The Crying Statue

by D Historian

Eyes of Stone

Eyes of Stone
~~~~~

His eyes are firmly closed.

Thank god. Thank sister.

How would I be able to stand it if his eyes had been even partially open when he turned? His eyes, always full of the very laughter I used against him? The eyes, which always sparkled with curiosity and hidden knowledge? The dancing pools of red and gold, their vivid colour now dulled to grey, constantly open, forever watching, and judging me?

I am sorry, my friend.

Laughing. Ironic. You always did enjoy a good laugh. The expression is now frozen permanently on your face. It’s strange how such an action, used to express joy, now seems as lively as a tombstone. Your laugh seems painful. It’s more of a cry of distress, or a scream of guttural agony, that I see when I raise the moon today. The smile is stretched in laughter, but laughter does not exist on nights like these. The lady seems sad today, too. Her serene face is glowing with silver light, but it also seems to reflect the gloom I have now inflicted on you for eternity. It is a long, long time, even for an immortal. Hundreds of years pass in a blink of an eye. But forever?

What have I condemned you to? What have I condemned myself to?

It’s getting late, but I cannot bear to leave you here, alone, tonight. Can you hear me coming? Maybe. Probably not. Your statue seems to be too caught up with laughing, but it also looks like you are enraptured in your own song making. Your claw is pressed to your chest, as if you are singing. If I close my eyes tight enough, I can imagine the nightly crickets’ chirp as music, melody I can find myself in. But when I open them again, it seems too silent. Silence is all there is. You, the Lord of Chaos, are silent, tonight.

You never did like silence. It was too static. You were an ever-changing flame that would die if you stopped your continuous dancing movement. Now you are silent, static. You were silenced by me. I know someone like you would hate it, more than any punishment that could have been delivered to you. I am cruel. I would go insane if I had to live with silence for eternity. Is that how you feel? Do you have any shreds of sanity left to lose? Many say not. I think otherwise. Somewhere in there, is the playful draconequus I used to team up with to prank my sister whenever she needed it.

I can see Celestia. The light streams out onto the opened balcony, being a single light standing out against the blackness and shadows of the castle. She paces her room with such fervour, she may wear her hooves out. I think she can pace for a little longer; she looks too deep in thought to miss me. She probably misses you, though. I remember when you used to come to the palace to play with us. StarSwirl forbade it, and that only encouraged you more, did it not? You liked that coming would distress him, and you liked visiting us. You always had a new wonder to show us every week, from the edible sugar crystals, to the chocolate sprouting flowers. I always loved the latter. I know Celly preferred the other, though, and you never failed to conjure it for her whenever she asked.

You were such a good friend back then. Why did you change?

I know they made you upset. I saw you flinch when they said nasty things about you. You were always nervous when you heard the slightest whisper, the barest hint that somepony gossiped about you. I know they hurt you. The ponies feared you, your power, the sight of you. Some hated you.

But did they deserve eternal chaos?

Maybe. It scares me that I admit it. I am cruel. We all are.

Except you. You were never cruel, were you?

Cold, calculative, cunning, malicious. Your laughter stopped being genuine. Your humour only rose at their pain. For those last few months, everything became a game, didn’t it? The world was something for you to bend to your every will, reality to your every whim. And its inhabitants?

They became your playthings.

Toys you could throw; dolls you could break. No. No creature should be treated like that. Nothing, no living being, should be treated like they are a mere object without feelings, to be tossed around, emotions toyed.

Which is exactly what happened to you, I believe.

So you brought about the largest chess game Equestria has ever seen.

Is it fair? An eye for an eye? Justice?

Maybe. Probably not.

I pledged to guard and protect my little ponies with my life. You offered a position for me at your side, bringing the kingdom I worked hard to build, to its knees, shaking. I refused. So did my sister. Harmony had called us to play for her instead. It meant that I had to turn one of my best childhood friends to stone.

…What else awaits me? What else am I going to have to do to protect them?

Do I want to do this anymore?

No, that was a trick question. I have no choice in the matter. Immortality is very much a curse. Entropy’s jaws will snatch, and leave nothing in its wake. Everypony, every being, will fade and crumble to dust. Except me. And Celestia. We will watch until existence bores itself to death, when the dying sun’s rays grace the planet, the rich soil and fertile earth stained red and volatile. When the moon smiles one last time. I await that day. I will welcome it. But I will stay with Celestia in the meantime. She needs me. I may be the younger sister, but she depends on me as much as I rely on her.

Your statue is cold, deathly cold, freezing to touch, but it is not the cold that is making me shiver.

You are there, somewhere beyond that stone, that solid barricade keeping you trapped in a limbo realm that breaks you slowly, corrupting from the inside. That knowledge is useless. Beyond the granite eyelids, there is a pair of lifeless grey eyes that are unseeing, but stare into the depts of my soul anyway.

Thank goodness those eyes are closed.

Author's Note:

This was going to be released much later, but I decided Celestia's chapter should be split with Luna's.
I hope you enjoyed; thanks for reading!

Comments

[ponybird21]

What's funny is that those were my thoughts contemplating about Discord's banishment. Not quite, but sort of. Great chapter.

[Revan]

Welp, even more heartrending. Great Job.

[King Kitty II]

This story is great! Liked and favd.

[The oracle]

Do you hear 5hat? That's my heart breaking.