Login

Truly Divine

by Onomonopia

Chapter 29: Stolen

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Thor could tell that something had gone wrong the moment that the group arrived back in Canterlot. Guards were running everywhere and barking orders, while fire burned along the top of Canterlot Castle. The Ambassadors of Harmony were all standing around the princess of the night, who had an ice pack to her head and a look on her face that could only be describe as pure loathing.

The moment Discord, Celestia and Thor touched down Celestia ran to her sister, while Thor raised his hammer and summoned a storm of rain above the castle. A downpour of rain silenced the roar of the flames and with it's job done, another wave of his hammer Thor banished the cloud from the skies. The two deities then approached the Ambassadors, none of who looked too happy.

"Tell Thor what has happened," Thor demanded of the group, getting six sets of upset eyes to look up at him.

"They came out of nowhere. Those creatures of darkness we've been fighting. They came out of the shadows and attacked where the book of the divine was located," Twilight spoke up, the feeling of failure she felt clear in her voice. "We were caught completely off guard. Luna and I were the only ones close enough to try and stop them, but we were horribly outnumbered."

"It seems that you were not fast enough in slaying the dark beast that we brought to the chamber," Luna added on as she and Celestia walked over to join the group. "They attacked with a purpose. Twilight and I fended them off as best we could, but we were quickly overrun. They ripped open the chamber and stole the book before fleeing back into the darkness, but they didn't go before leaving me with a goodbye present."

"It is clear that whoever is in control of these shadow beings is now trying to ascend to godhood," Discord said in a calm tone, which told Thor how bad things looked. "But this is worse than it seems. If they use that book to become a god, not only would they have all the power and statues of a divine, but they would become the rightful god of Equestria. And considering they've tried to destroy us in the past, them becoming a god bodes poorly for our future."

"Then there is no time to waste. We much reach the altar and prevent them from ascending to a position that they do not deserve," Thor said to the group. "Twilight, you and your allies discovered the location of the altar. Take us there with haste."

Twilight nodded before she and her friends formed a circle, closing their eyes and channeling the power of their rainbow magic. A blinding flash of rainbow magic consumed the entire group, sending them traveling across the lands of Equestria before they reappeared in a place that made even Thor wary.

Blackened trees decorated the bleak landscape, with the twisted branches reaching towards the sky like the trees themselves were trying to escape the place they were rooted in. The ground beneath Thor was devoid of any life, even on a bacterial level, and when Thor looked through the trees all he could see was a white mist. Yet he could sense an underlining sense of power there, a power that he hadn't felt since he had been a young god. And that thought made him tighten his grip on his hammer.

"This place...it doesn't feel right," Celestia muttered as she and the others walked around, each of them with the same look of concern that Thor wore upon his face. Even the normally aloof Discord seemed worried by where they were, while the rest of the group looked scared.

"I can feel an unnatural magic in the air, a magic that is telling us that we don't belong," Luna said aloud. "It is a magic that I haven't felt in so long. This is magic of Faust."

"That is correct," Thor said to the group, before letting lightning flash from his hammer to drive back the mist. "This mist and magic is a last resort created when a god or goddess needs to either hide or protect something. This is where Faust's altar will be. You six did well in finding a place that would be so well guarded. Come, you can tell me how you found it as we move."

"You can find your way in this mist?" Rainbow Dash asked as Thor began to move through the fog. "Because I just flew up as high as I could go and all I saw was endless mist."

"My divine senses are telling me where we need to go. Not to mention, it seems that the last of Faust's conscious resides here. And for the most part, she trust who I am with," Thor told the group, before firing a bolt of divine lightning through the mist to create a path for the group. "Make sure that you do not wander from this path. If you were to get lost within the divine mist, then I do not know if even I could find you."

"Good to know," Dash muttered as she moved closer to the god of thunder.

The group moved along in silence, with only the sounds of thunder to break the seemingly endless silence. All of the ponies glanced around cautiously at the fog around them, but Celestia moved at a faster pace than most of them and twice Thor had to pull her back to keep her from getting too far ahead.

"Celestia, I would advise thee to heed my warning. Even though thou might move the sun to your will, to become lost within this fog would be a death sentence. It is designed to keep those who get lost within it lost for eternity," Thor warned the princess of the sun, who nodded as she fell into line beside Thor. Yet Thor could see a look of anticipation in her eyes that concerned him.

"Twilight, I would be interested to know how you managed to find a location that was this well hidden," Thor asked the purple princess beside him.

"It wasn't easy. My friends and I scoured the entire continent of Equestria, looking for anything that would be remotely related to the divine. That didn't go too well," Twilight admitted. "But then a pony I was in contact with discovered something. After being close to the other gods of Equis and feeling their magic up close, they began to feel a faint magic that was all but hidden from all of our senses. But once they discovered it and shared the knowledge with me, I used every spell in the book to follow it here. To this place."

"A place of souls. Do you know who this pony was that aided you?" Thor asked, but Twilight shook her head. "Very well, do you know what land this is?"

"To the best of my knowledge, this land exists between the realms of the living and the dead. A realm that only a divine could survive in," Twilight admitted to Thor. "The only reason that I can think of why my friends and I are allowed in here is because of our rainbow power. You and Discord are both gods, so you can move freely here. Celestia and Luna...they seem like they've been before this power before."

"Indeed, your line of thinking is correct," Thor replied with a grim expression as a single though crossed his mind. 'Celestia and Luna knew Faust. They would be allowed here. Twilight and her friends have a sacred magic that makes them champions of this land. They would be allowed. And Discord and I are divine and are not affected by this magic. Yet the being of shadows should not be any of these things. Why would they be allowed in this land?'

Thor had to put that train of thought to the side as he and the group came to a stop, for a colossal structure made of pure white stone had appeared out of the fog in their path. The structure was like the Canterlot castle, but far larger and seemed to glow with a radiant light. The Ambassadors all gasped with amazement at the castle, while Celestia and Luna gazed at it like it was an old friend. Discord was the only one to catch Thor's eyes and the two of them nodded, before Thor walked towards the massive doors made of gold.

"I take it you two know of this building, Celestia and Luna?" Thor asked the two princesses, who snapped out of their gaze and nodded to Thor.

"This...was the castle of Faust. This is where she lived back when she was with us," Celestia revealed as she started to walk forward, but Discord placed a hand on her shoulder and held her back.

Thor stepped forward towards the castle, feeling an air of power surround him as he got closer and closer to the doors. Upon reaching the doors he placed a hand against them, pushing with all of his godly might against them. The doors didn't budge. Thor then gripped Mjolnir with both hands and swung the hammer that could destroy a sun into the golden doors. This time the action garnered a response and that response was beams of divine light erupted from the doors, striking Thor in the chest and sending him skittering backwards. Thor grunted as he felt pain burn in his chest, yet he was more intrigued by the reaction than he was wounded by it.

"I cannot open these doors. Whatever divine magic that your goddess has used to enchant the place prevents me from getting in," Thor admitted to the ground, who looked up at him with stunned faces. "If we had a few hundreds years I am certain that I could break through these defenses, but as we are stressed for time I am open to hearing your ideas."

"Perhaps we could use our rainbow power to break through the doors?" Rarity suggested. "If Faust has allowed us here because of the power that we wield, then it only makes sense that her doors would open to that same power as well."

The six ponies all nodded to one another and Thor, Discord and the princesses moved to the side to allow them to work. The six made a circle before channeling their rainbow powers into one another, creating a circle of rainbow power that brought light to the eerie land. The six floated into the sky before firing a beam of rainbow light into the doors. The lights crashed against the golden doors with all of their might, but when the lights died down the six were shocked to see that the doors hadn't budged an inch.

"A good idea, but I am afraid it did not work," Thor said with a shake of his head as the six landed and separated. "The divine magic that I feel coming from that castle is designed to keep out practically everything. Even your rainbow power will not gain us entry."

"Then what will?" Luna asked with some annoyance, slamming a hoof against the golden doors. "Does Faust not know how desperately we need to get in there? To prevent the nation she helped to create from falling into the hooves of evil?"

"Faust is gone, princess of the night. All that remains is the spell that she cast to ensure that those who are not allowed in are kept out. And sadly it seems like all of us here are not allowed in," Thor said with a shake of his head. The ponies then began to brainstorm ideas with one another, hoping that one of them would think of a way inside. Yet while the ponies talked, Discord walked up towards the gates with a smirk upon his face.

"You always did like causing troubles for others. Especially me," Discord said to the gates with a shake of his head. "But you were always kind and brilliant. While we may of had our differences, I can't hate you for what you did. You did your best. That's all any of us can do. So I hope you can forgive me, but I'm going to do my best to help save these bunch of ponies. I owe it to them."

Discord then began to think of every trick, every chaotic scheme that he had ever concocted to get past the doors, yet when he placed his hand upon the door a golden light shined from the crack where the two doors met. Discord backed up in surprise as the sound of a lock unlocking echoed throughout the landscape and the two doors began to swing open. All eyes turned towards Discord as the doors finished opening.

"What did you do?" Celestia asked Discord.

"I...don't know," Discord admitted.

Thor lead the group into the castle, taking point as he was the strongest and most durable god out of the two. As the group stepped into the castle, they had been expecting some grand hallways and jewels and gems everywhere. But to the surprise of the group, the castle within was fairly plain for the most part. But what drew the eyes of the group was the fact that the walls, floors and ceilings were covered in paper, paper that had images and words upon them. So many words and images that only Thor and Discord were the only ones able to process all of the seemingly infinite stories and images.

"This...is incredible. Look at all of this," Twilight whispered as she and the other stared at the ceilings and walls, unable to comprehend how many ideas and stories were on the walls. I had expected something else, but never any of this."

"I can see why this place would be so well guarded," Celestia said with a bitter smile as she gazed at all of the work. "Faust was always into creating things. New lands, new beings and new stories. Sometimes she would show me what she was working on, but at my young age I could never fathom what she was doing. I understand why she would want this place so well guarded. This wasn't just her castle. This is where she created."

"And maybe we were worried for nothing?" Discord suggested in a voice that seemed concerned. "I mean, with how hard it was for us to get in here, do you honestly think that those shadow beings could somehow make it in? I bet that they're still lost in that fog, unable to tell which way is up."

Discord then bumped into Thor, who had come to a dead stop. Discord looked past the god of thunder to see why he had stopped moving, only for his eyes to go wide as he gazed into a massive room filled with shadow beings, all of which were glaring at the group. The room had walls filled with changing images while the ceiling mirrored the starry sky above, but it was what was at the end of the room that caught every eye. An altar made of silver, with a huge stature of an alicorn standing above it. And in the center of the altar was a circle, with inscriptions around it that only Discord knew the meaning to.

"If it is still on the table, I will take that bet, Discord," Thor said with a smirk.

Next Chapter: Ascended Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 13 Minutes
Return to Story Description

Login

Facebook
Login with
Facebook:
FiMFetch