Cookies for Heaven

[letteropener]

Who: Princess Celestia
When: October 14-21st
Where: All around the Far Shore
What: Princess Celestia brings cookies and, perhaps more importantly, wellness checks to the temples of the Far Shore.


Two things circled each other in Celestia's mind, forming a taijutu symbol in the way each completed the other: A lot of people in the Far Shore really needed some personal attention, friendship, and care; and she had, thanks to practice and effort, gotten quite good at baking cookies.

So each morning, Celestia cheerfully moved dough into her oven on sheet after sheet, the entire kitchen in Inti's temple animated in golden light like Merlin himself had set it all to baking-- and each afternoon, Celestia took wing above the Far Shore, traveling from temple to temple to seek out the inhabitants therein.

So at some point, an alicorn will come knocking at your door, with a bright smile on her face and a basket of cookies floating by her side.

Comments

[letteropener]

You did say 'wait, and you'd be back'. That's hardly abandoning me, now is it? [First things first, since an argument over what consists of better things seems like trouble more than anything they can reach common cause on.]

[kuroi_taiyo]

Yeah, but after a while it should've been obvious that I went to do whatever and ditched you.

[ Not that he actually had, but he wanted to make it seem like such. He doesn't like the idea of believing he'd do the decent thing and actually return. It feels weird. ]

[letteropener]

Oh, well, I am very patient.

[Being several hundred years old tends to give one perspective on such things.]

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ With the look in his eyes, he's obviously having trouble getting why she's patient and giving this 'chance' at all. So he gives up the argument and opens the notebook- A lot of it being written in a language not so easily understood (given the way his world was designed,) but there's a distinct pattern to how things are written. Instead of a formula as one would naturally thing to see on paper, it's similar to how magical circles (most particularly Solomon's Seal) are designed.

This one is 'simpler', just like the spell it's meant to be, so there isn't quite the amount of 'noise' and detail that the full Solomon's seal would have. ]

This is what I mean by formulas. This one's easy and just translates to floating and flying around.

[ Which is simple and easy enough that Judar doesn't even need to have his wand in hand for. ]

[letteropener]

A very interesting way to design it. It appears that symbols and geometry are important to your magical style.

[Which is good. Pony magic often works much the same, since a complicated shape or sigil is often easier to hold in one's head than a long formula.]

[kuroi_taiyo]

I guess. It's just the way that seemed like it was supposed to be written.

[ It comes with the way that all of the formulas were pounding around in his head. ]

[letteropener]

So you are working mostly from instinct when it comes to writing these spells? [That isn't surprising... She can imagine Twilight doing something much the same.]

[kuroi_taiyo]

I guess. It's just been pounding in my head since I showed up, so I've been rolling with it.

[ He can consider that instinct, sure. ]

[letteropener]

Well, you clearly have a knack for it. This is quite remarkable. [Celestia is never stingy with compliments when they are deserved, after all. She looks over the paper again, though with a slight laugh.] Now, I admit I'm not at all certain what this spell would do to pony who can already fly.

[kuroi_taiyo]

Yeah, and you've barely seen anything at this point.

[ Compliment taken, but it seems that he's got a bit of a naturally high ego, so that just adds to it. ]

If they can fly already, then obviously they won't need this spell. It's just an easy one to show compared to this one.

[ He'll turn a couple of pages to show another that's set up similarly, but with far more details and extra notes around it in a language that couldn't be immediately read. It's a lot busier, that's for sure. ]

[letteropener]

Of course they wouldn't need it, but what if they were cast anyway? That sort of thing could happen, after all...

[She trails off at the sight of the next spell, making a pleased and intrigued little noise as she sets her brain to the task of deciphering it.]

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ After a bit, Celestia would realize that deciphering it would be impossible until she knew what certain symbols meant, and what kind of component they were meant to be. Which is also about how long it is before he closes the book up again. ]

Casting it still requires the control and sense of directing it, so that might end up being a moot point if they just float around to fly anyway.

[letteropener]

[Celestia doesn't feel any particular urgent need to try to decipher the spell out of context and clues at the moment, even if she thought she'd get the chance.]

Well, you certainly do have an interesting magic system. Similar to ponykind's and yet very different all at once.

[kuroi_taiyo]

It'd be weird if it was too much like a... pony's magic.

[ That sounds and feels weird to say and he hates that you got him to say 'pony magic.' ]

[letteropener]

Oh, I don't know about that. Aside from the physical differences, ponies and humans are basically identical, you know.

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Are basically... No. Judar's mind refused to go down that route. ]

Yeah, sure. Ponies just manage to find ways of separating themselves from everyone else that exists in the world with how they speak. If you really thought that, you wouldn't separate any'pony' with any'body'.

[ Is he going with semantics to stir up strife? Why yes. Yes he is. ]

[letteropener]

[Celestia is immune to such strife. Or not an easy target, anyway.]

Oh, I am sorry. I can assure you that linguistically that is not true, though. We use the term all-encompassingly, and in Equestria it is understood to be inclusive.

[kuroi_taiyo]

How's it supposed to be inclusive when you've got more than ponies around in your world?

[ And why did they have to be included with ponies instead of the other way around, or a general thing that didn't focus on any single species? Of course this is just an easy thing to poke at. ]

It sure sounds easy for a pony to say that 'anypony' is meant to be inclusive to everyone.

[letteropener]

Because despite their derivation, words mean what they mean, not what they meant. A long time ago you were right, but the meaning of that word has shifted over periods of time during which Equestria grew to be more accepting. In much the same way, humans here include me in the umbrella of 'people', even though that word strictly means 'humans' -- because there simply is no word that means 'humankind and ponykind' together.

[kuroi_taiyo]

Difference is that this is a world that didn't have 'ponykind' in it normally. Yours sounds like it's always had dragons and whatever else exists in it. No matter what, even with this world, there's an implied superiority and preference in the words being used. Even if the meaning's changed over time, that part hasn't.

[letteropener]

Your language does not use 'people' to include ponykind. Does that mean I should take offense any time it is used with the intent to include me?

[She isn't rising to the bait, continuing to debate in a calm and reasonable manner. Internet comment boards would destroy her.]

[kuroi_taiyo]

You're making the mistake in thinking it's my language. I'm just stuck speaking it the way you are.

[ He has so much bait to toss and lead around. If only because this seemed to be an easy bit of fruit to play with. ]

But yeah, see what happens if you do. At the same time, anyone and anybody isn't as decisive and dominating as anypony.

[letteropener]

That seems to be a rather narrow interpretation, particularly as I have yet to hear such complaints in all the time I have been here. And I have no doubt that those complaints would be voiced. [Some of the people she's met here have no tact or subtlety whatsoever. Which is just fine.]