//------------------------------// // Chapter Fourteen: Parakaleo // Story: The Assumption of Applejack -or- Appletheosis // by Blue Print //------------------------------// Chapter Fourteen: Parakaleo After the prank she and Celestia pulled on Lord Heartstrings things got both better and worse for Night Glider. The entire court now gave her respect, but it was also laced with fear and hesitance. Nopony knew exactly what had happened to Lord Heartstrings, but they all knew why it had happened. After a few more days of this treatment Night was thoroughly fed up with unicorns. Celestia picked up on this and came up with a solution. “Earth ponies! We’ll go visit the earth ponies and have ourselves a good old time there. It’s been decades since I visited them. They’re good solid folk that won’t treat you any different than anypony else, long as you pull your weight. Besides, the food’s richer and the wine’s sweeter out there in the country. What say you?” Night, slumped on the dining table, gave a non-committal grunt and went back to moping. “I will take that as a yes. Let’s away!” In a flash of solar magic, Night suddenly found herself a good thousand feet in the air. She flailed about briefly before getting herself into a safe glide. Celestia’s hearty laughter at her antics both frustrated and amused the dark alicorn. “Are we just leaving like that? No warning to anypony?” Night asked. “Certainly. They are no more my masters than a gaggle of chickens is. It has been far too long since I left the palace anyway. Any longer in there and I might start gathering cobwebs.” Night frowned at this. “How can you just lose a decade like that? You’ve spent half my natural life sitting around drinking and contemplating your hooves and you laugh it off like an afternoon spent napping.” Celestia took a moment to respond. “Yes, it’s quite disgusting really… It’s easier than getting up and trying to deal with things. The races of ponies are so divided and petty these days. It depresses me, and I don’t like being depressed.” Below them lay the burgeoning fields of the earth ponies, and ahead of them lay one of their villages. Celestia and Night swung low and came to rest not far from the central longhouse of the village. Celestia flashed Night a winning grin and knocked on the door of the lodge. From inside came a fierce, but squeaky female voice, “Who goes there?” “A visitor! Who else? Is Chancellor Waffle still rattling around these parts or has he trotted off to greener pastures?” “Oh, uh, he’s been dead these four years. Died happy though. Just after breakfast it was. The maple syrup was a mess to clean up, let me tell you.” “Who is chancellor now?” “That would be me. Chancellor Puddinghead…” There was a pause from both parties. “Oh! How rude of me. Come in! And know me better, mare.” Night Glider squinted skeptically at this, but Celestia’s unfaltering smile got her to withhold her doubts. Ducking as she entered the longhouse she was greeted by the delicious scent of baking bread. Busily working away at a stone oven in the center of the room was a fairly portly mare wearing a rather ridiculous hat. She was in process of removing a couple of finished loaves and replacing them with new dough. Finally satisfied, she set down her bread paddle and turned to her guests. As soon as she caught sight of them, she shrieked and jumped into the rafters. This at last earned a frown from Celestia. “What now chancellor? Thy forbearers were not so skittish as thee. Come down from there and greet a guest in the name of a guest as is meet. Our form should not affright thee so sorely. Twas a familiar sight in years not long past that We should grace thee with our presence.” “No! I shall not greet thee in the name of a guest since thou hast become our enemy. I know thee Celestia. These past years thou hast consorted with the unicorns to rob us of hearth and home. Thy withholding of the sun when we resisted the levy of the unicorn tribute is proof enough of thy treachery! Thou wouldst doom the world to death in ice and hunger for thy trinkets of gold and thine own full belly. I have heard tell of thy power, but what is it to stand against power when one’s only other courses are death and slow death?” Celestia scowled openly now. “I spit upon thy proof! Thee and me have been betrayed both, but if thou desirest ice and hunger, perhaps those kin of thine in lies and slander can give it thee. We shall go where ponies know how to treat a stranger under their roofs.” Night was absolutely bewildered by the exchange and offered no resistance when Celestia shooed her out with a wing. The look on the elder goddess’s face was pure iron and hatred. She glanced at Night with a look that could burn stone. “I have been sorely betrayed by the very ponies with whom I shared a roof and meal. They have turned old friends to enemies and broken ancient alliances for filthy gain. Come. I go to confront the villain in this scheme.” Night nodded mutely. Without another word, the Sun took to the skies while the Moon followed close after. *** “Wait. She held back the sun fer tha unicorns? Ah thought she wasn’t taking sides?” “It was the ‘solar schedule.’ Under the guise of experimentation they were using her to threaten the other races while keeping her blind to the whole affair.” *** Celestia landed on the roof of the unicorn palace, her head cocked and ears listening for some unknown signal. Glancing at Night, she said, “Wait up here. Ye shall hear the exchange fine from this vantage.” With a flash of her horn, the wrathful goddess tore a hole through the copper, wood and stone of the roof into the throne room below. Landing like a star from heaven she regally stood over the ponies who cowered before her. Only one dared remain standing. Queen Argent strode angrily to the edge of her dais and stomped a silver-shod hoof. “What is the meaning of this, Celestia? Is thy mead not properly warmed? Has some waif not turned thy mattress properly? What gives thee the right to intrude on Our court in such a manner, where proper business is conducted!?” Celestia stared across at the indignant queen, her mane curling at the edges with wisps of multi-hued flame and radiation. “THOU DAREST SPEAK TO US SO? THOU LIAR OF THE INFERNAL PIT, THOU WILT KNEEL IN TEARS AND EXCREMENT AS PAIN EATS THEE ALIVE BEFORE ME SHOULD I BUT FLICK MY HORN. THOU ART LOWER THAN A WHELP OF DOGS AND AN EATER OF CARRION FLESH, FOR THOU HAST SET THINE OWN GAIN HIGHER THAN THY NEIGHBOR AND TREATED TRECHEROUSLY WITH THOSE WHO ONCE COUNTED THEE FRIEND. THERE IS NO LIGHT LEFT IN PONY KIND AND WE SEE NO NEED TO SHARE OURS WITH THOSE WHO WOULD ABUSE IT AS A WEAPON. THOU HAST COVETED THE VERY SUN, NOW LET THY MAGES AND WIZARDS SUFFER UNDER ITS BURDEN!” Her final statement was punctuated by a resounding stomp that shattered the stone beneath her and launched her into the air and out of the castle. Night Glider leapt into the air after her, struggling to keep up. “Wh-Where are we going?” Celestia never turned her gaze, her eyes watering slightly. “Away.” *** Luna sat back with a sigh. Applejack glanced over at her. A slight smile graced the dark goddess’s face. “What followed were the best years of my life, I’m not ashamed to say. Celestia and I wandered the earth, sometimes in humble disguise, sometimes in burning glory. We ranged from the steppes of Mongrelgolia to the burning Liongeti to the savage woods of the Hartland. We conquered demons and built cities. I remember the day I gained my starry mane as we tamed the wild Ursae. Meanwhile, the days and nights grew longer and colder as the Unicorns slowly lost control of the sun’s orbit. Celestia had pity on the rest of the world, and made the sun shine unusually bright on those parts that were innocent of wrong, but she would not light her horn to move it an inch to the right or left. I’m told that many unicorns lost their lives trying to keep the sun on its course. Queen Argent herself died years later from the strain of trying to lift the sun. Really, though, it was her pride that did her in. Her daughter, Princess Platinum, finally realized the folly of trying to stay in old Unicornia.” “Ah think Ah know tha rest a this story. It’s tha Hearthswarming Eve play isn’t it? Ah thought it was wendigoes that brought tha winter.” said Applejack. “Ah, no, though dangerous, they are just parasites, following the cold in the air and the cold in ponies’ hearts. Celestia holds that play as a reminder to herself as much as to her ponies. She was part of the cause of their suffering. I think she still feels guilty for the innocent lives lost because of her grudge. Starswirl the Bearded herself died in that unnatural winter.” “Wait. Starswirl? Tha guy Twilight’s always on about was a she? With a beard?” “Yes, Celestia told me that she never understood her fashion choices, but the facial hair spell she devised was always her proudest accomplishment, no matter what other wonders she achieved during her long life. Hence the epithet. It was weird enough to be worth mentioning.” “So, anyway, when tha Fire a Friendship was made, was that real?” “Very. It was, in fact, the seed from whence sprang the Elements of Harmony. Its magic restored the frozen wastelands and grabbed our attention from a continent away. Celestia’s own heart was melted by it, I think. It was what convinced her to return to what was now Equestria. She realized that they had overcome their prejudices to a degree.” “Was that when y’all became the rulers of Equestria?” “No, first came the reign of the Triumvirate and the Shattering, but that is a story for another time. We did, eventually, ascend to the throne. I had learned, by that point, that fear is a useful tool to get one’s way. I was careful, at first, to ensure that they also knew I could be benevolent. As the centuries passed, I did indeed grow jealous of my sister’s easy popularity and winning ways, but old wounds ran deep. As much as I desired their fellowship, I was unwilling to mingle with the common ponies and suspicious of the nobility. There was one pony that I did keep in contact with, though, with whom I shared my secrets and insecurities…” “Who was that?” “Viceroy Sombra.” Applejack reared back a bit at that. “Really? That evil black smog feller? Couldn’t string two words together? Duller’n a drunk pig? That Sombra?” Luna chuckled morosely. “Yes, that Sombra. I suppose that’s my fault as well. A thousand years sealed on the moon and a thousand years trapped under the arctic ice are two very different things. It’s no wonder his mind broke. He was fascinated by me, and perhaps a bit in love. I returned his friendship, but I never saw his infatuation until too late. As the years went by he grew desperate for a way to catch my eye, to be ‘worthy’ of me. He sought a means of immortality and did much research into spells that preserved and sustained life, of that at least, much good came. Some of his methods still survive in our hospitals today. He finally reasoned that to live, a pony must consume, taint and destroy. After all, what is the act of eating or drinking? He found a way to break down things of order and beauty and consume their energy. He kept his horn blazing day and night, red-hot with superequine strain. However, the same spell that burned him sustained his life and magic in a twisted loop.” “Was that when y’all realized he was no good?” said Applejack. “No, not hardly. I was impressed with him. He extended his life for decades, just by burning slowly through his own sizeable estate, but I never gave him the one thing he desired more than my friendship. Mad with frustration, he hatched a plan to make himself not only immortal, but as powerful as a god. He supposed that then I might love him. He experimented with ever darker magicks, ways to burn hotter and faster. In a day he burnt his whole house to the ground, and all his treasure. On a wave of tainted smoke he flew into the palace and evicted the emperor. Nowhere in the entire empire was safe from his all-consuming taint. He believed himself invincible, and he spent a few years consolidating his power. He enslaved his own subjects, forcing them to mine the crystal that sustained him. Our envoys would have their minds warped so they could not give report of what happened behind the shields of the Crystal City. “I wondered what happened to his letters though. I missed their flattering words and kind sentiments. Worried, I went there myself. When he saw me approach, he was delighted. He drew me in, casting a glamour about my eyes so that I could only see him. I cannot remember much of what happened next. I believe that the Elements purged those memories from me when you rescued me. What I do know is that he preyed upon my fears and insecurities, warping my mind as best he could. His hubris was too great, thinking he could hold a goddess. I finally broke free of his spell while I dreamed one night, but the damage was done. The realization of his betrayal did what his dark magicks could not. My heart broke that night. My only friend, the one pony I had trusted, had turned on me. I fled to Celestia’s side, and we flew out to meet him, armed with the Elements. When we tried to purify him, their magic failed. I was far too sick at heart to wield them.” Luna stopped for a moment. Her head hung low, and tears hovered in her eyes. “So we killed him. We were forced to strike with the roaring violence of the Sun and the bitter hatred of the Void. His magic sustained him, though his body was reduced to a roiling miasma. His specter lashed out at us and the Empire with strange magicks that have rarely been seen since the foundation of the world. Finally, my sister managed to tear a hole in the very bones of the earth while I drew him under and sealed him away. I… I never recovered from the mad pain of that duty. I blamed my own sister for forcing me to seal away my only friend. I blamed Harmony itself. I turned on the entire world. If only I had let my sister in. Let her hold me and tell me it would be alright. Let her speak peace to my wounded soul like she so deeply desired.” Luna paused again and looked up at Applejack, her eyes deeper than the endless void. She seemed truly ancient then. More than the eons she had already seen, her eyes sang of a burden older than the stars, older than light, older than joy. She finally spoke again. “Don’t tune us out, Applejack. The whole world will fail you. To live is to know pain. To live forever is to suffer endlessly. You, Celestia, and I are meant to be the strength that keeps each other whole, to remind each other that friendship and peace are also eternal.” Applejack sat for a minute in silence, humbled and somber. “Ah won’t… Ah won’t.” She shook her head, unsure what to say. Luna dropped her gaze, a few tears escaping. A wan smile curled her lips. “Well said… Sister.” Her ears perked up at some inaudible signal. She looked back at Applejack. “Thy body is much recovered. Mine is repairing the larger strain, and will sleep a while longer. The dreamtime has never matched well with the passing of reality. I shall see thee soon. Though I have not known thee long, Celestia and I well know thy burden. Remember that we love thee, sister.”