//------------------------------//
// Ananse 
// Story: The Moon the Draconequus and the Sands of Saddle Arabia 
// by TheSexyMenhir 
//------------------------------//

“Hi cheeselegs, long time no see.”

A silence fell over the assembled ponies, errh, people. Luna and Celestia stared at me mouths agape, while the queen of the changelings was only rolling her eyes at my pun.

It was Celestia who regained her bearings first.

“You two know each other?” she stammered. Did I ever mention how much I enjoy it whenever somebody wipes that unbearable grin of her face?

“Not exactly,” I replied, waving my hand in a gesture which all races universally understood as ‘It’s complicated’. Apparently this doesn’t apply to creatures who sport a remarkable lack of hands, since Celestia asked me, “How can you ‘not exactly’ know somebody?”

“Ahh well you see, Celi,” I said, while I jovially laid an arm around her barrel. “Back in the days, while you were off to who knows where, plotting one of your silly little rebellions, I had to find some other way to entertain myself in the meanwhile. And what do you know, there in the badlands  was a race which I hadn’t even noticed before. And you know how I am, always the pinnacle of generosity, I decided to share my wonderful chaos with them.”

“By which he means that he nearly flooded our hive with pudding, and endangered an entire hatchery,” Chrysalis interrupted me. I’d say anger poured from her voice, but too be honest, every time I have talked to her ever since, she sounded exactly the same. “I wasn’t around yet, but my mother was.”

“Ah yes good old Allopatra,” I reminisced for a moment.

“If I remember correctly she used to call you ‘that sociopathic son of a...’” whatever she was going to say was lost as Celestia brought us back to order.

“Erhem... if you remember I have called you here for a reason,” she exclaimed. “One: Chrysalis, as of today your release is official. You’re a free changeling.”

“Two,” she said, still not looking at me and Luna, “I think those two would be perfect for the mission.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” The changeling queen replied, rather rudely as I must say. “You want me to trust the g... Discord?”

“Sister, I must agree. I don’t know what task thou has in mind but I’m sure that I’m more than capable of fulfilling it myself,” Luna chimed in. Such a blatant insult I couldn’t let go unpunished of course.

“Says the princess that set the cinema on fire last week, screaming something about witchcraft...” I teased her. Yes, I know that she’s a unicorn, don’t ask me...

“Tis a terrible lie,” she shouted, making my point for me.

“If you’d all calm down,” Celestia ordered, her voice backed up by a magical field separating me from Luna, after we had gone nearly snout to snout in our little battle of wits. “I know that Discord wasn’t the most trustworthy in the past, but I think he will behave himself now that he has something he cares about.”

Yes, sadly it was true: The occasional prank aside I had been a model citizen, going even as far as using my powers for good. Of course there had been some rough patches (as it turns out Canterlot had no particular need for a vigilante hero, and being the only of your kind makes for a crappy secret identity), but last I heard, the children of the Canterlot Orphanage enjoyed the toys, that just suddenly appeared out of thin air, very much...

Wait a minute, had that just been a threat?

My mind reeled as I scanned Celestia’s features, looking for any sign of malice, but of course there was only that blasted motherly smile of hers. Was I just imagining things?

By the time I was able to focus back on the conversation, Luna and Chrysalis had apparently yielded.

“Okay, maybe he deserves a chance, but what errand could possibly be so dangerous that you would need both of us?” Luna inquired from her sister.

Celestia and Chrysalis exchanged a glance, some unspoken words between them, and something else which I couldn’t quite put my finger on. There eyes lingered just a while too long, their expressions changed just a tad, and for some reason I suddenly had to think of a certain yellow pegasus.

Then Chrysalis turned towards us, and in her raspy echoing voice she spoke up, her tone somber, “My people are dying.”

I swallowed. Dying... is not my favourite subject. Down here in the tomb like confines of the black fortress, the words of the changeling queen reminded me all too much of the tons of stone above us. Being turned to stone is a horrible experience, and I don’t know any words to describe the horror of watching the seasons pass without being able to move... for centuries... for millennia... yet not even those memories felt as oppressive as the prospect of dying. At that moment I knew that no matter what, I couldn’t leave anybody to that... finality. Also the dead make for crappy playthings.

“We live off love, but we are parasites. When we feed our host grows weaker and weaker. There is no way for us to coexist with the races of Equestria. Even now it’s only Celestia’s... pity, that keeps us alive,” she elaborated.

“Yeah, you look like you could use a little more on your ribs, you’re basically see through,” I kidded while gazing through on of her leg holes. I may have been a bit shaken, but there are some opportunities one simply can’t pass up. Chrysalis groaned, Luna rolled her eyes, but I swear that I could see the hint of a smirk as Celestia shook her head.

“As I was saying,” Chrysi continued, “the way things are now we can’t coexist with ponies, but I’m hoping that there might be a … solution to our problems.”

“How awfully convenient. Why didn’t you get it yourself?” I commented. I had summoned myself a hammock, since Chrysalis seemed intent to go into a monologue.

“Because we have been banned from ever reaching it.”

Wherever there actually was fur on my body, it stood on end, as something akin to static electricity passed through the room. It wasn’t fear, or nervousness that made my body react, you lose most of that after the first thousand years, but the primal knowledge that I was in the presence of somebody equal to me, or you know as close as anybody can come to it.

Chrysalis eyes gleamed in an eerie green light that seemed to leak out like wisps of smoke. Her body, while physically unchanged, suddenly became the center of the room, everything around it twisting to orbit it.

“Cute little trick,” I said, slowly clapping my hands, “so what is that little light show supposed to tell us?”

“It’s the way to tell our tales, and especially the old ones from the dawn of time, cannot be told with just a single voice,” the thing that wasn’t Chrysalis replied. It made a sound, and at first I thought that it had just cleared its throat, but slowly more voices escaped from the maw of the changeling queen, creating a wall of sound. The shadows seemed to converge and space twisted as Chrysalis and her swarm shared their ancient tale with us. I was munching on a bag of popcorn.

---

“In the beginning there was the Woman, she was infinite in her wisdom and in her strength as well. But as time grew longer she grew lonely, for because she was infinite, there was nothing but her. So she took her hands and carved from her belly the earth and the sky, and because the wound hurt her so, she cried and made the waters as well. Then she took her eyes and set them into the sky to watch over her children, and so she created sun and moon. 

And she made from her thighs the animals, and she gave them names. And as she watched the animals intermingle she was overjoyed. The Women had become The Mother.

But when she had given a part of herself, a part of her wisdom escaped as well, and so she didn’t notice that her wound was still bleeding. And from her blood four beings rose. The first drop fell into the skies and from it came a being free and unkept, the second drop fell into the sunlight and the third into the moonlight and they became the walkers, black and white. The fourth one however fell into a deep cave and there it grew far away from the Mothers gaze.

Surprised the mother watched her new children, but as she watched them she felt joy fill her heart once again, and she made the children into her watchers. The white walker watched the day, the black walker watched the night, and the child of wind watched everything in between.

But the white Walker was her mothers child, and before long she asked her, “Mother, I’m all alone, the dark walker is always far from me, the windchild never stays, and the animals refuse to talk with me. Won’t you allow me some companions?”

The Mother lover her child, so she once again carved from her flesh and made the three races of ponykind, and she gave them word from her lips so they would know wisdom, and she gave them blood from her heart so that they would know love. Leopard saw this and so he too asked Mother, “I’m all alone, there’s nobody that can keep up with me, won’t you allow me some companions.”

And once again Mother carved from her flesh all the cats and tigers and lions and leopards.

But now it was Bird who pleaded, “I’m all alone, nobody flies in the skies with me. Won’t you allow me some companions.”

And Mother carved all the birds from her flesh.

Again and again her children came to her and asked her for companions, and every time, because she loved them so, Mother carved new beings from her flesh and gave them the gift of wisdom and the gift of love.

Finally Ananse the Spider stepped before Mother and he asked, “Won’t you allow me companions?”

But Mothers face grew sad and she replied, “There is no more flesh left to carve, and no more words left to give, and my heart will soon run dry, I can give you no companions.”

Ananse was enraged by this, was he the only one to be left alone forever? In his anger he fled from his mother gaze, but the watchers were everywhere, in the daylight, in the moonlight, and on the winds. He crept deeper and deeper into the earth, until finally he felt the eyes of Mother no more.

And there in the dark he heard a voice, “Oh you poor child, I can see the anger in you, and the sadness, won’t you tell me your story?”

And Ananse asked, “Who are you, what are my troubles to you?”

The voice replied, “I’m too one who was shunned by Mother. What injustice did she do onto you?”

Ananse said, “It is true. Mother is a tyrant, who refuses to give me a companion when everyone else has one.”

“I can teach you how to make your own companions, you just need to bring me three things: Flesh from Mother’s belly, Words from her mouth, and Blood from her Heart.”

And so Ananse set out to find those ingredients.

At first he set out to find flesh. He scrambled here and there, but nowhere he could find any flesh, for all the creatures were bigger and stronger than him. But then Ananse remembered that the world was made from Mother, so he took some dirt and put it in a bag.

Then he searched for words from mothers lips. But he found none, for the words belonged to the animals and they guarded them fiercely. So he took the whispers of the wind and kept them in a hollow gourd.

Finally he searched for blood from mothers heart. But there was none to be found, for all the creatures only shared it between themselves. No matter how hard he thought he couldn’t find a way to take some for himself. So he went to the shares and dunked a piece of cloth in the water, hoping that nobody would notice his trick.

When he returned the voice asked, “Did you bring the things?”

And Ananse replied, “I brought you flesh, and words, and blood.” 

The shadows took the things in Ananse’s grip and formed beings from it. But their flesh was hard as the stone, and their thoughts were free as the wind, and their hearts were empty filled with nothing but sadness. And Ananse saw what he had created and he wept and fled into the sunlight.

When Mother saw the weeping Ananse she asked him, “What is wrong my child.”

And the guilt stricken Ananse answered, “Mother, I’ve done you wrong. I’ve stolen flesh from the earth, and words from the wind, and blood from the seas, and I’ve created beings that are cold as stone, whose thoughts flee their heads, and whose hearts are empty.”

Mother grew angry as she heard of Ananse’s deeds, but she still loved him, for he was her child, “Ananse, I shall punish you for your deeds, you and your children shall never be complete. Your skins shall be cold, your thoughts shall be free, and your hearts shall be empty. But I grant you this, shall one find it in him to love you, your hearts shall fill again.”

And again Ananse grew angry. Should his children be hurt for his misgivings? He fled deep into the cave, where his child was still waiting.

“Voice?” he screamed, “Voice are you still here, Mother has once again shown her true face.”

And the voice replied, “Poor child, you must suffer under your mothers tyranny. I shall give you a gift to free your children. Take this needle and pierce Mother’s heart, and you shall gain warmth, and words, and love.”

And Ananse took the needle and returned to the surface. When he returned to Mother he said, “Mother, I see now that your words are just, will you grant me a last embrace before my punishment begins?”

And Mother, compelled by the love for her child, embraced him.

It was then that Ananse pierced her heart with the needle, and blood burst forth from Mothers heart. But when the blood touched him, it burned and he could feel his children, for their thoughts had now words but were still free as the wind between them. And he knew love, and the knowledge hurt him, for only now he recognized what he had done to mother.

As she lay dying, Mother caught the rest of her blood, and filled it into a chalice. And she spoke those words, “Forever shall you and your kind be banned from Love, no race shall ever love you, and you shall dwell deep in the shadows hidden away from my children. Ananse you are no more a child of mine!”

And with that she threw the chalice onto the world, and where it landed it destroyed the land, until only a desert remained, and the sun burned down on that land mercilessly. And she shaped from the rest of her flesh, a guardian who should protect the chalice forever and gave them her dying breath.

Ananse fled from the suns vengeful gaze, and he said, “Voice, it is your fault that mothers dead, and that the sun shuns me.”

But the voice replied, “I have brought you great grief, let me apologize. I shall give your people the gift of shapes, so that you may hide from the sun and the moon and the wind, and you shall take from all the races what has been denied to you.”

And he gave them green fire to change their bodies, and he gave them the hunger, which can only be stilled by drops of Mothers blood. And he gave Ananse a word, so that he may name his children, and Ananse called them Changelings.”