On Alicorn Hygiene Practices
Cimmerian wandered the dream realm once more, distracting himself from the talk between the queens a few hours ago. He'd already thrown in with Pandinus two months ago, and she was beginning to show just a bit more now, just enough for her otherwise streamlined form to have a bit of a bulge towards her lower abdomen. He had to make this work, but it seemed the mares were hell bent on dragging him through the moral wringer.
'It was just so weird hearing them both talk like that,' he thought while touching another nightmare, this one in the griffon mountains.
He was happy to find that his power seemed to leave a, mist seemed like an appropriate word. His aura left a fog of power in the areas he'd traveled through, cutting a wide streak across the world where tracking and disruption arrays used by his enemies just didn't work. Thus there were several parts of the old griffon country that were now free from the nightmare's grip, free to dream again and regain some sense of normalcy, or better yet some sense of hope. It was something the Mad Queen was losing her grip on and it would boost the moral of the griffons and minotaurs for the coming conflicts. In fact, he'd likely have to find a way to hit the minotaurs soon. What was the chief's name again?
Cimmerian shook his head. The chieftain would likely be awake at this time, considering he was on the other side of the world, or at least waking up soon. The dark alicorn made a mental note to take a mid-day nap and try and contact the bull sometime in the future. He passed over the sleeping world easily, the last few months causing him to grow comfortable with this new plane of existence. If you could ease someone's dreams just by brushing against them and willing it to turn for the better, wouldn't anyone do such a thing? He hoped they would, but there would always be exceptions.
He willed himself back to the Temple, easily picking out Celestia's dream and tapping it to request entry. It pulsed a bit in response, and he entered, curious what she would dream about. After all, the last few times he'd seen her dreams, they were held together with magic. What would an alicorn princess dream of on her own?
Cimmerian blinked as the world formed around him, a decadent palace overflowing with signs of wealth and prosperity. A quick glimpse out the door confirmed it; he was in the castle he'd seen in the distance from the Sweet Apple Orchard. The hallways were beautiful, of course. Marble floors and pillars, the pillars carved expertly and polished to an inspiring shine. The paintings that hung on the walls were all magnificent as well, some bearing more detail and thus likely older. Celestia had more time to memorize those details in her daily walks through the palace. He saw suits of armor, polished to a gleaming shine, weapons that were likely older than any living mortal, busts and statues of ponies in a multitude of poses. Cimmerian would almost swear some of those statues moved, and he knew that they were important to the white alicorn. They were friends, friends and acquaintances long gone but preserved forever in her memories.
Cimmerian shuddered at the idea. He couldn't say which was the greater punishment. Forever living, watching loved ones fade to dust around you, or ending up as one of those memories, forever leaving an ache in the heart of a friend.
He wandered the halls for at least ten minutes, the level of detail in the structure around him fading in and out depending on how often Celestia had paid attention to her surroundings over the years, or how often she'd spent time in an area. He found the throne room, a plush red carpet and an expertly crafted throne, gorgeous stained glass windows buzzing with protective magics that would preserve them from both the living and time. He found her office, actually thinking it was her current location due to the sounds of a clock ticking and the scratching of pen on paper, but it was a secretary, a pony just outside the office who seemed to shift colors and shape every time he looked away. The office itself was lavish, like every other part of the palace. He saw a few documents scattered across the room and for some reason he found himself moving a rug on a whim, finding a hidden cabinet that, no surprise, held a single bottle of some form of alcohol. He chuckled at the discovery; Tia did like something to unwind after a particularly stressful encounter.
Cimmerian shook the thought loose. That was Luna, not him. He'd have to ask the mare about anything she knew about memory bleed-over, or if she could provide additional help in that department. The trip to the Everfree had done him no good in that department. He'd managed to keep from slipping up on his pronouns and from using ye old English, but he wasn't going to keep hoping his luck held.
After nearly an hour of wandering the castle by his reference (it could have been less, time in dreams seemed wonky), he was about to call it a lost cause when he heard a low humming. He blinked in confusion for a moment before placing the voice. It sounded like the alicorn he was looking for, but it was...off for some reason.
With a renewed sense of purpose he trotted down the halls, finally stopping before yet another ornate entrance that reminded him of Celestia's office door. He pushed the door open, stopping cold as he realized what he was looking at.
It was Celestia, but she was larger than he'd ever seen her except for in the memories Luna had. A small part of him realized she just barely beat out his current size, but that was soon overridden by the realization of where she was. Celestia somehow had memorized enough of the palace to remember exactly how the bath looked and felt, leaving the room a steamy sauna as ghostly maids scrubbed at her back.
The mare's eyes popped open, confusion on her face.
"Cimmerian?"
*Slam*
The stallion slammed the door shut the next moment. He stood in the halls for a minute, collecting himself and trying to reconcile what he'd just seen. Celestia, in her pre-imprisonment form, was actually quite beautiful for what was for all intent in his mind still an alien. The issue here was she was in the bath. He'd just walked in on a female who was bathing and na-
'Wait, they don't normally wear clothes. Is it still impolite to walk in when another person's in the bath?'
His answer came in the from of the door opening and the mare craning her neck from the large pool that served as her bath, her forelegs bracing her as she tried to catch a glimpse of the one who'd walked in.
"Cimmerian? Are you still out there? Oh dear, this is one of those alien things, isn't it? I'm not mad, I promise. You just surprised me."
"Sorry Tia, didn't mean to walk in on you like that," he called back, not looking into the room.
"Well? Are you going to stand out there, or are you going to come in?" the mare's voice called out to him.
Cimmerian, figuring she was out of the tub, turned around and once more sputtered a bit. Celestia was decidedly not out of the tub. In fact, she'd gone right back to her bath.
"B-but you're still-"
"Oh hush. Come here, I've not been able to properly spend time with my new nephew lately, and I'm enjoying this dream too much to just end it here. Did you not bathe with your family back home?" Celestia asked him with a curious frown.
"Uh, no," Cimmerian answered, still not certain if he should be meeting her eyes or not. "In fact bathing was private. Walking in on someone while they were in the bath was pretty high on the list of social taboos back home."
"But you have Swift and Humble helping you bathe," Celestia countered. "What's the difference? Come over here, I won't kick you out. The water's nice and warm."
Heaving a sigh, Cimmerian approached the pool, slipping into the realistically warm water and giving a small huff of enjoyment from the sensations.
"It's impressive. The entire castle was detailed beyond what I've seen with anyone else beside Din's dream-hive. I can even feel water on my skin."
"Of course. I may not be as good at dream manipulation as my sister, but I still can adjust things to my liking. If I remember how something feels or tastes, I can have it in my dreams. It's not as good as the real thing of course, but it's something. And considering I won't be able to see the Castle for, for a while I need something to remember it by. It feels nice to be able to do this again. Even if it isn't real."
"Come over here, I promise this will make both of us feel better," Celestia said as she waded deeper into the pool. At his confused expression she rolled her eyes.
"I mean that in a clean way, Cimmerian. I haven't been able to bathe with family in a long while, and you're the closest thing to family I have right now, aside from Cadance. She can't dream-walk all that well, either. I used to do this with Luna all the time, as well as Twilight and...well, I've had a few herds over the centuries. It was always a nice bonding time. You should try it with Pandinus or Zelus. I know they don't understand many things about strengthening the bonds you all share, but it would make you feel better. It may also help them learn to strengthen your bond for their own benefit."
The white mare began using a nearby brush on his back, tutting as his tense wings sold him out.
"Relax Cimmerian, this is not improper. It is intimate, yes, but intimate does not always mean between lovers. It can also be between close friends and family members, and I don't think one gets much closer to being part of my family without actually being a blood relation than you have. Even preening, which is seen as a bonding activity, can be shared with more than just those who are close to you. It was standard procedure for weather teams and Pegasus guard units to check each other's wings before beginning work, and sometimes one just doesn't have family nearby. In such cases, some pegasi form plutonic flocks."
"Don't you mean platonic?" the stallion asked, still shifting uncomfortably.
Celestia shook her head.
"He was a rarity among his kind, but I speak of an old diamond dog philosopher, Pluto. He was such a sweetheart, too. Very smart, even put many ponies to shame."
Cimmerian laughed at the coincidence.
"We call it a platonic relationship back home. Named, much like your own word, after a philosopher. Ours was named Plato though. Hence calling it a platonic relationship. I have to say, Tia. I've been learning a lot of different definitions of intimate lately. The queens have been, well, I'd say they really don't have a good definition of intimate or private. I found out earlier that Pandinus, in following my request that she share love with her hive up to and including other queens, decided to let Zelus swap with her during our alone time. Hell, they're synced right now, maybe they're sharing sensations. If that's the case, they could likely both feel what Din and I were doing.
"I think their definition just boils down to what you can do with the hive, and what you can do with anyone else. Otherwise, it's all fair game."
"You, you think they were sharing the experience when you were mating with Din?" Celestia stuttered out, giggling uncontrollably.
"I, I must say, that must have been quite a large amount of information being shared. I'm surprised she could take the whole thing; the experience I mean."
Cimmerian looked over his shoulder, glaring at the white alicorn.
"I'm sure it really opened her up to new things!"
"I bet she found the experience very fulfilling!"
"She may feel a bit stretched thin until she can learn to accommodate her new relationship!"
"Are you quite finished?" Cimmerian asked, his glare never faltering.
"Don't worry Cimmer, there'll be no question about when I'm finished. Just as I'm certain there was none about when Zelus finished!"
At her last line, the mare with the pastel mane actually burst into gales of laughter, holding her barrel with a hoof as tears fell from her eyes. Cimmerian gave a growl of irritation, forgetting his mortification in the face of this new embarrassment. With a shout of rage he lunged at the other alicorn, throwing her under the water and causing her to (hopefully) inhale a good bit of her bathwater. Instead she rolled, pinning Cimmerian under the water and keeping him there despite his flailing.
After realizing he wasn't going anywhere, that yes, Celestia was much more experienced in such things thanks to her years with Luna, Cimmerian remembered he was still in a dream. He didn't need to breath. In fact, he could stay down here all day.
"And before you go thinking you can stay underwater all night, I know how to reinforce my dreams, Cimmerian. I may be unable to dream-walk well, but years of pranks from Luna has taught me a few tricks regarding my own dreams. Do you surrender? Or do I have to get mean?"
Cimmerian blinked, feeling a slow, rising burn in his chest, the familiar need for oxygen reaching his brain. While it was true he could just leave the dream, there was just no need to be such a spoiled sport. He tried waiting a bit longer, but the mare began to poke strange points on his wings and barrel. He realized in a burst of precious air what she was doing.
She knew an alicorn's ticklish spots.
A few taps from his hoof on her own foreleg and she pulled him out of the water, still giggling as the stallion spat and choked on the water. Water that wasn't actually in his lungs.
"I have to say, you're a better sport about this than Luna was. She left my dreams whenever I got her like that," Celestia said with a giggle.
"I had a sister, we teased each other a lot, but we never really got to the point where we just gave up," Cimmerian explained. "It was a mutual thing. She didn't leave when I got her good, and I didn't leave when she got me. We bore it with what little dignity we could muster at the time."
Celestia nodded, her eyes gaining a far away look as she reminisced on better times, times spent with her sister. With a start the mare stood up, moving out of the pool and using a wing to gesture for the dark alicorn to follow her. She opened a nearby door, a few wispy ponies moving in and out of the room, and took a seat on a large tablet the center of the other room.
"You had not only a private bathing pool, but a sauna?" Cimmerian asked, looking around the room in awe. Seeing his pseudo-aunt motioning for him to join her, he hopped up on the slab as well.
"Yes. It was nice, a place to relax. Papers didn't do well in the high humidity, so my secretary couldn't follow me in here," the white mare quipped, sitting up and pulling one of his wings out. Before he could say anything, she began preening it, moving through the feathers and humming gently to herself. The stallion was about to ask why she felt he needed such attention before getting a look at the alicorn.
Celestia was moving slowly with her eyes closed, going through the motions with an ease that spoke of years of practice. She finished a line, then went back to the shoulder of his wing before beginning a new line, then another and another. Before long Cimmerian was also dozing off, the gentle humming and the warmth of the sauna setting him at ease. He laid down on the slab, idly noting that Tia had left a towel right under his head for such a possibility. With a smile the dark alicorn dozed off, letting the rest of the night zip by.
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Cimmerian woke up sometime the next morning, vaguely aware that the dream he was in had collapsed. He shifted a bit, feeling the queens react to his movement in their own ways. Pandinus began purring again, awake enough to react to her comfort but still close enough to sleep to not want to move. Zelus burrowed deeper into his side, breathing deeply and apparently attempting to inhale his coat, also beginning to purr.
Cimmerian gave a weak groan of pleasure as the two vibrating queens unintentionally massaged his top, bottom and one side of his barrel. If only he could just sit here for the rest of the day. It would be perfect.
It was not to be, however. The door swung open, causing the three occupants of the bed to stare blearily at the intruder. Or hissing at it, in Zelus' case. Celestia wasn't discouraged though, trotting right up to the bed while being followed by a very confused looking Cadance.
"Good morning you three. Sleep well?" the mare asked with a beaming smile. "I know it's still early, but we need to get ready. The griffons wish to hold the Ceremony before the storm hits. It's supposedly bad luck to have lingering spirits during a storm. As such, we're going to get cleaned up."
Cimmerian warded her off with a hoof, waving it at her.
"I'll take a bath in a bit. Just give me some time to, to wake up."
Pandinus didn't even manage that much of a response, staring blearily at the small alicorn.
"How do you happy so early?"
"Early?" the mare asked in shock. "It's nearly nine o'clock! How are you still in bed?"
"Like this," Zelus responded, turning back into the stallion's side and using her magic to pull his wing over her barrel like a makeshift blanket.
Cadance stared at the scene unfolding before her with a mixture of shock and amusement. At the very least, none of the queens were morning ponies. That bode well for Cimmerian, as no one would wake him up early. On the other hoof it meant that it was up to the other residents of the Temple to wake the ruling family up. Gleam was apparently the usual one who set about on this task, but it seemed her aunt was looking to intrude on one of the pink unicorn's jobs.
"Come on, we're going to the baths!" Celestia explained, using her recovering magic to try and roll the larger beings off the bed.
"I have a bath upstairs, Tia, and I already told you what I think of them." Cimmerian answered, a burst of irritation and embarrassment of all things radiating from the stallion.
Din and Zelus merely buzzed in irritation.
"There is a changeling bathing area just down the hall. We will wash ourselves there," Zelus mumbled.
"But don't you girls want to know how to get more love from him?" Celestia teased, bringing Zelus' head up so fast she blurred.
"You need to do things to bond with him, and bathing is a great way. I'll even teach you how to preen his wings. We can all go as a big family. It will be like old times, right Cadance?"
Knowing better than to argue with her aunt, the changeling nymph rolled her eyes and nodded along.
"Just go with it, Auntie Tia won't change her mind, and I'm sure you'll learn something from the experience."
"If I need to preen Cimmerian's wings, I'll retrieve the information from another drone," Pandinus muttered, finally hopping off the dark alicorn's back. Zelus too was finally rising, though she was looking to her hive-sister with curiosity. Sensing it, Din smiled at Zelus before giving her a verbal answer.
"The more bonded a changeling becomes to a pony, the more love they can obtain. It's why you don't get as much as I do right now. He doesn't know you very well, not as well as he knows me anyway. I know it seems trivial but I can feel the difference over our link, Zelus. It's a much steeper difference than I realized at first."
"Oh? I thought I was your walking seed dispenser," Cimmerian shot at the smaller queen. Din winced at the remark.
"I, we were talking about the future of the hive. When we were bonded like we were last night, it melded our priorities. Zelus and I both hold the hive in the highest priority, but she hasn't learned just how much you mean to me, to the hive. She's still learning that and telling a changeling something is different from getting them to understand it. You of all of us should know this, Cimmer," Din responded, shifting uneasily. "That being said, I'm sorry if you took insult to anything our altered state said to you last night. We were looking out for the interest of the hive, and a queen must be willing to do anything for her hive. Even raising her replacement."
"I, understand Din. It's just weird to me. My people are naturally greedy. Family and self run very high in the number of things we care about, though sometimes we have trouble deciding between them. Many would prefer to never have to make such a choice if it was possible. I just ask that you, not that you put me ahead of the hive, but that you give me a bit of consideration. The way you two were talking left me feeling a bit like property.
Cimmerian turned to the armored queen, who was listening intently at this point.
"You want a better share of my love, Zelus? You're going to have to do better than what you said last night. Din's learned a bit about me, and we've spent quite a bit of time together. I trust her, but I trust you because she trusts you."
"And I'd be happy to tell you a bunch of ways to earn a bit more affection, Zelus," Tia chimed in, moving to the door. "Now let's go. This may take some time, as I have a feeling the queens are going to need some practice, and you, mister, are going to pay me back for last night. I haven't had a proper preening in years!"
As Cimmerian collapsed back on the bed in defeat, Cadance giggled, walking up to him and patting a foreleg with her own hoof.
"Don't worry, Cimmer. Auntie Tia will walk you through it. She usually comes through for me on advice as well."
<-(0)->
Once more Cimmerian found himself in a bath with Celestia. The problem was, this wasn't a dream. Nor was this bath limited to just the two of them. No, this time it was a full blown-
"Bath Party!" Pinkie shouted, diving into the too-shallow-for-diving water, and yet somehow not breaking her neck.
"I'm going to die. Just let me curl up in a corner and die. Better yet, let me leave. I'm fairly certain my private bath would work just as well," the stallion muttered to no one in particular.
"Oh hush," Celestia chastised, using a brush to swat his foreleg. "I don't feel my wings getting set properly. How are you going to take care of your foals if you can't bring yourself to preen another's wings?"
With a depressed sigh, the stallion went back to work, carefully tending to the white mare's wings while she lectured him on the basics and any tips she could think of. Meanwhile, Cadance was coaching the two changeling queens, each working on one of his own wings. He winced, pulling a bit too hard as Zelus yanked out a good feather, causing Celestia to flinch as well.
"Zelus, you need to be gentle. That was a good feather, and it caused him some pain," Celestia chided the queen, earning a frustrated growl as she used a cloth to wipe away the small trickle of blood.
At his curious stare, Zelus pouted.
"This is supposed to be a bonding thing according to the alicorn mares, and I keep hurting you. It's not a very good one."
"It's just something that takes practice Zel. I pulled out a few of my own feathers while learning this and I was the one getting the pain-reinforcement when I made a mistake," Cimmerian said, trying to reassure the queen. "Unless you'd prefer I yank on your wing to help you make the connection."
"Just keep yourself open to his emotions, sister. It will tell you how well he is responding to your work."
A sudden shudder worked through the dark alicorn's body and his wings ruffled, slipping out of his caretakers' grip. A giggle from Pandinus told him all he needed to know.
"Not in the public bathhouse, Din. You can do that to him in your own room," Cadance said, the clack of chitin on chitin telling him Cadance had swatted the larger changeling.
"You better not be teaching her anything your mother wouldn't approve of, Cadance," Cimmerian called over his shoulder.
Celestia chuckled in response.
"Her mother and father were members of a flock. I'm sure they'd not only approve of such uses of preening, but could teach you a few tricks as well. Now, you're almost done, finish up and Cadance and I will double check your own wings. Then we'll move on to drying off and brushing."
The male blinked. "Brushing...right. You do know that before I had this much fuzz my brushing consisted of running my fingers through my hair to make sure it wasn't too bad, right?"
"Then once more, Cadance and I will teach all three of you to do this," Celestia answered. "Actually, I think it would be best if Zelus and Pandinus took pony forms for this. It may allow them to experience the relaxation part a bit more. The only reason I didn't ask them to try preening themselves is because it would both take too long and I don't know how it would feel to them. Cadance told me brushing feels the same as a disguised changeling though."
Cadance nodded in agreement, adding "You two can also practice tonight while Cimmerian attends the ceremony. I wouldn't suggest having any changelings going there, as they may get sick. It will be a very solemn occasion and there will be a lot of sorrow and depression in the air."
"I'd hold off on your harvesting as well, Zelus," Cimmerian chimed in. "At least until later tonight. Asking for sex while a funeral is going on is pretty high on the list of social don't do's, and you'll hurt your future chances as well."
Pulling loose a single feather from Cimmerian's wings and placing it in a nearby floating basket, Celestia hopped out of the bathing pool and walked out to the designated grooming area.
"Come on, we don't have all day, and Cimmerian needs to go over a few final checks for the rite tonight. Cimmer, if you don't mind I'd like to see what you have planned for your part. I'd like to make sure no paws get stepped on tonight, if you know what I mean."
The stallion stood up, feeling quite embarrassed even as the giggling queens followed after the white alicorn. Their bodies flashed with their respective flame-auras and two alicorn mares walked out of the room, Zelus' form based on her time when she actually was an alicorn while Pandinus was once more in her ashen-furred form. Stepping out of the pool and taking a deep breath, he shook his head once more in frustration.
"I'm going to learn to brush my wife's hair. I don't know if that's sappy or effeminate."
'Cheer up Cimmer,"Cadance said with a laugh, giving him a push from behind "It will make the queens happy, and if you enjoy it? Well, they like it when you're happy, so you may end up getting pampered a bit if your mood drops. Trust me, this will feel nice."
Cimmerian slumped as he was directed into the other room, seeing Zelus and Pandinus already testing the brushes on each other.
'Here you go, Mr. T. It's my man card. No, I won't need it back, I don't think anything I can do will remove this blot.'
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The griffon funeral was a simple rite. The names of the deceased were inscribed on a wooden shrine. The friends or family of the deceased would leave a final offering near the shrine, which would all be set ablaze by natural fire. There was to be no magic used around the first part of the ceremony, something that Celestia was quick to point out. The only exception was basic telekinesis, as Cimmerian would need it for what he had planned.
About ten minutes before the sun set, the alicorn approached the monument, gazing over the list of names that were chiseled all over the face of the wooden shrine. He pulled out a simple metal chisel and his own list, the list Shadow Weaver had delivered to his room weeks ago. The names on it, they were the names of ponies that had died making this all a reality, the names of ponies who had brought him out of the armor. None of them had been given a proper funeral, nor had many even been verified as dead by those in the Temple. After several months of no contact in a highly dangerous jungle however, the chances of their survival were miniscule at best so he added them to the monument. Right beside the names of several griffons, of a few changelings, a thestral, and the names of two or three other ponies who had been lost to the Mad Queen's raid.
Finishing his task, the stallion backed away and took his place by Amald and Thrisha. The two griffons began the moment the sun touched the horizon, humming an old griffon war song. The tune was taken up to the rest of the gathered, Cimmerian himself joining in once he was certain of the beat. A single griffon wearing full battle armor approached the monument, his wings keeping him upright as he stood before the pyre. The tempo of the song began to accelerate, the griffons all picking up the volume as the torch-bearer set the monument alight. Just as the wooden slab began to burn, the chant cut off. The griffons had been kind enough to signal the unaware of the sudden change, so there was no out of place voice as the silence pervaded the town.
A single chime of a bell rang out from a ship in the harbor, followed about ten seconds later by another, then a third. The wish was to draw the spirits towards the sea sending them towards the fertile hunting grounds beyond the horizon. To send them on towards their brethren that had gone before them since the beginning of the griffon race.
After about an hour and a half, the monument was but a smoldering collection of ashes, and Cimmerian watched as a few griffons began to take flight. They circled the pillar of smoke respectfully, wings never touching as they rode the warm air of the fire. Amald leaned over to the stallion, whispering an explanation.
"It's a request for the blessing of the spirits of the dead. A wish that they may carry us forever onward and support us in their own ways, just as the thermals support us in flight. While the ground-bound are not expected to participate, all winged beings are. I suggest you take flight, my lord."
His message delivered, the old griffon took to the skies, joining his kin in a slow circle around the dying heat.
Cimmerian stretched his wings, readying himself for a flight after such a long ceremony when he spotted Buster among the gnolls. The co-captain of the city watch was close to many of the griffons, being a fellow hunter and carnivore. His own people meshed well with the griffons, and Cimmerian approached him with an offer.
"I could bring you up if you'd like. Come with me, Buster."
The gnoll looked up at the circling griffons longingly, a fierce look of determination crossing his features. Setting aside his heavy weapons and a few larger chunks of his armor, he bound up on the alicorn's back, using the stallion's mane and his own powerful arms to hold himself steady. Cimmerian briefly lit his horn with a simple sticking spell to keep the gnoll attached to his back before taking off.
It was peaceful. A serene ambience up in the skies with pegasi and griffons flying easily in circles around the smoky column. He heard the gnoll on his back offer a few muttered prayers to his own ancestors. It didn't take long for Cimmerian to realize Buster was asking for the safe travel of his friends and the admission of such worthy pack mates into the afterlife.
For his own part, Cimmerian's mind raced back to the funeral's he'd witnessed in the past. He'd been blessed in that way, either not being old enough to understand when a family member died or not being too connected to a cousin's grandparent. The losses never really hurt him. This felt different though. This wasn't a far removed family member dying of natural causes in their bed. This was an attack, an attack on his children while he was away. He allowed himself to embrace to loss, to feel the sorrow flow over him like a wave. Each name that was inscribed on that pyre was another face that the Temple would never see again. He let a few tears flow, not caring about harming any changelings this time. They were far enough removed that they wouldn't be harmed, and Din had been specifically warned beforehand that this would likely happen.
The slow circling of the remains of the pyre continued well into the night, until the last embers had faded away.
I needed to do that one, the funeral thing had to happen and soon. I think I'm going to be doing Hearth's Warming/Christmas in the next week or so, as well. It should be interesting, trying to keep Pinkie from killing herself as she tries to make up 30-40 lost Hearth's Warmings in one party.
On another note, what do you guys think about that kind of bathing thing? I know japan has public bath houses, and I know I had to share the public showers in Army Boot, but god that stuff's weird compared to how private people normally are. American's at least. Or maybe it's just me and my family, I don't know. I just know I've always been taught bathing is a bit of a private thing.
As for the funeral, well, there's only one song that really comes to mind when talking about griffon funerals.
Makes even more sense when you remember Herrick talking about a deity known as The Skylord.
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OMG....that really was needed
the importance to respect the ones who have perished beacause they died for a purpose that was for others to keep on living
For a moment I thought the Author's notes mentioned Star Lord, and I wondered how Equestria knew about Marvel... Then I realized that it was just 3 in the morning, and I just need to sleep before reading anymore.
Public bathhouses are basically hot-tubs without a dress code. Which means you CAN wear trunks if you wanted too.
The feels in this chapter, first I was
then 
When it comes to bathing we Americans are some of the biggest repressed prudes in the entire world. When it came to the British colonies Australia lucked out in getting the criminals. We got stuck with all the religious fanatics and nut cases.
6930818 Yes?
it's odd while I was read this, I needed to hear this song.
Introduce them to Mr. T in a dream viewing. Show Cadance how much he Pity Da Foo.
On a tangent. I have to wonder how the old Nightmare is faring in Cimm's original body on 'our' earth. Probably spent the last 40 years feasting upon the negative feelings humanity has... Just by playing Call of Duty.
NightmareTroll: (Formerly Nightmare Moon):: Leave? Eternal night? What are you, insane? The human world is a nightmare's paradise! No magic banishing tricks, plenty of strife, and all the Pizza you could ask for. So what if my living conditions have degenerated to borderline disgusting? That just distresses my neighbors and gives me more power... Now if you'll excuse me, I have |\|00|35 to crush and people on the internet to prove wrong. ...I can already taste their tears. Their salty, salty tears.
6930920 Im not normally like that
This song was already playing from opening a link in another fic, but it felt right plus it had a simple progression that could be repeated as long as needed as the song in the fic was implied to likely have been.
As far as bathing, as a kid I didn't give a crap. Bathed with both my sister and my bro at different points. Then puberty happened and that stopped happening. Then I ended up at a military college (not academy) with communal showers. Though that was more of a factory production line type thing. No intimacy there. Well, not familial anyway.
Learned the hard way how important shower shoes are in such conditions.
in that department twice.
Oh no, here comes the weird, kinky, bathtub, alicorn sex.
Oh no! Incest too!
But naw, that would just be weird and super taboo for Cimmer. Though, Tia hitting on him in a drunken state would be hilarious with the rising amounts of awkward.
Ugh, pretty sure I never made stupid innuendoes like this. Celestia, I thought better of you.
I just talked about meetings and stuff...
The downsides of getting married.
Amald can fly? I thought he was missing a wing or something like that.
Aw, come on man. It's Star Lord.
6930993 Oh, nothing... You edited your comment anyway. And yes, it was needed.
Public bathing isn't that special. It can be awkward for the first time considering it isn't something that you normally do.
It all depends on your own views of it. But yes, it can be a really good bonding experience.
6930976
I second this motion.
The title of the video in the author's note made me think of this song:
I haven't even read this yet, but I saw the Substitute Doll and thought, "Well, this should be interesting."
Then I saw your edit about the uncultured heathens, and I just had to laugh.
Who the hell doesn't recognize a Substitute Doll on sight? Oh right, uncultured heathens.
" and missing space.
It wasn't until America and its weird Puritanical values got its start that bathing alone became a normal thing. Heck, even victorian era England was okay enough with public bathing enough for them to put their own spin on Turkish baths. Bathhouses and public bathing is a thing that tends to happen wherever the problem of ready access to clean water is solved. It also isn't very hard to imagine that any shyness one might feel about bathing with others would dry when put up against warm, or even hot clean water. Having experienced having to haul and heat the water necessary for a bath myself I can say that I would happily put up with a some awkwardness if it meant avoiding that again. Because seriously, eff that noise.
A wonderful little slice of life chapter.
This chapter was gorgeous. Glad it finally happened; really serves to further drive home that a lot of creatures are going to die before all is said and done. I know there have been deaths but this feels like the first time they were all driven home. Nothing happening alongside the death to offset it, just pure grief.
Wrote this comment after like...I dunno, lost count after twenty-four hours, so if it's a jumbled mess I'll fix it later.
Keep doing what you're doing Rey, it's working.
It does surprise me that public or even familial bathing isn't more of a common thing in Equestria. Ponies were/are/will be herding creatures thus is it only natural (expected) that they also perform basic tasks with a group in mind; raising a barn for one, but bathing and grooming is another obvious task. The idea only becomes more logical when ponies without magic hands (non-unicorns) have to grasp everything with their mouth like brushes and tools. As Celestia said herself, it would strengthen bonds as you place yourself in a vulnerable position, trusting the others to tend to you, just as you do the same in turn.
And as a wise monkeyman once said, "You and me ain't nothin' but mammals so lets do it like they do it on the Discovery Channel!"
and now, (sadly) life moves on.
Also-
4.bp.blogspot.com/-iwQtxz18ke0/UOTzjZi-e7I/AAAAAAAAAQA/H5hk8c1eUQU/s1600/brushie.jpg
2 Words. Love it
6930976 that would be glorious xD
Happy bath time so you dont have to think too hard about what comes nest.
The Pyre.
For the children.
Into the light, from Pokemon 4 ever
Flying without Wings, from Westlife, Pokemon Heros.
Finally! Someone that understands!
Also this:
Doesn't make sense. You and your cousin share grandparents.
6931482 You share one set of their grandparents.
Beautiful, simply Beautiful. But the part with the bath got me thinking, wouldn't Cimmerian's body have a great deal of genetic similarity to Luna's because the spell would need some type of template in order to from an alicron body. And Luna's cell would have been on or in the armor you had Ted sealed in, along with trace of her's and the nightmare's magical auras also locked in the armor. And wouldn't the magic of the spell have taken Ted's thoughts about himself into account because everything I have read has magic being a force when use directly as being driven by will, but also needing a template or templates when creating a body. So wouldn't his new from have a great amount of similarity to Luna's biologically but also look like the nightmares possessed form cause the Cultists imagined him like that and male because that was how Ted saw himself.
And the way you describe the nightmares has them looking like their energy based beings with parasitic and carrion feeder traits, with how they feed on negative emotions like hated, misery, and other suffering, while seeking to destroy the world so it can feed on all the death and destruction it would cause and all the negative emotional type energy that would be richly abundant afterwords. There was also that part that it revealed itself to Celestia, and the damage described sounded a lot like radiation poisoning, so that's what got me thinking the nightmares are an energy based parasite.
The lives of the Lost shall not be forgotten.
The memories of our time with them shall forever in our hearts remain.
From dusk to dawn, from birth til death,
We fight on so that they died not in vain.
TAPS would have been a very appropriate custom to introduce to the shadow temple. It would have even fit in with the moment of silence and before the flight. Silver TAPS at A&M was one of the most solemn things I have ever been to. Paired with the 21 gun salute, which could be emulated with unicorns, would be fitting to introduce Equestria to.
While we Americans are in general quite prudish, going to a public pool can still be fun. It's been ages since I've had the time to go swimming, though...
When reading the funeral proceedings, I couldn't help but think of The Sending, from Final Fantasy X. Not truly appropriate, given the ban on magic for the ceremony, but the Hymn of the Fayth seemed appropriate.
6930976
It would be hilarious if Reykan actually made that the fate of the Nightmare on Earth.
Lol, Skylord...
It reminds me of Shadow of Israphel.
My Dad and I used to shower when I was little.
6930878 Why do movie critics watch horrible movies?
On the bathing thing... It really depends.
Somewhat relevant is http://theoatmeal.com/pl/minor_differences2/locker_room
6931071 Or people who's last time actually playing a pokemon game was when red and blue were still somewhat new. Dem highly pixelated graphics...I should load up an emulator and play one of the more modern ones.
6931001 it's the Redundant department of redundancy. :D
Nice chapter.
Also the funeral chapters even though they are unnecessary they add a lot to the characters in my opinion.
6933411 Like the author said: uncultured heathens.
My contribution, one I have turned to in the past when Furries and Bronies I know of have violently passed to the Elysian Fields since 9/11, and has found its way into some of my old, unpublished stories.
While none of the Mane
6.. 5 -1 had a reason to be at the funeral, if they had been required to though, would they find it a pointed reminder of their failure nearly 35 years before?6931581 oh right. I did a silly.
Oh yeah. Whenever people bring up communal bathing, I always think of the Ancient Romans.
And yeah, it is a bit weird, but it's the kind of weird that makes sense. Like with... well, the Japanese, or the Romans.
6932443
Twilight has only to surface from her prison just enough to connect with her Element in front of the other Bearers. It will requiere several emotional speeches (or in Rainbow's terms, sappy stuff
) in the middle of the final battle.
You know, the usual.
I am more concerned about how a healed Twilight will fare in a world which hates her guts.
6931147 is that troll?
Yeah though question...
Nice chapter, good work.
6934540
IDW comics, Cave Troll.
he had an optimious prime and a magic eight ball on his wall as well.
That was fun, may I have another? Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
Basically just read the first 21 chapters in a single sitting and so far I love it, and the last few chapters I was worried the next would be the last. I didn't check exactly how long this story is but I am very pleased that I'm not even a third of the way through yet. I look forward to seeing his settlement grow!
6936760 It's odd. I never realized what I was getting into, now I look up and see my fic's almost broken 350k words. Where the hell did it all come from?
Also, glad you're enjoying it