//------------------------------// // Emergence // Story: Earth and Sea // by beasert //------------------------------// The warm earth rolled around the alicorn. She was deep in troubled thought. Twice in the last few years, calamity fell upon her young ones. Things turned out better than these troubles had caused so long ago, but it seemed that they would not be gone forever. She knew everything worked in a cycle, and feared what this might mean for her daughters. The great mare rose up, shaking the earth from her with a flick. She looked about with dull, violet eyes at her home of magma, stone and iron. She had a long walk ahead, but was excited at seeing her family again after so long. See had always watched from afar; sensing their presence as they walked or carried their tasks above the surface. Her children seemed to be the happiest they have been in ages. Taking a glance back to make sure things would take care of their selves for a while, the ancient queen Gaea stepped forward, the stone parting to allow her passage. It was a long walk to the surface, but it gave Gaea time to think about what she would do. Celestia had not spoken with her since she banished her sister a millennium ago, taking on both of their responsibilities. Even with Luna's return, the two of them have been busy with the world above. It had grown so noisy up there the last couple of centuries. At least the sounds were generally peaceful. Then there was that draconequus. He had only returned for one day, but the rage he filled Gaea with! She almost spilled the fires of the earth unto the surface just to do away with him once and for all. But, the snake, he knew. He kept it all at bay in the back of his mind. It would have greatly pleased Gaea to smash the now helpless monster, but he was not her prisoner. She forced the thoughts from her mind. She didn't want to risk spoiling a reunion with a heavy heart. Lost in her mind, Gaea hardly noticed that the magma had ceased, giving way to crystals. They lighted as she passed, saying hello. The cavern that followed her filled with a spectrum of radiance as sapphires, rubies, emeralds and diamonds glistened to catch a glimpse of their queen. Gaea smiled. It was nice to know she was not forgotten, even by the younger gems. Her thoughts turned to her mate. Poseidon was constantly seeing to his duties, but had allowed himself to fade from the ponies' minds as they moved further inland. He apparently enjoyed the time to himself. The two of them had helped Equestria grow strong when it was first founded. But that was ancient history now. Only they kept in touch with each other, and Gaea was always happy to hear from her beloved eyes above. The stone ended, and the rich soil took up the task of leading the queen up. She was almost there. Gaea became nervous; she only knew of what was going on from Poseidon and the vibrations of the earth. How much had the world really changed since she disappeared to let her daughters reign? At the sight of tree roots, she knew it was time to find out. Another step forward, at the sun kissed her face for the first time in an aeon. “Something is amiss...” Gaea thought to herself. The land around her was wild, even for nature. The palace grounds were not what she remembered. Trees had grown twisted and bloated over the terrain, dark plants covered the ground, and predators moved in the brush. Gaea moved on. Walking along a path, Gaea pondered what had happened to this place. She wondered if this land was abandoned, or maybe she wandered off during her ascent. She came upon a decaying rope bridge, and through the mists, glimpsed her old home. “Huzzah!” she thought, delighted to see something familiar. Gaea quickened her pace, excited to see the palace. But her smile vanished as she saw the state of the old building. The stone had not survived. The roof had entirely collapsed, and whole sections of the palace were missing. Still, Gaea stepped inside to reminisce and bathe in the nostalgia of it all. Gaea took some comfort in seeing little details that had lasted from her memories. The etchings in the columns were as sharp as the day they were carved. Some of the iron work from the stain glass survived as well. Gaea thought back to the colours they would make as the sun soared through the sky. Then, she finally noticed the pedestal that served as the centrepiece of the room. The Elements of Harmony were kept there, but were now missing! Gaea felt a stab of panic, but calmed herself, remembering that they must have been used to imprison Discord, and were probably safe with her daughters. Regaining her composure, Gaea moved on to the throne room. This room was as derelict as the others. The windows were broken, the pillars crumbled, and Gaea rested her eyes on what was left of the throne. It was rotten and splintered; desecrated by time. The smaller thrones had vanished completely. Something else caught her eye. Silver fragments lay scattered at the foot of the throne. They looked like parts of a regal outfit, singed by some great power. As her mind put her memories and the shards before together, Gaea's heart plunged into the depths of fear for her Luna. What had happened to her? It was time to leave this place. Gaea returned to the path from before, now pacing quickly along. But she was not as young as she once was, and had not moved quickly for a long time. Tired, she allowed herself a moment to rest. Smelling water nearby, she made her way to it for a drink. It was peaceful here. The sun was high above, and the slow river sparkled brilliantly under it's rays. This calm was broken by a rustling in the trees behind her. Gaea looked back, catching a flash of white amongst the greenery. Gaea didn't move, laying silently on the shore, gazing into the forest. Then, her gaze was returned. Beady, red eyes locked with hers, and Gaea felt stiff. It felt like she was being swallowed by the earth itself, and all she could do was sleep. Then the light disappeared from her eyes. The cockatrice jumped from the bushes, delighted to catch such a large meal. It ran over and began to peck furiously at a hoof. “Excuse me?” Startled, the bird darted back and forth looking for the intruder. As it turned to resume eating, the cockatrice found itself in for another surprise. Gaea had not frozen in her stoney prison. She stepped through the rock like water, her face sour at this show of disrespect. The small creature before her, unsure of how to deal with this danger, fled into the forest. Gaea brushed some flecks from her green mane and carried on. Being turned to stone gave her the rest she needed. She decided to keep that trick in mind. It was not long before the forest became tame. The trees were brighter here, the animals friendly, and the air sweet with the smell of flowers. Up ahead, Gaea heard a voice. Wanting to investigate what the ponies were like now, Gaea moved quietly through the trees. Eventually, she came upon a cottage by a brook. It had grass growing out of its roof, and small houses were hung from the trees nearby. A yellow pegasus came out of a shed nearby, a basket of eggs in here mouth. She was humming a sweet tune as she went about doing chores. A white rabbit was following the pony around. It seemed to be keeping her on track of what she was doing, as the pony seemed to keep stopping to talk to the animals around her. The rabbit looked to the trees, and stopped. “Has it seen me?” Gaea wondered. “What is it, Angel?” the yellow pony asked the rabbit. Angel gestured towards the woods. “Something's over there?” Angel nodded. The pony and rabbit walked over a small bridge and approached where Gaea stood. The pony almost walked right up to the alicorn, and peered into the trees. Gaea's mottled brown and green coat and green mane hid her perfectly with her surrounding, but the rabbit was persistent. “I don't see anything,” the pony said. Angel pointed up, and the pony's gaze followed. Then their eyes met. “Eeeee!” the pegasus squealed, and flew into a nearby tree. “Hello, little one,” Gaea said, trying to comfort the frightened pegasus. A pair of green eyes peeked through the leaves. “W-who are you?” The pegasus asked. “I am Gaea. And you are?” “Fluttershy...” The pegasus shrunk into the foliage. “It is a pleasure to meet you, lady Fluttershy.” Seeing that Gaea wasn't dangerous, Fluttershy floated from the tree. “I didn't know there were alicorns besides the princesses? Where are you from?” Gaea was unsure of how to answer Fluttershy's question. It seemed like the surface had forgotten about Gaea and Poseidon. She would just have to answer as honestly as she could. “I came from the forest behind me. I was gone for a long time, and things are not quite as I remembered.” “Oh, dear. Well, if you like, you can come inside and stay for a bit... if that's alright with you... I mean...” she trailed off, hiding behind her mane a bit. “That would be splendid,” Gaea said, smiling at the mare. Gaea hoped Equestria had more ponies as kind as this friend she had found.