//------------------------------// // Words from the Past // Story: The Slumber of Gaia // by Khenlos //------------------------------// That took more of me than I thought I was resting near the window, observing the countryside far from Canterlot. The soft hills covered in green grass and small bushes until the great mountain ranges cut the skyline. This truly was a very young world if we go by its apparent geomorphology, too different from the eroded plains that cover my world. The young ones were thoughtful, probably just wondering about Twilight's test. It was a tough one, but I believe that she will be able to learn from the experience. After all. life isn't always about winning all the time. "Gaia, I was wondering something..." Celestia asked me. "What troubles your mind, dear?" I asked her, looking at her with a sideways glance. "You said that you made this test for somepony before" Celestia went on carefully. "Yes, that's right. What's your question?" I replied. "You already said that your world has sapient life, but I was wondering who was this... person? It seems a pretty special kind of test to be given to someone randomly" Celestia finally asked. She sure was a diplomat, trying to ask the correct question. "It was my son, of course." I asked simply, making both of them freeze in place. "Son? You mean...?" Luna asked, leaving the question in the air. "Alicorn? Yes. It's just a bit smaller than your sister but alicorn all the way." I said to Luna with a smirk. "A male alicorn... what an unexpected turn of events..." Celestia said before chuckling "A frequent occurrence around you, Gaia." "I aim to live a life filled with many wonderful surprises, dear. It's logical to think that some of those will be surprising others around me as well." I said to her while giggling. I observed that Twilight teleported herself and the experiment towards another room, probably to have some privacy. In retrospective, building a science experiment inside a random hall of the castle wasn't my best idea. I decided that I really wanted to be in the gardens and started to walk away, the two alicorns getting up quickly and walking behind me. "So, what is his name? Does he have talents similar to yours?" Celestia asked in a polite tone. "Is he also eons old?" Luna asked, suddenly interested in me. I laughed as we walked. "Well, he isn't as old as me, obviously. He is in the middle of his sixth millennium and he can't do my work, not by himself at least. His name is Prometheus, and he is my only son from my own blood and flesh."I told them with a motherly smile on my face, remembering when my little boy was just a cute infant. "That's a unique name. It seems that your naming conventions differ far from ours. Do they mean something or are they just meaningless designations?" Celestia asked. Oh, I see now where Twilight got her inquisitive mind. "They have meaning, even if it's an old one. It's been many millennia since we both had our names pronounced in their original, primitive language. I didn't invent any language, dear, so at first I just didn't speak. The first civilizations named me and my son, and we stuck with those names. I must admit that I heard a different way to say mine and I liked it more than my original name" I said with a playful smile. "Do not leave us in the dark now. Continue, please." Luna asked. Ah, the curiosity of the young... "His name hadn't been changed since the first time. His name means 'foresight', as he always watched over the developing civilizations of my world, from their humble starts 'till the very end and beyond." I told them while nodding slowly, still walking towards the gardens. "He is just another kind of warden. You watch over the world and he watches over the societies of the sapient races on it?" Celestia asked, wondering out loud. "Different societies of the same species, but yes. My world only developed one sapient species, young Celestia, but you were close" I told her with a small smile. "And what does yours mean?" Luna asked. Ah... it's been some time... "Mine takes me back to the first settlements on my world. They called me Ma-ka. It means 'Mother Earth'. It will always amaze me how they were able to recognize me, even when it was the first time they saw me. I think they lately proved that it was some kind of instinctual behavior. Anyways, a couple of centuries forwards, I found this little but cute civilization that used bronze tools and had beautiful marble and limestone buildings. They had a more advanced language and they called me 'Gaia', and I liked it so much that I stuck with it. The meaning is the same, but I really liked it more than Maka. I still reply when some of them call me that, though. I suppose it's also kind of instinctual since it was my first name" I explained to them, even after we arrived at the gardens and walked through them a bit. Both alicorns looked very pensive. "Mother Earth... I kinda see why they called you that. But now I have another question. How is that you speak our language when saying those names? I expected you to talk like before when saying them" Celestia asked. I smiled softly at her. "When Discord gave me the knowledge of your tongue I also learned its phonetics and more ancient words. I just looked for the best matches and made new words if I didn't find anything. When you have seen and heard as many languages as I do you work quick to establish some way of translating concepts. Yours was the hardest since the sapient beings back home don't have a voice box like us. I didn't have a reference to work on." I told her as I observed some of the little creatures approaching us... Ah, squirrels. Such a nice name. Celestia chuckled at my words. "I suppose we can gather a few tricks along the way." Celestia said with a small smirk. "It's one of the little perks of being old I suppose." I told her, playing a bit with the squirrel. Both sisters seemed like engaged in some kind of unspoken discussion. I yawned, still a bit tired from before. It really took a toll on my energy. "You look tired, Gaia. Do you wish to rest in your chambers?" Luna asked with concern. I just slumped on the grass, some animals quickly approaching me and smelling me. "I think I'll take a nap right here. Don't worry if I don't wake for lunch, I'm known for..." I tried to say, but a yawn again assaulted me "for my long naps..." A nap sounded... lovely... And she just went to sleep right there. Celestia's mind went overdrive with the new information. Gaia was far from alone, and it was clear that these unknown beings were capable of travel through space. Gaia didn't know any magic, but that didn't mean that they didn't travel thanks to some kind of spell... they need to contact with this 'Prometheus' if they wanted to know more about this alien civilization... but in little time Gaia will be traveling and both Luna and Celestia knew that they didn't have the ability to stop her... and why would they? Celestia looked at the sleeping alicorn, some of the animals in the palace garden resting on and beside her. She didn't know about laws or frontiers but, as Cadence said, she had a heart in the right place. Celestia decided to talk her mind and told her sister about her thoughts, which concerned Luna. She thought that they already had enough wild cards on the table to add some unknown menace upon themselves. While not apparently hostile they can't assume that Gaia's son was as calm as she was if their own history was something to go by. Wars scarred Equestria and other countries centuries ago and even today the diplomats had a tough work on their hooves. Peace and Harmony have to be worked on if the nations wanted to keep the status quo. Luna knew better than anypony, past times still fresh in her mind. "It seems that we are at an impasse, sister" Luna pointed out sourly. "Looks like it, Luna" Celestia replied, a thoughtful expression on her face. "She didn't do anything bad, but the other countries may not be so open with her, and I'm afraid what one pony with her powers can do when she is angry." Luna explained further. Celestia nodded slowly. "True... but maybe we don't really need to think about that." Celestia said, confusing Luna. "How so, sister?" She asked. "It is simple. We help her" Celestia replied with a smirk. "What?" Luna eloquently replied. "It is not perfect, but it will be helpful. If one of us accompany her as... let's say, her guide, we can evade most of the political fallout and she will be traveling as she planned. Well, maybe a bit more planned than she thought." Celestia explained with a small laugh. "This is no joking matter, sister." Luna said with a light frown. "Lighten up, little sister. At least it's better than doing nothing" Celestia said with a smirk on her face. "Maybe we need to discuss this matter with our fellow princesses." Luna said as she walked to the castle. Celestia looked over Gaia again before following Luna. "I'm sure they will agree with me." Celestia said with confidence. Meanwhile, Twilight had already a big pile of notes around her, her past glee now gone as she observed the lifeless ball that floated in the box. "This isn't as exciting as I thought... I got the bulb to emit less light and the clouds to reflect more heat...it already got cold enough to rain... but still there is no life! It's just a wet rock!" Twilight said in exasperation as Cadance giggled at her. "You are just too impatient, Twilight. You just need to wait" She said with a knowing smile. "I know, but I just have ten days. Ten days! What if I miss something?" Twilight asked her in desperation. Cadance just rolled her eyes. "You can't be all cooped up here, you have a castle that needs your attention back in Ponyville and friends that need you there too" Cadance explained to her as she tried to pull her from the small planetoid. "But it also needs me!" Twilight cried, trying to reach the experiment. "No. Bad Twilight. I know you love to learn, but you have been acting pretty rude lately, especially towards Gaia" Cadance admonished Twilight, staring at her. Twilight looked down as she tried to evade Cadence's eyes. "Maybe I've been a bit overzealous with all of this. The stress of the situation coupled with how she acts..." Twilight said as she sighed "I will apologize later." "Just remember to take it easy. You are not a filly Twilight, and I can't be watching over you when you get like this. You should seek help from your friends if you find yourself lost. Gaia said that it was your planet and it was your responsibility, but she didn't say that you need to do it alone" Cadance said with a wink. Twilight smiled brightly and started to write a letter, thanking herself for leaving Spike at the castle this time. As Twilight redacted a letter for Spike and her friends, a creature darted from shadow to shadow, his job done and fleeing from the castle while being undetected. The small buzzing sound could be heard by the guards at the castle walls, but they thought it was from insects and ignored it. One thought was shared by the creature and the guard though. This Spring sure was turning out interesting.