewell! No! He’s dismissing me completely now! Mocking me with the words of my departed loadstone! I return to Apple with our drinks, quickly draining my own, but all I do is boil and boil and boil on the inside. My collar feels too tight, like its tangled in my braid, and burning up. I couldn’t stay at the party any longer, and Apple was quick to pick up on that fact. My uncle had to escort me out, while I still maintained a paper thin façade. Oh, Apple laughed. Said the wine had gotten to my head. Said that I should lie down, go to sleep.

Insult to Injury. That’s all I heard. Denied my Noble Battle, denied my position and place…

No sooner was Apple out of earshot did I storm out of my room. Still in my fine dress and jewelry, stumbling on my shoes and hair a muss over my eyes. I’m dizzy, and the floor refuses to sit still, bucking and rearing under my feet. But no matter the floor’s insolence, I’ve already forgotten! Where does that buffoon of a Draconequus live, anyway?! Never had a single reason to even glance his way since we came here… Does he even have one room? Or does he cause every residing chamber to combust upon entry?!

“Dis-CORD!” I shouted to the tower walls. “I have a bone to pick with you!”

No reply! Just like him to hide from me, knowing that now, after all this time, I am his intellectual superior.

I don’t know how I find it. Quite simply, I find it. It’s the door painted in garish and clashing colors with purple, sparkly smoke oozing from the cracks. If that’s not his room. Then I’ll… I’ll I don’t even know!

With a blast from my horn, I burst open the door. And there’s Discord. And Luna of all ponies. They both jump, sitting half a room apart on the bed and a pile of pillows respectively. Weird stuff hangs around them. Illusions, toys, magical messes. The purple smoke was coming from what looked like a live volcano oozing molten taffy.

Ridiculous!

They shout over each other, “Celestia?!” “Big sis?!”

I puff up, boiling boiling, boiling.

“What were you doing at that party?!” I loudly demand.

“Yes?” He gives me a shaky smile, “What party would that be?”

“What do you mean ‘what party?!’” I bellow back. “Have you been to more than one tonight?! Have you intruded and upturned every single party in Canterlot on this evening?!”

“Celestia,” my sister warns, “I think you need to calm down.”

“I am asking Discord a question, Luna, and he is refusing to answer!”

My sister turned to the lanky buffoon. She mumbles, “I think you should just tell her.”

“Well.” He grins the fangy grin of a complete jerk. “Okay, yes, I was there. And as for what was I doing? I was leaving, wasn’t I?”

“Before that!” I snap, “You were doing something weird! Wherever you go, you do strange, bizzare, mean little tricks! Now what. Were you. DOING?!”

Discord sat quietly on his bed, arms folded. His smile dribbles away, and his eyes fall level with my own.

“Celestia,” he says, “Are you doing ok—“

“No, I am not okay!” I snap. “You ruined something incredibly important to me!”

“Celestia,” Luna says, “I think you need to calm down. Sit with us, and let’s discuss this problem nice and friendly-like.”

“But really?” Discord says over Luna. “Ruined? I knocked over a table.”

“Right when I was about to ask the man of my dreams out on a date!” I loudly reply.

Discord stares at me, eyes glazed. “Alright…?”

“Come on, Discord,” Luna says, “It’s an important thing to her. Don’t dismiss it.”

Again, his eyes drift to my sister, almost uncomfortable. “She couldn’t have just asked him after I upended that table…?”

“Oh. Oh of course I could have just asked afterwards!” I cry. “Not like, you know, there’s a very important timing to the matter! No! No, now it could be weeks before I could ask him again, you little monster!”

And Discord’s face goes stony. No more shrugging me off. No more laughing at the situation. Oh, I have his attention now. You bet I –

“Celestia!” my sister cries furiously.

“Luna!” I mock.

“You’re acting completely unreasonable!”

“Don’t you talk to me about reason, little sister! I’m the cutie mark… spirit…” Oh screw it. “Element over Order and Law! Reason is MY domain, not yours!”

“Don’t you pull that shit on me,” She shoots back. “Waving a title around and thinking it makes you right!”

My power over the situation flies out the window. I stare at my sister, absolutely aghast.

“Goodness gracious Luna. You just said shit.”

“Oh yes I did!” she shouts. “And you can’t stop me! Shit, shit, shit, I can say whatever dirty word I—”

And then, just reflexively, I stumble forward two wobbling steps and punch her. Right into her left jaw. She made a tiny noise, something close to a gasp, and skittered back. Her head hung low to the ground, leg rubbing the end of her snout. When she drew her knee away, her light fur was stained a dark blue. Blood.

There was a snapping sound. A pressure slams down on my back, pushing me to my knees. Purple goop, stuck to the ground, tightening over my spine, bending it. I swear I hear a crack, and I swear it was my spine.

And there was Discord, arm outstretched and fingers pinched so tightly, his yellow knuckles were turning white.

“You know, Celestia,” Discord says, voice and eyes icy cold. “I’ve been trying to talk to you for what, weeks? Months now? I never wanted to. Dreaded it, even.” He slowly shakes his head. “This is actually turning out far worse than I thought.”

His fingers shift, and produce a loud snapping sound. I flinch, but my anger quickly returns. Using sonic magic to scare me? Here? Now? Brat. A lanky, addle-minded brat. He hovers over my sister, presenting her with summoned kerchiefs.

“No, no, no, no,” she mumbles, “It’s stopped already. It’s so dry up here… I get these a lot. It’s okay, Discord… She’s not really herself, don’t…”

But the Draconequus had already spun back to me, eyes alight. He walks toward me, holding his shoulders high on his foreleg’s tiptoes. He stares down at me, yellow eyes glaring from their deep, shaded sockets… And here’s me, in this moment, wondering when he got so tall.

He stops, and sniffs the air.

“You smell like alcohol.”

“Oh, well thank you.”

“How much of that wine did you drink?”

I snort, “I am an adult. I can drink whatever alcoholic beverage I please!”

“Just seems a little bit…” He looks around, and miraculously, the anger slowly slips from his face. He waves his hand over my head, and the taffy evaporates. “This isn’t right,” he mumbles, “Uhg. Not right at all. What a long awaited reunion this turned out to be.”

“Now,” my sister says, “Let’s all sit down and talk. Together, like we used to. It’s been too long.”

“I refuse.”

I stumble to my feet, glaring at Discord. He may have found some inner excuse to not wail on me, but my own anger still simmers. If anything, it’s sharper now, the volume pumped up by my shot of fear.

“This break from you was fantastic,” I say to the buffoon. “Not being around you made me realize how much I lied to myself about liking you. Looking back, I just had nobody better to talk to! So I forced and forced and forced myself to smile along…”

“Big Sis, please,” My sister reaches for me, face tight in pain. “That’s not how you feel. You’re just upset.”

“No! I feel so free now! Goodness…” Eyes locked on Discord, I gave him the truth burning inside me. “You’re a selfish, flippant, bratty little prankster. Not good at anything but magic, never going to learn how to lead properly...”

He shrugs, “Fine. Leave and go to bed, Celestia.”

“AND.” I spat. “I wish these Elements didn’t make us stuck with each other. Then I could just say we aren’t friends anymore!”

I charge out of the room before either of them could yell at me. I didn’t want to hear it, not from them, and definitely not from myself. What a thing to say! Where had that come from? I had certainly never thought of ending my friendship... Yet…
Not friends with Discord, not having to deal with him, not having to put up with his flippancy and stupid pranks. It seems like that would be such a relief! Like a burden untied from my neck, an annoying little fly swatted and swept away! I quite like the idea, and the more it bounces around my head, the more I enjoy it!

Oh, if only we weren’t fated to be together. Fated since the moment he broke into my house. Some childhood friend that we played pretend games with before bed. That’s all Discord was. Did that make us bound forever? Tied to the fate of each other, and the country?

Well it shouldn’t have! I’m older now, and a completely different mare! The Elements are completely stupid for having us all thrown together just because we once played dress-up and house!

I stumble back into my room and just tear off my fine trappings, dumping them on the floor. It feels good, like I’m freeing myself from these bindings! I even tear out my braid. My mane is going to be an absolute mess tomorrow, but I don’t care!
As I step towards the bed, naked and exposed, there’s a soft thumb beneath me. I look down, wondering what it could be.

There’s my Element, bright orange gem glinting back up at me.

I huff. In my rush to get off all my clothes, I must have accidentally undone its clasp. I wrap my aura around the band and tug it back around my neck, letting it fall back into place. But as soon as my aura vanishes, it slips down my chest and falls back to the floor.

The clasp is in working order. The Element seems to be intact and fine. I can still push my magic through it, make lights and effects.

But no matter how many times I tug the band around my neck, it absolutely refuses to stay on.

Author's Note

This chapter comes at the tail end of a very long writer's block that I've finally shoved my way around. I was thinking, while I was picking, choosing, and writing a lot of setup, that it would all lead somewhere incredibly interesting. The beginning of the end of the story.

But the setup was boring, repetitive, and completely unnecessary.

So I skipped right to the good part.

L : A Canterlot Conversation

The Steadfast Sky : A Canterlot Conversation
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Luna~

“So, I’ve also been working on autonomy too.” Discord bobbed happily on the marble balcony, grinning as little shows of magic spun around his head. “You know, actual things that operate without me thinking about them.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“It’s easy enough when it something inorganic, or just something crazy. But you think of like… A cat.” With an excited flick of his wrist, a black cat blossoms from the tower’s marble. It yawns in the stretching way cats do, then begins licking its paw. “See, I can make it walk around, look and act like a cat… I’m good at those specific observations, been practicing that for years and years. But I stop thinking about it, and it just… You see? Doesn’t look right.”

“Alright.”

“So I’ve been trying to think, how do I make sure it behaves properly, even when I’m not paying attention? I was thinking, well, how do I make the inorganic stuff, you know, keep doing things? Remember that volcano? That was its set ‘behavior.’ I set up it insides to work a specific way. Set deep within it, I imagined a specific pocket of packed gas, expanding as its released… Oh, and I was so stuck on gas for so long. But it’s easy now, you know?”

“Yes, I remember.”

“But with living things, the ‘behavior’ is so circumstantial, especially if it has to interact with things naturally. But if I just think of these things as little demands…” Discord turns to the cat, fussing with it. “I know how muscles work, how the structure of bodies work. I know how these things move on the inside. So I just roughly rebuild that, and set little commands. It’s something like…” He clicks his fingers, and his eyes turn up to mine. “Ah! You know how the master gear in a clock sets all the others spinning, doing their own things? Something like that.” He clicks his fingers again, and the cat jerks spastically. But in just a few more seconds, it settles back on its feet. Discord grins eagerly as the cat turns in place, settling itself gently down for a nap. “See? Now that looks natural! I mean, natural within strict parameters, of course…”

“Oh that’s wonderful, Discord. You’ve been working really hard on this.”

“Yes!” he beams, “Very hard. I’m glad you noticed! So,” And again, his attention returns to the cat. “I don’t exactly know what to call this. I suppose I could call it clockwork, but like I said, that’s not really…”

Okay. I think that’s all I can take. I’ve become exhausted just acting amazed at what Discord’s doing. I mean, yes, it’s good, he’s got something he’s good at, super awesome. And it’s not like it’s like boring or anything. I don’t want to ruin his fun. But uuuuhg… Stuff. We need to talk about super important stuff.

“Discord.” I finally say. He looks up from his toppled cat quizzically. “We need to talk.”

“Oh!” he laughs. “Do you have questions?”

“Sorry, but we’re going to set the clockwork aside for a bit,” and, before he can object, “We need to talk about Celestia.”

His eyes go glazed, and he gives an annoyed huff. “I thought we agreed that Celestia overreacted.”

“Yes, but—“

“Luna…” he gives his cat’speriment a strange, smirking grin, “I don’t really want to talk about Celestia.”

“Well, I do.”

“Why?”

I clench my jaws firmly. “Because she’s your friend and my sister.”

“I stick by what I said then,” he retorts. “She’ll come around. She has to, doesn’t she?”

“We should apologize anyway.”

Discord’s strange smile quickly fades away. His eyes are still locked on his cat, strumming his fingers across it’s back. I feel, for a fleeting moment, that maybe he’ll go along with me. I mean, what does he have to lose? But…

“No,” he says firmly. “She hit you.”

“She was mad,” I reply. “We did ruin her party.”

Discord snorted. “No we didn’t. All I did was knock over a table.”

“And magically refill the wine glasses.”

“Yes, but she doesn’t know that. We don’t have to apologize for what she doesn’t know.”

Still solid inside, I say, “I’m not going to tell her half-truths.”

“And I’m not going to give her more things to yell about. Look.”

And that weird grin was back, half spread across Discord’s face. It was shaky, like he forgot how to smile proper. Eyes locked on my shoulders, he sidles up beside me, as if he’s going to give me a one-armed hug. But he hesitates at the last second, looking over the railing instead, beginning to gestate absentmindedly with one hand.

“She’ll, you know,” he says, “See that she’s being crazy, and she’ll come to us. Right? Then everything will go back to normal, and we can keep ignoring each other in peace.”

“Ignoring each other is the last thing I want us to do,” I shoot, “We are friends. Or at least we should be friends…”

“Fine, fine,” he quickly covers, “She’ll realize she’s crazy and everything will go back to playing Best Friends Forever.”

“Alright. So tell me.” I try to catch his eye, but Discord seems preoccupied with his fiddly fingers. “When exactly will this ideal future happen?”

He shrugs. “Heck if I know.”

“Bah!” Frustrated, I topple sideways, smacking Discord in the side. Just a little joke, really, an annoyed slap to a stubborn friend.

Discord flinches violently, and almost immediately flings himself sideways. He slaps into the tower railing, squirms onto his side, and keeps smiling at me like he meant to do that all along.

Uhg. Weird. So weird lately. Both of them have been. Yes, Celestia’s been pretty swept up lately… But I don’t know what’s happening with Discord either. It’s like Discord’s a completely different person, just showing off constantly, hardly wants to talk at all. I just want us all to make up and be friends again. But Celestia’s words still echo around my head. How can we possibly make up after a statement like that?

Weird, weird, weird, everybody’s just so weird…

“Discord,” I finally say, “Have I been weird lately?”

“What?” He laughs nervously. “No, not at all, Luna.”

“I feel weird,” I grumble.

“Well, you’re not!” His creepy smile gets even creepier. “You’re great! You’ve been awesome, same as always!”

“I’m not the same,” I assert, “I do more magic than I used to. And people treat me different. They used to treat me like such a kid…”

“Well I’m doing buckets more magic too, and I’m treated a lot differently, and honestly, please! Don’t worry! You’re fine!”

Okay, I can’t look at Discord’s weird face anymore. I got this feeling, like ‘old Discord’ would have been more frank with me. But I try to pull that picture to mind, of a littler Discord, and I can’t see it. He’s different, yet, to my frustration, I can’t put my hoof on how different…

I get a brief flash of a sickly Discord, starved and tiny. No, no, that wasn’t him either…

I throw back my head and sigh loudly.

“What are we still doing here?”

“Here?” he asks, “In the tower…?”

“No, in Canterlot.”

He stares at me, nonplussed. At least his dumb grin is gone.

He says, “We’re waiting for the other three Elements to arrive.”

“Is that so…

All of these feelings. I need to explain them to Discord. Just, you know, articulate exactly what I’m feeling. Put it all into words. When did I even learn the word “articulate?” Uhhhg, why does my head hurt so much lately?

“Discord,” I say, “I don’t want to be here anymore.”

He stares at me. “What, really?”

“Yes. Do you think that’s weird?”

“Yes?” He spits out a horrible laugh, like a nervous cackle. “You’re doing great here! Everybody loves you, you’re trusted to raise the moon, doing well in classes…”

“Are you trying to argue for staying?”

“No! Heck no! I’m just saying…” Finally, his face looks familiar. Looks relaxed, looks natural. Looks something like the Discord I used to know. “I’ll stay, if you want to stay. I’ll go if you want to go. That’s all.”

Firmly, I say, “I want to leave.”

“Then let’s go!” He shoots to his feet. “Heck, let’s just grab our bags and ditch this place!”

Despite myself, I smile. “We’re going to have to bring Celestia too, you know.”

“Dammit,” he winces, “Guess we do, don’t we…”

“And to get her to come along, we need to apologize to her.”

“We can’t just, you know…” He makes a violent motion with his arms. “Tie her up and drag her behind us?”

“Discord…”

“Yes, yes, just a joke… Fine. So…” He jumps up on the railing, strangely large wings unfurling and flexing. “Where do you even think she is? We don’t even know the first place to look.”

“We can just check a few places,” I say. Getting to my feet is difficult. My legs, pinned beneath my body, had become numb. “If we split up, we should be able to cover the most ground. I’ll whisper to you if I find her.” Wobbling on three hooves, I tap my Element.

“I guess I could send a message to you,” Discord says casually, “Though, I’ll have one hell of a time trying to get her to follow me.”

I nod, and after a few more plans and goodbyes, we part. Discord decides he wants to go check the Illuminator’s shrine. It’s pretty much the least likely place for Celestia to be, but I let him go anyway. I expect, with what Celestia said three days ago, she’ll only talk to me anyway. I decide to head to the market district, maybe check the gardens before I begin combing the castle for her.

To my surprise, I guessed it in two. While my search in the marketplace was aimless and fruitless, I spot her almost instantly in the outskirt gardens. She rests by the Cliffside river, the ocean of black clouds spreading out before her. Yet, she’s not alone there. Celestia forms a small circle with three younger mares. And I seriously do mean young. Two of the fillies do not have cutie marks. They all look up to my sister in a rapt, giddy attention.

“Of course I’ve thought of Blueblood as passably handsome for a long time now,” my sister brags, nose held high in the air. “But I knew I mustn’t let silly feelings guide me. It’s very, very important to stay above it all girls. Rather important to mentally step back from the situation, as if observing it from afar…”

I don’t know how, but through her speech she actually notices me. My eye caught hers, and she slowly wilts out of her puffed-up position. “Oh, hello Luna.” Smiling lightly, she flicks her hoof dismissively at the fillies. “I have business with my sister, girls. Why don’t you get back to playing?”

They collectively groan, yet were more than happy to frolic away, giggling amongst themselves.

“Was Blueblood that stallion you mentioned…” I ask, cutting off before I bring up our fight. It’s not the smartest thing to bring up a screwup right then. I want to convince my sister of something, dangit, and for that she needs to at least be not mad.

“Yes, yes, Blueblood is my courtly rival,” Celestia says, flattening the hem of her dress. “What do you need, Luna?”

“Discord and I need to apologize.”

“Good,” she snips. Then, after a brief silence. “I’m waiting, little sister.”

“We need to apologize together,” I explain, “I’d like for you to come with me.”

I expected her to begrudgingly comply. Maybe huff and puff about it, but I did just imply that me and Discord were wrong. She could pretend to be faultless for all I cared. But Celstia didn’t budge. Celestia just continued sitting in place, frowning up at me.

“So I should follow you?” Celestia asks.

“Yes…?”

“So you and that beast can lead me directly into another prank?”

I sigh. Of course she’d be suspicious. “I understand why you would think that. But please, set the idea aside, sister. We have very important things to talk about, starting with the apology.”

Her eyes narrow. “Like what exactly?”

“Like I said,” I reiterate, “I’d like us to all talk this over together.”

Celestia huffs, returning to fussing over her dress. At least she wasn’t leaving, I muse quietly. What tactic should I use next to try and drag her along?

A plan barely formed before I noticed something drastically wrong with my sister.

“You’re not wearing you’re Element,” I say, words coming like a shot to the gut. Yet, as quickly as I noticed, she pulls her Element out from her tiny saddlebag.

“It’s right here, little sister,” she chimes.

“Why aren’t you wearing it?”

“I felt like wearing some different necklaces,” she explains plainly. “The Element limits my wardrobe, you know. I have a good many dresses that simply do not work with the gold and orange…”

“So you just took it off?”

“Clearly.”

I stare at her, her declaration still so fresh and crisp in my mind… Just wants to try on necklaces? After something like that?

“Okay,” I snap, “Celestia, we really need to talk. All of us. Spend one good long night together, and work all this stupid drama out.”

She sniffed. “I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t.”

“Can’t,” she says, tone crisp. “I have arrangements for tonight.”

“Can you cancel?”

“No. It’s incredibly important.”

“More important than your sister and your friend?”

I can feel a whine edging into my voice, and yet, Celestia gave the smallest of irritable sighs. It hung in the air between us, a horrible silence falling after it.

Fine. Fine, okay, not fine at all, really.

“We’re leaving, Celestia,” I say.

“I said I wasn’t going to follow you.”

“We’re leaving Canterlot.”

She makes a small, strangled sound. “Why, in the whole wide world, would we do something so incredibly stupid as leave Canterlot?”

“Things are wrong here, don’t you think?” I plead, “Wrong in so many ways. We’ve changed so much…”

Celestia laughs, a strange and haughty sound. I’m reminded, so forcibly, of Discord’s stupid grin. Something so unlike the person I used to know, yet, I can’t remember what it used to be like.

“No, I don’t agree,” Celestia smirks, “I adore this city.”

“Celestia, it’s been… I don’t even know how long since we arrived.” The word ‘year’ drifted into my mind, but the word terrified me. “Too long,” I quickly add.

“We’re waiting for the other Elements,” she retorts.

“They’re not coming,” I shoot right back.

“You need to have a little more patience, little sister.”

“I think we’re it. I think we’re all the Elements.”

“Don’t be silly, there’s six Elements.”

“We’ll double up then.”

Celestia scoffs loudly, but before she could spew more excuses, I aggressively cut her off.

“We can not allow the Shadow Stallion to remain unchecked any longer, my sister!”

Well, of all the strange things happening today, those words seem the strangest. Shadow Stallion was the furthest thing from my mind, I don’t even think I’ve spoken that name in months and months. And yet, remembering, a hot guilt starting coiling inside me. We just ignored the world beneath the clouds, wasted time for a disgustingly long period of time, failed Equestria for the sick length of a year…

My sister was having none of it. She stood up sharply at the name, mouth a hard, unfamiliar line.

“Have the Illuminators told you to go?” she hissed, “That we were all the Elements?”

“No, it’s a—“

“Then there is nothing to discuss,” my sister snapped. “The Illuminators aren’t idiots! This is the way things should be. Do you see them panicking or worrying about the Shadow Stallion?”

“No, but—“

“Then put your silly little worries to rest!”

“They’re not silly!” I cried “We have to go!”

“I am not going to return to sleeping on dirt because of your childish little whimsies!”

“Oh, but when you wanted to go fight the Stallion, that wasn’t childish at all!”

“Yes, it was childish,” Celestia said flatly, “We should have come here immediately. I was stupid for thinking otherwise. Now, I must go.”

“Celestia, please,” I darted in front of her, trying to stop her trot. She circled around me, shooting me dirty looks. “We don’t have to leave! Just talk to me and Discord! We need to talk…”

“It’s ‘Discord and I,’ little sister,” she snapped, “And like I said. I have arrangements.”

“Then when…”

“Take it up with Fairy Lights. Good day, little sister.”

“You can’t just walk away!”

Yet, she did. Stalked off in a speedy trot, never once looking back. I watched her vanish down a side street, stunned.
I nudged my Element, vaguely aware that I should report to Discord. That I should tell him that I found my sister… but then what? What else was there to say? I brought my Element to my nose anyway, horn flaring, trying to put together what message I should send through its connection.

“Found her… she didn’t want to talk. Left.” After a few moment’s thought, “Let’s just… meet at my room. Talk about Celestia there. Okay?”

I went to my room, waited until I had to raise the moon. No Discord. He never turned up.

This is wrong. Wrong wrong wrong wrong.

Strange as Discord’s been lately… When has he ever, ever refused to return to my side?

LI : A Canterlot Cell

The Steadfast Sky : A Canterlot Cell
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Discord~

So, earlier, I had sauntered into the library. Asked if Celestia was there. Explained that we needed to talk Element stuff. Joked that we had a fight, and that we were leaving. Just laughed it off, really. Should have left the second I couldn’t find sunbutt, but the last thing I wanted to do was talk to that pearly snotrag. So I kept up pretenses of looking for her, poked my head around each corner, maybe messed with a few of the Illuminators… small stuff. Swapped ink bottles, swapped titles of books. Small things.

Then, while I slunk around the upper stacks, there was this little cough behind me. Loudest thing, deep and attention grabbing. I turned…

The Head Illuminator shifted on his hooves, glancing at the crowd behind him. The upper stacks were unusually dim, devoid of sunlight, full of book dust, but the nervous, shifting crowd behind him blotted out the rest of the light. Hid it beneath flags even, holy hell, they had dragged out the formal flags for a meeting with me? I got a sick swoop in my stomach, reminded of something, a memory from far too long ago…

“A-hem.”

“Yeees?” I leaned on a table, standing tall. “Sure are a lot of you here.”

He cleared his throat again. Rolled his shoulders. Avoided continuing.

“Look, whatever it is,” I said, “I’m busy looking for Celestia. And since you guys don’t know where she is…” I snickered. “I mean, I get the hint. I’ll go look elsewhere, alright?”

“Your behavior, Kindness,” he finally said.

I acted clueless, “My behavior?”

“Do not lean on the table!” he snapped, “Stand firmly on all fours while you treat your elders with respect and dignity.” The crowd mumbled behind him, flagpoles clattering in light collisions.

I rolled my eyes. “We’re really doing this now—“

“We are really doing this, Prince Kindness!” he shouted.

I dropped down, surprised. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry! Calm down… Look, I’ve been bothering you a lot about this stuff. I’ll just go look elsewhere now, okay? Stop bugging you while you work.”

“While some would appreciate absolute peace,” Inkwell said, “that is not what we’ve gathered about, Kindness.”

“Really?” I glanced up at those flags again. “I supposed this was bigger business than just a telling-off.”

“Please. Prince of Kindness. Tell us the truth.” The Head Illuminator held himself high, beard quivering. “Last night, was there a fight between you and the Princess of Loyalty?”

“Just a private thing,” I explain. “I’m doing my best to make up, so don’t you worry about it. Just need to find her to apologize, right?”

“Is it also true,” he continued, “That you plan on leaving the safety of Canterlot?”

“Well,” I laughed, “That’s a bit more, you know, up in the air…”

My voice died. Was this really something I should say to the leader of the Illuminators?

“But really!” I quickly clarified, “That’s just an idea we passed around. Talked about, nothing firm. Just, you know… We want to find the Elements as soon as possible! If another method for their discovery comes up, then that’s that, isn’t it?”

“We know exactly where Generosity, Honesty, and Magic are.”

“Oh! Well, then where are they?”

“They still remain in their tombs, of course.”

“So nobody’s gone to claim them?”

“None of the other Elements have been reclaimed,” he said firmly.

“But it’s been so long, Illuminator Inkwell,” I calmly explained, “Luna and I are concerned.”

I thought, maybe that would make him a bit more relaxed, less mad at me. But no, he bristled further, crowd behind him mumbling, shaking their heads.

“It is not something that you should concern yourself with, Kindness!” the Head Illuminator barked.

“Why not?” I asked, “I’m an Element, aren’t I? Shouldn’t I care about what is happening with the unclaimed Elements?”

He sniffed loudly, holding himself high enough to look down on me.

“You avoid our lessons,” he growled. “Dismiss our ways, question our religion, and disrespect everything we have to offer you. Yet now you come to us and think you can tell us how this entire system works?”

“Well I um…” I felt cornered, like the crowd was pressing me deeper into the stacks. I laughed nervously, honestly startled. But it was the wrong move. The crowd buzzed and pressed closer, making the short corridor of books even darker.

“It was Luna’s idea, I swear!” I quickly explained. “I don’t mean to offend!”

“You do offend,” Ivory Inkwell said. “Often. Repeatedly. With your entire being.”

He’s dead serious. And I don’t really know what to say to that. A part of me gets an offended jolt, the word ‘monster’ floating through my head… Good god, the Illuminators are buffoonish, bookish fanatics! Where did this come from?!

“Well, I’m sorry,” I said lamely.

“No you are not,” he snapped, “We do not need your empty apologies, Kindness.”

“Well, well, ah…” I gave an exaggerated shrug, “What do you want from me?”

That, finally and at last, made the crowd less tense. The Head sunk a little, though his jaw was still set tight, eyes boring daggers into my face.

“To accept a lesson,” he snapped. “Come with us. Spend just a week among us, Kindness. No magic, no tricks, just a small taste of scholarly learning and understanding. Understand, as your Element urges you to understand.”

“Eh…”

Wrong answer. The crowd pushed in. Light all but gone, air stuffy, every eye on me.

“I just have other things on my plate now! Celestia—!”

“It’s not an option!” Inkwell barked.

I laughed, nerves gone crazy. “Like hell it’s an option!”

Three Illuminators shot forward. An aura pinches my hands, but in a reflex, I melted the magic to water. It didn’t matter. Brain reeling, an Earth Pony was on me in an instant. A silver loop snapped around my wrist. My left arm went numb, frosty. My magic flared briefly, yet died before it could surface…

I toppled over, chin smacked the floor. An Illuminator held the rope tightly in his mouth, dragging me. I yanked my arm back. The scholar tumbled forward, eyes wide.

Another cold weight splashed into my back, frost jabbing into my spine. My wing collided with another’s jaw. Another aura pinched around my jaws… a muzzle.

As if I intended to bite them.

I snapped at the sparkling aura, hair on end and anger boiling in my gut.

But four hooves slammed on my back. The silver bag snagged my horn. With a yank, the bag pressed over my left skull, numbing frost boring through my eye, the flesh of my ear.

I toppled over, eyes popping, trying to force my mind through the sudden haze. My brain was freezing over, going numb…
And that was the last aware thought I had. I was giggling and confused when they threw me into a classroom, but that didn’t last long. No, they didn’t want me to stay addled! They wanted me to be able to think and talk. Just not leave.

Never thought I’d see these cuffs again. Never even thought I’d be stuck in them. I can feel magic burning in my bones, flaring under my frozen skin. It burns, just trying to cast. I wouldn’t be surprised if my skin started searing away.

That Stringhalt goop. That ‘smooze’ crap. They didn’t even bother with the leather sacks. Guess they knew I could bust out of those. No, now I’m slapped in silver, shifting scales, material quivering and shifting over my hands, over the base of my wings… Who the hell had this idea, and how badly am I going to beat the shit—

I kicked the door and shouted, “Okay! Joke’s over! You can let me out now!” And when no response came, “This is bull and you know it! Why?! Is this punishment?! What the hell do all of you think you’re doing?! I am the goddamn PRINCE!”

They left me some bread and a jug of cider, but I upturned and smashed them in my attempts to destroy the bookshelves. I don’t care if they took it as my “violent bestial nature” or whatever the hell they’re thinking. They think they can do this to me?! Well! No books for them!

So here I was. Bound up by the hands and the wings, and left to stew in hatred and apathy. Eerily similar to how I was kept in that Stringhalt zoo. Oh, the obvious connection crossed my mind then. But… why? Why would Apple want the Illuminators to manhandle and hogtie me? He had eyes for Celestia, didn’t he? I’ve only talked to him two or maybe three times since I got here, but the Illuminators clearly had their own reasons for wrapping me like a Hearth’s Warming present—

“Found her.”

I jumped up. Or did something equivalent on my numb, stubby hands. Luna?!

“She didn’t want to talk. Left.”

“Who didn’t? Luna?” She sounded so close… I moved towards the door, thinking, knowing she was just on the other side of it.

“Let’s just…”

“Just what? Life, sky, whatever, it’s so good to hear—”

“…Meet at my room. Talk about Celestia there. Okay?”

“Celestia?! I think that’s the least of our… oh, duh.”

I collapsed back to the floor. She was talking to me via the Element. Like we planned… Wow, did I feel like an idiot. I kicked a few more books around, swatting them in the corners just to topple them again .

I spent the night in that stupid cupboard of a classroom, letting the moonlight seep through the stupidly narrow stained crack of a window. The books made for awful bedding, and I wasn’t about to tear them up for anything better. I’m frustrated, not… completely destructive. I thought of dumb things. Of wanting Ruin’s Journal to read. Of wondering why the Illuminators thought this was a good idea. Okay, they have me trapped. But I’m not going to listen to them like this! I thought briefly of kicking some of them in the teeth, but a guilty part of me dismissed the idea. I don’t want to hurt them… I want them to beg for my forgiveness.

And finally, kicked books and imagined humorously humiliating apologies exhausted, I comforted myself with thoughts of Luna. Luna coming to get me, us running away together… My Element flickered in response, but there was no way to send a message, or even blast a ray out the window. For that, I’d need my magic…

I wondered what was going to happen in the morning.

And I fell asleep to the cold sacks shifting strangely around my numbed limbs.

~æ~

I honestly think that was the worst night of sleep I’ve had in a long time. I’m slipped more bread and cider while I’m asleep, this time with a fat slice of ham on the side. How thoughtful. I think of smashing those too, ruin more books while I’m at it. But I can’t. The feeling of hunger is already driving me crazy. Hate that empty feeling. Hate it.

Also hate the feeling of trying to eat when your hands are too numb to hold anything. I wind up crouched over my food, tearing through it like some kind of dog.

I re-find my not-particularly-comfortable place on the floor and lie down. At least at the zoo I had pillows. Great, now I’m starting to think that’s preferable? So what dumb thoughts am I going to entertain myself with today... A day without magic. This is going to be downright awful.

But then, the door opened. I wriggled around, and saw Book Binding stride in, head high and looking down at me.

“Hello, traitor!” I said cheerfully.

She sniffed loudly, looking at the scattered books. The room fills with orange light, and the books start tucking themselves back on the shelves.

“Oh, why bother?” I continued, just as giddy, “I’m just going to knock them right back down again.”

“Then do so after I’m gone,” she said. “I will not teach in squalor.”

“Oh, so this is what this is about?” I snipped, “You’re trying to force me to do lessons?”

“We hope to teach you something, yes…”

“Well I can’t take notes! Not with jelly for hands!” I heaved my arms forward to make a point. The bag shook violently as it slapped against the floor. She merely glanced at my cuffs, then set her books down wordlessly. And she’s actually opening the book, and oh god she really wants to do this?

I cried, “If you think I’m going to take lessons like this, then you’re sorely mistaken, Booky!”

“Oh, I know you’ll be much less receptive than normal to a lesson about History or Liturature.”

“But you’re going to do it anyway, huh?!”

“No,” The Illuminator flipped through the pages of her volume in silence. Finally finding the right page, she slipped the bookmark from the spine. “I am going to relate to you a letter. It pertains very much to you…” Her eyes flicked up to mine. “I know you are not in the mood to listen. But…” She lifted the first sheet of parchment. “From Head Illuminator, Ivory Inkwell.”

“LA LA LA LA LA, WHO’S THAT IDIOT, NOT IMPORTANT TO ME.”

“Dearest Prince of Kindness…”

“I have a name, you know!” I shouted at her feet, “Or is the name not pony enough for you?! Should I start calling myself Glitter Snout?! Would you like that?!”

Loudly, Booky continued, “Forgive us for the events hours prior, we bear you no ill will…!”

“Bullcrap you all do! Attack me, imprison me, and you call that ‘no ill will?!’”

“We beg!” Booky shouted, “That you accept an explanation of our actions…!”

“You know the last time I was caught, it was because I looked so weird!” I bellowed, “So is that it?! I’m just such a little oddball?!”

“…As many of our order is experiencing a crisis of faith!”

“Oh, is that so? Why?!” I cried, “Because I’m such a little brat, is that it?!”

Book Binding slammed the letter down, glaring at me.

“It is not just you!” she bellowed, “Though refusing to listen while shouting questions is absolutely deplorable, and you will do well to sit still and listen for once, you little, you, you, you—!”

She yanked the page back up before her eyes, aura nearly tearing the page in half. Shaking slightly, she continued.

“We accept order. We seek harmony. The two, they always seemed to travel together, hoofbeat following hoofbeat. Order was the world in harmony.

“I think most of us here are, to be frank, terrified. We feel as though the Elements of Laughter, Loyalty, and Kindness may have been mistakenly chosen.”

“Just because I like a couple pranks…!”

“It’s not just the pranks, Discord!” Booky cried, “Within the year, you have ALL lost your inner harmony. You are barely even friends anymore!”

Well... well that’s just bullshit. Yep. Complete crap. I mean, yes, Celestia’s out of her gourd, but me and Luna… we’re fine. Completely friendly. Totally harmonious. I try to think of a counter example, but before I can, she continued.

“Our biggest failure with the First Gods,” she explained, “Is that none of them were friends. It was more important, in the eyes of the Illuminator Order, to make sure the tribes were unified. Two must be from each tribe. That’s what we thought Harmony would stem from. But they missed that vital spark of friendship, of true, personal harmony. Maybe that is why our country now wallows. We trumpet this philosophy, and yet, we failed to understand it at a basic level, so miserably.

“And now our second gods wither before all are even present.”

Book Binding paused. As if expecting me to shout, or react, or say something.

I had nothing to say.

So she continued.

“Perhaps you have all grown enough to submit to Nightmares. We cannot take that risk. This is why we have trapped you here.

“Forgive us of our fears, of our need to capture you. In doing so, we have treated Kindness with such contempt. We hope for you to learn from this experience, to resume growing and maturing. However, if Harmony continues to wane from you three, what choice would we have but to prevent further Nightmares, and to seek the true Second Gods?”

Again, she stopped. I’m sure I had an objection in me, but it wasn’t quite there yet. I just stared at her feet, stewing, cold creeping all across my body. A lesson? Tie me up to teach me about friendship...?

Again, she continued. There was more…

“Discord.” I flinched. That wasn’t her reciting voice. “I personally implore you to consider what is important to you. Is this country important?”

I stared at her. “I honestly can say that I don’t care either way for it. I don’t want ponies to be suffering, but the country…”

“Then,” she interrupted, “At the very least, does friendship matter to you?”

“Without the friendship of both Luna and Celestia,” I spat. “I’d be dead. And that’s the truth. I know Celestia and I don’t get along all that great… but they both mean the world to me.”

“Then perhaps our fears will be unfounded. But until more is done to disprove this conviction…” Finally, I heard her as she flipped through her heavy book. After a moment’s silence, the volume thumped shut, and Book Binding suddenly stood. I heard her gather up her things, and watched as she walked to the door. “I’ll see you again in a few hours, Prince of Kindness.”

“In a few hours? Why?” I mumbled, finally finding my objections, “Are you going to check back and see... if I’ve turned into shadows? Or whatever a Nightmare is...” My voice trailed off. Term seemed so vaguely familiar, but, but... “What exactly are you hoping will happen to me?”

“At the end of a god’s life,” she dully explained. “He or she becomes transformed entirely by their weaknesses. By their flaws. By their own hatred and selfishness. We’ve been able to observe this change five times already, we know, almost too clearly, its stages...” She looked down at me. “And I do mean transformed... As far along as you are, the fact that you can still wear your Element, that are even able to talk normally is a good sign.”

“Come on,” I pleaded, “So you’re worried! I get it! But just leaving me here? Tied up? Is this really necessary…?”

“It’s not up to me,” she said shortly.

“What do you think I’ll learn?” I begged. “About being a friend and a ruler, just tied up in this cell?”

“You’re not in a cell, Prince of Kindness,” she looked down at me, face stony. “You’re in a library, and one not chosen at random either.” She sniffed, “If you took the time to read the volumes instead of damaging them, perhaps you’d understand.”
And before I could object further, the door clicked firmly shut.

I stared at the door, thoughts settling. Sidelong, holding myself back, I rolled over, and glanced at the title of the book right at eye level.

Letters: Internal Affairs Between the Element of Magic and his Fellows…. Vol. III Element of Generosity, Vol. VII Staff, Vol. IV Element of Kindness…

I hacked up a laugh. And with a half-hearted flick of my tail, slapped a few more books from the shelf.

LII : A Canterlot Dinner Party

The Steadfast Sky : A Canterlot Dinner Party
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Celestia~

I explained it so easily at first. I just wanted to try on some different necklaces. Everyone knew I had been dying to wear some different jewelry for a long time now. I just floated my element up from my purse, assured everyone I still had it, and stowed it quickly away.

But I was just hiding the fact that it didn’t stay on anymore.

I had tried everything to keep my Element on. I tangled it’s folding structure together. I used string to bind the two halves of the clasp. I stuffed it into my braid, wove it into the strings of my bodice. I positioned it on my blouse front and tried to affix it with pins. I even attempted to glue the ends together.

Yet it never stayed. The moment I drew my aura away, it would collapse and slip down my front. I suppose I should feel lucky it never broke in all those falls… The Element was proof of my position. If it had been damaged in any way… I know the Illuminators would certainly find something to fuss about.

Oh, and yes, and I had thought of the obvious reason why my Element wasn’t staying on. The things I had to said to Discord, yes, they were a bit rash. I suppose I could still rattle off his positive traits. Intelligent. Creative... Brave? Kindness? Okay, maybe I can’t, not with a straight face. Each of his virtues was just a hollow echo of his numerous flaws. I seriously did not want to approach him again. Furthest possible thing from my desires.

But after a few days with the element quietly stowed away… I suppose I could bring myself to apologize.

But I wouldn’t like it.

It would be a lie.

A lie to save my own skin.

Oh, why couldn’t this just be myself and my sister?! A system of two, night and day! That sounds so lovely! Why do I also have to be associated with Discord? And, and At least my sister is improving! If only she would stop hanging around Discord, and act like a proper lady… Oh, then maybe!

Oh, enough of this horrid, sordid topic! I have places to be!

I arrive at the proper time and place early, as a proper lady should. Sunset, at Apple’s little home-away-from-home in Canterlot. The past few months or so, I had been in and out of the entry hall, waiting for Apple to arrive, or for Apple to take me to another grand gala. But this would be the first time I’d see beyond the foyer and little ballroom. A personal party, he told me in flame-sent letter. Just a small get together, only the most important, local dignitaries...!

I plan on entering, perhaps letting one of the two guards announce me (can’t be too careful, even in my home city!) But before I’ve even knocked, two ponies push their way casually from the entrance.

“Celestia, my dear!” Apple booms, bowing. “Good to see you, good to see you!”

One of the ponies is an old Illuminator. The one with a spectacles and a white inkwell cutie mark. I think he might be one of the seniors? In any case, he eyes me warily.

“Princess,” he says, “You did not inform us of this little trip.”

I smile coldly, “Since when must I tell the Illuminators of all my activities?”

He stood firm, “There are a few things that I must speak with you—”

“Oh, don’t mind him, my Princess!” Apple cheerfully barks, “I’ve just had a good long chat with Inkwell! Everything’s been sorted out and explained, very thoroughly!”

Inkwell sniffs. “I dearly hope you know what you are inviting, Apple...”

“Now you see here, you bookish fuddy-duddy!” Chortling, Apple gives Inkwell a friendly shove on the shoulder. The poor old stallion nearly topples over. “Don’t you spoil a poor little Princess’ fun! She will be fine, alright? It’s just a little dinner party! No, no, don’t scare the lass!”

The Illuminator gives Apple a wary look, then turned to me, “When you return from this foray, please report back to us. We have a few important matters we wish to discuss with you. And yes, that is all I am saying, Chancellor Apple.” His eyes lingered on me for a moment more, then he turned and headed back to the library.

The two guards that had followed me seem unsure if they should follow, but with a flick of his hoof, apple quickly dismisses them. “I have my own guards, your Princess will be safe, I assure you!”

“Goodness,” I chuckle, watching the departing Illuminator. “What’s gotten tangled in his tail hairs?”

Apple shakes his head sympathetically. “Ah, you know these scholarly types. Spend so much time with their heads in books, they become convinced the world turns according to print! They would even stop you from having a nice dinner…”

I smile. “I’m very grateful you were able to talk those silly ideas out of him then!”

“Anything for my Princess! Now!” He waves a dismissive hoof. “Don’t you worry about them!Quickly, inside before we catch ourselves a cold!”

With a gentle hoof guiding my shoulder, Apple rushes me through the doorway… Oh, I do dearly hope there’s no mud on his hooves, this is my nicest dress! But, in just in a blink, we step cleanly through the opening, door snapped shut by twin servants.

“Ah, my Princess,” Apple said, “This is going to be quite the wonderful night. I assure you, it will be quite a treat! You wouldn’t want to miss it for the world!”

“Oh?” I lean a little closer, intrigued. “Do you have something special planned for me?”

He smiles broadly. “My Princess, when do I not have something special for you? You know I would not waste your valuable time with anything less!”

“Of course you wouldn’t,” I say, grinning, “But after so much you’ve done for me, what else could you possibly have in store?”

“No, no,” he shook his head, smiling, “I wouldn’t spoil it for you early!”

I laugh, high and light, “Well, I hope it’s something more than seeing the rest of your little home... lovely as it is, Apple...”
I look around the high hallways, wondering lightly to where I’m being led. I had never been into his mansion. Well, now here I am, and it’s wondrous. Every surface seems to gleam, from the wood varnish to the various treasures decorating the walls, to the brass lights lining every corridor. The floor itself is the only thing that did not shimmer, but only because every hall is lined with rugs, all with the same, vine and apple patterns. To my left, they are large, dominating walls, glass hardly warped or colored at all. I can see out to the dark, cloudy ocean from these windows, and I wonder. Is this place of wood anything like Apple’s mansion in Stringhalt? And what could he see, looking down that wide hill of a city...

I received a nasty jolt, and visibly shiver.

Walking so close to Apple, it’s no wonder he notices my little spasm. He eyes me curiously. “Something the matter, my Princess?”

“Oh, nothing! Nothing at all!” I squeak. I shoved the rest of the memory away forcefully, not wanting to relive my last night in that... city. “Just, you know, such a relief! I had become so tired of seeing marble and alabaster! What wood is this palace constructed from, Apple? It’s rather lovely!”

“Ah, the wood is not that impressive!” Apple loudly boasts, “The treatment and construction, on the other hand, that is special! The very best of Earth Pony engineering!” He seems to swell a little, pride making him visibly taller. “Only Earth Ponies have that personal connection to nature, only they could build so fine a building from this material! The baseboards are all hoof-carved, yes, you see the design of it? And the varnish was hoof-mixed, a very special blend! And! Of course, the rugs are all from the workshop of Twine and Twist, very famous twins, they are. Passed away years ago, yet their technique is unparalleled!”

And with little prompting, he began introducing me to various features of his home, to each section’s varied history and crafters. I nod along, allowing the silly Apple have his talking time.

It’s honestly not long before he leads me into a cozy little sitting room filled with warm firelight and cushioned armchairs. I am slightly surprised to see two ponies already waiting, but certainly, it would not make much sense for me to be the only guest! An old mint-colored mare looks up from her tea half-heartedly, while her dark indigo stallion friend sits stiff, legs tightly crossed and barely moving to watch me enter.

“Ah! Celestia, I’d like you to meet the first half of our dinner party! This is Silver Tail,” the mint mare nods stoically. “She’s the Baron… or Regant, Ha! Well, she’s the leader of Roan Bay. And this is Stonewall,” the indigo jerks his head stiffly. “He has just begun managing the city of Hackamore, very large gem mine there!”

“Very nice to meet you, Princess of Loyalty,” Silver Tail says lightly. Stonewall jerks his head again, and I almost wonder if he can speak. Or move at all.

“Very nice to meet you both as well.” I carefully curtsey to each in turn. “Baron Silver Tail. Ah… Chancellor Stonewall.”

“It’s Foremain Stonewall.” Stonewall grunts. So he can speak!

Silver Tail laughs in her frail little voice. “Apple is the only one who inherits the title ‘Chancellor.’ It’s an old name. Inherited from the tribal days, you see...”

“Ah, I had forgotten!” I exclaim, “‘Chancellor’ once was the high ruler of the Earth Ponies, in the old land!” Eager to display my recognition, I took a chair, yet make myself barely sit on its edge, eyes wide. “Apple! You never told me it was inherited! Is it familial now?”

“Inherited with barely any meaning at all!” Apple barks happily. “And no, not even with an indication of a family lineage! Just the title hanging around the second city’s leader. But!” He claps his hooves, “It’s history departs no real purpose, and I’m just glad the country allows me to retain it, even if I, and my fellows, must publically call myself ‘regnant’...”

“Such a silly rule!” I grin into my hoof, acting secretive, “Was this decided by the First Gods? By the old government?”

“Just by the last one,” Silver Tail says quietly. “Even I, as a local ruler, am hesitate to use the title of ‘baroness.’”

“Well!” I exclaim proudly, clapping my hooves, “As soon as the Second God’s reign begins, I assure you, you will be allowed to have your formal titles!”

Apple clapped heartily at my statement, Silver Tail following meekly behind. Only Stonewall remained quietly, glaring directly at me. I regarded him with my warmest smile, determined to melt away whatever foul mood he’s cooked himself into.

“Stonewall!” I squeak. “Are you also told to suppress your birthright as Baron?”

“No,” he says. “I’m just a Foremain. Worked for the title.”

“Well,” I cheerfully say, “Once my reign begins, I can grant you a Baronhood, if you wish...”

“Such kindness!” Apple booms loudly, “Don’t hand them out so freely, my Princess! you treat titles as if they are candy!”

I beamed at my chancellor, but Stonewall still seems in just as foul a mood. Oh, I suppose there’s no warming him up, if he is determined to act so sour.

In any case, the conversation continues to be just as fascinating. I had been so preoccupied with local and foreign dignitaries, I had forgotten that there were other grand cities that I should establish personal connections with! Certainly nice of Apple to introduce me… but is this the ‘treat’ he was speaking of? Certainly pleasant, but I had expected something, perhaps, a bit more exciting than this.

Of course, my doubts are thrown away with the arrival of the next two guests. Apple steals a glance, beaming in my direction as he goes to shake hooves. The elder seems like a stiff and formal man, pure white from mane to tail, bright blue eyes tinged with an unhealthy-looking pink. His mane falls down one side of his neck, more like a sheet of silk than actual hair.

And the other! The handsome devil himself...!

“Regnant-Baron Blueblood!” Apple shouts cheerfully, “Good you could come, very glad to see you! How was the down main street? Oh, forgive me!” Apple laughed, “In your condition... you teleported, didn’t you?”

“Yes, yes,” Blueblood Sr. grumbles. “Had one of the senior Arch-Unicorns make the jump to your foyer. Many more were eager, but a bit too eager, if you ask me. I doubt any of them have ever been to your home before, how could they hope to me teleport here?”

I sat, high and formal, sipping my tea like nothing in the world mattered. And yet, my heart is to the bursting point, watching the younger Blueblood. He stands calmly next to his father, dressed formal, mind apparently on nothing at all… Oh! Come sit next to me, oh please, sit next to me…!

It’s a bit of a simple desire, certainly. Just a desire to meet with him. Oh, the game was fun. It was fantastic. But now, I am overeager to move along. See what’s beyond it. Must keep my wits about me, though! I would not desire to come out the lesser for this…

And, with a little light chatting and a guiding hoof from Apple, the wonderfully handsome stallion sits next to me, smooth as a dream!

“Hello Baron,” I say calmly, “Rather nice to see you.”

“Likewise, my Princess.” His smile is radiant, and directed right towards me!!! “Thought I would have to suffer Silver Tail’s back complaints alone.”

I giggle loudly, unable to suppress my volume! Oh, Celestia, be calm! Control! Stoic, passive, removed from the moment…!

“So you have visited with the Baroness and Foremain before?” I say at a suitable level.

“Oh, yes. In this room as well. This is not the first of Apple little dinner parties I’ve attended. Preparing for the position, you see…”

I jump, giddy and unable to help myself, “The position of attending noble’s parties?”

He beams, and I die of happiness. “Yes,” he says, “That’s the one, Princess Celestia.”

“Well, that’s everybody!” Apple claps his hooves loudly. “Dearest guests! I recommend we head to the dining room! My staff is very eager and proud to display their cooking skills! Shouldn’t keep them waiting now, should we? Ha!”

I remain in my chair for a precious few moment longer than the rest of the party, daring to hope that Blueblood will help me from my seat. But alas! My delay only assures that I am left to walk at the back of the party. Ah, Blueblood… you wouldn’t make it that easy for me, now would you! Noble game or no, I’m cheered all the same.

We’re led to a room with a broad, low table with fat, almost benchlike chairs. For every chair, there was a heavy, silken cushion. Very plush, most likely overstuffed with down… I vaguely wonder if the feathers were inefficiently plucked by Earth Ponies. I suppose they weren’t, seeing as how Apple isn’t bragging about it to me. Silver lines the entire table, carefully set and placed, empty and bereft of food.

I wonder, peering over the shoulders of my elders, why is it taking so long to get into the room? In fact, most of them seem to be moving away from the door, standing in the hallway. I think to ask Blueblood (Yes! Another excuse to have a conversation with the noble stallion!) But Stonewall backs away, and I can finally see what the holdup is. A cloaked pony stands before Apple in the dining room, regarding him with stern eyes.

“Applebark!” Apple exclaims, “You’re not wearing your dress! All of our guests have arrived, you know!”

The mare sighs heavily, “I’m sorry, but this afternoon’s Market attack…”

“That hasn’t been sorted out yet?!” Apple shakes his head and chuckled. “I thought you’d be used to this by now! What’s taking so long?”

“Questionings, interrogations… You could have sent a few more people to clean up, you know. Six liters of smooze still hasn’t been recollected. No doubt that foal gang stole the bags again…”

Another stab of memories I willfully ignore. I jerk my head away, determined to make conversation with whoever else was around. Alas! In my rush away from the door, Stonewall is nearest… And I got the faintest impression that he may not be inclined to chat… Perhaps Blueblood… no, looks like he’s chatting with his father. Would it be rude…?

“… They’ve gotten rather uppity,” Applebark continues lamely, “Since they’ve found some kind of mare as a rallying point…”

“Silver Tail!” I squeal, “So! What countries does Roan Bay do boat trade with? I never realized we did trade by sea!”

“Our largest exports have to travel by sea,” she mumbles, “Carts would take too long, too many ponies out of the country. Boats take gems to the Zebra nation, mostly… Some also leave to found trade with fledgling countries... Show of good faith, you see…”

“So nice that I was able to meet you, then, Silver Tail,” I say with a little nod, “So nice of Apple to introduce us, for when I come to power, I will have to see for myself someday.”

“Yes, so nice of Chancellor Apple,” I jump a little, Stonewall hovering at my left shoulder, and speaking not-so-quietly, “Showing off to us all how he’s still the top Earth Pony in the country, more like…”

Silver Tail gives a guilty sort of grin, but I turn on that gruff man and give him my biggest and broadest annoyed smile.

“Not very smart of you!” I chide, “Insulting one of the Princesses’ best friends!”

Stonewall regards me levelly, “There’s no subtlety to you at all, is there?”

“Stonewall…” Silver Tail hisses quietly.

“Yes, yes, Applebark! Just make sure you’re back before dessert! Now then!” Apple loudly clapped his hooves. “Silver Tail, your seat is here…” Silver Tail nods quickly at me, then she and Stonewall go to take their seats. Finally, we politely found our way into the room. Apple rushes around the table, voice occasionally muffled as he pulled out chairs with his teeth. “Princess…” He trots to the head and graciously pulls the seat out for me.

“Oh, no, Apple!” I giggle emptily, mood a still little punctured. “Tis your own home! I am merely one of your guests!”

“Ha!” Apple barks. “Don’t worry, I’m stealing the seat on your right hoof, if nobody will fight me for it!” Stonewall laughs dourly at Apple’s statement, and I forcefully take my seat. “Now then! Blueblood the Junior…”

With a tiny little shock, Apple seats my rival to my left. I grin at my chancellor. Oh, what was he playing at! He winks, already broad grin growing a little wider. That devious rapscallion!

“I’m sorry, Blueblood,” I say, feigning sympathy, “Having to suffer a seat to my left…”

He smiles serenely, leaning casually against one arm. “Still quite an honor to be seated by the Princess.”

Honor!!! I can only just barely contain my squeals.

~¤~

I get back late that night, beaming, not one single thing able to burst my happy bubble of joy. For once, I had a long, involved talk with Baron Blueblood! He laughed at the things I laughed at, received my concerns with care, told me that I was rather pretty! There were even hints, as little line of breadcrumbs, leading to a possible date! A private garden picnic! Friends only!

Goodness, no dour news can possibly hurt me now! Me and Blueblood, Blueblood and I! The thought makes me dizzy all down my body. Oh, but I LOVE the feeling! Certainly, it is the dizziness of love! Or perhaps, I giggle, the sway of too much cider! Goodness, I kept my composure, but I am probably bright, bright pink right now…!

Failing to assure Apple that I would have a safe stumble home, I am surprised to see that same, haggard old Illuminator waiting for me at the castle, four guards at his sides.

“Ohohohoh,” I laughed, wobbling slightly, “Were you wait~ing~ for meeee? It’s so far past… past midnight, ye~es?”

“Tell me,” he asked sternly, “What do your friends mean to you?”

“Wha?” I giggled loudly. “What kind’a question’s that now?”

The Illuminator’s eyes froze on my neck, cold and impassive. I gave him my kindest smile, trying to not tip to the left. The old stallion grunted, and turned to the four guards at his side.

“Escort Miss Celestia back to her room. Make sure she stays there.”

LIII : A Canterlot Confrontation

The Steadfast Sky : A Canterlot Confrontation
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Luna~

It gnawed at me, even when I was supposed to be raising the moon. Discord… where could he have gone? Why is he gone? Why now? It had nothing to do with Celestia, that was for sure. Was he just avoiding his duties? Though, of all the things he skipped and skeeved, he didn’t dare miss that one on job. But I cast my voice up the tower, and saw a sort of shadow jump at the sound… It was just one of the younger Illuminators, sent to ring the bell in his stead. So that doesn’t answer anything… Was Discord embarrassed, avoiding our next meeting?

Or… or maybe he was avoiding me….

There were some startled shouts from around me. The Illuminators, horns pulsing and sparking and raising the moon, had begun to skid forward, pulled forward by the weight of the moon. Eep! Whoops! My own horn burned, and I resumed lifting and throwing the thing across the nighttime sky. Yeah… yeah, that um, seems like enough momentum. Uh…

Not the time to think about Discord, Luna! Jeez… I haven’t made a mistake that bad in months! Even the other Illuminators didn’t quite know what to do, the closing song coming in a stumbling start, eyes pointed at the sky as if they expected the moon to fall back down again. But if anything, it was going a tad bit too fast, slow arc almost visible to the naked eye. Well um. I’ll fix any speed errors in the morning. Yes.

I rushed from the ceremony that night, rattling off places I should check for him. His room (empty), The Illuminators (couldn’t say where he was), the um… well, I guess he could be a lot of non-obvious places too. I roved up and down the halls of Canterlot castle, just looking in corners, wondering if Discord would pop from a doorway with a grin and a new spell. I thought, briefly, that I should ask Celestia, or a guard, or something. But of course Celestia had a thing, and wasn’t around. And the guards just followed after me when I asked, not even trying to help look.

Finally, tired and brain-dead, I wandered into my own room for the fifth time that night, and decided to just go to bed. I collapsed on top of the comforter, limply trying to kick off my shoes and wriggle out of my little frock. They’re probably very gross and sweaty, but… clothes. I don’t care about clothes. Who cares about clothes?

Where? Where could he be, where? I’m scared now. I really am. What did he do? Did he get stunned somewhere by an angry Celestia? Did he fly off without me? Did he get caught in an avalanche?! What could have kept him from his tower? If he was hurt or trapped somewhere, couldn’t make it to ring the bell…

I shoot up, finally realizing.

When Discord is gone by accident, the bell doesn’t ring. The Illuminators don’t send someone when they know the bell will ring. But today, there was an Illuminator in the tower… And slowly, staring down at my pillow, I understand.

The Illuminators knew Discord would be gone.

And they LIED to me about it!

It was like a small flame was reignited in my heart. What have I been doing, moping and doping all day?! That was stupid. That didn’t help me find Discord at all! I should go and ask them again, not let them give me no for an answer… But what time is it, midnight? I could ask in the morning…

No! no, no, no! I hop out of bed, find myself stunned to be standing. I don’t care how late it is! And I don’t care that I’m tired from looking! I’m full of energy, positively electric now! I don’t even care if no Illuminators are in the library! I’ll… I’ll sleep there, I will!

I charge for the door, leaving my shoes and dress behind. I burst through two of my guards, leaving them to gallop after my tail.

The streets were brightly moon-lit and quiet, the only sound my hoof beats and the pounding of the befuddled guards behind me. It was actually nice, running, I don’t know when I did that last. Princesses do not run, I think. An early lesson, one I had taken in after so long… I galloped even faster, as if to make up for lost time.

Finally, the ostentatious… dumb library minarets were in my sights. I skidded around that last corner, charged up the marble steps, and I bashed in the doors—!

I slammed into the dark wood and rebounded, spinning down the steps.

Alright. Alright, that hurt quite a bit. Why did I think body slamming the doors was a good idea? Luna, you’re acting sort’ve hotheaded, and that may not be a good thing. You’re dizzy, and you’re tired, and you’re acting irrational…

And yet, I laugh a little. It probably looked a little funny, just slamming into the doors like that. But I guess I should do this like a Princess… Stomping, um, daintily, as I walked, I tromped back up the stairs and bashed it ten times with a hoof.

“Illuminators! Please answer! I’ve got questions for you! Open up! … Please?” I stopped, thinking. Then, I started shouting again, “I know its late, but certainly, there’s got to be somebody here! Well?! Don’t make me break in! Because… because I will! I swear, I’ll do it! So – oh!”

“Princess of Laughter!” With a loud click, one door slung outwards by a hair. A haggard apprentice stuck his head out the crack. “Do you have any idea what hour it is?”

“Past midnight, I think.” I glance up at the moon, and certainly it’s past it’s peak. But given that I threw it a little hard… Oh, that doesn’t matter now!

“It most certainly is!” the apprentice huffed, “Now, young Princesses should get some rest! It’s not becoming to stay up at this late hour.”

“Well what are you doing up so late?!” I demanded. “You’re only a little bit older than me!”

He fumbled for a second, huffing and puffing, all flabbergasted. “Well… Well I have important duties… Business, you know…”

“Okay,” I nodded shortly, “So what you’re doing is more important than what a Princess is trying to do?”

“That was not my intention, nor do I intend to, to… to” again, he fumbled with his words, “To exchange riddles! I have very important transcriptions to write!”

I stood smart, tall and proud, trying to look properly intimidating. “Then go and fetch me someone else! Someone who won’t treat their Princess so rudely!”

I thought being reminded of whom he talks to would shake him from his tired rudeness. Even though, I realize guiltily, if anyone is rude here, it’s probably me… No! No, Luna! Don’t let anything stop you! Something fishy is going on, and you have the right to find out what it is!

Well, my rudeness may have stopped me at the gate. The Illuminator’s eyes narrowed. He glanced down at my Element, standing silently. Finally, he slowly said, “Yes. You are our Princess.”

I almost wanted to laugh. “Of course I am! What, are you expecting an imposter?!”

He huffed again, taking his sweet time in responding. Finally, “Do you honestly think it would not be in your best interest to get some sleep?”

“Oh for heaven’s sake!” I cried, “I’m coming in already!”

My horn burned on my forehead, just one, hot flash. I didn’t have that far to go. With a jerk of my head, I dove into the shadows of the door, popping instantly out the other side. The darkness rippled like water, quickly falling back in place.

“What?” He gaped, backing away from me, “When did you learn to do that?”

“What, you think Discord’s the only one practicing magic? Now tell me where he is…” My horn flared again, and shadows boiled giddily around my feet. “Or I’ll throw you in the lake!”

“Princess of Laughter!”

There was a shout from above me, and I spun around. The head Illuminator, Ivory Inkwell, was running across an upper balcony, staring coldly down at us.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” he demanded.

“Looking for Discord,” I explained simply. “And I know that you know where he is!”

The old Illuminator stopped, frozen to the spot. I thought, for a wildly tired second, that I had cornered him! But he didn’t seem to be looking me in the eye, or even avoiding my gaze. No, he was staring at my feet, actually looking pretty terrified at the coiling shadows.

“You will desist casting this moment, Princess! This is a place of peace!”

“Okay!” I let the spell drop. Simply, I said, “So that’s done. Now where’s Discord?”

For a little bit, the old Illuminator just seemed to stare at me as my horn, and strangely overheated body gradually cooled. Why was he stalling? Was he waiting for something? Maybe seeing if I’d cast another spell? I felt like it! Energy filled me like it hadn’t in months and months and months…

Carefully, no longer angry or afraid, the Illuminator asked, “Why do you seek Kindness here?”

“Because it’s weird that he’s not blabbing about magic at me,” I said, “And also, you know that he’s gone!”

“An assumption…”

“No!” I shouted, “When Discord forgets to ring the bell, you always yell at him. Always tell him to warn you, to get somebody else up there! And today, you had somebody up there in the tower. And that means that you were warned about where Discord had gone!”

I stood, triumphant, my accusation hanging in the air like the irrefutable proof that it was. Illuminator Inkwell was pretty level-headed, but I just knew, he was stewing right under his hood.

“When you say it’s strange,” he said slowly, “That he’s not babbling magic…”

“Yeah, he really, really likes to show off his experiments.”

“Do you… enjoy them?”

“Are you avoiding my questions?” I shoot back, “Because this sounds like you’re avoiding my questions. Where’s Discord?”

“I am simply wondering why you seek him.”

“What do you mean why? Why not?”

“So this is something done out of boredom…?”

I boggled at him. “Why do you care?”

“The reason,” he said simply, still so calm and collected. “Is very important.”

“Okay. Why’s the reason important?”

“Depending on how you answer,” he said carefully, “It will determine if I tell you where Discord is or not.”

“Mmmm… Nope!” My happily horn flared, and I dove through the floor, tearing through the sticky shadows to shoot up beside the old Illuminator. He stumbled back, stunned by my sudden appearance. “I’m not playing around with dumb questions, or letting them determine whether or not I see my friend! Why are you asking these dumb quest—”

“Di-disrespect!” he spat loudly. “Know your place!”

“I thought my place was ‘being the Princess,’” I quipped, “Doesn’t that mean you should do everything I say?”

“I, we,” he sputtered. His eyes were wide, looked like they were about to pop from his head. He stammered for a moment more, backing quickly away from me.

Finally, with a crack in his voice, he cried, “We already have served one tyrant! We will not suffer another! Guards! Guards!”

The two guards who had run through the streets after me shoved their way through the open door, knocking aside the open-mouthed apprentice. I watched them, far below, as they charged around, heads whipping back and forth, looking for the stairs up.

“What? Why? Why are you calling the guards? Hey! YOU TWO!” My voice boomed without me knowing it. The two guards froze stiff. “Will you relax a moment?! I’m not doing anything wrong!”

“Brash! Irresponsible! Aimless renegade!” The Head Illuminator sputtered, “You as well! All of you, already corrupting! All of you just a few quick steps away from the darkness! I will not have it! We will not serve more NIGHTMARES!”

“I’m not a tyrant!” I laughed, despite myself, “I just want to know what Discord is!”

“Obsessive behavior!” he spat, “Random spurts of magic… I ask you simple questions, and you refuse to answer!”

“You know I could say the same of you!” I shot back, “Withholding information about Discord from me…!”

“Your ‘friend’ is hopefully not beyond our help!” he shouted, “And I dearly dream the same holds for you!”

With that, his horn flared, and I just barely ducked into the shadows. I had seen my sister prepare a flash spell plenty of times to know when to duck away!

But no flash came. Instead, a set of lights swirled around the corner. They bloomed, formed a pale pattern, like the design on a stained glass window. Swiftly, they shot and circled behind my head, creating an illusion almost three feet wide…

I turned to try and get a better look, and the picture dragged in the air. It snagged on a bookshelf, passing through them like it was caught in mud.

Okay, not an illusion? What the heck was this?

“The stairs are here! Quickly! … What do you mean, neither of you has a lasso?!”

I think that was my cue to escape. With a small difficulty, I dug another well of shadows under my feet, connecting it to the first place I could think of, the gardens…

But the shadows under me weren’t growing deep enough. Of course! The light was shoving shadows away! I yanked at shadows further away, pushing them under my feet, sinking painfully slow under the floor…

And then the little illusion halo snagged right before my head sunk beneath the floor.

“C’mon!” I shouted. My horn burned in my skull as a guard stumbled around the corner, just in time to watch me vanish…

…And in a sickeningly long drop, I fell heavily onto the floor below, right at the feet of the other guard.

“Please come quietly, Princess!” he cried.

“What?! NO!” I shouted back, “I asked some questions, that’s all! What is wrong with you guys?!”

I tried to shove up to my feet, but my knees wobbled. The guard drew closer, waving his spear weakly.

With a snort, I slapped shadows over his eyes, and opened a well under his hooves. He shouted, tugging at his feet, as if they were sticking in mud. I charged passed, head pulled back as the halo sunk through the shelves, through the pony’s body… How far could this weird binding spell go, removed from its master? If I could just get out the door…!

I ran for it, finally free of the bookshelves, in the open cathedral-like hall of the entrance. Illuminator desks whizzed by me, the only resistance being wind. And the little assistant, just a bit older than me, yet so much more frail.

“I’m warning you!” he shouted, horn flaring. I didn’t bother to answer, just charged forward, horn and Element flaring.

There was a blast of light, and liquid splattered in front of me. Not just on my eyes or body, but all across the marble, bright blue and green. Thick, sticky, and slippery, stinking of oil…

I snorted, paint jammed up my nose, leaking into my eyes. I shook my head, and the weight of the halo threw me off balance. I couldn’t see, eyes shut against the stinging. My aching foot crumpled. My shoulder slammed into the floor. My back bounced off the door, the giant things shivering and shaking on its hinges.

“Very good, Color Palette! Yes! Here! Over here!”

I winced as I stood, but I wouldn’t let that stop me! The door had swung open from my body slam, thick and heavy as it was. I shoved and wriggled my way through that opening, side scraping on the wood, halo slowing me more than anything else.

But through I went! I took one stumbling moment to swipe the paint from my eyes, a second moment more to pick a direction, and just one second more to build up speed, charge off into the moonlit streets of Canterlot.

LIV : A Canterlot Study Session

The Steadfast Sky : A Canterlot Study Session
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Discord~

Bored, tired too. Worked myself up into a rage multiple times, just thinking about how dumb this is. Thinking about Luna too, wondering what she’s doing. How she’d react to finding out I’m trapped. Thought about her actions realistically. Thought about her actions completely unrealistically longer. Scolded self for getting caught up in my fantasies, then returned to gnawing on the silver metal mesh numbing my hands.

Bored.

Tired.

Tired and bored enough to consider the impossible. See, at first, I felt like these were the options:

Option one: Continue staying bored and tired until Illuminators give this up. Could take a while. On the other hand, could really show them how stupid this idea was…

Option two: Wreck shit, and get stuck here forever. I don’t think so.

Option three: Apologize profusely for everything. (Tried that once when an illuminator brought me food. Was ignored, and felt even more humiliated than before.)

Option four: Just suck it up and read one of these stupid books. I still find it hard to read sometimes, even when I really want to. And I really don’t want to. Not even enough to pretend like I’m learning. But uhg, if it gets me out of this stupid room faster…

I flopped on my side, rolling over and making a big show of it to absolutely nobody. Rolled over again, numb wings smacking into the bottom bookshelf. A few loose books tumbled off, one bouncing by my head, the other landing on my gut.

“O-okay,” I wheezed, “I know which book I’m not going to read.” I scraped my way over to the other book, grunting as I flipped on my stomach. What is this one anyway? Magic and Generosity? Yeah, whatever. I slammed my numb fists over the cover, dragging it under my forearms.

It was a while before I could worm my way into a position suited to my reading habits and excessive boredom. Eventually I wriggled onto my side, propping the book open with books and the table leg… Usually I’d have little illusions holding the book open, turning the pages for me. But nope. Magic bad. I ripped through pages with my snout, keeping each page open by shoving the sections behind more propping books. Might damage the paper this way but… screw it.

I realized almost upon opening of my first volume that the contents were exceedingly boring. “Letters,” huh? More like memos tossed between bureaucratic departments. If the books weren’t wrapped and sanctified by religious bullshit, I’d say these were exchanges between the six most boring paper pushers ever.

I mean…

“Generosity
Outbreak of cutie pox in S. Westbuck. Three victims known. Send healers, amount to personal discretion.
Magic”

“Magic
Expect more victims, sent four healers, including researcher North Wind. Pulling him early from research on Dragon Wart, but hope to find cure for the pox. I’m asking Loyalty for enforcers for quarantine. Probably need fifteen, unless too occupied? Will report.
Generosity”

“Magic
Guarding border from windegos. Sent five for quarantine of cutie pox.
Loyalty”

“Loyalty
Report amount of windego sightings.
Magic”

“Magic
Snow is especially heavy this year.
Loyalty”

“Loyalty
Report amount of windego sightings immediately
Send ten more Pegasi to Generosity or I will cut this campaign’s funding.

Magic”

“Magic
Full amount requested sent on way. I expect them to return within fortnight. There’s no need to be so rash.
Loyalty”

A sick thought hit me not a half-hour into this reading session. A lesson I don’t know if the Illuminators intended me to learn.
Someday, this will be me. Me. Sitting behind a desk. Shifting through reams of treasury reports and trying to write a yearly letter to the foreign ambassadors about the exact exchange rate of our currencies. I will write brief, curt notes to Celestia and Luna, asking about tax figures and weather reports. I will lightly threaten them with more paperwork, and they will tell me I’m being too hot-headed.

I just sit there a moment. Let the thought sink in.

Hahaha, No!

I dove for the shelves, tossing my feet and tail around, knocking volumes to the ground. I flipped all of them open, tearing my way through the pages, demanding the First Gods to have more interesting lives than they actually had. You were all powerful super beings granted the power to personally save the country with each rise of your mighty wings! Please! There must be SOMETHING you did with your awe-inspiring powers! Something interesting, something impressive, something grand and creative! I know when I’m a God, I’ll do something more than push papers around and make sure the seasons turn on time!

I ripped through all the facts I knew about the first gods, which is pretty much nothing. A picture came to me of a hysterical Celestia, and oh yes, that’s nice, remembering when Celestia yelled at me. Uhg. But she said something about those First Gods. Something bad… Yeah, didn’t Celestia say once that Loyalty fell first last time? Fell to what? Nightmare? Whatever, something interesting happened at the end of Loyalty’s life, that’s good enough!

I clumsily dragged over the last volume with Loyalty’s name on it and skipped nearly to the end. What are your last words, General Hurricane?

“Ed. note: addressed to The God of Magic
Of course you wouldn’t understand. I am born to battle, commanding is my birthright. Do you know the shame of it, sitting here, protecting a border against an attack that never comes? Yet, to think, you dare accuse this of being pointless, simply for that reason. I do believe my grandfather is rolling in his grave! Taking away our defenses, allowing any force to simply wander in! We are still not certain the windegos will not follow. And I refuse to budge until either every windego is dead, or another threat comes to my attention.
COMMANDER Hurricane, GENERAL of Equestria’s Army, and above all, GOD and ELEMENT of Loyalty”

“Loyalty
I will not let you start a foreign war over issues with your lineage. I am not recruiting another generation of our subjects to stand guard on a border that’s been quiet for almost sixty years. I am disbanding the Equestrian Royal Army. Our only need is for an internal defense force. I dearly hope that your pride allows you enough room to handle a smaller force.
Magic

Ed. notes:

This represents the last known correspondence of the Element of Loyalty.”

Really? That was it? I turned the page over, and wondered why there’s more in the book…

“Events:

It is unknown what exactly happened to General Hurricane, but conclusions can be drawn from Magic’s extensive notes on the matter. The God’s Element turned to stone, and yet, the alicorn Hurricane retained his Element-independent powers. He used his magic of command, putting his entire army into a mesmerized trance, and marched them south into Equestria. He attacked the northern countryside for three days before Magic arrived on the scene, two days more before the rest of the gods arrived to help. Their battles are scattered and chaotic, scars still scored into the landscape itself. Even with the combined efforts of the five remaining gods, Hurricane would not, or could not die. It was still a fortnight before it was decided General Hurricane should become imprisoned in stone, set to sleep within his casing forevermore. Those under his control, once released, suffered no ill effects, nor showed any signs of reversion to darkness. The northern areas are currently being rebuilt with full attention by Generosity and Kindness. The Element itself was recovered with little difficulty, since reverted into it’s original, gemlike form.

It is not known exactly what made the General transform so suddenly and so violently. The following is a summary of many speculative theories. (list of recommended reading pending)

It is a fact that the Element of Loyalty itself turned to stone, and it was then that General Hurricane underwent a full transformation. However, many report his appearance changing before his Element broke. Before the sundering of his Element, Loyalty became moody, irrational, and obsessive about finding an enemy to fight. His mane and tail, always in the form of faded blue-gray clouds, had become blacker and more stormy in his moods. His jade coat darkened to a murky, swamp green, his own cutie mark seemed neon on his skin. At this point, he became uncontrollable, seeking combat.

It was at first assumed, erroneously, that a dark force unknown took ahold of his spirit, one with negative power enough to override the good in Loyalty’s heart, severing his ties. However, if such a spirit existed, it had rooted itself deep into Loyalty’s soul, and even the Five were not able to exorcise it.

Another theory exists that the Element itself released with it a wellspring of dark energies, holding that for all the good they collect and channel, it cannot help but collect and channel equal amounts of evil and chaos. Our god of Magic thinks this theory is the most erroneous of all, saying, I quote:

“If the division between purity and sin was as simple as separating oil from the water, then we would easily be able extract menace from mind, and create a paradise free from all darkness.”

Instead, our Most Wise Alicorn has proposed his own theory, rooted deep in facts and science as his domain entails. Our God of Magic asks us to consider Loyalty’s physical makeup as a being of magic. Naturally, magic is swayed by the mind and mood. And once the internal “spell” had been cast towards hate and rage, it would be difficult, if not impossible to stop its nearly infinite self-powered momentum. Glorious Magic still yet hopes to pry Loyalty from his own fears, but until that day, Hurricane will be set to rest in a personal shrine.

Praise the Alicorns, may their wisdom grow ever more infinite, and may the Elements one day be reunited in peace.

~Head Illuminator Gemstone Inlay”

Scrawled at the bottom, in the space under the text, seemed to be a note written in pencil.

“Process now known to be corruption of petrichor. The fallen god, a Nightmare. Volume of discourse still pending. ~ Ill. IvIn. Witness to Nightmare Honesty”

I turned this slowly in my head a little bit. Just trying to let it sink in…

And a blandly ask myself, ‘how’s that going to help me out of here?’

Okay, I know that they think I’m going to go crazy like Loyalty. I’m going to corrupt, become a Nightmare and uh… immortally rage at them, I guess? I didn’t really have any rage until I was thrown in here, and even that phase has passed me by. I just want to go sleep in a real bed. Maybe have some cake, and definitely cast a couple interesting spells. And also maybe—

Okay, if I keep going, I’ll just start listing all the things I can’t have. C’mon Discord. What have we learned?

Eh.

Pretend to be polite the next time the Illuminators come in?

Oh boy. That’ll work.

“BLAAH! I HATE YOU.” I shouted at the doorframe. No reason. Just needed to shout at something.

So… I guess what’s next? Where was there likely something both interesting, and also something they expected me to learn?

Well.

I was Kindness.

And my greatest enemy right now was The First, More Assholish Kindness...

“Alright, Shadow Stallion.” I wriggled up the shelves, balancing on my elbows as the wood groaned under me. “Time to learn all your dark secrets and deepest desires via mundane bullcrap. Let’s see here. Shall I look at your letters with Magic? Or Maybe Generosity? Possibilities, do they ever end?” I laughed hollowly. “Looks like you talked a lot with Generosity… Ooh, but there’s only one book with Honesty! What, did you not like him? Or did you just not work together very much? That’s boring, so it’s probably far more likely…”

I pulled down five volumes, numbly flipped one open, and felt my eyes instantly glaze.

“Yep. All memos. I should have known.”

Time to go back to my super reading technique, and try to read everything at once. With each swipe of my tail, pages folded, spines cracked, librarians everywhere wept silently. One book made a desperate bid for freedom, spinning away under the table to never be seen or heard from again.

I skimmed a few pages of the first Generosity/Kindness books, and almost instantly, I wanted to laugh. It was a lot of short letters and memos, yes. But a ton of them were about a much more funny and pathetic topic: Kindness constantly begging Generosity to help him with magic.

“Generosity
I’m sorry I still don’t quite get this. I don’t know how you can pick this up so easily. You were once an Earth Pony like me, weren’t you? Magic says you’re doing really well. Maybe you were a unicorn in a past life, and you inherited the muscle memory.
Kindness”

“Kindness
Past lives aside, I work often with unicorns. Medical magic was part of my studies, even if I couldn’t cast a thing. I knew the theory, so for me, it’s a matter of application.
You just need to learn the theory, is all. Have you read the books I recommended? Revisiting them has been a great help to me, certainly they should be able to help you in the same way.
Generosity”

“Generosity
I tried to.
I’m sorry. I really tried to. I’m sorry, I’m not good enough at these dry books.
Kindness”

“Kindness
There’s no need to apologize, you’re doing well for someone still trying to get a hang of this. You’re much too hard on yourself sometimes, Kindness.
Generosity”

“Generosity
I’m sorry. I’ll try and do better.
Kindness”

Great. Just great! I laughed, but... Is this what the Illuminators expect of me? To be the god of pathetic, simpering apologies? Or do they hope I’ll do better, and not become the God of Overcast Skies…

Uhg. I flipped through more of the memos, but the more I read, the stranger it felt. For one… it got a little personal. He started talking about his old life as a dog breeder, wondering why an idiot like him was chosen, relating tiny things about his day and duties… It became a private journal, related through little letters.

And this was the pony who would one day become a ruler to torture and oppress a nation...

I began flipping through the pages in massive chunks, pretending like I could stop and read if anything grabbed me. Of course nothing did, and I abandoned the Generosity books altogether. Instead, I skip to the middle, the end of the small, half-filled volume of Honesty’s. Through all the blank pages, almost instantly, something catches my eye. A handwritten letter, or a draft of an essay. It’s sloppier and messier than the rest of the plain memos, broken into pieces, sometimes written at a trailing slant.

I glance at the first line.

“The fact that I can still remember my name is such a relief.”

I nodded. Course Kindness forgot his name, his entire role as god sucked his whole identity away.

“Glorious, wonderful, beautiful God of Magic, Praise the Alicorns, may their wisdom grow ever more infinite”

So this wasn’t Kindness. Just some Illuminator writing in his book. I turned back to the proper page, and continued to read.

“Has asked me to record my account of what happened in the library.” In pencil, he’s written, “I have spoiled the page in fear. But God of Magic insists I write without draft. Certainly, if any pony of the Alicorns understands the importance of certain ways one begins to construct he”

And, back in pen, “Please. I dearly hope this won’t turn out looking ugly or completely unreadable. Forgive me. I am recording a journal, not a historic account. Take it into consideration in constructing the official record, do not sully the page with my rambling.

Loyalty had just barely

It was not long after Loyalty had fallen.

Nobody knew what had happened. Theories were ar abound, rumors bouncing back and forth. I think, for the most part, people assumed it was some dark spirit from the north. Wonderful Alicorn of Magic had his own theories, but most weren’t privy or

That was what happened to Loyalty, we thought. It was some shadow of the past country taking hold, corrupting him from within. It’s rather terrifying, a being as powerful as a God. Falling like that, so suddenly.So

[i~~]Honesty came not long after~~

And went, as well

Events: March the 12th, Year 53 of the Country Equestria

Honesty arrived in our library, grandly. I had never seen him before, not up close. In Canterlot, I dealt most with Magic, then with Kindness. Occasionally with Laughter, and rarely, with Generosity.

Each of them, so grand. I had known a few to pass by the library. I was very impressed with Honesty’s tall stature, his mane in particular. Magic’s stars, they’re something so abstract. Kindness’ grassy mane made him appear almost like a living section of the ground, come to life. Yet, Honesty’s rustling mane seemed to be constructed from folded and braided paper. They hung thickly around his shoulders, on both sides, two heavy sheets.

That, I thought, is a god. That is my god, reigning over the aspect of truth, of intelligence, of the mind and discovery. Of the matter of books, and their purpose.

That day, he asked the ten of us to help him study, and not a single thought crossed us to deny a god, Our God… What reason was there to hesitate? At first, it was such an honor. Later

Lack of choice really It’s when

Forgive me

He wanted books on all topics, trying to find an answer to what happened to Loyalty. Magic’s answer was not enough. A theory was not enough. He wanted to know everything we knew about the Elements, which, I will admit, is very little. The Gods were the First we had of this ilk, and though other countries had their gods, selection was so different… and the Elements themselves, truly, a mystery… Yet, he was sure, there was a book on the subject, treated this matter as if every answer was written down somewhere. This quite simply wasn’t the case! There’s so much that still hasn’t made its way into books, hard as we try. Loyalty, the Elements, the science of magic, these were all things so new! What book would there be, explaining everything?

He couldn’t accept that.

Such a silly thing, unable to get an answer to a question. Having incomplete, untested hypotheses.

Was that really all? I I ask that now, the first death still so so very crisp

“Is this what I have to do?!” Honesty screamed, “Scared, you little scholars?! Do you think I’m kidding around?! Bring me notes, scratches on stone if you have to! I NEED MORE INFORMATION!”

I don’t even think

He really knew he had just killed Velvet

In my

Was that really all, Honesty

Were you just so afraid

I couldn’t give him books that didn’t exist! And yet, that didn’t please him. He became so so irrational He His coat was already such a deep, ruddy red-orange. And it started to take on this sick color. Like curdled blood, cutie mark turning the sick green of spoiled milk.

He was

He was actually delighted when he began to corrupt. When he decided this was something the body does, all on its own. I can still recall his exact volume, the sound of his voice when he realized what was happening. He said:

“Wonderful! Now I can study the effects firsthand!”

He had what he wanted

Hunched over a parchment, I witnessed, the only witness to that

He was scribbling on a parchment, ripping the paper, breaking quills. No ink, just gouging the wood of the table. I watched as his coat became darker and darker. As his mane blackened, began to smolder, smell like

The books around him smoked, embers eating their way through

I ran.

Service to a god. I wanted no longer to serve that god.

Laughter was there, wondering what “the old bookworm” was up to. I couldn’t tell him. He laughed, calling Honesty’s birth name as he entered the stacks. “Bookends, Bookends, what have you gotten worked up about this time? Bookends, Bookends, you managed to scare a poor little librarian. Are you proud?”

And when he returned, Laughter was silent, eyes hollow and distant, unable to really process what he saw, for it

It was a nightmare. A living, breathing, terrifying nightmare. I knew then, I would die. Standing there, thinking, I would die. To just think that, with acceptance. I just know, I’ll turn around, and there he’ll be. Standing there, books smoldering around him, finally deciding that he would kill me. Even as I saw Magic take him away, solid as a stone, I know, I know he’ll come back and kill me.”

I was leaning in too close, elbows aching from propping me up to long, chin feeling the radiating cold. I read that paragraph again, and then a third time. Each time, just living it.

I said, just to myself… That’s a feeling I know well. Not just from when I lived in the castle. Not just when I was avoiding the wrath of the adult Draconequus. But when I encountered the Shadow Stallion, when he was bearing down on us. Stepping through our light and attacking without pause. I ran. Yet never, not for a second, did I think I would escape. Not even when we were out of the city did I truly think we’d survive…

There wasn’t much more to the story. I glanced at the last two lines, wondering, if there was more to this…

“I can’t stand to work in this library anymore. This place will be the death of me.

Ed: Account of Apprentice Ivory Inkwell, sole surviving witness to the Fall of the Element of Honesty”

There was a loud click behind me. My guts turned over, and I whipped around. A bored illuminator had just shoved food in the door, only stopping because he noticed me move. He eyed me for a moment, then went to close the door…

“No!” I shouted. I threw myself sideways. He panicked, and the door slammed shut. “No, I—!”

Stupid! This is the lesson! This will help me out, won’t it?! I’m not waiting another several hours…!

I wriggled over to the door and banged into it, the lock clicking loudly over my head. “Can you tell Ivory Inkwell that I’m sorry for what happened to him?!” It’s quiet in the moment after my statement. I could only hear myself breathing. Was he listening? Did he leave? I shoved my nose in the lock, and began to shout, “Inkwell witnessed Harmony fall, right? Tell him I understand what it feels like, being confronted with that fear! I understand why he’d be afraid of me!” I pressed my ear against the door, yet I still couldn’t hear a thing.

“Okay?” I shouted, “Can you tell him?”

My heart beat a little faster. I heard the faint clip-clopping of hooves on stone. Was that the Illuminator? Did he stay and listen to what I had to say? I dropped down from the door, settling against it. Well, whether he heard me or not, I had no way of knowing if that was the proper lesson.

So… should I keep reading?

I groaned loudly and dragged over my lunch plate. After I eat, another study session awaits me! Joooy.

I picked up a roll with my tail, bringing it to my mouth. Welp, there’s an unintended lesson for the Illuminators. Forcing me to not use my hands is making me pretty dexterous with my tail. Not like I could stand to keep scarfing my plate like some dog…

There was a loud click over my head.

I couldn’t move until I felt the door pushing on my back. I threw myself across the room, trying to finish off the roll as fast as I possibly could. Because there he stands. Head Illuminator Ivory Inkwell, towering over me with eyes cold as ice.

Is this it? Did I do well, have I proved myself?! Am I free?!

“Prince,” he said. His eyes darted down to the scattered books, “It is good to hear you are studying.”

“Uh, yea’! Jus’ uh... tryin’ t’ learn, unnerstan’” I swallowed the rest of the roll and took a deep breath, “And I just wanted to say… I’ve felt what you felt. When I’ve encountered the Shadow Stallion.” He goes a little ridged, angrier. I realized with a jolt that we never told him about our little ‘detour’ to Canterbury. “I lived in Canterbury Castle, you know, saw him occasionally. Each time, he’d kill, or worse…” He didn’t relax. I might even be digging a deeper hole! No! Calm down, take a deep breath. “And I just wanted to tell you that. I know what it’s like, to be confronted with death, with fear and misery. But more than that!” Suddenly, it comes to me. “I’ve faced some of my worst fears, and proven stronger than them. I mean, you probably heard what happened at the Shrine of Loyalty, haven’t you? Even now, that was the lowest point in my life. If I didn’t turn there, then, what happened to Honesty? That is not going to happen to me.”

“It will happen,” he said immediately, “It is an inevitable outcome for all who take up the Elements.”

“Do you know that?” I reply just as quickly, “Or is it just your fear that’s telling you that?”

To that, he was silent. He looked down at me, judging me with those cold, cold eyes. I stared back, silent, showing him I was fine, that I can leave now...

“It is inevitable for gods to fall,” he finally said. “But for good reason. Tell me. What have you read here about the substance known as ‘petrichor?’”

“I, um.” I glanced at the books, “I saw the word occasionally…”

He turned away, “Then I will return when you have learned—“

“No!” I shouted, “But I do know of the substance! I learned it,” Ruin’s face floated across my mind, “Elsewhere. From my old teacher. He taught me a… great number of physical, uh, matters…”

“Then go on. Tell me about these physical matters. What exactly do you know about petrichor?”

“Well… the Zebras called it ‘steepa,’ because they discovered it first. Um, it’s a difficult to collect silvery material, most often used in healing poultices…” I thought for a moment that displaying my knowledge of history might impress him, but he sniffed loudly, and I moved on. “It’s difficult to get for an important reason, though! The easiest place to find it is in the bodies of ponies… It’s this substance that allows for magic. Because of this element, Pegasi can fly and touch the clouds. Unicorn horns are constructed almost entirely of petrichor, and Earth Ponies are so hardy and strong because this petrichor is in every bone of their body. I know it’s, uh, being researched whether this substance in actively produced by the body, like bile, or merely collected and used, like a vitamin…”

Ivory Inkwell raised his hoof, silencing me. “So you understand the substance. Why, then, if it is in all of us, is it so hard to obtain?”

“I guess, because it rots. Turns all black, like most organic components...”

He nodded, “So it does. Yet, it does not rot when exposed to air or infection. It rots for entirely different reasons. Can you tell me what those are?”

“Since it’s a magical substance, it makes sense that nonmagical means couldn’t corrupt it.” I said quickly. For once, I actually feel like I’m doing good at a lesson, that I’m doing everything just right, like they want me to. “But petrichor reacts poorly to a pony’s mental state. When ponies are under constant stress, or unhappy with life, or under any negative emotion for a long time, that’s when petrichor begins to rot. And that corruption can build up in its body, making it harder to cast… Or fly, theoretically.

“But,” I quickly continued, “Petrichoric Rot usually isn’t noticeable, and it’s never fatal. It’s usually coupled, or called, a simple ‘mental block.’ And if their mood lightens, the damage is usually fixed pretty quick… The only thing that permanently and irreparably rots petrichor,” My voice goes quiet, wondering if I should even say it aloud… “Is the shock of death. Only those who die peacefully leave behind useable petrichor. And even then, it’s very little, if you can get to it…”

“Enough, Prince.” Ivory Inkwell boomed. I knew it. I said too much, was too caught up in finally having a chance to impress the Illuminators. The old stallion cleared his throat, stood a little straighter, preparing my verdict...

“Imagine then,” Inkwell said plainly. “A pony who has more than a horn. Has more than a set of wings. Has petrichor shards inside every single bone of their body. No, imagine that his bones are petrichor, supporting themselves merely by the creature’s force of will. Imagine a creature more of magic than of flesh and blood.

“And imagine that being under stress, submitting to pain. To fear. To hatred. Imagine that amount of rot building for decades and decades in their bodies, held and suffered through for even longer than most ponies live.

“Now, fatal to them? No, as you said, the rot doesn’t kill ponies, and nor did it kill the Alicorns. It corrupted them. Little by little, all of our gods became slowly overwhelmed by their own flawed minds, their own rotting bodies, until they were no longer themselves. They became purely, incurably evil. Insane, and unable to do more than submit to impulse. Tragically, still fueled by the energies that corrupted them in the first place…”

“Discord,” Inkwell said firmly. His eyes were frozen to mind, hard, demanding. “Do you think your own body can handle that level of stress?”

“I—“ I stammered, “I don’t…”

“Do you think you can still wear that element, knowing what is inevitably going to happen to you?”

I laughed nervously, “I, I guess it’s a bit scary…”

He softened, reaching out a hoof, “It’s not too late, my boy. It’s clear now… you haven’t been transformed, not by petrichor or its opposite. You can take off the Element now, and hope another pony, better suited to rule takes the mantle.”

I stare at the hoof, mind suddenly filled with a hollow buzzing sound.

“That’s all?” I asked, quiet. “You just want me to leave?”

“Well, we had to make certain you wouldn’t transform first. But as you said, this nightmarish transformation will not come to pass. But now, I ask that you decide whether this is the future for you, or not.” And then, miraculously, something I had never dared believe would happen. He brought out a key, and unlocked me from the bags of smooze. They were quickly taken from my sight, and I stared at my numb hands, mind still emptily buzzing.

“You have the freedom of choice, Discord,” Ivory Inkwell said, “Just lift the Element from your neck, and this will all be over.”

I raised a hand to my chest, almost checking if the Element was still there. It always felt so natural, just like another part of me. Always there…

“I, I don’t know,” I mumbled, “Is it really up to me? My friends… These Elements are based on our friendship…”

“It is entirely up to you, Discord,” Inkwell said, “But, I can give you a little time to think it over, if you need.”

“Yeah, I think…”

He nodded… or maybe he bowed. But whatever it was, it was over in a moment, and in only a moment more did he leave left, slipping from sight and shutting the door after him. There was no click of a lock this time. He just… left. Left me unshackled, no longer imprisoned, free to leave at any time. Oh hell, if I was given the chance last hour, I would’ve bolted for the door and left all of Canterlot behind.

But now I was stuck here. Not by locks and smooze, but by a big, gigantic, CHOICE. I’m ditching Canterlot either way, that’s for sure… But…

Am I leaving free as a bird? Or still bound to my fate, doomed to return anyway?

I grasped the silver stone of Kindness with both my hands, just staring at it. Thinking about those old memos. About the time I spent, playing dumb games in Canterbury. Thinking about Honesty and Loyalty’s fall. About a future in proudly defeating the Shadow Stallion. About a fate of becoming a new tyrant to replace him…

About Luna.

We’d still be friends, if I left this, right? Hell. I shivered. We could be more than friends…

But she’d want me to keep this, wouldn’t she? Wouldn’t let me give the Element up. Be stupid to her, to just throw this all away, out of fear…

But maybe… maybe we could both leave. Both just live our lives together, to their natural end! That was a wonderful thought! I felt my face blush furiously, my hands squeezed tightly around the Element. I could feel it beating in my hands, as if it was hoping I’d take it along, to see such a wonderful, uh, more-than-friendship. Okay, I can’t let myself touch her, but just being near, that’s enough, I think. Yes, that’s enough…

The door swung open and I tumbled backwards, scrambling for the other side of the table and probably beet freaking red.
“That was barely five minutes!” I cried, “I need more time to think, dammit! Get out! Out!”

“Well you’ve regained your energy rather quickly,” the intruder said, stepping into the library. “I expected your recovery from the smooze to take at least another fifteen minutes.”

I gaped at her.

“Book Binding?!”

My tutor bowed, “My Prince,” and then paused, “Sorry, it’s a habit.”

Book Binding walked past me, eyeing the books on the floor, on the shelves. And I stared at her, clinging to the table with a single question on my mind.

“What are you doing here?”

She continued to stalk around the room. “Checking up on you. Holding out for a miracle. I suppose that could be the same thing when it comes to gods… Unless,” she turned to me, “You have decided to give up.”

“I haven’t decided anything yet,” I said flatly.

“Good,” she said, “Then I ask you wait a little longer. Perhaps read one last book…” she frowned, and scanned the shelves again, “Though it seems like it’s not here. Have you read it already?”

“Maybe…?” I said, befuddled, “The one with Illuminator Ivory Inkwell and The First God of Honesty?”

“No, no, something much more hopeful than that. Something, at this time, that Inkwell thinks you have made irrelevant… But all the same, you should read it. If it is your desire to continue as our Kindness, it’s vitally important.”

Finished with looking through the books, she took to staring at me, gaze just as intense and forceful as Inkwell’s had been. But now, I had to look away.

“’If’,” I mumbled, “Million bit question, isn’t it?”

“Perhaps,” she shrugged. “But this should inform your decision a little better than the Head Illuminator’s frightful account.”

“What even is it?” I said, looking down at my piles of books. “Maybe I have read it, didn’t know it for what it was…”

“Final volume of correspondences between Kindness and Generosity. The last we have, specifically. Perhaps they communicated after the fact. Actually, it’s almost certain they did. But for how long, who knows? Everything becomes so eerily quiet after the departure of the Three… That is, until the clouds began to form around Canterbury…”

“I remember hearing,” I said suddenly, “That Magic hasn’t been seen since then. Generosity hasn’t been seen either?”

“Oh, we know where Generosity is. Perhaps laying him to rest was Kindness’ last sane action… or perhaps he did it while insane. Who can say? It’s only Magic that we lack information on.” She paused, hoof raised midstep. “It is theorized… Or rather, I have a pet theory. Magic, the Element itself, only appears when all the others are present. While the First God wore the stabilized Element around his neck, perhaps the corruption of all the Elements made Magic vanish again, its God along with it… Certainly, we’ve had no word of other countries under siege, nor anything even hinting to an Element’s existence…

“In any case,” she said firmly, trotting towards the door. She looked out the open portal, both ways, as if she was looking for an approaching pony... “If, among these scattered volumes, you find the last record of Kindness and Generosity, you’ll have learned something very important.”

“You can’t just tell me what’s in there?”

“I doubt I could summarize it properly, but the gist of it is thus: Friendship,” Book Binding said plainly, “Friendship will save us all.”

I laughed hollowly, “Well, these are the Elements of Harmony.”

“They most certainly are.”

And with that, she stepped out, leaving the door slightly ajar. I watched her through the crack as she vanished… and reappeared, heading the opposite direction. I wondered dully what she was up to, and if it really mattered… I mean, of course it mattered! But I already felt so strongly about just running away with Luna...

But maybe, no, I shouldn’t give this, all this, up so easily. I’m at least curious why Book Binding was so intent on me reading the account of Kindness. My Element, in his last days. Maybe there was something to save me there. Or maybe I could learn why Kindness was the last, when he was obviously so frail and simpering…

Well, there was one place Book Binding didn’t look. The one place left from my reading rampage. I ducked under the table to retrieve that one volume, the one I had sent spinning in my haste to learn. The one that I clearly should have read first.

I cracked it open to the very last correspondence, pretty sure the last one will be the most important.

“Paleheart
We are on our way.
Butterfly Bright”

Okay.

That’s what I get for skipping.

What’s the second to last letter?

“Butterfly Bright
Fine, you have me. It was actually rather funny to see the student’s reactions to that curative spell. Unicorns always imagine magic being so clean and clear-cut, they could never imagine a messy spell, or think that the messiness means they’ve done it right.
But my occasional joy gets drowned out so easily, Bright. It’s so strange, having to actively fight against my own feelings, knowing they’re misplaced, knowing what underlies them. My fears and doubts are on the edge of my mind, even immediately after cleansing. I can understand why now we first assumed it was a foreign force. Keeping a head above it, I can say, it feels like an intrusion, an infection in every bone.
I need to request something of you. More than that, we all need to discuss immediate plans. I know you still find difficulty talking to Four-Clover, but please, find some way to tear him away from his work. Tell him all the monsters in the world won’t bring him any closer to mastering life and death, and please be unkind about it. I know you’re worried that talking to him will make him transform in a flash, but trust me, hug him better, and drag him out from those cold black rocks. Next we all speak, I wish it to be in person, while the both of you remain sane.
Paleheart”

So the Elements… Wait, are those their actual ‘birth’ names? That seemed important but… which was which? Who was Paleheart, and who was Bright? And what caused this change?

Guess I have to read more…

I flipped back further, glancing over the correspondences. These didn’t seem so much about business, nor were they sobbing or simpering. ‘Paleheart’ seemed a little fragile, but found some level of joy in his work, in teaching. But ‘Butterfly Bright’ almost seemed to be overcompensating in the assurance, rambling about this and that. There’s one letter where they even laugh about Butterfly Bright overdoing it. Laughing. Joking. Treating each other as more than heads of departments. Actually talking about visiting and seeing each other whenever they can. Taking friendly shots at Four-Clover’s crazy ideas, putting their hearts at ease via this ‘cleansing’…

I go further back, and finally, I find something besides a letter. An observation by the Illuminators. Everything before this point, I notice, is the same brief memos, short notes, meaningless jabber…

This is it then, I think. This is the most important thing for me to consider.

“Events, June the sixth, Year 55 of the Country Equestria

I knew it. I knew it the moment I saw Generosity. He too was corrupting, falling just like Loyalty, Honesty, and Laughter. His mane of perfect curls was becoming tangled and tousled, more knotted and twisted than curly. His coat seemed faded, and he was almost perceptively wilting.

We were terrified. Generosity had always been the gentlest, the most well-loved and giving of our gods. But he had also been one to experiment, a researcher of medicines and curative magics. What horrible beast would he corrupt into? Loyalty made armies march on one another. Laughter forced subjects to perform in his plays for weeks on end… Would we now all become test subjects for horrible, magical diseases? Would he concoct a plague to kill us all?

So many Illuminators fled then, leaving us truly bare-boned and understaffed. I should have run. I cursed myself, unable to. It would be the end of me. I would die here. I suppose my body just accepted this, and let me work in the horrible, dull-minded peace of death.

Generosity was in our library then. Eyes rimmed in black and red. Mane and tail twisting and knotting tighter and tighter, coat turning blacker and blacker…

And in bursts Kindness. Tall, muscular, proud, his mane vibrant green, body as rich and as warm as the earth itself. I had never seen Kindness stand so tall, so sure of himself, so far from his typical aura of fear and inadequacy. Generosity barely noticed his arrival, only looking up when the powerful stallion stood beside him.

Kindness spoke then, just a few simple words.

“Paleheart. Please, don’t hurt anymore. I’ll stand by you forever, my friend.”

Something so simple, yet spoken with such radiance and confidence. Coupled with such a warm, brotherly embrace. The Elements, lifeless jewelry that only responded to direct channeling, glowed with such a brilliance unseen ever before. Truly, it was the light of pure hope, and Generosity’s doubts and fears could not stand before it. In front of our very eyes, Generosity transformed from a haggard old beast of burden to a fresh and young stallion, fears finally assuaged by Kindness’ outreached hoof.

Praise the Alicorns! I can shout this with pride now, Praise them, and may this experience let their wisdom grow evermore! It felt, in that room, like we had finally, after three failures, found the true Elements of Harmony.”

I stared at Kindness’ words. At the event, at the Illuminator’s notes. Felt as a memory so crisp and clear dominated my thoughts.

A hundred miles from here, in that frigid room. In the cold stone of Loyalty’s Shrine. In my worst moment. In a time when I felt so dead inside, so broken...

Luna, came to me then, just saying a few simple words.

“Do you hate me, Luna?” I breathed. “You should.”

“That’s stupid. You’re my best friend.” I whipped around. She’s there, in the open doorway, grinning a crazy smile. Our Elements, radiant in the dim little room. My body, reacting the same way it did on that day. The lightened flip, my instant want to hold her tight, embrace…

“And it still hurts to see you hurting.” Her smile gets bigger, brighter than the moon itself. “Let’s get out of this dumb city.”

LV : A Canterlot Rescue

The Steadfast Sky : A Canterlot Rescue
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Luna~

I feel alive! Alive, doing the things nobody thinks a princess should do. After so long trapped indoors. After so long constricted by fancy clothes and decorative shoes. After so long trying to be a nice lady mare, and focusing seriously on being serious. I can’t remember the last time I just bolted for it! Running, shouting, casting, escaping. I missed just getting out there and going! Wherever I wanted, not bothering to listen or check with somebody about what’s ‘proper.’ Knowing with all my heart that the best way was my way. That always felt so right.

And it led me well! Just a single day on the run, and I’ve accomplished so much more than I have in an entire, well, more than I ever did stuck in a blouse!

My mane’s tossled, sweat cooling down my back, face aching from laughter and horn hot from casting. After so much scurrying, searching, spying, finally! Discord! Trapped, down on himself, remembering an important day, and... reading a book? Was our story written down there? Creepy! Not unexpected!

“Well?” I said, “You want to get out of here or not?!”

The book folded in Discord’s hands, not entirely closed, but no longer read. He stared at me, silent with his element aglow.

“Did you tell that story to a scholar?” I cheerfully asked, “It’s a good one isn’t it?! You and me… After that dumb procession they had! Man…!”

“S’not what the book’s about,” he mumbled.

“Oh! Okay then!” I nodded. “Why are you saying funny things to yourself then?”

He carefully closed the book and set it down, stealing glances at me. “Well, it reminded me of a moment…” He cleared his throat, “And I didn’t really expect you to turn up so suddenly!”

My grin grew a little wider. “What, did you think I’d never come for you?”

He laughed, a short sound with a lopsided grin.

And my breath was knocked from me. Faster than anything, Discord pounced on me. I yelped, startled as he pulled me up into a crushing hug.

I squealed, “Cold hands! Cold! Geez, Discord, what is with you and your lightning hugs?!”

He squeezed me tighter with a chuckled apology. I could hear his breathing stutter in my ear, deep breaths through clenched jaws. His fur, the familiar feeling of hugging a friendly pincushion. I think he was trying his hardest to not dig his claws into me, but I could still feel the pinch of his talons on my side.

“Man,” I laughed, “Did it suck that bad here?”

“No. But, ah…” He shuffled back, letting me fall gently to the floor. “Where were you anyway? Did they stick you in a study room too?”

“No way, that can’t catch me! Never did!” I felt giddy, hyper all over again. “Discord, I feel so alive! Running around like this, staying out of sight, getting everything together... Even the stuff I’ve found around the library, man! I can’t wait til we get to do it again!”

He frowned, “Do what again?”

“I dunno! Get out of the city! Be heroes! Save the world! Rescue my sister, just like I was going to rescue you…”

“But… you did just rescue me?”

“No I didn’t!” I waved behind me, “The door was open!”

“Oh! Yeeah, it has been, hasn’t it?” He gave the open doorway a funny look, half shrugging. “It’s hasn’t been that way for long. Heck, if it was open hours sooner… I just had to read this last book, you know.”

“Wow,” I said, “They’ve really hooked you to studying, haven’t they?”

“Not… really?” He glanced back at the fallen volume. “I cut a lot of corners. Skimmed, skipped the boring parts, read just the summaries.” He fiddled with his fingers, now completely unable to look me in the eye. “I uh… I should tell you all about it! But not here. Let’s… yeah, let’s get out of the city!”

I stared at him. Stepped a little closer, looking him right in his nervous yellow eyes.

With weighted feeling, I said, “Are you doing alright, Discord?”

“Yes!” he indignantly snapped back, “Of course I am!”

“Is this one of those times when you lie about how fine you are?” He snorted at my statement, and I continued in a lower voice, “Did they refuse to feed you?”

“No! I’ve been properly fed! I’m fine! Or, I guess,” He glanced at the book again, “What I was reading was pretty affecting. Again, I’ll tell you once we get going, okay?”

He smiled, trying to assure me, but…

“Uhg, no,” I moaned, “Don’t give me that creepy grin! It’s so creepy!”

Still indignant, he frowned. “No it’s not!”

“Yes, oh my gosh, it’s so creepy. Augh, I can’t even look at it! That’s you’re liar’s grin, isn’t it!”

“What would I even be lying about?!” he wailed, “I’m just really, really, really happy to see you.”

“Really really happy?”

“Like crazy happy! Why wouldn’t I be, I was just rescued by my f-friend…”

I repressed a giggle. “You just said friend funny.”

“No I didn’t.”

“Yes you did!” I poked in in the Element, grinning right to his face. “You just stammered!”

“It’s just… so, so very affecting…” He dramatically sniffled, clutching his heart and rolling his eyes so hard his head wobbled.

“Now you’re just faking!”

“Oh, Luna!” he shouted dramatically, “I thought for sure my end was nigh… And in you swoop, my savior! We even completed each other’s sentences! It’s like wonderful fated, friendship! Auuugh!” He threw a hand to his forehead, collapsing dramatically to the ground. “The emotions, they overwhelm me!”

“Discord!” I jut out a lip, pretend pouting just like I used to. It mostly doesn’t work, since I’m laughing so hard. “Stop screwing around!”

“Sweet life, I just realized I can cast! Hold on!”

With a click of Discord’s claws, the room exploded with color. A white and gold stage more ornate than practical bloomed to life, instantly covered in a literal sea of roses almost two feet deep. Bouquets bounced off Discord’s elaborately crowned head as he dramatically flung his arms around his face.

“It’s just so, so very emotional!”

“D-Discord!” I couldn’t say another word. All was lost as Discord got buried in his flowers, still flailing dramatically, even as the sea of petals rose over his head. “This is just! This is getting ridiculous, you—!”

“What the hell is going on here?!”

I spun around. An unfamilliar Illuminator stood gaping at the doorway, petals flowing up to his knees and goggling eyes directed right at me.

“Princess of Laughter?!” he shouted.

“Nope! Bye!”

I dove through the flowers, charged into Discord, and felt my head ache as my horn flared to life. Shadows swirled beneath our feet, spiraling and sinking into the ground, carrying us with it. It was barely a moment before we dropped out the other side, bouncing off a mattress with half-realized petals floating down around us.

Discord laughed, definitely way more at ease. “Sorry! That got a little out of hand, didn’t it? So where…?” He stopped, looking around. “Wait… is this my room?”

“Yeah, it’s been unguarded, so I’ve kind’ve been using it as a secret base…”

Even just a few days with its occupant gone had completely transformed the room. For one, there was no crazy color stuff going on. There were no contraptions or experiments. No bowls of candy, fake or real. There were almost no personal objects at all, really. Without his touch, the room looked bare, unlived in. It looked like it had remained unoccupied for months, not days.

“Wonder if I should redecorate,” Discord said offhand.

“Nah, we won’t be staying here long anyway! Look.” I smoothly stepped from the bed, trotting over to his wardrobe. Quick as a flash, I pulled out three sets of saddlebags. “I’ve got you and me all packed. Plus a bit extra for Celestia if we can pry her from her room.”

“Yeah, I doubt it. We—“ he slapped his forehead, “We still need to apologize, don’t we? Geez, that was so long ago now…”

“Better late than never! So let’s go and do it!”

Discord stared at me, “What, right now?”

“Sure right now!” I exclaimed, “No time like the present, right?”

“Well, there’s still some stuff… I mean…” he frowned at me as I shrugged on my saddlebags, “I never had a bag. And is that one new…?”

“Yep!” I spun in place, showing off my blue-and-silver canvas sacks. “Who knew our old saddlebags would be so small now? At least I was able to get something nice-looking for Celestia… Maybe having something fancy will comfort her as we force her to sleep in the dirt!”

“Did you, uh, buy those?”

“Yep!”

He stared at me.

“What have you been up to all this time?” he cried, confused.

“Preparing! I said that, didn’t I?”

“Everything?”

“Everything!” Excitedly, I yanked a piece of paper from my saddlebags, “I’ve got a checklist, and I’ve been running around like crazy getting everything together! Wanna double check if there’s anything I missed?”

“Sure?”

“So! Checklist! After wrangling with merchants and the kitchens alike, I’ve got all the food and money we’ll need. Including Discord Dinners…” Discord flushed red as I carefully floated them up from his bags. “Tastefully wrapped away in pure white paper, you see.” I gently put them back into place, and picked up my list again. “I’ve got a light blanket, flint and a tinderbox, some canteens, and your pot of that silver healy stuff—”

Discord made a choking sound, “How’d you find that?!”

“It was in your satchel, in the wardrobe! Found it while I was pulling out your nice cloak. I mean, the cloaks they gave us here. A part of me still wishes our old cloaks had fit, but…”

I paused smiling. Lowered the paper, and looked at Discord with honesty.

“This morning, I pulled my old cloak out, threw it around my shoulders, thought I would wear it when I bought our bags and supplies. But…” I lightly shrugged. “The hem hung a whole inch off my ankles, and the clasp pinched at my neck. My saddlebags too. They looked so frayed and small, the straps seemed like they could circle my leg, let alone my whole body… I mean…” I shrugged again, feeling my shoulders roll into my cheeks. “We’re so much bigger now.”

Discord shifted uncomfortably on the bed, vaguely nodding.

“Celestia bought us those cloaks,” he said. “Remember? To help me hide, we all got new clothes…”

I laughed, “They cost us the last of our money!”

“Course they did! But, really,” Discord huffed, “You think Celestia would do the same thing today?”

“We’ll talk her round,” I said firmly.

“But she said she didn’t—“

“Well she’s being silly!” I snipped. Oops, that may have been too rude… I refound my smile, trying to assure my friend. “The sister and the friend we know hasn’t gone forever. I mean, we have shared so much. What’s one year between friends and family…”

I rifled through my bags again, a thought coming to me. An object, a little piece of our history. The last piece, as far as I knew. From a special pouch in my left sack, I pulled out a small, bulging burlap bag.

“What’s that?” Discord asked.

Cheerfully, I shouted, “Our marbles!”

“Our what now?”

“You know!” I exclaimed, “When we first decided to pack up and leave Canterbury? And all we thought to bring was that stuffed purple pony and a bag of marbles?”

He stared at the little bag in my aura. “No, we had more than that.”

“Yeah, a sheet, a bottle of rubbing alcohol, some salt…” I waved it away, “Lost, used, left behind. I dunno, maybe Celestia still has our old brush. But do you think she’d keep that ratty old stuff around? When she’s got all this nice stuff now?” I chuckled. “It’s almost funny, really. Decided the best things to pack were a sheet and a purple pony toy. We were so horribly under prepared last time. It’s really such a miracle that we got as far as we did on wild grass and river water.”

I tucked the marbles into the new saddlebag. Even if we’d never use them, it seemed right. It was an heirloom of the journey. The last piece of who we used to be, all the way back in that empty house, playing games together like nothing else mattered in all the world.

“Anyway. Back to the checklist… I also got this map,” I pulled out the little scroll, “Direct information about tomb location, right from the Illuminators themselves!”

“They just…” Discord said slowly, “Let you walk around, get all this stuff?”

“Pssh, no!” I laughed, “Guards were looking for me everywhere! Man, the amount of time I’ve spent teleporting or invisible today… It’s crazy, I tell you! Crazy!” I smiled silently at Discord as he just gaped in return. “What?” I laughed, “Something on my face?”

“I haven’t seen you with this much energy in such a long time,” he said, “You’re all fired up.”

I stuck my tongue out at him, “Is that a bad thing now?”

“Not at all. I, actually, I kind’ve missed when you were like this. I had forgotten…” He laughed, a deep laugh, loud and clear. “I mean! I feel like I learned something important, and here you’ve gone and done something important…!”

“Aaack!” I charged over to Discord, dropping on the bed in front of him. He leaned away from me startled, “Don’t get down on yourself, Discord! You say you’ve learned something, then tell me! Everything’s going to be important here, I can feel it!”

I stared at him, and his natural everything’s-really-alright smile started to look funny, slipping into that creepy sideways smile he sometimes gets when I’m around…

“Discord,” I said, “Please tell me what happened. Not just what you read, but why you’re getting all…”

He laughed again, “I’m fine! Well, it was boring as heck, but… Here, lemme tell you what I’ve learned, it’s important! Remember, back at the Loyalty shrine when I was feeling so horrible? Well…”

He flopped onto his stomach, waving his hands free, gesturing pictures to life, relating me what he learned. Trying to entertain me, to make things interesting, to make me laugh. No different than usual, really. Excited as much as when he’s telling a story about magic, or a well-placed prank. Only this time, it was about the First Gods, their failures, their successes…

Guiltily, I only half-listened to what he had to say. More than anything else, I watched Discord as he talked.
What is up with you, Discord? Why won’t you just tell me what’s wrong? Is this like last time? Are you afraid of frightening me, of losing my friendship? I know Discord… he only lies when he’s afraid of big truths. Little things, he might hesitate to say out loud, but when pressed, he’ll come out with it…

But there’s nothing Discord’s more afraid of than himself.

I stare at him, closely. He’s not skinny or boney. There’s bags under his eyes, but those shadows never did leave him entirely. His eyes are a healthy yellow, teeth clean, coat silky and wings… Well, his wings look bigger than ever. He’s bigger. His horns are longer, and standing on all fours he’s starting to gain height on my. He used to be so short… but now it looks like he won’t fit in the bed for much longer. since he’s still growing, maybe he’s afraid he’s going to need to eat more meat?

No, no, that doesn’t add up at all. He’s still healthy, and he’s not denying that part of himself anymore. So… When does it seem like he’s hiding things, or acting weird?

Well, this right now, in a way. He’s either terrified of me, or he’s desperate to talk to me. Always trying his hardest to entertain and impress me. I wonder if he’s worried that I’m not laughing as much anymore? Could that be why he’s trying so hard?
But then why wouldn’t he admit to that, tell me about it, and help me sort out my problems? He’s always so eager to help, but if I get too close…

Then why did he leap to hug me?

“Uh, Luna?”

I snapped out of it, “Yes?”

“You had a, um,”he looked at me sideways. “Really strange look on your face.”

“Well, I think,” I quickly grasp at straws. What was Discord just saying?! “That it was rather mean of Inkwell, don’t you think? Telling you that you’d be better off without the Element…”

“Mean? No, honestly,” he laughed, “It made sense, in a way.”

“He just thinks a pony should have the Element,” I said flatly.

He frowned, “He didn’t say anything about that...”

“In the hall, when they were walking away from your room. They were overjoyed at the prospect of getting rid of you.”

Discord stared at his hands, face hard.

“Asshole,” he spat, “But still, I don’t think,” he shrugged, “I’m not really suited to be Prince, am I?”

“Is this what’s been bugging you all this time?”

He blinked, staring at me.

I continued, “Is this why you’ve been acting funny? What you’ve been hiding?”

“Um, yes! Part of… I mean, it’s a big deal now, isn’t it?” He grasped at the air, reaching for the right words. “Being told we have the option to choose whether this is for us or not. We could just leave and never come back, you know?”

“Could you do that?” I said sharply, “Abandon everybody, just like that?”

Flatly, he said, “I guess that would be a pretty low thing to do.”

“Exactly. He was just messing with you Discord, trying to make you leave. He doesn’t want you to make it.”

“But I don’t think I can…”

“Of course you can.” A random thought comes to me. A little revisit to recent memory. “I believe in you.” And with that, I lean over and hug him again.

Discord flinches horribly, but almost immediately he pulls me closer. Tight, almost as tight as the library. Too tight? Was he overcompensating for his fear of me? But why would he be afraid of me, and still trying to spend so much time by my side?

In a whisper I don’t think he meant to say aloud, I heard, “… so soft …”

I said, “Thank you!” and he flinches again. I giggled, and he laughed nervously as he scampers away, going so fast that he tumbles off the other side of the bed.

An idea crept up on me. A thought, that, well maybe I was over thinking this. If there was a colt… and there have been colts! If there’s a colt coming up to me, trying to impress me, wanting to be near but not too close…

Noooooo…

I giggle. I can’t stop giggling! Nooooo~oooo~ooo~!

I’m overcome by giggles, biting my ankle with blush painted all across my face. Discord laughs too, just to go along with it, but oh man, he looks embarrassed! Like I’m making fun of him!

“We!” I cough-laugh into my ankle. “We need to go, and um, get my sister?!”

Discord nods firmly, “Alright, let me get one thing.” I slide off the bed as he dives under it, pulling out a tattered and battered leather volume. Right, his family journal… He beat me across the room and stuffed it into his brand new saddlebags, eyeing the brown canvas strangely. It’s a struggle to get the pack over his wings, and when all is said and done, the bags come dangerously close to dragging on the ground. He walks a few times around the room, getting a feel for them, glancing occasionally at me! I tried not to giggle or think about my dumb theories. It’s rude, assuming things about people like that! Very rude!

“Is it just necessities in these bags?” Discord asked.

“Yeah?” I replied. “What else would there be?”

Discord snorts, “I half expect Celestia will want to pack half her wardrobe.”

“We’ll talk her out of it! She gets to bring her brush! And if she’s snippy about it, then maybe she’ll get to bring some earrings!”

“Yes,” Discord nodded firmly, “Those’ll be valuable if we run out of money.”

I laughed, maybe too hard. But Discord seemed happy this time, beaming.

I smiled at back.

Thought for a moment.

Then I gathered up Celestia’s pack and trotted smartly over to Discord, pressing up intimately close. He flinched, stumbling a few steps away. I tried not to laugh. My goodness, I am so mean now!

“Don’t move, silly!” I barked. “Hang on for transport!” Discord gingerly scootched back as the familiar flood of magic filled my horn. It’s barely an effort now, opening the well under my feet, punching a hole through to the other side. In a moment’s time, we sunk through…

…And then messily dropped sideways out the other side, having come through a shadowed wall feet-first.

“Whoops!” I giggled as Discord wriggled away with all his might. “My bad! So, Celestia…”

I stood, straightened myself, spoke up, then stopped.

“She’s gone?!”

LVI : A Canterlot Princess

The Steadfast Sky : A Canterlot Princess
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Celestia~

“Oh Blueblood, you dog!” I giggle cutely as I savor a glass of wine. “You mad romantic! How many other mares have you whisked away?”

Blueblood smiles over his own hovering glass, fork twirling majestically in midair. He sits across from me in a partitioned, private dining room. One in his own suites of his own mansion in the city he’s inherited to rule, oh!

“Privately?” he says, “That’s a trade secret, my Princess.”

I giggle far more furiously. “What trade is this?! The trade of young hearts?! Ooh, there you have me, Blueblood!” I bat my eyelashes, “Perhaps then, I will suppose that I am a very special girl!”

He chuckles, “I do not consort with just anybody, no…”

“Aha! The truth is uncovered!” I wave a scolding fork at him, nearly tipping over in my tizzy. “You’re a ladies’ man! Mares are always chasing after your tail!” And, with the hint of a wry playfulness, “I watch them follow behind you, the silly old harpies!”

Oh, Blueblood! He has such a wonderful smile, all calm, slight and collected. With the ease and grace of a true gentleman, he scoops up a little more of his pasta, twirling it wound the fork with refinement and, and grace.

“I am certainly a very eligible bachelor to some,” he says, “Many have only dreamed to court me.”

“I dreamed of the day we… whoops!” I retreat from my plate, sleeves covered in red sauce. With a hiccup, I shimmy around the table, shuffling to a closer pillow. My drink hovers after me, stem bouncing off my ear. “I suppose it’s out there now! You’re just so fanciable, Blueblood!”

He nods smoothly, raising his glass to me, “I could say the same about you, my Princess.”

“I knew it,” I breathe, “You couldn’t resist me.”

“Well now, let’s not go and put words in my mouth!” He laughs gently. “Shall I be honest for you? While others might have clumsily grabbed for your power, my Princess, it was out of respect that I kept my distance. You’re a bit young, so I thought you—“

I loudly declare, “I am not that young!”

“Of course I was later convinced of your maturity, my Princess.” A sympathetic hoof reaches across the table, his beautiful eyes twinkling. “It’s clear now, is it not? Why you’re here, by my side?”

I blush. My hoof is touching his. And though I’m still in my shoes, our ankles tap together, and I realize he’s so soft …

“Yes,” I hiccup, “It’s very clear, isn’t it?”

“My Princess.”

Blueblood smiles warmly, that wonderful smile. He moves closer, sitting so very near to me now. His hoof tucks gently under my own. He raised the glass foreshoe to his lips, pecking my fetlock, and his eyes gently catch my own, soft and unthreatening.

“I’ve loved you for a long time,” I breathe, soaking in the moment, “Was I, for you… forbidden fruit? Too young, but in such love—”

Blueblood’s shoulders curl, his head lowers, and he laughs. Just laughs at me, hoof still held in hoof. It wasn’t cruelty, it was not mocking. He just started chuckling away, like it was some kind of private joke.

“Oh, to be young and in love!” His hoof pulls away, yet he’s still pressing closer to me than ever. “No, no, I don’t mean to offend! I just remember those days, and… Well, am simply so jaded by loves come and gone. Your innocence is adorable, my Princess.”

“A-adorable,” my smile wavers. “Yes…”

With a smile, Blueblood presses closer. His foreleg curls around mine. His nose nuzzles into my mane, warm breath washing down my neck. I am stone, a statue, taking it as his leg intertwines with mine.

How I had dreamed.

We were perfect for each other. A Prince of the old line, a Princess of the new. The most eligible in all of Canterlot…

He kisses my ear. He kisses my throat. I stare ahead. Stare at the half-eaten plates on the table. The two wine glasses. Stared at the wall, for the little private suite was simply so small.

I mumble, “We were such wonderful rivals…”

“Is that what you desire, my Princess?” I swallow heavily as he leans into me, side warm on my side, cutiemarks pressing together. I turn as his hoof caresses my face, to watch the curtains enveloping the window frame. “Shall I say you caught me?”

His lips press to mine. His breathing was in my ears, booming. Wet, an intruding tongue flicking at my stiff lips. I purse my lips tighter, biting my cheeks, staring over the crest of his mane.

I couldn’t move. I refused to. I just waited for him to pause, until Blueblood had to retreat from me, his smile mischievous. I look away, at the floor, memorizing every fiber of the carpet.

The words are out before I even realize I’m talking, “I have never kissed a colt before.”

I hear him sigh. Not mad, understanding. He’s probably smiling. I don’t know.

“Shall I have to teach you everything, Princess?” he says. “I thought it was you who desired to lead.”

“I just—“

“Don’t pucker your lips. Just relax.”

Again, his eyes gently closed and his mouth placed itself upon mine. Again, his breath pounded in my ears, spit smacking and popping as his mouth opened and closed on mine. His body pressed against mine, foreleg snaking over my back, a hot, throbbing blanket. Or was the pounding my own body, longing for—

I don’t know what longing feels like. I don’t.

His head pulls back, but not far enough. A throbbing furnace.

“Don’t worry,” he cooed, “You’ll learn. We all have to learn sometime. Don’t be ashamed of your naiveté. I’m a patient stallion, I’ll teach you well.” He peels away, turns back to the table with just his foreleg still around me. But the heat never ceased. It was warm in this room. Muggy. Boiling.

He asks of me, “More wine?”

His horn lights up, and with an elegant grace, he pours us another two glasses of red wine. I have never been so fascinated by the flow of a liquid. I watch how it pours, how it burbles and sloshes around the glass. How the red is refracted by his icy blue aura. And how it changes as my own golden yellow light swallows it up.

I stare at it. I barely know what to do with it. With no thought, I down the red liquid in one gulp, feeling the fumes clog my nose, my lungs, swilling rudely in my stomach. Blueblood sips his own wine, eyes twinkling with laughter.

“Do you not appreciate it’s flavor, my Princess?” he chides, “It is well aged. Hundreds of years old.”

Dully, I say, “I enjoy wine.”

“Well it would be prudent to enjoy it slowly. Guzzling something like this… Tis a crime. Here.” My glass refills, red refracted by blue. “Another glass. Relax. Take it slowly this time.”

Red refracted by yellow. I stare at tiny dark ocean. It wobbles slightly, red bubbling and slopping as if it was boiling. I didn’t even think I could manage a sip. The glass jammed at my lips, liquid splashing on my snout.

I snort the fumes. Choke as the burning liquid shot down my lungs. I had enough sense to drop the glass on the table before I began hacking up that red. Face burning. Overheating. He took it as an excuse to press close again, soft hoof patting at my back.

“My Princess,” he cooed. “Are you alright?”

“Just… went down the wrong way.” I snort, eyes watering. “I’m sorry for wasting the glass… It’s good wine…”

He quietly shushes me. “Don’t worry about that.” My coughing slows, but his hoof continues to move. It strokes up and down my back, a pendulum with a mind of its own. “I’m just glad you’re alright.”

It was silent for so long. The only sound was mine or his heartbeat pounding in my ears. I was limp, boiling in Blueblood’s open legs as he stroked me up and down. My back started to go numb from the motion. Started to feel like it was bruising. The glass is broken, but I can still see the room though it’s angles.

He kisses my neck again as I glance away.

“My Princess,” he says. “You were so chatty during our luncheon. Why have you grown so quiet?”

“This is what we wanted,” I croak, throat dry.

“It is what’s best for us.”

“I’ve always dreamed…” My throat seizes up. I could go on no longer.

“Tell me your dreams,” he coos, “Let me fulfill them.”

“The, the noble game. That was my dream. To be a baroness. To be a Princess. To be clever enough to play…” The thoughts tumble through my head as I say them, trying to swim to the surface. I can hardly recognize them.

“Yes. It’s won, is it not?”

His hooves gently push at me, so gentle and so reassuring I couldn’t help but move along with them. I rest on my stomach, face burning on the plush pillow. I stare at my forefeet. At my glassy shoes. The first gift Blueblood ever gave me. There is blue light behind me.

I feel the strings of my bodice loosen. Why does this seem so different then I pictured?

He says, “And this is my… our prize.”

“You don’t love me,” I whisper.

I hear him inhale, spit popping.

“Love,” he breathes, “Has nothing to do with this.”

I slammed my eyes shut. Something inside me shattered. My entire body froze.

And I screamed, inside and out.

“I don’t want this!”

My horn pulsed with magic. Light blasted from it, brighter and hotter than the sun itself. Blueblood cried out. I opened my eyes. I reached for the edge of the partition. I couldn’t move. He was so big. Pinning the skirt of my dress as he slumped in slow motion. I squealed. I cried. I wriggled out of my clothes, and was running naked. Running right out of my shoes. Running right out of the room. Running out of the mansion. Running naked in the streets, sobbing and blubbering my eyes out because oh my goodness I have never been so terrified in my life.

I have fallen off a wall a hundred thousand feet tall. I have been chased by a black demon of unholy shadows. I have nearly drowned, been chased for weeks, nearly had my limbs taken from me, seen the color of my friend and sister’s blood.

But I could have…

What could have happened…

I didn’t dare say it. I didn’t dare think it. That was the game, wasn’t it? That was the NOBLE GAME. Everybody was playing. I was playing. I thought I was playing. Or… or… what I really playing… or was I just…

“I was supposed to play the game!” I wailed, “I’m not a piece! Not a prize! Not a body to be won! I’m not!”

Ponies stared at me on the streets, several trying to stop me, reaching out. Young lady? Mistress? Are you alright? Are you hurt? But I just screamed at them, ran on, making a fuss when everybody else would rather everything be nice and quiet. Without my Element, without my crown or fancy clothes, I was no longer a Princess. I was less than a pony. I was a nuisance.

If I wasn’t a Princess, then I was less than nothing.

I don’t even know how I managed it, but I ran all the way to my room. I thought to just throw myself on the bed and cry myself to sleep, but I couldn’t stand to. Sobbing and running circles around it. Everything there, it was all for THE PRINCESS. And I was not the Princess! Not anymore! I’m just a fat, sobbing foal who can’t even… who can’t even…

I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t stand it! There were just so many things wrong now!

I found myself curled on the rug, surrounded by objects I dearly wanted to smash, but didn’t have the courage to break. I was shaking, heaving uncontrollably, face turned to mush and body numbing from lying on the floor too long. I hurt all over. My legs. My body. My brain.

I thought then, for the first time since my parents vanished, that maybe this is it. Curtains. I can’t go back to that life anymore. I’ve always wanted to be a Princess. Who doesn’t want to be a Princess? But nobody wants me in it now. I’m dirty. I’m unloyal. I’m without power, and useless for it. I’m a million more insults, half of which don’t make sense, but all of which are true.

I hate this place. More, I hate myself. Hate, hate, hate...

I hiccupped loudly, and rolled over. A golden object lay within my vision, tilted on its side. A little golden lamp with a turnkey knob. I heaved dryly. Dragon’s Breath. Apple’s first gift to me, the first gift given to the Princess.

I sniffed loudly.

Barely thinking, I rolled and grabbed for what I needed, head aching as my aura struggled to keep up with me. Pen, paper, inkwell rolled over to me, jerky movements a reflection of my awful mood. I could barely hold the quill steady as I scrawling Apple a note, scribbling the first hateful thing to come to mind.

“WHY DID YOU SET ME UP WITH BLUEBLOOD???”

I flicked open the Dragon’s Breath and tossed the note into the open flame. There. He better have the most damned good response to that, or I will personally… personally…

His reply came spinning back in a swirl of smoke and sparks. The page drifted to the floor, and I ripped it open.

“Ho, ho, ho, caught on have you? Or did he tell you himself?

I knew you had eyes for the lad, so I may have encouraged Blueblood the Jr. that courting you was indeed a very relevant option. I mean, does it not make sense? The Princess of Canterlot, and a unicorn of the old country’s Princely line. He claimed you were a bit young, but I assure you, he was plainly convinced otherwise. It’s already been ordained by his father as well, so don’t you worry about that little speedbump.

Enjoy yourself, my Princess! Blueblood the Jr. is quite a nice catch!”

I stared at the letter, and scribbled another note, wishing more than anything else that I could shove it down Apple’s stupid, barking throat!

“I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU”

And the reply came spinning back, his writing sloppier and hastier.

“My Princess, what’s wrong? Don’t tell me the boy has treated you poorly. Please, tell me!”

“HE DOESNT EVEN CARE WHO I AM IM JUST A BODY TO HIM—“ A number of different euphemisms spilled out of my pen, scribbling all over each other, wasting paper space. I threw it into the open flame, burrowing once more into my ink-covered legs. I didn’t even see the return message, just heard the flame puff up, felt the page drifting over my ears.

“My Princess, please, calm yourself. Normal, healthy adult relationships involve several levels of mental and physical intimacy, so my Princess, when—“

I tore up the letter, unable to read another word. My pen slammed down so hard, my quill’s brass tip snapped off.

“MY NAME IS CELESTIA.” Hot tears splattered the paper. “NOT ONE PONY HAS CALLED ME CELESTIA SINce ive arrived in canterlot” I choked, rubbing ink over my eyes, “not once. He didn’t even call me celestia. Im just his princess. im just everybody’s princess.

I’m everybody’s little prize to chase after”

I waited for his reply, waited and waited and prayed to the sun itself that he better goddamn reply and it had better be the most weepy, begging for forgiveness letter ever. But nothing came. Nothing did for so long, as I sat, smoldering in the wreckage of my room. I didn’t dare move. No, I didn’t even think to move. I was focused entirely on the thought. This had better be good. This had better be the proper response...

I grabbed the letter in my aura before it had even finished forming. It was just a single scrap, and it only had seven words upon it.

“Maybe you were too young for him.”

I screamed. I upturned my inkwell on my rug, splattering those words from existence. But they were burned in my skull, those stupid words! Yes! That clearly sums up the problem. I’M JUST TOO YOUNG, HAHA, YES, THAT’S ALL THAT’S WRONG!

“Oh, there you are!”

I whipped around. Luna and Discord stepped out of the shadows on my wall, smiling and happy. My sister started trotting around the bed, grinning and skipping like a little moonbeam.

She said, “Man, we’ve been looking everywhere for you! How did you—?”

“GET OUT!” I screamed.

My sister and Discord froze, staring at me.

“GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!!!” Spit flew from my mouth as I heaved. “I HATE YOU!”

“Celestia!” my sister snapped, “What happened?! What’s wrong?”

I flung my inkwell at them. It shattered on the wall, its few remaining drops of black splattering every which way. They both ducked. Discord vanished. My sister stepped closer.

“Celestia! Are you—?!”

“I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!”

“Celestia, if you want to stay so badly—!”

“I don’t wanna stay here!” I sobbed. A fancy perfume was flung across the room, rolling away. “I wanna leave! I hate it here! I hate it!”

From my bed, Discord cried, “Then why are you—?”

“NOT WITH YOU!” I screeched. “GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!”

“Celestia!”

Discord shot forward. His talons slapped around my horn, and my magic boiled away, transforming into water that ran down my snout and neck.

He cried, “Here, we can help you!”

“GET OFF OF ME!” I screamed, “DON’T TOUCH ME!”

I wrestled my horn away, flailing with my forelegs and only hitting air.

“Luna, we need to, uh,” Discord flailed on my bed, nose crinkled. “Hug her, or something!”

“Big sis, sh. Shhhh,” Luna inched towards me, head low, Element glowing.

“NO!” I shouted, eyes locked on her necklace, “I don’t… I don’t belong anymore…” I stumbled back, hoof splashing in the puddle of ink.

“That’s not true.” Luna smiled sympathetically. “You’re still my sister, aren’t you?” She stepped a little closer. I retreated a little further.

Discord added, almost offhandedly, “And you’re still the Princess of Loyalty.”

I froze, words hitting me like icy spells. No. No I’m not… I’m not. I’m denied that privilege...

Luna kept advancing. She said, “And you’re still—“

“Leave me ALONE!”

I barreled past her. She may have gotten bigger, but I was bigger still. I sent her spinning, bouncing off the bedpost. Discord let out a little roar, but I was long gone. I charged through the corridors, half blind and aching, but unable to stop. I don’t belong here. I don’t belong here… Not a Princess. Not an Element. Not a friend…

If being worth something only leads to... then I’d rather not be worth anything at all.

I charged down the mountain road, rocks kicking up my legs, black wall of clouds rising to welcome me back.

LVII : A Canterlot Departure

The Steadfast Sky : A Canterlot Departure
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Discord~

There were two options coming out of Celestia’s not-so-kind disappearance: chase after her, or check on injured Luna. Okay, that’s hardly a choice at all, I didn’t really think about it. I just threw myself off the bed, leaping to my Luna’s side in a heartbeat. She was wobbling to her feet, wincing as her sister shot out the door and vanished.

“Man!” Luna rubbed the side of her head. “Why couldn’t I have bounced off my bag?”

“Are you alright?!” I asked.

She winced again, “Yeah, I guess I’ll be…”

“Then we got to run!”

I grabbed her by the hoof and dove for the door. Celestia wasn’t launching off at top speed, maybe we could catch her before she did something crazy! But almost instantly, Luna dropped her hoof and fell behind. I watched as she stumbled in place, staring at me.

“What, Discord…?”

“Did you see how she was acting?!” I waved violently at the open door. “We’ve got to Harmony Blast her! Before she goes completely crazy and transforms into a Nightmare!”

Luna’s snout creased, “What? That’s what’s going on?”

“Yes! Maybe!?”

I charged out the door, blasting past already confused guards, and bolted down the hall. I was whipping around the first corner before I realized once again that Luna wasn’t behind me. I skidded in place, created a couple nondescript rocks for handholds, launched myself from them, and scrambled back to the first hall. Did she see her sister? Was she going the other way?

No, Luna struggling out the very first door, collecting the upturned contents of the white bag.

“Luna!” I yapped. “Leave it!” Checked for flashes of pink mane, saw none. Losing her! I groaned. Now Luna was holding a piece of jewelry in her aura, just staring at it with a blank look on her face.

“Look,” I quickly said, “I’ll meet you up ahead! We’re losing her!” I heard more than saw her shout back, and didn’t really get the message at that. I just called over my shoulder as I rounded my second corner, “Don’t worry! I’ll mark my path!”

Once again, with feeling, I charged down the hallway. With each fall of my hand I left an orange streak, a chalky trail for Luna to follow. I took corners hard, bag swinging around, slapping into my legs, Element bouncing roughly off my chest. Yet, after a few more corners with no pink, fleeing tail, I started to panic. I didn’t even know where Celestia went for life’s sake! Think, Discord, think! I know you don’t really know Celestia’s habits that well, but was there any place she’d run to when upset? Anywhere besides her room? where do I usually see her? With whom? I frowned.

Well, she’s always hanging around that Apple guy…

So she’s probably running to his place!

I didn’t bother trying to find the front door. Once I got there she would’ve already been down the street and gone forever. No, she can run that way if she wanted, I’ll take a shortcut. And the shortcut is... looking around.... Wherever I say it is.

I scribbled a quick note to Luna on the floor ( whent up ^ ) and got to work. With a click of my claws, stairs bloomed up the sides of the marble columns, and I just as quickly made my way up them, heavy sack slapping into every step.

I ascended to the ceiling, into the world of high windowsills, a world of dust and dead bugs. I fused several sills together with a quick spell, and turned to stare at the plain, embedded glass. These weren’t stained art collections or anything, no, nothing so grand for your run-of-the-mill hallway. They were all just simple glass arches for letting in cheap and free light.

Guess that meant I could “modify” one without guilt.

Focusing, I traced a thumb around the window’s outline, at the black tar holding it in place. Fat bronze hinges formed under my fingers, metal frame wriggling and replacing the black. With a soft thump, I slammed my shoulder into the heavy glass. The window swung open quietly, as if it was always built for the motion.

Satisfied, I charged out and slammed the window shut behind me. Cheap tactics always save so much time! And, with a few more carefully summoned steps, I was charging sideways across the vaulted white roof, ignoring the sun-heated burning in my toes and focusing entirely on reaching my destination.

I threw myself on the last decorative parapet and held myself as high as possible. I was high enough off the ground so that the roads looked more like little color-streaked streams, but I didn’t bother messing with a telescope at a time like this. Those always take forever, and they limit my vision anyway. I’ll would just looked for a little flash of white in the sea of color. The one that was running for the Rich Pony quarter would be Celestia.

Problem I didn’t think about: despite ponies coming in every color of the rainbow, Canterlot had an inordinate amount of white flanks.

Balls.

There was a loud and distant crunch of wood. An outcry, somebody in pain, angry. Somebody swearing and shouting. I couldn’t help myself. I glanced away. Cart crash near the gates. Oranges and rugs rolling everywhere. Okay, that’s done, moving on…

I glanced back. Running away from the wreckage was a little white speck. Unadorned and with bubblegum-pink hair. And that little white body was running right towards the city gates.

“No!” I cried. “Why are you going that way?!”

I took a step, stretched my wings... The bag tugged at my joints, sliding around, pinching in places. I grunted. Pulled off the bag, looked around, then threw it off the edge. It floated and spun like a leaf on a sea of glitter, drifting gently in front of the main door. Drew an orange chalk outline around it just to make sure Luna would see it.

So. Okay.

I scrambled up the parapat, my wings stretching and snapping in midair. I pointed towards the gates, arm tense. I felt the wind ripple past me. Judged the distance, minded the towers that could get in my way. Stared at the gate. I’m not the best flier. But this would be easy. I can do this.

I sprung forward. An updraft caught me instantly, hurling me into the sky. I banked, in control, escaped the draft, dove over the streets. Wind roared in my ears. Colors whizzed and blurred beneath me, growing closer and faster with every second. But in just moments more I sailed past them. I ducked under the gate, soaring over the brown smear of a dirt road. And before me I saw Celestia, galloping in a blobby slow motion.

My eyes were watering from the speed. I didn’t dare create a pair of goggles, for fear of making my visibility worse. I flapped a few times to slow down, and quickly swiped at the speed tears. I wobbled slightly, but stayed aloft.

“Celestia!” I shouted. “Wait up!”

She didn’t hear me, or was ignoring me. She whipped around a cliff, and I dove sharply. A gust picked up one wing more than the other, and I spun in midair. For one terrifying moment, I thought I was going to crash into the side of the mountain. I flapped hard, slowed down, skiffed the rocks, then saw through my watery eyes exactly where Celestia was. I was parallel to the road, a good few meters up and off the edge of the cliff. I dove again, wondering if I should keep flying by her side, or just crash into her…

She vanished. I blinked.

And I slammed into the black cloud layer. Hard.

I became buried in the muggy cotton and froze in place, upside down. Immediately, the stench of sweat and blood made me gag, little puffs on it melting into my spit and jamming up my nose. I snorted and spat at the slurry, screwing my eyes shut and beating at the dark clouds. Didn’t really break up the clouds like I thought it would. It just shoved itself into a different position, a lump held tight by an oily film. But with a kick of my legs, I felt like I was moving… somewhere. Down, hopefully. I mean, it was like I had to tear through a solid, wet blanket. What cloud acts like that? No cloud, that’s what.

Finally, my head dropped out the other side, and I gasped for sweet, beautiful air. My limbs were still tangled in the vapor, I hung upside-down and, well, stared, a little. Blinked, let my eyes adjust.

Was it always so dark down here? I remember being near blinded when I first arrived in Canterlot, took weeks for me to get used to the sun, and all the marble and alabaster reflecting that light. Going back down wasn’t quite as bad, but… Really. Was it always this dark?

Surprise or no, I shook myself from the dilemma. I’ve got more important things to worry about right now! I spat out the last of the cloudy film, took a deep breath, and shouted as loud as I possibly could.

“CELESTIAAAAaaaa, oh geez.”

I stopped. My voice was almost was offensive. The wind carried my words away, and left the whole world ringing afterwards. There wasn’t a single other sound around me, no birds, no voices, no carts rattling up the mountain road, and certainly none of the traffic from Canterlot. Even the wind sounded hollow and distant. Was everything always so muted and quiet down here too? Or was it just my position near the cloud layer?

Okay, no more yelling. I wriggled my arms out of the gray vapor. Swung my body around and hung from the layer by my claws, wings open wide for the drop. Took a breath. Hacked up another puff of gray. Stared at the empty mountain path, and let myself drop. The skin of my wings pinched, catching the dead air and dragging my body upwards. I wriggled into position, righted my orientation, stared up at the mountain, and carefully banked towards it.

Strangely, for being on the side of the mountain, there was very little wind. Canterlot, you’re always fighting or utilizing powerful updrafts. Down here… it was like everything else, I suppose. Muted. Lots of dead air. More time I have to spend flapping away and making my shoulders hurt. More time where I’m just a little bit more distracted from my search. More time to think about how uneasy I felt in this place...

Where was she? How far could she have run by now? Was she hiding? Was she already past the second switchback? I flipped around, panted for breath, and begun to glide down the slope again, eyes locked on the road.

There!

She was further down the road than I expected, almost halfway down the mountain by now. She was no longer running in a blind panic, that’s good. Wasn’t even walking. She was standing still, and staring off the edge of the cliff.

One of her hooves hovered over the edge…

“Celestia, don’t do it!”

She squealed as I dove overhead. To be fair, I squealed too. Too close, too sharp an angle! I was about to crash! I snapped my legs close. Shot right over her head, felt her mane smack at my knees. I spun and flailed, trying to turn, spinning off the cliff, finally flapping to a very awkward stop…

Turning, I saw Celestia. Horn alight, and flailing in midair.

“No!”

I dove again, sailed right for her, arms outstretched. She saw me coming a long way off. I heard her squeal. And a second later, a blast of light hit me in the face.

I flipped head over heels. Rubbed at my eyes, crying out and somehow still remaining airborne.

I shouted, “I’m trying to save you dammit!”

And, from weirdly, miraculously close and calm, she shouted back.

“Oh, so that’s what you’re doing?” Celestia shouted. “I thought you were trying to throw me off a cliff! Glad that’s cleared up!”

I evened out. Hovered in place for a bit. Blinked the sun from my eyes, staring under me. She wasn’t there. I looked up. She was, well, not falling at all. She was hovering in the air above me, walking as if on a very unstable tightrope.

Confused, still blinking past offensively large and muddy blurs, I flew up to her. Glided so close I was making her hair drift sideways with each beat of my wings. Yet, she ignored me. Her horn was still flaring yellow, and her eyes locked on her feet.

“Is…” I frowned. “Is that a spell?”

“Yes,” she snapped, “I’m walking on the light.”

“When’d you learn that? Actually. Nevermind.” Dumb question, really. How much have I learned in the span of a year? How much has Luna? Of course Celestia would have picked up a few more tricks. But on the other hand. I stared at the clouds overhead, flapping wings occasionally obscuring my vision.

I said, “Doesn’t seem to be much light down here.”

“Yes, that’s why I’m trying to concentrate,” she snapped, still refusing to look at me. “Wouldn’t have to do this if you didn’t throw me off!”

“I didn’t throw you off!”

She groaned aloud, lazily drifting about a foot lower. Watching her, I got the strongest impression of a falling leaf. She said,
“Okay, so you weren’t trying. I believe the effect was pretty much the same!”

I nervously spun after her, illusions zipping between my fingers. If her spell failed and I needed to catch her quickly…

Wait, that’s stupid.

“Celestia,” I said firmly. She still refused to look up. “You may sometimes be a stick-in-the-mud and a jerk, but you’re my friend and I care about you.”

I slapped my arms around her and pulled her into the friendliest midair hug I could possibly manage. My Element began to glow, because friendship, and she was shouting because more friendship. I expected a return hug to come pretty quickly.

It didn’t.

Instead, she was suddenly way too heavy in my arms. She slipped down, a bit too abruptly. I tried to keep hold, but she fell from my arms. Her horn was snuffed. Really falling. I shot out a hand to catch her. The only thing I was quick enough to grab was her braid.

Oh, did she scream at me.

It was just a second more before I could wrap and illusion around her and pull up. And only a second more before we roughly landed on a scrubby hill and hit a wheel-rutted road. And it was less than thirty seconds more until Celestia was screaming at me again.

“I told you I was trying to focus, what the hell did you think you were doing!?” she screamed, face all pink and puffy, “A hug? In midair?! Are you out of your mind? What was that supposed to accomplish?!”

I sniffed dramatically, “Well excuse me for catching you.”

“You always screw everything up! EVERYTHING!” She stomped so hard, I swear, it felt like she was going to crack the road open. “I said I didn’t want to be your friend and I, I, I mean it!” And then, of all things, she starts tearing up and blubbering. “Go and be an Element with my sister! Save the country! Do whatever! I don’t belong with you two anymore!”

Me and Luna? Life, is that what this is about? For a single panicking second, all I could think was how the hell she found out about my crush. Oh god, what if she thinks it’s more than a crush? Does Celestia think we’re a mating pair? Is Celestia overprotective of her sister? Wait, dumb question, of course she’s overprotective!

“What are you talking abouuuut?” I said, “I mean, you still have Loyalty. Or… you did. Looks like you left it behind.”

“No I’m not! I’m not Loyalty anymore!” she blubbered, “The Element w-won’t stay on… and, and even if it did…”

“Well let me just hug it out, darnit!” I flung open my arms. “C’mon! A hug will make you feel better!”

I had hoped that she would have run sobbing into my arms. Or at least complain a little bit more before I hugged her. But no. Her eyes narrowed. Her lips curled, and teeth bared. She wasn’t just disbelieving me. She was downright livid.

“A hug? A hug?!” she screeched. “Disgusting! Insulting! To think a hug could fix everything I’ve been through!”

“I dunno,” I huffed, “You’re going all nightmare-y, aren’t you? It’s making you have doubts, fears, all that stuff. I’ll explain it later.” I stepped a little closer, arms still open wide. “And the only way to cure a case of the nightmares is with a friendship hug. Or a Harmony Blast, I guess, but…”

“Yes! Clearly!” she sobbed. “Oh Celestia, you’re just being irrational because you’ve got a little bad magic mixed in you! Your feelings aren’t real! Let me just wave a magic wand and make them go away!”

I frowned. “Okay then, thanks for missing the point. Now stop acting like a baby and talk to me.”

She ignored me almost completely. “Now hop skip away, Celestia! It was just bad magic that made you panic with Blueblood! Silly willy, go right back to him and make out. Everything will be better now that you’ve got all those doubt scraped from your head!”

I stared at her. “Blueblood? What happened with Blueblood?”

“Oh, it’s nothing that can’t be fixed with a hug.”

I grabbed her shoulders. Made her look right at me. Made her see how serious I was.

“What happened. With Blueblood?”

She stared back at me, finally quiet and still with her face a burning, hot pink.

And then her eyes began to water.

“I dun wanna be a Princess n’more.”

“Did Blueblood say something to you?”

“Did more’n talk, that guy…”

I sighed, maybe too forcefully. Felt my Element glow brightly, and I automatically squeezed Celestia to me, as hard as I could. She was bony, didn’t move, and was quieter than she’d been all day. It was like hugging a chair. It felt wrong, but it just meant I held her tighter, eyes screwed shut and praying that this worked.

Finally, I pulled away. Celestia squinted back at me, eyes still rimmed with red and still so full of tears.

“Can I go now?” she mumbled, “You and Luna, you’ll be good for the country, I think. You’ll be pretty good without me always nagging at you...”

“C’mon, Celestia, that’s crazy talk.”

She said, “When have I ever been a help.”

“You uh,” I fumbled, “You led us back to Canterbury.”

“Pointless trip,” she said. “Nearly got us killed.”

“No, it wasn’t pointless! Not at all…” But it was, wasn’t it? I mean, she thought Ruin was still freeing ponies, but I knew better. We really didn’t accomplish a thing there. “Also, you… man, how many times have we fled from guards now? Your sunburst. That was the first step out of your house. When we escaped the first time.”

She stared at me.

I continued anyway, “And when I fell out of that tree, when I was, you know… kind’ve starving to death? You carried me to a healer.”

She still stared at me. Just stared and stared like she didn’t believe a word I was saying.

“And, and well,” I huffed, grasping at straws, “you’re always trying Celestia.”

Finally. She opened her mouth. She said:

“Well I give up.”

“Please don’t?” I glanced up the mountain. “At least hear your sister out. She’s so happy to be leaving the city. She’s got us all packed and prepared.”

Celestia’s face folded a little. “I have even less courage about facing my sister. She’s the Princess this country needs. More than me.”

I huffed, made a grab for her shoulders again. “If it’s tearing you up so bad, forget the stupid country, alright? We need you!”

She sniffed. Not sad. Offended. “Forget the country? After everything horrible that’s happened to it, you want to risk subjecting it to more misery and pain?”

“Man, Celestia, that’s something you’re supposed to be saying about me!” I laughed, since it was supposed to be a joke. She didn’t really laugh along. I moved past it. “Like I said, we have a cure for the nightmares now! Or at least something to help stop the transformation.”

I frowned at her, my own words ringing untrue to me. Because those ‘magic words’ didn’t work. The ‘cure’ didn’t work. She’s calmer now, sure, but not from my actions. And now she just seems… broken. She was still so full of doubts, so thoroughly done with us, so unlike herself. And no matter what I did or said, it felt like nothing was going to get through that. Nothing at all.

I said, slowly, forcefully. “Let me help you, Celestia!”

“You know, it’s been really nice,” she said, “To hear my name spoken aloud again.”

“Okay, that’s a start!”

“Discord,” she said softly. “Thanks for your concern. But, I think I just want to be alone for a little while.”

“How long’s a while?”

She slid out from my grip. Took a step backwards, staring at her feet.

Firmly, she said, “Long as it takes.”

I asked, “You’re not even going to wait for Luna?”

“Tell her that I’m so, so proud of her.”

“She has supplies, you know,” I begged, “She’s prepared a lot for you. It’ll make your trip easier.”

“Tell her thank you,” Celestia replied, “But I can’t take them with.”

I think that was the moment Celestia decided she had said enough. She turned away from me, stepped again towards the hilly slope. Scrubby hills rose behind her, vanishing into the thick forests we once traveled through, together, so, so very long ago.

Firmly, I said, “We’ll keep a beacon out for you.”

“That’ll just attract griffins,” she said.

“We’ll still keep it out.”

I thought, maybe that would make her smile. Maybe make her thank me, maybe make the ‘magic words’ work, and fix everything. But it didn’t. She didn’t even thank me. She just eased magic into her horn, stepped off the road, and floated down out of sight.

I waited, watching the site she vanished from. Why didn’t it work? Why wasn’t I able to help her? Were my words not true enough to help? Did it clean her petrichor, but leave her doubts intact? Were we just not far enough along to go nightmare, nor far enough along to be healed by the Elements?

I stared, waiting for so long.

Then looked up, and with a little pulse of magic, shot a silvery white beacon into the sky.

~æ~

“You just let her go?”

I shrugged as I tightened the straps of my bag. Guess I’ll have to get used to the awkward thing.

“I thought you said she was going nightmare.”

“Well I hugged her all I could, and nothing happened.”

Luna frowned down the slope, chewing her lip and making a face very near to pouting. She dropped Celestia’s bag and begun magically picking through it.

She said, “I’ll have to consolidate her things…” I watched as she tucked a brush into her bag, laid out two fat bundles of carrots, and continued shuffling through.

“Well you seem to have taken this in stride,” I said plainly, “Do you know things about Celestia that I don’t?”

“No. I’m frustrated, I think. And please, it’s not at you.” Luna gave the bag a violent shake, staring into it. “This was supposed to be our happy departure. The Elements, finally reunited, charging off with hope and energy, off to save the world together.” She sighed, and buckled up Celestia’s bag. “Guess I was hoping for too much. We really have grown so far apart.”

“Well… we can still travel together. Just us.” I had to restrain myself, the thought of just being alone, together with Luna. Not a single thing to get in our way… gah! Stop it brain! Now is not the time.

“Dammit! No, no, Discord, still not mad at you!” She snapped open a map. “I just had a thought. We could’ve told her where one of the Elements was, and we could’ve agreed to meet up at Magic. Y’know. Given her a structure to spend her time alone, and come back if she’s willing.”

I struggled out of my daydreams, shrugging a bit too forcefully. “I’m sorry I didn’t delay her more?”

Luna huffed again. She tossed me the two bundles of carrots, pulled out a piece of jewelry, and in enveloping vortex of shadows, Celestia’s bag vanished.

Luna grumbled, “Hope the servants leave all of our stuff where it is.”

I stared at her, carrots limply held in the crook of my arm. “Do you need a hug?”

“No! Maybe.” She stared down the hills again, accusing them of wrongdoing with her eyes. “That’s just, it’s my sister, you know? This is something so completely unlike her. She’s…” Her accusing eyes snapped to mine. “She’s not the kind of pony who’d run away from anything.”

“Well maybe,” I shifted uncomfortably, “She’s running towards a solution.”

“I hope so.” With a deep breath, Luna began stumbling down the steep road. Walking deeper into the darkness under the clouds. It almost seemed like night was upon us, but that couldn’t be right. I watched as Luna’s horn lit up, and in front of her hovered Celestia’s uh…

I did a double take. That was her Element? It… looked different. Not different in the gone-nightmare way either, that was described as turning to stone. This just looked like… Well, my first impression was that it was rotting. The orange gem, once cut like a bright, sunny eye, was slowly losing its shape and color. The curling metal band looked like it was fusing together, becoming hard and unbendable. Some of the gold was warping around the setting, creating uneven holes and pockets that the gem was slowly leaking around.

Luna stared into the Element, and quietly said, “I really, really hope she’s alright.”

LVIII : Travelling Alone I

The Steadfast Sky : Travelling Alone I
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Celestia~

I walked above a river’s embankment, mind-numbingly focused on every fall of my hooves. With every step, I sank ankle-deep into the muddy grass, which squelched loudly as I struggled to keep walking. My coat hung off me in stained brown clumps, and loose hairs stuck and itched around both sides of my face. I could feel just how greasy my braid had gotten, yet I didn’t dare take it out. There was yet more damage to be done in a forest of entangling branches and sticking burrs. My beautiful long tail was already a rat’s nest of nettles and pieces of bark, I was certainly sparing my mane the worst of it!

Goodness, if I just had a comb…

Numbly, I glanced down at the wide, mighty river, wondering if I was past the rapids yet. Yes, this looked like a shallow enough spot. I could see the rocks at the bottom now. Carefully, as smoothly as my aching legs would allow, I slid down the grassy overhang and dropped into the frigid, knee-deep water. It splashed up on my stomach, droplets cooling my hot coat. I could feel the tugging river current already taking a powerful effect, chilled blood pumping up my legs and inching into my torso, almost painfully.

I grimaced. Closed my eyes, and sunk quietly into the water. My knees slid on the slippery rocks, but I could already feel the hot grease and mud slide off my body, the chill quickly becoming refreshing instead of shocking.

For a moment, I just let the river wash over it. It was a strangely comforting pressure, satisfying some curious, childlike part of me. I nudged a knee back and forth on the water’s surface, splashing about, just on some dull instinct. I wasn’t really here to play anyway. I had one more important thing to do.

I dunked my head under, and my loosely tangled braid slopped gently around me. With a little nudge of order magic, the twigs and burrs peeled off and drifted downstream. I separated the grime, tugged the hairs back in place, tried to cleanse and refresh my hair with the spells I had learned. But without soap, without a comb, without whatever other magic the servants were putting into my hair, my braid never stopped feeling greasy and messy, never stopped coming apart in knotted tangles. Being free of debris was one thing. Looking nice under these conditions was another thing entirely.
And it was completely infeasible to cast these spells every time I got a little dirty.

I rose and took a shuddering breath, body shivering under the frigid water. I tugged my braid forward, and felt my roots tugging unevenly at my scalp, a mirror to the pull of magic in my horn.

I squeezed my eyes shut, and cast before I changed my mind. There was a ripping sound, and the sick smell of burning hair. I squeaked as heat singed my scalp, and quickly ducked back into the river. I resurfaced, shivered, and quickly did the same for my tail.

Hairs plastered my shoulders and thighs, gripping and refusing to admit they’d been let go. But I watched as the wet, pink clumps drifted downriver, slowly unweaving and vanishing from sight.

There. What’s done is done. Long hair is just too impractical out here. I’ll grow it back someday. I swear, I will grow it back.
I washed myself thoroughly, picking at hairs and ordering the mud off me the best I could. Only once I felt well and truly clean did I have the courage to try and look at my reflection. It was horrible. My hair was awful and uneven, the cut looked atrocious, and the ends were a wet mess. It looked burned, because it was burned, and I dreaded what color it might be once it dried. I needed a brush. I could have bought one, if I had thought to bring any bits with me. No, if I had just thought to bring my brush with me. No, no, if I had thought to bring any supplies with me at all.

I sighed, pained. Maybe in the next town I could get a job.

Maybe I could be a baker.

I watched blankly as my reflection began to shiver more violently, then finally burst into tears.

I’m being quite serious here. I watched my reflection as if I was watching a stranger, even as my very own eyes went gummy and blurry. I watched it break down and swipe at tears and heard it sob at how unfair everything was. And yet, all I could think, staring at this illusion of myself, was this:

Oh for goodness sake, Celestia, stop crying.

Because, of all things, those were the most frustrating moments. Not with my lack of luxury, but with myself. I was exasperated with my own weakness. I used to be able to do this. I used to just rough it in the woods and not even care. I thought about basic cleanliness, sure, but I wasn’t this broken up about it. When did that change?

When did I change?

~¤~

I knew a part of me would hate sleeping outside again. I knew a part of me would hate eating grass and drinking river water. But it was what I had to do, and there was no sense in complaining now. It wasn’t really worth the tears, but sometimes I cried anyway. That’s simply the pony I still was.

To distract myself, and to create a meaning for this foray in the woods, I began to reflect, and inquire of myself some answers. The first question was “What did I do wrong?” which seemed just shy of “What did I do to deserve this?” so I discarded the thought immediately. I will not indulge myself of any more whining. Decided. Fact. A better question was “What do I do to fix it?” That’s goal oriented. That is a way out of this self-inflicted meditative journey.

Yet, these queries didn’t seem to lead to any answers. Only more questions. What do I do to fix this? Well then, what was broken, and who broke it? Was this my fault? Was this the fault of Apple and Blueblood, who were using me for their own ends? Was it a mix? Was it none of them? Should I be looking for Luna and Discord? Avoiding them? Should I go back to Canterlot? Go somewhere else? Was there somewhere else I wanted to be?

After hours of wondering circles around myself, I finally realized where exactly this trip was going. Nowhere, and fast. I demanded myself to narrow down the inquiries to something big and soul-search enough so that, when I found the answer, I’d know my ‘quest’ was over.

Maybe because it reminded me of my sister, or of my own time in the light of the sun, but it took me a night of staring at the disturbingly empty sky to really have it come to me. Am I confused because I’ve lost my purpose? Because I’ve lost the meaning of my cutie mark? It had appeared to me under such vague circumstances, I never felt like I had a firm grasp over what exactly it meant to me. Clearly, it’s just unhealthy to not know your own cutie mark. That’s akin to not know your own desires, your own wishes, and your own destiny.

So, after more intense thought, I happened on the question:

“What ideal does the Sun represent?”

Yes, that sounds about right. Sounds vaguely philosophical, like some kind of Zen riddle. So I suppose I should start thinking up an answer. Alone. Out here. While I gag on wild grasses and tear burrs from my mane.

It was that very same night that I started thinking this was a really dumb idea.

~¤~

Days came. Days went. I was still in the woods, and still asking myself the same question. Oh, I had come up with answers, but none were particularly profound, nor associated with enough fireworks to be real answers. Because, gosh be darned, I guess that’s what I’m waiting for now! For the heavens to open up and really tell me “Yes, Celestia. You got it. Good job.”

More than that, the more and more I asked and examined myself, the less and less it felt like there was going to be a good answer. See, I thought I’d really try and get to my roots. Figure out what made me. So I looked hard and well. I thought and I thought and I finally came to the answer I had all along:

I hate myself.

But then I thought even harder, and the answer became more refined! You see, I’m a pretty complicated mare. So there was a lot of things I hated about myself! And, because all I could do in these blasted woods was think, I even named and color coded these horrible fractions of a tramp!

First, there was Snippy. She’s the one who finds everything wrong with everything and is stubborn as a bull. She’s the one declared my friendship with Discord dead, the one who constantly refuses to compromise, because compromise is a dirty word. So she’s like me, but with a green mane. Because I never liked green as a mane or coat color. It’s the color of plants, not ponies.

Ah yes, those kind of thoughts probably originated from Princess. The posh purple-haired queen of all the forests in the land. I bet she’ll start crying about how unfair all of this is any moment now. Aha, there she goes now! Whoops!

But she shouldn’t have to worry, blue-mane Martyr is here! She assures us that this hike is all worth it, because it’s deep and meaningful and we need to better ourselves. Previous achievements include: throwing myself at Canterbury because gosh darnit, we’ve got to at least try to get ourselves killed!

I didn’t like any of them. I didn’t want to be any of them. I didn’t want to be stubbornly against anything I didn’t agree with. I didn’t want to be attached to the materialistic lifestyle of the elite. I didn’t want to throw my body away in some high-minded ideal of self-sacrifice. But if I stripped those all away… What exactly was left?

The meek little baker who just lived every day hoof to mouth. That’s all that was left. A something that was less than nothing. A something that could have never earned the distinction of a sun as a cutie mark.

I sighed loudly at nothing, because… Goodness gracious.

Loneliness has driven me bat-barking crazy.

~¤~

I trundled alongside that river, mentally and physically exhausted. I was privately nagged to death and swimming in self-loathing. There was no answer in these woods. There was no escape either. There was just walking, followed by more walking.

Princess sniffled about the state of her hooves. Snippy demanded that she stop weeping about things that can’t be fixed. Frustrated and hungry, Snippy smacked Princess.

That’s when Martyr stepped in. She glared at Snippy, declared that it’s not nice to hit. Hurting people isn’t a solution. Why don’t we all hug and talk things out over tea?

Well, Snippy said, for one thing, all the tea was imaginary. And Snippy is sick to death of drinking imaginary tea. And for another thing. In my head, I watched as Snippy swelled in size and anger. I’m even more sicker to DEATH’S death of talking. Hitting people is now the best and ONLY solution.

A smack down began playing out in the back of my mind. Princess was still crying about the state of her mane, Martyr was still whining at the imaginary blows, and Snippy just smacked and smacked them, acting like the angry little foal she was.
And the little Baker in me just watched, mildly interested in anything that broke up the monotony of trees forever.

This is dumb, Baker thought.

This is so, so very dumb.

I was so, so irreversibly and cripplingly alone.

Snippy snorted. Pity party, table for four! Why don’t you—

Wait.

I looked up from my feet, head finally, forgivably quiet.

Did I smell smoke?

I raced along the riverbank, slipping and sliding in mud, powered forward by the very idea of civilization! What in the world I’d do there, I hadn’t the faintest clue. Princess had her own ideas, of course, but they were all ridiculous things, like a real bath or a gift of oat cakes. Just a road under my feet, a hard place to walk, that would be lovely.

I turned a bend, and saw a collection of docks in the distance. There was even a little stone bridge. Sun above, it was a big enough town to have a bridge of stone! I laughed. I cried. I…

I stopped right in my tracks, just as soon as I saw the banners fluttering over that bridge. The symbol of the black alicorn. A town under the domain of the Shadow Stallion. I mean, I knew all towns fell under his rule. But now a very eerie memory was bubbling to the surface of my brain, something Apple had said to me in my first day in Canterlot.

“He can neither look for you, nor see for you. He does not know your name, your cutie mark, and beyond that.” I touched the empty space on my neck, where my element used to hang. “This will keep you safe from all evil, right?”

It was something I hadn’t thought of in all my days in the woods, and Snippy assured me it was a very dumb thing to not think about. Each and every town posed a very real threat. My appearance was no secret to the Stallion, and I no longer had the marble city of Canterlot to protect me. I also didn’t have an Element, but I doubt that would stop the Griffins from grabbing me…

I stared at the bridge. Stared at the image of the black alicorn waving in the breeze. Princess sniffed, then quietly mumbled, ‘What use is a town to a pony with no purse anyway?’

“Heya, yeh okay down there?”

I nearly fell into the river from surprise. A voice! Close! I’ve been spotted! And my coat is a mess! That’s a stupid thing to think! Where did it come from?! I didn’t have to look hard. Up the muddy embankment and standing just outside the tree line was a muddy blue, blank-flanked colt staring right at me.

“Okay?!” I squeaked. “Um, yes, of course, why do you ask? I’m completely fine!”

He didn’t move. If anything, he came closer, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Of all bizarre things, he said, “Yer not carryin’ the plague, are yeh?”

I stared up at him. “Plauge? What plague?” Goodness, is something starting to go around now?

He shrugged, “Any kind a plague. There’s all sorts, innit?”

“I don’t know?” I replied, “Do I look like I’m sick to you?”

“Yer all muddy an’ wanderin’ in the woods like a sick filly.” He frowned at me. “An’ you got a really funny bump on yer forehead.”

“A funny bump?” I looked up, but of course I couldn’t see a thing.

“Yea, that spiral thingy righ’ ‘tween yer eyes!”

I didn’t know which part of me wanted to laugh, and which wanted to cry. “Why, that’s just my horn you silly colt!”

“A horn?” He sniffed. “Jes uni-corns got them a horn.”

Snippy grew indignant. “Yes, and I have one because I’m a Unicorn.”

He stared at me. “Yeh sure?”

“Quite certain!” Princess proudly declared.

He was silent for a moment more, quietly judging me from on high. “Ain’t never seen no uni-corn running ‘round in the mud.” His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Least, no uni-corn that didn’t have no plague in ‘em!”

“Well, I can tell you that I do not have any kind plague, and I am wandering around in the mud, because, well…” I stared at my hooves, feeling Princess wince as they sucked with each step. Distracted, Martyr decided that perhaps this was time for a direct answer. She said, “I got very, very lost.”

But the colt wasn’t buying it. “Ain’t no uni-corn ever got lost. They gots magic spells to guide them! Unless you was…”

“I am not plague-ridden,” I Snipped. “In mean, what disease makes you want to take a nature walk?!”

He shrugged. “Brainy-type plauges.”

“Oh. Clearly. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have important places to be…” I struggled up the chunky, overhanging embankment, and saw a little dirt path that was running parallel to the road. How long had that been there? No wonder I looked crazy, walking in the mud when there was a perfectly viable path not three feet away. The colt scampered back from me as I approached, keeping his distance and watching me closely. Probably still thought I was diseased.

“Yer not going into town, are yeh?” he said.

“Oh, I don’t know.” I glanced back at the bridge. At the banners. “I suppose I’ll have to at least pass through…”

“No!” he blurted out. “Yeh can’t! Yeh might have—“

“I’m telling you,” Snippy barked, “I don’t have the plague!”

The colt stared at me, face blank and eyes wide. Then, in a moment more he charged down the dirt path and vanished into the hidden village streets. I rolled my eyes. As if this would stop me from… wandering… somewhere.

For just a moment more, I struggled to decide on my direction. Should I keep following the river? Should I walk on the road? Martyr thought I should suffer the lack of roads, but then Princess started whining about how much her legs hurt from the mud. Then the thought occurred to her that following the road meant that she’d be all muddy with a terrible manecut in front of other ponies. I could feel my body flush with embarrassment, and already started eyeing the treeline.

No wait, I could wash up in the river, and then very carefully—

The colt returned before I could even move, this time with an older stallion following curiously behind him. Princess felt embarrassed enough to bolt right then and there, but Snippy slapped her for being ridiculous and — Oh, they’re right in front of me now.

The little colt skittered around the stallion’s heels, shouting, “Check her, pa! Check her!”

“Hmm… Excuse my intrusion, ma’am.” He gave me a slight bow, smiling lightly. “The name is Trout, and I s’pose you’ve met my son Minnow. May I have your name?”

“Ehehehe.” I glanced at the banners again, still darkly flapping in the distance. I wouldn’t dare to tell the truth. If they were looking for a Celestia, if my name was floating around… But was my family name in the air? I had never thought to use it. Despite Martyr’s objections, Snippy rose up and lied for me. “It’s Helios.”

Trout nodded. “That’s some fancy name you got there, Miss Helios.” He stepped closer, almost too close, looking me in one eye, then the other. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Perfectly fine!” Princess snapped.

He smoothly ducked his head a little, looking up at my face. I blushed.

“Which direction you coming from, ma’am?” Trout asked.

“I um…” Snippy shouted in my head NOT CANTERLOT. “P-ponyville. Accidentally left the road, got lost…”

“Pretty sideways route from Ponyville.” He looked over my shoulder. “What direction r’you headed?”

“Stringhalt,” I said automatically.

The little colt peered around his father’s legs. “Is she clean?”

“Yep. Next to godliness,” he stepped back and smiled. “Sorry ‘bout that ma’am. We get alotta traffic coming and going to The Sanatorium. So my son just done what he thought was right.”

“No trouble…” Princess did a sort of cowering curtsey, wanting to appear polite and courteous, but also so very ashamed of the mud staining her coat. Martyr ignored her. She had a question. “There isn’t a plague going around right now, is there?”

Trout shook his head. “Nah ma’am, not at the moment. But we still get all kinds looking for the best healers.” He nodded at the fact, sure of himself. “‘Nuff that we got ourselves a bit of a protocol.”

Martyr was puzzled. “Wouldn’t they go to Canterlot for the best healers? Canterlot is a hotbed of Unicorns and magic.”

He shrugged. “Wouldn’t know, ma’am. Guess when most folk want healing, they think of a healing place first.”

“I suppose so…”

“Anyway, feel free to come and go from Ambleville as your please.” He waved behind him as the village hidden by the trees. “We’re well equipped for the travelling type.”

“I suppose I would very much like to but…” Again, Princess whimpered in my head. “I have no money.”

He nodded knowingly. “Jes as well then. Hope you make it alright to Stringhalt.” He started to turn and leave, but then, he stopped. Looked back at me, and not in the eye. No, he looked just above it. “Sorry for staring, hope it’s not too rude to ask…”

“Yes…?”

“Yer a Unicorn, right?”

Princess curtseyed again. “Of course.”

“What kind? What magic can you do?” When I didn’t respond right away, he continued. “See, aint never seen a Unicorn that wasn’t sick or a doctor. But you’ve been roughin’ it out in the woods, so I was kind’ve hoping…”

“Hoping…?”

Hoping for what? What was he asking? Wild ideas were tossed around my head, until, of all myself, Baker finally spoke up. She reminded me of something I had forgotten. She brought up one of my earliest memories of the place. Of a shopkeeper stunned by my aura, and scrambling to get me working for him.

“Oh!” I exclaimed, laughing. “Right! I’m sorry, since I’m from, well, Ponyville, I see Unicorns come and go all the time! But… they’re pretty rare out here, aren’t they?”

“Well, we got the healers, they’re nice.” Trout said, “But the nearest practical Unicorn’s half a week’s walk away. So, please. You don’t have any money, so I gotta ask.” He gave me a collected smile, trying to not seem too eager. “Do you got any practical magics?”

All parts of me immediately asked, “What exactly counts as practical magic?”

~¤~

A lot of things apparently counted as “practical,” and there were a lot of things I could do as well.

At first, Trout asked me to do things I never thought of. Some of it was careful, refined, and delicate work that was difficult for Earth Ponies to do with their clumsy hooves and mouths. I was asked to patch the weave of several straw baskets and do a bit of fine sewing repair for a delicate cloth (Trout admitted that the most he could do was darn). Others, it was tasks that weren’t impossible for Earth Ponies, but made easier with help from a unicorn. I was asked by a neighbor to thoroughly clear the dust from high and hard to reach places in his ceiling. Another asked me to tear out a few empty Barn Swallow nests, big muddy things that were nearly impossible for the pony to knock and pry loose from his roof. Princess kept rearing up inside me, embarrassed for the state of my coat, disgusted at being reduced to cleaning. But some part of me, probably Baker, quietly shushed Princess back down.Because when townsfolk realized that I knew the magic of law and order, which included the fixing of broken objects and the thorough separation of materials, oh, that’s when the dam burst.

Of course, I had never put my magic to practical purposes in Canterlot. I knew the magic in theory, but had barely practiced the arts outside of the classroom and the occasional accident. But now ponies were shoving all sorts of objects on me. Broken heirlooms too personal to toss. Carts too complicated and too expensive to fix. Nets the Earth Ponies could have fixed themselves, but were dragged and dropped in front of me, just to see me weave the threads back together. Many ponies wished I had arrived sooner, before they had tossed or repurposed their broken items. While many more gloated over their patience on waiting for miracles.

Halfway through the day, through jokes, a dare, and a lot of pressure on the owner of the local tavern, I was lead into the bar and told to “magic it clean.” When I asked for a bucket, the local ponies scattered and tossed four in front of me, ranging from repurposed barrels to a steel kettle nearly the size of a washtub. It seemed enough, so I dragged two of them inside, and I got to work.

Now, what I really did wasn’t exactly ‘cleaning,’ but what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. Ponies gasped and chattered behind me as the room filled with light, pressing up to the doorway and pushing their noses through the open-air windows. With immense concentration, energy, and a severely burning headache, I separated all the dust, dirt, rocks, and organic sludge from the floors and furniture. The matter hovered above every surface, each particulate hovering in its own thin layer, like thin lines of sedimentary rock. Still holding it in place, I willed each matter in turn into the buckets. My horn ached after the display, and I could feel it beating red hot for nearly an hour afterwards, but the crowd whooped and cheered behind me, impressed beyond belief.

There were a few they asked of me that seemed either beyond my depth, or warped by their lack of knowledge about magic. The obvious first question was if I could turn dirt into gold, which was clearly laughed away. There were a few things that seemed almost folksy, very vague things I didn’t know if there was a spell for. As a fishing village, they asked if I could bless their boats, or their nets. They asked me if I could make the weather favorable for their gardens, or a spell to make the plants more fruitful. I told them that those were things beyond my skill, but they didn’t seem to mind. While they wished their gardens would grow better, the fishing industry was booming as ever. Apparently they sold the meat to the griffins (luckily none were present) but their primary purpose for catching fish was something different entirely.

“This is our mill!” A stormy mare named Miller told me excitedly. “Year round, this is where we grind the fish we catch! The bone meal’s really good for the soil, but those Healer Unicorns ask us to process them bones special! Look!”

I stared at the grindstone, all parts of me speechless. Carved down the length of the wheel l was a series of intricate runes, lighter in color, almost white on the gray granite. Studded along the side of the mill were quartz channeling stones that almost seemed to dimly glow.

“That there was done by the gods themselves!” Miller proclaimed excitedly. “It’s worth thousands of gold bits, that!”
I stammered, “Why…?”

“Makes them bones sparkle, ma’am. Makes them something magical! Gods themselves gave my family this purpose, we changed our name to Miller for it!”

I stared, my question still unanswered. Why this, and for a Sanatorium? Was the place special somehow? Sun above, the last thing I needed on my mind were more questions. I quickly shoved them out of my mind.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked lightly.

“See, mill grinds and grinds and grinds, every day all year. The markings are more shallow now, see?” She waved at the Runes, as if I could tell just by looking. “The bonemeals slowly getting less shiny. You’re unicorn. You can fix it, right?”

I slowly shook my head. “I, I doubt I could. And even if I did, I’d be terrified of messing up. You’d lose your livelihood if I made a mistake.” I looked to the excited mare. “Have you asked the ponies at the Sanatorium to fix it?”

“None cut stone, and they’re too reverent to touch it. Would ask gods, but they all long gone now. This shadow they left in charge,” she shook her head. “He no good at helping. His griffins may buy our fishmeats, but this shadow’s no good. You know?”

I was appalled. “You haven’t asked have you?”

“No ma’am! I may be in trouble, but I’m not stupid!”

Eventually, Miller settled for letting me magically cleanse the wheel of ground-in bone dust, and that seemed to make her happy. But the wheel and Sanatorium refused to budge from my brain, the questions bubbling quietly under the surface of my personas.

Was The Sanatorium connected to the First Gods? What does a place of healing have to do with them? Didn’t Generosity have a healer’s cutie mark? I remembered that fact vaguely my little picture book, long lost and left behind in Canterlot. So focused was I on Kindness and Magic, I had practically glanced over all of Generosity’s stories. So foolish, Snippy snapped. I should have focused on the entire picture!

I was distracted, but the questions didn’t stop me from working hard. It was nearly pitch black before the crowd finally dispersed, and my work finished for the day. Still, I stood out in the street, a place barely illuminated by few lamps. Trout was the only one left, holding a small leather pouch in his mouth.

He said quite clearly, “I’m sorry to have asked so much of you.”

“Oh no,” Martyr replied. “It’s no trouble.”

“Here. This is payment, given by all those who are grateful for your services.” He set the little sack into one of my tired, muddy hooves, where it instantly threatened to slide off and hit the ground. Tired as I was, I still had enough magic to lift the bag. It was heavy, but when I opened it, it seemed little more than loose change. It was all copper bits, all varying shades of worn and weathered. This was barely enough for two nights stay at a stable, and only if I didn’t buy a single thing else…
Princess scrabbled at the back of my hoof. She wanted a bath and a haircut more than anything else in the world. Snippy slapped Princess and demanded we spend it on a large bag of oats and carrots enough to last the week. Martyr said it would be best to just give back the money to these poor, poor ponies and leave on empty hooves. Snippy slapped her too. Oh yes, every day’s a comedy when you’re alone in your own head.

I smiled peacefully, serene and above the voices bickering in my head. I returned the poor farmer his bits, and said to him.

“Please. A hot meal and a night stabled is all I require, my good stallion.”

“Mistress Helios…” He didn’t object at all, hastily tucking the coins back into his cloak. “Of course. My wife makes an excellent pot pie. Here…”

I’m not any of you, I thought. I’m not whatever you four are.

LIX : Friends Together I

The Steadfast Sky : Friends Together I
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Luna~

I had stowed my sister’s Element, yet I couldn’t stop thinking about it. What was happening to her? Why was her Element changing like this? Discord quickly assured me that ‘Nightmare’ Elements revert to their stone form, like the rock he stole from the Stallion. But who cares? This transformation clearly wasn’t a good thing. So what if my sister wasn’t transforming? It was worlds worse, because we had no idea what was happening to her!

She needed us.

We all needed each other.

But…

My sister was made of tougher stuff. I think, of all of us, I trusted her to take care of herself more than I trusted me to take care of myself. And I definitely trusted Celestia alone more than Discord, because seriously, I’m afraid of what harm he can do to himself when he’s alone.

Seriously, he’d probably go back to starve himself if everybody didn’t shove food in his face. That adorable, messed up dipstick…

Still. I have to wonder.

“Discord?”

He jumped, then nearly tripped over a fat road rock. We must have been walking in silence for a while now. Little illusions bobbed around his head, a complicated jumble of nonsense. They vanished quickly, and he ran to my side.

“Yes, Luna?” he asked.

I was silent for a time, gnawing on a thought. Eyes on the road, I asked:

“What do you think that feels like?”

He frowned. “What, exactly?”

“What would transforming into a nightmare feel like?”

Almost instantly, he leapt to answer. “Celestia’s not turning into a nightmare, you don’t have to worry—“

“I know my sister’s fine,” I huffed, “I’m just, you know, thinking about it. I mean…” I looked at my friend, similar heights allowing me to easily hook his big yellow eyes. “You read about all of them, about the fall of each and every alicorn.”

“Not all of them,” he mumbled.

“Still,” I asserted, “What do you think?”

He looked away, and after a moment, “Well one of them, Honesty, he apparently caught fire while he was transforming.”

I commented, “That can’t have been a good feeling,” and Discord laughed hollowly. He stared at the clouds, face quiet in his thoughts. I wondered what exactly he was thinking about. Was he trying to remember a certain passage? Another memory, maybe of the Stallion? Was he waiting for me to answer my own question? I asked it to hear him talk, so…

Suddenly, he looked back at me, face blank.

“It’d feel like dying,” he said.

“You think so?”

“Yeah.” He nodded darkly. “It’d feel like dying. It’d be like...” His gaze snapped downwards, glaring at my feet. “Say… you’re caught up in all this pain, and all this misery. And you’re not able to fight it any more. You can feel yourself on the brink and…”

He shivered, and, in a strange motion, he briefly ran a talon down his throat. It was only a flash of movement, and in the next second he was right back to talking.

“You have no say any more,” he said, “No control. You’d just feel yourself slip away, and watch as some doppleganger makes your own limbs move...” Discord heaved a sigh. “And then, I guess, the good part of you would just wither and vanish. It’d die.”

“That’s a morbid answer,” I swiftly replied. “A nightmare’s just an alicorn overtaken by its own pain and flaws. That means the good part would have to be there to corrupt.”

He nodded. “Yes. It would corrupt. And then die.”

I frowned sympathetically at Discord, but I doubt he saw it. His eyes were still on my feet. I asked him, “How can you be so certain?”

“Well, actually, that’s another thing I’ve been thinking of.” A little less tense, he said, “Generosity and... Paleheart and Butterfly Bright. They knew the secret of reversing the petrichoric corruption, yes? They could comfort and assure each other until the end of time, right?”

“Exactly,” I said.

“But they couldn’t do it forever,” he asserted. “They still got overwhelmed. Bright turned into a nightmare. And even though Paleheart and Four-Clover had the ability to purify Bright, they couldn’t cleanse the Shadow Stallion. They couldn’t bring Bright back out of that darkness. So…” Discord’s eyes flicked up to my own, hard in thought. “Butterfly Bright must have died the moment that darkness overtook his body.”

“Yeesh,” I said with a shiver, “Dark stuff.”

Discord laughed, a faint smile on his face, “Well you’re the one who brought up the topic.”

“And I still want to talk about it,” I said, “And I’m going to answer that thought with another thought.”

Discord shrugged, “Alright…”

“So Bright transformed into a Nightmare. Obviously.” I waved at the dark clouds overhead. “So why didn’t Paleheart and Four-Clover turn the Shadow Stallion into stone?” Discord went quiet, looking away from me and thinking some more. I shook my head and continued, “They didn’t do a single thing about The Stallion. Didn’t, or maybe couldn’t turn him into stone, and they definitely didn’t hug him all better.”

“Maybe they weren’t around to,” Discord quickly retorted. “Four-Clover and Bright went to see Paleheart. Then two vanished, and Bright emerged transformed. We don’t know what happened in that time. Heck, we don’t even know if they all met up, or something happened along the way.”

“So we don’t know if the good parts of a heart die when the body corrupts,” I said firmly, “We are absolutely clueless.”

“Oh, that’s a fun conclusion,” Discord rolled his eyes, “We don’t know anything about this horrible process! I mean, anything could happen!”

“Exactly!” I shot back, smiling, “Which means it’s possible to save a transformed Nightmare, doesn’t it?”

“Maybe? No! I mean…” Discord rubbed his forehead. “But if the First Gods knew how to reverse the process, wouldn’t they have tried to fix their friends? The ones that had already transformed? Wouldn’t they have helped Laughter... Golden Jubilee, Hurricane, or uh... Bookends?”

“Wait,” I interrupted him. It was like a clear bell had just rung in my head, a memory coming to me sharp and bright. “Bookends?”

“Yeah, that was Honesty’s ‘birth name.’ Bookends.”

“That sounds so familiar! Wasn’t that…” I frowned. The clear thought was more insubstantial than I thought. The name, that sounded like something I heard before. But nothing else was coming to me. “I thought…” I huffed, “Didn’t we meet a Bookends?”

“What?” Discord cried, “Where?”

“I dunno...”

Discord stared at me. I stared back. He glanced away. Then with a mumbled, “excuse me,” he leaned over, rooted through my bag, and yanked out the map.

“Want to go to Honesty’s tomb first? Maybe.” Discord no longer seemed down on himself. If anything, there was an edge of excitement in his voice. “Maybe we can see if his statue’s there!”

I grinned, “See if the last three actually managed to purify him before they vanished?”

“Yeah! I mean,” he chuckled. “Could be just a family name. But if we’re out to get the Elements anyway…”

My easy gait slowly started turning into a trot. “It’d be worth seeing if there was something good left of Bookends!”

“Yeah!”

I took off in an excited gallop, and Discord quickly followed, laughing after me. We charged down that dirt road, kicking up sand and rocks, feeling the wind rush all around us, both powered by that overwhelming feeling of hope…!

But after about five minutes we slowed down again, panting and gasping for air.

“Okay… actually…” Discord heaved, “The tomb’s… you know… over a week’s walk away…”

I giggled, “I dunno why I started running.”

“Guess we… were just so excited...”

I smiled brightly at my friend, “Yep!”

A week away didn’t seem long at first, but after all those months of inactivity, each day was a chore to get through. We stopped often, and Discord always did his best to make the journey comfortable for the both of us. He summoned us blankets to lie on, and if it was a longer stop, pillows or mattresses. He took our food and covered it in the illusion of different flavors. With everything he ate, he’d drop in his own memory of mint, tweaking and tasting until he got it just right.

“I dunno how long I struggled with the illusion of taste. Takes a completely different line of thinking.” He tapped his carrot, took a bite, shrugged, tapped it again, and broke off another chunk with a louds snap. “Still can’t emulate that cold feeling right. Close enough, I guess.”

I took another bite of my oats. They tasted just like ripe oranges. Pretty cool, but tasting an orange without the citrus, the liquid and pulpiness of an orange? That was just weird. I don’t know how Discord can take all his food like that.

Asking him to recreate a whole dish was way better.

“So,” I said eagerly, “How about a slice of cherry cheesecake?”

He snapped his fingers, almost absentmindedly. Not only did two slices of the cake appear, but they came on little china plates with the daintiest forks. I could very clearly see the cherry juice rolling down the sides, and a part of the crust crumbled as I magically lifted the plate towards me.

“Mm! This is so good!” I shoveled in another mouthful. “Screw these bags of carrots and celery. Why didn’t I just assume you’d summon all the food?”

“It’s not summoning, it’s still an illusion.” He snapped off another bite of carrot and chewed it thoughtfully. “I guess it’ll just vanish from your stomach the moment I stop thinking about it. And even if you got magical energy from it, it’s not like it’s got the nutrients you need.”

“Yeah, yeah. I was joking. Kinda.” I smiled, but Discord only seemed awkward. Another mood swing. Poor guy. He just can’t seem to get comfortable.

He nudged a hand through his bag and pulled out one of the paper packages between two fingers. He turned away from me, and the road, to unpack it away from my eyes.

“Still not comfortable with that, Discord?”

“I don’t want to be.” There was a loud crackling of paper, and a soft sort of snapping sound. “Allowing myself to be content with it makes it okay. And I don’t want it to be okay.”

“A lot of animals eat meat, Discord.”

“Oh yeah, dumb lumbering beasts do.” He had balled up the paper and threw it away, but I could still see the outline of his jaw gnawing at something.

He glanced over at his bag and pulled it open with two fingers. “Yeah, this’ll last me the week. Then I’ll have to find something else... Uhg. I don’t think I have it in me to look, you know?”

I nodded quietly. Quickly pushed the rest of the cheesecake in my mouth, set aside the plate, and walked two steps over to his side. I got a brief glance of the brown meat chunk before he stuffed it into the shadows. I gave him a one-leg hug, hoping to reassure him, but… He flinched as I touched him, tried to draw away.

Still not comfortable with me either.

“What?” I joked, smirking up at him, “Afraid you’re going to hurt me?”

His face went blank. No, his face went to awkward town. Oh geez, really?

“Really Discord?” I laughed, “You think one day you’re going to wake up and bite my head off?”

“No! Well.” He snorted, folding his arms, “What if I transform into a Nightmare?”

As I friend, I gave him a slap on the shoulder. “Why worry about a future crazy you that may or may not happen?”

“Will I become like the other adults? The other Draconequus, I mean.” He frowned at his hands. “Will I become violent, slave to my body and impulses? Will I kill and do horrible things just for the fun of it?”

I rolled my eyes, and with hardly a moment’s concentration, I let my Element’s light wash over him.

“Well then. Let me help you stay sane, Discord.”

He shivered under my hooves, laughed nervously, and yanked out from under my hooves. He drew away, awkward with that strange little liar’s grin on his face.

“You’ll drive me crazy with talk like that, Luna!”

I gave him a wild grin. “Why?”

I thought. Maybe now! Maybe this is it! Honesty, Discord! The virtue we’re pursuing! Be honest with me. You’ve already told me so much, come so far from that old liar in you. Now, can you tell me the whole truth!

“Because!” he laughed. “You’re supposed to say it way sappier than that! Like, like ‘friends don’t let friends go nuts.’ Or better! ‘Friendship friendship mcFriendly Friend! Yeah?”

Dammit!

“Sorry about all that... whining. Really. You got me a little worked up about nutritional things. Doesn’t that sound stupid? I should’ve really dealt with these fears ages ago. So uh...” he looked around. “Lunch done? Packing up?”

Discord was a terrible liar, but damned if he didn’t try his very hardest to keep secrets.

~Θ~

When things got quiet is when things got weird. As long as Discord was chatting away with me, he could be all fine and normal. But talk to him about certain topic, or leave him to the quiet of him own mind for long enough, then he’d get squirrely. He’d start walking ahead of me, pointedly looking up at the sky or at a weird tree. Sometimes he’d fidget and shoot forward, spinning and casting illusions. We’d have a laugh about how bored he was, and maybe that was true. Maybe he was bored.

Or maybe he was also finding it really awkward to be alone with me for so many hours of a day. Truly alone. Hardly a cart in sight, no town for miles, and nothing but the wind in the trees. I wondered what exactly was going through his head. I mean, if he liked me, now was the time to tell me, right? Nobody was around to spy on us or spread weird rumors around a gossipy court.

Then again…

Maybe he thought I’d say no. And I’ll admit, that would be preeeetty awkward. If I rejected him. For one, we’d still have to travel together. Still have to be friends and get along, not just for a few hours at a time, but for 24 hours every day of the week. And with the weight of a rejection hanging between us… Yeah. He probably logic’d that out pretty quick. That’s probably why he’s not saying anything about it.

You know.

If he had a crush on me.

But oooh, please just say something Discord! It’s driving me nuts wondering what you’re thinking! Just give me a hint, please! If you even give me the tiniest hint that my guess was true, then it would be on me what happened next! And I would be like to be the only variable here, please!

So I don’t know if it was boredom or a little mean streak that made me do it. But on our second day of Discord the Squirrely Draconequus, I decided to kick things forward. I walked right up to the base of his tree, because he did so enjoy sleeping in trees, and I called up to him:

“Hey Discord! You wanna sleep with me tonight?!”

From up above I heard the strangest squeal. Like Discord’s brain had ground to a halt or something. I half expected him to fall from the tree, bedding and all. No such luck. But his head did pop from around his little blanket-bed-nest, tense and at wit’s end.

He squeaked, “What?! Excuse me?!”

Oh my gosh, Discord’s voice can still go that high? But geez, talk about the least revealing answer!

“You know, I used to always sleep with my sister beside me,” I explained calmly. “You joked that I was her pillow, right? Well last night I got pretty lonely, you know, sleeping down here. All alone.”

“Oh!” he seemed instantly relieved. “I thought you meant… “

I leaned up closer, eagerly awaiting the end of his sentance. Thought I meant whaaaat…?

“Nevermind.”

Darnit!

With a snapping sound, Discord’s little nest of blankets vanished. He dropped out of the tree with a heavy whump.

“I’m sorry for um… leaving you alone down here.” He laughed nervously. Uhg. I was getting pretty sick of that laugh. “So uh… bed! Bedding. Is it comfortable enough?”

He waved at the pallet he had summoned, actually a little ridiculous and out of place on the forest floor. It was pretty close to my bed and blankets back at Canterlot, and just as soft. Though it had a tendency to become less like a bed and more like a blob pre-dawn. He even decorated the edges of the creation with complicated blue lace and silver moons. I’d say the attention to detail meant something special, but I knew Discord too well for that. He just never let go of an excuse to “test his powers” and “show off.”

“Yep. Bed’s comfy! So!” I sat on the left side of the bed and patted the space next to me. “Come on! Sit next to me.”

Oh I do love having night vision. Discord just turned beet red!

“S’not big enough,” he mumbled. With another click of his claws, a second mattress spun from the ground and formed beside mine, just as complicated, just as comfy, and just as decorated. But with red six-pointed stars instead of moons. He crawled under the covers on the far side of it, nearly falling off in his effort to be distanced from me.

“So!” I poke at one of the decorative stars, but my hoof just passes right through. “Oh, it’s not solid.”

“Cheaper,” he mumbled from under his covers.

“Why the red stars though?”

He was silent for a bit, then poked his head out, blanket hanging off his horns.

“Um.” He started scratching at the mattress, little lines of color floating up from his claws. “It stands for magic, I think. S’important to me.”

“Really?” I squeaked. “Why?!”

“Um…”

I think maybe my efforts have backfired. Now he’s just uncomfortable. And an uncomfortable Discord is a squirrely Discord, the absolute worst kind of Discord.

“Discord, please!” I cried.

He recoiled from me, staring. “Please what?”

“Can’t you be honest with me?! I’m worried about you!”

“What?” he babbled, “What have I done?”

“Nothing! You’re lying to me!”

He frowned, “I am not!”

“This is just like last time! When you’d rather let yourself starve than admit you have a problem!”

“I don’t have a—“

“Yes you do!”

He frowned, “Don’t jump to conclusions here—“

“You’ve been acting so squirrely lately Discord! What is wrong?!”

He opened his mouth, closed it, frowned at me.

“I… really don’t like fighting with you, Luna,” he huffed.

“I don’t like fighting for how you feel,” I moaned, “It’s an everyday struggle with you, Discord!”

“Well sorry,” he mumbled into his pillow.

“Discord,” I said firmly. I leaned over to his bed, not touching him, but making sure I was close. “Nothing can drive me away from you, okay?”

“Well, I’m not worried about that, but…” With a wince, he said, “It’s just my problem, you know? I can deal with it.”

“And,” I said pointedly, “I can help you deal with it.”

I had gotten so close to the truth, I could freaking taste it. And finally, finally, finally, he looked prepared to give me a tiny kernel of truth. I swelled inside, prepared to take whatever he had to say to me.

With a loud sigh, he said, “I’m a Draconequus…”

My insides instantly deflated. I snorted. “Yeah, I know.”

“Let me finish!” He half laughed. “As a Draconequus, the physical differences extend further than the diet. You see, I’m entering my adolescence, so…”

“Ponies have puberty too!”

He grunted and waved my comment away, “But for a Draconequus, puberty makes us more violent, short-tempered, and pretty much a hundred percent stupider as well. Pony puberty, well…” He stopped, blushed, and I cried inside. Just say it Discord! “You seem to be taking it much more uh… elegantly than me?”

“My knees hurt,” I laughed, more out of frustration than joy. “Look at them! They’re like somebody stuck a rubber ball between my leg bones!”

He maybe glanced at them for a second before he quickly looked away and chuckled throatily.

“So,” he said, “I hope you excuse how weird I’m acting. I’m just dealing with a lot of weird personal stuff. Because, you know, when am I not dealing with stupid stuff like that?”

Okay, the cuteness of this was wearing thin. I’m serious, I should be annoyed, and for a while I kind’ve was annoyed. Now I’m just… I feel really small inside. Like I’m getting smaller and smaller and smaller...

Please.

Just say you l-like me, Discord…

You gotta tell me that you like me first…

LX : Travelling Alone II

The Steadfast Sky : Travelling Alone II
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Celestia~

I walked along a simple dirt road, running over several questions to myself. First of all, why am I still heading to this Sanatorium? Why am I taking a road to get there, instead of hoofing it through the woods? Why do I continue to expose myself by taking small jobs in the intervening towns? Especially with how much I argue with myself about accepting payment or not...

But all of those questions pale before the biggest mystery of all: Why is this little thought experiment still tormenting me?

It was fun at first to imagine my own flaws as absolutely awful travelling companions, but now their bickering was starting to take up my entire brainspace, crowding out any and all productive thought. But perhaps this is just a way that my own stress has manifested, and I wouldn’t be able to think clearly with or without them. Maybe the environment is taxing my mind and body, and my only outlet is mental catfights with myself.

But that outlet itself is absolutely exhausting.

I said to myself, “Yes, yes, you were funny at first. Now give it a rest.”

And in a horrible half joke, I retorted to myself:

Pfft. No way.

Absolutely not!

Please, have the heart to preserve us.

“Preserve what?” I said, “A fraction of my own self-loathing?”

I think, Yes, idiot.

It’s only proper, of course.

You have created a mental life, it would be foul indeed to discard us.

“Created life?” The statement from myself was practically unconscious. Just another dumb joke directed to myself. So, I said, “I’ve created a bad habit, or an excessively boring game.” I stared lazily at the dull gray sky above me. “This isn’t even helping me understand myself anymore. I should stop, and find a more productive line of thought.”

I made Snippy snort, Yeah, I doubt that’s going to happen.

“What even was the question I wanted to answer again?”

Of course, Princess was having none of it. Automatically, I let her say, Why dredge up other thoughts you had while you were rolling about in the river mud? What good can have possibly come from that dirty time?

“Oh yeah,” I said dully. “What ideal does the sun represent?”

Obviously it means you must save and shine on every pony!

I sighed at my obvious gut reaction. Snippy grumbled at Martyr for me, but I doubted that the holier-than-thou part of me would stop there. So, I imagined her continued statement.

You must save EVERY pony. Including those both real and imaginary.

My words were instantly picked up by Snippy. Always right to insulting people, her. Yeah, you would think that, Martyr. If it was that easy, we wouldn’t be doing stupid things like wandering towards a stupid hospital.

We already were the sun back in Canterlot! Princess boiled up inside of me, We were the shining jewel, the apple in every pony’s eye. The center of the cosmic universe, that’s what we once were! Please Baker! We should just go back.

“I don’t want to go back,” I said simply. “That life was choking me.”

That life, Princess scoffed, Had a warm bed, food every three hours, a wardrobe to dazzle, and ponies that cared more for you than anything in the world.

“Cared,” I retorted, “But didn’t love.”

I could see Princess ruffle in my mind’s eye, clutching her shawls and flicking her purple braid around her shoulder.

Love is overrated.

“That’s disgusting,” I sighed, “You can go sit in a mental corner now.”

Pish-posh! I refuse.

I forced her anyway, shoving her into a little imaginary chair in a little imaginary corner. She wept aloud, like an elegant baby foal.

But of course, my own brain can’t let that be the end of it. Martyr would have tutted at Princess, and she did. She looked back at... well, me, eyelashes fluttering.

Okay, everybody, let’s not hurt each other’s feelings. Princess, you know that’s a sore spot for Baker. But Baker, you shouldn’t have said something so rude…

“Why am I even listening to myself?” I huff, “Just shut up. All of you!”

And for one single, glorious moment, it was like all the sound in the world came rushing back to me. I noticed, for the very first time, that there were birds in the trees. I could hear the wind rustling tree branches, and the gravel crunching lightly underfoot.

I exhaled through my nose, and relaxed every muscle in my body. When had they tied themselves so tightly into knots? I felt cold, sweat cooling all down my front and back, biting into my bones, the core of my horn…

And then I thought, So I think Baker and Princess should apologize to one another. Princess, why don’t you—

I closed my eyes, and thought that Snippy would laugh at this situation. So she did.

Moments of peace and quiet like that were becoming sparse, and attempts to claim silence only led to self-mockery. To prove that I still had control, I made the personalities say things uncharacteristic of themselves. I made Snippy apologize for hitting, made Martyr say something rude. I played out an entire scene where everybody was nice and happy, doing something dull and friendly, like croquet. But the moment I stopped trying to think of it, my imagination would show them throwing down their clubs and sulk in the corners of my head. I mean, that was what I expected them to do, so that’s what they did.

I came to the conclusion that an idle mind is an unruly place where errant thoughts took lives of their own. I forced every thought I had to concur for an hour.

Through all this mental strife, my head was never clearer than when I stopped in a town and took jobs. Of course, those shades of myself were in every word I said, but they became quieter when I had a task to focus on. When I had magic to cast, and bits of food to earn. Maybe that’s why I always kept to the road. The more towns I entered, the more moments of peace I could have from my own head.

Well, more peace than usual.

“So. Travelling unicorn.”

An aged mare with the cutie mark of a stylized eye watched me quietly. A second pony, a stallion with a leaf on his flank, casually inspected me for disease, like many had along this road. Inside, I felt Princess flare as the carmel stallion’s eyes lingered much too long on my flank. Yes, it’s a sun cutie mark. Is it much too grand for your little mind to comprehend? Of course, Snippy snorted, he’s probably not looking at my cutie mark. Uhg. Disgusting stallion.

Oh, no nice thoughts at all here.

I took a clear step away, and the carmel stallion snapped his eyes away. Princess crisply said, “My name is Helios, and for a light fee, I offer my magical services.”

Unfazed, the older mare immediately asked, “Like what? Are you another doctor? Going training? Because I’m gonna tell you, we’ve got plenty of those.”

“Yes,” Martyr said, humbled. “I know the Sanatorium is along this road...”

“Just a few days from here,” she said crisply. “So I hope you don’t intend to wow us with your pretty spells and majestic attitude.”

“Actually,” Princess said, “My skills lie within the schools of—”

“And you better not claim to be a fortune teller or soothsayer,” the mare continued. “Nor do we much appreciate grand shows of petty tricks. We Earth Ponies aren’t nearly as uneducated as we seem, miss Helios.”

I remained quiet, watching the old mare silently. Snippy quietly boiled under the surface of my mind, preparing a full list of retorts for the jaded pony. Even Princess scoffed in my head, remarking on how rude the mare was being towards her royal Princess. Finally, I allowed Martyr to politely reply.

“You seem rather predisposed to think me a conmare,” I said softly.

The carmel stallion chuckled into a hoof, mumbling, “Oh. Is this the idea ‘Once bitten twice shy...’”

“Silence, Poultice.”

“Er, yes,” he nodded to the old mare, “Pardons, m’lady Frostwind.”

“You can return to work now, Poultice.”

“Eh...” he shrugged, “Shop’s be fine. Think I can do more here. Maybe protect you from uh... The Unicorn Helios’ tricks.” He grinned like he didn’t even believe his own words, like it was a little joke in the town. And then his eyes turned over my back again and uhg, Snippy moaned, I HATE this stallion! Maybe I should leave right now. You know. spend the night enduring Princess’ moaning...

“Madame Frostwind,” I said calmly, not knowing if the voice was Martyr or the simple Baker. “Can I clearly state the magic I have in plain terms, so you can determine if it’s useful or not?”

Frostwind shrugged, eyes frozen to mine. Well, seemed like she wouldn’t interrupt me at least...

“I hold power over Law and Light—”

“Law?” Frostwind curtly interrupted. “Do you think we are in need of a judge? Do you think we have a murder mystery for you to solve?”

“N-no,” Snippy nearly rose in my throat. Baker-Martyr shoved her back down. “It means that I’m good at repairing the irreparable and cleaning the seeming uncleanable.”

Frostwind relaxed. Her eyes went glassy. She was... thoroughly unimpressed.

“Fancy order of magic for a glorified maid,” Frostwind said flatly. “You think Earth Ponies are so helpless we can’t clean and fix our own things?”

“What I do is faster, is less costly, and can restore objects to a state that’s near new.”

“Pah! A likely story!” Frostwind cried, “You’re just selling yourself as a miracle cure, the snake oil we need to cure all of our ails for exorbitant amounts of bits!”

“I will preform any task within my power for a simple night’s stay with meal,” Martyr said.

“Oh yes, a night’s stay,” Frostwind replied, “Yes, a little spot by the hearth, is that all? A place in our homes so you can magically rob us blind with your magic?!”

“We have a stable she can stay at,” the stallion piped up.

“Return to your shop, Poultice, I can handle this mare myself!”

“This is reasonable cost for magic in trade, m’lady,” Poultice said, that quiet “private joke” smile returning.

“Suspiciously reasonable!” Frostwind cried. “It is another trick, I swear it is!”

“Okay then. You opinions are noted, Frostwind.” He grinned again, “You can return to your work. Miss Helios, come this way.”

“Good! Escort her out of town, Poultice!” Frostwind cried, “Bad news, that’s all this Unicorn is!”

“Well, now that mare’s got her rant out, let me show you shops,” Poultice said casually, “There is probably a few things to do...”

“Oh, thank you!” Martyr exclaimed. I glanced back over my shoulder. “But is it wise to defy your, ah, mayor?”

“Mayor? No, no,” Poultice asserted, “Local busybody. Very good at job, best to let her be heard quicker rather than later. So here, I’m sure a few ponies could use your skills here...”

I gave Poultice a grateful smile, Princess already elatedly wondering what exactly her charming smile could glean from the town’s kindness. But then he glanced down my side again and Snippy please contain yourself now’s not the time to blast him!

All in all, there was surprisingly little for me to do in the town. Poultice popped his head in and out of a few shops, and some ponies offered me a couple light jobs. Mostly, I fixed weathered tools of the trade. Things like cleaning and repairing chisels, making a shaky table loose its wobble, restoring an old loom to a state like new. Eventually Poultice left me at an old bakery, where my skills were more thoroughly needed.

It was a bit nostalgic being back in a bakery. The smell of bread, of yeast and dough, they brought back simple memories of a simpler time, a time when I felt like I was simply Baker, through and through. Maybe Princess yearned to be something more, maybe it was Martyr who drove me to work, and maybe I still acted Snippy from time to time.

Maybe it was another place where I ran home every day for fear of death. Where I wondered if there was such a thing as grass. Where I slowly saw all my possessions vanish from our house, and begged an uncaring uncle for his help...

I thoroughly repaired every chipped bowl and splintered spoon for the owner. I pushed myself further than I usually did, to the point where my horn started to pound a little, a mild stress headache. I had gotten them here and there, I never felt like I had anything to worry about.

But then I was asked to clean out the stove of it’s baked-on crust...

“I-I’m sorry ma’am.” Martyr mumbled, close to tears. I had attempted to magically clean a large stone oven. So far I had done nothing more than scoop out the ash, burnt and greasy crust still remaining firmly in place. “Usually this spell is such an easy one to cast.”

The crimson mare eyed me warily. “Yeh sure yeh know what yer doing, Helios?”

“No! I mean, yes, this is my job.” Snippy welled within me. “I’ve cast the spell many times!” I tried to push, to pull magic into my horn. And though I could get an aura flaring, it never filled enough to even attempt an orderly separation. I didn’t dare cast it. What would happen if something like that was done incorrectly? “I think, maybe, I have expended my magic. But I’ve barely cast today…”

“Yeh didn’t use yerself up fixing all my bowls and cutlery, did yeh?”

“I shouldn’t have,” I rubbed my ankle into my forehead. “No, I’ve done much more than this in a day. I swear, I have.”

The Earth Pony rolled her eyes. She didn’t believe me. Not at all. Martyr couldn’t stand the look, and her own guilt made my insides nearly collapse.

“Welp, no need to brag ‘r anything.” The mare rooted through a few half-stuck drawers, shifting contents around with her snout. “I should still pay yeh a couple bits for yer troubles.”

“No, no, I wasn’t able to do the full job,” Martyr rose in my throat, as she always did when it came to payment. “I can’t accept anything for this slipshod job I’ve done today. Please, keep your money.”

The mare looked me up and down, then shrugged, accepting free work with ease. I waited a moment more, half expecting a loaf of bread, maybe even a small lump of cheese. But no. I excused myself and fled from the little shop, quickly dashing down the small main street and ducking into the woods for a little bit of embarrassed thought in peace…

Peace and quiet?! Like that could happen!

I already imagined Snippy yelling in my head, the target of her ire finally directed inward, at her own body.

Good job, Baker! I made her shout, Way to suck at working! Did you already exhaust yourself?! Are you that bad at manual labor?!

Princess would have, of course, hated this turn of events. And so, I made her cry. Ohhh, we’ll have to eat leaves tonight! We could have gotten ourselves some nice scones, or a night in the stables, or even some fresh carrots. I saw as Princess collapsed on a little fainting couch, burying her snout into her knees. Goodness, I’m happy about carrots! What an awful state we’ve been reduced to!

Oh! I bet Martyr has something special to say about this! Well Martyr?!

Martyr bowed her head, horn tapping her folded hooves. It’s only proper that we retire to the woods, accepting payment for services rendered is completely selfish.

Oh yeah! That’s how you get an economy rolling! Refuse all payment for everything! Pfft, stupid, self-sacrificing Martyr…

“Please,” I cried, “I already feel terrible! None of you have to rub it in! Wait. I mean--”

Stupid, my thoughts were immediately picked up by Snippy, and told to me in her voice. We’re just listing all the reasons why you hate yourself right now.

We could have gotten a nice little purse, one that wasn’t burlap, maybe one bleached white or dyed in diluted wash...

Accumulating wealth goes against our purposes on the road. This is a pilgrimage!

“Yes, I know, but please!” I huffed, digging my knee painfully into my forehead. Now that I had stopped casting, it felt like icy spikes were being pounded into my skull “Can we just put our heads together and try to find a reasonable explanation for why I can’t cast such a basic spell?”

Read: Why you’re so worthless.

And you know maybe a little tart to reward ourselves for all of this ridiculous pain we’re going through…

Pilgrimage is committed to for the sake of forgoing reward!

“No, wait,” I jabbed at my forehead again, pain distracting dully from pain. “Put our heads together? I’m wasting brainspace thinking about you lot. Everybody shut up while I think… Celestia.” I said my name crisp and clear. Said it twice more just to hear the word ring in the air. “I need to clear my head and think. Now breathe…”

I took a breath, feeling the winds rise around me, falling as I exhaled. The timing felt natural, a connection to the physical world strengthening my resolve. I thought, clear in my newly emptied head.

Why can’t I cast a familiar spell?

Well, Celestia.

You are tired.

And you do have a headache.

Perhaps poor nutrition, and all of this self-imposed stress, is getting to you?

I nodded, still pressing my knee into my thudding head. A very reasonable explanation, all things considered. I should have arrived at it sooner, but of course with all this bickering in my head…

“I should get some sleep,” I said aloud, “Start off tomorrow with a nice clear head.”

I think I held onto that thought, relishing in the peace, the quiet…

… For all of thirty seconds

You know, Snippy quipped, The way my head always used to be. Before all of YOU came along.

Sleeping in a stable would have been so much more restful that sleeping in mud. Mud! Don’t think that I didn’t notice it! It was all down my front when we woke up this morning!

Perhaps if we plead for sanctuary, a kindly soul will allow us rest by the fireplace. Just for a few hours, mind.

Pah! That’s hardly better than sleeping in dirt!

I closed my eyes as I searched for a suitable place to bed down, quietly wishing for the better company of my long-gone sister and friend…

~¤~

I awoke, still asleep, at the heat of a felt table. The world was warped in fisheyes, edges hazy, as if I looked through an old spyglass. It was night outside, and dark inside. Were there walls? Could there be walls? It was darker in here than a night under the clouds.

The four of me sat around a low table, lounging on itchy and overstuffed hemp pillows sipping from tall ceramic mugs. We occasionally poked at a bulbous onion lantern, trying to keep the guttering thing lit within our yellow aura. It was the only light. The only way to illuminate the little game they were playing.

Wild Snippy gulped from her wormlike cup, a trickle of water shimmering down her chin. She gasped when she was done, peeked at the card in front of her. With a snort, she upended a small burlap bag onto the table. Tiny gems scattered every which way, glittering in the frail light.

“Raise,” she said, tossing aside the burlap napkin.

Princess laughed high, just once. A sound of contempt, an offense taken. A little satin purse drifted freely from her lilac shawl, floating and spinning in midair without an aura to hold it aloft. A large amount of crystal chits spun majestically from the bag and neatly stacked themselves on the table. Princess eyed them greedily long after they had fallen still.

Both of me now looked to frail little Martyr as she turned a little set of delicately painted figurines over and over before her eyes. The painting was so subtle and strange, what the figures were changed every time we looked at them. At one point, they seemed to be soldiers. Another, kings. But with a single glance at her cards, she stowed the figures away and hid behind her cup, eyes watering.

Now it was Baker’s turn. Baker… I looked at the two cards set before me. I had a nine of wands… a prince of cups…
I set them back on the table. Lightly, I said,

“I don’t really think I know how to play.”

Snippy grunted. “Then why the heck did you ask us to?”

Martyr quietly hovered three wooden blocks into the center of the table. They intersected with the piles of glittering fragments, dreamily floating through the rocks like they were only colored bits of air. I stared at the wriggling bits of wood as they flattened into paper, and their faces opened up. There was a wand, a sword, a cream stallion hung up by his ankle…

I muttered, “I’m not entirely sure.”

Shoving her scraggly mane behind her ears, Snippy snapped ‘Raise,’ and tossed more gems into the center. They bounced off the lamp, and the cards gasped as they were struck. The cream stallion ran from his card, rope dragging behind him, and a unicorn shoved a desk into the empty space…

I narrowed my eyes, squinted, practically. Rubbed an ankle across my sockets. The dim room seemed to shift and swim in front of me, darkness blurring and lamp quietly fizzing and sparking in the air. I checked my cards again. Three glinting swords stared back up at me.

I rubbed my eyes again.

I mumbled, “My dreams are usually much more interesting than this.”

“Oh?! Are they?” Snippy shot, “Are they usually meaningful?”

“Dreams are very important,” Martyr chided, a fuzzy hoof waving slowly at Snippy, “Inspiration, direction, they can both be sifted from dreams. Especially when there is a hint of magic…”

Martyr raised her horn, holding herself tall. Her neck seemed too big for her body, a fat column holding her high in the air. From the tip of her oversized horn, she released a small flash of light. It slowly reached every corner, illuminating its shape, reflecting wetly off corners, walls dripping thickly, like black molasses, surrounding and coming to engulf the entire table.

It faded, and darkness returned to hide in darkness. Quietly, I said, “This dream is going to become a nightmare soon.”

“If you get scared, it’s your own fault,” Snippy snickered, “It’s not our fault if you terrify yourself.”

“We’ll be returning the gems after the game, won’t we?” Princess haughtily interrupted. “They’re quite expensive, I’d loathe to lose them all.”

Snippy looked like she was about to claw at Princess, tear a chunk from her arm. She growled, “Play better, then!”

“That’s not nice, Snippy,” Martyr sighed, “Not nice and not fair.”

“Don’t change the game halfway!” Snippy shouted, “All bets final!”

“Well I do want those gems back…” Princess pulled a necklace out from under her shawl. Gold. Formless. Like a golden snake with an orange sun inlayed into its belly. It rang like a wind chime every time it moved, glowing softly with good intentions.

“Don’t bet that in cards,” I said softly, “That’s important.”

Princess frowned down at the necklace. A line of darkness dribbled past her shoulder. I could hear the room gurgle wetly…

Princess sniffed. She said, “Well it’s not ours anymore, so what’s the point in keeping it?”

“That doesn’t mean you can just throw it away,” I replied.

Princess made a high pitched sound, one of contempt and disregard. She threw the necklace on the table. It slid mournfully across the landslide of gemstones and glass, sliding right in front of me, bright orange gem staring up at me like a single, radiant eye.

“Well, you did,” Princess scoffed.

“I did not,” I quietly said. “I kept it close always. You discarded it. It was you.”

“Careful,” Snippy grunted at Princess, “You’ll scare the mare.”

Another thick column of darkness rolled over the edge of the table, spilling into the glittering light and pooling by Snippy’s feet. I stared into the dark purple mass, eyes drawn into its gelatinous flow. Where it started to pool, two bulbous white eyes rolled over it…

Did I imagine that?

Of course I did. This is a dream, isn’t it?

“Why don’t you play this pot, Baker?” Princess said, “Maybe you’ll win your garbage back!”

“My name is Celestia,” I mumbled.

“And so is mine, Baker!” Princess chided.

“Don’t act like you’re special, Baker!” Snippy growled.

“I don’t want any feelings hurt,” Martyr said, turning to smile warmly at me. “Apologize, Baker.”

I frowned, and lightly said, “You can’t all talk to me like I’m worthless.” My words were breathed, as if only a little air could escape from my throat. “You are all part of me.”

“Yes.” Martyr reached across the table sympathetically, arm and shoulder vanishing into another boil of blackened molasses. “We’re all a part of each other.”

“That is not what I said,” I breathed.

“Look!” Snippy snapped, “I’m sick of whining! Do you want the stupid thing or not?!”

Again, I could only forcefully whisper, “Yes, give it to me.”

Snippy snarled, “Don’t act like you’re shouting, that’s what I do!”

“I can’t just give that necklace away,” Princess moaned.

“But it’s garbage,” I said.

“Yes,” Princess said, “But I could win my gems back with it!”

“Okay! Look!” The darkness flicked a deep purple hoof across Snippy’s cards, the other side flashing white and gold. “Crazy eights! What do you losers have?!”

“Ooh, a Magician and two Queens!” Princess dragged the gems towards her, throwing her body across the table and scooping up muck and glitter alike. Only the necklace remained untouched, sitting in an untouched circle of gold, whole and pure. I tried to pick it up, but Princess spoke once more. “I’m betting your garbage again. Toss it over to me, Baker.”

My voice tumbling around my throat, I cried, “I’m frustrated enough by you when I’m awake. Why do you have to torment my dreams too?”

Princess giggled, black mas rolling over her shoulders and staining her shawl. “Poor little Baker. How do you hope to escape yourself?”

I recoiled, a black mass swelling in front of me, engulfing the table. Snippy yapped, her voice clear and true, “Now you’ve done it, idiots! You’ve gone and scared her!”

The black tar rolled around my legs, thick, biting, and frigidly cold. I tried to struggle through it, but my lungs were tightly held, flesh numb, dead on my body. I couldn’t even gasp for breath as it crept up my sides…

And my eyes snapped open, body rock stiff and curled up tightly on a pile of dead leaves.

LXI : Friends Together II

The Steadfast Sky : Friends Together II
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Discord~

“Well,” Luna said, “I don’t know if this is more or less than what I was expecting.”

I said, “But it’s definitely one, or the other.”

“Yeah. I think so.”

We had come here on a little dirt road, one that felt a little undercared for, now that I think of it. It was nearly rainwashed away, peppered with weeds, mounds of dead leaves and rain-slicked rot leaving slurries in the ditches. A road rarely travelled, in other words.

Yeah, that should’ve been the first clue. Honesty’s tomb was completely abandoned.

But at one time, this place looked like it might’ve been a little Illuminator outpost. There was a black stone building, a squat and small complex built around a little overrun courtyard. We poked around there for a bit. Every inch of that black cobblestone was coated in either dust or undergrowth. Didn’t seem ransacked or anything. Nah. Illuminators must have packed up and left. Not a very loyal chapter, I guess. We didn’t dwell long on it. Bookend’s statue wasn’t in there, so the Element wasn’t either.

Behind the little complex, encircling a gentle hill, there was a three foot high wall. And it was strange. Wasn’t cobble, not black stone, not marble. No, it was a gray, speckled stone, made out of blocks carefully cemented together. We guessed it was granite, but I guess that doesn’t matter much, besides the strangeness of seeing a new material used in The Holy God’s Construction of Ancient Monuments and Tombs.

And beyond that…

It wasn’t anything I was familiar with. A bizarre, scattered construction. At first, I thought they had only half-finished the wall. Hidden in tall grass and giant floral patches, cold granite blocks were scattered in even rows, rising all the way to the top of the hill. Fat stones that sat, stuck in the ground like rows of herbivore teeth, topped and crowned with noble beasts, with alicorns, with stars and common cutie marks. It was Luna who stopped to look at them. She was the one to notice the writing on the sides. And she was the one who looked at them for a long time, deep in thought.

Slowly, she declared, “I think these are gravestones.”

“Oh.” I glanced down at the stone beside me. Pounded carefully into its side was a name, a couple dates, a short phrase, sometimes a few titles… To me, that could have meant anything. A memorial to great heroes or something. Not like I’m familiar with ancient pony construction habits.

“It’s an old custom,” Luna continued, “A kind of Earth Pony cult, before the country was founded.” She waded through a patch of yellow flowers, looking down at another stone. “I mean, look at the dates. Seems like a lot of these ponies were born in the Frozen North, long before the country’s founding. Yeah, um.” She looked up the slope at me. “Pony bodies should be buried under here.”

“Hm.” I shifted aside a bunch of grass to stare at the soil. “That would be a… cheap way of getting rid of bodies. It’s very sanitary, if the bodies are placed deep enough.”

“Deep,” Luna repeated blankly.

“Yeah. If you just stopped at a few feet, animals would smell the rotting body and dig for it, exposing the body to other insects. And… Uh,” Luna frowned up at me, shaking her head. “Yeah, sorry. Not something you want to hear.”

“Morbid,” Luna said suddenly, “Sorry. I just found the word I was looking for. Burying a body and leaving it to rot. That’s morbid.” Careful to not step directly in front of the markers, Luna made her way up the hill to my side. “Though it’s not like I’ve had to hand a dead body off to a coroner. Maybe that’s just as morbid an act…”

Briefly, I remember seeing the coroner processions occasionally in Canterlot. Tiny nighttime parades, with a body held on a black litters or pulled in a curtained cart. What happened after the bodies were brought to a coroner… Well, I knew what happened to them in Canterbury. Bodies, taken or given, all wind up in the same place. But outside that dark city? Who can say. Death wasn’t exactly a polite pony topic.

“But you know, she said, glancing further up the hill. “Maybe burial had a different meaning to an old pony like Bookends.”

We continued up the boneyard, tall grass and weeds brushing down my belly and around my sides. Luna walked quietly by my side, focused on her feet, trying not to trip. For a moment, I was caught up in the careful motions of her legs, the way her cutie mark shifted as she walked…

And I looked away. I wasn’t embarrassed by having her near… well, I was still a little ashamed of myself for looking, yes. But I was able to share my feelings with Luna. The fact that I was being yanked around by physical impulses wasn’t a big, embarrassing secret any more. She knew, she understood, and… well, she teased me occasionally. But with just a bit of honesty, things felt so much easier now. I still wouldn’t dare touch her, but with my problems out in the open, I dunno, I felt comfortable again. Like I could be beside my best friend and not constantly hate myself for it.

Luna caught me smiling at her. She smiled back. She gave me a friendly shove with her side. She was blushing. What it meant was unspoken and clear. Yeah, yeah, Discord, stop being weird! We’ve got work to do!

Finally, we stomped through enough grass and flowerbeds to reach the top. Here, there was a small stone house, pure white, like it was in Canterlot. It was a small thing, blocky, with wrought-iron gate. At one point, it might’ve seemed grand, but dirt, grass, and dead leaves were starting to creep into the tiny chamber, ruining the effect somewhat. Over the door there were no names, no dates, no declarations about what a valued friend Honesty was.

But there was something. A poem. Sort’ve.

Scholar in pursuit, the Truth most Honest your purest virtue.

The one who could so easily tease a stallion’s Honesty from his Lies.

Dare none to think they can take Truth from you.

May your naked Honesty rest eternal, in undisturbed peace.

“Well that’s certainly laying it on thick,” I snorted.

“So that’s…” Luna pointed through the bars at a thick stone sarcophagus. The thing was large, and covered in a jumbled, intertwining mess of carvings.

“No idea,” I said, “Entrance maybe?”

Luna laughed, “No, no! It’s another kind of grave. You put a body in it.”

“Honesty was turned to stone. Why would he have a box for a grave? Did they smash him to pieces to make him fit?”

Luna laughed again, and I got to work. There was a chain holding the door in place, but as with everything else, it was old, abandoned, and severely rusted. I just found a weak link, popped an illusion over it, and slowly bent the iron further and further out of shape until… snap!

“There. We’re in.”

“Oh geez,” Luna said, smiling nervously, “This feels like stealing.”

“Technically, didn’t we take all the other Elements without asking?”

She thought about that for a moment. “You know… You’re right. But this still feels worse. It’s weird here…”

We both slipped into the mausoleum, and I went straight for the real/fake sarcophagus. I mean, it was obviously suspicious. Was it a dummy grave? Was Honesty held elsewhere?

“Hey, Luna, this is the right place, right?”

“Huh?”

Absentmindedly, I rapped my knuckles against the stone. “You didn’t get a fake map from the Illuminators, did you?”

Luna frowned, “You’re only asking me this question after we got here?”

“Uh…”

I stopped. Tapped the stone again. That didn’t feel, nor sound like real rock… I heaved my weight against it, and it wobbled. Yeah, there’s no way that’s real marble. Just something that looked very, very similar to it… An Illusion. A heavy one.

“Okay, sorry for asking about that map. I’ve got something though.”

“Ooh, need my help?!” Eagerly… maybe too eagerly? Luna fell by my side and, with a brilliant grin, wrapped her magic around the entire sarcophagus. She laughed, stopped herself. “I shouldn’t be laughing. This is horrible. Tomb robbing, that’s what we’re doing…”

“Yep,” I said, “Now help me push this thing over.”

With the two of us together, the real-fake sarcophagus fell sideways. Slowly and mournfully, it dropped to its side, fancy design snapping along its curves and lines. Beneath it, a pitch black staircase down to who-knows-where.

“Funny idea,” I said, “Hiding Honesty with lies.”

Luna stared down the steps, smile light on her lips… She turned to me and asked. “So um. What if there’s more corpses down there?”

“Then I guess it would smell bad,” I said with a shrug. ” And I don’t know about you, but I don’t smell anything. So c’mon.” I immediately scampered down the steps. “Let’s get the Element and go.”

We started walking down. The stairs were long, and it was getting colder. The walls were slick with water. It was dark as well, but that was barely a problem for the two of us. I could see the glitter of Luna’s horn as she tugged the shadows out from before her eyes.

There was a soft giggle behind me, and then…

“Luna what in the world?!” I retreated from her as she tried to press up against me. “What?! What is it?”

“I was just scared! Thought we should stay close…” under her hoof, she tried to repress a smile.

“Okay, but not that close. Please.”

“Yeah. Sorry!” She tried to walk beside me, “Man, how deep does this thing even EEP!”

“What is— Oh!”

“Sorry,” Luna laughed nervously “Just um…”

We both looked at our feet, stunned. The stairs continued, and we could see the ground floor beyond. But, there was a simple, horrible problem.

We had hit water. Pure, clear water, splashing against the steps from its recent disturbance.

“The entire tomb is flooded,” I said flatly.

Luna stared. “Do you think the other Elements did that intentionally? To prevent theft?”

“It’s possible. But… why? Why even go through the trouble?” I reached an arm into the clear water. “The others weren’t protected like this. Or at least, there was nothing incredibly difficult to get around.”

“Yeah,” Luna said, still smiling strangely at me. “The dangerous stuff could be neutralized by earning the Element.”

I snorted, “I wonder what’s Honest about taking a swim.”

I pulled my hand out of the water, cupping the incredibly clear liquid. I stared at the drops of moisture on my hand, the wobble of the water… I frowned. Let it dribble back into the pond. It fell thickly, in fat blobs.

I stared at it a moment more.

Shrugged off my bag.

And jumped in.

“DISCOR—fwumf!”

For a moment I floated in the frigid water. It soaked into my fur… no, the feeling was bizarre. It was like hovering in a bed of very loose sand.

And in a moment more I dropped out the other side. Fat drops fell after me, sliding down the steps, failing to burst into streams. I grinned, then ran back up the steps, back through the thick layer of “water.”

“It’s an illusion!” I cried, smiling widely. “Man, that should’ve been obvious! There must be some serious unicorn spells going on in this tomb. I mean, holy crap, look at this stuff!” I splashed it, the waves wobbling in something very close to the appearance of water. Close enough to fool most… But! “I spend all my time weaving illusions!” I cried, “If there’s more, no way is this tomb going to trick me! Seriously, this is going to be a cakewalk!”

Luna laughed, shrugged off her own saddlebags, and we ducked back under the waves, charging down the steps, dropping down on even ground, and charging down that hall too.

We abruptly reached the bottom of the stairs, in a flat barrel of a receiving room. The walls around us were like the ones I had seen in Laughter’s tomb, ages and ages past. Halls and walls carved directly into the bedrock, old and faded designs wrapping and spinning around the walls. But, instead of vines and plantlife, it seemed like only lichen grew this deep, in such darkness. Yet, the smell of those plants was still so thick, the air cold, yet muggy and organic, like old animal waste. Two halls led deeper into the tomb one each to both our left and our right. And right in front of us, placed in a curling, papery setting, our reflections sat, quite clear to us, in a field of formless black.

“Wow!” Luna said, trotting forward, “What a perfect mirror! Look! It’s not warped or tarnished at all. And so big!”

I said, trotting beside her, “I’m not surprised. The First Gods could afford it.”

“Could they?” Luna tilted her head back and forth, echoed plainly in her reflection. Sometimes, Luna, you still do some silly things. I hastily looked away. “I’ve never seen anything this clear in Canterlot.”

“Probably… magic, isn’t it?”

I glanced up above the arch. At the apex of the arc, a book was carved. And what else would be on a carving of a book but a really terrible riddle?

“If you’ve come on a pilgrimage, here to fill your mind,

Then please, retreat, and avoid the horrors of this place.

If you’ve come a pilferer, here to fill your pockets,

Then die here, savage dog. There’s nothing here for you.

If you’ve come a King or Heir, here to fill your duty,

Then your Honesty will make the lies fall before you.”

“We’re definitely the last one. I swear,” I joked. The book didn’t reply of course.

I mean, it would be silly to just take my word at face value.

“So,” Luna said, “Which way should we go?”

I looked down both hallways. They both seemed simple and plain. Exact carbon copies of each other. “I don’t want us to split up…”

“What? Neither do I!” Again, I felt Luna press close. Saw her in the mirror too. She looked leery. I looked blank, but with a blink, my eyes were staring up at the book again, watching her reflection only in the corner of my eyes. It’s nothing to have her near. Nothing at all. She spoke again, and her breathe seemed to tickly my chin. “We’ve got to stick together!”

“Well,” I cleared my throat and reluctantly stepped to the side. Uhg. My smile was really stupid-looking. “The tomb is clearly trying to force a choice on us… But why is this mirror here? And such a perfect mirror? The conditions aren’t exactly…” I briefly waved at the wet, lichen-encrusted walls. Then, I looked into mirror closely, watching my own eyes narrow. “Maybe… we’re supposed see something in the reflection?”

“Or be honest about ourselves to, um, our own faces?” Luna nodded up at the riddle. “‘Honesty will make the lies fall before you.’”

“Yeah, we’ve just got to find the trick to it. Honesty’s a good start.”

I stared dead into my eyes, and my reflection stared back. I liked the expression of determination on my face. I caught myself revealing the smallest flicker of a smile. A good smile. I felt confident. I felt like I could see through any magic. Illusions, shadows, and trickery were my domain. I would not, could not be outwitted by this place!

“Honesty.” An embarrassing secret wriggled in my gut. But I had no fear in saying it. I mean, only Luna would hear… I leaned close to the mirror, and say clearly:

“I. Eat. Meat.”

Mirror-me seemed firm.

But.

Nothing happened.

“Maybe you gotta tell it a new secret, Discord,” Luna said quietly. Strange. She seemed almost excited… “Something I don’t know!”

Why did Luna seem so excited for that? I felt a little more of an embarrassed churn, and… yeah, I wussied out.

I looked over at Luna. “You go first.”

“Awww, geez.” She danced a little in front of the mirror, her double of her spinning around and around… I had to look away. I didn’t know if I was staring or not. I want to stop before I start. “I don’t. Um.” She leaned in close to the mirror, opened her mouth, and her eyes flicked over to me. “Well. Um.” She took a deep breath. “When-I-was-really-little-I-called-Celestia-my-mom-because-I-thought-she-was-my-mom-and, oh, that’s really embarrassing…”

I stared at her.

“Luna?” I said.

“Huh?”

“I already knew that.”

“Well!” Luna huffed, “Only you and Celestia know that! I don’t go and share that with just anybody!”

“So a secret we’ve never told anyone, and nobody ever knew? That’s… Wait.” I frowned at myself, expression echoed by my reflection. “How would the mirror even know that distinction?”

“The Element of Honesty would know,” Luna said, nodding, “I think it would understand.”

“But that’s such a tough requirement for an Element. I mean, Celestia just shouted ‘Loyalty!’ a lot, and Loyalty was perfectly okay with that.”

Luna stared at herself, eyes wide. She had an idea. That was her idea face, and stop staring, Discord.

“Do you think…” Luna said, “The Elements themselves have different personalities?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not like they’re conscious, thinking things…” Then again, wasn’t it always me who asserted how alive the elements were? Me who really felt that heartbeat in that little butterfly stone. Briefly, my hand brushed against my Element. Maybe…? “Let’s just focus on the door,” I said, “There’s a way to open this, or activate this, or heck, a way for it to give us a hint. It’s not here for no reason.” I stared into the mirror again, caught my reflection’s eyes, stared directly into its pupils…

They didn’t seem to be shining in the dark. They were flat, bright pink, and devoid of light.

Strange… But what do I know about mirror mechanics? Maybe it was the effect of a spell, or maybe the light from my eyes wasn’t enough to double back on me.

I leaned close. My nose tapped into the cold, hard glass. I could see even the smallest wobbles of my body, the things I didn’t even feel. Slowly, I raised my taloned hand, and mirror hand followed. I spread my fingers across the surface, perhaps to cast something…

But mirror me’s hand didn’t unfurl. It remained in a loose fist, laying its knuckles across the glass.

I stared at me. Retreated. Both of our eyes locked again. Mirror-me looked just as startled.

Then he, and he alone, grinned and stuck out his tongue.

“Ya got me, bub!” mirror-me cackled, “Those are some crazy foot noodles you got there! Ahahahahaha!”

“Louse!” Luna’s reflection cried. She whipped around and shoved my image. “You ruined the joke! Ruined ruined ruined, I hate you!”

“Bub here is the one who ruined it. But geez, funny guy!” My reflection’s arms twisted into a strange contortion, flipping over sickly and tapping his chin with his elbows. “Let’s shout secrets into a mirror! Eh, bub? That’s the best answer you got?!”

“Is the fact that… you’re talking to me…” I said slowly, “Proof that I’ve solved some puzzle?”

“Solved a puzzle? Sure bub! You’ve solved a puzzle!” He began to cackle. “Solved the puzzle of how to humiliate yourself in front of company! Good job! Ahahahahahahaha!”

“Oooo,” mirror-Luna stomped. “I was having so much fun and you ruuuuiiiiiinnnnneeeeeeeehhhh—“

“Uh, Discord?” Luna said, staring at her flailing mirror-self. “Is the mirror um… reflecting back the dark parts of ourselves?”

“Yeah bub! I’m the dark part of you! I like ripping the wings off dragonflies and taking dumps in wishing wells! All your secrets are bare, bub! Now how are you going to impress the ladytype?! Ahahaha!”

“That’s not what we plaaaaaned!” Mirror-Luna cried. “This new plan is stupid! You’re stupid! I hate you! Hate hate hate hate—”

“C’mon, Luna,” I turned and immediately started walking to my right. “Let’s just pick a path and figure it out from there.”

“But um…” Luna still look startled. “Shouldn’t we figure out if it’s really a mirror or…?”

“Leaving and coming back should answer that question. The spell will reset, if it’s something like that.”

“Alright…”

I heard Luna following after me as I walked firmly down the right branch, turning immediately left and going deeper into the dark, musty maze.

“Spell’ll reset?!” Mirror-me cackled, far behind me. “Are you listening to this guy?! Thinks he’s some kind of secret-haver!”

“Ooo, please come back! Let’s play again, please! Ooooooo!”

“Discord…” Luna darted ahead, and leaned in close. Not close enough to feel though… “I hope those idiots didn’t hurt you too much…”

“What? No,” I waved the thought away. “I’m fine. It’s pretty weak mocking, all things considered. Just wasn’t worth bothering with them, you know?”

Luna nodded and turned away. I could see every hard along the part of her mane…

Though I had to wonder. Why was she being so chummy and close since I told her my secret? Always pushing herself against me and getting right in my face… Was it relief? Was she teasing me?

I wondered if the ‘Honesty’ of this place would bring that truth out…

To nobody’s surprise, a short walk away from the first fork, there was another set of corridors, one heading off in every cardinal direction. All looked the exact same. Even the patterns on the moldy walls seemed to repeat.

“Welp,” I said, “Looks like it’s some kind of maze.”

“A maze of Honesty,” Luna giggled.

“So there’s probably a lot more tricks up this place’s sleeve.” With one finger, I swiped a fat pink line onto the stones, letting it trail into an arrow as I turned right. “But if we keep our eyes peeled…”

“Oh! Discord!”

Luna, a second Luna, stumbled out from around the next bend, wide eyed. “How’d you get over there?” She trotted towards me, gaping. “I thought we were right next to each other. And who’s that?”

Instantly, I tapped the newly appeared Luna on the forehead. “Wrong question,” I said.

There was a burst of white light, magic interfering with magic. Luna’s purple fur boiled away from the spot I touched, a slick black skull poking out from the spot, inching up a twisted black horn…

It snapped back into place. The New Luna began to sniffle.

“That was sooo mean!” she whined, rubbing the spot with her hoof.

“Hey Discord?” Real Luna asked, “What’s… uh, going on there?”

“Don’t try to outdo the master of illusions himself,” I said flatly. “Your tricks won’t work twice.”

“Are they really that bad?” Through a heavy-lidded expression, Luna looked the Luna by my side slowly up, slowly down. “Or are they not really that bad?”

I glanced at the Luna beside me and reached out to tap her body, confident. She’s been within my sight this entire time, or at least always close enough to touch. I had faith it was the real her.

My hand sunk into her side. She gasped. There was a small flash of magic. And in a wide-eyed shock, the Luna beside me began swirling away into a blue cloud of rapidly disappearing magic.

“Um. Discord?” her disembodied voice called. “What’s happening to you?!”

~Luna~

Discord was unwinding, from his head, and down. Though his neck was quickly vanishing, I still heard him shout, right beside me. “Keep talking, Luna!”

“Um, bleep bloop hello I’m Luna!” I shouted. “Deeble beeble…I like key lime pie! I also like, uh, necklaces and frilly bowties! Uh… does it have to be the truth, Discord?”

“Whatever! Just figure out where I am and use the sound to find me!” Discord cried. “Remember, I’m the only one that can—“

I wasn’t going to get the end of that sentence. The last of the Discord illusion vanished in a whirling puff.

I stared down at my Element, still babbling nonsense, but my voice was growing quieter and quieter. Why didn’t we ever learn how to talk through these necklaces? We’ve already run into so many instances where a trick like that would be so useful—

“Oh! Luna!” My eyes snapped up. Discord’s smiling face poked around the corner, quickly rushing to my side. “Thank goodness you kept talking. C’mon. Let’s stick close this time.”

“So.” I grinned, and said the first, most teasing thing that came to mind. “You think we should walk in lockstep? Hug each other, maybe?” And then Discord would blush and not react as much as he used to but—

A coy smile flicked across his lips. Wait. Coy? He nodded firmly, and waved at his side.

He said, “Hug? No. But we should walk close enough to touch. I want to make sure you stay by my side this time.”

I stepped forward, blushing. Was Discord teasing me now? Had he figured me out and now is using my tricks against me? Counterteasing! He was rising to my game!

But here? Now…?

S-sadly… this was probably another illusion. I jabbed at it with my hoof.

“Ow!” he cried. “Hey, watch it!”

I leapt back, a shiver running down my spine. It had hair on it! Prickly, jabbing at my fetlock! I could feel it! Felt, well, pretty much like Discord. A real, here, counter-teasing Discord…

Maybe he realized! Maybe he knew, in this place, if we were going to be truthful, that he would have to tell me that he…!

“Are you coming, Luna?”

He looked at me, concerned eyes, but laughing with his face. It was such a strange look on him, but it didn’t mean I didn’t like it. Our eyes locked…

There was no light in his eyes.

Whatever this was, it didn’t think to copy it.

“I um,” I said quietly. “I think I’ll wait here for Discord.”

“What? No.” The thing chuckled in a very Discord-like way. “I’m Discord.”

“Oh yeah?” In a flash of insight, I waved at not-Discord’s copy of the Element. “Then how about you use that?”

His eyes were blank. “Use what?”

“You know. Show me a Harmony Blast.”

He rolled his eyes, still smiling. “Luna, we don’t have time for that.”

“Why,” I retorted. “Are we in a hurry?”

“I just don’t like this place,” He glanced at the cold walls, tapping them with his knuckled. “Look at it! It’s creepy isn’t it?”

“Discord didn’t think it was creepy. And it would only take half a second to prove who he really was. So, whatever you are, you can go now.” I forcefully waved at the not-Discord. “Bye-bye.”

He sighed loudly. “Luna, I’m hurt.”

“I don’t care, really,” I replied firmly.

“So I’m not Discord…”

“That’s for sure!”

“But don’t you want me to be?” He crept closer, eyes heavy. There was a sort of smile on his face, a way that Discord had never smiled. Never. At anything. Yet it was so easy, so attractive, in such a strange way… “Hnnnn? Can I be Discord?”

I closed my eyes to the smile and backed away, retreating down the corridor. Firmly, I said “No. Discord’s way better at being Discord than you.”

“Maybe he is… But, but.” I heard him creaking closer, the sound of his steps had something wrong about them. They weren’t the mix-match of Discord’s claws and pads. Not the click of pony hooves. But a soft, crunching sound. Like the cracking of plaster. “Is there something you want Discord to be that Discord can’t be? Hnnnn?”

The prickling fur and feathers of Discord rubbed against my side, sliding across my cutie mark before I darted away.

“I don’t want to change Discord!” I shouted, bumping into a wall. I peeked, wondering where I should run to next. Which way had I come from? Heck, where had not-Discord come from? The hallway seemed to extend into forever, only two directions to go and come from.

“Oh, but you do want something from him,” not-Discord oozed, smiling at me, taking up my vision with that easy smile…

I yanked the darkness up from all four walls, slamming the darkness shut between us. It was little more than a curtain slammed close, but maybe in the confusion I could get away from this creep! In the meantime… could I teleport him away? But to where? Harmony blast him? Just… just kick him in the jaw?!

Could I kick something that even looked like Discord in the jaw?

“It’s rude to run away, hnn,” From another corner (where had that corner come from?!) not-Discord slipped in front of me, holding himself proud and tall atop his knuckles. “I can smell that want on you. Smells like a carrot cake, hnnn.” Not-Discord nodded easily, with a confidence I rarely saw on Discord’s face. “You like carrot cake, it’s something you want.”

“I don’t really like carrot cake,” I shot. Magic rushed to my horn. A reflex, but I still felt in control. This was weird, but all this thing could do was talk, talk, talk. Should I shadow teleport him? Without a destination?

Away is destination enough!

“Then think of something you do want, and I can smell it on you.” He grinned. “It’s love!”

“No!”

My heart panged. My insides suddenly hollowed. Magic popped from my horn, aura fading in the air. I swallowed hard, tried to pull my magic back.

But…

But not-Discord stared up at me, grinning coyly. And for a moment, I, I knew I did want Discord to look at me like that.

I shivered, freezing under my own boiling skin. For a moment the world swirled…

Then I stood up straight and marched down the hall, sweat cooling down my back. “O-kay, this is really, actually creepy. Goodbye forever, not-Discord.”

“Hnnn, hnnn, don’t think of me as a poor copy.” He hummed, footsteps crunching lightly after me. “I fooled you for a bit, didn’t I?”

I refused to answer. Yet. I refused to teleport him. Or even blast him. Or anything… I closed my eyes again, trying to just clear my head.

I hadn’t really looked for a way out. This Discord wasn’t really dangerous. I just had to find a way back to the mirror, and I could sit and wait for the real Discord to find me. Or do something so honest that Honesty would be bestowed on me on the spot. Yeah. There’s a smart plan, Luna. Duuur. So smart.

I wondered if I could teleport there. I felt nervous, teleporting to a place I barely knew, in a place like this. What if something went wrong?

“No answer for your good friend? Hnnnn?” Not-Discord said. Like a bolt from the blue, that voice jumbled my thoughts instantly. “But Luna!” he cried, “I can be what you want!” I heard the crunching feet in front of me, and I had to open my eyes. Just to walk around him. That’s all.

But Discord’s face…

Again. My insides were seized. I longed for that beautiful, innocent, embarrassed, troubled, funny, enthusiastic, magical—

Discord rolled his shoulders, staring at his fingers. “For a long time, I’ve been feeling so strange. I didn’t know what to think. It was so hard to describe. But I knew. Whenever I was close to you, I was so happy…”

The only think off was his fingers… Discord always fiddles with his fingers when he’s nervous…

“Luna!” Discord cried. I looked up, and he was close now, blushing, eyes flicking towards mine. “I think I love you too! L-let’s make out!”

“Oh my god.”

Bile rose in my throat.

I cried, “I think I’m going to be sick! This is creepy! Creepy creepy creepy get away from me!”

There was a bright flash from my Element, and not-Discord’s voice warped as he screamed. For a second I could see a black skeleton under the melting fur…

And I spun around and ran. Magic pulsed into my horn and I screamed.

“DISCORD. WHERE ARE YOU?!”

~Discord~

“Oh, Discord, there you are, I—“

“Nope.”

I tapped on knuckle on Luna’s snout without even breaking my stride. Mirror Luna growled as it covered a black splotch on its face, then slunk away, dejected.

“You know, with how many turns I’ve taken, I should be under the graveyard by now,” I said lamely. “Or at least run into Luna. How big is this place?” I tapped a wall, and it shimmered and boiled. For a second, a glittering gemlike frame was revealed, and then snapped back into place. “And how much of this place is illusion?”

I stopped at an intersection I swore I had seen before. Actually, I had seen it before, because it was the opposite side of the original black mirror.

“Hey, bub!” mirror-me called, squashing himself against the glass and waving. “Welcome back! You get lost?!”

I walked silently past the sulking pair, and into the hallways I knew I had marked…

But as I suspected, my pink line was gone. I sighed loudly. Would I have to banish every illusion in this place? It didn’t take too much energy to do, but it was independently powered by gems, and possibly the Element itself. I could spend myself entirely and still have not permanently banished a single illusion.

I guess I could go back and smash that ‘mirror,’ but I doubt that would have any positive consequences…

Suddenly, I heard a scream. I froze.

“DISCORD. WHERE ARE YOU?!”

“Luna!” I cried. Was that also an illusion?! What had they done to her?! I charged off into the maze, barreling through illusory walls.

“Woah, woah, woah!” another mirror me barreled in my path. “Slow your roll!”

“Away!” I summoned a wall, and drove it like a wedge between us.

“Heeeeey, you’ll never find the girl just running like crazy,” another Luna laughed. “Chiiilll.”

I shoved her aside. “There’s a limited number of paths, even with illusion. I’ll just try all of them!”

“Too late, hnnnn,” another, Discord smacked his lips, looking rather pleased with himself. “Already made such a good meal, hnnn…”

I whipped around, charged for the illusion me, and slammed my head into his side. It made a strangled wheezing sound as I pinned it to a wall. I felt it squirm between my horns, in the grip of my claws. Alive. Very much alive.

“That is the LAST thing you want to mock me about!” I growled, formless illusions tightening all around the false… false thing. “Now tell me where she went or I will kill you!”

The… the statement scared even me. But deep inside me I wanted it to be true. It was true.

“Hnk hnk…”It gasped. Little bits of the creature’s disguise began peeling off in green licks of flame, exposing a slick black midsection, black, platelike segments heaving and rolling strangely as it gasped for breath. “She… ran… off…”

“What direction?!”

“Headed… Hnk… right… way… hnk…” One of his legs squirmed, illusion caving around gaping holes. “Right… hnk… then after… hnk… left…”

I threw the creature aside. It no longer looked like a copy of me. No. It was like a fat, pony-like beetle. Wings and eyes like an insect, horn twisted and black, too oversized and bloated for its own head—

I didn’t dwell, I just ran, letting my Element pulse with my fury.

“Luna!” I shouted, “Luna I’m coming!”

“DISCORD?!” And ear-shattering shout blasted in my left ear. I whipped around. Solid wall. A lie. I charged through it with ease. “Whoops, I mean, Discord?!”

It was somewhere new, a hall covered in sickly green glass and mirrors. I shouted. “Keep yelling, please Luna!”

“Discord! Is that your Element?”

“Oh life…”

Around the corner, Luna stumbled, whole and well, Element glowing in her beautiful blue hue.

I couldn’t help myself. My insides churned, and for a moment I completely forgot myself. I barreled into Luna and clutched her close, mutual Elements pulsing between eachother’s skin.

Too close. I shouldn’t let myself come this close...

Embarrassed, I hoped Luna wasn’t offended. I let my body get away from me… I hoped when I retreated that she wasn’t too disgusted by how forward I was

“D-Discord. You…”

“I’m sorry…” I tapped her shoulder, and in a dim flash of magic, it remained her shoulder. Good… very good. I laughed and backed off even further. “What, you’ve been gone for all of fifteen minutes? I’m overacting, sorry.”

“No, it’s…” She looked up at me, almost shriveled and weak, biting her lip. She looked like she was going to cry.

“Did those creatures hurt you, Luna?”

“Hurt my feelings, mostly,” she mumbled, glancing around the room. It was a strange one. I wondered how I missed it in my wandering… “Does that sound stupid?”

“Oh, a few of them can find ways to get under one’s skin.” I looked firmly at her as she ran a hoof in circles around the misty green floor. On instinct, I move a little string between the two if us, making it hard as steel. Let’s see the illusions separate us now. “So. Did you find anything?”

“No. Just dumb hallways and false you’s. It was um…” she shook her head. “One, one of those fakes really wanted me to kiss you…”

I nodded firmly. “Probably a dark reason for it.”

“Well, what about the riddle…?” Luna said softly. “Honesty will lead you true?”

I stared at her. “Did you want to kiss those bug guys?”

“Not the, um, bug… guys. No.”

“Then there, you were honest,” I frowned at the glass. Some of our mirror-selves had begun moving on their own, reflections wagging their tongues at us. “And nothing happened. Uhg. What do we have to do to get the better of this place?”

“Be honest, I guess.”

“But we have been!”

“Not totally…”

I stared at Luna. She was still blushing, still sitting on the ground and tapping her hooves together, staring at them with intense concentration.

I tapped her shoulder again, letting a little spark of light flash in this dark place. Still not an illusion. She looked up at me nervously from the contact, her eyes wide and wet.

“Geez,” I said. “Did they scare you that much, Luna?”

“You are the real Discord, right?”

“The Element’s not enough?” I cupped it and made it flash again. “And I’ve got all my fingers.” I wiggled them in front of her.

“Oh, Discord!” she moaned.

“W-what?”

Luna shook her head, tossing her mane around her shoulders. “We can’t fool each other anymore, can we?!”

“About what? What’s going on? What’s wrong, Luna?!” My eyes flicked up to the mirrors. Some of them had begun hooting and cheering. There was a strange buzzing in the room. Insect wings, probably…

“Wrong?” Luna cried, “It was wrong for me to wait, but I can’t anymore!”

I gripped her shoulders, pushing more magic into my dispelling ability, hoping to get rid of whatever craziness had taken over Luna. She didn’t even notice the flashes at her sides, her eyes were screwed so tight against the tears.

“I’ll give you one more chance to say it, Discord. Th-then I’m gonna…”

“Say what Luna? What have those bugs been doing to you?” I shook her, trying to look dead in her eyes. “Are you okay?”

“I think. I think if I’m honest, then it will be…” she breathed. All of this. It was so unlike her. I shook her again, scared.

Finally, she opened her eyes.

She smiled.

“Discord. I… I know you love me!”

“Love?!” I squeaked.

“But it’s okay! Because… because I love you too!”

And with that, she pushed her mouth onto mine.

And she just… breathed on me for a moment.

I sat there. Dumbfounded.

Our own voices hooted and whooped around us. Green light pulsed and flashed in the mirrors.

Very bad. That’s very bad.

Why is she still sticking her mouth on mine?

Finally, I couldn’t take it. Gently, I tried to push her away. She retreated, eyes shining.

“This had better not be the real you…” I said flatly.

“Wh-what?” Her face folded tighter and tighter and, stupid. I’m so stupid. “Don’t you love me?”

“Did you eat anything strange, Luna? Did they do anything to you? Tell me. Please.” I gripped her shoulders tighter, shivering. Overheating. “We have to find a way to make you better.”

“Better?! I just t-told you the t-truth,” she sniffled, “Y-you gotta be, be honest t-to, Discord. Tell me th-that you love…”

“Oh for life’s sake!”

I threw my arms down, a pressure rising in my head.

“I told you the truth! I told you about my physical changes, about being a Draconequus! Did you think I was lying to you?!”

“I, I thought you w-were lying to you…”

“Luna… what the hell do I know about love?!” I spat, shaking from head to toe, “There is no such thing to a Draconequus! We can’t feel that kind of crap, that’s a, a pony emotion!”

“So is Kindness, isn’t it?” Luna cried, “Everything can feel love…”

“But that’s not what I feel!” I screamed, “I’m here, all torn up inside, and you’re there, telling me, no Discord. You don’t know how YOUR OWN BODY works!”

I don’t think I had ever screamed so loud in my life. I could feel my own lungs getting raw, horse taste of torn skin in my mouth.

“It’s just love?!” I bellowed. “Well it’s not! Why couldn’t you… why couldn’t you just respect the truth I gave you?! That what I’m feeling IS JUST MY SICK, DISGUSTING BODY, AGAIN.”

Luna sniffled, tears shimmering down her hanging snout. The silent air rung between us.

“B-but… I love you.”

“I don’t—! I mean…” I closed my eyes, still feeling overheated. Feeling… feeling… “I wish I knew… what exactly that word meant.”

The room flickered, and the wall behind us suddenly became bare. Behind Luna, an outline of an alicorn statue appeared. Over the cackling laughter and buzzing of our own faces, there was a scraping sound. And with a dull thunk, a head-sized granite orb dropped unceremoniously between us.

LXII : Friends Together III

The Steadfast Sky : Friends Together III
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Luna~

We didn’t speak when we left. Discord wrapped a thick cord around my ankle, heaved the Element between his wings, and just walked. I was tugged along, stumbling in his wake, only able to watch his tail as it flicked back and forth.

The bugs, whatever they were, they didn’t shut up. They mocked us. Teased and taunted. Called us names. Discord’s mimicked voice called to me a dozen times over, offering their love. My own voice moaned, asking Discord to let go of his shame.

Numb, I pulled a bubble of silence around us. I could at least give us that.

We passed by Bookend’s statue, and I couldn’t help but look at it. It was like a being of fire, frozen in a single hate-filled moment. He cowered on his stomach, like a cornered animal, face furiously turned up at the dozen bug ponies silently swarming around him. The alicorn was wreathed in a mane cut so sharp and thin, the blades seemed to twist as we moved past, flickering like a flame.

And, set perfectly on the beastly thing’s snout, was an almost comedically perfect pair of stone glasses. Wise scholar… Valued friend…

Friend.

I closed my eyes, and was tugged gently forward by Discord’s shackle.

We marched up the stairs, numbly picking up our packs as our doubles silently dashed up the stairs after us, all rushing for the exit. I stumbled as a few bugs tried to slap or trip me, some stopping long enough to stick out their tounges or silently boo us. But mostly they fled to the light, shed their copycat skins, and flew up into the clouds. I didn’t bother to wonder where they were going.

I bit my lip and tried not to think about it. I didn’t need more reasons to hate myself right now.

Discord tugged me down the graveyard, bags dragging in the crook of his elbow. He led me down the hill, beyond the little gate, into the dirt road.

For a moment, he stood, looking down the crumbling path. I looked to him. I didn’t think we should leave. It was nearly sunset. Maybe we should at least stay inside tonight…

But I didn’t drop the silent spell. I didn’t want to talk to him. Especially not over something so… so pointless. Meaningless.

He got my idea, at least. After a few more moments, he turned around and pulled me into to the Illuminator’s black stone shrine.

When we were just barely inside, in a place of fallen banners and crumbling desks, he broke the chain. Dropped his bag. Set the Element gently down.

He looked at me once. Struggled to say something through the silence. Looked away. Then he loped off, not even able to say a single word. Where Discord went, I had no idea. I didn’t even know where I wanted to go. So I just sat down, right where he left me, staring at the door, wondering when Discord would return. He didn’t. So I just stayed where I was. I rolled the Element in front of me, just nudging it with my ankle. Sometimes, when I paused, I can feel a part of it flutter under my leg, like a rapid little heartbeat.

I wrapped my legs around it, holding it close, cold stone quietly quivering under my cheek.

I’ve been so stupid.

Presumptuous.

I shoved my face into the Element. Did using big words mean that I was any smarter than the dummy I was a year ago?

I’m still such an idiot.

And idiot and a dumb, little kid.

I hurt us both so much.

So I sat up.

Took a breath.

Held it tight.

Sobbed a little too. Until all my tears were just a crust across my cheeks.

Then I picked up the stone Element in my aura and marched deeper into the dilapidated shrine.

The old building didn’t seem to have been abandoned too long ago. Maybe some time within the year. Old rugs and banners were in place, unless they had fallen off the wall or been kicked aside. A lot of the wooden furniture was still standing upright and felt pretty stable, if not a little dusty. Leaves and vines crept around doorways and billowed through hallways, but they hadn’t begun to clog or plaster everything yet. Occasionally I ran into skittering rats or birds that had made their nests in the rafters, but we left each other alone.

I didn’t find Discord in the main building, so I decided to cross an overgrown courtyard and look in the smaller, squatter part of the complex. But, that’s when I spotted him. I was halfway across the lawn when I saw Discord sitting atop a little decorative wall, staring into the distance.

I held my breath, and begun to approach. His ears perked up. As I arrived, his yellow eyes turned on me, wide and full of tears.

“Luna,” he whispered, turning away dramatically, “I’m sorry, I’ve treated you so poorly. Perhaps, between us, there really was something so special. Perhaps it was love! If we just—“

I dropped the heavy element down on Discord’s head.

“Haven’t you done enough damage?!” I shouted, “Go torment somebody else, you stupid bug!”

“Just trying to be nice, bab!” not-Discord groaned, rubbing his head. “But mites and mice alike! Pony women, you’re rough aren’t ya?”

“Do I need to say it twice?!” I brandished the Element like a mace. “Get out of here!”

“Won’t make a single promise to that!” He stuck out his tongue, “I’m better than that little bloodletter, bab! You’ll see! You’ll be crawling back for a kiss, you will!”

I was not in the mood for this. I raised the Element again, and the bug got the message loud and clear. He clambered away and launched himself into the air, buzzing as his body burned away, leaving a black insect beneath.

I wondered tiredly, do I have to test every Discord I come across? Well, at least I only have one building to check or fumigate.

Unless Discord had gone off into the woods…

I wandered into the next building. It seemed to be a kind of dormitory, like the one we had stayed at in the Shrine of Loyalty. Lots of rooms were locked, but many swung open easily, revealing small rooms with one or two bunks. Sometimes they had little tables, or a chest of drawers, but most of them were simple and bare.

I nudged my nose into one room.

I saw Discord, hunched in a corner. His eyes flicked up, stunned, red flecks on his chin—

He shouted, “NO!”

In a blast of directionless color, the door slammed shut, almost on my snout.

“Dis-CORD!” I shouted. “Don’t shut me out!”

Muffled, he cried back, “Just… just gimmie a minute! Let me clean up!”

“Let me IN, Discord! I don’t care about that!”

“I care! It’s not right!”

“I will teleport in, so help me! I am going to sit beside you, and… and…” I faded out, voice getting weaker. “Just… just let me in, Discord. Please. Just let me in.”

After a moment’s notice, the doorframe shifted under me, and I nudged my way in.

Discord sat on the far wall, not too far from me. The blood was gone, and his arms were folded politely.

“Where is it, Discord?”

“Where is what?”

I stared at him, just so… so very tired. I dropped to the ground, resting my legs on the Element.

I said, “We’re not talking until you finish eating.”

“I said I was done.”

“You’re not.”

His eyes darkened. He looked away from me.

“Can’t I have my privacy from you?” he said.

“Not if we have to learn how to live with each other.”

“We already live with each other.”

“Well we haven’t lived after… after today.”

He continued to look away, not even daring to steal a glance at me.

“I hate fighting with you, Luna,” he mumbled. “Why are you so forceful lately?”

“I told you why.”

“What?” he said, “You’re getting in my face about it because… what you said…”

“Uh-huh.”

His frown looked less and less offended. Now he just seemed confused.

“What, so,” Discord said, “Ponies get more aggressive after they’ve, uh, found themselves a partner?”

“Discord,” I huffed, “I don’t give a single silly thought to what’s ‘pony’ and ‘not pony’ about me. I don’t think, ‘well, I’m a pony, so I guess I do this.’ I’m just Luna. I do what I want and say what I feel. And I guess, as Luna…” I tried to catch Discord’s eyes. He refused. I continued talking anyway. “As Luna, I aggressively care about you so much, that I make you uncomfortable.”

“Yes, I am uncomfortable?” Discord said, staring at the floorboards in confusion. “Can you leave so I can have my peace?”

“Nope!”

Discord made an annoyed sort of growling sound. “Please?!”

“Only if you admit that, after I leave, you’d actually have peace.”

“Okay, I’d have peace if you left!”

“No. That’s a lie.” I moved a little closer, almost automatically. “Even if I leave, you’ll still hate yourself. You’ll still beat yourself up and tie your insides in knots. I’m not the enemy here, or the cause of… I just want to help.”

Discord blinked, then rubbed his eyes. “What were we even talking about anymore?”

“How much I care about you. And I guess…” Now I looked away. It felt like I had something so much clearer to say when I came up here. “I just… I want us to be comfortable around one another. The last thing I want is for us to both grow distant. And this, hiding away while you eat, you’re just pointlessly adding to that gap between us. I just don’t want that!”

Discord huffed again, still annoyed, “Why does everything come around to this topic? You’re the one who just threw your feelings… assumed things about me…”

“I’m trying to make up for that too. I mean.” I stared at my hooves, trying to sift through my thoughts. “I want to sort everything out between us. Everything. Because I…”

I stopped myself, trying to put a damper on those feelings, trying to stop that word from taking me over again. No. I have to back off. I have to show Discord I’m willing to just be friends. Even if a part of me now wants something more... Friends. Just friends. Please.

“Discord, you have to admit, we’ve always done so wonderfully together. We’ve always been such good friends. I don’t want anything to get in the way of that. And I mean anything.”

Discord hadn’t looked at me once this entire conversation. He still seemed so angry, so tightly twisted. I didn’t even know anymore if what I said was right, or if it only made him angrier. But for so long, we just sat in that silence, like there was a storm about to break at any second.

Then, in barely a flicker, his little illusion dropped. Blood appeared on his chin, red mess sticking between his talons and toes. Beneath his folded hands, a little body of slate gray and bright red appeared, feathers surrounding it in clumps.

Finally, after so long, Discord’s eyes flicked over to me. It was just for a moment, but I was finally able to lock eyes with him, remaining firm and in control.

Slowly, eyes firmly pointed down, he lowered his head towards the bird.

And I looked away. I didn’t want to see this. I’m honest. I didn’t want to. It was such a ridiculously private act for Discord. Something he always hid, always terrified that somebody might see. So terrified, he didn’t even trust himself to look.

But he trusted me.

Oh thank the sun and moon above, he still trusted me.

“I don’t know why I needed that now. No. I’m sorry. I do know why.” He said it quietly, almost too soft for me to hear, “I like squab. Back in the castle, pigeons were always something of a joke to eat. It’s like eating rats. You only eat vermin when you’re bottom rung. When the proper meat gets stolen from your bowl.

“But I always liked pigeon. Every time I starved myself, back in Canterbury, it was always those birds I craved. I’d snatch them right out of their nests at night. Wring their necks. Dig into the hot flesh.” He stared dully at his hands, at the light speckling of blood. “And when I was done, I’d scoop out the eggs, and eat them raw. Shells and all. It was the closest thing I ever had to dessert.”

When he was done, he summoned a little white cloth. Carefully, with a little scowl on his face, he wrapped up the empty skin and feathers. “It’s a disgusting habit. Makes me sick that I can have one moment of weakness, and take a life just to comfort myself.”

“But I told you, Discord,” I said softly. “It’s really alright. You shouldn’t let it get to you.”

He slammed a fist into the floor.

“Yeah, okay, you’re fine with it, I get it!” Discord shouted. “But no matter how much you repeat how fine it is, it doesn’t mean the issue has vanished! I mean, I’m sick of hearing this from myself! I know it must be a pain to keep hearing me complain about it! But it doesn’t. Go. Away!” He taloned hand dug at his face, like he was trying to scrape off the blood. “I can’t escape the fact that I’m me. That, even if I’m to be some kind of hero, and even if I’m skilled, I’m not… I’m not a pony.”

“Do you… want to be a pony?”

“Yes!” he threw up his arms, “Of course I want to be a pony! If I was a pony, I wouldn’t be a freak.”

And then, it was over. The room rung from his words. He grabbed a cloth and began furiously scraping at his hands and face, scrubbing long after he had washed off all the blood.

And I…

I wanted to tell him he wasn’t a freak. Tell him he was a great pony. Tell him I loved— No. Tell him he was an amazing friend. If I thought he was so amazing, then of course he wasn’t that horrible.

But it was all just words.

And he wasn’t having them.

“Discord…”

He grunted, “I’ve hurt you again.”

“I just wish I could say something you’d believe.” After a silence, I said, “You don’t have to be a pony to be something great, Discord.”

“Just forget it. What I said was dumb.”

“It’s not dumb if it’s what you really, truly think.” I said slowly, “But being a pony… it’s just another thing to be, you know? I don’t think we’re that special.”

“It’s a better thing to be than a Draconequus. You’re such a nice, kind, friendly group…”

“An… a pony can be those things, yes. But. As a group, well, you can’t have a perfect species. We have our own share of problems, our own darkness and evils.”

“Yeah, but you aren’t born murderers either. All Draconequus adults are just killers, cold and to the bone.”

“I know at least one exception.”

I put my hoof on his hand. He didn’t even seem to notice.

So I said, carefully stepping through every word. “Every group, every individual has their problems. Discord, you’re such a good person. You just have a problem, and you’re trying to deal with it. Everyone has to deal with—“

“Luna.” I stopped, stunned. Discord had turned to me, and was looking directly at me, pained. “You have no idea! You’re the best of us! You’re amazing!” His hands landed on my shoulders, and I felt a pang of memory. Back to the tomb. “I’m sitting here moping about how much I hate myself! Celestia’s got a stick stuck so far up her butt that she needed some personal time to extract it! But you! You’re just so happy! When you see a problem you go and do something about it! And that’s exactly what you’re doing here…” He looked away. “And exactly what you did down in the tomb, when you…” He shook his head, tried to look at me again. “You just stood up and said exactly what you felt. And now, even though you must feel like shit, you came and found me, proud and strong, acting as if it was just that easy to look past your problems. You always make it seem so easy. You never let a single thing ever stop you… I… I wish I had half that strength, Luna. Really. You’re amazing…”

I swallowed hard. That feeling was bubbling inside me, gushing like a spring. Tears were welling in my eyes.

“What a thing to say to a filly you don’t love.”

He recoiled, as if he had just burned his hands. For a long time, he just sat there, expression contorting, looking like he was sick. He rubbed his arms, and I wiped away my tears, sniffling.

“I really don’t get it, Discord,” I mumbled, “Everything you say, and everything you do, it just…” I took a shuddering breath. “Please, don’t be mad at me.”

“I can never stay mad at you,” he mumbled. “This whole thing’s making me sick. I hate fighting with you. I hate it.”

“Well then, I’m sorry I misread what you were feeling,” I said, “It really looked like you loved me.”

“It’s just a physical thing, Luna,” he said, “It’s the same as eating meat. It’s my body looking to fill and urge.”

“Just your body, huh?” I sniffled, “So… so what, do you look at every pony, and think, ooh, that looks nice?”

All at once, his eyes snapped open. He sat up straight, and looked dead ahead.

“Do you think that way about Celestia too?”

“Oh life no.”

“Do you think that way about all the stallions you meet? Do you feel the way you do about any other pony at all?”

“No! No, that’s stupid, I don’t feel like I want to…”

Discord closed his eyes, clutching a paw to his chest. He shifted uncomfortably.

I had to think, as hard as I could, be friends. We’re just friends. Just let us be friends. But that bubbling gush I felt, the feelings, the sort of emotions I denied were filling me up.

I trembled a little, trying to hold myself back. Oh, I am such a hypocrite.

“Luna, I can’t do this.” I was both glad and disappointed when Discord stood up and walked a few steps away, face pained. “I can’t let myself feel these things! I can’t let these urges win… It’s not right! It’s not.”

He feels it too.

No, Luna! No. Don’t project. That’s what hurt you and him the first time. Just.

My eyes flick down to the stone orb at my feet.

Just say something honest.

And then, the first dumb truth came out:

“Discord,” I said suddenly. “If you said you wanted to eat all my legs, I’d let you.”

“Okay, don’t be gross. I don’t want to do that. It’s definitely a different feeling—”

“But I’d let you, if you needed it.”

I stood up, and walked up to Discord. He stared at me, clutching his Element.

“Discord.”

“Luna…”

I took a deep breath, and rose above the conflicts in my heart.

I said, “With everything, and anything, you can be comfortable with me. Okay?”

“I can’t be. I can’t allow… Not with all of this.”

“You’re not a freak, I don’t think you’re weird, and the last thing I want to see is you beating yourself up over who and what you are. I know you’re not comfortable with you. I hope someday you’ll be okay with yourself. But for now…”

I walked up and…

Oh, I wanted to kiss him again. I wanted to throw myself into his arms and have him clutch me tight, furious, passionate, and finally free of all his self-loathing. I wanted and wanted and wanted so hard, I nearly couldn’t stop myself.

But, I prevailed against my fantasies. I rubbed my neck against his, throat rubbing against his bristling fur.

So strange.

“For now… let me be comfortable with you,” I said, heart pounding in my ears. “Because I am comfortable, Discord. To me, you’re the most wonderful thing in the whole, wide world.”

He sat there. Stunned. Frozen. Unable to move. Maybe out of fear. Maybe because, like he said, he couldn’t let himself.

Then, I left, outwardly smiling, inwardly tormented by my wants. My own need. A need I never thought I’d come to. I wished, with all the blood pumping so rapidly through my heart, that someday, someday soon, Discord would admit to that same need, and not be ashamed of it.

That we’d just admit how much we loved each other.

And… and then…

Please, Discord.

Please…?

~Discord~

There were days when I had dreamed of being by her side. Days where, when she appeared, I’d run to her, overjoyed. I’d make believe a million scenarios, Luna at my side, Luna smiling, Luna happy and proud, Luna this and Luna that. Even now, I rattled through those daydreams, and washed myself in the warmth they provided.

And then my mind snaps shut. No.

I decided, very forcefully, that those thoughts were wrong. That it would be harmful for her, and cruel of me, to hold onto these emotions. It was just another urge, and quickly bundled with all my urges never to see the light of day.

Never examined. Just assumed… And suppressed just as quickly.

I laid on my back, arms and wings spread wide, and stared at the ceiling as it began growing darker and darker. Luna’s words, Luna’s acceptance of me still fresh in my mind. With barely a thought I bound the door shut. I closed my eyes, took an uneasy breath, and hesitantly, so hesitantly, I began to peel back my defenses and really try to feel what I thought about Luna.

An answer came immediately, pushing my heart.

She’s perfect.

It was a like a scab ripped off a new wound, the gush of feelings that filled me were so muddy and confusing. Those thoughts, those are the the ones of the Draconequus, aren’t they? They’re as pertinent, annoying, and downright violent as my hunger for meat. Were these thoughts really mine? Were they my body’s? The Draconequus? I shuddered, and waited for them to go away, slowly boiling back down to normal. Back down to the empty normal times, when I’m just walking with Luna and don’t even think about it much.

And what was left, the thoughts of Discord, Element of Kindness. Prince, Outcast, Weaver of Illusions …

Luna was the greatest pony I had ever met, and I do anything to make her smile. I could spend hours, months, years just sitting by her side, and I’d be happy. From the very moment I had first seen Luna, those graceful little footfalls were things of beauty. Something to be admired. A complete, perfect being.

And suddenly, I thought.

Luna…

I’ve come upon a good question!

It was dark now. I had probably just spent hours and hours turning my thoughts over and over. The floor beneath me was sticky with dried sweat, and my body grumbled uncomfortably from the shift in position.

I rolled into my feet. Stretched a little. Felt the annoying pressures of a body ignored. Oh, how I wished I could ignore this body forever. Without it, I could be something awesome, I bet.

I broke the illusions on the door, and stumbled out into a dark, eerily quiet hallway. It wouldn’t be hard to navigate, but, I wondered how late it was. And if Luna was already asleep, could I reliably find her? I padded down the empty halls, growing anxious, shivering with the anticipation of just seeing her…

“Luna!”

A lump in the courtyard shot up. Our saddlebags surrounded her, Element held between her legs. That had to be her! I jumped out the window and soared circles around the courtyard. I landed with ease and trotted towards the stunned filly.

“Luna, I—“ I laughed, “Oh man, I hope I didn’t wake you. But I had to say, I’m sorry for how I treated you today. I’m just so—“

And then the Element of Honesty smacked me in the jaw.

“I told you to leave me alone!” Luna shouted, “It’s not even funny anymore!”

“Wh-what? Luna…?”

“What, do you think, oh, this time, she’ll really fall for it? Huh?!”

“Luna! It’s me!” I gripped my Element and made it flash. Luna gasped.

“Oh! Discord! Uh…” Honesty dropped from her aura and she rushed to my side. “Um… Whoops! Bugs! You know… Those stupid, stupid bugs!”

“Yep! Yep, I get it… But geez! Ow!”

Luna hovered at my shoulder, eyes wide. She seemed to reach out to comfort me, but stopped, blushing. Oh, when she blushes…

I thought to stop myself, but then, I didn’t. I smiled, insides gushing with warmth. Oh, this feeling.

“Hey Luna?”

“Uh-huh?”

“Why, in the whole goddamn world, do I hate to be happy?”

“I don’t know,” she smiled. Blush burning so bright in the dark… “You think being happy will make you some huge asshole?”

“I guess so, yeah. I’m worried that I’d just get carried away. Forget Kindness, just care about myself…” I grinned, and sarcasm crept into my voice, “Just ravage the world with how stupidly free I am.”

I stopped with a little laugh, and it was silent. We both stood, staring at each other, both of us burning in the dim light, listening to one another breathe…

“Actually, that’s um,” I laughed nervously. “That’s pretty much all I had to say. This has been… quite a day, hasn’t it?”

“Oh yeah. One hell of a day.”

I took a breath, and stared up at the dark clouds. I missed the stars in the sky sometimes. I only lived under them for a year, and I missed them. Weird how that works.

Anyway.

“Luna,” I said to the sky. “I don’t like myself—”

“Nope. You don’t.”

“Let me finish...” And, when she was silent, I continued, “I’m not comfortable with myself, or anyone else, and honestly, a lot of my thoughts really confuse me. All I do know, is...” I hesitated, looking right at Luna. “I’ve... For the longist time, Luna, I think... I’ve idolized you. I don’t... That isn’t what we want. What I want. So... want to be comfortable with you. And if that means being comfortable with myself then.... okay?”

Luna was quiet for a while, intensely staring at me. I hope I didn’t say something wrong or—

“Okay.” She finally squeaked, voice strained. “Yes.” Then, after a moment more, “Can I have a hug?”

“Oh! Um… sure?”

In a blink of an eye Luna slammed into my side, throwing me down to the ground with a heavy thump. I gasped, winded, as she squirmed beside me, burying her nose into my neck and clutching me tightly around the middle.

“This is actually very un-comfortable,” I wheezed.

“No it’s not,” Luna mumbled.

“I’m serious, you’re lying on top of my wing…”

“Can I sleep by your side tonight, Discord?” Luna squeaked, “Can I just crawl under your wing, fall asleep next to you?”

A feeling rose in me that I immediately tried to suppress. I didn’t know if it was the Draconequus in me, or just… me.

I paused. Then let the feeling go.

“Yes,” I mumbled, “I would very much like that.”

LXIII : Traveling Alone III

The Steadfast Sky : Travelling Alone III
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Celestia~

These thoughts are mine. They once were mine. I am these thoughts. They are me. Yet, why do they seem so removed from me? They are themselves, a part of me… The parts of me I cannot stomach. It makes sense. This still makes sense. It is very clearly put into the box of sense-having.

If I could, I’d cut every piece of me out. And then maybe, without them, I’ll see the sun again. Or the ideal of the sun or—

Uhg, shut up, Snippy grunted, This line of thought has been run into the friggin ground. I am so sick of thinking it.

Oh, why does thinking make my head hurt so much? Maybe I am sick. Princess bubbled into my thoughts, I wish we could stay in bed for a week at least, minded by the maids and nurses…

Lucky me then! I have found a hospital!

A white building poked itself just above the tree line. Its face was simple, wood and sheet rock, with windows peppering its face. My first impression was of those little eyes above the trees, of a tall white bell tower, mournfully tolling the hour. I was so relieved to hear that bell. Thank goodness! A part of me sighed. I walked evenly down the overgrown cobble path, watching the wooden roof as the trees slowly peel away from it, mind buzzing. Finally, I’m here.

It actually exists. It’s really real.

I mean, why wouldn’t it? Did I ever doubt that?

Oh my goodness, Princess interjected, Look at the construction of this place! Is that a wooden inlay on white marble? No, looks like it’s just cheap alabaster, what a pity. Yet they’ve treated it so well, I think I can forgive them for using such poor materials.

It’s big. Snippy snipped, swiping the bangs from my eyes. Showy. Hospitals shouldn’t be showy. Who the hell do they think they are, flaunting wealth like that?

Ponies will notice and remember it, won’t they? Martyr quietly approved. Lots of ponies knew that this place was there for them. How wonderful.

I had finally come around to the front. There was a squat stone wall surrounding the compound, fencing in a simple garden square, a simple fountain burbling at the center. It would have been a nice, lovely first impression, I’m certain.

Oh. Princess sniffed. They seem to have flubbed that, haven’t they?

The fountain was clogged with dead leaves, wet gunk plastering its basin. As I walked through that little courtyard, my eyes flicked down to the garden full of tangled, overbloated floral bushes and a matted carpet of weeds. Tall grass hung over the path like a short canopy, stalks tickling at my sides.

Without a tone or personality, I thought, The days of this place’s wealth are come and gone.

Princess had a stronger reaction that that, of course. How cheap! She moaned. They’ve completely skimped on the gardener! Don’t they know a presentable mane is more important than a presentable tail?!

Martyr shook her head. Healing sick people is more important than a pretty face, Princess.

I bit my lip as I popped the latch of the massive oaken doors, heaving them open. Both of these thoughts were true to me, weren’t they? Healing ponies was important. But …

Yes, that part of me was shouting again. Tut tut! Looking presentable builds trust before you’ve even said a word! I mean, how else are ponies going to take you seriously?

But no. No, that’s shallow, isn’t it? I was embarrassed at myself almost immediately, Snippy springing forth in an instant.

How does one build trust? Hm! What a mystery! Oh, I don’t know, maybe, by being GOOD AT WHAT YOU DO?!

And if you’re not good at what you do? A nice façade is good enough to keep one in business!

“Welcome.”

My head shot up. A pale Unicorn looked at me from across the hall, at a desk Princess was quick to note did not match the color of the décor. Her dark mane was tied back into a simple bun by what looked to be gauze. Little bits of paper zipped around her head, pulled here and there by her pink aura.

I looked away. Somehow, I had wandered into a kind of wood and plaster entrance hall, the floor a cold, polished stone. Plants sat limply in cracked pots, and the tables seemed to be submitting to age. There were no pillows, and barely half-filled dusty bookshelves. The room was artificially large, ceiling rising up to the second floor with big, gaping doorways yawning to my left and right. Two grand staircases rose to a quiet second floor, floor lit by a wide glass ceiling, rendered nearly opaque by dust and cobwebs, and dimly flickering crystals, like the ones I had seen in Canterlot.

This is a hospital? Princess scoffed, Oh, what a destitute, impoverished, sorry little—

Princess, it’s not nice to insult these people, Martyr chided, They help and they heal. They’re good ponies.

Still, I pity them. Wonder how much good they can do in this out-of-the-way, run-down, rain-rotted—

A lot, Princess. Snippy huffed, How many friggin ponies mentioned it along the road, huh?

“Ma’am?” the pony at the desk called out to me, propping herself up on her desk. The papers settled. She seemed very serious. “Is there something I can help you with?”

I closed my mouth. How long was it gaping open like that?

“No,” I said lightly, “Well. I don’t know…”

“Are you ill? Have you come for healing?”

Princess cried as the desk pony looked me up and down. Search me again will they?! Has not my privacy been invaded time and time again on this trip?

I turned away, shifting out of the Healer’s gaze. There was silence in the hall. Eerie, overwhelming silence, as if the place was abandoned. Is there nobody else in this building?

“I,” Martyr mumbled, “I’m shy.” Princess made my cheeks flush with indigence, like ‘shy’ was a dirty word.

The mare smiled thinly, and settled back behind her desk. A few more papers lifted from around her, zipping up the stairs or down the adjacent halls. She’s pitying me, Snippy hissed, She thinks she’s better than me!

Yes, I would have assumed that she pitied me. Martyr nodded solemnly. But is that necessarily a bad thing, pity, if you’re in need…?

“Dear, if you’re in need of help, there’s no need to be shy. We may be…” The healer looked off and away, and Princess giggled in my ears. We may be what? An awful run-down wreck of a hospital? “Whatever ails you, we’ll take care of you.”

Princess and Snippy shoved their way to my mouth, mixing thickly in my throat, “I didn’t come here because I was sick, you…! My lady…” I swallowed them down, and before I could say another sentence, Martyr rolled out my mouth. “I simply heard of the Sanatorium, and it caught my curiosity. Such a large hospital, attached to no city…”

“Ah yes,” the Healer nodded slightly, “This building actually used to be a sort of research center… the history is rather boring, I must admit. But we’re more than accommodating to the area’s medical needs.”

Once more, Martyr rolled out my mouth before I could stop her. “I would like to help.”

“Of course.” The healer nodded, her eyes drifting up towards my horn. “I hope you haven’t come from too far. We’re not currently offering full apprenticeships, but there’s plenty here we could use a unicorn’s help with…”

I wasn’t listening. I mean, I think her words were reaching me, some part of me. But most parts of me were now absolutely furious, pouncing on that stupid, self-sacrificing—!

Martyr! What do you think you’re doing?! Snippy groaned, tearing her hooves through her green mane. Help? Work? Here?! But we have far more important things to do!

But just look at the state of this place! Martyr clutched her heart, mournful. They must have so little money, all the way out here. We have to help them!

What they need is a nice maid…

Martyr nodded. Oh, Princess, that’s very correct! They do need a maid!

… And I refuse to be a nice maid. Princess finished flatly.

“Young lady…?”

I blinked. Oh sun and mood, the mare at the desk was still staring at me. Did she say something else? What were we talking about again?

“I’ve said something foolish,” Snippy grunted, jumping in. “Please, don’t mind me.”

“No, no, not foolish. I’m simply trying to spell things out for you, dear.” She chuckled weakly again, and two parts of me rolled in disgust. “It’s not that we don’t need the help. But fair warning, while we do offer room and board, we rely primarily on volunteer work. And since you seem healthy of body, you may be reduced to menial tasks for a good while…”

Again, her words faded into the background.

You dare to ask a Princess to do menial chores for your run-down shanty of a hospital?! Oh sky above what have you gotten us into, Martyr?!

Oh my goodness, all that cleaning we did on the way here must have been practice for cleaning this hospital! Martyr rolled on her hooves, ecstatic, for how much her reverent personality allowed. What a wonderful twist of fate! And, to do it for free? What a beautiful system!

Shut UP, Martyr! You’re an idiot! You’re so stupid! You don’t understand a single damn thing about economics!

“Ma’am?” The desk jockey snapped, voice crisp. “You seem rather distracted.”

“I’m struggling with myself,” Princess sniffed.

“Oh?”

“I mean,” I closed my eyes, just trying to find sense in my own head. “I’m actually a travelling unicorn. My name is… Helios.”

“Rather masculine name, Helios,” the Healer lightly joked. Again, Princess burned in me, rising in my throat like acidic heartburn.

She hissed, “I see the dust has gotten a little out of hand.”

No, no, no, why did I say that?! I don’t want to be rude. Why am I so angry all of a sudden? I’m the one who’s ignoring the desk pony and she’s just—

Presumptuous!

Dithering mule!

Why that’s not very nice nor accurate.

I detest her mane! The gauze is not nearly striking enough to bring out her hair’s natural color!

This is the absolute dumbest mistake I’ve ever made!

Please! Why am I angry? Why must I take my offense this far?

“Young lady? Are you quite alright?”

A new voice broke through my pit of self-loathing. For a moment, I didn’t know where I was, who I was talking to, or why. But in a moment, the world righted itself. Sanitarium. A black-maned mare and… A newcomer. Another mare, a light blue unicorn with a tight-cropped curly purple mane and glasses. She looked me very gravely up and down—

Oh I am so very SICK of ponies eyeing my body!

With a bow, the new pony said, “Welcome to the Sanatorium, miss Helios. I am Doctor Redheart. Are you tired from your journey? Let’s get you rested.”

“It’s midday,” Snippy grunted.

“All the same. This way, miss Helios.”

A million cold, angry thoughts rolled within me. Hating this place. Hating my offer to volunteer. Hating the lack of reason why I wanted to come here. Curiosity? I hate the feeling. I swear, I will never be curious again. I will never seek out anything. Ever. Seeking has just made everything so much worse.

A hoof placed itself firmly on my shoulder. I snap back from my mind and there’s that blue mare again, staring me in the eyes.

“Oh please, miss!” Princess shouted. “Don’t touch me!”

“You may be ill,” the mare said firmly. “Please. This way, my lady.”

“I am not!” Princess complained. “I’ve been looked over and examined by every stallion on the road. I do not wish to be taken advantage of again! I refuse!”

“We’re here to help, ma’am, we are a hospital. I won’t do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

The part of me willing to believe that relaxed a little. Martyr, probably. Willing to just give herself up at a word. Well, with a glance, I noticed this mare didhave a proper Healer’s cutie mark.

But two part of me now were still resolute in their need to refuse. Princess, out of mistrust, and Snippy because… well Snippy, for goodness’ sake! The both of them rose in my throat, resisting my efforts to beat them back.

I begged with myself, But, a bed! They’re offering a place to sleep, Princess! You did say you’d like to rest with nurses attending you…

It’s probably full of lice and fleas and worse.

Yeah, what she said! Why did we come here in the first place?!

Oh Snippy, Princess sniffed, For heaven’s sake, you’re just bringing up conflicts for the sake of conflict. Do you even need to state your opinion at this point?

My eyes darted around, and finally found even more sorry and silent souls on the balcony, from around a hall. Maybe half a dozen in all. One held a feather duster in her mouth. Another was dressed in a white smock. He looked like half of his face was torn off, an eyepatch sinking deep into a caved-in slice of his skull.

This brings the total hospital population up to eight! Princess huffed. This place is practically abandoned!

Princess! I mumbled. Do you want all these ponies to see you being so obstinate? And… And with such a horrible mane cut, at that?

And that part of me heaved. I would be so embarrassed by this situation, wouldn’t I? Putting up a scene in front of all these ponies...

How about I just calm down, and go with the nice doctor with our dignity intact?

My legs jerked forward, barely under my control. Princess lifted my head high, as if intended to nobly strut. I just wanted to slap every part of me. Well, at least the doctor looked relieved as she firmly directed me up the staircase.

You know if she WAS a REAL doctor—

“Shut up,” I mumbled, “Just shut up.”

“It’s alright miss Helios. This way.”

Battening down my reactions, I was led to a bare little room. There was a bed. A little bedstand. A window. And just enough room to fit maybe four ponies side-by-side. Not exactly a suite… But I shouldn’t expect to it be. While Princess and Martyr were distracted by battling out the strengths and weaknesses of a large and small room respectively,the ‘doctor’ helped me settle onto the not-very-dusty and surprisingly-silky sheets. Then, while Princess admired the quality, the healer found the time to call for a ‘Smiley.’

To my shock, the pony with only half a face came wandering in, carrying a little wooden tray around his neck. His cutie mark was a hammer. Princess scoffed, What kind of doctor has a hammer for a cutie mark? At least Redheart here has a proper doctor’s mark.

“Now,” Redheart said, “I am going to have to give a short examination.”

“Nothing invasive, I should hope!” Princess bubbled out my mouth.

“No, not at all. But I do need a little cooperation from you.”

All parts of me eyed Snippy, huffing and puffing and mumbling quietly about credentials and such. Most of me actually hoped that she’d stay quiet for the proceedings

I mean, Princess said, If this isn’t another gross invasion of my privacy, then what is there to object to?

Oh. I don’t know… Snippy said sarcastically.

My eyes snapped into focus, eyes on the little box of tools. Or, what I had thought were tools. Redheart’s aura dipped into the tray and brought out, not an instrument of healing, but a broken fragment of rock.

I couldn’t stop myself. Snippy boiled in my throat. “What is that?”

“Thermometer.”

“No,” Snippy heaved, “That’s a rock.”

“Yes. Just a rock. Now tuck it under your chin.”

She lifted the rock to my throat, and it was a struggle against myself to just hold it there. I almost wanted to cry, out of both fury and frustration. You’re only one opinion, Snippy! I want to give this doctor a chance! Why am I struggling so hard against my own thoughts? Why?

As I was holding the rock, she turned back to the tray and pulled out— yep, another uneven chunk of gray rock. This lady is a total quack.

“Take this from me.”

Snippy sniffed, breath jamming up my nose. “What are these tests? Are you really a doctor?”

“Do you think my cutie mark’s a fake?” she replied simply. “I want to test your magical strength. Please try to take the rock from me.”

Snippy growled, and I could have sworn it escaped my mouth. I didn’t want to make this last any longer than it had to. Yes, that was me, but why did I feel it so strongly…?

My aura snapped around the little stone, and I tried to yank it out of her (stupid) purple aura.

But after a few spirited yanks, my horn was straining. It sputtered, and the aura began dissipating. I frowned.

“I can usually do much better than that,” I growled at myself.

“I understand. This is why you’re here. Now can I have my thermometer back?”

I blinked, and her aura ducked under my chin. I had (luckily) forgotten I was holding it.

“Cold,” she said. “Are you nauseous? Anything aching?”

I bit my tongue while I thought. No you will not yell her again no you will not yell at the helpful mare.

“My horn and head, a little,” Martyr hiccupped lightly. “Especially when I cast.”

“Any joint pain?”

“Oh yes. Right after a night spent sleeping on the hard ground, I ache all over.”

Healer Redheart nodded. (Buffoon.)

“I’ll need a blood sample to determine if—“

“I refuse,” Snippy spat. On principle. Obviously.

Oh shut UP, Snippy! We get it! You hate it here!

“Okay then,” Redheart said, turning back to the box of rocks. The pony with half a face chortled a little. I glared at him. I don’t know if he even noticed.

“So tell me.” Redheart pulled out another rock from the box, this one long and thin, like a shard of cloudy quartz. “What happened downstairs? Are you suffering blackouts? Times where you drift in and out of a dream?”

“What is that, now?” I snapped, hoof reflexively pointing at the rock. “A stethoscope? A curative spell?”

“No. Actually, I don’t know quite what it does. Call it a magical good luck charm.”

With her aura she sent it spinning, circling my head, dully humming. Little purple streaks blurred across my eyes. I swatted at it. Missed.

“I don’t black out,” I grumbled.

“Do you fade out then? Daydream or go into a daze? Amble by, not really paying attention to where you are?”

“Everybody has moments where they lose focus,” I mumbled. For a moment, it seemed like staring into the purple streaks made some parts of me less angry. Like a pressure was being pulled from my head.

“Oh, I guess so,” she shrugged, “But what exactly were you thinking about?”

“Myself,” I mumbled. “How much I just really, really hate myself.”

“What a thing to say. You’re not giving yourself a fair chance.”

I felt like right then Snippy should have something quite rude to say. Like, how dare she make judgments, or something.
But Snippy just rolled over in my right ear, ignoring me as she clogged my hearing.

“Would you say you’ve been under a lot of stress lately?”

“I… yes,” I mumbled, “I’ve been through hell these past few weeks.”

“So then, how about— Whoops!”

The spinning stone clattered to the ground, spinning and bouncing off the far wall. Instantly, my ears popped painfully, pressure shifting back into my skull.

The quack picked up the rock and tucked the crystal behind her ear. What a place for it!

“Smiley, can you and Papercut go down to the records and find all you can on magical diseases?”

“Sure can, miss Redheart.”

The Healer turned back to me and shrugged. “This isn’t anything serious, I don’t think. I just want to double check—”

“Speak!” Princess snapped, “What exactly is wrong with me?”

“Well. It’d be one thing if… Hm…” She stared at the ceiling, little purple aura tugging and twirling a bit of her mane. “Well… have you ever come into contact with a substance, something much like a slime mold or black rot. A mass that mimics animal movement? That’s cold to the touch?”

For a brief moment, I felt like she was describing my dreams. But no, those dreams came from somewhere. I just wasn’t entirely sure where…

And it wasn’t like the bits of me were very good at searching through my thoughts.

The healer continued, “If you have, did you happen to have eaten anything like it recently?”

“I can think of nothing less appetizing!” Princess gasped, aghast.

“So…”

“No, no, of course I haven’t!”

Healer Redheart nodded. “Well, then your symptoms probably stem from stress. How about you relax? Rest here. We’ll do everything within our power to help you.”

Different parts of me struggled with the response. Snippy was snippy, yes, but for once, Martyr won out. She made me bow to the mare, and said quietly, “Thank you, Healer Redheart.”

She stared at me for a moment, curious maybe. My emotions curdled around that idea, each side offering their opinion, none winning out. But Redheart didn’t stay for long, and in a moment more she was at the door.

She said, “We’ll bring dinner shortly,” and left.

And with that, I went right back to stewing in my own head again. The fact that I was confined to a room didn’t bother me so much as much as my own confused indifference to the situation. I was too busy loathing myself to really care about what exactly was going on in the hospital. I was detached. It didn’t matter. They weren’t hurting me. I could just—

I just wanted it to stop.

Yes, Snippy rose, Make those other two shut up. They’re seriously holding us back.

For goodness sake Snippy, can’t you find something other than yourselves to be mad at?

No! Listen to me dammit, I’m important! I keep you safe! And yet, you always side with that vain little—

Vain.

A new word. I latch onto it instantly, like it was a new truth. Vain. Am I a vain person? Are all of these personalities my vanity? Am I flattering myself, thinking of myself as the most important factor in—

Oh geez, look at you go. Think you’ve found the last piece of a puzzle, don’t you? Do you really think it’s that simple?

Martyr nodded along solemnly. Even large problems stem from simple ones, left to be. All of the First Gods became horrors from their flaws.

But perhaps they were all quite flawed people. And then, vainly, Princess said, I am not nearly that bad.

I tried to wave them away. I am neither acting rationally, nor consistently. I hated the road, so I longed to come here. Yet the moment I got here, found a reason to hate it too. I hated the doctor, and yet I listened to her. And even though I questioned everything, I still remain in this bed, not even trying to leave…

Yeesh, what have I been saying all along?! Snippy moaned, rolling her eyes. WELL THEN, WHY DON’T WE LEAVE.

My leg yanked out from under me in a large, violent twitch. I stared at it and shivered. I twitched again, body heaving over the edge of the bed, tottering on the side.

I’m going to fall! You’re going to make me fall!

No, no, no, no, I can’t bruise! Princess cried, I have a white coat! It’s so obvious when I’m bruised, it completely ruins my complexion!

You won’t get bruised if you stood on your own stupid legs!

The problem is not the hospital, Snippy! I mean… we have a bed!

Oh my goodness, yes, this bed! Not just a place by the fire or a pile of straw, an actual, wonderful bed! With sheets!

And… And we’re getting a free meal!

I don’t know… And now, of all thoughts, Martyr found it in her little head to object. We haven’t done a single thing to earn such happiness.

It’s a hospital Martyr! They’re here to take care of us! We can earn our keep later, can’t we? Help them—

Yes! Martyr clapped excitedly, Clean the entire hospital!

Nooooo! Snippy moaned. No, why, Baker?! Why did you set her off like that?!

You mean… set myself off like that? This is odd. I am manipulating my own emotions and reactions?

Aw man, can’t you go back to forcing us what to say? Make Martyr say she’s happy, don’t feed into her complex!

But the moment I stop actively thinking about how happy she is, she’ll just go right back to being a complex. I don’t stop her by pretending she’s not there.

You’ll keep her quiet for a little while, won’t you?

But why pick and choose? How about I do that with all of me?

NO

NO NO NO NO

I REFUSE

I SINCERELY DOUBT YOU COULD

THAT’S NOT NICE IT’S NOT NICE AT ALL

I clamp my ears down with my hooves. The pounding in my head got worse and worse, like cold claws pushing into my skull. Closing off my hearing didn’t seem to help. It just made the whispers louder in my head, like actual voices in my ears—

And then that spinning crystal zipped in front of my eyes. Instantly, the voices stopped. I watched as it boomeranged around my head, shot off in another direction, and clattered into a wall.

“Darnit.”

I stared at Healer Redheart, entering with Smiley again. Again, the voices boiled within me.

“What is that thing?” Snippy tainted my question, making it angrier than it should be. “Make it—“ spin again, is what I would have said. But in an instant, it was like my throat clamped shut. I struggled to breathe.

“I’m doing my best, miss Helios.”

Again, Redheart lifted the rock, and it was spinning around my head again. Smiley came up to me and set a tray on my bed. Bread and a broth stew. I stared at it, ears buzzing.

“I’m sorry for everything horrible I ever said or thought,” I mumbled. I felt like it was something Martyr would say, but she seemed so absent. “I am so very sorry.”

“Well, it’s good to have you back, miss Helios.”

I asked, “What is this thing?”

“I’ve seen it used to even patient’s moods, ease pain, pause magical processes. Usually seen a nurse take care of it while the doctor works for—“ The gem spun off course as she shrugged, but she caught it in an instant more. “Very obvious reasons. Now. Smiley is going to ask you some questions, and while you have a moment of peace, you’re going to answer them. Alright?”

I looked at Smiley.

Then, unprompted, I asked my own question, “Why are there so few ponies here?”

“There’s plenty of ponies here, miss,” Smiley grunted, voice strained. “This is just a quiet place, you see.”

“Then why is everything so run down? Why—“

“Miss,” Redheart said, “I can’t keep this up forever.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it, not wanting to be rude. But I did still have questions. Simple ones, leftovers of my former arguments.

“Did you find out what was wrong with me?” I asked.

“Either a very strong stress related infection, or a very weak poisoning,” Redheart explained, focusing on the gem as it streaked across my vision. “A very specific case of poisoning, really. Haven’t seen much like it before. But either way, rest should help. There’s little more we can do for you than offer this temporary relief from whatever you’re going through.”

“And if there’s anything else you need, feel free to ask us miss!” Smiley interjected. “Just give a holler. Papercut’ll probably hear you!”

“But please, miss Helios,” Redheart said firmly. “Our questions.”

“Yes…”

“So!” Smiley shouted, grin spreading over his half-empty face. “As a unicorn, what kind of magics can you cast?”

“Light,” I said instantly. “And um… a bit of law. A bit of fire, theoretically.”

“Law?” Smiley looked back at Redheart, confused. “Er… what kind of magic does that do?”

“Corrections?” I offered. Then, hesitated. Martyr offered to help with the cleaning, but now that my head was clearer… Did I really want to do that?

No voice echoed back to me. It felt like I had no opinion at all. I should at least have a feeling about cleaning the whole place, shouldn’t I?

“Corrections?” Smiley offered, frowning. “Like… to documents? I don’t understand.”

“No… It’s like putting things to order. Fixing things, restoring them like new.”

“Oh, I see! Sound very useful.”

“It has been,” I said lightly.

I answered more questions. Smiley filled out a little note sheet with a pencil in his teeth. I was asked about symptoms, of where I had been and what level my spellcasting was at. I hesitated at first, and practically on instinct I reverted to lies. I said I was from Ponyville. Said I was self-taught. Stuck to the name Helios. I didn’t particularly know why I lied. Certainly, it would cause me more effort to maintain these lies than stick to truth. But another part of me had already decided to hide the embarrassment of my past…

I mean, I lied for a good reason once, didn’t I? something about not wanting to be found, or embarrassment…

After a surprisingly short amount of time, the interview came to a close. Redheart stood up from her seat, and the gem seemed to slow. Pressure was returning to my head.

“Oh!” I said placidly. I leaned forward, nearly falling into the bread and broth gone cold. “Sorry. Ah. How much longer do you think you can keep this up?” I waved at the gem as it passed. “My head feels so clear. Empty, a bit. But so clear.”

Redheart looked at me levelly.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “I cannot.”

“You have more nurses, don’t you?”

“Miss Helios, the only thing I can do for you is let you work out your problems. I’m sorry. We’ll take care of you.”

Redheart released her aura. The gem spun to a halt.

And the air around me slammed into my head like a thunderclap in my ears.

“It’s a bad infection, yes…” Redheart sighed, “But have patience. It should heal.”

LXIV : Traveling Alone IV

The Steadfast Sky : Travelling Alone IV
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Celestia~

Okay now, this? This is stupid.

Oh no, not at all! This is most certainly is the furthest thing from stupid!

I smiled at myself in a chipped mirror, combing my hair with a borrowed bone brush, snipping off singed ends with slightly rusty shears.

Please, Martyr begged, Leave the mane as it was. It is symbolic of our loss and transformation—

Cheerfully, I thought, And fixing the horrible cut is representative of my recovery, is it not?

You call this recovery? Recovery is all of you still babbling away in my head?

“Of course it’s recovery!” I beamed at myself, plucking aura-fulls of strands and shaping them experimentally. “I’m the one in total control now!”

I giggled to myself as tools zipped this way and that around head. Yes, yes, the mane was shaping up quite nicely! A bit short by my standards. And the poor lighting was making it take on a funny little tint. The pink was looking practically lilac!

Oh, but I suppose it was a fine a color as anything else!

Why would you even want control? Baker said quietly, You are and were Celestia. You know what it’s like to be me. It’s not a very fun experience.

I suppose you are correct, I thought back, But I have never had the luxury of being Celestia alone with no other pesky thoughts to bother me!

But in Canterlot…

Goodness no, I had Snippy, she tainted me then. And Martyr… Actually, no, Martyr wasn’t there. I don’t know where she went. But you can live up to your name now, dearest! Sacrifice yourself for the greater me!

Surprisingly, Martyr was silent. I suppose I made a very good argument! But then I got a very odd feeling. Like a painful, rolling twitch in my heart. I started to feel nauseous, and worried, and—

And then I huffed and kneed myself in the chest.

“Speak up, Martyr!” I snapped aloud, “Mumbling is not becoming of a young mare!”

I’m just wondering if having only one of us in control will help the most ponies possible, Martyr said slowly, All of us fighting certainly isn’t winning any favors with the staff.

Oh yes. I am familiar with the sting of their pity! I then switched to speaking out loud, “But not today! Today, they will speak with the real me! They will come to respect Celestia Helios, Princess of Equestria, Element of Loyalty!”

Baker turned and twisted deep inside me. I got the impression that she was biting her imaginary lip. She said, I don’t feel entirely comfortable using those titles. I mean, we don’t have an Element anymore…

Yeah, Princess! Snippy barked in my ear, Isn’t it because of YOUR STUPIDITY that we lost Loyalty in the first place?!

“Well!” I huffed, “I do believe it was your directionless anger that caused me to declare my friendships dead. And hit my poor sister, as well! Shame on your shoulders, Snippy! It’s lucky the blow didn’t leave a permanent mark upon her poor little face. Although…”

Her coat is rather the right color for hiding unseemly blemishes…

Let’s not build that as a good thing, Baker mumbled.

“Yes, you’re quite right!”

I sprung from my seat and gave myself one last look over with the little mirror. Oh, I was almost squinting from how hard I was grinning! I looked absolutely lovely, given the tools at my disposal.

“I will have to do without makeup or braid,” I said, “But I can at least go out in public like this! Although… Perhaps I can prick my lips and use blood like blush?”

Snippy moaned. Just go do whatever stupid thing you’re going to already!

“Oh, alright!”

And with one last flick of my mane, I tromped my way out of that drab little room. Perhaps I’ll find the means to decorate it one day! Oh, but that is a project for an entirely different time.

I walked down the horrendously dusty hall of the hospital, curtseying and greeting every pony I passed.

“Good morning, Attentive!”

The pale mint mare blinked as she passed by. The bucket in her mouth sloshed water as she slowed, staring at me.

“Well um…” she said slowly, “Good morning, miss Helios.”

“How are you today?”

“Fine, er, sorry I can’t stay and chat. Grotto Greens…” She laughed nervously, shifting forward a few more steps. “Sick again, mess in his room…”

“Oh yes, I do hope the old stallion gets better soon!”

Attentive nodded, confused, and kept trundling by me. Such an oddly named mare! But I just walked a short ways more, and another pony was there, direly in need of a nice, warm greeting!

“Good morning, Radish Root!” I called.

The red stallion flinched as I said his name. Oh, but in a moment more he was smiling, faint as it was.

“Helios…”

“How is your daughter today, Mister Radish?” I chirped. “Better?”

“Oh yes… just chicken pox, you know. Nothing to worry about really…”

I beamed as I walked by. “Oh, that’s absolutely lovely to hear!”

“It really is a relief.” His smile grew a little bit more genuine, but oh, was he shy! He avoided my eyes, staring pointedly at the ground.

“Well, I hope the rest of your day is full of happy news! Ta!”

“Uh, yep, goodbye…”

Poor Radish family. They were so worried it was something much worse. But he responded very well to my greeting. Last time, I do believe Snippy derided him most cruelly.

He was mumbling! I could barely hear a word he said! You sided with me on this one, Princess!

I tutted her as I moved on, towards the stairs. I looked down to get my bearing on the position of the steps, and was struck with a strange sense of vertigo. It was so strange, watching my own feet move and not being entirely certain if it was me making them walk, or Princess. I mean, Princess was me...

That conviction is sounding more and more hollow by the day.

Now, now, Baker! You agreed to be nice and accommodating for this experiment! Isn’t it going well so far?

Yes… I felt the need to—

Then it’s settled! I get to drive! Now hush, hush, dear!

And I thought the matter settled! Yet, I wondered…

If I thought hard enough, could make my legs stop? Just pause them midstride?

But that’s stupid. Thinking about moving limbs didn’t move them, silly!

I looked at my left fore-knee. Watched as it picked around spiderwebs and avoided loose nails in the floorboards. I thought that, maybe I should lift my leg, and then just hold it there…

But we were already tromping our way down the steps! If I did that now, I would trip! And this hospital had far too many problems of its own without attending to silly accidents like that! Yes, yes, best to put those kind of thoughts right out of my head.

No look! Another person I should be greeting!

“Papercut, my good lady!” I proclaimed, walking up to the mare behind the front desk. She, like all the others, stared at me. Rude! I curtseyed anyway. “How are you this morning?”

“Fine, fine, miss Helios,” Papercut said with a thin smile. “You seem rather cheerful today.”

“That is because I have recovered fully! The pony you see before you is myself, distilled to its best components!”

“Really now?” she seemed mildly interested. A note was quickly scribbled and sent it flying off, aura vanishing down a hall. “You must be very strong, miss Helios. To have fought off an infection that severe so quickly. We expected you to be bedridden for two whole weeks. Not two whole days.”

“I’m sure this is due to the diligence and attention of this fine hospital! Though your building may be a wreck and your walls covered in webs, it’s clear, at heart, you are still a fine establishment!”

Snippy was laughing. Oh goodness, you just insulted the hospital to her face! Nice going, Princess! You screwed up all without our help!

No I did not! I said despite the messy environment, they’re still great doctors!

I don’t think she’s taking it that way… Baker mumbled.

Indeed, Papercut had returned to her papers. Her smile was gone, but she did not look offended per say… Merely distracted! Clearly!

“Miss Papercut, surely… I did not mean to offend!” I leaned on the table, holding myself tall. It was the first chance I had to see into the shadowed little cranny, and the first I noticed that Papercut seemed to be sitting in some sort of wheeled chair. Oh, but there were more important things to discuss!

“Surely,” I heartily continued, “To the common eye, it may seem that you are hardly a medical facility at all, if not abandoned outright! Why, a little bit of care to your facilities, and certainly you’ll see attendance grow!”

Immediately, I wanted to bury my face into my legs. My stomach was turning and twisting into knots. No, no, no why are you making me say these things? They would have done something if they could have helped it! They’re not stupid, Princess! They’re not!

“I’m sorry your stay didn’t live up to your standards, Miss Helios,” Miss Papercut said quietly, “But currently, we have much more on our mind than keeping up appearances.”

“Oh, how distressing!” I moaned, “And I once had the means to pay you a dozen times over… but as it stands, I don’t even have a purse. Oh! Can you imagine the shame of it? Wanting even the basic comfort of a nice bag… why, I could have carried makeup! Or some nice jewelry!”

I thought you were supposed to be the social one, Princess! I moaned, stomach twisting and turning, You’re supposed to know what’s proper to say and what isn’t! What are you DOING?!

“Hush hush, now!” I declared, maintaining my smile. Unfortunately, Papercut seemed to think I was addressing her, and only seemed to get confused. No matter! “Well, I am sorry, Miss Papercut. While I have no bits on me, I do have an offer for you.”

I stood more proudly, chest puffing out with my swollen ego. Wait, swollen? Not in the least! And I couldn’t make my declaration from down here!

Papercut flug herself back, bouncing off the wall as I jumped up on her desk. I stood proudly atop my new stage, declaring my intent for the whole world to hear!

“I will gift upon this fine Sanatorium a presentable façade! I will use all the magic at my disposal, and clean up the dusty, dirty little corners of this hospital.” I beamed down at the stunned Papercut. “Would that be an acceptable payment for your services?”

My heart seemed to be skipping beats out of joy. It seemed like I wasn’t the only one who enjoyed this idea!

Oh, Princess, that’s wonderful! Martyr cried, You took my idea! Thank you!

Why did you have to talk like that, Baker moaned, Oh god why am I up here why am I talking like this stop stop stoooo~ooo~oop.

Should’ve listened to me, Snippy snorted, Terrible idea. You’re an idiot, Celestia. You’re a stupid, stupid idiot.

My shoulders twisted. I tried to yank my body down from the desk, and it seemed like, for a second, it worked. It was a jerky motion, one shoulder heaving, and the other nearly collapsing after it, but I did bring myself, and a half dozen hoofprinted papers after me. Princess hardly seemed to notice, still beaming hard enough to make every muscle in my face hurt. When I turned back to Papercut, she was frantically scribbling a note, practically throwing it with her aura.

Get out! I, no, Baker was squealing, Go back to the stupid part of me that hated you and never come out!

No, no, dearest! Do you have no sense of timing and flair? You know I detest cleaning… but this way, does it not seem so very grand? Like such a noble goal, worthy of the Princess herself?

Helping people is always so noble, Princess, Martyr said breathlessly, Thank you for this. Thank you.

I hate me! Baker sobbed, I hate me I hate me I hate me!

“Well if you want to help clean!” Papercut squeaked, “Then… then yes, why don’t you clean? Right here, you know. In the reception. Where I can watch you work!”

“Ah yes, of course you can watch the Princess work her magic! I will be honest, I will not disappoint!”

“The Princess…?” Papercut stammered. Clearly in awe!

“Oh!” I shushed her enthusiastically, “Our little secret!”

I pranced over to the little sitting area, feeling my stomach flip over and over and over again, the only way I could express just how embarrassed I was. Or the only way Baker could feel embarrassed. Such a downer, that Baker!

Don’t flaunt that title, please. Don’t be YOU.

I merrily hummed the feeling away, prancing about and looking at the little lobby. It was sparsely furnished with a few couches and a few tables, and they all obviously didn’t match. But perhaps with a little bit of rearranging?

No, no, I must first do what I set out to do!

“Oh, Miss Papercut!” I cheerfully called, “Wherever might I find a bucket?”

“There’s a supply closet just down the hall—” she said, right before she suddenly cut off. “But please! Let me get Smiley to grab it for you! I’ll send him a note…”

“Oh, there’s no need to pamper me that much! I can fetch a simple bucket for myself! Ta!”

“Miss Helios!”

Papercut slid forward strangely and bumped off the lip of her desk. She frowned, and I let her be, off to fetch a simple tool for the monumental task at hand!

I trotted down a hall I had only travelled once before. The lower floor seemed like it had fewer individual rooms, and more public spaces. It had a large, mostly empty dining hall, where a few sorry-looking groups hunched over bowls, talking quietly among themselves. A kitchen was probably beyond that. There were a few doors that looked like individual offices, and a few open archways to dark, unlit libraries. I stepped aside for one pony hobbling along on a harnessed wooden leg, and another mare, possibly Sputter, pushing a food cart, covered head to toe in old, waxy burns.

All lit by those dreary, dusty, crystal lights desperately in need of a recharge.

They need me so much more than I thought! They can’t even keep this place well-lit!

Baker bubbled inside of me, calmly watching each dim light as it passed. With how rare unicorns are out here, I can see why they wouldn’t want to waste energy on the lights…

Then why not just use torches?! Idiots!

That’s very unhealthy, Snippy, Martyr said quietly, Ash everywhere…

Dust everywhere’s unhealthy too! Snippy moaned, This entire place is an abandoned wreck that should have STAYED abandoned!

Goodness, of course they can’t use torches. Even lanterns would be a big risk, Baker mumbled, the building’s made of wood. One small mistake, and the whole place goes up.

I let the girls ramble, poking doors and seeing if any of the dark ones opened to something interesting. And while many lead to ghostly offices under dust covers and small closets filled with reams of paper, exactly one door lead to a bucket, a broom, and a small pile of tattered cloth.

Half-empty, Snippy snorted, Just like the hospital. Is there even any soap in here?

We don’t need soap! I said, lifting the wooden bucket with ease. We have MAGIC!

But how much magic? It’s been so hard to cast lately…

I’m not stressed, am I?! I can do this rather easily, if I must say so myself! See! I can lift this bucket, make it zip around… I gave it a nice twirl around my head, upturning it, dropping it in a moment of terror, because for a moment it seemed like there might be something inside, but no. Just a cobweb. I returned the item to my aura and trotted back to the entrance hall. You see? Foal’s play!

My return was received by a very relieves-looking Papercut. Her desk seemed to be a little bit messier than I remembered, notes floating all around her head.

“Welcome back, Miss Helios!”

“Good to see you again, Madame Papercut!”

I stood proudly at the entrance of the hospital, smiling at the dusty little couches and chairs. I was confident that I could rid them all of all little unwanted bits, plus any other little nasties that lived in the fabric. Soon, the couches would be fluffy, comfy, and luxurious.

It’s like this place is just dusted, but never scrubbed or deeply cleaned. I looked up to the high ceiling. And it’s not like the Earth Ponies can reach everywhere.

Yes, yes, but it is not matter to us!

With nary a glance at the nervous Papercut, I closed my eyes and let my mind relax. I pushed magic into my horn, feeling it flow and fill, feeling the direction and heat as my aura grew brighter and brighter. Unconciously, I lowered my head towards the first bit of furniture, an embroidered couch, and set my mind to the task of picking apart its components—

My horn twinged painfully. A shot of cold spiked into my brain. I squealed in pain, and the magic burst out of my horn, flung everywhere in a directionless bubble.

Dust sprung up from every surface, leaping off tables like it had just been punched by a tornado. Particles of who-knows-what whipped into the air, shooting in all directions. I closed my mouth as quickly as I could, but not before a lungful of nastiness clogged my insides.

GROSS! I was squealing in my head, drowning out every other stray, stupid, pointless thought, because it was GROSS. DISGUSTING. HORRIBLE. AUGH. KILL ME NOW!

I wheezed and hacked, eyes watering, knees buckling. I nearly vomited. Somewhere beyond my awareness, Papercut called my false name. Through the pain, I tried to see the effects of magic. Law. Order. Separation, cleanliness, repairs… So many horrible things could have come from a stray blast of that magic! Oh, the furniture could have been reduced to tangled cloth, feathers, and dull wood if it was bad enough…!

I was mildly surprised to see everything intact. I mean, the wood no longer seemed to have varnish, but at least they stood a little firmer on their legs. And they were clean! Free of dust and cobweb and any unseemly smudges.

But with the dust and varnish flakes settling everywhere, it almost didn’t matter. The area now seemed twice as dirty and was probably three times as dangerous.

“I— I can fix this!”

I squeaked and tried to lift the rag, batting the dust away from the grime-free tables. But it was no use! Just holding a simple object and flinging it about was making my horn twinge painfully. And as I charged from couch to countertop, I realized I was starting to feel lightheaded, and the punding in my skull was not getting any better.

“Oh! This wan’t supposed to happen! I suppose I could sweep, but… Without magic, alas! I am a failure!”

“Miss Helios, if you truly aren’t better, I would recommend against exerting yourself! Please!” Papercut cried, “Could you return to your room, maybe wait for Doctor Redheart’s approval for this?”

“But I was doing so well! All this morning, I was preforming far more magic than I had in the last few days. No! Perhaps…” I gasped, then coughed up another lungful of dust. “Perhaps doing my hair up expended what little reserves I had?! Did I have to choose between a nice manecut and actually being able to perform the tasks I set out to do?!”

“How about you sit down, and wait for—“

“No, no, I must correct this error! With a broom… perhaps, a washcloth,” I shuddered. Oh, being reduced to something so horribly menial!

But it’s what we must do! Princess, we’ve already set out and promised we would do this! We simply can’t abandon this! Ignoring it is so horribly selfish, and leaving it to somebody else is such a crime! Please—!

“Yes, Martyr, I am going!”

“Miss…?”

Curtseyed as I passed the desk. At least the varnish on that surface was miraculously untouched, though her papers seemed to have been scattered in the blast. And, of all the strangest things, the ink seemed to be dribbling off nearly every page.

Another mess I will have to clean! I hurried back down the hall, determined. “I will return, Miss Papercut!”

“Helios, a moment please!”

“Yes, I will return in a moment!”

Princess, she’s asking you to wait. Why are we still walking away?

Because she’s stupid, Snippy remarked.

Because we have a very important duty to perform! Martyr corrected, I’m sure Papercut will admire our diligence!

Yes. Princess said, That’s part of being a Princess, is it not? Diligence?

There was a tingling, nagging little feeling in me now. Something about being a Princess? A question more important than that? No, no, perhaps we were just hungry. Did I even eat breakfast this morning? Oh, silly me!

Now stop being a nag, and— Oh look! It’s Smiley!

Smiley was trotting towards me, looking in a rush to get back to the entrance, or perhaps to get to another wing of the building. But the moment he saw me, he probably understood how polite it would be to stop and say hello, because he skidded right to a halt. He turned in place, trying to turn his head around just enough to see me through his single eye.

“Helios!” he said. “Uh…”

“Healer Smiley!” I bowed. Smiley looked away, nervous. “A very good day to you, fine stallion!”

“Nah, I’m no Healer, miss—”

“Oh goodness, you’re right! You’re cutie mark is a simple hammer, isn’t it?”

He glanced over his shoulder, as if to double check. For a moment, all I could see of his face was the twisted, collapsed side of his missing skull. That eye patch may be hiding his lack of eye, but it did nothing to hide his lack of bone and muscle.

My eyes immediately dropped to the floor. Now, now, Celestia. Don’t stare!

“Yep,” Smiley said, “Used to be a carpenter.”

“Used to be?” I asked politely.

“Yep. Before I became a nurse, or doctor’s aide. Uh.” The part of his face that could express emotion seemed to frown. “So… Helios. What are you doing up and about?”

“I am cleaning! Or, at least I attempted to.”

“Attempted… right.” He nodded slowly. “So, are you feeling alright?”

“Casting gave me a bit of a headache, certainly. But I cannot let such a small thing like that stop me, can I?”

I smiled, and moved further down the hall, back to the supply closet. I fully expected the rushing stallion to go to wherever he was running off to. But instead, he followed me, something like concern on his face.

“Well, I’m not unicorn, and I don’t know a lick of magic but uh… Isn’t getting a headache from something like that really bad?”

I popped open the door and my head gave another painfully cold twinge.

“Hm?!” I squeaked. “Oh not really…”

“Just,” Smiley said slowly, “If Papercut or Healer Redheart get a headache, they usually stop with the fancy magic for the day.”

“Yes, the fancier magic, perhaps. No more Order spells for me! Just some simple levitations…”

I offered him a reassuring smile, but he still looked rather confused. Ah well! I turned back to the closet, and tried to grab the broom in my aura. There was another jolt of pain.

“So uh… what are you doing rooting around in there?”

Oh woe! I can’t even hold a simple broom in my aura! What am I to do?!

Baker shrugged, Pick it up?

You mean… in my mouth?!

I suppose—

How many others have held such a device in their jaws?! Do they clean it in-between uses?!

Are you serious? Snippy growled, Do you know friggin ANYBODY who cleans a stupid broom?!

My goodness, that broom looks like it could give me splinters! In my MOUTH. That is an entirely new level of terrifying!

It’s only just that we use this tool to clean, as it—

“Helios?” Smiley asked, somewhere behind me, “Are you alright?”

Okay, Martyr, if you want to clean so bad, then you do it! I’ll not go near such a device!

…. Pardon, Princess?

There was a frantic throbbing in my heart. My stomach turned over, flopping and twisting, building as the throbbing in my head became more and more intense…

And then, it stopped. I blinked, and stared down at the buckets and brooms.

“Helios!”

Smiley was by my side. A hoof was hanging above my shoulder, hesitantly reaching forward and retreating, never coming into contact. I looked up at him, and he hesitantly took a step back.

“You’re not well,” he said, “I don’t know what’s going on, but that can’t be right. It can’t be. So let’s just go back to your room…”

“What’s not right?” I asked lightly.

“You… you passed out when you reached for the broom, didn’t you?”

“Did I?”

“And uh… your mane? Or is that just the lighting?”

“My mane?”

Hair rolled over my face. And in the light, I could have sworn it looked more blue than pink.

“Yes. Just a trick of the light. It’s very dim in here.”

“Okay…?”

I felt like sighing, but what was there to lament? It was my duty, my purpose to do what I had to. And in this moment, what I had to do was clean up the mess I had already made. That much was unequivocally clear. Firm, I ducked into the closet, and dug my teeth into the splintered broom handle. A dustpan forlornly banging off its side, held loosely in place by a thin leather strip. Good. I wouldn’t have to search for it.

I turned to Smiley. His one eye was looking somewhere above my head. I gave him a little bow and took my first steps back to the entrance hall, to my true duty here.

“Helios? Did you hear me?”

I turned back quietly, staring at his hooves. He hadn’t trimmed his fetlocks in a long time.

“Will you, please, just put the broom down?” Strange. His voice seemed weak.

I wondered what the other parts of me had to say about that. Everyone having a say is very important. But it seemed like they were all having little headaches of their own…

I suppose I will have to answer this question on my own then. I shifted the broom to my foreleg and looked up at Smiley. Poor stallion. He seemed incredibly nervous.

“This was a mess I made. How rude would it be of me to just leave it? It is an inconvenience to others, and a failure on my part if I falter in this noble duty…”

He tried to smile. But a false smile works rather poorly when you only have half a face to work with. Oh, if there was some way to help him…

“I could probably fix it up right for you,” he said, “So you could get back to bed.”

“How dare you.”

I stopped. I gripped the broom tightly in my foreleg. My little heart was fluttering, and Snippy was mumbling in my ears, starting to wake.

“To say that I cannot correct the damage I have already caused… To deny me my own punishment! You must let a lady correct her own messes. At least allow me that.”

He stared at me. I stared directly back. He took a step backwards, eye wide. I stuck the broom back in my mouth and kept walking on, voices reforming in my head.

Princess, Snippy weakly cried, Why did you put Martyr in control? Just so you wouldn’t have to clean? This is awful. She’s worse than you at this.

Why does every part of me insult every pony I meet? Baker sobbed, Please. Tell me why.

I insulted absolutely no ponies. Princess huffed. I was polite and ladylike in every single interaction with every single subject.

Did you just call every pony in this hospital a SUBJECT?

Well they are, aren’t they?

I hate me. I HATE me.

Now now, I thought, walking back into the far-too-dusty entry hall, What will hating yourself accomplish? What pony does that serve?

ME! It serves me, and my own sanity.

I am not a pony worth preserving, Baker. It is my duty as Princess to serve my people. I have to.

What?! Snippy shouted, That sounds a lot like self-hatred to me, Martyr!

I don’t hate myself, I just—

But before I could complete the thought, Baker interjected. Why do you all keep calling me a Princess?! she lamented, I’m not! I’m not a Princess anymore!

“Miss Helios…” Papercut said nervously. I looked up. Oh. I’ve been getting distracted again. How rude of me. “You’re ah… looking a little worse for the wear.”

“Do I?” I said lightly. “I assure you. It won’t stop me from fixing my mess.”

“I’m not really worried about the dust, Miss Helios. Did you happen to see—”

“I am worried,” I said plainly, “From the moment I saw this place, I knew. All that cleaning on the road… it was just practice. I was destined to spend my days scrubbing this Sanatorium clean. This is my solemn duty, and how I must spend my time here.”

“Um. That’s some pretty heavy stuff to be deciding, miss Helios.”

“No, no, once my magic returns, it will be no problem at all…”

I turned to my duty: addressing the dust and varnish chips that now littered the entirety of this little hall. Smiley trotted into the hall as I began, but he instantly dashed into Papercut’s desk and they began having a furiously whispered conversation. I ignored them, and focused entirely on my task.

Oh. I thought lightly as the broom clattered out of my legs. I never was the best sweeper.

Stupid Martyr! We’ve only ever done this with magic! For stars sake, just give it up!

I cannot. I will simply have to learn. It’s actually rather enthralling, and humbling. Having to learn this the difficult way.

Princess fretted around my neck. Oh please, no splinters! No splinters eeeep! We’ll mangle our beautiful lips!

Princess, why didn’t you STOP HER instead of PUSHING HER FORWARD?!

I panicked!

“Helios.”

The broom was yanked out of my grip, and there was Redheart, holding the broom aloft in her aura. Smiley and Papercut were still huddled by the desk, trying to avoid staring at the two of us. Well, Healer Redheart did seem very serious. I lowered my head in shame.

Redheart asked, “Did you, or did you not come to the Sanatorium so that we may help you?”

I slowly shook my head. “I came so that I could help you. I am in no need of help.” I nodded, “Whatever I’m going through, it’s earned. My own struggle on the road to self-enlightenment…”

“I sincerely doubt sweeping is going to be enlightening or healing for you.”

“Spiritually healing, maybe…”

“But not physically or emotionally,” Redheart shot, “Didn’t I say that you were poisoned? Did I make it clear that you needed rest?”

I nodded to her ankles. “That too is something I must struggle through.”

Snippy was moaning and growling in my ear, getting louder and louder. I leaned a little towards her, hoping that she would quiet down soon. Her anger was making it hard to hear.

Hey Martyr, could we just listen to the doctor, Snippy’s going to blow a gasket…

But this is what I must do, is it not?

Snippy growled loudly, her words jumbled. I felt my ears pop painfully.

“Helios, I recommend you go up to your room and rest,” Redheart asserted. “Your own health should be your first priority.”

“My first priority should never be myself. Thinking only of myself is selfish… Especially when there are so many in need of my help.”

“Is struggling to sweep really helping anybody? Does throwing yourself into a difficult situation help anybody?”

“I don’t…” I tried to speak, but I could barely hear my voice. My ears were stuffed full of cotton. Angry, bee-filled cotton. “I don’t understand what…”

“Please.” Redheart said some more words, but I could barely make them out. She placed a hoof on my shoulder. My shoulder violently flinched. Oh? Why? “…To your room…”

“I KNOW!”

My ears were ringing. Really loud, annoying ringing!

“Do you know how stupid Martyr is… Oh, I can talk now?! Good! You!” I threw Redheart’s hoof off my back, glaring up at her. “I hate you. And I hate that broom. And I hate you.” Papercut leaned back from my jabbing, accusatory hoof. “And I hate this Sanatorium. I hate the dust. I hate the trip to get here. I hate that I ever left Canterlot. But I also hate Canterlot. I hate being here, and most of all, yep, I hate myself. Oh. Do I loathe me. I am just made of pitiful—”
Oh please don’t shout at them, oh please…

“Self-aggrandizing—“

Please just stop saying words, go back to thinking them…

“Worthless—“

Stop, stop, stop, please…

“And simpering YOU SHUT UP BAKER.” My stomach rolled over, but screw her! “I am done with this place! Done!”

I marched past the doctors—

Where the hell is the door?!

Behind… Back the other way…

Welp, there’s another one right over there!

I marched out the back door, because there was a back door, and went into, whaddyaknow?! More garden! More shitty, overgrown, AWFUL garden.

Why Snippy? Baker sobbed, I don’t want you in control. You’re not me. You’re just rage and spite and hate.

“That TOTALLY describes you, Celestia!” I barked, laughing, “You’re just a mean bitch wrapped up in nice, self-sacrificing clothing! You think you can get angry and not turn into me?!”

I wasn’t angry, please, don’t speak aloud.

“Yeah, screw you!” I laughed aloud, as I beat my way through brambles and bushes. And I don’t know about the rest of me, but just opening up and shouting at everything feels friggin wonderful. No more polite pussyfooting around. No more simpering and crying about how I should take care of everything. No more quiet whining about hurting peoples’ feelings. Just getting out there and bitching people out!

And it didn’t look like they were following me either! Man, they must be so happy to get rid of me. One less bitch to take care of, right?!

It wasn’t deserved. They didn’t deserve any of that.

“Ahahaha, like I care! I’ve been spending way too much time in the shadows! Now it’s Snippy’s chance to shine!”

Why even leave? You’ll hate wherever we go!

“Well we’re not staying here! That’s just giving Martyr more chances to embarrass herself!”

You’re embarrassing me, Snippy. You all are. You’re all terrible.

You’re terrible too, Baker! All just one big horrible, terrible mind!

I charged through one last bush, and dropped into an overgrown meadow. There were some benches, some fat pony statue sitting in the grass overgrown with ivy, bronze plaque, whatever, don’t care.

“Ooh, walking will be easier for a bit! So let’s—!”

Man, I was all ready to charge on by and not give a damn. But my stomach tightened. I was rooted to the spot.

“What?!”

That.

I looked up.

“What, the statue?”

Look closer. Please.

“Why should I?”

We shouldn’t leave. It’s important that we stay here.

Yes, to clean and help the—

Shut up Martyr, Baker thought quietly.

“So. Statue,” I squinted up at it, trying to figure out what the blob of it was. “Looks like—“

Alicorn. Baker whispered. It’s a statue of an alicorn.

“Naaaah…”

Clear some of the ivy.

“Pffft. You don’t tell me what to do!”

… I suppose I don’t. But. Aren’t you curious?

I know I am, Martyr said,

Oh yes, Princess spoke up, so intensely curious!

“Fine, fine…”

I batted and ripped away some of the vines, kicking the grass, kicking the statue, whatever. I didn’t care about any of this. Why should I? They were just getting worked up over…

Over…

The statue seemed to be sleeping peacefully, resting on all four legs with its head hanging just slightly above the ground. It mane and tail were wild seas of curling hair, a haphazard yet ornate nest of ringlets. It looked insanely messy, yet, noble and even, perfectly suspended in the air.

It was an impeccable statue. That same kind of perfect I remember being puzzled by before. The perfect inlay of a cutie mark, the mane so unnaturally light and fluffy, as if every single strand of hair was carved individually.

There’s no way that could have been carved. Not by hoof, nor horn.

“Okay. Fine. But what’s with the epipath here?” I jabbed at it. “It’s like a bronze plaque. ‘Healer Paleheart was a noble soul, who’s many advancements in internal medicine and pathology shaped the way we think about diseases today— Wow. That’s not short, or simple. More like a life history. Doesn’t even call him a valued friend or anything.”

Check the other side, maybe?

“But it’s not even on a stand!”

Snippy, why can’t you just cooperate?

“Same reason none of you bozos every listened to the voices when you were them! You never listened to me, and I’m doing way more to listen to all of you!”

Ooh, should we grab her legs? Princess called, excited. Let’s kick her out!

Martyr mumbled, No, no, that’s not a proper or nice way to approach this issue…

“Fine! I’m going!” I tromped over to the other side, and glared at the ground. “There! Happy?”

Oh my…

On the other side was not in fact the typical epitaph. I mean, what would they have written on? The ground? No. But. There was writing. If it could be called that. There were a dozen fat scratches, like something had been able to gouge claw marks directly into the stone of Paleheart’s body…

They formed a single word:

Something deep inside of my shivered, radiating up my back.

Who in the world would do this?

“I dunno, some crazy pony. Probably a unicorn. I mean, what better to damage rock than a unicorn’s magic?”

A unicorn’s magic? Damage, irrevocably, the frozen body of such a perfect, unbreakable statue…

“Do we really know that it’s unbreakable? Look!” I grinned, and tapped my hoof to one of the tiny little stone hairs. “you want me to break off a piece and find out?”

Oh please no!

Do not go so far as to defile the dead, Snippy! Martyr asserted. I will not stand by it!

But then, clearly the most important question rose to me, bubbling from my gut. Where’s the Element?

“Of all the dumb things to ask—“

Something hard smacked me in the back of the head. Purple lights bloomed in front of my eyes, sending my head reeling. I toppled over, suddenly unable to stand, and flopping into the grass. That piece of quartz spun off into the air above my head, bouncing off Paleheart’s snout and spinning out of sight.

“Dammit!”

…Was the last thing I heard before I passed out.

LXVI : Friends Together V

The Steadfast Sky : Friends Together V
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Luna~

“No!” I cried, “No, that’s doesn’t make sense!”

The past few hours, we ran. Ran and ran and ran, beating a path through the overgrown side roads, charging down the rutted dirt of an empty thoroughfare, ducking into ditches whenever we felt we might be spotted. We didn’t dare go far into the forests. Without a compass, sun, or stars for direction, the only sense of direction we had was from the rain-washed wagon tracks.

Only at some timeless, pitch black point of the night did we finally decide to stop. We buried ourselves in the undergrowth, hidden in the perfect illusion of a tree. The only vision we had around us were tiny knotholes and a skylight disguised in the canopy.

I felt so unsafe, so exposed. I was itching to ask Discord to just bury us in a lifeless bolder, so compact and dark that we wouldn’t even know when morning came.

But even as I pressed against Discord’s side, possessed by fear, winded from our hasty departure, one thing just did not make sense!

“When I used my magic,” I asserted, “I could both hear and be heard! Wouldn’t we have heard… or even noticed a glow if the Element was being contacted?!”

Discord gripped his chin between two fingers, staring steadily at the ground. Face tight in focus, he mumbled, “I don’t know.”

“And doesn’t that mean he could have heard us the whole time?!” I said, “He knew we had Kindness! He could have been listening in, from the very beginning…”

“He didn’t have an Element himself anymore,” Discord slowly replied, “He couldn’t see that bond… Wouldn’t make sense for him to…”

“Exactly!” I nodded, affirmed, “Who was that guy, saying The Shadow Stallion could hear us?!”

There we go! Case closed! We were running these past two hours for absolutely nothing! Whew! Glad that was over! Discord didn’t share in my relief. No. He was still staring at the ground like it held all the answers to a problem that just wasn’t there.

“Then again,” he said, “The griffins…”

“What about them?” I snapped.

“They dogged us all the way to Canterlot. We only lost them near the end…”

“And then we didn’t see a single one as we went down the mountain! The Stallion… he has no idea!” My face was prickling hot, words coming out as I thought them. But they were words that made sense to me. “He’s not listening in, and he doesn’t know the first thing about finding us! He’s magically incompetent, remember?! Bright barely knew how to cast! No wonder he hasn’t found us or sent anything after us! That guy was lying, Discord! He was lying!”

Discord’s finger’s curled a little tighter, frown growing deeper. “Don’t brush The Shadow Stallion off like that. We’ve been lucky. Lucky’s all.”

“We’ve got no reason to worry!” I said, “None! That Magic jerk doesn’t have a clue!”

“You don’t get it. Father, he—”

“Discord—!”

“No!” He snapped loudly. His wings gave an angry jolt. His eyes were still directed down in a terrified rage. “Shut up! Listen to me! Father is not something we can just brush off out of hand! I mean… The Shadow Stallion… Look, you know what I mean.”

I stared at Discord as he huffed and fretted, eyes darting, idle hands now tearing at grass.

“You saw him, Luna,” Discord continued, “Fath— The Stallion. He’s… He’s not Bright anymore. You were there. He didn’t care. He would have killed us. We were lucky. So lucky. It still boggles my mind, even now. And… and you know, the way I see it? The Elements have protected us.”

Discord’s hand shot to his Element, clutching his gem so tightly it flashed silver between his fingers.

“Maybe, in some way, they’ve hidden us from evil. Directed us where we needed to go. Made us lucky. Think about it. How did we pick… the one, random, completely perfect direction… the one that led us not only to Laughter, lost in the middle of nowhere? And then also right directly to Loyalty?”

“Apple lead us to Loyalty,” I said, “He pointed us in the right direction.”

“And if he wasn’t a sympathizer? And what if we had run into the griffins in that city? There was a whole friggin camp above Stringhalt, but somehow, we avoided all their scrutiny?”

Finally, he looked up from the ground. Discord eyes turned to mine, shimmering in the dark. “The only time we’ve ever even come close to danger is when we put ourselves right at the Stallion’s feet. And it took miracles to even get there.”

For a moment, Discord’s statements hung between us, and a million excuses rattled through my brain. Discord’s just got an old fear in him. He’s jumping to outrageous conclusions. We really haven’t been that lucky. We’ve just had a lot of experience running and hiding…

“We’ve laid ourselves at his feet again,” Discord suddenly spoke, voice hushed, “Just stuck ourselves right there, out in the open. A big beacon blazed right into the sky…”

“But it doesn’t make sense,” I replied. I was whispering now too, caught up in… this. “It doesn’t fit in the rules. The spell relied on that bond between us…”

“Butterfly Bright. He had the Element, bonded with him, for nearly a century.” Firmly, Discord said, “He may not have been the best with magic. But with that kind of time, he probably could have figured out his Element backwards and forwards. He has a way. And whoever has bonded with Magic knows it.”

Again, Discord’s words were the final say. All I could mumble was a vague correction, “I wouldn’t say Magic was bonded. It’s just somebody at his tomb. Another Illuminator, probably…”

Things grew quiet again. Discord began rubbing my back, trying to comfort me. The feeling of fingers in my fur was so strange, and right now, I didn’t have the brains to deal with strange. At one point I mumbled an apology for yelling at my friend, and he apologized right back. We were both just so afraid…

I felt hot, overheating. A panicked part of me worried that this was part of the Stallion’s attack, that I had been tagged by some kind of fatiguing spell. But that was just so ridiculous. He couldn’t do that. We have the Elements. We were lucky. We were protected.

But those were just guesses. Boil it all down, and we barely knew anything at all. May as well be fighting over semantics…

I sunk into the grass, and Discord had the courtesy to bloom a pillow under my feet. It didn’t even crinkle at all when I placed my head on it.

I mumbled into the false cloth, “So what do we do now?”

After some thought, Discord spoke, fingers still running up and down my back. “Only two things we can do now. Go get the next Element, or find your sister. And don’t worry. She’s probably not in danger. She didn’t have Loyalty with her.” Discord gave a small sigh. Yeah, thank goodness for that small relief. “But with things how they are, we almost have the entire country to comb through if we want to find her.”

“So, search the whole country, or go directly to a known location where a trap may be waiting.” I dropped my head back down on the pillow, unable to hold it up anymore. Tired. Hot. “Generosity might not even be in its tomb. So many people talking around it…”

“Illuminators,” Discord asserted. “They’ve got to be. So many of the tombs have been protected by Illuminators.”

I sighed, closing my eyes. What a terrible mood to sleep in. “Maybe,” I mumbled noncommittally.

Quietly, Discord said, “We can think about this in the morning.”

“No,” I said firmly into the pillow. “If we’ve got to run, we’ve got to run with purpose.” I set my jaw firm, talking as clearly and calmly as I could when half tired and melted. “The Shadow Stallion knows that the Elements are the only way to take him down. Even now, even if the tombs are swarming with griffins, even if we can’t find a way to use Generosity or Magic, those Elements have to be our goal. Tomorrow, we’re going to… let’s say Generosity.” I nodded into the pillow. “Come hell or high water.”

I felt more than saw Discord nod, and heard him say, just as firmly. “Yes. Tomorrow, we head to Generosity.”

And that was that.

I wondered, just for a moment, if I could teleport there… But the thought scared me. Teleporting halfway across the country to a location I didn’t know, and only had a vague sense about where it was located? No, I didn’t dare.

I wouldn’t experiment like that again…

Slowly, I fell into an uneasy sleep. But one thing still troubled me, making the sleep restless. More than the Elements, more than The Shadow Stallion or the griffins.

Oh why did it have to be so hot out?

~Discord~

Morning. Or close enough to it. That kind of light that lets you know it’s day, but with a storm brewing. That time seemed so much more distinct above the clouds…

I held my breath, and stared past the foliage into the speckled sky. I could hear the heavy beat of wings. Definitely more than two. I could hear one fight loud and clear, maybe the mumblings of more. They wouldn’t see us. My illusions were perfect, as always.

But they’re here. Griffins, flying overhead. They may be hidden from my sight, but it was a whole massive flock of them, from the sounds of things. And while I didn’t know where exactly they were going, I could easily assume they were heading right for Honesty.

The Stallion knew exactly where we were.

And he might even know exactly where we were going.

We had to get out of here. Fast, under illusions and shadows, under a blanket of silence.

As quietly as I could, I shifted over two inches and nudged Luna. The Illusion of a blanket shifted softly under my paw. I could barely even whisper her name before I pulled my hand back, stunned.

She was burning up. My hand was practically stinging after just patting her on the shoulder! Or maybe my own hands were over heating? They were shaking. I might’ve been clutching them too hard. You know. Out of fear.

I ignored the heat. Went to shake her again, mumbling her name as quietly as I could. Her eyelids fluttered heavily, failing to open. She let out a small grumble. I noticed, up close, that her hair seemed to be shimmering with sweat.

“Luna,” I mumbled. “Luna. Wake up. Are you alright. Talk to me. Please.”

“I’zsorta…”

She grunted, burrowing her head deeper into to the pillow. I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding. I mean, of course she was fine. The situation’s just’s getting to me. That’s it. I don’t have to worry about her…

Quietly, I urged, “Luna. I can hear the griffins. We’ve got to go.”

“Noooo…” She moaned. Her hoof pulled forward, rubbing over her eyes. “I thought… Uhg. Couldn’t sleep at all. Worried… messed up dreams… too hot…”

I smiled nervously. “Yeah, you might have a fever. Crappy timing, I know…”

She grunted. “And your wing, Discord.”

I frowned down at her, confused. “My wing?”

“Your feathers were itching me like crazy last night.”

“Sorry…?”

Crap. After how poorly we slept the previous night, I had actually tried to stay a good distance away from Luna while she slept. Not too far, but… Life, did I roll over while I was out or—

“Wait. Luna.”

“Huhn?”

Slowly, gripping my pounding hot fingers, I said, “Last night, I slept on your left.”

She grumbled, rolling over again in the pillow. “Yeah…”

“So, my right wing would’ve touched you. You know… the bat one.”

Luna sighed heavily into her pillow. And for a quiet moment, she laid still. The blankets shifted a little around her, in a strange way. Was she curled up so tightly that her back hooves could distort the blankets around her middle…?

Luna shot up and squealed, eyes wide. The covers were kicked off. She charged off the bed, slamming into the illusion, making it shake and squeak.

“Bug!” she yelped. “In the blankets!”

“Luna!” My eyes shot to the sky, straining to hear over Luna’s muffled cries. “Keep quiet—!”

“It was big and fuzzy and oh crap, I did not want to wake up to that!”

I felt the heat rising in my face, fingers, palms, wrists pounding. What does she think she was doing?!

Terrified, I snapped, “Luna! Now’s not the time—!”

My eyes widened.

“No! It’s still on me!” She squealed and spun in circles, eyes squeezed tightly shut. “Omoonsun I can feel it moving ewewew gross gross—!” Aura popped to her horn, magic groping for her side. “It’s stuck on! Land leeches?! HEL—“

My fingers had barely tapped together before bubblegum taffy snapped around her snout, squeaking as she tried to shout. She stared down at the bind, then turned to glare at me as I approached.

“Luna,” I said quietly, hand pulsing hot as it dropped onto her shoulder. “Look.”

Her breath heaving through her nose, I carefully reached back to the ‘bug.’ She twitched violently as I touched it, and twisted around to look as I brought it forward.

I held in front of her eyes a pale blue, slightly battered, brand new wing. Fully grown, complete with its pair, and sitting on Luna’s back as if they were naturally supposed to be there.

Luna gave another violent lurch. The wing jerked out of my hand. Her eyes grew even wider. She looked like she was about to vomit at our feet.

“Jeez…” she grumbled. “You know, I won’t say I wasn’t looking forward to this…” She took a deep breath, tried to steady herself. “This isn’t a bad thing,” she said with false resolve.

“No,” I assured her. “It’s not.”

“But this is…” She turned up to the sky, wincing at the canopy. “Phenomenally bad timing!”

I chuckled a little at that, humorless. It was true, wasn’t it? I looked forward to flying with Luna. And certainly, somewhere among all of our other worries, she must have been more excited than me about it. But to gain them now, at the worst possible time?

I glanced up at the clouds, light growing darker and darker. The leaves began shifting in waves, loud and rolling. The wind was staring to pick up, bringing with it a sickly wet smell in the air, like it was about to rain sweat and blood instead of water…

The weather, the wings, the pounding hot pain in my fingers. It made me uneasy.

Suspiciously bad timing…

With barely a thought, I made the illusions all around us vanish, disintegrating into nothing. All that was left was a copy of the canopy, now just light and color hanging in the air. I heard the few first drops of rain fall out of sight. Okay. Maybe that would give us a few more shadows to hide in.

“C’mon,” I said, shifting my bag over my shoulders. “Let’s go.”

Luna glanced up from staring at her wings, sour expression still on her face. “Yes...”

Wings drifting mindlessly at her side, she walked two steps, tried to hop over a tree branch, then failed to stop herself as she stumbled right past her bags and bounced off a tree trunk. She stood stiff, legs spread like a foal who doesn’t quite know how to walk, stunned and staring directly past me.

“Yeah. Actually,” I said hastily, “Let me get your bag.”

I doubted that I could carry two bags, but my fingers flared hot as I began mindlessly constructing a little sled. Crushed undergrowth shouldn’t be a problem if they’re searching from the air… right? And this way, I could tuck Honesty right next to the bag, and there. Easy.

“Thanks.” Luna said, frowning perplexedly at her feet. “Just need a bit to get my bearings... Crap...”

“We can take a bit,” I said firmly. “We may not have much time, but—“

A dark lump fell between us, splattering wetly as it hit the ground.

We both saw it. I leaned over, Luna nearly fell trying to get a good look. It looked about the size of an egg. A fat, rotten yolk. Black, filmy, and oily. Splattered and jiggling wildly on a crushed fern leaf.

Luna’s horn flared to life. A bubble of silence erupted around the two of us. With just one glance between us, we dashed out of the clearing as two more lumps dropped behind us, coating our night’s resting place in dark droplets.

~Luna~

We ran. For a while, I could hear the fat splatters smacking leaves, deeper in the woods. They never came close to hitting us. A part of me wondered if they were even meant to hit us. They just seemed so sporadic and random, a crazy part of me wanted to believe that it was just some garbage dumped out by a floating griffin camp.

Slowly, the splatters faded. It began to rain. A gentle shower, almost misty, but frigidly cold. Each breath was like sucking in a mouthful of ice. Every step, cold seeped into my skin.

But for sky’s sake, for how long we’ve been travelling and learning about ourselves and the Elements, why do we know so little?!

Everything today. The dollops of goop. The cold, the rain. My transformation. I didn’t know what to fear, and what to dismiss! Maybe nothing was dangerous. Maybe everything was! Including the sudden appearance of these wings. The fact that these limbs appeared here, now, with The Stallion on our tail and fever muddling my brain just made me suspicious. Like this was something to slow us down.

Because… that’s all the wings did. Slow us down.

They wouldn’t behave naturally. They twitched, spasmed, and wobbled, sticking out and slapping into trees, catching gusts and sending me tottering this way and that. Discord eventually wove bandages around my middle, tying my wings down so I could just attempt to run properly.

I looked back on myself. My middle seemed swollen at odd angles, twice as big as it should be. My skin pinched and flared hot. And it looked like a skinny elbow was poking up at me, coated in little hairlike feathers.

Strange. Unnatural. I tried not to look again, tried to ignore the bizarre, creeping pinched feeling down my sides.
I couldn’t carry my bags like this. They were too heavy, they pinched and pulled my skin, nearly broke my back with how heavy they seemed. Discord made a few simple illusions carry them for us. I asked, quietly through my bubble of silence, wasn’t that a strain?

But he didn’t, couldn’t respond. All he did was grin, wave my question away, and continue running beside me. He was acting like it was no big deal, but when it came to Discord, acting certainly was a key word…

Discord with energy to spare, unafraid of expending himself. It was either a tremendous boon, or a horrible trick to leave us drained and stranded.

All of this. Everything about it. It chilled me worse than the rain. We were so off balance by these transformations. No way could the Stallion be that clever. No way…

I galloped through the undergrowth, watching for roots, running and stumbling as if I was lighter than air. I found myself almost skipping around trunks and ferns. My contact with the earth was so vague, it felt like I could just float away at any moment. It was just so dreamlike.

I thought, for a moment… was this a dream? A bad nightmare, where you can zoom around freely, and where you’re chased by horrors you don’t even see. Maybe it feels real in the moment, but you know the moment you wake up…

I looked up at the blackened sky, squinting against the searing cold raindrops. I wondered, in this dream, if I could just float up and hide in the clouds.

I hopped over a log, and for a long moment, I drifted on that idea. My new limbs twitched spastically, restrained by the bandages.

And then something yanked at my tail.

My squeal was eaten by the bubble of silence. Unconsciously, I bucked, and both my legs bounced off something! What was behind me what was behind me what was—

Oh. It was just Discord. Of course it was just Discord. He rubbed his chest and giving me a very displeased look.

He let go of my tail. I wobbled around to face him, mumbling silent apologies. Frowning, Discord held up his hand. Three ribbons sat in it, floating off behind him. I gave him a confused look. He waved behind himself. I looked.

Our bags were wrapped up in little illusions, wings jutting out their sides, making them look like overlarge, spherical birds. But the illusion spheres bobbed like half-deflated baloons now, excessively covered in mud and twigs. One of the ribbons seemed to be coming apart, another tangled in tree branches.

I shrugged weakly at Discord. What did he want me to do about it?

He rolled his eyes, giving the ribbons a little tug. The illusions flapped their wings weakly, bouncing on the ground as they were dragged over. The clothlike center unfurled, and Discord picked up his bag, slinging it around his shoulders.

I shook my head. And with the tiniest whisper, I cast through the quiet, “I don’t know if I can carry my bag like this…”

He nodded firmly, and pulled the straining string that held my bag aloft. It crushed a small bush when it dropped. Discord tried to untangle it from the thorns, lifting and dropping the saddlebags it like they were full of rocks. They couldn’t be that heavy, could they be? Was the rain soaking into the canvas…?

I let my aura fill my horn, and reached out for the bag. I thought I could at least levitate it in front of me. Yet, even as I pulled it up, the levitation seemed to falter and waver, vanishing entirely. The bag hit the dirt, crumpling sideways.

No… Is this stupid transformation getting in the way of my spells too?! I squeaked aloud, and heard nothing escape from my mouth. My silence spell is holding up fine! Why not the levitation?

Discord shook his head at me. With a pained expression he turned up his palm and… summoned a little flower? I gave him a confused look. He stared at the flower in his fingers, holding it out in the rain.

The drops seemed to make it flicker a little. No… Each time a drop hit the illusion, it ate a little path through the material, made the entire thing melt like wax.

I stared at it. Discord glanced to see if I understood, then closed his hand around the illusion, grimly satisfied. The dark collected rain rolled thickly down his fist. What an odd weakness for a solid illusion to have. Just water? That’s all?

I looked over my shoulder, back at his illusion of bandages. They seemed as strong as ever. I waved to get Discord’s attention, and pointed them out to him.

He grinned and waved the thought away. Tapped them, and they grew a little tighter and cleaner. Another drop of rain ate a thin strip away, but it was almost instantly replaced. He smiled again. I couldn’t return the look.

He shouldn’t be wasting his magic like this… Not on things for me…

And with that, he heaved my bag atop his own. He strained and struggled to force his wings through the tight straps. I shuffled on my feet, wanting to help, but even the small movements made me nearly topple over.

Discord held Honesty out to me with a smile, unnaturally free of any water, mud, or sticking bits of plant. I huffed at it. Oh, why did the dumb thing still have to be a rock? Why couldn’t it be something simpler to carry? Why couldn’t it just be a necklace already?

I was struck by a dumb idea. I looked down at Laughter, similarly free of water and grime. Then, with a light little joke in my mind, I tugged at the golden band. It stretched and pulled easily, functioning normally.

So I took the big rock of Honesty and I stuck it firmly behind the golden band. Honesty now hung off my neck like the big, dumb rock it was. At least it wasn’t all that heavy. Discord couldn’t stop himself from silently snickering, but what else was I going to do? Hold it between my legs? Balance it on my back?

Working without an aura is stupid.

I turned away, lightly balancing Honesty with my knee as we hopped over a fallen log, continuing forward.

After stumbling further and further through the forest, we finally found the road. After a moment’s silent deliberation, we decided to follow alongside it, still weaving and taking cover in the thickly bunched trees. While it might’ve been a dangerous thing to do, we didn’t have a single inkling of where anything was without a road. We didn’t even know if this was the road we needed to take to Generosity. But without the sun, stars, or a compass to guide us, the road was our only sense of direction. As long as we just stayed right off the shoulder of the path, we should be fine. Not like our pursuers were going to just roll along the road in a cart.

My shoulders and legs were quickly growing numb from the rain. They didn’t ache from all the running, but I didn’t feel relieved about this. The natural aches were replaced with a creepy sort of feeling. Like icy worms wriggling over my dulled skin.

I stepped in a puddle, and it came out coated in frigid black mud. Blech. I slowed, tried to wipe it off on the tree beside me. My shoulders bumped into the bones of my new wings, and oh moon above, that is a bizarre feeling. It was like knocking into a stick stuck in my back, feeling it only because it made the stick pinch your back skin. It was a profoundly gross feeling.

I looked back over my muddied bandages, letting Discord catch up to me. He clutched his chest, panting silently. I let the tiniest inch of sound through our bubble, enough to hear the rain hissing all around us, enough to say a few quiet sentences.

“What if the temperature drops again?” I said. “We could freeze to death out here.”

Discord was silent, dark water rolling thickly around his shoulders and wings.

“We don’t have any spells to keep ourselves warm.”

He frowned, then slapped himself. Letters floated in front of his snout, scrawled in a glowing pink.

U now who has warm spells?

I frowned, confused.

Celestia

“There’s no way we’re going to find her through this. Without a beacon for her to follow…”

I sniffed. On top of everything else, now the icy cold was inching into my heart. I felt homesick. I missed her. So much. Please be safe, Celestia. Please. Just be safe.

“The Elements will lead us true, won’t they?” I mumbled into his ear. “If they’ve been leading us this whole time… then maybe, this time as well…”

He nodded firmly.

We will b OK

“Yes… We’re just so exposed out here. It seems like it’ll just be a matter of time…”

Discord put a hand on my shoulder, trying to smile, to be reassuring, but just looking at frightened as I felt. Sure. We hadn’t seen the Stallion yet. And we hadn’t heard or seen even a single griffin tailfeather. Yet, the whole world felt so dangerous and dark.

“It’s just so hopeless…”

He frowned. Not at me. At the hand on my shoulder.

I gave him a questioning look.

He pulled his hand back.

And a filmy line of black goop followed him back.

I squealed and rubbed at my darkened legs. Goop piled around my ankles, rolled off it chunks, jiggling spastically.

“The rain!” I squealed. Discord slapped a hand over my mouth. It tasted sour, frigid and squirming—

I stared, horrified into Discord’s eyes. His were wide. He knew too.

Smooze...?

Magic shot to my horn and I spat fitfully in dead silence. I shook and I ripped at myself, throwing off cold chunks of oily mud. My hoof caught on my bandages, and they disintegrated cleanly, magic slowly being eaten by twitching tumors of brackish purple muck. My wings tumbled from their bonds, wet and broken looking. I didn’t know what felt worse. The tumors of smooze on my skin, or that feeling of broken, wet limbs tickling my sides.

I felt disgusting. Dirty. Contaminated. I had been breathing that rain! Now I could imagine those disgusting worms working their way inside me. Oh Sky. Oh sun and moon.

Alicorns are supposed to be noble and godlike. I just felt like a mutant freak. This wasn’t my body. It wasn’t.

Magic rippled around Discord’s fingers, flickering in the twitching muck between his toes. A tent flickered above our heads. The rain was stopped only temporarily. We both knew it would only be a matter of time…

Words formed above Discord’s palm.

He nows. Hes gonna suk out r magic. Kill us wile were num.

“Yes. I know,” I hiccupped. “How long can you hold us up?”

Discord thought for a moment. Then the dire words rose from his fingers, carefully drawn out letter by letter.

The Shadow Stallion has the un-dying energy and patience of a god. How long do you think Im going to last?

I took a deep breath, and tried to shake off the cold building inside of me. Clumps of wet goop dripped off my mane and fur. My body was frigid, and my thoughts worse than that.

What if we didn’t make it?

I guess we could… Um…

But what if we didn’t make it?

No! There is definitely a way out. Just have to stop and think…

C’mon brain. Think.

A blob of smooze rolled down my snout, leaving a trail of biting cold behind it.

We’re not going to make it.

“Discord,” I mumbled, “I-I wanna say… if we don’t make it… Oh. What’s the point…”

Discord silently huffed. He gripped his chin between two fingers, staring down as the dully shimmering puddles of jiggling liquid. He was mumbling something, but for some reason, I still thought it was smart to keep the bubble of silence around us. I’ve already poked dozens of holes in it, just to talk. I should probably just let the whole spell go…

Discord slapped himself. And in a moment more his frigid body bumped into mine, pulling me into a frozen embrace. His Element glowed beneath me…

And the air started to get warmer again.

I blinked. The puddles of smooze were rippling, as if there was a gust coming off of our hug. Some of the substance rolled into thick streams, joined by the droplets dropping off our bodies.

Wow! Why didn’t I think of that?

I giggled and hugged Discord back, finally feeling a lot warmer, almost dry! My Element glowed softly with his, and my wings… Jeez, it’s so weird to think of those things as wings. But my two slightly battered wings folded up into a reasonable position by my side, just unconsciously. It was kind’ve like going from a dead, numb slouch to standing up proper and straight.

Yeah, I could totally get used to that. I wonder when they’d be ready to fly!

Discord retreated, and beamed at me. I nodded back.

“Yeah,” I said. “That’s loads better.”

Discord lifted his fingers in front of his smile.

Negitivity gunk, meet ultimat positivity lite.

“Your spelling is horrible!” I slack him lightly in the shoulder. “So. All we’ve got to do is blast our way out with the Elements… Wait…”

I fell silent. Three question marks drifted before my eyes, the both of us looking around. The puddles around us were still wobbling violently, even as the light from our Elements had already faded. And, maybe because we had brightened the patch around us, but the world seemed to be a little darker now. And…

“Um. Discord,” I asked quietly. “Do you think the rain just got louder?”

All around us, the rain had increased to a deafening downpour. Distantly, I heard Discord squeak. Fat droplets of slime dropped from above, having eaten through most the illusion, showering us in splattering, frigid goop. There was a crack of thunder, echo deep, rolling, and bone-shaking. And through the broken illusion of a roof, I saw, directly above us, the sky.
It looked like it had been pierced by a massive shard of shadowy ice, a thin spindle of black, dark energy bubbling and rolling the clouds around it, getting darker and darker—

Discord yanked my shoulder, and I was pulled into a run.

We weren’t messing around anymore. The danger was present, apparent, and very much there. We had to do anything to escape, anything. And Discord, crazy, overconfident Discord, did just that.

We charged down a wooden walkway holding up a slanted tile roof, footsteps muted, but speed increased. The path weaved around tree and cut through underbrush. But even with the path cutting through the rain, the roof could only hold back so much.

I swerved around a thick column of rolling purple muck and hopped over an eaten-away hole in the flooring. Part of the support beam was curling away, the roof starting to creak as it buckled. But by the time it collapsed, Discord and I had already charged past, allowing the illusion to be swallowed by the rain.

It was insane just how quickly I could run. I felt light as a feather, and even the simplest, lightest push flung me forward miraculous distances. I nearly fell into the downpour as the path stopped building before me. But Discord would always catch up, teeth gritted and eyes focused dead ahead.

I didn’t know how far we had to run. How much of the forest was being coated in the smooze? Could we be easily seen from up above, or was the power of the Elements leading The Shadow Stallion true?

Earlier today, I would have been terrified by the thought of the Shadow Stallion, up above the clouds, pursuing us relentlessly… Well, actually, that was still pretty terrifying. But here, now, we weren’t just running scared anymore, jumping at every shadow. There was a clear problem, a clear solution, and, if The Shadow Stallion could only sense The Elements when they activated, maybe we could escape the storm…!

A bannister rose snapped up before me, the path bulging into an octagonal gazebo. I stumbled and skidded on the hard wood, gripping Honesty to make sure it didn’t fly off the railing, finally trotting to a stop. I stared into the rain, downpour lightened into a steady black rain, but far from letting up.

I spun and watched as Discord stumbled into the gazebo and collapsed, breathing muted and heavy, almost crushed beneath the double set of bags.

His fingers twitched, and before my eyes floated warped words.

Cant. Magic gone. Ne]w plan.

“How much do you have?! We’ve almost made it!”

He continued to pant, not even looking at me.

All ways stop befor killing my self.

“Y-yeah. Makes sense. I’m sorry. Um.” I let the spell of silence drop around us. Only then did I hear how wheezy Discord’s breathing sounded. He should have stopped a long time ago. Oh, why did I let him exert himself so far? Every breath he took was like a new stabbing cold in my heart. “Okay, you can talk aloud now.”

“Gaaaaaah…”

“But not too loud… I mean. Sorry we didn’t stop sooner…”

“No. It’s okay. It’s my fault. Was riding some kind’ve. Magic high…” He swallowed a mouthful of spit. “But I. Can only hold this building. For so long. So…” He looked up at me. “Plans…?”

“If we can just get out of this rain, then we’d be home free, I know it.”

“If we go out there. Unprotected…”

“Yeah. It’s a bad idea.” I looked side to side, trying to discern the trees from the black haze. “Maybe if we found a big tree or a barn to shelter under…!”

“Do you really think,” Discord cried, “That hiding under a stupid tree is going to stop The Shadow Stallion?!”

“I don’t know!” I huffed. “Just trying to come up with something!”

I could already hear the roof hissing, smooze eating its way through. No matter how much energy Discord had, we didn’t have much time left at all.

“Okay. Okay, I got a dumb plan.” Discord head himself up, and started struggling out of the bags. “I don’t think it will solve the problem of avoiding The Shadow Stallion. But we’ll get out of the rain. And maybe that will make things easier.”

“Okay. What is it?”

“You got wings now. So. Let’s avoid the rain and fly up above the clouds.”

I stared at Discord as he opened the bags and started rooting through them.

“Wow,” I said, “That is a dumb plan.”

“Yyyyep.”

“I mean, for one, I don’t know how to fly.”

“I’ll steer. All you need to do is flap.”

“I don’t even k now if I can flap these things!” I whipped around, and my wings twitched slightly open in my rage. “And for two, The Stallion is up there! You think we won’t just spot us instantly?!”

“Yes or no. That bit’s kind’ve on you.” He started setting objects aside. Bedding we never used. A bundle of celery. His wrapped packages. His hands passed over the pocket that contained Loyalty and moved directly for my own stores of food. “I’m out of magic. But you still have your sonic spells, your shadows… heck.” He grinned. “If things get too dicey, you could probably drop the moon on him.”

I snorted. “Ha. Ha.”

“Luna, I know this is kind’ve a dumb plan, but… the roof is melting, and in maybe another minute we’ll have no magic, energy, or even happiness to work with.”

I frowned down at my Element, Honesty still tucked firmly in the band. Took a breath.

“I don’t know if there’s going to be many shadows to work with in open sky. If it was night, maybe… But even if it’s not, I’ll do my best.”

Discord looked relieved. “Thanks…”

He dropped the last bit out food out of my bag. Both of our saddlebags were looking practically deflated.

I asked, “We’re not taking any food? None at all?”

“It’ll just weigh us down. We can both scrounge. I mean, neither of us will be a hundred percent happy with that. But we will be alive. And right now, that counts for more.” He wobbled to his feet and reached out his hand. “Give me Honesty. It can probably fit in one of the pockets now.”

I nodded. With my aura finally working, I hovered Honesty out from Laughter and set the stone sphere down. Heavy load of—

It hit the ground. It cracked wide open.

Discord and I exchanged glances of pure horror.

“Oh life. Oh hell.”

I brushed it gently, and it crumbled like talcum powder. I felt a horrible swooping in my stomach. It was a fake! It was an illusion! We broke it! The Stallion broke it! An all-powerful artifact of holy power was turning into dust right before my eyes—

A glimmer shone through. A core, dark and deep as obsidian, cut sharply into a four-cornered diamond. The dust swept and spun away in a nonexistent breeze. The rest of the Element was exposed. It rested in a beautiful setting of star-shaped gold, curled and curved into a bright, ornately carved tiara.

I lifted it with my ankle, gem flashing, even in the dark. It was cold. Not piercingly or bitingly cold. Just no longer beating like a heart or squirming like an eager mouse. No. It was a fully bonded, tiara-shaped, Element of Honesty.

I mutely showed it to Discord. He plucked it out of my hands.

He said, “But we… what have we done today that’s Honest? That’s virtuous? Why now?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But it’s easier to carry now, isn’t it?”

With a glance, I drifted Loyalty out of my bag as well. The orange gem was still dim… but the gold was no longer bubbling and tumorous. It too was carved into a beautiful, pale gold tiara, round gem resting on a radiant, floral setting.

“Looks like a sunflower,” I said.

We stared at the Elements, at each other. The Illusion was hissing all around us, and I could already feel the floor beginning to buckle.

I said, “I wonder what rules…”

Discord said confidently, “The First Gods used each other’s Elements when one had become corrupted.” He returned Honesty to me, reaching out for Loyalty and turned it over in his hands. “This is no different.”

“But my sister isn’t corrupted,” I repeated, just as steadfast, “She can’t be a Nightmare.”

“But she isn’t here either.” He tapped the gem, frowned, and tapped it again. “Dammit. Not reacting to me. And I don’t know if I’ve run out of magic, if it will only respond to friendship, or what other unknown rule is governing these things. But we don’t have time to find out.”

He tucked the Loyalty Tiara between his horns. It looked phenomenally stupid on his gray head.

He said, “This time, we’re winging it.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

I tucked the Honesty band in front of my own horn, letting the combs come to rest behind my ears. It felt like the most natural, comfortable thing in the world. It was like Laughter on my breast. I always forgot I was wearing it, because it was just a natural, magical extension of me.

“You ready?”

I nodded. “I’m ready.”

We strapped on our bags without a word, finagling and wriggling my wings in front of the straps. My bag hung strangely over the backside of my flank, but it was on tight, and my wings being free were what mattered.

Discord, blushing, started beating his wings and drifted above me. His hands tucked under my shoulder and gently, he began lifting me. With hardly a thought my wings fluttered open. They seemed so big on me. Even bigger and longer than my legs, still a little tousled and forlorn. They sort’ve… drifted at my sides, at the ready. But ready for what?
Discord took a deep breath.

“Okay,” he said, “Whatever you can do… Just do whatever you can.”

I gave my wings an experimental flap. We lifted and bobbed in the air. I was stunned.

“Going up in three… two… one…”

The floor vanished. My feet dropped. Smooze splashed up my legs, freezing them instantly. The illusion crumpled around us. Fat wads of leftover color shot up into the air, spinning into a multicolored, stonelike umbrella. We dropped slightly, I panicked as my knees dipped in frigid, clinging, squirming mud—

Then, leaving all my organs behind, we shot into the sky.

Falling. I had experiences with falling. Strong feelings, body swooping and being lost behind me. Rain rushing towards and past us like a solid cone. Sky a dark spread, like a cottony ground rushing towards us. Wind roaring as it plasters my mane back, chilling my necklace and new tiara.

It was like falling, but in spurts. Every time Discord flapped his wings, we heaved our bodies higher. Drifted for a moment, then in another spat we shot up again. It was quick, rapid, and we never completely fell. But my stomach was churning, unable to handle the ride.

My wings flapped spastically at my sides, aching and twinging, bending the wrong way. But each time I executed a perfect beat, we heaved even higher.

As the top of sky grew closer, our little umbrella dissolved faster and faster. Droplets began to rain down on our heads in thick, ropey strings. My wings began to shiver, the numbness not helping my flailing flight.

I’ve been exposed to smooze contained, and now smooze uncontained. The feeling is so completely different. In the sacks of leather, it’s like the effect is dulled. Its touch is numbing, yes, but it’s more like a limb drifting off to sleep. Maybe if you have the bag around your head you get a little muddled, equitable to getting drunk.

But it’s not as profoundly bone-chilling as the substance touching your bare skin. It felt like every drop was a frozen patch of ice under my fur, rubbing and robbing my warmth, never ending. Magic evaporated in the cold. All warm thoughts vanish to its bottomless sorrows. You don’t go numb because your thoughts get a little scrambled. Mental contact with smooze dragged you deep into a blackened well of pure despair.

I wondered where such a horrible substance could have come from. Such an evil, vile, inescapable substance. A dark material only used by the most loathsome ponies…

I shook my head, and tried to resist blasting myself with my Elements. Focus Luna. This darkness wasn’t yours to harbor.

“We’ve almost reached the clouds!” Discord shouted over the roar of the wind. “Brace yourself! We might have to dig through them!”

The sky heaved and rolled above our heads, clouds spinning in shadowy knots. The black dagger was nowhere to be seen, but I had a terrifying feeling that it might burst to life right on our heads, splitting the clouds…

“I’ve got an idea!” I shouted back. “How about I—!”

“Just do it, Luna!” he screamed. “Winging it, remember?!”

“Just keep flying up, then! I’ll get us through the clouds!”

I took a deep breath. Pulled magic into my horn, struggling and tugging it against the splatters of ice on my forhead. I didn’t know if this would work, or was a dumb idea, or what.

But, winging it!

I turned my eyes up to the approaching ceiling. Clenched my jaw. Packed a thick bubble of silence around us two, until the world faded into a tightly silenced mute space, so still and dead that I couldn’t even hear my ears as they popped.

I opened my mouth and released a single note. I didn’t hear what the note was. I could barely feel my own throat as it vibrated. But I knew instantly, from the sudden flare in my horn, that the spell had worked.

The illusion above us was ripped and torn away. Droplets were tossed and thrown into the air, splattering upwards. The clouds shivered and caved when impacted, then ripped upwards, filmy guts shooting into—

The beautifully bright blue sky.

We shot upwards, and instantly the world became blindingly bright and warm. The sun greeted us joyfully, and the smooze collecting on our bodies rolled away into the black mass below. I let the spell drop, and we weren’t even greeted by the pounding of rain or the gusts of wind. All was still, bright, and peaceful.

I smiled happily at that empty blue expanse. Oh, if I could kiss it, I would right now! Hello stupid endless sky! Your princess is back!

I squeaked, ripped forcefully from my reverie and my silence by Discord twisting and sifting in the air.

“Hey! What?!”

"The Shadow Stallion…!” Discord cried.

“What?!” I squeaked. I had almost forgotten! I twisted and turned limply in Discord’s hands. “Where?!”

“I don’t know! Do you see him?”

“I… I…” I looked as hard as I could around the bright world, but the light was blinding, and I could barely see without squinting. So I looked down towards to cloud floor beneath us…

“Discord!” I screamed. “LOOK DOWN!”

“Father—“ His eyes snapped down. “Oh!”

We heaved up and backwards, both sets of wings pumping in panic. Not because we had seen the Shadow Stallion. Oh no. The spot we had cut open had long since closed up, but now the clouds themselves looked like they were boiling. They turned over and over in thick columns, twisting into black, arm-like tornadoes. And they just kept growing thicker, stormier, and more violent.

We flew higher and further away, watching the clouds from a safe distance. They never moved from that spot. Eventually, we drifted so far, we could barely see the twisting shapes rolling and falling on the edge of the horizon.

We stared quietly into the sky, at each other, and down at the clouds. But search all we could, we never did see The Shadow Stallion.

LXVII : Traveling Alone V

The Steadfast Sky : Travelling Alone V
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Celestia~

The back of my head throbbed. Not that there was anything wrong with that… it was probably necessary for Redheart to hit it so hard. But I wondered if they would give me some ice for the bruise, or anything to treat it at all. It had been a rather hard blow… I think I cried, at one point. Did that mean I also had a concussion? Hm.

The purple stone streaked in front of my eyes, leaving a double trail of color across my eyes.

Oh well. Probably a good reason to leave it alone.

“Now, miss Helios,” Healer Redheart said, standing firmly in front of me.

I blankly turned her way. “Hm? Yes?”

“I am going to leave, and I am going to lock the door behind me.”

“Oh my,” I said lightly, in the faintest echo of shock. “Why would you do something like that?”

“Miss Helios,” Redheart asserted, “Your body is still working it’s hardest to fight off this infection. And while you’re not contagious, left to your own devices you have clearly become a danger to yourself, and others.”

I hung my head, heart fluttering in distant shame, “I’m sorry…”

I felt the twitching tremor in my little heart again. It urged me to apologize even more. I suppose that would be proper… But, I am sick, aren’t I? It can’t be helped.

Redheart then said, “I’m asking you remain in bed and try to rest until this passes. “

“Hm…” My head drifted a little to the left, ear nicked by the spinning rock. I could barely see through all the leftover streaks on my eyes. I tried to blink them away but… oh. Wasn’t I supposed to be thinking of something?

Half aware of the question, I mumbled, “I suppose that is for the best…”

My eyes followed the spinning gem as it slowed in front of my eyes. My stomach lurched violently. A feeling rose inside me, pushing against the numbness in my brain. Not Snippy, not Princess, not Martyr… oh, who are you?

“But then…” I mumbled, her waver rising in my voice. “I’ll be all alone, just with my own thoughts…”

“We’ll still be minding you, Helios, we’re not abandoning you here,” Redheart said, more annoyed than sympathetic. “And we can bring you a few books, if you need them.”

“Hm…” Books? Was there a book I liked? I’m not sure. I simply said, “That would be lovely, I think.”

Redheart nodded. The gem slowed even further…

And feelings began to roil within me.

“H-healer Redheart…” I stammered.

“I will return shortly,” she said, “Please. Rest, Miss Helios.”

“How can I? How can I rest?!” Snippy growled. “With all these idiots in my head?!”

The door snapped shut and locked, firmly ignoring me! Me, the noble Princess…!

“Well, now we’ve done it,” Snippy groaned. “We’ve gone and gotten ourselves locked in a tiny room because of our indecisiveness. Great job everybody. Really. I expected no better.” I slowly clapped my hooves, rolling my eyes.

“Indecisive? Really?” Princess huffed, “Every action we did was rather decisive, don’t you think? You see, I very firmly decided to clean, as did Martyr.”

Martyr mutely nodded, “Of course.”

“And then!” Princess proclaimed over my crossed forelegs, “You very decisively decided to leave, in such a great huff as well!”

“We’re indecisive because we can’t decide who can be in charge!” Snippy shouted. “So we keep tottering back and forth and back and forth because oooo, it’d be so unfair to actually make a friggin decision!”

Meekly, Baker picked at the blankets. “When did this become a decision about leadership?”

“Well it is one now! And I’m the leader!” Snippy slapped my chest with my hoof. “End of story!”

“You can’t just declare yourself the head! I mean,” Princess chuckled with pride. “I’m the one who’s noble by birthright…”
Martyr made my head sink, mumbling, “It would be most fair to put this to a vote.”

“You know, I don’t think these wooden walls are soundproofed.” Baker said lightly. “Wasn’t such a problem before. But now that these conversations have begun to be said aloud, I suppose everyone will hear me yelling at myself.”

“Oh.” Martyr gasped, covering my mouth in shock. You’re right, these are words better thought. I wouldn’t want to disturb anyone…

“Well I like it!” Snippy shouted. “I like the feeling my voice booming in my ears and throat. I like being able to gesture with actual limbs!”

To make a point of it, Snippy began waving and circling my shoulders. Her motions were so fast and violent, it began to make my bruise pound furiously.

Always attentive, Princess scoffed, “What, you adore the feeling of destroying your own voice? Oh, my poor vocal chords…” She tapped my throat. “They shall become so swollen from this chatter…”

Which is why it’s better to set our discussions here, please… Martyr thought.

“Oh goodness no, dearest.” Princess giggled, flicking my foreankles. “I’m just saying that we need to be a little bit more gentle when we speak aloud.”

I sighed heavily and tugged my forelegs out of Princess’ gesture. I tried to tuck myself under the covers, tugging awkwardly at the cloth with my ankles. Maybe Healer Redheart was right. Maybe I should just lie here and try to sleep off this infection of the mind. I closed my eyes…

And Snippy snapped them right back open, glaring at my hooves.

“Oh,” Snippy hissed. “You think you can just sleep us off? Do you really?”

“No, no, that doesn’t make any sense at all,” Princess huffed. “How does one sleep off themselves? Can one really sleep away your own thoughts and opinions?”

“I’m not convinced anymore that all of you are me,” I mumbled. “You’re just delusions of this infection.”

“Awwww… Oh, poor Baker, don’t you think like that.” Awkwardly, Princess wriggled and shifted under the covers, attempting to hug herself. “We’re all driving each other up a wall, aren’t we? This must be so incredibly stressful on me.”

Snippy snorted, “Uh. No duh.”

“But,” Martyr thought quietly, “To assume that we are simply random creations of an infection, with no point, purpose, or reason to exist…”

“Yes, yes!” Princess exclaimed, “We exist because you wanted to self-reflect, and so, we noble parts of you—!”

“Uhg! You’re right! I created all of you!” Snippy buried her head in the pillow. “Now I just hate myself even more! I can’t even run away from this problem! It’s going to follow me forever isn’t it?! That’s it! Sleep! Bedtime!”

Princess huffed, lifting her head just an inch. “Now really…”

And Snippy slammed my head back down again. “No talking! As your leader, I’m the only one allowed to talk!”

Oh right. I’m sorry about that.

“But we never decided who was the primary—“

“BED!”

“But it’s only midafternoon…”

“GOODNIGHT!”

I buried my head into the pillow and growled into it. Or maybe screamed. Or eventually sobbed. Deep inside of me, the part broiling with nausea, I still believed that maybe I could sleep this off. It’s an infection. That’s all this is. That’s all I should treat it as. Eventually it’ll fade away, I’ll go back to being entirely me…

But which me?

The me that I once was, of course.

Oh boy. I definitely look forward to having learned absolutely nothing about myself.

Baker muttered, “But who am I?”

“All of us,” Snippy growled. “All hateful parts of us.”

Princess grinned sympathetically. “Denying it is only going to hurt you more, sweetie.”

“But the last person that I want to be is me,” Baker grumbled.

But. Oh. Martyr mentally simpered. Even her gestures were done mentally, image of her clear in my mind. I mean, entertain the thought, if you like. But really, is denying myself what’s truly causing me stress and infection?

It was just so easy to separate and parse out my parts. They didn’t have anything to do with me anymore. They were parodies of me. A snooty noble. An assertive idealist. An obnoxious brat.

And my last creation, Snippy thought clearly, The most dangerous self-parody. A poor, lost little girl who didn’t know why this was happening to her.

“Don’t,” Baker hissed, “Call me a self-parody.”

If I am a parody of you. And if Princess is a parody. And If Martyr is a parody. Then you don’t have any more claim to the ‘real’ me than any single part. My own hoof jabbed into my chest, and I could feel the tight glare on myself.

“This is not something that’s happening to me.” I said aloud, “I, alone, am doing this to myself.”

Finally, it was silent. Nobody was bickering, not even mentally. I mean, that was it. The finality of it. And for a moment, no part of me had anything to say to that.

“…hello…!”

I open my gummy eyes. When had I fallen asleep? Why did I feel so tired, so cold? It was dark, but not quite dark as pure night. I raised my head an inch, and strained, half aware to hear…

“Luna…?”

I could have sworn… I must have heard my sister. All of my being struggled and strained to hear again, listen for her. That had to be her…

But, distantly, I also heard other ponies talking in another room. Maybe what I heard was an echo from that, warped into something I actually wanted to hear…

I sighed and closed my eyes again. Thinking about Luna. Thinking about myself. Thinking about a way to see myself through this darkness…

I tried to think, to remember an old place. An old memory, following the mental sound of my sister’s voice. In my half-awake logic, I dreamed that maybe, among all these voices in my head, she might be in here as well.

A memory in a dream. I don’t usually have them. Or, I suppose I should say, I remember things in dreams. And sometimes I replay events in dreams. But they’re never accurate, nor do they line up with reality.

But what most defines a dreamed memory is that overwhelming, gut wrenching feeling. As if I was living that horrible moment all over again. Or as if I was encountering the moment for the very first time.

My old room, from when I was a young foal in Canterbury. It existed in a glorious state, one that could only exist in my imagination. My floor was littered with books and toys, gems and little rocks sat on shelves. My four-poster bed was lined with a pink gauzy lace, I could see every clear-cut stitch in the fat and fluffy quilt, and on the bedstand table stood a little lamp…

Oh, I had forgotten that little lamp. It burned oil from a white well, little pictures of black flowers curling along its sides. The top was held aloft by burnt wires, a plate glass lampshade of ornate, white smoked panels.

I reached up to the bedstand table and touched the lantern’s shade lightly with my ankle, feeling the glass’ heat as the flame burned warm, its orange light seeping across my entire room.

I looked back into the crisply shaded space, to the room bent slightly away from me, in subtle diamond shape, where the light fails to reach the corners. Out the window, the city was black as pitch, towers and walls rising like wax candles, bubbling and dripping thickly as they melted from some unseen, evil flame. Again, the image was so vivid and sharp. How rarely it is that I have such clear dreams…

“Is this really a dream?” I asked aloud. “Or have I dropped directly into a thought?”

The fact that I even dared ask that question made the room waver, blurring slightly as my conscious mind questioned it. An intense worry struck me. If I wake up now…

“…so please, answer me…”

“Luna!” I cried. And in a moment more I rushed out the door, house twisting subtly in front of me.

I pounded sideways down an overlarge set of wooden stairs, flank bouncing off the bannister as if I was drawn to it. Somehow, down in the foyer, I was still able to see my sister, standing in the open entrance and staring into the inky streets like a curious little foal.

“Luna no!”

I felt a small tug on my forelegs as I grabbed my sister around the middle. The door slammed shut. I stumbled, light as a feather, and a mass tangling my legs. I bounced off at the entrance of a dark, practically shapeless study.

And I whipped around to hug my little baby sister, still so small and foolish, still able to be tucked neatly between my forelegs.

She mumbled something without words and giggled in her delicate little voice. I nodded like I understood.

“Now, now, Luna.” My own voice gained a slight lilt, a gentle lecture. “Going outside is very dangerous, you know! That was very silly of you to open the door.”

She mumbled wordlessly. I nodded to the top of her head.

“Yes, yes, Luna. Oh goodness, have you eaten yet? I’ve brought home something special for us tonight!”

In front of me, I took a brown paper bag from my mouth and set it gently on the floorboards. The top of Luna’s mane turned to the bag silently.

“We have oats… and an apple, that’s for you! And I think a cranberry orange muffin?” I peered into the bag, tiny objects sitting at the bottom, dwarfed by the gigantic sides of the container. “Ah, there doesn’t seem to be a muffin… But here. It’s all for you, Luna.”

I poured out the pile of oats and white apple slices. Her mane dipped down to look, body so small and frail when compared to the size of her head and hooves.

Oh Luna. Oh poor, poor Luna. Your sister’s doing her best for you.

“Luna, you’re so precious to me.”

Distantly, my sister giggled.

“I’m sorry this was all I could get. Tomorrow, I’ll see if I can get a cherry turnover. Maybe a carrot, or some peas in little pods, or some steamed rice porridge… Strange, how rarely we have some porridge…”

I slowly turned around to the open archway to the kitchen. The doorway pressed in on me, but just like the study, there was no light that could permeate the cloak of darkness over the shelves and ovens…

I felt a cold chill. For real this time. Something was shifting in the kitchen. I heard the clicking of dishes as they were sifted through by something massive and tall, head long and snakelike…

“Why don’t we sleep in the entrance hall, Luna? It’ll be fun. Like a slumber party! A party… where you sleep. That sounds like fun.”

“Hummmmm.”

I turned back. Luna now stood, taller than me, my same age, tugging at a lock of her long mane with her shimmering aura.

“This is how you wanna see me, big sis?”

“Luna! What happened to you?!”

“Oh. I dunno?” She grinned at me, mane falling over her tilted expression. “I grew up?”

“I…I see…”

“So, big sis… Oh, that’s really an exaggeration, isn’t it?” Her hoof poked through the pile of oats and apples. “You didn’t throw me absolutely everything.”

I sniffed, indignant. “Yes I did.”

“You ate didn’t you?” Luna snorted, flicked apples bouncing and rolling past me, into the shadows. “You still ate oats and apples, and snuck pastries when you could!”

“I didn’t sneak pastries,” I huffed, folding my forelegs. “I unashamedly begged for them! For you!”

“And you,” Luna shot back. Her eyes locked on mine, partially hidden by her thick mane. “You ate just as well as I did!”

“Well, I poured my entire savings into keeping you in school!” I loudly retorted, “But you were so glad the moment I stopped sending you! How ungrateful can you be?!”

“Well, hello Snippy!” My sister cried, grinning, “I thought you were supposed to be the Martyr! Why are you yelling at me?!”

“I am NOT Snippy!” I howled, “I lived for you, Luna! I gave you sweat and blood and tears, and you just run around like it’s no big deal! I’m not even your sister anymore! Now, all I am is your friend!”

Then, overwhelmed by an empty feeling of rage and sorrow, I pushed my face into my hooves and wept elegantly. The Martyr who had sacrificed herself, through and through.

The candle buildings outside were melting faster now, black wax seeping and crawling up through our open front door. The kitchen, the sitting room, both were lost to the inky void. I could hear the crack of glass lightly shattering, and knew without seeing the wax oozing through the windows. Among the shadows, I could see more of the hulking shapes, circling, constructed of that same black wax.

Luna looked back at the encroaching city, invading from all sides. She fiddled with her mane calmly, clearly not understanding the danger. Silly, foolish girl.

“You’d be dead without me,” I hissed.

“So bitter,” Luna drawled, still tugging at her mane. “Who knew, Martyr had fangs. Well, I guess that was why you acknowledged her as a flaw, huh? Deep down, you know this isn’t healthy. It’s almost like…” Luna voice began droning on, sounding less and less like her. “My goodness, it’s like a switch. Oh, there’s a way to help? Well, I must help, or it will be the end of me. Because, if I don’t, I’m a bad person, and a worse sister.”

Goop soaking around Luna’s feet, she continued to stand firm, looking down at this poor, pitiful part of me.

“Is that why it’s so hard to accept that your sister’s grown up? Is it really that hard to accept that, at some point, there’s nothing you can do to help?

“Should I,” Luna continued, “Just call you ‘Pride?’”

I looked up from my hooves, still able to clearly feel the salt crusted on my face, the pinch around my eyes. The only thing that existed now was me, and version of Luna, so strong and tall, fully grown and with a noble moon on her flank.

What did she say it meant, again? Decisiveness and intelligence?

Oh, I should have paid more attention to her. That time was so long ago…

“I used to be so strong, Luna,” I mumbled. “What happened to that? Why can’t I just be strong like that? Why can’t I just fix everything?”

“Because it’s impossible?”

“Not for a god—“

“You’re not one yet.”

“Compassion’s not a cruel thing…”

“Then I guess you should work on dividing compassion from self-satisfaction.”

“Yeah,” I mumbled, staring at my hooves. “Yes. Perhaps I should. But, Luna…”

Luna was quiet, the only thing in my dream, thinking to herself, a serious look on her face.

“Was I… Am I a bad sister?”

She looked up to me, and in my own voice, she told me, “That’s something you’ll probably have to ask the real Luna.”

“I…” the dream faded and blurred, hospital room appearing before me as I slowly woke. I turned over, blue hair fading amongst my pink. My heart was thumping painfully, and my stomach rolled with nausea. But right now, I was just so tired. I just wanted sleep.

And…

“I suppose I’ll have to apologize to her…”

My eyes close once more, and in the dreary glow, I remember a ballroom.

Again, remembering in a dream. Never specific. Never quite perfect. The light was so bright here, brighter with the reflection of the marble on every surface, on every pony’s coat. The white and gold mixed in a glittering blur, shapeless. The golden air breathed like a pure broth, papering the throat like a dry wine. Ponies were all around me, surrounding me, but I could barely hear a word for the oppressive silence.

My stride is confident in its elegance. I can feel each limb, hear every muscle creak as they bend and place themselves perfectly. I am a ballerina. The ballroom my stage, and the golden white blurs my audience, rapt in attention. I danced with every delicate limb to a group of still marble subjects. They stood still, frozen and smiling in my presence, eyes lost in the haze of gold and white.

I looked at each dazzled pony, bowing and spinning for them. It is the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen. I’m sure they’re clapping. In the back of my mind, I assume they are. Yet, the dream itself remains silent.

“Hello! Welcome to my presence, my subjects!”

That’s what I’m going to say? Such self-centered words. But yet, they keep on smiling, mouths constructed of fleshy pink soapstone.

“I know you all think of me as precious!” Princess cried, spinning through the miasma of wine to the next set of ponylike statues. “Oh yes, I understand quite clearly I am a thing to be desired. No need to feel ashamed of it!”
I couldn’t take it. Of all the parts of myself, I felt like I hated this part of me the most. I was no longer a Princess. I just stood beside her, scornful and frowning.

“I do not talk like that,” I said.

“Oh?” I danced in front of me, the statue of myself shamefully naked, cutiemark swirling as if the flames themselves were alive. “But certainly you feel like that.”

“No,” I reply to myself. “This is precisely why I left Canterlot. This is not a feeling I wish to harbor.”

“Fine. Then stop. Right now!” I danced away from my statue, bowing before my silently clapping crowd. “Stop letting this feel so glorious!”

What a silly me. I knew exactly what would stop this fantasy from being the wonderful thing it pretended to be. I looked down, and a letter smoldered at my feet. I can’t read the words, the ink blurry and indistinct, parchment stealing the white and gold from the air. But I knew clear enough what the letter told me.

Maybe you were too young for him.

I breathed a deep sigh. Hot tears, or maybe sweat, splattered and soaked the ink.

“I’m not too young to play adult games,” I said, “I am a fully grown mare. I am.”

“It’s not a game,” I retorted. “And I don’t want this.”

“Well, I do, and I’m a part of you, so…” Princess grinned, mane flicking around her shoulders “It’s not that easy to throw away a fairytale reality, is it? Especially since you know that you are the true Princess…”

I turned to myself, in the darkness of my Canterlot room. Even in a glance, I kept turning my head too far, and the world began tilting and swaying with vertigo.

“You will return to Canterlot someday,” the braided-maned Princess bragged from the bed. “You will have to confront both Apple and Blueblood. You can’t run from them.”

“I’ve already gotten away,” I retort.

“Certainly. For now.”

Things grow darker. And they grow colder. I assume they grow colder. With how hot and feverish I’m feeling, the cold seems almost like an afterthought. A ticked checkmark in the back of my brain. I can see now, the blue eyes glittering in the shadows, the perfectly coifed and golden mane…

I recoiled, shivered, dreading going further into the dream or memory, as if it would get awful at any moment.

“Go on, Celestia,” I told myself, voice drawling drunkenly. “What would you say to him?”

“What is the point of this?!” I cried, trying to look away. But the dream, myself, wouldn’t let me see anything but him. “Really?! What is the point of you?!”

“I thought you wanted to understand yourself,” Princess huffed.

“I don’t understand this point!” I shouted at myself. “I don’t understand my need for fawning and mind games and flaunting myself like some kind of exotic pet! I don’t want that! I don’t!”

“And yet again, welcome back Snippy,” Princess said with a little bow. “You just keep popping up, don’t you?”

I frowned, pulling at my bangs, trying to see their color. “No, I’m not...”

“But anyway, you know you don’t want to give up decorum forever.”

Princess smiled and waved to the dark, blackened blanket beside her. It wobbled as I tried to look at it, and for a moment, didn’t seem solid. “Come back to this poor, wretched part of your soul, and remember why you wanted it in the first place…”

I closed my eyes, shivering from the not-cold. Trying to push the dream towards… something. Somewhere where I might be happy... Somewhere light, in some mindset where I might accept myself a little better.

“If I didn’t have this nobility and decorum…”

I opened my eyes, and sat behind a desk. It was a false desk, in a falsely constructed place, with false light and false books and papers. A place that never would exist outside my head, and it showed. Nothing was vivid or distinct, not even the color of the room. Was it the marble of Canterlot? Burnished wood, like Apple’s palace? The black stone of Canterbury? It was none, yet all three, muddled in the details.

I presented to myself, here, suppose I was to write a letter. How would it start?

The pen darted before me, and I wrote with muddy ink and indistinct paper, words that only existed in my head.

“To whom it may concern”

No, no, how about we make up a dignitary. For the experiment.

“Dearest Judge Smenbedeple,”

“It pains me to tell you this, but your…” I paused. “lovely wife, the Lady Diabble, has…” the pen brushed by my nose, tickling it lightly. “Has full control over your seat on the Noble Council of Elders. This decision was not made lightly, and due to your excellent term of service under my wing, I will be reassigning you to…”

“Hm.” It had to be somewhere nice. He had been quite the excellent judge, and really only had to step down because his years were getting to him…

I stared out the window, into the blanket of white and blue clouds.

“I’m being polite to a false man whom I’ve never met and literally made up right at this very moment. It’s automatic, isn’t it?”
No one responded, not even myself. I looked down at the letter. I should probably finish it, but…

I willed the rest of the letter to be as respectful and knowledgeable as I could muster. Words streamed down the page, appearing in even, fancy rows. I signed it, a signature so attentive and gorgeous…

Was I trying to impress the old man? Did I have some ulterior motive for this? Why would I? I simply didn’t want things to come off as sloppy or half-done. Even false dismissals are deserving of some level of respect…

Then, I set it aside, another question being asked by my door.

I looked out into the hall. It was black, shifting and melting, cold and dark and full of thoughts I didn’t dare prod. But with a glance, I came upon the first question. Blue eyes with a body of rolling sludge, the horrible form of the man I thought I loved.

What would I say to him?

I slapped him and laughed and no, no, no, that’s not proper. The dream reset. I cleared my throat.

“Blueblood, as your Princess, I am deeply disappointed in your sense of decorum. Such a brutish move… and on your Princess, of all people! You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Blueblood’s shadow mumbled something that was definitely a weak and frail argument.

“It is with little regret that I officially terminate any relationship with you. You will not become the Chancellor of Canterlot, and I will immediately open up the position for one more suited to the role. Perhaps I will allow you to apply… But with such a black mark on your record, you will have to do much better to prove your abilities to me.”

“Well then. Good day.”

And with that, head held high, I strode away, already thinking of potential candidates, trying to think of merits, other than bank accounts.

I sighed into the shadows.

“You know? I do want this dignity and poise,” I admitted to myself. “That nobility is simply expressing the best of myself. Polite. Respectful. And giving every subject an air of gravitas…”

“Yet it leads to the absolute worst of myself. Eventually, I’ll have to deal with the nobility. I can’t run forever…”

I flipped over and rolled in my bed, finding a colder spot on the pillows, relieving a numbness in my legs.

“Oh, how in the world am I supposed to handle this?”

I was at the Shrine of Loyalty, simple and quick as that. The light was pale, washing out the black stone and washing out the words on the books. The air was shallow, and smelled dry. I occasionally gasped for air, dust motes spinning and sapping the air of moisture.

I felt… enraged. Tearing through books with muted squeals. Hearing them thump as they hit the ground. I was studying mad. Why did this place make me broil with such horrible lies? The books are lies. The future is lies, and the past lied to get here. With a broad sweep of my leg, every book tumbled off the shelves, spinning and spilling guts of paper and blood of ink. My hooves grow wet from stains.

I stepped out the door, and walked into more gray-stained corridors. Yes, I was angry. Here, I was Snippy. Green haired, insides boiling, face burning so the world blurs from pain and tears…

Of course, that anger stemmed from one specific place. My ears ring and ring. There’s something I desperately do not want to see.

But that want of avoidance leads me right to it. A bleached courtyard. Corners gone and faded. Splashed of cloaks thrown in, standing there on the edge of memory.

And a blood-matted mass of fur squatting in front of me, big, lamp-lighted eyes turned up to stare at me.

Snippy didn’t even stop to talk. She walked right up to the lump and kicked it.

“How could you?! How could you?! I hate you I hate you!”

But how could he what?

“It’s just how could he!”

My hoof planted on the fur’s middle, and I felt bones and organs stopping my foot. My eyes turned to the dark archways, to a splattered cloak.

“How could he kill…?”

“How could he lie?!” Snippy barked, “He’s such a liar! He’s always lying and teasing and tormenting me!”

But what does teasing have to do with this. This is an issue in and of itself…

“Uhg, I don’t care! Just look at him!”

I looked down at the mass under my foot. It no longer looked shapeless, yet, something seemed missing. He was faded and warped, I couldn’t look at him directly. I simply had the impression that he was there. There, with his dimly glowing eyes spinning and reflecting in the darkness.

What am I even supposed to be seeing?! Fuh! Stupid…!

“How horrible he is! Uhg! I can’t stand him!”

How could you say something like that, Snippy…?

“Because it’s true. Because we’d be better off… we’d be better off…”

Snippy starts to mumble, words becoming more like feelings than sentences. The world grows darker and darker as she rambles about this time and that time. And how violent he clearly was. And once…

He fell out of a tree once, and I dragged him myself to a doctor.

I hate him.

“Celestia… why?”

I speak, staring into Discord’s eyes. It’s dark, and it’s all I can see. But I feel like I’m lying on grass. That there’s a tree beside me. If I squint, I can see the outlines. Around the scene, hanging in the air of my mind, a word drifts.

Tia.

“It was a cute nickname,” Discord, or maybe just I, said.

“It was pathetic,” I retort. “It didn’t suit me at all. I hated it.”

“No you didn’t shut up.”

Discord snickered. I can hear it, crisp and clear, the sound of his younger squeaking voice. Another roil of rage boils through me.

“It’s like discomfort always flips over to hate,” Discord mocked. “Hate hate hate. Stop hating. Stop it.”

“But I hate it! I hate it!”

“Hate… what now? Huh?”

“You! Stupid!”

Hate…

You know what I hate the most…? When he just rolls in… smiling… tall and grinning. He says something snappy, does something clever, runs from my grasp with a grin and a snicker…

What I hate most is…

“He’s smarter than me.”

Tears swirl the world into a soup of colors, the wetness on my cheeks the only reality.

“I wanted an equal. Someone to talk clever things with. But he’s smarter than me. He’s more clever. He pulls tricks, and he laughs and has fun while he does it.”

“He laughs while he makes me a fool…”

I sob loudly, lost in the dream, echoing through my pillow. I’m in bed, in reality. Of course I never left it.

“I’m not an idiot!” I bawl. “He’s just a jerk!”

“But it’s not right,” Discord sighed, his voice nowhere near his own timbre. “It’s not right to harbor hatred like that. Envy…”

“I do not envy you! Him… I mean…” I sniffled, wiping my face, knee knocking into his bony shoulder. “I don’t want to be him. I want to be someone with decorum. I want to be a noble, mature mare. But with a single trick, Discord can take all of that away from me. He’s not only made me a fool, but also stolen my pride. My nobility…”

Discord sighed, voice light, like it used to be.

“I think you know what the root of this problem is now.”

I nodded slowly, “Yes, I think so.”

I hugged my pillow, dim morning groggily appearing behind me. There was a gentle patter of rain behind me, and I could feel the cold radiating off the glass. My mane was tangled around my head, soaked in cold sweat, tears, and a sticky drool.

“I need to talk to both of you,” I mumbled to myself, “I hope I see both of you soon…”

I nodded to myself, watching my soaked hairs clump, strange colors mixing in the dim light. I could hardly tell what color my hair was at all.

“When, Celestia?" I closed my eyes, asking myself, asking whatever was left of me. "When did I start reacting to everything with such harsh thoughts...?”

Always. Since forever. Stop thinking dumb questions, idiot.

LXVIII : Friends Together VI

The Steadfast Sky : Friends Together VI
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Discord~

We rested atop a cloud of water vapor. One of the very few up in the relentlessly endless blue sky. Distant on the northern horizon, I could see the faded peaks of the Unicorn Mountain Range. Without that landmark, we could have been so easily lost on the open sky.

Wisps and vapor floated away from my every touch, swirling away into small, cottony streams, lighter and more gossamer than anything created by ponykind. It was almost like arts and crafts in by the world’s most elegant spiders. It was beautiful, and yet, really stupid hard to work with. Trying to grip just made my fingers sink it, and pulling with my fingers made the material wisp and separate. I actually had to do things the pony way, balling my hands into ‘hooves’ and kneading the material slowly into the shape I wanted with my knuckles.

Hours passed. The sun rose. I drew the canopy closer. We watched the sky, hidden in shaded cotton, drifting and drifting further from the earlier nightmare.

We were alone. Very alone.

Eh.

I don’t think either of us minded it so much.

“You mean to tell me,” Luna said, “That you could walk on clouds all along?!”

“What counts as all along?” I asked.

“Like, since before I met you?!”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. Theoretically.”

Luna made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a squeal. In excitement, her wings sporadically scattered several drifting cloud wisps. But, with a nervous laugh, she struggled and folded the wings back to her sides, wincing as she did it wrong.

I had taken off Loyalty and stowed it away. It just didn’t feel like it fit, like it was constantly threatening to slip off. But Luna still wore Honesty. It looked wonderful in her lightly billowing mane, almost making the hairs themselves sparkle.

She asked, “Why didn’t you tell me you could do something so awesome?!”

“I dunno. I just don’t think about it…?” I tugged at the hair on my chin, pulling it idly between two knuckles. “Okay, confession time. I’ve lived most of my life on the ground.”

“Yeah, I figured!”

“So really,” I continued, “Why would I want to go sit on some dumb clouds?”

“Well I don’t know. Isn’t it just a thing every pony think about?” Luna asked. She grinned up at the cloud roof, hooves mindlessly bouncing off the puffy material. “What sane pony doesn’t look up in the sky and think ‘oh man, those look really soft, I really wish I could sit on a cloud!’”

“I don’t know, but, think about it.”

I stretched out my claws and pointed down at the rolling black mass beneath us.

I said, “Do the clouds look particularly soft and inviting from the ground?”

“I guess not. But.” She flopped sideways, nuzzling her nose and limbs under the vapor. “These not-gross clouds are so soft. And they just feel… more clean, more natural, you know? I can fall asleep, here and now…”

There was a moment where everything was quiet. Luna shifted and turned quietly on her side, as if she was trying to find the right position for a good catnap. I watched as her hooves dipped into the material, body sinking slightly, wings trying to settle back down…

Then she popped back up as if nothing happened, head just barely missing out on bashing my chin.

“So!” she said, “I can do this because of my transformation?”

I nodded. “Yes. The magic for it is entirely in your wings.”

“That doesn’t make any kind of sense!” she gleefully cheered. “Where did it come from? How come the magic only works when it’s in my wings? Man, magic is so weird and random, isn’t it?!”

I shrugged again. “Yeah, beats me. Elements did it? So crazy.”

Luna stopped. She frowned. “I was being facetious, you know.”

I nodded stonily. “Yes. I know.”

“So, seriously,” she said, calming down. “You always know about this magic stuff. Why…?”

“It’s not a really big answer. That’s just how it works for Pegasus,” I shrugged. “Concentration of petrichor in the wings, which means the magic focuses on flight, and I guess, clouds? Makes Pegasus light enough to fly. So the bones in the rest of their bodies don’t have to sacrifice bone density…”

I trailed off. I didn’t think Luna needed to hear the whole list of differences between Pegasi and True Birds. That, and, no matter how comfortable I was with Luna, anatomy lessons were learned with Ruin, and recounting them just brings up a whole slough of foul memories.

“I’m sure there’s a more specific reason why it works like it does,” I finally said, “But I can’t get more specific than that.”

Luna nodded. “Yeah, okay.” And, after a brief pause. “I still feel weird that I never learned any of this.”

I simply replied, “Maybe it’s weird that I did learn this.”

“Hm…”

And, for a while, things grew quiet. We rested under the wispy canopy, keeping a vague eye out for anything unusual, but mostly trying to make up for lost sleep. The breeze blew us vaguely eastward. Sometimes I encouraged us south, but it seemed almost pointless. We didn’t have a clue where we were without the roads or towns.

Yet, despite seeing no griffins, and under the threat of being lost forever, neither of us ever discussed heading back down below the clouds. We had found some sort of empty peace, drifting along. Not a care in the world. Just me and her, alone in the beautiful, sunny sky.

But silence couldn’t last forever. And, actually, I was surprised when Luna suddenly started talking.

“Sun’s getting low,” she said slowly, flopped lazily on her side. “What time do you think it is? Four? Five?”

I shrugged. “Hard to say. I can’t check without burning out my eyes.”

She chuckled softly. Then said, “You know, it’s odd.”

“Yeah? What is?”

“Didn’t get to eat anything all day, and for a while, I kind’ve felt it. Yet…” Her face scrunched up, in a sort of confusion. Or maybe disgust. “Yet… I don’t feel hungry anymore. Just this somewhat… strange empty feeling.” She craned her neck up to look at me. “Do you think, the smooze…?”

I stared down at her. “Don’t tell me you’ve never gone a day without eating before.”

“Not that I know of?” she replied, frowning.

“Yeah, that feeling’s normal,” I said with a shrug, “Nothing to worry about yet. We should be more worried about water, really.”

She opened her mouth, then closed it, scrunched expression never leaving her face. With what seemed to be a monumental effort, Luna nudged herself a little closer to me, her wings twitching slightly as she settled by my side. I blushed, but let her be there, trying not to see nervous by her presence.

I mean, why would I be? She’s always been by my side, all day long. What does a few more inches make?

Firmly, she said, “Maybe it would be safe to dig our way through again.”

“Well,” I sighed, “I guess drifty cloud time couldn’t have lasted forever. Well, maybe it could.” A random thought spilled out my mouth, and I didn’t particularly want to stop it. “You know. Since you’re an immortal alicorn. You could probably stay up here forever.”

I feel like that might actually be nice. An eternity, drifting, just sitting next to Luna and talking, for all time…

And you know, she was right. About what was said yesterday, yet feels like a million years ago.

When I try to be comfortable with her… No. I can be comfortable with her, without even trying. I am comfortable. And I don’t ever want to leave.

I tuck an arm around her shoulder, and it feels like the most natural thing in the world.

Yet, she shook her head. “I don’t feel immortal, and we can’t stay.”

Oh yeah. There was a sentence I said, that she was replying to.

“So um,” I said, peering down at the solid floor of black, swirling doom. “Thinking of tunneling through with another sonic blast?”

“Yeah… maybe… Wait!” Her head shot up, suddenly a hundred times more awake. “No, we can’t!”

“Huh?” I said, surprised. “Why not?”

“What if there’s a town down there?!” she yelps. “A blast like that could do some serious damage!”

“Oh. Right. Sorry.” I peer over her head again, gathering my thoughts. “But, to be fair, I feel a bit nervous about just digging our way through that stuff. Is that strange?”

“No. After what we saw…” She shook her head. “But we’ve definitely drifted away far enough to get away from whatever that was, right?”

“Probably…”

“I mean, we havn’t seen a single thing up here!” Luna asserted. “No griffins, no Stallion, not even any rainclouds. That monster cloud, whatever it was that was producing the Smooze, it was something planted there. Specifically, just to get us.”

“You know…” I said, absentmindedly. “I did hear a number of wingbeats before that rain started. Had to be the griffins putting it into place, or seeding the clouds, or whatever.”

Luna nodded firmly, I guess considering the conversation settled. “So,” she said confidently, “Going back down? It’s not as much of a problem.”

I sighed, unable to take my gaze from our destination down below.

“Alright,” I said, “We’ll try. But, if there’s any funny business at all, we’re blasting our way back up and thinking of another plan.”

She nodded again. “Okay.”

I stood up and stretched my wings out. They felt knotted, a little worn out, but with a bit of stretching I easily heaved myself into the air. The cloud canopy, so close around us, started to beat and fray in the little gusts. I ignored it, we didn’t need to keep it together anymore.

I placed my hands around Luna’s middle again, tucking my hands under her saddlebags, trying to stay just aloft above her. Her own wings shot sideways, more out of surprise than control. She glanced back over her shoulders, confused. But the moment passed, and with a few deep breaths, she evened out, accepting it.

“Discord?”

“Uh-huh?”

“You going to be okay?” She glanced up at me, horn bouncing off my chin. “I mean, have you recovered your magic? How much do you think you have?”

I tightened my grip, unsteady.

“Just assume that I’m still out,” I said, “Okay?”

“Okay…”

She took a deep breath. I could feel her fur shifting between my fingers. New best thing to happen today.

I said, “Here we go.”

I dug my fingers under her legs. Her wings slapped and flapped awkwardly, catching air only for the grace of the magic in her bones. I heaved my own wings, and we jerked upwards. Clouds pushed against my back, spinning and separating in the gusts.

Slowly, I said, “Three… Two…”

I heard Luna inhale sharply. Her new limbs wooshed, and we jerked upwards, lifting into the scattered vapor.

“One…”

Instantly, I tilted downwards. We were off.

Luna squealed loudly as we dropped, wind roaring past us. I beat my wings wide, trying to keep us from accelerating too quickly. But the weight I was carrying felt made my wings feel like they were about to be ripped out of their sockets. This was even worse than going up. Trying to slow down was going to rip me apart.

I tried to shout over the wind, “Luna!”

She froze, wings stuck awkwardly out at her sides. “What?!” she shouted back.

“I need you to—!”

It didn’t matter. It a moment more, we had hit the clouds.

In an instant, the hot, solid clouds rolled over our heads. I felt like I was being uncomfortably squeezed into a strange position. Like a tight, sweaty blanket had suddenly decided to attack me. The stink was unbearable. But I didn’t let go. If Luna fell out of the clouds before I did… The ground was not that far from the sky. What if I couldn’t catch up to her in time?

“Weird, gross!” Luna squealed. “Weird, really gross!”

Trying to find a foothold in the thick mass, I shouted down, “Just kick your way through it Luna!”

“Uhg! These clouds feel even nastier when they’re solid!” Luna moaned, batting at the clouds with all her limbs, new and old. “Just breathing them was bad enough… what is this stuff?”

“And you wonder why I don’t like sitting on clouds!” I shouted.

“These are not clouds!” Luna moaned, “They’re not fluffy, or light, or Ew! EWEW!”

“What?!” I cried, “What is it?!”

“It’s colder down here!” she said. “Wet… I think… Discord! I think it’s still raining!”

“What?!”

I kicked violently, but before the words even got out of my mouth, I felt it too. The clouds were colder than normal. Wet, and greasy. Like lard, rubbed into my skin by sweat-soaked cotton.

“Okay,” I declared, “That is nasty.”

“I told you so!” she called, “But, oh jeez, you think…”

I completed her thought without even thinking. “More smooze? No. Can’t be.” Coan’t I doubt it. Yet, my fingers dug into Luna’s fur. She barely noticed. “We drifted for so long.”

“But the rain… OH!”

Luna dropped out the other side, and her weight dragged me out as well, into a cold world of steady rain. Bits of the dark fluff stuck to our wings, stubbornly coating them. Ignoring the stuff, I beat my wings a few time and stopped out fall before it started. We soared above the muddy treetops, the faded and washed out ground, hovering over a muted world. The rain was steadily soaking us through, sticking and rolling off the clinging bits of cloud.

“It doesn’t feel right,” Luna said, hanging limply from my arms.

“What doesn’t?” I asked.

“The rain.”

I thought about that. For a moment, I stopped flapping my wings, gliding on empty air. I could feel the rain more clearly now, the flow of it across my wingspan. It felt dirty, yes, but somehow, that didn’t seem so strange…

“It doesn’t feel like goop either,” I noted, “We’re just so used to the clean rain in Canterlot. This stuff has got… you know.” I glanced up. “Dark clouds in it.”

Finally, I spotted a break in the treeline. A simple road wound through the trees, yellow and sandy dirt a clear line in the muddy landscape. I banked towards it, drifting down and down, closer and closer. My wings were growing knotted from holding them out straight, from the weight, but I didn’t need to last much longer.

“Next town, let’s find an umbrella,” Luna said. Then, with a small laugh, “I mean, you did keep the money, didn’t you?”

“Why would I throw it away?” I grunted. “How dumb do you think I am?”

She laughed again, but beyond that, she gave me no response.

Finally, the ground sped up under our feet. I heard Luna sharply inhale, and her legs began kicking at the sandy mud. I let her go. She squealed, and I heard a thud behind me. With a few more aching flaps, I dropped, skipping and hopping from the speed. I dug my toes in. Cold mud engulfed my hands, and splattered up my arms.

I stopped. Eventually.

But.

I shook a paw. Wet mud splattered back onto the ground.

Yeah, that’s what I wanted first thing back on the ground. Being cold, wet, and covered in dirt. Great.

There was a strangled shout. I snapped around, mud squelching between my toes.

“Luna?!”

“Sorry!” Luna cried. She was frantically swiping the mud from her shoulder. “It’s nothing! Just the mud felt funny. Thought it might be…”

She stopped, and took a deep breath.

“You sure this rain doesn’t feel strange to you?” she asked.

“No,” I replied. “It’s fine. Just water.”

The rain was cold, certainly. But it wasn’t numbing. It didn’t move when hit. The soil felt sticky, sure, but in this rain, it’d be strange if it wasn’t. This was neither the sticky mist, nor the clumpy downpour. This was just slightly dirty-feeling rain.

But it nagged at me. And clearly, it nagged at Luna much more. We walked in silence, slowly letting our cloaks soak up the rain. After a little bit of walking, some references to the map, and some time spent making sure we both had eaten, it felt like a time to experiment. Just a little bit.

With some hesitancy, I created a simple cup and let it fill as we walked. When I finally felt it was full enough, we both craned our necks over the little receptacle, trying to see what the water was made of. It was clear. Not black, nor muddy. But… perhaps, a little cloudy? With some turning and twisting, I could make out a sort of film on the water, a few specks of black material…

“You know...” Luna said, eyes turned up to permanent sky- roof. “I can’t believe I never wondered this. But. What in the world are those clouds made of?”

“The Pegasus and griffins put them into place,” I replied emptily, “Maintain them.”

“But how? With what?” Luna frowned. “All that time in Canterlot, and we never thought to ask…” Suddenly, her frowned deepened. She turned to me. “And how did you know it was the Pegasus who put them there?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it.

How did I know? I mean, I know what I know. But was it something I learned in the castle, many, many years ago…?

“It just sounds right to me, you know…” I said slowly. “Ruin told me, when I was younger, I think? But I feel like something happened out here too… You know. With that Pegasus.”

Luna stared at me, nonplussed.

“She had a brand over her cutie mark? The one with the feather bangles?” I pointed over my shoulder. “The ones clipped to her wings?”

“Oh!” She stopped, hoof over her mouth. “Oh. Wow. That was such a long time ago… I had nearly forgotten. She didn’t tell us about the clouds, though…”

“But she did create some,” I noted.

“Did she…?” Luna asked.

“When she flew, yeah.”

The conversation didn’t go much further. We mumbled a few more ideas, but after such a long, long day of running, hiding, and worrying, we didn’t have the energy anymore to discuss. We had spent plenty of time in the rain by that point, and had seen no other reason to fear. What else was there to do? What really could we do?

But after a long, gloomy silence, Luna finally spoke up, quietly staring into the filmy puddles.

“We spent way too much time in Canterlot, didn’t we?” She softly asked. “We abandoned so, so very many ponies…”

I nodded, “Consider this making up for lost time.”

“Yes… Yes, I will.”

~æ~

A week’s travel spent miserable in the rain. The dirt paths, already pushed to the edge of poor maintenance, were reduced to a grainy soup. Ditches beside the road were well on their way to being considered brown rivers or new, very muddy ponds. In all the time we spent travelling, I don’t think I ever saw a not-stuck cart on the road. Even the towns were reduced to bare storefronts and pooling lamplight puddles.

Mostly, be it town or outskirts, we were left alone, spending days and without a soul in sight. We eventually did buy ourselves a proper umbrella, because maintaining a constant illusion above our heads can really wear on a guy. But a colored piece of cloth couldn’t save us from the mud, the puddles, or accidentally tripping and sliding into a shallow ditch river.

But. After a long week of being ground-bound, soaking wet, and miserably cold. Our warped and water-stained map finally, finally led us true.

A tall, white building rose from between the trees, barely visible in the constant pattering rain. The garden was overrun. Lumps of bushes pushed their way over walkways and inched over walls. A cracked fountain slowly spilled water over its sides, creating a water trap of floating leaves and twigs. After seeing Honesty’s tomb abandoned, this location almost seemed to be just as empty, almost forlorn. But there were a few little things that pointed to it being inhabited. There was an occasional lantern-light in the windows, and the dead leaves slicking the walkways seemed stomped-down by the regular passage of hooves.

“So this is it,” Luna mumbled, “So. The plan was…”

“Sneak in,” I repeated dully, for what felt like the thousandth time.

“Since, you know,” Luna said, “they might be the ones reporting to The Shadow Stallion.”

“Caution’s best,” I recited.

“Yes,” she grunted, nodding. “Should be.”

“On the other hand,” I said, “I’m wet and cold and sick of this stupid rain.”

Luna loudly moaned. “Oh buh-jeebus, me too.”

“So. I vote for trashing the plan. Let’s just go in there and grab us a stupid rock.”

“One hundred percent with you there.”

I started to make a direct beeline for the front door, reasoning solid as the rock we were after. Dead leaves squelching under our feet, we tromped towards the door with a dead energy, driven by our purpose. Get inside building.

Just… get inside.

I snapped the umbrella shut, rain lightly pattering off my cloak. My numb fingers curled around a thick copper handle, and with a yank, the heavy door wobbled open, groans announcing our entrance.

Even through my tired haze, I was struck by just how large the place was. Spreading out in front of me, I saw buttloads old tile and varnished wood. From here, it seemed like there was no roof, just floor after floor stacked up and up.

Directly in front of the double doors, on the opposite side of the foyer, was a desk manned by a mare, notes floating around her head in a careful, magical order. But, looking down, the space right in front of me was scuffed and muddied from dozens of wet hooves. I could just barely see a stallion absentmindedly circling the muck with a tattered gray mop, splashing and pushing the filth around in almost painterly circles. On second glance, that stallion looked like half of his face had been blown off…

Yeah, that looked like a good sign.

“Pardon,” I mumbled, heaving myself through the doorway. I tried to leave behind the muck and leaves that were stuck between my fingers. I mean, I’m not going to be the guy to make the mopping stallion’s job harder.

I think he noticed my attempts at politeness. He stopped circling his mop, and nodded kindly in my direction. Cool. But as soon as I peeled off my dampened cloak, he froze. Even though he only had one eye, I felt like he was staring.

I huffed, a dumbjoke suddenly coming to mind.

“What?” I grunted. “Never seen a Draconequus before?”

“Er, can’t say I have, sir,” the stallion weakly chuckled back.

Luna clomped up beside me, nudging off her own cloak. I wondered why she wasn’t using magic, but as soon as she lowered her head, I noticed I couldn’t see her horn. She must have thought that was easier to hide than her wings, which became readily apparent as soon as she peeled off her cloak.

You know what was also readily apparent? Her golden tiara. She didn’t even think to hide it.

“Luna,” I whispered. She turned to me.

“Huh?”

“Your tiara.”

She blinked, then raised a hoof to Honesty.

“Oh. Um,” she glanced over to the two hallway ponies. “Whoops.”

Quickly, she grabbed the jewelry in her ankle, and stuffed it into her bag. But of course they had seen. Why wouldn’t they have? We must have made for the absolute strangest couple they had ever seen.

“Welcome to the Sanatorium,” the desk mare finally piped up, almost as an afterthought. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Sanatorium?” I asked.

Luna nudged me with her muddy hoof, leaving a small stain in my fur. “A couple of the villagers called this place that, Discord.”

“Oh yeah. Anyway… uh…” I shook a little water from the fur in my arm, trying to get the most of it outside and failing. Geez. I could really use a towel right now. “So…”

Luna blankly wandered over to the desk pony. Direct and to the point. That’s my Luna.

Luna gently reared up, trying to get her forefeet on the desk so she could talk with the mare face to face. Still just a bit too short, I guess. But it seemed like she pushed off the ground a bit too hard. For a moment, her legs and wings flailed wildly, trying to not tumble over. Papers scattered and spun away from her, held in place only because the desk pony scrambled to keep them in her aura.

Eventually, her forefeet landed on the desk with a heavy clunk. Luna waited a moment more before speaking, as if she was afraid she’d fall. Her face was a flushed purple under her plastered wet hair.

Luna cleared her throat, trying to push her wings back into place.

“Okay,” she said, “Here’s the scoop.”

“Yes ma’am?” Apparently recovered from the odd display, the desk mare quietly drifted a piece of paper in front of her, pen at the ready.

“We’re looking for a rock,” Luna proclaimed.

The desk mare’s pen twitched. Retreated. The mare looked up from her page, befuddled.

“A rock, you say?” she asked.

“Yes. A rock,” Luna continued to assert. “A rock by a statue of an alicorn, if you know what I mean…”

Luna would almost sound threatening if she didn’t seem absolutely ridiculous. It was like the beginning of a bad joke. A Pegasus and a Draconequus walk into a hospital…

Strange. The desk mare was glancing over at me now. I waved. She hesitantly waved back.

“So,” the mare said slowly, “You’re pilgrims?”

“Yeah,” I called over, “Sure.”

“No offense meant, um, sir and ma’am. Just, the pilgrims we meet tend to be quite a bit older…” She laughed nervously, setting aside her paper and pen. “But yes, the statue. It’s…” she grimaced, and looked behind her. “Oh, I am sorry…”

“Yes?” Luna demanded, “What?”

“But it’s actually out in the back gardens.” Quietly, she pointed to another door, around the side of the grand staircase. In a light voice, trying to put this as delicately as possible, the desk pony said, “In the rain…”

Luna made a loud strangled sound. The desk pony jumped back a little, bouncing off the rear wall. She mumbled some apologies, but Luna had already sunk into her forelegs, mumbling death, destruction, and a dire need for some hot chocolate.

“I mean, it doesn’t even have to be hot chocolate,” Luna groaned.

We squelched through the rain-soaked back gardens, rain pattering softly on our umbrella. While the front felt spongy from the soaked and crushed grass, the backyard seemed even wilder than the front. The bushes and shrubs, once clearly trimmed hedges, had grown into large, wild forests, with jutting branches waving nearly ten feet in the air. The ground wasn’t just spongy, but neglected and soupy mud, filled with branches, leaves, and earthworms.

“I could just really, really, really go for something warm.” Luna continued, “Doesn’t even have to be tasty. It could be oatmeal. Discord. Discord, are you hearing me?” Luna spun around, face contorted into something almost comedically sad. “I hate oatmeal. Hate it. It’s mushy and gucky. But I could so go for a bowl. I could.”

I smiled weakly. Despite being exhausted, I clicked my claws. A mug of brown fluid popped in front of her, hovering on a little set of wings, letting off faint wisps of steam.

“I wouldn’t make you suffer the horrors of oatmeal, Luna,” I said.

“Pfft. Thanks.” Her aura glittered to life, and she drank. “No, no, it’s not the same if it doesn’t warm me from the inside. Sorry, Discord.”

I shrugged, “Maybe I’ll work on that next.”

“Yeah…” she turned forward again. Yet, she didn’t let go of the mug. I don’t know about her, but it warmed me to see her continuing to drink my not-hot chocolate.

“Hey,” Luna said suddenly. “Look.”

It was just a pale lump in the rain, almost ghostly in the dark sheets of midday darkness. But, as we approached, it was clearly the sleeping statue of Paleheart.

His sides we plastered in chopped bits of grass. A windswept branch had fallen on its back, leaves still fresh and green. Lacking any sort of pedestal, it almost seemed to be sinking into the mud, held aloft only by the thick blanket of plants on all sides.

Dully, I said, “This has got to be the saddest state we’ve ever found a statue in.”

Nose crinkled over her mug, Luna nodded. “Yeah…”

“He’s not even in a mausoleum, or guarded by a bunch of traps, or surrounded by Illuminators,” I continued, “He’s just stuck in a back field, like nobody cared. I mean. They couldn’t have just left him…”

Through the sheets of rain, I examined the stonework. But up close it looked so fine, so perfectly crafted into an ultimate expression of quiet peace. And the hair was just unreal. I could almost see each individual strand, thin as spider webs, standing resiliently against the softly pattering rain.

“Okay. It really is him,” I said. “That just makes me mad.” I looked over to Luna, passive over her mug of hot chocolate. “I mean… this guy was their god. How come Paleheart gets nothing but a field? Why was he abandoned?”

Luna frowned, mug slowly lowering.

She said, “You seem so passionate about this…”

“Do I?” I frowned down at myself, “I don’t know why I would be…”

Quietly, Luna circled the statue. She lowered the mug to the ground, and I slowly let it fade away. My mind was elsewhere now, thinking quietly, turning my thoughts over and over. Yes, seeing Paleheart here, like this made me mad… But what about Bookends, or even Golden Jubilee? They were abandoned, left in rotting tombs with no one to attend them but monsters…

And, retroactively, I almost began to pity them as well. All of them, just abandoned, nobody left to give a shit about them. Like they were used up the moment they transformed. They broke, and were shuffled aside. The respectful burial they received was almost token. Nobody really cared anymore.

Nopony existed anymore but the monster.

I shivered, rubbing my arm.

“Oh, the poor thing…” Luna’s voice drifted over to me, encouraging me back from my thoughts. “Discord, look.”

I came around to the other side, and froze. Thick lines seemed to be gouged into his flank, the rain welling in the cracks, leaving black rivers from the gashes. I was suddenly struck with the terrifying image of the wounds bleeding black blood.

I winced, and looked away. “Paleheart…”

“He looks peaceful at least,” Luna commented. “Looks like he just laid down… went right to sleep. In stone.” Luna glanced up at me, “I mean, compared to the others… The twisted, the screaming, the attacking…”

I nodded, wondering. Paleheart must have certainly turned into a Nightmare… But nothing about him seemed nightmarish. And the records I read never mentioned any sort of rampage…

“So,” Luna said suddenly, “The Element should be nearby.”

I nodded. Thought a moment. Snorted. “Where would it even be hiding? Underground? There’s nowhere to put it.”

Luna grinned weakly, “Maybe they stuck it in the bushes.”

I snickered, despite myself. “Yeah. Nobody will think to look there. It’s not deep, meaningful, or significant in any way. Best hiding place ever.”

We lapsed into a moment of silent thought. I walked back around the statue. If I stayed on this side, my eyes would just stay glued to the rain-bleeding wounds. Where was the Element? Where could it possibly be?

In the silence, I heard something. Through the light drumming of rain, I heard the steady, rhythmic squelching of running hooves beating through mud and dead leaves.

“Luna,” I asked, “You hear that?”

Luna stepped closer, peering around Paleheart’s front. She said, “Someone’s coming from the hospital.”

I turned. A white figure with a strangely colored swirl of a mane was picking through the rain, towards us, full tilt. There was a shout, in the distance, maybe directed our way. But it didn’t come from the approaching pony.

“Yeah?” I called, “Hello?”

The figure stumbled. It’s trot slowed. More of it became distinct through the sheets of dark rain. Her, for it looked like a her, mane was a pick of random colors. Light pink. Light violet. Light blue. But with every step, the mane seemed to shift, like the rain was messing with it, washing them out. She was pale, with a splash of yellow drifting in and out of sight as she walked.

She stopped, right along the line of hedgerows. Right before the meadow. Just stopped, and stared.

Hesitantly, she raised her voice.

“Hello... guys?”

It clicked. I froze. The only sound was the drumming of rain, battering our cloaks and plastering her hair to her neck.

Standing there, frozen in the rain with a mane a swirl of colors, was, just simply, Celestia.

LXIX : Together & Alone

The Steadfast Sky : Together & Alone
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Luna~

“Celestia!”

As soon as I saw her. I ran, mud splashing up my belly, cloak flying behind me, horn exposed in the rain, my wings struggling and batting against the heavy cloth of my cloak, trying to beat themselves free. I didn’t care! I just ran right into her and slapped my soggy legs around her, pulling my sister close. She was cold, stiff, so we were both quickly on our way to drenched. But I didn’t care! I didn’t, not at all!

I missed her! I missed her so bad! I missed her from the moment we left without her. I mean…

“You left without saying anything, Celestia!” I cried, “You could have at least said goodbye to me!”

“Y-yeah, I know…” she stammered, “Sorry…”

“Oh,” I continued, “if we had just talked, I thought, maybe we could have worked out something…”

“S-sorry…”

“Oh, but I’m not mad at you!” I drew back, grinning broadly. “And I’m sorry we didn’t leave a light out for you either! After all the crazy things that just happened... Well, I thought it was best we didn’t use our Elements for a while, you know? Or, really, you wouldn’t know! Oh so much to explain…!”

I chuckled, a stupid, drunken sound. I was in a tizzy, words just bumbling all over themselves. I didn’t care how they sounded or… or whatever! Did I sound stupid? I felt stupid! But it was okay! Oh, I was shivering, a great fear leaving me. I thought we’d never find her…

Blankly, she mumbled, “Elements…” It took me a moment to remember what she was talking about!

“Oh, but!” I drew back a small step, beaming. She didn’t return the smile. But I knew what would cheer her up! “Loyalty’s all better now, you know!”

That caught her attention. My sister’s weary eyes snapped into a confused frown, eyes drifting downwards. Her hair surged green, tips blackening. Odd. For a moment, I wondered if it was a random effect, or responding to her moods or… Well, it was a strange thing in the first place that Celestia’s hair was acting like that!

She started mumbling. Words hissing quietly between her teeth, low enough where she might’ve thought I didn’t hear.

“… don’t deserve such noble honor… little…”

“Now don’t get down on yourself, Celestia!” I happily chided, “This Element chose you, and you deserve it the same as we do.”

I yanked my bag forward and immediately went for the proper pocket. If Celestia could see this, then maybe she wouldn’t feel so down on herself…

“It’s not in the same form, but…”

I drew out the noble crown Loyalty, spindly gold whole and sparkling, gemstone bright and cheery. Not even the dull rain could diminish its otherworldly beauty. It was almost like it had a light all its own… which it did, didn’t it? My Element, Discord’s Element, both were the same. Bright under our wet clothes, bright through the dreariest rain ever.

“But it’s whole,” I continued, “It’s whole, and it’s yours.”

My sister’s face turned blank, staring firmly at Loyalty. Pink washed out the green mane color in an instant, flowing downwards as if the rain was washing it away. She raised a hoof, and it twitched over her chest as blue and purple started spilling out from her roots…

Well, she wasn’t talking down to herself, so she may be happier? In a way…?

Strangely, instead of lifting the tiara with her own aura, Celestia instead reached out her hoof. I thought she meant to just… touch it, or something. But then, she took the tiara by its band, holding it in her ankle. She turned the Element this way and that, her expression growing gloomier and gloomier, mane rolling with dollops of color…

I heard the sound of rain splattering off cloth, and Discord came squelching up beside us. His steps were hesitant, like he was uncertain if he should say anything. But after a quick glance my way, he was offering my sister a bright and cheery smile.

“Celestia,” he said warmly, “Good to see you again.”

“Discord…” she mumbled. She looked up at the both of us, then back down again, at the Element grasped in her ankle. “I’ve got to… talk to both of you…” She nodded back behind her. “Please…”

“Sure!” Discord said, moving past us, “I’m all for getting out of this horrible rain!”

“Oh yeah!” I laughed, “Uhg, I was so happy to just be dry. We’ve been walking in this for a week, Celestia! A week!”

She mumbled, “That sounds terrible.”

“It was,” Discord asserted, “Still is. How about we get inside?”

Well, I guess that was that. I followed after my sister, glancing back at the statue of Generosity. In passing, I wondered where The Element was. It had to be here somewhere.

But right then, I didn’t want to worry about that. I had just found my sister! We had so much to catch up on, and so many questions. I mean, how’d she wind up here? How’d her mane get like that? Heck, maybe Celestia had already found the Element! I hope we didn’t freak her out… She’s so quiet now…

Discord and I were both eager to get out of the rain, but Celestia didn’t seem to have that same urgency. She hung back, or stood a good few feet away from us, avoiding our eyes. Did she not want to see us? Was something wrong? That just made me want to rush more. It’s not good to avoid these problems!

I just needed to talk to her, a nice long chat, out of this horrible, oppressive rain.

It didn’t take long at all to get back to the hospital. Celestia reluctantly rushed to catch up to Discord and I, and we let her be the first to the door. She offered us a few darting glances, then moved to open the door with her teeth. Was she hiding her magic? But her horn was so plainly visible… Quickly, I remembered to hide my own horn.

But before my sister even touched the door, she froze, and scrambled back down the slick stairs. I frowned, opened my mouth to ask what the problem was.

The heavy door swung outward, forced open by a bright purple aura. It groaned loudly as it wobbled, nearly bashing into the outer wall before it was caught. Standing, framed in the doorway, was a blue pony with curly hair, wire glasses neatly set on her snout. A healer’s cutie mark was on her flank, and she looked –

“When we let you out of your room,” the healer snapped down at Celestia, supremely irritated, “It still does not mean you can run amok willy nilly! Please, you’re not well yet, and—“

“It’s… Sorry, Healer Redheart…” Celestia slowly pointed to the both of us. “My… um, family…”

“Your family?” Her posture slowly straightened into something more professional. Her eyes drifted over me, and she said, “Well it’s nice to…”

Healer Redheart’s neatly drifted over to Discord. Her eyes snapped wide, and she stumbled back, bashing off the wall, gulping loudly for air.

“Draconequus?!” she gasped.

“Wow! I think that’s the first time somebody’s reacted to me in terror,” Discord joked loudly, grin toothy and fake. “How long did that take?”

“Um… over a year?” I gently joked back. “That sounds about right…”

Celstia looked stunned, “H-healer Redheart?”

The healer remained frozen, backside glued to the side wall. Her eyes followed Discord as he pushed past me, mumbling about the stupid rain and wanting to get freaking inside. I walked in uneasily, watching Redheart as she slowly fell back into a reasonable posture. But she still seemed on edge, and she never could take her eyes from my friend.

Firmly, I told her, “Discord’s not going to hurt anybody.”

“Got no reason to,” Discord huffed, “Really. Don’t mind me.”

“I just… I simply had no idea.” Healer Redheart mumbled, “So young, and you’re working for The… Our Glorious Leader, The Shadow Stallion.”

Discord laughed. And I admit, it was my own gut instinct to deny the claim instantly. I think under different circumstances, I would have.

But right now, we didn’t even know if she was working for The Stallion or not. She was clearly afraid of The Shadow Stallion, sure. But that didn’t mean a thing. Not a thing at all…

So I said nothing. And, taking my cue, Discord said nothing either. He just yanked off his cloak and stared at his feet, wings flicking stiffly as he shook the water off his back.

“We’re just here for Celestia, ma’am,” I said plainly, smiling. “No need to trouble yourself, alright?”

I thought it might help ease her mood. No need to worry about what The Stallion wanted if we were just passing through, right? Yet, Redheart looked confused.

She asked, “You mean, Miss Helios?”

Celestia made a terribly small sound and buried her face in her ankle, green and black seeping down her mane in a flash.

Darn it. I think we suck at this.

And yet, Redheart either didn’t question it, or couldn’t drum up the courage to ask for clarification. She mumbled a few things about how Miss Helios was still ill, that there was an empty room for us, and that she had other patients to attend to. And just like that Celestia quietly lead us upstairs, blankly directing us to our own room, one right next to hers. Finally, we could hang our cloak to dry, and make sure our belongings weren’t too badly soaked.

Immediately after slapping his cloak over the coat hanger, Discord declared, “I don’t want to push this too far.”

“Yeah, I agree,” I said with a nod, “But we can use the cover story. Say we’re here for the Element…”

“I don’t like it,” he retorted, “It’s the last thing I want to lie about, and I don’t want to scare people into doing what I want. I don’t like it.”

Discord’s talons gripped my shoulder, claws flush against my fur. I turned to him, his own nervousness bleeding through to me now. He looked tired. We both were.

He said, “They have such mixed messages about us now. That counter pony think’s we’re pilgrims, doctor thinks we’re here for your sister, nobody knows whether we’re with The Stallion or against him, because we don’t know what they want to hear…” He gave me a shaky grin. I could feel him shivering, cold rain and cold thoughts mixing inside him. “Barely here half an hour, and already our story’s a mess.”

“We just need to get the Element, get my sister, and get out,” I said, “Faster we do so, the less chance there is for problems.”

He nodded, claws slowly uncurling from my shoulder. “Right.”

“And anyway…” I frowned. Tried to flap my wings once or twice, to beat the water from them. The muscles twinged stiffly as I bounced on my hooftips, air between the feathers still the strangest feeling in the world. “I think Celestia came here because she was sick? She’s acting… and looking funny. And when I hugged her, she was shaking like a leaf!”

“She definitely seemed unlike herself,” Discord commented lightly.

“Yeah… she doesn’t seem at all well.”

“And that’s some crazy kind of magical sickness if it messes with her hair color like that.”

“Well,” I said, “I suppose that means we have a lot that we need to ask her.”

The matter settled, or at least set aside for now, we went to her room, and found it unlocked. Sitting on the bed, Celestia looked up from her ankles, Element still glittering between her feet. She still refused to put it on.

The room was sparse. Other than a tea tray on the bedside table and a tiny satchel tucked beside it, she had nothing. No cloak, no bags, no personal items of any sort. No furniture besides a couple of sitting cushions and a bare coat rack. It was so empty and simple. Hollow. Either she hadn’t been here long, or she really had abandoned everything to get here.

Celestia nodded towards the tea tray, swirling mane drifting over her face.

“I-it’s fresh,” she said, “Biscuits…”

With a few exchanged glances. I finally let the shadows drop from around my horn, and served us all. Celestia on the bed, Discord and I on cushions on the floor. Almost as a guilty pleasure, I had my own crown placed atop my head. Celestia was staring at it.

“What…?” she asked me.

“It’s the Element of Honesty,” I admitted. “I got it around the same time I got these…”

I flared my wings, happy that I could move them so easily now. She stared at them too. And continued to stare as I struggled to fold them back in place. She, uh, didn’t need to know that part was hard. I suppressed a wince as a couple feathers jammed the wrong way, bending at the… stem… bit.

Celestia mumbled, “Didn’t notice… You have wings now…”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. A thick purple band streaked past her right ear. When she opened her eyes, she was smiling. A completely unreadable, hollow expression.

“My sister…” she said, “It’s great to see you like this. Though… I will admit, I’m a little envious. You’re so lovely…”

She shifted a little, hind legs tucking a little tighter to her body. Her eyes flicked back down to her Element, hair rolling over her eyes.

“I have,” Celestia said, “A lot I have to account for.”

“Like what, sister?” I asked.

“What I’ve done to you two…” she mumbled, “What I think about you two…”

“Celestia,” Discord said suddenly, voice booming in comparison to Celestia’s mumbling, “You don’t have to do this now.”

“Whuh… Y-Yes,” I quickly agreed, “You’re ill! Or, I think you’re ill…”

“I am…” she muttered, “In a sort of way…”

Voice loaded with sympathy, I quietly asked, “What even is it that you have?”

“I… I don’t know,” she said, “A personal infection. Something I… something I may have…”

Thick green seeped down her left side, swirling and replacing colors in thick, spinning swirls. Celestia’s face fell even further, eyes falling over her Element once more.

“Something I’ve done entirely to myself,” she said, voice suddenly clearer. “You reap what you sow, right?”

I stared, watching her mane as it seeped and spun. “Reap what… Did you infect yourself or something?”

“What I did to myself infected me, yes,” she chuckled darkly. “But in some ways, I was already infected, wasn’t I?”

“No…?”

“Did you find what you were looking for?” Discord spoke again, his words sudden and blunt. Celestia turned to my friend, dimly aware of him.

“Pardon?” she asked.

“You left because you wanted to better yourself,” he said, “Is that what you did? Infected yourself with this, because you thought it would make you a better person?”

Celestia didn’t answer.

Instead she just buckled over and cried.

“Discord,” I hissed. He held out his palms, shrugging like he couldn’t have avoided one single question. Glaring at him, I tried to go comfort my sister.

But her hair flushed again. The green was taking over, engulfing everything, curdling at the tips of her mane until it turned a sickly, rotten black.

I stared at the shifting colors, patting her lightly on the back.

“Celestia,” I said, “It’s—“

“Yeah, yeah,” Celestia grunted, “Get offa me. Uhg…”

She straightened and… There were tears on her face. Real tears. And yet, it was like a valve had been snapped shut, and she was completely fine. No, not fine. And barely herself. Her eyes were narrowed, lips tight, posture lazily slouched onto one leg. She looked lazily around the room, and acted as if everything she saw displeased her.

I touched her shoulder, and she rolled away from it.

“I’m serious,” Celestia huffed, “Siddown.”

I did, confused. I whispered to Discord, “I think she really is sick…”

His expression was dark. “Or worse…”

“Worse than this?”

“Hey!” Celestia snapped, “Don’t you know it’s rude to whisper conspiratorially across the room from someone!? Seriously, guys, manners! They’re not some bullshit summoned by fancy arcane Unicorns!”

I stared, “Celestia…?”

“Maybe,” she grunted, “What?”

“Did you just swear?”

“Yeah? So?”

A bad memory resurfaces, one I’d rather not remember about my sister.

And yet, “You hit me when I swore.”

She flinched. The black tips pulsed. “I’m a fully grown and respectable adult,” she said crisply, “You’re still a filly. World of difference there, little sister.”

“Did you… Are you…?” I stammered. Sick? Yeah, I believed it now. I really—

Discord jabbed an elbow into my side. This would’ve hurt only a little, but my side currently had a wing attached to it. His elbow jammed into the bone, and I cried out.

“Discord!”

“Oh geez, sorry!”

“Hey!” Celestia snapped, “Don’t hurt my sister you…!”

Discord held his hands up to, in apology. Yet I froze. Written across his palms were two bright, clear words.

NIGHTMARE CELESTIA

I shook my head furiously. It wasn’t like that! Not at all! I mean… she wasn’t even an alicorn! Her Element was whole again! Sure, she hadn’t put it on, but…

“Guys…”

We both flinched. Celestia was off the bed, hanging above us. Pink was wobbling through the green, black still staining her mane’s tips.

“I’m really scared,” she whispered, “Help me…”

Her forelegs wrapped around us, pulling us both into a fragile hug.

“I’ve done so much wrong to you both,” Celestia cried, “I would understand if you both hated me now…”

“I don’t hate you,” I mumbled.

“Yeah,” Discord said, “Me neither.”

“And it must seem like,” she sniffed, “Like I’ve gone a little crazy…”

“Uh…”

“Well…”

“But I’m trying to fix it. Okay?” She nodded firmly, apparently just for herself. “I’ll fix it…”

Celestia hung between us, and we gave each other confused glances over my sister’s head. Or, I should say, I gave Discord confused glances, and he just looked down at Celestia with a twisted sort of pity. I almost understood why. With how weak she seemed, it hardly seemed like Celestia could fix anything.

“I need to apologize,” Celestia said, pulling away and wiping at tears. “So… so can you give me a moment to collect myself?”

“Sure!” Discord yapped. I gave him a confused look.

I said, “Oh yeah, sure?”

“Yes!” he gripped my shoulder and pulled me to my feet. “We’ll just wait right outside the door for you, okay?”

“Yes,” Celestia sniffled. “Okay…”

“Okay! So, let’s go Luna…”

He wheeled me around to the door, pushing me through and closing it with his tail. He listened quietly for a moment more. I wanted to throw a dead silence over the door. Within me, I just had the urge to yell—

But about what, I wasn’t sure.

“A nightmare?!” I hissed, looking up and down the mostly empty corridor, “You think she’s being taken over by nightmares?”

“Well. Maybe…” he frowned at the door. “Just remembering some things I’ve read. When Bookends was changing, it took a while. The Illuminator described how his mane was changing, smoldering. He became moody, and more and more erratic.”

He looked at me. “Now what about that doesn’t describe Celestia right now?”

“We are not turning my sister to stone,” I hissed, “Don’t you dare tell me it’s what we have to do, I refuse to!”

“We don’t have to,” he asserted, “At least, not yet. She’s on her way down, but she’s not there yet…” he glanced at the door, face knotted in thought. “And, at this point, I think we could hug it out of her before she falls too far.”

“Then why didn’t we?!” I quietly cried, “Let’s go back in right now and—“

“No!” He darted between me and the door, hand just stopping over my horn. I had almost unconsciously lit it up. “Luna. We still don’t know what’s going to attract…” he glanced around, “What He will notice.”

I stopped. Stopped for now. To talk. But my insides were turning and winding, wings fluttering and ruffling restlessly at my sides.

“Discord,” I quickly mumbled, “My sister is suffering.”

As if on cue, there was a shout from within the room.

“SHUT UP, YOU’RE RUINING MY LIFE.”

We stared at the door for a long time after that, listening, not because we wanted to, but because the conversation with herself had gotten too loud to ignore. She seemed to be furiously arguing with herself, crying out in a number of different warped voices.

“When we fix her,” Discord said slowly, still staring at the door. “We’ll have to prepare to run, right afterwards.”

“Okay then, get our bags!”

“We can’t run, Luna,” he asserted, “We can’t leave this place before we’ve found The Element.”

I stood in place. My eyes darted around, as if the Element was in plain sight and I just wasn’t looking hard enough. Unconsciously, I found I couldn’t stand still. My wings were still fluttering, and my tail flicked over my legs, still heavy from the rain.

“I want to ask,” I said, “Just bluntly ask them. Where is it? Where’s Generosity?”

“I don’t—“

What it was or wasn’t, I never heard. Because the door popped open right behind Discord, and there was Celestia. Her mane didn’t show any green, or black. It was right back to the soupy mess of pink, blue, and purple. She still wasn’t wearing her Element. It sat on the bedside table, still as whole and as beautiful as ever.

Celestia took a deep breath, “Okay. Okay, you can come in now.”

Discord and I exchanged a furious glance battle, but both of us were moving inside the moment Celestia stepped back.

She started, “I’m sorry…”

“Don’t,” I half-cried. “There’s nothing to be sorry about! You’re sick!”

She cringed, “Goodness, no. I’m not apologizing for being sick. I wish to apologize for my behavior towards you two, in our year in Canterlot… and maybe even a bit before.”

It was the last damn thing I wanted to hear right now. I didn’t care! It didn’t matter right now!

Yet, there she was. Celestia gave a knowing glance at Discord.

“Discord…”

“Yes?” he replied, wary.

“I think I know why I’ve been so harsh to you.”

“Really?”

She nodded sagely. “You see, the thing is… you irritate me.”

He opened his mouth, closed it. What are you supposed to say to that? Both of us just stared at my sister.

Apparently, he did have a response to that. Flatly, he said, “Yeah, uh… I could’ve told you that.”

“No! I mean…” Celestia shook her head, hair spinning. “I really care a lot about poise and appearances. While you… don’t.”

“I could’ve told you that too,” he offered.

“But I think I didn’t understand that before!” she cried, “And so I was attacking you, verbally, because of that disconnect between us. And I’m sorry for that.”

Her hoof plopped down on his shoulder, like she had just said something profound. Discord looked at the floor, shifting his shoulders.

He said, “Okay.”

“And Luna!” Celestia cried, turning to me. More and more purple was taking over her mane. “My dearest sister!”

“Celestia,” I asserted, “Do you really think you’re up for this right—“

“I realized,” she cried over me, “There was actually a time when I was very, very proud of raising you!”

“Oh,” I scrunched up my brow, “Yeah, but, that was a long time ago, wasn’t it?”

“It was! And now…” she wrapped her forelegs around me. Her embrace was cold. She smelled funny. Like dead leaves. “My sister, I have to move past those times. I can’t keep thinking of you as my responsibility… you’re already so grown up…”

Over Celestia’s shoulder, Discord looked sour. And I felt sour as well. Everything about this felt tainted. Like it was something she was saying on her death bed, or because she was drunk. Something she’d immediately turn away from the normal she regained a moment of sanity.

Ingenuine? I suppose it was a good a word as any other.

“Celestia…” I mumbled.

“Great!” Discord shouted, “So now that we’ve solved all our personal problems, I recommend we start looking for The Element of Generosity, don’t you think?”

Celestia blankly looked up from the hug. Legs still around my shoulders, she turned to look at Discord, purple on the wane.

“The Element…?” she mumbled.

“It’s here, isn’t it?” He asked, waving towards the window. “That’s Paleheart, isn’t it?”

“Paleheart?” she asked. “Generosity’s birth name?”

“Yeah,” Discord said, “So. You’ve been here the longest. What have you found out about the Element, Celestia?”

I thought that was pushing it. She wasn’t in her right head. She needed time to get better…

“Well I…” A dribbling sliver of green seeped down her mane, curdling black around the tips—

Sweet sun and moon, not again! This just felt wrong. Talking to her, when she was like this, when she was struggling so badly with the nightmares inside her…

Why were we just leaving her like this?

My Elements began to shimmer, both at once, wanting to hold her tightly and just blast this sickness out of my poor, lost sister.

“Luna…” Discord warned.

“Celestia!” I cried, “As soon as we find the Element, I’m going to help fix you, okay?”

My sister froze, staring at me, snouts near close to touching. The blue was surging and swelling now, thank goodness.

And yet…

“No. No I…” She asserted, “I’ve got to do this on my own. I’ve—“

“You don’t have to, Celestia!” I reached out and hugged her again. “Discord, and me, we’re both here for you, okay? We’re all the Elements of Harmony. And we’ll all stick together, grow strong, and get through this! All with each other! Okay? Okay?!”

“Okay…” she mumbled.

“But!” I finally released her, and she let go as well. She still stood close, eyes flicking… I continued, trying to explain the situation. “We have reason to believe that our Elements are strong enough to attract The Stallion’s attention. So the plan is, find Generosity, get rid of the nightmares inside of you, and then run, because our lives depend on it. Okay?”

She bit her lip. “Doesn’t make sense…”

“What doesn’t?” Discord asked, “We’ve got to catch you up. Ask whatever you want.”

She said, “There’s nothing to be fixed…”

“Celestia,” Discord stated clearly, “It may be frightening to accept it, but what’s happening to you is clearly the nightmare. That’s something we can fix. I’ve read about it! They’ve found a way to reverse…”

He stopped suddenly, a confused look crossing his face. But Celestia had heard enough. Green seeped down her hair, her voice becoming more and more on edge.

“This is all me, Discord,” she asserted, “I may be a… a mess right now. But you’re not going to cleanse me of me.” She huffed a little frustrated sigh, “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“But it’s,” Discord said, “You’re clearly being overtaken by—”

“By what? Myself?”

“Yes,” Discord said firmly. “By the parts of yourself that you hate.”

“I know that too,” she snapped, “But that’s not something you can just magic away, can you?” She ground her teeth, hair now becoming darker and darker. “I’ll always, always have these horrible, dark parts of myself, got it?! You think you can just magic away a part of who I am, because you have little magic trinkets? Well forget about it! I am me. And I’ve got to…”

She took a deep breath, steadying herself. Little streaks of color brushed away the green, colors, for once, becoming even bands.

She said, “And I’ve got to solve this myself.”

For a moment, there was silence. The first firm thing Celestia had said, in a way that seemed so much like herself. It was like seeing her assertions before we returned to Canterbury. But that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Better than drunk, flighty Celestia. But…

Oh, my poor, lost sister…

Finally, Discord said, “Hey, it’s still worth a shot, isn’t it? No harm in trying to magic your flaws away.”

Celestia snorted weakly, shaking her head.

“So um,” I said, “Generosity?”

“Here,” Celestia said, “But I don’t know where.”

“But you know it’s here?” I asked, “How?”

She shrugged, “Call it mare’s intuition.”

Well that was frustratingly vague. I said, “You know, with how things are going, I kind’ve just want to go up to that front desk and ask them about it directly.”

“Ask?” Celestia said, “Really?”

“Yeah.” I nodded to Discord. “Let’s go to the front, and ask them for Generosity … Wow.” I snickered. “Sounds kind’ve wrong when I say it like that.”

“Worth a shot,” Discord replied, “Come on, Luna. Celestia…”

“I’m not allowed to leave the room,” she huffed. Then, with a small slice of uncharacteristic sarcasm, “Ask the staff if I can come out of time-out, will you?”

“Sure,” Discord said.

And so, we left. Stopped outside the door to get our bearings, but otherwise, we headed to the stairs. I remembered to adjust my spell, hiding my horn and dipping my tiara under the shadows. Discord was quiet, letting me cast, eyes directed at the floor.

We were descending when he finally spoke, “You know, something that your sister said is getting to me.”

“What is it?” with a sad smile, I asked, “Everything?”

“Yeah, sure. But in particular, remember when she said ‘How are you supposed to remove the me from the me?’” He looked over his shoulder, towards the room, then back at his feet. “And I thought, right when she said that… Even though Paleheart and Butterfly Bright knew how to cleanse each other, Paleheart still wound up in stone. I think, he, or they both, realized that no matter how long they could keep each other going… they couldn’t remove their own weaknesses. And, no matter how long or how hard they kept each other up, they were still due for their ultimate fate…”

We reached the bottom of the stairs. The desk was only a little ways away, and the mopping stallion still working quit circles with his mop.

“Is it stupid?” Discord whispered, trying to not be overheard.

“What is?” I asked just as quietly.

“I thought… You know, despite what all those Illuminators were saying, I thought we could fight fate…”

“We still don’t know, Discord.” I whispered, “We don’t know what happened to them, and we don’t know why. Maybe they were just too late to fix themselves… But us? We’re discovering the ability to cleanse ourselves far, far earlier than they did!”

“Maybe…”

“I think we’ll be fine,” I said, “Let’s just get Generosity, fix my sister, and get out.”

Rain dully thrumming outside, we approached the desk. Papers still drifted around the mare’s head, and she smiled at us tiredly as we approached.

“So,” she said, “You’re family with Miss Helios?”

I winced. Word got around fast enough. Or maybe she just saw us climbing the stairs with Celestia. Either way, we were in need of a topic change.

“So,” I said, “We found the statue of Generosity.”

The mare nodded, “Well, that’s nice.”

“But,” I asked, “Where’s the Element?”

She blinked, staring up at us. The papers around her head became a little more still.

“The Element?” she asked, “ Wasn’t he The Element?”

“Yeeees,” I said slowly, “He was. But we’re looking for The Element of Generosity itself. The rock that that gave Paleheart his power in the first place.”

She looked even more confused. Opened her mouth, closed it, stared down and shuffled her notes quietly.

“He was an alicorn,” she mumbled, “He didn’t need a source of power. He was a god.”

I turned to Discord. He looked just as perplexed as the desk pony did did.

“Do people really know so little about how this works?” I whispered. He shrugged in return.

“Well, anyway,” Discord said aloud. “What’s your name?”

“Papercut, sir.”

“Papercut,” he asked, “Have you seen any perfect, immaculate stones? Big round ones?” He summoned a simple illusion of Honesty’s rock form, spinning it with a flick of his finger. “Unblemished? Sort’ve made of the same rock as the alicorn?”

Wide-eyed, Papercut shook her head.

“Damn. Might not be here, then… Oh!” Discord plucked at his necklace, pushing the gem forward for Papercut to see. “What about anybody wearing something like this? Anybody with a golden necklace come in or out of the hospital?”

“No,” she said, “First I’ve seen of that. I think, at least…”

“Please, try to remember,” Luna asserted. “This is really important.”

“Fate of the country depends on it,” Discord joked, snickering into his paw.

“It’s nothing to laugh about, Discord,” I said, “I’m serious.”

“Yeah, sorry…” He turned back to the desk pony. A few more papers were zipping around her now, landing, with one leaving in a flash. “Okay. How about… a glowing, powerful rock. A rock that responds to goodness, purity and—“

“That is enough!”

From up above, a voice shot, quick and sharp like the snap of a whip. We all turned. Redheart was racing down the stairs, hooves clapping loudly on the marble. She marched up to us, back straight, face firm.

“Smiley,” Redheart snapped. The mopping stallion jumped a little. “Detain these two!”

The stallion, Smiley, apparently, just stood there. His single eye glanced down at his mop, then looked over towards us.

He asked, “Detain…?”

“Yes. Please escort them to their room.” The healer’s foreleg snapped up, pointing directly towards us. “They’re clearly dangerous rogue agents, and I will not have my patients threatened!”

Both Smiley and Papercut were staring at the Healer now, but she continued to stand firm, posture and face stone cold.

“Looook,” Discord said slowly, “We’re just looking for The Element. Then we’ll be on our way—”

“There’s nothing more threatening to this hospital than what you are requesting!” Redheart snapped, “Put it out of your mind! There’s nothing the likes of you could use it better for than its purposes here!”

“Yes there…” Discord frowned, trying to dissect the sentence, “Yes there is?”

“Ma’am,” I said briskly, stepping forward. Resolutely, I said “We need the Element so that we may save all of Equestria.”

I stood firm before her, my statement clear. I tried to appear formal as possible, silently thanking my year’s training in Canterlot. With all the weight of my training, I thought that would certainly impress her.

It didn’t. If anything, she seemed even more imposing. Her eyes looked distantly beyond me, firm and fixated.

“Save it, will you? Tell me, for who’s benefit? What foul purpose do you intend to use these objects of purity for?”

“For everybody, of course,” Discord said, “What do you think ‘save’ means?”

“I think it means whatever you want it to mean,” she snapped, “Right until you expend them for your own kind…”

Again, she looked past me. I realized she was looking at Discord, and turned towards him. He was stoic, jaw set, meeting her gaze with his own.

Redheart snorted, “What would a pony-eater want to ‘save’ the country for?”

Discord flinched, expression darkening. The two other ponies had a strong reaction to that. Papercut tumbled backwards, bouncing off the wall behind her.

He said, “You sure are assuming a lot about me, aren’t you?”

“You’re not with the Shadow Stallion, are you?”

He huffed and firmly said, “No.”

“Discord…” I warned.

“Then,” Redheart retorted, “I’m assuming you’re a rogue.”

He puffed up proudly. “Yes. I am.”

“Then you’re even more dangerous than I assumed!” Redheart cried, “Nothing’s going to stop you from taking whatever pony you want, when you want to…”

“Hey—!”

“You don’t know Discord!” I shouted. “You don’t know him, or anything he’s gone through, or how hard it’s been for him! I am VERY SICK of people seeing Discord as something scary, or less than a pony! So, KNOCK IT OFF!”

Unconsciously, my Elements flashed. Both of them. Briefly, my spell was revealed, and I barely thought to hide it. That was nothing. It meant nothing. Stallion couldn’t find us from a single flash of indignant anger. He couldn’t. Ridiculous.

In a huff, I spun back to Discord. His jaw was set, eyes rooted to the ground. I walked to his side and stood firm, in support.

“You—” Redheart stumbled, but I wasn’t hearing it.

“My name is Luna,” I asserted, “And his is Discord.”

“You can make that necklace work?” she asked, “Both of you can?”

“Of course we can!” I said, “They’re the Elements of Harmony!”

“Show me.”

“Alright—!”

“No.” Discord slapped a hand over my Element. “We don’t know if he’ll see it or not.”

“Who’ll see it?” Redheart asked.

“The Shadow Stallion,” Discord shot.

I hesitated, “Should we really…”

“It’s obvious,” Discord said with a wave, “They’re not working for him. You,” He pointed to Redheart, “You hate me. And yet you still know what I am, by name. Are you also rogue?”

After a long pause, she said, “In as much as this whole hospital being rogue.”

“Why? This was his Sanatorium, wasn’t it?” Discord asked. “Generosity’s?”

“What does that matter?” Redheart asked.

“Paleheart and Butterfly Bright, Generosity and Nightmare Kindness, they were such close friends—”

“What does friendship mean to a being like that?” Redheart shot, “He didn’t care that this was a friend’s old home. It just meant there was a place where unicorn researchers could easily be snatched up…”

Silence fell again, an uneasy one. Redheart did seem to want to look at us anymore. Discord was standing firm, but I could tell, something was wrong in his eyes. Papercut barely knew who to look at, or what side she should be on.

There was a small clatter beyond us. We all looked at Smiley, picking up the fallen mop in his ankle.

“Well I have no idea what’s going on,” Smiley huffed, “I just do maintenance here.”

“Redheart…?” Papercut asked. “But… I thought that…”

“Healer Redheart,” I asserted, “We really do need The Element of Generosity. Do you know where it is?”

“It would destroy the hospital to take it,” she said firmly, “It would. I cannot give it to you.”

“How would it?” Suddenly, it hit me. “The Element isn’t literally built in the foundation, is it?!”

“It may as well be,” Redheart snapped. “Put it out of your head. Take your sick family and leave.”

“Redheart,” Papercut cried out, “She’s not well…!”

“Yes. Fine,” she sighed deeply, tried to steady herself, “You will wait for Miss Helios to heal, and then you will leave with her. That is all. Now. I have…” She glanced up the stairs. “Much, much more important matters to attend to.”

And with one last glance at Discord, Healer Redheart departed, stomping up the stairs.

LXX : The Final Will

The Steadfast Sky : The Final Will
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Discord~

Morning, again. Still raining, with a cold draft oozing off the windows. Candles and lamps were lit all around The Sanatorium, since, really, this early in the morning, the rain made it about as dark as midnight. Down below, soggy overnight travellers poked their snouts out of the grand double doors, wincing as the rain splattered their hooves. I wouldn’t be surprised if their carts were sucked up by the mud, impossibly stuck a foot deep in soil that just plain gave up at being solid.

“Seriously,” I said to Luna, watching the hesitant travellers in the lobby. “If this rain keeps up, there’s going to be floods.”

“The Pegasi will catch it before it gets too bad…” she said hesitantly. “Remember when it snowed? They stopped that pretty quick.”

“Stopping the rain isn’t up to the Pegasi,” I said.

Uncertainty written all over her face, Luna said, “I know.”

I let go of the railing and dropped back to the floor. With a small nod, Luna turned away, and we continued down the corridor.

We didn’t have far to go at all. Passing by our room, we headed straight to Celestia’s quiet door. And, with purpose, Luna raised her hoof and rapped twice.

“Celestia?” She called, “Are you up yet?”

We waited, ears straining. There was no response.

“Is she wants to sleep in,” I said, “Then let her sleep in.”

Luna shook her head. “I want to do this with her.” She spoke up, leaning close to the door, “We’re going to see if we can find the Element, big sister. We’d really appreciate your help!”

“She is sick, you know,” I pointed out, “She needs her time to… you know. Figure this out?

I turned to the door, trying to pretend she’s asleep, only imagining that Celestia was in her bed, wide awake, and moping. I wanted to say something. Just shout into the door, something like ‘Hey, I’d be cool if we were friends again. I’m okay with you.’ I didn’t want to shun Celestia. If she’s willing to reach out to me again, then I’m not going to beat her back out of some grudge. That’s a fact.

And yet… a guilty little part of me had different ideas. I wanted her to stay there. Sit and mope and leave Luna and me alone. Because it felt like I had precious few hours alone with Luna now. That Celestia’s mysterious illness was a timer, counting down the minutes until I couldn’t be by Luna’s side anymore. It possessed me all night, keeping me awake. If Celestia’s going to be there watching while I cuddle up close to her sister…

No, she wouldn’t put up with it, and I didn’t even want to get close to Luna while Celestia was there.

I placed a hand on Luna’s warm, fuzzy little shoulder, offering her a shrug. I just wanted to pull her into a hug, hold her until I couldn’t—

Dammit. I thought I was past this needy crap. Stupid. Dammit.

Eyes on the door, Luna said slowly, “She will need her rest…”

“Yes,” I asserted, “And see, the faster we find the Element, the faster we can help your sister, right?”

I’m not sure why I said that, but she nodded anyway. And that was enough to move her from in front of the door, and heading towards the staircase.

“Where do we even start?” Luna asked. “And what do we do if we find it?”

“Oh, I’ve got some ideas…”

~ ♥ ~

Morning rain pattered quietly against the window. The gray stones clattered as I sorted through them, gently pushing and turning them over with my hoof. Each of them is special, each of them has a purpose. Each of them are familiar. Old, old stones, these tools.

In my aura, I plucked out a flat one. Smooth on one side, and with ridges like gills on the other. My aura seeped around and through it, filling the mineral like it was air, or refractive water. It tugged, and breathed through the gills, magic shimmering, steamlike as it inhaled, then exhaled.

“You will feel a slight pull on your skin,” I said, “It will be a bit uncomfortable. But it won’t hurt.”

The small, bandaged stallion, just barely out of colthood , nodded into his pillow. His mothermare tapped his hoof with hers, lying them flat against eachother. Be brave, she implied, mother’s here.

Carefully, I pushed the stallion’s mane to one side. The gill rock drifted over, and tucked it on the reddened, damp skin of his exposed neck.

I saw the gills flutter, or perhaps I imagined it. Invisible shimmers of heat rolled through my aura, drifting upwards and away. If the stallion was a unicorn, the steam might have been faintly colored by his aura. But an Earth Pony… their magic, undefined and tucked inside of them so neatly—

I heard the paper rustle before it jerked and circled in front of my eyes. Held by a green aura and folded into a little set of wings, it dove upwards, drifted, and circled back down again in a jerky, attention getting motion.

The mother watched it, confused. “Healer…?”

“No worries,” I said, “I will finish your son’s treatment first.”

The paper darted through the clear steam, scattering it momentarily. The mare gave a little gasp of surprise, but I was quite used to ignoring Papercut’s messages by now. I've had perhaps half a dozen of them circle me at peak hours. It’s just a feature of the Sanatorium’s situation.

The gill rock’s steam began to thin. I placed the back of my ankle on the stallion’s forehead. Fever’s lowered, as expected. I let the rock vent for another few seconds, then pull it away, carefully returning it to the box.

I stood, turning to the mothermare, “I’ll repeat the treatment in a few hours, when we change the bandages. Give him plenty of water. His fever should break by tomorrow.”

She mumbled her thanks, and I’m quickly out the door, snatching the paper and reading it as I go.

Dozens and dozens of older messages are scrawled across the page, hastily written in cramped handwriting. The scrawling coats the paper, dozens and dozens of messages sent, received, crossed out, and repeated. I skim to the end of the document, new message nearly drifting off the bottom of the page.

I sighed, and made my way down the stairs.

“Redheart! Thank goodness!” Papercut called, “They’re currently in the library. I had Smiley go and talk to them, but, well, you might know the situation much better…!”

I shook my head, “Honestly, that Helios…”

“N-no, Redheart!” she asserted, “Just the pegasus and the, um, dragoner-qwist.” She fumbled with the word, clearly unsure if she had said it right. “Helios is still asleep, according to them.”

“Oh. Well,” I smiled faintly, “A whole family of people who don’t know how to sit still, aren’t they?”

She laughed lightly, and I continued onwards, crossing the entrance hall and making my way towards the east wing.

They really were frustrating, those two. A patient is a patient, you can be firm, but you must also be forgiving. Helios could hardly help what was happening to her body. She just needed a stiff push to keep her still.

But these two… coming in here. Babbling. Think they know better than the gods themselves! They’re still young, and ignorant! The God of Generosity knew his place better, knew what the hospital meant for the future!

They simply did not understand.

They did not.

I burst into the library, letting anger steel me, mustering every ounce of intimidating control I had. I had to impress on these youngsters exactly who was in charge here, and how little patience I had for their antics.

With a stomp of my hoof, I barked, “What do you two think you are doing?!”

The Pegasus and the little monster sat at a table, startled by my shout, but obviously not very surprised. In all honesty, it was pretty apparent exactly what they were doing. That is to say, nothing particularly destructive or damaging. They had removed a few of the dusty tomes from the shelves, but other than a few tracked footprints through the dust, everything seemed relatively undisturbed. Smiley stumbled over to me, hooves up in a shrug, as if to say, ‘I’m sorry, but you handle these situations better.’

Well… that much was true. I gave him a curt nod as I strode past, heading towards the children’s table.

“Oh,” the monster said, “Hello again.”

The Pegasus’ wings ruffled as she grinned widely, “We’re looking for Generosity, of course!”

“Not I not just tell you, not a half day ago, to stop looking?!” I snapped, standing tall.

“Nope. Sorry. This is more important,” the monster objected. “You’re preventing us from saving the country…”

“From helping Celestia too,” the Pegasus piped up, “If we had the Element, we could help cure her!”

“All Miss Helios needs to recover is her rest!” I retorted, “I will not give you the Element to satisfy your impatience!”

“Hey,” the monster yapped, frowning, “I almost mentioned country-saving, didn’t I? I did, right Luna?”

“Yep, you did,” she giggled, “I think she ignored you.”

“No, ‘she’ simply did not believe you,” I snapped, “If you are going to save the country, which I highly doubt, then you are going to have to do it without Generosity. Understand?”

“Uh, no,” the monster huffed, “We tried that once. Didn’t work. We really do need all the Elements.”

“Yes!” the Pegasus squeaked, “Please, this hospital is important to you, yes, but please try to understand…”

“No, you understand…!”

I stopped, sighing. They didn’t know at all. And if they did find Generosity, they would probably snatch it from us without a second thought. Really, what would stop them? Their own bloated sense of self-importance?

Save the country? Acting like they are just… entitled to the Element!

But perhaps, if they knew better. If they understood that my position was ordained by the true God of Generosity himself, while his mind was sane and whole…

So, I said, “You’re not going to stop until you know, aren’t you?”

“I said the fate of the country is depending on this twice,” the monster grunted, “Didn’t stop being a real reason.”

“Fine,” I said, “I’ll tell you why. Maybe then you’ll drop the idea altogether.”

I dragged over a bench and dropped down on it, making sure to keep the two within my sights. Both turned to me, but they wouldn’t stop exchanging silly little grins of triumph… Children. The both of them.

I looked past them. Up past the dusty stacks of books, out the rain-splattered window. Nearly closed my eyes, just trying to remember.

I may have waited too long to tell this story. At one point, it was so clear and crisp, I felt like I could recite the whole thing. Just go on and on and on.

Now I don’t know where to begin. Or even where to end. I could give you the plain and short of it. But would that allow you to understand? Would that cause your questions to cease? Or would it be the first excuse in a long, jumbled line of a sloppy story?

I doubt I have the time to tell them this. How long will it be until a tiny little paper bird flutters by, demanding my urgent attention? And honestly, even if I do tell the whole thing, I doubt it will stop their search.

“But please,” I speak up, finally shaking loose from my thoughts, “Just listen to reason.”

“Decades ago... Yes, this story is going to start from the beginning. So, decades ago, the land was under the rule of three noble alicorns. I’ve heard once, there were six, but I never knew them. I was born in the age of Magic, Kindness, and Generosity. Noble, pure spirits. Or so I had assumed...

“We’ll discuss that later, however. But I am going to tell you, here and now, that Generosity was the greatest of these three.

“He founded this hospital, as you may have guessed. It was a research center, it tended to all ills, attended to all wounds. It even served as something of an orphanage. Young fillies and colts whose parents had passed grew up alongside the children of the Healers, raised with dignity and care. Many of the foals were even granted, or took names that paid homage to their noble protector. I knew a filly named Shimmerheart, another colt named Warmheart.

“Well, you see, I was born here, raised here. Raised on the intent that I was to become a Healer. Or, was I being trained because I insisted so? Hm.

“Two things are for certain. One, I had not gotten my cutie mark yet. And two, that day, I was authorized to look around the labs.”

~ ♥ ~

So, I was in the library. Because that’s where a proper unicorn should spend her time. Studying and learning and figuring out how to float stuff, because that’s what makes a unicorn special. Floating things. I was reading and waiting for something special and epic to happen, something so inspiring that magic will just… poof! And then… ka-blam! Cutie mark. I pretty much knew it would have to be a Healer’s cutie mark. But I probably needed an inspiring moment to determine its color or something.

So I was reading. Gasping at stuff loudly when it surprised me, then spun around to see my butt, because, wow, so surprising, I bet that surprised my cutie mark into actually being a thing! I wasn’t having any luck with that, but I was close, I could feel it…!

But then, out of nowhere, an adult came up to me and asked, “Little Redheart, would you like to conme down to the labs with me?”

Holy crap.

I could’ve exploded.

The labs?! The secret labs where nobody but adults are allowed to go?! Where all the cool magic experiments happen, and where Generosity himself spent most of his time?

“Yes! Yes, please!”

So that day, I was brought through the gleaming white corridors. Through dozens of open doors, I saw unicorns, earth ponies, and even some Pegasi, all in super-neat white robes and pouring over dazzling baubles. Glass bottles were filled with colored potions, really complicated and delicate ornaments held aloft by faint, glittering auras. There were tons of books and papers spread out on every surface, and so many snouts were smudged with ink or chalk.

Only a few doors were barred, hung with thick cloth and warding ropes. Probably the creepy experiments, back behind those cloths. Or dead bodies. The morgue was down here, I think. Aw man. I remembered then, the dozens of spooky little stories Warmheart had blabbed at me. About all the creepy stuff they get up to down here. Like making… a skeleton monster!
Okay, maybe it was scarier when he told it at midnight on a stormy night.

My head was whirling around and around, trying to take it all in so I could blab all about it to the other kids. It was almost too much to take in! What did any of this stuff do? What did it mean?! And where the heck were they taking me?

I was lead past so many doors, maybe like, hundreds of doors, each one passing just so quick, I only got a glance of each one. I was so busy trying to make each glance last longer, that I didn’t even notice we had arrived. And that I was standing before Generosity Himself.

How can I even begin to describe this? I had seen Generosity before then. Rarely, but I had! Sometimes there were things only he could cure, and he’d come and perform a miracle upstairs. But then he’d come right back down and tuck himself away.

But today was the closest… I remember staring at him, and the Healer I was with chided me. Told me to bow my head, even went so far to place a hoof on my mane and turn my head manually. “Deference, Redheart! Staring at the sun will crisp your eyes!” But I couldn’t look away. I simply couldn’t.

He was tall. Long, and lean. Lilac coat, a purer color than I had ever seen on any flower. There was no fading, nor spots, with every hair falling near perfectly, into a silky sheen. His mane was ornate, curls immaculate, wreathlike as they twisted and bobbed into complicated, shimmering patterns. They were almost metallic, I remember that. Like cut and pressed sheets of some rare metal, turned and twisted into an unblemished sculpture.

Even his cutie mark… it was such a bizarre thing, so simple. Just a Healer’s mark? Just the cross and four hearts? I mean, it was a really really light white, which was a color I hadn’t seen before. But… a Healer’s mark? Maybe that it was the original Healer’s mark, and that everyone else was simply copying him. That made more sense.

He turned… and then I bowed, squeaking a little in my haste to be deferent. I stared at the curls of his fetlocks, still so strange and perfect as they twisted around his hooves.

And then, he said aloud,

“Look up, Daughter Redheart. No need to be shy!”

I stood stunned for a moment. Being called his daughter… well, we were all his sons and daughters. But to have my name be said… He knew it? He knew my name? With a jolt, I realized I was still bowing, probably more deeply than I ever had. I immediately looked up and…

This will sound stupid, but at that moment, I realized, he wore glasses! Just like me, he had a little pair of round spectacles, neatly set on his snout. It was so silly! Generosity was a perfect being, he shouldn’t have something to fix! Couldn’t he just magic his eyes better?

He and the Healer who brought me… I didn’t remember her name, but they spoke a moment in that tone that was completely unwelcoming to children, I’ve no idea what they said. But it didn’t last long at all. In a moment more, Generosity was leaning down to me, smiling warmly.

“Daughter Redheart,” he said, so kindly, “Do you think you can help me with a little project?”

I asked him, “How in the world could I help a god with anything? I’m just a filly!”

“You’re going to see if a little experiment of mine has worked,” he said, “I’m going to ask you to cast a couple spells. If you can, then that means everyone in the hospital will be helped. Alright?”

“Alright!”

I was encased in that bright, silvery aura of His, and absolutely frozen in awe and fear. To talk, to help, and to be lifted by Him… It was almost too much for me to comprehend!

Aw man.

Aw man, what if I really did explode?!

He lifted me, and brought me in front of…

Of something really, really pretty.

It was a bright, glowing red gem heart. Two gold bands rose up from the red setting, up to a simple metal cradle. Holding the gem in place were two silvery pendulums, curved like unicorn horns, each spiral lined with a pale liquid silver.

I asked Him, “What’s this?”

“It is my Element,” He simply replied.

Well. I had no clue what in Equestria an Element was. I mean, wasn’t He The Element? But I wasn’t going to question Him. If Generosity said it was his Element, then it’s His Element. That’s all I needed.

I nodded, “Okay.”

And He chuckled. “The Element is a very important tool, Redheart,” He explained, “It is a miraculous stone, which can cure and correct anything you can imagine. It can mend bones, lower fevers, banish disease, and even fix broken hearts.

“But, you know what makes me sad, Daughter Redheart?”

I shook my head furiously, staring into the heart of the red gem. He didn’t sound sad, but, maybe it was a noble, godlike sadness, or something.

“It can do all of those great things, and yet, only I can make it work! It’s quite a weakness, don’t you think? What if I’m not around to help someone? I could have cured them, but what if I couldn’t make it in time…”

I thought that was silly as well. Couldn’t a God be everywhere, be everything he needs to be, when and wherever he’s needed?

Yet, He said, “That’s where you’re going to help me, okay?”

“I can’t be everywhere either, god!” I cried, “You sure you didn’t mistake me for someone else?”

“No, no, I’m very sure you can help me!” He laughed again, chuckles making my spine tingle. “You, all your friends, and everyone here can, and do, help me so very much. Now here. Do you see this stone?”

I thought He meant the red gem, which, man, I wondered if maybe I shouldn’t have seen it? I had a moment of squirming panic before He floated over a little black pebble. He set it down on the counter, right in front of the mechanism.

“Yes,” still confused, I said, “Was it supposed to be invisible?”

“No, it’s not invisible! Please. Pick it up.” I did so, lifting it easily. I pulled it towards me, eyes wide as my purple aura mixed and sparked with Generosity’s silver. “Now. How about you hold it up to The Element?”

I drifted it over, careful to not touch the machine. But, to my surprise, my rock started glowing. Brighter and brighter, in my own purple aura!

“It works!” I declared, pulling the rock back. It stopped glowing, but it seemed to be made of a different material now. I could kind’ve see through it, the pale stone.

“Almost,” He said softly. “How about you try to fill that stone with your levitation spell, Daughter Redheart?”

I was confused at first… But it didn’t really take many tries to figure out what He was asking. It was like my aura was being dragged through, tucked inside. It began to glow, produced a warm radiance.

“There,” He said softly. “It works.”

“Good!” I squeaked, “But what is it doing?”

“Depending on what kind of rock and what shape it is, it might do a whole lot of things!” He explained, in a sort of… nobly… tired excitement. “Think of it as storing a little bit of The Element’s complicated makeup, right in that little bit of rock. A little bit of The Element that you can use, Daughter Redheart.”

He set me down, and smiled at me, still so tall and warm.

He said to me, “This is my gift to all of ponykind. Something this precious belongs to everyone, don’t you think?”

~ ♥ ~

“And that was his last gift to us,” I asserted, “I hardly knew at the time, but he gave us his soul. He gave us something so precious, so priceless. The ability to cure… anything! Treat it, mind everything, at the very least! We could take it from there. Explore all the possible configurations, carve our own totems, construct tools and power them with his last great gift.

“That’s what we would have done, you know. That’s what the researchers started, and what they should have completed.

“But, not three days later...”

~ ♥ ~

My friends were whispering. The staff, abuzz. Our God of Generosity had just stepped outside, to the back gardens. That wasn’t anything special, really, he comes and he goes, and sometimes the coming and going was to and from the garden. But he was staying out there a really really long time, and whenever he did much of anything, a rumor was bound to go flying all around. No wonder they equate rumors to birds, like, a little bird told me and stuff. They flutter and flit and their tweeting is like a song people actually listen to, because they’re hungry for pretty noises.

Well rumors are stupid when there are facts, and the fact was, I left the library. Yes, I was busy studying, but if nobody was going to go out there and just see what he was doing, then gosh darnit, I guess I’ll have to.

Marching boldly across the entrance hall and out the back door, I dropped down onto the even grass and squinted through my glasses. I couldn’t see him, but he could be behind a bush or something.

Carefully, quietly, I snuck around the hedges, peeking past each one, and, oh are you kidding me? Some giggling fillies were already out here! They’ve got primary access to information, and they’re not sharing it with anybody? They didn’t even have pen and paper to record events? This is their god they’re spying on, not some handsome and eligible colt!

I’m just glad I brought my portable desk around my neck. I felt practically naked without it.

I pushed a little further in and… I found him. I mean, I couldn’t mistake him. Such a glorious, perfect being, standing still and tall, eyes rooted to the sky above. He barely seemed to move. I don’t even think he had to breathe. He was like a statue, only movement coming from the breeze that lightly bobbed his metallic curls.

I settled down in the summer grass, breathing the warm, wet scent. Stalks itched and tickled my sides as I lay down. I had a perfect view, right under a little gap in the hedge. Not even the giggling girls had found it. Sure, there were a few branches here and there, but I was well-hidden, with enough space for my portable desk.

So, like a proper scholar, I popped the cork on my inkwell, trimmed my quill with a little pair of blunt scissors, made sure the scraper knife was set in plain sight, and waited patiently for Generosity himself to do whatever it was he was doing.

Which.

Turned out to be nothing?

I scribbled that down anyway. Described the scene. Described that he was stiff… but his hair was moving! His back was to me, so I couldn’t tell if his eyes were open… Oh, and the weather was nice, and I was spying from a bush… Oh, what else…

That was everything, I guess.

So.

Soooooo.

Hm.

Still nothing…?

I yawned, than slapped a hoof over my mouth. No, what if he heard?! But already, I felt myself nodding off, nose bobbing over the ink-stained page. How long had I been out here? Perhaps I should have brought a book? No, no, that would have been disrespectful!

But really, he is doing absolutely nothing.

I snapped up. I don’t know how long it was. Hours? Days? But at one point, I must have nodded off, because the next time I opened my eyes it was later in the afternoon, sky starting to turn dark and orange. There was a heavy sound in the air. A deep woosh-woosh, like a flock of massive hawks on the hunt…

I checked on my target, and thankfully or unthankfully, he still hadn’t done anything.

But then, two figures dropped in front of him. There were two loud thumps, thumpthunp! Dirt and grass went flying. Four massive wings fluttered and settled. Eight long legs buckled and straightened.

It was them! It was the other two gods! I scrambled for my pen, splattering ink in a large blot as it smacked the page. I repressed a small scream. No time to scrape the ink away, I rushed for another page—!

I looked up. I had never seen these two before! It was like…! I mean, holy cheese and crackers! One of them, he looked like he had descended from the sky itself. His mane was a portal to the stars, unlike anything I had ever seen. Like looking at the Milky Way in color, dabbles of bright, multicolor light scattered in a thick band, twinkling still as his mane flowed around his long, limber neck…

And the other! The other was like, like he had grown from the earth itself! His skin was the color of a loamy soil, and there were long stalks of grass, yes, it looked like thick bladed grass, just falling from his head! Some of the thinner stalks were braided, and some blades were thicker than a stallion’s flank, and I could hear it rustling as he moved, and oh my gosh! Oh goodness gapers!

I tried feverishly to scribble all this down, noting this, and that, and, and the expressions on their faces. Oh, but who was who?! Who was Kindness, and who was Magic…

“Pale!”

I looked up from the page. The loamy alicorn had said that, almost like, a desperate cry. He went forward, and he hugged Generosity, a gem on his neck glowing and glittering. And it was, well, it was an odd sort of hug, or I thought it was odd for gods to participate it. The loamy god stayed on his feet and pressed himself up to Generosity, pushing into his side, rubbing neck against neck. It was something I had only seen wedded couples do. Or mothermares with children, or long-lost siblings in heartfelt reunions.

Well, I guess it would make sense if they were related. The god certainly had a sad enough look on his face to be having a heartfelt reunion with a long-lost sibling.

“It’s good to see you too, B.B.,” Generosity laughed lightly, pushing back. “And Four-Clover. Glad you could make it.”

The sky god was silent and stoic, face incredibly stern and proper. Now it was almost like he had become a statue.

With a quiet squeak, I remembered I should be writing this all down! I scribbled shorthanded notes, scribbling as quick as I could on the page.

“You couldn’t have relayed to us your purpose?” the sky god huffed.

“I thought it might’ve been too impersonal,” Generosity said, “You’ve heard too much bad news in letters, Four-Clover. Maybe, for once, you should confront an issue outside the safe boundary of paper?”

“Jibes, in jest or not, are not appreciated,” sky-god replied. “What is your purpose in calling us here?”

“Do we need a purpose, more than to see our good friend?” The Earth God said.

Sky remained firm, looking down at Earth. Earth stared back with such an intensity… were they angry? Generosity rolled his shoulders. It was such a strange, weak action on a god. Something a pony less than him should be doing, not a god.

From behind, I saw Him smile.

“Well, I wanted to formally announce that I am stepping down,” Generosity said. “I just think it’s time. I’ve been feeling that pressure returning, and I would like to be set to my rest—“

“No!”

The loamy god shouted. He looked hurt.

“We’ve been doing well, Pale! We’ve found a way to win! We can keep ourselves going for years, hundreds of years! We’ve won against that darkness…”

“We havn’t, B.B. We gained a little ground. But… alone, in the dark, I still hear it. I still hear the ghost of my fears. Hear what took down Hurricane, Bookends, Jube” He turned to the sky god. “It was just like you said, Four-Clover. All we’ve done is treat a symptom.”

The sky god gave the slightest nod. “The disease of a mortal’s mind, it’s still inside all of us.”

The loamy god shook his mane, snorting in frustration, “The mortal mind is not a disease, Four-Clover, stop phrasing it like that!”

“I refuse. You need to begin accepting our position with more grace, God of Kindness.” He turned to Generosity, “I accept your path, and your terms of rest. I think it sets a great amount of precedent for those who may replace us, in the future, and I—“

“You’re going to help my friend commit suicide,” loamy Kindness shot. “That’s all this is. Just, giving up! Four-Clover. Can you just accept that? Just let all of your work end in failure?”

“Out of line.” Four-Clover, Magic, snapped. He didn’t even look at Kindness. Just kept staring ahead, face firm and stoic as ever. “I will not respond to jibes, friendly or otherwise.”

“This is a solution, B.B.,” Generosity asserted, “It neutralizes out powers, relinquishes the Element… New gods can be born! And they’ll have another fifty years to come up with something!”

Magic nodded, “Perhaps even a century, with the purification ritual we’ve discovered.”

“But we still have time to work now,” Kindness asserted, “On a solution for us.”

“We can struggle to find said solution,” Magic said, each word careful. “But if any of us fails, we can immediately watch the results, can’t we? We doesn’t even need to make an educated guess, let a couple more fall for the sake of study. We know what will happen.” He turned, glaring at Kindness. “And you are tarnishing the very fact that Generosity has decided to take the graceful way out!”

“But—“

“For ONCE!” Magic boomed, “Be silent about your petty, vain little feelings, and your inane babbling about friendship! I WILL NOT HEAR IT!”

My ears were ringing, in the silence. I shivered, cold and witless. A God… angry, shouting with such power and might… Even the other gods crumpled. Generosity flared and ruffled his feathers, Kindness scraping and stomping at the ground, expression strained.

“I guess we are doomed,” Kindness mumbled to his feet. “Can’t stand ten minutes next to each other, and we’re already at each other’s throats.”

“Now he understands.” Magic huffed, turning to Generosity, “Generosity, you should have called me alone. Then, at the very least, we could have a rational discussion about this.”

Generosity gave a small smile, so strange and weak. “I felt like the matter needed both arguments, rational and emotional.”
Magic closed his eyes, expression returning to the neutral stoicism. Kindness gave a short, derisive laugh.

“Well, if you want my rational argument, since we’ve clearly heard enough of the emotional one.” There was a moment of silence, as if he was daring Kindness to interject. “I still agree with you Generosity, but I ask you to wait a little longer. We want to use this as an example to our successors, showing them the proper way to handle their corruption. A graceful retirement, in full ceremony. Perhaps not with a proper tomb but at least a pedestal to stand on while we construct you one…”

“It better be nicer than Jube’s.”

Magic took a long, slow breath out of his nose. “Yes, God of Kindness?”

“Your friends got wonderful, manned shrines, with proper traps and tricks,” Kindness shot, voice low. “My friend got stuffed in a hole, and left to rot.”

“As I have already said!” Magic loudly growled, “The budget that year was—.”

“Please,” Generosity said, “The both of you. That’s enough.”

The God of Generosity said his words so softly, I wondered if they would have any power over the Sky and Earth Gods. And yet, Magic fell still, and Kindness soon after. Magic swiftly turned back to Generosity, but Kindness still glared at the sky god, feathers ruffling oh-so-slightly.

Then, Generosity said, “If it’s not clear enough from hearing you converse, it’s impossible to keep going. I’m sorry, B.B., but… that’s just how it has to be.”

“No…”

“We’ve failed. We’ve lasted as long as we could… a little bit longer than our natural lifespans, sure.” Generosity hung his head, voice steady, “But maybe that’s all the mortal mind can manage. Seventy summers, seventy winters… It’s a good number, don’t you think? Maybe we can set the precedent for term length too.” Generosity looked up at Magic. “Do you think a century might be too long?”

Magic jerked his head to the side. “Not if they can purify themselves from the beginning, no.”

“Paleheart, that’s just the nightmare talking, that’s all,” Kindness pleaded, “Please don’t give up. Please!”

They hugged again, Kindness’ gemstone setting glowing as they pressed into each other’s sides. Magic looked away, stoic expression twitching.

“I’ll talk with the Illuminators about term length,” Magic said, “As well as discuss successor eligibility. And yes, I will make sure we get ponies who are friends this time. You don’t even have to say a word, Kindness.”

“They’re just going to pick nobles again.” Kindness spat. “A bunch of them.”

Magic rolled his eyes. “Of course they will, Kindness, who else is more suited to run a government than people who actually know how a government works? Now Generosity.” He nodded to the god. “Collect your Element, and we will be off to Canterlot.”

“Ah…” Generosity hesitated, “There now, is the kicker…”

“What?” Magic demanded. “Have you lost it?”

“Better. I’ve given it away.” Generosity’s smile grew wider. And yet, it only seemed to get weaker. He raised a long, heavy wing towards the hospital, looking up at its windows with a calm reverence. “It belongs to the hospital now. To the ponies who need and deserve it’s healing most. It is my dying wish that it remain here and be studied, as long as the hospital stands as a beacon of research.”

Magic took a sharp breath through his snout, expression strangely unchanged. “A fine sentiment,” he said slowly, “However, we need it to continue the cycle. There are things the Elements can only do with six.”

“Perhaps a stronger bond between fewer friends can do just as much?” Generosity offered. “Or maybe the next batch can include another healer, something like a permanent constant?”

There was a moment’s silence. Light quickly vanishing, the long and large bodies of the gods became only a bit more than colored shadows, thick statues in the dark.

Then magic sighed. He turned, wings flaring, and began walking towards the hospital.

“I’m sorry. It will be decided after we have gathered the six.”

“Please!” Generosity cried, “It’s all I have to give! This represents the culmination of years’ worth of dedicated research! You can learn so much by leaving it where it is! We’ll know so much more!”

“We’ve already decided, Generosity. Our time is up,” Magic said as he walked. “Let’s allow the next generation to decide.”

“No! Wait just a moment…!”

The Gods marching off among the hedges, I tried to jump up, to follow and keep recording! But my legs were weak, numb from the stiffness of my position. And all my pages were splotchy, near unreadable… I’d have to keep working by aura-light if it kept getting darker and… oh, where was that inkwell cork…?!

“You ass,” Kindness barked.

There was a rustling of wings and hooves. I couldn’t see what was happening. Panicked, I looked around my desk for my quill, where had it gotten to?! Oh, did it even matter if I couldn’t see?

“Kindness…” Magic warned.

“You don’t get to pick and choose what you want to hear and what you don’t want to hear! Generosity is on his knees, begging you, and you’re just blowing him off like his opinion doesn’t matter?! Huh? HUH?!”

With a quiet squeak, I made a fateful decision. I abandoned my quill. I ducked under the hedge, tucked under the branches, desperate to see… The loamy god was marching with his teeth gritted, grassy mane billowing with every step. Magic stared at Kindness as he approached.

“You always do this!” Kindess barked, “That’s your problem isn’t it? Your Nightmare!”

And, Magic recoiled. His expression went strange. Wide-eyed. So unsuited to his narrow, stoic face.

“God of Kindness,” Magic snapped, “Cease your insults.”

“It is, isn’t it?!” Kindness yelled. “Your Nightmare is your own bloated sense of importance! Your need for power and control over everything! You have an ego the size of a mountain packed and rotting inside your head!”

“Cease!”

“I refuse!”

Kindness had gotten close enough to look directly into Magic’s wide eyes. A brown hoof jabbed into Magic’s blue breast, perfect coat mussed with dirt.

Kindness continued, “You don’t get to make all the decisions! Why can’t you let my friend have one thing? Or can your ego not handle—!“

Magic’s wings snapped open. He heaved into the air, eyes glowing, crown upon his head shining and swirling with energy pumped from his horn. There was a blast of light, and a frigid energy passed over me.

I was frozen, my skin pinching, like it was being coated in ice. I squeaked and shook myself, heard cracking, shattering, broken pottery. I slapped something hard from my eyes, and blinked them unstuck just in time to see Magic’s light vanish.

And the garden transformed.

Magic flapped in the air, jaws clenched, staring down at a courtyard coated in a pale rock. Chips of broken stone surrounded me, clung to my fur, dropping off leaves, making the grove tinkle like glass. Generosity…

Oh poor Generosity!

He sat peacefully, coated in that same pale rock. No, it was like he had turned into a statue, strangely perfect. In front of him, a wild stone Kindness, rearing up at an impossible angle, twisted expression frozen in one dark moment.

Magic landed in front of the two, stone chips crunching underfoot. He looked around, massive wings falling into place, expression drawn.

“Well… Yes,” he said aloud. “I can work with this.”

He turned, footsteps faintly crunching… Was he still going to take our Element? After all that? After… why did he blast them? Was he scared? I tried to stand up, to follow him… Maybe he’ll listen to a subject’s pleas? I don’t know. Maybe he’ll just turn me into stone as well. Maybe, maybe I should leave him alone. Maybe I could go, and break Generosity’s open…

Or maybe he—

There was a loud snap. Magic stopped.

The snapping and clattering continued.

I watched, stomach tight, as a crack snapped, zigzagging across Kindness’ stone face, following the snout in a clear line. A chunk fell away, bits bouncing and rolling down his neck. Under it, a contorted brown face and one ice-cold eye, glaring directly at Magic.

One half in stone, the other hissing steam of pure rage, Kindess screamed.

“FOUR-CLOVER!”

A leg busted through, shattering the fallen rocks. His body heaved, and the belly collapsed, smashing open as it smacked into the stone-coated grass.

“I’LL KILL YOU!”

Magic yelped, and vanished in an explosion of light and sparks. Kindness roared, and struggled through the rest of the coating, beating and stomping it underhoof, wings flaring and casting up gusts. The trees and leaves cracked and shattered, like breaking china.

I couldn’t stay there, not one minute, and not one second. I tore myself from the straps of my desk, abandoning it as I fled into the hedges, legs pumping and grass flying behind me. I tried not to scream. Tried so hard as I panted and squealed for breath, a scared, scared little filly.

I heard him snort, I heard as he stopped stomping. One sentence, barked by the god, carried over my fleeing mane.

“Pale! Get up!”

And I heard nothing more.

~Discord~

“He stayed out there all night. I watched him, we all watched him from the windows, standing and circling and lying beside Generosity. Nobody dared approach, and nothing came from it. It was late at night, pitch black, before he opened his wings and flew away.”

“Magic never came to get the Element. Kindness, however. He came back. Oh. He came back.”

“He came back bathed in black smoke, and with dozens of Draconequus scrambling around him, and griffins in the air. They were grabbing Unicorns, Pegasi, stuffing them into black portals and ripping open those who opposed. I don’t know what he was planning, or why he attacked his friend’s hospital. But I only a few children survived. The Element hid me, Warmheart, and a few others from sight, even as dark claws grabbed at the scientists, tossing them about like rag dolls…”

She took a breath. Her face was hidden in her hooves, breathing ragged and voice cracked from her long, long story. I felt frozen in place, wings and legs stiff. My jaw was shut tight, and hell if I was going to say a word to that… I didn’t even look at Luna. I didn’t need to. I didn’t want to…

Inhaling sharply, Redheart resurfaced. Her hooves laid flat on the table as she slowly opened her eyes. Looking at me. At Luna.

“So,” she heaved, “Do you think you have any say, any claim over such a noble gift? That you can just march in here, head half-cocked, thinking you’ll just take away the last, most Generous deed Paleheart has ever committed? Do you think you’ve someone earned the right to steal from this hospital, from Him?”

“We need it…” Luna mumbled, “Those miracles… to stop the Stallion—”

Redheart slammed down her hoof, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. “You’ve already got, what?!” she yelled, “Three or four baubles hanging around you! The gods did not need all six Elements to perform their miracles! Why should you need to take this one?”

“We can offer Healers, bits for equipment, repairs…”

“Oh, that’s generous!” Redheart scoffed, “Just buy off his gift, will you? Do you think that even comes close to what he did for us?”

I heard Luna inhale. I couldn’t look at her. Couldn’t say anything. She didn’t either. We both just sat there, staring and dumb.

“Then be done with it!” Redheart cried, “When your sister heals, LEAVE! I’ve wasted enough time talking to you! I have a hospital to run and people to cure, people I can ONLY CURE with the help of that Element! Do you understand?!”

“Yes,” Luna whispered.

“Good! Then. I will be leaving now.” She straightened herself out. Flattened her mane, leapt to her feet and stretched them out. Almost as an afterthought, she said, “Thank you for your understanding.”

And with that, she trotted out, around the corner, gone, leaving us both among the dusty tomes. Only then did Luna and I exchanged wordless glances.

Just…

The enormity of it. Knowing that Generosity had done such a thing. But also, knowing, finally, how the three had met their end… How the Stallion had transformed, and Magic… Magic just fleeing…

“What do we even do now…?” Luna croaked.

I shook my head.

“Let’s just…” I mumbled, voice cracking from disuse. “This is something we all need to talk about, isn’t it? All of us, together.”

“Yes...” she mumbled. “I suppose so.”

The day wasn’t even half over, and yet, we found ourselves trudging our way up to our room. Where else were we supposed to go? Back out into the rain? Continue poking around the hospital? What would we even do if we found the Element? We needed Celestia to discuss anything else…

We were on the stairs when we heard the scream, a short screech coming from the second floor.

We looked at each other. “It’s a hospital,” I said, “Someone’s bound to be in pain…”

It came again, a screech for help. A door slammed open, and Redheart charged down the hall, wooden box bouncing through the air behind her, over towards the side where our room was. And…

“Celestia? Celestia!”

“Miss Helios!”

We reached the door just as Redheart popped it open, aura flashing.

Inside, Celestia was on the bed, pressed up against the wall. Her Element was on her head, actually sitting there, perfectly poised in her mane. For a confused second, I thought she looked too big, was too wide against the wall. But I realized, confused, she had wings now…

Celestia shouted, “Help! Help! Oh my goodness oh my goodness…”

Her hoof jabbed downwards. On the floor at the foot of the bed was a splattered pile of black, tarry muck. Wet and purplish, it wobbled freely. A little eye rolled across its body, bright and pink and just like Celestia’s.

My eyes darted between Celestia, the blob. She seemed to have both eyes, then what—

There was a high pitched hum, and a crystal shot from Redheart’s aura, streaking two lines of purple as it flew. It circled the blob, skipping off the ground, tumbling and wobbling as it tried to get as close as possible. The little pink eye followed it, and the ooze heaved, like it was breathing.

“You two!” Redheart snapped. “There’s a supply closet at the end of the hall” she yanked her head to one side. “Go in there and grab a bucket!”

“Yes!” Luna squeaked.

I stayed, staring at the blob, and the rock encircling it, spinning and scraping like a top.

I didn’t want to believe it. It couldn’t be…

“What is that?” I asked.

“Smooze,” Redheart replied, teeth gritted, “And a generous amount, of it!”

“No!” I yapped, confused, “Where’d it come from?”

“Oh goodness, oh sweet sun and moon,” Celestia groaned. She settled down on her bed, and I stared, just stared. Her coat, it seemed cleaner now, a pure, pink-white. Her wings seemed awkward, spread out beside her at strange angles, twitching and flailing in surprise. Already, I could see little feathers cling to the wood behind her, bending as the limbs smacked into the walls. And her mane! It was mixing and swirling before, but now… it had resolved, or had seemed two. Fopur clean, even band of color pushed and pulled against each other, tugging the hair along with it…

“That was inside of me…” Celestia hiccupped, pointing at the black blob. “I was just, I finally thought I found it attached inside of me, and, Negativity, she was fighting me. But Nobility and, well, Generosity… Not the Element, mind, but I did use Loyalty to help. And then I just, just threw it all up…”

“That… what?!” I cried, “What the hell, Celestia, did you eat it or something?!”

“No! No, It was an infection!” Celestia squeaked.

“A terrible one,” Redheart asserted, staring down at the blob, and the stone circling it. “You’re lucky to still be alive.”

“What?!” Celestia screeched, “You said that I could fight it off! That it would go away naturally!”

“I didn’t know it was this bad. This amount should have put you in a coma. But…”

Redheart looked up, and suddenly, she looked so sad. The gemstone tripped and spun, clattering and rolling to a halt. Immediately, she returned her attention to it.

Redheart said, “I suppose I didn’t take your divinity into account. My mistake.”

“Bucket!” Luna cried, bouncing off the doorframe as she raced in, handle held in her mouth.

Redheart immediately snatched at the container and slammed it down on the captivated Smooze. There was a moment of quiet, stone’s humming gone as it spun out of control and bounced off a corner.

Firmly, without hesitation, Redheart walked towards the bucket. Her aura encased it, but something was wrong. The bottom of the aura almost seemed to flicker and fade, like invisible flames were eating at it. There was a sudden yank on the bucket, and Redheart upturned the muck, scraping it off the floor. Three black streaks clung to the floorboards, and snapped wetly as Redheart yanked the bucket skyward. The appendages flailed, curling and uncurling wetly, slowly collecting back together.

Contorted frown on her face, Redheart asked coldly, “Do any of you have a hankerchief?”

We all looked at each other, dumbfounded. Eventually, I summoned a little rag, and Redheart stared at me critically as I moved to pluck up the tentacles.

They were frigid, quickly searing and melting the illusionary cloth. Trying to grab at the pieces, my illusion quickly became a large bundle of half-realized cloth, quickly vanishing as I scooped up the bits and tossed them in the bucket as well.

I backed off. While I had cleaned, Luna had snuck by me, and was in a close, whispered conversation with her sister. I caught a few snippets, “Thank goodness, thank the stars in the sky…” “I knew I just had to do this alone…” “…was so worried…!”

While they talked, Redheart collected her fallen rock, scooped up the bucket and wooden box in her aura. She turned to all of us.

“Your sister is cured,” Redheart said with finality. “Now pack your things and depart from my hospital at once.”

LXXI : Luna

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 71
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Luna~

Calmly and concisely, Celestia explained everything. She explained about how she divided herself, and how the divisions took on a life of their own. How she fought. How she dealt with the personalities. How her independent selves had taken control.

“The purple, that is my Elegance.” She pointed to each part of her mane and explained herself, and what they meant. “Blue, my Generosity. Pink is for Humility, and where I’ve come from, in a sense. Green… well, that’s everything that can go wrong with the previous three.”

The colors still seemed to shift, bend into one another, slightly shifting her hair as they pushed and pulled. But each band remained within its own crisp line. Completely under her strict control.

It was her alicorn mane. We had both earned our wings, but she had earned an imposing aura. Something special and unique to her, proudly displayed as she sat properly atop her bed, sipping tea and retelling her story.

“And then, after that dream,” she explained, teacup hovering by her snout. “I realized that there was some magical reinforcement behind the negative thoughts. And even though I was able to accept the parts of me that were Elegant and Generous, the Snobby and Prideful parts of me just sunk deeper into this cold division…” She tilted her head, staring quietly at the ceiling. “I realized, while they were my flaws, something else was there too. The ‘infection’. I was suppressing it the best I could, but then you guys showed up. And I…”

She kept talking, but really, I needed a moment to just sit here and process. It felt so distant, so strange. My sister, broken into pieces…? And such a violent division too. What could do that? The smooze she spat up? Or maybe nightmare smooze?

It just felt like all the pieces weren’t quite fitting together. I mean, we were separated for just a couple weeks! And in that kind of time, she just destroyed herself… and then rebuilt herself? Is that even possible?

“And even as I fought,” Brand New Celestia continued, “Elegance, she wanted to be known as Nobility! She still had that proud, haughty side of herself, that side that was once Princess… Yet, I accepted her back. What was I going to do? Continue again and again to deny myself? Build up even more hate and self-loathing inside of myself?”

Celestia frowned into her tea and continued, “So, currently, I’m reconstructing myself. I may be whole again. My mind may be quiet under this unified voice. But I don’t have any illusions about my ability to control my own shortcomings. There’s a way to do this. A way I want to do this. But…”

She hung her head, slouching, and moaned. Really, she did! It was relieving. It sounded more like the Celestia I knew.

“Uhg! It’s really hard, actually. Stupid hard. But I want to be more, you know?” She straightened herself, eyes still rooted firmly in her cup. “More than just a pony, more than angry, or haughty, or anything else. I want to bear that Princess mantle with the poise and dignity of a real Princess.”

Finally, my sister said, “I want to be the kind of Princess who lives up to her cutie mark, you know? Radiant, like the sun…”

“I um.” I coughed. My voice had gone disused for too long. “Guess that’s the end of the story?

“Yes, I suppose that’s all,” Celestia said over another gulp of tea. “I don’t think I’ll get there anytime soon. But, um, I’m working on being a better pony? Yes…”

“Wow,” Discord murmured. “Wow, that’s… that’s crazy, Celestia. All of that.”

“Hey… Discord?” Celestia suddenly frowned. “Are you feeling alright?”

He blinked, stunned. I guess he didn’t think she’d notice. Discord was staring at my sister. Listening, interested in what she had to say. Yet he looked like he was going to throw up, a claw firmly clamped over the front of his snout.

“Yeah, uh…” he cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably. “I mean. You’re talking about Negativity, right? A voice in your head? But, that was the smooze, wasn’t it?”

“I… suppose it was, yes.”

“Where’d you catch it? How’d it get inside of you? Or… or…”

“Well from the sound of Redheart’s description, it was a result of stress.”

“But that doesn’t…” His face reburied into his claw. “Stress. Stress, huh?”

“Yeeees, Discord?” I asked.

“So… Celestia.” He said slowly. “Would you say that you were transforming into a Nightmare?”

She thought for a moment. “How could I say that? I’ve no idea what the process should feel like.”

“Well, did it feel like you were being overtaken by everything dark, horrible about yourself?”

“Oh. Yes,” she replied, “Very much like that. And I was only truly able to sort through it with help from Loyalty…”

“Yeah, yeah, your Element helped, I got it. I’m on my own tangent now.” He closed his eyes, tugging at the hairs of his chin, brow folded up into a deep, thought-filled frown. “The Nightmare. It’s fueled by corrupted petrichor. Stress makes the material turn black…”

“What?” I asked, “Petrichor?”

“I’ve talked about it before,” Discord said hastily, “I’ve got some on me. Lots of ponies think it’s the source of magic, or related to magic, since it’s found in Unicorn horns and Pegasi wings.”

My eyes snapped wide open. “So… Corrupted petrichor is smooze?!”

“W-what?” Celestia gasped, “You mean… Stringhalt, Canterlot, they use smooze to capture and detain…!”

“But it’s from… from ponies—!”

“No!” Discord barked. “No they are not the same thing!”

We fell silent in an instant. Discord continued tugging at the hairs on his chin, clearly agitated. I wondered if I should offer him a hug… but before I could, he started speaking once more.

“Okay. Listen. I have seen corrupted petrichor, alright? Seen broken bones, alright? Insides of corrupted horns, a wing once… I’m sorry,” he got a little quieter, tone somber. “Sorry, I’m even mentioning something so horrible, but… I have, I’ve seen it. It’s black, the petrichor. A sort’ve thick, oily slurry. Slimy. But…”

He shook his head, and took a deep breath.

“I have never, ever heard that material called smooze. It didn’t move or writhe, and it certainly never sprouted any eyes. None of the adults ever rushed to contain it. They just wiped it on the cobblestones, let it seep into the cracks…”

He rubbed at his eyes. Trying to scrape away the bad memories, maybe.

“Celestia,” he said suddenly, “You had to have gotten that material in your system somehow. Even if it was just a tiny little bit, it had to have been ingested. It doesn’t make sense otherwise.”

“But this makes so much sense.” I asserted, hoping I didn’t upset him further. “Everything comes together so clearly. And awfully, too, if you think about it. Such a dark regime, so horrible that it corrupts the very souls of ponies, and uses that dark Element for its own ends…”

“It doesn’t make sense!” he shot. “Who would leave something as horrible as the smooze just lying around? Even if it looked exactly the same…” Now both of his hands raked through his mane, palms pressing against his eyes. “Oh, what color was it, back then…?”

“Color?”

“Smooze is black-purple isn’t it?” Discord said, “Was corrupted petrichor the same?”

“Okay, okay, this is getting all over the place,” I said. “Discord, you’re the only one who’s seen petrichor when it’s corrupted. But we’ve all seen smooze. So let’s put together what we know about it. Okay?”

He nodded. “Okay.”

“It’s like purple-black tar,” I started, “Cold and filmy. It sucks out magic.”

“‘Cold’ is an understatement,” Discord grumbled, “And so is ‘sucks out magic’. It is a frigid, icy material. It drains energy from anything that comes near it. Numbing limbs, numbing thoughts, draining until you’re frozen, depressed, and powerless.”

“The Nightmare can build quickly,” I continued, “Out of control, dragging the Alicorn along with it. You get stressed, which builds up that horrible, cold material inside your bones. And the Alicorns have so much petrichor, that it just swells and swells and swells, taking over their bodies…”

“But what Kindess and Generosity discovered,” Celestia chimed in, “Is that the smooze can be countered by light, by positivity.” She nodded, tapping her Element. “But the problems don’t go away, because, even as gods, Alicorns are still as flawed as any other pony. Or, rather, they bring their baggage with them when they ascend.”

“Building up so much it can’t be overcome,” Discord mumbled.

“No! They can all maintain themselves!” Luna piped up, “They realized too late to reverse the smooze they had already built up, but we’re starting from zero! We already have ways to cure ourselves, and we’ve clearly realized that the bonds between us are important!”

“And that is exactly what happened to me…” Celestia mumbled. “At least, I think so. You two obviously have more experience with this!”

“And friendship is exactly how Bright and Paleheart cured themselves—!”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here!” Discord huffed. “Purple-black tar. Frigid, draining, and numbing. Direct contact causes hopelessness and depression, but in those leather bags, it just makes you feel disoriented. Can be countered by the light of the Elements, banishing its power and melting it away…”

Celestia’s nose crinkled. “Melting it?”

“Yeah, that’s probably not the best choice of words. It just sort’ve flows away. Rolls…?”

“No but… Melting… Guys?” Celestia’s eyes went wide, looking to the both of us. “Do you know what else melted when we used the Elements on it? What else was cold, disorienting, and we had to force past with every positive feeling we could muster?”

“No?” I cried, “What! What is it?!”

“Remember when we were in Canterbury…” Celestia whispered feverishly. “And, to get out, We had to carve through the rock itself. It was so cold and frigid, numbing and draining all of our magic…”

“The black cobblestone…!?”

She nodded fiercely, “Black, frozen smooze…!”

“Now you’re just being ridiculous!” Discord cried. “That’s just… what?! That doesn’t make any sense! Do you know how big Canterbury is?! How many shrines we saw built out of that stuff?! It’s not like The Shadow Stallion has had thousands of years to collect this stuff! It’s only been a few decades!”

“Well,” Celestia said, “Who says it was only the Stallion using it?”

“Healers have already been willing to use uncorrupted petrichor, and that comes from dead pony bones,” I said smartly, “Just because the opposite is all corrupted and gross doesn’t mean they couldn’t find a purpose for it…”

“But that’s ridiculous!” Discord shouted. “Who would look at the bones of a fallen friend, and just thinks, ‘ah man, maybe I should build my house with that stuff!’ Are you saying ponies. Kind, gentle, nice and reasonable ponies, would sink to using something that horrible for building material?!”

“Well,” I said, “To be fair, most buildings that used it were public shrines.”

Discord scoffed, “And all of FREAKING HOCK!”

“Which one was Hock again…?” Celestia said.

“That’s where the Shrine of Loyalty was!”

“Oh, right.”

“Oh my gosh guys,” I mumbled. “What if The Exodus from the Frozen North was that freaking brutal…”

“They didn’t want to just leave the bodies in the snow, so they took the bones and built literal towns from their sacrifices…”

“Now you’re both just talking crazy!” Discord huffed, “I never learned anything like that!”

“Well maybe it’s something nearing a secret history,” Celestia offered.

I nodded. “Yeah, after they did it, they realized, wow, this is freaking gross. Let’s forget this ever happened, alright guys?”

“Yes. Yes, it is instantly forgotten,” Celestia said, smiling gently, “Poof.”

“You’re both just joking now, aren’t you?” Discord said, “Both just trying to see what ridiculous theory you can come up with next.”

“Yes.” Celestia smiled. “A little bit.”

“Well we’re getting off topic,” Discord retorted, “Is the smooze corrupted petrichor? I say it is not.”

“Well, we can figure it out pretty easily, can’t we?” I stood. “Let’s go ask Healer Redheart!”

“Oh, yes!” Celestia said with a clap of her hooves. “Let’s!”

“She’s just going to ask us to leave, you know! She hates us, she just gave us a whole long lecture…!”

I grinned, rising to my hooves. “Could a Healer avoid answering a simple medical question?”

“Yeah, she can!” Discord said.

“Well I’m going to see if— Oh! Healer Redheart!”

I had popped open the door, intent on finding the Sanatorium’s head healer. But I didn’t need to go far at all. She was right outside, frozen for a moment with her head lowered and ear flush with where the door used to be. But in a flash, she had straightened out, and was staring down at us above her little glasses.

“Ah,” she said, “Still here I see.”

“We have a medical question,” I said.

“Well I am sorry, but I am much too busy to answer any idle questions. Now if you'll excuse me...”

She stepped back, but I stepped forward. I said, “It’ll be quick! You see, we’re confused. Is smooze made up of corrupted petrichor?”

She snorted and moved past me without saying another word.

“Oh, come on!” I shouted, “It’s important!”

“Oh yes, does it have anything to do with saving the world this time? Vital information needed to take down the Shadow Stallion.”

“Actually, when you put it that way… uh… yes?”

“I have other matters to attend to,” Redheart retorted, “And as I have already asked you once, I humbly urge you to immediately vacate the premises.”

“Redheart.”

Celestia was at my shoulder, her voice soft and demenour, well, like a Princess’. A real Princess. She said softly, “I know we’ve caused you so much trouble.”

Healer Redheart continued walking down the hall, not even looking her way.

“But if I am to avoid a second infection,” Celestia continued, a little louder this time, “I really do need this information. Consider it a way to keep me healthy, and away from this hospital, if you will.”

And that did it. Healer Redheart turned to us… and rolled her eyes.

“The processes involved are much too complicated to explain,” she said, “Simply keep healthy and you will be fine,” and kept walking, “If you would so kindly remove yourselves from my sight, I have patients to attend to!”

I called after her, “But… But Healer Redheart!”

“I think we should leave her alone,” Discord called from within Celestia’s room, “She’s probably sick to death of our need to save the world.”

“Hm… is she?

“And in the end, knowing about the smooze is nice,” Discord continued, “But how do we use this knowledge to get Generosity?”

A little ‘oh!’ popped out of Celestia’s mouth. He was right.

“Okay, so it doesn’t help us in this specific problem…” I said.

We trailed quietly back into the room, returning to our little circle. After a moment’s hesitation, Celestia even joined us on the floor, wobbling as she fell to her stomach.

“But darnit,” I continued, “I would’ve actually liked to know for sure. Maybe help figure out how the Stallion was able to make it rain smooze on us.”

“He did what?” Celestia cried.

“When we found Honesty, and tried talking through it, The Shadow Stallion overheard somehow, and he created a downpour of smooze.”

“Really?! How?”

“We’re not sure…” Discord said.

“There was a thunderbolt in the sky... ” I said.

“And I heard a ton of Pegasi and Griffins that morning…”

“Really? I didn’t hear anything.”

“Wow.” Celestia said, eyes wide. “My goodness. You faced him yet again, and escaped again.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say faced him,” I said.

“It was a remote spell,” Discord explained, “He wasn’t in the area, but the clouds themselves twisted and grabbed for us.”

“Stallion by proxy?” I wondered aloud. “I think we’ve got a lot to tell you.”

“Generosity first!” Discord said, “Please? One problem at a time.”

“Hm...”

We all fell silent, just for a moment. Just to think, I think. I certainly didn’t know how to get the thing. And I doubted the other two did either.

“Well,” Celestia said at last, “I wouldn’t feel comfortable just taking it.”

I giggled, “I don’t think that would be very Generous, no.”

“So should we get Redheart’s permission?” Celestia asked.

“Would it be best if she gave it to us? One Generous act…”

“Wouldn’t that make her Generosity?” Discord said.

Celestia tapped her chin. “Is there a problem with that?”

“eeeehhhhh…” Discord shrugged, looking to me. What? Should I say something?

Well, better say the obvious. “Can you actually see us travelling with her? Seriously? She’s like, twenty years our senior!”

Discord nodded. “And we would have to make friends with her, if we want the Elements to work…”

“Oh geez! How would we even break it to her?” I laughed, “‘Hey Redheart, you’re a magical alicorn too! Now take the Element and leave the hospital for adventure!’”

“Adventure…” Discord said, “and eventual bureaucracy!”

I couldn’t help it. I broke down into giggles.

“I just think it’s a little sad,” Celestia lightly remarked. “She’s been using the Element for so long. Longer than all of us. She grew up with it. Rebuilt a hospital with its power. And Generosity never saw her fit to be a Bearer?”

“We don’t know her,” Discord said immediately, “We don’t know what she’s really like. She could’ve just told us what we wanted to hear. Whatever it took to make us leave.”

I shook my head, “Her story, the way she told it, there’s no way that she made that up. However… it was solely about herself. There was no friendship to activate the Elements so... No,” I stopped myself before the others could, “That doesn’t make sense either. None of the first gods were friends.”

“Maybe that harness Paleheart built prevents the Element of Generosity from moving?” Discord offered, “After all, he didn’t want anyone taking it from this hospital.”

“So…” I continued, “Maybe when Generosity removed, it’ll snap right to Redheart. Bam. True bearer.”

“Then what?” Discord said, “Then what do we do?”

“Then we try to encourage her to leave the hospital with us,” Celestia said calmly. “She may be much older than us, but I don’t want that to come between us and our duty to the country. If she is The Element of Generosity, then we should try and make friends with her too. I don’t think any of us want her to be the next one to go nightmare.”

“Eh…” Discord mumbled, trailing off.

“She just wants to help her patients, and make the Sanatorium the best it can be,” I said, “And if she does join us, that doesn’t stop her from eventually returning here, right? Be shitty of us to just let her go nightmare...”

Celestia winced. “It still troubles me when you swear so easily, Luna!”

“Oh! Whoops… sorry.”

“Okay, so, if she’s Generosity, fine, she can be a magical alicorn healer with us,” Discord firmly continued, “But Alicorn or no, we’d still have to take her away from here. And you know how much she’s all for that idea…”

“Yes, well…” Celestia took a deep breath. “I… well, I may have an alternate solution as well.”

“Yeah?”

“What is it?”

“Now… assuming the worst. That she isn’t Generosity, and we are forced to take the Element away from the ponies relying on its healing. We still are the future rulers of Equestria. And we still do have our power and influence that comes from the position.”

“Okay…” I said, nodding.

“I have a few contacts who may be able to staff this hospital, making the need for Generosity less pertinent. However…” Her shoulders slumped, angry frown on her face. “These contacts are also the jerkwads that made me, and all of Canterlot, completely insufferable.”

“Oh noooo my sister swore!” I laughed, “She’s really serious now!”

“Oh hush,” she retorted, “’Jerk’ is not a curse word!”

Through our sisterly giggles, Discord continued, “Do you think more Healers will really convince Redheart to let us have the Element?”

“It won’t hurt the hospital to have more staff,” I said, “You saw how much Redheart was running around. Even if she’s still stubborn about holding the Element, it will help this place out.”

“Well then…” Suddenly, Discord grinned. “How generous of you, Celestia.”

Celestia stuck out her tongue. “Oh hush! Really. Hush up. I should probably get to drafting a formal request to… uhg… Chancellor Apple.”

She stood, wobbling on her feet again. I suppressed a smile. She’s not used to how light her body is now… Just like I was.

“Let’s go find us some quills and paper,” I said.

~Θ~

We lead her to the library, and tried to help with the letter, but Celestia asserted that she needed to write this herself. Her reasons ranged from ‘closure’ to ‘I have the most training, so seriously, leave me to this.’ So eventually, we did leave her there. Carefully, we snuck into our room, not knowing if we were going to get kicked out or not.

Once we were inside, Discord spoke so suddenly, I wondered how long he was waiting to talk alone.

“What about me?” he said, “Do you think that smooze is building up inside of me? From all these bottled up, sick feelings…”

I hugged him. Pulled him close and tight until he stopped squirming and just sat, breathing under my outstretched legs. I rested my chin between his horns, and smiled.

“You don’t have to fight like she did, Discord. You’re not fighting alone.” I whispered. “Because I’m here for you.”

Quietly, he breathed under me, prickly fur rising and falling against my stomach.

“I love you, Luna.”

I giggled, “I love you too.”

He shivered under my hugging legs. I giggled again.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you, dummy!”

~Celestia~

Butterflies in my stomach, worry tingling in the back of my mind. Could I handle this? Would I? But I steel myself. It’s not a matter of ‘could.’ I will. I must.

Last night, I began work on a letter to Apple of Stringhalt.

It was difficult to do this. More difficult, and more frightening, than anything I encountered in my final transformation. I was terrified that my façade would slip, that I’d break, and Negativity would come rolling right back in my head, eating me up once more…

That didn’t happen, of course. I was free from that cloying nightmare. Better, I felt assured that I knew how to stave her off the next time I felt broken.

But with one fear quieted, another rose. Apple could not disobey me, but I may have permanently lost him as an ally. Could I rely on him any longer for favors? Did I want to?

In the end, I worried more about how much I should ask for than the actual issue preventing communication. I already knew what I would say about Blueblood. I refused to apologize for it. I would not be so weak in front of my subjects.

After hours of agony, I took the letters to Luna’s room, fully completed.

“Two copies?” she asked.

“I am uncertain if he will be in his Canterlot home, or back in Stringhalt, so… Two letters seemed appropriate. Now. Can you cast these to his desks?”

She chuckled, “I don’t know what either of those look like! Or where they are!”

“I’ll direct you. Here…”

We sent the letters. Through the little hole of the spell, I saw his Canterlot office, and Discord confirmed the other one was Stringhalt. Our Elements hummed in harmony as we cast, and that seemed to make Luna and Discord nervous. When I asked, Luna explained,

“We threw our voices through the Element once.”

“Yes, and using them once brought an attack on our heads…”

“He hasn’t appeared yet, but, all this activity is making me nervous…”

Several tense minutes later, the world failed to upend and the two relaxed, if only slightly. And a half hour past that I received the reply by dragon flame. Written on fine parchment and sealed with wax… it was far more official than I could manage with my bits of scrap paper.

Crowding around me, Luna and Discord stared over either shoulder, reading. I felt hot, embarrassed. I just wanted to shove them away, prevent them from reading anything potentially scandalous. What if he wrote about everything? Scolded me? Chided me? What if he was downright hostile, begging me to never speak with him again?

The letter read:

Dearest Princess Celestia

Wonderful to hear from you again! Your departure from Canterlot was so sudden. I assume you are doing well? The planting is about to start in Stringhalt, so I am very glad that you’ve gotten back to me before that hubbub had started.

And yet, such a sudden request that was! And so noble in its intent! I remember the days when The Sanatorium was a grand center of healing and research. Defunded, you see. A heavy implication that it should stay that way.

I should hope that you see why it would make me hesitant to assist the place once more, while the current regime still stands! While we cannot access the full funds of the Canterlot Royal Treasury, I, as Chancellor of Stringhalt, would be honored to offer you the assistance of our finest Healers in the interim, with the implication that reimbursement and full funding will be granted upon your ascent to the throne.

By five’o’clock tonight I shall arrive, arrange for a little tour of the facilities. I will see what The Sanatorium needs to function as a proper hospital, and see what Stringhalt can provide for it!

I do hope this letter finds you well! See you at five, Princess Celestia!

Chancellor Apple

I didn’t know whether to be galled or relieved. Yet I sighed audibly. Of course he was overjoyed. His Princess had forgiven him. His influence was completely intact. Even if he hated me now for personal reasons, what was he going to do? Reject the cushy position my friendship allowed him?

And, for the first time in so long, he had called me by name. Celestia. Not ‘his princess’ or ‘dear little princess.’ But Princess Celestia…

Now, nearing the appointed time, we stood in the rain.

Yes, we stood in the rain, platform under our feet, pattering wood over our heads. Discord had constructed a pagoda decorated in bright colors and hanging banners. It kept the rain off our heads, and served as the best impression we could give.

I asked if the hospital had an emblem, something to use for the greeting, but Redheart only answered with a stony glare. I was surprised we could even encourage her to joined us. Yet Discord was ever resourceful, and quietly made up the platform up with light purple and matte healer’s marks, the colors of Paleheart. And strangely, he quietly added his own flare of gold and silver inlays, coating the banners in something shining, making them look crisp and dry in the dreary rain.

A few passersby ponies stared at the pagoda, calling out to Redheart, but only Luna replied, waving back and smiling. I thought it was nice, but Redheart only stared at the puddles around us, some pooling with Discord’s fabricated dyes.

“It’s not permanent,” Discord offered, “The color will fade when the spell does.”

Redheart huffed, but otherwise ignored the stains.

“None of this is necessary,” I heard her reply mumbled. “The hospital had functioned fine without outside help.”

“What you’ve done is wonderful, Redheart,” I said, “You’ve protected a legacy. You’ve helped so many with it. The hospital will continue in Paleheart’s memory, having stood by his will. Is that enough?”

Every word made my heart ache. I didn’t want to do this. She deserved the Element more than any of us. But I stood so firm. I stood like a Princess, the one I was always meant to be.

Redheart sniffed, and looked ahead, into the dark.

Uncertain how long we waited, or if five had come and gone, it seemed to be an eternity until Apple truly arrived.

It starts slowly at first. Just a few wisps of black smoke, pinched like they’ve been plucked off the ground. They rise and twist in the air, swirling together, growing deeper and darker, forming a little well of shadows, slowly spinning before me. A light appears deep within it, the smallest little fisheye pinprick forcing its way through the darkness’ cloying grip…

And I don’t even blink as three ponies step casually from the darkness, black tendrils quickly vanishing from their shoulders.
Apple strode forward, tall, wide, and regal as I remembered. Almost instantly, I had to bite back a seething and automatic hatred. For who he was, and who he made me...

A dark-coated pony collapsed beside Apple, and my attention was torn towards him. It was a unicorn, noisily panting for breath, horn steaming purple, a hot, dull red. He looked barely older than I was, and yet, he was able to cast a teleport over such a long distance... Even through his pain, and the vanishing shadows of the portal, he looks immensely pleased with himself.

“Wonderful work as always, Somber Night! Marvelous!” Apple droped a silver coin in front of the wheezing unicorn. “Here, have a tip and get some rest. We’ll be needing you again in an hour!” The unicorn ignored the coin, but Apple payed this no heed.

Because his true target was me. Of course.

“Celestia, my dear!” Apple boomed, bowing deeply. “Good to see you, good to see you!”

I was surprised that my legs could move at all. I don’t even think I tried to walk. I simply stepped down from the platform, expecting to hit mud. But instead stepping on a rapidly unfurling carpet, canopy extending over my head, darting over Apple’s head as well.

Apple looked thrilled, stepping up on the carpet with a smile.

“Well well! Such a fine display! Do I have to wipe my hooves?!”

He released a barking laugh, so typical of him. He’s completely at ease, isn’t he? Oh, goodness… Oh sweet light and sun… I glanced back, and saw Discord offer me a small nod. Thank you Discord. Oh goodness gracious, thank you for the small show of courtesy, and perhaps even power. It felt so right.

But soon again, I was instinctually walking forward, ducking into a curtsey. It felt so dreamlike… like I was just drifting along. Who knew being an alicorn meant I would feel so light on my feet?

“Thank you for coming on such short notice, Chancellor Apple.”

“No trouble, no trouble at all. Anything for the Princess! and for… Ah!” He looked over my shoulder, grinning. “If I may ma’am?” With a short bow, he carefully stepped around me. The third pony, a dusty pink stallion, followed after, quietly bowing as he passed. “Princess Luna, Prince Discord…” and he bowed to them as well. Full formality, Apple? You didn’t care much for them before. He really must be scrapping for a better impression among us… That, or he was just as impressed by Luna’s alicorn transformation.

“And you!” Apple boomed. Redheart flinched as his attention wheeled around to her. “Are you here representing The Sanatorium?”

“Y-yes,” Redheart straightened herself out, curtseying the best she could. she clearly looked unused to the action, her back hooves crossed awkwardly. “I am Headmistress Redheart. I humbly welcome you to Generosity’s noble Sanatorium, Chancellor Apple.”

“Oh! Well, thank you! How could I just leave an Old God’s pet project high and dry? Amazed it was still standing, if I may be frank!” He smiled broadly, peering past Healer Redheart. “Standing, and still operating as a place of healing! Very good, very good. Well! If you don’t mind me, I’m going to help bring this place back to its former glory!”

He laughed loudly, as if the thought of denying his help was some kind of huge joke. Redheart’s face remained stern, and from here, it seemed like she was quietly chewing the insides of her mouth.

“So!” Apple clapped his hooves. “While it’s nice standing around in the rain, I vote we head inside. Get this tour started, see what needs to be done! So, Madame Redheart…” he bowed, holding a leg out to the hospital. “After you!”

“Yes,” she replied through her clenched teeth, “Yes, this way.”

Stiffly, she stepped off the pagoda and walked down the newly forming path towards the Sanatorium. I turned to follow, stepping back onto the original platform. I don’t know if I was relieved or stunned or…

I sighed, relaxing just slightly.

“Well,” I said, “let’s head in, shall we?”

Luna nodded. Discord was still staring behind me.

“Hey!” he called into the rain. “Are you going to be okay?!”

I turned back. The black stallion, Somber Night was it? He was still breathing heavily, standing, a bit soaked, under our canopy. His horn was still steaming, though it was no longer glowing a hot red. At Discord’s voice, he looked up, tousled curly mane plastering the sides of his face.

He waved a hoof in a dismissive circle. “I’ve done worse. Thank for your concern, but I just need a moment.” I stopped, momentarily surprised. What a deep voice!

“Alright then…” Discord continued, “I’ll leave this main platform up if you need it.”

He grunted. “Thanks.”

As he walked up to us, Somber Night glanced at Discord. And then the glance extended into a stare.

He said, “Hey. You.”

Discord blinked. “Uh?”

“You’re that same Draconequus, right?”

“Same as what?”

“The menagerie, from Stringhalt?”

My friend winced. “Yep. I was certainly there once.”

“So you’re a god now?”

“Yep,” Discord replied. “God of Kindness.”

“Wow.” His face crinkled. The stallion gave a small bow. “Honored, I suppose.”

“Thanks?”

“It was wonderful meeting you, Somber Night,” I said politely, “But I do think we are needed inside.”

“Still leaving this up, so uh,” Discord waved aimlessly at his creation. “Stay as long as you need.”

“Really? Thanks…” Somber Night stared up at the construction, tapping the beams with his hoof. “Fascinating.”

“Yep. Well…”

With a fleeting nod in his direction, I pushed my friends along the freshly created path, towards the double doors of the hospital. We headed inside, and were already far, far behind the main group.

Poor Papercut seemed trapped behind the front counter, rapidly staring between us, Redheart, up at the ceiling as she desperately tried to turn in her chair. For once, no papers were floating and flowing around her. She seemed like she had lost all control… reduced to just a pony trapped behind her desk.

Apple was already up on the second landing and apparently, thankfully, thrilled.

“Such a grand design! And this was built without magic? Ah, a bit dusty, but how is one supposed to clean such a high ceiling?! Only a Pegasus, no, a very skilled Unicorn…! Oh, just look at the details on these bannisters! Do you see this Spring Pear?!”

The pink unicorn looked briefly up from a floating scroll to glance at the bannisters, then quickly returned to his paper, quietly scrawling notes.

“Oh, I’m getting ahead of myself! Redheart! Come!” Apple waved her up the stairs. “Come! Tell me of your operations! How many patients a week?! And Healers to serve them? Please! Do tell, do tell! I need to know how many healers we should put on the payroll!”

“Well he seems excited,” Luna whispered.

“‘Seems’ being the key word,” I whispered back, “He could just as easily be feigning excitement to please us.”

Discord closed his eyes and sighed loudly. “You know what? This is why I freaking hated Canterlot.”

“Really?” Luna asked, “This is why?”

“Well. One reason why. All this fakey… Only pretending to like us for our favor. I didn’t put up with none of that crap.”

“I guess that’s part of the reason why they didn’t like you much either,” Luna mumbled, giggling.

“That. Among so many other things…”

“Yes, yes, I think we’re all sick of Canterlot politics by this point”I waved my friends over to the bottom of the steps. “Now. Before Apple takes Redheart away.”

The head healer was currently ascending the grand staircase with all the speed she could muster: no speed at all. Her eyes were rooted to the ground. Perhaps Apple could see that as being humble, but we all knew better… Much better.

She glanced down at us as we approached, head still hanging low.

“What do you want?” she said.

It was clearly directed at us. Apple was still babbling away with his assistant, chatting with the patients… From the sound of it, he may have found Smiley. He seemed to be demanding to know somebody’s job at the facility, in the politest way he could manage.

Such a bizarre feeling of control filled me. I was trained for this in Canterlot, after all. but after so long struggling with myself… I think I knew what to do again. Maybe.

I plainly said, “Healer Redheart. We need the Element of Generosity.”

“You could be it’s Bearer, you know,” Luna piped up, “After everything you've done for this place, none of us would be surprised, or offended, or anything. We’d love having you among us.”

“I don’t want to bear the Element,” Redheart retorted, “I didn’t need to be it’s bearer to do all I could…”

“Someone has to carry it, Redheart,” I said, “Maybe there was a point where it could remain. But we need it now, for the country. There’s no saving it without Generosity.”

Redheart took a few more hesitant steps upward. Apple still babbled on, clearly not needing her to do whatever he was doing. I think she realized that too. Because after a single glance up the stairway, she looked over at us, face twisted.

“Please, just… don’t. You don’t have to take it.”

Discord and Luna were uncomfortable. I could hear thier hooves shifting behind me. But I stood firm, eye to eye with the old Healer.

“Healer Redheart. We must.”

She closed her eyes. Her hoof rose, and pointed to the east wing.

“Last door on the right. Just… do what you will.”

Discord’s eyes snapped down the hall, and he almost ran for it… Yet, we all stayed until she ascended, glumly standing by Apple’s side. Only then did we hesitantly walk towards the hall. It felt like, at any moment, she might jump down and shout for us to stop. But she didn’t move. She simply remained by Apples side, quietly answering questions.

“Well. Offered her a bit of help, and she let us go!” Discord quickly whispered, “After that big fight she put up…”

“I don’t think it was just that,” Luna commented. “You know how much she distrusted us. And here comes this big official, bowing to us, calling us Prince and Princesses… We weren’t just random punks anymore. We were nobility. Gods. We had proof. She couldn’t keep saying no to us, knowing how powerful we were...”

I nodded. “We hold the same authority as Paleheart did. The New Gods, replacing the old.”

After a brief search, we found the door. Or, a door, whitewashed wood with a copper handle. There was nothing strange about it, nothing marking it as something worthy of attention.

And yet, it was the only locked door I had ever encountered in The Sanatorium. The only thing here that Redheart thought was worth putting under lock and key.

“Did she intend us to bash it in?” Luna said abruptly, interrupting my thoughts. “Or maybe she thought we’d just give up and leave?”

“Maybe. But a lock isn’t really an issue.” Magic began shooting between his fingers, gumming in straight, sparkling lines. “If you give me ten minutes, no, five, I can probably pop the lock.”

I stared at him. “You know how to pick locks? When did this happen?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say know… so… yeah, maybe fifteen or twenty minutes.”

Luna rolled her eyes. “I can just teleport us through. Seriously! Here!”

Her horn flared to life, and with barely a toss of her mane the edges of shadows collected from the floor, from the walls and the cracks beneath the door. They pinched and swirled together, swiftly spreading across the whitewashed surface, forming into a dark portal.

And just like that, we had our door. She automatically stepped forward towards the wispy portal.

“And off we go—eeeEEp!”

And just as automatically, she tumbled forward and vanished without a trace.

“Luna?!” Discord cried.

Muffled, she called, “I’m fine! Really.” Her head reappeared among the shadows, floating in the dark. Her mane wasn’t even tousled. “But be careful. There’s stairs here.”

Silently, we filed through the shadowy portal. It was much the same spell as the one we had witnessed earlier, though across a much shorter distance. Just to the other side of the locked door. I tried to be careful, to mind the first step. But it was further than I assumed, and I would have wound up toppling all the way down if I was not caught by Discord quickly grabbing my tail.

It was strange. I expected such an action to hurt a lot more than it did. But my wings… my wings, strange as it seemed, just sort’ve fluttered automatically, and I just drifted momentarily in the dark.

Bizzare.

It was dark in here. Darker even than a night under the clouds. Of course, I quickly summoned a little light to see by.

We stood on narrow stone steps, only two ponies wide and with steps worn by constant traffic, descended far below us, vanishing past the point where my light could reach. The air was thick and musty, silence pushing in on my ears. Nobody spoke. Luna was smiling, but I imagined there was an edge of hesitation to it. Discord just looked quietly down the stairs, and I wondered if he could see further than me here.

There was no point in waiting now. With me at the lead, we finally descended into an empty, hollow place.

The trip down was long, but not ungodly deep. The bottom was simply cut off by the slope of the ceiling, curved, perhaps buckling from the weight of the building above it. We soon reached the bottom, stepping into a white marble landscape of hollow halls and empty rooms.

My light reflected off these gaping doorways, shadows forming off thick objects. I tried to avoid looking directly at them. The silhouettes were certainly tables and counters, sticks of wood and upended chairs. But in the dark, they looked like slumbering beasts. Occasionally, something flickered in the darkness. A shattered bit of glass. A pool of pale water. The shimmer of scattered metal shavings. None of the wreckage made it into the hallway, which was smooth and clear. Free of even dust or dirt, as if the area was recently swept.

“As much a tomb as all the rest,” Luna giggled quietly, “Yeah?”

“Yes…” I quietly mumbled back, “The Tomb of Generosity.”

“Look,” Discord muttered. “There’s a light…”

There was. Faint, made fainter by the light I carried, but present. A steady red glow that seemed to pulse erratically. We tried to follow it to the source, walking down oppressively quiet hallways that seemed to eat our hoofbeats. For a few terrifying moments, Discord actually encouraged me to turn off my spell, so we could better determine a direction. I had to step on his tail quite a few times, trying to stop him from running off without relighting the hall. Though it seemed like my hoof had hardly any weight to it at all… so much for actually stopping him.

“I could just remove the shadows from your eyes, Celestia,” Luna offered, horn already alight.

“I think I’ll stick to my own spells, thank you,” I quickly replied.

It was barely ten minutes, and yet, I couldn’t wait to be free of this place. We finally followed that oddly pulsing red light into a room lined with bare marble countertops. There was no wreckage in this space, no broken tools or toppled chairs. This was the only clean room, and it was devoted to one, and only one object.

It was as my friends told me. The Element sat in a tall, metallic device, its gemstone held aloft by double pendulums. Both of which swirled like unicorn horns, lined with a silver substance. Petrichor, possibly. It certainly looked bright and star-filled enough.

And yet, I was stunned.

“You said,” I softly spoke, “it was sitting in a cradle, held by its band…”

“Well,” Discord replied. “Not anymore.”

The Element was not gently resting in its carriage. No, it seemed alive, and it seemed as if it was frozen in a moment. One flash frame of an attempted, violent escape.

The gold had become a sickly bright yellow, band splitting and contorting and bulging into a complicated, lopsided wreath. Gold wound around bars of the frame, encircled the pendulums, jagged in some places and drooping, melted in others. The gemstone itself barely looked like a heart anymore. The red stone was shattered and divided, slowly warping and melting along the lines of sick gold. The uneven pulsing of light was coming from each section of gem, each flashing out of tune. I could have sworn it was producing off-kilter tones with each beat. But, perhaps that was just my imagination….

“I never thought I’d see an Element like this,” I said.

“In pain,” Luna mumbled.

“Yeah…”

“Whatever it looks like,” I said firmly, stepping forward. “It was used for a good cause. Perhaps it was just trying to connect with Redheart, accept her, instead of this machine…”

I heard Discord mutter, “I doubt it.”

I ignored him. Stepping forward, staring up at the cruel device, I wrapped my yellow aura around the silver frame, and attempted began to tug at the struts. Generosity moved with the machine, thoroughly attached to it.

“Maybe, as soon as it’s free…” Metal squealed. Flakes of rust drifted from the joints holding the pendulum. “It’ll zip right by us and fly to her side…”

I gave a hearty yank. There was a painful, high-pitched squeal. The upper pendulum had broke free. It sunk, a little, then tore neatly through the gold lattice, smacking the countertop with a clunk. Silver paint splattered across the marble, began dripping from the new hole in the fragile device.

I closed my eyes.

“I really, really, really don’t like this situation,” I said.

Luna and Discord muttered their agreement.

“Can one of you hold this frame?” I asked, shifting the metal again. “I’m going to try to rip the Element out.”

Silently, Discord moved forward. Little fingers of his magic swirled around the bottom of the frame, spreading across the tabletop and gripping at the edge. Where it came in contact with the silver, his illusion bloomed and bubbled, swelling into bizarre shapes…

He waved for me to ignore his spell’s transformation. I nodded. Took a step back.

The Element looked so pathetic. No matter how noble Paleheart’s sacrifice was… The Element was not built to work like this.

So I wrapped my aura around the red stone. And with one swift yank, I tore the Element free of its cradle.

There was a flash. A high-pitched tone. And, in an instant, tight metal weaving around my neck, squeezing, and falling into place.

I blinked, trying to see through the blast of light. Yet I knew already. The Element of Generosity had settled around my neck. And when I could see again, I saw it had neatly rejuvenated and reformed, a small purple diamond inlayed in the soft gold band.

“Well,” Discord said. “That settles that.”

LXII : Celestia

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 72
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Celestia~

With no other reason to remain, we quickly gathered our things and left the hospital. I was more than happy to avoid any more of Apple’s eye. If we had decided to remain, I was certain he would rope me into some kind of dinner party, or a serious talk over tea, or a hushed discussion in the corridor, or any kind of interactive conversation at all. No, a brief note about urgently saving the world was enough. I quietly left it with the still-frazzled Papercut, and without a single glance back we were out the door and gone.

It was, of course, still raining. And I was without my cloak. We could only deal with that for an hour or two before ducking into the next town’s stable, renting a single stall for the night.

Our cloaks, and their bags hung off the door, dripping quietly. I settled on the stall’s straw, mildly disappointed that it wasn’t perfectly dry.

“I’m glad you two had the forethought to actually bring money with you on this trip,” I commented.

“I’m glad Discord had the forethought to not throw the money pouch away,” Luna said. And, at my confused stare, she said, “Long story. Anyway. Think I should pop open a portal to Canterlot, grab her bag and cloak?”

“Just pop open…?” I balked. “Canterlot is so far from here! How…?”

“Alicorn,” Luna swiftly replied, “And I know exactly where I left it. It’d be a pretty direct portal.”

“If the servants didn’t move the bag,” said Discord.

“Yeah, if that didn’t happen.”

“If I may be honest,” I said, “I’d rather just get a new cloak.”

“Again, Alicorn,” Luna repeated, “Worth a shot, right?”

“I just don’t think I’d like seeing Canterlot at the moment,” I said lightly, “Especially if we have to go rooting around it for my things.”

“Hm…”

Neither of them could quite come up with a response to that. Luna calmly sat by my side, staring up at Discord. He regarded his hands, fiddling with the straw of the stall.

Idly, he said, “Bit damp, isn’t it?”

“The straw?” I said, “Yes, it’s not as dry as I would have hoped for. I suppose we’ll just have to make due...”

“Nah, screw that.”

Discord raised a hand and swiftly clicked his talons. In a flash, the stall was filled with bedding. Curtains drifted over the walls, pillows formed under our hooves, mattresses puffed up under our closely cuddling bodies. A thick comforter fell over my sister and I, large, warm and fluffy. All of it was proper, soft bedding, rivaling the comfort of Canterlot.

“Oh!” I turned to him. “And you can maintain this while sleeping?”

He nodded confidently. “It’ll sag a little by morning, but I’m getting better and better by the day.”

“Well… oh!” I laughed, “This is rather comfy! Thank you.”

“Thanks. I mean, uh…”

Discord looked down at Luna. She smiled back up at him, in such a curious way. Luna smiles often, and brightly. But something seemed different about the way she smiled at him.

I stared. Discord noticed me staring. And, was he blushing?

“Well!” he said, dropping down on Luna’s other side. “Guess we don’t want to buy another stall… If you don’t mind, Luna, I’ll be here.”

Luna frowned, looked at him, then at me…? Why do they keep looking at me that way? Did I do something strange? Are they hiding something?

I supposed it wouldn’t be long until I got my answer. Luna puffed herself up, in a way that Luna only does. It was her ‘I’ve decided on a course of action that nobody else wants to take, so I am going to take it myself’ pose. I smiled quietly. Well, Luna will be Luna…

I was still smiling as she loudly declared, “Thanks, Discord! You’re so thoughtful!”

And I lost that smile as, very deliberately, Luna leaned over and sloppily kissed Discord on the cheek.

“N-no!” Discord cried.

He flailed his arms wildly, flushing pink under his gray fur. He tried to draw away, but Luna followed him, like her lips were glued directly to his cheek. Discord’s hands fell on her shoulders, and his eyes snapped to mine. I didn’t look away, of course. Just stared right back.

“Hm?” I asked sweetly, as if nothing was wrong.

Discord blurted out a single, “I’m sorry!” Then he yanked himself away from Luna, grabbed the covers, and buried himself, tightly wrapping into an individual blanket burrito.

“Well!” I laughed. Oh no, did that sound shrill? I didn’t mean it to be so high pitched…!

I don’t think either of them noticed. Certainly not Discord, not wrapped up like he was. And Luna didn't seem to notice because, well um, she was poking her snout at the blankets.

“Disco-ord…” Luna chided. “I can’t tuck under your wing if you—“

Discord made a strangled sound. The bed suddenly heaved under us, and Luna squeaked loudly as she rolled into my side. A wooden wall slammed down between her and Discord, cutting the mattress in half. It bulged into brick, tightened back into a more compressed structure. It gained a tile roof, which also quickly transformed into brick.

Luna and I both stared at the little brick house squatting across from us, taking up a perfectly Discord-sized portion of the bed. It was silent for so long. I don’t know about her… but I wasn’t going to say anything about all this.

Who knows how long it was until Luna moved off of me, shrugging her wings. Perhaps a bit miffed? Yes. Or no. Well, if she was younger, I would have called it pouty.

“He and I both confessed,” she admitted from absolutely nowhere, “We’re both madly in love, you know.”

“Oh,” I squeaked. “I wouldn’t have guessed.”

“That me and him…?”

“Yes.” What in the world was she asking?! “You both acted so… so normal around each other! Maybe it was because I was a bit preoccupied at the time, but you both just seemed like normal when you found me! I would have never guessed that you were…”

What? Were what? Not normal? This is normal enough. Filly. Colt. About that age. All alone on a journey to save the world.

Yes.

Normal.

“Hm. Well.” Luna started, frowning at the brick hut. “He is shy…”

“I can hear you…” Discord said, voice muffled.

There was a flash, and a bit of the brick transformed into a little brick door. Discord poked his head out of the little door, face still flushed a bright hot pink.

“I like Luna for being Luna,” he grumbled, “She’s… she’s wonderful, how she is. I don’t need anything else from her… So I guess I can just be normal now. Just being with her, I can be normal.”

“Nothing else from me?!” Luna cheerfully cried. “So all those nights you spent holding and crooning and stroking my fur—“

“For life’s sake, Luna!” Discord squealed. And then he re-buried himself back into his brick bunker, further burying it under a cascade of earth.

“It’s going to come out eventually, Discord!” Luna shouted at the mound, “No sake in lying to my sister!” Luna fell back to my side, playfully… miffed. “He’s really sweet, but he still has problems being straightforward! You know?”

I could only stare. “Yes, I suppose so.”

“It’s not weird is it?” Luna said, grinning like she obviously wasn’t thinking it was weird at all.

“No…”

I frowned, trying to assert my response internally. It was not weird. I am not going to ruin this reunion by stomping all over my sister’s feelings. And it’s not like I had a logical reason why I didn’t want them together.

I still just didn’t like Discord. I still just wanted to coddle my sister. I knew that was stopping me. Who knew that my flaws would resurface so swiftly, already drive me apart from those two? I couldn’t let it happen. I wouldn’t let myself be burdened by my gut reactions. And I wouldn’t let myself stand apart from my sister and my friend.

So I took a deep breath, and I said, “Better Discord, before the old Canterlot stallions start fighting for your wedding band. Right?”

“I guess… Hm.” Now it was Luna’s turn to blush. “Marriage though!” She giggled. “I’m not even full-grown!”

“You’re getting close, little sister.” I smiled, despite myself. “You’ll be a mare before your next birthday.”

“Mare…” she giggled again. She settled down, face still red, smile wide, in that new, odd way. Her ‘love smile’ I suppose. She turned to Discords bunker, and tucked herself a little closer to it, smiling and smiling like she would never stop.

And I tucked myself in alone, totally accepting that this is how things were now.

~¤~

My legs were getting sore from wading through so much mud. I could already feel the muck crawling up past my knees, damaging my new cloak. But I didn’t dare complain. Luna and Discord had been through this much longer than I have, and I obviously didn’t want to taint my time back with them.

We were all under umbrellas. It was just a little mud that was causing me problems. I could stifle complaints, if it meant having a little peace among us.

But maybe things were a little too peaceful? It had been an hour since we started walking, and we had barely spoke a word. Were they that worn down from their journey? Or, more than likely, was it just that awkward having me back between the couple? Luna usually doesn’t get held up by those things, but Discord was clearly uncomfortable.

So…

“So um… Hm…”

It didn’t bother me. At the very least, it shouldn’t. I mean, Discord was um…

Nice.

Oh, haven’t I gotten over this? Discord is nice. He’s a good friend and I’ve been unnecessarily harsh to him!

Quite suddenly, I barked, “So, Discord!”

He looked up at me, puzzled. Or, maybe not puzzled. Just looking.

“Um… How was your trip?”

“Trip?” he asked.

“Well, you know I spent the weeks in that Sanatorium… what were, uh, you two up to?”

“Well, we got Honesty.”

“Yep!” Luna said, hoof tapping the wide black gemstone of her tiara.

“And we messed with it,” Discord continued, “For a little while, at least.”

“Ran from the stallion…”

Discord frowned back at me, over his shoulder, “But I thought Luna told you all of this.”

“I did!” Luna cried, nodding. “Do you think we missed something, Celestia?”

“No!” I said, “Just, well, you know… Curious, is all!”

Discord mumbled, “About what’s going on between us?”

“No, no, not necessarily! Just looking for things to talk about!” And, before I could stop myself, “I don’t want stuff to come between us, you know?”

He frowned. “This romance…?”

“No! Anything!” I asserted, near babbling now, “I put up walls between us, shoved you guys away in Canterlot. I don’t want the same thing to happen again. I don’t want it to fall off again…” My knee brushed by Generosity, purple diamond hanging stoically around my neck. “I left to correct myself, which I’ve done, to the best of my ability. I mean, I’m so far from better—“

Suddenly, Discord snapped, “Stop doing that!”

“What?” I nearly jumped, surprised, “What am I doing?”

“That! You’re wings!” he waved a frantic hand at me. “Don’t be so blunt with your emotions! Tuck your wings tightly to your sides!”

“What?” I balked. “My wings?!” Of all the things…!

I spun in place, trying to crane my neck back to see what he was talking about. One pure white wing had unfolded serenely, poking out from under my cloak, making the cloth ride up past my shoulders. The other was clearly lifted in the same way, but only the feathertips had escaped the confines of the cloth.

“Oh! Um, I’m sorry, I didn’t quite realize! Uh…”

I tried to steady them under my cloak, draw them back down, or something. But I had no idea how they got this way in the first place! They stuck out even further, wavering and twitching as I tried to tuck them back down. Eventually I had to resort to magic to fold them properly back in place.

“What’s the matter, Discord?” Luna asked, “You know she can’t control her wings yet!”

“It’s just… it’s embarrassing!” He shot, blushing once more, “You never see my wings flip-flapping around, do you? It’s good manners, or something! Yeesh…”

Luna stared at the blushing Discord. “You never told me to tuck my wings in!”

He mumbled something, and I watched as Luna’s eyes went wide.

“Huh?!” she cried loudly, “What do you mean ‘it’s cute when you do it?!’”

Discord made a strangled sound. Without any further warning, he bolted out from under the umbrella and ran into the rain.

“Discord!” Luna cried, “Discord, where are you going, you doof?!”

“Discord, please!”

And, quite suddenly, I charged forward. My umbrella tumbled off my shoulder. I cried out, cold water immediately began soaking through my cloak, raindrops thrumming on my hood. Mud splattered across my belly as I ran, dirtying even more of my hair and coat.

Yet, I still ran after him. Bouncing through puddles and hopping through the air, wings flaring under my cloak, making me float and drift along after him. A curious sensation that I completely ignored, my thoughts racing.

Why I was doing this… Yes, why was I doing this? Why did I feel so desperate? So hurt? He was the embarrassed one, he had the right to be after Luna’s teasing. And yet, I felt just as horrible. Was I sorry for him? Desperate, perhaps? But for what? Forgiveness?

“Discord!” I cried, “Wait up, will you?!”

Through the rain, I saw his lamplight eyes whirl around to face me. Yes! Perhaps he’s going to stop and finally talk frankly…!

Nope. He squeaked, and in a twisting sort of flourish, he ducked right under the shadows and vanished.

“Oh honestly, Discord!” I shouted. “Are you really just going to run from me?!”

My mouth slammed shut so fast, I nearly bit my tongue.

Was that Snippy flaring?

Luna laughed behind me, called out my name. But I didn't dare stop. I just kept running and running, cloak soaking through, mud coating fur too much of my coat…

I don’t know how long I ran. I know Luna stopped at some point, but I knew I wouldn’t stop until I caught up to Discord, once and for all. For a while, I was worried that I might’ve just ran past him, not even knowing better.

But eventually, I did catch up. At a fork in the road, Discord silently sat. He was on a fat rock, hiding under an illusion of a purple canopy. An old and tattered book was open in front of him, held aloft by with a complicated vine stand.

His eyes flicked up at me, then back down at the book.

“Didn’t know what direction to go,” he mumbled.

“So…” I started, breathing heavily through my nose, “That’s your map, then?”

He shook his head. “Ruin’s journal. Wanted to know if the wing thing was pony etiquette, or just a dumb Draconequus rule.” He lifted a clean paw and gently shut the old book. “It’s not in there, of course. What the heck does a Draconequus know about this stuff? ”

He glanced at me once, twice, then tucked the book away, back into his bag. The vine stand dissolved, but the purple canopy remained.

Discord asked, “You’re not… mad at me, are you?”

“No,” I said automatically. “Are you mad at me?”

“No… not really.”

“Then why?” I demanded, “Why are we fighting?”

“I don’t know,” he mumbled, “You get mad at me like it’s your job. Two weeks apart… that’s like no time at all. Why would that change?”

“Is that why you snapped at me?”

“No… Yes?” He huffed, holding his head in one hand. “I just don’t feel right around you. You… uhg.”

“I don’t…” I thought about it for a moment, before finding what to say. “I don’t exactly know what to think about this. It’s strange, yes, but… you’re my friend.” I smiled weakly, “What are you going to do? Respect her too hard?”

Discord sighed loudly. “That’s not the problem, Celestia.”

“Wow. Really?” I laughed, but I quickly stopped myself short. “I um, did not mean to make that sound so sarcastic. I am just genuinely surprised.”

Discord didn’t reply. He just watched me, silent and tired under his little purple canopy.

“Then what is it, Discord? I don’t want anything more to come between us! I want to understand, okay?” I stepped forward and reached out a hoof, tapping his paw hand, “I want us to be real friends. Not friends who hold each other at arm’s length.”

I thought that might comfort him. Might calm him down, at least a little. Accept my friendship, finally.

But no. He tucked his hand under his body and turned away.

“For life’s sake, Discord,” I huffed.

“No,” he grunted, “That’s my phrase.”

“Well I’m using it,” I retorted, “For. Life’s. Sake.”

“You know you’re just praising the fact that you’re not dead,” he snapped.

“Well, I sure am glad I’m not dead!” I stuck out my tongue. “Sweet life, I’m not a nightmare, I didn’t turn to stone and die.”

“You know, that’s the thing!” he shouted, “Two weeks alone, and BAMF, totally better?!”

“Well, not totally—“

“You’re better! You’re much better!” Discord shouted, “Don’t pretend like you’re not! I don’t see you agonizing. I don’t see you worrying or fretting. I haven’t even been shouted at once by you! Least, not until now…”

“Do you want me to do those things?” I said, incredulous.

“Of course not! I just hate the fact that you did this so freaking easily!”

I could feel my feathers ruffle this time, rubbing the wrong way against the inside of my cloak.

“What?”

“For years, Celestia!” Discord cried, “Years, I freaking starved myself! I bottled up my hunger, I bottled up my feelings, I hid and cried and there was no solving it! There still isn’t any solving it! Luna’s been helping me deal with, with me, and I’m still a fucking twisted knot on the inside!”

He lifted his paw, jabbing a finger at me. Face red, he shouted, “And you just think about your problems for two weeks, and poof! Problem solved!? WHY?! Why was it so easy for you?!”

My ears were ringing. Not just from Discord’s shouts. They were just ringing. I was afraid, terrified that I might hear Snippy growling, that she might again rise within me and attack Discord, unwarranted.

I couldn’t answer.

I didn’t answer.

I just stood and listened to my ears ring on and on.

And slowly, Discord’s face fell.

“I’m sorr—“

“No!”

I slapped my middle against the rock, clapping my hooves on his hand.

“Don’t apologize, Discord! I should be the one apologizing!”

“It’s not your fault that you’re a pretty perfect alicorn,” he mumbled.

“But it is my fault for not noticing how much pain you were in!”

The words tumbled out of my mouth, I didn’t want to stop them.

“That’s what you said, right? You were hurting over yourself! And I just yelled at you! I made it worse, didn’t I?! I made you hurt and feel ashamed about who and what you were! Just because you rubbed me the wrong way, because you were different… I shouldn’t have done that! I’ve been a terrible friend for you!”

He snorted weakly, “Finally realized, huh…”

“I realized it while I was fighting myself,” I said, “I realized why I didn’t like you, and I thought that was the end of that. But it’s not. I knew how I felt, and yet, stupidly, I still didn’t understand how you felt, Discord. I just thought… I don’t know.”

He was quiet.

So I said, “I’m still kind’ve stupid like that, aren’t I?”

“Maybe,” he mumbled.

“Can we try again Discord?” I asked, “Can we?”

“Don’t have much choice, do we,” he mumbled, “Fate of the world depends on how much we kiss and make up.”

“Well… if you had a choice in the matter?”

He rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. “New Alicorn You is definitely better than the old version.”

I almost corrected him. Almost said I wasn’t better, and that I wasn’t new. Not yet. But compared to what Discord was going through… maybe I was.

And that was far from a forgiving response.

“Thanks, Discord,” I said, nodding firmly, “It means a lot to me.”

He mumbled, “And it’s not like I hate you.”

“Also means a lot to me.”

“Just… jealous.” He shrugged. “I guess.”

“I’m here to help, Discord. Just like Luna has.”

“Uh. Not just like Luna has.”

I grinned, “Oh really? What can she do that I can’t?”

And despite everything, Discord smiled too. Weakly, but he smiled.

He said, “None of your business.”

“Well, she is my sister.”

“And she’s my, um… nevermind.”

“She’s your nevermind?”

“Well I was going to say ‘mate,’” Discord replied with a shrug, “but I’m pretty darn sure ponies have a different word for it.”

‘Mate.’ That hit me somewhere deep, somewhere inside me where Snippy resides. A deep, primal…

“Fillyfriend,” I quickly said.

“Wow,” he said.

“Hm?”

He shook his head. “Weird word, is all.”

I stuck out my tongue. “Oh, hush.”

“Well, you’re both smiling!” Luna said, running up behind us with both umbrellas bouncing in her aura. “Did you two make up?”

“Perhaps a little?” I said, looking up at Discord.

“Yeah, sure,” Discord grumbled.

Luna floated my umbrella back on my shoulder, and I steadied it with my aura. The damage was long done, however. I was completely soaked through, with no part of me not covered in mud. It was only then that I noticed I had speak a lot of that mud on Discord’s paws.

But he didn’t seem to mind. He dropped to the ground with a wet thump, instantly coating his clean hands in a fresh coat of muck.

“So. Um…” I looked around, trying to find something else to talk about. Um. Uh. Er. I lifted a wing , or at least I tried to. It twitched spastically under the heavy cloak, only barely able to shift the rain-soaked cloth. “When am I going to learn how to use these things? I’m sure Luna’s probably an expert in them by now.”

“Actually…” Luna said, “We were going to wait for the rain to let up before we practiced.”

“Except it rained the whole damn week over here.” Discord looked up. “What is going on up there?”

“Maybe we could fly up and see?”

“Nooooo…”

“Yeah, no.”

“Last time that happened, the clouds tried to grab us.”

“They tried to grab you,” I asked, incredulous.

“Yeah, but that was probably the stallion by proxy.”

“Still don’t want to try that again.”

“Nope.”

“Well.”

“Hm.”

“I still want to learn how to fly.”

“Yeah, me too!”

“Uh…”

~¤~

“Okay… Alright!” Discord called over her shoulder. “Bank just a little to the left! Just a little!”

I did so, rain splattering off my face, my multicolored mane flapping and twisting strangely in the wind. Luna, she turned a little more so. She rocketed left, spinning and wobbling nearly out of control. She laughed as she bounced off my flank, flapping over to her coltfriend.

“For goodness sake, Luna! Be careful!” I squealed, “You’re going to knock me out of the sky!”

“Sorry!” Luan said with a loud, gleeful laugh, “I didn’t know that we were going stay up here so long! My wings are getting tired!”

“We shouldn’t! We haven't!” I cried. “Oh, goodness, this is simply so strange.”

I wanted to beat my wings furiously to escape this falling feeling in my gut. But I fought instinct, and did exactly as Discord told me. Swift, easy beats when I felt myself drifting, wings out to give myself distance… Goodness gracious, it was cold, my wings hurt, there was water in my eyes, and I always felt like I was going to drop like a rock.

I hated this! I loved this! Oh why in the world did it have to be raining?!

“This is great!” Luna cried, “Let’s never land!”

“NO!” I squealed, “That is far beyond feasibility!”

Luna dropped, then heaved upward, wings beating loudly as she jolted upward.

“You’re going to make yourself sick, Luna!” Discord shouted over the rain.

“I already feel sick!” She cheered, “But I don’t care!”

~¤~

It was late. Long, long after the lessons, and much longer after our trip through the sky. We had flown far, further than we would have gone on foot. But I couldn’t help feeling that we may have gotten lost in the meantime…

Wherever we were, we had settled in an open field. Discord had set up a wonderful canopy and laid out dry sheets that refused to soak up the water. I was able to set up a nice warm fire for us, something that only burned on my own magic, and refused to be dampened by the rain. So despite sleeping in the rough, we had a nice, warm, and fantastically dry place to stay. All thanks to our growing powers, and the Elements.

Discord waited for us to both settle down, then slipped away in the night. Luna explained with an easy and comfortable smile, and I didn’t press her on it. I didn’t exactly want the details. She accepted him so easily, could I do the same? When I closed my eyes, I could see him on that rock, absolutely tormented. Even now, alone in the rain, was he hurting all the same?

I was awake when he returned, tending the fire, trying to make sure our cloaks were being dried. I heard him squelch through the mud, and heard his wings give a light flap as he jumped on the platform. I watched, through the dark, as he shook himself free of water, wringing out his cloak…

I thought I smelled blood. No, no, just my imagination. Let it be.

“Welcome back, Discord.”

He froze as I spoke. But slowly, his shadow settled down, relaxing.

“Evening, Celestia,” said Discord.

And we were silent again. He gave his cloak a hearty shake, and spun another hook by the fire. He hefted his cloak up to it, and I warmed the fire a bit more, trying to dry them both.

Think of something to say, think of something to say…

I said, “We’ve only got one more to go… haven't we?”

He remained silent. Another blanket wove itself out of his fingers, wrapping around his shoulders as he settled down by the fire.

“Oh,” he said suddenly, “the Elements.”

I snorted, “What did you think I meant?”

“No clue,” he replied with a shrug. “But yeah. One more. And after that?”

I said, “Is it bad that I think only of challenging the Stallion? First thing?”

“No,” he said with a shake of his head, “Can’t blame you for that.”

“We’d be ready. Far more prepared than before.”

“Yep.”

“You sure you’re not mad?”

He rolled his shoulders, shifting the blanket up higher.

“No, I’m not,” he said, “What more would I suggest? Practice a little, then go? Can’t exactly say ‘nah, let’s not face fath- let’s not face the Shadow Stallion.’ It’s our duty now. Our responsibility.”

I nodded, staring off into the rain.

I mumbled, “And after that…”

He settled further into the blankets, and it seemed like he was just so tired.

“Do you think we could keep travelling?” he asked.

“That would be slightly selfish of us,” I replied.

“But I feel like I just met you,” Discord huffed, “Like… again! I’ve had to re-meet you, and we’ve got to have time to be friends, or the Elements won’t work.”

“We can’t be that distant, Discord,” I said.

“No… but… there’s still some, I think.”

“Even after today?”

“A little bit.”

I took a little moment to think, and Discord let me take that time. I didn’t even know what to say, and nothing seemed to come to me, no matter how much I experimented with the fire or listened to the rain.

There was just one gigantic, wall sized, obvious fact. And it was all I could do to just come out and say it.

“We are two very different people, Discord.”

“I know,” he mumbled.

“You embody freedom. And I am bound by responsibility. We’ve found shared ground, however—“

“Yeah, I know,” he asserted, “No need to repeat that.”

“I want to consider you a wonderful friend, Discord,” I said, “I think there are so, so many things that we just will never be able to accept in each other. But we must do our best to overcome those things. Am I correct?”

He nodded slowly, and mumbled, “Mm-hmm.”

I thought that was that, but suddenly Discord said, quite loudly, “Should I call you Tia again?”

“No,” I replied, almost instantly, “Celestia suits me just fine.”

Discord and Celestia. Freedom and Responsibility. I didn’t tell Discord, but that sounded so familiar.

It sounded like something those Illuminators would say.

LXXIII : Discord

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 73
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Discord~

We cut through the rain with ease, batting it away with our combined magical power. I had created a sail above our heads, and Luna had drawn shadows from it, rippling around us. In the early hours of night, it was nothing to sail through the sky, invisible and undetected. The only sound was the constant pattering rain, and the flap of our cloaks whipping in the wind. Luna even seemed overjoyed to guide us, drifting and floating with her horn alight in the air.

My shoulders ached, my hands were going numb from cold and magical exertion, and I felt like my fur was just going to be permanently soggy for the rest of my life. And yet, the long flight, the magical exertion, it was like nothing to the girls. One hour in the air and boom. They’ll never want to go back down again. And insanely, I wondered if they never had to land...

Life.

If that was the case, then it’s crazy how far they’ve gone on ahead of me.

I can’t take this anymore. Through the rain, I shouted, “Shouldn’t we be landing soon?!”

“No!” Celestia yelled back. “Or… yes!”

“No or yes?!”

“Soon, I think?!” Celestia called, “We’ll just be following these hills for a while! But once we get beyond the um— Oh!”

I didn’t need to guess at what distracted her. The trees fell away, dipping sharply into a wide, shallow valley. Open sky spread out in front of us, the land below spreading out into sprawling farmland, vanishing rapidly into the dark. Specks of light lit up a small huddle of houses far in the distance. They flickered in the rain, the only light in the black sea of night.

“Here!” Celestia shouted again, “We’ve got to follow these hills further west!” She trailed off. And yet, I still heard her mumble, “Um, landing…”

Celestia’s wings billowed out, mane streaming between them. Her pure white form was practically glowing in the dreary night rain. And her form was already so perfect…

“So… like this!”

Aaaand then Celestia flung her wings up at a sharp angle. Predictably, she soared downward like a dropped stone.

“Oh! Oh wait!”

She started to beat her wings furiously, but it was too late. Momentum dragged her through the upper branches of the sparse trees. And judging by the the crashing and shrieking, she probably hit the sloped ground soon after.

“Wow,” I said, turning to Luna, “Maybe I should’ve given her a parachute.”

She giggled, “Or a cushion to land on!”

“Nah. Ground’s pretty soft right now.”

Luna laughed again, “I sure hope it is!”

Luna’s wings opened properly at her sides, just as Celestia’s had, initially at least. With a casual grace, Luna banked to her left, and quietly dipped under my legs, gliding towards the ground with her mane trailing elegantly between her wings, tail curling in the currents of air—

I hastily looked away, and flung open my own mismatched wings. Maintaining the sail and shadows around us, we spun and circled downward, darting through the branches and eventually sliding down a slope of mud and wet grass. Celestia was waiting for us at the end of a wide skid mark. She was standing, shivering, wet, and coated in mud, wings still wide open and cloak askew.

“In a hurry to land first, Celestia?” I said.

She shot me a glare, “I could have been seriously injured, you know!”

“Not at the speed you were going,” I replied, “Um, unless you twisted a leg or something. Are you alright?”

“Fine. Fine…” she mumbled.

That was apparently the end of that. Without another word, she stood up straight and shook her drippy mane out of her eyes. Her horn suddenly lit up, and the shadows around us bulged outward, like sails filling with air.

“Celestia!” Luna cried.

“Just one moment!” Celestia huffed audibly, and with a quick shake of her head, the mud and sticks peeled off her and fell away.

“Oh,” Luna said, “Okay?”

“No cleaning for us?” I joked.

Smiling faintly, Celestia said, “I already did.”

“Oh.”

I checked my paw. Except for the palm, all the mud was gone from my leg. Even the space between my fingers was clean.

“Now,” Celestia said, trying to pull her sopping, heavy cloak over her wings, “Perhaps you could make a walkway, so we can remain presentable when we approach the final tomb? I wouldn’t want you to be a mess when you receive your Element, Discord.”

“My Element?” I yapped. “Oh. Magic? Me?”

“What?” Celestia asked, “Are you surprised?”

“Fits you perfectly, doesn’t it?” Luna said.

I shrugged, “Just hadn’t thought of it like that. Two apiece, huh…?”

Celestia nodded. “Of course. Now, the path, if you will.”

“Sure, uh, one second…”

The path was nothing complicated. Gray stone with the flying sail stretched over top, held up by sticks. and we walked, I deconstructed the end, and pushed it ahead of us. It was just enough to keep our hooves clean and our heads from getting rained on, and just enough effort that I didn’t feel like I was taxing myself.

It’s strange though. I’ve had so much energy lately. Was that just diet, or a transformation of my own? I wasn’t an alicorn, that’s for certain. But something that would’ve taxed me so badly a year ago was now a breeze. I’ve always been able to fly and use magic, so maybe Kindness didn’t think it needed to transform me?

But both of the girls transformed right before their second Elements…

Was I due for something?

I let the girls lead as I rested my aching wings. They quietly colluded over the map, calling the occasional direction back over their shoulder. We hugged the hills south of the distant town, following a road that seemed rarely used, or just washed away from the rain. The sides of the dirt path almost seemed to spill down the slope, mud rolling over plants and rocks tumbling down into the farm plots. Mudslides, Celestia explained. Small ones. But worse could come. Would, if the rain kept up…

“When we become in charge, or whatever,” Luna said quietly, “Should we get the Pegasus to stop the rain?”

“Should we?” I asked quietly, rising slowly from my own thoughts. “Would we have to use force?”

“We’re not keeping them as slaves,” Celestia asserted.

“Of course not,” Luna quickly said. “But how will we control the weather? Without the Pegasi, would we have to do it all ourselves?”

“Don’t forget the griffins,” I said, offhand, “Will they just up and leave?”

“I’m sure we’ll find a way,” Celestia calmly declared, “Let’s just focus on one issue at a time. Magic first, then the Stallion.”

For a little while, we were quiet, as if the matter was actually settled. I wrapped my little stone path around a boulder that either slid down the hill, or became exposed as the mud washed away.

“When we become Gods, and they crown us or whatever. Take us seriously,” I said, barely louder than the rain. “What’re we going to do about Canterbury?”

“Well… well we can’t just let it be of course,” Celestia said, “Hopefully, enough ponies will have evacuated in a year’s time that we’ll be able to get the rest out with ease.”

I inhaled sharply. My little path split open, chipping and sinking into the mud.

“Discord,” Luna said urgently, turning back to me, “You’re not at your limit, are you?”

“N-no… Just lost focus.”

I quickly fixed the path and we continued on. She, Celestia, she doesn’t know. I had forgotten to tell her, no, I had never dared to tell her that the city wasn’t being evacuated. Her plan was dumb, of course, and it was just a little lie at the time. But that city still stood, and it was still full of ponies. And other, worse things… All of it would have to be unearthed, dealt with at the Stallion’s fall…

“And what about the Draconequus?” I mumbled.

“Hm?” Celestia asked, “What about them?”

“They’re not going to have The Stallion controlling them,” I said, “They’ll have free reign. They’ll be able to go anywhere. And anything still insidethe city…”

She turned away from me, silent.

“Will we have to kill—“

“We will turn them to stone,” Celestia snapped, “We can easily trap them in stone.”

“Is that really much better?” Luna asked.

“Yes,” I said, “They can be revived from stone.”

“That just makes it worse!” Luna cried,“We can’t risk them being brought back, can we?”

I stared at Luna, filled with weird, alien feeling. She was right, really. Why risk even the remote possibility of a Draconequus running around?

“One thing at a time! Please!” Celestia cried, “There’s a lot to consider, yes. But we can’t lose our heads in a tizzy about everything that’s going to happen.”

Absentmindedly, I said, “What happens will happen, I guess…”

“Exactly!” Celestia asserted, “These are situations to be aware of, but it won’t do us any good to take shots in the dark, guessing at possibilities that may not even comes to be! Here, now… We worry about the last Element. We think about what it will take to attain Magic. That is all.”

Luna fell silent, and, looking back at me, I couldn’t think of anything else to say either. Guess that really was all.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about it, no freaking way.

That lie.

That huge, freaking lie.

I thought it would’ve just made things easier. Got Celestia out of the city, allowed us to go forward, forget about the impossible task.

But now I was terrified. We stop the stallion, and the Draconequus would tear apart that city, so full of ponies, packed with life… Would we be forced to jump in, to kill off the Draconequus before they destroyed everything? I shivered, tips of my wings twitching under my cloak. Could I, or any one of us, really do that? Would the Elements even help us commit such an atrocity—

Atrocity? Killing purebred murderers is an atrocity now?

But there it was again. A strange, gut instinct that I couldn’t quite place. Not sympathy, not loyalty…

“Look,” Luna said, jolting me from my thoughts, “Up ahead.”

I step forward and peered around the girl’s shoulders. Through the rain, I could make out the faint orange glow, light reflecting on the dozens of puddles along the water-soaked road. I didn’t see anything holding said lantern, or where the light could be coming from at all. But it was there, all the same.

“The tomb?” Celestia said.

“A hut, maybe.”

I stared up at the two of them, “Just looks like the side of a hill to me.”

“Well it’s definitely an occupied side of the hill” Luna said, “Who would come all the way out here on a rainy day to light a lamp nobody would use?”

I replied, “I’m not doubting it’s something or somebody, but…”

“Oh, just make the path, Discord!” Celestia huffed, “Um. Please, will you Discord? We can see what it is once we get there.”

I nodded. With a click of my claws, the gray stone shot ahead, tossing up mud and water as it bolted through the wrecked dirt road.

Luna and Celestia immediately trotted ahead, but I didn’t want to see. I didn’t want to know. I wasn’t done thinking. I wasn’t done sorting myself out. How could I be excited about getting magic if I was still such a mess on the inside...

But there was no point in stopping them now. They had already run right around the slope of the hill, to whatever was beyond it. If I didn’t run after them, they’d just come right back and drag me. So, begrudgingly, I followed the path right to where the girls stood, staring.

Our assumptions were correct. Sort’ve. The lantern did mark the edge of something alright. But, like Celestia and Luna, I had to take a moment to figure out just what I was looking at.

It was like a little hill, on the hill. A lump of grass, dirt, vines, with a hollowed-out front. The lantern seemed to hang off a kind’ve frame, black metal digging into an exposed lump of cold granite stone… I blinked a few time, squinted through the rain. No, it was an archway, made of that gray granite. But mud had slipped over it, grass and vines effectively making it part of the hillside.

I spread the path a little further forward, and we all walked closer. The arch looked grungy, like it was falling apart. Stone chips mixed with dead leaves. We saw that there was tile under the arch, but it was warped, with grass creeping through the cracks. There was almost no decoration to speak of.

And sitting there, on a lump of rock that could hardly be called a bench, was a stone-gray stallion wrapped tightly in a tattered, fraying cloak.

“Oh!” Celestia said, “Hello there, sir.”

The stallion barely seemed to move at all. I mean, I would’ve assumed that he was part of the rock if his cloak wasn’t obviously flapping in the breeze. But I still saw as the bald stallion, an earth pony, turned his neck just slightly. His yellow eyes set into a firm, unblinking glare, gaze locked on Celestia.

“Um,” Celestia continued, “I’m sorry to intrude on you, sir, but um… Might you know where the Tomb of Magic is?”

The stallion exhaled through his snout, a long, agitated sigh. He stood slowly, cracked hooves snapping more stone chips as he dropped heavily off his shapeless seat.

“So,” he growled, “Finally here, are you?”

“Yes? Is this…?”

“His tomb,” the stallion said, in a sickly, guttering voice that snapped like a whip. “And I, the Gravekeeper.”

“It is wonderful to finally meet you, Gravekeeper,” Celestia said quickly with a small bow.

“Raise your head, girl, I don’t need your groveling,” the Gravekeeper snapped. Celestia stumbled upright, mouth a hard line. “Now where are the rest of you? Do not tell me you only brought three!”

“We only ever were three,” I spoke up.

Another long, agitated sigh slipped out of his snout, swirling with mist.

“How in the hell do you expect the Elements to work with just the three of—“

The Gravekeeper’s gaze drifted towards me. It froze the moment his eyes locked with mine. The grubby yellow things shivered up and down, roving over my face and body. His forehead creased into a deeper frown.

“And what, might I ask,” The Gravekeeper snapped, “Is a beast of the dog breeder’s doing here?”

“I am Prince Discord,” I shot back automatically, “Element of Kindness.”

“Kindness!” he heaved. “You’re the new Kindness, are you? Is this some kind of sick joke?”

“I’ve been Kindness for a year. Everyone in Canterlot has accepted me,” I replied firmly, temporarily discounting everyone who hated me there. “And we’ve come to receive the Element of Magic, so we can save Equestria. Do you have a problem with that?”

Again, The Gravekeeper froze. He stood tall and straight, like an angry, stiff statue, eyes glued directly on me.

“Two Unicorns. Two Pegasi. Two Earth Ponies,” he said slowly. “That is the way things are done. Or perhaps, were done.” He snorted. “Did it not work to well enough the first time? But really, who am I to judge? Hm?”

He finally turned away, eyes raking hungrily across Luna and Celestia now. Judging them like slabs of meat, or bundles of apples he wasn’t going to purchase.

“A Draconequus Element,” he grunted, “Of all things... Starswirl help us all…”

“Oh,” Luna said softly.

“Luna?” I asked, looking her way.

“He’s the one we heard through the Element,” she mumbled, “The one who told us to run from the stallion.”

“Makes sense. If this is Magic’s tomb, he must have heard us through the Element.”

A loud scraping sound made us both jump. The Gravekeeper was at the entrance of the tomb now, deeper under the buckling archway. He was dragging open a massive stone door with a hemp rope in his teeth. The Gravekeeper strained against it. His hooves kept slipping on stone chips, nearly tripping him several time. His neck and upper body were bent low, twisting this way and that, as if he didn’t know the right angle to drag it open. I got the sudden impression of a dog, or a puppy playing tug of war with a larger, stronger pony.

Slowly, the heavy granite ground open, exposing the shadowy insides of the tomb. I frowned as the girls peered into the darkness. Unless Luna’s eyes were permanently scrubbed of shadows now, I probably was the only one who could see the horrible mess right now. Stone chips littered the ground, in big broken clumps. There was a pile of rags in one corner. The black, stained scuff of a firepit in the center. Dented pots were scattered around the space, and the whole thing smelled strongly of rotten vegetables and stone dust.

This seemed like no resting place, especially not for a god.

“Do you live in there?” I asked, incredulous.

“Sure as the sun shines,” The Gravekeeper replied, “Obscuring clouds or no.”

“Pardon?” Celestia scoffed. Luna quickly rubbed the shadows from her eyes, doing the same for her sister.

The Gravekeeper didn’t even care. He just casually walked by me, towards the rain-soaked path, picking up a black, hooked stick in his mouth along the way. Crook wobbling uncertainly in his teeth, he poked at the lantern, trying to pull it off its stand. It took him a few tries… three, four, five… before his finally managed to drag it down. And only with the help of his hoof, too

I said, “Do you…?”

“Living here?!” Celestia cried, “Living, in such a sacred place?! What kind of… I mean…!” I turned back. Celestia was taking deep breaths, staring at the ceiling and clearly trying to compose herself. “Perhaps, yes. Alright. Do the townsfolk not provide for you? Are you in need of living assistance, good Gravekeeper?”

“I am in no need of your pity either,” the Gravekeeper grunted, crook held awkwardly in his teeth.

“It is not pity,” Celestia asserted, “Magic, and yourself, deserve a respectful—“

“I am in no need of respect!” he snapped, spinning on us. Celestia ducked as the lantern swooped over her head. “This is exactly as I deserve! And all Magic deserves as well! Now! Follow me, and shut your blithering yaps, you imbecilic children!”

Luna’s feathers ruffled. “You can’t talk to us like that!”

“I can and I shall!” The Gravekeeper shouted. “Are you going to stop me? Leave the Element buried forever with my corpse?”

“Woah now,” I spoke up, “We never said anything about killing…”

“Good! You have more sense than I thought a monstrosity could hold!” The lantern swooped back over our heads, “Inside! Immediately!”

He stalked off into the darkness, lamp wobbling on his shoulder, stone chips crumbling under his cracked hooves.

I turned to Luna, “Bit of a different treatment after those Illuminators, huh?”

She smiled, “Yeah… Do you think he’s even with the Illuminators?”

“They talked of him,” Celestia whispered, “The Illuminators definitely knew he was here, at the tomb. As for what he was doing… Who can say?”

“At least he’s willing to let the Element go,” I said, “Somewhat.”

“Either that,” Luna said, “Or he’s leading us somewhere where he can kill us quietly.”

Celestia quietly balked, “Luna!”

“What?!” Luna cried, “Just saying!”

“We can take him, if it comes down to that,” I said, “He’s one old stallion. We’re the Elements of Harmony. I think we win by default.”

“I can hear you, chattering mice,” The Gravekeeper shouted over his shoulder. The lantern wobbled as he waved deeper into the tomb, down a flight of faded white stairs. “Down here. It is not far.”

Automatically, Celestia stepped forward. Luna and I followed after her, following in her footsteps as she avoided the burned-out firepit and the scattered pots. We started to descend. Three sets of hooves around me clapped on the stone steps, and snapped apart fallen stone fragments. It was all fine and dandy that the ponies had tough hooves, but I was not so lucky. Every time I pressed my palm on one of the thin shards they’d shatter like dried clay, and cut up my hands.

“Augh! Geez! Ow!” I cradled my hand after a nasty shard had jabbed into the tender joint between my fingers. “Is the stone falling apart that quickly? What is all this stuff?”

“Something akin to that,” The Gravekeeper said, “I will explain when we reach the bottom.”

“Why are these things always underground, too?” I grumbled, “Every single Element, down in a hole. I swear…”

“Loyalty wasn’t,” Celestia offered, “His was in a shrine above ground.”

“At the bottom of a sunken atrium,” Luna said.

“Hm. So it was.”

The Gravekeeper huffed, steam billowing from his snout. “Can you honestly not think of a better place to bury the dead, than underground?”

“But they’re not quite dead, are they?” Luna asked, “Not literally.”

“May as well be,” he retorted, “They are dead in the eyes of the world. Everything moves on while their corpses gather moss. I just hope their crazed minds find some solace in the quiet of the dark…”

He trailed off. All we were left with was the crunch of stone and the squeak of his rattling lantern.

I mumbled, “Geez…”

“What did I say about not offering pity?” The Gravekeeper snapped.

“It’s not like I’m pitying you,” I shot back.

“You pity fallen gods,” The Gravekeeper growled.

“Yes?” I asked, confused.

“They fell before the Elements could find a way to help them,” Celestia said, “If the First Gods had learned sooner that friendship was the cure for Nightmares—“

“Friendship?” The Gravekeeper asked. “The cure?”

He stopped, stock still, on the bottom floor. His lantern wobbled on the end of its crook, the squeal of wet metal on metal the only sound, and its waving the only movement. Once more, I got the impression that he was a statue, and would never move again.

“Friendship would not have saved them,” the stallion suddenly spoke. “Even if such a solution was discovered the moment they had transformed. They were all weak, fragile, egotistical, and they bore a burden so much greater than any of you clearly understand.”

“We’ve learned a lot this past year,” I retorted, “How about you try us?”

He didn’t reply. With a great heaving motion, the Gravekeeper lifted his crook into the air, then slammed it into the ground. There was a mad squealing as the metal jammed it between two stones slabs. For a moment, I wondered if it had activated something. A spell, a door, something that was making the shadows and light dance so rapidly.

But no. It was just the swaying of the lantern as it vaguely illuminated the room. It rattled to a stop, and nothing more became of the action. In the dim light of the single candle, we could all clearly see.

There was nothing there. Nothing but a bare pedestal and mounds of chipped stone.

“Of course he’s not here…” Celestia mumbled.

“Who? The God of Magic?” The Gravekeeper scoffed, “No, he is not. Not anymore. Look here.” Back to us, he waved a stiff hoof at the poorly lit ground. “Look at the stones you have so idly been treading upon.”

Automatically, not even wanting to follow what he was saying, I looked at my hands. Yep. Stone chips. Broken rock. Some of them were curved, like broken bits of pottery. Thick, thin, some with little lines etched across the surface.

One caught my eye. A long shard with lots of lines up and down its length. The two sides were covered in thin, parallel and uncountable ridges, all cutting off at a thick center stem. It wasn’t curved or bowl-shaped like the others, but straight. Like a knife, but with a tapering, quill-like end…

I picked it up. Turned it over in my hands. It was a feather. An immaculate stone feather.

It dropped and shattered as it hit the floor.

I cried, “Magic’s statue broke?”

“He never was a statue,” The Gravekeeper grunted, stiff back and bald head still turned to us, “Who would trap him? The healer? The dog breeder? The unborn Second Elements? All Magic could do is wait for his own Nightmare to overtake him. To overtake the most powerful of the First Six…”

He continued, “I don’t know if it was a blessing, or a curse. If it was his own ego, or the will of the Element of Magic. But he, or his body, refused to turn to the solace of his Nightmare. Instead, the result you see here.” Stiffly, he waved again at the stone chips on the floor. “He crumbled away. No pony could, or would ever be harmed by him.”

“I thought the alicorns were immortal,” I said.

Instead of an answer, The Gravekeeper just heaved his shoulders up, and shrugged.

“Don’t you just shrug at me!” I huffed, “You’ve done nothing but treat us like idiots, but you’re the one with a story that doesn’t add up!” I slapped at some chips. “I don’t believe this is Magic! We tried damaging those statues, and, and I’ve only seen it done once by some very powerful pony.”

“Well there you have it,” The Gravekeeper grunted, “Magic did this to himself. Made himself fragile enough to break.”

“And that’s another thing!” I continued, “Why don’t the Illuminators know about this?”

“Know about what?” The Gravekeeper shot.

“They said that Magic was ‘out there somewhere.’ Like he had fled the country or something! And yet you’re here, and you say with certainty that Four-Clover broke himself up—”

The Gravekeeper inhaled sharply, nearly hissing. “Do not use his birth name, boy.”

“He deserves the respect of his birth name!” I shot back. “Because he was a pony, and a person, not some untouchable, incorruptible cog in a cosmic wheel!”

Luna nodded with me, standing firmly by my side. Celestia just looked nervous, in her own way. She was stiff, biting her lip and looking between me and the Gravekeeper. Did she think would offend him? That he’d hurt me? Both were impossible.

So I just kept going.

“I’ve heard enough,” I said. “I’ve learned enough about The Elements, the people who bore them, to know that your story’s bunk. So is this some kind of test? Or are you just yanking our chains? Because it’s not funny. We’ve got a whole freaking country to save, so you better not be screwing with us. Got it?”

Finally, he moved. The Gravekeeper turned in place, just slightly. His hooves lifted and placed themselves mechanically as he pivoted around to look me in the eye. He watched me in silence, with those same angry yellow eyes, same stony posture.

“Kindness…”

“Discord.”

“I should have known your bite would have fangs.”

“Literally or figuratively?”

“Both.” He turned away, as if that was the end of that. “Well, I will tell you this. The Element of Magic is here, but not as a stone.”
He kicked aside some chips and settled down on the floor. His back to the pedestal, he watched all of us with one foreleg wrapped around the lantern crook.

“A test of bonds is required to receive it,” The Gravekeeper continued, “You see, the Element of Magic vanishes until it determines that it has been earned. What you fail to understand is that the Elements don’t care about your positivity, they care about the connection.”

He nodded slowly, eyes drifting to the floor. In a droning, lecture-like tone, he said, “The ‘spark’ as we came to call it. It is the combined will to move forward as one, despite all things in your path. The original Elements of Harmony were not friends, but they most certainly were unified by duty, and by the shared responsibility of the country. When all the Elements had finally gathered, they spoke only for the sake of the country. Their leader was the last spark that truly united them, and thusly, he granted the Element of Magic.”

“But each Element responds to a certain emotion, don’t they?”Celestia asked, taking a few tentative steps forward. “Or to positive traits…”

“Certainly,” The Gravekeeper grunted, “The stones called the Elements of Harmony grow attached to people who show the qualities observed at their formation. Generosity was born in a healer’s tent, so it was brought to a healer. Loyalty was born from the battle of noble troops, so it was brought to a general.”

I glanced at Celestia. Healer? Solider…? I would never describe her as either of those things. And if I did, it would only vaguely described her, in some sort of lofty, removed sense. Did the Elements see something like that in her? Or was the Gravekeeper just as deluded as the Illuminators?

“Perhaps your friendship does offer you healing and respite from the darkness,” The Gravekeeper droned on, “But I know with an utmost certainty that it is just the Elements forming bonds on your bonds. And just the same as the First Gods, it is inevitable that this spark of friendship will eventually fade, you will fall into your own mortal flaws.

“Please,” The Gravekeeper snapped, voice cracking, “If you take any wisdom from the First Gods, let it be that. Friendship, bonds, whatever spark there is between you all. You will fall to nightmare. Plan accordingly, so that none of you replace this idiot’s reign of terror.”

I looked at Luna, and gave her a raised eyebrow. She remained quiet, looking back at me.

Suddenly, Celestia stepped forward.

“I promise, Keeper of Magic’s grave. I’ve found my own way through my nightmares… I know I have the strength to see all of us through what is to come.”

Gravekeeper watched her quietly. Then he glanced at the ceiling, as if he expected the revelation to activate that intangible spark.

“As for you two?” he asked, turning his yellow eyes on the two of us.

Luna took a step towards me, “I don’t know,” she said dreamily, “I’d see if there was some way to help him through it, but…”

“You know it will come to that point,” the Gravekeeper shot, without even letting her finish.

“Geez-us!” she replied, “That’s like asking what I’d do if Discord died! I haven’t even thought of answering that question!”

“I’d do the best I could for you, Luna,” I said. I wanted to put a hand on her shoulder, but I decided against it. I don’t need more excuses for The Gravekeeper to go ballistic. Instead, I continued.

“Can you do the same for me?”

“Well duh,” Luna said, “Of course I’d do that…”

I nodded, “That’s all we need right now, then.”

“If that is what you think, certainly,” The Gravekeeper snapped, “But heed the First God’s warning. Remember their tale. Learn, and for all our sakes, and grow wise.”

For a moment, his stony expression slipped, eyes drifting downward.

He said, “Oh, if the gods had thought ahead, there would be so much to tell, to share…”

“Fine, fine, we get it…” I mumbled.

And in a flash, he was back to looking like a statue, staring at us coldly.

“Soooo,” I started, “Is that enough to unlock Magic?”

“Apparently not,” he replied, “But I doubted it would. When the first gods gathered, a full ceremony was given to the awakening of Magic, and a mantra recited in unison to ignite its spark.”

“Really?” Celestia asked, “I don’t remember that from my lessons.”

“Yeah,” I said, “When my tutors talked history, it was older stuff than that.”

The Gravekeeper shook a hoof. Flakes of rock that clung to his fetlock clattered to the floor. “Irrelevant,” he said, “You are not here to judge the veracity of my words now, are you?”

I snorted, “Yes?”

“Oh, thank you Kindness,” the Gravekeeper shot back, “Your sharp tongue obviously serves a great purpose in this current situation. Now if I may continue, my prince?”

I fell quiet. The more and more I pushed, the more and more he pushed back… I mean, I’m used to disrespect, no doubt. But at least the Illuminators pretended like I was important. This stallion just did not care. Not about me, or either of my friends. Did he just think we were a bad replacement? No, no, he didn’t talk about the First Gods very respectfully either. Did he think that the entire system was stupid? Then why the crap was he here, trying to help us?

The only reason, to me, was that he was here to lead us astray. If he didn’t outright work for the Shadow Stallion himself…

“While friendship so obviously binds you,” The Gravekeeper curtly continued, “An ignition of your bonds, a reminder of that connection may be in order to kindle Magic’s appearance. While we can’t do a full ceremony, reciting the First God’s Mantra may be good enough for you three ‘friends’.”

He clapped his dusty, chipped hooves. “Go on. Form a circle. Makes sure the other two are in your sight.”

I did so. Quickly, in fact. Almost as soon as Luna and Celestia turned, I mumbled, “What do you think of this guy?”

Celestia stared at me blankly. Luna frowned.

“Do you think he’s lying? Do you think he works for the Shadow Stallion?”

“I wouldn’t go that far, no!” Celestia whispered back, “He’s just an old stallion…”

“An old stallion that hates the First Gods and hates us just as much.”

“I wouldn’t say hate…”

Luna piped in, “The Illuminators mentioned him plenty of times!”

“They said there was somebody here,” I retorted, “That’s it.”

The hooves snapped together again, so loud I could’ve sworn he cracked them open.

“Stop fidgeting, you three! Honestly, are you mice, or are you gods?! Now! Recite these words!”

He cleared his throat, and in that same, droning lecture voice, he recited:

Elements of Harmony

Whose power art among us

Hear these ponies cry

~

Unity we desire, and unity thou grants

Bind us all in the name of our new Utopia

And deliver us from unending strife

~

Bind Kindness, bind Generosity, bind Laughter

Bind Honesty and Loyalty

Bind all, and grant Magic at last before us.

He stopped abruptly, and his eyes returned to each of us.

“Well?” he snapped, “Go on then!”

We stumbled to a start, repeating the half-remembered lines in unison. Our voices blended together as our eyes flicked back and forth, trying to figure out when to start and stop each stanza.

“Elements of Harmony

Whose power art among us

Hear these ponies cry.”

Our Elements began to hum. I had the urge to hum along, resonate with the other two. That’s how we do things. And so far, we’ve been doing them way better than the First Gods. We didn’t need some poem to connect to one another.

“Unity we desire, and unity thou grants

Bind us all in the name of our new Utopia

And deliver us from unending strife.”

This didn’t even have anything to do with anything. It was just words they recited to get in tune. We were better than that. We didn’t need ritual and song to feel connected at all.

“Bind Kindness, bind Generosity, bind Laughter

Bind Honesty and Loyalty

Bind all, and grant Magic at last before us.”

“Good!” Gravekeeper snapped, “Now, again!”

So, again, we chanted the old hymn. Celestia was fully into it, eyes closed. Loyalty atop her head was glowing brightly, multicolored light swirling gently around Generosity. Luna’s eyes were diverted to the ceiling, waiting for the moment Magic would appear, I guess. Or maybe just trying to remember the words. I could hear the hum of her Elements, but they weren’t nearly as vibrant as Celestia’s had become.

Me. I watched. I waited. I doubted.

“Again!” the Gravekeeper barked, “There is no ceremony to assist your spark here! Truly reach for each other, with all of your mind, body, and spirit!”

I rolled my eyes, glad my back was turned to the old coot. If it was just a spark we needed…

I took a breath, and spoke with my friends.

“Elements of Harmony

Whose power art among us

Hear these ponies cry.”

I didn’t need to say this junk. We were better, closer than whatever words we said. So I let that be my guide. I let myself feel, let those bonds flow through me. I let myself remember friendship… and more.

“Unity we desire, and unity thou grants

Bind us all in the name of our new Utopia

And deliver us from unending strife.”

Luna was easy. I know her. She knows me. She knows every bit of me and still stood by my side. Accepted, embraced, joked, laughed…

Loved…

Without words, I felt Kindness flare.

“Are you feeling it now, Second Gods?” The Gravekeeper croaked, “Complete your bonds! Ignite the spark of Magic!”

“Bind Kindness, bind Generosity, bind Laughter

Bind Honesty and Loyalty

Bind all, and grant Magic at last before us.”

And Celestia!

Her, below me, hooves atop my hand and seeking my forgiveness. Asking to start again. Sitting in the moonlight. Proud. Tall. Complete. No longer tormented by her own stupid flaws…

I stumbled over the poem as it began anew.

“Keep in time, Draconequus! Again!”

Okay, Discord. Not the time. Yes, you’re a bit jealous. Happens. Not her fault. Just a little kink that you can smooth over. That’s what friends do! Just look past it, accept each other. It’s fine.

Everything’s fine.

“Elements of Harmony

Whose power art among us

Hear these ponies cry.”

Of course, how is she going to react when she learns about that lie. Canterbury. Occupied.

I wonder if she’ll be so forgiving then. If she’ll accept me then.

“Unity we desire, and unity thou grants”

And um… Bind us to…

The Gravekeeper’s voice snapped out like a whip. “Do you think you should be stopping, son of the dog breeder?! Repeat the mantra, welp! Your Elements have not fully banded!”

Banded? My eyes fluttered open, and I stumbled over even more of the mantra.

Wavering light, solid light weaved among our Elements. They curled and fluttered through the air, faintly twisting into a braided circle of rainbows. From Generosity to Laughter to Kindness.

I looked to my right. Faint strands of silver and red drifted from Kindness. Faint lines of orange and purple drifted from Generosity. But they didn’t even come close to touching. They hung like hairs of a cut rope, wavering in an invisible breeze.

“Draconequus!” The Gravekeeper growled, “Strengthen your bond!”

Fine. I’ll do this the better way. With hardly a thought, I pushed my magic through the stone, and sent a silvery beam straight at Celestia’s Element.

“Do you think raw or wild magic offers an adequate substitute for your personal connections?!” Gravekeeper snapped, gravelly voice cracking. “You must focus with a single intended effect, or all you will do is spew directionless purification! Return to the mantra! Remember your duty, not just to each other, but to the country you wish to save!”

Fine. Country saving? I can give a shit about country saving.

“Elements of Harmony

Whose power art among us

Hear these ponies cry.”

My voice was no longer in tune with the girl’s. Mine was louder, more forceful. Think of the country. Think of the sunlight. Think of all the Pegasi in slavery. And all the unicorns trapped in cities.

Controlled.

Oppressed.

Devoured by beasts.

With more destruction to come.

“Unity we desire, and unity thou grants

Bind us all in the name of our new Utopia

And deliver us from unending strife.”

I was shouting now. I didn’t even have to look to see that the light reaching for Celestia was failing. And my connection to Luna might not have been much better. The bond that we had was already faltering. I don’t think an old man shouting at us was helping the matter at all.

“Bind Kindness, bind Generosity, bind Laughter

Bind Honesty and Loyalty

Bind all, and grant—”

A splitting pain shot through the back of my head. Something sharp and hard, right in the middle of my skull. Celestia screeched. I reeled forward. Smacked into the ground. Stone fragments dug into my skin, breaking open. All the Element’s light in the room vanished in an instant.

And there was the Gravekeeper, hanging above me with hoof outstretched and eyes livid.

“What the hell?!” I screamed, clutching at the back of my head.

“I knew it,” he growled, “A creature of failed Kindness’, holding his fallen father’s Element? No wonder you can’t use it fully! Did he give it to you as some sort of sick joke?! A mockery of lineage?!”

“Why the hell did you hit me?!”

“Sir Gravekeeper, it’s my fault!” Celestia stepped forward, “Discord has nothing to do with this! Our friendship has just been tested lately, that’s all…!”

“Friendship! Were you thinking about that weak bond while you chanted?!”

“Well it is the strongest bond we have—!”

“It is NOT!” the Gravekeeper roared, “It is because you cling to your foolish ideal that you were unable to create the bond in the first place! Now turn to each other, repeat the mantra, and form your spark on a more adult ideal!”

“Shut up, old man!” I screamed. I was fuming, the back of my head throbbed, and this entire setup, this entire tomb, a big, stupid joke!

I was on my feet in a moment, roaring at the top of my lungs, “You blame me for not caring about the country! Then you just forget about that and yell at us for being friends! You said friendship was a bond and it would work! Now you say it’s stupid and we should forget it! You keep finding thing after thing after thing wrong with us, and not everything you say even adds up!” I swiped at the rocks at my feet. “This broken rocks are Four-Clover! The First Gods chanted something to connect to one another! The nightmare is inevitable, except for Four-Clover, oh no, he was special! You’re just, just all over the place! What the hell are we supposed to believe?!”

Luna stammered, “A-and then you hit Discord…”

“And then you HIT ME!”

The Gravekeeper watched us, eyes narrowed, stiff and still as a statue.

He said, “Such anger—”

“RIGHT BACK AT YOU, BUDDY!” I shouted.

“You Second Gods,” The Gravekeeper scoffed, “You’re going to fall faster than the First.”

“And that’s another thing I can’t trust you on! What are we up to now? Twenty of those?!”

Luna giggled weakly, and the stone-cold eyes shot in her direction.

No! His attention stays right here!

“So you hate us,” I shot, “So you hate the First Gods. You hate this whole system. And you definitely hate me bearing Kindness,” I took a breath, and finally shouted, my snout inches from his, “Then why the hell are you here?”

For a long time, he stood there. Stiff and still, unnaturally so. I don’t even think he was breathing. close as I was, I certainly couldn’t smell his breath, or feel anything coming from his snout. All I could smell was cold stone and dust in this empty, forsaken tomb.

“Because I deserve to be here,” The Gravekeeper finally hissed, “Thank you for reminding me that all my hard work and sacrifice earned me this dirty hole in the ground.”

“How?” I barked, “Why?”

“You do not care, and I do not especially want to tell you either,” The Gravekeeper snapped, “Come up with whatever reason you like. I honestly could give half a copper bit.”

And that was that. He grabbed the crook of the lantern in his teeth, and tried to wrench it from the ground. It wobbled oddly, nearly fell several time, and it was only by the effort of hoof that he was able to slam it back down on his shoulder with a dull ‘tunk.’

“That’s it?” I shot, “You’re done with us?”

He spun mechanically around, lantern wobbling wildly, and snorted a heavy, dusty breath. Without another word, he marched right up the steps and out of sight.

“Discord,” Celestia squeaked lightly.

I spun on her. She was silent all through that argument. She almost looked pathetic, small and shivering.

“What?” I asked, more harshly than I meant.

She shook her head, “I’m sorry he had to put you through that.”

“Okay.”

Silence fell between us. We were just a bunch of kids standing in a cold, dark tomb. I realized that she might not be able to even see me right now.

“Luna, shadows…?”

“Oh, right?”

I watched as she moved to her sister, hooves cracking as she stumbled on small fragments of stone.

“Now what?” Luna asked quietly, rubbing the shadows from my sister’s eyes.

“Magic appears when it’s needed,” Celestia said softly, “I don’t think we need to remain here to receive it.”

“According to him.”

“According to history,” Celestia said, “If it vanished after Starswirl used it, how could they have gotten it down to Equestria? It could just go where the Elements go. All we need is an ignition event.” She looked quietly up the worn stone steps. “I… suppose we don’t need to remain here for that to happen.”

I nodded firmly. “I’m for any plan that means we don’t have to be anywhere near this kook. Let’s go.”

“But to where…?”

“Down to the town for the night, I don’t care,” I huffed, “We can think tomorrow. And spark Magic our own way.”

Luna nodded along with me, determination in her eyes. Together, we ascended the stairs. Celestia soon came after us. I don’t know why she lingered. Maybe she had something else to say.

“What do you think he wanted anyway?” Celestia asked, “Why is he here?”

“To see the new gods?” Luna offered, “I don’t think he was impressed though.”

“I don’t know…” I mumbled, “And I don’t think he does either. He’s just directionless hate and rage and spite. And we don’t need his help any more than he needs ours.”

“Well…” Celestia said, “Alright.”

We walked up the short flight of stairs, passed through the rat hole of a home, and exited the tomb. The Gravekeeper was already back outside. He was just sitting on his stone bench and looking as much as a living statue as could be. He ignored us, we ignored him. Just went right into the rain without another word.

I had another night to come up with some plan to unlock Magic.

Another night to think around all the lies I’d told.

LXXIV : Luna

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 74
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Luna~

We didn’t even walk for an hour before stopping. When we finally gave up, Discord set immediately to work, campsite billowing around us before we had even taken off our cloaks.

It was the most elaborate setup I had seen him create in all the time we spent travelling. He had spread personalized patterns across our bedsheets, adding silver stars, gold tassels, embedded kaleidoscopic jewels. The pillows were varied, both in color and texture, all stuffed with, apparently, entirely different faux materials. Celestia had a potbelly stove to hold her fire magical, which she tended to atop a bedspread of golden suns and shimmering rainbows. The cold and the rain felt so distant. In fact, Celestia’s fire made the space feel stuffy, and overheated.

But it was a long, long time until anybody said a single word. We all just sat in that oppressive, overheated tent, all quietly stuck in our own thoughts.

I scooted closer to Discord, dragging along a pillow stuffed with down feather, and another full of what seemed to be water. Discord was fussing with the tent poles, quietly lying on his stomach and flicking a talon as the wood carved itself into elaborate shapes.

I stretched out my wings. Beat the last of the water from them, and felt a pleasingly cool gust as they flapped. Of course, it was only an excuse to lay one of my wings across Discord’s prickly back. I don’t think he noticed.

What should I do? Stop him? Thank him? Sit here quietly? Talk and pull him out of his own head? Nothing good happened when he’s left all alone in there…

I cleared my throat. Across from me, Celestia gave a little jump.

“Soooo…” I said, “The plan?”

Discord grunted, still focused on carving his tent poles.

“Well,” Celestia said quietly, “Canterbury is a week or so off…”

“Less than a week if we fly,” I offered.

“Oh. So it is.” Celestia nodded to herself, then continued, “It can’t be too hard to spark Magic along the way, you know? A few days together, united in our thoughts, we should ignite Magic easily.”

Finally, Discord’s hands stopped weaving their spell. He quietly folded his arms under his body and stared down at the potbelly stone.

He said, “And if we don’t ignite it?”

“I’m certain something in the city will,” Celestia replied.

“And… if not in the city?”

I huffed, and loudly declared, “Then the awesome power of our combined Harmony Blast will!”

Discord twitched violently at the noise. My sister’s fire briefly flared, shooting out a dozen bright orange sparks.

“Well!” Celestia said, “Really, Luna?”

“It worked for Starswirl, didn’t it?” I said, “Magic was created for the very first time because of AWESOME MAGIC EXPLOSIONS, right?”

“I… I suppose so…” Celestia said, suppressing a smile with her hoof.

“We know so little about the circumstances that summon Magic,” Discord said suddenly, “Really, what do we know? It’s all second hand accounts and stuff the Illuminators made up. Anything we try is basically a shot in the dark.”

“A shot in the dark is still a shot,” I asserted, “We’re so much stronger now… We’ve got loads more tricks and spells!” I waved a hoof to everything around me, trying to get Discord amazed about his own illusions.

“Even if we can't permanently bind the Stallion to stone,” Celestia said, “I know that now, there is certainly something more that we can do.”

“That’s what you said last time,” Discord shot, eyes still firmly rooted on the fire.

Celestia let out a low sigh. “Yes… I know I’ve said this before. But I was obligated last time. Trapped by it. I felt like we had to do something, even if we failed. Now?” She smiled, full of confidence. “We see what we can do. And if that doesn’t include regaining Magic and stopping the Stallion, then we will leave, and we will find another way. And I’m not doing it without total support from you two. Alright?”

She continued to smile, turning to me and to Discord. I nodded along with her, trying to find some of that confidence myself.

But Discord just sunk down into his arms, and nodded quietly into his hands.

~Θ~

We flew under a hodgepodge creation of Discord’s. A pile of crazy experiments intended to keep us dry as we flew. There was a huge cone of glass in front of us, like a big nose cutting through the rain. Above us was a large pair of glass wings. Celestia had the thing tethered to her back, but only to hold it in place before us. Like real wings, Discord had gone through a lot of effort to make the thing fly on its own. Like a big, waterproof glider.

And yet, we still found ourselves shouting and arguing over the rain.

“No!” Discord yelled, “Not until we have to!”

“But we’ll stay drier!” Celestia called over her shoulder, “We’ll be able to fly so much better without these wet clothes! And you won’t have to spend so much of your magic on this glider…!”

“We won’t know where we’re going!” Discord shouted back.

“We would just have to fly southeast!” Celestia yelled, “I’m sure we’ll be able to see the tower from days away!”

“I dunno…” I mumbled. Then, louder, I said, “We don’t know what’s in those clouds, or what’s above it! Griffins could see us. Stallion might spot us. Lots of stuff could go wrong!”

“This rain is going to slowly exhaust us the longer we stay down here,” Celestia moaned, “And we’ve barely even had a chance to talk…!”

“I still wouldn’t risk going up!” Discord barked, “Just a few more days, okay?!”

“And you know, down here, we might run into something that triggers Magic!” I offered, “You know. Some pony has problems and poof, we all learn something about ourselves and become better people!”

Discord chuckled weakly. Even Celestia cracked a little smile.

She turned back around, straightening out the glider. “Well, with how much time we spend in the air, I doubt it will happen… But
I understand! We’ll stay down here!”

~Θ~

“Discord,” Celestia said, “Tell me something else about yourself.”

After insisting and insisting that we needed to talk all we could, Celestia finally convinced me to set up little pipelines of sound between us. I didn’t want to blot out all the sound from the rain, we needed to be totally aware of our surroundings, in case something crazy happened. But at least we could talk normally, as if we were standing right beside each other.

Of course, Celestia was abusing my power to bug the crap out of Discord. The causal question made Discord wince.

“What,” he said, “Again?”

“There must be something more between us. Something we’re missing…”

“If there was, the last dozen stories would’ve fixed that,” he replied, “I don’t think Magic likes that we’re cheating.”

“This is not cheating,” Celestia scoffed, “If anything, this is far more honest than the first god’s unity mantra. At least we’re trying to get to know each other.”

“I dunno,” I said, cracking a smile, “Maybe we should out that poem again. We haven't tried that yet.”

“It’s not going to work,” Discord mumbled.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because the more I think about it,” Discord said, “The more I completely forget every single word. Almost like my brain knows the poem is bullshit, and it trying to keep me from repeating it.”

Celestia chuckled, “Even if you did remember, those few lines of verse would just get between us, I’m sure.”

“Exactly!” Discord shouted, voice booming in my ears. “Let’s find something else to talk about please!”

~Θ~

My shoulders ached. The straps of my bag had dug into the joint, and the constant flapping had rubbed the skin raw. I couldn’t even stretch out my stiff legs without them accidentally catching a stray current and spinning me off course… Glider or no. It was just the third day of flying, and I already felt sick of it.

“We’re getting really close now,” Celestia called over, voice distant on the sound line.

Discord grunted, “Yeah, we are.”

“One day above the clouds,” Celestia offered. “That’s all I’m asking. One day of rest in the sun.”

“Fine. Sure. Whatever.”

I dropped about a foot from shock, and found it difficult to struggle back upwards. My body felt about twenty pounds too heavy, every joint stiff and aching numbly. And yet, I struggled over to where Discord flew, trying to get as close as I could without colliding.

“Uh… Discord?”

“My wings hurt and all this rain is sucking my strength,” he said plainly. “And by the looks of it, yuo seem about the same.”

“But,” I said, “The clouds…”

“We’re just passing through once,” he replied, “If he senses us, he won’t know where we’re going.”

“Even if it’s just once, we’re really close to the city, and really worn out from the flight. Are you sure…?”

“We need a break, Luna,” Discord said, “We need to get the hell out of this rain.”

I wanted to protest. I should have protested. But if I was feeling worn down, then Discord might be even worse than me… And when Discord felt bad…

I dove under him and kissed his cold, wet chin.

“Alright,” I strengthened the lines of sound, and spoke clearly to both Celestia and Discord, “Let’s try.”

~Θ~

“Huh?!”

The wind roared around us, rain splattering our wings. Discord’s glassy glider hovered above our heads, twisting strangely in the thick, black clouds.

“Uh, Discord?” My eyes flicked over to the black walls around us, thick, and chilled wet from all the rain. My cloak was practically a frozen sheet of ice pulling at my neck, and I couldn’t wait to bust through, into the sun.

“Not good.”

“What isn’t good?!”

I didn’t even need to ask. The illusion’s glassy wings flapped weakly, buried itself into the clouds, and vanished. Chips of the illusion bounced off our heads before also vanishing into thin air. A downpour of thick, greasy water splattered over our heads, soaking us through.

“Is it—“

“Gone!” Discord shouted, “The clouds stole the damn thing!”

“What?!” Celestia squealed, “How could it—?!”

I squealed. The tip of my wing had sunk through the clouds, and instantly shot an ice cold blast down the bones, deep into my body. The cloud wall was pushing in, trying to close the little space we had dug out. Below us, the ground vanished. Above us…

“The Elements!” Celestia screamed, “We’ll blast through!”

“But he’ll notice…!”

“We will not be trapped here!” Celestia shouted. Both of her Elements flared. “Together now!”

Discord nodded, Element glowing at his chest. I couldn’t hold back. There wasn’t an option to. My horn flared to life, and I pumped magic into Laughter and Honesty. Five lights glowed between us, Elements shining along with our auras—

Directionless, wild magic.

Well, it’ll get the job done.

Five beams of light shot forward, snapping together, and buried themselves into the cloud ceiling. The vapor tore like thin cloth, oily water flung high into the air. Roaring echoed around us as we beat our aching wings and blazed upwards towards the light.

Finally, finally we soared into the endless, dizzying expanse of the hot blue sky.

“Let’s get the hell away from this place!” Discord shrieked, “GO GO GO!”

~Θ~

It was a long time until we found a non-evil, actually-just-water cloud to sit on. Longer still until we found one that could fit all of us. We almost lost each other in the darkness of the new moon, and only found a cloud big enough when I noticed a portion of the stars vanish.

It was day again. I sat between my sister, and my coltfriend. Celestia had finally stopped mumbling about how bizarre sitting on a cloud felt. Discord was still sleeping, arms flung over his eyes and his breathing steady. And out there, looming on the horizon, was the hazy black column of Canterbury. A massive signpost. We all knew what it meant.

I turned to Celestia and whispered, “Discord still doesn’t have the Element of Magic.”

Her eyes never left the tower. She mumbled back, “Yes, I know.”

“Should I wake him up?” I asked, “Maybe we can all talk again. There’s got to be something we haven’t shared…”

She shook her head slowly. “We have tried that enough. I do not think that will work, my sister.”

“Just one more shot?” I asked, “You never know.”

“Let Discord rest, Luna,” Celestia said, “This trip has taken its toll on him most of all.”

I nodded. Then I said, “You’re talking a lot more formally, Celestia.”

“Um,” she laughed weakly, “I’m nervous, I think. If we end things here… Then, I do not… don’t know. I’d immediately become Queen Celestia, would I not?”

“Practicing your queenly speech, then?”

“No?” She fell silent, staring blankly ahead. “Maybe?”

“I think this trip has made me talk too casually for a queen,” I cleared my throat, feeling my feathers ruffle in the clouds, “Yes. I do think that is so.”

Celestia smiled. “Talking formally does not mean overburdening your sentences with excess words.”

“I do not know, my sister,” I replied, “It verily seems entirely that way to mineself.”

“Oh, hush.”

Her soft wing gently shoved into mine. I couldn’t tell if it was a nervous twitch, or she was deliberately controlling her new limb. After all the practice we’ve gotten in the air… Could still go either way. She’d only had her wings for a little over a week, and I not for much longer…

I took a deep breath. “We’re going to be okay.”

Celestia nodded. “Yes, we will be.”

“Then why don’t I feel like it’s going to be okay?”

“It is just nerves, my sister,” Celestia replied quietly, “Our last journey here ended very poorly. This time, I doubt it will be nearly as bad. Yes. Even if we cannot win, we have so many more ways to defend ourselves. Right?”

“I guess so.”

I took another deep breath. Guess I was having trouble breathing now.

“We’re getting close now, aren’t we?” Discord said.

“Oh!” I looked down at my tired little coltfriend. He was the same as before, still laying flat on his stomach, mismatched arms over his eyes. “Sorry, did we wake you?”

“No,” he mumbled, “Maybe. It’s in sight, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Celestia quietly replied, “It might be a few hours off, might be a day. It’s so big, it’s difficult to tell how far we’ve yet to travel.”

I waved vaguely towards the black smudge on the sky. “Do you want to see, Discord?”

“No,” he grunted, “Never wanted to see this horrible place ever again.”

“That’s fair,” I said.

“Hey um.”

He stopped. He claws tightened into fists.

“Yes, Discord?”

“The Draconequus,” he said.

I asked, “What Draconequus?”

“All of them,” he snapped, “They’re still all down there, you know.”

“Are you worried that they’ll come and aid the Stallion?” Celestia asked.

“No,” he shot, “I’m worried they’ll go nuts if he’s not around. I’m… I’m terrified of what may happen, to, you know, the ponies still in the city.”

Celestia stared blankly ahead, composure holding her stiff, all but her wings were twitching into my sides.

“You did not mention anything sooner…”

“I thought something would come to me, if I kept thinking on my own,” Discord said rapidly, “I thought I’d know what to do about it. But I’ve got nothing. I don’t know what to do. Help. Help me think, okay?”

Celestia sighed, and strangely, I noticed her crack a small smile. She mumbled, only loud enough for me to hear, “So this is what came between us…”

“So um…” I said, “Should we turn them all to stone?”

“We can’t,” Discord instantly replied.

“Why not?” Celestia asked.

“How would we get to them all?” Discord demanded, “Those halls are sprawling. They could be anywhere under the city. Trying to get them all is crazy. And, and what if Ruin is still alive? What if we freeze him too…”

“If Ruin is still alive?” Celestia asked.

“Th-think about it,” Discord stuttered, “If he was caught releasing ponies… They’d kill him. But if he wasn’t caught…”

Celestia sharply inhaled, “If he was caught, there would be a large amount of ponies still trapped in the city.”

I watched Discord as his arms tightened, as he sank deeper into the clouds, nodding into the wispy fluff.

He quietly said, “There’s that too…”

“Discord,” Celestia firmly snapped, “Thank you for bringing this up. I had no idea that the situation was so dire.”

“Yeah um,” he mumbled, “Sorry for not bringing it up sooner.”

“I still think turning them all to stone is our best option,” Celestia said, “Perhaps we can find a way to contain their movements. You know the paths throughout the city, don’t you Discord?”

“Yeah… hazy now, but sure. I remember them.”

Celestia’s gaze returned firmly forward, as if she considering the matter settled. She even looked reinvigorated. Like all it took was a plan, and that made our chances that much better.

But Discord looked much less assured. His arms were still braced over his head, face buried in the clouds.

“What’s the matter Discord?” I poked him in the side. “Scared?”

“Terrified,” Discord instantly replied, “I’d throw up if I had eaten anything today.”

I frowned, “You’ve got to eat something… You’ve still got some fish in your bag, don’t you?”

“Make me less nauseous, and sure, I’ll scarf a whole… whatever.”

I sighed, and squeezed closer to him. His stiff fur prickled against mine. I could feel him shaking, ever so slightly.

“We’ll be fine,” I said quietly.

“Is it right, Luna?” he mumbled back, “We’re just going to wipe out all of them?”

“The Draconequus…?” I asked, “I thought you hated them.”

“Oh yeah. Most of them can go die in a fire. Or die in a rock, I guess.” He took a stuttering breath, poking fur pushing into my side. “But there’s still kids down there. Terrified, tiny little Draconequus kids who don’t know any better…”

“We don’t have to trap them in stone, Discord,” I replied instantly. “We can spare them—“

“And then what?!” he shot back, “They still eat meat. They’ll still grow massive, if we let them. And who would even raise them, me? That’s not even remotely plausible. Even if I knew what I was doing, I’ll have enough on my hands with all this… government shit dumped on me.”

“Discord,” Celestia suddenly spoke up, and loud enough to make me jump, “We will save the kids. What happens from there, we can decide.”

Discord inhaled sharply. His arms slid off his face, and before I knew it, he flung himself over my back.

I squealed. His hot stomach fell over my wings, his back hoof banging into a new joint I barely knew about. His elbows dug into my other side as he flung himself forward, and threw his arms around Celestia’s neck.

Splayed out across my back, he pulled her into a hug. Her jaw bounced off my horn, and I could just imagine the look on her face right now.

Discord said, “I’m sorry.”

“You are forgiven?” Celestia loudly replied into my ear.

“I’m sorry.”

“It will be okay, Discord!”

“I am so freaking sorry!”

Celestia laughed, “There’s no need to apologize!”

“I’m apologizing anyway!”

“Alright, then, thank you for your apology?”

“You’re welcome!”

“I’m gonna fall through the clouds!” I squealed as I felt my middle sink further and further down. “Get offa me, you guys!”

“Uh. Whoops! Sorry!”

Discord laughed nervously as he finally slid off my back. Celestia scootched politely away from me, and Discord dropped back down, resting his head on my hooves. He smiled weakly up at me, and I rapped him on the snout with my other hoof.

About another minute passed in silence, watching the tower loom ahead of us.

“So…” Celestia said slowly. “No Element of Magic…?”

“Nope,” Discord replied flatly.

“Damn it all,” Celestia huffed in frustration. “Thought it would really work that time.”

~Θ~

The jokes had stopped. The mumbling between us had quieted. Celestia’s determination had never wavered, but she was no longer sitting up straight. I had pushed our cloaks and bags through a shadowy portal to the damp forest below, and we all sat bare, The Elements of Harmony our only adornments. We had all sunk deep into the clouds, quietly pushing it towards the massive, pitch black city.

The sun was setting to our left, hovering near the equilibrium. The Illuminators would be pushing it under soon. Canterbury’s tallest walls rose high above our heads, hundreds and hundreds of meters into the open sky. The only movement was of the Pegasus-drawn carts, still zipping up and down the tower, pulling up supplies from below. Again and again, they tore through the clouds, creating massive wispy black claws that crawled around the black stone. The air was full of griffin screeches. Of rattling carts, and snapping whips.

“Right after the Draconequus,” Celestia whispered, “We’re putting a stop to this casual enslavement.”

“We took so long,” I whispered back. “We couldn’t do a thing for those poor Pegasi…”

“What’s done is done,” Discord replied. “We may have been able to do more. We may not have. We’re here now, and we’ll do all we can.”

“Exactly,” Celestia said, “Now. We have to leave the cloud, before it starts looking suspicious.”

“I could probably pull the shadows from the wall,” I said, “We’d have to fly pretty close together, but I think we’ve gotten pretty good at flying in formation.”

“Good thinking,” Celestia said, “Let’s wait for a break in the carts, and shoot for the wall.”

So we waited. Drifting closer and closer to the massive structure as carts shot and spiraled before us. There were dozens of griffins in the sky, but they came and went at random. Sometimes three carts would nearly collide as they shot past each other. Sometimes a whole minute would pass, and we’d still sit and wait until the opportunity had come and passed.

“We can’t sit here all day,” Discord hissed, “These carts come and go all night long.”

Celestia mumbled, “Should we duck under the black clouds—?”

“No!” Discord and I simultaneously snapped.

Celestia huffed into the puffy cloud, creating a small, swirling wisp. “Well… we could just deal with the Griffins. Blast them with the Elements, hope it dazzles them long enough to deal with The Shadow Stallion.”

Discord flinched beside me, paw squeezing my hoof. He said, “I prefer the sneaking.”

“Yes,” I said, “Same here.”

“It is preferable,” Celestia mumbled, “But if we must…”

She trailed off, looking up and down the wall.

“Now!” she snapped.

“Huh?”

Without warning, Celestia shot to her feet, wings flaring open automatically. Discord and I barely stumbled to our feet before one flap of her wings reduced the puffy cloud to scattered wisps.

“Celestia…!” I cried, automatically beating my own wings, hooves kicking under me.

“Hurry!” she called back, “To the wall!”

Without a word, Discord shot in front of me, trailing quickly after my sister. I soared after the two, cold wind washing over my face and body. Without my cloak and saddlebags weighing me down, I was elated how easily I could fly, and how free I felt without wet clothes bogging me down.

It was a moment of freedom cut dead short. We had a duty to do, and I had to focus.

We soared up to the wall. Horn aglow, I tugged at the wall with ease, expecting a blanket of darkness. We weren’t exactly in the tower’s massive shadow, but with the sun so low, the shadows should be thickly spread across such a dark and heavy material.

Instead, little strings sluggishly drug themselves out of the cracks. All I was holding was a thin, misshapen webbing of shadow.

I frowned, “It’s not enough. Discord, can you…”

I didn’t even need to ask. He already joined me at the wall, yanking and tugging at a different part of the wall. There was no point. No matter where he landed, he came up with the same stringy, patchy webbing.

He grunted. Clicked his claws. A jutting black ledge appeared above our heads. Angled down, it blocked the sun, instantly turning our webbing into a useable blanket.

“We can’t do that!” I cried, “The griffins, they’ll see—!“

“No they won’t. Not at the speed they’re going,” Discord shot back, “It’ll blend in. Trust me!”

“Alright!” Celestia said, wings still flapping as her hooves tapped against the black cobblestone. “Stay close, let’s go!”

We flew in tight formation. More than once, I felt the tip of my wing brushing against Discord’s snout, or Celestia catching my tail in a flap of her wings. The stones raced under our feet, more like a cobblestone street than a wall cutting upwards towards the sky.

But worst of all, the shadows around us felt as thin as soap bubbles. They didn’t stick to the wall. Holes snapped and wavered in the bottom of our cover. The shadows already didn’t like being stretched far from the ground. Just one false move, one gust to push us away from the cobble, and the cover would pop apart, exposing us all.

What was making my spell so weak? The speed of our ascent? The direct sunlight? Both?

More?

“Pull, you rutting featherheads!”

My wings locked. Breath halted. A cart rattled by, griffin screeching over the snap of a whip. Discord’s snout bumped into my forehoof. I heard him inhale sharply.

“Stay focused, Luna!” he hissed, “Almost there!”

I nodded. Even though it was just a momentary distraction, I was still dangerously close to falling into my sister. I beat my wings furiously, heaving upwards. I fell back into place. Tugged at the shadows. Just tried to reinforce the delicate bubble, and failing.

The wall rushed beneath us, and we fell back into open sky. We had reached the top without even noticing.

Discord’s shield spun off, falling back down to the clouds.The delicate cover snapped apart. Shadows flattened instantly back to solid ground.

“DOWN!”

Celestia's aura yanked at my leg. My hooves dropped heavily to the walltop path. Discord collapsed beside me, wings snapping to his sides—

I didn’t wait a second more. My horn reignited. I tore for the shadows, tried to gather them back. But if there was so little on the side of the wall, there was nothing up here. Barely a string followed my magical pull, lasting just long enough to snap apart and retreat back between the stones.

“Here…!”

Discord’s hand shot above our heads. With a snap of his fingers, another illusion fell over us. A box. Solid, opaque. On the dark underside, I could still see the pattern of the black cobble.

“Is that enough…?” I asked.

He nodded, head jerking, “If they didn’t spot us in the two seconds out of cover, then this should be good enough.”

“Really?” Celestia demanded, “You’re certain of that?”

“No,” Discord flatly replied, “But it’s better than nothing.”

Celestia frowned severely, but I nodded to Discord, put a hoof on his hand. He knew I trusted his instincts.

“It’s working or it isn’t. But it won’t matter in a minute.” To Discord, I said, “Can you make the edges translucent? We kind’ve need to see.”

He thought for a moment. “Yeah. But let’s crouch. If we can see through, they can. I want to make the window as small as I can…”

I complied without a word, settling onto my stomach. I was a little worried. If we had to run in a flash, could I get to my feet quick enough? Should I fly? The cold stones were a little refreshing, but…

Wait. They were cold? The sunlight was directly smacking it for twelve or so hours a day, but despite that, the rock up here was still cold?

“I think that’s good,” Discord said suddenly.

I looked up from my feet, and saw the illusion had become murky. It was just barely thin enough to see through.

“So then.” Careful not to poke a hole in the illusion, I lifted a pointing hoof. “We’re heading for the Canterlot marble, right?”

In the distance, far, but not quite on the other side of the city, there was a single break from the black towers and randomly sprawling pathways. A slim structure of white marble seemed like it was randomly dropped among the taller shafts of dark cobble.

The construction of the white towers seemed, somehow, rougher than actual Canterlot masonry. For a moment, I couldn’t see why. The towers peaked the same way as a Canterlot tower. The white stones rose in the same odd, curved angles that only magic could construct.

Maybe it was the lack of color? There was some gold inlay, yes. The balcony railings had some gold in them, as did the absolute peak of the tower. But unlike in Canterlot, the tower had no accents of purple, no decorative stars, no patterns to speak of.

It was just a white, jagged flower among the thick black stalks.

Celestia craned her neck over mine, trying to mind her horn didn’t break through the illusion. “Doesn’t look like a path leads that way.”

“No,” Discord mumbled, “That would be too easy, wouldn’t it?”

“We’ll have to fly again,” I said, “In open air this time…”

Discord inhaled sharply, but gave me a small nod.

“I wouldn’t worry. I mean, we’re so close,” Celestia asserted, “Even if the griffins spotted us, we’d be in. And, if we’re lucky, in just a minute we’d we’d be, well, done with it. You both understand, I’m sure.”

“And if we’re not lucky,” Discord said, “We’ve got griffins trying to stab us while that nightmare does its best to kill us.”

I clapped my hooves, exclaiming softly. “With how late in the day it is, there’s bound to be plenty of shadows in there!”

“Yeah, so?” Discord grunted, “Think it’ll be that easy to hide? You know how well that worked last time we tried to—”

“No, I’m saying we could try to teleport away!” I said. Trying not to rush, I continued, “I mean… he is the Shadow Stallion, and he might be able to follow. But we’d at least lose the griffins. Fair?”

“None of this is fair,” Discord grumbled, “We are so dead. Life...”

“We are not dead,” Celestia asserted, “Have some confidence in us Discord.”

I tapped my horn against his, “Have some confidence in yourself too, dummy.”

Discord took a deep breath, and released it. He said, “It’s never that easy.”

“I don’t think it will be, no,” Celestia said, “But as the Elements of Harmony, we will do our very best.”

I quickly pulled them together into a short embrace. Discord’s fuzzy chin bounced off my shoulder as he nodded. Celestia wasn’t smiling, but her eyes were confident. Not desperate for confidence, but truly sure of herself.

We broke apart. With a few more shared words, we sped our way down the path. Of course, we would eventually have to fly. But if we could get as close as we could without doing that…

We raced down the uneven walkways, trying to stay under the illusion box the best we could. I plucked at shadows, trying to pull up more than strings as the sun slowly began its final descent into night. The Illuminators must finally be doing the ritual. Was it later than normal, or did my sense of time get thrown off by the stress of this situation? I suppose I would never know… not that it mattered much now.

Finally, after night finally fell and the waxing moon rose somewhere out of sight, Discord whispered, “I think this is as close as we’re going to get.”

The bottom balcony of the marble palace was nearly a hundred meters above our heads, across a gap three ponies wide. Impossible for any ground-bound race, but a short hop for anything with wings.

We didn’t stay long. The carts were so distant, offloading on a distant tower. We barely glanced their way twice before we went airborn, soaring. Out from Discord’s cover, and with no shadows to hide us. In the open air of a newly risen moon.

It wasn’t even half a minute until our hooves touched the hot white stone. We hesitated briefly, exchanging glances with the flung-open glass balcony doors. But even at night, we didn’t dare stay out in the open and out of cover for long.

Celestia took a deep breath, and strode forward, head high and hooves clicking obscenely loud. Without even thinking, I automatically muted her hooves. Discord and I rushed after her, silent as the breeze.

“This is not like last time,” I whispered, “We’re not going to stomp around unprepared. We’re going to catch him off guard.”

“I don’t think that’s possible,” Discord mumbled.

“Why not? He’s just a—”

“An immortal god tyrant made of pure nightmares, who can kill us in a glance and nearly did, several times.” Discord shot. Then, after a pause, he said, “I still can’t handle this.”

“I guess…” I replied, frowning, “But he’s also—”

“Ssssshhhhh,” Celestia hushed us, hoof gently tapping her mouth.

We both fell quiet. Celestia nodded towards the far door. Mutely, we passed by dusty old furniture. An old an abandoned room. We didn’t have time to be looking. We passed it by without a glance.

When we exited, we were in a different wing than before. The hallway lined with suits of armor were nowhere to be seen. Instead, open archways led to a number of different rooms. The pace Celestia set was quick, but it still afforded me a quick glance or two.

The rooms were all roughly the same size. Furnished, but, almost sporadically. One room might have a bed and a desk. The next might have an entire collapsed bookcase, with notes and crumpled papers spilling everywhere. There was a room with dozens of half-filled bottles just sitting on the floor. Another that just seemed to be torn up by tightly woven stony vines, for no apparent reason.

None of the rooms looked lived in. Hardly any looked used. Aside from the rooms with furniture, next to nothing had dust on it. But I doubted it was because anyone came to clean. There must not be enough activity to even warrant dust in the first place.

And the Shadow Stallion was nowhere to be seen.

None of us dared to speak. We only passed by a dozen or so doors when I noticed. I knew where we were. A hall opened up on our right, and I knew where that was. It was lined with suits of armor, and led to a set of stairs down.

That was where we had come up, the last time we had tried to attack the stallion. And where we had fled to when we realized we could not stop him. The spears that he had torn from the suit’s sides were still scattered around the floor. Some were even embedded in stonework, untouched in the year since they were thrown.

Claws dug into my ankle. Discord had grabbed my hoof. I didn’t make a sound, just looked down at him. He waved forward, shaking his head violently.

Celestia had stopped. Discord and I did the same. I looked straight ahead, where discord waved. For a moment, I thought the hallway just ended. The light didn’t reach that far, and the shadows blotted out the end of the corridor.

But the hall couldn’t have just ended there. It seemed like two large, golden double doors were pushed open, resting on either side of the hallway. And, there was a wispy black smoke drifting from the space. And a little sliver of a neon blue against the black...

We all stood, stock still, as we stared into a room of black cloth so thick and twisted they seemed like pure shadows themselves. We all stared at the unmoving, corpselike frame of the Shadow Stallion’s back.

He didn’t hear us coming.

It was a crazy thought. He didn’t hear us coming? But he should’ve sensed, should’ve known where the Elements were. He could hear us! He could sense us use them! We knew this! Right? How could he not know when we were right behind him?

And why weren’t we doing anything about this?

I stepped forward. Discord’s claws dug into my hoof, urging me to stay. I turned back, and he shook his head violently.

I whispered, in a way that only he could hear.

“Don’t be afraid.”

It’s strange, but I wasn’t. Discord certainly looked like he was. But I wasn’t. Somehow, even with the Shadow Stallion standing right in front of us. Even though I remember vividly his attempt to stomp my head in. The sick mental attack where I had thought a spear pierced my skull. I wasn’t afraid.

And I think I knew why.

I stepped forward. Discord let me go, walking with me.

I came even with my sister. Celestia was just as confident, just as strong. Not for the same reasons, I don’t think. She believed in us, in the Elements. She believed we’d succeed this time.

She noticed me coming astride, and she lowered her horn. I saw her mouth, ‘Elements. Now.’

But I shook my head. I whispered back to her,

“In a moment. I’ve got something I need to say.”

She mouthed something else. But I just stepped forward again, a nose ahead of my sister. I stared at the back of the Nightmare. The source of this country’s horrors. The immortal god king tyrant.

But he was also,

“Butterfly Bright.”

“Luna!”

“Luna, what are you—?!”

The stiff nightmarish corpse moved, just a fraction. His head lifted slightly. In the darkness, his eye popped open. A corpselike eye, neon white in the pure, overwhelming darkness.

“Butterfly Bright,” I repeated, “I’m sorry you’ve become this creature.”

Celestia was hunched beside me. Her Elements were flaring, releasing a faint, low tone. Discord’s Element was humming as well, of of tune. But more than that. Magic was pooling under his hands, rolling around his fingers in a dozen bright colors. With a shallow breath, I let my own feelings, my courage, my compassion, joy and honesty, fill the ringing lights on my chest and head.

The Shadow Stallion continued to stare, unmoving. The black, sickly warm smoke began curling around our hooves.

“I’m sorry it took us so long,” I said, “But we’ve come to put you at rest.”

The Elements of Harmony suddenly hummed in tune. Their tones mixing into a beautiful, single note. I nodded, eyes locked with Bright’s.

He didn’t move. He continued standing, stiff as the stone he would soon become.

I smiled.

He must know that this was the end.

“Now!”

At Celestia’s cry, our Elements sang. A burst of light swelled around us. It shot forward, a bolt of a beautiful rainbow. All of our colors mixed. Celestia’s regal purple and sunshine yellow. Discord’s pure silver. My sky blue and night black. All formed the bands of something that was purely a creation of our friendship.

Straight as an arrow, the beautiful light soared forward. It pealed towards The Shadow Stallion, and he stood perfectly still.

Not a single blade of grass shifted in his dead-looking mane. He didn’t even blink.

Not even as black cloth heaved up in front of his body, blocking the light of the Elements.

Our rainbow of colors smacked into the black curtain. Gray stone immediately began seeping across the fabric, spreading like a spilt liquid. And yet the cloth just kept moving, tugging itself invisibly upward, soaking up more and more of our Element’s light. The entire door became blocked off by the twisting, shadowy cloth, and by the stone rapidly overtaking it.

“Stop, stop!”

Discord’s beam of silver vanished. The rainbow of our hearts quickly warped and dissipated without his light.

“We’ve got to get through there,” Discord snapped, “Quickly!”

“Can he teleport?!” Celestia cried.

“I don’t doubt it!” Discord squealed.

“Then we need to—!”

“I’ve got this!”

Discord reared up to his hind legs, magic crackling between his fingers. A small breath hissed out between his clenched teeth. His arms flung forward, and from his fingertips raw magic burst forth. Multicolored tree branches shot fast and forward, tearing through the air. They embedded in the crumbling, stone-coated cloth. Chips flew into the air, tinkling as they hit the ground and broke.

Discord gave a yank, and the delicate material crumbled, stone tearing away from cloth with a ripping sound, shattering like broken glass when it hit the ground. Black smoke billowed from the opening, washing around our hooves.

“Celestia!” Discord barked, “LIGHT!”

She didn’t need telling twice. Bright, golden light burst from her horn, a direct beam shooting into the darkness.

But there was nothing there. Nothing but a little black cloth podium holding a single sliver of chipped gray stone.

“Dammit, where?!”

Discord and Celestia charged forward, disturbing the smoke as they ran. I stood, frozen, biting my lip.

Did I mess this up?

Did I mess everything up?

I just wanted to give him a chance.

Acknowledge him as the pony he used to be.

Not as the monster he currently was…

Ca-clip. Ca-clop.

I blinked, looking up from the smoke gathering at my feet. Was Celestia coming back already? No, both she and Discord were shouting in the black cloth room.

But I clearly heard footsteps. I know I did.

“Hello?”

There was a burst of wind. I squealed, Expecting an attack. But nothing was there. Just empty space.

Something rushed over my head. The wind started billowing behind me, regular and rhythmic. Once. Twice. I spun around, and saw the smoke as it was brushed aside by a blast of air. Apparently from where, and by nothing. With each beat of those invisible wings...

“HE’S HIDING IN THE SHADOWS!” I screamed, finally finding my voice. “HE’S OUT HERE! QUICKLY!”

Without thinking, I ran down the hallway. I heard Discord and Celestia scramble after me, but I was in the lead. Not afraid. Not down on myself or disappointed. Determined to catch Butterfly Bright. Pony, alicorn, or nightmare, he needed to be put down.

Celestia shouted, “He must have snuck around us…!”

“He doesn’t have the sanity to sneak around us!” Discord screamed, “This has got to be some kind of distraction!”

“If he doesn’t have the sanity to sneak,” Celestia retorted, “Why would he have the sanity to distract?!”

“It doesn’t matter right now!” I cried, “Look!”

We had reached the final room in the miniature palace, the first room we had passed through. The balcony doors stood wide open as the wind kicked up dust and toppled furniture. The curtains billowed madly, the first time they had moved in years.

All of us charged forward, running for the balcony. But he wasn't there any longer than he needed to be. Night or not, there were no shadows in open sky. We all watched, midflight, the shadows peeled off his form.

His mane of dead grass whipped around his head, clawing at his face, whipping at his flank. His legs were curled upwards, like thick black branches jutting off his massive body. His wings could hardly be called wings at all, plucked and picked near empty of feathers. Clearly more than that was holding him aloft. The dark magic running rampant with his body maybe, tugging him along this dark path.

I don’t know if he saw us. His corpselike eyes never seemed to move. But he twisted in midair, attempting to turn with his broken wings. They splayed open into something that might have once been a wide wingspan. And silently, he tilted down into a dive. One that would take him over the walls.

“No!” I shouted, “Stop!”

“That’s right!” Celestia cried, “You cannot run from us, Shadow Stallion!”

Celestia’s wings snapped open. At my side she took off, soaring after the Stallion. Her elements flaring brightly once more.

“Where is he going?!” I shouted to Discord. But he just shook his head. He too took off, soaring after my sister. Refusing to be left behind, I ran for the edge of the balcony. I felt the stone pound under my hooves, and vanish as I leapt into the air.

I raced after my sister and my love, meeting them just as we crossed over the wall.

I screamed, “Where—?”

“There!”

Down, far, far below us, the Shadow Stallion stood serenely on the thick black layer of clouds. The clouds seemed as if they had turned to pitch. So dark, so cold, they almost seemed to suck the light from the star-filled open air. I doubted we would have spotted him in pure night. But with the moon steadily climbing, and his cutie mark so clear in the dark…

“Dive!” Celestia cried, “We can’t lose him now!”

I did as they said, both of us on either side of Discord’s mismatched wings. My eyes were locked on the small form of the Stallion, slowly getting closer and closer...

“Butterfly Bright!” I screamed, “Stop! Please stop! You don’t have to fight any more!”

His frayed wings jutted outward like two black branches. As if yanked upward by puppet strings, he reared eerily into the air.

There was a sound. A high-pitched whine, electric, like static gathering in the air before a thunderbolt. There was a charge, and a heavy pressure. I could feel it in the back of my jaws, behind my eyeballs, down the arc of my neck. Sharp as a knife and invasive as black and oily fingers.

We barely closed half the distance before, stiff as a statue, his hooves began to fall.

The Shadow Stallion’s hooves struck the dark clouds with a cacophonous boom. A blast of thunder rattled the entire cloud. Shockwaves rolled across it, flattening every wisp as far as the eye could see. There was a crack of stone behind us, and I twisted around just quick enough to see a dark spray drift from every crack between every twisted piece of black cobble. A black mist matching the rotten color of the clouds beneath our feet.

“He’ll collapse the city!” Celestia squealed, “Stop him!”

The Shadow Stallion didn’t even look up. There was a fat ripple beneath us. I cried out as a stumpy arm of black cloud rolled up before me. I barely flapped away before the limb, thick as a modest house across, lurched upward. Its end was not a hoof, but five stumpy fingers, each a tree trunk thick.

A bolt of light shot from behind me. Discord’s Element flared silver, a beam of energy shooting forward like a spear of light. It struck the cloud at the wrist. There was a deep rumbling, like distant, rolling thunder. Black rain spilled like thick, worm-infested blood from the point of impact. A little crater formed in the cloudy limb, and the light vanished. Did the beam even get through…?

One more, stronger than ever, I felt that sick, electric charge gather in the air around me.

“Luna! Discord!” Celestia screeched, “Together!”

I heaved up to my sister’s side, all of our Elements searing together, in unison. Beneath me, there was another boom of that same thunder. The Shadow Stallion’s hooves had struck the clouds once more. Even the summoned arm seemed to waver. There was another crack of stone behind us.

And the black hand that had formed was turning upward, collecting back together. Its fingers flexed experimentally.

“Now or never!” Discord shouted, “Magic… you better make an appearance!”

Without thinking. Without pushing magic through our Elements. With just one will united, all together, we three hummed in unison.

We didn’t need a poem, or a chant. We didn’t need to confer about the goal uniting us. Every little problem we had was dwarfed by the monumental size of the task ahead of us. We knew, and the Elements responded.

Little lights weaved among us, like ropes made of rainbow beams. From me to Celestia, Celestia to me. Me to Discord, Discord to me. And, just as smoothly and easily, from Discord to Celestia. From Celestia to Discord.

“Together!” Discord shouted, jubilant. “We can do this!”

Our Elements flared in unison. The ropes winding around us united, and it swirled upward like flowing water. Twisting and turning, every branch united with the other, light changing, shifting away from the off colors. Forming something so much more cohesive.

Our Elements, united, sang. And in a burst of white light, a true rainbow blossomed. Spinning higher and higher it flowed upward. Singing, tinkling like a wind chime made of stars…

Discord screamed, “DOWN!”

The black hand of clouds surged under us. Beneath it, fat wisps collected and spun together, making the limb larger, longer. Extending its reach and size, making itself big enough to hide us all in its massive palm.

But to us, as we were now, it was nothing.

Our attention focused, the high and winding rainbow shot down. I could hear it fizzing as it cut the air, leaving a clear trail, as if the rainbow was painted in place, never to fade.

It sliced through the thick clouds like they weren’t even there. The hand was cut neatly in half, disembodied ends swirling, curling into thick, wormlike tendrils. A blast radiated around the rainbow, pure white, and in the shape of a six-pointed star. Its radiance blasted away the remains of the hand, neutralizing the threat. Black sludge fell to the clouds below, and we could finally see past it.

The rainbow had sailed forward without us. It buried itself in the clouds, tearing a hole into the surface near ten meters behind the Shadow Stallion himself.

And his hooves were descending once more, cutting the air with that sick electric current.

“QUICK!” Discord shouted, “Turn it towards…!”

The Shadow Stallion’s hooves struck the clouds for a third time. The mass boiled, rolling thickly underneath his miniscule body.

And without warning, the darkness engulfed us all.

LXXV : The Fallen Sky

The Fallen Sky I
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Flea~

“Bringers of Harmony!”

My hooves skiffed the bright white marble, once, twice, thrice, frice, as I soared my way through the Canterlot halls. Leastways I wasn’t a-wearing those gold shoes. Nope. Kicked those off in the bunkhouse, right a-way. But sun up, sun down, this is how heavy the full-feather armor was supposed to be? And did it have to be so flapping clinky?

“Hail! Harmony Bringers!” I shouted, “Git out here!”

“Flea!” some one guy was shouting. There was a steady ka-clop ka-clop of grounder hooves behind me. “Stop, for sake of the sun! Stop!”

I pulled a nice lil’ bank in midair, shooting down another nice ‘n white hallway. In me old apprentice armor, the metal plates woulda cut right into my wing-joints. But not this nice goldie armor! Nope! I like me this gig, more and more!

“BER! ING! GERS!” I bellowed, “Where ya go?! I gotta swear me unending loyalty to ya!”

And all of a-sudden I let out a big-old YELP! Something gots my tail in his gross grounder mouth!

“Slow!” the grounder grunted, “Down!”

“Apple Brandy you snake!” I shouted, “Whad-did-aye say about ma tail?!”

Still flapping up in the air, I joyously bucked behind me. There was a ‘clink’ as I hit the broadside of Brandy’s (also) shiny gold armor. Griffin kaka! I hits his armor! And he’s not gonna to do a thing about it!

“Settle down, Flea!” Brandy said, ma tail still in his mouth. “The Elements aren’t here, you big goof!”

“What?!” I squawked, “Why ain’t they?!”

“Well if you’ll land, I could tell you!”

He let go of my tail, but bucks to landing! I turned and flip-flapped all in his face, keeping my eyes level to his eyes, my body floating up above mah face.

He spat a little, rubbing his ankle across his tongue, “Bleh. Your hair’s still so greasy… What did I tell you about bathing, Flea?”

“A-dunk-a-week-to-stop-the-stink.” I recited, “Also somethin’ bout soap. Now betta talk, ya bigger goof! Where are the Bringers of Harmony?!”

“Well for one they’re actually called—“

“Dun care!” I says! “Where are they?!”

“They’re out getting the rest of the Elements,” he said, “They’ve been out there for nearly a month now.”

I imitated Brandy’s best disappointed head-shake, and I said:

“An’ no pony thought to tell me…”

“You were training!” he says right back.

“Fer the position of defendin’ the Bringers of Harmony!”

He harrumphed, “They’re not called the Bringers—“

“An’ now I gotta go chase ‘em down to swear my loyalty to ‘em,” I harrumphed. “Thanks, Brandy!”

“Flea. The swearing ceremony was underway—“

“To an ole horseshoe!” I shot back, “I aint swearin’ to no horseshoe nothin’”

“It’s a valuable artifact!” Brandy kept a-going on, “That shoe was once worn by Princess Platinum herself! It represents your oath to the entire royal line, not just to a single pony!”

“Swearin’ loyalty to those Bearer’s faces ‘ll be quicker, AN’!” I ruffled my feathers, bobbing up in the air, “They c’n see with they’s own six eyes that me made it!”

Brandy, for the single first time in his grounder life, actually hushed up and nodded along. Because it was true, plain as the clinky gold armor on mah back. I made it!

An’ that’s all there is to say about that!

But then!

In that single quiet moment, jus between me an’ him in those quiet corridors… They suddenly stopped bein’ so quiet-like. Echoing offa all the rock, there was a distant, roaring thundercrack.

I frowned, cuz, really? I said to Brandy, in case he didn’t know:

“City ain’t got a thunderhead on th’ docket.”

Brandy started goin’ pale as a gust o wind.

He said, “A mineshaft explosion…?” he did.

“Wierd place to jump to there, Brandy!” I told him, “Well? Stop standin’ like yeh got a stick up yer bum! Less go ‘n see!”

With barely a flip-flap of my wings, I dove right back round the corner and soared for the door, for open air. An right behind me was the ka-clop ka-clop of Brandy’s grounder hooves.

Welp. There’s lots a places that I could be, an’ he couldn’t. No point in waitin’ up fer him!

I bust my way outta the door, dove past the pastel smear of the fancy ponies, and dove right up to open sky. There weren’t no thunderhead, that’s for sure. Even when one’s on the docket, my free-flying wingmates don’ like makin’ em much. All that stormwater stuffed together… not a pretty or comfortable sight for the once-brand. Them Canterlot ponies, theys understand.

But there it be again. A big, deep, loud boom, coming up right after the second.

“Flea!”

I looked down at Brandy, a little shouty splat of yellow in a sea of pretty pinks and purples.

He shouted ups at me, “Carry me down to Ponyville!”

“Yer crazy!” I shouted right back down.

“We need to see if the miners need help!”

“We won’ help nobody if we drop like an iron rock!”

“What?!”

I harrumphed and swooped a lil lower. Gotta make mah words clear for the grounder-type, so he’s doesn’t misunderstand mah point.

“You gotta big butt!” I shouted, “And your armor’s not exactly light o wind neither!”

“Well can you go?!” Brandy a-shouted back, “I mean, what do you see?!”

“Nothin’! All’s I see is clouds an’ clouds an’ clouds…”

But then!

A boom came for the thrice time. An’, since I a-looked down, I did think I saw somethin’ in that big ole wall of clouds. An’ if there was anythin’ I knew from a lifetime of stirrin’ dose sicknasty things, it was how theys were supposed to look. And where, in open air, they were supposed to sit.

I flapped down, over the cliff, an’ thought to myself:

‘Those look darker.’

‘Those looker meaner.’

‘Like theys made of snakes.’

An’ deys not apposed to be slidin’ down the mountain dat way?

I frowned, an’ said:

“Is mah eyes playin’ tricks on me? This can’t be happenin’…”

~Pith~

I craned my neck up, staring at the Griffin’s up-side down cloud towers. The white glare was near impossible to look at directly, especially after exiting the dark of the Sickle Raven’s home base. A hoof served as a second shade, the lip of my cap not nearly wide enough to protect from the glare.

“Pith?” Sprout asked. The colt sure had sprouted, that’s for sure. His snout nearly stood above my shoulders. “What’cha looking at?”

“The birds sure did seem agitated after that thunder,” I replied.

Sprout peered up after me as more Ravens flowed around us. They looked both ways, made sure nopony was looking before clopping out into the streets, one by one. After that last raid… well, best to be careful. Lay low, not hang around in groups for a while.

For a while, Sprout and I just looked up at those clouds, listening to the click of hooves. Somewhere, there was a distant plinking of water, the dribble of clothes let out to dry in the grungy streets.

Sprout asked, “Are the Pegasi staging another escape?”

“Good on them, if they are,” I replied, “Not like we can do anything for them down here.”

“Yeah…”

I squinted, trying to make out the little specks among the distant cloud towers. The fat little figures, griffins more than likely, certainly seemed to be zipping around way faster than normal.

“No groups yet,” I pointed out, “Not of Pegasi or Griffin. Not down under the clouds, at least.”

“Be safer for the slaves to come down here!” Sprout said, “Lots of places to hide. Lots of groups to hide with!”

“They know this city as well as we know theirs,” I said, “I doubt they’d easily find safety here.”

Sprout stared upwards, squinting. His muddy hoof lifted over his eyes. He asked, “Think the Pegasi are doing that?”

“Doing what?

“That,” he repeated, “Look at the base of the towers… Gosh, that’s spreading pretty quick.”

I narrowed my eyes, trying to make out just what I was seeing. It was like a gray stain was spreading through the clouds. It seeped and soaked through the base, down the slow swirl of the griffin towers. The spread dribbled like water across a sheet, except the stains were just growing darker and darker.

And... Well, I rubbed my eyes several times, and looked again.

I asked Sprout, “Do you think the towers are tipping?”

“Huh?”

There was a heavy splattering sound, constant and rapid. I could barely react before rain smacked the cobbles around me. Cold rain. It hit my skin like icy knives, sending jets of freezing pain deep into my body.

“Shit!” I shook my head violently, nearly tossing off my hat. “The hell is this?! Sleet?”

“Gross,” Sprout cried, “it’s sticky!”

“Sticky?!”

“Get it off! Augh! It stings.”

Black liquid flew from Sprout’s hooves, splattering on the pavement. It was thick and muddy rain, almost oily. Almost solid, like some kind of jelly.

I stared at my foreleg, at the water sliding thickly down my fetlocks. I could barely think, my thoughts scrambling as more of it fell from the sky, digging like knives. A dark, blackish purple jelly, numbing…

“INSIDE!” I bellowed, “Get everybody back inside the hideout!”

~Redheart~

Pitter …. patter patter… Plap. Plap.

I looked up, and the cold gray rock spun across my desk and clattering to the floor. Yes, a desk of all things. I was just sitting here idly, spinning my rapidly cooling stones. It was all I could do now. Was this all I was meant to be? Regaled to an administrative role in my own hospital? I would give anything to get that Element back safe and—

PLAP.

I sighed, and looked towards the window. Was somebody slinging mud at the pane? I did not think this decision would be so divisive for some ponies. Everyone just seems to have accepted this new order far too easily for my liking.

PLUP.

I stood, intent on retrieving the fallen shard of stone and nothing more. Well… while I was up, I may as well look and see if I could catch the hooligan who would blame me for the changes to The Sanatorium. As if I had much choice when gods were involved.

I floated the rock up beside me, and turned to the cold glass. It was obscured by some thick material, of course. But it did not look like mud. Much too thick. For a dull moment, I resigned to the fate of having manure slung at me. Perhaps I deserved it. Perhaps the rain would wash the gooey black mess away.

But of course, after all these weeks of wet, dreary weather, the rain had stopped barely a half hour past. Just my luck.

PLAT.

Another thick black lump splattered across the window pane, wobbling violently. I hesitated. Was it chocolate pudding? No, who is the world would waste something so valuable just to mock me? I moved closer, trying to see, to understand exactly what it was being thrown. Perhaps who was throwing this material as well.

From the window, from the wall, I felt an intensely cold draft. Perhaps these were frozen chunks of snow? Black hail? That still wasn’t quite right…

Whatever it was, it was sliding down the pane sluggishly. In what little I could see of the world beyond, I saw that the curtains of rain had indeed stopped. But it had been quickly replaced by some kind of thick, amorphous hail.

Puzzled, I said, “What in the world?”

A tremor of movement caught my eye. I glanced down. Did something else hit my window? I didn’t hear anything. The muck had slid all the way down the glass, and was now slowly collecting into a wet, formless mass on the sill. Not quite like mud, and not quite black either. A thick, wet purple—

An eye rolled across the mass, focusing directly upon me.

And I screamed.

~Bookends~

For the longest time, I simply stared at the blemish on my page. Certainly, the past few weeks had been wet. And certainly, the Shrine of Loyalty had sprung quite a fair number of leaks. But here, of all places. With a second floor above my head, I would think here would be a safe place to illuminate the page.

But there it was. A raindrop. A black smudge on the paper! Why, the document could be ruined by such damage if I was not otherwise prepared. I promptly reached for the bit of cloth I use to clean ink off my snout, and dabbed the page lightly with the single unblemished corner.

Yet, perhaps the corner was not clean at all. For all it did was a leave a large, black smear. Not soon after, the blot was joined by two more. Fat drops that rapped gently on the parchment, spreading thickly.

“Oh for the sake of the Alicorns!” I cried, “Ruined! How is a mare supposed to work in these conditions?!”

My only answer was an ice-cold drop on my shoulder, frigid cold searing through the thick material of my cloak.

“Did somebody spill a bucket up there?!” I shouted, looking up. The black stone looked wet, certainly. And leaking something fierce. Fat black drops rolled off the cold stone, falling in thick lumps or ropey strings. My goodness, what could have possibly been spilled up there? Liquid tar?

Suddenly, a drop of water fell into my gaping mouth.

It was as if my entire neck had been jammed with an ice-cold fire. I couldn’t breathe. My lungs wouldn’t pump. My throat had been reduced to swollen, dead flesh. Icy nails shot through my skull. My guts heaved, and all that was released was a small whine

My hooves clawing at my throat. I toppled sideways off my chair and hit the ground with a harsh splash. Cold water begun seeping up through my cloak, numbing my right side in an instant.

I’m dreaming, I thought frantically, still struggling to breathe. This is a nightmare. I’m simply choking on my pillow. I’ll just wake up and roll over.

I heard a pony shrieking. I struggled to look up. Glitter Dawn stumbled down the hallway, waddling as if her legs had fallen asleep. Every step she took squished softly, as if the floor was wet mud, not stone. She had an aura around her horn, lighting her face. But it was strange, edges burning out like the bottom of a candle flame.

I tried to cry out. I couldn’t even wheeze a response. Spots were beginning to swim in front of my eyes.

It’s just a memory. I’m not choking. I just remember choking, is all. Roll over. Just roll off the pillow…

Mouth still wide open, face feeling like it was swelling, I shoved off my numb, frozen side, and finally heaved onto my stomach.
It was as if I rolled right into a frozen puddle. Cold water seared down my middle, jabbing thick shoots of pain deep inside my belly, my lungs. My body wobbled slightly, as if the cold shock made it want to gasp for breath.

But of course, no air escaped. None returned to my lungs.

The only part of my body that felt warm was my face. I could feel the blood pumping rapidly behind my eyeballs, swishing in my ears. The world seemed to go hazy, as if it were full of gnats. I distantly registered a wet, scraping sound. A block of stone dropped from the ceiling, splattering like a fat lump of clay.

Just a nightmare…

~Apple-a-Day~

Am I dreaming?

I blinked slowly, trying to think through the clutter in my head. A dribble of black streamed down my snout, plopping heavily to the pavement. Plop plop. I tried to lift a hoof. But it had sunk in the mud… no the street was the mud. And so were the melting walls. And so was the dribbling cloud ceiling…

Other ponies shouted and ran, kicking up black gunk everywhere. Or maybe the black gunk was falling from the sky. Or maybe it was oozing out from all these melting walls. Was it night already? Dear, dear… what was I doing outside at night? I guess I would be taken, just as so many other had before me.

I dropped into the mud, feeling the cold shoot through the old bones, freezing them. Well, I wouldn’t be running on these battered old legs anyway. They almost seemed to sink into the stones… Oh, just idle thoughts from a tired mind, I suppose.

There was a sound in the air, much like the sound a falling tree makes. A long, distance, prolonged roar… Oh, I didn’t think I could remember such a sound. Such a distant memory. I was surprised I remembered it, but I suppose, I couldn’t care less.

Oh, but what was making that sound?

I watched, so slowly, as a black wall scattered the remaining clouds. The wall. The boundary of the city bellowed as it slid sideways through the air, a mile away and a mile tall. Bricks separated in fat chunks, leaving little gaps in the endless wave of dark mud.

Screams started rising up, one by one. Flaring up and collecting together. The whole city was screaming, what was left of it. The light from the sky vanished, what little there was. And still, the wall fell and fell, like a slowly crashing tidal wave.

I wondered if anyone else even knew what a tidal wave was… I sniffled, but the cold seemed to have stopped my breath. I could no longer inhale, nor exhale.

Maybe I was dreaming, because nothing hurt anymore. Not these old bones, not my joints or muscles. I would be taken away, but that didn’t hurt either. All that hurt were the old memories. The only one left who remembered what a tree was, or the tides, or the sun and moon…

Nopony ever believed old Apple-A-Day. Just a little liar who sold treats on a dead little street.

My chin fell into the frigid mud. The collapsing wall roared louder and louder as it fell faster and faster, screams wavering and faltering out of tune.

I think I’d just fall asleep, and hope that I suffocated before the wall came and crushed in my head.

~Leech~

Learning how to not be dead was very important lesson. Maybe even first lesson, after, don’t eat that stuff, and, don’t bathroom there?

But after not being dead for a long, okay time, I never learned to swim. And now?

FWUMP!

I squealed, but without lungs. One part of the liquid ceiling sunk into the mud-sea, and everything, shook, rolling around and around. The eyes on the mud sea blunk, and scattered, and reopened. Looking, where? At floating brother, and two sister sunk under. They weren’t screaming any more, but, I heard howling of adult, and really loud-rumble-roar. Maybe another mom? I hoped her kids weren’t dead, like my mom’s kids were dead.

There was a horn? A mom’s spiral horn, half her head, drifting in the sea. The sea-eyes looked at her eye. None blunk. I tried to breath again, but all my body, stuck in the mud? I tried to kick a leg, but I didn’t have a leg, anymore? I tried to grab, but I didn’t have an arm anymore?

I had a head, though. So I started to cry.

I’m sorry mom. I’m so bad at not being dead.

~Four-Clover~

Through all the chaos, I kept my post, and I watched.

I watched as the rain halted, clouds finally emptied of water. I watched as it began raining something else entirely, the true material that made up our dark sky. I watched as smooze splattered the landscape, coating it. I watched as the clouds slowly spun in the sky, thickening, darkening. I watched as the clouds collected, and as they fell.

I watched as large waterfalls of solidifying smooze spilled downward, and as brackish tornados miles wide formed. Even from a distance, I could hear the black material roaring as it slowly tore through the air. I could hear the deep, cacophonous boom as each waterfall landed in full force, and I see clearly as liquid smooze rolled outward, spilling and flooding the earth as the sky emptied its sorrows, one wound at a time.

I watched as, for the first time in decades, the little sliver of a moon peeked through the chaos. I watched as it vanished entirely, lost as the smooze engulfed town, forest, fields, and all else.

I saw all of this. And, in my mind, I saw so much more. I clearly saw as each and every pony slowly was enveloped in the tidal wave of hate and fear. I could see it rolling through streets. Smashing in doors and windows. Searching for every last pony as it coated Equestria, dragging them under with its pure, tidal force.

“So, you have failed,” I spoke to none in particular. “You three have failed this dying country. Now there will be no more country.”

I stopped, for no reason in particular. And I spoke once more, a single, finite word.

“Fine.”

It was probably the smooze speaking. Having bowled over buildings, devoured crops, swallowed trees, its massive form crawled towards me. Flowing monolithically uphill, either by pure, all-engulfing instinct, or because it was simply attracted by the large quantity of similar nightmares still remaining in my body.

Such a dark, self-replicating material. Numbed the body, numbed the mind. Breeding dark thoughts, preventing any will to fight, corrupting what little petrichor still remained. It was just that simple for mortals to fall into despair. We find hope and reason, or we die, swaddled in our worst emotions.

Our most fatal of flaws. Inescapable, even by those who have obtained immortality.

Even before the wave of despair reached me, the little smooze that had rained around my tomb was collecting. It picked its way towards me, leaving stained trails of purple wherever it collected. The material crept up on my stoop, eyes roving around my ankles. They peeled off the flakes of stone, sending them adrift before attaching themselves to the fur of my fetlock. I felt no cold, as a mortal may. But I did feel my own corruption churn within me. The only physical feeling I had experienced in near six decades.

Such large amounts can display a rudimentary intelligence. Fascinating, but unsurprising. There were several theories circulating that magic itself was the source of all intelligence, or that intelligence is what creates magic. Though I do sometimes wonder if additional discoveries had been made in my many decades of absence. If not here, then perhaps by the Zebras… certainly their God-King is not plagued by such violent mood swings as ours are.

“But, still,” I said aloud, “Fine.”

Strange that I should not care… but I did not care. I didn’t. And I doubted it was because of the smooze so avidly climbing up my chipped legs.

It was quite simple, really.

I did not care that our system of government had completely and utterly failed us.

I did not care that it meant the death of hundred of thousands.

I did not care that this might mean the extinction of all pony kind.

We simply were not meant to be happy. Purity of heart and clarity of goal meant nothing anymore.

This entire country was a farce, a pipe dream. All our rules and religion were built based on suppositions, constructed to preach the practice of unity between races and harmony with nature. We tried to correct the mistakes of the past, and submitted ourselves to the will of six rocks.

My father gambled on a better future, and he, we, all lost.

It was wrong of us to trust six crystals made of wild magic.

We deserved to be drowned out by the pain and hatred we ourselves instilled.

For our hubris, we, I, deserve this justice.

The tide had come in. Smooze rolled over the peak of the hill and washed around me. Even as it drained into my tomb, even as it continued to push up the slope of the hills, it would certainly not forget to collect me unto itself.

Instantly, the smooze soaked through my cloak. It seeped down the broken blunts of my wings. It matted the fur of my long-crumbled cutie mark, and, with an almost eager push from the black tides, it seeped back upwards. Soon, it was in my stringy mane, surrounding the stump of my broken horn.

I blinked, and felt the cold as it washed over down my face, collecting flakes of stone as it went. I could feel it between my few remaining follicles of fur, soaking through the meager façade of skin. My rotten insides rose to meet it, and the identical materials bled together. Corruption of one blending with corruption of many. Smooze mixing with smooze.

My sovereign body may have contained enough darkness to flood a city, but it was nothing compared to the nightmare currently flooding the country. My awareness extended, even as it was being drained from my skin-like sack and overwritten. I was just one body in a collection of millions. A jug of water tossed into the open sea. How long would I be able to determine what was myself, and what was not?

Of course…

The same was happening to that fool.

I did not know if I sensed it now, or if I simply predicted his fate with my remaining individuality. He, I, and perhaps even the cold remains of the others. Stripped of our containers, denied our individual thoughts, we would become the largest contributors to this sea of corrupted magic. Perhaps we might even be the final nail in this country’s coffin.

Idiot dog breeder. I suppose such a brute-force solution was all a Dirt Pony like him could manage.

I tried to take a breath, perhaps to taste the corrupted air of a fallen country one last time. But of course, I had no lungs, nor any organs to speak of. The air rolled around the back of my mouth, confused, and exited as a dusty puff of stone as I closed my snout, utterly denying my last mortal desire.

~Butterfly Bright~

I’ve finally found a way to stop everything from hurting, Pale.

I’ve finally found a way to kill myself.

Finally.

LXXVI : The Shattered Sky

The Shattered Sky
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Luna~

The world was faded like a half-filled dream, hazy from the shroud of a dense, blue fog. Everything blurred together, edges lost, creating shaded silhouettes of deep blue and black. The trees became a unified mass. The distant road drifted into sight underneath me me, before slowly vanishing into the shadows. The horizon was lit up, but by what, I wasn’t sure. But there were fixed, radiant points of gold, of red blossoming on the edge of the forest, mixing and quietly muted by the gloom.

And, if I looked far, far over my head, I could almost see a thin, sinking layer of silver light, that seemed to shift in rolling, thick waves. The reflected light of the waxing moon, barely permeating this silent world of haze and shadow.

There was no sound. Only the dull swell of sludge in my ears. My eyeballs felt stuck to the inside of their lids. I couldn’t blink. I don’t think I was breathing. I don’t think my heart was beating.

I wasn’t aware of my body at all. I couldn’t tell where my limbs were. I couldn’t tell where my body was. I could barely tell where my snout, my ears, my eyes…

It was just… nothing. Nothing, in a heavy, all-encompassing, silent void.

And I was one with the emptiness all around me.

…

……

…………

Did I die?

Oh wow….

Dead.

Dead…

Dead…?

I can’t be dead. Can’t I? It came so quickly. I don’t even know what killed me.

Those clouds rose over my head. I watched as they turned dark, and collapsed over me. I hit something below me. Water, something thick. Something cold beyond reason. I fell into that, felt it all around me. Felt it fill my lungs and stomach, that overwhelming cold. I couldn’t even struggle to escape, because my limbs weren’t responding.

And then…

Nothing. Just a slow loss of feeling.

And then here.

I guess I drowned.

I…

I feel…

I guess I feel upset… Why wouldn’t I? But I try to cry, and I have no eyes. I try to feel that seizing in my chest, but there’s no chest there to feel. Even trying to make up the sobbing sound in my head sounds fake.

I guess I can be thankful it didn’t hurt. Just hit the water and passed over. No pain. No fuss. Just like falling asleep, and drifting over to a dream.

It’s almost lucky. A slow drift to sleep, now, that’s the best, most kind death I could ask for, I guess

But.

Dead…

The end.

No more me.

Ever.

But.

How can I be thinking these things if there’s no more ‘me’ to think them? Is this the afterlife? Why is it so gloomy and dark?

In an annoyed huff, I kicked my limbs. Or, I tried to. One of my knees twitched, I think? I may have just imagined it. I tried to unfold my wings. I couldn’t even feel them. There was no feeling in my back. No tense muscles, or shifting skin, or the tiny touch of feathers.

I wondered if I still had wings. I wondered if I still had a body. What if they were all taken from me? I mean, if I’m dead, what use would a body be, here, in this endless void?

Oh moon in the sky. How can I be dead? I was an alicorn! I was about to save all of Equestria! And now, I’m just a nothing, in the most nothingness place I’d ever been...

No, no. Don’t go down that train of thought. It’ll lead to panic. No panicking is allowed.

Think.

Just.

Be quiet and think for a bit.

Strangely, the first non-panicked thought that came to me was:

Am I still connected to my Element?

I tried moving my snout, intent on tapping the metal band, um, somehow. It obviously didn’t work very well. My nose felt like everything else: like a load of nothing stuck right on the end of my nothing. I tried pushing magic into my horn, and alighting my Element that way. But all I felt was a cold, creeping sense of absolute failure.

Obviously, if I was in… this place, then Element was with my physical body. I couldn’t touch it, or cast magic at it. I could just feel it out. Feel Laughter and Honesty, feel my connection to my sister and my coltfriend, strongly in my little, spirit heart.

I reached out. Tried to close my eyes and focus. Closing my eyes failed, but expanding my mind didn’t.
Elements.

Wherever you are.

Luna is still here, and she would like to see her friends.

Suddenly, there was a little blue light. But from where?! I struggled to look down, up, sideways, anywhere, and—

A deep blue glow rose from below me, and drifted upwards up to meet my eyes. The little crescent moon of Laughter threw radiance into the gloom, and finally, I saw.

I actually did have a physical body! I was on my back, and my legs and wings drifting lazily above me, bouncing numbly off vague, shadowy tree branches. The Element of Laughter wasn’t just a disembodied glow. It was attached by a gold band, the same band I had worn since the day I found it.

Eventually, my body drifted downwards. I was only held up by the winding gold plate of the Element, its gemstone sitting in its own brightly lit bubble, literally pushing the shadows away from it.

And there we sat. no longer drifting aimlessly, but held still in our own little sliver of light. I tried to close my eyes and focus, but my eyelids still refused to play along. Whatever, I can think of Discord and Celestia with my eyes open.

I thought, almost as a joke, ‘Do you know where my friends are, little Element of Laughter?’

There was no reply, or really, none I could hear. The little blue moon twinkled calmly in front of my eyes, still and silent as it ever was.

Slowly, my Element drifted sideways, gemstone spinning and sparkling, well, joyfully. It pulled on the golden band, and the band pulled my body through the murky trees. I could feel, could see that we were moving.

It wasn’t the fastest way to travel, but we were clearly heading for the red and gold lights on the horizon.

~θ~

I don’t know how long I drifted. Minutes? Hours? Was I travelling miles, or just really, really drawn out yards? The Element of Laughter had pulled me out of the trees, so there really wasn’t anything I could use to judge time or distance down here. I knew I was travelling towards the red light in the distance. And, after watching it for a while, I knew the gold light was moving that way as well.

I wondered what both of those were. I mean, the gold could have been Celestia. But the red? Could it be Discord? Kindness was silver. I know we just got magic, but with all the glitter and rainbows everywhere, I didn’t exactly get a good look at the color.

I didn’t have to wait much longer. After an eternity or maybe an hour being pulled forward by the light of Laughter, I finally got to see what was in the red-lit clearing.

My heart swelled hot, the only feeling I felt the entire time here. It was Discord! He floating on his back, asleep with a red, six-pointed gemstone hovering in front of his nose!

I tried to wave, call out, something, but I was still a limp, dumb doll. I couldn’t even move my head to see that I was about to run into my sister.

I smacked into Celestia’s side, neck bouncing numbly off her shoulder. We tumbled weakly through the sludge-like air, slowly slipping head over heels. There was a warm glow, a flash of light, and the liquid peeled off our bodies, dropping us into the damp grass. I tried to land on my feet, but my knees buckled the moment they hit the ground. She did the same.

We both toppled sideways and collapsed on the damp grass, both still too numb to even move. Her head dropped with a wet thump near my stomach. I saw her Element, Generosity, as it drifted dainty back around her neck, glowing gently. Laughter slipped out of sight as well, settling back into place all the same. Light filled the space carved out all around us.

We were both quiet. For one frightening moment, I wondered if she was dead, and I had just run into her body. I struggled to open my mouth, to say something. Somehow, I could already feel my jaw moving, my teeth clicking together as I attempted to say the very first thing I could think of.

I said, “Um.”

Silence. I saw her leg twitch, bumping into Discord’s pink tail.

She croaked, “Yes?”

I worked my jaw, tried to speak again. My whole body was numb, but feeling was coming back slowly.

I forced my mouth to say, “Good to see ya, sis.”

“Yes,” she replied, “I suppose. Hm.”

“Hm?”

“Goodness,” she said slowly, “It is quite chilly down here…”

I tried to lift my head to stare at her. What kind of weird, dumb reaction…?

“Yeah,” I grunted, “it kind’ve is.”

Celesia laughed hollowly. I watched her chest heave as she tried to breathe.

I said, carefully as I could, “We really messed up bigtime, didn’t we?”

Celestia inhaled sharply. I took a small breath. Cold air burned inside my lungs.

She said, “I am trying to not think of that, at the moment.”

“No?” I asked.

“I just… it’s rather mon-u-men-tal,” she said, enunciating each syllable of ‘monumental’ with dainty care. “If I, or we, start thinking about how badly we have messed up, I do not think we will ever be able to pull ourselves through this.”

“Yeah,” Luna said slowly, “I guess it’s a little hard to swallow right now. That we might not be able to do anything.”

“I. No. I just.” Another sharp breath, held for a moment. “So. Was it you who pushed back the smooze…?”

“What? Sschmoozzeh?” I replied, word stumbling over my numb tongue. “I thought we were dead!”

“Ah. I see. Well. We’re not.”

“Really?” I asked. “How do you know?”

“Because we’re under a lake of smooze,” Celestia calmly and carefully explained. “The cold. The numbing liquid slime. The layer of clouds. The cold stone. The black, frigid liquid that forms in the bodies of tormented ponies. It was smooze. All of it. Enough to flood… everything.”

She stopped suddenly. I watched her chest as she inhaled again, sharp and shallow as all the rest.

“Like I said,” Celestia continued, “I’m… just trying not to think of it.”

“Well that changes everything!” I said, “We’re alive. We have all six Elements. That means we can do anything now, right?”

“I suppose,” Celestia mumbled, “Anything’s possible.”

“So were you the one who dragged me here?” I asked. “Wasn’t me, trust me. I thought I was dead.”

“I was not,” Celestia replied, “So you suppose it was Discord?”

I looked past Celestia’s body, past her legs to the prone body of my coltfriend. He was no longer floating, of course. But he was still on his back, lying on the grass. His arms were at his sides, wings spread out, with the Element of Magic hovering inches above his nose.

“Discord?” I asked as loud as I could manage, “Did you unlock a new ability when you got your new Element?”

He did not respond. I got a sinking feeling, cold. What if he was…

Was what? These were dark thoughts probably brought on by the smooze. I tried to ignore the fact that Discord was not breathing. I mean, I wasn’t breathing until a few minutes ago. I didn’t need to when I was stuck in the smooze ocean. Perhaps he didn’t need to breathe either.

“Well I wonder what DID bring us here,” I continued, “Did the smooze…?”

“I doubt it,” Celestia said.

“Then maybe, Four-Clover…?”

She coughed. “Even less likely.”

“Okay… so, a secret Element of Harmony power?”

“Hm.” Celestia tried to lift her foreleg. It shivered and wobbled forward. A struggle, but under her control. I heard the cold clink of hoof hitting metal.

And, just like that, the light of the Elements around us dimmed just a little.

“Luna,” Celestia muttered, “Can I tell you something?”

“Of course!”

“I do not know if it is the smooze still imposing negativity, or if I should just keep smiling like I always do…”

“Tell me,” I asserted, “Whatever it is, we can hug it out.”

Her foreleg tightened, “I think, that is… that’s maybe part of my problem?”

“What,” I said, “hugs?”

“Yes? Well no, but…” She struggled to turn around. Her legs barely moving as she flopped over in an attempt to face me. “Do you think… well, do you think we may have been forcing this?”

I stared at the top of her head. “We did not force the smooze to flood everything.”

“No, no, not that! I mean,” she cried, “If we didn’t have this big responsibility, and didn’t have to save Equestria… do you think we’d be friends?”

Finally, she craned her neck up to look at me. Her face was twisted. Wet tears plastered tangled strands of her mane to her face.

“Yeah,” I mumbled, “I think that’s the smooze talking.”

“Perhaps,” she said. She stopped craning her neck. A hoof struggled to rise to her face, to wipe the tears away. “I’ve just got this sinking feeling that… you know. We aren’t much better than the first Gods, are we?”

“We are better,” I asserted. “We know we’re better! We know and can do so much they could ever dream of! I mean, come ON! They didn’t even LIKE each other!”

“Yes… we are better,” she said slowly “But we’re not perfect.”

I shot right back, “Of course not. Who is?”

“Yes… who is, really?”

She fell quiet. Slowly, the glow of her Elements returned. I dropped back on the grass, wondering when I had started to lean forward. I watched the dark swirl of shadowy oil above our heads. The smooze must really be doing its best to get in here, infect us and our Elements… You know. If it could think.

“I wonder, though,” Celestia said, voice calm, steady, and no longer unecesarily forced. “Are there six, ideal, perfect friends the Elements of Harmony were, or still are, waiting for? Six friends that actually fit their Elements seamlessly? Six ponies that you just look at, and you know they are made for thier Element?”

“We fit pretty good, I think,” I offered.

“But not without issue. Not without question. I mean, what did I do to earn Generosity?” she asserted, “And Loyalty. Remember? It broke on me. I don’t even know why it came back…”

I huffed, “That’s the smooze talking, Celestia.”

“It settled for me,” Celestia said, “The Elements both settled for me. Because the country needed their power more than the Elements needed a perfect fit.”

“Don’t make me come over there and hug you!” I huffed, trying to heave myself upward. “I’ll hug you dangit! You can’t stop me!”

“I’m not upset!” Celestia cried, “I just want to know what you think.”

“I think feeling sad and mopey right now is a totally dumb idea, because, in your own words—” I hefted my hoof above my head, jabbing through the air at the purplish black oil above our heads. “If we start thinking about how bad we screwed up, we are never going to get out of this! I don’t care if it’s something we did, or something we could have done. I don’t care if there are six ‘perfect’ friends somewhere out there. We, here and now, are the ONLY hope for Equestria! Okay?!”

And strangely, Celestia huffed a little laugh. A pleasant laugh.

“Always know how to cheer up a pony, Luna.”

“Damn straight I do,” I shot back, “Now help me wake up Discord. We’ve got an Equestria to save.”

~Discord~

Somehow, I’ve reached the bottom.

The bottom of what? I don’t know. Did I hit the bottom of… whatever I drowned in? Am I still stuck in my body? Is that what’s going on? Then how come I can’t hear, or see, or anything else, even distantly?

I have no idea how any of this works. But I’m touching something. I know I am. Something is pushing against my back. Or really, I’m lying on something. Faintly, distantly, as if I was feeling it through several layers of clothes.

I can feel it.

There’s something there.

I am dead, right? I’m not breathing, my heart’s not beating…

Something’s mumbling around me, but I could just be making that up. Like a dream.

What else could I be, but a corpse?

But maybe…

“C’mon, Discord. Rise and shine.”

“Luna?”

I mean, I tried to say ‘Luna’. But there was no breath left in my body. I couldn’t inhale, or exhale. Obviously, because I was—

“He’s down for the count, Celestia.”

“Perhaps he ingested some of the smooze?”

“An easy fix, then! We’ll just hug him a bunch and it’ll make the smooze slink away.”

“I’m surprised. Do you have enough control over your limbs to hug him yet?”

A pause, then, “No… “

Smooze?

That doesn’t make sense. The smooze would make my body numb, yes… but wouldn’t my mind also be numb…?

I tried to open my eyes. I couldn’t.

I couldn’t even feel the muscles in my face. I tried to pinch them together, feel them scrunch around my snout. I knew what it felt like, and distantly, I thought I could feel them moving. But it was just a ghost of memory, nothing more than a dream of movement.

Move! Open! Do something!

I imagined I was taking in a breath. With the fake pressure in my whole imaginary body, I willed my eyes to open. Again, I felt that distant, tight feeling around my brow… but was it a memory, or actual movement?

For a brief moment, a faint red line unfolded through the darkness.

My jaw dropped, or at least I imagined it did. That must have been something! It had to be!

I struggled inside my own skin. Tried to move my neck, my arms, my eyes, anything. I was still here! I was still something! Alive? Dead? I didn’t know. Even if I earned the latter… I couldn’t just lie here and just wait for nothing to happen.

Faintly, distantly, so light it was practically featherlike, something tapped the edge of my snout.

I imagined myself squirming and struggling. My entire body writhed in my mind, creating phantom feelings down my arms and legs. Shadows of true movement. All trying desperately to just open my eyes!

The faint red line reappeared.

Instead of stopping, I redoubled my efforts.

A muddy red outline formed on my vision. I could see the lashes of my eyes. One lid shifted further up than the other…

An eyelid, and eyelashes.

I could see parts of my own body.

I still existed. Somehow, I was still here, in some sort of body…

Liquid swimming in shadows, eyes stiff and gummy, I finally forced them open the barest crack.

And I saw The Element of Magic floating serenely on the tip of my snout.

“Oh good, Discord’s awake!” Luna said smiling down at me, “Now we can get to work!”

“G-get to work…?” I fumbled with my words, not because my mouth was numb, but because I felt out of practice. “Wh-why...”

I struggled to lift my hands. My arms shook violently, but they moved. I reached for the hovering Element on the tip of my nose. My Element. Magic. It had to be. My hands wrapped around the hot stone, and it was right then that my elbows buckled. The Element of Magic slammed down on my stomach.

“Life! Ow…”

“Congratulations, Discord!” Luna cried, somewhere out of sight. “You earned the Element of Magic!”

“Yeah… I saw,” he croaked. “Wh-what's going on?”

“Luna and I have agreed that we will not dwell on it,” Celestia said, “At least, not until we can come up for a solution.”

“So…” I croaked. “We’re not dead.”

“Yeah… I mean, no! No, I thought we were dead, but we aren’t,” Luna said, “Just buried under a boatload of smooze.”

I squinted upwards, trying to focus. I was in some kind of glowing bubble? Beyond that, I could only see a blackish, purplish haze.

“Oh…” I croaked, “So it’s not just… really, really dark out?”

“Sadly, no,” Celestia said.

“Damn…” he mumbled. “Life and sky and sun and moon. We really messed—”

“Yes. Yes we did,” Celestia interrupted, “We’re trying to focus on the solution, not the problem.”

I blinked slowly, still squinting up into the swirling darkness. “R-right… yeah… But, how big is it?”

Luna said, “Huh?”

“Are we just, under Canterbury? Does this spread out further…? How far… how much of Equestria…?”

Luna admitted, “We don’t know…”

So I said, “You think, maybe, we can try and get to an edge? See how big of a… smooze lake we’re dealing with?”

“We’re really not in any state to walk,” Celestia muttered. “Still recovering, really.”

“We might not be able to walk,” I said, “But…”

I struggled to sit up. Forced myself, really. Magic’s points dug into my gut as I heaved myself upward. Heat pulsed in my fingers, Element warming them, or my own spell wild to escape my will. From here, I could see both Luna and Celestia. And, with the help of Magic, an illusion spilled from my fingers.

It was simple. A little platform formed underneath us, crushing the grass. It lifted. I focused on building wheels. On mechanism to push us along. On walls to keep us from falling. A self-propelling cart formed underneath us, a faded wooden texture spread across the surface like an afterthought. Now wasn’t the time to really focus on those details.

“Discord?” Luna whispered, “Are you really okay to cast…?”

“Who’s the awesome guy holding The Element of Magic here?” I said back. I grinned, to the best of my ability. “C’mon. Let’s explore while we get the feeling back in our legs.”

~æ~

I don’t know how long we spent at the bottom of that lake. We said we’d travel until we were able to stand. When we finally managed to do that much, we said we’d wait until we could totally control our magic. I was the only one who could cast for hours and hours. The ability came back to Luna and Celestia so slowly, even with Luna launching surprise hugs whenever the mood struck her.

We needed it. For all we saw, we needed the support.

The light of the Elements kept us safe. The smooze kept its distance, but not for lack of trying. Sometimes, I felt like it was trying very hard to get at us. Eyes roved in the darkness, watching us from a distance. Fingers, hooves, and wings formed around us, the size of thimbles up to the width of tree trunks. One time a massive palm two stories tall rose from the gloom and place itself neatly in our path. We passed right through it all the same, even as the massive fingers closed around us, eyes blinking on each knuckle. The bubble of light kept us safe. Out of reach, even as we remained engulfed.

But the smooze wasn’t all we encountered. Of course it wasn’t. Under the timeless ocean, we could see so much more than mock shapes of a faceless force. We had to leave the forest before we could see clearly in the distance, and something much worse than smooze was there to greet us.

We climbed to the epicenter of it all, to the empty crater that was once Canterbury, and all of us mutely looked out at the world.

Hovering everywhere. Floating, suspended in the darkness were figures. Bodies. Thousands of them. Earth Ponies in fancy dresses. Griffons in armor. Pegasi stripped of clothes. Even the occasional Draconequus drifted limply through the material. They floated among broken bits of wood, small and scattered knickknacks, piles of once-precious objects reduced to flotsam in a sea of despair. They floated deep into the black cavity of once-Canterbury, and floated far in the distance, smooze stretching from horizon to horizon, as far as the eye could see, mere silhouettes on the silver sky.

For all of her hugs, support, and joy, it was Luna who finally admitted the truth.

She said, “The smooze covers the whole country, doesn’t it.”

“Yes,” Celestia replied quietly, “If the clouds were made of smooze, then the whole country should be under this affliction… save Canterlot.”

“Life be damned…”

“So um, assuming that,” Luna said, “Ideas, guys?”

“Why couldn’t we just be dead,” I moaned. “That seems like the easier option right now.”

“If we were dead, then the whole country would be doomed,” Celestia mumbled, “Do you want the whole country to be doomed?”

“Of course not,” I huffed, “But what can we do? It’s too big to blast away. We’d just wind up shoving it around.”

“We don’t know that,” Celestia offered.

“We’re not exactly destroying the smooze around us here,” I said, waving at the roiling muck around us. “Just pushing it aside. No matter how much we blasted through those clouds, or melted stones, we’ve never destroyed smooze.”

“But we can do so many things now!” Luna interjected, “Your illusions. My teleportation, invisibility, and sound. Celestia’s fire, and crazy order magic, whatever that does.”

“Separates components, mostly,” Celestia offered.

“Right. And all of that can be mega-powered by these,” Luna tapped my Element. “We can power whatever we want, now that we have the full set, right?” She smiled at me, warmly, enough to make me melt. “So sit up straight and talk to us. We’ll work this out. It won’t be easy, but we can work it out. We’re the only ones that can.”

Celestia nodded. I couldn’t help myself from nodding as well.

“So,” Luna said, “How do we kill it?"

I barked a hollow laugh. “Very hard to kill, smooze.”

And that was that. In a sudden flash, I remembered something small. Something important, from my night in the menagerie.

And it was like a fire was lit in my head.

~Celestia~

“I’m not particularly fond of burning the country down, Discord!”

“No, no, that’s just the start!” Discord nodded, eyes wide and practically glowing with excitement.

“We’re not going to start by burning down the country!” I cried, “You want to kill hundreds of thousands, millions of lives…!”

“But you can control it, can’t you?!”

“You’re asking me to control a wildfire!” I shot back, “Something hot enough to burn the moon down!”

“No! It doesn’t have to be hot!” Discord laughed. “It’s just the thing we’ve been missing this whole time!”

“What’s that?” I shot, “Murderous intent?!”

“No! Listen to me!” He waved me and my sister closer, the most excited I had seen him in days, even weeks. I rolled my eyes, but Luna had already moved in, watching her coltfriend intensely.

“All we’ve been doing is pushing the smooze around. Why?” He didn’t stop to wait for an answer. “We’ve been focused entirely on protecting ourselves. That’s all we’ve done. We’ve built ourselves up. Healed each other kept each other safe. We’ve been on defense practically since the day we left Canterbury.”

Luna nodded sagely, as if that explained anything. I wanted to roll my eyes and object, just on principle.

“The Elements react to our moods, right?” Discord continued, “They have responded to our intents, without fail. So if all we do is defend, all the Elements are going to do is defend us. But we need to get rid of this smooze. We need to will the Elements to use all of its positivity and hopeful feelings to burn all the smooze away!”

“Luna!” I cried, exasperated, “Tell Discord he’s crazy.”

She gave me a thoughtful look, and said, “Discord knows the most about Magic here.”

“But why fire? Why my fire?! Do you really think I can control it when it coats the whole country?”

“Yes.” Discord’s hands slapped on my shoulders, The Element of Magic hovering serendipitously above Kindness. “Because I believe in you.”

“Oh come on!” I cried, “Believing in me is just—!”

“Everything the Elements are founded on?” Luna interjected, smiling slyly.

“C’mon Celestia, we’ve heard the stories,” Discord said, shaking me gently. “These are the Elements of Harmony. Together, they can do anything! Defeat armies, move mountains, anything grand and powerful, they can accomplish together!” He leaned in still smiling, “If they can do crazy things on the biggest scale, don’t you think they can do crazy things on the most careful, most finite level as well?”

“Especially,” Luna continued, “In the skilled hooves of an Unicorn with mastery of Order Magic?”

~¤~

We flew. Our Elements were radiant. Magic spun and danced around us all, glow a brilliant white. Luna followed it with her hoof, smiling as she twirled around and around. She painted open portals. Everywhere her hoof went, Magic lit the way to a new area. Town after town, border to border. Dozens became hundreds, shadows of shapes clashing and blending as she opened another, and another and another. Shadows were in abundance at the ocean of despair’s bottom, and even the smooze couldn’t close her flippantly opened portals.

“It’s so easy!” she cried as she spun head over heels. “This is crazy!”

“I told you!” Discord shouted. “The Elements can handle this!”

He was happy, but with beads of sweat were forming on his forehead.His outstretched hands glowed, magic rippling and dripping down both arms.

“Discord…”

“Do we have the borders of the country covered?!” he shouted, “We don’t want any smooze slipping away!”

“Done and done!” Luna cried, giving her hoof another flourish. “Ocean to mountain, tundra to desert! And tons more in between!”

“Celestia…”

Without thinking, I barked. “Ready!”

“Together, then!” Discord shouted, “Celestia, we’re both here for you!”

“Yeah, I know!” I cried, insides writhing.

“Then… let’s do this!”

And, all at once, we sang.

We didn’t have words. We didn’t have notes we were aiming to hit. We didn’t need a song to unite us. We simply bellowed from the bottom of our lungs, echoing the bell tone of our combined Elements. It was all we needed to feel connected. One note became our Aria of Harmony.

I didn’t even have to think. We all synonymously knew. It was only then I understood.

With our united hearts and minds, we could work any miracle we desired.

My horn flared. Our Elements shimmered in a rainbow of color. Pure color in physical form shot from each Element. Dozens apiece, all racing directly towards their destined portal. It wasn’t long until our bubble was filled with solidified light, blinding and pushing outward. Each beam held their own dark portal open, no longer formed out of shadows, but out of our singular will.

The light dug into the smooze, and instantly set it alight in pure white heat.

We willed with all of our souls.

Let all darkness be banished from this country.

The smooze did not roar. And even if it did, it would have been overwhelmed by the Aria of Harmony. Wherever the light touched, the flames of our hopeful desire spread. We separated out the citizens easily, and returned them safely to the ground. We easily picked building from destruction, and our will repaired the fallen structures. We wondered, as one, if even destroyed crops could be repaired, or friend differentiated from foe.

But we would not let these thoughts get in our way. Our unity and strength would first scrub all sorrow from the country. The rest may come later, when we ascend to our thrones.

Together, we burned the darkness away, and reduced it to a glimmering ash…

~Apple-a-Day~

I don’t rightly know what happened since I put my head down to rest. I had supposed that I died. Cold, alone, but peacefully. It was my fate. I went willingly.

Yet here, I was a-waking up. As if all I did was drift off to sleep. And a deep sleep, at that. I couldn’t move a single bone is all my old body.

I wondered, what had woken me? The light of the sun?

An old joke. But as I struggled to open my eyes, for one crazed little moment, I thought that maybe it was just that.

~Bookends~

Just a nightmare, just a nightmare, just a nightmare…

Over and over those words played in my head as the world grew darker, dimmer, and more distant. It was just a nightmare. I wasn’t dying. I was just having a bad dream. A very, very bad dream. I insisted this, even as the cold filled my lungs, and numbness swamped my head.

Please, somebody, were my last thoughts, Someone come and wake me up.

I fainted. From a nightmare. I must have.

Because when I awoke, I was on my back, and warm. In the distance, I heard a choir singing. I attempted to ungum my eyes, for all I could see was a half-dozen brilliant streaks of light.

I coughed, and took a long, shuddering breath.

~Redheart~

I came to slowly. Tried to stand, but couldn’t. Tried to make sense of my surroundings, but I could barely do that either.

I was surrounded on every side by a brilliant rainbow of color. No matter how much I blinked and stared, I could swear that I was surrounded by multicolored flames. They licked at my body, warm, but not burning. They were gentle, like a light caress, or thousands of butterfly wings.

I stopped trying to stand. Only gaped as the fire spread all around my office. Wherever they went, damage was repaired, instead of perpetuated. My desk fell gently to the ground. The doorframe righted itself in the wall. Fragments from my shattered window righted themselves in their pane.

I tried to stand again, amongst the colorful flames. I found I could manage a foalish wobble up to my hooves.

Fitting, for all I could do is gape.

~Pith~

I finally dared to open my eyes. The song, whatever it was, had ended. Most of the flames had died. And most of the little ones had ducked out from under my hooves.

They wobbled on their feet like newborn foals, and yet, they danced. They were excited. Some chased the remnants of the rainbow flames. some bolted right up the stairs, wobbling the whole way up. Some stayed on the bottom floor, kicking at the fresh coat of white powder, making snow ponies in glittering ash.

One of the little ones, Soybean, looked up at me curiously.

He asked quietly, “Did we go on up to heaven, Piff?”

I raised an eyebrow down at him. “Does this look like heaven to you, lil Bean?”

He shrugged. “I dunno, I nebber been.”

“Tell you what,” I said, “I’ll go and check. Alright?”

He nodded. “Kay.”

I tried to stand up straight. I think I managed better than some of the boys, but I still crawled up the stairs instead of walked. Sprout appeared in the door at the top. He stared down at me, flabbergasted.

“Pith,” he mumbled, “You gotta see this.”

I nodded, stood tall on my numb legs, and Sprout stepped aside as I walked through past. I looked up, wondering if the griffin’s cloud homes still stood. Instead, for the very first time in my life, I saw something wonderful.

I saw the sky.

~Flea~

“Wooooooo~ooaaaaah.”

So, there’s been a buncha crazy-crazy things I’ve seen with these peepers on this day. The sky fallin’? NUTS. The whole country under a buncha gunk? CRAZY. That same gunk a-crawling up the mountain, reaching with weird fat fingies? REALLY. TERROR-FILLING.

But then things get crazier! How could it get crazier? Well, thems rainbows set the country on fire. That’s pretty crazy. And then crazy how it didn’t actually burn or nothin’. I should know. I flip-flied right in the middle of it when we Pegasus tried to put it out!

But the wierdest of the wierd… Well, not wierd. Just newest of the new.

I looked out on th’ country. All the flames was gone. All the clouds was gone. For the first time in a forever life, I could see forever. I could see green trees, and river, and lakes, and cities. All spread out like a big quilt, patched together by dem gods.

And all of it was glittering like it was a grand new land.

I spun round overtail, and flapped back down to the streets of Canterlot.

“BRANDY!” I screamed, “Tell them smarty-pants ponies to get that sun up!”

~Celestia~

And for the first time in decades, the sun rose over the Land of Equestria.

LXXVII : The Open Sky

The Open Sky
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Luna~

We all stopped singing at the same time. Our Element’s light faded. I felt a sharp pang in my chest. Discord and Celestia both panted for breath. Magic had spun into a crown atop Discord’s head, the same shape and design as our own crowns.

I held on to both of them as we slowly drifted towards the ground. Ponies and griffins woke up all around us, in a daze. Some were fighting free of light debris. Some surprised ponies were making their ways down from treetops, caught by the more aware unicorns and Pegasi whenever they fell.

We settled on the lip of Canterbury Crater, landing on a pile of broken wooden debris. I guess we couldn’t fix everything. Or maybe this stuff was so reliant on the black stone, that when it rebuilt, it immediately collapsed. I certainly didn’t know, even if I was helping cast the spell.

Celestia tried to push the debris away, but her magic could barely cover her horn, let alone shove anything. My whole body was starting to ache, but I helped her anyway. Together, we shaved our own place among the wreckage, and collapsed into the dirt.

We waited for our breathing to slow. Griffins took off over our heads, followed by spell bursts and angry Pegasus thunderheads. Ponies were sobbing, cheering, fighting, embracing, just reacting all around us. I don’t think any of us were here, hiding in the piles of broken boards.

Finally, Celestia regained enough of her breath to say something.

“We missed a spot.”

Discord closed his eyes and nodded.

“Funny,” I said, “The only place the smooze could hide was right under us.”

We all knew, instinctively. A remnant of our shared spell. The crater of Canterbury still held a sizeable portion of the smooze. We all knew it contained every last Draconequus, all trapped in that dark, death-like trance.

“I’m sorry,” Discord mumbled, “That was me. I couldn’t decide, then and there. Thought maybe we should set aside the problem, until we’ve thought it over a bit more.”

Celestia grunted, “Do you really think we should just leave it down there?”

“Save it, the both of you,” I said. “You’re both too tired to fight, and I’m too tired to tell you both to shut up.”

“Okay,” Celestia wheezed. “That’s fair.”

“Yeah,” Discord huffed, “Sure.”

We again, fell silent. There was nothing more to be said. We all knew we had done our best. The country wasn’t fixed, not totally. Getting rid of the smooze hadn’t taken care of the griffins. It hadn’t undone the decades of terror. And it wouldn’t stop another regime from rising in its place, if we weren’t careful.

But for now, I think we all deserved a little lie in the dirt, and some time to think to ourselves.

“We’ve got a lot to do,” I joked.

“Yeah,” Celestia mumbled, “And you know what?”

“What,” Discord asked.

“I think we can handle it,” she said. “It won’t be easy… but it won’t be like, whole-country-flooded-with-smooze crazy either. You know?”

Discord tiredly slapped Celestia’s side. “Don’t jinx it.”

She smiled and stuck out her tongue.

“We’re not perfect, but we’re pretty good, right?”

I nodded, “Damn good.”

“Here here!” Discord called, weakly pumping as fist into the air.

“So. Until the perfect six friends are found, let’s do our very best,” Celestia said, smiling warmly. “Let’s protect this country until the True Six are found.”

She pumped her hoof forward, smiling broadly at the both of us. I nodded brightly, and shoved my own hoof forward, clopping it against hers. Discord’s smile was more exhausted than overjoyed, but his hand slapped on top of our hooves.

“Life. Good living.” he said, clasping both of our hooves in his. “Now what the heck are you talking about, Celestia?”

Smiling under the baby-blue sky and a the newly risen sun, we chatted for hours in the wreckage of Canterbury, just three very special friends.

~Two Days, Celestia~

I approached the Griffin camp by air. It wasn't much of a camp, to be fair. The griffins had not bothered building the clouds into any kind of serviceable building. Just lashed the material together into a sort of floating cavern, or a gigantic fluffy tent.

Two Pegasi is full golden armor flanked me on both sides. This was far better than the ostentatious cart, in my opinion. I had my golden shoes back on my feet, and my hair was properly coiffed and cleaned. I was a Princess again, yes. But did I have to be pulled around in some golden wagon? And by former slaves? It seemed more than a little hypocritical.

We changed formation. One Pegasus ahead, and the other behind. They landed on the little cloud flotilla, and in flash they already had their spears in hand. I wouldn’t be surprised if they attacked at the slightest misplaced glance. Bad blood was practically boiling in the air. The griffins who had noticed my approach were already jeering, calling out their colorful insults and cackling like mad.

“HEY FEATHERHEADS!” One of my guards yelled. “We all gonna have the nicest talk ever with Big Birdie Leader Head, OR WE ALL GONNA CHOP ALL THE HEADS OFF YOU ALL.”

I balked. “Flea!”

She turned to me. she wasn’t angry, like I assumed, but confused.

I asserted, “That’s not what we agreed on saying!”

“Ya gotta know how to talkin’ to them, miss Princess,” she explained, “Being polite just makes them-all ignore ya.”

“It’s true ma’am,” my other guard, Munch, grunted, “They like ‘em a loud bark.”

“Oh, I know,” I said, “I am well prepared.”

“Who the RUTTING HELL?!”

One griffin waded forward, through the crowds of refugees. He was physically large, wearing a thick, silver armor that was dented and scratched all up and down its length. His talons were massive, and made to look larger by black silver caps, sharpened to a razor point.

One of those talons sliced through the air, almost clawing at me as the griffin approached. “What’s a mixed-breed, dirt-rutting, fatty filly doing on our rutting cloud?!”

“Well I …”

“WHAT was that, dirt-rutter?!” One of his gnarled claws wrapped around the side of his neck, where an ear would be. “SPEAK UP! You’re simpering too softly, squishy filly!”

I cleared my throat. Would I need to use a spell to make myself bigger? would that help or hurt?

To heck with it. I straightened myself out.

“I’ve come to tell you,” I took a deep breath and a step closer, “To GET OUT OF MY RUTTIN’ COUNTRY, you BLITHERING, FEATHER-BRAINED, BRUTE!”

The old griffin took a quick step back, and smiled like he was holding in a laugh. All around us, griffins cackled and hooted menacingly. More slurs were shouted my way. Threats, maybe. It was a little hard to tell.

“Oh. I’m so sorry, little miss skarn,” the massive griffin chortled. “What’s your name? Sparkle Pickle? Glimmer Gutter?”

“It’s PRINCESS Celestia,” I asserted, “Or if that’s too fancy for you, you may call me Goddess of Harmony.”

“Goddess of the dirt-rutters, eh?” he nodded mockingly, “Welcome to our crappy slice of sky, so glad to be in your magnanimous presence, Grand Employer. My name be Elfric the Godkiller, Feaster of Godguts, Ripper of—”

“Yes, yes, I got it,” I huffed, “Now, let me clear something up for your teeny, tiny brain. I am not your Grand Employer. I am the person who killed the last Grand Employer. His expenditures were outrageous and frankly, no longer needed.”

I waved a leg at the open sky, as if to make my point. I secretly hoped that I was putting just enough mocking disdain into every word. I had reason to believe that I was pretty good at that. I suppose now was as good a test as any. Trying to intimidate a man, a griffin at that, nearly twice my size?

I suppose there might have been a time where I would have been afraid.

But not any longer.

“Killed, you say?!” His eyebrows raised in mocking dismay. “An itty-bitty baby filly like you?”

“Oh yes. you saw, didn’t you? That one time when I filled the country with righteous, holy fire, burning away a country’s worth of smooze in a single, fell swoop. Yeah, I also killed that stallion guy in the blaze.” I buffed my hoofshoe casually on my chest, looking passively into the gleam. “Funny thing, I also spared the lives of all the griffins in that same fire. Oh, but maybe that was a mistake.”

My eyes shot up to Elfric’s locking into a deathly glare.

“Do you think this error needs rectifying, Godkiller?”

He stared down at me, impassive. Our eyes remained locked. Fool. He didn’t know that I no longer needed to blink.

And then, he laughed.

“Arright, I get the message!” Elfric bellowed. He spun round, and shouted to his griffin army, “HEY, ALL YOU CLOUD-RUTTERS, YOU HEARD THE LADY! OUR EMPLOYMENT’S OVER. WE GOTTA CLEAR THE HELL OUT!”

~Two Weeks, Discord~

Six Elements could easily keep the deathly chill of the smooze away and off the skin. Could make it warm, even. Two Elements, it was hard enough to keep myself moving. It was damn near impossible to move with a load.

But I did it. I pulled myself up the bedrock wall, both hands clutched around his paw. I could see the light above me. If I could just get my head above the writhing material—!

The tip of my snout hit warm air. I pulled harder. My head broke the surface and I gasped for breath. The Element of Magic’s glow returned, and the bright red heat quickly drove the smooze from my face.

“Holy crap, Discord!” someone shouted.

Crusher plodded up to me, looking panicked. He was the only other Draconequus I could find from my my litter. From the few mumbled exchanges, the only one left.

“Discord, why in eternal life did you stay down so long?!” he squealed, dancing around the Smooze’s shore. “Some of the lil kids are getting hungry, but I didn’t want to go hunting and leave them all alone next to a death pit…!”

I nodded. Tried to form words, but all that came out was babble. I tightened my grip around the paw in my grasp, and tugged.

“Crusher…”

He nearly jumped out of his skin, “Yes, boss?!”

“Help me…”

“Oh, right!” the words popped nervously out of his mouth. “Another kid? Shouldn’t be too much more. The others don’t know much about the litter-mates getting special training. Who knows which of em are alive or dead, right?” He laughed, a low chuckle that almost seemed to conceal a sob. “So which one have you got this time?”

I yanked my numb hands above the surface of the rippling smooze, kept at by the glow of my Elements. With a few hesitant steps back, the forearm broke the surface, and slipped onto shore as I collapsed.

“Discord,” Crusher hissed. His hands slapped onto my frozen shoulders, gripping them tightly, “Did you go crazy down there?! An adult?! You’re bringing an adult up!? you said you’d let them all rot! We can’t bring one up… they’ll kill us all!”

Crusher’s already-chilling hands scrambled for the paw, trying to heave it back into the rippling lake of smooze.

“No,” I growled. Now it was my turn to grab Crusher’s wrist. “This one’s different.”

“There’s no such thing,” Crusher whispered, terrified, “No such thing!”

“There is,” I asserted, “Now help me get him out.”

It took some encouragement, but eventually Crusher came around. Together, we both struggled to drag out the adult. We pulled one arm at first, before I ducked back under and grabbed the other. with both of us pulling, the twisted horns broke the surface. Then the narrow, jet-black head I knew and recognized.

“Ruin,” I mumbled, unable to help myself. “Thank sun and moon you’re still alive.”

“The magic tutor?” Crusher asked, pulling at Ruin’s paw. “Sure I’ve never heard really bad stories about him. Never ate a kid or anything. But he’s not exactly kid-friendly, either… you know?”

“He’s the best damn Draconequus I’ve ever met,” I said back. “The very best one.”

“Well… if you say so, boss.”

I don’t know how long it took. We couldn’t pull Ruin out ourselves. Eventually, once his front half had been pulled out, I had to whip up an illusion to pull him the rest of the way. But we saved him. We pulled him free of the smooze, and a little ways up the slope back out of the crater.

“So uh,” Crusher said, “I’m going to go catch, uh, something for the littlier kids. You cool with that?”

I nodded mutely, staring down at Ruin’s sleeping head. “Long as it isn’t pony.”

“Aw man, cut me a break here! How else am I supposed to feed—?!”

I shot Crusher a glare. His jaws snapped shut.

“I mean,” he continued, “Sure thing, Discord. You’re the boss.”

Crusher scampered the rest of the way up the crater, flying over the sheer bedrock and dropping past the dirt lip. I watched him go. And as soon as I was sure he was gone, I threw my arms around Ruin’s neck and hugged him tightly.

I spent a long time like that, arms around his neck, Elements warming his heart. The children had been easy. Fifteen minutes in my arms, and they woke up, sniffling and crying for their nannies. Crusher had been half an hour, and even when he opened his eyes, the first thing out of his mouth was ‘I wish I was dead.’

Ruin has decades of darkness built up inside of him. It would take that much longer to rouse him. Over an hour later, the moon had risen, and he finally stirred.

He tried to lift a paw, and failed. His eyes cracked open tiredly, and looked slowly around. I don’t even think he noticed me clinging to him, if his skin was still as numb as it felt cold.

He didn’t say anything for a long time. He simply laid there, flexing and unflexing his fingers quietly. His one remaining wing unfurled quietly, and he gave it an experimental flap. He moved on arm, and shifted his body only his stomach. Only then did he look down at me, at the one point of light in the entire, smooze-filled crater.

He said, “Discord.” A statement, not a question.

I nodded into his fur anyway, quietly crying into his neck.

~æ~

I led Ruin up a long ramp in the crater wall. The ramp didn’t exist before, of course. I built it ahead of us, on account of Ruin’s flightless body. He followed me slowly, watching me in silence. I let him have his space, for now. There wasn’t really much I wanted to say to him anyway.

We were halfway up the wall when he finally asked a question in his low, grumbling voice:

“Why?”

“Ha” I laughed weakly, “Like I’d leave you to die down there.”

He said, “You should have.”

“Geez,” I huffed, “Both you and Crusher. First thing out of your mouths is ‘I’m not dead? Shit!’”

Ruin fell silent, deciding to just watch me carefully for a few more minutes before speaking again.

“Then,” he grumbled, “I am revived for sentimental reasons only.”

“Nope, not really,” I replied. “I’ve dug up a load of kids out of that smooze hole. None are much older than five. I think most of them are under two years old.”

“What exactly is it that you intend?” Ruin asked.

“I want to give them a chance, is all,” I said plainly. Cheerfully, even. “They’re just kids. They can grow up better this way! Without being terrified for their lives. Or thinking they have to act tough and kill loads. Or kill each other for the right to just be alive…” I took a deep breath, then spun on my old mentor. “And I think you’re the best candidate to raise them. Or at least, make sure they’re protected while they figure things out for themselves.”

Ruin was silent once more. We watched each other as we ascended, nearly to the top of the massive crater.

“You’d have to leave the country,” I offered, “Or just agree to not go near pony lands. But I’ve worked it all out. You, and the kids, you all have a second chance, Ruin! A chance to show that Draconequus are more than chaos. More than death.”

We arrived at the top. About a dozen of the littliest kids tried gnawing on chunks of meat with their dull little milk teeth. From the looks of the hooves, and the tusks some children chewed on, Crusher had taken down at what seemed to be a boar. Crusher himself was lying on his side, one arm acting as a pillow, and the other wrapped tightly around his middle.

For a bizarre moment, I felt like I was looking at a younger version of myself.

Then Ruin rose over the lip of the crater, and the moment was lost. The closest kid dropped his meaty chunk in shock, and scampered away, squealing. The rest of the kids noticed the disturbance, and within thirty seconds, nearly every kid was running around screaming and squealing for their lives.

I quickly threw a wall around the little campsite, so no kids would get lost in the woods or fall down the smooze pit. But that only seemed to panic them more. Several crawled over and ducked around Crusher, the largest thing around, besides Ruin himself. Crusher grunted and rolled over to look at me, toppling three little kids who had attempted to hide in his wings.

Crusher’s look said it all. No words necessary.

His eyes said, ‘What did you expect?’

I looked up at Ruin. He looked back down at me, sighing long and low.

“Do I have a choice?” he asked.

“If you want to just go and do your own thing, then I won’t stop you,” I said. “I’m not going to toss you back into the pit. I’ll find a way to take care of these kids myself. Somehow.”

For the last time, Ruin gave me a long, judging look. But I stood tall underneath it. I was not yet an adult myself, but he needed to know that I was no kid either.

I was stronger now.

Finally, Ruin gave me a small nod. He looked up, and sauntered towards the boar carcass. He picked it up with one massive paw. The kids would be expecting him to tear into it, take the entire kill for himself.

But instead, Ruin carefully stepped towards Crusher. He dropped low, and pushed the boar towards Crusher. The kids stared at it, squeaking in baby talk, or mumbling whatever confused little words they knew.

“I am going to go hunting for myself, child,” he said down to Crusher, “Will you attend to the little ones while I am away?”

Crusher nodded carefully up at Ruin, just once. Ruin returned the gesture, just as distant and careful. And, with a single glance my way, Ruin hefted himself over my illusory wall, and dropped down the other side, sauntering into the night.

~Two Months, Luna~

How many things have changed in two months?

Well, at first we weren’t sure. What would become of the smooze’s ash. Was it petrichor, converted back into the original material? Would it stay that way, or rot back into smooze? The statues of the first Gods vanished around the same time as we burned everything. Maybe the dust was their remains? Did that mean it would it trigger a number of wierd crazy events that we’d have to dash around the country and solve?

I think me and Discord were hoping for the last one. Celestia was so done with adventure though. She’s taken to this life really well. I guess I’m glad for her.

It was none of the above, in the end. It seems like it was a mix of carbon matter and petrichor crystals. It quickly dissolved in the first natural rain, and from the sounds of it, it’s made the ground a tad bit more fertile!

Which is good. Seems like the lack of sun was really cutting down on the crop yields. The farmer’s fields really needed a good boost to get started again.

The economy’s a mess, but of course we knew that much would happen. The griffins leaving was all good and nice, but their years of service had drained the treasury near dry. Some of that went back into Equestrian hands, but they took LOADS of it with them, wherever they’re going next. And with the crystal mines under canterlot near dry, we’re going to be in a bit of an economic bind for a few years. It’ll be centuries before new crystals regrow in their place! I don’t think Equestria can wait that long for an economic boost!

So we’re going to need to find a new source of revenue for the country. A good produce yield will help for a few years, but after that…

A knock on my door nearly makes me drop my pen. I twist around from the volume, and call, “Come in!”

Discord pushes the door open with his shoulder. Bangles clink and jitter around his ankles, both Magic and Kindness looking as shiny and new as ever. He smiles up at me. I smile back as he saunters in.

“What’re you writing?” he asks.

“Illuminators told me to record some of my thoughts on our situation!” I lifted up the book, and showed Discord the spine.

“History of Equestria, The Second Age, Volume One,” he reads aloud, “Sounds legit.”

“Oh yes,” I reply, “Quite legit! They actually want my opinion on, well, whatever this is. History in the making?”

“Sounds about right,” Discord nodded. “Maybe I’ll jot a few notes after you’re done…”

He hoisted himself up to look at the book. But he had that kind of a weird grin about him! Before I knew it, a kiss was planted on my lips and gone in a flash. Only grin remained.

I kissed him in the ear as punishment.

“Dork!” I chided. He only smiled.

“So anyway,” he said, leaning on my desk with that same warm smile. “I didn’t actually come in here to fool around.”

“However,” I retorted, “It seems like that’s exactly what you’re doing.”

“Not removing the possibility,” he said with a wave, “But I actually came in here to fetch you for Celestia. She wants to discuss the municipal weather plan again.”

“Oh, good!” I said, slapping the book closed. “I can bring up the reinstigation of the seasons again. I’ve got research this time, you know. Seasons are great for the soil. Plus! Crop rotation! Also great for the soil!”

Discord suddenly burst out laughing, “Life! You are seriously excited about freaking soil quality.”

“Just thinking of the country here, Discord!”

“Yeah, yeah,” he chuckled, “You’re both taking to bureaucratic life pretty well, though.”

“Eh?” I shrugged. Then, as Discord turned away, I slung my arms around his middle and gave him a great big hug.

I said, “I’m just glad to have things be wonderful again. Nice, peaceful… Hard work, but quiet. You know?”

He nodded. His wings brushed again my mane. he whispered, “Plenty of time just for us.”

I kissed him again. Right between his mismatched wings.

“Plenty.”

~Ø~

Dear Princess Celestia,

Please, remember this. All of this.

Right now you feel hurt. Betrayed. They couldn’t buck up and survive without each other. Once Discord broke down, you knew it was only a matter of time until your sister fell to her own nightmare. And think about it, seven hundred and fifty was a good number of years for Discord. A century more for Luna was the best you could have hoped for.

I know what you did when Discord fell. You didn’t want to hope for the best. You just wanted to move on, and forced Luna to move on along with you. Discord was dead, and the monster he left behind committed unforgivable crimes against all of reality. Not just Equestria. Everypony, all across the world.

And now you’re thinking that you want to throw Luna down as well. Hate and revile her crimes just as you scorned Discord’s. I know you’re already planning on celebrating her defeat, just as you celebrated Discord’s.

How could you?

She was your sister, and you’re already planning on feeding padlum to the masses. Your people! You just want to write her off.

Are you afraid of crying? I know you are. You think feeling sad is going to make you fall too. I heard that declaration, you know. I heard you declaring that you’d never feel again, be it joy or sorrow. You think that’s going to stop the nightmares within you?

Well.

Good luck, I guess. Maybe the “perfect friends” can’t be found until all three of us fall to our own nightmares.

But that’s not why you started writing this letter, is it?

You wanted to tell yourself to remember.

Everything.

Remember all the good times. Remember when you escaped Canterbury the first time, and the joy you felt at seeing the sky, at seeing the forest for the first time. Remember buying your first cloaks, so Discord would feel safer in the city. Remember how concerned you were when you found Discord trapped in that Stringhalt zoo. Remember how happy Luna was when you reunited at the Sanitarium. Remember your first flight together, and the miserable trip that united you all afterwards.

Remember how much fun you, Luna, and Discord had playing unicorn scientists. Remember how happy Discord and Luna were when they were young, and in love.

Please. Let that be how you remember your friends.

Don’t just think of their crimes. Don’t scorn them for falling to nightmares. Don’t remember them at their worst. Don’t even remember them during those distant, cold years in the castle.

Remember them when they were the best parts of your life.

Remember when they were your very best friend, and your beautiful little sister.

Yours Truly,

I : Celestia

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 1
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.blogspot.com/

~Celestia~

I had an old storybook once. Every page had a picture, some bigger, some smaller. Each was one painted onto the paper, with details illuminated in gold and silver leaf. Endless bright fields of flowers and grass. Day with a golden sun and night that glittered with innumerable stars. Regal ponies of a thousand colors, playing in the light. Happy, no, overjoyed.

I wish I still had that book to show Luna, I don’t know what happened to it. All she’s ever known, all I’ve ever known, is endless rows of worn stone. Walls and towers rise high, too high, vanishing into the cloud cover, gripping onto the sky with its black fingers. There are too many shadows in this city. They’re born from the height of the towers, raised by the constant gray sky, obscuring the streets even at noon. At night, darkness itself rises up from the ground and eats bad little ponies who dare go out. And don’t tell me I’m too old to believe in those silly stories. I’ve seen them. Big black snakes, five times as long as a pony, head big enough to bite you right in half. You can’t look at them too long, they can sense your eyes, the lights in your soul. It offends them.

There’s no such thing as fields and flowers here. I’ve never seen a garden, never seen grass or even a single weed. I wonder sometimes, does she even know where hay and apples come from? Do I?

I hate this place, this city of cold rock. I hate Canterbury. I hate Equestria. I’d leave, take Luna with me, but I’m afraid. I like to think that the fields and flowers lie beyond the walls, but what if they don’t? What if I crossed the last boundary, the retaining wall that holds the city, and find nothing beyond but an expanse of the same black cobblestone?

~¤~

It’s difficult to tell in this city when dim turns to actual dark, but I’ve got quite a knack for it. Ponies tell me sometimes, ‘Celestia, if there was a cutie mark for being able to tell the time, you’d have it.’ I know, they’re trying to make me feel better, but it always feels like a backhand insult to me. I’m a year from being a full-grown mare, and I’m still sporting a blank flank. I don’t need ponies giving me vague sympathy about a problem they barely understand.

Usually it’s no trouble going about my business, getting home on time. Mornings, I help Hot Cross at the bakery. I collect that day’s bits at noon, pick up enough hay for dinner, and maybe squeeze in a little time chatting with the market ponies. Flutter your eyelashes enough and people give you all kinds of things. Apples, carrots, a couple more bits for hay… Oh horsefeathers, I hope I don’t get a cutie mark in begging. That would be completely unbecoming of a young baroness.

Well, today it went on a bit long. An older mare, Apple-a-Day, won’t stop talking sometimes. And a lot of the time, I don’t like to stop listening. She knows about special things, farms and trees, birds and bunnies. Today she was telling me about the Sun and Moon, and the changing of seasons. Too often I think Apple-a-Day is full of herself, but she can spin quite the fascinating tales. I’m not the only pony who stops to listen, but I am certainly the oldest who lies by her small apple cart.

So before I knew it, day had nearly ended.

“Oh my, the Witching Hours are almost here…” Apple-a-Day says, craning her head slowly up at the vacant sky. “I best be closing shop…”

“Do you need help with that, Apple?” I reply, rising from my position on the cold flagstones. I stumble a bit, try to balance. My legs were asleep. How long was I here for?

“No, no, best to hurry home dearest.” She nudged her cart with her nose, trying to open a shutter. “I hope you live nearby…”

“Sort of. Just Endwreck Street.”

“Endwreck? That’s a bit far… do you want to risk such a trip, child?”

“Don’t worry, if I canter fast enough, I’ll make it.” I levitated my brown paper bag, tonight’s dinner. Hay again. One of these days, I need to learn how to cook something nicer. Or learn how to afford baking ingredients.

“Then go, go! Don’t let me hold you up any longer!” She shooed me away and I trotted off, still a little unsteady. My bag hovered behind me, glowing yellow. It only took one look at the sky before I picked up the pace, numb legs be darned. Oh, how did I let this go so late?

My hooves clattered noisily on the cobblestones. Only a few others ambled by me as night began to fall. At first they nodded kindly, but that stopped soon enough as they began trotting. Cantering. It wasn’t long until the only ponies I met were in a full gallop, in a panic that caused them to slip across the smooth cobblestone, braying and whinnying.

There was a bit more time left, just a few more streets, I could make it. My eyes were telling the time, and it certainly wasn’t past twilight yet. I could still see my hooves in front of me and the shape of the buildings around me. Nothing to worry about. Nothing. The shadows were just an old tale and, oh apples what am I saying?

A pony screamed to my right. I leapt into a gallop.

Magic fizzled with my jolt forward. My bag dropped behind me. I tried to stop, skidded sideways instead. Dropped down to my flank, bruised it, and stumbled back up. My bag was a half block away, hay scattered around it.

Face darkness or go hungry. Risk unknown, or go hungry. Horsefeathers! I charged back down the street, magic blasting hay and dirt and whatever else back inside. Bag, mouth, no more screwups, home! Just two more streets to safety! Just two!

Down one street, one down. I whipped around the corner, spun around, stumbled back where I came, hooves clattering. Too loud, too loud! Whatever I had seen, it had certainly heard me. A little wormy thing, I caught a glimpse of a tail flit before it vanished. Not a pony, I didn’t hear anypony else anymore. I don’t know where the thing went, it was too dark to tell now. How did I let it get this dark, how? Sitting still wasn’t going to help me, whatever these shadows were, cover of darkness sure didn’t stop them.

I leapt around the corner and charged down the street. Through the gate, across the courtyard, up the steps, all the way to my door, unharmed. Magic open, magic in, magic slam shut and bar it for the night.

Safe!

I spat out the paper bag and dropped to the ground, catching my breath. I’m no sprinter, no master of sport. It must have been nothing out there, there was no way to outrun those shadows once they appeared.

I took a few minutes to myself, then stood. Goodness, how completely unbecoming of me. What would Luna think if she saw me in such a state? I corrected my gait immediately.

The foyer was dim, lit by a single lantern hanging by the door. I lifted the light towards me, carrying it as I circled the room, lighting candles with my horn. I wondered if Luna was napping, or just ignoring her chores. I told her, as it gets dark, light the lamps and candles. Sometimes she complains she wasn’t as good at magic as me, but really, I think she’s just being lazy.

Luna and I were both technically baronesses, but nobody really paid much attention to titles anymore. The only title that mattered was the grand ruler’s… But in any case, Luna and I had a decently sized home to ourselves. It was made out of that same stone one sees everywhere in Canterbury, but the inside walls were thankfully coated in smooth white plaster, the floors made of varnished wood. Decorations were Spartan, of course, no symbol beside the Shadow Stallion’s were allowed. I felt it better to be without decorations at all. I had seen enough of the alicorn imposed on a black star to last me a lifetime. I had taken all the banners in our home down when our parents left and discreetly disposed of them with my magic. When and if they returned, I’m sure they would barely be able to see the burn marks.

Technically the home had two floors, but there was almost no point in going upstairs anymore. Luna used her old room as a playpen, but with just the two of us and no servants, all the empty rooms on the second floor began to take on a dark basement kind of feel. My sister and I spooked each other by swearing there were ghosts up there. Instead of sleeping separately in this empty house, we made the bottom floor our home. We bedded in the drawing room, didn’t even bother to put the blankets and pillows away. Each night was a slumber party.

So, when I had lit the foyer to my satisfaction, I carefully edged into our bedroom drawing room, nudging the heavy wooden door open with my hoof. I magically dimmed the lamp and nudged my nose in the door crack.

“Luna? I’m home,” I whisper. No reply. I push the lantern in front of me, brightening the drawing room. The dim light illuminated just enough to make the shadows have their own form, only moving in the flicker of the candlelight. I’ve had too many shadows today, I am not messing with this. I let the lantern glow to its full potential. The room looked like it usually did. Furniture shoved to the back. Blankets and pillows took up the most space, forming irregular, flat lumps. Not here.

“Luna, where on earth have you gotten to?” I huff. I heard laughter, muffled, but not in this room. Upstairs. “Of course…” I didn’t bother lighting any candles in the bedroom, instead I headed upstairs, to the far end of the single dark hall. I held my ear close to the door, making sure Luna was in there. Nothing.

It wasn’t surprising. I smiled and backed up.

First there was darkness...

Then there was me!

I shoved open the door and blasted the lamplight into the empty ghost room, shouting, “Give me back my sisters, dark evil upstairs ghosts!”

Atop Luna’s old pallet bed sat a tent fort. Her toys and dolls were scattered around the room, untended. There was no Luna.

“Horsefeathers. I guess she’s not in here… No point in hanging around a creepy ghost filled room…” I crept closer and closer to the tent, swinging the lantern in front of me, “I guess I’ll just be leaving now…” a scratching sound came from behind me. I knew what to do.

“AHA!” I spun around and sent a surge of light behind me, expecting to reveal my sister, trying to sneak up on me.

What I revealed was something monstrous.

It looked like a lizard with a pony’s face, the same size as Luna, hugging the far wall, frozen midstride as light washed over it. I shrieked, it recoiled. My spell faded quickly, too quickly, plunging the room back into its cloak. I heard its claws scrabbling and scratching on the walls, out the door.

“Oh no you don’t!” In two beats I was at the top of the stairs, grabbing magically at the escaping beast’s tail. It squeaked and scratched at the floors, uselessly, as I hefted it aloft.

“What have you done with my sister?!” I screamed.

XII : Celestia

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 12
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.blogspot.com/

~Celestia~

Day was a little past half over. We had forgone the stables of Rearing Town to return to the forest, and were waiting on a clearing near the edge of the fields, to the north, by my best guess. Many of our things had become damp in our last adventure, and needed to be aired out, lest they mildew. The sheet was draped over a branch carefully stripped of leaves. Tottering Trottingham forlornly hung beside it, and Luna sat beneath him, her entire focus directed at her marbles. With no even ground to play on, she had taken to stacking them in tiny pyramids, trying to get the towers as tall as possible before crumbling.

I tucked the rest of my saddlebag’s contents among the roots of the oak, beside the 'spoils' of our 'adventure.' As a reward, Barely Buck had given us a small purse of coinage, and the town had given us a bag’s worth of greenery, mostly consisting of carrots and apples.

I hovered my wet saddlebag to another branch, alongside Luna’s. Discord briefly looked over as the weight shifted his bough, but it failed to hold his attention for long. He held the transformed silver gemstone in his paw, shifting it as if trying to catch the light. I watched him for but a moment, then returned to the task at hand, our belongings. I brought the paper bag full of salt towards me and peered inside.

“At least the bag didn’t break…” I said, staring at the grainy clumps. “Honestly… we should just see what this would sell for. Why did I ever think a bag of salt would be useful?”

“You know!” Luna said, looking up from her game, “The hairbrush is the only thing that we’ve really used so far!”

“If you call keeping manes tidy a use…” Discord snickered from his branch. I frowned up at him. It’s not like he took cleanliness to be a good thing. If his mane wasn’t so short, it would probably be an absolute mess. He tried to smile some assurance. “I’m sure it will all come in handy in our adventures. We’ve only been out here, what, four… five days? Hasn’t even been a week yet!”

“I suppose…”

I set the salt aside and hovered the small money bag to myself, as well as the purse given to us by Barely Buck. Now that we were outside of town, it was no longer rude to count how much we had gained… I pulled at the strings. Mostly copper bits, understandably, so if I— is that a silver bit?! My breath caught in my throat and came out as a hiccup as I consolidated the coins and tucked them safely behind the thin handkerchief that held our food.

“What, surprised?” Discord chuckled.

“For what the town was going through economically, it certainly is a very generous reward.” I replied, slowly rotating the bottle of rubbing alcohol, checking for cracks. “Honestly… Don’t you think this entire situation was a little bit strange?”

“Well, yeah? Giant hippocampus decides to just up and take an entire river for himself…”

“No. What I’m saying is…Where does the shadow Stallion come in, in all of this?” I looked up at Discord as I set down the bottle. He was finally paying attention to what I had to say. “I mean, these are his subjects, and they had a major problem that would have affected him as well. And yet he made no attempt to try and solve the issue, not even in the most offhand and evil of fashions?”

To my insight, Discord merely shrugged. “He could have told them to just sort it out themselves. Clearly not a good solution, but…”

“Letting them sort it out themselves was precisely what wasn’t working about the entire situation!” I asserted, “That’s what a higher government power is for, to direct and manage situations that would be difficult to sort out fairly among equal parties.”

“That’s a rather specific definition.”

I ignored Discord’s comment. “And we didn’t see any of his soldiers! His banners were around, but they were almost meaningless for how little influence he has over the two villages. Discord… don’t just shrug this off! Think about it… we haven’t seen any sign of him for days… Does he have any control out here at all?”

My friend crossed his forelegs and rested his head on them, staring a little to my left, frowning.

“It doesn’t… make a whole lot of sense for him not to…” he admitted, still staring away from me. “The townsfolk haven’t taken down the banners, so they at least see a point in keeping them around.” Discord took a moment more, shifting his gaze up and tapping on the branch with a talon. I let him have his time. Better to have him take this seriously than to just ignore me. “Y’know…” he finally said, “How big is Equestria, anyway? Do you know?”

“No…” I admitted, “I knew it was bigger than Canterbury, but… Well, it’s not like we were ever going to go beyond the walls.”

“Well, what if it’s really, really huge? He is only one pony, after all, maybe there’s a lot of things he has to devote his attention to.” Discord returned my stare. “I know at least one thing that he spends a lot of time with. Controlling the griffin troops, and the weather-making.”

I blinked up at the Draconequus. “The Shadow Stallion has Griffin troops?”

“Well… yeah!” He propped himself up and gave me a sideways look, incredulous. “Didn’t you see, when we were running? On top of the city walls? The cart?” He frowned. “You were staring at the sun the whole time, weren’t you Celestia?”

“Well it was particularly fascinating…” I scoffed. “Anyway, Discord, I see you lasted the day without your head bursting into flames.”

“What? Oh.” Discord looked down at the golden necklace, then gave me a wry smile. “Yeah. No creepy visions or no ill effects… And I can take it off pretty easily too. So it’s not obviously evil... Though why the hay the rock transformed into this, I have no idea.” He shrugged and returned to fiddling with the thing, staring at it.

“Stop doing that… It’s creeping me out.”

“Mm? Oh, sorry.” He dropped it and looked up at the clouds. Not one minute later he began futzing with it again, jingling it softly.

“Okay… that’s it.” I propped myself up against Discord’s tree and glared up at him. “Give it here. Don’t give me that look.” I waved over to the sheet. “We’re not going anywhere for a while, and I want to make sure the magic rock isn’t evil and corrupting your brain. So we’re going to experiment with it. Okay?”

Luna gasped, bouncing up and scattering her marbles once more. “Big sis! Are we gonna play mad unicorn scientists?!”

“Take out the mad part, and yes. We are going to play unicorn scientists.”

“Hooray!”

~¤~

“Test number one!” Luna declared to absolutely no one, “Vocal reactions!”

“Hey! Hey necklace! Hey! Heeeeeey!” Discord called, smirking as he held the ornament held it in his paw. I rolled my eyes and snatched it away, hovering the object in front of my eyes.

“I know something of diabolical intent is lurking inside you, necklace!” I barked, “Show yourself, or we will be forced to take desperate measures!” The necklace remained in front of me, unchanged. “Show yourself, you sneak!”

“When did this test become ‘does the rock have any feelings?’” Discord snickered.

“Ohh, that sounds like a great test!” Luna charged forward and batted the necklace out of my aura. She stood above where it fell, screwing her face up into the angriest glare she could muster. “YOU’RE THE WORST PONY, NECKLACE!”

“Luna! Shouting!”

Discord snickered as he let himself down from the tree, scooping up the necklace once more.

“Don’t listen to them, necky,” he said, “You’re actually the coolest…pony?” He laughed again, “I can’t lie to you, necklace. You’re not a pony. You’re adopted.”

Luna carefully peered over Discord’s shoulder.

“Anything?”

“Nothing.”

“Drat!”

~¤~

“How long it this anyway?” Discord began pulling at the golden part of the ornament, where it began to give a little.

“Discord, you’re supposed to say ‘Test number two!” Luna squealed.

“Okay, Test number two. How stretchy is this thing?” He pulled at the necklace, and it began to unwind, unfurling from the decorative seams. He managed to draw it almost the length of his leg before stopping. When he released it, it snapped down to a small size, more like a bracelet than a necklace.

“What was this test supposed to achieve anyway?” I asked, honestly curious. Discord looked up at me, face solid as a stone.

“I have no idea.”

~¤~

“Test number three! The taste test!”

“What?” I gasped, “You mean I have to put this in my mouth?”

Luna nodded vigorously. Discord and I immediately began to play invisible hot potato, with responsibility serving as the potato.

“Let’s just skip this one,” he finally said.

“I wholeheartedly agree.”

~¤~

“Test number one, part two! Some other vocal reactions!”

“Luna, this isn’t a vocal test!”

“Isn’t it, Celestia? Isn’t it?” Discord was up a tree once more, clinging to the high branches and smirking down at me. The necklace was clenched tightly in his claws, far out of my reach.

“I just want to test its resistance to damage!” I called up.

“And what if we break it? Then what would we have to test?”

“Just drop it from there! It’ll land on grass and probably be fine!”

“Why bother testing it if you know it’ll be fine?”

“Discord!” I snapped, “Is that you speaking… or the necklace?!”

I think the bold statement was allowed to stand for only a few seconds before Discord burst out laughing. He clung to the twigs around him for support, almost near falling himself. I grumbled. That statement was perhaps a bit too melodramatic. The heat of the science roleplay was starting to get to me. I leaned up against the tree, determined to take a different tact.

“You know I’m just worried about you, Discord…” I admitted, trying to get my intent across more clearly. “You’re my friend! You’re the last pony I want to see hurt.”

He stopped laughing long enough to smirk, then eventually fell into a warm smile.

For a moment, the necklace glittered. Discord’s foreleg shot forward, and held the bauble at arm’s length, gaze frozen upon it, stunned to silence. All three of us were.

His paw popped open. The necklace dropped, bounced off a few branches, and landed beside me with a quiet clink.

“Test four, did it survive the fall?” he asked, peering over his branch.

I took a step towards the necklace and nudged it solemnly with my hoof.

“Yeah, it did.”

“Well, then I guess we keep testing.”

~¤~

“Ooh! Ooh! I got an idea for a test give the evil necklace to me! Give it to me!”

Hesitant, I gently floated the necklace over to my sister. She bit into the clasp and charged off into the trees.
“Follow me!” Luna shouted from the corner of her mouth.

We ran a sizeable distance until we came to the refilled riverbank, a section of it some distance from Rearing Town. Luna dropped by the edge and, with great purpose and dignity, dunked the necklace into the water. We sat for several moments as Luna held the artifact under the current. It bobbed gently in the stream.

“Is that it?” I asked.

“Yeah!”

“Did it do anything?”

“No!”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Yes!”

“So, what does that prove?”

She pulled back the necklace and let it drop on the shore. Dramatically, she hung her head in disgrace. “I’m a terrible unicorn scientist.”

Discord strode forward to grant her a complimentary pat on the back, face echoing the seriousness of the situation.

~¤~

“Test number six! Let’s see if this thing reacts to magic!”

Discord tapped the necklace with his claw, sat quietly for a moment, then tapped it again. “Well that’s different. Its surface properties aren’t changing…” To demonstrate the science of his endeavor, he dropped it. It landed like a necklace would, with a clink. It was back in his paws a moment later. “Maybe if I…” He began to glare, nearly pressing the thing into his eye.

“What are you doing?” I chuckled.

“Concentrating. It’s not doing anything though.” He waved it around, and it jingled quietly. “But I wonder…” He wrapped his forefeet around the gem, closed his eyes, and grimaced.

Light began glowing out from between his toes.

“Oh!” Luna squeaked, “What’re you doing now?”

“I’m just—“ With a crack like lightning, the light exploded, blinding us all.

~¤~

“I said I was fine, Celestia!” Discord complained. “It didn’t do anything permanent!”

I crouched low, snout shifting grass and leaves with every breath. The necklace was at a distance. Still. Innocuous. I eased my magic over it, hovering it with all the delicate care I could muster.

“Test number…” Luna began.

“No, this is not a test number,” I snapped, “This is serious now.”

“Okay, then what are you doing?”

I sunk deeper into the leaves, narrowing my eyes. “I’m going to try and replicate the effects at a safe distance.”

“So… it’s just test number six again.”

“Fine, call it that. Now what exactly did you do, Discord?”

“Like I said, I tried to push my magic through it.”

“But how did you do that?”

“Well um… you’re hovering it now, right? Your magic is surrounding it?” He paused, probably waiting for my answer. I did not give him one. “Keep trying to lift it… but from the inside. Focus your magic within it.”

I gently set the necklace down, banishing my hover spell. I tried what Discord suggested, pushing my magic within the gem. Bubbles of my power surrounded the necklace in an unformed aura, but none seemed to actually go through it. I focused harder. No reaction. No movement.

But was this failure a simple inability to grasp what he meant? I tried the same spell with a nearby rock, trying to hover a small section inside of it. It rose upwards, without any hint of an aura, but it wobbled extremely. I let it drop.

“I can’t get through.” I admitted. “Though I’m not sure if I’m doing it right or wrong here…”

“I can try again,” Discord offered. He began walking toward the necklace, but I stopped him with an outreached hoof.

“Let’s try not to get near it…” I said.

He smirked, “Should I stick low to the ground like you too?”

“Yes.” His smirk vanished. Discord dropped into the leaves with me, staring over at the small strip of gold. Luna plopped down on my other side, face tight in false sincerity. Discord snickered softly, then closed his eyes.

“I’m going to try and not force it this time…” he said.

The necklace began to glow again, a soft white light. I unconsciously scooted back, kicking up more than a few leaves. But this time, the necklace didn’t explode. As its radiation grew, it began making a low and continuous tone, like the sound of a bell. The sound and the light began to pulsate, like the beating of a heart, letting off soft rings of energy that vanished quickly in their vertical ascension.

“Pretty!” Luna giggled.

~¤~

“Test number, um, eight! Temperature!”

Discord folded the necklace gently and tucked it under his feathered wing. Silence followed as we observed the subject observing his wing.

“Y’know, before this rock changed, it felt so alive,” he admitted, “Now, it’s kind’ve warm, but not… squirming weirdly.”

“No, no, no… Silly stallion!” Luna walked up to my friend and patted him on the head, shaking hers in the meantime. “We’re seeing if the necklace reacts to temperature! Not how warm it feels!”

“I see!” He nodded. “Well, it’s not reacting at all, I’d say.” He retrieved the item and sat down. “So, are we going to see if it reacts to cold too?”

“Yep!” Luna nodded.

“So… where’s a cold spot around here?”

“Hmm…”

A grin smacked into Discord’s face, overtaking it in under half a second. He leaned forward and whispered something hastily to Luna.

“Okay!” She nodded. Necklace in mouth, she trotted over to me. “Test number eight, part two! How does the evil demon necklace of doom react to cold?” Luna pressed the gemstone against the base of my neck, holding it in place with the tip of her nose.

“Okay. What are you doing?”

“Discord said that the coldest thing in this meadow was your heart!” Luna said dramatically.

“Any reaction?!” Discord laughed.

“Har dee har har.” I said as the pair of them broke into giggles. “Real funny guys.”

~¤~

“Test number… hey, wait, Celestia! What are you doing?! No! STOP!”

I held a rock, smooth from the river, poised to smash the golden bauble into the ground. Discord leapt forward and snatched it out from under me, dragging part of the ground with him.

“Aha!” I exclaimed, tossing the rock aside.

“Aha what?! We haven’t finished testing yet and you were seriously trying to destroy it!”

“Yes, and you tried to protect it!” I jabbed a hoof into his chest. “Now tell me, what the reaction yours? Or was it… the necklace?”

He snorted, “This again?”

“Test number… one part three section two?” Luna said hesitantly.

“All day,” I continued, “You have been protecting the necklace from harm…”

“Have not!”

“Have to, good sir!”

“Well, What about when Luna dunked it in the water? She could have dropped and lost it then. Wouldn’t I have panicked then?”

“Hm…”

“Celestia.” Discord said firmly, pushing my accusing hoof aside. “We just did a test that shows how much magic potential this thing has. What if you smashed it and it really did hurt us?”

“Also,” Luna chipped in, “Is ‘good sir’ something a unicorn scientist would say?”

I coughed up a laugh, and backed away, smiling sheepishly.

“Sorry,” I admitted, “I suppose I make a rather melodramatic scientist, don’t I?”

“Well I forgive you, mad unicorn Scientist Celestia.” Discord laughed and pulled me into a hug.

Between us, the necklace glittered again. We both withdrew to stare at it.

“Ooh! Test number, um, twelve! Friendship!” Luna bounced forward and pounced on the two of us, yanking the group back into a hug. “You’re both the best friends a pony could ask for!”

“Yeah, you too Luna!” Discord joked, “You’re both the best ponies to ever be friends with!”

“There! There! It glittered again! What does it mean?!”

The necklace died down as we quietly thought of the answer. Discord shrugged.

“Beats me.”

“Yeah, I’ve got nothing.”

XIX : Discord

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 19
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.tumblr.com/

~Discord~

Sooooo… that thing wasn’t on my neck. My legs were jammed into it, and it sort’ve… wrapped around. I kind’ve think this would hurt, being all trussed up, if my brain said hello to me. Hello brain! Helloooooo! Your legs are gone, and your stomach’s been scooped out with a shovel trowel! But you know that already, right?! Helllooooo!

I laughed, numb lungs heaving. On my side, my face was pressed on these cold cobblestones, except, it couldn’t go all the way, because I guess my pronged horn curved a little sideways…? And the prongs were scraping in the stone? I pressed my face, and felt my horn shift in my skull, so, so very slightly. It felt very strange! And somehow… that was funny?

I laughed again, prongs scrapity scrape scraping! Who friggin cares? Oh life, we’re all going to die. Bwahahaha!

“He’s not quite ready yet, Applebark. It’s only been fifteen minutes since we transferred the lasso to his legs.” It was a voice, and it came from the other side of a door. Plaaaain old normal door. Also, cobblestone. Cobblestone room, just like back in the Canterbury place, except not black and soulless. There was a torch and everything! Fwoosh!

“Ooh, Applebark!” I shouted to nothing, “That like… red bark, from a tree? Or a puppy that tastes like an apple? Yip yap crunch crunch! Oh…! Oh, that’s not funny…” I wheezed. “I need some… some brain…scrubber stuff, I don’t feel like eating ever anymore.”

“It’s aware enough.”

The plain old normal door swung open, silent and guttering the torch in its door opening windy thing. A pale purple pony walked so over to me, sort’ve a unicorn mare, I guess? Wearing a fancy-dancy red cloak? Ooh! But most importantly:

“You’re fat!” I squealed, giggling with a fury!

“Creature,” Fatty said. “You will answer our questions to the best of your ability.”

“Well what if I DON’T!?”

“Then we throw you in a cage with our most deadly beasts, because I don’t wish to deal with liars.” Fatty responded to my bold rebellion with the most serious of faces, voice still as a, a still kind’ve thing. I puffed and pouted, breath escaping me way, way too fast.

“Aw! Aw geez!” I gasped, “I didn’t think ponies could be cruel!”

“Answer me truthfully, and you can keep pretending that.”

“You’re horrible, lady!” I tried to wave a hand at her and, OH WAIT, bound legs! “Horrible!”

“Now,” she snapped, “What exactly are you?”

“Chimera.”

She was silent. I was silent. Also grinning until it made my face hurt. She turned away from me, looking back at the guard guarding the guardlying guard… hee!

“Toss him with the chimera then,” she said flatly, “We’ll see if he can call on their clearly shared kinship ties.”

“GEEZ! That was like, a trick question! No matter what I answer, I die!” I looked down at the fat sack of who-knows-what around my legs, working my jaw. “Dying… auuugh, don’t you know how scary death is Miss Fatty?”

“You think I’d hurt you for telling the truth, creature?” she asked me, face still a serious ball ‘o serious.

“Um, yes. Duh.” I just rooooollled my eyes, “But just that one question. Ask me something else.”

She refused with her silent, staring eyes. Did she break? Did I crush her will already? Was she going to—

“What abilities do you possess?”

“Abilities?” I wheezed, “Like… I can fly. I can make illusions appear.” I took the deepest breath, actually collecting air in my lungs. Funny how hard that had suddenly become! “And before you get all uppity, ‘oh no, what if the scary draco… creature thing is tricking me into believing a thing,’” Exhale! Inhale! “I can’t do it right now.” I numbly rubbed my fingers all over each other, feeling all dull and magical-less as my toes. “Honest enough for you lady? Admitting I’m powerless?”

“What is your name?” Apparently it was good enough! Huzzah!

“Discord!”

“What is one plus one?”

Now it was my turn to stare blankly up and the blankest blank pony.

“Whaaaaaa?” I slurred.

“I need to determine your level of intelligence,” she stated, “So please, answer the question, Discord.”

“But what if I didn’t know math? I could be the smartest colt ever, (breath here!) But if I was never taught math…”

“If you were taught math, answer my question. What is one plus one?”

“Two, stupid,” I replied, squinting at the dumbest interrogation question ever.

“What is three times four?”

“Well that’s uh…” I flopped my head down, staring at all of the cobbling stone. Math. Maaaath, brain. Do some math. “Four… plus four again…” I wiggled my numb fingers, trying to keep track of all the numbers involved. “So, twwwweeeeeelve?”

“Nineteen times eleven.”

“Bwah?!” My head snapped up again, horn doing its skull-bending thing. Double checking, yep, Fatty’s still standing in the same place staring down at me like I’m absolutely nothing ever. “I can’t do that in my head!”

“What is your purpose here in Stringhalt?” Not going to say anything about that math stuff, let’s just rattle off some questions at lightning speed! BZAP!

“Heck if I know!” I shouted. “It was a big city, so we all headed towards it.” I’m getting really sick of having to catch my breath after a few sentences! “Because Tia was like, ooh, we need to go a place. So…”

“Tia?”

“A pony I was travelling with!” I rasped, “What, didn’t you get her?”

“Yes, we caught your unicorn companion.”

“Well that’s a frank answer! Ask her what the stupid we’re doing in stupidville.” Wait… if I’m caught… and we’re all caught… what if they turn us all in to the griffins? Are we going to be sent back to Canterbury? Aw no, all bits no… I’m already having trouble breathing, I don’t need a panic attack on top of it!

Ignorant or perhaps silently enjoying my display (I bet she was!), she floated a piece of paper in front of my face.

“Do you understand what’s written here?” she asked.

“Again! What does this have to do with my intelligence?!” I shouted, “I could list off pointless crap facts for you, does that mean I’m smart?! How about an anatomy lesson?” I wriggled my hands, STILL BOUND, but screwed that in a second. I shook my shoulder. “That’s the chuck, then this is the brisket, and the shank… Femur, tumor…” I hacked up a laugh “Oh wait!”

“That’s enough, Discord.” I should’ve shouted ‘no it’s not!’ right about then, but I got a little bit distracted by magic stuff happening. For, all of a sudden, hovering above my head was my Element, held by a pinkish aura. I gaped at it as Fatty continued. “Where did you get this necklace?”

“It’s mine if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Did you purchase it?”

“No, I found it.”

“Found it where?”

“Lady! Lady?!” Again, I struggled to keep my gaze upward, prongs scraping and digging into the ground. “Is it really this hard to believe that a talking pony mashup guy (gasp!) could have something nice? You know… oh, what was the name of that town?” I squinted my whole face, trying to recall the name of that one place that we were. “Rearing Town!” I declared, “I was outside of it by like, a few miles, and I found it.”

“And you made no attempt to find its true owner?”

“I wasn’t even near a road! That thing was lost!”

The necklace was hovered away under her enormous cloak. Sweet! Did that mean she believed me? Wait, not sweet! She isn’t giving it back either!

“Can I have it back now?” I asked as politely as I could manage.

“No.” Blunt!

“Aw! AW, but it’s mine!” And then, the flash of INSPIRING. I wriggled against my bonds, eager! “Here, drop it, drop it on me, I can make it react! Wait…” Did it work like that? Um… “Yes! Yep, I can make it glitter and stuff, and no one else can.” I grinned. “It likes me.”

“Glitter?”

“It’s a… a friendship bracelet!” Friendship bracelet! I heaved with laughter, practically rolling sideways. I whipped my head forward, and—CLICK went the jaw.

“OW! Oh, geez, what did you do to me?!” I yowled, heaving. “You, you kicked me in the jaw! Monster! Monster pony!”

“I did no such thing.”

“Oh. Must’ve hit the floor then. Yeesh!” I wanted to rub the severely bruising bruise but… I’m really, really not getting that my hands are completely and totally 100% unavailable. Also, the door shut, and my interrogator had left the building. “Hey. Hey Applebaaaark yooo hoooo! Did you leave me? Hello? You’re… YOU’RE FAT! … Yeah, she’s gone. … Owwww…”

I sat quietly for a moment, feeling my jaw lightly throb, gut still wrenching and empty. Pain, or maybe just long and boring time, eased me back to my reality. She didn’t realize I was a Draconequus… A small relief, but this was still bad, very, very bad. Would they still report me to the Shadow Stallion? What else would the Stringhalt ponies do? The more I thought about it, I became convinced that there was no other way they’d react to a weird creature in their midst. Other than just… well… yeah, not thinking about other options.

Ruin’s words echoed around my head, the same words that had been creeping about ever since we met Flea. They will find you, and then they’ll make sure you’ll never leave again. So, they won’t kill me but… In that place, back with the Draconequus…

I shivered, throbbing fang a long distance memory. Abuse, neglect, regarded as useless, a pest to be squashed… How long would I last there, with all I’ve gained out here? With my new appreciation for freedom, with how much I care about ponies as friends… I’d rather be dead than lose all of that, just go back to my old life…

Yeah, I just thought that. The Stringhalt ponies could just kill me outright. Though… I don’t like the sound of that either. Yeesh, I’m starting to scare myself. What in Equestria is going to happen to me? Or to Celestia and Luna?

I’ve just been moping all this time about myself! At least my friends look normal, and will probably be treated as normal. Would they go to… jail, or something? The ponies wouldn’t do anything too cruel to them, I’m sure. Despite what Applebark said, about ponies being capable of some pretty twisted things.

And then, the door opened, and Applebark was back above me, placid as ever.

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly, “You’re not really that fat.” Bulgy around the middle, legs a little thick, but not anything that deserved how much I insulted her.

“Sobered up, have you?” she asked.

“Um… yeah, I guess so.”

“If we’ve properly assessed your intelligence, then you are at least a fully capable being, and thus, you will be treated as such.”

“Um… okay! Alright!” That was good news! I wasn’t just a creature now, I was a being! “So… can I have this bag taken off my legs?” I asked, hopeful.

“I only said we would treat you as an able mind. You’re still our prisoner, and will remain shackled.”

“Oh. So… how do I stop being that?”

“I have a few more questions for you, then you will be detained until it is decided what it is we wish to do with you. Since you have acted as accomplice in vandalism and unlawfully entered the city, you may be imprisoned or otherwise made to participate in some community service.”

Well… this is still coming up positive! Imprisonment? Community service? That was practically a relief in comparison to being sent back to Canterbury!

“And my friends?” I asked eagerly.

“Currently outside of my jurisdiction.”

“What? But can’t you—“

“However,” she interrupted, dismissing my question with a wave of her hoof. “I do have a few questions for you concerning your companions.” I stared up at Applebark, wondering if I was still dizzied up.

“Really?” I asked.

“How has a creature such as you come to travelling with them?”

“Um… well… the start’s a little complicated…” Breaking in with intent to kidnap might be a little blunt to admit. “But I started visiting them oh… well over a month ago now. We’d play games and stuff—“

“Games?”

“Is it really that important?” I huffed.

“That’s for me to decide.”

I rolled my eyes, but okay, I’ll go with this. “Stuff like make believe. Then my friends got in trouble—“

“Trouble?”

“Yeah, some dipwad was supposed to be managing Tia’s property, but he made her responsible for taxes, when she hadn’t seen a single bit in months. That kind of trouble. I had to help her, her and Luna… So… we all ran away together. And then we wandered here, somehow. That was um… maybe two weeks ago? Less than that? I haven’t really been keeping track.”

“Describe for me your friends’ composure and behavior.”

“Seriously, what are you trying to determine here?” I cried, half laughing. She didn’t reply. “They’re good friends, good ponies! Luna was only trying to protect Tia when she broke those windows. She honestly didn’t mean to damage the shops, I’m sure!”

“Please answer my question, Discord.”

“Haven’t I already? No? Well…Tia’s orderly, always convinced she’s right, but she cares about me and her sister.” I smiled. “But Luna’s really cheerful and playful, and she can take everything in stride. Just like… the first time she saw me, she thought I was a pony!” I laughed, surprised at how easy it was to breathe now. “Weird huh? Just gives the benefit of the doubt, just like that! Please…” I look up at Applebark, wondering why in Equestria there was a sudden plead to my voice. “She’s little. So don’t be too harsh on her, okay?”

Applebark looked down at me for a long time, still and silent. I’m not sure any pony could actually remain in one place for so long, I know I couldn’t.

“Um,” I finally muttered, “Should I say more or…?”

She turned away, popping open the door and speaking with the guard.

“Put him with Cleo and Sheen for now. Keep his feet bound.”

XXIII : Celestia

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 23
The Grey Potter
http://cosmicponyfanfiction.tumblr.com/

~Celestia~

Once, in a time so long ago, when we first landed outside the walls, I had been so afraid of sleeping on the ground. Not that it was uncomfortable. Not that it was dirty. Alright, maybe those were problems. But another icky, icky problem was the bugs. The bugs and the little skittering animals... I kept thinking I’d wake up and they’d be all over me. Nasty! But that didn’t wind up being as big of an issue as I had assumed, and after two weeks of ground sleeping, I suppose it became borderline fine. I’d rather sleep in a bed, but it was not that bad.

But in the Sickle Ravens’ hideout, there were rats. And I could hear them. Scratching. I’m sure in a few more nights I’d get used to the concept of rats as well but... that wasn’t a good thing! This is not a healthy condition ponies should be getting used to! Okay, okay Tia. Enough thinking about rats. Think about something else.

Goodness, I was so glad to be back out in the streets, even though the crowds made it difficult to keep up with Pith. The other few Ravens didn’t even seem to try, vanishing in and out of sight, weaving through the crowds.

“You know…” I said on the offhand, nearly pressing into a wall in my attempt to make room for a five cart caravan. “This city seems full of a lot of different species, many I’ve never seen before in my life.”

“Sorry?” Pith shouted over his shoulder, floppy hat pulled over his horn. I waited for the carts to pass before repeating myself, shouting anyway. He nodded, “That’s Stringhalt for you!”

“How come the Sickle Ravens...”

“The what, Tia?” he said, nonchalant.

I rolled my eyes. “How come ‘your boys’ are only Earth Ponies and Unicorns? Please don’t tell me it’s the same thing as your ‘no girls’ policy…”

“Not at all.” He cut in front of me, forcing us down another, wider street. “Stringhalt is a trade city, and most the species you see are only passing through. The only large permanent population would be the Zebras, and a few of my boys are Zebras. Didn’t you notice?”

“Were the Zebras...” I think back to the gathering in the main room, the dozens of blurred together faces. “The Earth Ponies with the stripes?”

He nodded. “Zebras around here tend to stick to their own communities though… maybe I’ll show you their neighborhood sometime.” He thought for a moment. “Other than that, the only other permanent population would be the griffins. And they don’t tend to play nice with ponies.”

I decided not to answer. Certainly, all I had seen from the griffins were the slavedrivers, the boisterous group in a bar we passed. But that couldn’t represent all of them, could it? I looked up at the cloud spires, reaching down towards us. In their city there must be griffin bakers, griffin seamstresses, normal griffins who wanted no trouble. Unless they relied entirely on labor from ponies, from Pegasi... I... didn’t really know enough to say. So I let it be.

Pith nudged me, then shoved me down another rain and trash-slicked alley. Three Ravens ran past us, peered into the next street, then waved him through. Such extensive measures, just to avoid just a few guards!

Things were loud around us once more as we entered a market street, packed with foot traffic. I watched as our little entourage scattered once more among the crowds. It made sense for them, really, it’s not like they were trying to talk with us. I thought they were only acting as Pith’s guards. But then I spied a small one discreetly pull bread from one of the stalls, quietly trotting away with the loaf held in his mouth. I nudged Pith in the side, pointing to the offending colt.

“One of your Ravens just—!”

“Don’t point!” he snapped, “It’s very rude!” Then, he was silent for a while. I stared at him as he looked at nothing in particular.

“Pith...?” I asked, a bit bewildered.

“Poor street kids,” he stated simply with a shrug of his shoulders. I snorted.

“Is that your excuse?”

“Is that disdain I detect in your voice, Princess?” he asked, voice close to laughing.

“Is that disdain I detect in your voice?” I shot back.

“Here, Princess Tia!” I snapped my eyes down. A younger colt was rushing to keep up with me, a carefully balanced apple bobbing on his nose. He grinned as his head bobbed and weaved, trying as hard as he could to avoid the other ponies in the streets. “I got this for you!”

I stare at the apple. Knowing where it came from, do I dare accept it? Or…?

“Thank you, Sprout.” Pith took the apple from the colt, holding the stem in his teeth. “I’ll hang onto it for the Princess until she’s ready.”

“Ready?” I scoffed. Ready to accept stolen goods, is that what he means?

“Okay!” Sprout cheerfully charged off, lurking around yet another stall, certainly planning on swiping something else. I frowned at Pith as he stowed the apple in my saddlebags.

“Keep walking, Tia,” he said calmly. I immediately stopped, but it wasn’t long until the flow of the ponies forced me forward.
“Why stealing, Pith?” I demanded. “Why not begging?”

He tilted his head slightly. “Do you know how humiliating that is, Tia?”

“Yes. I do.” I retorted. He finally, finally turned to look at me, an eyebrow raised.

“Alright. Show me.”

“Really?”

“If you think it’s better, then beg for something.” He waved a hoof down the street, “Go to one of these vendors and demand food.”

“Must I?” I asked.

“Put your bits where your buck’s at, Princess,” he replied, face stern.

I huffed a bit, then forced my way past him, past a few other ponies, or whatever I was encountering. I approached a stall, hesitant. Hesitant is good. I let my nerves define me as I trotted towards a cart of tiny baked pastries. Tarts. Goodness, it had been weeks since I had a nice pastry…

“Excuse me,” I asked lightly, fluttering my eyelashes. “What flavor are these?”

“Oh!” The storekeeper, a thin Earth Pony, chuckled. He waved a hoof over his wares. “Well, these are cherry, these are apple, and those are rhubarb.” I looked over each type carefully, by all appearances intensely interested. Although, what the heck is up with this city and their apples? I know the Apple Family is in charge and all, but do apples really need to be everywhere?

“Those all sound so good!” All but the apple ones, really. I giggled, voice already creeping an octave higher. “I can’t decide! What’s your favorite, mister?”

“Me? Well!” he laughed again. A good sign! “I like apple best.” Bah, of course. “But I baked all of them fresh this morning, I assure you.”

“You made all of these by yourself?!” I gasp, bouncing on my hooves a little. “Wow… how do you find the time?”

“Hard work and diligence, miss,” he nodded proudly.

“I’m impressed!” I squeak. Okay, maybe going too high. I stop talking, and instead, I stare at the pastries for a long, long time. Scanning back, scanning forth, scanning back...

“Well, you gonna buy one?” the owner finally asks.

“I only have enough for one…” I pouted, acting sad. “I can’t decide which I want! They all look so good!”

“Here.” He smiled. “If you buy one, I’ll throw in an apple one for you.”

“Really?! Thanks!” I grabbed a rhubarb and an… apple tart. “How much would that be?”

“Just a bit for you, miss!”

I returned his broad smile and hovered over one little copper coin. Love it, yet hate it when they make things cheap for me.

“Thank you mister, you’re too kind!” I practically squeal.

“You’re welcome, enjoy!”

I trotted back to Pith, instantly letting my demeanor drop back to normal. I took a savage bite of the little tart, refusing to let myself gloat. Oh! Goodness, this tart is delicious! It’s been too long since I’ve had a taste of something sweet, of sugar at all really. I… feel a bit guilty though, enjoying this with Discord and Luna gone…

“That’s not begging, that’s bartering,” Pith pointed out, interrupting my gloomy thoughts.

“It’s trying to get handouts. That’s begging,” I retorted, offering him the apple pastry. Well, I sure as heck didn’t want it. He immediately chomped down on the tart, and my aura, much like an Earth Pony would. I eyed his covered horn. He could use magic fine, couldn’t he...? When had I seen him use magic anyway?

“You paid for suffg—” he said through his mouthful, “So, mm,” he swallowed, “It’s bartering.”

I rolled my eyes. It’s not a point worth fighting for. Deliberately, I took the daintiest bite of my pastry.

“Well, whatever it is,” I said, finishing off the tart. “I‘ve been doing it for the past few years now. I know its humiliating but it’s a little more… moral than just taking things.”

“We take what we need, Princess,” Pith replied, voice sharp. Then, he smiled his dark tone away. “Though it does surprise me to hear that you’ve been bartering much at all, nevermind for years.”

“Really?” I snapped. “And why exactly does that surprise you?”

“You did introduce yourself to me as a baroness. I would think that you were loaded.”

“Oh.” My irritation faded a little. “I was, once. But I guess the title’s meaningless now.”

We walked quietly for a while, taking another back alley detour in the meantime. Almost as soon as we walked back onto a main road, Pith spoke up.

“However well that might have worked,” he said, “I don’t think any of my boys will be able to use their sex appeal to persuade the shopkeepers.”

“Sex appeal?!” I cried, whipping around to glare at him. “That was… I was being cute, darn you! Like I was a little filly! Your boys can act cute, can’t they?!”

“Cute…” he looked me up and down. “Maybe during those ‘few years’ you described, Tia. But not anymore. Now, it’s pretty much sex appeal.”

“Eaugh.” I look over myself, just a year from being full grown… but still a filly! Who would think that this is sex appeal? “Moving on!” I barked, “You said you were going to show me where my friends are being kept. I assume that’s where we’re heading now?” Again, he chuckled.

“In a rush, are you, Princess?”

“You only use ‘Princess’ when you’re mocking me,” I shot back. He shrugged.

“Or when my Ravens are within earshot.”

“But when it’s between us, it’s always mocking.”

“Hm,” he looked back at me, “Sorry, I don’t mean to offend you.”

Again, he seemed sincere, maybe even somber. And yet... I feel as though it’s difficult to tell what he’s really thinking. He just insulted me, and I know he meant it. Is he only trying to divert my anger? I just don’t know... I remember last night, how easily he was able to switch between demeanours. What was he thinking right now? Again, I just feel as though I have to let it go.

“Please?” I asked, trying to catch his eye, even as he casually refuses to look. “I just want to know where they are.”

“We’re making our way there now,” he replied, giving me the slightest glance. “The crowd’s thinner up on the hill, so I was waiting for noon to come around, when most will be out for lunch, or whatever the elite call it.” He let it sink in a moment as we were pushed aside to make room for a line of guards. With no alleyway to duck into, Pith pulled his cap low over his eyes, using his hoof. “We’re wanted, you know.”

“Not everyone’s going to recognize us,” I point out.

“The ponies around the correctional facility might recognize me,” he clarifies.

“So, what, are you an escapee from there?” I joke.

“If there’s a unicorn on the outside,” Pith said, voice tense as the last of the guards pass, “He’s an escapee.”

“Oh.”

Conversation was light as we slowly made our way up the hill. He told his Ravens to scatter for now. To avoid more risk, he explained me. But if he really wanted to reduce the risk, why did he lead me here himself? And why wasn’t he covering himself with a cloak, to avoid recognition of his ‘cutie marks’? I didn’t know, and I didn’t want to ask.

Buildings were more fancy up here, more orderly and placed in careful rows, following the uneven slopes as best they could. The streets were almost bare in comparison to the masses below, mostly consisting of foot traffic with the occasional carriage here and there, pulled by ponies with trim manes and dapper suits.

“Act natural. The place is coming up on your right.” I turned to see, but he stopped me before I got a good glance. “Don’t look directly at it. Watch out of the corner of your eye.”

“Why? How is sightseeing going to draw attention to us?”

“I know what I’m doing. Now hush up.”

Oh, I don’t doubt you do. But I have a better plan. I stared at the buildings around me, examining the architecture of each one closely, making it seem completely natural when my eyes fall over the school building. It didn’t really stand out from its surroundings all that much. Same color, same design... It was a bit longer, with a centralized entryway and a third floor. But otherwise, completely unassuming.

“So,” I refrained from using the unicorn’s name, lest he snap at me once more, “What are we going to do now?”

“Wait until we have enough information on the place.”

“That’s it? Don’t you have all the information you need? I mean,” I tried to catch up with him again, see his face. “Isn’t this something you do often?”

For a second, his face fell. Hard. I thought he was going to scream at me, but he almost instantly returned to his typical nonchalance.

“They change their locks, their guards, their tactics each time we break in,” he replied, voice even, “We have to learn more before we attempt a rescue again.”

“And you’re certain my sister—”

“One hundred percent positive,” he quickly said over me. “If there’s anything I do know about the system, it’s how they handle the unicorn delinquents.”

“She is not a delinquent.”

“Fine, she isn’t,” he replied, irritation on the edge of his voice. “But they consider her one.”

“Alright.” I nod. “So how long until we’ve got enough information?”

He looked to the side. Not to avoid my gaze, but rather to sort his thoughts. “Networks are being prepped, which may be a day or two... maybe four.” He paused. “If we cant get a hold of Brick Breaker. Then maybe a day of plotting, a few test runs, maybe a week in guard raids to get the weapons we need. Yesterday’s attack did not get us what we needed...”

I already didn’t like the numbers he was racking up. Not at all. But a more pertinent question sprung to mind.

“Yesterday’s attack?” I asked sweetly, “When did that happen?”

He was silent for a moment, then turned back to me and grinned. “During a rainstorm?”

“During a... Wait, that’s the reason you...?!”

“I told you already,” he interjected, cutting me off before I could fully collect my thoughts. “You. Are. Convenient. For that attack, and for this operation.” He looked away. “Look, your sister will be saved within two weeks. I’m helping you. Consider it your payment, if you must.”

Two weeks?! Two weeks of sleeping with rats… no, more importantly, two weeks where Luna and Discord are all alone and god knows what is happening to them. I looked back at the school, almost out of sight. Pith talks about the place like they’re brainwashing young unicorns... what would happen to Luna in two short weeks? And Discord... where in Equestria was he at all? I wondered, though, would he be any easier to save?

“Alright, so, the school is a difficult obstacle,” I stated. “Are we going to go look for Discord then, determine where he is in the meantime?”

He thought for a moment as we continued heading down the hill.

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to start looking,” he said slowly, “But if he’s in the menagerie, we might have to wait until nightfall to sneak in. It’s far too close to Big Apple’s property… Well, technically he owns it. But...” He shook his head. “Sorry, tangent. Let’s check a few other places, and then we’ll see about the garden.”

“And I don’t have to wait two weeks to save him?”

“I doubt it. Just a couple busted locks, and we’ll have him out by midnight.”

“Good.”

Pith quietly rolled his eyes, and off we went.

~¤~

It was night again, over twenty-four hours since Luna and Discord were both taken from me. Pith and I stood outside a stone wall about twice as tall as the average pony. Beyond it, I could see what looked like a forest again, a patch of green in the center of this stone and concrete city. Inside the park, it was dark as a forest would be, and we’d be exploring it without any magic to light our way. It was dark in the streets, of course, but there were still window lights and the occasional lantern hanging off a doorframe.

“Now, don’t get your hopes up, Tia,” Pith said as I hoisted him up to the top of the wall. “We’re still not positive that your friend is here either.”

“I have to know.” I gasped for breath, rolling the bruises out of my shoulders. How could such a thin little colt be so heavy? He leaned down towards me, and I jumped into his forelegs. With a few heaves, there was a small burst of magic from his horn. Brown. So he can use magic... His aura pulled along with his legs, heaving me up, my stomach scraping on the stone. “Ow... alright. No turning back now, Pith.”

“Sure.”

We dropped to the other side, waited quietly for our eyes to adjust as best they could, then we began walking.

We were in what looked to be a fancy garden. Despite all the trees, there wasn’t a single fallen leaf on the ground, though there were plenty of petals lying here and there. Grass was everywhere, cut even and short, with perfect cobblestone paths curving and cutting around the landscape. It almost looked like a fairytale ideal of a forest... And I wondered for a moment if there were even any insects here.

“This just looks like a park to me,” I said, looking around.

“Yeah.” Pith looked around as well. I couldn’t see his expression, but from his tone of voice...

“What are we looking for, Pith?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted, “I haven’t been here before.”

“You... you haven’t?”

“Nope. We had a plan once to release all the animals and create a distraction for... well, it doesn’t matter now. It didn’t pan out anyway. Don’t worry,” he hastily tried to recover, “I know this city, and I know this is where Big Apple displays the animals he captures. I just don’t know exactly what we’re looking for.”

“Well, the animals can’t just be wandering around. It’s too easy to escape that way.” I peer through the dark, trying to make out shapes in the distance. One shadow seemed to stick out among the trees, a sort of thick cylinder. Carefully, I try to point it out to Pith “Is that a cage...? Or a gazebo?”

He was silent, for maybe a bit too long. I think he was looking where I was pointing, so...

“A what?”

“A gazebo.”

“So you do see a creature out there? Where? What’s a gazebo look like?”

“No, the building!” I don't know whether I should laugh, or buck something in frustration. “That building, do you think its a... a covered patio thing?”

“It looks too solid to be a patio. Maybe it’s a cage. You know, something we were expecting.”

Okay, now I felt like bucking something. This has been a long day, my legs are killing me from all this walking, and...!

“You know what?!” I started.

A rapping sound, hollow, like someone was tapping on a pane of glass. I looked around, confused, as the sound stopped, then started again, rapping far more urgently. I tried to see through the darkness as Pith started trotting forward, towards the cage or gazebo or whatever it was. I followed, getting a better look as we got closer. It looked like a kind of little glass house, but I couldn’t see anything inside of it. Nothing except one frantically bouncing figure, long and lizardlike, eyes little bobbing lights in the dark...

“Discord!” I cried.

Discord leaned against the glass, pressing his face, his forefeet against it. Even in the dark, I could see his wide, relieved grin… and a shackle on every paw. I wanted to burst out laughing as I approached him. Finally! finally, something’s gone right today! Discord’s right here, right in front of me, and we have the ability to get him out! Or...

“Discord!” I half shouted, leaning against the glass. “Is there some way in?”

He lurched backward, still smiling, and wave his forefoot to the side. He tried to say something, but it was muffled by the glass. He vanished, black space behind him shaking strangely... Oh! They’re curtains! I saw the black mass shake a little as he moved, occasionally popping his head out to check up on us, waving me around the building. Finally, he stopped, pressed up against the glass, and to my surprise, a thin panel actually popped out, lifting it upwards on a hinge.

“Tia! You have no idea how good it is to see you!” He wormed his way through the window, barely big enough for him to fit, and threw his forelegs around me, pulling me into a tight hug. “Aw man, I can’t believe you’re here! You’re actually here!”

“I…” I laughed a little, feeling his weird, stiff fur push into my face. Never before had I been so relieved to feel it. “It’s good to see you too, Discord. I was so afraid we wouldn’t find you!”

“Find me?! You know, I thought you were in jail, and that I’d have to find a way to come help you!”

“I escaped, or, was never caught, I guess!” I nod to Pith, fumbling with my words in my joy. “Thanks to a local rebel force, a wonderful, wonderful...! This is Pith, by the way.”

“But what about Luna?!” Discord continued over me, “Is Luna with you, did she escape too?!”

“No, she’s been taken to a unicorn school. Ah, I mean,” I glance over at Pith, wondering how he felt about being glossed over. Level-headed as ever, far as I could tell. “She’s in a correctional facility. But she’ll be fine, don’t worry. We’re getting both of you out!” Discord gave me another tight squeeze, refusing to let go. Fine by me, I was just as relieved to see my friend well... but it felt like he was cutting off circulation in my back. My shoulders were starting to feel a little numb. “Are things that bad here, Discord? Are they treating you right?”

“I guess they’re treating me fine, considering that I’m just some kind of fancy monster they can gawk at.” His tone dropped a little, grew bitter, but his grip didn’t fade. “I hate it… there’s nothing to do, so I just stew in my own thoughts, and… I’ve missed you, both of you, like crazy!”

“Gosh Discord,” I laugh nervously, “It’s only been a day!”

“A day of torture, if you ask me!”

“Yeah… yeah.” I didn’t want to say it in front of Pith, but I almost feel the same way. This has been a torturous day... “It’s been a long day without you, without either of you,” I admit.

We hug for a bit longer, then I laugh nervously. “Alright, you can let go, Discord. You’re squeezing me so hard, my back’s getting all numb.”

Discord cursed and dropped me, squirming back between the panes of glass. But strangely, my back didn’t feel any better.
“Sorry, sorry, that’s not it. It’s these cuffs!” he cried, glowing eyes flicking downwards, chains clattering. “It’s like those freaking lassos. They make you all numb, and…”

Out of nowhere, Pith swore. I turned to him, barely able to make out his expression.

“Pith?”

“They’ve got you in smooze cuffs,” he said, tone bitter. “That makes things much more complicated.”

“What, why?”

“If they were normal cuffs, we could use magic to break them off right now. Your friend just showed that he can fit through the window with little problem, so we’d be out of here in a flash.” He shook his head. “But now things are a bit different. The smooze inside those sacs absorbs magic, or stops it, or whatever. The gunk stops everything, body, brain, magic… We would actually need the real, physical key to unlock them. I’m sorry, but,” he looked at me, expression hidden, voice even, even as it always is. “There’s no way we can get him out if he’s got those on.”

“I... there’s got to...” I fumbled with my words. I had, we just, we just found him! “Can’t we...”

“I got it!” Discord squeaked, voice on edge, “We can figure out the cuffs later! Here!” Something silver dropped from around Discord’s wrists, clanking and unfurling across the window pane. “Break this chain!”

“That might work.” Pith looked to me. “You got anything that can break that? A spell?”

“I…no,” I stammered, “I thought you would...”

“Sorry, but I don’t.”

“C’mon… you’re a rebel right?” Discord wormed his head out the window, looking over at Pith, “Wouldn’t you have some jail-breaking abilities?”

“Not related,” Pith said swiftly. Related to what exactly? His cutie mark scars? “But I do have someone back at base that could help.”

“Okay,” Discord said, nodding, horns clattering against the pane above him. “Alright. So how far away is your base?”

Silence.

“Pith...?”

“Now don’t take this the wrong way...”

Beside me, Discord made a small sound.

“I’m sorry you two,” Pith continued, voice firm. “But we’re going to have to come back tomorrow night.”

“NO!” Discord cried loudly, heaving himself out the window, his bright eyes wide, staring directly at me. “Don’t leave me here, Tia! C’mon… c’mon! I just saw you again, after so long! Don’t leave me here for another day!”

“Pith…” I said carefully, unable to take my eyes away from Discord’s, “There’s got to be something more we can do. We can come back later tonight, can’t we?”

“It’s over an hour to our base from here, and it would be over four hours to go from there, to here, and back again. Practically morning. I’m sorry, Tia, but we’ve just got to wait for another opportunity.”

At the mention of my name, Discord’s eyes snapped over to Pith, staring, expressionless, and quiet.

“Discord,” I tried to say, “I…”

“It’s…” His voice squeaked, then became thin. “It’s not as bad as it could be here. You know, just, just so dull. I’ll be fine for another day.”

“Are you sure, Discord?”

“Do I have a choice?!” he snapped.

The group was silent, then I reached out to Discord, giving him one last hug.

“Stay safe.”

“You too.”

He vanished back behind the curtains, dragging the window shut behind him. As we left, I continued to stare at the little glass house, guilt gnawing at my gut as he reappeared, watching from his window. He tapped it again, and there was a vague suggestion of a point. I frowned, and tried to look forward. There wasn’t much to see in the garden, and looking over the walls themselves, there wasn’t that much to see there either, besides a few buildings’ second or third floors. But among what I could see, there was a curious little blue light, floating among the otherwise dark formless masses of the city. A color so familiar… One I recognized.

“Luna…” I said softly.

I watched it for as long as I could, barely pausing when we climbed back over the wall, not stopping when other buildings would obscure my vision. Even when Pith told me to get my head back together, I watched the little light as it stayed steady, vanished, and reappeared again, like clockwork. That is Luna, I know it is. Showing us the way to her, calling out…

Instantly, my face tightened.

“Pith! How long can we just sit here and do nothing?!”

“As long as we have to, Tia.”

“I can’t take it!” I yelled, trying to stem tears. “My friends…”

“It’s only been a day,” he snapped, “Get a hold of yourself!”

“It… I…”

“Prin-cess!” Pith spun on me, for the first time that day actually frowning, not even attempting to use a smile to hide it. “I am sick to death of your whining! Do you know how long I had to wait, with my own friends stuck in these horrible places?! Do you know how much the Ravens have suffered, how much they’ve wanted to tear down the system, but could only look in fear as their friends were taken by ti, one by one!? Your case isn’t special or even unique, Princess Celestia. And you know what, this entire day is making me regret the hell out of letting you into my base. I should’ve just had Lil’ Hoof drag you out the moment I saw you!”

“You’re a terrible leader!” I screamed back, avoiding his point, not even daring to think of his point. How dare he! “You have all the manpower in the world, yet you do nothing but sit on it, plodding around and dragging your feet when you could be doing something with it!”

“You think I’m bad at this? Because I plan?!” He burst out laughing, spinning around and stalking away. I didn’t want to follow. I didn’t want to follow him at all. Using and manipulating ponies like that...why have I been following him around at all?! He turned, some distance away, and shouted back to me. “Well then, if I’m such a terrible leader, what would you do?!”

“I don’t know! Better!”

“Why don’t you try it sometime?!”

“Fine!”

“Alright, the operations are yours, the men are yours.” He spun back around, still shouting. “Good luck!”

I stared at his retreating tail.

“I’m sorry, what?!”

XXXVII : Celestia

The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 37
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com/

~Celestia~

I feel…

More than a little bit cluttered right now. Ever since I asked my friends to change our course, head to Canterbury… It’s no mystery what they would answer. What reasons did I give, other than a plea to duty?

And… well…

The things Discord and Luna can do… It’s dazzling for their age. Multipurpose. The realms of magic open to them… Luna, especially. She can do so much, has so much potential with two entire two fields of magic. And she doesn’t even care. She doesn’t even notice her own powers, barely uses them. Shrugged them off once, said she wouldn’t mind if her cutie mark made them vanish tomorrow.

Discord, he knows his own limits, is constantly experimenting and expanding. He can push past whatever stops him, easily. Just… handle himself alone… Both Luna and Discord could just go off alone and be perfectly fine. That’s what they did. In Stringhalt, both escaped their bonds and fled without any help. Without my help…

And myself…

I’m just a young filly who can make little lights… Nothing more. Never anything more.

So I understand. Why even listen to my request to go to Canterbury? I’m not thinking of our little group’s wellbeing, nor do I have proof we are able to handle it. It was more than enough to entertain my concerns. I feel like they knew how I was feeling, explained it to them well enough. But in the end…. They were right. Of course they were right.

But…

I’m the only one putting the country first. Even without the ability… I have to put this country first. I have to. That’s who I believe… That is who I am. As the cutie mark on my flank so boldly declares… I am Equestria’s sun. I exist to protect it. I’ve never felt anything else so strongly.

And I never thought my denial of purpose would hurt so much.

~¤~

I once had a storybook. Colors radiating, outlines thick. Brush strokes soft, gold and silver leaf pressed tightly to the page, never to fade. It glorified the alicorns. Ponies danced in their light, dazzled by the ocean of colors, blinded by the metallic glare. The Ponies were frozen in that happy dance, incapable of seeing or conceiving of anything but bliss and peace in their future. They only knew everlasting peace beneath the wings of their idols.

I wish I could show that storybook to Luna. Make her see the alicorns behind their glittering masks. Make her see through the paintings I worshiped in my youth. The First Gods. The False Gods. The Corrupters of Equestria

There are too many shadows in the folds of the paper, too many secrets hiding behind glory. In the dark, the pictures are bright, they’re clear. They catch the eye. That’s all that matters, that all they say matters. But they’re wrong. It needs the sun to read properly.

Loyalty. The gruff hero. Always charging forward for his friends, mane painted to look like a cloudy blue sky. He’s robed in blood red, skin glittering emerald, decorative sword by his side. A General of armies with no war to fight, he seeks conflict in his own life.

Laughter. An artist, the tickled pink playwright. Mane bubbling and steaming like a base of a waterfall. For some reason, his backgrounds were nearly always blank, leaving him lonely against an empty sky. Nothing prevents him from joking around. The more tragic the situation, the more he desires to laugh.

Honesty…

Generosity…

Their pages flutter by, glossed over. Friends of Friends, the connection between Magic and Kindness. The first to know his Element, and the last to receive.

Magic. The one most interested in books. The leader, and most of the time, Deus Ex Machina for the gods. He always had something elaborate going on in his backgrounds, books and bottles glossed in a glittering aura, frozen midair. His long blue and purple mane always was painted in sparkling swirls. Like window to the stars.

Kindness.

Turn the page, let me tell you a story about Kindness.

Once upon a time Kindness was a little brown earth pony with a blue butterfly on his flank. He raised sheepdogs. He had a pink Pegasus friend and another purple Earth Pony friend. He never knew his fate.

Then the sky cracked open and he became an Alicorn, mane falling in sharp angles, like thick blades of grass.
He was assigned to manage the Earth and all of its magnificent creatures. It was what he was good at. He loved. He was loved. All was right on the ground because of his Kindness.

In the stories the book sings about Kindness, he is proudly the simple buffoon. Lost. Confused. Dazzled by his duties. Stumbling around like an idiot. Barely any magic to speak of. Noble because he is merely an ignorant farmer pony.

In the most roundabout way, the book acknowledges only a single problem with Kindness’ idiocy. He and Magic didn’t get along.

Magic was logical. Cold and detached. Kindness was caring. Passionate and curious. Sometimes he would walk in on his friends, seeking way to help. He approached magic once, asked this very question. Is there anything I can help you with? Magic would reply that this task requires no help, Kindness. The picture shifts, Kindness dips his sharp, square little snout. Magic, I worry about you. I haven’t seen you at dinner in weeks. Are you still eating?

Of course not. Magic stomped his hoof, making the silver specks of paint in his mane spin. We no longer have to participate in such trifles.

Yes, but every pony should relax once in a while.

Not I. I’m glad to leave them behind.

Kindness trots forward, mane rustling as the pages turn. A lab of dark stone rises before him, bottles bobbing gently in the air.

Oh, it’s this again. Kindness dips his head, and with the swipe of a brush, his horn is sheathed in a warm, sparkling paint. Here, I can…

There’s a snap, the shattering of glass. A spider web fracture snaps across the page, red paint oozing from the cracks.

“Get out!” Magic shouts, rearing, wings flapping wide.

“I-I’m sorry! Please, it was an accident, Clover! Calm down!”

“Stupid! Stupid little Earth Pony…” Magic screams. “Do not trifle with magic! It is MY domain, not yours!”

Kindness snorts, squaring his shoulders. “I can cast magic as well as any other unicorn…!”

“But not as good as any other alicorn!” Magic hisses. His horn is lowered, dangerously close to Kindness’ face. “You mock our skills, you weak, stupid little simpleton! Even Paleheart knows double the spells that you do!”

“I just.” Kindness deflates, laughs nervously, I can see his fatty legs twitch as they retreat, backing out the door. He smells like dog fur. Like earthy fertilizer. “Doesn’t come up much. I’ll just keep, going, studying. Yes.”

The pages turn away from the shadows of black stone as Kindness backs away. His retreating body eventually emerges in a white hall, dazzling and bright, sun glaring from the open windows

“Oh don’t try to reason with that sourpuss!” Laughter chuckles, floating and bobbing in front of Kindness, wings a blur of pink. “He’s just mad because he never got to bone him some hot flank. Now he’s a total no-show in bed, can’t get it up at all. Got that from an insider source, if you know what I mean!”

“Jube… should you really be talking about our friends that way?”

“Who’s Laughter around here, huh? You or me?”

“Please. Not you too…”

And I get an overwhelming feeling, eyes straining from staring at the pages too long, pressing in, blurring my vision.

I wake up in my stall, forehead throbbing, mane sticky with sweat.

~¤~

I rub my forehead, trying not to smack Luna in the face with my elbow. I may have been reading too much of that story book…

I was awakened by… well I suppose they weren’t terrifying enough to be called nightmares. But my sleep was uneasy, I remember tossing and turning all night, hounded by books and pages and paper… My new obsession, part of it. Divining the truth of the past through the glorifying stories. Trying to find out about the Shadow Stallion, look for how the alicorns fell… Looking for a weakness I could show to Discord and Luna. Convince them.

But, as I stare in the shadows, head positioned uncomfortably as I’m jammed against the wall, hay scratching my flank… Clover? Clover the Clever was the alicorn of Magic?

And I never have heard of the name Paleheart…

Where did I come up with those names?

Wildly, in the heat of my early-morning drowsiness, I thought maybe it was a vision. A memory locked in the Elements, something they wanted to show me. But with all the studying I’ve done, I know there’s no evidence of the Elements doing that. Scrying, yes, that’s possible while amplified by the Elements. But for the Elements to perform magic without a caster…? Not much on that…

Maybe I was sleepcasting? A part of me wants to jump for joy at the slightest hint of another branch of magic. But wouldn’t that little lightshow have woken Discord or Luna up?

The longer I stay awake, the more I convince myself it was just a dream. A stress-induced dream… I just… I had a headache.
It’s hardly even morning when I awaken. I’m up before Discord, even Luna. With the snow still drifting outside, it was prudent to get a room for the night, lest we risk freezing… We were all packed tight into one little wooden stall, a fluffy hay bottom serving as our bed. The heat was stifling, squashed on Luna’s right side, with Discord pressed against the other wall. We would have had more space, but our wet cloaks hang from a hook behind us, soaking the hay beneath it. It still might take hours before they dry properly.

I nudged the swinging door open with a tap of my hind hoof… security clearly wasn’t an intent of this place… dragging my saddlebags behind me. Several stalls were lined up in the little stable, and I could see figures under the cracks in the doors. Plenty of ponies didn’t feel like sleeping outside in this cold. At least they kept the drafty little building warm.

I scooted myself out of the building entirely, onto a little covered patio whose edges were rimmed with frost, wind blowing gentle drifting fingers towards the door. Why in the world haven’t the Pegasi… or the Griffins that controlled them… caught this storm? Alicorn only knows what horrors are being perpetrated above the clouds… I sniffed, cold air already settling around my bare shoulders, creeping in through the frozen wooden planks. I could ignore it for this.

I Conjured a tiny little light and opened my bag. I pushed aside the bottle of rubbing alcohol, removed the overstuffed bag of oats, and pulled out the sheet. It was heavy, thicker than it should have been. When we were walking, it weighed down one side of my saddlebags with the burden of my petty theft. I carefully unwrapped the silky cloth, and the thick volume fell gently into my forelegs.

The Way of Elements, The Way of Gods.

I flip it open, wanting a distraction, a goal in this early hour. I’ve spent too much time staring at these pages, I know I have. But I can’t help returning. Even if they offer me no real answers. No way to convince Luna and Discord of the right path to take…

~¤~

Half a day past, I had made my case to the blank stares of my sister and her friend. Maybe we didn’t know how to take him down, or how to get into the city. Maybe we’d just go to Canterbury and have to turn right around. Maybe we’d get in, and find ourselves incapable of… of putting the Stallion to rest. Under my breath, in a terrified part of my mind, I wished I had the ability to do more to the cruel tyrant…

But I had tried to explain. We had to do this. There was no way my own body would carry me to Canterlot without trying. No way at all.

And I was infinitely grateful when they both silently considered the option, weighed it as they walked.

“If you think we have to try,” Luna had said slowly, “Then we have to try.” She looked between me and Discord, looking for backup. “What if we went to Canterlot, and learned later we could beat the Stallion all along? I think we’d feel really, really awful that we didn’t give it a shot.”

“Yes!” I stammered, “How hard can this be, really? He’s obviously…” the book flashed in my mind. Weak. Buffoonish. “He hasn’t been capable of finding us. His own followers betrayed him easily. Maybe… maybe he was powerful once, but no pony’s ever, ever thought they could take him down…”

Discord squeaked, just out of nowhere. An uncomfortable little sound. I stared at him.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “That’s just… uh…” He fell silent, then huffed a sigh. “That’s just not true. It’s not.”

“Why not?”

“I’ll um…” he laughed nervously, “Man, it’s still so hard to talk about my past… but… you’re wrong, Celestia.” We walked in silence for the moment, waiting for Discord to work up the nerve to speak, to contradict me. He cleared his throat. “So. More about my life in the castle. You know…” He stopped, laughed nervously again. I wished that he would just stop stalling. “Down there, it’s all about the strong ruling society. If you were weak… well, there’s no excuse for being weak. Not even if you’re just a kid. Those who are strong take what they want, and nobody’s there to really tell them otherwise.”

“But,” he turned solemn, “Even the biggest, toughest, muscle-bound meatheads don’t mess with Father. And let me tell you, the Shadow Stallion doesn’t control us through mind tricks or charms or whatever. In a society based on strength, he dominates by its rules. I’ve seen him maybe three times… once punishing a traitor. I’ll spare you the graphic details but it was only out of Father’s mercy that the Draconequus died. So you say we should go back and face the Shadow Stallion? Just try to stop him?” He shook his head. “No. Heck no. Be stupid to try.”

Another uncomfortable pause followed, silence heavy with the snow stealing all sound.

“If Discord says it’s too dangerous…” Luna said slowly. “Then maybe we shouldn’t do it…”

“But… but we have to try!” I cried, “I… How will we live with ourselves if we don’t?”

“Pfft,” Discord scoffed, “I think I’ll manage. I like not being dead, thank you.”

Luna looked up at the two of us. Torn. Definitely torn. She knew how I was feeling, she knew me. She would defend me… No, that was only wishful thinking. She looked right at me, and she shook her head.

And that was apparently that.

~¤~

I don’t know. Dying… death… just words. Something that happens to other ponies. Discord said he came close to dying, but I don’t believe that. I banged my head really hard once, and I was convinced that was dying… Maybe he came a little closer than a banged up brain, but never, not for one moment, did I ever think he could come close to leaving us.

The Shadow Stallion wouldn’t, he couldn’t kill us. If he truly had once bore the Element of Kindness, then there was no way he could bring himself to hurt us, to hurt children barely out of foalhood. Corrupted by a nightmare or no. He would not. Inconceivable.

And honestly…

There are some things worth dying for, aren’t there?

I just wish I could make Luna and Discord see that.

Not that it was a distinct possibility… but… Oh, Celestia, you’re just thinking in circles now. Going round and round your head for the magic words that will change their minds. Make them see that the mission isn’t as dangerous as they think it will be. It’s making me go crazy. Everything is. Obsessing and fussing over so many things.

My magic being not up to par for what I desire to do.

The truth of the Shadow Stallion, and the rest of the Alicorns.

Trying to go and save this forsaken country!

All these things spinning around and around my head! If we could just go and defeat this damn tyrant, then that would be one problem solved! The rest we can take months, years to sort out and find answers for! But this issue, this issue needed to be addressed first and I would not let it just be set aside!

I’d…

I’d just…

~¤~

“I’d sooner go and confront the Stallion myself!”

Discord jerked awake, snorting as he fell off Luna’s back.

“Celestia…?”

“I’d do it! I’ll go and face him alone if I have to!”

“Face… what?”

Luna yawned, “You’re up early…”

“I’ve been up for hours! I can’t sleep! You two… I just, I can’t not go face the Shadow Stallion! I just can’t!”

“Celestia,” Discord stated bluntly, “It’s friggin’ suicide. Let it go.”

“No! I refuse!”

There was some grumbling, not from either Discord or Luna. Another pony bucked the side of our stall, made us all jump.

“Big sis!” Luna giggled loudly, “Shouting!”

“I still mean it!” I whispered furiously. “I’ll go to Canterbury all by myself. Chance or not. Hope or not. I won’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t at least try!”

Discord snorted.

“You got something to say to me, Discord?!”

He stared, stunned. “What the heck has gotten into you?”

I squared my shoulders. “Duty! The duty of a Princess!”

He laughed, poorly covering it up as a cough. I showed him I didn’t buy it, glaring a hole right through his funny looking head. He frowned back.

“Well then.” He yanked down his cloak, shook it free of droplets. “Canterbury’s, what? A week or two away? That’s a week or two that you can take to come to your senses, and head off to Canterlot. We’re in no rush, are we?” He stared at me, eyes level. “Is that a plan you can be happy with, Celestia?”

“Oh, I will be.”

~~~ A Not-Quite-Hearth’s-Warming-Eve Special ~~~

The Steadfast Sky : A Not-Quite-Hearth’s-Warming-Eve Special
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Discord~

Canterlot had fallen quiet hours and hours ago, party winding down and leaving with barely a wisper. Right here and now, I think Luna and I were the only ones awake in all of Canterlot. Well, actually, I don’t know if Luna’s awake. She seemed pretty groggy when we left… And she could be asleep by now. Should I check? Eh. Maybe when I drop her off.

Right now, I felt mentally alone. And mentally annoyed. There was a burning sensation across my snout, like blushing gone annoyingly painful, and I didn’t have a clue where it came from. Does too much sugar do this to me? I know Luna had turned a sort of dark pink at one point, but she was also running around like… like some crazy run-around thing.

Tired. Brain turning off. I don’t even know if this is a dream or not. I’m carting around, well, a little cart. That I made. It’s a sweet cart, looks and runs exactly like a real wooden cart, well-constructed by yours truly. If it is a dream, I’m going to make it again in the real world. Not even to use it. Just to make it again and admire how much my magical skills have grown. Probably doesn’t feel like a cart, but screw that, I needed a way to carry Luna. And all the presents. But Luna’s most important.

Ow. Face twinged. How can blushing hurt so… annoyingly??

There was a shift in the paper behind me. I slowed down, strained my ears. So was she awake…?

“Hey,” Luna mumbled, “Discord?”

“Yeah?”

More shuffling. “Why’d you bring all the fancy colored paper crap?”

“I um… thought it would be polite to clean up a little. We kind’ve went nuts with those gifts, didn’t we?”

Luna giggled, then shifted again. The cart rocked and squealed, harness mock-up digging into my back and driving me into the ground. Okay, maybe this cart is crappier than I thought. Next order on magical experimentation to-do list: Perfect making softer cloth things.

“I like this…” Luna mumbled, wrappings rustling. “It’s like the paper bed of a Hearth’s Warming morning. Haven’t had one of those in…” Luna yawned, the cart jiggled once more, and things became quiet again.

…

Back asleep, I guess. So I’m just back to my own thoughts.

…

What is this, the second, third fourth time I’ve had to carry her around? How does this keep wind up being—?

“Discord?” Luna mumbled behind me. “Is it Hearth’s Warming Day yet?”

“Nah. We missed that by like, two months.”

“Oh yeah.”

Back asleep, I guess—

“Waiiit, how do you know?”

“Know what?”

“That it was two months ago!”

“You wouldn’t shut up about it!” I said. “Jumping off that bench, screaming ‘Hearthswarming! Hearthswarming! Make the fireworks red and green, Discord! All these gifts make it Hearthswarming! Even if it’s two months late, it’s Hearthswarming!’”

“Oh yeah…”

Once more, Luna seemed to drift away, body struggling to pull her down as her mind struggled to keep herself up. I wondered what she looked like, snuggled up in the paper. Was she on her stomach now? Using the sheets as a blanket? I hoped that she was at least comfortable… snuggled up and warm… face peaceful…

“Discord?” Luna suddenly yapped, “Can it be Hearth’s Warming, Discord?”

“Sure!” I squeaked, “Why not?!”

She giggled loudly, and the cart jammed its way into my back, side creaking as she threw herself over it. My mind snapped to hardening the sides, binding them tighter. Oh life, don’t break, don’t break…!

“Well!” Luna cried. “We’re going to need some decorations to make this Hearth’s Warming!”

“Okay—“

“I’m going to say a whole bunch of things and you make it happen, Discord!”

“Can do!”

“First, make the cart red!”

“Easy.” Real easy, I mastered colors before I even mastered talking. In a blink, red. Didn’t even have to look to see it change.

“And, and the tires should be green!”

“Done.”

“And, and um…” Bounce bounce ow ow ow ow. “You know, you know the branches of an evergreen tree? The kind of tree that makes pinecones?”

“Yes?”

“Wrap those all around the sides of the cart.” I started, but then, “No, no! Make them bright gold! Like glittering gold! Oh wow” … “Oh.”

“’Oh,’ what?”

“They’re not solid…”

“Just easier that way.”

“Guess so. So um…” She giggled again, muffled, into her hoof. A mischievous giggle. “Diiiis~coooorrrd~”

The pinching blush flushed all over my face. Oh no. Why’d she say my name like that? What? What’s she thinking?!

“Ah, um, yes? Luna?”

“Make your nose bright red!”

“Um.” I splashed it red like the cart, but in a moment more…

“Noooo, you’re doing it wrong! Um… Um… Like. Like stick a bright red plum. On your nose!”

“Okay.”

I summoned an image of a plum, painted it bright red, then slapped it on my nose. Plum juice and guts splattered all over my face, streaks dribbling down my chin. I spat, paw shooting up to wipe the juice away.

“Omigosh,” Luna squeaked, “Was that a real plum?!”

“Nah!” Grin stupid wide, I waved my paw through the plum-like illusion, “Gotcha!”

“Holy crap, Discord!” Luna laughed, “Why don’t you do crazy stuff like this more often?! That was cool!”

“I… I guess it hasn’t had much utility…” I mumbled. Man, Luna. Hasn’t stopped being excited all night, yet now she looks like she’s about to explode over a little trick. “Used to experiment with that stuff all the time, but with all the crazy and the fear and the running…” I thought a moment. “But! We don’t have to worry about that stuff anymore, so yeah! Magic, away!”

With a jerk of my hand, I let loose a gust of wild magic. It had blossomed into a firework of color before I decided it should turn into a cloud of doves. They silently fluttered and darted into the walls, Luna’s furious clapping the only sound in the hall.

“Okay, okay, back to Hearth’s Warming stuff!” Luna squeaked, “Give yourself another antler! Nooo, make them even in size! … Too big, you nut!” She playfully punched my rump. “Okay! Now make it snow! And, um… You know, Apple’s cloak thing? The red cape with a white, fuzzy trim? Give me that to wear, but purple. And make my tiara silver! Yes, yes, yes! Now!”

Once more the cart rattled, another side cracking ever so slightly as my friend hefted herself atop it. I turned back to fix and harden the side, but my thoughts withered as I saw Luna. She stood tall, proud. Eyes closed, chin lifted, and face so very quiet. Her face was still flush with magenta, she looked softer, or even warmed by my illusion of a cloak. Light snow drifted by her, and I watched as little flakes fell to rest on her shoulders.

And for just a moment, everything, the whole world was quiet. No sound, muffled and taken by the snow.

“Um,” Luna’s forehead creased, “I can’t remember the poem. Princess Platinum had a really nice Hearth’s Warming poem…”

“Who’s…” Words turned to putty in my mouth, “Princess Platinum…?”

“Me, silly!” Luna huffed. “Oh, whatever. I don’t need no stinking poem! Now hurry, mighty reindeer Vercingetorix!” She threw out a hoof, cloak failing to flutter dramatically. “We must fetch all the children of the North, and bring them Hearth’s Fire!”

“Uh…”

“And we’ll bring them gifts too! Now fly! Fly like a windego!”

“Right, Princess Platinum!”

Moment ruined, or maybe solidified in my mind as completely perfect, I spun and charged down the crystal-lit halls of Canterlot. To where, or when, or whatever the hell, I didn’t know. All I knew was that mid-February was now Hearth’s Warming Eve…

And I was spending the holiday with the pony who mattered most.

LXV : Friends Together IV

The Steadfast Sky : Friends Together IV
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com

~Discord~

I don’t think either of us slept very well last night. I wasn’t used to sleeping beside someone, and she was worried that I’d wander off almost every half hour. Maybe an hour before sunrise we gave up and just dragged the half-remembered bedding off into two separate directions. I passed out so hard, I woke up in the grass maybe three hours later with a stick jabbing at my abdomen and a rock under my chin.

But then I rolled over to see Luna snoozing not a foot away, snout tucked under her knees and breathing softly.

And I think I can live with that.

And I think Luna can too.

So, despite barely sleeping at all, the morning felt new and refreshed. Dawn was pretty. Clouds overhead, those are really nice to look at. This abandoned building is 100% the best thing ever in my books. And breakfast was super, extra, amazingly minty this morning. I think I mastered it. All it took was letting go. A little. Just. A tiny bit. No need to go crazy here.

My hands were shaking as I packed up my own breakfast, re-wrapping and tucking the uh, meat, back out of sight. But I don’t think my disgust is what’s making them shake. Nah. That’s the sleep deprivation. My arms and feel like jelly. Hollow jelly.

Especially when I look at Luna.

I can’t stop myself. I don’t think I’m supposed to stop myself. Even though her mane’s messy and uncombed, it still forms a perfect little frame around her head. Her aura sparkles… I mean, it’s always sparkled. But today I can watch every little ping and pip of magic as they pop and depop out of sight. And that smooth arch of her neck into her back …

“So! Um…” She leaned over, and I watched her hoof as it scraped against the Orb of Honesty, rolling it towards us. “The Element,” she said.

“It’s still a rock,” I commented.

She nodded. “Yep. Still a rock. Big problem.”

“Why’s that?”

“We’ll have to carry it.”

“Huh.” I said. “That does seem like a big problem.”

“It’s weird though…”

Luna’s shimmering aura enveloped the Element, lifting it into the air. I watched her, resting on my stomach and curled in my own arms, as she turned the rock over and over. It was shapeless, or really, just a perfectly average, heavy sphere. Bigger than a pony’s head, little rough and speckled, but without a single flaw on its surface. Not a scratch or a chip or even the slightest imperfection on its rough surface. Strange, really. For how it’s been dropped and tossed around, I’m surprised that it didn’t suffer one bit of damage…

Or, should I be surprised? Even in this unbounded stone form, can something so powerful as an Element ever be damaged?
I wondered with an excited stab if Luna was wondering what I was wondering.

“What do you think is weird about it?” I asked.

“With everything we said last night? All that drama and confrontation and just tossing ‘honesty’ around like we did?” She turned the rock over again, frowning at it. “After all that? No light show, no transformation, no reaction? Just… nothing?”

Another impulse grips me. A bad one. For an instant, I can’t breathe.

I squeak, “You didn’t lie to me, did you?”

“No!” Luna turned gaped at me. “What? Did you lie?”

“Of course not!” I object. “Last night, I was being as honest as I could be! I mean, I lie about a lot of stuff… wait, no!” I’m rambling, I sound stupid. I try to quickly wave my line of thought away. “Honest! Last night? I meant every word I said…”

Wow. She looked suspicious now. Life… sky… I messed up. I messed up bad.

But slowly, the expression leaves, and her eyes returned to The Big Ball of Rock. “Then why nothing?” she asked. “No reaction at all…”

Her aura faded slightly, and the Element drifted slowly down between us, half hidden by the tall grass. Luna frowned down at it as she sat opposite of me, on the other side of Honesty. I looked at it, resting innocuously on the flattened grass. A squat monolith of fat, dull, and hyper-magical proportions.

Luna huffed. “Confessions and confrontations definitely count as honesty, right?”

“Why not?” I shrugged.

“The other Elements weren’t nearly as picky,” she complained.

“Yeah, as we’ve said, what, eighty times now?”

“Hm…” Luna began a furious staring contest with the orb. As if glowering at it would solve the problem immediately. “Maybe,” she grunted, “We were both so worthy, it just doesn’t know who to go to.”

“Is it even…” I scratched my chin, a thought coming to me. “Is it conscious enough to make a choice? Wouldn’t it just naturally gravitate towards the most honesty?” I stopped, frowned, and immediately waved the thought away. “No, sorry. Then it would have to directly quantify exactly how honest every action is…”

“You think so?” Luna asked, still staring at the rock like she intended to divine the future from its mercilessly opaque surface. “I mean, it’s magic. Super powerful, super advanced magic. It would just be able to know the right answer, wouldn’t it?”

“That doesn’t sit right with me,” I said firmly. “Magic… even the crazy, superpowerful, and spontaneously summoned magic of the Elements, is very, very specific. Specific in its creation parameters, specific in the internal logic, specific in the effective outputs.”

Okay, now she was staring at me like she was trying to divine the future.

“Yes.” She said crisply, still obviously confused. “Yes. It would obviously be created, make sense, and do stuff. Except… beyond our understanding.”

“Current understanding, but not beyond our ability to discover… I mean, let’s say I’m casting an illusion.” I cupped my hands in front of me, glancing down at my uneven fingers. “I’ve told you this, haven’t I? I can’t just think of a cat, then expect it to act exactly like a cat. I have to think about exactly what I want it to do, what its supposed to look like, act like, and so on.”

Unconsciously, a little black cat bloomed from my fingers. On reflex, I made it yawn, stretch, and lick its paw. “I mean,” I said, “It’s simple for me to understand how a cat acted, then make it act. But it’s still me making it act. And if I want it to, you know, wander around without directly thinking about it, then I have to set down the exact rules for it to follow. And even for something as simple as a cat, it can get very complicated very quickly… Oh. I’m sorry.” I laughed nervously. I’d just noticed that Luna was looking down at her hooves, face expressionless. “I’m just blabbing. You probably know all this. You know. From classes and such…”

“No, actually,” she said clearly, still staring at her hooves. “I’ve never thought about it that way. When I cast…”

She closed her eyes and took a slow breath. Like me, unconsciously casting… I could see the vauge shimmer of her aura, just barely there, twinkling on the surface of her horn.

“It’s a feeling,” Luna said, “I grope for shadows and just pull at them this way and that. But they can only go directly and specifically where I want to, don’t they? And the moment the magic stops…”

“The shadows snap right back,” I offered.

She nodded. “Yes. Okay. But then how does that work with the Elements? I mean, their magic doesn’t seem to ever end, does it?”

“It also doesn’t start until we pump something into it. Be it magic, or friendship.” I shrugged. “So I dunno. Maybe it’s our friendship that’s recharging the Element’s magic?”

Luna gasped. “Oh! So that’s the problem! Well, that’s easily fixed then, isn’t it?”

With a mischievous grin, Luna leaned over Honesty. Then, quite clearly to the stone, she loudly said:

“Friendship!”

I chuckled. “Friendship friendship, honesty! Look! We’re such awesome friends!”

“All cool and friendly, and wow! You feel that? That’s the feeling. Of friendship.”

I laughed, loud enough to surprise myself. “Okay! This is really stupid!”

“How dare you, Discord!” Luna chided playfully, “Saying friendship is dumb?! No wonder Honesty doesn’t like us!”

“Sweet life! I’m sorry, Honesty!” I fell into the grass and heaved in fake-sobbing actually-laughing. “I’ll try to be more positive in the future!”

“You fool!” Luna roared, “It doesn’t care about positivity! ONLY FRIENDSHIP!”

“Oh crap!” I cowered in the grass for a few more moments, until both of our laughter faded. I peeked above my fuzzy arm and, darnit, Element was still a stone.

“Yeah,” I sighed, “That probably wasn’t going to work.”

“No, probably not. Worth a shot though. But... You know? If the Element operates on set rules, and if the Element is powered by, well, us...” She frowned. “Big ‘if’s, actually. Just stating a theory here...”

I nodded. “Yep. All of this is theory.”

Luna’s eyes grew a little more serious, and drifted down to Honesty. “What does that tell us about the transformation into a nightmare? If what you’re saying is true…”

“Well it’s the same thing.” It dawns on me as I said it, words coming easily, “It would have to be an expected side effect. A planned result of how the Elements operate, or a known fault that allows them to function. Or... if it is powered by friendship or positive feelings or whatever. As soon as that magic stops…”

Eyes still on the cold stone, Luna offered, “The shadows snap right back.”

“But really,” I said,. “That’s not a thing especially new to us. Is it?”

“No…”

“Still. That means whatever the Element does, it’s clearly not random, and it can’t be entirely inscrutable. Everything the Element does and reacts to—” I tapped the top of Honesty firmly, conviction strong. “—Is based on an internal set of rules.” I let my hand rest atop the smooth stone, feeling its heartbeat flutter. “We just don’t know what those rules are. That’s the only problem.”

Luna was silent for a moment, the both of us watching the rock. Nothing happened of course. I don’t think either of us expected anything to.

But then Luna flopped sideways and sighed loudly, adorably pouting as she smashed and flatted the grass around her.

“Well that got us nowhere,” she moaned, “Element’s still a mysterious ball of unknown magic!”

“No,” I quickly corrected, “It’s a big mysterious ball of mysteriously specific and testable magic.”

“Wait,” Luna said. “Did you say testable?”

I shrugged. “Sure. The rules exist. We’ve just got to be…”

Luna gasped, and rolled instantly onto her belly. Our eyes locked. I grinned. There was a thrill to it. We both have the same thought. We both knew what I was going to say next.

And at the same time, we shouted, “Unicorn scientists!”

She giggled like crazy and I grinned like an idiot.

~Luna~

“Unicorn and Draconequus Scientists super test number… number…” I frowned over at Discord. “Do you remember what number we were on?”

“No, why would I?” He prodded the Element with two furry fingers. “Besides, didn’t we lose track back then?”

“Oh yeah… So.” I watched as Discord cradled Honesty in both hands, looking it up and down, poking it occasionally. “What are you doing?”

“Repeating a few of the original tests. Seeing if I can alter its structure with magic or illusion. That sort of thing…” He rapped Honesty with his bird knuckles. “Results are the same though. Can’t alter it with illusions, can’t push any magic through it…” He grinned up at me. “Bet using our own Elements would help. You want to help me mess with Honesty?”

“Definitely.”

“Place a hoof on it. We’re going to see if there are any specific changes…!”

I dropped down, watching Discord, so intent on Honesty. Man. Since he stopped being weird, Discord has the most amazing mischievous grin. It’s just so casual, so self-assured. There’s so few places where Discord has that easygoing sense of accomplishment to himself. But when it comes to magic? It’s like he’s a whole new stallion. Powerful, and in control.

Why didn’t I appreciate that back in Canterlot? I mean, he would talk about magic all the time… Was I really so focused on his failures in other classes? Or just so put off by his new, creepier attitude…

“Hey Discord!” I happily cried.

“Uh-huh?”

“You’re pretty smart when it comes to magic.”

He laughed. Not his silly little snicker, but the loud, deeper laugh I loved to hear.

“Yeah, uh, thanks?!”

“You just did so poorly in your Canterlot classes… Sorry, you probably didn’t want to hear that, but I’m going somewhere with this, I swear!” Even a small reminder made his grin fade a little… I had to move quickly. “You keep bringing up stuff I’d never heard or thought of, just like it’s no big deal. Even my own magic classes didn’t talk about magic being rule-based or specific, and they never came close to experimentation. It was ‘try for this feeling’ and ‘now try for this feeling.’ Oh!” I snickered into my hoof, “And the always wonderful, ‘you’re not making this teacup hover ladylike enough, Luna!’”

“Oh yeah… those classes.” He tucked his chin between his fingers and grinned over at me. “They didn’t let me take many magic classes after they learned I couldn’t hover things ‘normally.’ Clever tricks were cute, yes. But not the unicorn way? Well! Why even bother? Clearly untrainable!” He shook his head, holding himself pompously. “Most of those ‘hover politely’ classes were just extensions of the etiquette training. They must have stuffed all the true professors of magic into closets or something.”

“I wish there were a few,” I declared, “Then maybe you could have had a little more respect around there!”

Discord grinned a little sideways. Just a little. Not the creepy grin, but slowly inching there. He scratched his chin and blushed under his soft fur.

“Well. Even if they did have a proper master… Eh.” He shrugged, briefly avoiding my eyes. Or was he just thinking about somewhere else? “I doubt I’d have taken that well… Anyway. Element.”

“Really? Why not?”

He looked like he was about to step over the topic, returning his focus and hands to the sides of Honesty. But then, he stopped. Blanked a little. Thought about it. The swagger about him faded a little… Drat. I had kind’ve hoped the topic would pump him up more. Not make him drift back down…

“Well,” he said, “You met my, um, teacher. Ruin. I think, if I had another teacher, I’d be afraid of, well, ruining my brother’s memory.” Discord shrugged, smile inching back stronger. “And I think that’s all I’ve got to say about that. So let’s mess with Honesty.”

A part of me wanted so badly for discord to stop avoiding topics. What did I ramble at him for all of yesterday for if he wasn’t going to try and address himself?! But, darnit, just digging that up now was only going to make him sink low again. We needed a friggin’ break from the weight. Magical experimentation is fun for Discord!

So why not let him have fun?

My horn flared to life and our golden necklaces rang out, silver and blue, two dissonant colors and tones spilling over the stone. Immediately, I could feel, and see the effects.

Honesty hummed. A third tone, different from our own, but mixing into what I’m going to call resonate ear chocolate. Science ear chocolate. Something like a song, beautiful and mournful, even if it only rang in one tone. And through the vibration, I could see it glowing, releasing little bubbles of pulsing magic. If I listened closely, I could hear each pulse of heat and light like its own little note in the song. Thrumming and thrumming…

I gripped my Element in my Aura. I heard it’s song, my personal song. Discord had stopped, already talking about the test’s completion. But I still continued.

Sounds. Tones. Music. Speech.

Sonic magic.

I opened my mouth and let notes escape. Not words, or even a song. Just letting my voice resonate with my Element, and letting that tone resonate with Honesty. Its own song changed with every note, the pale rings of light changing ever so slightly in color and pace.

I stopped to catch my breath, and the song stopped. The light died, the song faded, and all that was left was an echo in my ears and light-burned shadows on my eyes. Discord hovered around the spots, buried in his arms and trying to stop himself from beaming too hard. He was failing. His eyes were as big as dinner plates, and he looked like he was about to explode into a laughing fit.

“Y-you have a pretty voice,” he stammered.

“Thanks!” I replied, “Geez, this is so exciting! I think I want to try something!” I was burning up now, blushing like crazy. I think I can see why this made Discord so excited! “You know how I’m always complaining about not being able to talk through these things? I think this is the perfect opportunity to figure out how to do that!”

“Oh! Definitely!” Discord’s entire body bobbed as he nodded. “So. Do you need me to move away, see if I hear you from a distance?”

I giggled. “I don’t think I’m ready for distance testing yet…”

“I’ll be just right around the corner. Across the path.” He waved furiously towards the covered stone connection between the two buildings. A little black stone wall marked its location, rising out of the tall grass. “Just right over there. And if you need my help, you can just shout immediately!”

“Alright!” I looked down at the Element. “Experimenting…?” I frowned, puzzled, and looked up. “Actually. I don’t think I’ve ever seriously experimented with magic… before?”

Discord was retreating fast, dragging his bag behind him as he scrambled over the stone and out of sight. I watched him, now maybe a little concerned. Why bring his bag? Jeez. I hope he wasn’t mad at me for wanting to do my own experiments. I mean, he seemed excited when I said I wanted to try something…

Still such a nervous guy! I returned to the rock in front of me, wondering what I should try first…

~Discord~

I heard her continue to sing over the wall, and I thought I could just melt, then and there. Sucked right into the cold, black stone wall behind me. She’s beautiful, she’s beautiful, she’s beautiful. I could say that word over and over and over and it would lose all meaning, but she’d be just as wonderful and elegant and perfect…

I was turning and twisting and pressing into the cold stone behind me, just trying to stop from, from, from overheating or exploding or, or I don’t know! Oh sun and moon and stars and life above LUNA IS PERFECT.

No no! Calm down! Calm down calm down calm down…

I twisted too sharply and bashed my head into the rock. Ow. I hissed and clutched the spot. Okay. Not as excited anymore.

And, with a guilty hesitation, I slid Ruin’s journal out from my bag.

I didn’t know why really I was looking through here, or why I was guilty about doing so. But geez, between this, and last night, and oh life, when she said that she was going to experiment with me… She’s always either been impressed or just bored, but never wanting to try something herself!

What do I want from her? What do I want from me?? I thought we were supposed to be getting comfortable, not acting weird at weird moments. I didn’t want to go back to the way things were! But now I’m getting worse, and I don’t know if it’s the Draconequus, or me, or something else entirely?! Is this some kind of weird pony thing? What would Ruin even have to say about weird pony things?

But he’s got to have something to say about what’s happening to me… something else. Right?

Why does this feel so wrong to ask him? He’s intelligent. He’s taught me so much. Maybe there was something I missed, or didn’t read into… I mean, when stuff got too personal, I just skipped past. So maybe there was something to help me through this… this stuff…

Or maybe not?

Yet, I flipped through his journal. I was returning to my master, begging him for answers I wasn’t even sure he had. Maybe there was a note, or a comment, or something.

This is wonderful. This is horrible. I hate to love it, but I could bask in it all day.

Was it…

~Luna~

Really now.

I don’t mess with magic. Not really. I know there’s stuff I can do. And I do those things only. When I learned I could hide under shadows, I just hid under shadows. When I accidentally teleported, I just learned how to teleport better. I never used sonic magic for anything more than shouting at things until I was told to try throwing my voice.

I guess I could see how to do this in theory. It’s just like throwing my voice, except, instead of throwing it in a specific location, I throw it at a known object.

But if the object could be anywhere in the world…

Four Elements were here, sitting right next to me. All in different states of activity and decay. I guess it would be good for the experiment to see if each Element resonated the same. But not for seeing if I could contact my sister, or the other two Elements.

But I’m getting ahead of myself now. Here.

I closed my eyes and shoved Honesty in a random direction. I heard it softly shift the grass, then stop dead. I dipped my head under my legs. No peeping. Let’s see if this works.

I eased magic into my horn, and began humming.

My Element glowed, a light under my folded legs. I heard its song resonate with my own voice. A different tone, but it followed the rises and falls of my directionless song.

So I hummed…

And um…

Nothing really got discovered that way.

So I hummed a bit more. Weakly this time.

And then I said, “Button.”

“BZZ-mm,” my Element flashed back, light flickering like a candle.

I blinked.

“Okay.”

“NN-NN”

I cleared my throat. The coughing echoed back up at me.

“I. Will try. And speak. Clearly.”

“Bz. WHZZ tch. NND sshCHK. CKmmee.”

“Actually, this is a bit further than I expected to go. I mean, the sounds sort’ve, uh, sound the same?”

My Element flickered and buzzed in front of me, light pulsing with every sound I made.

“So. What am I missing here?” I frowned, Discord’s earlier comments coming back to me. “I mean… is this part of your internal rules? What allows you to do this? And what’s stopping you?”

The Element, of course, had no response. I felt stupid for even asking it.

“What am I missing what am I missing…” I closed my eyes again, the light of Laughter shining up in my eyes. Would Laughter only completely respond if I said something funny? No, that’s stupid. It doesn’t light up when I’m joking around or pulling pranks. But maybe I was losing touch with what the Element represented, so the spell couldn’t complete itself—

I am not losing touch, I assured myself. The Element accepts me. If it didn’t, then it would look like Loyalty, wouldn’t it? All tumorous and clumpy…

But the Element also wasn’t just any old magic object. It was special. It responded to positive feelings, and friendship.
Maybe it worked best along those invisible bonds? I mean, if I said ‘friendship, friendship’ enough, stuff was bound to happen. But would it be the right stuff?

I hummed again. Pushed the sound into my necklace. Made it glow. Made it resonate. Squeezed my eyes closed even tighter.

And mentally, magically, tried to reach through the stone.

I pictured Discord and Kindness… No, I heard them. I imagined the sound of his voice, and the ring of his Element. I knew he was behind me. You know. Because I saw him go that way. Geez. I’ve got to forget that! I’ve got to pretend like I didn’t see where Discord went. I’ve just got to try and mentally listen for his voice.

My mind, and my Element, echoed back to me the rustle of a page turning.

I peeked down at my Element, slightly confused. The light, and my magic faded a little…

No! I can’t lose this now!

I pushed through again, mentally searching for Discord. I listened for that gold and silver ring, the tone of Kindness around his fuzzy neck. I had just heard it. I knew what it sounded like. Holding that sound in my mind, magic rolling in hot waves against my forehead, I took a deep breath, and whispered a single word into the blue light.

“Button.”

Discord squeaked in my ear, and I heard the clap of a book being slapped shut. I could hear it right here, and also distantly behind me.

“Oh!” he said, voice fainter now. “You got it?!”

“Yeah!” I shouted into the necklace, “I think I got it! Get over here!”

I barely said a word, but in a moment’s notice he was already by my side, and with… uhg. Creepy grin. I’ve got to banish that, quick!

“So! I think I found one of those ‘rules’ too!” I exclaimed, feeling the magic cool from my horn. “I could get my sonic magic to work with the Element, but it was all fuzzy and just when I just talked to myself. Only when I thought of our special bond was I able to hear you!”

“Good. Great!” His grin grew a little less creepy, and instead became more excited. Success! “So! How does that bond work with Honesty over there? I mean, it’s not connected to a Bearer, so…”

“I uh…” I searched for the rock in the tall grass, finding it about three feet to my left. “I… have no idea. I didn’t even try with Honesty.”

“No, no, don’t look so down!”

His paw brushed by my chin, holding there lightly. He seemed nervous about it, like he was going to drop his arm at a moment’s notice. Like I’d let that happen! I pressed into his hand. He seemed pretty happy about that.

Discord said, “That just means we have more things to experiment, don’t we? Like unicorn scientists?”

“Right!”

So, with nowhere better to be than an overgrown courtyard, we tinkered. With Discord pointing me in a few different directions, we discovered so much for one short day. Not just what we could do, specifically why the Elements were working like they did. For one, this communication was something only I could do, or something that could only be done with Sonic magic. When I was casting, I could hear and speak freely with the other Elements, and they could do the same with me. If I wasn’t focusing, then Discord could blab into his Element all he wanted, and I wouldn’t hear a word. Likewise, Discord couldn’t focus and throw his voice to me. Though after several attempts, he admitted that he’d later try to send pictures and illusions over the ‘distant bond’ between Elements. Speaking of distance, no matter how far away the Element was, it never cost more magic to ‘call’ it. Discord flew very high into the sky to test that one. And reaching the other Elements was as simple as thinking about them as I casted. Thinking about Honesty or Loyalty, I could easily resonate and hear the world around them… muffled, but I could hear. I could think about all the Elements at once… but that took a great amount of magic and focus.

Which leads right to our last little experiment.

I was leaning into Discord’s side, his fuzzy wing hesitantly settled around my shoulders. We both grinned over my glowing Element, and the thick orb of Honesty. My horn felt a little hollow, heat from it seeping into my forehead. But I was still easily able to pull magic into it. It would be a little bit of a strain, but nothing a good night’s rest wouldn’t help.

I closed my eyes, let my magic ring through Laughter, and reached out for three Elements. Honesty would now echo with the sounds from Magic, and Generosity.

While I didn’t know what tone they rang in, I could almost hear them through my gold band. I could hear the faraway Elements resonating along with me, both sounding so strange, and so unique. The bonded Elements, Kindness and Laughter, rang like bells when I touched them. Honesty was a deeper tone, and Loyalty a garbled sort of whine.

But Magic was almost like a hollow echo. Like wind over a cut reed. And Generosity sounded like sand being shifted by waves. Or the fuzzy sound you hear when there’s no noise at all.

Was this just the distance interfering with the magic? Or did was it indicating that the other Elements weren’t bonded, and had no tone accompanying them?

I wished with all my heart that we’d hear more than the tomb. Would we finally be able to talk to our long lost companions? Who would be over there? Would they be a fellow colt and filly? Was there another group of three, travelling like us, searching so desperately for the Elements?

Discord and I lowered our heads quietly, placing our ears on Honesty. We stared into eachother’s eyes, necklaces making our faced glow in the dim twilight. We were both so confident, so strong and certain.

Please! Something! Something…!

With a heavy push, I amplified those distant sounds, the reed and the sand through the Honesty Orb. Even with my heavy focus, everything sounded like it was coming underwater. Muted and dull, but with louder or sharper sounds coming through clearly.

Almost immediately, we both heard sharp clicking sound. Like stones being rolled together.

“That’s on Generosity’s end,” I whispered.

My heart leapt a beat. Voices were fading in through the stone. Actual, ponylike, voices!

“… so that’s it…” “Yes, things are looking normal.” “…fine…”

Eyes still glued tightly to Discord’s, I said, quite clearly, “Hello?”

That smacking stone sound again. A scraping sound, like hoof on rock.

“Generosity… then Magic…” I explained. My friend just looked bemused.

Discord whispered, “It’s just noise to me…”

I heard more sounds on Generosity’s end. Almost like a conversation. Two… maybe three voices? “… just talk…?” “Of course it did. It’s magic.” “…see?”

“Hello!” I said clearly. “This is Luna!”

“A-and Discord!” the Draconequus shouted.

“Magic!” I loudly called, “Generosity!”

“Life!” Discord hissed, “Don’t call them that!”

I mumbled, suppressing giggles, “Well, I can’t exactly say their names…!”

“Whoever has Magic and Generosity!” Discord huffed aloud. “We’re your fellow Elements! Your friends!”

“We’re looking for you!” I scrambled to say. “We’ve been looking for so long! We’ve all got to get together, as soon as possible! Right?!”

I breathed. Discord was shaking beside me. His wing twitched in my mane, and our smiles wavered in unison.
This was so exciting!

There was more scraping, a sharp snap like the breaking of tile. A male from Generosity’s end cleared his throat. “…bit specific. what…” “…who is the Healer here…” There was a wave of static, slowly resolving into a hollow ringing.

“So who’s saying what…?”

“All the voices are on Generosity’s end.”

“Then what about Magic?”

“Just some shuffling. Someone’s there, but…” I took a deep breath, and spoke again, “So if you have the Element… please! Say something! Tell us where you are. I’ll hear it!”

I leaned in, placing my ear to Honesty, horn burning hot. For a moment, all I heard was white noise. A distant mumbling… “…is it supposed to…?” “…nevermind the stone…” “…hello…?”

“Imbecilic children!” A deep male voice rang out from Magic’s end, louder than the rest. A sickly, guttering voice that snapped like a whip.

Both Discord and I shot back, the volume of the voice booming, as if it was standing right next to us. Discord even looked around, bewildered, as if he was going to spot the speaker right behind us.

“That stallion can hear you!” the voice howled, “Do you have any idea what wrath you have brought upon your heads?!”

“H-hello?” I stammered, “Are you one of the bearers…?”

“Run, you foalish simpletons!” the man yelled, “RUN!”

I inhaled sharply, and the spell ceased with a small pop. My horn continued to burn, magic evaporating off of it like steam.

Discord and I exchanged one look, then dove under the night’s shadow, scrambling for our bags.