Toccata
In a way, it was very much about stories.
That was where Applejack had first learned about fosse combat: stories, passed on by her Daddy. Such tales were generally told on the coldest of winter days: the times when the next planting felt as if it was a lifetime away (and somehow, when she had still been a filly, that measurement had felt so much longer) and the typical family activity of collective jigsaw construction had hit its inevitable group stall. There would be multiple Apples standing around a table, silently staring at pieces whose edges only blended into each other within fast-blurring eyesight, and just before somepony reached the point where flipping the entire thing over and seeing if any of the smaller fragments landed in configuration felt like the best idea ever -- her Daddy would declare it was time for stories.
It was winter, and so such tales would be told by the fire. But the true warmth came from excitement, watching phantom ponies use their tools for the cause of Good (well, one would be on that side: the tales where both ponies truly believed they were doing the right thing didn't show up until the listener was somewhat older) upon a stage which had been built from words. And her Daddy had never been much for voices, but... he knew how to add weight to words. A single syllable could have the impact of a full rockslide, and his second child had curled up at his side, taking comfort in the presence of something so much greater than herself.
He hadn't been much for voices -- but nopony could tell the tales without having a truly good memory, for nothing was ever written down. The deepest earth pony traditions were passed on through the spoken word alone, because you could choose who you spoke to: books were at risk for being stolen. And it had taken years beyond her parents' death, added to a mission which had changed nearly everything, before Applejack had started to wonder just how much that requirement had altered the stories. There were times when ponies only heard what they wished to, and if that had been what was passed on...
Still, it was how she had first learned of dueling: from stories. (She hadn't been confident enough in her own memory to try reciting some of them to Apple Bloom, and Granny's recollection was -- well, there were good days, and then there were the ones which the existence of 'good days' had more than implied.) And once she'd come into her full magic -- play fights in an empty barn, parent and child battling over stakes no higher than Who's Putting The Dishes Away, and the worst which could ever happen was that she got dirty and had to deal with the nerve-wracking peril which was shifting the good plates.
Years had accrued around those memories, and viewing them through that much time seemed to serve as something of a focusing lens. An older Applejack had realized that her Daddy had never really believed she would need those skills. It had just been another means of training her, making sure she knew how to use all of her tools -- and it had also been an excuse for parent and child to sneak by the windows, trying to reach bath or hose before Mommy could see just how dirty they were: a challenge which had been complicated by the inevitable giggling.
But a true duel? Those hardly ever happened, because duels were supposed to be the last resort. (Her Daddy had told her about ponies whose ego sent everything into the crevices, and those stories usually ended when the offenders buried themselves.) Besides, there were certain practical considerations. You needed space for a true fosse, more than could be provided by a empty barn and a limited availability for 'down'. That meant going outdoors, and... that created problems. Plus there were the terms, the balancing, the price of defaults...
So for a younger Applejack, the fosse pit had existed solely in the realm of stories. It was a place where outcomes were guaranteed, nopony was ever in true danger, and it usually all worked out in the end. And there were times during which the teenager still had trouble in not perceiving them that way, as things which were taking place within the total safety of either fiction or history: in both cases, it was a place where all the consequences belonged to somepony else.
Her Daddy had never believed she would be in the true pit. Had shown no signs that he knew anything of Elements or Nightmare, at least not in a way which had been suitable for a child's fireside tales. She had been a normal filly, growing up on a fairly ordinary farm, and it had been all she'd really wanted. There had been no goals greater than passing that duty to the next generation, no dreams stronger than being the next to tell the tales, and there were ways in which that still held true.
She could try to think of a fosse as existing within stories alone, with the echoes of her Daddy's words lingering as a slow-fading shield.
And whenever she attempted to do so, a slow, colder voice would call out to her across the pasture of memory.
In stories... the words of challenge would be spoken, and the next scene would shift to the fosse itself. Reality, which didn't have much in the way of rules to follow, was somewhat more awkward.
Applejack wanted to be there, because getting things started would bring her that much closer to getting it over with. But there were things which had to be dealt with first, and the initial one very slowly trotted towards them, visibly favoring that one bad hip.
"Ah was expectin' you," substituted for a greeting to their visitors. "Not this quick --" a glance at Applejack "-- but Ah heard the tale on that one. So did y'get mah letter, Elstar? Or did y'decide t' ignore it?"
"Think this has gotten past the point where your word still matters," the stallion replied. (They had been the first truly audible words since Applejack had called the challenge: everything spoken to his own daughter during the fuming approach to the house had been conducted in mutter.) "Not when you're trying to claim it's nothing to be worried about, some kind of false alarm because Mac just had a bad night and thought the wrong things."
The elder of one branch was staring directly at the head of the Malus line, and so missed Applejack's sudden wince.
Ah sent Twilight t' the Acres, so Granny could try t' turn a few of them around. That meant Twi had t' tell Granny 'bout everythin' that's happened so far...
Granny knew her eldest grandfoal was in prison. But she was just standing there, looking at Elstar with what felt like a rather odd patience. Not really reacting to his words at all, as if they hadn't been worth a response.
Or... as if she hadn't --
"Can't take your word on this," Elstar told the eldest. "Not when you already let one thing go through, no matter how that might have worked out." And then came the words which nearly set it all off right there: "Not when you might not even understand what's going on any more --"
There was a moment when both rage and fear were still building in Applejack's heart, the split-second where she heard her sister's little gasp, almost felt what she was sure was Akane's smirk, and it was the instant Granny used to casually say, with every word perfectly relaxed, "It's a good day."
"A good day," Elstar half-spat. "A day where your granddaughter wants to date a pegasus is a good --"
A chipped green forehoof tapped against the soil.
The movement wasn't what interrupted him. It just took a few seconds before the low-pitched rumble from the ground faded enough to allow speech.
"A good day," Granny Smith gently repeated. "Y'can have all the thoughts y'like, Elstar, an' the same goes for your youngster. An' technically, Mac invited you: that means there's a little hospitality goin' here, enough that y'can have those thoughts where y'stand, instead of while you're gallopin' for the train. But you're on Malus soil, an' that means y'should think 'bout your words a little more. Because Ah'm havin' a good enough day t' give you a bad one."
He shut up.
(It wouldn't last. Applejack knew it wouldn't. But as far as she was concerned, it still ranked as a major accomplishment.)
The orange-gold gaze slowly moved to survey the granddaughters.
"An' how are we showin' our hospitality t'day, Applejack? Y'want Ah should set out the good plates? Seein' as how they were travelin' for a while. An' Ah'm bettin' you two could use a meal."
"Ah could eat," Applejack admitted --
"-- we're fightin'," Apple Bloom softly said.
Granny's focus instantly moved down.
"It's a duel," the youngest quickly added. "Between Applejack an' -- an'..." Frowned. "Which one is it gonna be? Y'never said --"
"-- me," Elstar interrupted. "Because nopony taught them to see sense, and --"
"-- Wenn Sie nicht hören," Granny softly cut in, "hast du musst verletzt."
And then everypony was staring at her.
Shoulders slowly shifted through a pained shrug. "Ibexian," the eldest casually explained. "None of y'all ain't ever met one, have you? Not even you, little sprout, even with all the places the missions send you. Not easy, reachin' their land, an' they pretty much keep t' themselves. It's a pity, 'cause they're a good people. Smart, too. Takes a special kind of smart t' come up with a sayin' like that, somethin' which understands the world a little better than some of ours do. Ah ain't talked t' an ibex in decades, an' Ah hope Ah get t' see one again before Ah go. But if'fin Ah don't... Ah can still think 'bout what Surehoof told me, on the good days. 'If you won't hear -- you have to hurt.' Ah got no problem with having a fosse here. None at'tall."
"Ibex?" Akane announced to the whole of the Acres. "What's an ibex? Nopony's ever heard of --"
The next tap was a little more solid.
"So we're waitin'," Granny Smith said, once the grass was still again. "An' Ah could hope t' wait an' see who hears... but Ah know everypony here, don't Ah? Every branch on the tree, on a good day. Every root. All of the rot. Ain't no point in waitin' for the deaf t' hear. So Ah think we'll jus' wait t' see who hurts." Her right foreleg slowly gestured towards the house. "Now what's everypony havin' for breakfast? Don't want t' tell the Advocate what the defaults are on an empty stomach!"
In a story... perhaps a story would have included that, although likely not one which had been told by her Daddy: he liked to head for the good parts. But then it would have gone to the duel itself, and Applejack would have preferred that outcome to what truly happened next.
There were ways in which it could be said that the life of a Bearer was that of someone living a story: there were certainly ponies in the settled zone who seemed to see things that way. But they hadn't been on the adventures, hadn't felt the way time could slow on the edge of disaster, recognized the unavoidable lurking within the space between seconds. And stories simply repeated the same segment of time, over and over again, refreshing it with each telling while never changing events. Life moved forward into the unexpected -- and the mundane.
So there was a meal, because there was a certain minimum standard of hospitality and you couldn't serve two ponies without serving four. It was simply a meal where none of those sitting on the benches around the table really felt like saying anything to anypony else, other than Akane making a few pointed comments regarding the clear need to replace a piece of furniture which was currently displaying so much damage on Applejack's side. The first course was lukewarm awkwardness, which got followed by simmering anger, and the whole thing was topped off with cold frustration while everypony waited for the Advocate to arrive.
It took time, more than Applejack would have wished. Time in which she could wonder, over and over, just how much damage would be done. There was a price for winning, another for losing -- and no matter what happened, the bill for her brother's fight was going to come due.
An' no matter what happens, they'll all know. That Ah wanted t' try. That it was what Ah wanted. An' Ah chose that over everypony else.
Without thinking. Without hesitation. Because there were ways in which all of the Bearers reflected each other, and Applejack was capable of acknowledging when she'd just executed a full Rainbow. Going directly into the stunt on instinct alone, because to truly think about what you were doing was for terror to freeze every limb, pulling up short because there was no way to get through it, no way for anypony to survive it --
-- and if you thought about that too long, if the paralysis crept inwards... you crashed.
Everypony picked at their food, even Apple Bloom because an appetite boosted by puberty could still be weighed down by worry. There were a few silent glares. A number of things almost got said, and Applejack's imagination filled in every part of that script.
And of course, a mare who'd mostly used the trip to the train station for binging on wake-up juice was inevitably going to get a reminder that those in stories never seemed to suffer from the inevitable results. And as for having a cousin decide that naturally Applejack needing to use the nearest restroom meant Akane had to stand up a little faster, race at the speed of rudeness in order to get there first and send the short-term hostess up the ramp in search of relief...
Stories always seemed to ignore things like that.
And then the Advocate knocked.
(She didn't come down right away. Technically, she couldn't.)
There was something very heavy in the grey-and-black stallion's right saddlebag. A rounded surface was pressing against the fabric, almost going through, and it was doing so in multiple places.
Apple Bloom had been caught staring at the weight a few times, as the group silently trotted across the Acres. There were certain requirements for a duel, and she'd only been told about that one in the police station. She wanted to see it, and only the odd solemnity of the short journey, taken through heavy air and the grey light from thick clouds, seemed to be keeping her from demanding a peek on the spot.
Technically, every settled zone was supposed to have one. (Well, almost: Applejack perceived a certain cloud-based lack of need.) But there weren't that many around: in fact, it was possible that there weren't that many left. They were ancient, they couldn't be made any more, just charging them was effectively impossible, it was possible that hardly anypony alive had ever seen it in action, and...
...Ah didn't think 'bout it, the first time. Not for more than a second. Jus' long enough t' be told what it was doin'. Ah didn't think 'bout how it had t' work.
Moving past trees her Daddy had planted. Bushes her Mommy had harvested.
How were they even enchanted? Tricked the ponies involved in the other parts, over an' over? Or was there a time before --
Normally, as hostess, Applejack would have led the way. But this wasn't the first time, and so the Advocate was on her left, keeping a silent pace. He hadn't said much of anything upon arrival at the house: just that he was there to execute his duties, to hear situation and defaults before starting, because every ground-based settlement needed to have an Advocate, just in case. It had to be somepony in a position of power, somepony who could manage the responsibility, and it was typically a job for life. Each pony chose their own successor. (In the case of a new settled zone being opened, there would be two.) You accepted the weight, and then you hoped to never carry it.
But it was his second time on the Acres, and so he knew where to go.
Applejack and the Advocate in the lead. Apple Bloom right behind them, still staring at the saddlebag. Their visitors trailed a few body lengths after that, and Granny kept her own pace because nothing was going to start until she got there anyway. Traveling in a dimmed world, a place where ghosts could not, had never existed -- but one where it almost seemed as if the shadowlands had overlapped the realm of the living.
There were echoes in attendance. Memories watched every hoofstep.
The canopy began to clear as the density of trunks became thinner. There was a clearing ahead, one which wasn't really used for much of anything: about forty body lengths from north to south, perhaps two-thirds that going east to west. It hosted dirt and rocks and --
"-- there's a vow in this soil."
The procession stopped, and just about everypony turned.
"I can hear it," Elstar tightly added. "I hear her." This with a direct look at Applejack. "And there's two other voices sealed with it. One has to be yours --"
The Advocate silently nodded.
"I attended," that pony said. "I managed. I judged."
He didn't seem to be listening. "Who's the other?" His ears were twisting now, the outward reflection of a soul straining for the smallest notes. "It doesn't sound like anypony in the family, and practice never would have gone so far as to seal --"
"So now y'know that y'ain't mah first," Applejack softly stated -- and then waited one precise breath before adding "If you're curious, Ah won."
She could hear it, if she tried. All she had to do was come to this part of the Acres and -- listen. But she never did. Normal patrols which crossed this part of the farm generally found her doing her best to hear anything else. She hated that voice (that slow, cold voice), and the fact that it had to be within her land for as long as the vow was kept.
There had been times when she'd wished her Daddy had fought at least once, while on home ground. That her Mommy had chosen one time where laughter had been discarded in favor of a kick, because that would have sealed their voices within their own land. She'd spent shiva listening as the last of them faded away, had spent some time tricking herself into believing there was still something to hear, and a fosse would have held their notes for a lifetime...
But then she would always realize that she'd been asking for gentle ponies to be something other than what she still loved. And then she would stop.
This wasn't a song she ever would have wished to be held within the land. But under one of the other hooves, she had the consolation that it was the voice of a loser.
It was also a voice Elstar had heard. And she suspected he'd been actively listening during the entire approach, checking for anything which might have been set up against him in advance -- but it was possible that he'd just picked up on it spontaneously. She didn't know.
Ah don't know much 'bout your tools, do Ah? Reunions is when it's safe t' talk 'bout magic -- with the briefest of purely-inner smiles -- least 'til some tiny unicorn from the palace shows up an' turns over the whole world. But it ain't like we do much of that. Kids dream, the older ones play around, and the adults teach a little -- but it's mostly 'bout gettin' the family t'gether. Might arrange for some tutoring, but it ain't like there's much in the way of contests.
Ah don't know everythin' you can do.
Ain't even sure exactly how strong you are.
The Secret had so many prices, and it felt as if none of them had been visible until the moment the walls had come down. But this particular cost was charged to both sides: when it came to magic, Elstar knew as little about her as she truly understood about him. He could gauge the rough strength of her typical contribution to the Effect, and that wasn't the worst basic indicator -- but it seldom said everything about an earth pony. It didn't tell him the most she could do, let alone what her full tool kit might be.
Figure he's above average, at the very least, 'cause that land he's on don't have that much at the base: wouldn't support hardly anythin' if they weren't workin' it. Jus' doesn't tell me how else he can use it.
It was something to worry about -- but then, she'd just given him a point of concern to compensate.
"Who is it?" The humidity had already put some moisture into everypony's fur: it meant she truly couldn't tell if he was sweating slightly, and she refused to let her imagination provide a phantom edge. "Who did you fight?"
"Probably ain't a name y'know," Applejack shrugged -- then added, with the most vicious casual tone she could manage, "Some rock farmer."
It almost seemed to have the desired effect, although she'd been hoping for more than a single tail twitch. (Akane, who didn't always pay all that much attention to things which didn't directly involve her, had no reaction at all.) Some families were stronger in their magic than others, although you could never be sure where a true talent might arise. Others were simply older. And if you wanted the best chance at finding the intersection of a pure family tree and something very much like lava feeding the roots, you looked to the furrowed fields where gems were made.
With open (but not desperate) doubt, "A rock farmer."
And now she could feel her tail trying to lash. "Y'think Ah'm lyin'?"
The Advocate raised his left forehoof. Everypony fell silent.
"There was a previous duel," he said. "The vow was sealed. None have broken the terms, and so the earth recognizes and abides, without penalty. To open a new fosse will not affect the seal, and a second vow can be added within the same soil." He looked directly at Elstar. "Is that understood?"
"Yes, Advocate," Elstar replied.
"Good," Rocksteady nodded, then slowly exhaled. The second-in-command for Ponyville's police took a long look at the gathered earth ponies. "I've posted somepony at the train station. Any subsequent family members to arrive will be informed of what's taking place. Ideally, they will choose to wait well away from this area. Should Macintosh be able to attend, he is free to step onto his own land -- but not to interfere in the actual duel. And as he isn't currently present, he can't become part of this. Do the Apples understand?"
"We do," Granny said, physically catching up.
There were things which an Advocate had to say, and so Rocksteady proceeded directly into the hopeless. "Each of you has stated what will happen in the event of default. Is there any other way in which this dispute might be resolved?"
"Common sense and basic reason," Akane instantly declared. "So nothing she's capable of --"
"-- Ah ain't gonna go with what they want," Applejack cut in. "An' there's no compromise possible."
"We wanted to be reasonable," Elstar darkly countered. "She doesn't. And if you've ever tried to talk a Malus out of something..."
Rocksteady's dark eyes slowly closed, opened again with a new target of focus. "Granny?"
The town's last surviving founder smiled.
"Hopin' for a little intervention, Rocky?"
"Being an Advocate," the officer quietly replied, "means hoping to never actually be an Advocate. This is twice now, just for your granddaughter. This --" and he winced a little, as if something along his flanks had just pained him "-- is old law. And it doesn't always work with the new. If this goes forward, I'll seal the terms and vow. By the contract, and the earth will abide. But it shouldn't have to be this way..."
"The kids get it right in the end, more than y'think they do," Granny softly told him. "Ah should've trusted mah son, more than Ah did. Might have even been a little easier if he'd tried this. But he wanted reason, an' when it comes to ponies, reason don't always mean much. If it's gotta be done the hard way -- then at least it gets done. Ain't mah life. It's hers. An' this is 'bout not bein' told how t' live it, ain't it? So if you're askin' me to step in -- then there might be one more vow t' seal, 'cause she won't take that well. Let's not make it a bad day."
The rough body released a slow sigh.
"No other way," he said. "We proceed."
His ears rotated. Went sideways, then forward again. Dark eyes briefly closed one more time, and then the old words came.
"We are bound by the contract."
And it was all of them together, for what was almost the last time. "We honor the contract." Even Akane nearly managed to chorus, although it sounded suspiciously like the tones of somepony who'd forgotten the lyrics to a song and was trying to mumble in tune.
"But there is only one contract," the Advocate stated. "A single agreement, covering every life. To emerge --"
"-- and to return," said everypony, and Applejack thought of those who already had. The ones who almost seemed to be watching.
"We do not ask the earth to judge our causes or settle our disputes. We all have voices. We are meant to sing. But when we clash, when the notes become discordant... we ask too much, for the world to pick which of us is right. It will listen. It will honor the terms we agree upon. It will abide. But it does not choose for us. And when we can find no way to sing together..."
He looked at Applejack, waiting under that thick grey sky, and everything in him seemed to be hoping for that final chance at miracle.
But miracles were for stories.
"Ah choose my song."
"I choose mine," Elstar declared.
They were words of tradition. Phrases which thousands of ponies had spoken before them. For some, they had been very close to the last words.
The fur of the Advocate's mark seemed to vibrate.
"Sing for me."
One note.
It is only a single note, before the fosse is dug. The more complex song, that which holds the terms and the vow -- that comes later. For now, a single note rises from each, and she does not listen to his, for that is part of the Advocate's task. It is one note, only one -- but that single note is one. It is, in many ways, the singer, and to hear a note so strong, so pure, when the truest voice you know is your own... it can pain you. It is a reminder that everypony lives at the heart of their own stories, and thousands of narrators move across the world, each telling themselves that they are right. The Advocate can hold in the face of such music. For others... it can be unnerving, and it is said that the truest way to know love is pure comes through having the singers hold their note against each other's souls and feel only the slow shift towards the chorus.
She sings.
The song of the soul can only be produced by the soul. But she tells herself about the faintest resemblance to cruder instruments, because her Daddy told her that first and he never would have lied about it. He had said he was a euphonium, and it would take so long to find the construct which he had claimed could echo any part of him. Her Mommy... more exotic still: the bansuri. (She still can't listen to them. Not without crying.) He told her she was an oboe, with her brother as a contrabassoon. Granny? A harmonica, but a strong one, the kind which can change octaves. Her little sister is still coming into her voice, but it feels like that of a clarinet. Comparisons can be made and in some ways, they have to be. But in the end, a soul sounds like itself. Like no other soul in the world.
A single note to contain honesty, for that will always be some part of her. Bone-deep stubbornness can't be kept out, and doing so would turn the song into a lie. She sings of land and home and family, always family, because family is what defines her.
But there is a family of blood, and a family of heart. The lucky ones are those for whom the overlap is complete. But for her, in this single moment and note -- it becomes about choice. That she wishes to feel that kind of love again, and she will be the one who decides where to look.
So she sings of friends, as the second kind of family. But she also sings of her brother, and her parents. The lost, and the one who she doesn't want to give up. There is hope in that song, and so there is also pain.
The soul sings, because it needs to sing.
Music is how the soul knows it exists.
Her soul is the song of her life.
I am Applejack.
And so that too is true.
The Advocate slowly nodded and for a moment, it was nearly all he could do. His breathing was too fast, and small shivers were working their way through his tail. Every joint trembled in turn.
She didn't know how Advocates were chosen. Trained. And when she thought about everything which had been in that note, everything he would have had to hear, she decided she didn't want to.
"Your notes are pure," he quietly told them -- and then the next words were pure police officer. "Which, incidentally, is how I now know that neither of you is using a booster."
Apple Bloom blinked.
"There's boosters for earth ponies? Really? Ah ain't never heard 'bout those! How d'you make --"
"-- Apple Bloom," the elder sister darkly said, "this ain't --"
"-- Ah don't wanna use one! Ah jus' didn't know they were out there! Does Diamond know?" More quickly, "Oh, Ah hope Diamond don't know..."
"They exist," Rocksteady told her, and Applejack knew it was mostly because he had to. "They'll coat your voice in honey." Which sent his own tones into the subbasement. "And after a while, once the coating thickens and builds up in your throat, you won't be able to sing any more." Before they began burrowing. "Or breathe."
"...oh," the youngest softly said, and fell silent.
And then it was back to the script. "Who are your seconds?"
"I stand with my dad," Akane immediately said. "So what does that mean, for what I get to do?"
"For now," the Advocate stated, "it means that should they balance, you consider whether to accept the offered terms. Who stands second for the Maluses?"
Applejack immediately looked at Granny --
-- who shook her head. "Ain't mah place," the matriarch gently told her granddaughter. "Not any more."
The smallest pony swallowed. "Ah'll do it."
"Who challenged?" the Advocate asked.
Applejack nodded.
"Ah challenged," she declared. "Ah invoke."
"And as you invoke," Elstar voiced, "so I invoke."
The Advocate waited.
Okay. Gotta be careful here. Ah have t' ask for exactly what Ah need. Go too far an' he can do the same. But Ah've still gotta make sure Ah'm locked in. No loopholes anypony can try t' use against me --
There were echoes gathered around them, under that grey sky. Some were more recent than others.
"An' if'fin Ah ever wanted t' try with somepony, then... it's mah life too, right?"
This is 'bout more than me.
She took a breath.
"Blood renews through love, an' blood is only as pure as the love which flows through it," Applejack invoked. "Without love, there might as well be no blood at all. Mah Daddy sought love first, an' mah Mommy chose that love. We make our own families from the ones who love us, an' we should be free t' look wherever we wish. Ah invoke for me an' mine. For all of the Maluses, an' everypony who comes after. That every last one of us can seek love from anypony we choose, with nopony sayin' different. An' that's how it'll be until the contract is complete."
There. In the event that she managed to win, she'd just protected everypony. Apple Bloom would have the freedom to seek her own match, Granny -- had never really talked about starting over, and when it came to love --
-- she told her inner stage to shut down production, almost in time --
-- Applejack suspected the elder had just decided that Grandpa had been enough for a lifetime. But any foals in the generations to come would be safe and now that she thought about it, she'd even included her own dumb --
-- Elstar was smiling.
Akane was just standing in place, looking vaguely confused: Applejack's best guess was that her cousin was trying to work out just how any of that applied to her. But Elstar was smiling...
Ah didn't leave any gaps! Couldn't try for more than mah own, but Ah'm sure Ah covered --
"Tradition defines us," Elstar smugly invoked, with tail, ears, and posture set to utter calm. "Tradition flows through our blood, the factor which unites generations. To abandon those traditions is to cut the link to all who came before. And the Malus branch, which has already lost so much, is on the verge of losing itself. I invoke for family and the renewed teaching of those bonds. That Applejack shall find her love among those whom we choose --"
She'd expected that. She'd argued for freedom, and so his counter would naturally head directly for slavery --
"-- and that in the name of making sure that teaching is done properly, I will take full legal parental custody of Apple Bloom Malus."
Applejack was vaguely aware of a distant thump: her little sister (hers, hers) sitting down too fast and hard. A sudden snarl indicated Granny's position, while every drop of moisture in her coat became acid and she knew, knew what it was like for Twilight when every emotion rose at once, when fury and pain and the need to hurt flooded through a body which had no way of attacking every source at once and the only option which remained was to push back against the rage as the world turned to purest white --
"To make sure her life, her love, and her mark is that which it always should have been, if she had simply been raised right," Elstar calmly concluded.
Akane snickered. Applejack couldn't move, because the smallest muscle twitch would turn into a charge and with the Advocate present, that level of conflict was no longer available. Apple Bloom was shaking like the smallest leaf after the biggest kick. And Elstar simply smiled.
"As you invoke," he softly said, "so I invoke. You could have kept it to yourself, and then I'd only be fixing your own life. But as soon as you involved family..."
A police officer might have been able to say something. Do something. But the Advocate simply spoke.
"The terms are balanced. Should the fosse be opened, the words will be sealed. To back out will mean no duel may be fought over this issue and the one abandoning shall follow the default wishes of the other party, as they were stated to me prior to our arrival. In the name of the contract."
Which means he moves in. Tells us what t' do anyway. Arranges something for me an' AB. She'd still be with us, but --
There were many reasons why a fosse was seldom dug. Because just about any degree of negotiation and compromise could be easier. Because there was a price for winning, another for losing, and a huge one for stopping.
-- he'll be the head of the family.
"I think Applejack's terms are fair," Akane smirked. "I mean, if that's all she could think of, then we really shouldn't turn down the best she could do. So we're not defaulting."
It wasn't just about Applejack. It never had been. She had knocked down the walls, and now everything, everything was storming over what had once been protective shields, she had just risked --
"-- we're doin' it."
Every syllable shook, and did so in perfect concert with the vibrating head bow.
"'cause anypony who'd ask for that," Apple Bloom barely managed, with her breath coming in too-shallow compulsive gulps, "is a pony who needs t' have their tail shredded. So..." She swallowed. "...jus' in case, 'cause Ah s'ppose it wouldn't be proper t' say it after, if'fin this goes bad -- Ah'd like t' tell mah cousin Elstar that he's a stinkin' piece of rancid horse apple smear."
The clay-hued left foreleg slammed into the dirt, and failed to create enough noise to drown out Granny's laughter.
"You can't talk to me like --"
"With worms in it," Apple Bloom added.
"What kind of pony are you?" Akane roared, which really wasn't all that distinguishable from her normal volume. "Somepony should have taken a mallet --"
"Half-worms," the youngest clarified.
"When we --"
"'cause he ate the other half."
It took a few seconds before the Advocate could restore order, which required some degree of officer to enact. Enough time for acid to become water again, and rage to find its proper direction.
It was never 'bout jus' me. An' since it's too late...
"Apple Bloom?" The filly, still shaky in her movements, managed to look at her.
So now Ah've jus' gotta kick enough ass for two.
"Good wordin'," Applejack declared. "'specially at the end." And before the next eruption could spray from her chosen volcano, "So next up is finishin' conditions. An' Ah'm tempted t' say we're goin' to the contract --"
Which gave her the brief satisfaction of seeing Elstar's skin begin to pale under the fur, in the single moment she had before their Advocate began to take up his normal duties again --
"-- but our Advocate knows the old law, an' Ah'm guessin' he'll say this ain't that kind of situation. Plus he might have some trouble with it under the new." (She'd made her extra promise to Igneous after the original duel, in relative privacy.) "So Ah say it's t' surrender, or when one of us is unconscious." Because it had gone too far for first blood, first bruise, or first yelp, and so she made direct eye contact with the Advocate. "Y'okay with that?"
"Accepted," that stallion shakily said, followed by a steadier "Does the challenged party understand?"
"Yes," Elstar said, or at least tried to with his lips pulled back that far away from his teeth.
"I attend," their Advocate told them. "I manage. I judge." His head began to tilt back towards the weighted saddlebag. "I secure."
Slowly, the metals emerged, with each of the three segments snapping straight into the adjoining ones as it cleared the fabric. And this time (the second time), because she was trying to think about anything other than the consequences for her loss, Applejack truly looked at it.
Three pony races were native to Equestria. Three kinds of magic, each of which had been gifted their own natural conductor: something which still might have a small level of effect when used by the wrong pony, but could never approach the true. Platinum was universal, and so was universally dangerous. But for each...
The unicorns found their most natural ally in silver, and used it to channel energy through their devices. Pegasi had always been united with copper, allowing fine wire to conduct power into wonders. Earth ponies...
There was a third category of enchantments, hidden within the Secret. A third metal. For earth ponies, there were talismans, and those required iron.
The rod was a talisman.
At least... the lowest segment was.
Vibrating iron, about half the diameter of a hoof, was carefully set into the soil. Just above it, little lines of glowing green flowed across silver. The uppermost piece found copper sparking with its own power, just below the three circular gems which were set at the top: an emerald, a sapphire, and a garnet.
It's all three. It has t' be all three, because of what it does...
Devices and wonders could be made in such a way as to let ponies of the 'wrong' races operate them: it was simply a matter of activating the channeled power, and it was the reason household conveniences could exist in every household. (Recharging, however, required either platinum or a pony of the creating race.) There was even a way to weave a cloud into a mattress which anypony in the world could rest upon, although it was effectively impossible to do the same for an entire city. And with great care and effort, with multiple casters working together...
Conjunction.
It's old. Can't be made any more, can't be recharged 'cause there's no platinum in it an' y'can't take it apart t' give the segments t' the right ponies without breakin' the whole thing. Maybe the Princesses could do it in one go -- by which she meant the sisters: she really wasn't sure what Cadance was capable of and Twilight had just about no training in any magics other than those of her birth race -- but nopony else could even try.
So how had it been made? Each piece commissioned separately, that was possible... but then who would have done the work to join them? Had the sisters created all of them? She'd never read anything about the Princess (Celestia this time) offering up enchantments, and Luna's deeds were still largely lost to history. Still, it was possible...
...or was there a time before the Secret?
Everypony knowin' what the others could do. Workin' t'gether. An' the things they made...
Or maybe there had just been a time when everypony in the world had been an alicorn. Somehow, even in the wake of her having broken the Secret, that seemed equally plausible.
"Secure," their Advocate softly said.
The soil rippled, with the wave spreading out in a perfect circle. A sudden current of wind swirled over the dirt as tiny bubbles of green offered up the smallest pieces of dust: the light briefly winked out as the atmosphere took land into sky, then began to move across the gems in a slow, gentle caress.
"Enough power left," that stallion told them, and glanced at those gems. "Although I don't know how many more it'll be good for. But we'll know if anypony approaches now, and it has Macintosh's echo from the land. For earth ponies, we continue: with pegasi and unicorns, we'll have enough warning time to put a false seal over the fosse -- but if I say to shut it down until we're clear, everypony helps me with that seal. Anypony using that chance to strike, or who refuses to help, loses the duel."
They all nodded -- but Apple Bloom, still needing something to focus on other than the terror of a future, was staring at the rod. Sparks and lights and vibrations, all working together...
"We will now seal terms and vow within the land, so that it may abide," the Advocate told them. "And the penalty..."
There was a moment when nopony spoke. (Akane's snort didn't count.)
"Penalty," she derisively said. "Like there would be --"
"Let it go, Akane," her father softly said. "Just... let it go to the next stage. I... want that. I may never get to do this again. And just doing it once..."
He looked at Applejack then and with the words which followed, created the last moment when she would truly think of him as family. The final seconds where she did not hate him.
"I envy you," he quietly told her. "To have had two chances at it. To have placed your voice within your own land..."
And before she could say anything, before any words could step forward at all... their Advocate gave them their next instruction and in doing so, kicked down a wall.
It would be raised again, all too soon. There were secrets, and a Secret. Every earth pony had a voice, and nearly all went through their lives without the freedom to speak. But there were times when the world offered up a chance...
There was a price for that, too.
"Sing."
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I hope we get more on how the Secret is kept at some point; there's no way something this big has been kept this quiet for this long without someone being buried alive, even with the doohickey.
holyshityes
Wow.
Interesting that the first one to show up from another branch of the family could make an agreement that binds all other branches, but at least this means AJ won't need to fight duel after duel. I wonder if Elstar will face the anger of the other branches if he loses and was not the most qualified duelist that the rest of the family could call upon.
I imagine the story dictates that it can't happen, but if AJ loses, I can see AB doing whatever it takes to file for the Equestrian equivalent of emancipation. And given that she's still prone to bouts of cluelessness, deciding to blow it all the way up to the Princesses to do so.
Also, the ability to invoke taking custody like that is surely something that must stress Equestrian law to the breaking point. It's surprising that such incidents in communities where all legal personnel aren't Earth ponies hasn't resulted in at least one case where the Secret was uncovered.
This will be a very long and protracted fight. I don't think either side is going to come out of this without several bruises. I can't see Applejack loosing but I think she will be looking back at this day and shaking her head. I just don't see this guy leaving in any good shape and he will have most of the family infuriated at him for his stubbornness.
Oh, and I just realized that Applejack has to beat up fighting anime charators for true love. Very appropriate.
9845011
Emancipation hell, I can see her reviving the Crusade just to declare war on Elistar and Akane.
I see myself purchasing some more ko-fi's in the future. . .
Let the concert begin.
Nobody give Applebloom a screwdriver or she's going after that priceless artefact. And darned if I don't think she could take it apart and figure out what makes it tick.
Whoo! So much magic reveals and great thoughts!
----
So, this story will be about Marks and what was before the Secret, as the meta-plot, or whatever?
----
Apple Bloom looking at the contraption... Oooh!
----
Applejack gonna do poorly 'cause sleepy from too much wakeup juice, and Apple Bloom will have to take over?
----
Hmm... So, maybe any race can do a fosse, but only Earth Ponies know how for themselves only...
9844992
Yes, over the centuries there must have been others like the Cake twins, born to the wrong tribe &
“Three can keep a secret only if two of them are dead”
Plus, it was mentioned that AJ heard some stories & Pinkie doubtless heard many more
About what happens to those that DON’T keep secrets.
& IMO there are consequences for those who decide to talk, not the least from other Earth Ponies.
Stories mention that ponies were murdered. Never mentioned “Who, exactly, murdered them?”
Although, “A Confederacy of Dunce Caps” implies that it’s sort of like Jews keeping kosher
Some take it more seriously than others
How will this ancient device react to a hybrid? Say, one with earth pony essence?
Is Snowflake going to show up and scare the horseapples out of everypony?
And here I was hoping Applejack would make a corpse out of that asshole. Would teach a lesson to the rest of the family tree too. Let's the duel begin! I am very curious on how you are going to describe this fight since this is the first one that will be done 'live'.
Will you elaborate on what you call 'tools' and their effects? I am intrigued by what AJ can do.
And I hope you expand your universe in the future about breaking the secret and make the three race work together again on making magic together. Devices, wonders and now talisman we now have a trinity. And the pike represent something more because it's the combination of all three.
But I have a question. Twilight Library, the tree don't seem natural at all, especially with it still growing and healthy despite being gutted out. And since the Earth ponies can make plants grow, it look like it was done over the years by the Earth ponies of Ponyville over a long period of time but it doesn't seems like a normal growth. It very much feel like a special project, some kind of Earth pony spell. Is it the case in your universe Estee? And if yes, does such creation have a name under Earth ponies tradition?
And does menhir and dolmens have a part in their tradition?
Man, this chapter had an almost physically tangible weight to it. Incredible.
9845016
There's also the fact that incase of AJ losing, Apple Bloom can just go full Crusader on her new wards until they give up and send her back. I predict they'd break around the third catapult.
9845063
I'll see your third catapult and raise you second zipline.
9845078
"Cutie Mark Crusaders Family Breakers, YAY!"
9845063
9845078
Please, the Crusade never did the same thing twice. They’ll break when she asks one of them to stand with an apple on their head so she can test her new crossbow.
Notice ominous absence of "alicorn" in the realm of 'If this type of pony approaches, do x" vein.
I am kinda curious to see the reaction if Twilight drops in for a visit.
Yeah, but why isn’t Beebop there to help?
Nice world building. The stakes being so high kinda take any question of the result out of the picture, but it’s not like we expected the worst ponies ever to get an introduction to have a shot. We could see expectations be subverted by having Twilight show up, and that could be very neat.
I wonder how close being called a horseapple smear is to being called a clod. Our baddie was already introduced as looking like the most disgusting kind of mud possible so it’s not much of a stretch.
The next chapter could be interesting.
After reading this, the first thing my went to was a very particular song. That seems to have a resonance with this.
Sing - By Blutengel .
She does this out of love.
Both in her past, troubled, settled, and buried.
For the moment, now, and ever fleeting.
And for the future. Worth breaking the world for.
The not-so hidden moral is that keeping secrets sucks. Look what it's doing to the Earth Pony tribe: without it, they wouldn't be insane freaks.
""-- Apple Bloom," the elder sister darkly said, "this ain't --"
"-- Ah don't wanna use one!"
Rogue italics tag(s)?
Whoooooo. So much in this chapter, and intensity, again. :D
Quite the writer, you are!
...Possibly not at my most coherent there, but really, wow. :)
The ultimate action movie quote, right there. It's so perfect, I almost wonder if you didn't get it from a movie.
Remarks like that really give me a Wheel of Time vibe.
And as for an alicorn showing up, that's probably never even been considered. Even in this specific instance. After all, it's not like Celestia is just going to pop in to Sweet Apple Acres, from Canterlot, right now, just because. Or Luna. And Cadance is still in the Crystal Empire. And if it's Twilight, well...she's still a unicorn, at least in every way that matters in context. After all, she may have earth pony magic, but she's only had it for a few weeks, IIRC the timeline correctly, and as far as everyone except AJ knows, she doesn't even know about their magic, beyond the Cornucopia Effect. And while it might be a neat premise for a crack-fic, to see Twilight, or Snowflake and/or Fluttershy interrupt, perhaps unnoticed, this feels just a little too serious and important for something like that.
Though, on the bright side--sort of, maybe--if they did get close enough that they didn't set off the talisman's wards, the sheer realization of what that means about the pegasi might just push Elstar/Akane over the edge into doing something that sees him/them dealt with permanently.
Talismans! We have terminology!
9845131
Or one step further - what would a couple of pegasi with the essence of earth ponies register as?
9845226
It's a nice theory, but look at the unicorns - they're plenty insane without needing any secret as an excuse.
9845038
She'd work it out, no question.
The REAL question is: Could the Crusaders Undivided restore it?
Now, ain't that an interesting look for a young mechanically-inclined filly nearing her mark to be giving something...
9845271
They're all crazy. It's just that the hiding things away for a reason nopony remembers is making them worse.
9845258
When Grandmama looks up at a guy less than half her age and says, "I could take you." And everyone knows that not only could she take him, she could spread him in a thin layer across the back forty.
9845197
Oh that was far, far worse. Remember, "horseapple" is the local correlation for s**t. With that in mind, go back and re-read that little comment. I believe it may be the second-best insult I've ever heard, and I agree with every word of it.
Fight 'till one gives or is unconscious eh? Well there's too much venom here for either to yield, given that killing is apparently off the table, so it's to unconsciousness.
Good. First blood would be far too easy for this one, if such had been said to my face about my sister there'd be the Devil to pay.
9845038
I am more and more certain that eventually she and Ratchette are going to get to know each other on much less hostile professional terms.
9845048
Even more interestingly, how would it react to Pinkie? Now that she knows she isn't deaf, just hard of hearing due to all the other magic she can vaguely sense? Not that I'm not at least a little glad she can't hear the echoes around the Acres, now...
Edit to add: Blast it, Estee, Ibexes?!? Why must you keep taunting me with other cultures I desperately want to know more about?
Granny was awesome in this.
Also, why iron? If you had used gold you'd've had each pony tribe match to the Group 11 elements (copper/silver/gold are all in the same column in the periodic table)
Nice. Nice!!! Kick ass and take names AJ!! I loved her line about needing to kick enough ass for two, seriously badass. That's too many ass for one comment. Awesome chapter. Really excited.
I think if Elstar had heard the name of Igneous before this fight had started he would have run. Because I have a feeling he is far stronger than Elstar is. And Akane is about to learn just how powerful Applejack really is. The real scary part will be who else hears this fight. How far of an echo will be sent out. Will eyes from Canterlot see and hear? Because I bet they will recognise one of the voices if they do.
9845125 If Applejack does lose, the outcome for AB can go one of two ways depending on how Estee's feeling that day:
Comedy: Apple Bloom brings in the Crusade and scares every last horseapple out of Elstar and Akane so that they send her back to Sweet Apple Acres post-haste.
Drama: Physical and emotional abuse on par with Igneous with nopony to stop them from breaking Apple Bloom because earth pony law apparently surpasses Equestrian.
Anticipation.
It is virtually oozing from my pores.
9845028
The problem there is, Elstar seems like the type of person who wouldn't hesitate to use corporal punishment. That's a line the residents of Ponyville haven't been willing to cross.
9845470
That must not be allowed to happen.
I very nearly punched my computer screen when Elstar said what he said. Win, AJ. Please win.
9845541
At which point the rest of the bearers will go to war. Twiggles might not trust Celestia any father than she can throw her right now, but they do have something going with a draconequus who's fond of a certain trio of troublemakers...
9845716
I was thinking something like that myself. AJ talks to Fluttershy, who talks to Discord, who then decides to take a little vacation on the Acres. ''Coincidentally,'' he also decides to test the limits of his...let's call it parole, since I can't remember what term is used in-story. And if he does happen to go a little too far with one or two ponies, then, well, it was a simple mistake. Anypony can forgive that, right?
Or he just unleashes Tish on them.
And now I have a tangentially-related question. When Twilight accessed her inner-AJ in Tryptich, AJ herself said Twi's voice sounded a lot like her own--which makes perfect sense, of course, even if AJ didn't realize it--but would it possibly be similar enough to somehow affect the fosse? Or at least the Talisman? If she's, say, on her way to visit, and took a few minutes to practice getting into the right mindset on an out-of-the-way section of the acres.
9845777
I was thinking about that, regarding Twilight having AJ’s voice... but for this fosse they sing so clearly from their entire soul, and while Twilight’s voice might be AJ’s, her soul is surely her own. So on that level, at least, I don’t think that this form of Earth Pony magic would be fooled.
9845470
There's at least one third option.
Apple Bloom may be getting her mark in the next fifteen minutes. If her talent is what the narrative is suggesting, there's going to be royal-level interest in ensuring Elstar can't try to mold her into another backwards dirt farmer.
9845777
Dear god, Tish would go absolutely berserk over what Elstar intends.
9845541
A public beating will probably get Ponyville residents to intervene, regardless of whatever insanity allows the result of a duel to take precedence over Equestrian law. And those residents include not just a Princess but also a barely-reformed chaos god.
9845470
The way I see it, it's a no-win for Elstar.
If they win, they're going to cause the Secret to become public by forcing the Diarchy to act or admit why they won't when Twi or Tish points out that they aren't bound by the fosse. Can you imagine how badly open knowledge that there are a separate set of laws that only apply to Earth Ponies, and override Equestrian law will go, given how much Celestia has pushed the legal system to be egalitarian? I expect Twi might be mad enough at Celestia to find out.
... actually, that's an amusing question. Does Luna know?
well, AJ sure has one hell of a motivator to win this fight.
in this corner, a hidebound racist git trying to preserve "tradition" and "purity"
in the other corner, an enraged applejack fighting to keep her sister.
FIGHT!
i can think of several legal challenges to make in regards to him taking custody.
the immediate one is that any paperwork signed would be done so under duress given the events here and the animosity between the parties.
second, Elstar's pretty much stated that he intends to be as abusive toward AB as needed to force her to at least appear to do what he wants. its obvious at this point Elstar would be unable to accept that that AB is NOT headed for a farmers mark, and we've seen mentions of arrests made when parents got abusive by either by trying to force the desired one, or from actions taken after the "wrong" one manifests.
if twilight and co. get involved, i dont see how this wont escalate clear up to the princesses if needed, or the secret staying so.
9846122
I just realized, that would cause so much chaos. Probably stretch The Secret to the breaking point, at least locally. Just think about it. How could she possibly explain what it's for, much less how she got it? For instance...
Sorry about the emoticons, but I did the best I could with what was available.
Though I do seriously wonder what would happen to AB if she manifested a mark for Talismans. Would someone try to force her to move somewhere she could practice it ''safely''? Are there many with that kind of mark? I was tempted to say no, because otherwise the one being used here would be recharged more regularly, except that I remembered it seemed to take the magic of all three tribes to charge it. And in between wondering and remembering, I thought, 'What if The Secret is why there's so few, or even none?'
9845326
Actually, IIRC, Applejack is the ONLY one who hasn’t freaked out & lost it at some point
OK, Apple Buck Season, but IMO making mistakes because you’re tired is different from this
or this
I guess Grannys ibexian is a bit rusty even on good days, because that german was kinda painful.
The closes german saying with that meaning I know of is "Wer nicht hören will, muss fühlen!" with a literal translation of "Who doesn't want to hear/listen, must feel!"
The german translation of your version would be "Wenn du nicht (zu)hörst, musst du weh tun.", not...that.
A piece intended to demonstrate the player's technique. In other words, show us your moves.
(Faint Megalovania in the distance.)
Well, that accounts for Great-Uncle Apple Strudel. Though I never would've guessed German for the language of the ibex. Also, an excellent... well, not so much a threat as a prediction. If you've closed off one sense, the only recourse is to appeal to a less easily ignored one.
She's asking the right questions, but there may not be anyone left who can give the answers, princesses included. Still, it's a hint at what could be if the Secret ever were fully dismantled... in the best case scenario.
Indeed, I wonder if two-tribe hybrid items are even possible, or if all three are necessary. I also wonder if anypony will dare ask Twilight for a recharge.
As with the fiancé, some things are inevitable with that name.
"To the contract" is a fantastic euphemism in every sense of the phrase.
Descriptions of magic are often your most beautiful writing, and this was no exception. Fantastic work in building tension and establishing stakes. Whoever wins here, something will be irrevocably lost.
9846855
"Somepony to Watch Over Me." Going crazy because your biological clock went off still counts as going crazy.