//------------------------------// // LXXI : Luna // Story: The Steadfast Sky // by Greytercakes //------------------------------// The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 71 The Grey Potter http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com ~Luna~ Calmly and concisely, Celestia explained everything. She explained about how she divided herself, and how the divisions took on a life of their own. How she fought. How she dealt with the personalities. How her independent selves had taken control. “The purple, that is my Elegance.” She pointed to each part of her mane and explained herself, and what they meant. “Blue, my Generosity. Pink is for Humility, and where I’ve come from, in a sense. Green… well, that’s everything that can go wrong with the previous three.” The colors still seemed to shift, bend into one another, slightly shifting her hair as they pushed and pulled. But each band remained within its own crisp line. Completely under her strict control. It was her alicorn mane. We had both earned our wings, but she had earned an imposing aura. Something special and unique to her, proudly displayed as she sat properly atop her bed, sipping tea and retelling her story. “And then, after that dream,” she explained, teacup hovering by her snout. “I realized that there was some magical reinforcement behind the negative thoughts. And even though I was able to accept the parts of me that were Elegant and Generous, the Snobby and Prideful parts of me just sunk deeper into this cold division…” She tilted her head, staring quietly at the ceiling. “I realized, while they were my flaws, something else was there too. The ‘infection’. I was suppressing it the best I could, but then you guys showed up. And I…” She kept talking, but really, I needed a moment to just sit here and process. It felt so distant, so strange. My sister, broken into pieces…? And such a violent division too. What could do that? The smooze she spat up? Or maybe nightmare smooze? It just felt like all the pieces weren’t quite fitting together. I mean, we were separated for just a couple weeks! And in that kind of time, she just destroyed herself… and then rebuilt herself? Is that even possible? “And even as I fought,” Brand New Celestia continued, “Elegance, she wanted to be known as Nobility! She still had that proud, haughty side of herself, that side that was once Princess… Yet, I accepted her back. What was I going to do? Continue again and again to deny myself? Build up even more hate and self-loathing inside of myself?” Celestia frowned into her tea and continued, “So, currently, I’m reconstructing myself. I may be whole again. My mind may be quiet under this unified voice. But I don’t have any illusions about my ability to control my own shortcomings. There’s a way to do this. A way I want to do this. But…” She hung her head, slouching, and moaned. Really, she did! It was relieving. It sounded more like the Celestia I knew. “Uhg! It’s really hard, actually. Stupid hard. But I want to be more, you know?” She straightened herself, eyes still rooted firmly in her cup. “More than just a pony, more than angry, or haughty, or anything else. I want to bear that Princess mantle with the poise and dignity of a real Princess.” Finally, my sister said, “I want to be the kind of Princess who lives up to her cutie mark, you know? Radiant, like the sun…” “I um.” I coughed. My voice had gone disused for too long. “Guess that’s the end of the story? “Yes, I suppose that’s all,” Celestia said over another gulp of tea. “I don’t think I’ll get there anytime soon. But, um, I’m working on being a better pony? Yes…” “Wow,” Discord murmured. “Wow, that’s… that’s crazy, Celestia. All of that.” “Hey… Discord?” Celestia suddenly frowned. “Are you feeling alright?” He blinked, stunned. I guess he didn’t think she’d notice. Discord was staring at my sister. Listening, interested in what she had to say. Yet he looked like he was going to throw up, a claw firmly clamped over the front of his snout. “Yeah, uh…” he cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably. “I mean. You’re talking about Negativity, right? A voice in your head? But, that was the smooze, wasn’t it?” “I… suppose it was, yes.” “Where’d you catch it? How’d it get inside of you? Or… or…” “Well from the sound of Redheart’s description, it was a result of stress.” “But that doesn’t…” His face reburied into his claw. “Stress. Stress, huh?” “Yeeees, Discord?” I asked. “So… Celestia.” He said slowly. “Would you say that you were transforming into a Nightmare?” She thought for a moment. “How could I say that? I’ve no idea what the process should feel like.” “Well, did it feel like you were being overtaken by everything dark, horrible about yourself?” “Oh. Yes,” she replied, “Very much like that. And I was only truly able to sort through it with help from Loyalty…” “Yeah, yeah, your Element helped, I got it. I’m on my own tangent now.” He closed his eyes, tugging at the hairs of his chin, brow folded up into a deep, thought-filled frown. “The Nightmare. It’s fueled by corrupted petrichor. Stress makes the material turn black…” “What?” I asked, “Petrichor?” “I’ve talked about it before,” Discord said hastily, “I’ve got some on me. Lots of ponies think it’s the source of magic, or related to magic, since it’s found in Unicorn horns and Pegasi wings.” My eyes snapped wide open. “So… Corrupted petrichor is smooze?!” “W-what?” Celestia gasped, “You mean… Stringhalt, Canterlot, they use smooze to capture and detain…!” “But it’s from… from ponies—!” “No!” Discord barked. “No they are not the same thing!” We fell silent in an instant. Discord continued tugging at the hairs on his chin, clearly agitated. I wondered if I should offer him a hug… but before I could, he started speaking once more. “Okay. Listen. I have seen corrupted petrichor, alright? Seen broken bones, alright? Insides of corrupted horns, a wing once… I’m sorry,” he got a little quieter, tone somber. “Sorry, I’m even mentioning something so horrible, but… I have, I’ve seen it. It’s black, the petrichor. A sort’ve thick, oily slurry. Slimy. But…” He shook his head, and took a deep breath. “I have never, ever heard that material called smooze. It didn’t move or writhe, and it certainly never sprouted any eyes. None of the adults ever rushed to contain it. They just wiped it on the cobblestones, let it seep into the cracks…” He rubbed at his eyes. Trying to scrape away the bad memories, maybe. “Celestia,” he said suddenly, “You had to have gotten that material in your system somehow. Even if it was just a tiny little bit, it had to have been ingested. It doesn’t make sense otherwise.” “But this makes so much sense.” I asserted, hoping I didn’t upset him further. “Everything comes together so clearly. And awfully, too, if you think about it. Such a dark regime, so horrible that it corrupts the very souls of ponies, and uses that dark Element for its own ends…” “It doesn’t make sense!” he shot. “Who would leave something as horrible as the smooze just lying around? Even if it looked exactly the same…” Now both of his hands raked through his mane, palms pressing against his eyes. “Oh, what color was it, back then…?” “Color?” “Smooze is black-purple isn’t it?” Discord said, “Was corrupted petrichor the same?” “Okay, okay, this is getting all over the place,” I said. “Discord, you’re the only one who’s seen petrichor when it’s corrupted. But we’ve all seen smooze. So let’s put together what we know about it. Okay?” He nodded. “Okay.” “It’s like purple-black tar,” I started, “Cold and filmy. It sucks out magic.” “‘Cold’ is an understatement,” Discord grumbled, “And so is ‘sucks out magic’. It is a frigid, icy material. It drains energy from anything that comes near it. Numbing limbs, numbing thoughts, draining until you’re frozen, depressed, and powerless.” “The Nightmare can build quickly,” I continued, “Out of control, dragging the Alicorn along with it. You get stressed, which builds up that horrible, cold material inside your bones. And the Alicorns have so much petrichor, that it just swells and swells and swells, taking over their bodies…” “But what Kindess and Generosity discovered,” Celestia chimed in, “Is that the smooze can be countered by light, by positivity.” She nodded, tapping her Element. “But the problems don’t go away, because, even as gods, Alicorns are still as flawed as any other pony. Or, rather, they bring their baggage with them when they ascend.” “Building up so much it can’t be overcome,” Discord mumbled. “No! They can all maintain themselves!” Luna piped up, “They realized too late to reverse the smooze they had already built up, but we’re starting from zero! We already have ways to cure ourselves, and we’ve clearly realized that the bonds between us are important!” “And that is exactly what happened to me…” Celestia mumbled. “At least, I think so. You two obviously have more experience with this!” “And friendship is exactly how Bright and Paleheart cured themselves—!” “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here!” Discord huffed. “Purple-black tar. Frigid, draining, and numbing. Direct contact causes hopelessness and depression, but in those leather bags, it just makes you feel disoriented. Can be countered by the light of the Elements, banishing its power and melting it away…” Celestia’s nose crinkled. “Melting it?” “Yeah, that’s probably not the best choice of words. It just sort’ve flows away. Rolls…?” “No but… Melting… Guys?” Celestia’s eyes went wide, looking to the both of us. “Do you know what else melted when we used the Elements on it? What else was cold, disorienting, and we had to force past with every positive feeling we could muster?” “No?” I cried, “What! What is it?!” “Remember when we were in Canterbury…” Celestia whispered feverishly. “And, to get out, We had to carve through the rock itself. It was so cold and frigid, numbing and draining all of our magic…” “The black cobblestone…!?” She nodded fiercely, “Black, frozen smooze…!” “Now you’re just being ridiculous!” Discord cried. “That’s just… what?! That doesn’t make any sense! Do you know how big Canterbury is?! How many shrines we saw built out of that stuff?! It’s not like The Shadow Stallion has had thousands of years to collect this stuff! It’s only been a few decades!” “Well,” Celestia said, “Who says it was only the Stallion using it?” “Healers have already been willing to use uncorrupted petrichor, and that comes from dead pony bones,” I said smartly, “Just because the opposite is all corrupted and gross doesn’t mean they couldn’t find a purpose for it…” “But that’s ridiculous!” Discord shouted. “Who would look at the bones of a fallen friend, and just thinks, ‘ah man, maybe I should build my house with that stuff!’ Are you saying ponies. Kind, gentle, nice and reasonable ponies, would sink to using something that horrible for building material?!” “Well,” I said, “To be fair, most buildings that used it were public shrines.” Discord scoffed, “And all of FREAKING HOCK!” “Which one was Hock again…?” Celestia said. “That’s where the Shrine of Loyalty was!” “Oh, right.” “Oh my gosh guys,” I mumbled. “What if The Exodus from the Frozen North was that freaking brutal…” “They didn’t want to just leave the bodies in the snow, so they took the bones and built literal towns from their sacrifices…” “Now you’re both just talking crazy!” Discord huffed, “I never learned anything like that!” “Well maybe it’s something nearing a secret history,” Celestia offered. I nodded. “Yeah, after they did it, they realized, wow, this is freaking gross. Let’s forget this ever happened, alright guys?” “Yes. Yes, it is instantly forgotten,” Celestia said, smiling gently, “Poof.” “You’re both just joking now, aren’t you?” Discord said, “Both just trying to see what ridiculous theory you can come up with next.” “Yes.” Celestia smiled. “A little bit.” “Well we’re getting off topic,” Discord retorted, “Is the smooze corrupted petrichor? I say it is not.” “Well, we can figure it out pretty easily, can’t we?” I stood. “Let’s go ask Healer Redheart!” “Oh, yes!” Celestia said with a clap of her hooves. “Let’s!” “She’s just going to ask us to leave, you know! She hates us, she just gave us a whole long lecture…!” I grinned, rising to my hooves. “Could a Healer avoid answering a simple medical question?” “Yeah, she can!” Discord said. “Well I’m going to see if— Oh! Healer Redheart!” I had popped open the door, intent on finding the Sanatorium’s head healer. But I didn’t need to go far at all. She was right outside, frozen for a moment with her head lowered and ear flush with where the door used to be. But in a flash, she had straightened out, and was staring down at us above her little glasses. “Ah,” she said, “Still here I see.” “We have a medical question,” I said. “Well I am sorry, but I am much too busy to answer any idle questions. Now if you'll excuse me...” She stepped back, but I stepped forward. I said, “It’ll be quick! You see, we’re confused. Is smooze made up of corrupted petrichor?” She snorted and moved past me without saying another word. “Oh, come on!” I shouted, “It’s important!” “Oh yes, does it have anything to do with saving the world this time? Vital information needed to take down the Shadow Stallion.” “Actually, when you put it that way… uh… yes?” “I have other matters to attend to,” Redheart retorted, “And as I have already asked you once, I humbly urge you to immediately vacate the premises.” “Redheart.” Celestia was at my shoulder, her voice soft and demenour, well, like a Princess’. A real Princess. She said softly, “I know we’ve caused you so much trouble.” Healer Redheart continued walking down the hall, not even looking her way. “But if I am to avoid a second infection,” Celestia continued, a little louder this time, “I really do need this information. Consider it a way to keep me healthy, and away from this hospital, if you will.” And that did it. Healer Redheart turned to us… and rolled her eyes. “The processes involved are much too complicated to explain,” she said, “Simply keep healthy and you will be fine,” and kept walking, “If you would so kindly remove yourselves from my sight, I have patients to attend to!” I called after her, “But… But Healer Redheart!” “I think we should leave her alone,” Discord called from within Celestia’s room, “She’s probably sick to death of our need to save the world.” “Hm… is she? “And in the end, knowing about the smooze is nice,” Discord continued, “But how do we use this knowledge to get Generosity?” A little ‘oh!’ popped out of Celestia’s mouth. He was right. “Okay, so it doesn’t help us in this specific problem…” I said. We trailed quietly back into the room, returning to our little circle. After a moment’s hesitation, Celestia even joined us on the floor, wobbling as she fell to her stomach. “But darnit,” I continued, “I would’ve actually liked to know for sure. Maybe help figure out how the Stallion was able to make it rain smooze on us.” “He did what?” Celestia cried. “When we found Honesty, and tried talking through it, The Shadow Stallion overheard somehow, and he created a downpour of smooze.” “Really?! How?” “We’re not sure…” Discord said. “There was a thunderbolt in the sky... ” I said. “And I heard a ton of Pegasi and Griffins that morning…” “Really? I didn’t hear anything.” “Wow.” Celestia said, eyes wide. “My goodness. You faced him yet again, and escaped again.” “Well, I wouldn’t say faced him,” I said. “It was a remote spell,” Discord explained, “He wasn’t in the area, but the clouds themselves twisted and grabbed for us.” “Stallion by proxy?” I wondered aloud. “I think we’ve got a lot to tell you.” “Generosity first!” Discord said, “Please? One problem at a time.” “Hm...” We all fell silent, just for a moment. Just to think, I think. I certainly didn’t know how to get the thing. And I doubted the other two did either. “Well,” Celestia said at last, “I wouldn’t feel comfortable just taking it.” I giggled, “I don’t think that would be very Generous, no.” “So should we get Redheart’s permission?” Celestia asked. “Would it be best if she gave it to us? One Generous act…” “Wouldn’t that make her Generosity?” Discord said. Celestia tapped her chin. “Is there a problem with that?” “eeeehhhhh…” Discord shrugged, looking to me. What? Should I say something? Well, better say the obvious. “Can you actually see us travelling with her? Seriously? She’s like, twenty years our senior!” Discord nodded. “And we would have to make friends with her, if we want the Elements to work…” “Oh geez! How would we even break it to her?” I laughed, “‘Hey Redheart, you’re a magical alicorn too! Now take the Element and leave the hospital for adventure!’” “Adventure…” Discord said, “and eventual bureaucracy!” I couldn’t help it. I broke down into giggles. “I just think it’s a little sad,” Celestia lightly remarked. “She’s been using the Element for so long. Longer than all of us. She grew up with it. Rebuilt a hospital with its power. And Generosity never saw her fit to be a Bearer?” “We don’t know her,” Discord said immediately, “We don’t know what she’s really like. She could’ve just told us what we wanted to hear. Whatever it took to make us leave.” I shook my head, “Her story, the way she told it, there’s no way that she made that up. However… it was solely about herself. There was no friendship to activate the Elements so... No,” I stopped myself before the others could, “That doesn’t make sense either. None of the first gods were friends.” “Maybe that harness Paleheart built prevents the Element of Generosity from moving?” Discord offered, “After all, he didn’t want anyone taking it from this hospital.” “So…” I continued, “Maybe when Generosity removed, it’ll snap right to Redheart. Bam. True bearer.” “Then what?” Discord said, “Then what do we do?” “Then we try to encourage her to leave the hospital with us,” Celestia said calmly. “She may be much older than us, but I don’t want that to come between us and our duty to the country. If she is The Element of Generosity, then we should try and make friends with her too. I don’t think any of us want her to be the next one to go nightmare.” “Eh…” Discord mumbled, trailing off. “She just wants to help her patients, and make the Sanatorium the best it can be,” I said, “And if she does join us, that doesn’t stop her from eventually returning here, right? Be shitty of us to just let her go nightmare...” Celestia winced. “It still troubles me when you swear so easily, Luna!” “Oh! Whoops… sorry.” “Okay, so, if she’s Generosity, fine, she can be a magical alicorn healer with us,” Discord firmly continued, “But Alicorn or no, we’d still have to take her away from here. And you know how much she’s all for that idea…” “Yes, well…” Celestia took a deep breath. “I… well, I may have an alternate solution as well.” “Yeah?” “What is it?” “Now… assuming the worst. That she isn’t Generosity, and we are forced to take the Element away from the ponies relying on its healing. We still are the future rulers of Equestria. And we still do have our power and influence that comes from the position.” “Okay…” I said, nodding. “I have a few contacts who may be able to staff this hospital, making the need for Generosity less pertinent. However…” Her shoulders slumped, angry frown on her face. “These contacts are also the jerkwads that made me, and all of Canterlot, completely insufferable.” “Oh noooo my sister swore!” I laughed, “She’s really serious now!” “Oh hush,” she retorted, “’Jerk’ is not a curse word!” Through our sisterly giggles, Discord continued, “Do you think more Healers will really convince Redheart to let us have the Element?” “It won’t hurt the hospital to have more staff,” I said, “You saw how much Redheart was running around. Even if she’s still stubborn about holding the Element, it will help this place out.” “Well then…” Suddenly, Discord grinned. “How generous of you, Celestia.” Celestia stuck out her tongue. “Oh hush! Really. Hush up. I should probably get to drafting a formal request to… uhg… Chancellor Apple.” She stood, wobbling on her feet again. I suppressed a smile. She’s not used to how light her body is now… Just like I was. “Let’s go find us some quills and paper,” I said. ~Θ~ We lead her to the library, and tried to help with the letter, but Celestia asserted that she needed to write this herself. Her reasons ranged from ‘closure’ to ‘I have the most training, so seriously, leave me to this.’ So eventually, we did leave her there. Carefully, we snuck into our room, not knowing if we were going to get kicked out or not. Once we were inside, Discord spoke so suddenly, I wondered how long he was waiting to talk alone. “What about me?” he said, “Do you think that smooze is building up inside of me? From all these bottled up, sick feelings…” I hugged him. Pulled him close and tight until he stopped squirming and just sat, breathing under my outstretched legs. I rested my chin between his horns, and smiled. “You don’t have to fight like she did, Discord. You’re not fighting alone.” I whispered. “Because I’m here for you.” Quietly, he breathed under me, prickly fur rising and falling against my stomach. “I love you, Luna.” I giggled, “I love you too.” He shivered under my hugging legs. I giggled again. “Thank you.” “Thank you, dummy!” ~Celestia~ Butterflies in my stomach, worry tingling in the back of my mind. Could I handle this? Would I? But I steel myself. It’s not a matter of ‘could.’ I will. I must. Last night, I began work on a letter to Apple of Stringhalt. It was difficult to do this. More difficult, and more frightening, than anything I encountered in my final transformation. I was terrified that my façade would slip, that I’d break, and Negativity would come rolling right back in my head, eating me up once more… That didn’t happen, of course. I was free from that cloying nightmare. Better, I felt assured that I knew how to stave her off the next time I felt broken. But with one fear quieted, another rose. Apple could not disobey me, but I may have permanently lost him as an ally. Could I rely on him any longer for favors? Did I want to? In the end, I worried more about how much I should ask for than the actual issue preventing communication. I already knew what I would say about Blueblood. I refused to apologize for it. I would not be so weak in front of my subjects. After hours of agony, I took the letters to Luna’s room, fully completed. “Two copies?” she asked. “I am uncertain if he will be in his Canterlot home, or back in Stringhalt, so… Two letters seemed appropriate. Now. Can you cast these to his desks?” She chuckled, “I don’t know what either of those look like! Or where they are!” “I’ll direct you. Here…” We sent the letters. Through the little hole of the spell, I saw his Canterlot office, and Discord confirmed the other one was Stringhalt. Our Elements hummed in harmony as we cast, and that seemed to make Luna and Discord nervous. When I asked, Luna explained, “We threw our voices through the Element once.” “Yes, and using them once brought an attack on our heads…” “He hasn’t appeared yet, but, all this activity is making me nervous…” Several tense minutes later, the world failed to upend and the two relaxed, if only slightly. And a half hour past that I received the reply by dragon flame. Written on fine parchment and sealed with wax… it was far more official than I could manage with my bits of scrap paper. Crowding around me, Luna and Discord stared over either shoulder, reading. I felt hot, embarrassed. I just wanted to shove them away, prevent them from reading anything potentially scandalous. What if he wrote about everything? Scolded me? Chided me? What if he was downright hostile, begging me to never speak with him again? The letter read: Dearest Princess Celestia Wonderful to hear from you again! Your departure from Canterlot was so sudden. I assume you are doing well? The planting is about to start in Stringhalt, so I am very glad that you’ve gotten back to me before that hubbub had started. And yet, such a sudden request that was! And so noble in its intent! I remember the days when The Sanatorium was a grand center of healing and research. Defunded, you see. A heavy implication that it should stay that way. I should hope that you see why it would make me hesitant to assist the place once more, while the current regime still stands! While we cannot access the full funds of the Canterlot Royal Treasury, I, as Chancellor of Stringhalt, would be honored to offer you the assistance of our finest Healers in the interim, with the implication that reimbursement and full funding will be granted upon your ascent to the throne. By five’o’clock tonight I shall arrive, arrange for a little tour of the facilities. I will see what The Sanatorium needs to function as a proper hospital, and see what Stringhalt can provide for it! I do hope this letter finds you well! See you at five, Princess Celestia! Chancellor Apple I didn’t know whether to be galled or relieved. Yet I sighed audibly. Of course he was overjoyed. His Princess had forgiven him. His influence was completely intact. Even if he hated me now for personal reasons, what was he going to do? Reject the cushy position my friendship allowed him? And, for the first time in so long, he had called me by name. Celestia. Not ‘his princess’ or ‘dear little princess.’ But Princess Celestia… Now, nearing the appointed time, we stood in the rain. Yes, we stood in the rain, platform under our feet, pattering wood over our heads. Discord had constructed a pagoda decorated in bright colors and hanging banners. It kept the rain off our heads, and served as the best impression we could give. I asked if the hospital had an emblem, something to use for the greeting, but Redheart only answered with a stony glare. I was surprised we could even encourage her to joined us. Yet Discord was ever resourceful, and quietly made up the platform up with light purple and matte healer’s marks, the colors of Paleheart. And strangely, he quietly added his own flare of gold and silver inlays, coating the banners in something shining, making them look crisp and dry in the dreary rain. A few passersby ponies stared at the pagoda, calling out to Redheart, but only Luna replied, waving back and smiling. I thought it was nice, but Redheart only stared at the puddles around us, some pooling with Discord’s fabricated dyes. “It’s not permanent,” Discord offered, “The color will fade when the spell does.” Redheart huffed, but otherwise ignored the stains. “None of this is necessary,” I heard her reply mumbled. “The hospital had functioned fine without outside help.” “What you’ve done is wonderful, Redheart,” I said, “You’ve protected a legacy. You’ve helped so many with it. The hospital will continue in Paleheart’s memory, having stood by his will. Is that enough?” Every word made my heart ache. I didn’t want to do this. She deserved the Element more than any of us. But I stood so firm. I stood like a Princess, the one I was always meant to be. Redheart sniffed, and looked ahead, into the dark. Uncertain how long we waited, or if five had come and gone, it seemed to be an eternity until Apple truly arrived. It starts slowly at first. Just a few wisps of black smoke, pinched like they’ve been plucked off the ground. They rise and twist in the air, swirling together, growing deeper and darker, forming a little well of shadows, slowly spinning before me. A light appears deep within it, the smallest little fisheye pinprick forcing its way through the darkness’ cloying grip… And I don’t even blink as three ponies step casually from the darkness, black tendrils quickly vanishing from their shoulders. Apple strode forward, tall, wide, and regal as I remembered. Almost instantly, I had to bite back a seething and automatic hatred. For who he was, and who he made me... A dark-coated pony collapsed beside Apple, and my attention was torn towards him. It was a unicorn, noisily panting for breath, horn steaming purple, a hot, dull red. He looked barely older than I was, and yet, he was able to cast a teleport over such a long distance... Even through his pain, and the vanishing shadows of the portal, he looks immensely pleased with himself. “Wonderful work as always, Somber Night! Marvelous!” Apple droped a silver coin in front of the wheezing unicorn. “Here, have a tip and get some rest. We’ll be needing you again in an hour!” The unicorn ignored the coin, but Apple payed this no heed. Because his true target was me. Of course. “Celestia, my dear!” Apple boomed, bowing deeply. “Good to see you, good to see you!” I was surprised that my legs could move at all. I don’t even think I tried to walk. I simply stepped down from the platform, expecting to hit mud. But instead stepping on a rapidly unfurling carpet, canopy extending over my head, darting over Apple’s head as well. Apple looked thrilled, stepping up on the carpet with a smile. “Well well! Such a fine display! Do I have to wipe my hooves?!” He released a barking laugh, so typical of him. He’s completely at ease, isn’t he? Oh, goodness… Oh sweet light and sun… I glanced back, and saw Discord offer me a small nod. Thank you Discord. Oh goodness gracious, thank you for the small show of courtesy, and perhaps even power. It felt so right. But soon again, I was instinctually walking forward, ducking into a curtsey. It felt so dreamlike… like I was just drifting along. Who knew being an alicorn meant I would feel so light on my feet? “Thank you for coming on such short notice, Chancellor Apple.” “No trouble, no trouble at all. Anything for the Princess! and for… Ah!” He looked over my shoulder, grinning. “If I may ma’am?” With a short bow, he carefully stepped around me. The third pony, a dusty pink stallion, followed after, quietly bowing as he passed. “Princess Luna, Prince Discord…” and he bowed to them as well. Full formality, Apple? You didn’t care much for them before. He really must be scrapping for a better impression among us… That, or he was just as impressed by Luna’s alicorn transformation. “And you!” Apple boomed. Redheart flinched as his attention wheeled around to her. “Are you here representing The Sanatorium?” “Y-yes,” Redheart straightened herself out, curtseying the best she could. she clearly looked unused to the action, her back hooves crossed awkwardly. “I am Headmistress Redheart. I humbly welcome you to Generosity’s noble Sanatorium, Chancellor Apple.” “Oh! Well, thank you! How could I just leave an Old God’s pet project high and dry? Amazed it was still standing, if I may be frank!” He smiled broadly, peering past Healer Redheart. “Standing, and still operating as a place of healing! Very good, very good. Well! If you don’t mind me, I’m going to help bring this place back to its former glory!” He laughed loudly, as if the thought of denying his help was some kind of huge joke. Redheart’s face remained stern, and from here, it seemed like she was quietly chewing the insides of her mouth. “So!” Apple clapped his hooves. “While it’s nice standing around in the rain, I vote we head inside. Get this tour started, see what needs to be done! So, Madame Redheart…” he bowed, holding a leg out to the hospital. “After you!” “Yes,” she replied through her clenched teeth, “Yes, this way.” Stiffly, she stepped off the pagoda and walked down the newly forming path towards the Sanatorium. I turned to follow, stepping back onto the original platform. I don’t know if I was relieved or stunned or… I sighed, relaxing just slightly. “Well,” I said, “let’s head in, shall we?” Luna nodded. Discord was still staring behind me. “Hey!” he called into the rain. “Are you going to be okay?!” I turned back. The black stallion, Somber Night was it? He was still breathing heavily, standing, a bit soaked, under our canopy. His horn was still steaming, though it was no longer glowing a hot red. At Discord’s voice, he looked up, tousled curly mane plastering the sides of his face. He waved a hoof in a dismissive circle. “I’ve done worse. Thank for your concern, but I just need a moment.” I stopped, momentarily surprised. What a deep voice! “Alright then…” Discord continued, “I’ll leave this main platform up if you need it.” He grunted. “Thanks.” As he walked up to us, Somber Night glanced at Discord. And then the glance extended into a stare. He said, “Hey. You.” Discord blinked. “Uh?” “You’re that same Draconequus, right?” “Same as what?” “The menagerie, from Stringhalt?” My friend winced. “Yep. I was certainly there once.” “So you’re a god now?” “Yep,” Discord replied. “God of Kindness.” “Wow.” His face crinkled. The stallion gave a small bow. “Honored, I suppose.” “Thanks?” “It was wonderful meeting you, Somber Night,” I said politely, “But I do think we are needed inside.” “Still leaving this up, so uh,” Discord waved aimlessly at his creation. “Stay as long as you need.” “Really? Thanks…” Somber Night stared up at the construction, tapping the beams with his hoof. “Fascinating.” “Yep. Well…” With a fleeting nod in his direction, I pushed my friends along the freshly created path, towards the double doors of the hospital. We headed inside, and were already far, far behind the main group. Poor Papercut seemed trapped behind the front counter, rapidly staring between us, Redheart, up at the ceiling as she desperately tried to turn in her chair. For once, no papers were floating and flowing around her. She seemed like she had lost all control… reduced to just a pony trapped behind her desk. Apple was already up on the second landing and apparently, thankfully, thrilled. “Such a grand design! And this was built without magic? Ah, a bit dusty, but how is one supposed to clean such a high ceiling?! Only a Pegasus, no, a very skilled Unicorn…! Oh, just look at the details on these bannisters! Do you see this Spring Pear?!” The pink unicorn looked briefly up from a floating scroll to glance at the bannisters, then quickly returned to his paper, quietly scrawling notes. “Oh, I’m getting ahead of myself! Redheart! Come!” Apple waved her up the stairs. “Come! Tell me of your operations! How many patients a week?! And Healers to serve them? Please! Do tell, do tell! I need to know how many healers we should put on the payroll!” “Well he seems excited,” Luna whispered. “‘Seems’ being the key word,” I whispered back, “He could just as easily be feigning excitement to please us.” Discord closed his eyes and sighed loudly. “You know what? This is why I freaking hated Canterlot.” “Really?” Luna asked, “This is why?” “Well. One reason why. All this fakey… Only pretending to like us for our favor. I didn’t put up with none of that crap.” “I guess that’s part of the reason why they didn’t like you much either,” Luna mumbled, giggling. “That. Among so many other things…” “Yes, yes, I think we’re all sick of Canterlot politics by this point”I waved my friends over to the bottom of the steps. “Now. Before Apple takes Redheart away.” The head healer was currently ascending the grand staircase with all the speed she could muster: no speed at all. Her eyes were rooted to the ground. Perhaps Apple could see that as being humble, but we all knew better… Much better. She glanced down at us as we approached, head still hanging low. “What do you want?” she said. It was clearly directed at us. Apple was still babbling away with his assistant, chatting with the patients… From the sound of it, he may have found Smiley. He seemed to be demanding to know somebody’s job at the facility, in the politest way he could manage. Such a bizarre feeling of control filled me. I was trained for this in Canterlot, after all. but after so long struggling with myself… I think I knew what to do again. Maybe. I plainly said, “Healer Redheart. We need the Element of Generosity.” “You could be it’s Bearer, you know,” Luna piped up, “After everything you've done for this place, none of us would be surprised, or offended, or anything. We’d love having you among us.” “I don’t want to bear the Element,” Redheart retorted, “I didn’t need to be it’s bearer to do all I could…” “Someone has to carry it, Redheart,” I said, “Maybe there was a point where it could remain. But we need it now, for the country. There’s no saving it without Generosity.” Redheart took a few more hesitant steps upward. Apple still babbled on, clearly not needing her to do whatever he was doing. I think she realized that too. Because after a single glance up the stairway, she looked over at us, face twisted. “Please, just… don’t. You don’t have to take it.” Discord and Luna were uncomfortable. I could hear thier hooves shifting behind me. But I stood firm, eye to eye with the old Healer. “Healer Redheart. We must.” She closed her eyes. Her hoof rose, and pointed to the east wing. “Last door on the right. Just… do what you will.” Discord’s eyes snapped down the hall, and he almost ran for it… Yet, we all stayed until she ascended, glumly standing by Apple’s side. Only then did we hesitantly walk towards the hall. It felt like, at any moment, she might jump down and shout for us to stop. But she didn’t move. She simply remained by Apples side, quietly answering questions. “Well. Offered her a bit of help, and she let us go!” Discord quickly whispered, “After that big fight she put up…” “I don’t think it was just that,” Luna commented. “You know how much she distrusted us. And here comes this big official, bowing to us, calling us Prince and Princesses… We weren’t just random punks anymore. We were nobility. Gods. We had proof. She couldn’t keep saying no to us, knowing how powerful we were...” I nodded. “We hold the same authority as Paleheart did. The New Gods, replacing the old.” After a brief search, we found the door. Or, a door, whitewashed wood with a copper handle. There was nothing strange about it, nothing marking it as something worthy of attention. And yet, it was the only locked door I had ever encountered in The Sanatorium. The only thing here that Redheart thought was worth putting under lock and key. “Did she intend us to bash it in?” Luna said abruptly, interrupting my thoughts. “Or maybe she thought we’d just give up and leave?” “Maybe. But a lock isn’t really an issue.” Magic began shooting between his fingers, gumming in straight, sparkling lines. “If you give me ten minutes, no, five, I can probably pop the lock.” I stared at him. “You know how to pick locks? When did this happen?” “Well, I wouldn’t say know… so… yeah, maybe fifteen or twenty minutes.” Luna rolled her eyes. “I can just teleport us through. Seriously! Here!” Her horn flared to life, and with barely a toss of her mane the edges of shadows collected from the floor, from the walls and the cracks beneath the door. They pinched and swirled together, swiftly spreading across the whitewashed surface, forming into a dark portal. And just like that, we had our door. She automatically stepped forward towards the wispy portal. “And off we go—eeeEEp!” And just as automatically, she tumbled forward and vanished without a trace. “Luna?!” Discord cried. Muffled, she called, “I’m fine! Really.” Her head reappeared among the shadows, floating in the dark. Her mane wasn’t even tousled. “But be careful. There’s stairs here.” Silently, we filed through the shadowy portal. It was much the same spell as the one we had witnessed earlier, though across a much shorter distance. Just to the other side of the locked door. I tried to be careful, to mind the first step. But it was further than I assumed, and I would have wound up toppling all the way down if I was not caught by Discord quickly grabbing my tail. It was strange. I expected such an action to hurt a lot more than it did. But my wings… my wings, strange as it seemed, just sort’ve fluttered automatically, and I just drifted momentarily in the dark. Bizzare. It was dark in here. Darker even than a night under the clouds. Of course, I quickly summoned a little light to see by. We stood on narrow stone steps, only two ponies wide and with steps worn by constant traffic, descended far below us, vanishing past the point where my light could reach. The air was thick and musty, silence pushing in on my ears. Nobody spoke. Luna was smiling, but I imagined there was an edge of hesitation to it. Discord just looked quietly down the stairs, and I wondered if he could see further than me here. There was no point in waiting now. With me at the lead, we finally descended into an empty, hollow place. The trip down was long, but not ungodly deep. The bottom was simply cut off by the slope of the ceiling, curved, perhaps buckling from the weight of the building above it. We soon reached the bottom, stepping into a white marble landscape of hollow halls and empty rooms. My light reflected off these gaping doorways, shadows forming off thick objects. I tried to avoid looking directly at them. The silhouettes were certainly tables and counters, sticks of wood and upended chairs. But in the dark, they looked like slumbering beasts. Occasionally, something flickered in the darkness. A shattered bit of glass. A pool of pale water. The shimmer of scattered metal shavings. None of the wreckage made it into the hallway, which was smooth and clear. Free of even dust or dirt, as if the area was recently swept. “As much a tomb as all the rest,” Luna giggled quietly, “Yeah?” “Yes…” I quietly mumbled back, “The Tomb of Generosity.” “Look,” Discord muttered. “There’s a light…” There was. Faint, made fainter by the light I carried, but present. A steady red glow that seemed to pulse erratically. We tried to follow it to the source, walking down oppressively quiet hallways that seemed to eat our hoofbeats. For a few terrifying moments, Discord actually encouraged me to turn off my spell, so we could better determine a direction. I had to step on his tail quite a few times, trying to stop him from running off without relighting the hall. Though it seemed like my hoof had hardly any weight to it at all… so much for actually stopping him. “I could just remove the shadows from your eyes, Celestia,” Luna offered, horn already alight. “I think I’ll stick to my own spells, thank you,” I quickly replied. It was barely ten minutes, and yet, I couldn’t wait to be free of this place. We finally followed that oddly pulsing red light into a room lined with bare marble countertops. There was no wreckage in this space, no broken tools or toppled chairs. This was the only clean room, and it was devoted to one, and only one object. It was as my friends told me. The Element sat in a tall, metallic device, its gemstone held aloft by double pendulums. Both of which swirled like unicorn horns, lined with a silver substance. Petrichor, possibly. It certainly looked bright and star-filled enough. And yet, I was stunned. “You said,” I softly spoke, “it was sitting in a cradle, held by its band…” “Well,” Discord replied. “Not anymore.” The Element was not gently resting in its carriage. No, it seemed alive, and it seemed as if it was frozen in a moment. One flash frame of an attempted, violent escape. The gold had become a sickly bright yellow, band splitting and contorting and bulging into a complicated, lopsided wreath. Gold wound around bars of the frame, encircled the pendulums, jagged in some places and drooping, melted in others. The gemstone itself barely looked like a heart anymore. The red stone was shattered and divided, slowly warping and melting along the lines of sick gold.  The uneven pulsing of light was coming from each section of gem, each flashing out of tune. I could have sworn it was producing off-kilter tones with each beat. But, perhaps that was just my imagination…. “I never thought I’d see an Element like this,” I said. “In pain,” Luna mumbled. “Yeah…” “Whatever it looks like,” I said firmly, stepping forward. “It was used for a good cause. Perhaps it was just trying to connect with Redheart, accept her, instead of this machine…” I heard Discord mutter, “I doubt it.”  I ignored him. Stepping forward, staring up at the cruel device, I wrapped my yellow aura around the silver frame, and attempted began to tug at the struts. Generosity moved with the machine, thoroughly attached to it. “Maybe, as soon as it’s free…” Metal squealed. Flakes of rust drifted from the joints holding the pendulum. “It’ll zip right by us and fly to her side…” I gave a hearty yank. There was a painful, high-pitched squeal. The upper pendulum had broke free. It sunk, a little, then tore neatly through the gold lattice, smacking the countertop with a clunk. Silver paint splattered across the marble, began dripping from the new hole in the fragile device. I closed my eyes. “I really, really, really don’t like this situation,” I said. Luna and Discord muttered their agreement. “Can one of you hold this frame?” I asked, shifting the metal again. “I’m going to try to rip the Element out.” Silently, Discord moved forward. Little fingers of his magic swirled around the bottom of the frame, spreading across the tabletop and gripping at the edge. Where it came in contact with the silver, his illusion bloomed and bubbled, swelling into bizarre shapes… He waved for me to ignore his spell’s transformation. I nodded. Took a step back. The Element looked so pathetic. No matter how noble Paleheart’s sacrifice was… The Element was not built to work like this. So I wrapped my aura around the red stone. And with one swift yank, I tore the Element free of its cradle. There was a flash. A high-pitched tone. And, in an instant, tight metal weaving around my neck, squeezing, and falling into place. I blinked, trying to see through the blast of light. Yet I knew already. The Element of Generosity had settled around my neck. And when I could see again, I saw it had neatly rejuvenated and reformed, a small purple diamond inlayed in the soft gold band. “Well,” Discord said. “That settles that.”