The only sound was silence.
Well, that was not quite true. On the wall on my left, there was a small wooden clock, punctuating each second with an obnoxious ‘toc’.
Again and again. Just that one dull sound. It racked on the nerves and the brain like nothing else, preventing one from achieving good focus by making that same noise at the exact wrong moment.
I could have had true silence. A flicker of my horn and no sound would reach me, should I so much express the desire. But I couldn’t bring myself to. S-sometimes… I was worried I might forget.
Not forget this task, but forget why I cared. At times, it was harder to pretend these hooves hid human flesh… from time to time, I just stared at my muzzle or at my wings and pretended to see what I was like underneath…
I couldn’t recall every detail… not every generality either…
Well, that might not mean much…
The subjects contained within those scrolls were fascinating… oh so fascinating… no time to ponder on other stuff.
Okay, to be fair, this could be quite interesting. Ignoring the message in Celestia sending me to study Equestrian laws, the reasoning between the ponies’ rules and regulations, in addition to the sanctions inflicted each time, well… it’s kind of neat.
My eyes were slowly skimming over the forbidden practice, in exercise or in study, unless they were heavily supervised. The phrasing was refreshingly direct too.
Evil magic, which constitutes an offense worthy of horn removal, is the practice of magic with eroding effect on the empathy center of the brain. Torture of any pony or other citizen through the use of magic will be considered ‘Evil’. DUH.
A unicorn king, with an ashen grey coat hidden by a red cape and a horn curved and bloody, made his way to the center of my mind. There was no doubt possible on whether he had been an adept.
More intriguing though was the aforementioned effect on the empathy of the being that used evil magic. It seemed worth my attention…
Further down the page though, another line blew my mind.
Chaos magic is considered outlawed, by virtue of it altering the laws of the world and thus endangering every living being.
Oh, it wasn’t about how chaos magic was outlawed. After Discord, anything less would be moronic. No, rather, my focus was on the weight of what had been reminded to me.
Altering the laws of… A shiver went down my spine, all the way to my core.
Chaos, this concept that had alicorns of all ages grimace in disgust at the sheer mention of its name… t-this impossibility that we are not allowed to think of.
It altered the laws of the world and alicorns are laws. To alter the laws… would be the same as…altering alicorns... or...
Reality warping.
Countless moments of horror came back to me, as I tried to remember how often… how badly my world had shattered and had been replaced by another. So many times had my history changed… had others’ history changed.
I already knew it was reality warping. I knew about balance, in how one side of the spectrum is all about following a certain Order, while the other is about breaking it.
Things hadn’t changed. This didn’t change anything…
Chaos is reality warping. D-does that mean…?
To imagine an alicorn wrapped in it, in Chaos, like a cocoon or a costume, should have been inconceivable, simply alien and out-of-this-world to me. Yet… well, I was here, wasn’t I?
Yes. I was.
And Celestia had wanted me to read this… It could only mean one thing. Seriously.
She knows. Buck… she knows… Chaos is forbidden by law… lest they destroy themselves, right? So the punishment for its practice…
Words just failed me to express my dismay.
I wanted to panic. It felt like the appropriate response to somepony as powerful as her having deduced things such as illegal magic use by us, but I could also see that for her to send me here had to have significance. If this was her method to announce that she knew exactly what had transpired before, what had happened… then it also meant she was not going to punish us just yet. Not openly, at the very least…
Why bother doing it this way otherwise? There was no need to hide. What? Would the scandal of another alicorn turning out to be evil too dangerous to the Royal Pony Sisters’ rule? Or was it just the fact that nobility as a whole seemed quite petty?
I’m really turning up the self-loathing, ain’t I?
Speak of the devil…
Prince Blueblood entered the library, his mane not nearly as well-groomed as it usually was, falling into his eyes and given him a generally disheveled and uncaring appearance. He was not dressed either, a first for him since I had met him.
Not that I wanted to know more about the pompous idiot, but it was… well… intriguing to say the least. The laws about him being entitled to revenge did float in my head for a few seconds, before deciding that, as bad as he could be, he was still trying to better himself.
Which a lot more than what I can say about me.
“Prince Ventus,” he whispered in passing, acknowledging me with a nod before stiffly making his way to a shelf nearby.
His whole body screamed of tension, his muscles seemingly locked when he stood tall. The outlines of his neck stretching to spot the right title, the princely stallion did want to appear nervous, but his self-control was lacking.
Strange. He had generally seemed to have a decent poker face before. Perhaps it was just being in my presence that unnerved him. I could get why…
With shaky control over his magic, he missed his first levitation spell, which caused the book to fall off the shelf entirely. In a library, the sound had the impact of a thunderclap. Had I not been staring before, I would have let out a whinny of fright, like that janitor three shelves away.
Thank buck I didn’t. That would have been humiliating.
A snarl briefly appearing on his face, Blueblood took a deep breath and picked up the book again, this time with a steady flow of magic. With a sigh, he placed it into his saddlebag and turned to leave.
It seemed as if that unexpected meeting would end up quite innocuous, when…
“We never did finish that conversation from last night,” I thought out loud.
My own eyes almost flew out of their orbits. Why did I just say that?!
He had stopped dead in his track and slowly turned around to face me. His lack of words betrayed his confusion.
“Oh, perhaps you don’t remember, what’s with the alcohol and all…” Even if I clearly remember what I did last night… “I recall you being somewhat surprised at the newest assignments Celestia has given my brother and myself. Something about ‘being more to it than that’. Have you drawn any conclusion so far?”
He bit his lips, doubtlessly regretting making that observation now. Nonetheless, he answered, with conviction.
“I might not pretend to know your own schedule, Ventus, but I would rather not accumulate work for later for the sake of your curiosity. What I can do now, I will.”
I was a little surprised, not gonna lie. Oh, so you have a work ethic now? …Actually, I don’t really know if you had one before or not…
“Is it only for my sake, though?” I asked, then answered mentally. Eh, probably.
His lips pressed into a thin line. He obviously didn’t want to spend that much more time here and might even have an actual workload, but I could bet that, at the moment, there was a little voice whispering in his ear about how this might be something he would need.
With a resigned “fine”, Blueblood sat down at my table. Ignoring the pit of anxiety in my stomach, I tossed aside my readings. His presence, usually so nerve grating, had yet to put me on edge in that brief exchange.
It was better than nothing…
This is a bit of a test… will I lose my cool or not? And if I do…
“How is your quest of becoming a decent stallion turning out for you?” I asked, not willing to allow uncomfortable silence.
With a derisive snort, he gave a bitter mocking bow. “Why, I am doing well. How about yours, kettle?”
I would appreciate if you were a little more of an empty-headed idiot, for starters.
The most infuriating about this was that time was giving Blueblood a much better standing ground against me than the opposite.
“I am trying to understand the laws of this kingdom.” I shrugged. “It is quite interesting.”
“Oh?” His smile was joyless. “How barbaric and primitive are they to you?”
I walked right into this one.
“They aren’t.” I sighed, feeling a little on the down low, what’s with examples of my stupidity or my short-temper flaring into evidence. Closing my eyes, I willed myself not to mess this one up again. “I do apologize for that. It was thoroughly insulting to you and to every citizen of Equestria. In a show of anger, I went much further than I should have.”
A few seconds went by without anything happening, so I let light filter between my eyelids again.
Blueblood was eying me with wide eyes and a hanging jaw. He looked absolutely stunned.
“Y-you…” He opened his mouth, but no further sound came out. He closed it quickly, not knowing what to say.
His reaction stung a bit. Still, I managed to keep those emotions in check too.
“Anyway, the point of this was that I read about an old law, one that I figured you might have heard of. Noble ponies can, if their pride or honor are gravely attacked, retaliate in equal measure. My actions certainly would have allowed this to stand in court, would it not? Yet… yet you did nothing against me afterward. Was that another sign of the good pony you are underneath the mask?”
To my surprise, Blueblood looked away, showing nothing of the arrogance I had thought he would use to justify his lack.
“I-it wasn’t… being the better stallion…” He said so quietly another pony would not have heard it. “You’re an alicorn! I did not want to show myself as stupid as to aggravate matters between us.”
I blinked. Okay, that was a lot to digest. Not only was he denying a compliment made to him, he was also putting his mistakes at the front.
…Parts of me were really impressed.
Obviously though, Blueblood himself wasn’t. His head hung low, he seemed a little pitiful…
“A lifetime of work, that’s what you burdened me with.”
Cry me a river… I wanted to scream. Sure, his situation wasn’t particularly pleasant, but hell if I did not have my own problems to deal with…
I held in a sigh.
“I think you’re doing a good job, Blueblood.”
“W-what? Do you not listen? I just admitted how bad of a po-” He cut himself off in a panic. “I mean… how different…”
I nodded, feeling quite serene. “Not provoking a dangerous foe over a slight is a good thing. Fearing for your safety certainly isn’t a fault. Knowing that cowardice could be one such fault and acknowledging your own is quite the accomplishment, Prince, even if not quite in context...”
I wasn’t angry. I wasn’t bitter. Heck, I wasn’t even lying.
It was pretty cool that even a sleaze like him could see the errors of his way and try to change. And I had to try to be less of an unpleasant psycho. Enough ponies were on my back for my lack of action already. What kind of guilt tripping bandwagon would we be talking about if they saw the images in my head?
“You’re not done, but it’s a nice way to start. There are still some things you need to address.”
My remark made him shift on his hooves, or rather, squirm in place, as his rump was still very much against a cushion on the ground. He leaned slightly forward, as if to say something, but leaned back at the last moment.
Taking that as permission to go on, I paused to search for the right way to phrase my next grief with him.
“Treating mares the way you do…” Now, I’m just projecting… “Quite frankly, that is enough to earn you a good kick in the face.”
He looked exactly as if I had given him one.
“T-those mares throw themselves at me as if I were nothing but a pretty statue for them to show off!” Blueblood stood up, fire in his eyes. “Gold diggers are simply a plague upon any rich pony’s existence, but it gets to a whole new level when it comes to the nobility!”
I blinked, certainly not expecting justification like this. My mental image of Blueblood needed to be updated, quickly if possible.
“All my life I have had to deal with those insufferable vultures! You’ll excuse me for not treating them like actual living beings with feelings. I just thought I would return the favor!”
“W-well… perhaps some of them wa-”
“Have you not met at least a few mares that wished to share your bed!?” His outraged demeanor slipped a little, as the corner of his lips itched upward and the volume of his voice dropped. “No need to lie either, Prince Ventus. This is all strictly stallion conversation.”
Don’t go bro on me, Blueblood. Don’t you dare! My brain recoiled in horror, while my inner crazy wanted to smirk back to the idiot stallion. Damn my teenager mind. Four hundreds, perhaps, but still a teenager's mind, damn.
“There was one, just last night.” I wanted to gag. “She even decided to feel me up when I didn’t reply… Thank my parents my brother didn’t wake up then!”
“So quickly?” He blinked, before giving a silent chuckle. His eyes lit up with amusement. “Well, perhaps it was more one of the adventurous kind, the ones that like the bragging rights of sleeping with royalty.”
His smug tone pretty much confirmed my suspicions. I was not that naïve.
“Why do I have the feeling you don’t hate those nearly enough?”
“You wound me,” Blueblood said, putting a hoof over his chest, which he puffed out proudly. “As if I would take advantage of quick consensual and mostly attachment-free encounters between two rational beings.”
Real subtle, you lucky bastard.
“Still, those aren’t the worst. Oh no, those sweet flanks aren’t the worst. Nor are these soft fluffy wings. Nor those exotic black and white stripes.”
I rolled my eyes. Give him an acting medal, somepony!
“I was mysteriously under that impression as well, Blueblood. They probably aren’t the worst if you both know what is actually happening, I guess.”
Strangely though, his smug lewdness mostly vanished in the place of a sober, saddened grimace. “The sweet and naïve type, that’s what you must be looking out for the most.”
My stomach churned. Oh buck…
“T-they will not leave…” His eyes obscured a bit. “N-not without having their hearts broken… s-some more harshly than others…”
He fell silent after that.
I could imagine. Strangely, I could imagine precisely what being Blueblood would be like at that moment.
You are at the summit of the world and you know it, you’re royalty in the nation lead by two alicorns. You are above mere peasants and peons. So often, they are wooed by your charms… or your title and your money.
So many of them that you start to just hate those vapid, headless mares and just want them to leave you alone. Some aren’t even nobles!
Some seem like decent mares, if only they didn’t have such a foalish dream… They want to marry a prince and have beautiful foals? Well, there is only one prince and that’s you. So they will take you, not because you’re you, but because you’re a prince. Oh well, they can settle for a stallion they never met before. He’s handsome and rich.
It starts to grate on your nerves. So you lash back.
It feels good to see them leave you alone. It feels bad to see the tears glittering as they fall on the ground when they do leave.
And now, you question yourself. Were you right to hurt them?
“Trying to become a better pony is not easy. It means to take a look at yourself and point out that which you know is ugly. That is, without a doubt, a courageous thing to do. It’s what makes it so extraordinary, Blueblood.”
A non-committing grunt came from his general direction, of the variety that made one laugh with triumph. Words of wisdom swayed him not, but darn if it wasn’t fun to give.
“Well, then, you cannot become anything without starting somewhere. All you need to do is find the appropriate course of action, the one a truly noble pony would choose, and take small steps on that path. Don’t pretend you’re not feeling at least guilty about some of those rejections you had to dish out.” I let the stallion stew on it for a second, using to pretend I didn’t have a plan. “Have you ever apologized to Miss Rarity?”
His jaw dropping in horror made me grin savagely on the inside. On the outside, I affected an innocent demeanor.
He wasn’t fooled.
“Now you are just trying to torture me! You cannot ignore the way she treated me at the end of the night! I even tried not to be as hard on her as the others.”
That was you holding back? Holy buck, you’re a flankhole.
“So… you won’t apologize?”
“I refuse! She saw me as nothing than a pretty dream and didn’t bother to look at me. Would you go out with mares that are only after the title, even if they are dignified about it!? And then have the gall to insult you on top of everything?!”
“No.” I shook my head and hardened my gaze. “I would not. That is not what love is about.”
Nor is emotional manipulation, but I sure am trying my hooves at it…
“But neither is being good. It… isn’t about determining who is worth not being treated like dirt. There… shouldn’t… BE a standard for that…” I replied, slow and hesitant. It would not do to rush things to their conclusion, not when dealing with a pony as prideful as Blueblood. “The Element of Generosity wasn’t very generous that night. I will freely admit that. However, that does not negate your part in it. You crushed her dreams and expectations as surely as she crushed yours.”
He sucked in air quickly, his breath hitching with an unnamed expectation. Or perhaps it was disappointment that I had not seen eye-to-eye with his point of view.
His muscles weren’t tensed anymore, but the look of silent anticipation on his face was telling. It appeared as if he wanted to relax, but knew better. Smart stallion.
“If I had to say one more thing about your night together though… well, she didn’t mean to hurt you. You wanted her to pay for her lack of consideration. You aimed to drive her away and it worked quite well. You both hurt one another, so you are both to blame, not blameless.”
He visibly cringed at that. If I was less insensitive, I might have stopped there.
“Besides, if you want to become a better pony, you will have to face your previous mistakes and attempt to fix them in earnest. Being a flankhole to so many ponies is one imperative fault you must learn to deal with. You might as well start with an obvious target.”
His eye twitched. “I… suppose you might have a point.”
Now, this should be fun.
“But if she tries to kiss me again, you can be sure your name will be crossed off my list of ponies that may offer some wisdom.”
Oh yeah, this WILL be fun.
However, while I listened to him ramble about how I was terrible at giving advices, a thought occurred to me. It wasn’t incredulity, annoyance, nor anger. It was simple confusion.
Why am I even doing this?
--
The only sound was silence.
It was quite natural however, as the only pony in the chamber was a maid, Silent Praise being her name. Her years of experience and loyal service had earned her a privileged position amongst the castle staff. With a few others, she was given a mostly free access to her princesses’ private chambers for cleaning and maintenance. She had earned that trust and never tested it.
As such, the thought of reading the scroll that appeared in a puff of green smoke didn’t even cross her mind. Without a fuss, Silent Praise simply put it on her ruler’s bedside table, where it would be easily seen and noticed.
--
The only sound was silence.
The borders of Equestria itself, when correctly referred to as the country, ended at their northern limits by a series of mountains taller than the height the bravest pegasus could fly up to. At the summit of the world, in that place, where it seemed as if the earth was reaching for the sky, stood the city of the first griffon king.
It was as much of a beautiful place as it was a harsh one, an appropriate allegory to the nature of a griffon’s lifestyle. Brutish and even barbaric to some, but not incapable of magnificence by any means. All of stone carved right out of the mountainside, the fortress watched over the rest of the world, its stone walls less of an actual protection than a show of the power held by beings that could and did stand at the top of their world.
‘Let the lesser races weep in fear of the death from above’ had been the most famous words from King Airian, before declaring war on Equestria.
Great had been his arrogance and his pride and joy remained standing, an ominous presence that waited for its chance to flood the lower levels of existence with the primal fear of the hunt.
Thus, Galepeck Castle was and would continue to be.
Any mortal would have compared it to a sand castle had they been given the chance to lay their eyes on the Greater Tribunal.
Beyond the words, beyond the ideas that were, there were those creatures whose existence acted as part of the cosmic balance. Lesser spirits were immature and their ages could still be imagined by mortals, albeit in a roundabout way and never understood for the abyss in time it represented.
Greater beings had the mortals’ mind crack.
The Elders however could not be perceived, less they allow it… Otherwise… Lights and noises, a collection of sensorial signals that translated to nothing, beings that were and were not.
The only sound was silence.
Nothing else could be expected when the Trinity stood united, calling for their presences. Events such as this one were a rarity, a once in a century occurrence, for the alicorns gathered solely to reestablish the natural order of worlds.
All were assembled at that point in time, amongst the stars and the void; their hooves, their wings and their horns took form and consciousness came. The few missing had duties that could not be forsaken. It had been their mission before, it remained so.
It was more than a simple mission that made them so wary however. Lesser spirits were uneasy and that same sentiment could at least be echoed in the actions of greater ones. Unrest was spreading amongst them…
A decree would be issued today. Order would be restored.
It was the innate purpose of the one hundred and one alicorns of the Greater Tribunal.
Overseeing all would be the Trinity, the Elders of Order.
Three beings that even alicorns did not fully understand, with a scope of power and existence beyond all but themselves and their fellow Elders.
But they knew of them and they knew of their own place in the scheme of Eternity.
Incipiens Linea, the very first being, older than Harmony itself. Incipiens Linea had come into existence and made it the natural order of things.
As was proper, she was always the first to convey her thoughts.
Words and images flashed in the assembled alicorns’ mind, translating to the will of the first. They saw of two of their own, immature spirits and lesser concepts. They saw the defiance of the law and the disturbance of order. They were made to know of the consequences, of the impending future of one world turning into a frozen wasteland.
A shiver went through the assembly, as they could not fathom actions so alien as to go against Order.
And two worried parents felt their heart shrivel weakly.
Not images this time, but different emotions spread to them all, as Vitam Mortem was not facts and words. It was the beating heart and the still body. Fear – ancient fear and shame – of their own child and their own failure. Heads hung lower, but not without anger or troubled hearts.
Difference. The two children were different, despite the obvious nature of their relationship. One hadn’t fallen. Yet.
It was a possibility, though one that elicited a cry of indignation from the crimson red stallion and his mate.
The act was improper, against the rules of the Greater Tribunal. One could not speak outside their bounds, lest they allow chaos to slip into their ranks. And that would be unforgiveable.
Magnus and Atonie stood defiant and tall despite the weight of the gazes turned toward them. To back down now would be an implicit support to the accusations; that they would never allow.
Silence stretched.
Tension increased.
Finally, pleasant perfumes from worlds beyond mortals’ imagination filled the minds and hearts.
A gesture of peace.
An offering of one’s self had been made, as was proper and orderly when wishing for consideration. The action calmed down more heated spirits, while Magnus smiled in gratitude at some old friends. When the initial surprise had subdued, his mate reacted the same way, especially when her gaze fell on them.
Dominus Ferus and Saltus Cogere had no children to call their own, but they had expressed fondness toward the two alicorns brothers. Their opinion was now registered and noted; they wished not for this trial to go on much longer.
Few agreed. They could not let themselves be swayed by sentimentality.
A stomp of a hoof resonated in vibrations through the room, but still the silence was not broken. The last of the Trinity had called for order.
Judicium Frigus.
Born in opposition to Chaos, the sworn arch-enemy of Discord, if there was such a thing in the draconequus’ twisted mind.
Justice and Retribution.
Innocents might suffer. That was all they needed to know to take action.
The second that truth had been shared with them, the assembly nodded collectively, even those opposed to its goal in the first place. Justice would prevail.
The culprits would be punished. It was just.
One more opposed, with the knowledge of previous tasks given to the transgressors.
Hope flaring in their chests, Magnus and Atonie turned, showing gratitude in their own offerings toward the being. It nodded softly and offered a story of peaceful nights, parents and children reunited.
Three beings could see the light of distrust that appeared in Judicium’s gaze. One of them simply wanted to smirk, but refused to be disrespectful to him.
Renascentia Ignis. Not Elder, but Outer, as her origins were unknown, but her being was undeniable. She took the form of a mare, simple and elegant. One could not deny her a sense of dignity beneath that playfulness she was known for.
Fiery red bangs hiding so little of her knowing blue eyes that all could see the note of knowledge beyond the simple ideal of Order, a coat of a startling white and devotion to her work that had some ashamed.
She was The Writer. The one that changed the stories for the better, until they fit the vision that would be appropriately shared. Her existence seemed dictated by the changes she brought. Rumors spoke of her as a shaper of worlds; rumors spoke on how she had earned the respect of Incipiens Linea.
That one, some suspected, understood far more than any other alicorn. Her goals differed from them all, but witnesses could not condemn her, for her talent made worlds just.
An impression of anger ensnarled the alicorns’ hearts, righteous fury set them ablaze. One hundred alicorns glared as one toward the arrogant outsider.
Renascentia held not the power to oppose the Tribunal, Judicium made them understand. They agreed. Already, her daughters had shown themselves corruptible, one being taken over by evil magic, the other consorting with Chaos.
But tales of growth and beauty started chanting through their minds in response to the barren rage of the Elder being. They were strings of words and meanings woven into a great tapestry. It was a thing of beauty, of ideas they represented, of ideals they were meant to be.
For a moment, they wavered, some more strongly than others, a few not needing Renascentia’s arguments to side with her.
The impression disappeared, blown away by an angry flash of an incandescent wing. A few lesser spirits wept at the glimpse of the Elder.
It was decreed shortly afterward, to the dismay of two parents, silently hoping for a mercy they were not certain would be given. Had they been beings of flesh and blood, their stomachs might have churned with fear and despair.
Already, one of the Trinity had disappeared from the Greater Tribunal. He was now headed toward one mortal realm, with the intention to deliver proper judgment and restore the true state of things.
Not a word had been exchanged. None would be. Not until this was fixed. Not in the face of a crisis as dire as this one.
The realm of Order, dimension of the Primordial Law and the home of the alicorns, had cracked.