The Scope of Love
by Present Perfect
Chapter 1
My first time seeing Princess Luna up close is unforgettable: I'm immediately driven to my knees by a force -- no, an instinct -- that's all at once new and intimate. I stay genuflecting for but a few moments before she says, "Rise, my little pony," with a hint of softness that I almost mistake for a giggle.
"What is your name?"
"S-Sea Wishes, Your Highness." I swallow. Those bits of me not taken up by confusion and curiosity are all nerves. All I can think of is how much shorter she seems in person. I mean, she's taller than me, yes, but I remember having seen Celestia from about four rows back the last time the Summer Sun Celebration was in Fillydelphia, and she was just so... tall! So I guess I've always assumed that all Princesses would be the same. But Luna is only maybe a head taller than me, the size of a large stallion, if sleeker and longer of barrel. She inclines her head toward me and I realize I've been staring.
She smiles. "From this day, most will know you as Pisces."
"Uh..." I glance around the dark, starry void we've been standing in for the last few minutes. Being here is really not the strangest thing that's happened to me all day. "Forgive me, your highness, if I don't really understand what's going on."
Her smile does not waver. "Few do at first. I find it is usually best to let the others explain. But for the moment, let me assure that you are in no danger, you are not dead--" she giggles and I have to assume she gets the question a lot-- "and that you are bound for a place few ponies ever get to see. You are now the bearer of a Zodiac Mantle, the Mantle of Pisces to be specific, and a new world has been opened to you."
All I can do is blink. There are so many questions to be asked right now it's like they're ping-pong balls bouncing around in my brain. So much caroming is going on, I can't focus on one long enough to turn it into words.
She closes her eyes for a moment, and a light shines into the void. It comes from a portal that has just opened up a few paces away.
"There is much you will learn over the next few days, Sea Wishes, and it may become overwhelming. All I ask is that you trust in me and put fear aside, and you shall have any answer which you seek. For now, follow me."
"Yes, Princess."
Again, I feel as though I have no choice to obey her command, yet there is no reason why I wouldn't. I simply don't think twice as I follow her through the portal, having to trot a little to keep up, and emerge on the other side in a room.
It's a big room. Let's try that again. This room is filled with ornate marble pillars, marble everything really, that stretch up so far I'm surprised there aren't clouds at the top. They form a hallway in the middle of the room, beyond which I can see more marble expanding towards infinity. In the center of the room are steps leading to a sunken area that is filled with cushions, big poofy ones that look really luxurious. They're covered in tassles and stuff and just... they look really nice, okay?
And I realize there's a fountain somewhere because I can hear water running. In fact, I can smell it. More than that, I can sense it. I know right where that fountain is now! This is kind of neat!
I turn to look at Luna. She's beaming at me.
"Welcome to your new home: Zodiac Hall!"
Then she stamps her hoof on the marble twice. The sound is clear and powerful and rings out through the infinite marble columns. She says nothing further, but I somehow understand the message: Come and meet your new friend!
A few seconds later, I can hear hoofsteps. Lots of hoofsteps, coming from both sides of the room. I look back at Luna, but she's gone, and the portal along with her. When I turn around, there is a magenta earth pony right in my face.
"Hi!" she exclaims, with nearly enough force to knock me backward. Her expression is one of near manic excitement, eyes wide and teeth a-grin. She's almost vibrating with how much she can barely contain her...
Those are giant crab pincers on her hooves.
She hops up and down, the pincers clonking against the ground, and sings, "The ramble twins crab liverish! Scaly scorpions are good waterfish!" With a gasp, she says, "Fish! That's you! Everypony come say hello to new Pisces!"
That close, her voice is earsplitting. I don't have time to do more than cringe as she's shoved out of the way by a goldenrod pegasus with purple and orange mane.
"Cancer, you are going to scare her!" she admonishes, frowning at the pony with the crab claws. I also realize that she has a large set of scales, like weighing scales, just floating behind her. What?
"I do ask that you please forgive her," she says to me. "She can be a tad... enthusiastic at times."
She then stares directly at me. Expectantly. Like she's waiting for...
"Oh. I forgive you... Cancer, right?"
Cancer clacks her claws together and squeals. "Yay, I'm forgiven!"
The pegasus then relaxes and smiles. "That's better. Again, I must apologize for the lack of decorum and protocol. My name is Libra and I would like to welcome you to our home." She clears her throat. "And before anypony else decides to barge in, might I suggest that we all introduce ourselves one at a time?" She stresses the last part like a mother scolding her foals for the thirtieth time about the same thing.
With another smile, Libra backs off and I see eight, no, nine more ponies. There appears to be a set of twins here. They're formed into kind of a semicircle with me at the focal point. Thankfully, they're all at a decent distance for personal space matters.
The first to step forward is a light blue earth pony with flowing white and blue mane and a sleepy expression. "Hey dudette," she says, and even sounds half asleep. "Name's Aquarius. Like, it's gnarly to meetcha and stuff. Pretty sure we'll get along just awesome. Special talent's pouring water on things and junk. Far out, right?"
"That's enough, sweetie," Libra says with a tired smile. Aquarius shakes my hoof and then stands next to her. I can't help but notice Libra's wing pull her a little closer.
Next is an orange pegasus, a stallion, with black mane and a bow, the kind you shoot arrows with, slung around his midsection. He grins and extends his hoof immediately, which I take.
"Heya, I'm Sagittarius! You can call me Sadge, everpony does! If you need anything, feel free to ask me, okay? Great meeting you!"
He leaves me smiling. That went well!
"Hello, dear," says the most soothing and motherly voice I have ever heard, Celestia's included. It comes from a white earth pony with teal mane. Her tail's been styled to split at the end and it looks similar to a dolphin's flukes. Most notable, though, are the wavy goat horns perched on her head. I want to say they're fake, but I can't see a headband.
"My name is Capricorn." She smiles, and only then do I notice the slight wrinkles under her eyes. "Welcome to our home." The way she says it does make me feel welcome. She gives me a soft hug, and then joins the circle again, prodding the mare beside her to come up next.
"Yeah, uh..." She clears her throat. She's a maroon earth pony with a dour expression, and her tail is quite long and has been styled as well, so that it comes to a point. Somehow, she's able to keep it raised over her head, and in that position, it looks almost threatening. "Nice to have a Pisces again. I guess. I'm Scorpio. Don't mess with what's mine and we won't have any problems."
She snorts and backs off without offering any sort of contact. Capricorn pouts softly at her and Scorpio's head lowers. She says something I can't hear.
"I'm Taurus!" His voice echoes throughout the room and his hoofsteps make the floor shake. A hoof like a steel rod slaps me across the back hard enough to knock the wind out of me. "Nice to meet ya, little lady! You're a pretty one, y'know? Too bad I already got me two fillies to take care of!"
He leans down, bringing the two enormous horns on the sides of his head within whacking distance of my own. "I got two horns," he whispers, "one for each of 'em."
"Oh, stop!" shouts a voice from the circle.
"She doesn't want to know!" says another voice, which sounds almost identical.
Four hooves push Taurus out of the way as he's just standing there, grinning and waggling his eyebrows at me, and he's replaced by the twins. They're both unicorns like me: one is turquoise with yellow mane and the other is yellow with turquoise mane. That's... really weird.
"Hi there!" says the first.
"Hi again!" says the second.
"Like everypony's said--"
"It's great that you could join us--"
"And I hope that you'll like it here--"
"With all your new friends!"
"Hi..." is all I can think to say. The twins grin simultaneously, and then speak as one.
"I'm Gemini!"
I pause, then ask, "Wait, both of you are named Gemini?"
They giggle. "No, silly, there's only one of me!"
"One mare, two locations!"
"It's kind of confusing--"
"But I'll explain more later!"
"Promise!"
Now my eyes are spinning. Thus I am completely unprepared when Gemini parts due to another pony nearly jumping on top of them. Her? This is going to take some getting used to.
As is this creature. I can't even tell if she's earth pony, pegasus or unicorn, because she's covered poll to pastern in a lion costume. A lion costume. That's the only way I can describe it: yellow cloth with a big brown poofy mane covering her head. The only bits of her I can see are her face and hooves, which are aqua, and her grey tail, which is braided.
"Raar!" she roars. "I'm Leo! I'm a lion!"
I stare. "Uh. Hi Leo. I like your lion outfit. It's very--"
"What outfit?" she sniffs and frowns. "I told you, I'm a lion! You'd better be nice, or I'll eat you, pony!"
She bares her teeth at me and then saunters off, tail swishing.
"You must forgive her," says a cultured voice to my right. I turn to see a pure white earth pony dressed in a flowing toga, her pink and magenta mane carefully styled and secured with flowers. She tosses her head slightly, eyeing me with a slight smile. I am overwhelmed by her grace.
"Leo is a tad... eccentric," she says in soft tones like water running over smooth rocks. "I am Virgo. Like Sagittarius, I would be quite happy to assist you in settling in to this place." Her smile lights warmth in my chest. "Welcome."
I have to admit, I was totally checking her out as she walked back into the circle. My attention was only broken as Libra cleared her throat.
"By my count, that was only ten introductions." She leaves the statement to hang in the air until somepony else clears his throat.
There in the back, and now moving forward, is a short blue earth pony stallion with a slightly darker blue mane and tail. On his head are large, lumpy horns that curl backward, setting him apart from both Capricorn and Taurus. His gaze studiously does not meet mine, and his speech is curt and clipped.
"Hello. I'm Aries. It's nice to meet you. Hope you'll fit in."
Then he shoves past Cancer and trots off into the indiscernible brightness that surrounds the room. More throats clear, and with murmured welcomes, the other ponies begin to filter back to wherever it was they were and whatever it was they were doing when I arrived.
"What was that all about?" I ask Libra, who's lingered behind, Aquarius sprawled over her back.
She offers me only a tight smile. "Aries... you'll have to give him some time to adjust. Recent events have been... hard on him."
It's then that I realize that all the others are moving off or standing around in pairs, or a trio in the case of Taurus and Gemini.
Cancer and Sagittarius.
Leo and Virgo.
Libra and Aquarius.
Scorpio and Capricorn.
Leaving Aries left out? That must have something to do with why he was so short with me, considering that all the others are paired off except...
Oh dear. Just what have I gotten myself into?
"You'll find out more, given time," Libra says quickly. It's obvious that she's reading my expression. "But like I said, please give him some time before you try and get to know him."
"Hey, what's with all the long faces?" Sadge says, flitting over and then cracking up at his own bad joke. "C'mon, Pisces, how about I give you the grand tour since introductions are over?"
"How 'bout I give you a hug?" cries Cancer, and leaps up at Sagittarius, who ducks out of the way.
"Hey! Not when I'm wearing my bow!"
"Hugs!" The crab pony seems undeterred by his altitude and clicks her pincers together happily. I suddenly understand why he's concerned about his bow, or more likely the string.
"C'mon, this way!" he says, and moves down the 'hallway' of pillars, with Cancer hopping and clicking behind him.
"G'wan," says Aquarius beside me. "Sadge is good ponies, plus he's one of the oldbies. He'll show ya what's what and stuff. Me, I'm gonna take a nap."
Having said that, she closes her eyes and plonks right down on Libra's withers. She simply rolls her eyes and plants her rump on the floor, her scales levitating in front of her. I'm really not sure how.
"Um," I say as I begin to follow Sadge. "It was nice meeting you all."
"Hm?" Libra looks up from her scales. I cannot fathom why they would hold her attention at the moment. "Oh yes! It was nice meeting you as well! You'll have plenty of time to get to know everypony better, don't worry!"
That actually makes me feel somewhat better about my situation. Yet as I clop across the marble to what actually becomes a hallway after a few feet, I realize that I still have no idea whatsoever what it is that's brought me here.
That's going to change.
