118 - Festival for the Living
There were people bustling and moving. There were things to buy and things to gawk at, but most of it was light in touch and aspect, more likely to be something tasty to put in your mouth or pretty to gaze at, with all more serious matters deferred for the moment.
There were church guards and priests wandering about, not wielding spears or any other weapons. There wasn't a weapon in sight. It was a day of peace.
"Thank you all for coming," spoke Twilight from behind a lecturn. "We survived a great conflict, but not every creature involved can say the same. Though our friendship allowed us to prevent more from falling... Let us take a moment to reflect on those who were... lost." She turned to the side and backed away, allowing Father Gregor to step up with his gentle smile.
Gregor did not rest his hands, instead gesturing with them grandly as he spoke. "My children, on two legs, or on four. With protruding faces or flat. With glistening pelts or smooth skin. Today, we are united. It is a shame that we are united for such a sad turn, the loss of those who fought to see us through to this day." He folded his hands together. "But let us turn our thoughts also to those we will never meet. Who you may have only seen once, as a flash in the sky. The brave warriors of either side that fought valiantly above you. To the priests, the Hawkwood warriors, and the merchants all who gave everything they had to give."
A raucous cheer erupted, the merchants making it clear that they were present with uplifted steins of drink.
Mayor Mare advanced to take her turn. "In honor of this exchange, which determined the very fate of the world, I declare this to be a new holiday." She coughed into a hoof softly. "I present! The day of humanity, to remember the price we paid to make new friends from so far away. May this be the last of such trials, and may we be ready in case it is not." She turned to look at Gregor. "You are welcome here, as all humans are, if they come with peace in their heart." She winked dramatically. "And a few coins in their pockets." The merchants chuckled at the joke, getting it far better than most of the other groups present.
Ahead of her, several ponies were busy signalling with movements of their hooves, angles of their ears and motions of their tails. It was sign language, decided on instead of the translating collars to convey the speech from the human tongue to the Ponish one.
Mayor Mare retreated behind Twilight. "You have no idea how many times I repeated that speech," she whispered in Ponish. "Did I get it right?"
Gregor advanced to take the stage once more. "We will not hang our heads today. We will instead celebrate what lies ahead of us. Let us celebrate the lives of those who passed, and cast our eyes to the future they fought to protect." He spread his hands out to either side, palms up. "My precious brothers and sisters fought to see a brighter day. Let's celebrate what they have brought to us."
As the signalling ponies caught up, the ponies began to cheer and clop down their hooves. That is also the time that confetti rained down from above and Pinkie rolled in a huge cart of sweets, an equally sweet smile on her face. "That's enough of that," she cried in ponish. "Time to party!" She felt certain, ponish or english, her meaning would carry through.
That both humans and ponies approached to share of the treats offered was hint enough. The festival kicked into a new energy, with less speeches, and more cake.
Lyra escaped when the party wound down. She was part of the entertainment, playing her instrument with the other musically inclined ponies of Ponyville, but as the evening dragged on and creatures started to become tired, she made her escape.
"Is it alright if I visit?" she asked with a hopeful smile.
Nurse Redheart inclined her head at the lime green unicorn, considering. "He's still hurt. Can you take it easy?" A little smile broke her features. "I know that's not your specialty."
"Hay!" Lyra stuck out her tongue. "I'll be on my best behavior, promise..."
"Ten minutes," allowed Redheart. "And not a second longer. Be gentle."
"You got it." Lyra trotted past, defeating the advanced security of pony hospitals. Her horn glowed as she bade a door open in front of her. She reached up, adjusting her collar and making sure it was turned on. "Hello?"
"I am not hungry," replied the voice within in human, faithfully repeated by another worn collar in ponish.
"I didn't come with dinner." Lyra slipped inside, where the prone form of one of the most powerful humans on the planet rested. "How are you feeling?"
The cardinal sat up slowly, his body not as willing to start movement. "Who are you?" That was not one of his nurses, or one of the doctors.
"The name's Lyra," she introduced, tipping her forebody down. "Nice to meet you." She placed her hoof on her chest, then sat down inside the door, closing it with her magic. "I don't understand."
"What do you not understand?" he asked in a tone that revealed how little he thought it was his job to help with that, even if his collar translated it evenly. "You do not belong here."
"Neither do you." Lyra walked slowly towards his bed. "Or any of the humans, really. We had a deal."
"What bargain?" Ah, the subtle differences in translation. "I agreed to nothing save to end the battle."
Lyra reared up, hooves on the bed. "There wasn't supposed to be a battle. We overlooked Laud. Nice guy... That was our mistake."
He could hear her dire words and tone, even if the collar kept speaking on in its neutral way. "Are you here to kill me while I lay in bed?"
"That is something a human would consider." She raised a hoof to her chin. "Lucky you, I'm not one of those... Equestria is a special place. With rules, very specific rules." She set down a hoof, trailing it along the blanket that covered the man. "Your little religion, keep it to yourself, hm?"
"Even the fools that took up arms were already speaking of how well ponies lined up to hear the word of the Pancreator." Despite his prone position, his spirit swelled. "Kill me, if you want. It won't stop the coming of God."
She slid down to all fours. "Again with that... A human notion. I will not stoop to your level." Her tail flicked as she turned away. "If you whisper a word of this, I will deny it, of course. As if they'd believe innocent and bubbly Lyra would ever speak out of turn." She inclined an ear back at him. "You are in a garden of a god. Take care you do not trample the flowers, or their wrath will do the job I refused to do."
Lyra trotted out of the room, a bright smile back on her face. She waved amiably at the nurses as she headed out, making sure Nurse Redheart saw her going. The work of a secret agent was never truly done, even if she went ahead and married one of the greatest potential threats to Equestria they'd ever seen.
Starlight was awakened, her eyes snapping wide. "Ow!" She'd just been thwapped right across her quivering nose. "What the--Chrysalis?" There she was, scowling at Starlight. "I thought you were long gone."
"Tempting." She inclined her head faintly. "But you haven't finished your day of service."
Starlight smiled a little as she began to sit up. "Oh, I..." Well... If Chrysalis was willing to stay... "Alright. Do you... want to start now? It's night. Why don't we both get some good sleep and I'll gladly finish tomorrow."
"I desire a treat." She pointed the way. "Carry me to the kitchen."
Starlight rolled her eyes, but her glowing horn gently picked up Chrysalis to begin carrying through the castle on her head. "Of course. I hear you were very brave, up on that ship. Good job, helping keep them alive."
"And myself," she reminded with an arched brow. As if any life was as important as her own. "Still, yes, I was quite the hero..."
"All hail," sang out Starlight, sarcastic, though her rider didn't seem to notice or mind. "Good thing you were with him."
"As much as it would have amused me to see that little princess sob..." Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "It satisfies me to know how much this will gnaw at him."
"Hm?" She reached for the fridge, her magic willing it open. "What will?"
"He was saved by what he calls a demon." Chrysalis smiled with smug satisfaction. "The very definition of evil, if I heard right, and the only reason he's still alive. Ha! That will haunt his bed time for quite a little while..." She brought her hooves together, rubbing them with a vicious smirk. "Still, better than the alternative."
"I won't argue that." She performed two great scoops of ice cream into two blue-purple bowls, a spoon plunked into either as she set them on the dining room table. "You did good, really. Creatures, humans and ponies alike, are happy to have you around."
"As well they should be."
"Just think." She set the tub back where it came from and trotted to where their ice cream awaited them. "You could have people happy to see you all the time."
Chrysalis gently bonked Starlight on the noggin. "Are you trying to infect me with friendship?"
"You're too strong to be taken by something as weak as 'friendship'." Despite her rolling eyes, she could see Chrysalis was scowling. "What?"
"I'm not an idiot," huffed the small bug. "Friendship has defeated me, three times now. It puts on a weak show, to make you drop your defenses, then it pounces!" She hopped down off of Starlight, pouncing her bowl, her own little horn hefting her spoon to carve out a morsel to chew on. "Mmm."
"Mint chocolate chip is one of my favorites," agreed Starlight, nibbling on her own bit. "Now, really, why not beat it at its own game?"
"Hm?"
"If you look harmless, people won't have their defenses up." Starlight inclined her head. "You were in the company of a warrior, a real warrior, and he ended up thanking you for the opportunity..."
"The look on his face... it was priceless." Chrysalis paused her eating to savor the memory of Laud's stupid face as he realized the situation he was in. "Mmm, yes."
"And you could do that more often... Besides."
"Besides?" She peered at Starlight who had gone quiet. "Besides what?"
"Besides, your people need you."
Chrysalis sprang to her hooves. "You would lecture me on my changelings!"
"Only to say they need their past." She rested her head against a hoof, a glowing spoon slowly feeding her frozen treats. "You are the only real link they have to it. They face a future, unrooted and adrift."
"Then maybe they shouldn't have betrayed me." She sank her jaws into the frozen goop, slurping it up. "Besides, they have... ugh... Thorax now."
Things became quiet, only the clinking of spoons against bowls. "I mean... he's nice... sure... but he's not a good connection to what makes a changeling... a changeling."
"As if I hadn't mentioned that!" She threw a hoof up high. "Why would they care now?"
"They're ready to listen." Starlight smiled a little. "If you're ready to talk. Your people are moving on. They will keep right on walking, with you... or not. They'd rather have you with them, but they're still walking."
"Bunch of ungrateful whelps," she huffed under her breath, attacking the ice cream as if it would wail in horror. Oh, that would have been nice.
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I'm guessing Lyra is in a secret organization besides S.M.I.L.E. ?
10582486
The fact that she mentioned a god, singular, instead of multiple gods means she isn't likely referring to the princesses owning this 'garden' of a planet. Makes you wonder who she's referring to, be it Discord, Faust, or some other entity we don't know about.
Wittle Chryssy wanna ice scream.
10582558
Emphasis on scream, kindly.
10582499
The fact that the cardinal was willing to fight what he believed to be an archdemon of dreams head-on for the sake of his people, means that he's most likely vastly unimpressed with a scowling unicorn. The fact that he's convalescing and on all manner of painkillers means that he's quite unlikely to remember that anyone even tried to intimidate him.
All in all, something of a wasted effort methinks.
Edit: On further thought, this was actually a rather dumb idea. Assuming he doesn't forget about her the moment he drifts off he'll be bringing this up with Luna the next time he sees her. Because why wouldn't he? And, the old "nobody will ever believe you" schtick doesn't work so well when the mark has no other plausible way to have known you. He's never even been down to the planet before, and yet he can give a perfect description of one specific unicorn mare that he's never met?
And indeed, he's got a witness, since she made certain that Redheart saw her coming and going, for some unfathomable reason.
So the cardinal definitely brings this up, since he's got no reason he shouldn't. Come to think of it, those "human instincts" will probably land on "cultist" before they think of "agent", so there's another reason to speak one's mind. Yeah this is coming right back to luna and/or Laud almost immediately.
Just, why? Lyra, why?
"May this be the last of such trials, and may we be ready in case there are."
"May this be the last of such trials, and may we be ready in case it is not."?
"It was sign language, decided on instead of the translating collars to convey the speech from the human tongue to the Ponish one."
Hm, interesting implications there about how common knowledge of that sign language is. I wonder what the story there is?
"celebrate what lays ahead of us"
"celebrate what lies ahead of us"?
"That is also the time that confetti"
"That was also the time that confetti"?
"She hopped down off of Chrysalis, pouncing her bowl"
"She hopped down off of Starlight, pouncing her bowl"?
"to savor the memory on Laud's stupid face"
"to savor the memory of Laud's stupid face"?
"She rest her head against a hoof"
"She rested her head against a hoof"?
"Bunch of ingrateful whelps"
"Bunch of ungrateful whelps"?
Interesting scene with Lyra...
10582717
This is why they had signers. These translation collars make SO many typos!
Which are more dangerous? Poison Joke, or those Treensformation plants?
10582569
The worst part is I could see Pinkie arranging that, both for the pun and as a safe target for sadists.
10582499
It also means she's not talking about the Christian God either, even by another name. How do I know? Because she says A god, not THE God or just God.
10582704
All she has to deny is the talk she had with him, not that she went to visit him. The cardinal has already shown himself a man who throws around baseless accusations, to the point of attempting to genocide Equestria because he'd labelled them all a bunch of demons for vague reasons, so his claim that Lyra was warning him to stick his religion or risk Equestria's god's rage, against "sweet, innocent Lyra" claiming she has no idea what he's on about, is extremely likely to fall in favour of Lyra.
That being said, I do think the church is jumping to conclusions a bit on how much Equestria wants to join their religion. They've shown an interest in learning about it, but wanting to learn about a religion and wanting to join it are two very different things.
Well, whatever it was Lyra was/is up to, if nothing else, this chapter proves we haven't reached the end of this story and for that I'm grateful.
Keep up the good writing works!
10583010
Except he never got a name. All he knows is "green unicorn mare with teal/white mane and lyre Mark". Indeed, the fact that he has no idea of her name is telling, as "sweet innocent Lyra" would always lead with an introduction.
Honestly, he doesn't seem angry, just tired and vaguely irritated that this has to happen now while he's trying to rest. So it wouldn't come out as an accusation so much as a complaint about being bothered.
Edit: alright, no, he did get a name. (My memory I swear...) So it's a question to Laud about bothersome wives?
Sometimes one forgets Lyra is a sub agent. Question is, was that the real Lyra? We're lead to believe it is so, but then why is she poking an injured bear in secret?
Many cards are being placed, most face down but some face up.
Curious that Starlight is throwing down that challenge. Does she hope friendships' corrupting influence will work from within as it's pretended from without? At the very least, refocusing Chrysalis to more productive pursuits should be net positive.
Keep going! ;)
10582765
Heh. :)
10582913
A God doesn't mean non-christian. While basicly monotheistic, the abrahamic religions not only have polytheistic roots, but still have multiple gods in the books.
It's just that "God" is the only one that counts.
(Hell, in some early sects, Yahweh wasn't even a god, but just an angel that pretended to be god. That one at least could explain several internal crontradicions that way. Like how the creator could be all-powerful, but Yahweh couldn't beat iron chariots)
10584101
Nope. That is entirely innaccurate. Every instance in the Bible of "other gods" is either "don't worship them" or proving their nonexistence.
Also, Yahweh not being able to beat an iron chariot? That's not a thing! I think you may have mixed up some Celtic beliefs in there somehow.
As for any other "contradictions"... there must be either a mixup with non-Biblical words again or a serious misinterpretation, because there are NO contradictions!
You know, considering how Chrysalis was born from a tree in the comics, that kind of gives a odd pagan vibe to her, especially when compared in a story like this.
10584176
The Bible not being a single continuous document or product of ask for culture or time period is pretty much all need to say to explain it's controdictions, inaccuracies and multiple interpretations. It never was accurate to begin with.
10585647
Many are the "experts" who have claimed such and so was a contradiction or disproved the Bible, only for more careful reading or further discoveries to show them to be wrong. And for those who believe in God, the Bible is NOT a series of disparate writings, but rather the literal Word of God, its parts recorded by different people throughout the millenia but the actual author being constant. And since even those recorders were intentionally chosen with the whole book in mind, it is entirely consistent.
10585930
So, by your own words, this is a meaningless argument. There is no argument. It is fact, as the sun in the sky, and arguing for or against it is folly. Let us agree then. That sure is a nice sun. Thanks, Celestia.
10585935
Not necessarily meaningless, just that merely claiming "there's contradictions" is not enough without examples to evaluate.
Anyway, I didn't mean to get this far off track, I only was narrowing down what Lyra meant by "a god". Everything that came after was others intending to dispute it, and regardless of the Bible's accuracy I think said narrowing is justified.
10582499
While it is pretty clear Harmony and the Pancreator have different ideologies, it is still possible that they refer to the same "entity". Just dozens or even hundrets of generations of diverging evolution of the belief.
Still Lyra seems to act on the belief that they are different gods, accepts that there could be more then one god (refering to "a god") and that those gods have different jurisdictions.
10584176
Really? Fine. Read at your own disgression:
"Every instance in the Bible of "other gods" is either "don't worship them" or proving their nonexistence."
Nope. At BEST it says to not worship them, but not that they don't exist. The general theam is either "different religion, die!" or "don't put other gods above me!". Hell, even in the 10 commandments it's "Thou shalt have no other gods before me". NOTHING about him being the only god.
And even if i grand you, that somehow the bible forbids worship of other gods in general (even as lesser gods below God), that still doesn't say, that they don't exist.
Contradictions: I'll just refer to NonStampCollectors classic: youtube.com/watch?v=RB3g6mXLEKk
"Also, Yahweh not being able to beat an iron chariot? That's not a thing! I think you may have mixed up some Celtic beliefs in there somehow."
Judges 1:19
The LORD was with the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron.
"unable", so they tried and failed.
Failed because God wasn't with them? No, he was the reason they took the hills and didn't left them. They failed, because even while God was with the,, they couldn't beat chariots fitted with iron.
10587006
Alright, it'll take some time for me to research each of these, so for now I'll just start with that Judges verse.
I'll admit, that was a tricky one to explain, and if I relied only on my own comprehension it wouldn't be possible... but fortunately, I have the Internet to assist. The general consensus seems to be that the Israelites lost faith in that moment due to the iron chariots, and that loss of faith was why God didn't give them that win. Such is fitting with how he chose to help them in other battles, thus he could indeed deal with iron had they remained faithful.
Now for the "other Gods" thing.
I found several verses that clearly state that there's only one God:
Isaiah 44:6
Deuteronomy 4:35
Deuteronomy 32:39
Isaiah 44:8
2 Samuel 7:22
Isaiah 45:21
Isaiah 45:5
Isaiah 46:9
1 Corinthians 8:4
1 Kings 8:60
1 Timothy 2:5
Deuteronomy 4:39
Galatians 3:20
John 17:3
Joel 2:27
James 2:19
Romans 3:30
There may be others, but it's pretty clear even with this amount.
Lyra, what the heck!?