Pluto

As difficult as it was to admit, Pluto figured he had done it to himself. With all of his talk about death, it must only be fitting to the humans that his planet should die too.

It felt like a millennium since Pluto had won, and a bitter fire was growing in him as a result. At one time, Proserpina had been his singular source of joy, but his sister Ceres just had to go and strip that happiness away. In Pluto’s experience, everything the humans had to say about mothers-in-law was true. When fighting for Proserpina, Ceres became more fearsome than their parents, the Titans. Now, for most of the year while Proserpina was on Earth, he had only Cerberus comfort. Of course, he could depend on his brothers, Jupiter and Neptune, to show up uninvited and make a mockery of him, but even they disliked traveling so far from the sun.

Pluto was pacing his icy “dwarf planet,” leaving a trail of steam behind him as he brainstormed a punishment for the humans, when his brothers arrived. Pluto should have known better; it was he who had coined the phrase “speak of the devil, and he shall appear.”

“What do you want?” Pluto growled at the gods, as Ceberus snapped at the interlopers.

“We were sure the International Astronomical Union’s decision must be killing you,” joked Jupiter. “We were hoping you could shine a light on the situation.”

Neptune, always the more sensitive of the three brothers, quietly said “You must be flooded with grief. We’re here to help.”

With that, Pluto really flew off the handle.

“OF COURSE, THE HUMAN’S MOON WOULD BE LARGER THAN THE TINY DUMP TO WHICH THEY’VE RELEGATED ME. AS THOUGH MY BIRTHRIGHT WAS NOT INSULT ENOUGH, THEY JUST HAD TO DO THIS TOO.”

With his sudden anger, Pluto’s planet began to light up in a bright orange color. His brothers knew it was time to redirect his energies, before the entire sphere of ice and gas was melted away.

“Why not rain down punishment on them?” asked Neptune.

Jupiter nodded. “A curse on their fates, perhaps, would be good retribution. At the very least, you could grow the kingdom of the underworld.”

Pluto agreed, and so he cursed them. They would spend the next one hundred years in and out of turmoil, with controversial leaders, killing sprees, and poor relations between the people. As infighting grew on Earth, so would the population of Pluto’s hellish domain. If the humans insisted on ruining his planet, so he would ruin theirs.

Author's Note: In "Pluto," I have written how I imagine the god Pluto would react to the astronomical body Pluto losing its planetary status. Instead of basing this story on a specific myth about Pluto, or his Greek counterpart Hades, I have worked to incorporate references to myths like the abduction of Persephone.

Bibliography: The following articles inspired aspects of "Pluto."

• Cerberus - The three-headed dog that traditionally guards the gates to the Underworld.
• Ceres/Demeter - Hades sister and mother-in-law. Her daughter, Proserpina was kidnapped by Pluto and forced to split her time between her husband and mother.
• IAU Definition of Planet - This article describes the International Astronomical Union's decision that led to Pluto's loss of planetary status.
• Jupiter/Zeus - A brother of Neptune and Pluto, Jupiter was previously featured in Three Brothers.
• Neptune/Poseidon - A brother of Jupiter and Pluto, Neptune was previously featured in Three Brothers.
• Pluto/Hades - The main character of this story, Pluto is the brother os Jupiter and Neptune.
• Pluto (planet) - The dwarf planet Pluto is the setting for this story.
• Proserpina/Persephone - Pluto's wife, whom he kidnapped from Earth and kept in the Underworld only during parts of the year, according to myth.

Image Information: True Color Image of Pluto