LEGEND OF THE GODDESSES
Campus Cuda, 2,096 years ago
"Hello, Soledad!"
A red seapony mare, with cheerful brown eyes and a body-sized mass of black hair, swept into the white coral dining hall of Campus Cuda's castle.
"Jolly," Soledad exclaimed, her voice cracking with emotion as she swept forward to hug her friend. Her burning, multicolored eyes slammed shut as she squeezed Jolly tightly. "I've missed you. Do you realize it's been ten years? Almost exactly ten years?"
"Aye, it's been a long time, me friend," Jolly said with a tremor.
"I'm sorry we drifted apart… again," Soledad sighed as the two parted to get a good look at each other.
"It's all right, Soledad," Jolly said brightly. "It's just part o' bein' friends with Queen Soledad o' Campus Cuda."
Soledad ran a hoof through Jolly's mane. "I don't deserve a good friend like you, Jolly."
"Well, thanks fer invitin' us here either way, Yer Majesty," said Jolly, bowing down.
Soledad grinned awkwardly, then gazed in astonishment as three identical little fillies swam into the dining hall. They were lavender, with dark blue eyes, and voluminous manes similar to Jolly's, but two different shades of blond.
"Ah, Soledad, I'd like ye ta meet me three little daughters," said Jolly. "This is Siren, Selkie, and Merrow."
They bowed one by one as their names were called.
"Oh, Jolly, they're lovely," Soledad said breathlessly. "And I like the theme naming. Very classy."
Dorado entered next, now a majestic dark blue stallion. His spring green mane was longer and thicker, still lightly spiked. He was holding a covered dish, and a newborn foal was strapped to his chest, blue-green with the same two-colored mane as the triplets, its eyes closed.
"Ah, there's our son, Apkallu," said Jolly. "Continuing the, ah, theme." She winked at Soledad. "And ye remember me husband, Dorado."
"Of course," said Soledad. "Hi, Dorado."
His lip thinned and his yellow eyes bored into her. "Hello, Your Majesty," he said coldly.
Soledad cowered, slouching and raising her hooves defensively. Since she had lost much of her ability to make facial expressions, she had become accustomed to exaggerating her body language.
"I made mozzarella sticks," Dorado continued in his chilling tones, holding up his covered plate.
"Oh," Soledad said nervously. "Well, uh… thanks. I… I don't really eat, anymore. But I'm sure you and your family can… enjoy that…"
Dorado swam right past her, setting the plate on the table with the rest of the feast Soledad had laid out.
"I… yeah," Soledad muttered.
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"So, you've been living in… Zancluse, is that right?" Soledad said, sitting at the head of the table in front of an empty plate.
"Oh, aye, it's actually a pretty sweet little village," said Jolly, nodding.
"What do you do there?" Soledad asked.
"We run this cozy little tavern," Jolly said brightly. "Dorado's the chef, I'm the entertainment."
"Oh, how cute."
"Aye. We're quite lucky. A lot o' other seaponies in our town… not so much. Well, like any other place under the sea, there are quite a few folks who're often lookin' fer food or shelter… or a future."
"Right," Dorado sneered, glaring at Soledad. "Which begs the question… what have you been doing?"
"Dorado, not now…" Jolly urged.
"No, really," Dorado insisted. "We have the right to know what the entire kingdom's been wondering since you rose to the throne. You haven't been seen for over a decade. There's been no news from within the castle. You don't even go out onto your balcony anymore. The common perception is that you don't do anything at all."
Soledad scowled back at him. "I'm well aware of how the kingdom perceives me, thank you. I'm working on it, okay? I'm making progress. I promise you that."
Jolly stared solemnly. "Ye've made promises before, Queen Soledad."
Soledad bit her lip and averted her eyes, glancing at the three little fillies, who were whispering among themselves and giggling, passing each other pieces of food.
"They're very sweet," Soledad whispered to Jolly.
"Aye, they're the joy o' me life," said Jolly. "Them and the baby… we're very blessed."
Soledad looked at the baby, Apkallu, who was resting in a basket at the foot of the table, still asleep.
"Erm… Soledad," Jolly whispered. "Me daughters are… rather nice singers." She nodded to the grand piano in the corner of the hall. "I've written a song for them ta sing ta ye. Would ye like us to play it?"
Soledad brightened. "Oh, that sounds wonderful!"
"It's settled, then," Jolly said gleefully. "Girls!" She clapped her hooves, and the triplets were instantly at attention. "Get yerselves dressed up, lassies. We're gonna do our song fer the queen now."
The girls nodded and picked up a heavy bag that they had set alongside the table, swimming out into the hallway with it.
Dorado leaned toward Jolly. "Please," he whispered frantically. "I'm asking you one last time: Please don't do this."
"Ye can't change me mind, me love," Jolly whispered back. "I swear ta ye, I'm not in any danger, and neither are our girls. Ye've gotta let me take this risk."
She swam to the piano without waiting for Dorado's response. The triplets returned, each in a different outfit; one in a gray tunic with a ruffed neck and an orange sash; one in a blue robe with silver spangles, carrying a staff; and the third in a thick brown tunic of fur, with a horned helmet and carrying a spear.
"Aw, what darling little fillies," Soledad giggled.
"That's right," Jolly called over from the piano. "That's Merrow in the bard costume, she's our lead singer. Selkie is the wizard, she's got the most powerful set o' pipes I've seen in a lifetime. And Siren's the barbarian… she's a bass, if ye believe that."
Soledad tilted her head as she beheld the filly wearing the fur tunic, who nodded darkly.
"Are ye ready, girls?" Jolly called. She started playing a bouncy melody on the piano, and the three girls wordlessly started harmonizing along with it.
Merrow, in the center, swam forward and began to sing:
"Soledad, she was the best
With princess potential beyond the rest
When she left the castle, we did not know where she went
She met a fiery fate inside a thermal vent."
Soledad smirked at Jolly, who nodded. Selkie took Merrow's place at the center of the trio, and continued the song in an ethereal croon:
"You may ask, is this where she met her end?
No, she's quite well, and she's still my best friend
It breaks my heart
Every time we drift apart."
"We drift apart," Merrow echoed.
Soledad shot another sweet smile at Jolly, and was surprised to see that her friend looked fearful and sorrowful.
Siren was now in center stage, and swam slowly toward Soledad as she spoke her verse rhythmically, backed up by her two sisters' humming.
"These days she sits here, all alone.
Not doing anything to earn her throne.
You say you're the queen, who do you think you're fooling?
This kingdom's yet to see you actually ruling."
And with that, little Siren smacked Soledad in the face. Soledad gasped, but before she could truly react, Selkie pulled Siren away with a powerful howling vocal flourish, and Merrow came in front of both of them, finishing the song:
"Oh, oh, oh, Soledad
Why d'you have to be so bad?
What I mean
Is you ain't my queen
Soledad…"
The three sisters continued to make subtle moves to defend each other as they bravely finished the song despite their apparent fear, but Soledad was ignoring them completely, glaring over at Jolly, who herself was determinedly looking at the piano keys.
"So… le… daaaaad," the triplets finished in a breathtaking three-part harmony.
Soledad lowered her head and started toward Jolly. Dorado rushed to block her path.
"Don't you touch her," he growled.
"Move aside, Dorado," Soledad hissed.
"Never!"
"No, me love, do as she says and move aside," Jolly said solemnly. "She's not gonna hurt me. It's Soledad… she's me friend. Let her come to me."
Soledad swam over Dorado's head and swooped down on Jolly, dragging her out of the dining hall at blinding speed, taking her down the hallway and into her private chambers.
She pulled the door shut with her tail and loomed over Jolly, completely embracing her naturally furious face. "How… could you… do that?" she snarled.
"I know, right?" Jolly said flippantly. "Not a very good song. I kinda put it together at the last minute. I mean, I had ta mispronounce yer name ta make it rhyme with 'bad'. Dreadful…"
"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Soledad snapped. "This is no time for joking, Jolly! I mean… do you have any idea how much you've hurt me? The whole time I've been queen, I've had to deal with eighteen years of the entire kingdom mumbling about how I lurk inside my castle and do nothing. And to find out it's what you think too?"
"Ye want me ta lie?" Jolly said innocently.
"You always said I was a good queen before," Soledad said coldly.
"Well… that's 'cause that's what I thought," said Jolly. "But I know better now. I canna say that anymore."
"Oh, that's delightful, I'm so glad that you've had a huge epiphany about what a sucky queen I am," Soledad grumbled. "And to communicate it with me through your children? You couldn't have said it yourself?"
"Ah, the girls," Jolly said dreamily. "Brave lasses, aren't they? Dorado thought ye'd kill them, but they believed in me friendship with ye, and they pulled through, the valiant darlins…"
"JOLLY!" Soledad snapped. "This isn't about your children! This is about you—my only friend—throwing the same accusations at me that the whole world has been throwing at me for a solid half of my life!"
"Weeeeeeeell, maybe the reason ye keep gettin' that accusation IS BECAUSE IT'S TRUE!" Jolly retorted, first pleasantly then escalating into a ferocious bellow.
"Jolly!" Soledad exclaimed.
"Ye know why I changed me mind, friend?" Jolly snarled. "Because I became a mother. Ye're a good enough queen fer me. But ye're not good enough fer me children. Ye'd best shape up."
"Or what?"
"Or what?" Jolly repeated. "What, is the health and well-bein' o' yer kingdom not a good enough reason fer ye?"
"I… I…" Soledad stammered.
"Ach," Jolly scoffed, shaking her head angrily. "It's frankly amazin' that I held off sayin' somethin' fer this long. I thought…" She sighed. "I thought I could respect ye as a friend while still disapprovin' of ye as a queen. But… I canna."
"Please, Jolly," Soledad begged. "I'm your friend… being queen doesn't matter."
"IT DOES MATTER!" Jolly exploded. "Ye've got the future of the kingdom in yer hooves, and ye don't even care!"
"You think I don't care about the kingdom?" Soledad demanded.
"What evidence is there that ye do?" Jolly said coldly.
Soledad stared. "I… how dare you…" But she had no reasonable response.
Jolly closed her eyes and sighed. "Comin' here was a mistake. I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too," Soledad growled. "Goodbye, Jolly."
"Goodbye, me friend," Jolly said solemnly. She turned and started swimming away.
"Jolly, wait!" Soledad cried out. "Please… don't go. Don't leave me. I can't lose you again. You're my soulmate."
Jolly turned back to her. "And ye're mine," she sobbed. "But I canna bring meself ta respect ye anymore. Ye're gonna have ta earn that back."
"I will," Soledad said quickly. "I'll shape up, I'll become a good queen. I promise."
Jolly rolled her eyes. "Another promise. That's just great, innit? Pfft." She swam away, off in the direction of the dining hall.
Soledad could hear her, despite the distance and the walls. "C'mon, love, we're leavin'."
"We're leaving?" Dorado said softly. "It's gonna be just that easy?"
"Until results start comin' outta this castle, aye. Come along, girls. I'll carry the baby."
Soledad sank to the bottom of her empty bedroom, covering her eyes with her arm, wishing, as she often did, that she was capable of crying.