Devil in the Dust

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away...

What? I'm sick of talking about me. Really. So you get a meanwhile, thousands of miles away.

Sturdy Gaffer's shack, not that you can call it a house, was the original one. The first building that he and I made all those weeks ago from the splintered wood and decrepit trees that dot the coast of Tartarus. He awoke to the sound of chanting.

"Red King. Save Us. Red King. Lead Us. Red King. Return to Us."

He was too tired for this. Ever since Ayre left they'd been getting worse. The red crowns were everywhere now. On buildings. Plastered on signs. Some smart pony had discovered ochre at least, so now they were all paint and not blood. Still Tartarus was officially back on the map, straddling the dead corpse of Australis and riding it into a new blood red dawn.

Sturdy took a look out of his front door-curtain. Oh. They'd made another statue. Ayre had been gone for three days and they already had more than a dozen statues, each made by an individual or a family. To "Honour the Red King who will Save Us." they always replied. Sturdy even had one. It was the size of a hoof. For some strange reason, it had wings and a horn.

Which should tell you everything you need to know.

Sturdy knew that the praying and the kowtowing that these statues 'needed' would last at least another hundred or so verses. Which was far too many. The princesses never demanded elaborate worship. Only on their holy days did they-

Ayre never demanded worship. He wore the mantle they made for him, and he lead them out of their thirst for death because he saw that they could live. He gave them law and seemed to make food appear as if conjured. He worked magic where magic was impossible.

And that was the reason that Sturdy had a hoof-sized statue of Ayre hidden under one of the floorboards. He should have known better. He was right beside the now Red King when he stumbled through his 'miracles', carried him through an endless desert and defended him from very mortal ponies bent on their death. He had seen him eat a pony, for...the sake of something. Faith was in short supply in Sturdy Gaffer's home. It may have run rampant outside, but there it was so much blood and smoke.

He tried to go back to sleep. He really did. The chanting was incessant. The stamping started soon after as the ponies outside whipped themselves into a religious fervor which only served to make the chanting louder and faster. Nope, not happening. Sturdy wished he had a pillow to cover his ears.

Or the standing order from the Red King to just kill them.

Now, was that so bad? A short interlude that is very important to the story. Besides, Sturdy is more important than me, in the long run.

You'll see.

Right, back to your regularly scheduled me.

I had to live up to my end of the bargain. Discord said giant moose chaos and giant moose chaos was what I was going to do. I followed his floating, snickering form through the gardens and up to a spot on the castle's outer wall, that he just walked through. Noting that this little bit wasn't solid I walked through it too. Or at least, tried to. The wall was as solid as the ponies who built it. Which, knowing earth ponies, was very.

"Problems, neighbor?" the irksome spirit poked his head out of the rock to smirk at me.
"No problems, just something that doesn't know how to lead someone."
"Something? My my, you are a rude one."
"It's a non-specific term. I've seen a lot of different species."
"Indeed." raised eyebrow and that smirk again.
"So, is the wall going to stay passable this time?"
"Oh ruin the fun." His head disappeared through the stone.

This time, I just touched it. Since my fingers slipped through I figured it was safe, so I walked through the wall, holding my breath and closing my eyes. Like a gullible idiot. Tell me, which of you can tell me what Canterlot is located on top of? That's right, a ridiculously steep mountain. And what did I have no possible way of knowing at the time? That Canterlot is located on top of a ridiculously steep mountain. Do you see where I'm going here?

The wind whistling past my ears was the cue to open my eyes. Not ashamed to admit I screamed. I screamed until it was hard to breathe. That mountain is huge, which any pegasus can tell you. Great view, though. The candy-land stretched out before you. Too-green trees and too-blue rivers and lakes.

I my head as I fell, I heard the rumbling of the storm. Not a shower of petals and sunshine from this sickly-sweet place, but a real storm. So it had hitched a ride.

"Okay, okay. I know we don't get along sometimes but I'm going to die and that would really suck and oh look a giant brown thing let's go over there"

I can never really remember the feeling when the storm takes control. But I remember standing in the middle of a glass crater in the middle of a field, surrounded by slightly singed black goop. Taking a proper look at my surroundings, I noticed a number of ponies gathered under a banner, also covered in slightly singed black goop. And a floating draconequuis. Covered in brown goop. I think I can remember fluttering slightly, as if gravity hadn't properly caught up.

"You..." Discord stammered.
"Me." I replied without thinking.
"You ruined...my...GIANT MOUSSE!" He threw his claw and paw to the sky as if in rage, then licked himself clean.

In one lick. I...even....don't...know...

"Well, this was supposed to be a little party I threw together with little Luna to say hello and welcome to Equestria, but...this is far better, don't you think, Lulu?" He scooped some of the now scattered mousse from the angriest looking pony in the crowd and ate it.
"I..."
"Oh. You'd better run, little King. I remember the last time she was like this was when I-"
"DISCORD!"
"She's lost it. Run!" He pointed away from the castle.

I ran. Oh yes, I ran. Not staying around there.

I was sane.