//------------------------------// // 10- Eros and Psyche // Story: Approaching Apotheosis // by KKSlider //------------------------------// The bell above the door chimed as Luna stepped into the cafe, followed shortly thereafter by Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle. Sighing, I rose from my seat to greet them. “Luna– oof!” She practically launched herself at me, grappling me tightly in a hug. “Do not run off like that!” She growled, her muzzle still pressed against my chest. “It was quite clear that I am unwelcome here,” I told her. “I don’t want to ruin your day off.” “Our day off!” Luna stressed. I glanced at my blueprint for the Fifth Hive, “This has been anything but a day off.” Luna broke the hug, “All the more reason to not leave me! Do you honestly believe that I would enjoy this night, knowing you are off skulking somewhere and feeling abandoned?” “I do not sk– okay, maybe I do, but I do not feel abandoned!” Luna rolled her eyes, “If anything is certain, it is that you have a penchant for drama.” After the initial flood of love finished overwhelming my emotional senses, I noticed a rather glaring spike of sadness in the room. Twilight Sparkle was staring at the floor, completely still. “What happened?” I asked. Luna’s ears flicked backwards, “I told Twilight a rather depressing story. I will relay it to you later. Right now, I… would like to speak to you in private. Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy. We will converge again at the Golden Oaks library in a few minutes. Please find Rarity and Applejack in the meantime.” “No problem, Princess,” Rainbow saluted. Fluttershy smiled, “Okay, Princess Luna. Thank you for listening to me, King Phasma. We’ll, uh, talk again soon.” Twilight cleared her throat, “... Sounds good, Princess. We’ll see you there.” “Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked her friend. Twilight nodded slowly, “Yeah. I just have some things to talk about with the Pr– with Princess Celestia next time I see her.” The next part of their conversation was cut off when Luna enveloped us both in a flash of cyan magic. The warm, quiet comfort of the café was immediately ripped away and replaced with the bitter howling wind. Newly trained instincts kicked in before I realized that not only were we in the sky, but that I was falling. My large insect wings buzzed loudly as I caught myself and flew back upwards. Luna stood on a cloud– one that I had fallen straight through. She spoke over the wind, “Apologies! I forgot that changelings can not stand on clouds like pegasi can.” “We’re also not covered in fur,” I returned, still hovering in front of her. “You can change that at any time, I am quite certain!” I grimaced, “I don’t like disguising when I don’t have to. I’m not a trained Infiltrator, and I want to remain as me when I can. You know that, Luna.” Luna frowned, “... Yes. Sorry, I just wanted somewhere where nopony could overhear us.” She gestured to Ponyville, which now lay below us. Strings of lights, lone streetlamps, and many candles cut through the night. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” “... Reminds me of home,” I admitted. “That’s one sight that I’ll never see again: the night lights of Earth.” “You said you’ve never seen it in person,” Luna pointed out, “Pictures exist. So do videos. At least, they existed where I came from.” Luna sighed and lit up her horn with cyan magic. Four short bursts shot out from the tip, targeting each of my hooves as I hovered before her. “There! Now you can stand on a cloud– for the next fifteen minutes, at least.” Setting down next to her, I tried to cast my own spell across my body. This one was a basic warming enchantment, made to keep out the cold of winter. After three failed tries, Luna sighed and cast it on me herself. Unsurprisingly, she got the basic enchantment down on the first try. “Thanks. Alright Luna, no one’s going to hear us now,” I said. “... I would like to start with an apology,” Luna said, rubbing a foreleg awkwardly. “I wanted to put this off until later, but it seems that Harmony conspires against us. Drama and echoes of the past haunt us both like bygone specters of the dead. We need to talk about Tarsus.” “Fifteen minutes,” I reminded her. “It’ll hardly take even half that length,” Luna muttered. “The night you and the First Fang sentenced him, I gave only a token resistance. I was content to let you make your mistake and learn from it. I thought that it could be reversed in time. I… knew I should have done more to dissuade you. To dissuade you all. Yet I did not.” “I doubt you even could.” Luna shrugged, “Perhaps. But the fact that I did not is… it is not good, Phasma. I told you that I would help you. However, only Thorax was the voice of reason that night. For that, I’m sorry. All this has come to pass because of my inaction.” I frowned, “Luna–” She lifted a hoof to stay my protest, “There is more. I… do not think that your actions were severe– no, that isn’t right. I know your actions are severe, but I do not believe they are. Before you say anything, yes, your actions mattered most out of the First Fang.” “I wasn’t going to say anything,” I told her. “I know how it looks; I am the King, and even though it wasn’t my decision alone, it is ultimately my name that carries the weight when others hear about it. And I was also the one who promised you and your sister that I would try to be… less violent.” “Just as it is your name that the blame unjustly falls to, it is my fault that all of this happened,” Luna summarized. “But as I said, I do not believe your actions to be so incomprehensible. I spoke with Twilight about this, and I know that I will be speaking about this again tomorrow when we go to… therapy. I told Twilight about a grievous and brutal act that my sister and I committed shortly after Discord’s defeat. Even though it was some time ago, the memory feels as sharp as when it first happened. We slaughtered a warband of griffons in a way that would make even the most brutal of warlords– such as your mother– blush.. In my past, there were a thousand other battles that were even uglier than what transpired on that mountain. Compared to the things I have done, your actions seem almost tame.” “Discord’s defeat…. This was more than four thousand years ago.” Luna nodded, “Yes. Yet it haunts me.” “Luna, that’s almost as old as the pyramids!” At her confusion, I explained, “One of humanity’s oldest monuments. Shit, I still think of cringey and outright horrible things I’ve said and done as a child, but this is on a whole different level of history.” “A fact that Twilight is grappling with,” Luna explained. “How does one measure a mistake? A sin? How long ago it happened? How many ponies were hurt or killed? How unjust it was? You have done something brutal quite recently– which looks even worse when propped up with the death of Double Dealings. I have done countless horrendous atrocities that have stained my hooves red– but because those were in the past, you expect me to believe that they do not matter? Twilight’s misgivings are proof to the contrary. Celestia and I are not perfect. We have done horrible things. What is important is that we have learned from our mistakes and have never repeated them. “The fact that I let you retread those mistakes with only a paltry opposition is a mark of failure, Phasma. I must… reconcile the difference between what I know and what I believe. I failed when I did not try to stop the First Fang’s sentencing– even if my attempts would never have succeeded. I failed you when I stood by and let you take all of the blame. I must ask for your forgiveness for these…” I groaned, “Forgive you for my actions? Luna, your mental gymnastics are making my head hurt. As you said, there was likely nothing you could do– and as for letting me take all the blame, well… Apparently I needed the lesson to be brutally hammered home. After the party, I went to Chrysalis and I… completely overrode Thorax’s voice on the First Fang. I ordered the assassination of the traitor.” Luna grimaced, “Celestia informed me this morning of what has transpired. I had originally hoped to delay all of this until tomorrow…” “There’s more,” I said. “Not only does Tarsus live, he was with the Living Hero, the newly crowned King of Griffonia. The King likely thinks that it was an attempt on his own life. An act of war.” “Does he know that it was you?” I shrugged, “There’s no conceivable way he could know…” “No way that you know of,” Luna pointed out. “Exactly,” I sighed. “I told Celestia all of this.” “What was her reaction?” I frowned, “... Muted. I expected to be yelled at. Instead, she just fell back on her vices and told me to inform her of any new developments.” “Another mistake to remember,” Luna grunted. “Another pyramid in time... What is important is that this never happens again. I am not so naïve as to say that you should approach the King and take the blame. Let us follow Celestia’s lead and let this… blow over. If he eventually discovers the truth, our concealment will look bad. If he would have never discovered the truth save for our confession, then we would have started a war that could have been avoided.” The conversation fell into silence, overtaken by the constant whistling of the wind that carried the cloud across the sky. “Thank you, Luna.” “For what?” “For sticking with me. For giving me something to look forward to, despite everything and everyone I’ve lost. For understanding. It feels like every action of mine is looked at under a microscope. What would have been perfectly acceptable in my previous life is now seen as practically war crimes here. It means a lot that you are still trying to help me.” She chuckled, “There is a reason why the last truly despicable action Celestia and I have committed was over four thousand years ago. You know, aside from the actions of Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker. We hold ourselves to such a high degree that these things can never come to pass. With time, you’ll make it. I know you will.” “Yeah, no pressure.” Luna took both of my forehooves and leaned up to give me a kiss. “Thank you for taking all of the heat off me,” Luna smiled. “Nopony is even talking about how Nightmare Moon nearly tried to take over the world a second time, or that they miss complaining to Celestia instead of to me. Your horrible actions– and your mother’s– have made reintegration quite easy. In all seriousness, I am wanted and appreciated now. In the days before my corruption, I always felt the opposite. It may be selfish of me to say this, but your invasion has been a blessing. And yes, thank you for sticking with me this whole time. Going to sleep those first few months was a lot easier when I knew that I had a friend I could talk to all night long. I’ve had enough loneliness to fill a hundred lifetimes.” “I'm happy to give something back,” I grinned as I gave her a kiss. “As much as I would like to hold onto this moment, it is time to return," Luna lamented. "I will relay the full story of what happened on another day. Tomorrow, during our therapy, I would like to…. tell you what I experienced during my banishment." "Are you sure, Luna? I know you don’t like talking about it." She gripped my hooves tighter and nodded, "I do not wish to. But for this wound to heal, I must rip off the bandage." "Okay. I'll be there for you," I promised. "And not just because I got the equivalent of a court order to attend." When we returned to Twilight Sparkle's house, I was in a much better mood. When Fluttershy immediately offered me the chart that I had accidentally left behind in the café, I was in an even better mood. 'Why can't all six of the Element Bearers be like Fluttershy? Hmm… I wonder if there's a way I can turn all of them into clones of her. Yeah, that's a perfectly sensible and moral thing to do. I'll approach Twilight with the idea later.' I stowed away the drawing under my elytra for safekeeping. I would have to deal with the uncomfortable scratching sensation against my wings, as I lacked any sort of backpack or saddlebags. The Elements and Luna were quietly talking about things that both did and didn't matter when the door to the library opened. Two ponies, one a prim and proper unicorn, and the other a backwater country-girl earth pony, entered the library. "Sorry for the delay," Rarity apologized as she greeted her friends. "Applejack here wanted to finish up some family business before coming over." The Element of Honesty was wearing a scarecrow costume for Nightmare Night. At her mention, she waved to everyone present. "Sorry, everypony. Granny was stuck making some more caramel apples. Apparently, they're selling like hotcakes tonight! I had to lend a helping hoof." Fluttershy gave me a side glance. I returned the gesture of a small shake of my head. "Where is the Element of Laughter?" Luna asked, looking around the room. "Watching over the Cakes’ foals," Rainbow explained. "That's the family she lives with." "Then we are set for tonight's expedition!" Luna declared. "Let us be off. I wish to see how the holiday named after my scourge is celebrated." Luna, with eagerness to match the missing pink pony, pranced out of the library. The rest of us scrambled to follow her out. Our first and longest stop on our little tour of Ponyville would be the main street and the stalls that lined the thoroughfare. There were plenty of ponies still outside, going from house to house, demanding candy. The costumes were a lot less complete than I expected. Most ponies only wore one or two parts of a costume each. 'Then again, ponies don't exactly wear costumes.' Ponies stopped and greeted the Princess. Several foals shrieked and hollered when they saw the alicorn. A few even offered up portions of their haul as a sacrifice. But I knew as an empath that there were none that were actually afraid of her. Despite being brought up upon the idea that Nightmare Moon was a demon to be feared and supplicated with candy, none of the foals actually feared her. They were scared of me, however. Parents visibly scooted their foals out of the way or even just further away from me when they spotted me. As such, I gravitated towards the back of our little pack as we traveled through the town, meeting ponies. With Luna being distracted with a few stalls that would have fit right into a carnival, I was stuck with finding something to occupy myself. I could have joined her, but I never really found bobbing for apples or similar games to be appealing. Trusting Twilight Sparkle to make sure Luna was having a good time, I looked around for an activity within eyesight. '... Oh! Now there's an idea!' The corner I headed to was a small art stand with some slightly-spooky Halloween-inspired paintings up. 'Nightmare Night. Whatever. As long as the owner doesn’t start asking questions about shit I don't want to talk about, I'll kill some time here until we move on.' The stall owner, a cream-colored earth pony mare wearing a skeleton costume and a bone-white mane, didn't even flinch when she saw me walking over. "Good evening, King Phasma." She greeted me. "Hello," I said. "Nice… paintings. You make them yourself?" "Actually, my marefriend Lyra made them. I'm just watching her stall while she fixes her costume." "... Have we met before?" I asked suddenly. "Your voice sounds familiar." "No," the mare said. "You sure?" I frowned. "I could have been disguised at the time…" "Have you ever been here, to Ponyville?" "No," I relented. "Sorry, I just thought I recognized you. Err… how much for one of these paintings?" "The price is on the painting." "This one doesn't have a price," I pointed out. I levitated the painting from where it rested against the stand and showed it to the mare. The painting was of a frog sitting on a lilypad, its reflection in the water distorted. She nodded, "I see. It probably got mixed up with this batch. I guess I can sell it to you for fifty bits… You sure you don't want a Nightmare Night one? This is the only time Lyra sells these." I shook my head, "The person I'm giving this to won't be interested in the others." 'Lace loves painting. Lace loves nature. Surely, she'll love a painting of nature.' The mare shrugged, "Fifty bits." I patted down my haunches out of habit, "I seem to have left my wallet at home." "I'm sure one of the Elements would be happy to lend you the money. Or if you really don't have a way to pay, I could give it to you…" the mare suggested. "This is for your marefriend, right? Princess Luna? We all owe her a lot." I shook my head, "No, it's for a friend. Her name is Lacewing." The pony froze. Up to this point, she remained as cool as a cucumber. But when I mentioned Lace's name, a spike of emotion pulsed from her like a boat's wake. It took me a second to identify the emotion. It was hatred. Specifically, a niche subset of hate, one directed inwards. Guilt. Everything clicked into place. I had, in fact, met this pony before. "Take it," she said. "On the house." "Thanks… Inquisitor," I said quietly. "She'll love it." "Shhh," Sweetie Drops hushed me. "My name is Bon Bon." I nodded, "Bon Bon. I can pay you back. I don't exactly have a shortage of bits." She insisted, "Just take it. I saw the full debriefing. It doesn't feel like I've done enough. Please, take it." "Thanks. And I really do mean thank you, Bon Bon. You saved a lot of lives. If you need anything at all…" "I'll go to my boss first," Sweetie insisted. "But sure, if she can't help, I'll ask you. I'm just happy to help." "Take care," I said, struggling to find a way to hold the painting without it being distracting. "You too!" She called out as I walked away. Sighing, I carefully stuffed the painting underneath my elytra, on top of the drawing. It was pretty uncomfortable, and I couldn't even close the elytra all the way anymore, but it would have to do. Luna was still busy with the distractions the little fair offered. She had moved on from bobbing apples to throwing darts at balloons filled with glow-in-the-dark paint. Twilight and Rainbow were hurling darts alongside Luna while Rarity and Fluttershy chatted off to the side. The last of the five had sauntered over to me. "Thought the Princess said you were too busy to come," Applejack greeted me. "Our schedules are subject to change," I told her. "... Dash said you were fixin' the mess you made. Is that true?" "Are you here to interrogate me?" Applejack frowned, "No, I just believe ponies have to eat their supper before they can get their dessert." "I am monitoring the situation," I explained. "Sounds like it's not fixed." "It's not." She rubbed her chin, "Something happened?" "Yes." "... Can you tell me what happened?" I glared down at the smaller pony, "I'm having a wonderful day off work, thank you." Applejack nodded to Fluttershy, "Fluttershy said you were workin' when they found yah. I don't think askin' a few questions is pushing too hard, do you?" "... I made things worse," I admitted. "You got your answer. Now leave me alone." Applejack paused, "... Anything we can help with?" "You?" I asked incredulously. "There's nothing anyone can do but sit back and hope this spark doesn't blow into a forest fire." "Huh. Well, thanks for being honest with me. I, uh… I saw you buy something from that mare earlier." "Don't you have something better to do than to spy on me?" I snapped. Applejack took a step back, "Woah, I didn't mean nothing by it. I just meant that, errr… Look, maybe I'll just talk to you in a bit. Sorry about putting you in a bad mood." As I left Applejack behind, Luna saw me and quickly pranced over. “Phasma! I have won many games!” She cheered. “Totally,” Twilight chuckled when she joined us. “Princess Luna is a natural.” “And Twilight only sabotaged herself in three out of the six games!” Luna smiled. She continued as Twilight froze, “I think she picked up that I played most of these a few times in my day. There are only so many ways you can reinvent the wheel, dame Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight chuckled nervously, “Oh, you, uh, noticed? I just wanted to make sure you had a good time, Princess!” Luna lifted the smaller unicorn up and hugged her, “I know! You really are trying to make this a wonderful night, thank you! Come, all of you, I have been informed of a ‘haunted maze’ that must be conquered! We shall split off into pairs when we delve into it. Phasma! With me!” I snickered as I started walking to this maze alongside Luna, “Just the two of us, all alone, in a maze?” “Head out of the gutter, wayward King,” Luna elbowed me. “We will not be alone in the maze. Nor are such scandalous thoughts that are implying proper in public.” “N-not even… hoof holding?” I whispered. “Hmmm… Since you have been cooperative so far, I can indulge your fantasy,” Luna chuckled, taking my hoof as we walked down the moonlit street.