Ten: A Walk In The Garden
The
Taste
Of
Grass
By Chatoyance
Ten: A Walk In The Garden
Windfeather's glasses kept slipping down his nose. Every few feet, he would have to stop, raise a foreleg, and push them back up with his hoof. His glasses kept slipping because the coat on his nose was slick with sweat, and his nose had been sweating because he was so nervous.
As soon as the small, bookish pegasus stopped to fix his glasses, he would immediately trot forward to keep up with Her Royal Highness, and because he was approaching her, he would do a quick bow, which of course caused his glasses to slide down his nose again.
Over and over he went through this pattern, his breathing ragged from the many starts and stops. Gradually, it seemed that Her Highness was walking faster and faster, causing Windfeather to work harder to catch up and remain just behind her, at her side. Now they had passed a trot, and were heading into a canter. Windfeather's glasses had become even more unstable, now that he was sweating not only from fear, but also from exertion. The glasses slipped down the pegasus's nose, and threatened to drop off entirely.
Suddenly, Windfeather saw, out of the corner of his eye, that Her Highness had stopped in place, and that he had inadvertently dashed on beyond her. He tried to stop suddenly, but his glasses slipped off of his face; he tried to catch them with his foreleg, which put him off balance. Windfeather made the effort to compensate with his wings, but by then it was too late; torn between trying to catch his glasses, stopping suddenly, and trying to stay upright, he found himself utterly confused, and in no time at all tumbled to the ground in a heap.
Sprawled on the pathway, his glasses on the ground, his wings unfurled and pointing in different directions, he looked up to see the placid, cold eyes of his regent, Her Royal Majesty, Princess Celestia of Equestria, staring at him. They were eyes utterly devoid of either contempt or compassion; eyes more than a thousand years old, ancient and alien, as distant from his own mortal gaze as his was from an insect in the garden within which they walked.
"Gotcha." The words were soft, the ghost of some ancient humor a millennium gone. To another pony, at another time, the jest might have been warm, even friendly; but this was not such a time, and Windfeather was not a pony that Celestia was happy with in the least.
Windfeather carefully used his hooves to place his glasses back on his nose, then clambered up from where he was laying on his belly. He closed his wings, and tried to regain some dignity, but of course his dignity was entirely gone now, and with it the last shred of the bravado and fire he had imagined he would show in front of Her Majesty. Doubtless, he realized, this was why she had done it.
The little pegasus trembled now, for looking around he understood where Celestia had led him. It was the Royal Gardens; beyond he could see the entrance to the vast hedge maze, tall and colorful flags slowly moving at the gate. But the maze was not what captured his attention, rather it was the many statues scattered around the gardens.
There were rumors about the statues, the perfect, uncannily detailed, life size statues; dark frightening rumors. It was said, in whispers, that the statues had once been living ponies; ancient Equestrians that had defied Celestia, or who had endangered her goals. There was no proof of this, of course, but the possibility made Windfeather feel weak in all of his knees, and he feared another tumble at any moment.
"Tell me again why over two thousand of my subjects cannot be accounted for." Celestia's speech was even; measured.
"I... I... I'm sure that with some... it's just that... I really feel that..." The carefully rehearsed cover story that Windfeather had worked on was in shambles within his head; he could remember nothing of it. He could find nothing of strength within him now, it had all been lost when he had stumbled.
"They cannot be accounted for because you chose to abandon them in the Exponential Lands." The cold eyes gazed down at Windfeather from far above his small stature, and thousands of years beyond his wisdom.
"You know, my dearest majesty, there is a reason for that, it's a funny thing really, I just couldn't help but..." Windfeather was stammering; originally he had intended to tell Celestia off, to inform her of her mistake. What had happened to all of that? How had he been reduced to this state?
"Tell me, in your own words, what motivated you to take your action." Suddenly, Celestia's eyes were warm and kind, her face a gentle smile. This threw Windfeather completely; he stood frozen, unable to decide what to say or how to say it.
Celestia just stood there, towering above him, smiling gently with those kind eyes. She waited, and somehow Windfeather knew that she would have no problem whatsoever just standing there, waiting, until he grew old, and his bones finally fell to the ground, dried out and dead, vines covering his remains. She had seen centuries pass as he watched the hours of a day. Windfeather decided to speak.
First, however, he bowed. Low. Of course his small round glasses slipped again, and so he had to push them up once more. He stood, his head still down, gazing up sideways at his sovereign like a foal caught with a hoof in the cookie jar.
"Celestia..." His voice squeaked like a yearling; he lowered the pitch of it, feeling embarrassed "I mean... your highness... I honestly think that there is a danger to our nation, a danger that perhaps..." How should he say this... how could he put it without appearing to lay the blame on Her..."your... ministers... may have overlooked, and that... well, I thought to take action to protect you, and our great country..." Windfeather trailed off, hoping for some kind of response, some suggestion of how Celestia was taking what he had to say.
Celestia just gazed down, with gentle, kind eyes, and a soft smile on her face, her sun behind her back, blinding him.
After a long while Windfeather realized he would need to continue; Celestia could literally wait forever for him to finish. "The newfoals, Majesty, they remain a threat to our culture, to our very way of life!" That was it! That was the old spirit! Windfeather began to remember something of what he had intended to say. It was coming back now.
"Those otherworldly creatures can never be Equestrians, not true Equestrians! They may wear our shape, they may eat grass now, but once they were carnivorous monsters who ruined their entire world! These are beasts that delighted in killing their own kind! They believe insane things, perform insane acts; they can never be trusted and they will never be free from the evil of what they truly are." Windfeather began to feel increasingly confident now. He would get Celestia to see, to understand.
Celestia remained still, the gentle, patient smile on her muzzle. She was listening, that was certainly true.
"Don't you see? Inside them, even if their outward flesh is Equestrian, their experiences and memories are those of monsters that kill not only their own kind but who slaughtered every other creature on their world! They are more dangerous than dragons, more vicious than griffons, more terrible than any hydra. They are an insidious evil, one that will corrupt our very society just with the stories of their world alone!"
Windfeather stood tall, more sure of himself. Celestia had not reacted in any negative way, perhaps she could be made to support his goals.
"Frankly, your Highness, trying to save such monsters was ill-advised. How can you expect such beasts to keep Equestrian traditions and ways when they cannot even keep what few ideals they claim to possess? These are creatures willing to scrape away entire mountain ranges, leaving only poisoned pits, all just to make a few bits to spend. They stripped their oceans bare, then devoured all the fish and animals until none were left! Virtually the entire population of their world has always been forced to live in abject poverty just so that an incredibly tiny elite can live beyond their means!"
Celestia blinked, once, still waiting.
"I am not alone, Celestia! I am slowly gathering together those that can understand the terrible danger that this foolish effort to take in such monsters represents. Together we have sent thousands of the... newfoals... to distant, random locations where they can never be found, and where they can never destroy the glory of our beautiful Equestria! Our number will grow, and with your support we can make sure that these alien invaders live their wretched lives apart from us - it is not my intent to harm them, of course not - only to keep them far, far away!"
Windfeather needed to catch his breath. His glasses had slipped again, so he pushed them up with a hoof. Celestia had not changed her expression. She had not reacted at all to what he had said. Was she even truly listening? Was she... mocking him somehow, with that stupid, bland expression on her face? Surely something he had said should have gotten some kind of reaction from her! But nothing!
"Listen you - this is not something that is going to go away. This is going to be a movement! I intend for this this... segregation... to sweep through all of Equestria! There are others who agree with me, and when I get back, all they need is a little organization to make certain, once and for all time, that "
Celestia's smile faded to a calm, ageless expression.
Princess Luna stepped out from behind a topiary. She looked over her work. He had not even felt it, he had not even known it was happening. Exactly as it should be.
It was a beautiful statue, wings unconsciously flared in anger and indignation, mouth open in impassioned discourse, front right hoof jabbing upward in self-righteous defiance. The statue stood now on a lovely pedestal, summoned into existence just after the work was finished, completing it.
Celestia leaned close and squinted at the tiny, round, stone glasses, perched on the end of the nose of the marble pegasus. She found them cute, so dramatic! The perfect touch.
Luna and Celestia, ancient as time, walked slowly back through the garden.
There on the left was Direspeaker the Rebellious, with her long, flowing list of 1,001 complaints to the crown; her voice had possessed an unexpected magical power to motivate the masses and cause them to march. She had nearly taken the old capitol, eight hundred years ago.
They walked by the Three Godlike Foals; accidentally born with some unimaginable level of magic, they had been small earth ponies that could fly and reshape reality itself; unstopped they would have innocently obliterated Equestria forever. Theirs was a tragic story; for they were too young to know the danger they represented, and too rambunctious to listen to any but themselves.
It was because of them that Celestia had not instantly and decisively dealt with Twilight Sparkle; despite her truly fearsome power, she might yet be permitted to live, if only she could learn enough compassion and self control to balance her potentially unlimited abilities.
Still, Celestia had come very close to attending to her, it was not that long ago. Time would tell; it always had, it always would.
Luna stopped, for a moment, to look at the Archer of Equilonia; her stone eyes still gazing in concentration on the deadly god-slaying shot she had once aimed at Celestia's left eye.
As they left the garden, Celestia gave one last look towards the Mysterious Starkeeper of long lost Phetlocknecia; every year she was given a fresh flag to hold, her stone one long since crumbled away, two of her stolen stars still beside her.
Windfeather was in superior company, far greater than he deserved. But order must be kept, and no ruler can brook open rebellion.
Indeed, thought Celestia, she would have his statue removed from Canterlot, and shipped to some smaller town or village, one more in keeping with his terribly low status. A nice statue always improved a town square so very much.
"What art thou going to do, good sister, to succor these dispossessed newfoals then?" Luna strode with unnatural grace along the pathway that lead to the castle.
"I shall do nothing. I shall, however, set the task to the Unicorn Corps, for now. Their order has grown dull over the centuries; they never should have accepted the orders of one such as Windfeather. It is fitting that they should correct this error, and it is my intention that they shall." Celestia, as always, spoke with a velvet voice, but beneath that melodious sound was always the iron hoof of Her absolute Order.
The two princesses walked past the armored, Royal Guards on duty outside the threshold of the palace Garden Gate. "You may allow entrance to the gardens once more. Also, send for the groundskeeper, there is a matter I wish to speak with him about; a matter involving transport of one of the decorations." Celestia smiled at the Guard; she always smiled at the Guardstallions when she gave them orders, it was automatic for her.
"Would you join me for some tea, sister? We could take it on the fifth balcony overlooking the garden; I don't think you've seen that view yet."
"Command then the repast; we shall attend."
With that, the immortal living goddesses of day and night began to slowly, gracefully climb the long and winding marble stairs that led up to their chosen place. They did this not because they could not fly, or teleport, or bend space and time around them so that the very substance of reality itself changed such that the fifth balcony happened to be where they were, but instead because it was slightly more interesting to take the longer path.
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Okay, I'm torn.
Windfeather was a dick. He deserved punishment, yes. I just can't help but feel it might have been better for him to be witness to some of the newfoals he had 'banished' thrive. And being turned into a statue may have been a bit... overkill, maybe?
Also, I like how you explained how the other statues came to be. With those, they represented actual threats, intentional or otherwise. I feel bad about the Three Godlike Foals, though. I mean, they didn't know what they were doing.
I just surprised it didn't turn out with Windfeather getting turned into a statue and then shattered.
I will agree with tony1685 on the origins of the other statues in the garden. It's nice to have a bit of extra past added into the story. I'm surprised that Twilight probably would have been a statue if not for the Three Godlike Foals that came some time before her. As for the Three Godlike Foals it's kinda easy to feel sorry for them but at the same time I can see why Celestia would want to find a way to stop them.
Three things about the statues: One, if you go watch 'The Return Of Harmony, Part 1', you will find every one of the statues; I based my story backgrounds of the statues on cannon images.
Two; I consider Twilight Sparkle to be a potential 'Anthony'. By that I refer to the Twilight Zone episode It's A Good Life, based on the short story by the same name by Jerome Bixby. In it a town is held hostage, cut off from outside reality by a small child who has the powers of a god. Because he is just a small boy, spoiled and unsocialized, he is very biblical in attitude; wrathful, jealous, petty, and merciless. Nothing can oppose him; he is a living god. It is the ultimate nightmare.
From the moment Twilight Sparkle went Akira during her magic test, I instantly said to myself 'Anthony'. I understand absolutely why Princess Celestia would send her super-powerful pupil to a tiny little town; it was no favor, it was to make sure the withdrawn, bookish Twilight made some damn friends and started caring about something other than accumulating powers.
A god who is selfish, petty and wrathful is an abomination, and must be destroyed. I believe that Celestia has two options dealing with Twilight; get her full of love and compassion as fast as possible, or turn her to stone.
That episode where she goes OCD and Celestia comes down from the sky? I think Twilight was about thirty minutes from becoming another statue in that garden. She was saved barely, by the love of her friends, and her own total humility. One uppity word from her, and it would be garden party.
Twilight is the greatest threat to Celestia since Discord; a pony that even as a tiny filly could uncontrollably warp reality, transform ponies into cacti, gigantize a baby dragon, and come close to destroying the capitol itself.
I consider it the most incredible gesture that Celestia didn't stone her on the spot. What a risk to take! Twilight is like a baby, with a nuke. Yet she is allowed to live. She's an Anthony. She's a bloody Tetsuo from Akira.
Three: there are statues all over Ponyville, and in other towns too, in the show. I always remember Discord's statement about why he was a better choice than Celestia, despite his love of chaos: "At least I don't turn ponies into stone." There are a LOT of statues in Equestria.
I'm not saying Celestia is some cruel tyrant. But I do picture her the same way I would any king or queen or emperor in history; she will keep order, and her power, whatever it takes. She can afford to be benevolent, so long as there is no opposition of any kind. She may be an alicorn, but first and foremost, she is a ruler.
Ruling is not a job for anyone with a weak stomach.
Those are my thoughts, anyway, for what they are worth! $smiley
Also Twilight is an Element of Harmony. That might have to do with her not being turned into stone ;)
This was certainly unexpected. At first I thought it didn't fit the princesses, but the more I think about it, the more I agree with the story.
Very interesting characterization. They're not tyrants, but also have no tolerance for rebellious ponies. In truth, they honestly want the best for their kingdom and subjects, and they do that by doing everything in their might to ensure they retain control.
That's a very very fine line to walk. I don't think any human, godlike powers or not, could do that. But goddess-ponies? With millenia of experience and knowledge? They do.
It hit me now how perfectly this chapter portrays the Celestial sisters. Well done!
Well, it's not like she can possibly afford to have a dissident like him racing around.....or someone who reminds me of Jean Grey waiting for the right stimulus so she can become Dark Phoenix Sparkle.
Well, it's not like she can possibly afford to have a dissident like him racing around.....or someone who reminds me of Jean Grey waiting for the right stimulus so she can become Dark Phoenix Sparkle. 40569 Maybe when Alexi and the gang reconnect with civilization, the first town they find will have Windfeather keeping company with the local pigeons.
In my own head-canon, she's a benevolent dictator. She is the ultimate power in the land because, quite simply, she IS the ultimate power in the land. She does second-guess herself, but she always does what she thinks is best for her people and puts them before her own happiness (if you think she wanted to banish her sister to the moon for a thousand years you may disagree, but I don't believe she did).
I love the back-story (slight as it is) on the ponies in the garden, and that throw-away line from Discord strikes me as not so throwaway. I doubt she does it lightly, and if I were her, I'd turn my greatest threats into my greatest assets. If she ever needs ponies with fantastic powers, great organising skills or motivational capabilities, she knows right where to look.
And now I see some Rabble Rouser from back before Nightmare Moon being released from stone. "All your grievances have been addressed. It merely took Us a long time to bring them about without causing anarchy."
While I rather dislike Windfeather; that was kinda' harsh.
While I agree with the garden of stone, I also think she may have jumped the gun a little. I suppose Celestia just strikes me as a "Always second chances, never thirds," kind of mare. I just can't see her deeming Windfeather a completely unsalvageable nuisance... Er, I mean, threat. I think she would have at least tried to get him to see the error of his ways, despite the grievous nature of his crime. Maybe that's just me though...
40569
'A god who is selfish, petty and wrathful is an abomination, and must be destroyed.'
Oddly enough, that's exactly what the Archer said.
40677
She's a master (mistress?) at giving her enemies enough rope to hang themselves with. She stood there, and let him prattle on. He didn't beg forgiveness, he didn't recant, he threatened her and her rule, and the peace of her principality (princessipality?).
I think it was either lock him up for a very long time, or... turn him to stone.
Seriously, I thought this was a story where ponies lacked the nastier primate urges, such as the desire to hold onto power for its own sake, and at any cost.
40746
I see the petrification as a humane way of locking him up for a long time. It isn't a death sentence, or she would just have outright destroyed him.
At some point, the newfoals will have been integrate into pony society, and there will no longer be a danger of Windfeather organizing some sort of Pony Purity Pals organization who wear white hoods to scare the newfoals with their primitive primate fears of ghosts. At that point, once he is powerless, it will be safe to release Windfeather from his timeless stone prison and try to teach him the error of his ways.
40798
Shhh... You're giving it all away. Great Celestia, I swear, Tychomonger, you are just too cool for school.
40798
And maybe even stranger (and occasionally boring) places too.
By which time there will be Ponies in Space!
And for everyone feeling a little iffy about Celestia here, remember that this is Chatoyance's Equestria. There are other good fics with Celestias that are independent of the government, that are dictators/evil overlords, that the only "pony" she's ever turned into stone is Discord. Twilight may be born to bring the destruction of all Equestria or her outburst was something that can happen to all stressed-out unicorns if they loose control, and Celestia stopped Twilight before anypony else got around to it. Basically, this isn't nearly as far from cannon as it could be. As a writer, Chatoyance is sticking his headcannons everywhere. One thing that I think is great is that Chatoyance is consistently unique in all these stories, and I certainly have enjoyed it. Well, besides the Ponyville part of Teacup's story, where apparently the Mane 6 are doing the exact same things they've always done despite it being over ten years since the Earth was completely converted, but they weren't the focus of the story at all so it's no big deal. Of course, now I have to wonder how Chatoyance would explain Pinkie Pie.
40869
No one can explain Pinkie Pie. That's like trying to divide by zero.
40869
I have an explanation for Pinkie Pie, at least to myself. And it is seriously, seriously weird. Maybe... someday, I might just consider writing it. It's out there.
41013
I know how to divide by zero. And the math is seriously, seriously weird. Maybe... someday, I might just consider publishing it. It's out there.
41013
Nah, the explanation for Pinkie is perfectly straightforward: The Writers gave her special powers so that she could be more entertaining and better embody Laughter.
... Is it bad that this story has so far set a ludicrous number of inspirations rolling through my head?
I can't say I feel sorry for Windfeather. But my heart brakes for those who loved him. He's the kind of Colt who would attract some pony that loves him for his faults. Perhaps they didn't know just how far he had gone to protect Equestria, his family and generations to come, if she had then she might have finally spoken up against his paranoia. But I perceive the time when his statue comes to be erected in a town square; The righteous stallion, wings razed in defiance of the world, and his loyal mare stood between his razed forehooves, embracing his cold granite form as though her failing warmth might convey her love across the gulf of death itself.
The sword of justice cuts both ways. And it cuts deep.
In picturing Celestia, in some ways I use Queen Elizabeth the First of England; she did not like using terrible force, but she had more than a few people' including her own closest admirer and her own cousin put to death, all for politically necessary reasons. Was she an evil, bloodthirsty monster - I doubt it. Quite the opposite, in fact. But she was the monarch, and her position had to be maintained.
Celestia is not an ordinary pony. I don't think she is a pony at all, actually; I picture her as an energy being, equivalent to Discord, Q, the Metrons, the Organians; basically a goddess, or at least a fairy queen. Her shape is arbitrary; certainly this is true of her sister, Luna, who can shapeshift at will -We've seen her, as Nightmare Moon, turn into everything from a thorn to three seemingly independent entities.
Celestia cannot be expected to play by the same rules as her subjects, I don't think she can be expected to even experience the same reality as they do, at least not in the same way. I find such an entity fascinating.
I admit that there are times I am vindictive and vengeful...I fight it, but it's there even when I want to pretend otherwise. I've been rooting for Windfeather to be "stoned" . Think about it, he caused the abandoning of, not just our little story group, but literally thousands of newfoals to a place and circumstance where their very survival was questionable due to a lack of knowledge, a lack of assistance, and a lack of communication with anyone who might be able to provide them with either.
That he saw newfoals as some sort of genuine threat to his world and his existence is a bigotry uncommon in Equestria, but we already know that every once in a while there's somepony who seems to find it a bit easier to break the rules :trixieshiftright, especially if they are convinced that they're in the right, somehow.
That Chatoyance is unafraid to convey the true potential power of Celestia and where She might need to use it, whether She wishes to or not.....that took some serious guts and I for one, applaud her for taking that risk.
Why are so many people feeling sorry for Windfeather? Just because no one has died yet, still, efectivly he has commited over 2000 cases of murder, by slow torture. Most all of the newfoals are going to be totaly stupid about what thay can eat, what to do about the weather, water and what not. Run out of water, even if you can servive a little while on dead grass, and you die, horrably. Same thing running out of food, not a good way to go. Its also not just adults, there are children in thies groups that hes lost in the middle of nowhere. That makes things much much worse.
I personaly think Celestia and Luna showed the bastard far more leneancy than he deserved, because if thoes ponys do not start being found soon, ponys will start dieing. It was rather nice to get the background on some of the statues, and gave an interesting look into the personalitys of Luna and Celestia. People tend to forget, the princesses are well over 1000 years old. As such, thay will think and feel diferently. Much as an adult feels and thinks diferently from a little child.
It feels perfectly reasonable to me why Celestia would have no problem turning a pony who has caused the possible death of more than a thousand newfoals to stone. She only wants what is best for her subjects, and allowing Windfeather to run free wasn't fulfilling that duty.
Celestia has lived more than a thousand years. She has seen an uncountable number of ponies age and grow, pass away into the folds of time. At some point, it would become impossible to maintain a personal connection and love to each of her subjects, especially the bad ones, when she knows they will die infinay earlier than her. Turning him to stone was a painless, quick method of punishment that prevents him from harming anypony, and means she doesn't kill anypony. A win win situation!
turning 3 foals into statutes? evil celestia
NO!
I absolutely hate this crazy idea of Celestia choosing to turn any living creature into stone. Celestia was willing to forgive her sister, and we don't even know what she had done. I believe she would forgive Discord, if Discord ever saw the error of his ways, BUT notice: Celestia did not turn discord to stone; the Elements of Harmony did. Luna who could be forgiven, was given a big time out, but Discord, who embodies chaos, could not change; that is why he was turned to stone.
Celestia is often seen as a goddess. I too see her as such, but much like Quan Yin, she is a goddess of infinite compassion, and as such would see that Windfeather was merely acting out of fear, and caused no true harm to the newfoals' well being. She would have forgiven him, because to punish him would only cause others to act out of fear because they would believe that the love they had for Celestia would be compromised whether they acted against the newfoals or not and would eventually turn them against Celestia because they would see her as a unruly dictator.
Even how you wrote Elijah's encounter with Celestia paints her as a being of love and compassion inspiring others to act in love and compassion. I shouldn't have to tell you how turning a frightened pony into stone is NOT an act of love and compassion, and even if you use a cheap excuse of saying "no one else has to know", Celestia herself would know, and it would not allow her to have inner peace knowing she has acted just as ugly as the monster humans of which Windfeather spoke.
Please change this chapter to something more reasonable.
410714
Peach? hate to break it to you, but it's CANON. As in S2E1. Discord himself says "I don't turn ponies to stone", implying Celestia DOES. You're gonna have to deal with that fact.
... well, that's creepy.
On the other hand, Luna speaks in iambic pentameter, and that's awesome.
well, nice to see you care.
Well. A bit harsh but it gets the job done I suppose. And it was oh-so-satisfying to see him get what he deserved. Thinking more on it, it's not actually the harshness that doesn't sit well with me. Rather, it's the LACK of harshness. He hasn't been made to suffer like the thousands of newfoals he stranded and left for dead. Turning him to stone was a kindness. I guess that, too, is the difference between humans and ponies, and further evidence of why ponies are the greater.
40662
Funny you should mention that...
41026
Friendship is magic, and Pinkie Pie is friends with everyone, therefore Pinkie Pie is the single most powerful creature in all of Equestria. This alone I feel is why Celestia did nothing but smile when she ate her food right in front of her in A Bird in the Hoof. Pinkie Pie seems to represent the pure, kind side that Discord is missing while being blissfully unaware of the true extent of her own power. These are my opinions though, I'd love to hear yours.
"There is nothing in nature half as terrifying as a truly just man." - George R.R. Martin
I can't help but wonder, with Discord rehabilitated, and in the distant future (I've been keeping tabs on 'HUMAN in Equestria'), the newfoals all settled into place, if Celestia will return to others besides Windfeather, and ply at them that they might be able to be free to do what is right.
She's very old, and has a long time to call her own, and she'll be needing new projects to occupy her time.
Ah. Ahaha. Windfeather. This should be good. :)
Celestia's not happy with Windfeather? What a mystery. What could he possibly have done to upset her?
Over two thousand? He did this multiple times? Oh dear. Hopefully the other groups aren't faring badly.
Windflower. Do you really think that any explanation which starts "You know, my dearest majesty, there is a reason for that, it's a funny thing really, I" is likely to be a good one?
The backstory on the other statues, as I've noticed a few other people mentioning in the comments, was interesting and a nice little detail.
I'm also wondering, now that we've seen Luna and had Twilight mentioned, just where we are in the history of Equestria, and indeed what the exact history of this Equestria is. No doubt these things will be revealed in time. :)
And now, speaking of time and looking at the clock, I think that I'd better put my reading of this story on hold again.
Given that the Exponential Lands are infinite, each group of newfoals could be infinitely far away from Canterlot and infinitely far away from each other group of displaced newfoals. The UnicornCorps will have trouble finding them.
41052
The trouble of dividing a nonzeronumber by 0 is that it leads to mathematical errors:
Let us start with 1 over another number. As the denominator approaches 0, the result approaches infinity. The trouble is that infinity is not a number, but a concept. If we treat infinity as a number and infinity as the result, then we can make errors like thus:
1/0=∞
2/0=∞
∞=∞
∴1=2∵1/0=∞∧2/0=∞∧∞=∞
The limit of of shrinking the denominator while maintaining the numerator is infinity, but one must remember that infinity is the limit, not the value and infinity is not a number.
Remember to celebrate TauDay on June 28th (YYYY-06-28). The CircleConstant is:
c/r = τ ≈ 6.28318530717959
In Balanced Ternary, Tau is:
τ ≈ 1T0 . 10T,T0T,110 , 0T1,10T,T0T , 1TT,000,001
Fair thee well windfeather not many would miss you but who knows maybe you get out one day or not depends what miss tia does to you.We best hope for the former
Discord might arguably be an exception to some rule, being kept alive and all... so I desperately hope these ponies are not all alive and conscious beneath their stony exteriors.
However, the Mysterious Starkeeper makes it clear that this is not mere stone but truly some magical and terrifying vitality. I just hope their minds are protected.
(I mean, insofar as I can desperately hope something for a fictional reality. Actual reality? That is something I can get desperate about, for its terrors persist even when I am not thinking about them.)
9704201
I can assure you that Discord is very much an exception. Only he (and Celestia and Luna) could be aware while being lithified, and there is a reason for that, which is given in the final novel of the entire series, 'Adrift Off Fiddler's Green'. All other beings are held in total suspension - for them, when they are returned to flesh, it is as if no time at all had passed. Indeed, just such a thing happens to some human children in my novel 'HUMAN in Equestria' - also part of this series - and they suffer no ill effect at all. For them, as with all other beings, no time has passed.
In my Equestria, for normal beings, lithification is suspended animation. It is used in medical crisis to preserve life, and for other kind reasons. And those statues in the garden? They merely await a time when there is a way or circumstance to help their... individual issues. My Celestia, because she is a ruler, gains political benefit from having the rumor exist that she uses turning ponies to stone as a punishment... but this is not strictly true. She lithifies only to preserve, until a time exists where a problem individual can be dealt with fairly, without danger to others. I tried to follow Faust's original description of Celestia: part Greek goddess, part Elizabeth the First.
All of that said, I made my first - and only - mistake of a specific type with this story. I wrote all of my stories here a chapter a day, allowing my initial readers to participate in my creation process. The readers, at the time, demanded strongly that Windfeather be punished somehow... and, because I wanted to please my readers, I bowed to their wishes. I regret that, but what is done is done, and it doesn't do - I have found - to rewrite stories. A finished story is a record of one's learning and growth. Rewriting long after a story is done erases that record, and almost always loses the original spark.
So, in this story alone, a pony is sort-of punished (rather than gently helped to learn better) upon being freed from lithification, a vindictive act that perhaps Windfeather deserves, but which my idea of the character of Celestia would not - in all of my other stories - ever do.
Learning - even about your own fantasy world and characters - is a process.
9704479
Goooood! She comes off as so... alien that I honestly couldn't tell what her values are in this regard... It is disturbing in a most fascinating way~
In fact...
Your portrayal of the two Sisters feel as if they are beyond our comprehension in much the way I imagine a superintelligent AGI would be. I had a moment of disconcerting terror here--which Windfeather would have done well to sense--when I got the feeling that Celestia is so far beyond us that nopony ever actually, truly, talks to her in any normal sense of the word. They "interact" with her but more in the way you interact with an ocean. You are felt when your tread its water, and you must follow its rules, and you must give it respect every moment you are in its domain... But all you see is its surface and all you know is what it gives you.
Few or no ponies chat with Celestia. They are, instead, unknowingly scripted into her intricate dance; every spin and bow and utterance carefully guided so gently you don't even realize unless you are meant to.
(This all applies to Luna too, naturally, but referencing them both repeatedly messed with the flow of my phrasing.)
I may be off on your portrayal, of course. I haven't read enough of your stories to know. But nonetheless, kudos on generating that feeling in me; it was most fascinating~ The moment I got the sense of this, I began mentally backing away and feeling the panic of, "I have to get away--I don't know what she intends--there's nothing I can do."
Agreed on Our writings being a record of growth. I got feedback on mine (in PjaBrony's collection) but decided I needed to be done and stop trying to edit it continuously, hehe. He is freed later in this story? (I think that ought to be spoilered?) I rather thought even stasis alone would be excessive punishment... Though perhaps it is fine if he is awoken when his friends, family, and very culture are still alive to welcome him back. But I far prefer to teach and reform and entirely skip the punishment when one has the power to do so.
That's one way to get stoned.
10587588
It's a marbelous way. Granite, it lasts a long time, so you have to mark out an indefinite period on your slate, but only someone truly igneous would try to turn it down.
Two thousand.
Two...thousand.
Being turned to stone is too good for him. He knew he was sentencing those ponies to death, he knew that. Not every group had an Alexi and Caprice.
He tries to present his actions as noble and well-intentioned. He obviously acted out of fear and ignorance. Much like the bringers of "manifest destiny", he thought he knew what was best. He was dealing with what he considered an inferior species in the most expedient way possible.
Congratations, Wind feather. You're human.
11478682
THAT is a big, bad burn.
I agree.