Acceptance and Recovery

by sincarnation

Chapter 1 - Embrace

Unknown, 10:00am, 4th of Drigh, One Month into Artemis’s Journey, Somewhere North of Equestria

In the frozen north the snow seemed never ending. Vast landscapes of white reduced visibility to a minimum, and the cold had driven much of the wildlife back into a corner with occasional pockets of life being sensed. A particularly bitter wind blew driving a chill up his spine, and rousing his mind from his numb march.

“I can go anywhere I want with anyone I can tolerate, and my dumb ass chooses the arctic first and alone. Brilliant”

The long largely silent, besides the occasional vocal criticisms of himself, had already become a bit of a regret. It had been Octavia’s suggestion that he travel alone to try to figure out himself and the world, and he thought it was a great idea at the time as he was enraptured by the idea of being free to travel. Unfortunately it didn’t occur to him until it was too late that while on a journey to figure out what he wanted; he should do it the way he wanted. He spent 1000 years in a dimly lit prison with nothing but his thoughts for company; he didn’t want to be alone anymore. He could think and reflect upon himself and world with someone to keep him company; however this didn’t strike him until after he had turned down everypony’s offers to join him. Fluttershy, the entire Apple family, Spike, Twilight, and Pinkie had all offered to go with him for one reason or another, and he turned them down citing reasons like he needed to be alone or he didn’t want to be slowed down. Now he was trudging through waist high snow with no one to laugh with, and his pride wouldn’t let him admit to them he had been wrong.

“At least I had the forethought to make sure they wouldn’t be able to feel my emotions through our link, that way they won’t know how wrong I realized I was.”

His repetitive slough through the frozen slush had him pushing forward in mindless rhythm, barely aware of his surroundings beyond the occasional sparks of hidden life. It wasn’t until a sudden lack of resistance threw off his rhythm as he nearly tripped that his mind snapped back to reality.

“Buck me not again!” cursed Artemis as he reflexively tried to twist grab at the imagined cliff behind him only to grasp air.

After a recovering from his stumble, he realized he hadn’t walked himself off another cliff. The lack of resistance just came from a sudden area without snow, there was an obvious cut off where the snow just stopped. The grass was green and the air had warmth to it, it was a welcome but jarring transition.

“This change has to be artificial, the break is too clean” he thought as he examined the edge of the snow.

Sensing a powerful magic at work, he turned to the direction of the source only to see a monumental tower glistening in the morning sunlight. There were far smaller buildings surrounding it, and without the howl of the winds he could hear the engines of trains going in that direction. He had found civilization again, and he wasn’t sure whether he was happy about it or not. After reminding himself not everywhere was like Canterlot, he resumed his trek towards tower and the city around it.

Opting to walk instead of catch a ride on one of the trains heading in, he arrived at the city within a couple of hours. As he approached the buildings he realized they were made of crystal, and seeing has how they weren’t underground he figured he had hit the Crystal Empire. A revelation that was more exciting than he expected, he actually had never visited the small territory before. They had never really been a large military threat nor were they border neighbors with Lupinia, so he never really had a reason to interact with them at all. Last he heard before his imprisonment was that Luna and Celestia personally helped put an end to a coup, but he wasn’t needed or asked to help.

The crystalline buildings were beautiful, but not so opaque that they could be seen though. He was unsure of the natural landscape, but he couldn’t imagine that the crystal structures were natural formations despite his brief inspections that hinted otherwise. Even more surprising than the crystalline buildings were the crystal ponies. He had heard rumors of such ponies, but he had discounted them as exaggerations. As much as he wanted to do a closer inspection, he was keenly aware of the mixed reactions his appearance had garnered. There was a healthy mixture of fear and awe with a few apathetic ones thrown in every now and then. The real question was whether they saw the reveal and knew who he was or if it just seemed like a monster was walking through their home. He had seen a few run off looking distressed, but that didn’t really answer his question.

“Halt right there!”

“This tower though, its extraordinary” whistled Artemis absentmindedly as he pressed forward. “The magic that carved this must’ve been something else; raising and shaping gemstones is no easy feat.” The magical crystal tower had fully enraptured Artemis as he noticed a large heart shape crystal underneath it.

“Sir, I ORDERED YOU TO HALT!”

“Sir? That was a rare one, most of the time it was monster or dumb-struck stammering,” thought Artemis as he actually noticed the guards. “Figures an incredibly magical structure like this is probably claimed by someone who has no idea of its power or significance.”

“My apologies, I was too busy admiring the handiwork. Is there something you need from me?”

Under normal circumstances he would’ve just ignored them and kept going, but the multiple promises he made not to cause an international incident held him back. Worst they would do is turn him away, and in that case he would use magic to sneak past them and be done with it.

“Oh, wait really?” said the guard clearly expecting a different response. Only after taking a moment to cough and regain his composure was he able to reply properly, “Do you have an appointment sir?”

Artemis was at a loss for words. An appointment? Did he look like the type to have an appointment? He had to admit though that he rather appreciated that they gave him a chance instead of just assuming he didn’t. It wasn’t a big deal though; in fact it made things easier for him. It would be a simple matter to force his way into their minds and add his name to the list.

“He doesn’t, but he is always welcome here. Guards stand down,” ordered a feminine voice completely interrupting Artemis as he prepared his spell.

He turned to one of the most attractive females he had seen in his lifetime, a rather short list including a couple wolves, one of the cat-folk, a few regular mares, a shapely dragon, and now two Alicorns formerly three. Surprised as he was, he couldn’t help but stare. She wasn’t an entirely unfamiliar sight, but she was an unexpected pleasure.

“As you wish, Princess”

“Descending from above with orders for your guards to stand down,” whistled Artemis as he smirked at the mare. “You certainly know how to make an entrance.”

“I try,” she giggled. “First impressions are important; I thought I would go with something dramatic and striking.”

“You hardly needed to put in the effort to be striking, you’ve already made a lasting impression,” laughed Artemis. “I know I’ve seen you before, but I don’t recall being introduced. Now I’m certain I would’ve remembered the name of such beautiful mare.”

Artemis knew exactly where he had seen her before; she was at the press conference where Luna and Celestia revealed him to the world. She had caught his eye then, but unfortunately he left before had the opportunity to talk to her. He was fairly certain he knew her name because of Celestia’s announcement, but he had no intention of assuming and being wrong. Few things caused young males more problems than calling a female by the wrong name, and he had no intention of making the same mistake.

“I don’t like formality, just call me Cadance,” she said with a knowing smile, dismissing his comments.

“Ah Princess Cadance, I wouldn’t be out of place to ask of your domain would I?” Artemis’s smile gave away a bit of his intentions, but he was fine with that.

“I’m the princess of love, but I get the feeling you knew that already didn’t you?”

“Guilty,” chuckled Artemis as he returned her knowing smile. “As princess of love, you can sense my feelings towards you right?”

“Of course, I know exactly what you feel towards me,” said Cadence her smile giving way to a sultry gaze.

“Sweet full moon,” laughed Artemis as pulled at an imaginary collar. “I’m glad, wouldn’t want there to be any confusion.”

There was a brief moment of silence before they both broke into a fit laughter, both of them surprised at how their initial meeting went. Despite their best efforts to look otherwise, the guards next to them were uncomfortable and nervous. Everyone knew Cadance was married, but few were sure as to the nature of their relationship. Whatever the case, no one wanted to be witness to it being tested.

“Glad to see you two getting along, but I would really appreciate it if you didn’t flirt with my wife,” gruffed Shining Armor as he approached from the direction of the heart.

The tone in his voice immediately struck a nerve with Artemis, more so than he expected. It was obvious that the stallion was the jealous type, and that was never something that sat well with Artemis. Usually jealousy came from some sick idiotic sense of possession of one’s partner or a sad sort of insecurity. Insecurity was understandable, especially when one is worrying about one’s actual better. Possession he was far less accepting of, those relationships rarely ended well.

“How can you expect me to not flirt with the Princess of Love? Though I’ve got to admit you’ve got yourself quite the catch there, almost as good as my own.” While he was being cordial, he wasn’t sure whether this was someone worth respecting, prince or otherwise.

“Woah woah woah, I heard that. Cadance is way better than Luna, maybe not as powerful but definitely way cuter.”

*AHEM*

“This is my husband and Twilight’s older brother, Shining Armor,” interjected Cadance seeing where this was likely going.

“Cuter? I might be willing to give that one to you, Cadance being younger helps. But when it comes to raw sex appeal, Luna has her beat.”

“Are you joking? Love includes Lust, you think Luna compares to the Love Goddess herself?

“Not this again,” sighed Cadance.

“Luna drew the love and affection of an entire race.”

“So did Cadance, when she wasn’t even trying. Cadance is a cool sexy glass of water, to EVERYTHING dying of thirst. The changelings were perfect proof, you think can Luna top that?”

Artemis smiled to himself knowing that he was going to enjoy the rest of the day. A lot of fun was going to be had at the expense of Shining Armor, a poor stallion left out of a bit of an inside joke between his wife and coarse stranger.

“I’m not sure that’s a great example considering changelings literally need love to survive, but you were right about one thing. Cadance is most definitely the ‘cool sexy glass of water’ you say she is, but I can’t help wonder if being near someone as hot as myself will make her dripping wet too?” flexed Artemis as he gave Cadance a taste of the cheesiest eye brow wiggle he could manage.

“Oh no don’t worry, it’s the Rainbow Falls back there,” snickered Cadance as she burst into laughter.

“Cadance!” shouted Shining Armor flustered. “What did I say about flirting with her?”

“I don’t remember your exact words, but honestly I’d be lying if I said I cared,” responded Artemis his tone switching to one of boredom. “You look pretty angry, but Cadance seems to be enjoying it. I don’t know how you do things, but the only thing that really matters to me is that the lady is genuinely smiling.”

“Back off,” growled Shining Armor.

Both Artemis and Cadance heard the shift in his tone, the underlying threat hung in the air. As if the trigger had been pulled, Artemis’s eyes narrowed, his hair bristled, and his muscles tensed. His air of apathetic boredom replaced with seething anger.

“Or you’ll do what?” glowered Artemis. “You’re 10,000 years too young to be threatening me, whelp. I’m not Celestia or Luna, I’m not as forgiving of foolish mortals who forget their place.”

“Alright both of you calm down,” sighed Cadance as she stepped between them. “No need to do anything rash.”

“This can’t be happening, Cadence you can’t actually be defending him! Are you actually interested in him?” paled Shining Armor.

“I mean why wouldn’t she be? An exotic King who is stronger and more powerful than you, and I can make her laugh while flirting at the same time. Ultimate package right here,” snarked Artemis as his rage returned to the same boredom as before.

“SHUT UP ARTEMIS!” yelled Cadance. “Shiny you know I only have eyes for you, I wasn’t even taking him seriously.”

“Yeah that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve getting his flank handed to him.”

“Awww you think you stand a chance, how precious,” mocked Artemis before his voice became more threatening. “You’re out of your league, whelp.”

“Alright what is your game here?” sighed Cadance exasperated. “You and I both know you don’t really have anything more than a passing interest in me, so why are you here?”

Artemis knew he was close to exhausting his welcome, and he didn’t really want to cause Cadance anymore trouble that he had. “It was fun while it lasted, but jealousy ruins the fun yet again” he thought.

“Luna hasn’t told you? I’m just exploring the world, taking some time to figure myself out. I saw this crystal tower, it looked interesting so I came to study it. I didn’t even know either of you were here, so I was just going to examine the crystals. You interrupted me, and I got a pretty laid back and fun sense from you. So we had a little harmless fun, at least until your husband took things too seriously. No diabolical plan, just a celestial vagabond trying to have fun,” explained Artemis mildly annoyed that he needed to explain himself at all.

“Yeah and I let it go on, because I could feel how lonely you had been.”

“Not the way I would frame it, but you aren’t incorrect I suppose. You’d be lying if you denied enjoying it.”

“That’s why I never did.”

“So wait, so you endured his advances, out of pity?” snickered Shining Armor before bursting out into laughter. “The great and exotic King getting pity flirts, oh sweet Celestia my sides.”

“Endured isn’t really the right word considering I was doing it to make her laugh,” said Artemis flatly. “But by all means if this helps pull the stick out your flank, laugh away.”

Artemis didn’t care enough to stop Shining Armor’s laughing, he figured it made it easier on Cadance it was fine. Immortality had a way of robbing the importance from the opinions of mortals, it made it far easier genuinely not care about what they thought about you. The opinions of immortals however held a bit more value as he noticed Cadance about to speak to him.

“To answer you before, Luna did tell me about your journey. Your love for her radiates of you even now, I know she misses you.”

“I know, and I miss her too. But until the problem is resolved we’re just going to keep fighting, and I don’t want that and neither does she.”

Artemis had spent most of his nights gazing at the moon, longing to be next to Luna . Her comforting warmth and gentle touch made most of his problems fade away, but it was only a temporary reprieve as he would have to deal with them sooner or later. If he didn’t do this now they would only push it off, and in doing so create the opening to taint their relationship and each other in the long run.

“Are you any closer to an answer?”

“No, my loneliness has been more distracting than I would normally admit. You can feel more than my love, right? You know what I’m feeling, so why ask?”

There was a moment of silence as he let her feel out his emotions, hoping it would give the information that would be lost in words. Everything from the loneliness of his journey, his growing contempt for her laughing husband, to his despair over the wolves was laid bare in the hopes that he didn’t need to explain himself.

“What would you do in my situation?” whispered Artemis as his gaze fell upon the crystalline heart in the distance.

“Me?” asked Cadance taken aback slightly. “I-I don’t know for sure, honestly. I think as Princess of Love I would have to embrace it and them.”

Her words immediately grabbed his attention, he was unsure if she was serious or just trying to give an answer that wasn’t retaliatory. A small part of him was aware that Shining Armor had stopped laughing and was listening in.

“I don’t mean embrace it in a happy way, I mean accept it. It’d be different if it happened right before my eyes, but I couldn’t be angry at them for the actions of their ancient ancestors,” said Cadance somberly. “What good does it do to hate the current griffons who may not agree with their ancestors actions? Accept and embrace them, but make sure it never happens again. The time for vengeance has passed, now is the time for compassion and healing. ”

“You’re far more merciful and forgiving than I am. Probably a good thing, all things considered.”

“Artemis, what happened to the wolves wasn’t your fault. That was the failing of the world; enemy, ally, or indifferent genocide is not a crime they should’ve stood around watching.”

“I am the King, their fate is ultimately my responsibility. My attention shifted from the tribe, I was so focused on Luna and Nightmare moon that I was blind to everything else.”

“Well that’s hardly your-“

“No, he is right,” interrupted Shining Armor as he approached looking Artemis in the eye. “As their King, it was Artemis’s job to protect and prepare them. “

Artemis felt the growing heat in his chest, and he bit his tongue. While Shining Armor wasn’t saying anything Artemis didn’t already believe, he didn’t need to hear it from him.

“You love Luna, right?”

“More than you can possibly imagine.”

“Would you have been willing to die for her?”

“Without hesitation.”

“Then what would have happened to the wolves? Whether you like it or not you made your decision consciously or subconsciously, Luna was more important to you than your kingdom,” asserted Shining Armor. “Luna is alive, and you didn’t have to give your life for it. Be happy about that.”

Artemis was stunned by Shining Armor’s words; he had always thought they were equally as important to him. For a moment it seemed like he had only been fooling himself, and he had no doubt that he would’ve given his life for hers. However there was something that tugged at him, something that he wasn’t able to ignore.

“I would have gladly given my life for hers, but not even I could have predicted the entirety what happened without me,” said Artemis somberly as his gaze turned to the ground. “However I wouldn’t have traded all of their lives for Luna’s, I couldn’t. Especially knowing that’s not something she would’ve wanted.”

“Sometimes you get screwed, and you don’t get what you want. The wolves aren’t entirely gone, and you still have obligations to those that died and the ones that are still alive. They need to be addressed, and it needs to be a priority.”

“That doesn’t really do anything help, I’m trying to think of a way to address it. There are numerous ways to do so, violent or otherwise.”

“True enough, but because the wolves are a priority doesn’t mean they are your top priority. Indirectly, your wolves were part of the cost of saving Luna. Don’t you dare disrespect that by doing something that would cause you to lose her. That should considerably narrow your options, and THAT should help.”

Artemis’s eyes met Shining Armor’s, and he was surprised that he didn’t see pity or anger only an unmistakable fire. For reasons unknown to him, Shining Armor felt strongly about helping him.

“That might actually help a lot, but why do you care?”

“Look I don’t like you hitting on Cadance even jokingly, but she is a good judge of character. You're important to people I love, and they want to help you. Now that I know why you two were so chummy, I’ll say no harm no foul.”

Artemis figured there was more to it, but he wouldn’t press. His reasons weren’t as important as long as his advice was solid; he doubted there was some deeper ulterior motive that would bite him later. As if on cue, there was a sudden special distortion in front of him. Reacting before he knew he had realized what was going on, Artemis found a baby sitting in his palm.

“FLURRY!” cried both Cadance and Shining Armor though the former stopped the later from advancing.

Artemis was genuinely confused at the young foal that had just appeared his palm. His first thought was who would teleport a young foal to him, but the answer became clear to him when he noticed her wings and horn.

“She’s an Alicorn?” he whispered incredulously as he looked at Cadance and Shining Armor.

He figured she was their child by the way they reacted, but he was still stunned. A baby Alicorn was unheard of to him, but it opened his mind to various possibilities he had long since given up on.

“Luna and I always wanted a child,” Artemis said somberly as he cradled the young foal. “Not just adopted students we could love, but an actual child from the both of us. However it wasn’t meant to be.”

“Being a parent is … an experience,” chuckled Shining Armor as he remembered the numerous sleepless nights passed and many more that were coming. “Even so I wouldn’t give it up for anything.”

Artemis noticed a sudden glimmer in Cadance’s eyes at his words, but before he could ask about it he felt magic building up in his arms. With a quick but gentle tap on her nose, he cast a spell. Flurry blinked out of existence briefly only to reappear in his arms as quickly as she left.

“You really should have a dimensional anchor on her crib so she can’t teleport out,” suggested Artemis as his claw was being tugged on by the giggling baby.

“Wouldn’t help,” sighed both parents at the same time.

“What? Why not? Is she that powerful?”

It was then that Flurry leapt out of his arms and began to fly into the sky, but a quick spell from Cadance prevented her from getting far as a bubble appeared over the area.

“See?” smiled Cadance suddenly looking more tired. “Come to mommy Flurry.”

As he watched the young foal hurry down to snuggle with her parents, Artemis couldn’t help but feel envious. Cadance and Shining Armor with the young alicorn filly he had always wanted for himself and Luna roused the expected feelings, but the more confusing ones were of Lupa, his own adopted mother. It had been a while since thoughts of her had crossed his mind, at least in the sense of longing

“I wish you three the best, but I think I should keep moving,” said Artemis hoping Cadance wasn’t paying attention to what he was feeling.

“Really? But you just got here, and you didn’t even get to examine the crystals or go on a tour of the city,” questioned Cadance as she looked at him confused.

“Yeah, but I’ve got a lot to think about and I was up all night.”

“Hmm well if you change your mind, we’ve got plenty of extra rooms. I’m sure Shiny wouldn’t mind too much if you joined us for one night, we both know you don’t need sleep,” winked Cadance.

“I’ll keep that in mind, might take you up on that offer when this is all done and I can invite Luna. You know, if that wouldn’t be too weird for you,” said Artemis with a smirk.

“Things tend to get weird when family is involved, but Luna isn’t my blood aunt so I think we could manage. Just don’t invite Twilight though”

“ALRIGHT, TOO MUCH! Knock it off, both of you.” interrupted a flustered Shining Armor. “I’ll let the guards know not to hassle you too much if you decide to stay for a bit.”

Artemis couldn’t help but stifle a smirk at Shining Armor’s discomfort, but it wasn’t as malicious as earlier. He was pleasantly surprised that he had found a bit of respect for Shining Armor, his advice had actually given him something to think about. Though part of him felt like he shouldn’t have been so surprised that Twilight’s brother wasn’t an ordinary stallion, her bloodline was prone to greatness. That left one question unresolved.

“We cool?” asked Artemis as he put out a closed fist.

“Yeah, we cool,” responded Shining Armor with a hoofbump.

“Good, I’ll be in the forest if you need me. Haven’t really been hiding so I shouldn’t be hard to track,” said Artemis casually as he began to walk away. He wanted some time to digest what had happened, and for the first time since he left he wanted a little alone time.

Author's Note:

Longer than I expected, but fresh off the presses.
Gonna shoot for a chapter every week/10 days or so, we'll see if I manage to do it.

edit: i failed

Comments

[Emperor]

Eh, Artemis comes off as an ass here. Really difficult to sympathise with him.

[sincarnation]

I agree, while I'm not trying to make the reader hate him, this was intended to show how different his relationships were with other characters one's less important. Shining Armor is only important to Artemis in so far as how his death would impact people he does care about. Yeah he was definitely an ass, what bothers a singular mortal is not high on his priority list. The goal was to show he has a tendency to be apathetic towards mortal problems, especially ones he would view as petty or caused by a lack of perspective that come from experience. Maybe this develops throughout the story as he interacts with different modern characters who have less direct importance to him, ultimately aiding him in deciding how to handle his vengeance debate.
Thanks for reading, always appreciate feedback