//------------------------------// // Anniversary Special - The Questions about Gaia // Story: The Slumber of Gaia // by Khenlos //------------------------------// Ah, to be young again. After the small incident with Twilight's planet we all got together to drink tea and share stories. It was refreshing to just mingle with others that are mostly like you. They were small and not all with the same number of appendages... but it was enough for me. It was just a question of time that they started to ask question about myself. Its always about myself... But they are curious. How can I say no? "What was that, my dear?" I asked the purple princess. "I was wondering who was Prometheus' father. You never talk about him. He isn't..?" she asked, hesitant. Ah, of course they would thought that. "No, not at all. In fact Prometheus doesn't have a father." I replied with a smile, confusing them pretty bad. "How? That's not how life works!" "Oh, but you must understand something, young one. Prometheus is... a physical manifestation of something intangible, like myself. He is the trichordian civilization... their hopes and dreams, their knowledge and faith... he is all of that and more. He is a direct reflection of them, and vice versa. He can influence them overall of course, and push them onto a desirable path..." I explained with a bit of difficulty. It was hard to explain, I swear! It's something that it just is for me... "I think I understand that, but how can be your son? It seems that he just appeared with them, right?" Twilight asked with curiosity. "Ah, but they were born on my planet... on me. And when the trichordates started to develop intelligence, I got pregnant with him. The moment they managed to band together as a civilization for the first time it was when my son was truly born, and became my full time responsibility" I said with a sad smile on my face. "They were hard times. Every famine or illness that fell upon the small civilization could unmade all their efforts... and kill my son as a ultimate consequence. I could not allow that. So I took a somewhat active role, more than the previous millions of years." Young Cadance hugged me and smiled at me, irradiating affection. "I understand. The love of a mother is truly a force capable of miracles... and even more if the mother in question is the whole world, right?" she said, making us giggle at that. I giggled at least. "True. I've been told that I'm pretty scary when I'm angry" I said while laughing... Why is Twilight a bit paler than before? "G-Gaia... what happened that made you angry? And... what did you do?" she asked. I rubbed my chin in thought. I try to forget about it so it doesn't come to mind as often as other things. "Well... It was a couple of centuries ago. My son's civilization was in full swing and they consumed resources without thought or care. They dried up nuclear resources to power their energy plants and started to draw energy from... more dirty fuels. They were advancing pretty fast but started to pollute the environment, killing many plants and animals. I was ill from all the pollution and... I wasn't thinking clearly because of that..." I spoke with a small voice. It was hard and painful, but it was the truth. Still... "In a fit of rage I... I razed an entire country. It was a small thing, around five million strong. They were always misusing their resources, dumping hazardous materials on my oceans and turning my soil in barren wastes. I was so mad that..." I found myself out air. So much loss... "Gaia, you don't have to continue if you don't want to. I'm sorry I asked that" Ah Twilight. Sweet, naive child... "Suffice to say, it was not pretty. My son and his people got a really big scare from that. They learned though, and started to hear my advice again. Sometimes they just... they just think they're above nature. But thankfully they took the lesson to heart in time" I said with a smile. Cadance quickly tried to save the conversation. "So tell us Gaia. Do you have any holidays in your world?" she asked me. Ah, the classic 'change the subject' technique. "Well we do have the Harvest Day, which is at the end of the dry season. It's a several day party that its eating contests and dancing for hours. Let me see... Mhm... Ah! There is also my birthday. While no one knows the exact day they just created a whole holiday for me and they just try and do some kind of pilgrimage a month before it just to spend time with me. Trust me, even a forest can feel cramped with so many people around" I told them with a wide smile. They tried to be good sons, even if they usually forget about what's important. "What about yours?" "We have Nightmare Night and Summer Sun Celebration, which are mostly seasonal festivals that last one day, and Hearths Warming Eve that is a holiday to remember the friendships we made and how Equestria was born from that... but there are many local festivities in each city and town!" Twilight explained eagerly to me. I suppose that many cultures and peoples have a great variety of holidays. "Oh, now that we're asking the big things, I got one" Rainbow Dash said as she butted in the conversation. "Sure. What do you want to know?" I replied with a patient smile. "I've been hearing things about what do you eat, but they must be horseapples! They were too far-fetched. So... What can you eat?" she asked with a smirk on her face. Oh my, quite a interesting question. "I can eat everything... and I mean everything" I simply told her. "W-What!? That's impossible!" she yelled. What a classic! "Oh but its not. Maybe you can't tell, but I'm pretty old. I'm older than food itself. For me eating its just an optional but highly pleasurable experience." I explained to them "So in time I just tried everything, from rocks to pure minerals and metals. If it exists I probably tasted it sometime." "What? But... huh... What?" the young pegasus replied. Oh dear, I didn't break her, right? "Even meat?" Twilight asked while raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, of course. Its very rich in proteins and, if cooked right, can be in most of the best recipes of my world" I told her sincerely. She smiled and nodded at me. "You should try griffon cuisine. I've been told that they have the best meat-specialized chefs in the world" she told me. Oh, note to self: Griffons like meat. Acquire griffon recipes. "But if that's true Gaia you were like, a nomad? You have to if you tried every... er... food on your planet" Cadance asked while helping herself with some tea using levitation. I really need to learn that! "Ah, for the most part yes, I lived a pretty nomadic life when I was up and working but usually I just slept away for a long time, only getting up when something important was about to happen" I told her, making Twilight more curious about the current topic. "And where did you sleep?" the young and purple alicorn asked. "I liked to sleep in a temperate forest. It was a nice place. A small stream with tiny waterfalls made a very relaxing sound and used to made my rest easy. I spent so many time sleeping that I even left imprints on the soil, and the fossil remains of my sleeping place were put in a museum."I told her before chuckling. "Is something funny? I don't get it" Twilight asked as she got a bit closer to me. "Oh, nothing. It's just that they are... a bit obsessed with everything related to me. You call big spans of time... Hm... let me check... Ah! Eons, right? Well my sons call those same time spans... slumbers" "Slumbers?" they all asked. Oh my, such a polite audience. "Oh yes. My slumbers. The oldest eon is called "The First Slumber of Mother Gaia". Seriously, they even have manuals about the stuff and try to know what I dream during my slumbers and a lot of other useless stuff" I told them while laughing pretty loudly. They weren't laughing. "What? Did I say something wrong?"