Chapter Sixteen: Diatheke
Chapter Sixteen: Diatheke
By day three of the journey home Luna had recovered and began to stir in her wagon. Applejack immediately called a halt and instructed Merry May to keep everydromedary (it rolled off the tongue better in Camaltese) away from the wagon. She ducked under the canopy of the wagon and sat patiently beside her fellow goddess. With a slight moan and a jerk she startled awake, staring uncomprehendingly up at AJ.
“Good mornin’ sunshine.” said Applejack with a grin. Luna groaned again and pulled a nearby cushion over her face. “Oh no you don’t. Nope. Ah ain’t the most mystic of ponies, but Ah know enough ta know that what happens in a dream don’t count fer nothin’ ‘less ya do somethin’ about it. Now, didja mean that bit about bein’ sisters?”
“Aaaplejack. It’s the middle of the daaay.” came Luna’s muffled voice.
“Answer mah question then Ah might let’cha get back ta sleep.”
“Yes. I meant it. Yay for sisterhood. Now go away, ruffian.”
Applejack chuckled. “Nah, Ah only said Ah might go away. Now up ‘n’ at ‘em. Y’all can take a turn at cart pullin’. It’s only fair.”
“Why are we traveling by hoof? It’s much faster by air.”
“Well, Ah’m sick ta death of flyin’ and Ah like the company. Y’all can fly ahead… But won’t it look a mite strange fer the princess of the night ta come back alone after chasin’ me off like that?”
Luna gave her a flat look. “Blackmail? I expected more from the element of Honesty.”
“Eeyup, Ah ain’t Kindness.”
***
With much cajoling and backtalk, Luna was hitched to a wagon, giving a few more camels a chance to switch out and rest as they walked. Merry May was scrupulous to keep on the opposite side of the caravan at all times lest Luna find out what she had done while she was sleeping. Luna, for her part, pulled in silence and haughty dignity, the very picture of affronted royalty. Applejack rolled her eyes. It’d do the princess a bit of good to get dirty.
They made good time. By the end of the next day they were in sight of Dodge Junction and the rail back into Equestria proper. Applejack called a quick halt to discuss strategy. “Ah don’t want ta get mobbed. How’re we gonna get into town?”
Luna shrugged, “I could always do this.” She closed her eyes and summoned a green spark of changeling magic. In a few moments she was transformed into a slightly larger version of Night Glider.
“Ya gotta teach me how ta do that. Alright, Musaafir? Ya got any cloaks in extra-extra large? There’re some ponies in town that might recognize me.”
Musaafir shook his prodigious head. “No, the wagon sheets though…”
“Ah’ll get it back to ya plus interest.”
Musaafir nodded, “Fair as always, noble D’jinn.”
“Thanks again. And, Ah’ll make sure that if y’all’re ever down at Sweet Apple Acres, y’all will get the biggest spread a food y’all have ever laid eyes on.”
Musaafir’s eyes twinkled at the alicorn, “We shell take you up on that.”
“Well, goodbye, Ah’ll see y’all later. If ya do go into town, tell Cherry Jubilee that Ah said hi.”
“Goodbye! We shell meet again, Epplejeck.”
“Come on Merry! Let’s go.”
Merry May nodded and said goodbye to the camel she had been talking with. The camels set up camp for the evening. Applejack, looking rather odd in a sail’s worth of canvas, Luna in disguise as a statuesque, star-spangled pegasus, and Merry May in her turban, set off across the sand and cracked earth towards Dodge Junction.
A sheriff had galloped up to meet them a short ways from town. Luna had beckoned him over and whispered something in his ear. His eyes had widened in surprise and he nodded at the trio. His accent was deep and slow, “Welcome to Dodge Junction. Envoys of thuh Princesses are a rare sight out here. Ah know better than ta ask y’all whah y’all’re here, but our services are at y’alls disposal.”
Luna smiled at him. “A set of train tickets will suffice.”
The sheriff nodded, “Ah figure Ah ken do that.” Noticing Merry May for the first time, he pointed out her turban. “Y’all just get out of thuh shower, missy? Ain’t no water ‘round here for miles.”
Merry May glanced side to side nervously. “Uh, no. It… I can take it off.”
“Merry May. You keep that hat on yer head.” Applejack raised her voice for the first time. “First rule. Ah don’t care whut kinda hat yer wearin’, y’all don’t let nopony give ya no guff about it.”
Merry May looked back and forth between the sheriff and her goddess. It took her only a moment to stiffen her spine. “That’s right! You don’t like my hat, Mr. Sheriff, y’all can just deal!”
Applejack smiled under her sheet. Maybe Merry May could learn after all.
The sheriff looked critically at the abnormally large unicorn under the sheet, and decided that there were better fights to pick. “Well, Y’all can head down to thuh depot. They’ll get y’alls tickets and such squared away. Just tell ‘em Sheriff Gunsmoke sent y’all.” With a final nod, he galloped ahead of them into town.
***
The tickets had been waiting for them as promised. The trio got plenty of odd looks from the townsfolk, but the cowponies mostly lost interest when they saw that the strangers were waiting for the outbound train. Weirdos headed out of town were officially Somepony Else’s Problem. The overnight train to Ponyville arrived without incident and the three of them found themselves in an otherwise unoccupied car. Applejack immediately threw off the canvas. “Whew, Ah can-not believe that some ponies wear clothes ever’ day. Ah’m sweatin’ like a pig.” Merry May chuckled a bit at that, then abruptly caught herself and sat to attention, eyes forward. Applejack sighed. “Merry…”
“Yes milady?”
“If y’all really want the job, Ah need ya ta be more than a good soldier or an obedient servant. Ah need a friend. Ah have the girls ‘n’ mah family back home fer emotional support, but if yer gonna be spendin’ yer days at mah beck and call, which Ah ain’t totally comfortable with, Ah need ya ta be somepony that Ah can laugh ‘n’ carry on with too.”
Merry May fidgeted a bit. “But, aren’t I supposed to show you respect? I mean… If I don’t treat you like you deserve to be treated, aren’t other ponies not going to?”
Applejack glanced at Luna. The erstwhile pegasus was studiously examining the passing landscape. “Ah don’t think…”
“She’s correct, you know.” said Luna. She was still facing away from them, her gaze focused on the distance. Slowly, deliberately, she turned to Applejack. “This is the reality of thy life. Thou art a goddess, ponies will look up to you, some will pray to you even. It matters not that thou art uncomfortable with the praise and expectation. To be less than you are is to hurt the ones who look up to you. Tia and I have learned this lesson over many years, at great cost.”
“But, ta be what Ah ain’t. Won’t that hurt them more?”
“What, then, art thou? Nopony is knowable, not really. We are each ineffable things, unsure of ourselves and unsure of those around us. Appearance is as good as a fact.”
“Ah don’t buy it. Truth is truth. Some things are so and some ain’t. It don’t matter if y’all are unsure, the fact remains with or without yer say-so.”
“Fine, then look at thyself and ask, what should Applejack, who is a goddess, do?”
Applejack sat back and fumed. Luna had a way of twisting words around as if they were something they weren’t. Timidly, Merry May spoke, “What if I called you Ma’am?”
AJ quirked an eyebrow at May, “That… Ah can deal with that. And y’all will loosen up a bit?”
Merry May stuck out a hoof, “Deal.”
Laughing, AJ met Merry’s hoof with her own. “Deal.”
***
The rest of the train ride passed peacefully. Occasionally one of them would pipe up with a comment or a story and the other two would listen, but for the most part a comfortable silence reigned. As evening wound into night and on towards morning, the dusty hills of the San Palomino Desert slowly gave way to the greener fields and trees of Everfree County. Something in the air changed subtly as well. Applejack felt suddenly at peace as she caught the faint scent of apple trees growing and ripening. Off in the distance was the south orchard, just coming into view. Apparently somepony had taken care of the thorns already. As the train passed acre after acre of the old family farm, Applejack wished she could just leap from the car and run off into the fields, reveling in the familiar glory of it.
All too soon, the fields passed from view as they came within sight of the Ponyville train station. There was something going on in town. Tents and pavilions littered the empty pastures near town and something was going on at the station itself.
Luna perked up, with a burst of magic she reverted to her normal form. “I believe Tia has come to meet us!”
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Chapter Sixteen, in which ponies deal.
I was originally going to use Marebic, but then Saddle Arabia became canon and it would be nonsense to have Arabians speak Marebic. That and I have no idea if everydromedary would, in fact, be easier to say in Arabic.
Also, if you haven't seen it yet, go check out
The Shadow of the Goddess. It's a bit more back story for Luna, and quite good if I do say so.
For that matter, if you need a few more lols in your life, look at Swine Flew!
new chapter! yay!
EDIT: wow great chapter felt a little short but oh well
"Noticing" should be capitalized.
Wonderful, I've been dying for a story update from my favorites list ALL WEEKEND x-x
"Everydromedary."
Dude, that's frikkin' priceless. Love this story so much! And I'm glad that Merry is calming down a bit. I'm hoping to see her slip into the familiar role,the one pony who can mouth off to the princess.
Also, any idea how long this is going to be? Like, is there a goal, or do you just write it as it comes?
Hurray updates! Luna being a bit of a bitch but probably still bitter over having to work like a common pony *smirks*
somebody else's problem.
This quote made me
so much! And the fact that you had Applejack saying it just made it all the more sweeter. I can relate to this a lot. Keep up the stellar work man!
aaaaannnndddd now i have to wait again
CURSE YOU CLIFFHANGER!
I've been enjoying this story from the very beginning and love seeing chapter updates in my inbox.
This is easily one of the best alicorn stories out there and even one of the best AJ fics i've ever read.
Next chapter is going to be really interesting to see what Celestia's take on all this is now that all 3 of them
are in the same place for once haha. Keep up the great writing!
Wait, Luna can use changeling magic?
That's... interesting...
Pigs don't sweat. This is why they have to roll in mud to keep cool.
Ah. The third aspect of our new trinity. Should be interesting to see Celestia's reaction to her new sister, and Twilight's to her friend's new closeness to the princesses. Definitely looking forward to more.
:| By Applejack's Plot!
Hmmm, very interesting. I love the bit of Luna whining like a little girl, it was adorable and funny.
Poor Applejack. I wonder what awaits her in Ponyville?
1728922
More like, "What'd y'all say about me!?"
1728860
Twilight bacecame princess of the stars, and then they needed a bigger castle, so Twi just plopped one out of thin air on the Acres!
1728987
e.deviantart.net/emoticons/t/trollface.png Just talking about dat moist and delicious-lookin' -
e.deviantart.net/emoticons/t/trollface.png -apple cutie mark on your flank. What did you think I was talking about?
"Applejack rolled her eyes. It’d do the princess a bit of good to get dirty."
Applejack, you very well know that Luna sleeps during the day. "Early morning" to her is sunset, not at noon. She can help pull the cart at night. (It would be more efficient that way, wouldn't it?
)
Nevertheless, it's amusing to substitute words for Luna. "It's not even sunset yet. Why are you waking me up so early?" "It's sunrise? Oh man, I stayed up late!" "Oh, is it midnight already? Time for lunch!"
"[...] if yer gonna be spendin’ yer days at mah beck and call, which Ah ain’t totally comfortable with, Ah need ya ta be somepony that Ah can laugh ‘n’ carry on with too.”
Merry May fidgeted a bit. “But, aren’t I supposed to show you respect?"
Merry, being friendly with someone is showing them respect. What a silly mare.
At this point though, Applejack is going to have to compromise. She can ask for ponies to be chummy with her, but asking them to stop praising her would be pushing it. Of course, Applejack is persistent and doesn't let up her stance. She doesn't like showing weakness more often than necessary. She also prefers to be modest and humble. Old habits die hard. What is a poor farmgirl to do?
It's a good thing Applejack will see Celestia soon. If there's any other pony who also wants her subjects to loosen up a bit, it's her. Cue Celestia saying to AJ, "I know that feel, sis."
Heh, I don't know why, but I really like Merry May.
Good chapter!
1728404 Heh, s'pose I'll be happy with that .=3
Lol ponies, Man!!
1728763
Oh my god, ever since Chrysalis everyone's been referring to any sort of form-change as changeling magic. She has her mortal form and her divine form, as has been stated.
Not to mention she's an ancient goddess, I'm sure she knows shapeshifting spells, and since she's the goddess of night I've no doubt she's good at illusion magic. She -did- transform her appearance back into NMM during Nightmare Night.
1729362
The author specifically called it changeling magic, and for that one instance, Luna's horn was glowing green instead. She wasn't form-changing with pony illusions, she was doing it however the changelings do it.
Hence my confusion. I'm not the one you need to call out on this, it's the author.
How does Chrysalis fit in this? Is she a goddess as well?
Don't forget to send your faithful Reviewer links to your chapters!
you can send links to them in PMs, and I'll likely see them sooner. I don't check my email as much as I should.
1729428
Odd. I'm not sure how I skipped exactly that one word in the sentence. My apologies, then - I've been seeing far too many people blame common concepts on changeling this and changeling that ever since Chrysalis appeared. It's been quite annoying that few people seem to remember that not everything relies on the bug-ponies.
Haha, that's the line of the update right there. And a good update it is! Nice to see AJ and Merry warming up to Luna.
1729657
i.chzbgr.com/completestore/12/4/21/xqM1VTxFyUSDvuTSEU18bA2.png
There is no escape.
1729682
Saving that image. I can throw that at people in a sarcastic manner. Good find!
1729685
Speaking of which, did you ever read this fic?
Everything literally does rely on the bug ponies.
Everything.
First rule of the Church of Applejack, hats are always permitted.
I think I'd recommend going with a service organization of some sort as your holy order, Applejack, something focusing on agricultural development would be a nice starting point.
The conversation on the train made me think: You are a goddess now. you want to be friendly, but you NEED to be a ruler. It's lonely at the top, that's for sure. Which will Applejack choose?
Yay! More Luna! Oh, and Celestia fine too, but yay for Applejack returning to Ponyville!
1728497 Yeah, I cut the chapters according to theme and suspense. It makes them short, but I try to update frequently.
1728521 Fidxded.
1728524 Glad to oblige.
1728590 I have a fairly specific end point in mind that isn't far off BUT!!!! I am already in the planning stages of a direct sequel!
I'm just splitting it for the sake of not losing a specific theme that I came into this story intending to convey. 
1728630 Don't worry, my references are mostly harmless.
1728643 Thanks, I actually share both Luna and AJ's points of view here. I'm kinda complicated.
1728742 High praise indeed! Thank you.
I've already written it, and yes, it is. 
1728763>>1729362>>1729682>>1729685>>1729740 Actually, in chapter 13 I implied that the magic may be older than the changelings.
1728816
lh6.googleusercontent.com/-PcPVXTa62gU/ULwz9S0jPJI/AAAAAAAAAI0/RWGFO4D_CcM/s450/False.jpg
Source: Wikipedia, Pigs in Popular Culture
In all seriousness though, when has logic ever gotten in the way of country truisms?
1728860 There will be plenty more, just not necessarily under this title. (see above)
1728964 What awaits?
iambrony.steeph.tp-radio.de/mlp/gif/vcmIb.gif
1728922>>1728987>>1729068 Suddenly the whole "Don't take my name in vain." thing makes sense.
1729063 This is official, absolutely true, completely canon, and will be in the next episode of mlp... in an alternate universe to ours.
1729094 Yeah, she's being deliberately annoying. AJ has plenty of experience being a sister.
Also, well said!
1729185
media.screened.com/uploads/0/2800/604730-1.jpg
1729216 Oh good. See the above note with the giant, bold text.
1729337 I know, right!?
1729560 Yes, hers is a story for another day.
1729655 Got it, I will PM you instead.
1729679 It's a magical and slightly dysfunctional friendship.
1729797 Yep, Pneuma is a word that means both Spirit and Breath, and has a lot of mystical connotations.
1729888 See above note with the super bold text.
1729931 Ermahgersh... Scary...
1729997 Neeeeext chaaaapter!
1730054 lol, srsly, read Shadow of the Goddess. I've got your Luna fix right there. Be warned though! That way lies many feels.
Wow, I hope I replied to all the right comments and got the right image macros and links and such. These reply comments get complicated...
[Edit:] I actually ran out of emoticons and had to delete some... That's never happened before...
1730187
That would truly be the WORST. POSSIBLE. THING. 
The worst possible thing? You mean homosexual shipping?
1730534 Of course not. I wouldn't ship AJ like that. I'll have you know that I ship Applejack x Stetson as platonic life partners. OTP.
1730667
Verily, verily.
1730534
Brb, shipping Alicornjack with Luna and Celestia for you.
1730965 Here you go, this is the best I can do:
24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_me606esNwe1qf7l91o1_250.gif
1728489
Kulal-Jumal'
Literally, Every dromedary.
And it rolls off quite nicely, well guessed! XD
1731020
You have done the shipping community a great justice, Blue Print. We thank you from the bottom of our lesbian-loving hearts. Yes, even the Big Mac/Caramel/Braeburn shippers' lesbian-loving hearts.
More.
1730965
media.fukung.net/images/27149/c58614108688f8902d57dfbd2718e929.gif
Applejack shall usher in the age of the Hat.
I predict a major event with banners, fanfares and as much pomp and circumstance as Celestia can manage. BTW - That's a lot.
Luna's right about one thing: There's no point whining about something that you can't change. Applejack is an alicorn now. She can't hide from the fact of her vastly greater powers or the fact that some ponies, like poor Merry, will see her as a goddess. 'Normal' is something that has left Applejack's life forever, I'm afraid, as bitter as that fact is.
Bbbrrr...! I just got a shiver. I had a mental image of Applejack standing before the tombs of her five friends, crying her eyes out and begging Luna and Celestia to do something to stop it hurting. "Little Sister," Luna says quietly, "I pray that it never stop hurting. I pray that the death of those beloved to you never becomes something that you simply understand and transcend for, in that day, you lose a part of your soul."
"Does it still hurt you?
Luna nodded. "Always; I wonder sometimes how my heart is still whole when it has so many gaping chasms."
Applejack could have sworn she saw a tear in Celestia's eye and heard the oldest alicorn murmur something that sounded like: 'Master Clover... Pansy... Cookie... I miss you...'
1730187>>1729560
I would hazard a guess to say that she was the previous Earth-Goddess corrupted by greed and a lust for power.
What I want to know is whether Discord has any place in all of this Alicorn business.
1729094
Agreed, this is why I stayed away from the public light and babysat Twilight.
1731722
Ow, my heart.
Plot progress is best progress.