//------------------------------// // Redefining the Triforce // Story: Wounds and Weapons // by Zytharros //------------------------------// Redefining the Triforce Thirty minutes of moving carts, bodies, and other things later, we were in Sugarcube Corner. The shop had been dusty for several weeks. The Cakes hadn’t returned to Ponyville in time to inhabit their shop before the barrier fell, so for the last few months the food on the shelves had grown mouldy, rotten and disgusting. It all had to be removed and cleaned. Pinkie’s heart seemed to shatter at the thought of all the delectable sweets now ruined by the neglect of their creators’ absence, though she quickly recovered as she usually did, realizing it would be far more fun to make a new, fresh batch and helped with their removal. Some of the ingredients had spoiled as well, but Pinkie Pie, as always, had the most illogical methods I could think of to store stashes of stuff all over the building. We cleared out a lot of her hiding places, including some places she swore she had forgotten about years ago, yet the stuff inside was sometimes fresher than when she claimed she got it… …but that’s just Pinkie Pie for you. It was still a little… bewildering, to say the least. Within the remainder of the hour, we were using the stuff sometimes dated nearly a year old to bake a bevy of delectable confections. In fact, we spent the majority of the day stocking up for an extended hole-up in the confectionery. Rainbow initially told me to sit and do nothing, but Zytharros quickly requested my help and involved me in a couple recipe-gathering gigs. He told me to cover my eye with an eye patch to help me focus, and from there I was able to help without many distractions… …though I thoughtlessly did eat a couple muffins when they first came out… I love muffins!! It’s a bad addiction!! I’m sorry!! Anyway, in a matter of hours, we had restocked and fixed up the shop. We also noticed some black-cloaked ponies from in town enter Sugarcube Corner to buy some of our baked goods like they had before Crystal Fist’s attack. It was sparse, but we gladly sold some of our merchandise like we had. We had to tell them to keep it quiet we had reopened, though, which was a downer. We didn’t want Crystal Fist getting any ideas. Later that night, as everyone drifted off to sleep, I saw Zytharros creep outside and lie in front of Sugarcube Corner. The night watch was Rainbow Dash that night, but he wasn’t going to talk to her. He had this odd habit of going out into the night and talking to himself… kind of like I did with my grandma, except it was to a pony he referred to as “my Hero”. He mentioned all of us by name, talking earnestly about our skills. After listening to him for a while, even shedding some tears at the touching things he was saying about each of us, he finally got to me. “…may Derpy be given Your blessed wisdom as she leads those I had the opportunity to lead when I’m taken by the enemy,” he was saying to this unknown pony. “I know she’s a klutz, but You have never failed in placing the right person… or, in this world, pony… at the helm at the right time, no matter what their flaws were. I pray you’ll give her the wisdom, courage, and fortitude to serve in this capacity like I was blessed with. May You also put Your hand of protection… t-uh… arounnxznxnzsnnxznnz…” He winced as a new wave of pain took over his body. The evil within had continued its offensive. “My will is weak, Lord… please… help…” He fought in his own mind for a few minutes, resisting every urge to collapse like he was battling two trains while being trampled by a Wonderbolt Derby. I bit my lip, fighting my desire to leap out and try the bubble technique again. I knew it wouldn’t help, so I stood, helpless, shedding tears of anguish for my friend, feeling every ounce of his pain as if it were my own. Eventually, after seven-and-a-half excruciating minutes, he settled back down, continuing his… what did he call it… pray-ing… -er… pray-thing…? “May you also put Your hand of protection over her, leading her hooves, mind, and body to where You want this crew to go…” I crept outside, letting him finish the passionate, one-sided conversation. “I didn’t know you cared so much,” I said when he had finished. He jumped, then, turning and realizing it was me, he chuckled a little and let a breath escape. “Oh, Derpy! Thank Celestia it was you!” He patted a seat beside him on the doorstop. I took up a lying position beside him and smiled. “Who were you talking to, anyway?” I asked. He looked up at the stars. “My Hero, the one I trust for my salvation when I die.” “Celestia takes care of that,” I said matter-of-factly. I mean, all ponies are accompanied by Celestia to the afterlife, aren’t they? “You’ll go with Celestia when you die to… wherever it is ponies go.” Zytharros chuckled. “Remember, Derpy, I’m not a pony by nature.” “Oh, right,” I said, remembering the conversation from a while back, “Celestia summoning you to Earth and all that. It’s kinda hard to remember that after you’ve been a pony for so long.” Zytharros nodded. “I operate under a different set of afterlife rules than you do, though the same basic rules are still the same.” I looked at him curiously. “So, who controls your afterlife?” He looked back up at the stars. “The belief is a fragmented one among humans, mainly because as a collective race we’re not sure. Some believe in a higher power, like a god, nature, or the stars themselves. Even other humans are elevated by myth and legend to this level at times. Others believe in the complete absence of said power, or even any afterlife at all, and that we make our own way until we die. It’s generally accepted that it is a personal choice.” He shifted his focus to me again. “As for myself, I believe in God, and that this God has a Son who He sent to Earth to redeem me from whatever I do to offend Him. His power works through the Earth as his Holy Spirit.” He drew three triangles in the earth, with one stacked on top a pair, then a larger triangle around the rest. He roughed up the dirt in the middle triangle. “This is a symbol often called a ‘triforce’ in a game I used to play,” he said. “You can see three triangles here, but they combine to form one, large triangle. Each piece plays a part in the overall whole. Here’s what it’s come to mean to me…” He tapped the upper triangle. “The Father provides the judgment and jury, the rules and the regulations, and the law of all lands.” He tapped the left lower triangle. “The Son provides the love and care, and executes the will of the Father obediently.” He tapped the right lower triangle. “The Spirit is the pure and unfettered power of God, granted and removed as He sees fit to and from whomever He desires.” He re-outlined the three triangles. “This is the Trinity of my One God – a god that knows community within Himself.” “How can someone be three, and still be one?” I asked. “Look at the picture again,” he said. “Three triangles placed this way form a larger triangle – a complete triangle. In this way, the three pieces of the God I believe in form together to make one complete being.” “Oh! So it’s like if Celestia, Luna, and Cadence transformed into triangles, if you stuck them like this, you would have the royalty of Canterlot!” I exclaimed. “…But what’s this fourth triangle for?” I asked, indicating the one in the middle – the upside-down one made by the two converging, supporting triangles at the bottom. “Is there a fourth piece?” “I like to interpret that space in the drawing as a representation of a visually-irrepresentable thing He makes Himself – pure, virgin, untamed love,” Zytharros said. “Nothing can exist between these three except love – and that love is open for all to take. That is what drives me, and what I will strive to represent until the day I die – the concern for the welfare of all mankind… and all pony-kind.” He suddenly stomped a hoof in adamant pain, but it was a different kind of pain than before, almost a longing, bleeding pain of sorrow. “If it were up to me, no person on Earth or in Equestria would go hungry, thirsty, broke, or without the necessary help they need! If I had the resources, that is where I would be! That is where I strongly believe we are all called to be, both as pony-kind and as humankind – linking arms or legs with each other and giving help where we can. Anyone who subverts this basic rule of life utterly destroys themselves bit-by-bit.” I noted very quickly he was completely uninterrupted by Crystal Fist in this state, full of fire and vigor and without any other thoughts on his mind. He sighed after the animated tirade. “…But that’s not the common thought among many people. A lot of us try to play god and crush everyone else along their path, whether subtly or in an in-your-face kind of way. Those that can help are sometimes waylaid by those that don’t want them to help or want to use their assistance for personal gain – and that is severely disappointing. However, like the choice to believe in a god or not, it is a personal choice whether someone helps or hinders their fellow man or pony.” He looked at me once again, a laser-like intensity and deep fire filling his eyes. “I do my best to do what I can where I can for who I can out of thankfulness to my God, so I can show the same love given to me. If I stop trying my best to do that, I think I would just give up and die… maybe not physically, but certainly emotionally and empathetically, and that is something I just cannot allow.” I don’t think I could ever understand the depths of his feelings, but I felt the love of his words. It wasn’t just for me – he genuinely cared about every pony, human, plant and animal on both his world and ours. It seemed like he would prefer to have loved and been betrayed than to never have loved at all. I could see the wisdom in that. That way you would know for sure if the person respected you for who you are. I smiled coyly at him, not understanding completely, but understanding enough to develop a serious respect for his beliefs and thoughts. This time, as I turned my head, I allowed my focus to come from my odd eye as I examined him, hopefully without him knowing. He was a little over average height for a stallion and broad, with a bone structure like a brick backhouse – not quite as large as, but very Big Mac-ish in size and build. It was obvious he wasn’t using his body to its full potential – he had a little bit of chub around his midsection. His mane and tail were loose and free, almost coltish in appearance, but kept neat enough to look mature. I smirked as he examined the night sky. There was no way he could’ve- “Derpy, why are you looking at me like that?” he asked. Bewildered and caught off-guard, I jerked my head away. “Um… nothing… uh… I-I…” He just chuckled. “You would’ve gotten away with it if I didn’t notice your head drifting downward. Your eyes were heading to my flank, weren’t they?” I blushed. “N-no… they-um… I… uh-just…” Rainbow called from the sky, “Forget it, Derpy. Spare yourself the heartache. Both Applejack and I have tried to offer ourselves to him, and he won’t take either of us.” I felt myself blush. Soon, Dash was in front of us, kicking up dust as she landed. “You know why, Dash,” Zytharros said. “I’m married.” “Yeah, yeah…” Dash replied, her tone of voice suggesting a little annoyance, peppered with a sense of disappointment. “How was night watch?” Zytharros asked. “Not bad,” Dash replied, “but I don’t know anything about where Applejack is. I’ve looked over at Sweet Apple Acres, the school-house, Rarity’s shop… everywhere I could think of for Applejack to hang out, and no sign of her Shadow anywhere.” I still couldn’t bring myself to look at Zytharros again. I was very embarrassed that he had picked up on my ogling. Even though I had done it to countless other ponies, he was the first one in my life to observe it. He continued, sounding downcast. “Not good. Let’s head over there anyway tomorrow. She may appear when we show up.” “So, Derpy, you’re here to take over the rest of the night?” Dash asked. I jerked my head up straight, clearly confused. Was it my turn to watch? Was it my night? I forgot… sweet Celestia, I forgot… “Uh… yeah,” I simply said, still shocked at the absence of memory. “Great!” Dash said, grinning wildly. “I need to sleep.” So Dash and Zytharros entered the house together. I took off and flew to the top of the house, settling down on Sugarcube Corner’s roof for a night of watching for enemies. None of us noticed the shadow slip into the confectionery while we were talking.