//------------------------------// // 15th Candle // Story: Kaidan // by Lupine Infernis //------------------------------// Fluttershy was helping Rarity move some things at the Boutique when she came upon an old painting half-hidden in the corner. It was a picture of a white-coated mare with a serene expression reaching up to an iridescent light. The frame was wooden and carved with a beautiful flowing pattern. “Oh?” Rarity trotted over and stood next to her. “Goodness, I forgot all about this.” “Did you paint it?” Fluttershy asked. “Gracious no – I tried my hoof at painting in school and the teacher burst into tears,” Rarity laughed awkwardly, like it wasn’t quite a joke. “I’m far more comfortable with a thread and needle than a paint brush. No, this piece was something I picked up on a whim during a trip to Canterlot. A splendid work, is it not? How shameful for me to neglect it.” Fluttershy hummed in acknowledgement and stared at the light that seemed to bewitch the mare. “Does it have any meaning?” “Hrm…” Rarity narrowed her eyes and tapped her head. “If one recalls correctly… the stallion I bought it from said it was supposed to represent a connection between pony and divinity. I believe it is called ‘Seven Gods’ Benevolence’.” Fluttershy tensed. “Gods…” “I can only see one ‘god’ no matter how carefully I look,” Rarity added, pointing to the light. “Unless that singular entity is supposed to be several. Painters have rather queer imaginations, wouldn’t you agree?” “U-um, y-yes.” “I think that-” “What do you think a ‘god’ is, Rarity?” Rarity looked at her, surprised, and Fluttershy immediately regretted asking. “What do I…? Hm, well… I believe a ‘god’ is an entity that transcends what you and I would call ‘mortals’.” “But what does that mean?” Fluttershy found herself jumping at a chance to talk to someone, anyone about this; she’d been keeping it inside for so long. “What makes something divine and what makes something mortal? Do you think Celestia and Luna are gods?” Rarity’s surprise was evident in her face, but she didn’t seem bothered by the subject. “I… believe that some ponies would say they are. I can see why: they have been around for a very long time, they do not appear to age, they possess incredible power, and they alone show all the unique traits of earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns.” “What do you think?” “I believe they are exceptional beings, but I think ‘gods’ is a step too far.” “Why?” “Because…” Rarity paused and scrunched her brow. She was quiet for a few seconds. “Well, because they just seem too equine. Celestia, for all her majesty and grace, laughs and eats and grieves just like the rest of us. Why, the last time we met with her, I witnessed her pick up the wrong fork for dessert! It is the same for her sister, Luna, as well. You met with her on Nightmare Night, so you saw how adorably awkward she was and how much she wanted to earn our love and respect. “To me, a god is a being so far above us that its motives and behaviour is something we cannot grasp nor understand. We should not be able to see it as ‘like us’.” Fluttershy nodded slowly. “I see.” “That is just how I see it, darling. No doubt there are many, many viewpoints on such a subject. Speaking of which…” Rarity cocked her head. “I realize I initially brought up the concept of divinity and godhood, but you seemed to be quite interested in it. Why is that?” “Oh, um… I just think this sort of thing is fascinating, that’s all,” Fluttershy fidgeted on the spot. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hold us up.” “Oh, pish-posh – think nothing of it. I enjoyed this conversation, nuanced as it is,” Rarity lit her horn and lifted the painting. “I’ll be sure to give this a proper place where it may be admired.” Fluttershy discreetly eyed Rarity’s right foreleg. “Y-yes, let’s get back to work.” Watching Twilight’s magic was something else entirely; most unicorns could levitate a few objects at once or cast a utility spell here and there, but that was it. Twilight regularly did these tasks and much more with finesse and ease. Fluttershy watched in awe as a platoon of books marched through the air in single-file only for one to suddenly break formation and slot itself into an empty space on the library’s shelves. As this was happening, Twilight was also using her magic to write a letter for Spike to send off – she wasn’t even looking at the display overhead, it was so normal to her. “There we go,” Twilight gave the letter to Spike, then turned to Fluttershy. “Sorry, you were asking about deities?” Fluttershy blinked. “Um, yes.” “I’m a little surprised you would ask about that,” Twilight’s horn shone a little brighter and several books floated down at her command. “Theology isn’t a field I’m interested in, nor an expert, but if you want an atheist’s perspective, then I’d be more than happy to help,” Twilight placed the books on a nearby table. “Otherwise, I’d recommend these.” “You don’t believe in gods? What about Celestia?” Twilight chuckled, amused. “I admire her greatly, but I’ve never once thought of her as a ‘god’, just an exceptionally powerful pony; that goes the same for Luna. Given enough time and research, any ‘deity’ can be classified and then it becomes just like any other form of life. The idea of an entity being ‘unknowable’ or ‘beyond comprehension’ is just ridiculous.” Fluttershy frowned. “That seems a little harsh.” Twilight cringed. “Oh, I’m not trying to insult anyone. I may not believe in gods, but their concept is significant for any society to develop spiritually, and I certainly have no problem with a religious belief that encourages goodwill and a healthy lifestyle. It’s just not for everyone.” “Oh, that makes sense.” “Do you believe in gods?” Fluttershy opened her mouth, then closed it. She wasn’t sure how to answer. “Touchy subject?” Twilight shrugged. “It’s fine. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” Fluttershy eyed Twilight’s right foreleg. “Thank you.” Fluttershy arrived at her cottage and felt a lump of ice in her stomach when she noticed Angel waiting for her by the door. Normally, he did this when he felt his needs weren’t being met, but today he had an anxious expression. Not only that, but her other animal friends were hiding away in their little homes. “He’s up again, is he?” Fluttershy grimaced when Angel nodded. “Okay. I’ll… I’ll be back shortly.” Angel frowned and watched her walk by. Fluttershy placed her satchel full of Twilight’s loaned books on the living room table, then went into the kitchen. Moving aside some seating furniture, Fluttershy looked upon a door in the floor. She grabbed the iron ring and gave it a big pull, causing the hinges to creak eerily as the door revealed a plight of stone stairs. The previous owner of the cottage used this as a storage space, but cleaned out when he moved to Baltimare. Fluttershy didn’t have many things to fill it, so she just left it alone for all these years. Until recently. Fluttershy descended into the sub-room and flicked a switch when she reached the bottom. The air was scented with the smell of pine and freshly-dug earth. The room was two-thirds the size of her living room with nothing in it. Except for him. Fluttershy nervously bowed her head. “H-hello.” There was no response. “Um, did I keep you waiting? I’m sorry if I did.” Still no response. Fluttershy felt brave enough to lift her head and trot forward. Her hooves stepped on sticks and dried leaves that always seemed to find there way in even though he never left. Or maybe he did. The scent of wood became stronger as she stopped before him and prostrated fully. “D-do y-you need any… anything?” He was quiet, then suddenly snorted. “… O-okay.” Fluttershy took that to mean ‘no’, which left her with no other option. He had summoned her for only one purpose – the usual purpose. “I believe in Mother Faust, sure thing.” Fluttershy nodded. She expected that, to be honest. “If you don’t mind me asking, then why do you believe?” Applejack’s hind legs hit the tree with a strong thunk and apples came raining down into their buckets. “Look around ya, sugarcube – th’ trees, th’ dirt, th’ sun, even you an’ me have gotta come from somewhere, right? Ah mean, th’ farm didn’t jes’ exist – us Apples made tha’. An’ I believe tha’ Mother Faust made us.” “Then, who made Mother Faust?” Applejack faltered, then laughed. “Oh, got me there. Well, she’s th’ exception, I’d say.” “Are you okay with that?” Fluttershy frowned. “If something exists because it was made by somepony else, then something had to have made them, too. Unless you think that what makes a god is existing from the very start.” Applejack took off her hat and scratched her head. “Shucks, if ya’ll came here ta wax philosophy, then ya might wanna see my brother. I’m not good at explainin’ why I believe in Faust, I jes’ do.” “Even if it doesn’t make sense?” “If it makes ya happier in life, then do ya really need ta?” Fluttershy eyed the foreleg holding Applejack’s hat. “… What if it doesn’t…? N-never mind.” He was almost always in the same position – lying on his belly with his legs tucked underneath. Sometimes, Fluttershy came down to find him pacing or lying on his side. Once, she saw him at the bottom of the stairs looking up at her, waiting. He did not have a name, or he did not bother sharing it. He was three times her size and had a body covered in shaggy brown fur. His legs – six of them – were bare and ended in cloven hooves. His neck was long and his head was equine but with a shorter muzzle. He had two, bone-white antlers coming out from the sides of his head. Fluttershy swallowed as she offered her right foreleg. “Please…” His yellow, unblinking eyes stared straight ahead as his antlers pulsed with a blue light. Fluttershy watched as strange symbols appeared in her flesh, carved by some unseen force. There was no pain, but it was dreadfully itchy, and she never got used to seeing it happen. Especially when her leg went numb because the next time she would blink, the limb would be gone, leaving a stump of wood sticking out of her red and bloody muscle. Suppressing the urge to vomit, Fluttershy looked to him. As with her limb being shorn, she didn’t see it happen, but he would be chewing slowly, rivulets of blood soaking his fur. Fluttershy bowed her head. “I-I hope it’s to y-your taste…” Fluttershy found him late one night in the Everfree while looking for Fugo, her fox. She pushed through some bushes and found herself in a clearing, where Fugo was trying to make himself as big as possible while he stood there, watching. Fluttershy tried communicating with him, but he didn’t respond. Fugo, scared out of his wits, attempted to flee. Fluttershy saw his antlers flash for just a second, and the next she was looking at the twitching body of a fox turned inside out. “It’s okay, Angel. I’m okay.” As soon as Fluttershy was back in her kitchen, the branch in her leg grew rapidly: it copied the shape of the bones she once had, sprouted leaves that layered over each other in lieu of muscle, formed vines to transport her blood, and created a coat of bark that could be mistaken for fur and skin. Fluttershy chose to believe this was a sign of his benevolence. Rainbow Dash gave her an odd look. “Why do you wanna know?” Fluttershy’s wings strained to keep up with her friend’s pace, but she was used to taking her time while flying. “N-no reason. I’m just curious.” “Hm. Well, then I guess I believe in gods.” “Why?” She shrugged. “Just do.” Fluttershy’s eye twitched. “Um, but-” “So, why did you ask? Only fair that I can ask a question, right?” Fluttershy couldn’t argue with that. “I…” She glanced down at the landscape. “I want to know what a god is. Definitively.” Rainbow Dash’s eyebrows went up and she folded her forelegs. “O-kay. And why is that?” “I… well, I would want to know how to deal with one if it showed up,” Fluttershy eyed the leg Rainbow Dash idly scratched. “If I even could.” He followed her home. Fluttershy didn’t remember when he made his claim to the sub-room, but before she knew it, there were roots and leaves layered on the stone floor. Where he laid, strange symbols appeared on the walls. Knowing she was out of her depth, Fluttershy went to her friends for help. When they arrived at her cottage, a strange look came over their faces and, as one, they moved into the sub-room despite Fluttershy’s protests. There, she watched in helpless terror as he took her friends’ right forelegs, which they were only too happy to relinquish. “… Gods sound like they’d be kinda scary.” Fluttershy was so surprised she almost dropped the bowl of dough. “You think so?” Pinkie’s near-perpetual smile was still there, but her face held an air of severity. “Gods have a lot of power, right? Or at least more than your average joe. Joe’s an old friend, by the way. But yeah, I think that a mean god would be really scary if they had that power.” “You think gods are mean?” “I think they’d be like any other pony,” Pinkie turned to check on the oven, then came back. “Which is good because they could understand us, but bad because ponies can do silly things when they’re angry or hurt.” Fluttershy was quiet for a bit, eyeing Pinkie’s foreleg intently. “But at least we’d be able to understand them.” “That’s true,” Pinkie nodded. “Even I would have a hard time trying to make a god smile if I had no idea what they wanted.” On the day he took her friends’ legs, he turned the sky above Ponyville red and the ground teeming with leeches. Fluttershy somehow managed to pull her friends away, but no one in town seemed to notice what had happened to the sky. They all had an odd compulsion to stick close to her, though, and it took an hour to lose them. Returning to her home, Fluttershy pleaded with him to stop and offered her servitude in exchange. He seemed content with this, for after taking it – while she could feel every symbol being carved before her leg was cruelly yanked off – the sky returned to normal and her friends came out of their trance, limbs restored. Fluttershy knew at that point that she would have to deal with him alone, for anyone made aware of his presence might suffer the same fate. He seemed content with having her at his beck and call, but for how long? How long until he grew tired? Why did he not control her like he did the others? Fluttershy hoped to understand the mind of the god beneath her home before it was too late. “I liked it,” Rainbow Dash nodded. “But I can’t help but feel it’s too similar to Trixie’s.” “Her story reminded me of this one,” Applejack replied, getting up to blow out a candle. “Nothin’ wrong with tha’, is there?” “Seems fine to me,” Pinkie added. “Angels, gods – we make them out to be super powerful, so it’s really scary to think that they’ll just hurt you for no rhyme or reason because… well, what can you do? Nothing.” “Maybe that’s why stories about regular ponies overcoming the gods are so inspiring?” Starlight suggested. “I haven’t studied many religious beliefs, but it seems like there’s always at least one story where a mortal gets the upper hoof on some entity supposedly above them in every regard.” “Ponies are stubborn as heck,” Rainbow Dash stretched and lied down on her side. “Even if we revere something, part of us still wants to rebel against us. It’s in our nature.” “That’s insightful of you.” “I’m all kinds of sightful.” Twilight watched Applejack blow out her candle. “So, it’s just one more tale now. And that privilege belongs to me.” “No pressure or anything,” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “But you’d think the last tale would be the biggest one of them all, right?” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Right, ‘no pressure’, hm? Well, I’ll certainly try my best.” “I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Fluttershy said with a warm smile. “That’s right – you show us how it’s done, teacher!” Starlight cheered. “Okay, okay,” Twilight took a deep breath. “Let’s begin…”