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Truly Divine

by Onomonopia

Chapter 7: Listener

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'This planet is far greener than Midgard,' Thor thought to himself in silence as he floated in the atmosphere over the planet of Equis, gazing down upon the world that had called upon his aid. They had to resort to Thor, god of another world, when there were already five deities that called Equis their home. That did not sit well with the god of thunder. 'I will deal with them soon enough. For now, it is time to listen.'

Thor closed his eyes and gripped the hilt of Mjolnir with both hands, concentrating with all of his godly might upon not just the land of Equestria, but the entire planet as well. 'If those gods are anything remotely like those that I have battled with in the past, then I cannot trust that the prayers from their own nations will be answered.'

Slowly the prayers began to enter Thor's mind, getting him to smirk as he started to hear how many of the prayers weren't prayers for help, but were instead simply thanks or occasional insults. He was used to both. 'A prayer for aid on a test? Tis silly what the young pray for. Another for the mare they love to love them back. I will not answer that prayer. She will choose you if she wishes too.'

Then a prayer crossed Thor's mind that made him open his eyes, one that made him release his double grip on Mjolnir and begin to spin it. A prayer for rain. A prayer to restore the land that had long since dried up due to the ignorance of others. A prayer that reminded Thor of the state of his world, a state that he was still battling on his world.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, the god of thunder let his hammer fly and grabbed hold of the strap. He was yanked down from the atmosphere and descended towards the section of the planet that he had heard the prayer come from. As he burst down from the cloud cover, he instantly saw that the prayer had been a just one.

The land was practically a wasteland, with only sickly trees showing the god that there had once been life there. The ground was dry and devoid of any animal or insect life, while giant gashes in the landscape showed Thor there was more to the prayer than he had heard. His godly gaze rested upon a tiny village in the center of the wasteland and with haste he descended into the center of it.

The few ponies that lived there let out a yelp of shock as Thor landed with such force that the ground shook. He rose to his full height and glanced around at the ponies within the village, searching for the one that had prayed for him. To his annoyance he found that he could not find the one that had prayed for his aid, but judging by the faces on the ponies that gazed up at him his arrival was not entirely unexpected.

"Greetings, ponies. I am Thor. And I am here because of a prayer," Thor informed the group, who snapped out of their shock at the voice of Thor. They all threw themselves onto the ground and began to worship Thor, but with a crackle of thunder overhead Thor held up a hand. "None of that. Thor will not be bowed to. Not here. But what you can do for Thor is aid him in locating the one that sent the prayer."

"W-what do you mean, Lord Thor?" one of the ponies asked.

"I cannot find the one that prayed for me. I know it was none of you, for I can tell. Now then, tell Thor where they are," Thor replied in a godly tone, getting most of the ponies to begin discussing with one another. A pony then walked forward, a mare with a foal slung over her back.

"I can tell you where he is, Lord Thor. He's out working the fields, the same thing he has done for three years now," she said in a tired tone that told Thor this was not the first time she had needed to tell someone where the pony was. "But I am surprised that he would actually pray to you. Most of the time he refuses help from anypony. Even the princesses."

"I see. Where are these fields you speak of?" Thor asked, getting the pony to point to the south.

"You'll know them when you see them. Just look for the area with the dead plants and the one pony that refuses to accept that his crops won't grow."

Thor nodded before swinging his hammer once more, taking him into the sky. For a minute Thor flew over more of the ruined landscape, his eyes narrowing as he started to realize that the death of the land wasn't from a natural cause. He could sense the faintest traces of magic in the land. A magic that he didn't like.

Then he spied a solo pony in a field of weeds, pulling a large plough that was cutting through dried land. Thor crashed down to the earth next to him, kicking up dirt and weeds upon his landing. The pony glanced over at Thor with wide eyes, before he smirked and unhooked himself from the plough.

"So, you're Thor, huh?" the pony said in a dry voice. "Didn't actually expect you to come. Most of my other prayers have gone unanswered. Expected this one to be the same."

"Nay, friend. Thor has spent many a lifetime ignoring the prayers of those that asked for his aid. And he has spent the rest of his lifetime regretting his earlier decisions," Thor told the pony, who raised an eyebrow in surprise at Thor's response.

"So that mean you answer every prayer you hear? Sounds like a hard job."

"Thor answers the prayers that truly need my aid. Such as the prayer you have said," Thor told the pony before glancing out over the dead land, narrowing his eyes. "And it is clear that something truly is the matter here. There is dark magic in these airs."

"Really? I thought it was just the lack of rain that caused the crops the die," the pony replied before glancing at the hammer Thor carried. "Normally I don't pray, but upon hearing you're the god of thunder made me think that maybe you can summon rain, since those two usually go together. Can ya?"

"Aye, I can summon the storms," Thor replied as he ascended into the sky, closing his eyes as he began to swing his hammer around over his head. Black clouds came at the call of Thor, blocking out the sun with darkness and thunder. The winds began to pick up as Thor swung his hammer faster, while rain began to pour down. Within moments a full fledged thunderstorm began to rain down upon the land.

Yet as the rain began to fall, Thor opened his eyes and watched the ground carefully, watching for any signs of the dark magic that he had sensed. The rain struck the ground and was absorbed into it, while the pony that Thor had been talking to hid behind his plough for cover. The god of thunder glanced around with anticipation, yet the dark magic, if it was ever there, never showed.

With a shake of his head Thor landed next to the farmer, both of them looking down at the ground to see that the seeds were already starting to grow and little pieces of green were poking out of the soil. The pony chuckled to himself before he glanced up at the god of thunder.

"Well color me surprised. You really are a god," he said before grabbing one of his gardening tools and starting to get to work.

"You doubted me?" Thor asked in a slightly offended tone.

"Didn't mean to insult you, but in the sixty years I've been alive I've seen many a beings that thought themselves gods," the pony replied while moving around the dirt at his hooves. "All of them promise the same thing. And then they can't deliver. The last one that came by here promised that they could make the land grow once more. Didn't work."

"So, a being claiming to be a deity came by here and made you a promise, did they?" Thor asked as he placed a hand under his chin, losing himself within his thoughts for a long time. "Do you happen to know what this deity looked like? Were they a zebra or some other form of beast?"

"Nope. They were a pony. That's all I know about them," the pony replied with a grunt as he attached himself to the plough once more. "I could tell by their magic. It was pony magic alright, but far darker than what I've seen in my life. That's all I know, sadly. They wore a black cloak that hid their features. Sorry I can't tell you more."

"Tis fine. You have given me plenty to think of already," Thor replied before another prayer echoed through his mind, but this one brought a smile to his face as he realized who it was from. Thor began to spin his hammer, causing the thundering clouds overhead to begin to swirl around him. "But if another deity shows up in the future, call for me before you decide whether or not they are divine. I shall decide that."

"As you wish, Lord Thor," the pony nodded.

Thor hurled Mjolnir into the sky and was dragged along with it, hurling himself into the clouds and the rain. The lightning didn't touch him and the rain couldn't break him from his thoughts. 'There is more going on here than I first believed. But what that is, I have no clue as of yet,' Thor thought to himself as he broke free of the black clouds, resting in the sunlight over the land. He then spun Mjolnir once more and took aim for Canterlot. 'But for now, there is another that needs me.'

{([])}

"I can't believe how big this city is!" Autumn said with a massive smile on her face as she raced back and forth across the streets, looking into all of the different store windows with wide eyes. The autumn colored foal was completely oblivious to the looks that the ponies in the streets were giving her, while Summer was looking around to make sure that there wasn't anything too dangerous for her daughter to get into.

"I know you're excited dear, but it is a large city. Please don't wander off too far," Summer Sky told Autumn, who saluted her mother before spying a coffee shop and racing over to it. Summer let out a tired smile at how happy her daughter was, before she cast a glance at the two royal guards that walked behind her. They didn't meet her eyes when she looked at her and continued to stare ahead with stony expressions on their faces.

'It's weird being important enough to have two royal guards follow us around,' Summer thought to herself as she followed her daughter to the coffee store, where she spied Autumn looking at a rack filled with candy with hungry eyes. 'And it's even weirder knowing that my daughter is friends with the new god of Equestria. A week ago I was afraid of dying to a titan attack and now I fear angering a god. Amazing what a week can do.'

Feeling a sense of exhaustion washing over her, Summer walked to the counter while waving her daughter over. The young mare behind the counter asked for Summer's order, before glancing past Summer at the two guards that flanked either side of her.

"Don't worry, they're with me," Summer replied with a calming smile, one that was lost on the slightly scared face of the cashier. "I'll take whatever has the most amount of caffeine in it. And heavy on the chocolate. Pumpkin spice for my daughter, she loves anything related to autumn. And you two want anything?" Summer asked as she glanced behind her at the two guards, both of who raised an eyebrow at her words while they said nothing. "No? Okay, that'll be it."

"Mom, you should get something for Thor!" Autumn reminded her mother. The moment she mentioned the name of the god of thunder every conversation in the room came to a stop and all eyes turned towards the filly, who was once again oblivious to the looks she was getting.

"I'm...sure Lord Thor is far too busy to come here for coffee," Summer said with a kind smile to her daughter.

"Oh he's already on his way. I sent him a prayer a few minutes ago," Autumn Breeze told her mother, who stared at her daughter in disbelief before she let out a sigh and turned towards the pony behind the counter once more.

"So, you got anything on the menu that will satisfy the thirst of a god?"

The pony didn't, so with a shrug of defeat Summer walked over to a table that wasn't taken, sitting down by herself while her daughter glued herself to the window and stared out at the ponies that were walking by the store. Summer glanced over to see the two guards standing by the table, but neither of them making any motion to sit down.

Summer took a moment to study the both of them. The guard on her left had a brown coat and was fairly bulky, while his face never changed despite what went on the room. The other guard was smaller in size, but had a look in their eyes that told her they had seen some things. Summer had noticed a similar look in her eyes whenever she looked in the mirror.

"You know that the both of you are welcomed to sit down, right?" she told the both of them, who cast her a quick glance. Summer motioned for them to sit down and after a moment of debate the two guards took up the chairs across from her. "So Princess Celestia told me that I would have guards escorting me and my daughter wherever I went, but she never told me why. Do either of you want to fill me in on that missing detail?"

When neither of the guards responded to her question, Summer let out a sigh and leaned back in her chair. A pony that worked at the coffee joint walked over to their table, placing her and her daughter's order on the table. Summer grabbed her drink and took a long sip before she eyed the guards once more. "Not going to answer that one, eh? Okay, how about your names? If you're going to be protecting us, I'd at least like to know who the both of you are."

"Steel Point."

"Quake."

"Well, glad I know so much about the both of you know," Summer replied in a dry tone, before she sized the both of them up once more. "So if you don't want to tell me why you're guarding us, care if I take a stab at it? The both of you are guarding us because it was my daughter that called upon Thor. And if she could do it once, she can do it again. And a pony that has a god on her call would be a very valuable asset, wouldn't she? So we need to be guarded from any that would try to use us to use Thor. That sound about right?"

The guards faces didn't change as she spoke, but when she had finished speaking she could see in the way that they looked at her that she had gotten close to the truth. Summer smirked to herself as she took another drink of her coffee, before a massive explosion of thunder overhead caused practically every pony in the city to leap with surprise.

"Oh look, it's the god of the thunder. Answering the call of my daughter," Summer said to the both of them as she glanced out the window to see Thor impact in the center of the street. "Just like I thought."

Next Chapter: Seeping Shadows Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 13 Minutes
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