Chapter 23
If she had to choose a single thing to be proud of, Celestia would point to her high dedication to studying. She had become able to dig deep into a treatise or scholarly work and keep all the details in mind.
She had to admit it had been a relatively recent development, but then it was also a testament to her maturity, to have grown out from being a filly and becoming a mare.
Usually.
The chirping birds outside, the humming of Lulu lost in deep meditation in the middle of a copper circle to study the earth-pony way of casting some spell Master Sottile had pointed out to her. The wonderful, golden light pouring in through the open window, and the smell of paper and ink, it seemed the perfect atmosphere to go through the "Praise of Justice and Gratitude," which was surprisingly pleasant as far as ancient treatises went.
And yet, she couldn't really keep her mind on it.
She leaned on her hoof and looked outside. Over the wall surrounding the farm and into the distance beyond the forest to where she knew laid the fields of barley. Soon they would be filled with workers, singing to the rhythm of scythes among the stalks and flails in the hamlets.
The harvest was here, which meant Chryssi was coming home. No wonder Celestia was distracted; the whole family would be together, and she couldn't wait.
If she had to choose an admirable trait about her sister, something she envied, it would be Lulu's ability to be alone from time to time.
It had taken time, self-reflection, and Chryssi leaving for her apprenticeship to make Celestia understand that she wasn't like that. Absence of any kind weighed heavily on her.
Something white and yellow flashed in the corner of her eye. It was just a glimpse, but it was enough. Celestia jumped up and yelled, "She's back!" before storming out of the study right through the circle and jumping over Lulu.
Behind her, she heard her sister yelp and start saying something that would grant her some unpleasant chores if Donna Copper Horn or Meadowsweet heard. It was creative, almost poetic, and Celestia would never hear how it ended as she flew down the stairs.
Lulu would probably summarize it anyway tonight along with her displeasure.
The columns of the arcade flew by and then she skidded on the stone floor while taking a tight curve into the kitchen, entered the room, jumped over a stool which had the impertinence to stand in her way, and grabbed Chryssi in a powerful hug as the last green flames wreathing her transformation back into her original form dissipated. "Chryssi, I missed you!"
Chryssi's muffled answer was clearly interpretable as "I missed you too!", even if for the rest of the word it had sounded more like "Mrhphmphphdmupuu."
"Tia, you big, fat–" Lulu entered the kitchen too, glanced over to the massive form of Donna Copper Horn looming through the other door, bit her lip, and then hissed "–meanie. What were you thinking? I–"
Celestia pulled Chryssi along and grabbed and added Lulu to the hug. She smiled the fullest smile she could muster and exclaimed, "Lulu, Chryssi is back, we're all together again!"
"I guessed." Lulu tried to slip away, then forced Celestia's foreleg away. "You'll have to do something about that. You can't make a scene every time she comes back."
"I don't mind." Chryssi had managed to get her head above Celestia's chest. "I like it. Hi Lulu, it's so good to see you all."
Lulu glared for another moment at Celestia, then turned to Chryssi and smiled. "I'm happy you're back. It was starting to become boring just with Tia. She gets...Tia, what was the word that describes you so incredibly well when somebody's away?"
Another squeeze and Celestia let go of Chryssi. She sat down and grinned. "Worried? Caring? Beautiful in my sadness?"
"No, not that. Also, the last one was four words. No, I mean the real stuff, not your delusions."
Celestia tapped her chin and said, "Hmmm, admirable? Glorious? Resplendent? Oh, right, you mean petulant!"
Chryssi snickered as Lulu nodded with, in Celestia's opinion, clearly exaggerated enthusiasm. "Yes, that one. See, sometimes, rarely, you're useful despite all the evidence to the contrary."
That comment was worth one of Celestia's best harrumphs. "Hrmp, lies, libel, and falsehood. Oh, what shame my sister brings unto this house! How shall I ever survive such offense at the hoof of my own kin?" She raised her hoof to her forehead, closed her eyes, swayed and fell.
There was laughter, giggling, and as Celestia sneakingly opened an eye she could swear she caught even a hint of a smile on Donna Copper Horn's face as she leaned against the wall and observed the scene. Good enough.
Things calmed down, Celestia sat up again, Chryssi opened the buckles of her saddlebags, and Donna Copper Horn put a pot of water on the stove.
As Chryssi put down the bulging and heavy-looking bags, she said, "Oh, I met Chanterelle and Mint in the city. Do you want to go to the creek after the harvest? They'll all be there."
"That sounds nice. We should totally do it." Celestia looked over to Donna Copper Horn and met her pointed look. "After we dutifully finish all our chores, help Meadowsweet with the ledger, and–" There was something else. "–and do the House Duties with Master Sottile?"
With an evil grin etched into her muzzle, Lulu leaned against Celestia and said, "So Clay will be there too. Are you going to lead him on some more?"
Celestia sputtered. "Lead him on? I kicked him in the pool last time! What should I do? Threaten to bash his head in with a rock?"
There was a moment of silence as all eyes in the room locked on Celestia.
She looked down, scraped the floor with her hoof and murmured, "Ginevra told me to say that to him."
Donna Copper Horn sighed. "I'll talk to Ginevra about what is appropriate and what not. Again. Celestia, don't do that. He's a colt, he is infatuated. You told him no, as long as he does nothing else you shall not threaten him with murder. If he does something untoward, you kick him–" Her voice became darker, lower. "–and then immediately tell me or Meadowsweet about it."
"I...will do that?" Celestia looked at Donna Copper Horn, then at her sisters. Looks were exchanged, questions were shelved for later, and shoulders were shrugged.
Chryssi took a deep breath, clapped her hooves together and exclaimed, "Right, who wants gifts?"
Radish squealed and half-ran, half-tumbled to Meadowsweet while holding his new mechanical toy-pony close to his chest. "Look what Chryssi brought me! It moves!"
Master Sottile looked at the grins on Chrysalis' and her sisters' faces and couldn't help but smile too. It was good to see them together again.
"That's wonderful, Radish. Did you properly say thank you to Chryssi?"
The gasp was worthy of an actor in a pantomime. Radish seemed almost offended by his own carelessness, turned around, and thundered back, furniture and other obstacles deemed of little importance. A stool was run over as he pounced on Chrysalis and hugged her around the neck while spilling out a confused torrent of thanks.
Hopefully the colt would learn to manage his enthusiasm a bit, otherwise Master Sottile feared Fidelis' talent for repairing things wouldn't keep up. He shook his head and turned his attention back to the scrolls Chrysalis had brought from Everfree Haven. He put aside one addressed to Willowbark and two for Meadowsweet, and considered the remaining five.
He would keep the two missives from Sapphire Gleam for the evening when conditions were calmer and he would have more time. The one with the seal of the Council was expected. The Fall banquet was just a couple of months away, and the invitation was always sent out before the harvest. The thick, heavy bundle of scrolls from Starswirl, on the other hoof, was a bit of a surprise. He thought it would take the wizard longer to get to the stone tablets of the Artisan, but it seemed that the companions he had found along the way were helping more than expected.
It looked like a lot of work. Pleasant and fascinating work, but still not something to consider now.
A squeak made Master Sottile look up. Donna Copper Horn was hugging Chrysalis–or maybe strangling her judging by the sounds the young one was making–with one arm while holding a silver brooch in her free hand.
Yes, the current joyous confusion, as pleasant as it was, wasn't the best environment for some academic work.
The last scroll was a report from the Celestial Council. Master Sottile hoped it wasn't one of the last ones transcribed; he didn't want to wade through a sea of errors or have to remove the obscene doodles the bored scribe would have added to ease the tedium of having to copy the same text for the hundredth time. His horn flashed for a moment and the spell on the seal broke. The wax cracked and fell away, the scroll unrolled.
On the first look, everything seemed in order. There was the boisterous declaration of independence from the Houses, then there was the calendar for stargazing. The announcements for the new members of the council, the declaration that some talented wizards had finished their apprenticeship, and then the adjustments to the celestial progressions. No well-endowed tree yet, good. At the end there were the calls for scholars to come for a symposium on the eve of spring the following year, and then–
For an instant Master Sottile feared his old heart would stop playing the rhythm of life forever. At the end of the scroll, as a little aphorism for the scholars, stood the fatal words. Learn to bear bravely the changes of fortune.
Something had happened to Master Firefly and her charges.
They’d got to her.
Master Sottile closed his eyes and whispered a prayer to Harmony. Just three groups were still around, the Cult got all the others. So few on whom their hopes could rest. Celestia and Luna were…
No, he had to be a realist. The chances that Celestia and Luna were the ones were less than slim. It was by now a foolish idea that they would be the ones. Too much had happened that had never even been hinted at in the prophecy, mostly in the form of Chrysalis. No, they were wonderful fillies that would do great things and he would protect them with his life, but they weren't the ones fated to save them all.
He opened his eyes again and looked at the scene.
Chrysalis and Luna were munching on the candied orange peels while Celestia had an ecstatic expression and an open jar of crystallized honey in front of her. Radish was jumping around a little mechanical pony that wobbled along on the floor, while Donna Copper Horn poured some mint infusion into cups.
He couldn't, he wouldn't lose this. He was prepared. There were plans in place.
A disagreement over the exchange of orange-peels for honey between Celestia and Luna was taking place at the table. Both wanted to trade, but the price seemed to be a point of contention. It was a good-natured, almost foalish spat, and yet they had grown so much. Too much to simply load them in a cart and leave.
"Celestia, Luna, Chrysalis. We need to talk. Donna Copper Horn, please call the others, it seems they found Master Firefly. Tell Garvino to prepare to take flight for the meeting place." Master Sottile stood up and walked around the table. He kneeled down beside Radish and said, "Little one, we have some grown-up talking to do. Can you be a good colt and play for a bit in the court? I promise you will get some colored smoke from Willowbark if you are good. That would be a wonderful thing to have along with that splendid gift from Chrysalis, right?"
Radish looked up to him, then to his mother. As Meadowsweet nodded, Radish took his toy and, with a serious expression that felt almost out of place, said, "I'm gonna be the gooddest colt ever."
"Wonderful, I knew I could count on you. Now go, I promise we will try to not take too long."
As Radish dashed out, Master Sottile stood up and turned to the fillies. No, not fillies. It was Celestia's sixteenth summer, Luna's fifteenth, and as for Chrysalis, he suspected age was a hollow measure anyway. They were young mares, and he would treat them as such. "There are many things I never told you about. I… I never lied to you, but I omitted part of the truth."
Celestia looked at her sister and mouthed something. Luna frowned, Chrysalis leaned forward and whispered something. Furious if incomprehensible murmuring went back and forth, a hoof was pointed at him, gossamer wings blurred for a moment. Then Celestia turned back towards Master Sottile and asked, "Are the assassins coming?"
One of the lessons a long life tended to teach, over and over, relentlessly, was to expect the unexpected. And yet Master Sottile was, once again, baffled and surprised. "What? Assassins?"
"Yes, assassins from the donkey warlord you and the others defeated all those years ago when you were adventurers." Celestia leaned forward. "That's what you never told us, right?"
"I… How did you get that idea?" Master Sottile walked to the table and sat down. He had dreaded this moment for a long time, and now it had taken a path he hadn't even considered. "No, no assassins are coming."
Luna's hoof came down on the table as she stood up and declared, "Hah! I told you so. It's Chryssi's royal family coming to take her away and put her on the path to becoming a cruel tyrant. We'll have to reinforce our defenses, old allies will be called in! Do we make our last stand at the farm or at Everfree Haven?"
"No, it has nothing to do with little Chrysalis. You are completely wr– It's not that." Master Sottile brought a hoof to his face and massaged the bridge of his nose. A moment later he looked past the two fillies and said, "Come on, little Chrysalis, what was your idea? It seems you three have thought about this for a while."
"Uhm, I was thinking that your old Master has finally found you after you fled from his secret order of evil mystical warriors years ago to care for those whom life broke. He's on his way to reclaim you and a powerful artifact you took from him to stop his nefarious plans, and you want to tell us to flee so that we are safe while you'll be forced to break your vow of non-violence to defeat him in a tragic, final battle. Please don't have a tragic final battle." She looked at her sisters, then murmured. "I like those Zebrican stories."
"Right, I suspect I may need to examine what you are reading again. It seems you have been indulging too much in stories." He chuckled. Those silly fillies. They looked all grown up but at heart–
His worries, the dread that he had felt gnawing at the back of his mind, they felt lessened. They hadn't disappeared, no, but he felt a bit better. Master Sottile looked at what, in a certain sense, were his daughters. "Or maybe not, you seem to have understood them quite well. How came you to those ideas anyway?"
Another round of whispers was exchanged, another bunch of meaningful looks communicated scrolls worth of discussions in the secret language of siblings. Luna was the first one to speak. "There were a lot of signs. Like the wards around the farm. You had me study them to learn. I did that, and I looked at those in the city when we went there last time, and I'm pretty sure the ones here aren't normal."
"When we talk to the others we sometimes hear stories." Celestia scratched her neck. "Like when we were with Mint and the others. Mint is bad with beer and talks a lot after a tankard or two. And there are the stories about how you came here out of nowhere, claimed the land of your family, and built the farm. Which was weird for a unicorn head of a House."
"You kinda got all those different people together in a family and that's weird too. I mean, we love it, it's wonderful and they're all amazing. But, I mean–" Chrysalis stood on her hind-legs and gestured at herself. "–this is all pretty weird."
Celestia grabbed a candied orange-peel with her magic. "And then there's all the times you and the others did the whole talking about things without saying them explicitly. Like, hinting at stuff, cutting off when we were around, very serious expressions and nodding and all that other usual conspiratorial behavior. You didn't do it often, but we kind of noticed."
They were smart, observant fillies. Master Sottile was proud of them. "I see. It seems we were far less subtle than we thought."
The door opened and Fidelis peeked inside.
Master Sottile waved for him to enter, then said, "The others will be here soon. In the meanwhile, let me start at the beginning. You see, many, many years ago, more than a lifetime, they found a prophecy etched in stone…"
The night was warm and a soft breeze blew through the window, setting the dark shapes of the hanging star charts to dancing. It was relaxing, calm, the kind of peace some philosophers said was true happiness.
And yet Luna couldn't sleep.
Not because she was thinking about the philosophical definition of happiness. That one, she had decided years ago, was simply well-worded surrender-talk by people who never had gone hungry a single day of their lives. It was one of the few things she and Tia were in complete agreement on.
No, something else was bothering her. She sighed and whispered, "Are you sleeping?"
There was a quiet shuffling. She felt Chryssi's chitin shift under her head and Tia turn around on her side.
"No, can't do it,” Tia replied. “Chryssi?"
It was a moment before the answer came almost as a low vibration from the chitin plates. "I tried."
Life went on all around the world. An owl called out from the night, the stars and the moon would continue to turn in the sky as long as other mages bothered with them. Once again Luna wondered what would happen if there was nopony keeping the heavens in motion. Would some other creatures pick up the duty? Would it grind to a halt and decay into ruins like an abandoned house? Whatever would happen, it would happen with or without her. In the grand scheme of things, the very, very grand one, she and her sisters didn't matter that much. She said, "Tia and I being all worried doesn't help, I guess. It tastes…sour, right?"
The chitin was warm and soft. Not soft like fur, but more like fabric on smooth wood. Chryssi's voice had the kind of whirring quality it took when she was thoughtful. "It's…It changes, but sour is about right. But no, it's not that." She rolled around until Luna felt the belly bands under her head. "I don't want to lose you. I don't know what I would do if I lost you."
Tia's voice had the kind of certainty you could use as the foundation for a palace. No crack in it, no sign of weakness., "You're not gonna lose us. We won't lose you." Luna felt her sister's leg draped over her. "Master Sottile said they had a plan to allow us to escape. You've seen it. It's a good plan. And there are many more. He told us so. No reason to worry about that."
"Yeah, but what if I'm not here? What if I'm in Everfree Haven?" There was a pause. "Maybe I should stop being an apprentice…"
The idea of having Chryssi there all the time again was a nice one. Or at least Luna thought so for a moment before shame followed. She tried to keep it under wraps. It was unfair in many different ways. It wasn't fair to have Chryssi stop doing something she loved. It was unfair to have her taste the shame. It was unfair they had to consider it at all. She snorted and said, "No, that's not right. We… we can make a plan for that. Sometimes Willowbark is away too. Master Sottile isn't stupid, I think they thought about it. We have to ask tomorrow."
Tia pushed Luna and turned her sideways against Chryssi. She rolled around and pressed against Luna, trapping her in between before saying, "It's an ancient prophecy. Those always end well. If we are clever and ready, and we are pretty clever and very ready, then it will all end well. Don't worry." A small sigh. "Although I would have preferred if Master Sottile was part of some ancient, secret order."
"He kinda is?" Chryssi shuffled a bit.
"Yeah, right, but not in the fun, awesome way. Not like in the stories." A sigh came from Tia's direction. "I know, I know. Stories are not real life. But…You know, here we are, not even the chosen ones, having to think about some stupid guy wanting to spirit us away, and we don't even get the awesome story with it. It's unfair."
Soft breathing and muttered complaining was all that could be heard for a while. Tia was right, even if admitting that was a bother for Luna. It wasn't fair, but then life rarely was. Luna had been lucky. Even if she could barely remember her first years of life, the slight disappointment of not being a pony chosen by fate was nothing compared to the elation of having left the cold, dirty, and hungry past behind. The reasons for it be damned, she had a full belly and maybe she could fill the bellies of other hungry ponies. Or at least those of her family.
Tia stopped her muttering, then said, "You know, there is one good thing coming from all that."
It took Luna a moment, then she brought her hooves to her face. "You're going to say piracy, right?"
She heard Chryssi giggle and Tia huff.
"Well, yes, that's exactly what I wanted to say. Because it's true." There was some shuffling as Tia adjusted her position. "I mean, if everything goes like Master Sottile wishes, there's gonna be problems in the west. The donkeys are kinda iffy on the whole Concord and united ponies, so they'll probably try to do something about it. Considering their mages are… Starswirl wrote about them, and he was almost kind while dismissing them. I think he felt pity."
Luna closed her eyes. "Right, but mages aside, we all heard stories about their warriors."
"And for those, they need Sun-Bronze and Silver-Lined iron to keep up with magic. They can get it only from the minotaurs down south, which means they'll have to ship the stuff along the Moon-Sea coast. Becoming pirates and haunting those routes would practically be our duty. And if this whole thing doesn't work out and the other guys win–"
Chryssi almost whirred. "The bad guys."
"Master Sottile said that they weren't bad, just very misguided." Luna could feel the chitin plates under her head vibrate. "He was very clear about it."
"They want to take you away and break apart our family. They're bad guys."
"Maybe. I kinda agree with you, but I think Master Sottile hasn't told us everything, yet." Celestia reached for Chryssi. "And they won't break us apart. Ever."
Luna smiled and put her hoof near Tia's. "Nothing will tear us apart. Tia's right for once. Not like with this silly pirate stuff."
An undignified snort was Tia's answer. "It's not silly. You'll see. If the other guys win, wrecking the Sun-Ocean trading routes will be very, very important. We'll fight them and have the goods pass through the Reigns in the south, which will make them richer and mean all those who want to flee will have a place to go. As you see, piracy is the only ethical choice."
What had she done to deserve such a silly sister? Luna groaned. "You thought a lot about this stuff. You're the old one, you should be serious."
"Look, I have to think about stuff when Master Sottile has me go over all those mercantile treatises."
A chuckle escaped from Chryssi. "I thought you liked that."
"I'm good at it." Tia turned around and hugged Luna. "Doesn't mean I like it. Only good thing is that I know how much a ship and a crew costs. We need a few more coins, but it's feasible."
It was nice and warm and soft. It was also a clear attempt to curtail the much-needed realism Luna had to bring to the conversation. "It's still a silly idea."
"I like it, though." Chryssi's whirring had become a low, pleasant hum. "It sounds like fun, and we would all be together. I…It's a wonderful dream."
It was nice and warm and soft, and maybe, just maybe, at night, when she was together with her sisters in their bed, it wasn't the time for realism. Maybe it was the time for dreams. Even for silly ones. "You're right, it's a wonderful dream."
Routine was comforting.
Deep down, somewhere at the edge of herself, there was a vague feeling that it shouldn't be. Chryssi had no idea why and, in all honesty, didn't care much for it right at the moment.
Her hooves sunk into the dough like they had done each and every morning for months. Birds sang in the early morning calling for the sun to rise, the wood crackled in the oven outside, the stones groaning while adjusting to the heat. And in front of her, the mother-yeast hungered and yearned and devoured and changed. There was a strange kinship there.
Somewhere on the roof, Ginevra was looking out into the darkness, a bell ready on her side, a spear on the other. Old Scar was returning from a night of hunting and showing the animals all around the farm who was in charge. There was a simple form of satisfaction coming from him along with fresh, sharp pain. Another wound to add to his name, if Chryssi had to guess.
Chryssi counted her kneading up to twenty-three, then murmured the fifth stanza of The Tale of Miller and reversed the direction.
Slowly the mother-yeast changed her feeding and continued creeping through the dough.
Here on the farm, when she was almost the only one awake before the sun rose, she could hear it all. The emotions all around her were either simple or she knew them well enough to be able to lock them out. And so the subtleties of the world and her work came to light.
Twenty-three again. She pulled her hooves back, clapped them together two times, and raised a silent prayer to the Great Mother Yeast.
Rituals and traditions guided almost every step of her work. Many, she suspected, had next to no real impact on the bread, but they were routine, rhythm, keeping of time. Safety.
She felt the farm stir before hearing it. Meadowsweet had woken up, Millet would soon follow with a lot of complaining. It was always the same. After four days sequestered on the farm, she knew.
The dough was ready. She took her knife, the one Donna Copper Horn had bought for her, and began cutting. It was a good knife. Simple bronze, sharp, with a thin blade. She cut and pulled. It was good dough, not clinging to the knife, the Mother Yeast hungry and ready to do its work. She cut sixteen loaves and carved her symbol into each of them.
Meadowsweet had woken up Donna Copper Horn.
She covered the loaves with a hemp cloth, then carefully moved the wooden panel where they rested to the side with the others she had already prepared. Time for the next batch.
She was well into the second recitation when she heard the door open and the light from the lamp poured inside. It wouldn't take much more to finish.
The arrival of Meadowsweet and Donna Copper Horn were the first signs that the farm was awakening. Soon Millet would follow, then, when the sun was about to rise above the horizon, Fidelis would come. Ginevra would get to sleep soon after. The smell of freshly baked bread would be the signal for Tia and Lulu to come for breakfast. Willowbark had no herbs to gather, so he would sleep in to be rested and ready for all the work waiting for him. The mixing and cooking and bespelling of remedies and ointments was something that had to begin on the brink of day and night.
It worried Chryssi a bit that she had no idea of when Master Sottile would wake up. She felt a bit guilty about it too. Since she had remembered and told him about the strange feeling she got as she flew back to the farm for the Harvest two days ago, he had been restless. He had worked well into the night and had not even been properly asleep as she had woken up to make bread.
"That is a lot of loaves, little bug." Donna Copper Horn leaned forward and looked at the sticky mass Chryssi was kneading.
"It's for the field-workers. They have a lot to do today, some good bread is how I can help." For a moment, an image of Rock Salt flashed through her mind. "Well, decent bread."
Meadowsweet gasped. "Isn't my bread good enough? Isn't Donna Copper Horn's bread good enough?"
"No! I didn't mean that. It's–" There it was. It had taken Chryssi a moment longer than usual to taste the amusement. Had she been too involved in her work or was Meadowsweet learning to hide it? Did Meadowsweet feel she had to hide her emotions? Had Chryssi been bad by tasting what others felt?
"Hah! Got you. I'll have to tell Master Sottile that worked. Don't worry, Chryssi. I know that your bread is better. It's all those little secrets they teach you in the guild. Can't help it." There was a thud as Meadowsweet put her heavy ledger on the table. "I'm sure the workers will appreciate it. Many can't get guild-bread very often, even if it's only made by an apprentice. Still, that's a lot of bread. More than usual. Where did you get that flour?"
"There was a sack that was about to get moldy. I cleaned up the spot, but this one has to be used soon."
The ease with which Donna Copper Horn could move the panels around while talking was enviable. "I think there's something else too. I can't feel it like you do, but that's not the whole story, isn't it?"
For Chryssi it had always been far more complicated understanding herself than understanding others. She couldn't taste herself as she did with the rest of the world. But routine could, among other things, allow one to organize their thoughts with time, and she had had a lot of it.
"When I told Master Sottile about the weird stuff I felt when flying here, he became very worried. And then he said we couldn't leave the farm until we were sure. And he said I did the right thing, but it also means I trapped Tia and Lulu here. And maybe myself. What if I was wrong? What if I have everyone waste time and worry and the whole harvest gets more difficult because I felt the wrong thing?" It was time to let the dough rest for a couple of moments. She pulled back her hooves, the sticky mass gliding on the surface of her chitin plates without leaving traces. "What if I was right and it was late?"
For all the calluses on her hands, Donna Copper Horn's touch was surprisingly soft. She put her hand on Chryssi's back. "If you were wrong, then we will be worried for a while and then return to our lives. If you were right, then we'll have enough time to get everything we need and leave. As for being too late, we are still here, nothing happened yet, so I don't think you were. At the end even if it comes out that nothing was wrong what we lose is but a speck of dust in comparison to what we gain if you were right. I think, though, that it isn't the core of the problem, right? You know that you did the right thing."
Chryssi counted down the right time, then got back to work. It was nice work, and the consistency of the dough was slowly getting closer to what it should be. "I don't want to leave."
Feelings flowed free from Meadowsweet. As she sat down there was compassion, affection, a bit of worry, and many, many others.
Never forget you are working. It was one of the lessons they taught her. A good lesson. "I don't want to leave the guild. I don't want to leave Clay, and Mint, and Lady Sapphire Gleam. And they would be sad if we disappeared, I know it. And it's all because some stupid, mad–" She felt her back ripple. Something boiling inside of her. Anger and hunger. Never forget you are working. A focus for the mind. Chryssi took a deep breath. Her insides subsided into seething calm. "–bullies. They could ruin everything, and… and I think I hate them."
"Don't." Meadowsweet put her hooves beside Donna Copper Horn's hand on Chryssi's back. "Hate is the emotion we have to endure when we fail ourselves. It helps nobody and makes our hearts bitter and shriveled. I understand you, I understand how you're feeling. I don't want to leave either. I like it here, I like what we're doing. We are keeping the House alive, we are trying to help the workers in our fields, and we have friends here. Fidelis put so much of himself in here, as did Willowbark. It's… This is our life."
Donna Copper Horn kneeled. "Sometimes the world comes down crashing on you anyway. And when that happens you have to protect what lies at the center of everything you hold dear. For us, that means to take our family to a safe place."
There still were some clots in the dough. Chryssi kneaded through them. "I don't get it. Master Sottile is the head of a House. It's not, like, big and powerful, but it's in the Council. Can't he call for guards? Or… or something?"
"We thought about it, believe me." Meadowsweet sighed. "It won't solve the issue. Our misguided brethren enjoy something that the cities of the Concord don't have: unity. They follow one creed all across their temples and their monasteries. They can reach far and wide, and outside the confines of Everfree Haven, there's not much the Council can do here. If we think it could help then we may ask for some help, but our best bet is staying hidden from them."
Now it had become homogeneous. No more lumps that she could feel. The Mother Yeast was slowly awakening to the food around it. No anger there, that was good. Now Chryssi had just to be like that. "Hiding. I know how to do that. Always hiding…"
Donna Copper Horn's arm reached around Chryssi and hugged her. "Maybe, but never from us. I know that it's hard, believe me. But as long as we stay together, we can go through everything."
Meadowsweet joined in the embrace. "And maybe everything is fine. If they didn't find us yet then we'll continue as it is. No sense in rocking the boat."
"She's right, little bug. We have prepared as much as we can. When Garvino returns, we'll see what we have to do. In the meanwhile, we carry on. The harvest waits for nobody, and whatever happens, we have to eat."
Chryssi nodded. They would take things as they came. As for now, there was work to do, bread to bake, and her sisters to be kept fed.
Routine was comforting.
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Everytime I fear my favorite favorite has been discontinued you post and sooth my fears.
Cults eh? What flavor of cult I wonder. After all, there are so many to choose from.
One should be careful not to place all of your hopes and expectations on prophecy, such things have a wicked tendency to twist in unexpected directions. And that was before an embodiment of entropy decided to experience mortality under your roof. Destiny is keeping well away from this little household.
Sometimes in times of stress and trouble, all you can do is take comfort in the familiar, like baking bread.
The calm before the storm. Also bread.
If that's true, then where did Discord come from?
I predict, based on what may or may not be foreshadowing, that Chryssi is going to get separated from the rest when they have to run, and she'll end up spending a good long while living in disguise all the time, only meeting up with the sisters again after everything goes down. Thus her not being mentioned in the prophecy.
9962271
I suspect Chrysalis isn't in the prophesy because she's literally a outside-context-problem, and blindsided the powerful future-telling magic.
I'm actually picturing the cult coming, about to hurt someone (or in the process) and she just.. goes full eldritch on them. I'm talking opening screaming holes in reality that only barely conceal the thing that used to be pony-shaped but has far too many eyes and you can feel it in your mind and madness awaits.
9962248
He’s an Anthropomorphic Personification, a side effect of reality. I like to think of him as a bloke who works two jobs; Chaos, which pays the bills, and is a matter of physics, and Discord, which he does for pleasure, and is a matter of sentience. He was there at the start after all, in the moment of ultimate chaos when the universe was the result, and That was all he was until sentience formed, at which point chaos stopped being logical, and thus he also became Discord.
If you’re having trouble picturing it, it would be like the CEO of Toyota (there are other car corporations) after a day of ordering the construction of thousands of Prius’s, going home and spending his evenings building hot rods (to my knowledge he doesn’t actually do this).
9962336
I agree, I think Chrysalis exists outside the prophetic framework. However, I think Harmony has played its part to bring Chrysalis in line with their universe. The longer she lives here, the more she becomes a part of reality. Friendship is, after all, a physical force in Equestria.
At least that's my theory.
"out to her The wonderful, golden"
Missing word(s) and/or punctuation?
I continue to quite enjoy this story. :)
Uh oh, a storm be a'brewin'.
9962082
I'm a bit slow but I really care for this and have every intention of seeing it through.
9962105
Starswirl will agree with you on that. He also has opinions on Fate, Destiny, and all the other stuff that dares to get capital letters when he considers it underserving of it.
9962117
During the more frantic sessions of the Write-Offs, I often made cookies.
I love lines like this, especially when they flow naturally from the story.
My heart, though. The sisters' anxiety is bittersweet.
9962134
Can't really go wrong with bread.
9962271
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You have no idea how happy it makes me to know that the story engaged you enough to speculate about it. It really, really, really warms my heart.
9962778
Thank you, both for the correction and the compliment.
Lord, this tension building is palpable beyond belief. I'm scared in which way the dam is going to break, but at the same time I'm looking forward to the next chapter all the same. Great stuff, like always.
9963231
You're welcome and you're welcome. :)
9962336
The funny thing is, I would be totally okay with that happening. Love me some eldritch pones.
Eee, lots of chewy lore. I would ponder it more, but I am content to let the story reveal it. My only wish is that things publish faster because they are, as always, SO CUTE AND GOOD
9963226
Sometimes knowing the future isn't the blessing it should be.
9963245
Thank you!
9963508
Eldritch pones are proof that you can indeed improve everything by adding magical mini-horses.
9963719
I will try to improve my speed
I still appreciate the compliments and am quite happy you're liking what I offer
9962248 New Jersey. He used to be called Leeds, the Jersey Devil.
Then it got wayyyyy too awful here for him.
i.pinimg.com/originals/e2/37/f7/e237f7665701a1d96536378d74dfec91.jpg
He mutated more from the trip to Equestria through various dimensional branes and got a few extra parts... but those burning red and yellow eyes remained a fixture.
9962248
I recall a mention several chapters back about there being some huge permanent storm of chaos way out at sea which everyone tries to avoid. My guess is that Discord here is an ancient slumbering primal force, probably not much unlike Chryssi, that some foolish mortal is going to accidentally wake up when they sail their ship into his anomaly and crash into him. Probably some dumb pirates or... wait...
...Goddamnit, Tia.
9964969
I've been to the old Leeds house years back.
9967816 I live nearby. Deep in the Pine Barrens in the decaying town of Pemberton, wherein lurks the Jersey Devil's replacement: our mayor.
9969466
Your only thirty miles from me. I'm in Vineland! Though at the moment I'm currently looking at moving to Delaware.
9969507 Ah, I shall send my minions to ensure that you cannot escape!
NO ONE CAN EVER TRULY LEAVE NEW JERSEY!! MUWAH HA HA HA!!
9969587
You can take the Man out of Jersey but not the Jersey out of the Man.
9969605 Soon, everybody's gonna be Joisey! You dig?
homeshoppingista.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/1409-new-jersey-1.jpg
Weez commin' foi ya!
9964758
Yes good all around!!!!
as always, this is one of the most heartfelt takes on Chryssi and the sisters
Another great chapter.
Now how could I miss that this story had updated?
This continues to be both a deeply lovely and a very intriguing story, and I really enjoy the little glimpses of this pre-Equestrian world. Also, bread! 🍞
*meanwhile, outside the window*
???: "Shit, we have been discovered! Retreat!"
Would still make an interesting story.
I see why. And I can hardly blame them.
Been going through a lot of my fimfiction favorites during the quarantine and remembered this gem. Liking forward to seeing more updates, I really love this!
Hello popping in from my lurked reading of this story to give you some things I found.
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Fixed and thank you! I very much appreciated you pointing them out
Yeast as a Lovecraftian horror is an inspired idea.
11042961
It's all a matter of scale.