The Promise
It was well past midnight when he approached the cabin. It was much as he remembered it. A vegetable garden to one side, a lovely thatched roof that was in dire need of a new coat of paint, and the moon shining in full cast long shadows down the dirt path. The wanderer was dressed in a heavy-stained cloak, now brown where it had once been green. About his neck he wore a pendant of metal butterflies specially made by the best smith Canterlot could afford. In one hand he held a walking stick made of simple pine.
The wanderer smiled to himself as he remembered the good memories he held of this place. Tea and talks it had mostly been. He would visit her five friends on occasion, and he counted them all as friends of his own but the pink mane one had been different. It was she who had done the impossible. She had changed the very nature of a god.
The stranger removed his hood as he came closer, with one clawed hand he threw down his walking stick as he strode to the door, the other hand froze as it clutched over the knob, pausing for the briefest of moments before turning the knob and going inside.
The house lay as dark and silent as a tomb and with the drapes having been drawn it took a moment for the wanderer to notice the bed where she sat.
"Its nice to see you again Discord." Fluttershy said as she leaned up from where she had been laying on the bed in the far corner. Pity you had to see me like this. Let me light the candle." As the candle cast its light about the room Discord saw her and momentarily shut his eyes. Even with the great boon of magic water he had acquired for the pegasus at great cost, not even elixir of life could stop death forever and he could tell at a glance that Fluttershy was close to meeting hers.
Her skin had sagged, her coat had lost so much of its beautiful color it now looked an ashen grey rather than the beautiful yellow sunshine it had been. As she struggled up he could hear her bones creak like the boards of an old ship. Her face was gaunt, lined with so many wrinkles it resembled a withered tree bent by the elements. And yet her eyes were still beautiful having lost none of their shine, and kindness still radiated from them.
"You came straight here like I instructed?" she asked. "Yes. I came without meeting another soul. But I did see some of the monuments to you and your friends. You live as a god in their stories and in that strange religion that has sprung up. The Church Magic isnt that its name?" Named for Twilight Sparkle I expect. Celestia knows she saved the world enough times as it was."
Fluttershy smiled warmly at her old friend for a moment. "Actually its named for all of them. Our names have gone from fact, to legend, to myth. But where are my manners? Would you like some tea? I remember you liking tea. Angel loved..." Pausing she glanced out the window where next to the garden there were rows upon rows of graves all facing away from the cottage toward the great Everfree forest. All except one grave. A small meticulously kept one, always cleaned and with flowers placed before it. It bore no inscription. Simply a carving of a bunny smiling and eating a carrot.
With a sigh Fluttershy got out of bed and put the kettle on, preparing the tea. She then slowly moved over to a chair she had placed by her bed and with great difficulty managed to hoist herself into it.
"But enough of the past lets talk about the future and what you found." she said. "Is it real? Does Hell exist or is there nothing beyond Tartarus? What of the other two realms? " Discord cast his head down, the dagger of fear momentarily chilling him as he remembered the ponies, and things he had seen in the inferno. "I dont know if Purgatory or Paradise exist, but Hell itself is very real just as you saw."
Fluttershy was silent for a time before speaking again. "Then that is where they have taken the Books of Magic. You and the others need to retrieve them and make sure it they brought back to Equestria. If not I fear war is again on the horizon." Discord saw her eyes dart very quickly to an envelope on the table.
"Take the envelope and follow the instructions inside it. Seek the three ponies in Canterlot who will aid you in Tartarus and bring the books back to Equestria at all costs. I saw war in my lifetime and I am happy I no longer have to see it a second time." With this she laid back in the chair and was silent for a moment before smiling at Discord. Discord looked at her before saying. "You've grown far wiser and far less shy than when we last meet. I will of course do as you say. Its funny that it is the God of Chaos whom will lead reason and order back into the world... You have my promise."
At this Fluttershy smiled closed her eyes and slept the sleep eternal. Discord stayed lost in thought for but a moment before rising, turning off the kettle, and walking outside where a shovel leaned against the cottage wall. Taking the implement in hand he walked next to Angel the bunnies grave and next to it dug another. He then entered the house took the body of whom had been his best friend and weeping silently proceeded to bury her.
But something still wasn't quite right. Realizing what it was at last Discord walked to where a large rock lay and began to carve into it with his claws. Hours passed and many failed attempts before the headstone was finally perfect. He lifted it and put it in the newly dug ground.
With that he changed his shape to that of a blue-green unicorn mare, put on his ashen cloak and took up his cane once more and began walking in the direction of Canterlot. He had only gone a few steps when he paused a moment. Magic flowed from his horn and a single tear fell from his check as it hit the ground. Moonlight shone down on the now deserted cottage, illuminating the graves of two friends who would be together even in death. On one was an etching of a bunny now being feed by a yellow pegasus in the full bloomof her youth. On the other was single a single sentence. "An Act of Kindness Is Never Wasted."
Bright Bulb and Tinker Toy
Chapter 2 Bright Bulb and Tinker Toy
The stack of parchment was twice as tall as she was. Bright Bulb rubbed her eyes with her hooves as she stared tiredly up at the small mountain that was her to do work. "Why do I do this to myself?" she wondered as she looked and stared up at the stained glass windows depicting some of the great myths and legends of ancient Equestria. The glass was exquisite, made up of plates that depicted a small part that when put together made up a much larger scene. The window to her left showed the creation tale of the two mighty spheres Luna the moon and Celestia the sun, respectively. The creation story said that a great mare of flaming mane had created the world and its creatures in total darkness. Than upon seeing that the world was black the great mare had created Celestia and Luna to brighten the world whether it be day or night. Of course that was only a pony version of the act of creation. Griffons and Zebras had their own unique myth and folklore.
Bright Bulb had always loved stories and nothing excited her more than the ancient stories about gods and monsters, such as Cerberus the guardian of the gates of the underworld, Tirek the legendary ruler of The Midnight Castle, Chrysalis ruler of the Changelings and stealer of love, and Discord god of chaos. But all were noting compared to RedEye. Glancing to her right Bright Bulb marveled at the craftsmanship that depicted in painstakingly done panes of liquid gold and ruby red, the defeat of Redeye, the great demon of darkness by the Lightbringer herself. No other image thought Bright Bulb, so perfectly captured the victory of good over evil than the Lightbringer, brown haired and with eyes of emerald green, smashing her great hoof onto the neck of her opponent, her sword raised high, the six great sages smiling down on her as she prepared to deliver the killing blow. Looking behind her Bright Bulb saw the biggest window depicting the Elementals, the six Ponies who had started out as sages before the Great War and the ensuing dark age that had lasted for untold ages.
Bright Bulb cast her gaze down as she looked around the Church Royal Library at her fellow classmates. Some of her professors were milling about, and she noticed several members of the church of the Lightbringer in their brown robes, hoods pulled over their heads. In their hooves were clutched copies of The Book of Littlepip, said by the Church to be an account of the odyssey of the Lightbringer from a cave where she was raised and hidden from her enemies, to her voyage around the face of Equestria where she performed miracles, founded her church which she left in the hands of her disciples, and cast down the great demon himself before going off to unknown lands and out of Equestria forever.
But all that wasn't true. The way the world worked could be perfectly explained by pony science. Pegasus wings could be perfectly explained through evolution, just like earth pony strength and unicorn horns. There were no such things as alicorns, dragons, parasprites, or anything else of that nature. After all her house founder the sage Twilight would never believe in something that couldn't first be observed and studied. And yet instead of trying to get a P.H.D in science like so many other members of her family, (all of whom sported cutie marks of things like beakers and periodic table elements), her cutie mark was a simple scroll. And given that she had no aptitude for her family's discipline, Bright Bulb decided to become a scholar instead. And after four years of studying a subject many ponies felt as worthless in a non academic world, and a crushing bit debt, what did she have to show for it but many sleepless nights, no social life, and the huge pile of work that still loomed over her daydreaming head.
"Wake up dummy!" screeched a voice in her ear. Bright Bulb jerked her head up in suprise, actually managing to contort her body in such a way that she fell hooves over backwards and landed in a tumbled mess on the floor. She glanced up into the blue eyes of her best friend the caramel colored pegasus, Toy Tinker.
Toy Tinker was brash, ego driven, and could be downright annoying at times. But she had also been her best friend since kindergarten and she loved her almost as much as her own family. It was a good thing because Tinker's father hated his daughter for the qualities he felt besmirched the proud legacy of The House of Dash with its emblem of a rainbow thunderbolt going through a cloud. The sage Dash was supposed to have been fierce, loyal, graceful, and a brilliant tactician. She also carried no ego, bore no grudge, and never ever let herself get carried away. In fact stories told of the sage Twilight visiting her and asking for advice during The Great War. It was all in The Book of Dash, which to many ponies was sacred gospel. To be any pony and descended from a sage was a great honor. One that Tinker Toy just didn't seem to want to let go of. Pity she never seemed to grasp the whole no ego part of the sages character. "You had better move your flank, Bulb or you're going to be late to your dads class again!"
Bright Bulb swallowed hard, glancing up at the mountain of paperwork, a good chunk of which was required reading for Parchment's course. Speaking of fathers and legacies Stained Parchments was part of hers.
As Tinker Toy flew out the door yelling at the other students to move out of her way. Bright Bulb shut her eyes thinking that today couldn't be off to a worse start, before hurrying to catch up to her friend. "So what do you think about that stallion in Rotwang's class huh? Pretty hunky right? If I had ten minutes alone with him..." Bright Bulb closed her eyes as she heard Tinker Toy go off on the statistics and measurements of every stallion in all her classes. Lord knows Tinker spent so much time out of the room she and Bright Bulb shared that Tinker could have had sex with every one of them multiple times. "So what stallion has your eye Bright?"
At this simple question Bright Bulb hid her face from her friend as she desperately racked her brains for an answer. She wasn't interested in stallions, but mares, and had been exclusively attracted to her own sex since she was sixteen. Good luck telling her best friend that though. For all her virtues Bright Bulb thought Tinker wouldn't be the most understanding of ponies.
"I'm still looking Tinker. I'll let you know when I find one though. Lord knows I could use your advice on the subject." She decided to test the waters a bit. "There's a mare in my astronomy class who I think like me more than as a classmate." I'm not sure how to tell her my barn door just doesn't go that way." Tinker Toy crinkled her nose like someone had stuck a bit of dung under it before answering. "Gross. Mares with mares is just...unsettling. Stallions with stallions is worse though. Imagine the great sages or the Lightbringer being interested in mares? Absolutely disgusting." Never mind thought Bright Bulb that pony myth was full of legends of love between the same genders. Even the sage Twilight was supposed according to one legend loved a redeemed sage named Sunset Shimmer. Some ponies went so far as to even call Shimmer the "lost sage." These ponies fought for her inclusion among the main six, even petitioning for glass windows to be made of her. Most scholars however thought her just made up considering there was no evidence for her existence unlike the relics and writings of the six that adorned the temples of the world.
With a heavy heart Tinker followed her friend down the hall stopping at their dormroom to get their things before hurrying on to class. When she opened the door she gasped. Standing before her in the middle of the room was a zebra, a female apparently, strong, muscle very evidently woven through her body like knots of coiled rope. But it hadn't been the zebra that had elicited the gasp. Next t the zebra was a pony in a cloak that to Bright Bulbs eyes was the most gorgeous mare she had ever seen. Indeed so awestruck was she that it was only in a sort of dreamy mental fog that she saw the mare remove her cloak before taking a seat in the middle of the room. With an impatient wave the stranger beckoned them in before announcing herself. "Hello you two. My name is Dynne Sappho and this charming partner of mine is Zarra. Now please close that door we have a lot to talk about."
