//------------------------------// // Coming Home // Story: The Ash // by Raging Mouse //------------------------------// Chapter 37: Coming Home The tree house came into view and Fluttershy breathed out a sigh of relief, tensions melting away. The old tree had several new shoots and every branch was bowed down by the weight of fresh and healthy leaves that glowed and rustled in the spring sun and the mild breeze. The place was a hive of activity and animal noises, which for the yellow pegasus was synonymous with ‘quiet’ and ‘peaceful’. Through the background chatter of her chosen haven she did hear the teeth of a rake being dragged across the ground, something that was out of place since it wasn’t her doing the raking, but she’d expected some kind of sign from her guests. Well, tenants was perhaps a better word for them. Pony tenants. Flax Spinner was raking the path in front of the door to her house. A moment’s pause to straighten his back made him aware of the approaching pegasus. He spit out the rake before turning to the open front door and shouting. “Fluttershy’s here!” The ensuing chorus of squeaks, peeps, growls, hisses and other animal calls as well as the rumbling stampede of a myriad running critters made Fluttershy gasp and slow down. Mere seconds later she was surrounded by a living sea of bodies that hugged, nuzzled and ground itself against her in almost every kind of appreciative and affectionate gesture found in the animal kingdom. Birds sat on her ears, making them sag, and nibbled lovingly on her mane or just stroked their heads against hers. “There, there. I missed you guys. Have you been kind to the Spinners?” A chorus of affirmative noises answered Fluttershy and the throng around her relented slightly, enabling her to walk slowly forward to the three waiting ponies ahead of her. She saw Tale Spinner peek shyly at her, from behind his father, and waved at him. She noted the glow surrounding Dewdrop Spinner’s entire bearing and smiled widely at the pegasus. “Hello... and congratulations.” Dewdrop blushed and rubbed her stomach shyly with a hoof while her husband traded nuzzles with Fluttershy. “Hello and welcome back, miss Fluttershy! Shall we take your packs?” The yellow pegasus glanced over her shoulder. She was wearing saddlebags and carrying an assortment of additional packs and bundles, the largest of which was swept in a blanket and perched on her back. A raccoon was sniffing curiously up at the large bundle and she deterred it with a gentle push. “Thank you, that won’t be necessary. I’ll take care of them myself. How are you? Well, I can see that you are relatively happy.” Flax and Dewdrop exchanged glances and nodded slightly at Fluttershy, but then hung their heads and sighed collectively. “We’re quite all right. We’ve been able to get on with our lives ever since your letter, but we still miss our daughter. Hearing Silk’s been found and that she’s safe was so great that I don’t have the words, but we ache to see her again.” Hearing this made Fluttershy nod and smile gently. “Ah, well, I think that can be arranged...” She turned her head and called back along the path. “Silk? It’s all right, just like I told you. Come out.” A candy colour mane atop a tan face peeked out from behind a wide tree trunk. Two teary, frightened and hesitant eyes peered at the four ponies. Dewdrop emitted a scream of delight and happiness that evolved into a mixture of laughter, wails and sobs, loudly trying to express the storm of emotion she felt as she galloped towards her eldest daughter, who was also running with tears falling freely and an expression of anguish, longing and regret twisting her face. They collided purposely, embracing each other with their entwining necks. Flax was with them an instant later, pressing up against his daughter’s side and craning his neck over the two others, sandwiching Silk between her parents. Tale, Silk’s younger brother, galloped up and let his back brush against her neck and chest. They laughed and they cried. Fluttershy watched the tableau with a happy smile and moistening eyes, until a weak cry from her back made her ears flick around. She craned back and took the largest bundle in her teeth, setting it gently on the ground in front of her and prying open the wrapped blanket with her wings. Two wide and vulnerable eyes looked up at her. “Did all the noise wake you up? I’m sorry.” A white and furry shape walked up to the bundled child. Two long ears twitched. Then the head was raised and two button eyes above a stern frown regarded Fluttershy questioningly. “Hello to you too, Angel. This is Welder. I want you to be nice to him, as he’ll be living with us.” Angel continued to stare at Fluttershy, only raising an eyebrow. At his side, two eyes followed his dangling ears’ every move... and then two tiny hands grabbed the closer ear, making the rabbit stiffen in shock. The ear was unceremoniously brought closer for inspection, meaning that the tip was inserted into Welder’s mouth and sucked on. Fluttershy beamed down at the pair, nuzzling the paralysed rabbit. “He likes you already, Angel! I know you’ll be the best of friends soon.” Angel snapped out of his trance and squeaked angrily at Fluttershy before opening and closing his mouth theatrically, making slurping and smacking noises. “Don’t be silly. He doesn’t want to eat you.” The rabbit stomped on the ground, gently dislodged his (thoroughly soaked and messy) ear from the baby’s grip and stormed off. The baby’s eyes followed his departure while tiny hands clenched and unclenched. Welder whimpered and turned back to look at Fluttershy. She nuzzled him gently before carefully replacing his bundle on her back. “Let’s get you moved in, shall we?” ~~~~~ “...And it is therefore with utmost respect that I must decline your demand. Signed, Twilight Sparkle. No, wait, scratch that, I’ve used that too much... Queen Twilight? Ugh, I hate that.” Trixie levitated the scroll and quill lower, allowing her to peer over it at the purple mare in front of her. “May I suggest ‘Prophet Fulcrum’? Miss Laurel Leaf is one of your priesthood. She’d probably appreciate the signature and heed your reply better.” Twilight nodded vigorously. “It’s better. Good idea, Trixie. Spike, what’s the count?” The baby dragon was sitting on Twilight’s back, with his back facing her head and heels dug into her flanks for support. He scanned a parchment scroll in his one hand and used a claw on his other hand to count the inky scratches on the scroll that served as tally marks. “That makes one thousand, six hundred and twenty-nine demands for immediate alicornhood, versus one thousand, five hundred and fifty-two demands for stronger regulations on magic usage.” “Wouldn’t it be easier to keep count somewhere else than on my back?” Spike shot Twilight a dirty look and turned around, clamping his arms around her neck. He ignored Twilight’s protests that he was crumpling the parchment against her. “It probably would. I’m not moving.” Twilight sighed and craned her neck around so she could plant a kiss on Spike’s head. Then she turned back to Trixie. “We’ll need to archive these letters as part of my official correspondence. A thorough statistical analysis will also be needed. How many unicorns for or against? What about the other two kinds? Or what about ex-ashen and unconverted?” Trixie nodded as the quill danced in her magic. “Anything else, Honoured... I mean, Twilight?” “How have your arrangements come along?” “Just fine. The mayor graciously lent me a small office at city hall, and they’d be delighted to house your offices as well, at least temporarily. Especially when I mentioned that Ponyville would be getting a budget for supporting this branch of the government.” Twilight sat down on her haunches, idly patting one of Spike’s hands with a hoof. She looked around the treehouse library, its familiar shelves speaking to her of home and comfort. “We can’t count on the Ash Queen’s offices being in Ponyville for more than six years, so I don’t think we should commission the construction of a permanent building. The town hall will do, and we’ll try to find space for the archives somewhere nearby. A secondary archive in Canterlot should also be founded.” The ice-hued unicorn smirked and narrowed her eyes at Twilight. “You really think you won’t get re-elected? Celestia and Luna told you that you wouldn’t be able to shed the mantle of royalty and I, for one, believe them.” “I don’t want to be queen-elect!” “Enough to sabotage your appointed duties?” “No, never. Even if I don’t like it, I’ll do this as good as I can.” “Right. I wouldn’t worry too much about commissioning a building that might never be used unless you get re-elected. Twilight, you are Prophet Fulcrum. You are Ash Queen Twilight, and even though you insisted on elections the ponies of Equestria will always see you, and nopony else, as having that title.” “We’ve erased the laws from Harmony that required unquestioning loyalty to the throne. They are free to change their minds, Trixie.” “They won’t. Trust me, My Queen, they won’t. The former ashen... they are proud of what they were, and you are their representative. We shall see what the next generation of ponies do, but since there are unofficial temples to the ash in every major city and most towns I dare say they’ll pass on their values and traditions. You can count on being queen for the foreseeable future.” Twilight stared at Trixie. “There are temples? Is there one here in Ponyville?” This made the former showmare blush. “Um, y – yes.” “Oh Trixie.” “Well I could afford such a big house thanks to my wages as your secretary and adjutant, so I had plenty of room over... it kind of felt natural. A – and the few ashen here – well, actually, there’s more than a few now, since some of them are moving here – have always looked to me for leadership, probably thanks to my being your hoofmaiden.” An ear flicked on Twilight’s head while she peered intently at Trixie. “So what do you do in these temples?” “We meditate. Try to get in touch with our spirits, and the spirits of the Two Harmonies.” “Huh. Really? Has anypony managed to come in contact with the Harmonies?” “Well, not that I know. We believe that just trying is enough, really. One doesn’t have to embody Harmony to live in accordance to it, after all. But it’s possible, right?” A chance to lecture and theorise always perked Twilight right up and she rose, careful not to dislodge Spike, to pace back and forth while thinking. “It’s entirely possible, in theory, though I’d say it’s very unlikely to succeed. The False Harmony, or Lesser Harmony as ponies have taken to calling it, is a pony construct, but conflicting directives and the mind-boggling age of it would probably mean its mind is both alien and more than a bit insane by our standards. The Greater Harmony, however... it’s so vast and alien that I doubt we’d even realise if we’d ever manage to contact it. It might even be dangerous.” Trixie shrugged. “We won’t know until somepony succeeds. Anyway, I find it very relaxing, and it does wonders for my focus.” Twilight tilted her head. “You know, I think I’d like to try that. Celestia knows – heh – that royal business is stressful enough. It might be good to have another way to relax besides the Spa trips with Rarity.” “Oh, you’d be very welcome to join us! It would be such an honor!” “Let’s finish up here first. Then I’d like to check out this temple.” Spike shifted on Twilight’s back and groaned dejectedly. “Watching you doing nothing is going to be bo-ring.” She bent her neck again, bringing her mouth up to one of Spike’s finned ears. She murmured gently to him. “Spike, you don’t have to come along. You could always go and do something else. Would you like to visit Rarity? Or maybe eat some ice cream?” “No! I want to stay with you!” “Oh Spike. I know you missed me so terribly much. I missed you too! But sooner or later you’ll have to let go. I won’t disappear, I promise.” There was a long silence before Spike answered with a waveríng voice. “Maybe tomorrow. Okay?” “Okay. You can take a nap while I meditate. How about that?” “...Okay.”          ~~~~~ Trixie’s rented house was indeed as spacious as she'd said, consisting of a lower floor with a shop front and an upper floor meant for living quarters. The large shop window was unadorned, except for some modest window blinds and a ceramic bowl containing smooth rocks surrounding a single lit candle. Twilight recognised it as a symbol of the ashen. The main room inside was empty and capacious. Light rectangles in the wooden floor revealed where counters had stood when the room actually had served as a store of some kind (Twilight didn’t know exactly what kind – it had been closed before she’d moved to Ponyville). Colorful carpets and pillows were strewn over the floor and banners filled with text hung from the ceiling. A faint scent of incense wafted against Twilight as she stood on the threshold and peered into the gloom. Trixie moved around inside, lighting candles with her magic and gradually creating a comfortable glow. Twilight walked up to one of the hanging banners and focused on the text. Of the Nature of the Two Harmonies The Lesser Harmony is made by ponies and is prone to error and malfunction, though it means well. The Greater Harmony is not a made thing and is thus perfect, but uncaring and unfeeling as we ponies are next to nothing compared to it. Sometimes the two clash. The Lesser Harmony was created by ponies a long time ago weaving enchantments into their laws and agreements, trying to stop their wars and their nigh-omnipotence from ending their world. It was a fragile thing and it grew out of control as other enchantments and laws were incorporated into it, and as old kings and queens died, through violence or accident, and nopony rose to replace them and control the development of Lesser Harmony. Instead of a final apocalypse, ponykind suffered myriad small ones that kept resetting our civilisations and our history until finally Prophet Fulcrum arose to Queen and ended the tyranny of Lesser Harmony. The Greater Harmony was born as the universe was born, for it is the spirit of the universe. Just as every pebble has a spirit, just as every pony has a spirit, just as every knothole, space between straws of grass and the void between the stars have spirits, so too do the ties of friendship between ponies create a spirit, so too does the nations of Equestria have spirits and so, too, does every imaginable grouping and gathering of everything have spirits. So it follows that the universe as a whole has the ultimate spirit, that every other spirit is but a part of. This Greater Harmony tells the universe what it is supposed to be. When the Lesser Harmony grew too large and bloated, it was noticed as an aberration. Maybe it wasn’t the Greater Harmony itself, maybe it was, but something, some higher spirit of which the Lesser Harmony was but a part, definitely noticed things were out of kilter. Whatever it was, it sensed an itch and began to scratch. It is difficult to say how many of the disasters that have befallen Equestria were indirect attempts to get rid of or at least diminish the Lesser Harmony, but Prophet Fulcrum has said that Diamond Dust had definitely been set on her path by some outside agent, as had probably she herself been set on hers. As had Discord, that corrupter of Harmony. As had... “What do you think?” Twilight started and turned to Trixie, seeing the icy mare watching her intently and with a slight blush developing on her cheeks. “What is this, Trixie?” “Um, we kind of need new scripture. I’ve, um, rewritten some of the speeches and lectures you’ve held into more concise forms. The temples in the other towns have been hounding me, well you actually, for something like this...” “Trixie, I’d like at least some authorial control over these if my words are going to be incorporated into some kind of philosophical scripture.” The former showmare bowed repeatedly. “Of course. I’m sorry! I’ll show all the drafts to you when you have the time.” Twilight nodded, walked to a cluster of pillows that looked comfortable and lay down on them. Then she looked back at Trixie. “A bit empty in here. How often do you have visitors?” “Oh, there’s usually one or two dropping in in the afternoon, and come evening there’ll be five or six in all.” “Huh. That’s actually a quite good day for the library.” Trixie was sweating bullets. This was probably one of the most delicate situations she’d ever faced. “Aheh... Maybe they wouldn’t mind a book presentation once in a while?” “Not a bad idea at all. Perhaps we could even let a few copies of some of the more accessible works of philosophy be placed here.” Twilight ignored the relieved exhalation she heard and settled in among the pillows. Now that she was here, it struck her that she didn’t really need to meditate to contact the Lesser Harmony. As long as she was queen it would readily respond to her via magic. As for the Greater Harmony... she didn’t see much point in casually attempting something like that. Contacting the spirit of the universe was for others. But what did that leave her? She was about to give up, rise and do something else, when she recalled that Celestia and Luna seemed to commune with the spirits of the sun and moon respectively, as well as of Canterlot Mountain. Maybe she could do something like that. Clearing an active mind like Twilight’s was perhaps more difficult than usual, but she also had a disciplined mind. One by one she filtered out the external world while at the same time recalling the total removal she’d felt while petrified. This time was different, of course, but it served as a good starting point. She reached out, searching for a spirit that she felt intimately linked to. Hello, Ponyville. Can you hear me?