What Might Have Been

Armed with this new determination, Artemis set out the next evening to seek out a friend. Since this was one of the few evenings when there was no social gathering going on at the palace itself, he went to the only place he could think of to find ponies, the city of Coltstantinople.

By habit as much as for any other reason, he soared above the streets towards the Neigha Sophia, his great cathedral. Mine... but only in my own head. He sighed a bit as he flew. The cathedral was dedicated to both Solaris and himself. But though Artemis thought of it as his, for he had conceived it, Solaris ruled there as much as he ruled in the palace. Sol Invictus, the unconquerable sun, ruling all. Whereas I am Lune Aeturnus, the eternal moon. I merely endure.

Still, it did always lift his spirits to walk beneath the vast dome and see the shining murals, some of which he had laid with his own hoof. The moonrise services had concluded shortly before Artemis arrived, so though the building was far from deserted, a hushed quiet hung over it. He walked towards the altar, his head lifting a little higher, his mane and tail flowing, the stars that sprinkled them sparkling brilliantly.

"My Lord Artemis." Artemis looked down to see a cream-colored pegasus stallion in priest's robes bowing deeply at his side.

"Arise," he said regally, easily taking up the formal mantle of godhood here in this place.

The stallion, practically a colt really, bobbed to his feet with youthful energy. "How may I serve you, my Lord?"

Artemis considered the answer to that for a moment. He had come here to somehow meet a friend. But how? Especially if everypony he met bowed and scraped like that? He tried to remember how he had first met Starswirl. She had approached him at some social event or other, he thought. He frowned, trying to dredge up the details. Starswirl had... introduced herself? And then begun talking about a herbology she'd been working on, Artemis suddenly recalled. Yes. Very well.

"What is your name?"

"Bright Path, my Lord."

"You need not call me 'Lord,' Bright Path. My name is Artemis."

Bright Path gave him a somewhat wide-eyed look. "Artemis. Yes my Lord. I mean Artemis. I mean..."

Artemis tried very hard to laugh, aware that doing so might upset the young stallion. He yanked his mind back to his goal. Starswirl had become his friend through talking about her projects. He would get to know this pony similarly. "What work occupies you here, Bright Path?"

"Oh, well, I, uhm... right now I dust, mostly."

Artemis blinked. "Dust?"

Bright Path gestured to the vast space around them with one wing. "It gets dusty high up. I'm the newest and the youngest pegasus here for now, so I get to fly up and dust."

"Ah, I see. I, uh, trust that dusting is not your life's goal?"

Bright Path smiled at that. He seemed to be becoming more at ease, and Artemis felt pleased. This was, perhaps, working. "No, not at all! I want to do big things. My cutie mark is because I can always find the way to what I want. I want to go far, someday."

"I'm sure you will," said Artemis. It was good, to see the flames of such young enthusiasm. It was not, quite, the collaborative friendship he had sought, but perhaps it could become such. Especially if Bright Path had any interest in his own ideas. "Tell me, are you required to stay here and dust further?" he asked.

Bright Path looked a bit wide-eyed again at that. "If you wish me to go somewhere, my L- I mean Artemis, I'm sure the Fathers would let me go."

"I am working on a project, involving the sun and mirrors. I would enjoy discussing it with you, if you have any interest in such things."

"It would be an honor," said Bright Path.

Artemis frowned a little bit at that. Was the youngster agreeing because he was interested, or because he was overawed by Artemis? He looked down at Bright Path, who was looking up at him with shining, enthusiastic eyes, and smiled. He seemed genuine enough. "Let us go and obtain permission for you to accompany me, in that case."

Permission was easily obtained from the Father in charge of young initiates, and Artemis promptly teleported himself and Bright Path back to his rooms, leaving said Father blinking in surprise in his wake.

Bright Path was blinking too, staring around the room and drinking in the dozens of projects in progress, the art supplies, the tools, and the finished work that was scattered all about.

"Welcome to my home," said Artemis with a smile. "This is where I create."

"They say you created the stars..." breathed Bright Path.

"Long ago I did. These days my projects tend to be more modest in scope. But I like to think I still make things of beauty. Here is what I'm working on now." He crossed to a work bench where a large crucible sat atop a scattering of bricks. Next to it were several curved disks of glass with leaded backs. Mirrors. Artemis levitated one and carried it over to the window, where moonlight was streaming in. He held the mirror in the light. "There. The idea is that the curve focuses the light into a narrow point." He put one hoof in the right spot, and an irregular blob of slightly brighter moonlight appeared on it. "See?"

"Can I...?" said Bright Path, still sounding awed.

"Of course."

Bright Path put his own hoof in the beam, looking at the bright spot on it. "Wow. That is amazing!"

Artemis chuckled. "Not as amazing as it could be. I still haven't quite gotten it right. You see how the light is a broad patch? I want to get it to a narrow point. But I can't shape the mirror's curve precisely enough yet."

Bright Path looked faintly puzzled, but then he smiled at Artemis again. "It's still really great."

"Well, thank you." Artemis felt a faint flicker of disappointment that Bright Path hadn't been able to help him think of possible solutions to his problem with the mirror the way Starswirl would have been. But at least he seemed enthused about it, which was more than he could say for Solaris! "Shall I show you some of my other projects?"

"Oh yes, please! I'd love that."

When Artemis finally teleported back to the cathedral with Bright Path the moon was high in the sky, the night half over. After seeing that the young stallion was safely off to the dormitory, Artemis returned home with a smile on his face. It hadn't been the same as being with Starswirl, but then perhaps it wasn't right to try to replace his old friend. I still miss you, he thought, directing it towards an afterlife he still was not entirely sure existed. If it did, he would never visit it. I will probably always miss you. But it's good to have somepony to talk with again, even if he can never match your brilliance.

He retired to his bed feeling as though things were going well.

The next day, after dealing with his royal duties and raising the moon for the night, Artemis set off for the cathedral once again.

He arrived just at the close of the moonrise mass. Not wanting to cause a stir, he pulled a veil of shadow over himself and watched as ponies filed out of the cathedral. Once the crowd had left he entered, still wrapped in shadow and illusion. Nopony noticed him as he made his way through the tangle of antechambers and connected buildings that huddled around the grand central structure like mushrooms at the foot of a great tree.

He found the dorm room where Bright Path was staying and, after finally releasing his illusion, tapped on the door with one hoof.

It was opened by a young unicorn, whose eyes instantly widened in stunned shock. "Uh..." He gaped at Artemis for a long moment, then suddenly plastered himself to the floor. "Lord Artemis!"

"Rise, please," said Artemis.

The unicorn rose, still looking wide-eyed and stunned.

"Is Bright Path here?" asked Artemis.

"Y-yes." The unicorn still stared, stunned.

Suddenly he was pulled out of the door by Bright Path, who stood there beaming, his chest puffed out with pride. "See?" he said, turning to look behind him as he spoke, "I was telling the truth. Lord Artemis has given me his favor."

Suddenly there was a crowd of young stallions just inside the door, gaping at Artemis. Artemis had never really enjoyed being gaped at, but he was used to it enough by now, so he merely favored the colts with a regal nod. "Bright Path? Are you free for the evening?"

"Of course!" said Bright.

"Excellent." Artemis nodded again to the still gaping colts, then his horn lit and he and Bright winked out, to reappear in Artemis' workroom. Bright looked around curiously. He wasn't wearing his robe tonight so Artemis could see that his cutie mark was a small maze, with a golden line showing the path to its heart.

"What will you show me tonight?" asked Bright. "I think I saw everything here last night. Have you made something new?"

"No, I haven't made anything new. I'm still working on the mirror, but I haven't gotten it right yet." A half dozen more imperfect mirrors now lay on the table beside the one he'd shown Bright last night.

"Then why...?" Bright trailed off as if he couldn't quite think what to ask. Artemis had to smile at his confusion.

"I thought I'd try teaching you something. Would you like to learn how to create?"

"But I'm only a pegasus, I don't have any magic."

"You don't need magic to create. There are all kinds of things you can do with just your hooves. Many of the things I showed you last night had no magic in them at all."

"Really?"

"Yes really. Tell me, which of the things I showed you last night did you like best?"

Bright gazed around the room, his eyes darting from one thing to the next. "They were all so amazing, it's hard to choose just one," he said. Then his eyes fell on one object in particular that dominated one wall almost entirely. "But I think I like that one, the painting."

Artemis regarded the canvas, the largest of those that currently adorned his walls. It was a painting of an ancient battle. He remembered the real scene that had inspired the artwork, even though it had been several thousand years since then. He had painted himself into it, but as a small figure, far in the background. Solaris too was there, also distant, a glowing form hanging in the sky like his own sun. The focus in the foreground was on a pony warrior, locked in combat with a smallish dragon. The rest of the scene was crowded with ponies, dragons, weapons, fire, ruined war machines, and a giant fortress that obscured most of the sky.

"Well, you'll want to start with something smaller and with fewer elements in it," said Artemis. "But I think I can show you how." He started rummaging through the clutter of drawers and chests and things piled on tables until he came up with a pair of canvases, a hoof-full of paint jars, a jar of oil, and several brushes. He then rummaged again and found a pair of easels and a palette. Nodding in satisfaction he set this all up while Bright watched with interest.

"Don't expect to be good at first, this takes some practice, but the first parts, at least, are easy." He opened up a few of the jars, smiling happily to see the oil paints within were still good. "First we're just going to do a distant background," he explained. "Rough in some sky colors and ground colors. You can just follow what I do, this part is simple." He took up a large brush in one hoof and stood upright in front of the painting. Bright wobbled just a bit on standing, he was obviously unaccustomed to going on his hind legs. Seeing that, Artemis rested one hoof on the base of the easel, and Bright followed his example, steadying himself. Artemis smiled. He dipped his brush in the blue pigment and started adding bright color to the sky in broad sweeps.

Bright's brush strokes were uncertain and the paint blobbed and clumped up, so the end result was a bit patchy, but he too filled the upper third of the canvas with blue. "Here, why don't you see if you can even that up a bit," said Artemis. "Like this." He dipped his brush in the oil jar, then reached over to Bright's canvas and used the oil to help smoothed out one of the rougher bits.

"All right." Bright nodded, a look of intense concentration on his face, and followed suit. Soon what he had looked almost as even as what Artemis had painted.

"Very good! Now let's do some ground. First you'll want to blend down the sky a little..." He demonstrated, Bright copying him again, and eventually both canvases were completely covered in paint. Just solid simple colors, but it was a start. When it was done Artemis set down his brush and regarded them with a smile.

"There. Now we'll need to wait a few days for it to dry before going on to the next step."

Bright blinked at him. "What? Days? Why so long? We can't finish it now?"

"No. This is oil paint. Trying to paint anything on top of the base layer now would just result in a smeared mess. And oils take a long time to dry. At least one day, probably three our four."

"But... I don't want to wait that long. I want to learn how to paint now."

"Well," Artemis frowned. Bright was still quite young, but with such impatience, how was he going to learn anything? "I suppose I could teach you tempura instead. But then you'll have to learn how to mix the paints yourself, they have to be done fresh each time."

"And how long does that take?"

Artemis shrugged. "A few hours."

"Oh." Bright dropped back to all fours, looking irritated. "Is there something else I could learn that doesn't take so much time?"

"Art takes time, that's just how it is."

"Well, I guess I'm not meant to be an artist then. My cutie mark isn't about art anyway."

"Heh. Neither is mine, Bright."

Bright opened his mouth, then shut it. Then suddenly he perked up and smiled brightly. "Don't worry. If you really want to teach me art, I'm sure I can learn. I'll just wait for the paint to dry, like you said."

Artemis smiled back. "That's more like it. While we wait there are lots of other things you can try a hoof at. Why don't I show you how to make a soapstone bead? That's not quite art, but primitive ponies used to value them very highly. And they don't take very long to make at all."

"That sounds like fun."

An hour later Bright had a little pile of round stone beads, carved from soft soapstone that took hardly any time to work at all. Artemis strung them on a cord for him, and tied it around his neck. "Now you look like a barbarian," said Artemis with a chuckle.

"Ha! So I do!"

"And now I should probably return you to your home, so you can sleep."

"I'm not tired yet," said Bright. "Maybe we could walk back to the cathedral, enjoy seeing the city?"

"Well..."

"I never really get to go out at night. And I'm not tired, I'm one of the night priests, I help with your ceremonies. So I'm used to staying up late." He smiled at Artemis.

"All right."

They walked through the quiet streets, their hooves often the only sound on the cobbles. They did meet a few ponies coming and going, and every time they did Bright would lift his head, arching his neck and showing, Artemis thought, a great deal of pride in his little string of barbarian finery. He was bouncy and full of enthusiasm even when they were alone though. He talked, and got Artemis to talk more than he had in years. He ended up telling Bright much more than he'd intended, including some of his frustrations with his brother.

"Solaris is just so..." Artemis waved a wing vaguely as he walked, "He wins at everything. He always has, even back before there were other ponies, when we used to fight each other for control of the sky, he usually won."

"The services say that you share the sky in harmony," said Bright, sounding a little scandalized at the heretical notion of his gods fighting.

"We do now, yes. Things change. He is my friend now. My brother. And I do care for him a great deal. He cares for me too, he has been a good friend. Still... it's hard, when he always beats me at everything."

"But you are powerful too, aren't you?"

"Compared with an ordinary unicorn, yes. Not compared with him though." Artemis sighed. He looked up at his moon, high in the sky. Then down again, and saw the domed bulk of the cathedral, glowing with candlelight even near midnight. "Looks like we're here."

Bright also glanced at the sky. "Will you stay for midnight mass?"

"No. I feel a little odd attending my own ceremonies."

"You attend the solstices, and equinoxes..."

Artemis smiled. "I preside at the solstices and equinoxes, along with Solaris. That's different. But in any case I'll be returning home now."

"Goodnight then."

"Goodnight."

Artemis took wing into the night sky, feeling happy as he soared beneath his moon. He had found a friend.

"Bright Path! I have it!"

Artemis appeared in the middle of the dorms in a flash of moonlight. It was only a few hours before dawn but he was hardly aware of that.

Sleepy colts blinked at him in surprise. Bright Path too just lay in his bed for a moment, looking confused. "Artemis?"

"The mirror! I've figured it out!"

"Oh wow!" Bright Path jumped out of bed. "How did you solve it?"

Artemis felt a flash of glee at the eager question. This was how it was supposed to be! "I'll show you!" he said. Then he and Bright Path vanished in another flash of moonlight. Behind them a room full of stunned colts exchanged glances, as if trying to figure out what had just happened.

Artemis and Bright appeared in Artemis' work room, where Artemis immediately went to the crucible resting on its insulating bricks. "Here. Let me heat the glass first, and then we can see if it actually works!" Using his magic he hastily dumped glass sand into the crucible. Then, with the careful application of power, he warmed it till the glass within glowed and flowed. He lifted the ball of glowing, molten glass free as Bright stared on in wonder. He shaped it into a thick disk "Now, here's the trick, I hope," he said, and started to spin the disk. The spinning caused the molten glass to flow towards the edges, where his magic kept it constrained into a circular outline. The result was that the glass formed a perfect curve between a thicker edge and the thinner center.

"There," he breathed as the perfectly curved disk hung in the air. "That's the shape. The perfect shape I haven't been able to get. Spinning was the key. But it's too thick for the light to refract properly, of course, so there's one more step. This is really a mold, not a mirror." A second ball of molten glass rose into the air, and pressed into the cupped interior of the first. A paper-thin layer of magic kept the two from fusing. Magic pushed the second ball out into a thin layer all across the first. Then Artemis used his power to blow air against it, like an earth pony glassmaker with a glass pipe, the perfectly even pressure of the air smoothing the thin, curved sheet of glass so that it was of even thickness all the way around.

"Now I have to hold it while it cools." He found himself wishing it could cool faster, but he didn't want to ruin it. After more than a month working on this idea he wasn't going to rush it now, eager as he was to see if it worked.

"How long will that take?" asked Bright Path, his eyes shining as he stared at the still-glowing lumps of glass.

"Not long. Glass cools swiftly. And need it still hot to lead the back. Just not molten. So it will be ready soon."

There was a long silence while both ponies watched the glowing disk, seeing the glow slowly begin to fade.

"I have good news too, you know," said Bright Path into that silence.

"Oh?"

"Yes. I'm being elevated to full priest. I'll be moving out of the dorms and into my own room soon. And the best part is, no more dusting!"

"Why that's wonderful! Congratulations!"

"Thank you. I guess it's a good night for both of us, isn't it?"

"It will be if this works," said Artemis.

Soon the glass had stopped glowing. It was still too hot to touch, but with his magic that didn't matter. Artemis set the glass mold on the waiting bricks, then floated the mirror itself over to a workbench where a ceramic pot full of lead waited. A thought flashed the metal into molten life. It did not glow, but it bubbled and flowed gently. Artemis pulled a blob of silvery liquid from the pot and painted the curved back of his mirror. In only seconds the lead had cooled. "There," he said. "It's ready."

"Does it work?"

"Let's find out."

The angle of moonlight at this hour was such that none came in directly through the windows. That was easily solved though. He opened the door that lead from his workroom to his bedroom. Bright Path trailed after him, gaping at the large, luxurious bed, the smaller worktable, the desk piled with papers, and the finished artwork that cluttered the room. But Artemis merely strode through it towards the balcony beyond.

There, in the lowering moonlight, he held up the mirror with his magic, and put a hoof in front of it, where the focus point should be. "Ha! It works!" A tiny, incredibly intense, speck of moonlight glowed on his hoof.

"Can I see?" said Bright Path, sounding awed once more.

"Don't touch the mirror, it's still hot," said Artemis, and held it out towards Bright. He put a hoof in front of it, and gasped at the little light. "Wow."

Artemis laughed in delight. His project had succeeded. And his friend was here with him to see it. Everything was just perfect.

Artemis trotted through the Neigha Sophia, his hooves ringing on the intricately tiled floor. He gazed once again on the dome above, with its mosaics of sun and moon, himself and his brother. It was good. Everything was good. He turned and picked his way towards one of the subsidiary buildings where Bright Path's new room was. He could have gone there directly from outside, but he liked taking a path that passed through the cathedral proper. He was sure that nothing could ever dim his enjoyment of the beauty there.

In the corridor that led to Bright Path's room his hooves no longer rang, muffled by a worn carpet runner that covered the plainer stones here. He still trotted happily, his mane and tail streaming behind him in an invisible current of lunar power. Ahead he heard voices, coming from one of the many offices and other utilitarian rooms located in this area. He recognized Bright Path's voice. His ears pricked forward, listening with curiosity.

"I absolutely insist, sir."

"Bright, I don't doubt you'll go far in time, but it's too soon. You've only been a priest for three weeks."

"I have the favor of Lord Artemis, you know."

Artemis halted, just short of the half open door from which the voices came. His ears flicked uneasily.

The other voice sighed. "And that is why you are the youngest priest here. We fully recognize your important position with regards to Our Lord of Darkness, Bright."

"I'm not sure you do." Bright Path's voice was hard and cold. "He is teaching me things, you know."

Artemis snorted at that, anger beginning to mix with the unease. He was teaching the colt to paint!

The other voice was a little uneasy now. "Bright Path... I don't doubt you. Believe me, I don't. But there's only so much I can do."

"Then perhaps its time I approach somepony else, and let them know how little respect you show to Artemis' favored."

Artemis felt a cold knot of anger and pain lodge in his chest. He'd heard enough. He stepped forward, into the doorway. "I think I know somepony who you should approach about your ambitions, Bright. Namely me."

"Artemis!" Bright Path looked up, his ears going down with sudden guilt. The other priest, an older unicorn with a spring green coat, looked up too, his eyes wide. "I can explain," said Bright, frantically.

Artemis scowled. His mane whipped faster in the unseen wind as greater power flowed around him, summoned by his anger. He didn't reach for it, he would not break his vow, but he felt it lashing at him. "Explain how you're using me to get what you want, you mean? Explain why you lied, just now, about being my student?"

"You are teaching me, it wasn't a lie!"

"I WAS TEACHING YOU TO PAINT!" bellowed Artemis, letting some of the leash slip from his anger, if not his magic. "I WAS NOT TEACHING YOU THE SECRETS OF THE COSMOS!"

Bright shrank back from him, but his mouth was set in a hard angry line and his ears were back now. "I never said you were!"

"YOU KNEW PERFECTLY WELL WHAT THIS PONY WOULD THINK!" Artemis still spoke at the top of his lungs, in the projected voice he used to let a packed crowd hear him at formal occasions. He didn't care who heard. He wanted everypony to hear how angry he was, how betrayed he was. "YOU LIED, AND YOU USED ME! YOU ARE NOT MY STUDENT, OR MY FRIEND, ANY MORE!"

"Fine! Fine!" shouted Bright. Seeing his ambitions crumbling all around him he reached for the one thing he knew would wound Artemis the most. "I never wanted to be your student anyway, or even your priest! I wanted to join the day priesthood, and serve Solaris! I only served you because they were full, they wouldn't take me!"

Artemis stepped back, stunned. He felt balanced suddenly on a knife's edge. He could fall to one side, into a rage that might well level the cathedral, or to the other, into a wounded despair that would drag him down into inescapable blackness.

"Go away," hissed Bright Path at him in mad defiance, his ears all the way back now. "Go away! I'm not your friend any more."

Artemis took another step back, and despair won. His mane went suddenly limp, the lunar wind vanishing. Then he too vanished, winking away in an instant.

Behind him Bright Path fell to the ground and began to sob, and whether he was weeping for his lost ambitions or for his lost friendship even he wasn't sure.