"Okay...here goes nothing."

High above the world of mortals, standing at the edge of a massive cloud, Sunset Shimmer readied herself. This Goddess, whose youthful appearance hid her true immortal age, looked the very model of divinity. Clad in red and yellow, her garb was of the finest make, truly the work of godly craft. Her stance was professional, one foot in front of the other, her hands stretching out towards the sun that hung just above the horizon. With a deep breath, she began her great work, and with only a slow lowering of her hands, that great and fiery orb started to descend. With every moment, the skies grew darker, and before long, the sun was at last descended. Day had ended, and night had begun. Opening her eyes, Sunset smiled at what she had accomplished, complete with a long sigh.

"Well...at least this one went okay."

A giggle was heard behind her.

"Oh, Sunset, your last attempt wasn't that bad!"

Smirking, Sunset turned to look upon the face of her friend, Twilight, who was similarly dressed in ornate godly clothing.

"Twilight, my last attempt to make a proper sun-down caused the thing to veer off in every direction! Celestia had to step in to finish it herself! There's a good reason why this is usually her job!"

Twilight, considering that, shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, it got down eventually, right? And hey, Celestia wasn't mad at you. It was your first try, remember?"

Sunset's head hung.

"Yeah, but I still messed up. Everyone down below took it as some evil omen. The priests all fasted for a month."

Twilight stifled a second giggle.

"Yeah, I remember how funny Pinkie found it."

Sunset couldn't help but smile at her fellow Goddess' attempt to cheer her up, but her gaze soon turned to the now sunless skies above. Already the stars were out, and a bright full moon was hanging in the heavens, illuminating the world below.

"Luna's made a nice one tonight."

Walking beside her, Twilight smiled and nodded in agreement.

"She always does. And hey, I hear she's even going to try and put up a new constellation tonight. Well, after her appointment with you-know-who."

That prompted Sunset to look back at her, her face breaking out into a massive smile.

"Really? Oh, it'll be nice to see what she comes up with."

Then, a more knowing look came to her, and she nudged Twilight slightly with her elbow.

"So, how did things go with your family?"

Here, it was Twilight's turn to start beaming, and she looked like she could barely contain herself.

"Oh, everything went wonderfully! Her name is Flurry, and my brother and Cadence are just the happiest I've ever seen them!"

Folding her arms, Sunset smiled sweetly to her.

"I'm happy for them. And for you. I imagine you're looking forward to acting the Aunt?"

Twilight was as giddy as Pinkie Pie right now.

"Oh, you have no idea! I am going to spoil that girl rotten as soon as I get the chance! Maybe I'll go down and start forming a cult for her? Oooh! And I'll need to have someone making shrines and temples to her. And then maybe..."

But she was halted by a swift finger to her lips by Sunset.

"Er, Twilight? I think we can wait until she's at least started to talk before we think about all that stuff."

Realising that she was going just a touch overboard, Twilight blushed, scratching the back of her head and nervously laughing.

"Right...sorry."

The two shared a laugh, then again took to looking out at the beautiful night sky.

"Well...it's been quite a day, hasn't it?" Sunset asked.

Twilight gave a firm nod.

"I'll say! I swear, Applejack and Rarity can't go one year without having their cities go to war with one another!"

"What was it this time?" Sunset enquired.

Twilight shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh, some king said something blasphemous, Rarity took offence, and Applejack stepped in and...you know...all the usual stuff."

The two shared another laugh, and when things again calmed down, Sunset took a moment to look down at her ornate outfit.

"You know, given that our official duties are over for the day..."

But Twilight already understood, raising a single hand.

"Way ahead of you, Sunset!"

With that raised hand, the young Goddess gave a quick snap of her fingers, and Sunset likewise followed suit. There was a brief flash of light, and when it died down, both of them were now dressed completely differently. Gone were their more elaborate and fancy garbs, and instead they were dressed far more casually, barefoot and wearing a simple knee-length dress. The only difference between their outfits now were their colours, with Sunset's being a bright red while Twilight bore a dark purple.

"Ah, much better!" Twilight exclaimed, allowing herself a quick stretch.

Sunset chuckled briefly.

"I know. Rarity's stuff is all perfect and beautiful for doing our jobs, but for a really comfortable wear, going simple is way more my style."

But it wasn't long before Sunset soon noted something in particular about her friend, and so soon pointed to Twilight's face.

"Say, Twilight? I don't mean to sound rude, but what's with the...you know?"

The redhead gestured to her own eyes, and Twilight quickly understood, taking off her glasses and smiling down to them.

"Oh, that. I was going for a new look today. What do you think? I mean, I obviously don't need it, but..."

Looking to her, with her glasses and her hair tied up into a ponytail, Sunset smiled.

"It looks good on you."

Twilight blushed, and leaned forward, giving Sunset a quick hug, which was of course reciprocated. Before long though, the two Goddess took to moving in unison, walking to the edge of the cloud. They sat down, their legs dangling over, and they held hands as they gazed down to the mortal world below.

"I love this time of day, looking down at that realm," Twilight declared.

Sunset smiled to her before looking down herself.

"I know what you mean. The torch-lights being lit in the cities...the vast ocean...the green fields lit up by the glow of the moon...even that volcano island out in the sea there."

Immediately, she tilted her head.

"Huh...you know, I don't actually remember there being a volcano there before."

Twilight giggled again.

"Oh, it's not a volcano. It's just a regular old mountain. Or was anyway. The smoke is because of Rainbow. She was bored today, so..."

Sunset sighed, shaking her head.

"Let me guess, she 'borrowed' Tempest's lightning bolts for target practice again?"

Twilight shrugged her shoulders.

"You'd think she'd have learned not to do that by now."

Letting out another long exhale, Sunset leaned back, resting upon the soft fluffiness of the cloud. Twilight did the same, and as the two looked up to the gorgeous night sky, they couldn't help but smile.

"It's good, being what we are, isn't it?" Sunset asked.

Twilight looked over to her, smiling softly.

"I know. If nothing else, at least we get an eternity with each other."

Chortling at her friend's romantic sentiment, Sunset looked back to her.

"That...and it can't be denied that tinkering with humans every once in a while is pretty fun too."

Twilight lifted her hand and waggled her finger to her.

"Now, now, Sunset, you know we have to be more responsible than that."

A pause, and as Twilight mulled over her own words, she soon cracked a knowing smirk.

"Well...most of the time anyway."

"Ah! Now this is the life!"

Now, most people would find it rather unusual to see a dog talking. They would also find it unusual to see said dog as being purple and green in its colouring. Yet here was one who was both, casually lounging on a grassy hill under the bright and warm rays of the sun. A gentle breeze flowed across the land, and it was all-in-all a perfect time to simply lay down and enjoy a nice rest. The small dog smiled fondly to its current calm and relaxing state, turning from one side to the other until it finally found just the right spot. Chuckling, he sighed soon afterwards.

"Of all the perks of getting to do whatever you want, this has got to be my favourite!"

He yawned loudly, his eyelids closing slowly as he finally allowed the comfort of this moment to wash over him. Unfortunately, it appeared as though his time of peace and quiet was not to be, as he had barely closed his eyes for a minute before he started to hear, of all things, a giggle. Now feeling slightly nervous, the tiny canine cracked one eye open, and when he did, he soon saw, to his shock, that he was no longer alone. There was a girl, bearing pink and purple hair, lying belly-down on the grass beside him, chin resting on folded arms as her legs swayed back and forth behind her. She smiled sweetly to him, reaching forward and giving him a quick pat on his head.

"Awww! What a cute little doggie!"

Blushing slightly, the dog turned over to the other side, only to find his would-be escape route cut-off. For there was a second girl, with short cerise hair, lying down on her side, looking to the diminutive creature with a slight smirk.

"Pretty neat we found him out here, all by himself, nobody to look out for him, eh Sweetie?"

Gulping, the dog scrambled onto all four of his paws, ready to head straight up the hill, only to find that, yet again, his path away from this growing audience was blocked. There was a third girl there, kneeling before him, with long red hair, smiling as if amused at the sight of him.

"Say...whadda y'all say we take him home with us?"

Sweetie, now sitting upright, clapped her hands.

"Ooooh! That would be delightful!"

Scootaloo chortled.

"It would! And hey..."

From behind her back, she produced, to the dog's horror, a leash, complete with a collar dangling off the end of it.

"...I've even got the right thing to bring him with us."

Things had finally gotten to be too much for the youngster, and he ultimately let out a groan.

"Ugh! Alright! Alright!"

There was a sudden "poof" sound, and after a brief explosion of mist, there was no longer a dog sitting in that spot. Instead, there was a young boy, looking just shy of the age of the three girls around him, who now sat cross-legged and looking rather grumpy.

"Can't you three see I was trying to have some alone time?"

Sweetie, who apparently was not put off by his demeanour in the slightest, giggled again before leaning closer, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug while rubbing her cheek against his.

"But Spiiiiiiiiike! How could we ignore a cutesy-wootsy little puppy like that?"

The adorable embrace prompted the expected fierce blush from the boy, earning him stifled laughs from the other girls. Scootaloo especially seemed to find great humour in all this.

"Yeah, you know, I think I preferred you as a dog, Spike."

She gave him a sly look.

"I'd have loved to have a collar on you."

Another blush on Spike's part.

"Come on, guys! You're Goddesses! You should be acting more...you know...refined, I guess?"

But Apple Bloom merely waved him off.

"Ah! Goddesses in training, Spike! We ain't got our roles yet!"

She gave a quick frown afterwards.

"An' ah seem ta recall that y'all are training up ta take yer place in the world too. So what are ya doin' down here?"

Sweetie, finally letting go of him, looked to him with genuine curiosity.

"Yeah! Doesn't Twilight normally have you studying about the world and stuff?"

Spike rolled his eyes.

"It's my day off! I wanted to just kick back and relax for once. I can study about proper prayer procedures and granting visions on another day!"

Scootaloo leaned down onto the grass herself, taking a moment to stretch out, complete with a contented sigh.

"Well, you chose a nice place for it. This is real relaxing!"

Spike snickered.

"Yeah, well, I like it when it's sunny like this."

As before, Sweetie lunged forward, embracing the boy, much to the latter's chagrin.

"And best of all, we get to spend it with you, Spikey!"

Spike grumbled, and Apple Bloom smiled to her friend.

"Yer wastin's yer breath, Sweetie. Everyone knows Spike's only got eyes fer yer sister."

Sweetie pouted at this, complete with slightly puffed-up cheeks, and Spike, having had his crush openly announced like this, blushed intensely.

"W...what?! No I don't!"

Scootaloo grinned devilishly to him.

"Oh, don't even try to pretend you don't! We all know about when you tried to turn into a fly to sneak into her workshop the other day!"

The boy looked away.

"I wasn't spying on her! I was...er...just practising my transformation! Yeah, that's it!"

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were, naturally, unconvinced, but Sweetie actually seemed interested in him after having said that.

"Oh yeah, how are your shape-shifting skills coming?"

Recognising a chance to show off, Spike smirked to her, before standing tall. The three girls watched as he flexed his arms a little, his chest puffed out slightly.

"Behold! As I will now become a fearsome dragon!"

There was another puff of mist, lavender in colour this time, and when it blew away, the three mini-Goddesses saw that their young male friend had indeed turned into a dragon. Alas, this was not one of the great beasts they had pictured, but rather a more diminutive, baby-looking figure which, at best, would have come up to their knees. Spike, by contrast, seemed rather pleased with his change, as evidenced by his current grin.

"Yeah! Pretty sweet, right?"

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo rolled their eyes, but Sweetie's own eyes widened, and she looked to Spike in exactly the same way she did when he was a puppy.

"You're...so...CUTE!!!"

Before Spike could react, he was whisked off the ground by the excited girl, and was once more being tightly hugged.

"What?! I'm not cute! I'm a terrifying, fire-breathing dragon! Fear me!"

But fear was the last thing on Sweetie's mind right now, as she continued to hopelessly fawn over the tiny drake in her arms.

"Oh, I could just hug you forever! And since we're divine, you know I can actually do that!"

That prospect gave Spike no joy whatsoever, and he looked to his over-eager captor with nervousness.

"Er, if you want a pet, I could just ask Fluttershy to conjure you one or something?"

But Sweetie shook her head.

"Why make a pet when we can just have you?"

Spike's eyes widened with dismay, and he turned to the other two for help, only to be met with the terrifying sight of them sharing a knowing grin towards him.

"You know, she's not wrong, Spike," Scootaloo remarked.

Realising he was trapped right now, the young God sighed with defeat.

"You know, one day, maybe I can be free of this."

Giggling, Apple Bloom reached forward, giving him yet another tiny pat on his head.

"Maybe...but that day ain't today, little dragon-boy!"

"Alrighty, boys, we've found our spot. Time to get to work."

The men from the local village walked on forward, crossing from their open field into the edge of the dense forest before them. In their hands were axes, which they promptly raised up high before giving an almighty swing into whatever their nearest tree was. The moment these blows hit, the trees shook, and the tiny creatures in their branches, be they birds, squirrels or mice, began to flee, heading into neighbouring trees to look on helplessly at what was transpiring. The men, unaware of the distressed animals, continued on with their work, but they soon found themselves being watched by an entirely different pair of eyes. Ones which showed not fear, but irritation.

"Halt! You shall go no further!"

The voice was calm and quiet, yet it rang with an authority that stopped the men dead in their tracks. They ceased their hacking, looking in all directions to see where the voice might have come from.

"Er...hello?" one of them called.

This call was answered soon, for from high up, from amidst the bright green leaves of the forest canopy, a lone figure began to descend. The men did not recognise her, but they knew a Goddess when they saw one, and so dropped their axes and fell to their knees, bowing deeply before the divine figure who now gracefully landed in front of them. Clad in the same bright blue hue of the sky above, Fluttershy placed one hand upon her hip, while using her free hand to wag her finger in a disapproving manner towards the men.

"Shame on you for disturbing the forest and terrifying these poor creatures!"

The men, looking genuinely apologetic, nodded frantically at the chastisement they were receiving.

"Our humblest apologies, Fluttershy. We meant no disrespect to the Lady of Nature! We only sought to create more open land for our cattle to roam!"

Folding her arms, Fluttershy sighed, then gave them a small smile before getting down to one knee. She gently patted the head of the man who had spoken, who looked up into those gentle eyes as she spoke with that quiet grace of hers.

"You meant no ill, so I forgive your trespass. But you must seek farmland elsewhere now."

The man nodded again, as indeed did his compatriots, and it looked as though everything was about to wrap up nicely. However, with a great crashing sound, something fell down from the sky right behind the group, causing all of them to turn. It was another Goddess, a blonde one this time, bearing a not-dissimilar sort of garb to Fluttershy, albeit a dark green. As she took a moment to adjust her hat, she stomped forward, her feet causing massive cracks in the earth as she walked. Clearly this was someone in a slightly irked mood, and her voice reflected that.

"Now hold on there, Fluttershy! These ere folks have every right ta make more farmland, an' dis ere forest is prime fer that!"

Fluttershy nodded patiently.

"I appreciate that, Applejack, and while I can certainly empathise with giving animals a place to themselves, there are also plenty of other animals I have to consider. Creatures who have called this forest their home for a very long time."

Applejack rolled her eyes.

"Oh, fer the love of...Fluttershy! Yer talkin' bout a bunch o' squirrels an' stuff! What these folk here...er..."

She turned to the nearest one, a youngish lad with green hair.

"What's yer name again?"

The lad, clearly unused to being spoken to by a Goddess, fumbled a bit.

"Um...Timber?"

Applejack nodded firmly, jovially slapping a hand down on the boy's shoulder which, given her divine strength, nearly dislocated the thing. Timber's face betrayed his agony, but he held it in while the Goddesses continued debating.

"Folk like good ole Timber ere have a right ta turn this land ta good use!"

Fluttershy stepped forward, her eyes narrowing.

"And I say this land is to be protected from such things!"

The men gulped, sensing tension between the two, and one of them, an older fellow, stepped forward quickly.

"Oh! There's no need to argue, my Ladies! We can just find some other land to..."

But it was too late, for Applejack was fuming at her friend right now.

"Ah can't stand by while ya go on an' say that some forest is more important than givin' a livelihood ta these farmers!"

Fluttershy placed her hands upon her hips, never budging an inch from where she stood.

"Applejack, you're my friend, but my role as Goddess of Nature demands that I not relent here!"

To that, Applejack had just about had enough.

"Alright. Don't say ah didn't warn ya!"

Turning, she put her fingers in her mouth and blew an ear-piercing whistle, which carried across the lands. There was a pause for a time, but after the long silence there was, at last, a sound. It was subtle at first, but then it grew louder and louder. All mortal eyes widened with terror as they finally beheld it. A dog, white and brown, but one that was as big as a house, if not larger. It ran across the fields before grinding to a halt before Applejack, who smiled to the beast before floating up and giving it a scratch under its chin.

"Good girl, Winona! Who's a good girl? You're a good girl!"

The giant dog wagged its tail happily, but Fluttershy was not impressed, for she too turned, looking into the darkness of the forest before speaking.

"Angel? Be a dear and come on out, would you?"

The men, naturally, were just about exhausted from all this, and as they waited for whatever else was about to show up, one of them walked to Timber, whispering in his ear.

"Um...should we go?"

Timber just winced again.

"Can't...talk...can't...feel...arm."

Finally, Fluttershy's "Angel" appeared, bursting through the forest with a bellowing roar. It generally appeared to be a rabbit, but like Winona it was massive in size, and bearing a pair of blood red eyes and sharp blue horns. To complete the demonic image it's tail was even aflame at the end. The two beasts glared and hissed at one another, all while the mortals cowered in-between. The two Goddesses, standing atop their respective pets' heads, looked to one another fiercely.

"Last chance ta back down, Flutters," Applejack offered.

But her friend simply shook her head.

"I speak for the trees, Applejack..."

Her eyes narrowed with intensity.

"...and they say WAR!!!"

The beasts roared and charged, heading right for one another. They battered their heads against one another, and the force was so great that shockwaves were sent in every direction, sending the mortal men flying, with one of them voicing his feelings on the matter as he was sent shooting into the distance.

"THAT WAS AWESOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!"

To top everything off, they even caused a far bit of damage to not only the closest of the trees but also the earth they were standing on. Moments passed, and the two Goddesses realised that, rather than a calm and peaceful field, they were now standing in the middle of an enormous crater. The two looked around, their previous anger subsiding and replaced instead with a degree of embarrassment.

"Um...ah think we may have overdone it...a bit," Applejack conceded.

Fluttershy, while blushing, nodded.

"Yes, we...we may have done that."

They looked to one another, chuckling and giggling nervously, before suddenly remembering why they'd started this feud to begin with. Fluttershy looked down from atop Angel's head, just in time to see one of the humans, Timber, who had miraculously survived this near-apocalyptic scenario, digging himself out from a pile of dirt that had landed on him after the crater had formed.

"Er, Mr Timber? Would you be open to discussing...well...a compromise?"

Timber, looking at the devastation around him, just slumped onto the ground and sighed.

"...Yes...that would be good right now."

"MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Foolish mortals! You tread into the dark and foreboding realm of the Underworld! Your lives, as you have known them, have come to their end, and now only endless darkness awaits thee! Hold dearly to your last memories of the sun and the sky, for they will be the last you ever have of them! Weep and cower, for you stand before the great Sombra, Lord of this domain, and your master henceforth! Abandon all hope, ye who enter here!"

The towering man, clad entirely in black armour and a flowing red cap, gazed down at the woman before him, who eyed him carefully. Raising a finger to her chin, she gave a quick "hmmm" sound before ultimately letting out a sigh.

"Sorry, honey, but I think you might be going just a touch overboard with that one."

Sombra's shoulders slumped.

"But Radiant! I am the Lord of the Underworld! Mortals sort of expect this kind of thing from me! I mean I can't just have lost or condemned souls wandering in here and being greeted by flowers and rainbows, can I?"

Radiant, giving her all-black dress a quick brush down, stepped forward and gave her husband a quick peck on the cheek.

"Don't you worry, Somby. We just need to tweak the speech a tad. Maybe be less 'grrr, cower, doom' and a bit more...well...stern and foreboding. You know, just loom ominously until they get the message?"

Sombra pondered that.

"Hmmm...scare them without saying a word?"

Gradually, a grim formed on his lips.

"Yes...I think I like that idea!"

Radiant giggled.

"I thought you would. Now, I think we should get back to what we were talking about earlier."

The Lord of the Underworld rolled his eyes.

"Sweetie, for the last time, we are not getting a dog!"

Radiant clasped her hands together.

"Oh please! It'd be just a joy to have an animal down here. Think of all the fun you two could have! I mean, what do you do when you're not looking over the souls of the damned?"

Sombra thought on that for a moment.

"Well...I practice my growling. I buff my armour. And...um..."

Slowly, his face became one of acceptance.

"Okay, you might have a point there."

Smiling, Radiant took on a more triumphant tone.

"Don't you worry, honey. We'll get one that fits the décor a bit. Maybe a black one?"

Sombra's eyes lit up.

"Oh! Let's get a really big one too! Something with sharp fangs and blood-red eyes!"

It was Radiant's turn to roll her eyes.

"Whatever makes you happy, honey."

Sombra's grin widened.

"And a name? We've got to think of a good one. Um...Oh, I know! How about Harbinger? Or Reaper?"

Radiant gave him a few slow blinks, then smiled and gave him a pat on the head.

"Leave the names to me, Somby."

The Dark Lord chuckled.

"Oh Radiant, you always did have a way with me."

Looking around at the black and cavernous realm around them, Radiant placed her hands upon her hips.

"Well, do you remember what this place was like before I arrived? This place was completely messed up! No, you needed some help, and if a Queen was the help in question, then a Queen I'd become."

Sombra nodded, looking off into the distance as nostalgic thoughts returned to him.

"Yes...I remember that day like it was yesterday."

"Fear where you tread, fair maiden! For you now enter the domain of Sombra, Lord of all things dark and painful! Your foolish decision to come here may doom you before your time!"

Radiant nodded.

"Uh-huh, yeah. Say, where are the pomegranates?"

Sombra blinked.

"Oh, er, they're over there, on that dead tree."

He pointed out the tree in question, which Radiant studied for a time. But then, remembering that he'd broken character, Sombra cleared his throat, getting right back into it.

"But be warned, for that fruit is forbidden! One bite will condemn you to an eternity of dwelling in this place! So take care, maiden, for you will..."

Unbeknownst to him, however, Radiant had been ignoring him during all that and had instead marched intently towards the tree that had been pointed out to her. She walked right up to it, reached up, plucked the tastiest-looking pomegranate off its branch, and before Sombra could even notice what she was doing, she opened her mouth and bit right into it. The sound of her bite altered the Dark Lord to what was going on, and when he finally noticed her, his eyes widened with shock. He was stunned at the sheer brazenness of this woman, who took bite after bite from the forbidden fruit until it was, at last, devoured completely. There was a silence as Radiant wiped the remaining juice of the thing from her lips, after which she turned right around and marched back to Sombra. Stretching out her hand, she took his, and looked right into his eyes in a manner that could only be described as amorousness.

"Alrighty then...let's get down to business...my King."

Blinking, Sombra gave an almighty swallow.

"...Meep."

Sombra afforded himself another chuckle.

"Oh yeah...that was a good night."

Radiant gave her husband an arched eyebrow.

"Technically it was six-hundred-and-sixty-six nights, dear."

Sombra snapped his fingers.

"Ah, yes, of course, have to keep the theme going and all that."

Looking down to her, the Dark Lord smiled.

"Oh, what would I ever do without you?"

Radiant gave a quick shrug of her shoulders.

"Meh, probably just glare angrily at everyone who came down here."

Sombra nodded.

"Yes...I do enjoy my glaring."

Just then, there was a shake, and the two heads of the Underworld cast their eyes upwards, towards a great hole that lay in the centre of the ceiling above this endless realm.

"Ah, new arrival," Sombra remarked.

Radiant raised a finger to him.

"Now remember, honey..."

But Sombra already knew what she was going to say.

"Yes, yes, I know. Less growling, more looming."

The two floated gracefully over the lands as they made their way to where new souls arrive. Or, well, "plummeted" should be the right word actually. And plummet he did, as a young man with green hair unceremoniously dropped out of the hole and right onto the ground before the two Gods. Getting himself up, the human rubbed his head as if nursing a massive headache, before finally widening his eyes as he realised where he was.

"GAH!!! OH NO!!!"

"Oh yes!" Sombra declared.

The human turned, stepping back fearfully as he laid his eyes upon his new Master.

"No...no! Please! I...I'm too young to die!"

Radiant regarded him for a moment.

"You know, come to think of it...he does look to young to die."

Sombra raised an eyebrow.

"What is your name, mortal?"

The lad fumbled, but finally answered.

"Um...Timber?"

Sombra thought on that for a moment, then grumbled.

"Oh, for the love of...you're not supposed to be here for years yet! What are you doing here?!"

The human, naturally, was still terrified, but tried to explain as best he could.

"Well, I got into the middle of a fight between two Goddesses and there was this big explosion and I got hurt and, well...I was a bit more messed up than I thought."

Sombra rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, those girls!"

Rubbing his temples, he sighed, then nodded to Timber.

"Okay, look. You're here too early, so I'm sending you back."

Timber dropped to his knees and clasped his hands together in prayer.

"Oh, thank Celestia!"

Sombra frowned, then coughed deliberately.

"Ahem?!"

Timber looked to him, realising what he needed to say.

"Oh! Um, and praise too to you, Lord Sombra!"

"Just...go," Sombra mumbled.

With a snap of the Lord's fingers, the boy was gone, leaving a rather grumpy-looking Sombra to his thoughts.

"These humans. Can't they ever keep to a schedule? Ugh! They'll be the death of me one day!"

Radiant smirked at him.

"Honey...we can't actually die."

Sombra paused, then smirked right back.

"Then they'll be the eternal headache of me then."

"Okay...here goes."

Indigo's determination was as clear as day on her face as she began her great run. The area had been abandoned by everyone else for the evening, so the track outside her village was clear all for her. It was a crumbling ruin of a place, but it still served her well. She bolted forward, breathing heavy with every step, keeping up a good pace as she sprinted. Her speed was impressive, as was her cornering when she reached the end of the track. Dust skidded all over as she turned, and she raced back in the opposite direction. Her cheeks flustered with the increased effort, and though the ending line was in sight, she dared not let up, even for an instant. Time came though when she crossed over, and when she did, she nearly toppled over with how suddenly she tried to stop herself. But stop she did, leading to a great deal of panting on her part. But it was not long before another sound was mixed in with that. It was long, slow claps, causing Indigo's eyes to widen, especially as a voice came along with them.

"Not bad, girl. Not bad at all."

Indigo looked up, and there, lounging on her side on one of the great stands around her, was a girl who appeared to be her age, with hair as diversely-coloured as a rainbow, and bearing a clear smirk upon her face. After clapping, the newcomer cackled before sitting upright, looking down at the startled girl before her.

"Nice to see someone taking their sprinting skill seriously. Practicing for the big race tomorrow?"

Although Indigo was still taken aback by the tone of this stranger, she nevertheless nodded.

"Er...yeah. I've never won before, so I wanted to get some extra training in."

The other girl nodded, then stood tall before, to Indigo's shock, leaping forward. The jump caused her to fly upwards, an impossible feat for any mortal, and Indigo knew it. When her new companion landed back down, it was with great force, sending dirt flying in all directions. Indigo stepped back, and as she looked at the still-smirking face of the other girl, realisation took her.

"You're...you're..."

The other girl nodded, placing one hand on her hip.

"Yep. Goddess. Rainbow Dash. Nice to meet you."

Indigo seemed understandably bewildered by all of this, and after taking a brief moment to pinch herself and make sure she was indeed awake, she turned back to face Rainbow.

"Um...am I supposed to kneel or bow or something?"

Rainbow considered that for a moment before giving a shrug of her shoulders.

"Officially? Sure. But I've never really been that bothered by it. So yeah, standing's fine."

Nodding back to her, Indigo was suddenly made very aware of the fact that a Goddess just witnessed her performance back there, and so blushed fiercely. Rainbow, apparently able to tell that that's what was concerning her, gave a hearty chortle.

"Don't worry about it. You're doing great so far. Trust me, I keep my eyes on athletes and racers all the time. And judging from what I've seen of your village? Oh yeah, tomorrow's race is in the bag!"

Indigo's face lit up.

"You...you really mean that?"

Rainbow nodded again, prompting Indigo to understandably punch the air with glee over the prospect of winning. Now, Rainbow always admired and respected confidence, so she of course smiled to that display. But that did not mean she wasn't thoughtful, and so poked her chin with her finger for a few moments before speaking up again.

"But you know...you could always be faster."

Indigo looked to her, curiosity taking hold of her.

"What, you mean...more training?"

Rainbow shook her head, then took a moment to quickly glance around, especially up at the sky, just in case certain individuals might have been spying on them at that moment. When she was confident that this was not the case, she smiled again before looking Indigo right in the eye.

"How would you feel about having a little...divine help in your race tomorrow?"

Indigo raised an eyebrow.

"You mean...cheat? I thought Goddesses didn't like that?"

Rainbow gave another shrug.

"Oh, sure, some of the more rule-loving Goddesses would say that, but me? Me, I just like it when my favourites win. And you, Indigo..."

She placed her hand upon Indigo's shoulder gently, taking especial care not to allow her godly strength to shatter the girl's bones there as she did so.

"...are definitely one of my favourites right now."

Indigo smiled at that thought, and after just a brief moment of hesitancy, she clapped her hands together.

"Alright then, what do we do?"

Rainbow's smile widened.

"Atta girl! Now then..."

Reaching behind herself, Rainbow then brought out what appeared to be a pair of ordinary sandals, with the caveat being that they looked to be made of pure gold. Indigo was naturally wowed by the sight, but Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, they're pretty. Mac always does forge nice-looking stuff and all. But it's what happens when you wear them that the fun begins!"

Without even a word, Indigo swiped the offered footwear from her divine companion, after which she strolled over to the nearest broken column, which was conveniently short enough to serve as a chair. Sitting down upon it Indigo unceremoniously kicked off her own sandals before slipping easily into the new ones. Standing up again, Indigo made sure they fit right, and once she was satisfied, she waited a moment for something to happen. When all was silence and inactivity, she frowned a little before looking up to Rainbow, who just smiled at her before gesturing to the racetrack beside them. Indigo looked to it, then back to Rainbow.

"What? Just...run?"

Rainbow nodded, then watched as Indigo gave a shrug of her own, taking up more-or-less the same position she'd had before the two even met. She took a few deep breaths, then launched herself forward. At first, it felt like it always did when she began a run, at least for the first few moments. But then, in the next few seconds, her speed seemed to increase. Her steps were faster, and she was moving as though her feet weren't even touching the ground. It was more like gliding than running, and she was zooming along the track faster than she'd ever been able to before. Having this power, this speed, was overwhelming to her, though in a way that caused her to laugh with sheer excitement over it. Rainbow smiled at this, clapping enthusiastically.

"Alrighty then! Good going, Indigo!"

"Thanks! Now, how do I slow down?" she called back.

Rainbow blinked, her face frozen in that one look she had a moment ago.

"Um...what?"

Indigo, still going around inhumanly fast, looked back to her.

"Stopping! How...how do I stop?"

Rainbow blinked again, then scratched the top of her head, mumbling something to herself as if trying to recall a lost memory.

"Rainbow?" Indigo called out, increasingly worried.

Rainbow, in the silence that followed, soon gained a look of utter horror, which she quickly masked with a nervous chuckle as she looked back to Indigo.

"I, er...don't remember."

Now terrified herself, Indigo screamed at the top of her lungs as her magically-endowed legs kept on causing her to zip around the racetrack at faster and faster speeds. Rainbow, realising this was her fault, shouted to her as she passed her by.

"Just...just try something!"

Indigo frowned harder than she'd ever frowned before.

"What?! You mean like just looking down at these things and saying 'stop please' or something?!"

Yet, as those words left her mouth, the movement of her legs suddenly stopped, and she was immediately sent flying, tumbling to the ground and rolling over many times as her speed came to a cataclysmic halt. Dirt was sprayed forth as she finally ground to a stop, and Rainbow immediately flew over to her, looking her over.

"Kid? You, er...you okay there?"

Slowly but surely, Indigo stopped the frantic panting she'd been doing, looking up at the forced smile of the Goddess above her. She gradually got to her feet, still shaking, before aggressively kicking the golden sandals off her feet, before pointing to them with pure intent. Rainbow, understanding, sheepishly went over to the discarded shoes, picked them up, then paused for a moment before finally speaking.

"So...I'm guessing you don't want my help now?"

"Yes, my Lady...you may guess that," Indigo grumbled back.

Nodding, Rainbow started to back away.

"I'll just...take these back to Mac, shall I?"

"Please...do."

Rainbow, not wanting to incur further anger from this girl, began to fly off into the clouds above, sighing and speaking to herself as she did so.

"Note to self...don't encourage cheating."

"Ah, such a lovely evening."

Now, it was not unusual for a young woman to enjoy the sight of a sunset while looking out upon the ocean. But what was unusual about this particular person was that she was not entirely human. Oh, sure, by all accounts, Adagio looked like every other young lady, but there was the slight noticeable difference in that her lower half was that of a fish's tail. She greatly resembled the quintessential mermaid, bare-chested and with her scales a bright and shiny orange that was truly complimented by the light of the sunset. She reclined eagerly against the warm rocks of the shoreline, smiling to herself as she continued to watch the sun go down, her tail gently swaying back and forth in the water as she did so. But it soon became apparent to her that she was not alone here, and her smile turned into something of a smirk as she heard the approaching footsteps behind her.

"Well now, I do enjoy some company on an evening like this. Won't you join me for a swim, Cadance?"

Looking over her shoulder, Adagio looked on to see that it was indeed Cadance now approaching her. Clad in a flowing pink dress, the older Goddess had her arms crossed, and she bore a distinctly disapproving frown right now. Adagio, realising that she wasn't just here for a simple friendly chat, sighed disappointingly.

"Oh, well, let's have it. What have I done this time?"

Cadance squinted.

"Adagio, you know full well why I'm here."

Adagio gave an innocent shrug that would have been absolutely perfect with a halo above her head right now.

"Why, I'm sure I don't know what you mean, my friend."

Cadance rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"You know, I recently had a young woman send me a prayer. She's rather upset that her husband isn't exactly being...faithful to her right now. Apparently she thinks he's been going behind her back to, and I quote, 'betray my trust with some sea-woman'. Would you, by any chance, know anything about that?"

Adagio looked her right in the eye, looking confident and mischievous in equal measure.

"Hey, when a man knows what he wants..."

Cadance pointed an accusatory finger at her.

"We had an agreement! No. More. Married. Men!"

Adagio rolled her eyes.

"My dear Cadance. You can't blame a girl for having needs, now can you?"

Cadance slapped her own forehead in frustration.

"Adagio, among other things, I'm the Goddess of marriage. You really think I can just turn a blind eye to you doing this?"

This time, it was Adagio's turn to frown.

"And I, in case you hadn't noticed, am the Goddess of lust. I'm doing my job just like you're doing yours."

Cadance stepped forward.

"You can still fulfil your duties without interfering in mine. Do you have any idea how many ruined unions I've had to try and salvage because of your little dalliances?!"

Adagio paused here, considering that question.

"We're immortals, Cadance. It's going to take a while to give you an exact number."

The other Goddess groaned with tiredness, taking a few steps forward and looking out at the sea beyond.

"Can't you just stick to your job as a sea-Goddess? I mean, not to sound cliché or anything, but there's plenty of fish in the sea. It's not as if that place is lacking for males to sate your...needs."

But Adagio waved her off dismissively.

"Pfft! Mer-men have so little vigour when compared to the humans. Besides, you've always managed to help those couples get back together, haven't you?"

Cadance frowned to her again.

"Not without a lot of work, Adagio. And it certainly doesn't help that you seem to prefer the married ones!"

Amusement returned to the sea-Goddess' face.

"Hey, what can I say? When they get the itch, they really go for it."

But Adagio soon noted the rather un-amused look Cadance was giving her, and so gave a sigh of her own, once more reclining against her rock.

"Okay, so maybe I was wrong for giving you a harder time than you needed to be having. I get it. I'll try to be less of a temptation to the committed ones, alright?"

Cadance arched an eyebrow

"And your sisters too?"

Adagio groaned.

"Ugh! Fine! I'll talk to Ari and Nata later!"

Placing her hands upon her hips, Cadance nodded.

"Good. If that's everything then..."

She turned to leave, only to be stopped when Adagio called out to her again.

"Oh, I forgot to ask. How's the little one doing?"

For the first time today, Cadance smiled, and she walked back over, kneeling down so as to look Adagio right in the eye.

"Flurry? Oh, she's doing wonderfully. Shining and I are so happy right now. It's won't be long before she starts walking and talking and..."

She was so happy and enthusiastic right now that even Adagio couldn't help but smile at just how much joy she was feeling as she listed off all the little things Flurry had been getting up to.

"I'm glad for you. I have to say though, Cadance, you really scored the jackpot when it came to things to be in charge of. Marriage, love, motherhood, you really are an icon for the mortals, you know that?"

Cadance was, for the most part, flattered by the remark, but her smile soon faded when a new thought came to her afterwards. A thought, she realised, she perhaps should have commented on before now.

"That reminds me..."

Adagio's smile faded too.

"Okay, here we go."

Clearing her throat a little Cadance finally said it.

"We need to have a talk about some of your children."

Adagio resumed her scowl.

"I'll have you know that my sons and daughters are perfectly well-behaved!"

Cadance tilted her head slightly.

"Dagi...we've had three capsized ships and at least a dozen drowned seamen in the last month because of your...offspring."

But Adagio was unconcerned.

"Oh, all kids have their dangerous games here and there!"

Cadance placed another hand on her hip.

"Your children are so feared that many of the mortals have taken to calling you the 'Mother of Sea-Monsters'."

Adagio seemed incensed by that remark.

"Sea monsters?! What right have they to call my precious little darlings that?!"

Then, as if on cue, several miles away, the surface of the sea burst open. From it's depths emerged a beast of gargantuan proportions. If skyscrapers had existed in this world, that would be the sort of size comparison people would be making about this creature. At a glance, it resembled some sort of sea horse, though that was where the similarities ended, as it sported a pair of massive crab-like claws and had goat-like horns protruding from its head. It bellowed furiously before again diving into the deep waters, at which point it was revealed to have a tail not dissimilar from that of a scorpion. As the waters finally settled, Adagio, having not actually turned around to see her progeny rise up like that, blinked a few times before rolling her eyes.

"Okay, so maybe some of them have had a bit of a growth-spurt lately."

Seeing the blank stare Cadance was giving her, Adagio let her shoulders slump in a sign of relenting.

"Okay, fine! I'll try to keep my kids in line!"

Cadance nodded.

"Thank you. Now, I'll leave you to your sunbathing."

Though Adagio would have liked nothing more than to do just that, she couldn't help but smirk and try to get in one final jab at her fellow Goddess.

"You know, since I'm not going to be involving myself with married mortals anymore, maybe you could recommend Shining to me? I mean, I'm sure you're pretty busy these days, so he's probably feeling lonely."

Slowly, Cadance looked over her shoulder, giving her such a death glare that, had she been mortal, it might have actually killed her.

"Touch him, and I'll have Celestia make tomorrow's sun so hot that your seas will evaporate to nothing more than a puddle."

But, rather than be intimidated, Adagio merely chortled.

"Now there's the Cadance I like to see!"

"Hmmm...should I or shouldn't I?"

Flash, tapping his chin with his finger, thought long and hard on the important matter before him. He knew a decision needed to be made, but he also knew that it was a choice he'd need help with. He looked up, his eyes darting to all others who had gathered here, none of whom were paying him any attention as he stood in the adjacent room of the village hall. A long sigh escaped him, and he knew what had to be done. Reaching down his shirt, he pulled out his pendant, which was a simple black string from which dangled a small ornament in the shape of a purple star. He looked to it for the longest time, then slowly closed his eyes, bringing the ornament close to his face. He muttered calmly under his breath. A prayer. Would she answer? Would she bless him with her presence? Mere moments passed, and before the young man could open his eyes, a new voice spoke to him.

"Well now...what do we have here?"

Opening his eyes again, Flash, at least at first, hoped that his prayer had been answered, yet when he turned to see who had spoken, he was taken aback to find that this was not who he had been expecting. Oh, he certainly knew a Goddess when he saw one, but this was one unfamiliar to him. With grey skin and clad in nothing but a simple short dress, which appeared to be made from some brown beast's fur, this figure lazily hovered in mid-air, reclining as if laying down on a sofa. Her hair was short and white, though long enough to reach down and cover one eye, while her other eye looked to him with a bright red iris. From her head spouted a pair of mis-matched horns, as though taken from two completely different animals, and her mouth, though closed, revealed a single fang-like tooth protruding from under the lip. The young-looking Goddess smirked as she regarded the youth before her.

"So then, what's your name sweetie?"

Flash, remembering his manners, dropped to one knee in a typical sign of submission before the Goddess.

"Er...I'm Flash, My Lady. Flash Sentry."

The newcomer nodded slowly.

"Yes...one of Twilight's, yes?"

Flash nodded, looking back to her.

"Yes, but...I'm sorry, I don't think I know you."

The Goddess chuckled pointing straight to herself.

"My dear lad, you stand in the presence of none other than Eris, Goddess of chaos and disharmony!"

Flash blinked slowly.

"Um, pardon me for saying so, but I thought that was the role of the God Discord?"

A knowing smirk came to Eris' lips.

"Well, let's just say a deity likes to feel pretty every once in a while," she remarked while tucking some of her white hair behind her ear.

Flash took a moment to consider that, then his eyes widened with realisation.

"You mean...you're...?"

Eris winked, pointing straight at him.

"Bingo-bango, we have a winner, ladies and gentlemen! The lad's figured it out!"

She'd said that so loudly that Flash suddenly remembered that he was not alone here today, and so glanced to the side to the other villagers. None of them had even turned to look at him, so it was a safe bet that only he could see and hear all this right now. It was a small comfort, to be sure, but he took what he could get at this point. Unfortunately, his attention was soon returned to the chaotic lady nearby, as she gently floated to the ground before placing one hand on her hip, striking a rather sensual pose.

"Wadda ya think? Not too shabby, if I do say so myself."

Flash, realising how monumentally bad of an idea it would be to insult a Goddess, simply resorted to keep his mouth as tightly shut as he could, all while his cheeks erupted in a fierce blush. Eris, naturally, took great amusement in this one.

"Oh, this is gonna be fun. But first, to business."

She folded her arms, looking to him inquisitively.

"I believe you wanted a little divine intervention with something?"

Remembering why he was in this predicament to begin with, Flash shook his head to regain his senses. But before he spoke, he was suddenly struck with a rather important remembrance, and so looked down to his pendant, taking it in-between his thumb and forefinger.

"Well...um...it's just...I've been a devoted Twilightite all my life, so...I'm not sure it's right for me to ask for another Goddess' help."

Eris stared at him, eyebrow raised.

"Twilight...ite?"

She slapped her own face.

"Ugh! Please tell me that's not what she's calling her followers!"

Rolling her eyes, she looked again to the mortal.

"I assure you, Mr Sentry, that I'm perfectly capable of helping out just as much as Little-Miss-Perfectionist! Now..."

Her smirk returned.

"...what exactly appears to be the issue?"

Flash, all of a sudden, seemed a bit less confident about this whole matter than he was before. He knew it was an important decision, and he did need help, but now that an actual Goddess was here to offer that help, and one that had a bit of a dangerous reputation at that, he wasn't feeling like he was on quite as stable a footing as he could be. But, as the stares of Eris continued to bore into him, he relented, sighing, and looked down to the table he'd been standing next to this whole time.

"O Eris, Lady of Chaos, I beseech thee..."

He gestured to the table, upon which was a large plate, which Eris could see had a single slice of what looked like some kind of cake.

"...should I eat the last slice of cake?"

A silence fell, and Eris stared at the lone piece of cake that had been pointed out to her. Flash himself waited, looking from the food to the Goddess and back again. After a time though, a sigh was heard, and not from Flash, but from Eris, who slowly looked up to stare him right in the eye.

"You prayed for a Goddess...you asked for divine aid...for this?!"

Flash frowned, clearly seeing no problem with this matter.

"Of course I asked for help! Who knows what kind of problems I'd cause if I just waltzed on in here and took it!"

Eris' shoulders slumped, and she started rubbing her temples in a clear sign of calming herself.

"A complete and utter goody-two-shoes. Yep, you're definitely one of Twilight's followers."

As if the mention of her name was all that was needed, Twilight Sparkle herself now appeared onto the scene, bursting into being through an array of purple sparkles that befitted her name. Flash, upon seeing her, fell to his knees again, while Eris again rolled her eyes.

"Oh, speak of the Devil..."

Twilight was incensed at her presence though.

"DISCORD!!!"

But Eris soon corrected her.

"Ah! I go by Eris today!"

Twilight rubbed the bridge of her nose, exhaling deeply.

"Fine! Eris then!"

She pointed an accusing finger at her fellow Goddess.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

Eris, who now apparently saw some opportunity for amusement, resumed her smile, trying to look and sound as innocent as she possibly could.

"Little old me? Why, I'm simply helping this poor lad with a terrible moral choice."

Twilight's frown deepened.

"You know you're not supposed to poach other Goddess' followers like this!"

Eris grunted.

"But I'm boooooooooooored!"

Twilight shook her head, then looked down to Flash, who was still kneeling. Seeing someone she actually liked, Twilight smiled, getting down to one knee and reaching out with her hand, offering it to the mortal.

"Take heart, Flash. Your true Goddess is here," she said, making sure to give Eris some side-eye as she did so.

Flash smiled back to her, and as he accepted her hand, the two stood up again.

"Now then, my loyal follower, what appears to be the problem?" Twilight asked.

Flash, now confident that he had his proper deity with him, pointed to the cake slice. Twilight looked to it, taking only a moment to realise the situation and the problem that needed her involvement, and she nodded.

"Ah, I see. Yes, I can understand why you needed me. This is truly a difficult matter."

Eris looked to them both, finding that whole exchange hilarious.

"Wait, seriously? It's a piece of cake we're talking about here!"

Twilight's head snapped in her direction.

"You stay out of this!"

But Eris was not so easily silenced.

"See, it's things like this that are the reason your followers are all such boyscouts! Also, Twilightite? Really?"

Twilight folded her arms.

"It's to-the-point," she explained.

"And as unimaginative as you can get," Eris countered.

Ignoring her, Twilight got back to Flash, gently placing a hand upon his shoulder.

"In your heart, you know the right thing to do. Someone, out there among your village, will want that slice. Oh, sure, they may say now that they don't, but imagine if you claimed it for your own. You take that first bite, and all of a sudden, one of your fellow villagers changes their mind."

Flash grimaced at that prospect while Twilight continued.

"They'll lament not taking it when they had the chance, and they will look to you with annoyance, maybe even anger. True, you will not be at fault, but that choice could lead to a greater and greater rift between you and they. Friendships may end, and conflict will emerge, all because of a single slice of cake. Do you really want that?"

Flash sighed, shaking his head.

"No, I don't."

Twilight smiled, patting him on the shoulder.

"Good man."

Here, Eris had had enough.

"Okay, that's it! There is no reason for you to take this so seriously!"

The other two looked to her, and while Twilight was annoyed at the interruption, she said nothing as Eris carried on.

"It's just a slice of cake! Nobody here is gonna give you trouble with it! Just eat it already! Because hey, if those guys wanted it, they should've gotten here first!"

Twilight fumed at that.

"That is a totally selfish and irresponsible thing to do!"

Eris shrugged.

"Do you see people lining up to have it? No! It's just Flash! This isn't rocket science, Twilight!"

Flash tilted his head in confusion.

"What's a rocket?"

Eris snickered.

"Give it a few millennia. Trust me, it'll be big!"

Twilight softened as she looked to Flash again.

"Remember, Flash, always think of others first. Be the selfless one here."

Flash nodded, contemplating that wisdom.

"Or just take a moment for yourself for once and just eat the cake!" Eris added.

"Ooooh! Did someone say cake?"

At that new voice, all eyes turned to see that it was none other than Pinkie, who had just popped in with the sound of a confetti explosion, much to the shock of everyone around her. Flash got to his knees again, a motion that was starting to irritate Eris, and spoke humbly to the new arrival.

"Praise to you, Lady Pinkie, mistress of merriment and festivities."

"And fun! Don't forget fun!" Pinkie added.

But, as she regarded the mortal, she paused, taking him in. Her eyes drifted all over him, and after a long silence, she started to smile amorously, sliding over to Twilight and whispering to her.

"Hey now, Twily, where have you been hiding this one?"

Twilight frowned, but said nothing as Pinkie assumed a more professional tone.

"Now then, as the Lady of Parties, and thus the one with true jurisdiction in this problem, I say this...just eat the cake."

Twilight's eyes snapped as wide as they could.

"PINKIE?!?!"

Eris chortled.

"Finally! Another Goddess with some sense!"

Pinkie looked to Twilight and shrugged.

"What? If there's cake to be had, then have the cake. Simple!"

Twilight slapped her forehead in frustration, and as she did so, Pinkie sauntered on over to Flash, who was now standing up again, and spoke soothingly to him.

"So, now that that's over with, how about you and me have a different kind of party, cutie?"

Flash blushed massively, and Twilight, realising what was happening, reached over and grabbed hold of him, holding him close and tightly.

"No! My follower! Shoo!"

"Come on, Twilight! I'll only borrow him for a few hours!" Pinkie declared.

"What?!" Flash yelled.

"Have you thought of asking the other villagers?"

The new voice caught everyone off-guard, and their eyes turned to see that it was Sunset, who was leaning against the side of the table with her arms folded, looking very much amused by everything that was transpiring. Flash would have undoubtedly got to his knees had he not been in the strong grip of Twilight right now, so he instead just spoke back to the new Goddess.

"Um...pardon?"

Sunset chucked, then gestured to the other villagers.

"I mean, they're right there, so...why not just ask?"

They all stared at her, looking like that was the most bizarre thing any of them had ever heard. But, after a while of mulling it over, Flash, now free of Twilight for the time being, cleared his throat and poked his head out the door to look to all the others in the village hall.

"Um...anyone else want the last piece of cake?"

The other humans stopped what they were doing and looked to him. Then, after a brief interlude where they all glanced around to see if anyone would speak up, one of them, a young lady about his age, spoke back to him.

"Er, no, go for it."

Flash smiled, giving a thumbs up before darting back into the other room.

"Well, that was easy."

Sunset smirked.

"Told ya."

But, before anyone could really be happy about this now-ended conflict, they turned to find that the cake plate was now inexplicably empty. Naturally disturbed by this, they all looked around, only to stop when they heard the very distinct sound of someone munching on something. Slowly, they all looked at Pinkie, whose cheeks were puffed up like a gerbil, and she was totally oblivious to the stares she was now getting. That is, until she actually swallowed, wherein she became very aware of it indeed.

"...What?"

All looked annoyed right now, and Flash just looked like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown, so Pinkie, realising what she'd just done, gave herself a little bop on the noggin.

"Oh! Duh! Here, let me fix that!"

She snapped her fingers, and after a quick flash of light, the piece of cake re-appeared on the plate. Unfortunately, it was returned as part of a whole fresh and uneaten cake, thus completely filling the plate. Flash, bewildered by this, looked back up to the party Goddess, who promptly smiled to him.

"You're welcome!"

She then leaned over and gave him a quick wink.

"Oh, and be sure to send a prayer my way if you want some fun on the side."

Flash blushed again, and Twilight of course looked annoyed, but Pinkie, before she could be on the receiving end of anybody's complains, zipped out of the room with another confetti sound. Eris, who had been thoroughly entertained by all this, gave a hearty laugh before turning to Flash.

"You know, kid, I was wrong. This was way more fun than I expected!"

She gave another laugh, then snapped her fingers, teleporting out, leaving just Flash, Twilight and Sunset. Moments afterwards, Twilight, taking this opportunity now that Eris was gone, walked over to her follower and spoke in a warning tone to him.

"Remember, if she ever offers you any golden apples, just say no."

Flash blinked, and after all of this, he just smiled and nodded. Though the mortal was of course relieved to be free of the conundrum that had put him in this mess to begin with, it was clear that he had been exhausted by it, as evidenced by his long exhale. But, he wasn't so exhausted as to forget his manners, and so offered another smile to his primary deity.

"Thank you, Lady Twilight. I appreciate your aid."

Twilight smiled back, giving a quick bow of her head.

"It was my pleasure, Flash."

Sunset smiled too.

"And mine."

Then, a look of curiosity came to the human, and he scratched his head.

"Say...if you don't mind my asking, why didn't you get here before Eris? I mean, it was you I sent the prayer to after all."

To that, both Twilight and Sunset started to blush, and they quickly glanced at one another before looking back to Flash.

"Oh! Um, we were busy with...stuff," Twilight stated.

"Yes, very important Goddess kinds of stuff," Sunset added.

Flash blinked, not sure of how to take this, then, all of a sudden, Eris' head popped in out of nowhere, floating around, before just blurting out the obvious to the boy.

"They were busy making out!"

Flash again blushed to this, as did the other two Goddesses, who glared angrily at the intruder before screaming in unison at her.

"ERIS!!!"

"You're welcome!" she said, popping back out again.

Flash, thoroughly brought to the brink of "done" over all this, turned around slowly to the two, trying to sound as deferent as he could.

"You know...I could just pretend I didn't hear that."

Sunset and Twilight, in spite of everything, smiled back to him, with the latter responding.

"Yeah, that'd be good."

Big shout out to the hilarious YouTube Channel Door Monster and their video Psychomachia for being a big inspiration with this one. Check them out, they're great

"Ha! Look at all of those pitiful little seamstresses, Coco. they wouldn't know talent if it marched on up to them and whacked them over the head!"

Suri smirked as she looked at all of her fellow dress-makers, all working hard to create outfits at the local faire. It was a happy time, for the most part, as many from all the surrounding villages had come to show off their wares, and in some cases even demonstrate the creation of them, as in the case with the aforementioned seamstresses. Suri was unimpressed with their work, however, despite the fact that many who were gathering to watch seemed to like what was being made. Her assistant, Coco, a shy girl by all accounts, looked to her senior with worry.

"Well...they all seem to like it," she remarked, pointing out the other villagers.

Suri rolled her eyes.

"Pfft! They're merely plebs, Coco. They look at anything shiny or colourful and they immediately think of it as being good. They don't appreciate true quality! They don't appreciate a great work..."

She turned, pointing to the dress she herself had on display, which was currently placed out neatly upon her stall.

"...like this! Just look at all his detail! The embroidery, the stitching, the patterns! Why, I'd wager, you wouldn't ever find a finer dress in all the land!"

Coco, naturally, was worried that her colleague was getting ahead of herself, since it was pretty well-known what typically happened when matters of arrogance was involved.

"Um, perhaps you might want to tone down your claims? Confidence is all well and good, but we don't want people to think that we see their work as worthless. I mean...I think they've made good stuff."

Suri frowned at the young girl beside her.

"Ugh! And that just shows how little skill you must have if you honestly think any of those outfits are any good!"

And just as she was saying that, one of their fellows, another young lady, was walking by, carrying her own outfit, and one that she clearly had a fondness for, as shown by the warm smile she had when she passed by. Suri, by contrast, saw nothing to be pleased with, and so, in a move shocking to all there, yanked the dress right from the girls' grip. All eyes turned, and the girl herself became exceptionally distressed, which proved to be justified when Suri did what she did next.

"These others ladies have made nothing more than cheap, unimpressive rags!"

With that, she tore the dress apart, throwing it down onto the dirty ground, right in front of the girl. She fell silent, as did all there, and before long, tears were in her eyes, and she ran off before the first of them could fall. Nobody had anything good to say to Suri after that, but they were all so intimidated by her right now that they had not the courage to even speak to her, especially not Coco, who merely shrank away while trying to focus on her own sewing. Suri, utterly confident that she'd established her dominance here, placed her hands upon her hips and smirked triumphantly to the crowd. That is, until she could hear somebody clearing their throats, and she turned to see what appeared to be an old woman. She was short, hunched over, and wearing a simple grey robe which included a hood that now covered her face.

"Pardon me, young lady, but I believe you are behaving quite out of order."

Suri looked the old-timer over, then chortled.

"Oh? Let me give you some advice, old one. I have every right to do what I did. Why, a dress-maker of my calibre has every cause to rid the world of a poor creation like that. I am better at this than everyone else here, so who better to pass judgement on their work?"

The old woman remained where she stood.

"Be careful about looking down on the work of others. You may have no love for them, but their creators certainly do, as do those who see them as they pass by. The work you display may be beautiful, Suri, but don't let that cause you to think yourself better than all others."

But Suri had heard quite enough from her at this point, and just waved her off.

"What could you know, old woman? I'm better at this than any under the sun!"

Slowly, a smirk formed on her lips, and she gazed right up, pointing straight to the sky.

"In fact, I'd say I'm even better than the Goddess Rarity herself!"

All took a step back, utterly shocked that such a claim had been made. All, that is, except for the old woman, who gripped the edge of her robe tightly.

"Is that so?"

Suri looked back down to her, frowning.

"Yeah! And hey, if she doesn't like that, then she should just come down here and prove me wrong!"

That, apparently, was it, and the "old woman" cast off her cloak to reveal that she was, in fact, not an old woman at all. She was indeed the Goddess Rarity herself, standing tall, and began floating above the ground by a full three feet. All gasped as they saw her, clad in a pristine while gown that flowed elegantly in the gentle wind, her glow bathing all around her in light. She gazed down to Suri, eyes narrowed, and the seamstress gulped, taking a step backwards while twiddling her thumbs.

"Um...you know...sometimes we say things when we're on a bit of an emotional high and..."

But Rarity was not going to let her off the hook that easily, and raised a finger, silencing her.

"Miss Suri, your behaviour here has been utterly disgraceful. You treat others with complete disrespect, all because you think yourself greater. Your so-called confidence is little more than arrogance of the highest order, and your challenge to me personally..."

A knowing smile came to her.

"...is accepted."

She snapped her fingers, and with a brief flash of light, two tables, covered from one end to the other in dress-making materials, appeared out of nowhere. Many in the crowd were in awe at this power, but Suri just remained as concerned as ever,.

"Um...you know, maybe my boast was a little much. I'd never seek to try and..."

Alas, Rarity was already standing by her own table, and quietly gestured to the other.

"Oh no. I'm sure we're all eager to see what the great Suri Polomare has to show us. By all means, wow this crowd with your exceptional skill. Skill enough to eclipse mine, as I recall you saying?"

Suri was frozen in place, like a statue, but now that she knew there was no getting out of this, she slowly walked to her table. Rarity nodded, and immediately began her own work. Her dexterous fingers, quick reflexes and amazing eye for detail meant that she was throwing herself into her work in a manner never before witnessed at a faire like this. All there gathered as well as they could, all trying to sneak a peak at the work of a Goddess. The dress she was making was immaculate, unravelled in its beauty, yet also simply made in a way that anyone here felt that they themselves could accomplish. After a few finishing flourishes, Rarity stepped back, using her power to float the dress in front of the crowd, and many clapped at her creation, which she was sure to give a quick bow to.

"Thank you all. It was a pleasure to make it."

Then, as expected, all eyes turned to Suri. Unlike Rarity, she hadn't even started on her own dress yet, and was in fact sweating a great deal now that the eyes of the crowd were upon her. She quickly glanced over to Rarity,.

"I...er...I might need more time."

Rarity nodded, taking some small measure of amusement in her rival's predicament.

"Oh, by all means, take as much time as you wish."

Then, she frowned, taking a step forward.

"Or is your hesitancy more to do with the fact that you have no skill at dress-making?"

There were mutterings of confusion among the crowd, and doubly so in the girl Coco, who, unlike all here, stood beside her colleague to defend her.

"But, she's a great dress-maker! I've seen what she's made, we all have!"

Rarity nodded, her face softening at the word of this earnest girl, and she gave her a smile. Walking forward, she placed her hand upon her shoulder, speaking sweetly to her.

"My dear girl, that dress she lauded so much, that she used as justification for putting down you and all others...does it not look just a touch familiar?"

Coco blinked, unsure of what she meant by that, and Suri, who had also heard that, looked mortified for some reason. Coco, slowly, turned her gaze to Suri's dress, still on their stall, and focused on it intently. After a while, little things and details started to make themselves known to her, and after a time, her eyes widened, with realisation finally dawning.

"Wait, is...is that my dress?"

Suri hung her head in shame, and Coco's head snapped in her direction.

"You...you said you threw it out! That it wasn't worth showing to others!"

Suri said nothing, but Rarity now moved, heading straight for the dress in question.

"Indeed, she did say that. But what she actually did with it was dye its colours, add a few bit of flourish, then placed it here to claim as her own."

She looked to Suri with clear disapproval.

"She has never made a dress of her own. All her most recent 'successes' have all been your work, Coco. Work she took and simply added to."

Coco shook her head, stunned at having learned this. Suri, having finally been exposed for her actions, spun around, falling to her knees and clasping her hands together.

"Oh please, Lady Rarity! Don' turn me into a spider for my arrogance!"

Rarity was quite taken aback by that, placing her hand to her chest and gasping slightly.

"Oh! Heaven forbid! Spiders are grotesque creatures!"

She paused, glancing to the side briefly.

"Unless they're little sweethearts named Lucas."

She looked back to Suri.

"No, your arrogance shall not warrant any physical torment like that, but rather a more, shall we say, fitting task?"

She stifled a giggle, leaning over and nudging Coco slightly with her elbow.

"Just a little fashion joke there."

Coco nodded, accepting the pun even as she screamed internally over it. Rarity looked back to Suri, taking on a more regal-sounding tone.

"Suri Polomare, for your many lies and acts of disrespect, you shall henceforth be Coco's assistant!"

Suri's eyes snapped open.

"Pardon?!"

Rarity nodded.

"Quite. Clearly she is the greater dress-maker here, so it's only right that you learn from her. You will help her in all that she asks, and she will be the one to receive credit for her work. You will gain credit of your own...but only if and when you deserve it. Understood?"

Though Suri clearly chafed at the notion of becoming a subordinate to her own assistant, she knew that trying to challenge a Goddess a second time would not be a good idea, particularly now that her shame was probably going to be known far and wide after today. Instead, she relented, sighing and giving a nod, much to Rarity's satisfaction.

"Very good. Let us hope you learn humility from this day. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other duties to attend to."

She turned, looking to the meek blue-haired girl beside her.

"And Coco?"

Coco looked up to her with uncertainty.

"Um...yes, Lady Rarity?"

Rarity smiled to her, snapping her fingers and, in a flash, transforming the displayed dress back into it's original form. The form Coco had made it before Suri made her secret changes.

"I wish you a successful day here today."

Coco too smiled, bowing her head respectfully. In another blinding light, Rarity was gone, leaving only the mortals, who now muttered excitedly amongst themselves over all they had just witnessed. Meanwhile, Coco frowned at Suri, who was at last getting back to her feet. After brushing herself down a little, the former "master" looked to her new senior in this relationship, then spoke more quietly.

"So...is there anything you'd like me to do...Miss Coco?"

Coco thought on that, then glanced past Suri, after which she smiled.

"Well, you can start by cleaning up all of that."

Suri turned, and she saw that it was her pile of sewing materials. The same pile Rarity had conjured for their little challenge earlier, which was still here despite the fact that Rarity herself was not. Sighing, Suri's shoulders slumped.

"...Sure."

Yeah, this one turned out a bit more serious than I planned

Still, hope you like it

"Okay...just a little bit longer...a little bit longer..."

Spike's eyes never strayed from the skies above, watching as that large blanket of cloud crept ever closer to the brightness of the sun. He knew he couldn't do what he wanted until he was certain that he was out of full view of the most powerful of their number, and only when the face of the sun was covered could that be done. Finally, the anticipated moment arrived, and the cloud finally drifted over, blanketing the surrounding land in its shade. Spike knew the Lady of the Sun could not see him now, and so he smiled widely, looking down to the unassuming meadow before him. He raised his hand, snapping his fingers, and within but a moment, the land shifted. It was like a mirage, a false image, disappearing before his eyes. A simple illusion he himself had placed there, and now that it was gone, he rubbed his hands together.

"Now it's Spike's time!"

Before him was a massive gaping hole in the field, and within was nothing short of what appeared to be a paradise. A pristine blue lagoon of calm and inviting water, surrounded by a ring of flora like that of a tropical island, complete with palm trees. It was clearly not meant to be here, and undoubtedly had been crafted by the young god himself, but regardless, he looked upon it with joy, walking to the edge of the hole.

"I love this part."

With quick motions, he slid off his outer garment, leaving himself in nothing but his under-shorts, and after taking a brief moment to stretch, he leapt off the side, plummeting speedily down while hugging his knees to his chest.

"CANNONBAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL!!!"

He splashed down straight into the lagoon, sending a torrent of water up with the impact. After just a few seconds, he re-emerged, spitting out some of the water that had spilled into his mouth. He laughed to himself, wiping back some of his hair as he released a contented sigh.

"Ah! Now this is what it's all about!"

"Not bad. I'd give that jump about an eight."

The colour drained from Spike's face, and his head snapped to the left. Sure enough, his fears were true, and Scootaloo was snickering to him from the side of the lagoon, accompanied by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. They were all sitting together on a large boulder with palm trees on either side, and they waved simultaneously to the dismayed God, eliciting an expected blush from him.

"Wha...what are you three doing here?!" he demanded to know.

Apple Bloom, keeping her knowing smile, folded her arms.

"Ah was about ta ask' y'all the same."

Nervously, Spike scratched the back of his head.

"Well, er...I figured I'd spend my free time with a little swim. Nothing wrong with that, right?"

Scootaloo looked around, pointing to the gaping chasm above that led to this place.

"Oh? A swim in a magically-hidden lagoon that just exists in the middle of nowhere? Sounds pretty fishy to me."

At that moment, an actual fish leapt out of the water beside Spike before flopping down back into it, much to his annoyance.

"Not helping, Dory."

Sweetie, looking the most innocent out of all of them, leaned forward and spoke sweetly to him.

"Spike. Did you have permission to just create a place like this and conjure life out of thin air for it?" she asked, pointing both to the trees and the tiny bees that buzzed around them.

Spike blushed again.

"Well...not permission exactly. I just...er..."

"Translation, he's totally breaking the rules right now," Scootaloo pointed out.

Their fellow deity grunted.

"Ugh! Fine! You caught me! I didn't ask before making this place. I just, you know, wanted a place to myself."

Apple Bloom smiled to him.

"Hey, we ain't judgin'. This place is mighty sweet ta be in. Don't blame ye fer comin'."

Spike, now calming down, considered something as he continued to float in the water, and looked to the girls with curiosity.

"Say...how did you three find this place?"

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom turned to Sweetie Belle, who blushed similarly to how Spike was doing, all while nervously poking the ends of her fingers together.

"Well, I like to come and smell the flowers up in the field up there, and sometimes run around in it. So I did that about a week ago and...you know..."

Scootaloo chortled, looking back to the boy.

"And she fell through your illusion and right into the lagoon! It was hilarious!"

Sweetie frowned to that, giving her a quick punch to the arm, which Scootaloo nursed even as she continued to stifle a laugh. Apple Bloom, meanwhile, wagged a finger at Spike.

"Y'all might wanna make somethin' a bit more substantial when coverin' yer secret hidey-hole, Spike. Don't want no mortals fallin' in here, right?"

Spike turned away, continuing to grumble.

"I'll try to remember that."

After a while though, his face softened, and he sighed, looking back to the girls.

"You're...not gonna tell Celestia about this, are you?"

The three looked to one another, then smiled, glancing back to the boy.

"Nah! We ain't gonna make trouble fer ya like that," Apple Bloom announced.

"That'd just be mean," Sweetie added.

Then, of course, Scootaloo looked to him a bit more mischievously.

"Although, we'd probably keep a lot more quiet if you were, you know...nicer to us?"

Spike's eyes narrowed, his danger senses tingling.

"And by 'nice', you mean...?"

Scootaloo shrugged.

"Simple. Just let us use this place too."

Spike grimaced at the prospect of having to share the place he made especially to be by himself, but given that they already knew about it and were here anyway meant that there was pretty much nothing he could do to stop them coming here at all. That plus a thousand memories of lectures on the value of sharing by Twilight flooded into his mind. Besides, even though he knew that they wouldn't outright blackmail him, it was always better to be safe than sorry. Exhaling, he nodded.

"Sure, why not?"

The girls cheered at the new agreement, and immediately jumped off their boulder and ran towards the water. Spike blushed as, just for a moment, he feared having to see them undress right in front of him. Fortunately for the sake of his tenuous grasp on his embarrassment, they instead just kicked off their sandals before unceremoniously leaping into the swimming hole. The resulting splash sent water right into Spike's face, leading to an expectedly deadpan look on his part. When the three rose up again, they giggled together, splashing further water towards each other. In this moment, Spike began floating on his back, his head partially submerged in a vain attempt to literally drown out the sound of all that playing. But his solitude in this did not last, as he soon noted Sweetie Belle swimming up close to him.

"So...how's your shape-shifting coming? Still doing that adorable baby dragon?"

Spike resumed his earlier blush, trying to deliberately deepen his voice as he responded.

"No! I, er, I've been trying other things! Things for the water even!"

Sweetie clapped her hands together, clearly eager to see what her fellow immortal could do. Spike, now realising he'd put himself on a metaphorical stage here, cleared his throat, then closed his eyes. There was a moment of quiet, as even the other two girls had stopped what they were doing to see what he would turn into. Then, there was a flash, signalling his transformation, and the three shielded their eyes from it. When the light faded though, and they looked back to where he'd been, they saw, to their confusion, that he was gone. No matter where they looked, there was no sign of him, leading to some slight worry. Then, without warning, Spike re-appeared, as his normal self, from under the water, gasping for air as he did so. After catching his breath, and seeing the confused looks he was getting, he gave his explanation.

"Remind me next time...crabs can't float."

A smile touched Celestia's lips as she saw the three girls giggle at Spike's transformation oversight, though he himself soon joined in on the laughter soon afterwards. Seated upon her golden throne, which rested on the highest cloud in all the skies, the Lady of the Sun sipped her tea elegantly, her dress flowing ethereally in the gentle breezes that were found up here. But she was not alone for long, as a second figure, clad in azure armor, soon stood beside her, glancing down to the same sight. After a time, the second figure smirked to her sister.

"So, when are you going to tell them that having the sun covered by clouds doesn't obstruct your omniscience?"

Celestia chuckled, taking another sip before finally looking to her sister.

"Oh, I'd say we can just let them have this little 'secret' retreat of theirs. Much more entertaining that way."

"So begins another night."

Luna's determination was clear, and she narrowed her eyes at the sight that now greeted her. The day was ending, and the sun of her sister was slowly creeping down beneath the horizon. She could see all the land from here, atop her vantage point on the highest mountain in the realm. With her divine sight, she could see every flicker of light from the windows of those homes where the hearth-fires were being lit. Darker and darker the skies grew, until at last the glow of the sun was gone completely. Now came her time to rule, her stewardship over humanity, and she knew her greatest duty in this time. Her armor glistened in the light of the full moon above, which she looked to with the briefest flicker of pride. But then her grip on the hilt of her sword tightened, and she turned her gaze instead to what lay behind her.

"It approaches...like all other nights."

Far away, on the opposing horizon, as if rising in response to the lowered sun, a darkness rose up into view. Like a cloud, but one not of this Earth, dark blue and purple, moving with intent like a thinking creature. It was a being completely divorced from what mortals believed life should look like, but Luna knew it well. She turned, facing it fully, and as it steadily crept above, blocking out the twinkling of the stars, she raised her hand and pointed her shining sword to it.

"Nay, Tantabus! Thou shalt not cover the land in night eternal! Thy nightmarish designs for this world and its people shall meet its end!"

She leapt up high, gripping her sword-hilt with her second hand also, flying higher and higher to meet with her foe, who growled menacingly at her approach. As soon as she was close enough, Luna's eyes widened, and she swung her sword with great effort.

"Have at thee!"

She struck the ethereal creature, causing a gash in its form that, on a beast of flesh and blood, would be described as a "wound". The beasts roared loudly, the sound echoing across the mortal world and undoubtedly causing many a nightmare for those who slept unknowingly beneath this mythic duel. Luna kept up her attack, hacking and slashing at the Tantabus, all while the demon itself attempted to counter her. Its movements were slow and cumbersome, no faster than an actual cloud, and thus it was no match for the swift and nimble movements of Luna. The Goddess of the Moon and Night, staying her sword for a time, raised her free hand to point at the Tantabus, speaking loudly and clearly.

"Tantabus! Thou art a being of great power and fearsome intent! Flee now from this field of battle, and I shall not give pursuit!"

But her enemy did not acquiesce to her offer, and instead unleashed yet another terrible bellow. Luna, for her part, simply smirked to this.

"Very good...it's more fun for me that way."

So, battle resumed, and she leapt up again to meet with her enemy. How many a night had this dance of blade and beast transpired? How many tales and songs and myths had been weaved by the peoples of the mortal world? For surely this nightly joust had become the stuff of legend, the story of Luna, guardian of the mortal realm, who every night would meet and challenge the terrifying Tantabus. How many years? How many centuries? How many millennia? None alive could say, save for the Goddesses themselves, and Luna in particular. This was her duty, her solemn and sworn task in life, and she would not relent, no matter how many times the centuries passed her by. The Tantabus was the creature of nightmares, and she the shield that guarded the domain of humanity from it.

"No mortal has ever felt the cold bitterness of thy nightmares, Tantabus, and none shall this night either!"

Sheathing her sword, Luna knew the end of this night's battle was near, and so she again drifted down to her mountaintop. The Tantabus too sensed the end approaching, and so, after releasing another haunting roar, it descended, perhaps believing itself capable of defeating her now that her weapon was no longer in play. But this was a false belief, as the Lady of the Night instead raised her hands to the sky, and sparks began to fly from them. Lightning, born without cloud, gathered in her palms, and the Tantabus halted, it's vague semblance of a face twisting into a look that could only be described as one of horror. Luna's own expression, that of certainty, looked straight to her foe.

"So ends our battle, Tantabus."

She shot forth her attack, an almighty blast of lightning, heading out and straight for her enemy. The Tantabus, still alarmed by this development, could not move fast enough as the attack finally struck it. It was engulfed fully in the lightning, unleashing one final unearthly screech as it happened. The sight was awesome to behold, and Luna watched as her power further and further constricted the Tantabus, wearing it down, little by little, like a stone endlessly beaten by the ocean. And just like such a stone, there came a time when the Tantabus was reduced to nothing. Mere wisps of smoke and nightly essence remained of this once-mighty beast, and as it finally passed from the world, the lightning too faded. Luna, her battle won, softened in her expression and sighed. She looked behind her, to the twinkling lights of all the human villages below, and smiled.

"Rest now, mortal peoples...for you are safe for another night."

Sitting down upon her mountaintop, Luna finally allowed herself a moment of rest, and so stretched out her arms, taking in the silence of the moment. Unfortunately, that silence did not last, and her ears twitched slightly as she heard a faint sound from behind her. She heard it draw closer and closer, and a small smile formed on her lips.

"You can stop now, Tantabus. You're not going to sneak up on me that easily."

Looking over her shoulder, Luna smiled further upon seeing the Tantabus behind her. It was indeed the same otherworldly cloud of purple and blue, but it was now no longer some impossibly huge and indeterminate beast. Instead, its shape and size was more akin to a child, a little girl specifically. As it blinked to Luna, it soon let out the distinct sound of a sigh, folding her "arms" and pouting soon after.

"Awww! I thought I could scare you this time!"

Luna chuckled.

"One would have to get up very early in the morning to be able to do that, my young friend."

Tantabus floated beside her, sitting on an adjacent rock that wasn't quite as high up as the one Luna herself was sitting on. As Tantabus dangled her legs over the edge, swaying them back and forth, she too looked down at the sleeping villages below.

"So...think any of them saw it?"

Luna considered that, giving a quick shrug.

"Mayhaps they did. It would have been quite the show for them if that was the case."

Tantabus' face changed to one that was very clearly meant to be a smile.

"Ooooh! Was I really that scary? Was I like a big spooky ghost and stuff? I was trying to go like a ghost this time. How'd I do?"

Luna smiled warmly to her, reaching over and giving her a quick pat on the head, which simply slightly passed through her, given her nature.

"My dear girl, you were utterly terrifying."

Tantabus seemed completely delighted by that, flying up in a zoom and doing a few somersaults in the air above, causing a laugh on Luna's part. When the younger Goddess finally descended, however, she looked to her elder with curiosity.

"Say...since I've been so good lately, would it be okay if I actually got through a few times tomorrow night?"

Luna glanced to her, raising an eyebrow, which prompted Tantabus to clasp her hands together and assume a more pleading tone.

"Oh please? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease? I'll keep the nightmares little, I promise! And I promise I'll only give them to the really bad humans!"

Luna returned to her smile, sighing contently and reclining back slightly.

"Well, I'll talk with Celestia. We'll see if there are any mortals who really deserve it. I hear there's this rather testy fellow named Svengallop who's been giving some of the land's great singers a hard time lately."

Tantabus rubbed her hands together, showing clear eagerness to finally unleash her nightmares on some unassuming, yet still very deserving, human.

"Ohohohoho! I know just the nightmare to give him! I've been working on one where the person is surrounded by snakes on one side and scorpions on the other!"

Luna considered that.

"Hmmm...maybe keep it to just snakes. Don't want to give them too much of a scare."

Tantabus gave a hearty salute.

"Yes Ma'am!"

Smiling, Luna gave her a quick pat on the shoulder, which naturally just passed through her again, much to Luna's slight irritation.

"Oh, right, always forget that bit."

"Hey! Timber! You sure we've got everything?"

The Captain's words were loud, so it took mere moments for the lad in question to stick his head up from below decks, after which he gave a thumbs up, showing that they did indeed have all the supplies they'd need for this journey. The Captain, an older man, smiled back to him, and so looked out over the edge of his ship. It wasn't the largest vessel out there, but it was good enough to get them where they needed to go. Just a simple charter, from one land to another and then back again. It was a trip this old boat had probably seen a thousand times, and the wear and tear of it was showing, given all the little creaks and cracks of the thing as it gently passed through the waters of the sea. Timber, who at last emerged from below, dusted his hands off after whatever work he'd been dong down there, before strolling right up to the ship's owner.

"So, how long before we make port?"

The Captain considered that, looking out to the horizon, wetting his finger in his mouth before feeling the wind above with it.

"A few hours, maybe more."

Timber nodded, looking out to that same horizon.

"It'll be good to start fresh in a new place."

Picking up an apple from a nearby open barrel, the Captain leaned on the side, looking to the youth with curiosity.

"Say, why'd you wanna leave anyhow? Lad like you could probably do pretty well for himself back home," he asked, taking a bit from his apple.

Timber chuckled, joining the older man in leaning against the side.

"Let's just say things back home got a bit too...hectic for my liking. Wanted to try something new...and hopefully safer."

The Captain knew not to pry too deeply. People coming out to sea for a new land? Yeah, they all had their stories and their secrets, and it wouldn't do to know them. So, finishing his apple, he handed Timber the core.

"Here, be a good land and get rid of that, would ya?"

Timber sighed, but nodded. He didn't want to antagonise the man after all. However, barely a few moments has passed when Timber stopped, looking over his shoulder. The Captain was busy right now, handling a pile of rope on the far end of the ship, and so wasn't paying attention to what Timber was doing. The boy looked to the apple core in his hand, then just shrugged.

"Meh. What's the worst that could happen?"

With that nonchalant attitude, he casually threw the core over the side, watching as it plopped into the salty water and sank down to whatever depths it might reach. Though Timber himself was totally fine with this, it appeared as though certain other pairs of eyes did not agree. And immediately, the boat began to sway slightly. Not dramatically, like a crash, but just enough to let the passengers know that something was off. As if that wasn't enough, there was also a sudden gust of wind, stronger than any they had felt thus far, which caught Timber off-balance slightly. After just a few moments, the guy slumped his shoulders.

"Oh...I'm gonna be paying for that apple with interest, aren't I?"

It would appear that the universe concurred with him on that one, as he looked up to see an entire blanket of dark clouds covering the previously-clear and sunny skies. The winds began to pick up, rocking the boat more than before, and the Captain immediately rushed to the front, shaking his head frantically.

"Oh no...oh nononononono!"

His head snapped to Timber.

"This is bad! I've never seen a storm come in this quick before! She must be truly furious to be doing this!"

Timber looked to him, fearful of his own impending question.

"Who?"

Looking up, the Captain pointed straight for the clouds.

"Her!"

Looking up himself, Timber saw the clouds part right in the middle, revealing what appeared to be, at least from this distance, the outline of a person. A woman specifically. Timber, seeing that, groaned.

"Oooooohhh...this is going to hurt."

A flash of lightning, and the woman's appearance was revealed. She had the look of a warrior, clad in armor as black as night, her face covered with a distinct scar down one side. Her hair, though certainly unconventional for a Goddess, nevertheless spoke of danger, and as she narrowed her eyes to the tiny boat below, her voice mirrored this sentiment.

"Trespasses shall be answered!"

Raising her hand, she summoned forth a bolt of lightning, forged into the shape of a spear, which she threw down to the sea with great strength. It struck the water, sending a massive amount of it bursting upwards and spraying the two mortals on the boat. They clung to the side, doing all they could to keep their grip on the thing, all while timber spat out some stray sea water from his mouth. The Captain, for his part, prostrated himself upon the deck of his boat, especially after greater and greater waves started hitting them.

"O mighty Tempest! Lady of lightning and storms! Tell us what we have done to offend thee!"

His response was a few further bolts of lightning into the water around them. They both knew she could easily crush them like bugs if she wanted, so this display was probably just to terrify them. But even knowing that, it was still a pretty good job of making them afraid, and they grimaced together as they continued to struggle in the storm around them. The Captain was in tears now, holding onto the mast for dear life.

"Calm down! It's okay! Remember what all the other sailors say! If you die at sea you comeback as a dolphin!"

Timber looked to him with incredulity.

"Seriously?! I mean, yeah, it's better than Tartarus, but a dolphin?!"

The Captain looked to him with confusion, at which point Timber explained himself.

"Meh, I've already done the whole 'dying' thing. Not a fan."

The Captain, now truly convinced he was in a situation of utter madness, fell to his knees again and called to the angry Goddess above.

"My Lady! Please! Tell us! What was our trespass?!"

Tempest, showing the first sign of restraint in this whole encounter, stayed her hand and pointed straight down to Timber, her eyes filled with disdain.

"Thou...shalt...not...litter!"

The Captain blinked, then slowly turned to look at Timber.

"What. Did, You. Do?!"

Timber gulped nervously.

"Well, funny thing, you see..."

Before he could actually finish, the two heard a loud "plop" sound, and so turned to see, to their surprise, that the discarded apple core was now flopped back onto the deck of the ship. The Captain, seizing the token, dropped again to his knees before holding it up to the skies, like some meagre offering to the enraged Goddess.

"O mighty Storm Queen! Tell us! What must we do to appease thee?!"

Tempest, aiming her latest bolt to the boat, gave her command.

"Thou...must put it in its proper place!"

Timber, hearing that, looked behind him, to another open barrel, intended for the purpose of containing waste food. He paused, but only briefly, before the grabbing the core from the Captain. He walked over to the aforementioned barrel, looking to the core quickly before finally dropping the thing in. A few moments passed, but then, the rocking of the ship, finally ceased. Light levels began to rise, and Timber looked up to see that the skies were finally clearing. The storm clouds were dissipating, save for the one that Tempest herself now stood on. The Goddess folded her arms, giving a firm nod to the human below.

"Lo, I am appeased. Be on thy way, mortals, and falter not."

The Captain, bowing frantically, gave Timber a quick nudge before looking to him aggressively.

"If you know what's good for you, lad, you'll help me get this boat as far away from here as we can!"

Looking back to him, Timber chuckled.

"Oh...yeah...right."

From high above, Tempest watched as the mortals sailed on, and as they drew further and further from her sight, she slowly descended down to the surface of the water. Once she was certain the humans were gone, she looked down to those calm waters, kneeling down and giving it a quick tap with her finger.

"Alright, Adagio. They're gone. I've paid my due."

In only a second, the surface burst, and out emerged the Goddess of the Seas, Adagio herself. After flipping her hair back in her typical "emerge dramatically from the water" fashion, the redhead bowed her head respectfully to her fellow Goddess.

"Thank you kindly, Tempest."

She then frowned in the direction of the long-gone mortals.

"I simply cannot stand humans who keep throwing their junk into my seas!"

Tempest chuckled, standing tall again before replying.

"I must say, some of those waves were very impressive this time."

Adagio chuckled to that.

"Oh, well, I have been practising lately. I was hoping somebody would notice."

"I must say, Cadance, it was simply delightful for you to make some tea for me this afternoon," Rarity remarked.

The Goddess of Love smiled back to her, taking a gentle sip of her own drink soon afterwards.

"Oh, it was no trouble, Rarity. After all, you and I hardly ever spend time together. It seemed fitting we should try to fix that."

The two sat serenely together atop their cloud, a gentle breeze and bright sun to help them in their pleasant day. Their tea cups were of the finest make, Goddess-forged, and the tea itself was, as one would expect, divine, and far better than anything the mortals might one day taste. They say calmly beside one another, looking down upon the world of those mortals, at all the little things they did as the quiet moments passed by. It was a nice and relaxing moment, though that did not mean the two did not converse from time to time.

"Tell me, Rarity, How is that Coco girl doing?"

Rarity smiled to that.

"Oh, she's doing simply wonderfully, Cadance. Ever since my little intervention the other day, she's been growing in her confidence. Why, you should see some of the fine work she's made."

Cadance smiled in return.

"I'm glad to hear she's doing well."

Afterwards, it was Rarity's turn to look curious.

"And yourself? Are you as preoccupied with romantic difficulties as much as before?"

Cadance sighed, actually looking content over that matter.

"Though Adagio and I have our differences, I can't deny she's kept her word. My being called upon to deal with marriage issues hasn't been this low in a very long time. It's actually why I've had the time to call for this little get-together."

She grimaced.

"If nothing else, at least we won't have to deal with any more of her kids...at least for a while."

The two shared a laugh, but it was soon interrupted by the unmistakeable sound of somebody clearing their throat. And even without looking, they knew from the sound of it that it was being made by a child. As they looked behind themselves, they saw that their instincts had been correct, and Sweetie Belle now stood behind them, hands clasped behind her back. Rarity, naturally, was delighted to see her sister here.

"Sweetie! How good of you to be here! Won't you join us?"

Cadance, nodding to that, raised her hand, palm up, and with a brief use of power, a third cup of tea was formed. Sweetie smiled, walking over and sitting herself down between the two older Goddesses, accepting the cup and giving Cadance a quick bow of her head.

"Thank you, Miss Cadance."

Cadance gave her a quick pat on the head.

"You're quite welcome, Sweetie."

For a time, the three simply sat, content in this moment of peace and quiet. But after a time, Sweetie shifted in her place, looking from one Goddess to another. Cadance, unlike Rarity, could already feel that there was something the girl needed to get off her chest, and so decided to speak first about it.

"You know, Sweetie, there's no shame in simply asking if there's something you wanted to ask about."

Rarity looked to her fellow Goddess with brief confusion, then down to her sister.

"Sweetie?"

The girl blushed, setting down her tea-cup before nervously poking the ends of her fingers together.

"Well...um...I was wondering..."

Slowly, she looked to the Lady of Love.

"Miss Cadance?"

Cadance glanced back down to her.

"Yes, Sweetie?"

The younger Goddess gulped, then finally said what she needed to.

"Could...could I borrow one of your arrows?"

The older Goddesses blinked to her, then Cadance put on a knowing smile, looking to the side and placing a hand upon her currently-unused quiver, which was filled with the arrows in question, each one tipped with an end shaped like a heart.

"Oh? Do you perhaps wish to try your hand at my duties for a day? To help awaken the feelings of love mortals have for one another?"

Sweetie's blush grew, and she looked down to her knees, trying to avoid looking her in the eye.

"Er, no...not exactly."

Rarity, who'd been watching this exchange with interest, suddenly started to realise what was happening, and what her sister was truly asking for. She let out a loud gasp, causing both of the others to look to her, and after setting her cup to one side, she scooted on closer to her sister, taking hold of her and embracing her in a tight hug.

"Oh my goodness! My little sister has someone special! Oh joyous day!"

Sweetie, of course, was practically gagging over how tightly her sister was holding her, and Cadance smiled in amusement over this overzealous display of sisterly bonding. When Rarity finally released her sibling, she almost had stars in her eyes, and eagerly began asking a barrage of questions.

"What's their name? When did you meet? Have you kissed yet? Did you hold hands and stare lovingly into each others' eyes during a beautiful sunset? When's the wedding? Can I make your outfit?"

Sweetie fumbled with every question, but luckily for her, Cadance was on-hand, and now tapped Rarity on the shoulder to gain her attention.

"I think we can dial it back, Rarity. Besides, I doubt anything that serious has happened yet."

Her eyes drifted to the still-very-embarrassed Sweetie.

"If things had been as romantic as that, I doubt very much she'd be asking for one of my arrows."

Sweetie looked away, almost ashamed, and Rarity, after taking just a few moments to understand what had been said, gasped, looking to her sister with astonishment.

"Sweetie Belle! You're not trying to get the arrow to make this mysterious crush of yours like you, are you?!"

Sweetie said nothing, just puffing up her cheeks while they blushed. Cadance, who was less flabbergasted by the whole matter, finished off her tea, then gently placed her hand upon Sweetie's shoulder.

"Sweetie, I realise that feelings like these can ben very overwhelming, especially at your age. But I assure you, these..."

She again gestured to her quiver.

"...are not the way."

Sweetie's shoulders slumped.

"I know. I just...I really like him, and..."

"Oooooh, it's a him! That narrows it down!" Rarity interrupted, writing frantically on a suddenly-conjured pad of paper.

The others looked to her with a frown, and once she realised she was being watched, she chuckled nervously.

"Right, sorry. I can speculate later."

Cadance shook her head, then smiled again as she looked to Sweetie.

"Ask yourself an important question, Sweetie. If you like this person, and I mean truly like him, do you really want him to only like you because you made him like you back with my arrow?"

Sweetie paused, thinking hard on that, then cast her eyes downwards, sighing.

"No...no, I wouldn't."

Cadance nodded.

"Good girl. Love takes time and effort. You cannot simply snap your fingers and make it happen because you want the easy way out."

She paused, looking to the side with a disdainful frown.

"Not that Eris hasn't tried."

Another smiled returned to her as she again looked to Sweetie.

"If this connection between you and this boy was meant to be, it will happen. Just let things go naturally."

A look of sadness came to Sweetie.

"But...what if he doesn't like me back?"

Cadance considered that, realising how best to word it to a child.

"If he doesn't...then you will simply have to accept it. It may hurt, but it's better than being in a forced relationship."

Sweetie sat in silence, taking in everything the Goddess of Love had said to her. After a while though, and seeing the encouraging way Cadance was smiling to her, Sweetie too smiled, albeit in a smaller way, and gave a nod in response.

"Okay...I'll wait. It might be better if I did it that way. I mean, I'm not a great shot with arrows anyway. I might have missed."

The three all laughed together, and Rarity embraced her sister once more, though thankfully in a more gentle way.

"Besides, I doubt the arrow would have helped you. They don't force people to love each other, Sweetie. They simply make them realise the love they already have for one another," Rarity explained.

Sweetie pouted.

"So it would have only done something if he already liked me? That's not useful!"

Cadance giggled.

"Believe me, I felt the same way when I was your age. You come to appreciate it over time though. And besides..."

She leaned closer, bringing her face right up to Sweetie's.

"...if you're still having trouble with Spike, maybe I could give you a few tips here and there on how to spend time with him."

The color drained from Sweetie's face, and she wrested herself free from Rarity.

"What?! Spike?! Who said anything about Spike?! I certainly didn't say anything about Spike!"

The two older Goddesses gave each other knowing smiles, complete with winks, before looking back to Sweetie.

"Well, whoever this young gentleman is, I'm sure he's very lucky having you interested in him, sister," Rarity stated, trying to act oblivious about her sister's crush.

Sweetie, though still wracked with an embarrassment-induced blush, nevertheless smiled appreciatively to Rarity, and indeed to Cadance afterwards. But in the silence that followed, a new idea came to the youth, and she appeared to be deep in thought over something.

"Huh...you know...Miss Adagio always manages to get guys to like her. Maybe I should ask her what she does."

Instantly, Rarity and Cadance's heads snapped towards her, their faces ones of utter horror, and their responses given in unison.

"NO!!!"

"Well...this is new."

Fluttershy, being a Goddess, had seen many strange sights in her time. Bizarre creatures, conflicts between kingdoms, the extraordinary landscapes of the world. And yet, standing here at the edge of this forest clearing, she was looking upon something that somehow managed to just seem all the stranger to her. There, right in the middle, was a youngish woman who had taken to quite a bit of a makeover of herself, filling her hair with leaves and covering her body with an outfit that, charitably, could be called minimalist, as it was made largely from forest-gathered materials. Her grin was wide, and her eyes just had an odd look to them, like she wasn't quite all there. But this strange woman was not alone here, as Fluttershy turned to see that one of her own followers, a young lady by the name of Tree Hugger, was here as well.

"Tree?"

Tree Hugger turned, smiling even as she continued to sit upon the grass, and she held up the cup she was holding as a sort of greeting to the Goddess before her.

"Hey there, Flutters! Having a good day?"

Now, most were known for being a touch more deferent to Goddesses than that, but Fluttershy seemed totally fine with the casual way her follower had addressed her, given the smile she offered in return. Sadly, that smile did not last long, as Fluttershy's gaze returned again to the bizarre woman nearby.

"And this would be...?"

Taking another sip of water from her cup, Tree regarded her companion.

"Oh, that's Gloriosa. She's from the local village."

Folding her arms, Fluttershy arched an eyebrow.

"Is she...well?"

Tree looked again to Gloriosa, who had taken to dancing around as though there was nobody else around to see her, complete with a few giddy giggles. Tree, who was clearly not as worried about this behaviour as Fluttershy, merely shrugged her shoulders.

"Meh, she's better than she was. You should have seen how stressed she was this morning. All she could talk about was all the work she'd been doing and how nothing's going right. You know, usual workaholic stuff."

Fluttershy considered that, and it has to be said that Tree's description did not, in any way, match the antics of the woman the Goddess was now looking at. If there was ever a time when this lady was stressed or overly-worried, she wasn't showing it. Tree could see this confusion upon her patron deity, and so smiled to her.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I gave her some special water and she's all better now."

Slowly, Fluttershy looked down to her follower.

"...What special water?"

Tree raised her cup, which was still half-full of the apparent water in question. Fluttershy carefully accepted it, taking a cautious sniff. It was obvious that this was not simply regular water, and her senses could pick up something extra that had been put in. Returning the cup, Fluttershy gave Tree and incredulous look.

"Tree..." she began warningly.

Tree shrugged her shoulders again.

"Hey, it's all good. Just a few local herbs sprinkled in, take a few sips and boom, your nerves are calmed. I have it all the time, and I'm fine, right?"

Fluttershy glanced up to Gloriosa, who was now starting to look to a nearby tree in the same way one would look to a lover, after which she turned back to Tree, who herself stared at Gloriosa before sighing.

"Okay...maybe she had a bit more than me...and also more than anyone I've ever seen before. But I'm telling you, she was really stressed out today!"

Fluttershy rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Tree...if you didn't want me here to disapprove of you like this, why did you speak my name to call me?"

Tree cleared her throat.

"Yeah, um...I didn't."

At first, Fluttershy was confused by this admission, but then understanding dawned on her and she looked back over to Gloriosa.

"Why did she call for me?"

Tree scratched the back of her head, trying desperately to avoid looking her in the eye.

"Yeah, um...funny thing about that..."

Fluttershy, who had been around the block a few times, understood immediately that she was about to learn something that was going to be anything but good, and so sighed deeply, resigning herself to the knowledge that she was going to be told something silly, something devastating, or some combination of the two. So, steeling herself, she strode on forward, with any nearby critters like birds or squirrels all bowing respectfully in her presence. And it was here that Gloriosa, for the first time in all this, noticed the presence of the Goddess of Nature, and pointed a finger towards her aggressively.

"Halt, false Goddess! You dare trespass on the domain of Gaia Everfree?!"

Fluttershy stayed where she was, looking behind herself for clarification. Tree Hugger had little to give.

"It's, ugh, it's what she's calling herself now."

Though thoroughly unimpressed, Fluttershy continued onwards.

"Miss Gloriosa, is it? I am Fluttershy, Lady of all things that grow and prowl and fly. You spoke my name, yes? Called me forth?"

Gloriosa cackled wildly, for quite some time in fact, leaving the other two women looking to each other with uncertainly on how to react to it. When Gloriosa had finally ceased, she grinned, looking like she'd already won this conflict, if "conflict" is even what this could be called.

"Fool! You no longer have any right to bear the mantle of godhood! You stand before the true lady of nature!"

Slowly, Fluttershy placed a hand upon her hip.

"Um...I'm fairly certain that I don't."

Gloriosa continued on, having seemingly not even heard her.

"All in this world shall know that the pretender to the throne has fallen, and that this realm's rightful Goddess of Nature has emerged!"

"I really don't think they will, Gloriosa," Fluttershy pointed out.

But again, Gloriosa ignored her.

"Behold, as I strike thee down with great vengeance and furious anger!"

"Or with great hamminess at least," Fluttershy added.

Gloriosa, enraged at the remark, screamed loudly before aiming her hands at Fluttershy.

"Go, my vine minions! Ensnare this false Goddess and strangle her to within an inch of her life!"

A silence, save for the tweeting of the birds in the trees above. Fluttershy, for her part, looked to the left, then the right, before looking back to Gloriosa, all while tapping her foot against the ground. Gloriosa herself, despite clearly seeing that no "vine minions" were coming, nevertheless cackled as though triumphant.

"Yes! Yes! Feel the life strangled from you, Fluttershy! Your days upon this earth are finished! Hahahahahahahahaha!"

Another sigh from Fluttershy, and she raised both hands to her temples to rub them. When she was done, she looked back to Tree Hugger.

"Exactly how much of that water did she drink?"

Tree, who now nervously looked to the suspiciously-empty barrel she'd been leaning against this whole time, coughed a little bit before shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh, er...can't really say."

Fluttershy's deadpan expression gave away her irritation, but she instead turned her gaze to the more important matter at hand. That is, she would have done, had it not been for the fact that Gloriosa was not actually here any more. Looking around, Fluttershy could not see her, and so she looked again to Tree, who began to explain.

"Oh, she just stripped off her clothes and ran into the woods. You know, the usual insanity kind of thing."

Looking back to where Gloriosa had been, she saw that there was indeed a discarded outfit upon the grass, as well as signs of broken branches in the direction she'd run off to. That was pretty much it for Fluttershy, who was doing her best to keep calm under these trying circumstances.

"Very well...my next task for tomorrow...make sure those herbs only grow in places where humans aren't."

She looked back to Tree.

"What were they called again?"

Tree looked down to her cup, trying to think of the answer to that.

"Er...oh! They were called the Screaming Madness."

Fluttershy blinked, her face utterly stoic, and Tree Hugger soon got the gist of it.

"Oh, right, I guess that was a bit of a red flag, huh?"

"Um...Lady Twilight?"

"Yes, Flash?"

"Not to sound disrespectful or anything, but this...well...it's rather...unconventional."

"Yes, I imagine it would seem that way. But, I trust you with this important matter, and I'm certain you're up to the task."

Though many would be pleased beyond belief to have the trust of a Goddess, these specific circumstances left Flash rather uncertain of how to act. As he stood beside his patron deity, he looked down at the tiny figure sitting before them. It was none other than Flurry Heart, newly-born daughter of the Goddess Cadance and the God Shining Armor. Flash knew he was in the presence of divinity, just as he did whenever Twilight was nearby, yet he had never before encountered a Goddess of this specific nature. Most, at the very least, could talk to him. Flurry meanwhile simply rolled around on her little pedestal, giggling and gurgling happily, as though the mere act of rolling was the best form of entertainment she'd ever had. Flash, hapless mortal that he was, folded his arms, before then glancing to the side.

"I mean no offense to your niece, Lady Twilight, but I have no idea what to do with a baby Goddess!"

Twilight giggled, giving him a reassuring pat on the side of his arm.

"I assure you, Flash, you have nothing to worry about. All deities have cults, and since you're an old pro at following Goddesses, I figured you'd be a good first pick as Flurry's first follower."

To be the first of a brand new cult was not something one turned their noses at, yet there were still some lingering issues Flash felt the need to address.

"But...what is she even a Goddess of? Has a decision been made?"

Twilight smiled to him.

"If the likes of Spike or Scootaloo haven't been given their roles yet, it'll be quite some time before Flurry does."

Flash nodded, accepting that point, though further questions remained in him.

"So...are there any particular rituals I need to observe here? I can't imagine her giving any blessings if she can't even speak to me."

Twilight looked over to her niece, giving her a quick pinch of her cheek, which elicited further giggles from the child.

"Just stick to the basics. The usual bows, prayers, chants, all that good stuff. Flurry will find her role in time, and her power. And when she does, it'll be good for her to have an experienced cultist with her early."

Though Flash was understanding on the matter, or at least more understanding than most would be under these circumstances, there was one thing that continued to pester his mind.

"Say, why is Flurry getting a cult before Spike or the other young Gods?"

Twilight, doing her best to stifle what had to be an immense squee, looked to her follower with utter giddiness.

"I'm sorry! I just couldn't wait! I just had to set all this up for her! I'm an Aunt! And she's the cutest, sweetest, most precious little baby Goddess in all the world and..."

Realising how she must have been appearing, she took a moment, clearing her throat, and brushing herself off slightly.

"I mean...I felt it was proper. Family and all that."

It took all of Flash's resolve not to smirk at the overwhelming enthusiasm his Goddess had shown just now. Instead, he assumed the more deferent posture he was known for, getting down to one knee and speaking with the uttermost respect.

"My Lady Twilight...I give you my word that I shall serve your niece as faithfully as I have served you. I am truly honored to have been chosen for this."

Twilight smiled, stepping forward placing her hand upon his head.

"Then you have my blessing, dearest Flash. Rise, and serve her well."

Flash smiled, but when he looked up, he saw that she was no longer there. All that remained were a few stray purple sparkles glittering in the air, a clear sign that she had transported herself elsewhere. Now alone with the diminutive new Goddess, Flash sighed, looking to his new Patron with both apprehension and confusion.

"Alright then...guess I'd better get started."

Standing straight, he gave a deep bow to the infant.

"O Flurry, Goddess of...whatever you'll one day be Goddess of. I humbly submit my life and my service to thee. May the world prosper under your watchful gaze."

Silence, and after a full minute of waiting for a response, Flash cracked an eye open and looked up, seeing that Flurry, rather predictably, had not paid attention to a single word he'd just said. instead, she'd just continued rolling around, even stopping at one point to stare at a passing butterfly, which if course gave her immense delight to see. Flash, now standing up properly, sighed again.

"Okay...this is gonna be a long day."

He turned around, putting his hands on his hips.

"Remember, Flash, she's a Goddess. Show respect. Who knows? She might become a really great one some day."

His smile returned, and he turned to look upon her yet again.

"Lady Flurry, I..."

He halted, for where Flurry had once been, now there was only an empty space. His eyes wide with shock, Flash's head darted in all directions, and panic struck him at the prospect of having lost the baby Goddess. His breathing became frantic, and his mind raced with the thought of every terrible thing the heavenly host above might do to him because of his cosmic-scale blunder. But, as soon as he'd had those thoughts, they vanished, for he now heard the sound of giggling behind him. Turning, he saw that it was Flurry, sitting innocently on the grass beside him, smiling sweetly. Flash, naturally, breathed an immense sigh of relief.

"Oh my! You gave me quite the scare, little one! Now how did you get down there?"

He got to one knee to get a better look at her, just to make sure she hadn't hurt herself. But as soon as he did, she giggled, and in a quick flash of light, she vanished. Flash again looked around with panic, only to stop when he saw her re-appear again, this time right back on her pedestal. Though still worried about this, he nevertheless afforded himself a moment to chuckle.

"Well, you're quite the little magician, aren't you?"

Flurry's response to that? Well, right before Flash's eyes, she started to float, lifting herself off the pedestal with her godly power. Though of course in awe at this display of power, Flash's sense of wonder was soon replaced with a more immediate feeling of worry as he saw his Patron get steadily higher and higher. Realising that she might even float all the way up into the sky, Flash did the only thing his panicked brain would tell him and reached forward, trying to take hold of her and keep her back on the ground. Unfortunately, since this was a Goddess he was dealing with, his comparatively feeble human strength wasn't enough to accomplish this goal, and so he too started to get hoisted upwards. His pupils shrinking to pinpoints, Flash screamed at the top of his lungs as he and Flurry started flying up higher.

"THIS IS NOT OKAY!!! THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT OKAY!!!"

Flurry, as was customary for her at this point, simply giggled to her follower's screams.

"Did you enjoy your anniversary, Cadance?" Twilight asked.

The Goddess of Love smiled back to her sister-in-law.

"Oh, indeed I did, Twilight. Your brother and I had a truly wonderful time today."

The two Goddesses enjoyed this moment, but as soon as they transported themselves to their destination, those smiles vanished, replaced instead with look of surprise as they witnessed the scene before them. Flurry was there, still sitting on her pedestal, and still giggling to herself, but Flash, who was right next to her, did not appear to be in the best of shape. He was shivering in place, which was understandable given that he was covered from head to toe in a light dusting of snow, which was especially odd given that they were right in the middle of a very warm day. And as he stood there, struggling to bow to the newly-arrived Goddesses, he just kept muttering the same thing over and over again.

"So high up...so very...very high up!"

Cadance, blinking to this, offered her sister-in-law a small smile.

"You know, Twilight, I think we might need to wait a bit before giving Flurry her own cult. It might be safer that way."

Though somewhat disappointed by that, the evidence supporting Cadance's point was overwhelming, and so Twilight released a sigh before nodding to her.

"Yeah, maybe you're right."

Cadance nodded back, walking over and picking up her daughter, who gurgled happily at being reunited with her Mother. As for Flash, Cadance regarded him, then gave a slight bow of her head.

"My thanks to you, mortal. You served my daughter well, even in the face of her...well...more difficult tendencies."

Flash, remembering his manners, bowed to her.

"Th...th...thank you, Lady Cadance," he said, still shivering.

No further word was spoken by the Lady of Love, and as Flurry gave her now-former follower a friendly wave, the two disappeared in the blink of an eye. Twilight, walking up to her returned cultist, chuckled nervously, then slowly brushed off some of the snow atop his head.

"Well, look at it this way..."

She looked to the snow in her palm.

"...at least you've shown us what she'll probably be a Goddess of one day."

Flash, falling to his knees, held her tightly by the leg.

"PLEASE DON'T EVER LEAVE ME AGAIN, LADY TWILIGHT!!!"

Twilight, seeing the poor state her follower had been reduced too, grimaced, adjusting her glasses slightly.

"Um...alright then. I do believe a day off is in order for you."

Flash, regaining his senses somewhat, got to his feet, with another bit of snow falling off his head as he stood.

"Yes...that'd be good."

"Ah! What a fine day to be alive!"

Thorax, eager and optimistic young man that he was, gave himself a stretch as he looked out at this beautiful new spot he'd found for himself. The hustle and bustle of the city had started to get to him, so he'd figured he'd get away from it all for a week, come somewhere nice and quiet. And this was certainly a peaceful-looking place. Nestled at the far-end of an immense forest, there was a calm river, though not far from this river was its source, an immense and beautiful waterfall, which came down from a high cliff-face nearby. The sun was shining, and the whole place just looked like the kind of spot where one could come and just rest without a care in the world. So, that was exactly what Thorax decided to do. Finding a large tree nearby, he got himself comfortable, sitting beside it and reclining against its trunk. Placing his hands behind his head as a sort of pillow, he smiled at this lovely place he'd found.

"Why nobody else comes here, I'll never know!"

With that, he started to close his eyes, ready to enjoy a peaceful and relaxing nap, letting all his worries just melt away. It was an immense relief to have this chance, but he soon found that his solitude here did not last forever. For barely five minutes had passed by when he heard, to his slight confusion, a giggle. Cracking one eye open, he began to immediately scour the area. At first there wasn't anybody around, but then he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. It was a person, who quickly darted behind a tree so as to not be seen. Frowning, Thorax leaned forward from his sitting position.

"...Hello? Is someone there?"

There was, for a time, no response. But then, after a while, that person did indeed emerge from hiding. It was a young woman, about his age, with long and flowing bluish-green hair and a very fancy-looking dress that stretched all the way down to the ground. She smiled sweetly to him, clasping both hands behind her back, and took a few steps closer to him.

"I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to disturb your rest."

Thorax, blushing at the sight of this beautiful maiden, immediately stood up, clearing his throat and trying to sound as polite as possible.

"Oh! Um...you didn't! I mean...I'm Thorax."

Another giggle from the girl, and she gave a quick curtsy to him.

"My name is Chryssie. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Thorax, still awkwardly fumbling, took some steps closer to her himself.

"I have to say, I wasn't expecting to meet anyone else here. Do...do you live here?"

Clasping her hands in front of her, Chryssie nodded.

"I do, over there."

She pointed to the waterfall, leading to an understandable level of confusion on Thorax's part. But then, as he squinted, he began to notice, for the first time in fact, that there seemed to be a cave behind that waterfall. It was something he probably wouldn't have noticed if Chryssie hadn't pointed it out to him, and speaking of whom, he now looked to her again.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but...you live in a cave?"

Her smile widened as she responded.

"Oh, it's a wonderful place to live! Really! Would you...like to join me for some tea, Mr Thorax?"

Thorax blushed again, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, you can just call me Thorax."

Chryssie giggled, stepping forward and gently taking hold of one of his hands. Thorax had certainly not expected such an encounter today, but he wasn't going to complain about it. He smiled to her as she began to lead him towards her home, taking a narrow path beside the cliff-face that took them behind the waterfall. They had to practically hug the cliff itself to avoid being splashed by the water, though they laughed when a few stray water droplets hit their faces. A time came however when they finally reached the entrance to the cave.

"Oh! Do mind your head!" Chryssie warned.

Thorax did indeed duck to avoid being hit by a rather craggy-looking bit of rock at the entrance, but moments afterwards he was in, along with his new lady friend. Once inside though, the place did not look or feel as homely as he'd predicted it would. It was dark, cold, and covered in what appeared to be spider webs on every surface. He blinked a couple of times, trying to remain as courteous as he could when looking at Chryssie.

"Um, not to sound rude, Chryssie, but you appear to have a bit of a spider problem."

Chryssie herself chuckled, raising her hands to the ties that held her dress closed. Thorax, naturally, started to blush again, taking a step backwards.

"Er...what are you doing?!"

Her smile became a slight smirk as he asked that.

"Oh, I just thought I'd slip into something a bit more...comfortable."

Though paralysed with the inner gentlemanly desire to avert his eyes, Thorax soon found that he could not, and watched as his host slowly discarded her clothing. But as surprising that this development was, it was utterly eclipsed by what happened afterwards. For under that dress was not the body of a fair maiden, but a monstrous eight-legged creature that looked like it had popped right out of some poor soul's darkest nightmares. How such bulk had been so convincingly obscured by that outfit, nobody could say. But it had been done, and now it had been revealed in all its horrific glory. It was, in essence, a giant spider with the upper body of a woman, and said upper half now grinned wickedly as it turned again to Thorax, approaching slowly like a predator approaching her prey.

"Oh, my dear Thorax. You stand not before 'Chryssie', but Chrysalis! Queen of all things that creep and crawl in the dark!"

Thorax gulped, his utter shock over the situation keeping him from taking even a single step away from this beastly sight.

"Wha...what are you going to do to me?"

Chrysalis chuckled, looming over him immensely before reaching down and sensually stroking under his chin with her finger.

"Oh, that's quite simple...I'm going to do what I do to all who come to my lair!"

The earth shook as the divine being struck the ground with his rapid descent. Dust clouds formed around the impact, and when the wind cleared them, what appeared in the centre of that near-crater was none other than Shining Armor. As the God of soldiers, warriors and courage, he certainly looked the part, clad in glistening armor as befitted his name, and wielding not only a mighty sword but also a great blue shield. His eyes narrowed as he looked upon his goal, the massive waterfall before him. He knew a foul creature lay within, and that it was his duty to save the life of whatever poor mortal had found themselves in her clutches. Gripping the hilt of his sword ever tighter, Shining yelled ferociously, leaping forward and practically flying above the river that separated him from the waterfall. With an almighty swing, he cut through the water, emerging on the other side.

"Fear not, mortal! I have come here to...er...what?"

Contrary to what he might have predicted he'd see here, what now lay in front of him was no scene of evil or carnage. Quite the opposite in fact, as both Thorax and Chrysalis were sitting opposite one another at a small table, each one holding what looked like a small cup of tea. Shining blinked with confusion over this, then asked the obvious.

"...May I ask what's going on here?"

Thorax, oblivious to the intruder's dismay over the situation, smiled to him and raised his cup.

"Ah, Lord Shining! Welcome! Will you join us? There's plenty of tea to go around."

Shining lowered his sword, glancing left to right and then back again before settling on the other two.

"Is...is nothing evil happening here?"

Chrysalis rolled her eyes.

"What? No! I just felt like having some company this afternoon," she explained.

Frowning, Shining pointed his sword at her.

"Ah, but I suspect you used foul play to lure him here under false pretences, yes?"

Chrysalis frowned right back, putting her hands upon her rather substantial hips.

"Hey, let's see you trying to get yourself a date when you have eight legs, Mister!"

Thorax, ever cheerful, leaned forward and patted her on one of her hands, which she'd since put onto the table.

"Oh, I'm sure you could get plenty of guys to take an interest in you, Chryssie! You've been so delightful to talk to today!"

Chrysalis smiled back to him, her tone now the same one would use when talking to a puppy.

"Awwww, Thorax! You're such a sweetheart!"

Shining, who was thoroughly at a loss on what to do here, sheathed his sword before scratching the side of his head.

"So...what do I do now?"

Thinking on that, Thorax again raised a cup to him.

"There's always room for one more at the table!"

Shining, though hesitant, took a few steps forward, taking the offered cup and giving it a sniff. After being certain that it was fine, he took his first sip, after which he smiled to the spidery woman nearby.

"Hmmm, very nice."

Chrysalis shrugged, taking on a look of pride.

"Hey, nothing but the best for this Queen's guests!"

"Hail Rainbow Dash! Patron of athletes and competitions across the land!"

The priest, decked out in the usual multi-colored gown of Rainbow's cult, stood at the head of the group, prostrating himself before the towering statue of their beloved deity, which was naturally striking a pose of victory. Several hundred had gathered here, and they too were chanting and praying her name. Nearby were racers, all competing against one another in tests of speed, all in an effort to win their Lady's favor. All physical feats were being performed here, be it in strength or speed, and even those who failed to rise to the heights of the best of the best were displaying great sportsmanship, congratulating their fellows in a job well done. But at the furthest edge of the group, tucked away where none could see him, was an imposing young man, with muscles unrivalled by any here. He sighed as he sat alone one the steps of a ruin, looking more than a little dejected.

"Oh Rainbow. I pray and pray, yet never do I hear you."

He looked up to the skies.

"Have I not lifted enough? Have I not become strong enough?"

"Hey there."

The new voice caught Bulk off-guard, and he looked down to see that he was now no longer alone. A young girl with purple hair now sat beside him, smiling up to him. Though at first surprised at having his solitude ended, the man eventually put on a smile.

"Oh, hey kid. The really great athletes are that way," he said, pointing to the rest of the cultists.

But the girl was uninterested in them.

"I just wanted to know why you're all alone here. Not having fun with the Rainbow festival?"

Bulk sighed, leaning back into the steps.

"I do, usually. But lately I've just been feeling like nothing I do is good enough for our Goddess."

The girl blinked to that, looking the guy over. His muscles were, without question, the most massive she'd ever seen on a person, so it was understandable that she'd start to look more than a little incredulous about his claim.

"Er, don't know how to say this to you, buddy, but I'd say you're more than good enough to catch her notice."

Bulk rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah? Then why doesn't she answer my prayers?"

The girl folded her arms.

"Well, she could be really busy? Goddesses probably get a lot of prayers, ya know."

Bulk nodded, acknowledging that point, if only a little.

"Sure, but after all the work I've put into getting myself strong, you'd think a little bit of attention would be coming my way."

Curiosity came to the girl after having heard that.

"Say...what do you want her to do for you anyway?"

Standing up, Bulk smiled to her, raising both arms and starting to flex.

"I wanna ask her to make me the strongest guy in the world!"

Stifling a giggle, the girl raised an eyebrow.

"Er, hate to break it to ya, but aren't you already the strongest? It's probably why she's not answering."

He shook his head.

"I know I'm strong, but I wanna be strong!"

The girl blinked.

"...Okay, I'm going to need some more."

Grunting, Bulk began to explain.

"I wanna be so strong that nobody else in all the world is going to even come close! So strong that they'll be talking about it for centuries! The kind of strong..."

He looked around, then smiled as he looked to the ruin they were standing next to.

"The kind of strong that could lift up all of that!"

The girl turned, looking to the ruin herself before glancing back to him, just in time to see him sit back next to her and sigh.

"That would be so awesome...if Rainbow did that for me I'd be so grateful!"

Here, the girl paused, looking to him curiously.

"So...you'd give a lot of praise to a Goddess who did that for you?"

Bulk nodded.

"Sure! Lady Rainbow, Lady Pinkie, whoever! I'd speak their names and call them, like, the greatest Goddess ever if they did that for me!"

Hearing that, the girl's face lit up, and she leapt to her feet, slapping a hand down on Bulk's shoulder.

"Then fear no more, good buddy! Your answer is here!"

Bulk looked to her, confused.

"Huh?"

The girl chortled, then pointed to herself.

"You're not dealing with some run-of-the-mill little girl here. I'm Scootaloo!"

At first, Bulk looked like he had no idea what she was talking about, and so started mumbling to himself.

"Scootlaoo...Scootaloo...Scootaloo..."

Then his eyes widened, and realisation came to him.

"Oh! You're one of those mini-Goddesses!"

Scootaloo frowned at him, warranting more than a little fear on his part.

"Er...sorry?"

But after regaining her smile, Scootaloo jumped up a few steps, giving her a literal high ground with which to look down at her human associate.

"Dude, I can totally give you that kind of strength!"

Bulk's face lit up.

"Wait...really?"

Scootaloo nodded.

"Yeah! I mean I've got powers too you know! All I gotta do is, you know, the same thing any other Goddess would do!"

Here, Bulk faltered a bit in his excitement.

"Er...are you allowed to do this?"

But Scootaloo waved him off.

"Pfft! Like I'm the only one from up high that breaks the rules!"

Bulk seemed less than thrilled.

"That's...not making me feel any better."

Scootaloo, having apparently ignored him, looked to him with a smirk before aiming her hand at him, palm flat towards his face, and concentrating.

"Get a load of this!"

There was a bright flash of light from her hand that completely engulfed him, surrounding him in a heavenly aura. The light lasted only a few moments, and when it died down, Bulk looked himself over. Nothing appeared to be different from how he was before, and he was sure to tell her.

"Er...I don't actually feel different."

Hopping off the steps, Scootaloo confidently looked over to the ruin, gesturing to it.

"Well...try it out then."

While Bulk briefly displayed confusion over this, he soon gained a look of understanding, and so looked to the ruin himself. Nervously, he approached it, and after receiving a look of encouragement from Scootaloo, he inhaled deeply. Spitting on his two palms, which caused a grimace on Scootaloo's part, he knelt down, getting his hands underneath a substantial crack at the base of the ruin. He counted to three in his mind, then lifted. Sure enough, Scootaloo's promise was fulfilled, and up went the building. Bulk was lifting it with the same ease with which he'd lift up a weight, and as he came to truly understand his newfound strength, his face was one of utter glee.

"Yes...YES!!!"

He laughed merrily, his every jump for joy causing tremors in the immediate area, much to Scootaloo's amusement. The man then looked down to her, speaking to her with pure deference.

"All hail Scootaloo! All hail Scootaloo!"

Scootaloo herself puffed out her chest with pride.

"Oh yeah! That's the stuff I'm talking about! Let's keep that name coming!"

"SCOOTALOO!!!"

To her horror, that voice had not been from Bulk, but from someone all too familiar to her. Nervously, she craned her neck upwards, seeing, high in the sky, the silhouette of an older-looking girl, and one who did not appear all that happy right now. With a sudden impact, Rainbow landed close by, and both Scootaloo and Bulk gave simultaneous gulps as they realised that they probably weren't going to be in anything but trouble right now.

"Scoots," Rainbow warned.

"Hehe...hey, Rainbow! What are you doing here?" Scootaloo replied.

The older Goddess sighed.

"Scoots...what have you been told about doing Goddess work before being assigned a role?"

Scootaloo's shoulders slumped.

"...Don't?"

Rainbow, folding her arms, gave a firm nod.

"There we go. And as for you..."

She narrowed her eyes at Bulk, who started to sweat a fair bit.

"You wanna get stronger? Work for it!"

Bulk blinked.

"But...but...why?!"

Rainbow glanced to the side.

"Let's just say I know the consequences of having humans get this kind of ability the wrong way."

She looked back to him.

"And I'm not having that happen again!"

She snapped her fingers, and immediately, Bulk could feel the effects. Before the ruin had a chance to crush him, the now-normal human let go and leapt backwards, missing the falling building by a millimetre at best. He laid there, panting heavily from the terror at nearly being squashed, and as he did so, Rainbow frowned to Scootaloo again.

"Now then, young lady. It's a whole year of helping Fluttershy walk her tortoises for this!"

Scootaloo groaned.

"Awwwwwwwww! But they take forever!"

Rainbow's response was to point straight upwards, and Scootaloo, after giving Bulk a quick wave, disappeared in a flash of light. Sighing, Rainbow looked to her former follower, raising an eyebrow.

"So...decided to trade me in for a more agreeable Goddess, eh?"

Bulk, getting to his feet, coughed fearfully.

"Um, in my defence..."

He paused, leaving nothing but a silence in his wake, to which Rainbow squinted at him.

"...You've got nothing, do you?"

"No, Ma'am."

"Okay now, Bloom. Remember what ah taught ya."

Applejack looked on with both nervousness and excitement as she watched her sister kneel upon the ground before her. The younger Goddess narrowed her eyes at the patch of grass in front of her, reaching out her hand and placing it gently on the earth. Closing her eyes, she concentrated as hard as she could, her breathing steady and controlled. She remembered all her sister had taught her, all the things that would be needed to make this happen, and so began to apply her divine power. There was a glow from her hand, and Applejack smiled as she saw what her sister was accomplishing. From that plain old patch of grass and moss, something new was emerging. A new plant, and as it rose, Apple Bloom's hand rose with it. She focused and focused and focused, and only when she was sure she was finished did she at last open her eyes. Her face broke out into a wide smile, and she saw the newly-created tomato plant where once there had been none. Leaping to her feet, she embraced her elder sibling in a tight hug.

"Ah did it! Ah really did it!"

Chuckling, Applejack returned the hug.

"Yes ya did, Bloom. Yer growin' power is really comin' along nicely."

As the two parted, Applejack wrapped one arm around her sister's shoulder to hold her close, and they both looked down to the newly-formed life.

"Our branch o' the Gods has always helped out farmers, and with a little nudge here and there, we've always managed to get their crops goin' when they need it most."

She laughed.

"Ah couldn't even get a tomato plant half that size when ah was yer age!"

Apple Bloom looked up to her, starry-eyed.

"Ya mean it?!"

Applejack nodded.

"Eyup! Yer gonna do great, Bloom!"

The younger Goddess squealed for joy, a sight which brought Applejack no end of delight, but as this warm and happy moment continued, the siblings were unfortunately interrupted by a sudden shaking of the ground beneath them. It was small, but enough to catch their notice.

"Was...was that an earthquake?" Apple Bloom asked.

Applejack shook her head.

"No, ah don't think one's scheduled fer..."

Then, her eyes widened with realisation.

"Oh...no."

Apple Bloom looked to her with curiosity.

"Sis?"

Before she got an answer, she was taken aback when Applejack abruptly took hold of her hand and, without warning, leapt up high, taking Apple Bloom along with her. And not a moment too soon either, for as soon as they'd done this, they could see down below that the very ground was tearing asunder, and a great amount of stone was rising up from below. They looked on with shock and awe as, right in the middle of that land, a mountain, tall and mighty, was rising. It kept on coming, getting higher and higher, until it at last pierced the layer of clouds in the skies above. It was a beast of a mountain, that much was certain, and after waiting for it to finally cease its rise, the two sisters looked to it with uncertainty.

"Wha...where'd that thing come from?!" Apple Bloom asked.

Applejack's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, ah know exactly where it's come from."

No other words came from her, for instead she began to scour the immediate area, looking both on the mountain itself and the surrounding lands. Eventually, she focused on one spot in particular, and a deep frown came to her.

"There they are!" she declared angrily.

She shot down to the ground, with her sister still being held by the hand, and within mere moments, the two landed, a cloud of dust rising with their arrival. Apple Bloom was finally released, and she looked up to see Applejack walking intently towards three young women who appeared to be the same age as the latter. They had their backs turned, instead looking to the newly-created mountain, but as soon as Applejack was close enough, they turned. And here, Apple Bloom recognised them. It was Pinkie Pie's sisters, Maud, Limestone and Marble, and they all regarded Applejack in different ways, from Maud's regular stoicism to Limestone's expected irritation to Marble's nervousness. Once there, Applejack maintained her frown.

"Do y'all maybe wanna warn folks before ya start growin' mountains outta nowhere?!"

Limestone shrugged.

"Hey, you're fine, aren't you?"

Applejack grunted.

"Ugh! That ain't the point! Ya can't jus' go around poppin' big lumps o' rock wherever ya want!"

Maud, her face ever-unchanging, blinked.

"We were told it was time for a new mountain in the mortal world, so we made one. This land was good for it. Nobody around here yet, so it was no threat to any mortals."

Limestone let out what was, for her at least, a very rare laugh.

"Yeah! It's free real estate!"

Applejack was unimpressed, and while she, Maud and Limestone failed to notice how Apple Bloom was giving a friendly wave to Marble, the Patron of farmers marched on up to the other two.

"Now y'all listen here, cousins! Me an' Bloom were sent ta find a nice place fer humans ta set up shop! This place here was perfect! Wide open spaces fer crops an' herds an' the like."

She gestured to the mountain angrily.

"Now how in the heck do y'all expect mortals ta be able ta grow anythin' here now that y'all have dropped a great big one o' those on top o' it?!"

Maud just stared at her.

"We didn't drop it...we raised it from the ground."

Both Applejack and Limestone gave her odd looks, leading to a quick shrug on Maud's part.

"Well...I thought it was funny."

Getting back to the matter at hand, Limestone pointed to her still-enraged cousin.

"Look, Apples, farms are easy to make. You and your sister can just find somewhere else to help humans make some."

Applejack was, understandably, incensed by that.

"Easy?! Ah'll have ya know a lot o' work goes into em ta make em right! An' besides..."

She again looked to the mountain.

"Y'all can jus' as 'easily' break this thing down an' move it!"

It was now Limestone's turn to sound insulted.

"Are you kidding?! We spent weeks making this thing before bringing it up here, and now you're just telling us to smash it?!"

"We haven't even bought it dinner yet," Maud added.

Limestone rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Not now, Maud!"

She glared again to her cousin.

"If all you want is for humans to not have a hard time, then go ahead and invite them. Have them live next to the mountain! It's no problem!"

Applejack rolled her eyes.

"What, y'all jus' expect em ta bring a herd o' sheep and have em graze on that thing?"

It really looked like there was going to be no end to this argument, but then, rather unexpectedly, a new sound caught the three off-guard.

"MAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

They halted, looking utterly confused, before turning to see what it was. There, not very far away, was Apple Bloom and Marble. Unbeknown to he three who had been arguing, the two had walked off together to do something else. Specifically, that 'something else' just so happened to be creating some new form of life. At first glance, it appeared to be like a sheep, except with far less wool, and also looking a lot leaner. It was sporting a small beard on its chin, and atop its head were two curved horns. It was a creature the others had never seen before, and as they walked closer to it, Apple Bloom smiled to her sister.

"Wadda ya think?"

Applejack, scratching the side of her head, was justifiably confused.

"Er...what is it?"

Marble smiled, but looked to her young cousin to explain things.

"We got ta talkin', Marble an' me, an' we thought it'd be good ta make some kinda compromise."

She pointed to the mountain.

"The mountain was a lot of work ta make, like Limestone said, an' Applejack's right when she said farmers would have a hard time with herds an' stuff, so..."

She looked to her new creation.

"...we made this little guy up! He's like a sheep, but he can, ya know, live an' graze in a place like that there mountain."

Limestone, folding her arms, looked to the creature incredulously.

"So...you made a sheep that can live on a mountain?"

Apple Bloom thought on that, then smiled to her.

"Er, yeah, pretty much."

She then looked to her sister.

"So...can we stop fightin' now?"

Applejack, softening considerably, got down to one knee, then reached out and gave her sister a pat on the head.

"Aw, Bloom. Yer as sweet as pie sometimes."

Apple Bloom blushed, and as the two sisters hugged, Maud looked to Limestone.

"Guess that settles that then."

But Limestone was unconvinced, looking to the new creature.

"I dunno. Mountains are pretty difficult places. You sure this thing is tough enough to-OOFF!!!"

Before she'd even finished, the animal had charged forward, headbutting her right in the stomach, and since her status as a Goddess basically guaranteed that this wouldn't hurt her at all, it had left her winded. But as she stood there, getting her breath back, she looked to the animal with surprise, and the animal itself simply did its call again.

"MAAAAAAAA!!!"

Limestone, blinking a couple of times, soon cracked a smile.

"Oh yeah, it's tough enough."

She too patted Apple Bloom on the head.

"Got a name for it, kiddo?"

Apple Bloom tapped her chin, thinking on that, then smiled to all the older Goddesses.

"How about...a Stomach-Hitter?"

Limestone sighed.

"We'll keep working on it."

"HELP US!!! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP US!!!"

The screams rang out through the whole village, as men, women and children all called out in horror at the sight that now greeted them on this morning. Their homes were at the base of a massive mountain which, until this very moment, had been thought of as just that and nothing more. But now they realised their fatal error, for a column of smoke rose from the top, and spurts of lava spewed forth from the exploding peak. It was a volcano, and more than that, it was one whose unmatched wrath was heading straight towards them. The villagers panicked, grabbing their families and whatever valuables they could carry, all in an effort to evacuate and get away from the deadly torrent of fire. But they knew their efforts were in vain, for that lava was flowing too fast, and would reach them within moments. One villagers, a young girl, fell to her knees, clasping her hands together and looking up to the skies, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Please...someone...help us!"

And her prayer was answered. For as she looked on in dismay at the veritable flood of lava fast approaching her, a solitary figure descended downwards from the heavens, colliding with the ground just before the lava reached her. Said lava was forced back, if only a little, by the arrival of this figure, and after the girl had shielded her eyes from the dust of the impact, those eyes widened when she saw who it was. Sunset Shimmer, Goddess of Fire, who stood defiantly against the devastation of the volcano. But in this one moment, she glanced back, giving a reassuring smile to the one who had prayed to her.

"Don't worry...everything's going to be fine."

The girl smiled, safe in the knowledge that all would be well, and as Sunset looked to the now-resumed flood of lava, her eyes narrowed and her mouth twisted into a smirk.

"Now then...let's see what we can do about you."

Raising her hand, she balled it into a fist, then slammed it down into the ground right as the lava was about to reach her. With her divine power, this punch sent the lava flying backwards, and a fair distance too. Many of the other villagers, stopping in their panicked retreat, looked back to see what was happening, and they smiled and cheered when they knew that a Goddess had arrived to save them. Sunset, for her part, ignored the cheers in favor of focusing on the more immediate issue of getting this volcano under control. So she struck the lava again, and then again, and on and on for several minutes, each time sending it back. It was a one-woman fight against this volcano, and Sunset was fast becoming the winner. She fought this elemental force with the kind of power and battle-skill that only one of the divine could have, and before long she was charging up the side of the mountain, the lava in full retreat.

"Time to finish this!" she yelled.

She leapt up, higher than any mortal human would have been capable of, and with great might she brought down her fist one final time, slamming it hard into the lava that still remained outside of the volcano's crater. There was a great flash of power, and many of the villagers who were still brave enough to witness this turned away, lest they go blind. But Sunset's power did its job, and the lava was gone, completely and fully retreated back inside the volcano. The smoke had ceased, and the skies cleared above, leaving nothing but blue from horizon to horizon. The Goddess had done her duty, and the village was saved, leading to an understandable smile on her part. Turning, she looked down at the villagers, many of whom had dropped to their knees to prostrate themselves before their savoir. Even here, high atop this mountain, the wind carried their words to her ears, and she heard their devotion and thankfulness to her.

"All hail Sunset! All hail Sunset! All hail Sunset!"

They carried on like that for quite some time, and Sunset placed her hands upon her hips, looking through the crowd far below. There, she saw the girl who had pleaded for help, the one who had prayed, and she saw her smile. The Goddess was happy to have helped, and happier still that nobody had been hurt, yet now that her work was done, she stopped, looking behind her to the crater of the volcano. Despite what it might have appeared like down at the village, there was still lava here. It simply wasn't at risk of erupting or overflowing anymore, and likely wouldn't do for some time, given what she'd done to it. But as she stood at the edge of the thing, looking down and feeling the immense heat, a knowing smile came to her, and she gave a quick shrug.

"Well...it'd be a shame to let it go to waste."

Quickly, she made sure that nobody was looking, not even any other Goddesses who might be within a thousand-mile radius. When she was certain that she had her desired privacy, she resumed her smile, and then, with swiftness of hand, she discarded her garb. Even faster, she dove headfirst into the lava below, a move that would have been suicidal for anyone other than one of her kind. For almost a full minute, she was down there, and then finally, she re-emerged, letting out a contented sigh.

"Oh, I've wanted to do that for ages!"

Chuckling to herself, she swam around for a bit, enjoying the soothing feel of the immense heat of the lava. But after a time, she decided to relax a bit more, and so swam over to the edge of the crater, leaning her back against it and just letting her eyes close.

"Oh...I could stay here forever!"

"I'd miss you if you did, Sunset."

Sunset smiled at the arrival of the second voice, and she cracked one eye open to see that it was her beloved Twilight. The bespectacled Goddess smiled sweetly to hear, sitting on the edge just an inch or two from where Sunset was, and before even another word passed between them, Twilight got to her knees, leaning forward to give her lover a tender kiss upon her cheek. Sunset smiled lovingly back to her, looking her right in the eye soon afterwards.

"You know, there's plenty of room in here, Twi."

Giggling, Twilight shook her head.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm not as much of a fan of volcanoes as you, Sunset."

Instead, she simply laid down, reclining on her side right behind where Sunset was leaning against the edge. Though at first disappointed that her beau wasn't joining her proper, Sunset soon got over it, giving another quick shrug.

"Well, suit yourself."

Twilight gave Sunset a quick pat on her head, then glanced down to the village far below.

"You did good for them down there, Sunset. I'm sure they'll arrange quite a festival for you tomorrow."

Sunset smiled.

"I was happy to help...buuuuuuuuuut a few extra prayers certainly wouldn't hurt."

The two laughed together, and as Twilight laid down on her back, looking to the beautifully blue skies, she sighed.

"How's your practice with the sun coming?"

Sunset groaned a bit here.

"Uuuuuuuuuuugh! Don't remind me! How Celestia makes it look so easy I'll never know!"

Twilight giggled again, looking back to her.

"You'll get the hang of it, sooner or later."

Looking back to her, Sunset's smirk returned.

"And you? Any more trouble with your followers? Any 'terrible' moral choices they want help with?"

Twilight shook her head.

"Nope. Haven't even had any calls for help from Flash lately. And he's usually the most worried of all of them."

Sunset nodded, satisfied with that answer.

"Hey, always nice to have a few days off though, right?"

Twilight couldn't argue with that, and turned over on her side, bringing her head closer and giving her fellow Goddess another kiss.

"A bit of quiet time certainly wouldn't be amiss. Doubly so if it means I get to spend more time with you."

Sunset waved her off.

"You hopeless romantic!"

Twilight adjusted her glasses.

"Well, I did learn from the best of the best on that count, Sunset."

Sunset raised an eyebrow, still smiling as she did so.

"Ooooh, you're sassy today. I like it."

The two shared another laugh, and when they finished, they simply stayed where they were, close to one another, just relaxing and thinking to themselves.

"So...how long before you have some other heat-related problems to deal with?" Twilight asked.

Sunset shrugged her shoulders.

"Meh, knowing the humans? Probably a few minutes from now when one of them gets the bright idea that the best way to put out an oil fire is to dump water on it."

Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah, they never learn their lesson on that one!"

"I say, my dear brother."

"Yes, Flim? What's on your mind?"

"Well, Flam, far be it from me to question your choices in life, but are you certain that this is a good choice for you? I mean, there are plenty of fish in the sea after all."

Flam chuckled, patting his brother on the shoulder.

"Oh, Flim. Dear brother, I love you so, but surely there is no doubt as to what a magnificent plan this is!"

He held him close, stretching out his free hand as he was visualising his plan.

"You and I are fine, upstanding gentlemen, and such spiffy fellows require some worthy companionship. We can't spend the rest of our lives just with each other, now can we?"

Flim shook his head, allowing Flam to continue.

"So, our only recourse is to seek out some worthy partners. And after much consideration, I have decided that there is only one sweet lady worthy of my attention!"

He let go of his brother, stepping forward and striking a triumphant pose, his hand pointing out to the horizon.

"My soon-to-be wife shall be none other than Lady Radiant! Queen of the Underworld! One of the fairest maidens in the land!"

The confidence his brother was displaying was practically infectious, and it wasn't long before Flim stood alongside him, hands on hips, sharing in that look of triumph.

"Bully, old boy! I'm with you! Let's go and get this pretty little thing for you! Nothing but the best for our family, right?"

Flam chortled.

"Agreed, brother! After all, if you get to have a Princess as a wife, where could I possibly go but to a Goddess?"

Flim nodded, but then looked thoughtful.

"Yes...shame the girl was only twelve when I convinced her Father to let me wed her."

Flam looked to him slyly, giving him a nudge in the side.

"Hey, she won't be twelve forever, am I right?"

They shared a laugh so uncomfortable to listen to that even nearby rats were cringing and running away. But then they decided to focus on the task at hand. That being, that they would have to go to the Underworld to get Flam's prospective partner, and let's just say it wasn't usually the place that mortals tended to want to go. And none could blame them really, given that the entrance to the place was hardly inviting. It was little more than a massive dark cave, nestled at the base of one of the tallest mountains in the land. Shrouded by cold and mist, it looked about the least appealing place one could think of, made all the worse by the sound of screeching from nearby carrion birds in the dead trees that dotted the surrounding area. But the two brothers were undeterred, and looked on to it confidently. However, it wasn't long after setting foot within the cave for the first time that a rather obvious point began to take centre stage in Flim's mind.

"I say, brother. not to question this plan of ours...but there is the issue that Lady Radiant is...well...married already."

But Flam waved him off.

"Oh, think nothing of it. All we have to do is meet up with Lord Sombra, explain the situation..."

He smirked to his brother while adjusting his hat slightly.

"...all while being our usual, charming-beyond-belief selves, and tally-ho, we walk out there with the Lady of the Dead."

Flim nodded, still thinking.

"Yes...but there is the issue that, well, she's probably not a maiden right now, given how long they've been married."

Again, Flam was unbothered.

"Do try not to be so closed-minded, brother."

Flim hung his head for a time.

"Yes, yes, you're right. Wouldn't want to sound like an unpleasant fellow after all, yes?"

They shared a laugh together, and in all honesty, they needed the levity. For as they journeyed further and further into the cave, it became colder and darker, until they eventually reached the point where little of anything could be seen. Occasionally, they'd bump into a rock or even the wall of the tunnel, but they kept on going, apparently having lost all common sense on the way in. But there eventually came a point where Flim had to, at last, ask the question that really should've been asked by now.

"So...what do we do if Lord Sombra doesn't take kindly to your request?"

Flam shrugged.

"Same as I always do. Talk my way out of it."

Flim opened his mouth to counter that, only to be silenced when Flam raised a finger to him in an authoritative manner.

"Yes I do! Every time!"

"Oh you do, do you?"

The new voice caught them both off-guard, and their blood chilled to ice from the feel of it. Slowly, they turned, and there, not so far away, they could see a pair of piercing eyes looking back at them through the gloom. And those eyes did not belong to anyone their size, but to one who towered over, like a great beast. Before even another word was spoken, there was light, as torch after torch simultaneously lit themselves along the sides of the walls. Flim and Flam recoiled at the sight that now greeted them, for Lord Sombra himself, King of the Underworld, stood before them, arms folded, looking down with sternness.

"So...the brothers Flim and Flam. I must confess, I did not expect to see either of you in my domain for some years. To what do I owe this visit?"

Sure, planning to meet with the ruler of the dead all sounded good when it was all talk on the surface world, but actually being here, looking the guy in the eye, was something else altogether. Flam, despite his earlier bravado, soon gulped nervously, but nevertheless put on the salesman attitude he and his brother were so known for.

"Ah! My Lord Sombra! A fine day to meet such an esteemed member of the pantheon today!" he said with a sweeping bow.

Sombra raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I imagine it would be a rather unique experience for you. But your politeness, though welcome, does not answer my question."

He leaned over closer to them.

"Why...are...you...here?"

They knew they would have little choice but to give an answer here, given how close the towering Lord seemed to now glare at them. But to their surprise, as well as their confusion, they now saw that he started to laugh. It was a full, hearty one too, and though taken aback by it, the brothers eventually joined in on said laughter, though it took a great deal of restraint to not wince when Sombra slapped his hand jovially on Flam's shoulder.

"Come now! What host would I be if I didn't offer my guests some refreshments?"

Stepping aside, the God revealed, to the brothers' surprise, a long table, covered from end to end in delicious and sumptuous-looking food. Meat, vegetables, fruits, anything tasty you could imagine, it was all there. The two salivated at the sight of it, wasting not a moment as they hurried to whatever the closest chair was. Sombra kept his wide smile, watching as the two began to gorge themselves on a particularly nice bit of chicken.

"Enjoying it?"

The brothers attempted to answer, but their mouths were so full right now that they could only give a muffled response, much to Sombra's amusement. The God walked along the table, standing just behind where the brothers were sitting, looking to each of them in turn before finally speaking again.

"It's been so long since we had visitors. Radiant often speaks of how bored she gets not having anyone besides the ghosts to talk to. And I hear you two are quite the conversationalists."

The brothers smiled to him, with Flam gulping down his mouthful to finally answer.

"Oh yes, my Lord! You won't find tongues more silver than ours, I say!"

Sombra chuckled.

"Indeed. I'm sure you think so, given you thought yourselves good enough to swindle my wife away from me."

"Haha! Right you are, Sir!" Flam responded.

Then, they stopped, for only now did they realise what it was they'd effectively confessed to. Instantly, they dropped whatever food they'd been holding, then slowly looked up to Sombra, who simply kept on smiling at them.

"I suggest you get comfortable, gentlemen..."

He tapped both chairs with his fingers, and in an instant, they came alive. And that was quite literally, for out of nowhere emerged a numerous variety of snakes of all shapes and sizes, each of which swiftly coiled around the limbs of the brothers, holding them firmly into their chairs, no matter how hard they struggled against it. Sombra, holding his own hands behind his back, began to casually stroll away.

"...because you'll be staying for quite some time."

Then, he paused, glancing back over his shoulder.

"If it makes you feel any better, Mr Flam, I respect your taste in women. Mine is not that different after all."

As the brothers watched their hugely-amused host disappear, Flim looked to his sibling, eyes narrowed, leading to another nervous chuckle on Flam's part.

"Well, on the plus side, I guess this does mean we spend the rest of our lives together."

Meanwhile, Sombra had returned to the side of his beloved wife, whom he now kissed tenderly upon the cheek. Radiant, smiling to this gesture, looked to him with curiosity.

"I take it they didn't enjoy your little surprise?"

Sombra cackled.

"Well, I know I certainly did!"

They shared a laugh, but when they finished, Radiant looked to him sternly.

"Oh! Don't forget to get that young Princess released back to her Father."

Sombra's face darkened.

"Oh, don't worry, I won't forget. I'll be sure to loom extra ominously around him until he goes to get her back."

He frowned as he looked back in the direction of the two brothers.

"I mean who schemes to get a child as their wife?! Honestly?!"

"Alright now, that's it, you can do it!"

The Lady of Nature watched, hands clasped together, with a big smile on her face, as the last of the racers inched into view. True, having a tortoise was about as far removed from the idea of a "racer" as one could get, but that didn't mean the little guy wasn't putting his all into it. With determination, he took slow step after slow step, walking along the path that so many others had run and sprinted down. Fluttershy watched him eagerly, as happy to see him as she would be with any other creature. But she did not watch him alone, as Rainbow Dash was also present. And while she was always up for a good race, here she was completely relaxed. Not disinterested, but simply so confident about what was going on that she didn't need to even do anything.

"Okay now, Tank, you're on the home stretch now!"

Tank smiled to the Goddess, and actually upped his speed by a full step per minute because of it. Chuckling, Rainbow looked to her fellow Goddess.

"You gotta admit, he's doing pretty good."

Fluttershy smiled sweetly to her.

"Oh, absolutely! Tank is such a sweetheart! It really was nice of him to participate in this today."

Rainbow scratched the back of her head, chuckling nervously.

"Yep. I mean, yeah, he is technically the last one in this race, but hey, he'll finish it, and that's what matters!"

Fluttershy nodded in agreement, looking back to Tank quickly and clapping as he closed the still-sizeable gap between himself and the finish line.

"That's it, Tank! Go on! You're almost there!"

She sighed, looking again to Rainbow.

"If nothing else, it was nice to have a polite animal take part in this. I swear, the animals get so rowdy with these competitions sometimes. It's like someone just tells them they need to be as competitive and aggressive with one another as possible!"

Rainbow's coughed, looking away from her and appearing just a touch guilty about something.

"Er, yeah, um...can't imagine who."

Fluttershy, oblivious to her friend's obvious tone here, began to count off her fingers.

"Let's see, I had to disqualify the dragon and the tiger after they got into a fight. I had to send the rabbit away after he tried tripping up the wolf, and you don't even want to know what happened with the cat and the rat!"

Rainbow looked back to her, curiosity taking hold.

"Wait...what happened?"

Fluttershy rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Oh, it was truly silly of them. At first, the rat convinced the cat to carry him through the racetrack. And I was fine with that, helping one another and all. But then, right before the finish, the rat jumped off the cat so he could get ahead first."

She placed her hands on her hips, frowning deeply.

"And he actually thought he'd be counted among the winners because of that! But I'll have no cheating in this race, so I told him he didn't count!"

Rainbow folded her arms, raising an eyebrow.

"And...the cat?"

Fluttershy looked to her, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well...she tried to eat the rat...because she's a cat."

Rainbow stifled a laugh, nodding slowly afterwards.

"Oh, right, that. Yeah, should've seen that coming."

Then, after taking in this whole story, her smile vanished, and she looked to Fluttershy with uncharacteristic worry.

"Er, Fluttershy? Exactly how many animals did you say not to be in the race for bad behaviour and stuff?"

Fluttershy considered that, thinking back to the day's events.

"Oh, quite a few. Can't have naughty animals picked for something this important after all, right?"

Then, she too started to look concerned.

"Actually...I think I might have had to disqualify almost all of them."

Rainbow, though nervous, still asked the next question.

"But...but you did make sure we have at least twelve in this race, right? Because we kinda need twelve for this!"

Fluttershy smiled back to her.

"Oh, don't worry, we definitely have at least twelve."

Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief, wiping away some sweat from her brow.

"Phew! That's good to hear. How many?"

"Twelve," Fluttershy answered quickly.

Rainbow stared at her with disbelief, leading to another shrug on Fluttershy's part.

"What? They were really badly behaved."

She leaned closer to Rainbow, whispering in her ear.

"But don't worry, I made sure none of them are going to feel bad for it. I made an arrangement so that we can all have a nice tea party afterwards, and I asked Pinkie to help me make cakes for all of them."

Rainbow smirked slightly.

"A tea party for almost every animal in the world? Yeah, good luck with that."

She turned, looking over to Tank, who had actually managed to get within one foot of the finish line as they'd been talking.

"Shame he's gonna be last on the zodiac, but hey, at least he's in it."

Fluttershy giggled, giving another clap of her hands.

"Agreed! He's been such a good boy! You should see how nice he is to Mrs Turtle's newborn hatchlings! He's the perfect babysitter for them!"

Rainbow snorted out a laugh.

"Yeah, Tank's pretty awesome alright. I gotta find a nice turtless to set him up with one day."

Fluttershy beamed at that suggestion.

"Oooh! I think I have a few he might like!"

Though still smiling, Rainbow glanced away from her.

"Save it for later, Fluttershy..."

A victorious smile crept onto her lips.

"...because I think we have a winner on our hands!"

Sure enough, as Fluttershy looked down, she saw that Rainbow was correct. Tank was indeed crossing the finish line, though it took almost a whole minute for him to get his leg all the way over. But as soon as he'd done so, Rainbow whisked him off the ground, spinning him around and cackling with her usual triumphant laugh.

"Haha! Oh yeah! Who's the bestest, baddest tortoise around? That's right, it's this guy!"

Fluttershy grinned at her friend's enthusiastic support of the speed-challenged animal, and the sentiment of joy only deepened when Rainbow set him down on the ground again, getting down to one knee, and offering a closed fist to him.

"Gimme some love, Tank!"

Slowly, the tortoise raised its paw, gradually bringing it closer to the Goddess' fist. Eventually, after five minutes in fact, they made contact, and Rainbow, after having displayed an extraordinary amount of patience for that, stood upright again, looking to her fellow Goddess with utter satisfaction.

"Alright then! Guess that's the zodiac all picked out then?"

Fluttershy, clasping her hands together, nodded.

"Yes. We have all twelve now."

Rainbow, getting down to a knee, leaned over to Tank, whispering to him with a sly look.

"Hey, don't worry about coming in last. Everyone knows the last slot on the zodiac is the best slot!"

Tank gave a slow-to-form smile to her, to which she gave him a private wink. After standing again, curiosity returned to the Goddess, and she slapped a hand down on Fluttershy's shoulder.

"Alright then, now that that's all settled, let's run down the list."

She rubbed her hands together, showing obvious eagerness.

"What do we have? A lion?"

Fluttershy shook her head.

"Oh, sorry, no lions."

Rainbow shrugged.

"Fair enough. What about hawks?"

Again, Fluttershy shook her head.

"No, no hawks either."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"...Bears?"

"No."

"Eagles?"

"No."

"Sharks?"

"No."

"Cheetahs?"

"No."

"Rhinos?"

"No."

A silence passed between them, and after Rainbow blinked a few times, she started to look a touch confused.

"So...what animals do we have in our new zodiac?"

Fluttershy smiled, then raised her hand and started to count off her fingers.

"Oh, we have some wonderful creatures! We have the penguin, the butterfly, the robin, the puppy, the hippo, the duck, the flamingo, the worm, the platypus, the goldfish, the hamster..."

She smiled more happily as she looked down to Tank.

"...and finally, the tortoise!"

Rainbow stared at her, half-hoping her friend was joking about that selection. When it became clear to her that Fluttershy was being completely serious, she let out the longest groan of exasperation she'd ever had.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh! Okay, new plan...just command the mortals to take this zodiac seriously!"

"Oh dear...where is he?"

Twilight flew high above the entirety of the mortal world, scouring it for her quarry, yet no matter where she went, she saw neither hide nor hair of him. She looked in the cities, the towns and even the tiniest of villages, yet he was not there. She looked atop the highest mountains, all the way down to the deepest valleys, yet he was not there. She looked through forests, through deserts, through every place a person might be found, yet as always, he was not there. Despondency began to sink in for her, and she sighed heavily, returning high up to the heavens. Maybe some solitude would give her some respite from this low feeling? So she sat there, on the edge of an especially-poofy looking bit of cloud, legs dangling over the edge, looking down to the world below. But so engrossed was she with her own thoughts that she failed to notice the creeping figure that inched slowly behind her. Closer and closer it came, until at last, it let out its shocking scream.

"HIYA TWILIGHT!!!"

"GAH!!!"

Twilight spun around, stunned beyond belief at this sudden and unexpected interruption. Yet she found no attacker or monster there, but simply Pinkie Pie, who immediately burst out laughing at seeing the look on her fellow Goddess' face as she rolled around on the clouds.

"Oh boy! You should see yourself right now, Twily!" Pinkie giggled.

Twilight, though still feeling intense heartbeat from that shock, nevertheless began to calm down, and even offered a smile to her friend.

"Oh, Pinkie, it's you. Sorry, I didn't see you there."

Jumping back to her feet, the Lady of Festivities offered a wider smile to her.

"Well, you looked kinda down in the dumps. So I figured I'd swoop on over and cheer you up! Nobody should be feeling sad on my bit of cloud after all!"

Realising what her colleague had just said, Twilight immediately leapt up herself.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't even notice this was your part of the heavens!"

But Pinkie waved her off, looking utterly unconcerned with that.

"Pfft! Don't worry about it! I love having visitors! So..."

She bounced down into a sitting position, looking up to her friend with curiosity.

"What's eating you, Twily?"

Knowing that talking to a friend might do her some good, Twilight sighed, then sat back down right next to Pinkie.

"It's just...I've been looking for one of my followers. I haven't heard any prayers or calls for help from him in some time, so I decided to go and see if anything was wrong."

Pinkie nodded.

"So...was anything wrong?"

Twilight shook her head, gesturing to the world.

"That's just it, I don't know! I can't even find him! I've looked all over and can't see even a single sign of Flash!"

Here, Pinkie's smile vanished, replaced instead with a more concerned look.

"You're, er...looking for who now?"

Twilight glanced at her briefly before looking back down to the Earth.

"Flash? You know, you saw him at that mortal party some time ago?"

Pinkie, who was starting to sweat a little now, let loose a nervous giggle.

"Oh! Yeah! That guy! Pfft! Of course I remember him! I mean, who wouldn't, right?"

Twilight looked to her, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you okay? You sound a bit...off somehow."

Pinkie laughed loudly in an obviously-forced manner.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What, me? Feeling guilty and nervous? Don't be silly, Twily!"

Twilight frowned.

"I...never said anything about feeling guilty, Pinkie."

Pinkie looked like she was right on the cusp of saying something else, when all of a sudden, a new sound interrupted the two Goddess' conversation. It was, strangely enough, the sound of somebody yawning, and as soon as the sound was heard, Twilight looked over. From the sound of it, the yawn had come from just over a nearby "ridge" of cloud, leading to Twilight looking back to Pinkie.

"Is someone else here?"

Pinkie's eyes darted from left to right.

"What? No! What makes you say that?"

Then, as if to answer her, there was the distinct sound of somebody giving themselves a quick stretch, and as Twilight again looked over to see what it was, she saw a pair of arms poking over the cloud-ridge and doing that very stretch. More importantly though, they appeared to have a very familiar skin tone to them, and as Twilight realised this, she adjusted her glasses.

"...Wait a minute."

Before Pinkie could stop her, Twilight was off, floating over the cloud and heading straight for this mysterious stranger. When she got there, Twilight looked over the ridge, and as soon as she'd done so, her eyes widened. Shock returned to her expression, but then quickly changed into both confusion and irritation in equal measure, as she slowly glanced back to Pinkie, who had floated just alongside her in the meantime.

"...Pinkie?"

"Um...yes, Twily?

"Why is Flash here?"

Sure enough, the mortal was indeed there, lying upon the cloud and, at a glance, sound asleep. A contented smile was upon his face, and he looked as though he was having the most comfortable night's sleep any human had ever had before. Twilight, though still knowing she'd have to give her friend a talking to, grunted a little before leaning over and poking Flash in the side of his face.

"Flash? You need to wake up now."

But to her confusion, he did not wake, instead continuing to sleep. Worry came to Twilight now, and she tried poking him a bit more vigorously. Again, this did nothing, so she slowly looked back to Pinkie, who was now sweating profusely.

"Um..hehe, you're gonna laugh when you hear this!"

Twilight's eyes narrowed, and Pinkie gulped.

"Okay, maybe not laugh exactly."

Twilight, very slowly, pointed to her follower.

"Explain...now."

Sighing, Pinkie now started to speak normally.

"Okay, well, you know how I kinda had a thing for him when I saw him at that party? Well, I maybe didn't let go of that afterwards, so I started to...well...follow him...just a bit."

Twilight slapped her own forehead, though Pinkie kept speaking as she did so.

"So, some time after he stopped being Flurry's follower, I saw him lie out on a nice grassy hill one night and go to sleep, and I thought 'ooooh, he looks really cute when he sleeps', so I decided to go and visit him when he slept at night and just, ya know...stare at him a bit."

Twilight face was one of utter incredulity.

"Pinkie...this is getting more and more disturbing with every passing moment."

Ignoring her, Pinkie carried on.

"So I kept on doing this, finding a nice little patch of cloud so I could watch this cutie-patootie sleep all night, then one day, I got an idea. What if I never had to see him wake up? What if he slept all the time, so I could watch him sleep all the time? So, that's what I did, used my power and boom, he hasn't woken up in weeks!"

Twilight stared at her, completely uncertain of how to take all this.

"There are so many things wrong with this scenario I can't even begin to count them!"

Pinkie floated past her, lying herself right beside Flash, looking to him in the same way she'd look at an especially tasty-looking cake.

"Let me tell you, Twily, it's been great having this sweet guy here to come home to after a long day of Goddess work."

Placing her hands upon her hips, Twilight frowned to her.

"Pinkie, not only is it wrong for you to just steal someone else's follower, but have you considered that, just maybe, this is, you know, the most creepy and disturbing thing anyone can do to a sleeping guy?!"

Pinkie thought on that for a moment.

"Errrrrrrrrrrr...no, I didn't consider that."

Twilights slapped her own forehead again.

"Pinkie...you need to..."

Then a terrible notion came to her, and the color drained from her face.

"Pinkie. Have you...done anything besides stare at him while he was like this?"

Pinkie smiled to her.

"Yep!"

Twilight gasped.

"What?!"

Pinkie nodded, looking over her shoulder.

"I also made that sweet art of him over there!"

Twilight looked up, seeing a nearby canvas with a painting of, what else, the sleeping form of Flash, with Pinkie's name signed in the corner of it. Blinking a few times, Twilight looked back to her.

"No, I mean...have you done anything else with him? Anything...intimate?"

Pinkie suddenly realised what she meant, and so started to blush.

"Ooooooooooh! You mean that stuff! No, I haven't."

Twilight breathed the biggest sigh of relief in the universe.

"Oh, thank Celestia!"

Then, Pinkie thought more on that.

"But it's not like I haven't thought about it or anything!"

Twilight's head snapped back in her direction.

"What?!"

Pinkie shrugged.

"Hey, can you blame me? He's gorgeous! Oh, by the way..."

She finally left Flash's side, floating on over to Twilight and whispering to her.

"On a totally unrelated note, what's the record for how many kids a Goddess has ever had with a mortal? Because I heard it was fifty."

Slowly, Twilight narrowed her eyes to her.

"Wake. Him. Up. Now."

Pinkie groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Ugh! Fine!"

She snapped her fingers, and immediately, Flash's eyes opened.

"Argh! What happened?! Where am I?! How long have I been sleeping?!"

Twilight, doing her best to control her rage towards her fellow Goddess right now, leaned over and smiled sweetly to her most devoted follower.

"Oh, don't you worry, Flash. Everything's fine. Lady Pinkie and I were just having a little chat..."

You could hear the venom in that last word as she cast a death glare in Pinkie's direction, the latter of which simply smiled and gave a little wave to Flash from where she was.

"...about proper treatment of followers. But I'd say you've been up here for quite long enough, so I'll just send you home."

Flash, calming down from having awoken in this strange place, nodded to his patron deity.

"Yes...yes, of course. Well, whatever I was doing up here...I'm glad I...helped?" he said, his voice betraying his uncertainty.

Twilight smiled to him, then snapped her own fingers. In a quick burst of light, the mortal was gone, now returned to wherever he'd been before Pinkie had taken him. And speaking of Pinkie, Twilight now looked to her with her usual disapproving scowl.

"Pinkie, we are gonna have a very long talk about this."

Pinkie clasped her hands together, her voice sounding just a touch more hopeful than she should be.

"Well...would it help if I got you an eternally-sleeping guy to fawn over?"

Twilight's eyes, if possible, actually managed to narrow further.

"No, Pinkie...no it would not."

"So...this is nice, isn't it? A beautiful sunny day, a gentle breeze, some birds chirruping over...over there somewhere, it's just lovely, right?"

Zephyr's attempts at making pleasant conversation was met only with silence, leading to further talk from the God.

"I mean, when you get right down to it, it's just a nice day, and hey, there's the two of us together like this, so it's even better, right?"

Again, nothing but silence, and Zephyr sighed in response.

"Look, I know this relationship hasn't exactly been the best, and yeah, you have every right to be angry with me right now, but at least it couldn't have been worse, right?"

Silence for a third time, and Zephyr's smile faded a little, then returned with full vigor.

"You know, you're a great listener. Has anyone ever told you that? A lot of guys consider it a really attractive quality, you know. And I have to say..."

"Zephyr?"

"GAH!!!"

The God leapt to his feet, spinning around so as to look to the one who had spoken. To his utter horror, it was his older sister, Fluttershy, who looked back to her younger sibling with obvious confusion.

"Who are you talking to, brother?"

Zephyr, now sweating profusely, had his eyes darting left and right rapidly, as well as chuckling nervously.

"Oh! Um...I was talking to...myself! Yeah, that's it! I got a little bored out here, so I decided to have some conversation with...myself...about stuff."

Now, Fluttershy knew her brother better than anyone alive, and so it took no time whatsoever for her to know that something was up. With a look of incredulity coming to her, she sighed, placing one hand on her hip and raising the second, gesturing for her brother to step to one side. Zephyr nervously poked the ends of his fingers together, attempting to stand his ground, but one arched eyebrow from Fluttershy was all it took to finally wear down the last of his defences. With his shoulders slumping, he groaned in defeat, stepping aside as requested. At long last, the Goddess of Nature could see what her brother had been hiding. There, in the ground, surrounded by a swathe of healthy green grass, was a larger-than-average daisy, whose centre was the brightest shade of yellow Fluttershy had ever seen on that particular flower. But while most would have been delighted to see such a pretty flower, Fluttershy merely looked disappointed.

"Oh, Zephyr! Not again!"

Zephyr hung his head in shame.

"I'm sorry! I know I said I wouldn't do this again, but...it just happened!"

He kept babbling on and on like that for some time, until a raised hand from his sister finally silenced him. Fluttershy, though still clearly upset, looked her sibling right in the eye before speaking in a tone that was both soft and firm at the same time.

"Brother...tell me what happened."

Zephyr took this moment of calm to take a few deep breaths, and then, as asked, he began to explain himself.

"Okay. Her name was...her name is Daisy. I saw her outside the local village, and...well..."

Fluttershy folded her arms.

"You became taken with her?" she asked, her eyebrow as high as it would go.

Zephyr didn't nod, but scratched the back of his head nervously, which was all the confirmation Fluttershy needed. After she rubbed the bridge of her nose, she gestured for him to continue, which he did.

"So anyway, I swopped on down to her, introduced myself, did a bit of Zephyr-style flirting..."

"Which went about as well as it usually did, I take it?" Fluttershy asked, with just the tiniest bit of sass on her part.

Zephyr frowned.

"Okay, to maybe I had to show off a bit of godly power to really wow her. But, it did the job. She was wowed, and we got to talking."

He turned, pointing to a nearby field.

"It was good for a bit, but then she wanted to do something extra, so we got into a game of discus-throwing."

He looked smug all of a sudden.

"Obviously, as a God, I knew she didn't really have a chance against me, but I humored her all the same."

Fluttershy rolled her eyes as her brother continued.

"She went first, and I'll admit, she was pretty good. And...okay, maybe I was nervous my own throw wouldn't have been as good at that point."

Fluttershy tilted her head slightly.

"Hasn't Rainbow been teaching you how to do it properly lately?"

Zephyr shrugged.

"She tries to, yeah, but I usually find that...um...I get distracted."

It took only a second for Fluttershy to get the message, and she face-palmed immediately.

"You mean you ignore her lessons in favor of just trying some pick-up lines with her?"

Zephyr considered that, then nodded.

"Yep, pretty much."

Using all of her willpower not to groan with annoyance, Fluttershy assumed her earlier, calmer look.

"Alright...then what happened with Daisy?"

Zephyr turned away again.

"Well, as I said, I got a bit worried that my discus skills weren't really impressive enough, so I...gave myself a little help."

Slowly, Fluttershy began to frown.

"Brother...please tell me you didn't use your powers over the wind to cheat in that discus game!"

Zephyr gulped, then grinned sheepishly.

"Um...okay, I won't tell you then."

Another face-palm, and this time, Fluttershy did indeed groan.

"What. Happened?"

Zephyr twiddled his thumbs here.

"Well, it was fine at first. My winds caused my discuss to fly further than Daisy's could, and she seemed really impressed by it."

Then a blush crept onto his cheeks, and he suddenly found that he couldn't look his sister in the eye.

"Buuuuuuuuuuut...as I was focusing on my win, I didn't notice the discus as it circled around and headed back. And, well...Daisy was sort of in the way when it came back."

Fluttershy's face softened, and she looked down to the flower in the ground. Walking past her brother, she knelt down, gently brushing the petals with her fingers.

"I am so...so sorry my brother brought you to this."

Zephyr folded his arms.

"Hey, it's no big problem, right?"

Fluttershy shot him a glare, causing him to immediately backtrack.

"I mean, she's not actually dead from that blow to the head. And hey, she gets to be a flower, and girls love flowers...right?"

Slowly, Fluttershy got to her feet, brushing down her skirt slightly, before walking over to her brother and gently placing a hand upon her shoulder.

"Zephyr...brother...you are family to me. I love you as dearly as anybody in this world possibly can."

Instantly, Zephyr winced.

"Oh no...this is gonna be bad."

Taking a deep breath, Fluttershy did indeed fulfil her brother's prediction.

"But you...have got...to stop...chasing mortals!"

Zephyr fumbled a bit.

"But...but...but...I can't help it! They're all so cute and pretty and...ugh! How can I not go down there and try to start something?!"

Fluttershy shook her head.

"I'm sorry, brother, but until you learn to be more careful around mortal girls, I don't want you 'starting' anything with them!"

Zephyr frowned to her.

"What, because I turned one girl into a daisy?!"

Fluttershy raised a hand, counting off her fingers.

"And because you turned Rose into a rose, Tulip into a tulip, Clover into a clover..."

Zephyr looked away.

"Okay, so maybe I have some bad luck with girls named after plants!"

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow.

"And let's not mention the girls who deliberately threw themselves off cliffs to avoid having anything to do with you, shall we?"

Zephyr shrugged again.

"Hey, those girls were just being overdramatic, so that's entirely on them!"

Here, Fluttershy had just about had it, and so sighed before taking hold of her brother's chin firmly and forcing him to look at her.

"Zephyr...if you keep doing this...I'll have no choice but to arrange a different way for you to satisfy your needs."

Zephyr understandably sensed a catch there, and so squinted his eyes.

"What...what kind of way?"

Here, for the first time today, Fluttershy smiled, though it was really more of a mischievous smirk than anything.

"How would you feel about a date with Adagio?"

Immediately, Zephyr's face went as pale as a sheet, and he backed away by several steps.

"No! Anything but that! She terrifies me!"

Placing her hands on her hips, Fluttershy assumed a more professional tone.

"So...no more mortal girls...agreed?"

Realising that refusing the offer would lead him down a path too dark for him to want to walk, the God of Wind finally relented, sighing and letting his shoulders slump.

"...Yes, Ma'am."

Giggling, Fluttershy reached forward and patted her brother on the head.

"Good boy."

"Hey, Aria?"

"Yeah, Sonata?"

"You know how most guys usually leap at the chance to...you know...do the stuff we normally do with guys?"

Aria chuckled darkly.

"Yeah, I know."

Sonata hesitated, but only for a moment.

"Well...what does it mean if one of them says 'no' after I ask about it?"

Slowly, Aria raised an eyebrow to her.

"What do you mean? Haven't you ever had someone say that to you before?"

Sonata frowned.

"Of course not! I mean, have you looked at me?!"

Aria rolled her eyes, though there was no question that Sonata had a point on that one. Both of the sisters were, it had to be said, extraordinarily beautiful. But then again, what would anyone expect from the sisters of the Goddess of Lust? And like Adagio herself, they too were like mermaids in their appearance, with Aria's tail being a dark purple, while Sonata's was a dark blue, which complimented their respective lighter skin tones well. Currently, the two sisters were lazily reclining against the rocks of a shoreline, not too far from a mortal village, though those who dwelt in that latter place had no idea that two of the divine were down here. But getting back to Sonata's earlier point, Aria grumbled for a bit before finally addressing her.

"Look, it's just something that's going to happen sometimes. Not every human is gonna be in the mood for...that stuff."

Sonata blinked as though that were the most bewildering statement she'd ever heard.

"That...makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever!"

Aria chuckled again.

"To be fair, Sonata, a lot of things don't make sense to you!"

Sonata frowned to that, her cheeks puffing up slightly as she did so, but before she had the chance to say anything, Aria beat her to the punch.

"So, who was this guy who turned you down? Might wanna go and thank him."

Sonata's eyes widened.

"What?! What for?!"

Aria smirked to her.

"Anyone who gives you this much of a puzzled day has my respect!"

Though still irritated, Sonata sighed, folding her arms and leaning back against her rock, which was warmed by the heat of the sunny sky above.

"His name was Timber. Or...was it Timmy? Either way, he was walking along the shore the other day, looking like he'd come a really long way too. And I saw him and, you know, felt like having a bit of fun with him."

Aria rolled her eyes again.

"Like you do," she commented.

Ignoring her, Sonata continued.

"So I swam up to him, said 'hi', and at first he seemed really friendly. Then, for no reason, as soon as I told him I was a Goddess, he just looked at me like he'd just seen a ghost."

She grumbled.

"He said all the usual polite stuff about how 'he had someplace to be', or how he 'didn't think it was a good idea' and blah, blah, blah!"

Sonata looked back to Aria.

"But I wasn't gonna take 'no' for an answer!"

Aria released a dry chortle.

"Yeah, I'm definitely getting that feeling from you today."

Again, Sonata ignored her.

"So I used my power, dragged him back to the water, and then poof, I gave him his punishment."

Here, at long last, Aria actually started to feel some curiosity, and scooted over a bit closer to her sister.

"Oh yeah? What did you do?"

Looking like a mischievous child all of a sudden, Sonata didn't answer immediately. Instead, she reached over to the other side, where Aria couldn't see, and rummaged around in the water surrounding her. Then, she pulled something out, then showed it to her sister.

"Ta-da!" Sonata declared proudly.

There, in the palm of her hand, was a small shrimp. Now, Aria had no idea what this was all about, at least at first, but as she glanced closer to this unassuming sea creature, she began to notice that it had, of all things, a tiny tuft of green hair on top of its head. Understanding came to her, and her eyes widened as she slowly looked up to her very proud-of-herself-looking sister.

"You...turned him into a shrimp?"

Sonata beamed.

"Yep! Won't be saying 'no' to anyone now, will he?"

Slowly, Aria raised her hands to her head, rubbing her temples.

"Sonata...you know the rules about punishing mortals!"

Sonata nodded.

"I do know the rules! Only do it if they've done something bad, right?"

Aria muttered under her breath before speaking properly to her sibling.

"Yes, that is the rule...and I'm fairly certain that turning you down for a tussle in your bed doesn't qualify as 'something bad', Sonata!"

The other Goddess scoffed at that notion.

"Well I certainly thought it was bad!"

Aria buried her face in her hands for a time.

"If Adagio hears about this, you know she's gonna be on your case about it! After all the complaints she's had from all those higher-up Goddesses, this is the last thing she needs right now!"

Sonata nodded, thinking on that.

"Oh...right. Guess I should turn him back then?"

Aria, bemused by her sister's rather obvious suggestion, sighed briefly.

"Yeah..."

Then, after a few moments of dwelling on that thought, the older sister looked to her younger again.

"Wait...did you say his name was Timber"

Sonata pondered that for a moment.

"Yep. I mean, I think that was his name. I don't really pay much attention when I'm trying to...you know."

Aria felt annoyance, but squashed it down for the time being.

"Was he wearing this greyish-brownish small hat thing on his head?"

Sonata tapped her chin as she considered that.

"Er...yeah! I think he did!"

Hearing that, Aria slapped her own forehead.

"Oh geez!"

Realising that something was up, Sonata swam a bit closer to her sister.

"What's wrong?"

Aria, after letting out a tired-sounding sigh, began to explain.

"Okay, you see...a while back, I heard Adagio talking about this one guy who annoyed her by dumping some litter into the ocean."

Sonata gasped.

"Monster!"

Aria nodded.

"Oh, totally. I mean who does that?!"

She cleared her throat.

"Anyway, after I heard about it, I decided to follow the guy after he hit the mainland, and I saw him walking along the coast, and I just needed to make sure he'd learned the lesson."

Sonata tilted her head.

"And...did he?"

Aria snorted like that was the funniest thing anyone had ever asked her.

"He's a mortal! They never learn their lessons!"

Sonata sighed.

"Yeah, no argument here."

Looking away from her, Aria got back to her story.

"So this guy, Timber, he'd barely walked a mile before deciding to pull the same shtick again. Ate some food, then threw the rest into the water."

She frowned.

"I guess he figured he'd be safe if wasn't actually in the sea this time."

Slowly, Sonata smirked.

"That was a mistake."

Aria matched her expression.

"Oh yeah. So I rose out of the water, he saw me, and then immediately knew what was gonna happen. But I didn't want to hear any apologies or grovelling, so just dealt with him right then and there."

Sonata now seemed more eager than ever to hear the rest.

"And? What did you do?"

Here though, Aria seemed less enthusiastic about her story.

"Well...um...I turned him into a shrimp."

Sonata blinked.

"...You turned him into a shrimp?"

Aria nodded.

"Yeah. I figured it'd be appropriate. You know, make him live as one of the things who live in the place he threw his litter in? I mean, I turned him back after a while, but still..."

"Oh, yeah, totally appropriate, but how weird is it that we both thought shrimpification was a good idea?" Sonata responded

Aria guffawed at that.

"Hey, family think alike, I guess."

The two shared a laugh, but it was short-lived, as they now once more drew their attention to the shrimp in Sonata's hand.

"Guess being tuned into this thing twice was punishment enough?"

Aria sighed.

"Yeah, yeah. Alright, turn him back."

Sonata seemed disappointed that her own inflicting of punishment wasn't going to last as long as she'd hoped, and she promptly snapped her fingers. There was a flash of light, and when it died down, the shrimp was suddenly gone. The two looked around briefly, wondering where the guy had gone to, but their confusion didn't last long. For just a few feet away, the water broke, revealing a very exhausted-looking Timber as he struggled to claw his way out of the sea and onto the land.

"Oh my Gods! All that time and all I could think of was eating plankton all day!"

Then, he realised he was not alone, and turned to the two nearby Goddesses. They gave him a knowing wave, and his eyes widened with horror, causing him to scream at the top of his lungs as he scrambled out of the sea proper. The two sisters watched as he now ran off for the village, crying out all the way, until he was finally too far to be seen. After a long silence though, Aria leaned over and whispered to her younger sibling.

"So...did you mean to bring him back with no clothes?"

Sonata looked to her, her expression one of both mischievousness and sultriness.

"Hey, just because we're letting the guy go doesn't mean I'm not getting my look-in before he's gone."

Aria shook her head, though continued to look amused by the words.

"Oh, Sonata...Adagio would be so proud."

"Shining, my love?"

The sweet and soft words of Cadance immediately got her husband's attention, as he turned from the horizon to look to her, smiling lovingly to her.
"Yes, my love?"

Walking close to him, the Goddess of Love took him by the arm.
"Pardon me if I read too much into this...but you've seemed a little distracted of late."

Shining chuckled after hearing that, looking back to the beautiful sunset that graced the two of them. It was a gorgeous spot they'd chosen to stand together on, atop a high and lush hill, not a single other person around for miles to interrupt them. Birdsong filled the air, and the divine couple had definitely picked a spot where they could simply be alone together. Shining, for his part, did indeed appear to be deep in thought, though not in a way that he seemed bothered by, and when he looked back to his wife, he patted her on the side of her face.
"Fear not, my beloved. I simply think on all the things I usually do."

Cadance giggled.
"Ah yes, the plight of all those courageous and valiant warriors across the land. Oh Shiny, they have no better champion than you to look over them."

Her eyebrow arched all of a sudden.
"Though I must confess, you haven't really been doing much watching, given our little break."

Shining's eyes darted to her, but only for a moment, as he once more looked to the sunset soon afterwards.
"Well...I figured we both needed some time away from the heavens. You know, get away from it all for a little bit?"

Cadance nodded, never taking her eyes off her husband.
"Oh, I agree...but a whole year upon the mortal world?"

Shining, though briefly finding it hard to answer, simply put on a smile at the end.
"Oh, you know, it's something different. Who would think to look to interrupt a God and Goddess in the mortal plane after all?"

The two shared a laugh, which ended when Cadance sighed, leaning closer to her husband.
"I truly am grateful. This past year has been so sweet with you."

The God seemed comforted by her embrace, yet there was something in his expression that betrayed a sense of unease for him. He made sure to do his best to hide it when Cadance looked back to him afterwards, and she leaned closer and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before walking a few steps away.
"Well, I hate to bring our little break to an end, but the heavens have been without us for long enough. Time to get back."

Shining hesitated here, looking again to the horizon.
"Oh! Um...you go ahead. I'll be with you shortly."

Cadance looked back to him, confused.
"You're not coming with me?"

Shining smiled to her.
"I will, it's just...I wanted to just appreciate one more moment of this lovely place before getting back to where we belong."

Cadance, though briefly wary of her husband's words, nevertheless smiled, giving a quick bow of her head.
"Of course. Don' be too long though. I'm sure your sister's missing you."

Shining watched as his wife engulfed herself in a near-blinding flash of light, and when it died down, the Goddess of love was gone, returned once more to the realm above. Now he was all alone, and looking far more nervous than the God of Warriors should typically be. He was muttering something under his breath, and it was only after a minute or two that he spoke those words aloud.
"Come on...where are you?!"

His words soon got their response, as there was, not far from him, another flash of light, signalling the arrival of a new deity. Shining turned to face this newcomer, watching as that light died down. Now, at this point, were anyone else to look upon this scene, they would undoubtedly be quite shocked to discover that there was now a second Shining Armor present, looking completely identical to the one who was already there. This new one, however, was looking far more confident than the original, and strode towards him as though he was in complete control of the situation.
"Ah! There you are! Everything go well, I take it?"

The first Shining's shoulders slumped, and he sighed deeply.
"You have no idea how many times I came close to blundering this! I couldn't have taken any more of this act!"

The second Shining chuckled, patting the other on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, it's all taken care of. And I appreciate you doing this for me, boy. Cadance would never have been happy with me going off to slay an entire demon army like that. You know how overprotective she can get when I do my job as I do. Kudos for keeping her at ease all year."

The first Shining grimaced.
"I still think this was an unusual plan, but still, you're very welcome, my Lord. But...you know...?"

The new one snapped his fingers.
"Ah, of course. Silly me."

He snapped his fingers again, but this time, in order to unleash his godly power. Another light, and this one engulfing the first Shining. There was a moment of swirling divine power around him, and eventually, the power subsided. But when it did, the figure within was not Shining Armor, but rather a mortal, Flash Sentry, who promptly collapsed to his knees and gasped, as if having been holding his breath for a long time.
"Oh sweet Celestia! I'd almost forgotten what it was like to be me!"

Shining, the real one, frowned.
"Hey! Don't take the Lady of the Sun's name in vain!"

Getting back to his feet, Flash bowed to the God.
"Oh! Of course! My apologies, Lord Shining!"

But the God was clearly not worried about it, as evidenced by his boisterous laugh.
"Ha! Think nothing of it, my lad! Now go on, get yourself back home. I'm sure your neighbours will have been wondering where you've gotten to all year."

Flash chuckled, but it was a meek and tired-sounding one.
"Yeah...I'm just glad I don't have to pretend to be a God anymore. That stuff is tiring!"

Shining, watching him go, shrugged his shoulders.
"Meh, works out alright for us."

Then, having felt satisfied that all had gone according to plan, he had a quick stretch, then again snapped his fingers, unleashing his power, this time upon himself. Much like Cadance had done not so long ago, he was consumed by that power, transporting himself high above the mortal world. He was of course glad to be back home atop the godly clouds after such an action-heavy year, but his greatest smile was reserved for the sight of his wife, who looked to him lovingly as he approached her.
"Welcome back, Shiny."

Then, without warning, he took her into him arms, planting a passionate kiss upon her lips. Though at first taken aback, Cadance eventually eased into it, creating a mutual moment with the two. When their lips parted, Cadance giggled.
"Oh my! Rather eager, aren't we?"

Shining chortled.
"Oh my love, you have no idea how much I enjoy your lips right now."

Thinking on that, Cadance suddenly gained a somewhat sly look.
"Well then...shall we perhaps try something a bit further than a kiss?"

Shining looked as though he was a man who had just had his greatest prayer answered. Granted, as God, he was used to having prayers answered, but still, the point remained. His smile grew so wide it threatened to burst off his face.
"Oh yes, Cadance, I would very much like that!"

After another quick giggled from his wife, Shining watched as she walked away, but after only a few small steps, she spoke back to him.
"I'm glad to hear it. You haven't exactly been...well...receptive this year. If you'll forgive me for saying so."

Instantly, Shining's smile vanished, and he looked to his wife with both confusion and concern.
"You...you offered, sweetie?"

Cadance, still with her back to him, answered.
"I know it's not something I do that often, but yes. I figured a vacation was an ideal time for it."

She looked back to him, eyebrow raised.
"Do you not remember?"

Suddenly remembering his own plan from the last year, Shining straightened up, clearing his throat.
"Oh! Yes! Certainly! I just...er...needed my memory refreshed, that's all."

Still looking incredulous, Cadance placed one hand upon her hip.
"Well, if I'm being honest, when it's come to you and me being in bed, you haven't even looked at me this year!"

Shining blinked, having been taken by pure shock, and Cadance simply took on some amusement at this.
"I'd have thought you'd remember something like that, honey!"

She turned away again, and as soon as she did, Shining fell to his knees, his eyes welling with tears, as he mumbled under his breath with all the restraint he was capable of.
"Flash Sentry, you pure and wholesome human being, I am so getting you a house made of gold tomorrow!"

Here, Cadance looked back to him, and Shining himself swiftly got back to his feet before she saw him.
"Um...ready, dear?" he asked.

Slowly after looking him over, the Goddess smiled.
"Oh, certainly, my sweet. After all..."

She gave him a sly look.
"...I'm sure you need a suitable reward for having fought so many demons this year."

Shining stood there, color draining from his face, and giving a loud gulp. Cadance, looking more than a little triumphant to this, turned and began to walk away.
"Well, come on. Playfully testing a pretend husband's trustworthiness for a whole year leaves a Goddess with many needs, I can assure you."

Figured it was high time I made a reference to the myth of my namesake

Also, you probably noticed a slight format change with this chapter. Please let me know if you like it, or if you feel I should go back to how I was writing before.

"Um...Apple Bloom? Scootaloo?"

The other two young Goddesses turned to their friend Sweetie as soon as she'd spoken.

"Yeah, Sweetie?" Scootaloo asked back.

The other girl nervously poked the ends of her fingers together, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"Can...can I talk to you about something?"

Apple Bloom smiled to her.

"Of course ya can! We're all best friends!"

Sweetie smiled with some relief, though she remained understandably nervous.

"Well, it's just...there's someone I know. Someone we all know, and...erm...I think I might...like them."

Now, unlike Sweetie's sister Rarity, it took no time whatsoever for Scootaloo and Apple Bloom to get an understanding of what she was talking about, and so they rushed forward, both starry-eyed, speaking enthusiastically to her.

"Wow! Really?! That's so great!" Scootaloo remarked.

Sweetie looked to them, taken aback.

"R...really?"

Apple Bloom nodded.

"Yeah! In fact, ah've got someone ah like too!"

Sweetie gasped.

"Wait, really?!"

Scootaloo smirked moments afterwards.

"So do I!"

Sweetie was now just as happy as they were, but a moment of confusion soon came to her.

"But...why'd you two never say anything?"

Scootaloo chuckled.

"Probably for the same reasons you never did!"

Sweetie's blush grew slightly fiercer at that, and she scratched the back of her head.

"Oh, yeah, good point."

The three Goddesses giggled together, and when they were done, Apple Bloom suddenly looked like she got an idea for herself.

"Say now...how about we all tell each other our crushes at the same time?"

The other two looked to her, then to each other, before smiling and giving simultaneous nods.

"Sounds good to me!" Scootaloo declared.

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Sweetie concurred.

With a firm nod, Apple Bloom raised one hand, displaying three of her fingers. The others knew instantly what she was doing, and watched as she lowered one finger, then another. And then, with the lowering of the third finger, the silent countdown was done, and all three girls immediately declared their secret crushes at once.

"SPIKE!!!"

Instantly, their smiles vanished, and they started to lose some of the color in their faces as they glanced to one another. It couldn't be, they told themselves. They must have been hearing things. But after several minutes of not saying anything, Sweetie Belle cleared her throat, determined to try and confirm what she'd heard.

"Um...did you two just say your crush was...Spike?"

The other two looked to each other, then back to her.

"Did you say your crush was Spike?" Scootaloo asked back.

Just like before, Sweetie was struck with immense nervousness, and she turned away.

"This isn't happening! This definitely isn't happening! This can't be happe-OW!!!"

She glanced back, seeing that Apple Bloom had just pinched her on the arm. Though Sweetie rubbed that spot and looked to her friend with a little annoyance, Apple Bloom herself merely sighed.

"Ugh...nope, not dreamin'. We all have the same crush."

Scootaloo groaned at this.

"Ugh! This totally sucks! Now we're gonna have this whole thing of fighting with each other over some boy!"

She glanced away briefly, her face one of slight amorousness.

"A cute boy, sure, but still..."

Sweetie sighed deeply.

"I thought coming to you two about this would help...but all I did was make things worse."

Apple Bloom smiled, offering her a pat on the shoulder.

"Hey now, this was gonna come out sooner or later, Sweetie. Better we get this sorted out early."

Scootaloo looked to her, eyebrow raised.

"Sorted out? How? You expect us to just walk up to Spike and just ask him to say which one of us he'd rather be with?"

Apple Bloom pondered that, tapping her chin as she did so.

"Ah know it sounds odd, but what other choice do we have?"

"Oh, I can think of something, I'm sure."

The arrival of the second voice caught all of the girls off-guard, and their heads swiftly snapped upwards, just in time to see a flash of light, followed by the arrival of a rather patchwork-looking Goddess reclining in mid-air above them. Eris stretched while she was up there, before looking down to the three girls with a mix of both mischievousness and genuine curiosity.

"So, three girls, one boy. Tale as old as time."

Now, these three young Goddesses, as well as every other deity in the world, knew full well that Eris was always one for trickery, but given their current predicament, there was also a feeling that any help would be appreciated at this point.

"You...you have an idea, Eris?" Sweetie asked innocently.

Eris smirked.

"But of course, little Sweetie. Remember who you're talking to here. In fact, I have just the thing to help sort this whole mess out."

She reached behind herself, then pulled out an object small enough to fit snugly into the palm of her hand. Without even a word, she tossed it down, with Apple Bloom catching it before it hit the ground. The other two gathered around her, and together they looked to this gift from the Goddess of Chaos. It was an apple, and more specifically it was a golden one. And while this caused some confusion for the girls, their attention was soon drawn to what appeared to be writing on the apple. They squinted their eyes, and it was Sweetie who eventually read it out loud.

"For...the...fairest?"

A wicked grin crept onto Eris' lips.

"Oh, indeed! Throw that thing at the boy and watch as he decides which of the three of you to give it to. If he chooses one over the other, then hey, at least it won't be any fault of yours."

The girls looked to her, still very much uncertain about all this, but as they quickly glanced to one another, it was clear that they really didn't have any better ideas than that themselves. So, a long sigh escaped them all.

"So...to Spike then?" Sweetie asked.

A hesitant nod from the others was her answer, and Eris, delighted that things were going her way, merrily rubbed her hands together before raising one of those hands and getting ready to snap. The girls saw what she was about to do, and while they at first tried to protest, the snap happened before they got the chance. Instantly, they were whisked away, taken by Eris' chaotic powers to a completely new location. It was a field of some sort, lush, green and pretty, and while they were initially irritated at this unwanted transport, they didn't say anything, for another voice soon spoke out to them.

"Er...hi?"

The three froze in place, slowly looking behind themselves to find that it was, to their horror, Spike who had spoken. The young God was currently sitting on the ground, reading an open book, no doubt given to him by Twilight as part of his studies. Naturally, he was confused to see these three suddenly pop in from out of nowhere, yet he seemed to take it rather well.

"So...can I help you?"

Simultaneously gulping, the three girls gave each other nervous looks, and it was obvious that none of them wanted to actually be the one to do what they came here to do. After a time, however, they all knew, even without saying a word about it, what was the right course. So, stepping forward together, they looked to the young God.

"Spike? We've got somethin' ta ask ya." Apple Bloom declared.

Realising that they were sounding serious, Spike put his book aside, getting to his feet and then placing his hands on his hips.

"Alright then."

The girls hesitated, then stretched out their hands, the large golden apple nestled snugly among all of them. Spike looked to the thing with some uncertainty, then back to the girls, who were now starting to blush quite noticeably. Spike too hesitated here, but realised that they probably wanted him to accept this gift. So, accept it he did, and like them, it wasn't long before he noticed the writing.

"For the fairest?"

He looked back up to them, and for the first time started to notice the blushes they all wore, as well as just how difficult it was for them to even look him in the eye. Now, the youth of the world were sometimes known for their bouts of obliviousness, as well as outright denseness sometimes, finding it hard to notice things that were right in front of them. But Spike was not one of those youths. He looked to the apple, then back to the uncomfortable-looking girls before him, and instantly put all the puzzle pieces together in his mind. In this stunned feeling, he dropped the apple, gaining a distinct blush on his own cheeks, and after just staring at them for the longest time, he slowly pointed to them.

"You mean...all of you?!"

They didn't answer, which was really all the answer he needed, and he let out a deliberate gulp so loud it probably would have been heard in neighbouring countries. To say that the four had no idea how to proceed would have been putting it lightly, as all of them had completely stalled right now. In fact, if some random passer by, had just come upon them, they'd probably be forgiven for thinking they were a collection of statues, given how utterly frozen with awkwardness they were. Yet, as the minutes wore on, Spike eventually managed to get some words out, albeit tinted with youthful nervousness.

"Well...this is unexpected."

Scootaloo, in spite of herself, chortled.

"Yeah, tell me about it!"

Spike sighed deeply, scratching the back of his head.

"This...this isn't a good situation, girls. I mean, I think of all of you as my friends. And if I were asked to say if I'd be happy...well...being with one of you, I'd...I'd..."

Sweetie looked to him, her face a hopeful one.

"Y...yes?"

Spike's blush grew.

"Well...I'd probably be happy. You're all great and fun to be with, so...yeah, I'd probably be pretty excited about it."

His face then became more serious.

"But actually having to choose? That's something I'm not sure I can do."

It was a difficult situation, that much was certain, and the girls now knew, even though they didn't say it, that it was not a good idea to have come here and put this boy in this position. After all, if it was unreasonable for someone to come along and ask each of them who their favourite friends was, then it was certainly unreasonable for the three of them to come here and ask Spike a question this sensitive. It was a difficult moment, and one that Apple Bloom displayed her frustration over by kicking a rock, sending it flying into the sky.

"This ain't fair! If he didn't have ta pick jus' one of us we wouldn't be in this mess!"

Then, after hearing that, Scootaloo looked to her with an arched eyebrow.

"Wait...does he have to choose?"

All eyes were on her now, and she herself started to look deep in thought.

"It's just...well...I was thinking. Where's it written that a God or Goddess has to have just one special someone in their life?"

Apple Bloom raised a finger, opening her mouth to answer, only to be struck with the realisation that she actually had no response to that.

"Ah...ah don't think it is written anywhere!"

Sweetie looked from one friend to another.

"So, wait, you mean it's an option for all of us to be with him?"

Scootaloo shrugged.

"I think so?"

Suddenly, Spike found that three pairs of Goddess eyes were upon him, and if you thought his blush was strong before, you should've seen it now. It was as if every drop of blood in his body had all congregated into his cheeks for the sole purpose of creating the most powerful blush in world history. But the more important matter here was that the girls were clearly looking for his input and possible consent on the matter, and while this was definitely new territory, there was one issue above all that Spike seemed to care about.

"Well, it would mean you three wouldn't be given any cause to resent one another. And I did say I'd be happy with any of you, so..."

He knew this was about as big a decision as he was likely to make in his life, at least until his proper role as a God came into its own, so this wasn't something he was going to rush. He stayed silent for some time, and the three young Goddesses beside him, to their credit, did not urge him on for an answer. But there did come a time when the boy looked to them all with a smile.

"You know, this will mean you three will also be involved with each other, and not just me."

The girls blinked to him, then glanced at one another, before jointly looking back to him with a smile.

"Ah don't think that's gonna be a problem, Spike," Apple Bloom answered.

Spike, now content with how things had gone, gave a nod.

"Alright...I guess it's the four of us then."

Then his face became more serious.

"But don't forget. This is all still new territory for us. None of us have ever had a relationship, much less a relationship like this one, so I think we should just take it step-by-step. No rushing anything."

Simultaneous nods followed his words.

"Agreed," Sweetie answered.

Scootaloo, looking particularly pleased with all this, stretched out her hand, palm facing the ground. The others looked to her oddly, and she simply smirked back. Then Sweetie and Apple Bloom began to understand, stretching out their hands and covering hers. Spike, witnessing this, arched his eyebrow with incredulity.

"Really? The 'hands coming together to show we're all a team' cliché?"

Scootaloo shrugged.

"Hey, if it works, it works."

Spike couldn't argue with that, and so took a step forward, placing his own hand over theirs. He looked to each of them, these three friends who were now something more, and chuckled nervously.

"This is gonna take quite an explanation to Twilight when I get home today."

Unbeknownst to the youths, however, Eris was watching from above, juggling her recently-retrieved golden apple in one hand. But while the four down below were fairly happy with all this, the same could not be said of her, and she grunted with obvious annoyance.

"Ugh! And I was hoping for a good old war to come out of this."

Unceremoniously, she bit into the golden apple, munching it a few times before simply shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh well...maybe tomorrow then."

Back to the old style now. It's just more aesthetically pleasing to me. Sorry

"So...how many does that make?" Celestia asked morbidly.

A sigh from Luna.

"I'd say about twelve so far, and it doesn't look like he's stopping anytime soon."

Celestia closed her eyes, her expression one of obvious dismay.

"That a mortal could behave this way is disgraceful."

Luna nodded in agreement, never once taking her eyes off the mortal world below.

"If it were simply a violation of hospitality, that would be one thing. But murder and theft of his own guests? Simply to pocket their gold? Truly, this is something that needs addressing."

When Celestia opened her eyes again, her gaze was piercing.

"Agreed. An intervention is required. We need our best down there to teach this Filthy Rich the error of his ways."

"Or we could just end his life."

Both sisters turned to the one who had spoken. Sombra, Lord of the Underworld, was as imposing a figure up here on the clouds of the heavens as he was down below the earth. But his remark did not earn him any approval from the chief deity of their realm.

"We do not go around killing people, Sombra. That is the purview of other pantheons."

Sombra rolled his eyes.

"Look, I get that we have this whole 'we're not bad Gods' thing going on, but considering just how beyond-bad this guy here is, I'd say we have no choice."

Celestia opened her mouth to reply, only to be halted when, all of a sudden, there was a scream from down below.

"What was that?" she asked.

Luna nonchalantly glanced downwards.

"Make that count thirteen now."

Celestia stared at the mortal household with pure disbelief, and soon unleashed an exasperated sigh, before turning again to the God of the Underworld.

"...Very well. Ensure this mortal can no longer harm others."

Sombra bowed, turning to leave, but stopping when Celestia spoke again.

"But I want it painless, Sombra!"

Sombra looked back to her with a smile.

"Oh, no need to worry about that..."

He reached behind himself, and swiftly pulled out what appeared to be a large chain and manacles, which bore an eerie glow.

"...I had Mac forge these for me, just in case I ever needed to do something like this."

With that, he disappeared in a thematically-appropriate cloud of dark smoke, leaving the two sisters in a somewhat bewildered state.

"Think he'll restrain himself with this, sister?" Luna asked with concern.

Celestia considered that.

"I just hope he doesn't let this mortal get the better of him."

She looked back down to the earthly plane.

"One doesn't gain the trust of so many soon-to-be victims without being crafty after all."

Sombra, who did not share the same concerns as the two sisters, wasted no time whatsoever as he suddenly poofed into the home of the mortal who had been causing such worries for the former. He looked on at the one in question, Filthy Rich, who was currently sitting at his dinner table with his wife and daughter. The latter two noticed Sombra's arrival immediately, and looked to him with both awe and fear, yet never said a word about him. Filthy, by contrast, felt a sudden chill down his spine, and only after a moment did he notice the fearful expressions on his family. Slowly, he turned, seeing the Lord of Death looming over him, his gaze dark and foreboding. In his hands were the divine chains brought for this troublesome mortal, and Filthy looked to them, perhaps realising on some level that they were meant for him. Though silent, it was clear that Filthy's mind was hard at work trying to come up with a plan, and when he finally put that plan into motion, he got out of his chair and smiled to his visitor.

"Oh my! What wonderful work these chains are!"

Sombra blinked.

"Um...pardon?"

Filthy took a step closer to him, placing one hand upon the chain and looking to it with utter admiration.

"I say, this has got to be the work of the greatest smith of all! This is Macintosh's handiwork, am I correct?"

Though taken aback by the unconventional way this mortal was behaving, Sombra nevertheless responded.

"Er...yes. I asked him to make it special for me. It'll hold anyone and anything."

Filthy nodded, tapping his chin.

"Huh...is that so? Well then..."

Without even a word, Filthy took hold of the chain and, before Sombra could even blink, whipped it out of his hands, darting right behind the God, using the manacles to clamp down on his wrists. Though bewildered, Sombra was unable to do anything before this unexpectedly fast human yanked on the chain, forcing him back into, of all things, a closet. Once inside, he suddenly found said closet closed on him, and the sound that followed alerted him to the fact that he was now locked inside of it. He sat there for a moment, glancing around the gloom of his new prison, before finally commenting on it.

"Huh...this is new."

Celestia watched all this play out from above, then promptly slapped her own forehead out of frustration.

"Honestly! Of all the ways this could have played out!"

Luna chuckled.

"Oh, I am so going to remind him of this during his next festival day."

Celestia frowned to her.

"You know what to do."

Luna shrugged.

"Don't worry, I'm on it."

Putting her fingers into her mouth, Luna let out an almighty whistle, which echoed across all the heavens. It was apparently so loud that even Filthy Rich was able to hear it, and barely had he given himself a pat on the back for his accomplishment when he'd suddenly started to hear a rumble of thunder.

"Um...this may not be as much of a victory for me as I first thought."

His wife looked to him with incredulity.

"Ya think?!"

Then, there was a flash of lightning, right next to the closet where Sombra was imprisoned. All mortals shrank back from it, and they looked on with shock as the towering form of Tempest Shadow now graced their home. There were no pleasantries, no words of announcement from the Thunder-Goddess, just action. With a mighty punch, she smashed open the closet, and Sombra soon emerged from the splintered remains of it.

"Just so you know, you should probably get a new one of those," the Death-God commented.

Tempest shot him an annoyed look, then summoned a bolt of lightning, shooting it straight at the chains, shattering them.

"Tell Mac I'll help him make the next ones," she remarked.

Sombra turned to respond, only to find her now gone, whisked away by another barrage of lightning.

"...Woman of few words, isn't she?" he pondered.

Then, remembering why he was here, he turned to Filthy.

"Now then...where was I?"

Before Filthy even got a chance to explain his case, Sombra unceremoniously plunged his hand right into the guy's chest. But rather than pulling out blood or entrails from this move, he instead pulled out Filthy's soul, which glowed an ethereal blue as his now-empty body collapsed to the floor. The soul glanced around, looking to his own ghostly hands, before looking back to his wife and daughter.

"...I may be late for dessert."

With that, Sombra descended through the floor, taking his prisoner with him, and together, they journeyed straight down into the underworld. Filthy looked at this place, this destination for all mortals, with it's foreboding and imposing darkness and gloom, and within moments of arriving he was thrown to the ground, with Sombra landing more gracefully nearby.

"Welcomed to your new home, Filthy. Do get comfortable."

His tone was not an amused one, and Filthy knew that trying something with him was unwise. But soon, he realised that the Lord of the Underworld was not alone, as a second figure, a well-dressed woman with blue hair, was standing close by. Instantly, Filthy knew that this must be none other than the Queen of the Underworld, Radiant Hope, and he immediately threw together a plan. He fell to his knees, his hands clasped together in a praying motion, and spoke to her with deference.

"Oh, Lady Radiant! I seek your aid!"

Radiant raised an eyebrow.

"Do you now?"

Filthy nodded.

"My mortal shell was not buried in the proper way. I was given no final farewell to my wife and child."

Radiant nodded.

"Oh, I know. Your wife threw your body out into the street after my husband brought you here."

Filthy's voice dropped its fake tone here for a moment.

"What?! She really did desecrate my remains?! Why, that treacherous little...!"

Then, remembering what he was doing, he cleared his throat, putting on the most weasel-like smile anyone was capable of.

"Well...grant me reprieve from this underworld, and allow me some time back among the living to set my affairs in order and..."

"No," Radiant said firmly.

Filthy paused, Sombra smirked, and then the former finally got some words out.

"Um...pardon?"

Radiant folded her arms, looking to him impatiently.

"You murder thirteen people, then imprison my husband, and you expect me to offer you some help?"

Filthy considered that, his eyes darting left to right.

"...Yes?"

Radiant frowned, shaking her head, before stepping to one side. And it was here that Filthy noticed that she'd been standing next to a rather enormous boulder this entire time, which she soon patted with a satisfied look.

"Well, go on. Tom's not gonna roll himself up the mountain!"

Looking up, Filthy saw that, yes, there was indeed a mountain right next to the boulder, and he let his shoulders slump.

"Well...at least I'll be kept busy?"

He moved forward, struggling against the enormous weight of the boulder, all while Radiant walked over to her husband, who was looking to her amorously.

"Have I mentioned recently how much I love you, Radiant?"

Radiant stroked the side of his face.

"You could stand to mention it a bit more often."

Then she looked thoughtful.

"Hmmm...wonder how his family's taking this?"

"Mother?"

"Yes, Diamond?" Spoiled Rich responded.

"...Does this mean I get Father's stuff?"

Spoiled shook her head.

"No, my dear daughter...it means I get his stuff."

Celestia, after having witnessed all this transpire, had her face buried in her hands.

"How? How can my day get any more tiring?"

Stepping closer to her, Luna cleared her throat.

"Um, I hate to remind you sister, but...next week is your appointed...visit."

"...It got more tiring."

"Okay, Celestia, just remember to smile. These visits don't last forever. Just have him here, say your pleasantries, and then he'll be gone. No problem...no problem...no problem..."

Celestia kept telling herself that, over and over again, and it was clear to any who would have heard her that she was trying desperately to try and feel something other than dismay at this day. Luna, for instance, was just such a person, and after shaking her head at her sister's words, walked beside her.

"You know, you can just say you don't want this to happen, Tia."

Celestia sighed.

"No, Luna. It is the duty of all chief deities to host visitors of other realms. I will not shirk that responsibility...however unwanted it may be."

She forced a smile to her younger sibling.

"Besides, I've endured him before, so I'm fairly certain I can do so again."

Luna rolled her eyes.

"Very well, if that's what you want."

Then, the two sisters looked on in silence as, far away, they could see a gathering of dark clouds on the horizon. The grim looks of seriousness they bore indicated that this was indeed part of events, and Luna cast her sister one final look of concern.

"Do you...want me here?"

Celestia shook her head.

"No. Having two women here would only make him worse."

Luna gave a dry chortle.

"No debate on that one. I'll be with Tantabus if you need me."

With that, the Goddess of the Moon vanished in a flash of light, leaving Celestia all to herself. She watched as the clouds drew nearer and nearer, and a rumbling could be heard right along with them. Celestia's eyes narrowed as, after all that waiting, the clouds burst, sending down a might bolt of lightning, which struck just a stone's throw away from the part of the cloud she was standing on. She did not shield her eyes from it, instead watching as the light faded. When it was over, that spot was now occupied by what appeared to be a man of some sort. He was muscular, though much of that was covered in a clean white toga, and as he stood tall, he stroked a long grey and curly beard, grinning widely to her.

"Tia! So good to see you again!"

Another forced smile from Celestia.

"Zeus, how...wonderful to see you too," she replied through gritted teeth.

The God chuckled, striding confidently towards her.

"How about a hug?"

Celestia arched an eyebrow.

"Only if you promise not to use it as an opportunity to pinch my posterior...again."

A hearty laugh from the other deity, and he sighed soon afterwards.

"Ah, Celestia, as serious as ever."

Celestia glanced away.

"One of us has to be," she muttered under her breath.

Looking back to Zeus, she smiled as well as she could.

"How is your dear wife?"

Zeus grimaced as he glanced away from her, staring down at the mortal world below.

"Oh, you know how it is. She keeps getting on my case. And it's always the same thing, over and over again!"

Celestia folded her arms.

"I take it you got another mortal woman pregnant?"

Zeus pointed an accusing finger to her.

"Hey, I've refrained from that for a whole week already! What more can people ask of me?!"

He grumbled.

"Honestly, it's as if the universe is trying to make me think it was a bad idea to marry my sister!"

Celestia's eyebrow was as high as it could be.

"Heaven forbid!" she remarked sarcastically.

But Zeus simply shrugged, regaining his big grin and looking to her in earnest once more.

"So, how's things on your end? Anything interesting happen lately?"

Celestia giggled, though it was admittedly a genuine one this time.

"Oh, just the usual antics, I fear. We did have a few hiccups here and there with Sombra last week, but nothing we weren't able to handle."

Another shrug from Zeus.

"You know, you lot over here have it way better than what things are like on my end. You should've seen some of the stuff I have to put up with!"

He looked down to the Earth again.

"There was this one kid, Bellero-something. He actually tried to fly up to Mount Olympus! Seriously, the nerve of some of those mortals! So I had to throw him back down again. You know, keep the mortals from getting too uppity?"

He paused, then shrugged.

"I mean, yes, he was technically my brother Poseidon's son, but hey, when has blood ever stopped me from putting my foot down with people?"

Celestia gave him a deadpan look.

"Never, apparently."

Zeus cast her a sly glance.

"Speaking of blood, how's yours?"

Celestia gave an honest smile here.

"Sunset? Oh, she's doing wonderfully. She and Twilight actually decided to try a relationship with one another since the last time you came over."

Zeus seemed genuinely curious about that.

"Really? Well, glad to hear things are working out for her."

Then, after a moment of thinking, he twiddled his thumbs.

"Although, if things don't work out for the two of them, there's always...you know..."

Celestia frowned deeply to his remark.

"Zeus, you are not here to try and seduce my daughter, or anyone else for that matter."

She pointed straight down to the mortal world, specifically the massive ocean that lay directly beneath their cloud.

"The last time you did that, Adagio gave birth to her biggest child yet. That creature still spends most of its time sinking ships!"

Zeus placed his hands on his hips and puffed his chest out with pride.

"Ah, good to know Junior's keeping busy."

Celestia shook her head, but said nothing before Zeus started talking again.

"You know, I never did understand why you never try to get together with anyone."

Slowly, Celestia looked away, staring out into the horizon.

"I...cannot. One lover was enough for me."

Zeus, for the first time during this visit of his, softened in his expression.

"Celestia...how long has it been since Sunset's Father passed?"

The Sun Goddess glanced down just slightly.

"Many years. Mortal he may have been, but he was no less special to me."

A small but loving smile crept onto her lips.

"I wish Sunset could have known him...but those below only live for so long. I will carry his memory with me forever."

Though a thoughtful silence followed, but Celestia was not so overwhelmed by it as to be unable to throw a knowing smirk to her visiting counterpart.

"So do not think me some grieving widow desperate for affection, Zeus. Besides, when you've known as many lovers as you have, will it really kill you to not have one in particular?"

Zeus stood there, pondering that question.

"Huh...don't know. Never met a woman I couldn't bed before."

Celestia raised an eyebrow again.

"Except, most of the ones you've met in this realm of course."

Though most in his own domain would have likely suffered for such a remark, here it only caused the Lord of Thunder to bellow out a loud laugh.

"Haha, oh Tia! It's moments like this that remind me why I enjoy coming to your realm so much!"

As before, Celestia spoke under her breath.

"At least one of us enjoys these visits."

Then, before saying anything else, Zeus looked away from her, walking to the very edge of the cloud.

"This has been nice, but I think that'll be all for now. Besides, I saw this cute little number back home called Alcmene that I've just been dying to introduce myself to."

He tapped his chin.

"I might need to make myself look like her husband before I do though."

Celestia blinked, then looked on as he smiled to her and gave a little wave. With no further words, there was another bolt of lightning, and just like that, the head of the Greek Pantheon was gone, back to his own realm. Celestia stood there for the longest time, though she did hear the sound of her sister walking beside her. The two stood in silence for a while, but after almost a full ten minutes, Luna finally asked the obvious question.

"So...vacation?"

Taking a deep breath, Celestia then sighed.

"Yes. But first, I need to take a nice, long bath. A lady can only speak to that God for so long before feeling unclean."

"This...is not a good idea."

Twilight looked to Sunset as she'd said that, smiling sweetly to her.

"Relax, Sunset, you can do this."

The incredulous look Sunset gave her in return prompted further talk from Twilight.

"I mean, yes, you have had a few difficult moments with moving the sun about in the past, but you've gotten so much better since then!"

Sunset chuckled.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Twi, but I'm still nervous about it."

Twilight gently placed her hand upon Sunset's shoulder.

"Hey, your Mother wouldn't have given you this task if she didn't think you were up to it."

The thought of Celestia put a smile on Sunset's lips.

"Yeah...I guess she does have faith in me at least."

But her smile faded a little shortly afterwards, and she sighed deeply.

"I just wish she'd have waited until I'd practiced a bit more before going on this vacation of hers."

Twilight giggled.

"Hey, after all she's put up with lately, I'm surprised she didn't take a vacation sooner."

The two shared a laugh, during which Sunset nodded in agreement.

"You're not wrong there, Twilight."

Taking a step forward, right to the edge of her cloud, Sunset took a few calming breaths, then looked out to the still-dark horizon.

"Okay...here goes nothing."

Slowly, she stretched out her hands, closing her eyes and concentrating as hard as she could. Twilight watched, eagerly awaiting what would happen, yet remaining utterly silent as she did so. A moment passed, but then Sunset's face twisted into a look of focus. As she did this, Twilight could see, out by the horizon, a creeping light start to rise, and she smiled to it. Moments passed, and the light got stronger and stronger. Before long, the bright and glorious sun was indeed rising, and a new day now greeted the mortal world. Sunset, ever nervous, cracked one eye open, and she saw her handiwork. No errors, no trouble, just one perfect sunrise. As one would expect from this, she smiled widely, and Twilight too began to clap enthusiastically to her.

"You did it!"

Taking another breath, Sunset placed her hands upon her hips, giving a firm nod to what she now saw out there.

"Yeah...I guess I did."

She looked to Twilight and, for a time, the two said nothing to one another. Instead, they simply contented themselves on being with one another, which culminated in the expected move of drawing closer. They embraced, emboldened by this triumph of Sunset's and kissed passionately. Granted, they would have likely done something like this even without a victory, but still, it was an appropriate time all the same. When their lips parted, they shared another laugh, turning to look to the sun again.

"Not bad...even if I do say so myself," Sunset remarked.

Twilight nodded, but then started to squint for some reason. She adjusted her glasses, making sure that she was indeed looking at what she was looking at. When she was certain that she was, she turned to Sunset.

"Um...does that sun look a bit bigger than normal?"

Sunset looked to her with confusion, then to the sun again. Sure enough, her lover was right. It was indeed looking a bit larger than normal, prompting Sunset to scratch her head a little.

"Huh...I'm pretty sure I didn't make it bigger."

"Nope! Ah did!"

The two turned, and there, standing proudly, was Applejack, a big smile plastered on her face.

"Wha...Applejack?!" Sunset remarked.

A chuckle from the newly-arrived Goddess.

"Ah know, ah know, but ah got ta thinkin'..."

She too walked to the edge where the other two were, gesturing to the larger sun.

"There's been a right lack o' sunlight lately, an' a lot o' farmers ain't been able ta get good crops from it, so ah figured, ya know, with Celestia takin' a little R an' R, maybe get a bit extra in."

Sunset, at first, was annoyed at having her friend interfere like this, but as she considered her words, she slumped her shoulders slightly.

"Well...I guess if a little extra sunlight helps, I suppose it won't be too bad. At least until my Mother comes home."

Applejack gave her a thumbs up for that.

"Mighty thankful, Sunset."

But Twilight was less happy, and looked to her lover with a frown.

"Sunset! There are terrible consequences for making the sun bigger like this! The world depends on a very careful balance of cosmic forces all being what they are! Change one thing too much, and it could be total chaos!"

After thinking on that for a moment, Sunset smirked slightly.

"I'm sure Eris would like that at least."

A frown from Twilight urged her to raise her hands defensively.

"I know! I'm sorry! It was just a joke!"

Sighing, Sunset looked again to Applejack.

"I'm sorry, AJ, but Twilights right. We can't mess up the world like this, no matter how much we think it'll help."

Applejack too released a sigh.

"Yeah, ah figured that'd be yer answer. Worth a shot though, right?"

Twilight smiled to her.

"I'm sure the farmers would have appreciated it. But the world has to have the sun as it always has been..."

She glanced to the glowing orb in question.

"...with its bright blues and greens and reds and...wait a minute."

All three turned, seeing that, to their utter confusion and bewilderment, the sun was now sporting not the usual bright yellow it was known for, but a variety of fanciful other colors. It was as if all the colors of the rainbow were there in fact, swirling about in a truly brilliant display. It was very pretty, to be sure, but wholly unnatural for the sun to be looking. And while this bizarre sight did indeed put the other Goddesses in a state of shock for a time, it took no time whatsoever for them to figure out who was responsible for this.

"Ugh...Rainbow!" Sunset muttered.

They turned, and as they'd predicted, Rainbow was there, sitting on a lump of cloud not far away, looking very pleased with herself and her efforts.

"Hehe, don't worry, no need to thank me."

Applejack looked to her with an utterly deadpan look.

"Oh, we won't, trust me."

Rainbow frowned.

"Hey, no need for that! I figured, you know, Celestia's out of the picture right now, so why not make the sun look a bit more awesome than usual? You know, give it a bit more color?"

Twilight looked to her with as disapproving a frown as possible.

"And make all the mortals think that you're the new Sun Goddess while you're at it?"

As if in response to those words, a halo suddenly appeared over Rainbow's head, and she clasped her hands together in a prayer-like motion.

"What? Me? Would I ever do something like that?"

The un-amused looks her friends were giving her were all the answer she needed, and she grunted with irritation.

"Ugh! Fine! I'll turn it back!"

She snapped her fingers, and in just a moment, the sun was back to normal like she'd promised. Sunset sighed, happy in the knowledge that her Mother's creation was right as it was supposed to be. But this experience had left her with some slight paranoia, and she darted her eyes left and right, just to make sure no other Goddesses were nearby.

"...Anyone else there? Any other changes you wanna make to the sun?"

A silence, as all Goddesses, and not just Sunset, began to glance around. After almost a full minute though, they turned to see the sheepish head of Pinkie Pie creeping out from behind where Rainbow had been sitting a few moments ago.

"So...I'm guessing the idea of turning the sun pink and having it rain candy on the world is out?"

Sunset slapped her forehead over that, and Twilight comforted her with a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, no need to worry, Sunset. Everything's back to normal now."

Nodding, Sunset offered her a small smile.

"Yeah, you're right..."

A look of amusement came to her.

"Seriously though, can you imagine how much trouble this would have all caused for the mortals down there if they'd actually been paying attention to all this sun weirdness today?"

"Repent! Repent! The sun changing is an ill omen my friends! The Gods are angry with us! Get as many offerings to the temples as you can or we're all gonna die!"

Rainbow shrugged.

"Meh, I'm sure they wouldn't worry too much."

And with that, I think I'll take a break from this story for a while. But please know that I'll be getting on with some new fics while this one is on hiatus, starting next Friday

"So...any idea why Celestia called us here?" Rainbow asked.

"Oooooooh! Maybe she's calling us for a big and super-spectacular celebration over how great it is to be Goddesses!" Pinkie suggested.

Fluttershy giggled. "Maybe she's finally decided to go with my suggestion to have all the animals of the world speak, so we can talk to them as much as we talk to each other?"

Applejack chuckled to that suggestion. "That'd be mighty fine, Fluttershy...except fer the farmers. Ah reckon it'd be pretty awkward when it came time ta take their little piggies ta market, ya hear?"

Seeing Fluttershy rather down from that, Rarity gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder, before then turning to Sunset. "I say, Sunset, I don't suppose you know why we're here, do you?"

Sunset gave a quick shrug. "Sorry, but if there's one thing my mother loves, it's being cryptic and mysterious. And no, not even I'm safe from that." She pondered that, smirking slightly. "Not that I'm complaining. Makes life interesting."

Twilight smiled sweetly to her, having a little giggle of her own. "Well, whatever it is, it must be important. I can't even remember the last time so many of us were called together like this!" She gestured to the gathering, and it truly was a sight. It wasn't just the seven of them, but virtually the entire pantheon. Tempest, Spike, the three girls, Pinkie's sisters, Big Mac, and a great many others. Any deity a mortal could think of was right here, chatting to one another or, in the case of the four youngsters, playing a quick round of rock-paper-scissors to pass the time. Twilight, adjusting her glasses, looked again to Sunset. "Do you think we should be worried?"

Sunset sighed, then looked upwards, smiling slightly. "Well...we're about to find out." Hearing that, all eyes followed her gaze, and sure enough, they all saw a great heavenly light descending down from above. Before long, Celestia was here, and beside her stood not only Luna, but Cadance as well, who was gently carrying Flurry in her arms. With the three chief Goddesses all arrived, the other Gods and Goddesses gave bows, with Twilight sneaking in a happy wave to Flurry, who eagerly returned it, much to Cadance's slight amusement. Sunset, meanwhile, simply looked to the woman she loved so much, and smiled. "Mother."

Celestia smiled back. "Sunset." The Goddess of the sun gestured to the rest, and they all rose once more. A silence followed, with Celestia looking to the faces of each and every one of them, before finally speaking. "I'm sure many of you are wondering why I've gathered you all here today, and I assure you, the matter of which I intend to speak is one of uttermost importance." Words like that caused the expected amount of hushed chatter, but a raised hand from Celestia silenced them. "We deities have many duties and responsibilities in this world, but greatest among them is the guardianship of mortalkind. Those who live, love and die upon the Earth. It is they we guide, they we protect, and they who devote themselves to us."

There was a general murmur of agreement, with Tempest speaking up soon afterwards. "When they're not disrespecting us, of course."

Celestia smirked to her briefly, but then that smile vanished, replaced with a far more serious one. Sunset knew that look well, and immediately started to worry about where this meeting was going. Celestia herself again looked to them all before addressing them. "However...it cannot have escaped anyone's notice that there have been many a time when we Gods and Goddesses have been...let's say less than benevolent to the humans. And while there are many cases of this being done without maliciousness, the fact of the matter is that the number of times we have caused issues for them has been on the rise."

Though several of them looked like they would be loathe to admit to that, there was also no denying it, given the uncomfortable looks many of them now had. Knowing she had their attention, Celestia continued. "I have given this matter much thought, and I have come to realise that we lack...perspective. So many of us are here in the Heavens, looking down on them as though they were ants beneath our feet. How many of us know their struggles? Their hopes and desires? How many of us truly understand mortals? Or what it is for them to be mortal?"

Another silence, and though some looked like they wished to dispute that claim, a few moments of thinking caused them to shut their mouths fairly quickly. Sunset, casting Twilight a quick glance, eventually turned to Celestia, taking a step forward. "Mother. We all agree with you. I know not all of us treat humans badly, but there's definitely a divide between us and them. Whatever you think we need to do to change that, I'm with you."

Celestia smiled to her daughter's support, and doubly so when she started seeing nods of agreement from several other nearby deities. Knowing she now had support for her position, she cleared her throat. "In that case, let it be known that it is my decree that, for a time, one of us is to live not above the mortals as their God...but among the mortals!"

At first, few understood what she'd meant by that. But there eventually came a time when understanding dawned, and all the pantheon knew now exactly where she was going with this. "You mean...live down there?" Spike asked.

"Yes," Celestia answered.

"With the humans?" Rainbow added.

"Yes."

"As a mortal?" Rarity enquired.

"Yes." Celestia looked around, and she had already guessed that this would be a controversial thing for her to declare to her people. Her prediction proved true, as those who were not stunned into silence were whispering to one another. As before, the Lady of the Sun raised her hand, bringing an overall quiet to the group. "I realise that this is a massive surprise. But it is one I think is necessary, if we are to truly claim that we have the interests of the mortals in mind. We cannot rule them if we do not understand what it is to be like them. What right have we to guide humanity if we do not know the perspective of those being guided? How do our decisions affect them? What it is like to have a life we know will not last forever?"

The looks on their faces gave clear sign that many were thinking the same questions. But before Celestia had a chance to speak again, Twilight stepped forward. "So...who's going down there?"

And that really was the big question in all of this, wasn't it? Who, among the great beings of this world, would become like those they sought to watch over? And though Celestia was usually a paragon of certainty and confidence when it came to her choices, Sunset could tell that this was a particular decision that even she struggled with. But the anticipation of waiting for who she'd pick was starting to become increasingly uncomfortable, and so, after sighing deeply, Sunset stepped forward. Twilight saw her, knowing what she was about to do, and looked sad because of it, even reaching out to try and stop her. But Sunset was already speaking. "Mother...I..."

"Hey there, everybody!" All turned to the new voice, and they saw that it was none other than Zephyr Breeze, coming in from behind, as well as earning a few annoyed looks from his fellow deities. "Sorry I'm late and all! But there was this fine little lady down below that I just had to introduce myself to! You should have seen her, she was a real nine!" He paused, thinking on that. "Well...maybe eight and a half." Naturally, he failed to notice his older sister give herself a facepalm over this absurd introduction he was giving, but carried on speaking anyway, clapping his hands together as he did so. "So...what are we all here for?"

Celestia blinked slowly to this arrival, then looked back to Sunset. To Sunset's shock, her mother now gave her a quick wink while nobody else was looking, then turned her attention to Zephyr. "My thanks, Zephyr. I truly appreciate your volunteering for this."

Zephyr folded his arms, chuckling and just generally looking smug. "Heh, no problem." Then he paused, his face starting to slowly twist into one of confusion. "Um...volunteer for what?" He watched, seeing Celestia raise one hand and, with a single snap, a hole in the clouds appeared beneath him. For just the briefest of moments, he looked down to it, and then, when he saw the embarrassed look on Fluttershy's face, he gulped. "...Uh-oh." He fell, falling straight down to Earth, screaming all the way. The other Gods and Goddesses gathered around the hole, seeing him go down, until he was too far away to see.

Celestia, satisfied, dusted off her hands. "Well then, I suppose that's sorted out then!"

As for Zephyr, his fall did not end gracefully, as the ground now had a brand new crater, with dust clouds scattered up everywhere. The God of the Wind, understandably groggy from the experience, groaned as he brushed off dirt and bits of debris off himself. "Uuuuuuuuuugh! That was not okay!" Then, standing to his feet, he looked back to the sky, putting his hands on his hips. "Well, guess it'll be a good story, right?" He jumped up, fully expecting to just fly up like normal. Instead, he fell back down to the ground, causing more than the usual amount of confusion. "Er...what?" He jumped again, and again, and again, but nothing happened. He tired snapping his fingers, but his powers, which he fully expected to show themselves in some way, did nothing. After a time, his eyes widened, and he understood at last what had happened. "Ooooooh...oh no."

"Lord Zephyr?" a second voice called to him.

Zephyr turned, seeing a particularly-shocked mortal with blue hair standing at the end of the crater and looking down to him. "Wait...aren't you Twilight's follower? Flashy something?"

Flash sighed. "I'm Flash Sentry, Sir. Are you okay?"

Zephyr, not wanting his current status known, simply snorted. "Pfft! What? Me? Nah! I'm fine! Totally fine! You're talking to a God after all, kid!"

Then, without warning, there was a blinding flash of light right next to Zephyr, and from it came, of all people, Fluttershy. Flash gave a respectful bow to the Nature Goddess, but Zephyr, by contrast, looked utterly uncertain as to why she was here. It soon became clear when, all of a sudden, Fluttershy gave him a plate with a tasty-looking sandwich on it. "I know I'm not supposed to help, but I wanted to give you this. Should help with your first day as a mortal." Zephyr opened his mouth to speak, only to fail to do so in time, as Fluttershy gave him a happy wave. "I'll see you when you come home, okay?"

And with that, she was gone in a second burst of divine power, leaving a very unhappy Zephyr behind her. Then, the former God remembered that he had not been alone when she came down to him, and so slowly turned to look at Flash again. The other human looked from him, to the spot where Fluttershy had been, and it was obvious to all that he'd heard that tiny detail about Zephyr being mortal right now, and so, after chuckling nervously, the latter finally spoke. "So...buddy...care to let an ex-God crash at your place?" He looked down to the plate, then offered it to him. "I'll let you take a bite, if it helps?"

Flash, understanding fully now what had just transpired in front of him, sighed deeply. "Uuuuuuuuuuugh...sure."

"Thanks, buddy. I really needed this." Timber slowly took a sip from the nice and hot tea he'd been offered, sighing with contentment shortly afterwards. He glanced around for a bit, taking in the peace and calm of his surroundings, all with a look that showed he was far more relaxed right now than he had been for quite some time. He smiled to his companion, an older fellow with long hair, a beard and white robes, who sat beside him on this large boulder in their field. "In this day and age it's pretty nice to meet someone who's gonna be this welcoming."

The other man bowed his head to him. "I often find that presenting kindness to strangers will always do more good for the world than harm. What reason have I to add to the cruelty one may experience in this life by denying succour?"

Timber blinked a couple of times. "Er...yeah...what you said." He took another sip of his drink, enjoying a moment of a cool and gentle breeze passing them by. Then, he turned to his friend. "So, you live around here?"

The man shook his head. "Oh, no. I come and go, far and wide. I speak of the value of doing good for one another. It is my purpose in life to go hither and yon, hoping beyond hope that those who I preach to will take heed and lead gentler lives."

Timber nodded. "Huh...neat. You a priest?"

Again, the man shook his head. "Nay, friend. I follow not the Gods and Goddesses thou might have known of. I follow...a different path."

Timber chuckled. "I hear ya. After all the run-ins I've had with them, I can't blame you." He looked down to his drink, then sighed. "You know, I could really do with some wine right now. Haven't had any in ages." Then, immediately after having said that, he was taken aback by the sudden appearance of a small cup of wine, being offered to him by his companion for the day. "Oh! Wow! Thanks!" He accepted it, giving a nod of thanks before taking a quick glug of the stuff. "Oh yeah, haven't had it that good in a while." But then he paused, looking around and, after seeing a total absence of any wine bottles, looked over to his new friend. "Er...where did you get this?"

The man gave him a knowing smile, then lifted up his water-satchel. "Oh, I made do."

Naturally, Timber didn't really get what he was saying, but he was unwilling to look a gift horse in the mouth, and so just gave a shrug before getting back to his drink. But it wasn't long before curiosity took hold of him again. "So you just go around telling people to be nice to each other? Pretty interesting career move."

Putting his satchel down, the man smiled. "Carpentry wouldn't have suited me for my whole life. I was needed for...something more."

Timber chuckled. "I'm betting your parents were pretty shocked about your new life purpose, eh?"

The man looked away, pondering that. "My Mother always knew what I would do. And my Father...well...that's a long story."

Timber looked to him with even more curiosity than before, which was understandable given that vague and cryptic remarks like that tended to have that effect. But he also got the sense that the guy didn't really want to go too deeply into this, so Timber gave him his space, enjoying instead the pace of the moment. Sadly, that peace did not last long, as they could soon hear what appeared to be a crowd of people. Turning, Timber saw that this was indeed the case, as a sizeable collection was now coming right towards them from the other side of the field. Setting his cup aside, Timber raised an eyebrow. "Huh...who's that?"

The man sighed. "Troubled souls."

Timber looked to him, then to the group, again, who were getting closer and closer, revealing that they seemed to be armed with torches and pitchforks, much to Timber's worry. "Um...should we leave?" he asked. The man stayed silent, watching as the people drew nearer. Eventually, they were right in front of them, shouting angrily at the guy, even though he remained as calm and cool as a cucumber the entire time. Timber, getting off his rock, stood between him and the crowd. "Whoa there! What's the problem here?"

One of the crowd pointed to the man behind Timber. "That man is a heretic! He blasphemes against the Gods!"

Timber blinked. "Okay, I know he doesn't really follow them like you might, but still..."

Another, an older man with a crazed look in his eye, spoke next. "He preaches heresy! He must be dealt with so our Gods are appeased!"

Timber frowned. "Okay, no! There's no need for that!"

The older man paused, looking left and right before looking to Timber. "Uh, yeah there is! We brought the wood to nail him to and everything!"

Of course, Timber was aghast at that, but before he could say or do anything, both he and the mob were interrupted by the sudden arrival of a massive flash of light. They all shielded their eyes, and when they were at last brave enough to look, they saw that it was none other than the Lady of Nature, Fluttershy herself, who landed gracefully upon the ground before looking to the crowd. "And just what do you think you're doing?" she demanded to know.

The mob, who now hurriedly hid their torches and pitchforks behind their backs, started whistling innocently to themselves while their Goddess looked to them with an arched eyebrow. But of course, the old one from before just kept on ranting. "My Lady Fluttershy! Fear not! We shall punish this heathen most severely!"

Fluttershy turned, looking past Timber and to the gentleman in question, who was simply sitting on the rock and sipping some water. She then looked back to her so-called followers. "I fail to see how this man deserves...whatever this is supposed to be!" she said as she gestured to them all.

The old man considered that. "He follows not the Gods but his own twisted message! He preaches of showing kindness! Of turning the other cheek! He even says we should all be charitable! Clearly he's a dangerous criminal who sullies the names of the Gods with his vile blasphemy!"

Fluttershy looked to this elderly mortal like that was the most ridiculous thing anyone had ever said to her. "Alright...I could understand if you felt angry about your faith being insulted, but I do not understand you wanting to do harm to this man for spreading good messages." She frowned, wagging her finger at them. "And for that matter, exactly what about those messages is different from what we've been saying all these years? Kindness, charity, forgiveness, have you actually been paying attention when we gave those lessons ourselves?"

Suddenly there was a wave of guilt and sheepishness in the crowd, like they were small children being scolded by their mother. "Um...yes?" one of them answered.

"Meaning?" Fluttershy asked, arms folded.

"...No?" the other replied again.

Fluttershy nodded. "There we go. Now, if you're quite finished, I want you to apologise for having spoiled this man's afternoon, and then I want you all to go back home, alright?" Her words were gentle, but they carried weight, and soon all of the gathered mob was throwing their weapons down on the ground before walking past their intended victim, mumbling words of "I'm sorry" and other such apologies before making their way back to whatever village they'd come from. Soon, the crowd was gone entirely, and Fluttershy unleashed an exasperated sigh. "Honestly, these mortals..." She paused now, turning to the man who had so nearly come to a bad end. "I am so sorry for that, Sir. The followers of me and my fellow Goddesses can get a touch zealous at times."

But the man raised a hand. "Think nothing of it, my Lady. I bear no ill will towards them."

Fluttershy smiled to him. "I really do appreciate that. I'll try to keep them from bothering you again."

The man nodded. "That would be most appreciated."

Looking away, Fluttershy grimaced. "For goodness' sake, nailing him to some wood? Who even does that?!" She raised her hand to snap herself away, only to suddenly notice that Timber had been here the whole time, whom she now smiled at. "Ah, Mr Spruce. Wonderful to see you again. Sorry about that unpleasant matter with me and Applejack a while back."

Timber, who had been thoroughly taken aback by this whole encounter, gulped before offering a weak wave. "Um...no problem?" He watched as Fluttershy smiled sweetly to him, then snapped her fingers and whisked herself back to the home of the Gods in blinding flash of light. All were gone now, save for Timber and his mostly-silent companion, and after making sure that they were indeed alone, the former looked to the latter with a great deal of confusion and bewilderment. "Well...that escalated and de-escalated quickly!"

Taking another sip of his water, the man smiled and nodded. "Indeed."

"More tea, Mrs Shy?" Twilight Velvet asked.

The woman beside her smiled, holding out her cup. "Oh, that would be delightful!"

Velvet smiled back, carefully pouring her the offered drink. It was a fine scene among all of them here atop the clouds. Gods and Goddesses all, but a degree older than those who currently did their duties in the world. All of whom bore a distinct resemblance to those latter deities though. They sat and reclined on their clouds, as though they had not a care in the world, and looked about as content as one could. One particular couple looked especially relaxed, as a muscular man held his lover close, the latter giggling to herself. "Ah tell ya, it's so nice seein' our children down there, doin' their good work," Pear remarked.

"Eyup. Does a father proud," Bright agreed.

Night Light sighed as he looked down to the Earth. "I remember when it was me down there doing things. I miss those days."

But his wife patted him on the shoulder, gaining his attention and offering him a cup of tea of his own. "Don't worry, darling. I'm sure our kids are doing just fine without us."

Night smiled to her, taking the tea and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, which she definitely appreciated. After one sip of his drink, he again looked to the mortal world. "It's strange, when you think about it. We exist forever, yet our time in our roles does not."

Bright Mac chuckled. "Ah hear ya. Y'all should've seen the fuss ma mother put up when it came time fer her ta pass on her duties ta me. Ah tell ya, y'all have never seen a woman more stubborn!"

There was a laugh all around, and when it was done all eyes turned to the one pair who was not smiling, which was of course Igneous and Cloudy. "It is the way of things. Seasons come and go, as do Gods and Goddesses."

"Except for the high Goddesses, dear," Cloudy corrected.

Igneous nodded to his wife. "Quite, my love."

Though amused at their comparatively emotionless take on the matter, it still gave them something to talk about, and Mrs Shy, after enjoying yet another mouthful of her tea, spoke softly to Velvet beside her. "It's really quite daunting, isn't it? What must it be like for Celestia, Luna and Cadance to rule for all time? I couldn't imagine having my time as an active Goddess last that long."

Velvet laughed a little. "Nor would I want to. A few millennia was more than enough for me."

Night, who was still sitting beside her, sighed. "I wonder how many mortals down there even remember us? It's been, what, a few centuries now since our children took over our roles? They'll sing our daughter Twilight's praises, but how many still go to your temples, dear?" he asked Velvet.

Velvet herself considered that, but seemed content. "Well, such is the way, honey. The world changes. We can't always be popular."

Night smirked. "Well, in any case, I'm glad our kids are doing what they do."

"Even if they do get in a spot of trouble now and again," Velvet added.

The two shared a laugh, but when it was over, Mrs Shy sighed. "Some more than others."

Realising what she was saying, Velvet took on amore concerned look. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you think of him."

But Mrs Shy smiled to her. "It's fine. I always knew my boy Zephyr would get himself in trouble one day. I just didn't think it would lead him to something like this."

Pear Butter looked over to her, curious. "How is he doing as a mortal right now anyway?"

Here, Mrs Shy actually started to smile. "Oh, he's doing wonderfully!" She paused for a moment. "...Granted, he had a bit of a bad habit of causing the vegetables in his new friend's garden to somehow whither. And yes, he did almost set his house on fire that one time. But aside from that, everything's going well for him."

The other Gods and Goddesses gave each other looks, then glanced back to her. "And the mortal he's staying with, he's one of Twilight's followers, yes?" Igneous asked.

Mrs Shy nodded. "Yes. Flash is such a sweet boy to be letting my little Zephyr live with him."

Bright Mac snorted. "Sweet? The kid has the patience of a Saint ah'd say!"

Then Pear looked to him. "What's a Saint?"

Bright shrugged. "Dunno. Sounded like the right thing ta say though."

The two laughed together, snuggling with each other like they were still a pair of newlyweds. Night smirked to this, then looked down to Earth again. "You know, we still technically have our powers. And that crop down there is looking just a little bit out of line with the others, so..."

But before he could even finish, his wife wagged her finger at him. "Ah! Honey! You now the rules!"

Night sighed, lying flat on his back on the cloud. "Uuuuuuuugh! I know! No getting involved once we're retired!"

Velvet smiled to him, giving him a quick pat on his shoulder. "If it makes you feel better, we can always arrange to go with Twilight while she's overlooking one of her cities. Might be good to see how our girl's getting on."

Night considered that, then smiled. "Yeah...sounds pretty good."

Having finished their little lovers' session, Bright yawned, getting to his feet and having a quick stretch. "Ya know, when the day's done, ah think ah'm gonna go do mah favorite thing!"

Pear rolled her eyes to him. "Bright, honey, ah love ya with all mah heart, but we both know yer never gonna beat Tempest at arm-wrestlin'."

But Bright seemed undeterred by that. "Ha! She's gonna let up some day, and ah'll be the one ta finally beat her at it when it comes!"

Pear shook her head, exasperated yet still endeared by her husband's enthusiasm for the obvious failure he was about to willingly walk into. Meanwhile, who should suddenly arrive onto the scene but Windy Whistles, who flew in speedily before grinding to a halt, sending a puff of cloud in all directions. "Phew! Sorry I'm late! Kinda had some business to deal with!"

Velvet raised an eyebrow. "If by 'business' you mean trying to 'help' your daughter with her job again?"

Hearing that, Windy folded her arms, looking away with a quick huff before finally replying. "Hey, when your daughter is a literal Goddess, she deserves all the praise she gets!"

Mrs Shy spoke to her next. "But...um...doesn't she already get that from her followers and worshippers?"

Windy waved her off. "Pfft! As if mortals could give her proper praise." Then she perked up. "But that's beside the point. I've got a big surprise for her when she comes home for the day!"

Night leaned in closer to his wife, whispering to her. "Knowing her, this is either gonna be really bad or really silly. There's no middle ground with her."

Velvet stifled a giggle, then continued to look to Windy as she spoke. "I got a whole bunch of mortals together and told them to build a brand new statue to my sweet girl! And I'm not talking those piddly little things most villages have! No, we're talking full on hundred-foot monuments here!"

Pear considered that. "Wait...did the mortals know who you were when you asked them to do that?"

Windy blushed a little. "Well, no. The last mortals to remember me as a Goddess died a few hundred years ago."

Pear looked to her warily. "So..."

Windy paused, then sighed. "Okay, so maybe I assumed the form of my daughter to convince them to do it."

There was silence all around, and Windy looked to them all with confusion. "...What?"

Sighing, Velvet rubbed the bridge of her nose, then spoke up. "You made yourself look like your daughter?"

"Yep!" Windy answered.

"To convince mortals to obey your command?" Night asked.

"Yep!"

"A command which was to make a brand new monument to Rainbow?" Pear added.

"Yep!"

"Thus making it look like your daughter is a complete glutton for attention and praise who will order backbreaking labor just to satisfy her own ego?" Cloudy finished.

Windy paused again here, taking in all that, and slowly, her smile vanished. "...Okay...yeah...I think I see where you're coming from now." She glanced behind herself. "So...think I can maybe undo this little whoopsie of mine before my little girl finds out?"

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!" an angry voice called out from across the sky.

All Gods and Goddesses looked to the direction of the angry voice, then back to Windy. After a while, and after letting out another long sigh, Velvet spoke to her. "Windy...what's the rule?"

After a time, Windy's shoulders slumped. "No getting involved with mortals after we've retired."

Velvet nodded. "Good. Now I think you have a daughter to apologise to."

With another huff, Windy flew off, no doubt ready to get a fair earful from Rainbow when she met her. In the silence that followed, Velvet started to look to her fellow former deities carefully. "Out of curiosity...has anyone else tried sneaking in some unsanctioned God work with the mortals lately?" Suddenly, everyone found it rather difficult to look her in the eye, much to her chagrin. "Right...of course."

"Alrighty then! Here we go!" Sunset's enthusiasm was clear for all to see, as she grinned widely and got herself a running start. Charging forward, the Goddess of Fire leapt up high before plummeting down with her sled. She collided with the slope of her favorite volcano and promptly slid down it at increasingly fast speeds. She laughed with utter joy at this, the wind rushing through her hair. So fast was she that she even started trailing sparks behind her. In fact, her speed was so great that, had any mortals happened to be wandering past at that point, they might be forgiven for assuming that something totally unseen had passed them by. But all good things came to an end, and Sunset eventually swerved her sled, bringing herself to a complete stop before reaching the bottom, where the island met the sea. Her stop had sent a massive dust cloud up, and after taking in a deep breath, she leapt to her feet. "Oh yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!"

"Hmmm, very good. I see you've been practicing," a second voice said to her.

Turning, it took little time at all for Sunset to see who it was. For there, poking their heads out above the water, were the three Goddesses of the Sea, Adagio, Aria and Sonata. The latter sister waved merrily to Sunset, but Adagio was far more intrigued right now. "Quite a hobby you've got there, little Sunset."

Picking up her sled, Sunset smirked right back. "Oh, I think I can hold my own."

Adagio snickered. "Oh, I'm sure." She turned to Aria. "In fact, how about we see how good you are with a friendly competition?"

Aria chuckled to that notion, and Sunset looked to her with growing interest. "Oh? A race between me and her?"

Adagio nodded. "Indeed. I'll have you know my sister here is quite the sledder when she's up for it."

Sunset looked past where their heads were, seeing her tails splashing in the waters behind them. "Er, you sure you're...equipped for this kind of thing?" Without even saying a word, all three sisters promptly hoisted themselves out of the sea, and as soon as they did this, there was a shimmer along their mermaid-like tails as they began to change right before Sunset's eyes. Before long, she was looking to three seemingly-ordinary woman, legs and all, prompting a sigh on her part. "Right. Forgot you could do that." Then she groaned as she glanced away from them. "If we're gonna do this, could you at least put some clothes on first?"

Aria folded her arms. "Hmph! Spoilsport!"

After a while, Sunset looked back, and through their divine powers they had indeed conjured clothing for themselves, not unlike what she wore herself. Nodding to this, Sunset began to walk right up the side of the volcano, her sled in hand, with the three sisters shortly behind her. It took quite a while, but eventually all four of them managed to get to the top. Once there, Aria slammed her foot into the ground, causing a single lump of stone to jut upwards. Taking hold of it, she used her Goddess strength to literally carve it with her bare hands. Soon, she had a sled of her own, looking to Sunset like she was very much looking forward to this. "So...how we doing this?"

Sunset glanced around and then happened to see two mortals right down at the base of the volcano. They were walking along, no doubt from the local village, minding their own business, and probably didn't even know the Goddesses were there. That didn't last long, as Sunset now called down to them. "HEY!!! YOU WANNA JUDGE OUR SLED RACE?!"

"...OKAY!!!" one of the mortals called back after a brief delay.

Smiling, Sunset looked back to Aria. "Okay then. So...first to the water's edge?"

Aria grinned. "You're on!"

Adagio and Sonata stood to one side, waiting until the other two had got themselves in a suitable sledding position. Then, when they were ready, the eldest sister spoke. "Very well...three...two...one!"

And they were off, shooting down the side of the volcano much like Sunset had done not so long ago. But she knew now that they weren't kidding when they said Aria was really into this. Her speed was matching hers fairly easily. Realising she had to up her game, Sunset performed every trick she knew to get herself a better speed. Aria followed suit, and it appeared to be neck and neck throughout the entire race. The mortals, looking on with both fear and anticipation, watched carefully, making sure they were off in a good place to see who could reach the water first. Sunset and Aria narrowed their eyes as they drew nearer and nearer, and before long, it finally happened. They reached the water, the collision sending a massive amount of it upwards and halting them immediately. "And the race is over!" one of the mortals declared.

Laughing, both Goddesses got off their sleds, and as they did, they could see Adagio and Sonata gliding down to join them. Looking to the mortals, Sunset stepped forward. "So, who won?"

The mortals nervously looked to one another, then turned away. The Goddesses could hear them whispering and deliberating to each other, and they patiently waited for a verdict. And that verdict finally came, when after nodding in unison, the mortals turned and gave their judgement. "It was Lady Sunset who won the race."

Smiling, Sunset turned to Aria, offering her hand to her. "Good race."

Unfortunately, Aria was not quite as satisfied as Sunset might have hoped, as she slowly turned to her with a glower in her eye. No words were said, but the sea-deity leapt backwards, flipping in mid-air, before reverting back to her more aquatic form and diving headfirst into the water. There was silence, and as the ripples of her plummet began to finally fade, Adagio sighed, looking back to Sunset. "Yeah...probably should've mentioned Aria's not a graceful loser." After Sunset gave her a confused look however, the eldest sister simply smiled and waved. "Toodles!"

Sunset watched, confused and concerned, as both Adagio and Sonata leapt into the water after their sister. Again, there was quiet, and both Sunset and the mortals were growing increasingly worried about what was going to happen. After a while, one of the mortals, a young man, cleared his throat before speaking to the Lady of Fire. "Um...I don't suppose there's a chance she's just going to calm down to laugh about this later...is there?"

Exhaling deeply, Sunset looked to him with some sympathy. "No...I don't think there is." She saw that this was what he was afraid of, but it was here when she was deprived of any opportunity to comfort him. For her ears now picked up a strange sound, and she turned to look down at the edge of the water. To her horror, she saw it recede, going away from her and the rest of the beach, as if the sea was sucking it back in. Gulping, Sunset again looked to the mortals. "Okay, in my experience...that's not really a good sign." And the day just got worse, as her fear was soon very much confirmed. For as she squinted her eyes, she could see, far on the horizon, a wave, dwarfing any such wave that might have come before it. It rose higher and higher, almost to the point of blocking out the sun, and was surely massive enough to wipe away the island they stood on.

"...That's a tsunami," one mortal declared, utterly deadpan.

"Yyyyyyyyep," Sunset confirmed. She then turned to him. "Er, out of interest, how'd you feel about me trying to stop it by having a massive blast of lava erupt from your island's volcano?"

The mortal looked back to her with wide eyes. "It's not the best idea, my Lady!"

Sighing, Sunset's shoulders slumped. "Right. Course not." She stepped forward, standing where the edge of the sea had been moments before, and she watched as the tsunami drew closer and closer. The mortals cowered, but Sunset stood her ground. She was a Goddess, and she knew she'd survive this, even if nobody else did. "Stay behind me," she declared. The mortals hurriedly did as she asked, getting right behind her, as if she was some divine shield. Sunset's frown deepened, and she saw the herculean wave finally within just a few feet of her. But then, in a move that defied all laws of nature, the tsunami stopped. It was still there it just wasn't going any further. Then, right in the middle of it, Aria's head popped out.

"Ugh! Can't you at least pretend to look scared?!" But Sunset said nothing, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow, which led to Aria groaning with irritation yet again. "Uuuuuuuuuuuugh! Can't even have the satisfaction of terrifying you! Fine! Whatever!" And just like that, the water went backwards, heading back out to sea. The mortals watched, astounded, as the sea began to revert to what they'd always known it to be, all while Sunset stood triumphant.

"Did...did you know?" one mortal asked.

Sunset shrugged. "Trust me, my mother's very strict about Goddesses just wiping out whole communities. Aria wouldn't have risked it." The mortals leapt for joy beside her, hugging each other and relieved to have survived such an ordeal. And then Sunset just so happened to whisper under her breath. "Well...I think she wouldn't have risked it."

"What?" a mortal rapidly asked.

"Nothing!"

"Hey, Flash? I think you're gonna have to go out and get some better wine. This last lot you got is kinda terrible. Oh! And make you you pick up some of those little onions, because they are just lovely this time of year! And before I forget, I kinda spilled my drink one of one your favorite shirts yesterday. Hope you don't mind. Ah, what am I saying, of course you don't mind. Because you're just the best, ain't that right, buddy?" Zephyr smiled confidently to himself as he reclined on the sofa, looking over to Flash as he prepared dinner for the two of them. The latter was hard at work here, making sure every ingredient was just right, all while looking less than thrilled about the arrangement he'd found himself in. Zephyr, oblivious to his roommate's feelings towards him, continued speaking. "Hey, you going to that village festival next week? I hear it's gonna be a blast!"

Flash gave a quick shrug. "Maybe. I've got a lot of work to do in the field in the next few days. Might not have time to party after that."

Zephyr shrugged right back. "Meh, suit yourself. More lovely ladies for me at least." Then he paused, suddenly remembering something. "Say...didn't Shining Armor say he was gonna give you a golden house or something a while back?" He gestured to the rest of the house, which was very definitely not made of gold.

The other mortal glanced around himself. "I thanked him for the offer, but the idea of a golden house is a lot cooler than actually having to live in one. So I declined."

Zephyr snorted. "Pfft! Suit yourself, friend."

Flash rolled his eyes to this, sighing shortly afterwards. "Remember how you said you'd help me with the work yesterday?"

Zephyr nodded, reclining further into the sofa. "Yep, totally did. Pretty nice of me to offer, eh?"

Flash glanced over his shoulder, utterly deadpan. "Yeah...but you kinda didn't give any help." He turned away, muttering under his breath. "Or the last seven days before that."

But Zephyr just chuckled. "Oh, Flash! Silly, silly Flash! Gods don't do work! I just offered to make you feel better."

Flash grimaced. "Not really making me feel better when you don't do what you say you'll do." He raised an eyebrow to his tiresome guest. "What exactly was it you were supposed to do down here?"

Zephyr frowned. "Ugh! Learn to appreciate mortals! What, do I look like I don't appreciate them?"

Flash considered that. "You probably don't want me to answer that."

Zephyr smirked and rolled his eyes. "Hey, I've learned a whole bunch of being a mortal! Like that whole toilet thing you guys do. Yuck, how do you put up with that?!"

Flash sighed again. "We cope." He paused what he was doing, setting his dinner ingredients aside for the time being while looking back to Zephyr. "But sure, if you wanna go to that festival, I'm not gonna tell a God he can't."

The currently-mortal deity smiled to him. "Thanks, bud. Appreciate it." But then he groaned. "Just kinda hope that one girl isn't there. She keeps pestering me these days."

Flash looked to him with curiosity. "What girl?"

Zephyr shrugged again. "Oh, you know, that one girl from the village? Blonde? kinda messed-up eyes?"

Here, Flash stopped what he was doing, looking to Zephyr with more seriousness. "Wait...you mean Muffins? Yeah, I know her. We've been friends since we were kids."

Another shrug from Zephyr. "Oh, is that what her name is? I just called her Derpy, because...well, you know..."

Holding back the need to give a disapproving frown, Flash enquired further. "Why would she be pestering you?"

To that, Zephyr actually got himself off the sofa for the first time today, walking over to look out of the window. "It's just like she thinks she's entitled to me, ya know? I mean, we spend one little moment together, and boom, suddenly she thinks she gets to be with me."

Flash looked to him more warily. "What 'little moment' are we talking about here?"

Zephyr continued to stare out of the window. "Well, it was during the last monthly festival. I was kinda trying to get some attention from the local ladies, but not much success. Then along comes Derpy."

"Muffins," Flash corrected.

"Whatever," Zephyr replied, totally uninterested. "Anyways, she heard me talking about how I'm really a God, and was actually interested." He chuckled. "Guess she's not as dumb as she looks, am I right?" He failed to notice Flash clenching his fists as he said that. "Anyways, we talked for a bit, I put on my usual charm, said all the right things, and hey presto, soon enough I've got my 'special time' with her." Then he chuckled. "Not my fanciest prize, but hey, when it's all you got..."

Sadly, or perhaps not, he was interrupted from that particular talk by Flash, who promptly spun him around, grabbed him by his shirt, and then forced him back, slamming him right into the wall, all while giving him the angriest look the ex-God had ever seen on him. "You...did...what?" Flash asked, seething with fury.

Zephyr, who was thoroughly unused to having anyone treat him this way, gulped. "H...hey there, bud. Don't wanna risk hurting a God, ya know? Don't wanna upset anyone upstairs, you get me?"

But Flash was totally unafraid at this point. "I asked you a question. Now answer it, God."

Never before had Zephyr heard the word "God" as though it were an insult, but he was too worried for his life to think about that right now. "Well...yeah, I got her with me for that night. What's the big deal?"

Flash's eyes narrowed. "The 'big deal' is that you tricked a good friend of mine into sleeping with you by making her think you cared about her!"

Zephyr blinked. "Yeah...and?"

Flash's grip tightened. "Do you care about her?"

Zephyr looked to him as if he'd just told a joke. "What? No! I mean, have you looked at her?"

Flash looked like he was about to full-on strangle the guy, but of course Zephyr was desperately trying to get back into his good graces. "Hey, buddy! If you want I can maybe convince her to sleep if you if that's what you want!"

That clearly wasn't the issue here, as Flash was livid right now, drawing back one hand and balling it into a fist, ready to completely deck the guy. Zephyr, having never once experienced physical pain like he was about to, instinctively winced. But the blow, to his utter shock, never came. Instead he heard a collision right next to his head, prompting him to slowly open his eyes again. There, right next to his head, was Flash's fist, having been sent straight into the wall, actually managing to cause a crack. Zephyr gulped again, looking to the mortal who'd let him into his home, who was taking many deep breaths before finally speaking. "Zephyr...you are a pathetic excuse for a God."

Zephyr didn't know what to say to that, but he didn't even get the chance to speak at all. For it was just then that there was a booming voice calling out in the house. "ZEPHYR BREEZE!!!" Both men looked up, seeing a bright shaft of light, which caused them to squint their eyes. They could see something, or more specifically someone, descend downwards, and they stepped back when they realised who it was. The light faded, and sure enough, there she was. Celestia, the High Goddess herself. Flash immediately got to one knee, but Zephyr stood where he was, watching the new arrival with worry. Celestia, for her part, regarded both of them before finally speaking up again. "Your time has ended."

Hearing that, Zephyr sighed. "Phew! That's a relief! I tell ya, Celly, this mortal life totally sucks!" He clasped his hands together. "Alrighty then! Let's make with the divinity already!" But it seemed as though his expectations were not to be, as Celestia simply narrowed her eyes to him, causing more than a little concern on Zephyr's part. "Um...hey, Celestia? I think I'm ready to go back home now!"

Celestia glanced down to Flash, who was keeping his eyes down, before looking back to Zephyr. "Boy...I sent you here to learn what it was to be mortal. Instead you spent your days taking advantage of the kindness that this mortal afforded you."

Zephyr shrugged. "Well...he offered, right?"

"Really? I thought you just moved in like you owned the place," Flash muttered quietly.

Celestia continued, clearly unimpressed with his answer. "You acted shamefully. Despite being one of them, you looked to mortalkind as though they were your playthings. In short, my lad...you have completely wasted your time here."

Zephyr was growing nervous now. "Yeah, but...at least I get to come home now, right?"

Celestia gave nothing but silence for a time, causing Zephyr to become increasingly worried. But then, at the end of that agonising wait, the Sun Goddess instead turned to Flash. "I thought that by having one of our kind become mortal, the divine host would learn what it was like to be one of those we ruled over. But perhaps..." She paused, but only for a moment. "Perhaps it is better...if instead I were to have one of the mortals become like us."

Immediately, Flash looked to her with complete shock, while Zephyr was feeling terrified right now. "You're...you're gonna replace me with him?!"

Celestia scowled to him. "You have disgraced yourself in your time here, Zephyr, even before you became a mortal. While he..." She looked down to Flash. "He actually knows how to care about mortals. And perhaps that is what the heavens truly need in all this." She stepped forward, reaching out her hand. "What say you, Flash Sentry? Will thou accept, and take a place in the heavens?"

To say that Flash was bewildered by all this would have been an understatement. But through all the shock and difficulty of understanding what was being offered, there was a strange calm that now took hold of him. Slowly, he rose, brushing himself off slightly, before looking the Goddess of Goddesses right in the eye. "My Lady Celestia, I thank you for the offer. I don't think any mortal has ever been given a chance for something like this before now." He stayed silent for a minute or two, then sighed deeply. "But...I cannot accept."

Zephyr looked to him like he was crazy, while Celestia arched an eyebrow. "Oh? May I ask why?"

Flash nodded. "Zephyr did wrong here. Very wrong. But...if I were to take his place as a God, that would condemn him to mortality. And that would be little more than a death sentence." He took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Despite all he's done, I'm not prepared to do that to him. Nor am I willing to separate him from his family or his people." Slowly, he again looked to Celestia. "Let him come back to you."

For the first time in perhaps a very long while, Celestia actually looked surprised. "You would ask him to be accepted once more? Even with all he did?"

Flash nodded. "I would. I'll probably kick myself for it...but yes, that's my answer."

Celestia regarded the human before her, then gave a slow nod. "Very well...be it so." She snapped her fingers, and without even saying a word to him, she knew Zephyr had already understood what had been done. She watched as he saw sparkles emerge from his fingers, a sign of the return of his divine power. Naturally, the guy was ecstatic about it, but he remained silent as Celestia raised a finger to him. "Zephyr...know that if you transgress again...if you should dishonor a mortal with deception of the kind that enraged this man beside me...I may not be so accommodating to you again."

Zephyr understood, showing respect for the first time today by bowing to her. Then, he looked to Flash. "Hey, buddy, thanks for all the..."

But instead of a smile, he instead got a look of anger from Flash. "Just...go," he said flatly.

The newly-appointed God tugged at the neckline of his shirt, then looked to Celestia. "So...guess my sister's pretty excited to be getting me back, right?"

Celestia again narrowed her eyes to him. "Fluttershy...is deeply disappointed in you, Zephyr."

And just like that, the God winced as though he'd just been stabbed in the heart. "Uuuuuuuuuuuuuugh, why'd you have to tell me that?" Realising he definitely wasn't wanted, gave a nod, then snapped his fingers and, in a bright flash of light, disappeared from this place.

Celestia again looked to Flash, curious about him. "You and I both know he didn't deserve such a reprieve, yet you gave it anyway. Tell me, is there truly nothing you wish for? Any boon you might desire, I can grant."

Flash didn't look at her, at least not at first, and instead just seemed deep in thought. After a while, though, he did finally gave her a glance. "I have a friend. A friend whose heart will probably break when I tell her that the guy she thought cared about her never actually did. If you offer a boon to me, let it be this. Give her a good life. Guarantee that she will not face such disappointment or unhappiness again."

Celestia smiled to him. "I see now why Twilight casts such favor on you." She then gave a quick bow of her head. "You have my word. Her life, for however long it lasts, shall be a good and happy one."

Flash bowed back to her. "Thank you, Lady Celestia. I won't forget it."

Again, Celestia smiled to him, and much like her entrance, she was bathed in bright and near-blinding light, causing Flash to look away. After a while he looked back and saw that he was, at long last, alone in his home. But as he took in the silence, he winced, looking to his hand. "Probably should've asked her to get this fixed up too. Think I broke every bone in it with that wall back there." But as soon as he'd said that, he suddenly found that the pain in his hand was gone.

He flexed his fingers a bit, confusion coming to him, but before he could speak, he looked up, hearing a familiar motherly voice in his mind. "Ask, and ye shall receive."

"Okay, where was it? Oh, right! Get past the rocks of unyielding darkness, walk a few miles past the chasm of eternal despair, and eventually you'll come to the gates of the Underworld. "Lemon Zest smiled as she placed her hands upon her hips, looking around and seeming pretty confident. Her surroundings were far from pleasant, but then, when one was making their way to the Underworld, pleasantness wasn't really to be expected. Turning a corner, the green-haired youth smiled again, seeing the massive and ominous-looking doors before her. They were engraved with images of unhappy people and monstrous beasts, and atop it was an inscription that, after squinting her eyes to, she started to read aloud. "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." After a moment she chuckled. "Heh, sounds like what I'd hear before going to a family reunion." She approached the door, giving herself a quick stretch before pushing on them as hard as she could. "Whoo-boy! These are some pretty heavy ones!"

As a mortal, it was perhaps expected that a doorway crafted by the gods themselves wouldn't be easy to move, and yet, with all her determination and gumption, Lemon actually managed to cause it to slowly creak open. How long it had been since anybody opened these things, she couldn't say, and in truth she really didn't care. She was here for one thing and one thing only, and she was determined to get it. But she didn't need to open the doors all the way of course, as she only needed enough space to slip in. Once in, it was pitch darkness, and she squinted again to try and see where she was, to no avail. "Huh...probably should've brought a torch with me." Then, the moment she'd said those words, she was suddenly surrounded by dozens of blazing torches, coming to life after who knows how long. Her eyes took a moment to adjust, but she saw them stretch out for ages down a long and still-dark hall. "Well...at least I can see now."

"For all the good it will do you, mortal."

Lemon glanced around, raising an eyebrow. "...Hello?"

Then, from within the shadows, a figure emerged, clad in an all-encompassing black robe. It appeared to be around the same height as her, and when it approached, Lemon watched as it lowered it's hood, revealing a young-looking man, with pale skin and a greenish-blue pudding-bowl haircut. Lemon at first thought he was the same age as she was, but given where they were she suspected pretty quickly what he actually was. "So...God?"

The boy nodded. "Indeed. I am Stygian, mortal! God of Death and guard to the Underworld! Servant for the great Lord Sombra, the ruler of this dark domain!"

But Lemon, in stark contrast to how Stygian might have expected, actually smiled. "Neat. I'm Lemon by the way. Nice to meet you."

Stygian blinked, then glanced left and right before focusing on her again. "Um...yes...well...know that no mortal shall pass beyond this point, fair maiden."

Lemon, hearing that, smirked slightly before snickering a little. "Fair maiden? Sorry, bud, but I'm spoken for, so flattery's not gonna do you any good."

Stygian blushed a little, then coughed deliberately, trying his best to stay as dignified as he possibly could. "Know now that this is no realm for the living! Turn back now and return from whence ye came!"

Lemon folded her arms, looking to him with incredulity. "Yeah...no, that ain't gonna happen."

Hearing that, Stygian's shoulders slumped. "Oh come on! I've got a job to do here, lady! My boss is gonna be really mad if I don't keep mortals out!"

Lemon shrugged. "I'm here on pretty important business, so I'm gonna need to see this 'boss' of yours anyway. So would you mind letting me in?"

Stygian frowned. "Didn't you hear me? I said no mortals were allowed in here!"

The mortal girl tapped her foot impatiently against the rocky floor, then sighed, shrugging her shoulders again. "Alright. Didn't want to have to do this, but..." She turned to the side, kicking off her sandals and unceremoniously tossing them on the floor, followed shortly afterwards by her slipping down one shoulder strap of her short-dress.

Stygian, seeing this, widened his eyes immediately. "Wha...what are you doing?!"

Lemon rolled her eyes. "Well obviously I'm giving you my clothes so you'll let me pass! Duh!"

Stygian blinked a couple of times, unsure of how to take that. "I...but...what?!"

Lemon, who was well into the process of slipping out of her dress now, tried to explain herself. "Everyone knows that in order to get into the Underworld you've gotta pay the toll with your clothes."

Stygian slapped his own forehead. "That's not a thing! That's never been a thing!" Then, realising that he was standing right in front of a girl who was fast becoming naked before him, he immediately covered his eyes with one hand. "Look, I don't mean to be rude, Miss, but you really need to get going now." When silence was all he got, he tried again. "...Miss? Hello?" Then, after further silence, he sighed deeply. "Right...she just ran past me when I covered my eyes, didn't she?"

Lemon, who had indeed done that, merrily strolled through the dark chasms and tunnels of the Underworld, eventually making it into that domain proper, where wandering and lonely souls flew through the air, wailing and moaning as they mourned their lost lives. Seeing all that, Lemon gave a quick nod. "Huh...neat." Then, with eyes on the prize, she spotted a towering figure in the distance, who appeared to be conversing with a woman. Knowing who that was, Lemon confidently strode forward, getting closer and closer to the armored being ahead of her. "Yo! You Lord Sombra?"

Sombra, who was naturally surprised to be addressed like that, turned and looked on with some confusion at this unexpected guest. "Um...Radiant? My sweet?"

"Yes, dearest?" Radiant answered.

"...Why is there a naked mortal girl here?"

Radiant shrugged. "Dunno, but let's just give her what she wants so she can leave before you get any ideas."

Sombra frowned to that, then cleared his throat, trying to sound and look as imposing as he could. "Foolish mortal! Dare ye enter this forbidden realm of death and darkness?!"

Lemon, utterly unintimidated by this, stopped just a few feet away from him. "Er, yeah, I kinda did. Anyway, I was wondering if you'd let me have my girlfriend back?"

Sombra paused, looking to Radiant, who just shrugged again, before regarding Lemon a second time. "Your girlfriend?"

Lemon nodded. "Yeah, she slipped and fell off a cliff the other day and died. But, I figured instead of crying and stuff I should just mosey on down here and get her back."

Sombra narrowed his eyes, clearly not enthused with that notion. "At what point did the dreaded Underworld become a place mortals just thought they could 'mosey on down' to?"

Lemon smirked. "So...about my girlfriend? Her name's Sugarcoat by the way."

Sombra snorted with irritation, but after looking to his wife, who seemed pretty amused by this whole situation, he relented, rubbing the bridge of his nose out of frustration before finally speaking as calmly as he could. "Very well. I shall grant your request and return your lover to you."

Lemon clapped her hands together. "Sweet!"

Then Sombra raised a finger. "But know this, Lemon Zest! To have her back, you must depart from the Underworld, and return once more to the land of the living. And should you turn back, if you give even a single glance behind you before you reach your realm, your loved one shall be lost to you forever!"

Lemon considered that. "So...no do-overs?"

Sombra leaned in closer, until he was looking her right in the eye. "No, Lemon...there aren't any do-overs."

To that, Lemon simply smiled. "Alright then. Later!" And so she turned, leaving a bewildered and utterly exasperated Sombra behind her. On and on she walked, going right back the way she came, never paying any heed to the ghosts and ghouls she crossed along the way, even just happily phasing right through them when they barred her path. Eventually, she came upon Stygian once more, who again covered his eyes as she approached, with the girl actually speaking to him again moments afterwards. "So...you mind if I...?" Lemon pointed to her pile of clothes on the floor.

Stygian, for his part, just waved his hand in the general direction of the Underworld entrance. "Yes! Yes! Just take them and go!"

Happy with this Lemon took a quick moment to pick up her clothes and, without even bothering to put them on again, confidently marched out of the Underworld properly. Soon, she was outside, and after taking a deep lungful of fresh air, she finally turned around. Sure enough, as the Lord of the Underworld had promised, there was Sugarcoat. The other girl, though naturally a little disoriented at being alive again, was actually more confused than anything as she looked to her partner. "Huh...I was rather expecting you to turn around at the last moment and doom me to an eternity down there."

But Lemon just snorted to that. "Pfft! What?! No! That was the one thing he told me not to do, remember? Why would I be so stupid to ignore that?!"

Sugarcoat, in a rare moment for her, smiled. "Yeah, good point.

Stygian, who was finally feeling a moment of relaxation over all this, looked on from within the cave entrance at the two reunited lovers. "Huh...wonder if I'll get fired for this?"

Then, without warning, a deeper voice whispered to him from behind. "Oh...you are extremely fired for this."

After just a pause, Stygian sighed. "Well...shoot."

"So you're sure this is gonna work?" Adagio asked.

"Oh, certainly! It's all set up," Eris replied. "All we need now is for someone to come along, pick it up and open it. Simple, fun and utterly devastating." She cackled to herself, rubbing her hands eagerly."I swear, sometimes it's the pure anticipation of waiting to see it happen that's the best part!"

Adagio nodded, smirking to her chaotic friend, but as she lounged on that comparatively warm rock, just a short hop from the shoreline, she started to have doubts. "And you're sure this won't backfire? Because I seem to recall that your last attempts as sowing anarchy and mayhem didn't really pan out all that well for you."

Eris grumbled to that, folding her arms and just floating above her aquatic colleague. "It was just bad luck that day! How was I supposed to know that my apple would lead to love instead of war?!"

Adagio chuckled. "Well, at least some of us got some fun out of seeing a plan fall to pieces."

Eris naturally grimaced to the words, but her mood perked up immensely afterwards when, all of a sudden, she and Adagio began to hear the distinct sound of the rustling of trees. They looked on, seeing some mortal finally emerge from the woodland. It appeared to be a young man, with very curly-looking brown hair. Now, as Goddesses, this mortal wasn't likely to spot them unless they wanted to be spotted, and so the two looked on, smiling wickedly as their potential prey began to happily and obliviously wander along the coast, talking aloud with a merry tone. "Ah! Such a wonderful day! The sun is shining! The birds are singing! And I must say, the ocean is looking really beautiful today!"

Adagio pouted. "Oh, shame to waste such a polite one. He has good taste."

Eris rolled her eyes, but her smile returned shortly as the young man continued moving along the edge of the land. "That's it. Just a little bit closer. Keep walking and you'll find our little...treat." She snickered, and doubly so when the man actually noticed what she'd been hoping he'd notice. "There we go!"

Getting to one knee, the man rummaged around the base of the bush he'd just walked past, and after yanking down there for a while he pulled out the unexpected prize. It was a box, and a fancy-looking one at that, covered in ornate carvings and decoration. His eyes widened at the sight of it, complete with sparkles in his pupils. "Oooooh, pretty!" He smirked slightly. "Cheese, old boy, you've his the jackpot with this one!"

Eris clapped her hands. "Okay then, time to stop gawking and get to opening."

Adagio arched an eyebrow to her. "And you're certain we won't get in trouble for this? I mean, not to put too fine a point on it, but having all the different evils in the world stuffed into a box and just leaving it for any mortal to find isn't likely to get us on Celestia's good side."

But Eris waved her off. "Oh, you needn't worry, my fishy friend. Her words was that we don't hurt them. She never said that they couldn't hurt themselves, now did she?"

Adagio watched her cackle to her own "brilliant" plan, but still seemed uncertain about it all. "Yeah...but since you made the thing that'll get this guy hurt, she might not be all that willing to listen to talk about distinctions like that."

Eris groaned. "Uuuuuuuuugh! When did so many Goddesses start getting cold feet these days?! Or tails in your case?"

Adagio sighed. "Well, this whole thing was your idea to begin with, so don't come crying to me if it doesn't go your way."

Eris ignored her, instead focusing on Cheese, who was still admiring his latest find. But the lad just continued to stare lovingly at the unexpected treasure in his hand, squinting at the thing for some time. "So...is it unlocked?" He tried opening the box, causing it to strain under his effort. Unbeknownst to him, Eris was practically salivating at this sight knowing her plan was mere moments away from coming to fruition. Cheese, for his part, continued to stress and strain against the tightness of the box. "Okay, little friend, you're a tough nut to crack, but I promise you, I'm tougher!" He pulled and pulled and pulled, and just at the point where it looked like he might shatter the box entirely with his efforts, the lid finally popped open. Both Eris and Adagio leaned forward, very keen on seeing what would happen next. And as for Cheese, he looked utterly horrified as he looked into the inside of the box for the first time. "No...no! This...this can't be!"

Eris laughed aloud. "Yes! Here we go! Let's see what utter random fun we'll get when this mortal gets the full force of the most terrible wickedness in this world!"

Cheese continued to grimace. "This...this is the most terrible thing! The worst thing ever!"

"Yes...yes...YES!!!" Eris bellowed.

Cheese reached into the box, and pulled out some small object. After pausing with some confusion, both Eris and Adagio squinted to see what it was, and when they did, their confusion grew. It appeared to be a candy of some sort, small enough to be held in Cheese's thumb and forefinger, and bright yellow in its color. The man himself looked utterly disgusted with what he'd found. "Ugh! Lemon! I hate that flavor!" He tossed it back in the box. "All that excitement and I end up with sour instead of sweet? Ugh! Not worth it!" He sighed, closing the box once more. "Well, I'm sure someone will like it." He perked up after having said that. "Hmmm, maybe one of the kids in the local village will like it? They'd be thrilled to get free candy!" He laughed. "Alrighty then! Time to turn this day around!"

Without even realising it, the Goddesses were watching him as he obliviously marched on, heading exactly where he'd said he'd go, looking like he had not a care in the world. Meanwhile, Adagio started to look rather amused herself, glancing up to her partner for the day. "Well, at least someone's happy today, eh?"

Eris, still bewildered, soon morphed into a look of pure rage. "Okay...that's it." Looking straight up, she reached out and stretched out her arm so long that a passing observer would have been forgiven for assuming it was made of rubber. It reached higher and higher and higher, all the way into the clouds. And after feeling around up there for a bit, Eris nodded. "Aha! Gotcha!" Then down she pulled, her arm snapping back to its normal length. And with it she'd apparently brought a very confused-looking Pinkie Pie.

The Goddess of Merriment and Celebration, who was understandably taken aback by her sudden change in locale, glanced around for a few moments before spotting Adagio, after which she smiled widely to her. "Hiya, Dagi! Having a fun day?"

Adagio chuckled. "Oh, trust me, Pinkie, it's been very amusing so far!"

But Pinkie's smile faded when she saw Eris' irritated expression. "Um...you doin' okay there, Eris?"

Taking a deep breath, the Goddess of Chaos finally got some words out. "Pinkie...do you remember what I asked you yesterday?"

Pinkie nodded confidently. "Yep! Fill that box with the worst things in all the world."

Eris' left eye twitched. "And what did you fill it with?"

Pinkie giggled. "Lemon candy! Duh! What's worse than that?!"

After staring at her for a long time, Eris turned away, taking deep breath after deep breath, during which Adagio scooted on closer to Pinkie and whispered to her. "Just so you know, I spotted a cutie on the shore I think you'd like."

As Pinkie squeed to the notion, Eris just rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Okay, new plan, get Sombra to fill the box next time!"

"Alright...what do we have here?" Fluttershy looked on with great confusion at the scene before her, as dozens of villagers were all panicking in the streets. The village was in chaos right now, with homes having been, from the looks of things, completely smashed. What caused this, Fluttershy didn't know, but she knew they were in trouble, and so began to walk into the place. Naturally, as a Goddess, it took little time at all for the locals to recognise that it was her gracing them with her presence. But in spite of all the bows and people falling to their knees in reverence, the Lady of Nature kept her gaze forward, looking around for anyone who might be in charge here. Most of the mortals she laid eyes on were just screaming at the top of their lungs, but after a while she did spot someone who was talking with other older villagers. Walking close to them, she cleared her throat, and as they looked to her, she smiled to them. "I believe some of you were praying for help?"

As expected, they too got to their knees, their hands clasped together in a gesture of the very prayers she'd spoken of. But it was again the eldest she kept her eyes on, who now mustered up the courage to actually talk to her. "Oh! My Lady Fluttershy! Thank goodness you've come! Our people are in desperate need of your aid!"

Fluttershy got to one knee, reaching out and placing her hand gently upon the man's shoulder. "Tell me what troubles you, friend."

The elder gestured to the ruins of several nearby homes. "A beast! A beast of great and terrible size came to our village and destroyed many of what we've built here! I'd never seen the like of it! Like no creature on this good Earth! After it had wrought its terrible destruction, it left!"

The Goddess glanced around, seeing what were undoubtedly tracks in the ground, leading off far away from the place. "Do you know where it was going?"

The elder nodded frantically. "We think it went to the great forest. To the West! I fear it may return to finish us!"

To that, Fluttershy smiled, which the elder took for the reassuring gesture that it was. "Fear not. I will go to this place and look upon this beast with my own eyes. Fret not, my good fellow. Your village will not be threatened by this creature again. You have the word of the Goddess Fluttershy." Her promise was met with kowtows and grovelling from all of the assembled villagers, as was expected, and as she stood tall once more, brushing herself off from her prior kneeling, she began her stroll in the direction of the creature. None followed her, their faith in her abilities as strong as could be. Fluttershy herself was also confident, and her eyes never left that direction. "A great beast then? I would very much like to see it." On and on she walked, for what seemed like hours, until she finally arrived at where the elder had spoken of. A vast forested land, stretching from horizon to horizon, giving her a moment of pause. "Hmmm, a 'great' forest indeed," she giggled.

As a Goddess of nature, she had no difficulty entering the place. Trees bent out of her way, predators of every stripe bowed like her own followers, and all around the plants and creatures of the world gave her deference and passage as she desired. She smiled to each and every one of them, bringing herself more and more into the heart of the forest. Eventually, she sensed a clearing, and a mass of life within it. With her expression becoming more serious, she finally entered into that open space, with her gaze drifting upwards when she saw the one who dwelt here. "Oh my...you certainly are a big one, aren't you?"

The creature was indeed massive in size, at least the size of her largest temple. Were one to look upon it for the first time, they might be mistaken for thinking that it was simply an enormous lion. But look past the face and head and it became clear that there was a multitude of different animals mixed in with this life. The shell of a tortoise, the long tail of a scorpion, the legs of a bear, it was as if someone had come along and taken whatever parts of well-known dangerous animals they could think of and just mashed them together. He was definitely a sight, that much was certain, yet Fluttershy felt no fear towards it, stepping forward slowly. After a few steps however, a single eye snapped open, and a low growl was heard. But even in the face of this clear and present danger, Fluttershy smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you."

The beast stirred, getting up from its slumber to loom large over the Goddess before him. And it was at this point when her nature became known to him, as it simply took one sniff of the air to realise that it was not dealing with an ordinary human. Finally recognising that a Goddess stood before him, the beast began to whimper, bringing its head to the ground, almost like a dog when it was whining. Stretching out her hand, Fluttershy stroked its nose. "There, there, it's alright. We're all friends here." She paused, then spoke a touch more seriously than before. "Now, what's all this about you attacking that village across the way? Did they do anything to you?" The beast started to look guilty, and growled again. But of course, it couldn't actually speak to her, so instead, it took only actions. It lifted its front-left paw, prompting Fluttershy to look at it, and as she watched it turn it palm-upwards, she sighed. "Oh...I see."

In the classic fashion, there was a thorn there. Oh, it might have appeared tiny to the casual observer, but it was clearly causing the creature a great deal of anguish, as shown by the pained look it bore. Fluttershy placed her hand upon that paw, smiling again to him. "Don't worry. I'm not angry with you. You were just lashing out in pain, weren't you?" After seeing it give a single nod, she continued. "Well, nobody got hurt. They were just frightened. Trust me, we can get this whole mess sorted out. But first..." She looked again to the thorn, reaching out and putting her hand upon it. "Now...this is going to hurt, but we have no other choice." The beast winced ahead of time, and Fluttershy, with an almighty pull, wrenched the thorn from the paw. As expected, there was a loud bellow as the beast unleashed its pain from the experience all across the area. So great was that roar that the very forest seemed to shudder with it. Fluttershy watched as the giant immediately licked its now thorn-free paw, clasping her hands together as she did so. "How do you feel?"

Her new friend continued to lick the spot where the thorn had been, but afterwards it slowly lifted its gaze to meet hers. There was a tense moment, but in the end, it smiled, its massive razor-sharp fangs glistening as a result. Leaning forward, it began to affectionately lick her, causing the Goddess to giggle. "Okay, okay, I love you too. Now..." She raised a finger to him, looking and sounding a bit more stern. "We need to go on back to the village, and you need to apologise for having smashed their houses, okay?" As the beast hung its head, Fluttershy smiled again. "Don't worry, everything will be fine. I'll explain everything to the villagers, and then we can all get together for a nice spot of tea afterwards." The animal perked up immensely after that, wagging its scorpion tail in the same manner that a happy dog might do. Fluttershy, letting loose another giggle, gave a nod to him. "Alright then, friend. Let's go."

And go they did, walking the exact same path Fluttershy had taken to get here in the first place. But of course, with such a massive companion, it was as if an earthquake was accompanying her, as every step made the earth shake. But she was unconcerned, for she knew the matter was resolved now. Eventually, she and the beast looked upon the village once more, and could even see several of the villagers starting to put their houses back in order. Fluttershy's smile widened, and she upped her pace, eventually reaching the borders of the settlement. Soon, eyes turned towards her, and while they were naturally glad to see their Goddess return, they were slightly less enthusiastic about the guest she'd brought with her, whom they now looked at with stunned silence. Fluttershy, clearing her throat, began to speak in the usual calm and authoritative tone of the Goddesses of this world. "May I have your attention please? It will please you to learn that I have resolved the problem that was giving this wonderful animal such a difficult time. Believe me when I say that he will no longer bother you, and..."

"SHE'S SUBDUED THE BEAST!!! KILL IT!!!" one villager cried out.

"Wait, what?!" Fluttershy remarked. But before she could do anything, she watched as dozens, if not hundreds of arrows flew overhead, going right behind her and, as she probably knew, into her new friend. There was a pause, and before long there was an earth-shaking thud right behind her, then silence. She stood utterly still, knowing full well what had just happened, and her expression was utterly blank, as if trying to comprehend her own thoughts over this unexpected turn.

As she did this, the village elder began to walk to her, bow in hand, with a satisfied smile on his face. "Thank you so much, my Lady! Without you we'd have never been able to do that!"

Fluttershy closed her eyes, then took in a deep breath, after which was an equally-deep exhale. Then, as she finally opened her eyes again, she looked the village elder with a firm stare. "Sir?"

"Um...yes, my Lady?"

"I suggest you and your villagers vacate the immediate area...rather swiftly."

"...Why?"

"Because in less than a minute, this entire place is going to become a smoking crater as a result of the immense rage that is about to be unleashed by me over the unnecessary death of a creature that I considered a friend."

"...I'll give the evacuation order."

With her face still expressionless, Fluttershy gave a single nod. "Good man."

In the height of summer, few places were as packed or as busy as the local markets of the mortal villages, and Flash's was no exception. The owners of the various stalls were calling out, doing everything in their power to convince passers-by to come and buy their wares. Children were rushing around in the square, playing and having fun. And all-in-all, the whole place was just abuzz with activity and energy. It was in this mix that Flash Sentry found himself, a smile upon his face as he happily strode through his home. Greetings and nods came his way, and he was always sure to return them out of courtesy. Eventually, the young lad found himself over at one stall in particular, looking over a number of delicious fruits. The owner, clearly happy at having a potential customer, put on his biggest smile for Flash, who looked over fruit after fruit after fruit. Eventually, Flash nodded, picking out one in particular, rummaging around in his back pocket before producing a few coins for the purchase. "There you go, friend."

The owner gave a quick bow of his head. "Oh! Thank you! I haven't had a single person come to me all day!"

Flash chuckled. "Well, I ran out of these things earlier..." He held up the now-purchased fruit, to make his point. "So I figured I'd head on down for some groceries."

The grocer nodded. "Well, enjoy it while you can, lad. These things have been coming in pretty scarce these days. You know, dangerous out on the seas and all?"

Flash nodded, understanding. "The children of Lady Adagio?"

The grocer nodded back. "The children of Lady Adagio," he confirmed.

Flash sighed, reaching back into his pocket and bringing out, to the grocer's surprise, an extra coin, which he happily gave to him. The grocer smiled, giving another bow of his head in gratitude, which Flash returned, before the latter finally got out and made his way away from the stall. He looked down to the fruit in his hand, thinking on what meals he could make out of it tonight, and soon enough he found his way right to the centre of the village, to the well. Most ignored the thing, giving Flash free reign to just sit down on its edge, and he took a moment to just take in the sight of his fellow villagers. It was a pleasant moment, even if not exactly peaceful with all the activity, and so taken in was he that he failed to notice one villager in particular walk towards him, a happy smile on her face. "Good morning, Flash."

Hearing the familiar voice, Flash smiled right back when he looked to her. "And to you, Muffins."

The blonde girl giggled, finding a spot on the well's wall beside him to sit upon, wherein she soon noticed the fruit he'd bought. "Hmmm, looks nice."

Flash nodded as he too looked down to it. "It will be." Then he looked a little thoughtful. "It's funny. I could've sworn I had a whole cupboard full of them, but...guess I was mis-remembering."

Muffins continued to smile sweetly to him. "I'm sure you'll make something nice out of it. You always do."

Flash blushed a little. "Oh please, I'm not that good of a cook!"

Muffins rolled her eyes. "Flash, I remember everything you've made for the festivals. Trust me, you are that good of a cook."

The boy looked down to his groceries, his own smile growing. "Well then...how about I make something for you tonight?"

Muffins looked to him with surprise. "Really?"

Flash nodded back. "Sure. We haven't spent much time together lately and...well...I'd like us to maybe have a dinner together. My treat."

Muffins was uncertain at first, but then resumed her earlier look of comfort. "You always were the generous one. Where would I ever be without you?"

Flash shrugged. "We've known each other since we were kids. It would be a delight to make something for you, I promise."

Then, before Muffins could answer, she paused as a small group of the other villagers passed them by. Even with her less-than-ideal eyesight, she could see them as they gave her a funny look. A look that just immediately gave the impression that she wasn't even worth paying attention to. But as they finally walked past in earnest, she put on that same smile as before. "Sure, I'd love to join you tonight."

But Flash was not smiling as she was, instead looking to where those earlier villagers had walked, his expression one of annoyance. "I can tell them to back off, you know."

Muffins sighed. "It's okay. It doesn't bother me."

Flash looked to her, his gaze stern. "Muffins...we both know that isn't true."

The girl looked away, almost ashamed, as she held herself. "It's just...are you sure you want to spend time with me, Flash?"

Her companion's head tilted to the side slightly. "Why wouldn't I? We're friends. And we always will be."

Muffins grimaced briefly. "I just...I think you'd be better off making friends with others. Maybe a girl who's not...a girl who..."

Seeing her struggle here, Flash reached out, gently placing his hand upon her shoulder. "A girl who...what?"

Slowly, Muffins looked back to him, looking into his eyes as best she could. "Flash...I'm not...untouched."

Her friend, in spite of how she might have been feeling herself, smiled. "You think that's going to make me not want you in my life? You having...well...it doesn't make you unworthy of my friendship, Muffins."

Muffins' look of shame returned. "But I feel unworthy. I thought...I thought he cared...but he didn't. I was just...silly." A tear formed in one eye. "Just silly little Muffins, like they always say about me. Silly and stupid and getting things wrong."

Flash's prior look of sternness came back with a vengeance. "If there's anyone in the wrong here..." He pointed straight upwards. "It's him. He lied to you, he tricked you into accepting him, and he bears the blame." He glanced around to the rest of the village. "Whatever people may think...you will never be an unworthy person, Muffins."

The girl looked completely speechless, and even started to develop a fierce blush. The latter wasn't helped by the fact that Flash now reached forward, taking her hand into his own as a means of furthering his desire to comfort her. This action led Muffins to, unsurprisingly, move forward, embracing her childhood friend in a hug. Flash, though taken aback by this gesture, nevertheless returned it, a smile on his face as always. The two of them didn't care about whatever looks the other villagers might have been giving them at this point, and when they finally parted, Muffins stumbled a bit before finally speaking up. "So...shall we have that dinner?"

Flash, still holding her hand, smiled further. "Miss Muffins...it would be my pleasure."

But unbeknown to them, or anyone else for that matter, it was not simply the eyes of the villagers who were upon them right now. For high, high up in the skies, sitting regally upon a large white cloud, was none other than Lady Celestia herself, who looked down to these two youths with an air of satisfaction about her. In her hand was a still-steaming cup of tea, which she now took a careful sip of, and as she sat there she could sense the presence of another approaching from behind. "I should have guessed you'd be here, Cadance. Come to enjoy this pleasant moment?"

Cadance, for her part, sat just beside her aunt, conjuring up some tea for herself, a happy smile as she too looked down upon the two as they made their way back to Flash's home. "Well, you know me, Auntie. When a spark of love is sensed, I just can't help but want to witness it. Even in these early days."

Celestia raised her cup. "I'll drink to that."

The two clinked their cups against one another, but as Celestia took another sip, Cadance cast her a knowing smirk. "You know, it really is fortunate that Flash just happened to meet her while she was feeling this way. Good for them both to have someone who cares about the other."

Celestia nodded, matching her smile. "Yes, quite."

"In fact..." Cadance mused, never letting her eyes leave the older Goddess. "We should be grateful that Flash ran out of those particular groceries today. At the exact moment Muffins too would be at the market."

"Indeed," Celestia agreed.

Cadance tapped the end of her own chin. "You know, it's funny. Because I could've sworn the boy already had those fruits...right up until the moment when he opened his cupboard to find then. Then, all of a sudden, poof, like they were never there."

"Hmmm, fascinating. How terribly inconvenient for him," Celestia said, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"But most convenient for this caring connection we have down there right now, wouldn't you agree?" Cadance pressed.

"Oh, certainly," Celestia concurred.

Slowly, Cadance gently swirled the remains of her tea within her cup, keeping her smirk. "Out of interest, Auntie, when you promised that boy that his friend would be 'given a good life', this wouldn't, by any chance, have been part of that promise, would it?"

Celestia remained silent, then, after taking the last sip of her tea, she looked her niece in the eye and smiled slyly. "My dear Cadance...I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"Tia, I know this is something you feel you need to do...but why do I need to be the one to help you do it?" Luna asked.

The high Goddess smiled to her younger sister. "Because there are few that I trust in this world more than you, sister. Because it takes place during the night, and you're the Goddess of...well...you know. And most importantly..." She placed one hand upon her hip. "What else were you doing tonight?"

Luna grumbled. "Normally I'd be having my fight with Tantabus. But apparently she wants a break tonight so...guess my night's free."

Celestia smiled. "Excellent. Now, if you'll excuse me..." She turned, with Luna close behind, and the sisters took only a few steps away from where they had been before reaching their destination. It was a magnificent boat-like structure, upon which was a very comfortable-looking bed. Celestia, pressing down on it with her hand, took on a look of satisfaction. "Yes, very nice." Taking a moment to get herself in a good position on it, she rested her head upon its pillow, smiling as she closed her eyes. "I wish you luck, sister."

Luna rolled her eyes. "I assure you, Tia, I don't need luck." With those final words, the boat started to lift, and the two were carried along with it. Night had fallen, and so Luna's eyes were sharper than ever as she peered through the darkness. On and on they floated, heading for what appeared to be the peak of a mountaintop. With a loud snap of her fingers, Luna conjured forth a door in said peak, which opened with a distinct creaking sound. With the gateway now open, the golden boat entered, and the aforementioned gates, naturally, closed behind them, prompting a quick shake of the head by Luna. "Always so dramatic." She chuckled shortly afterwards. "Then again, drama is the name of the game tonight." Looking ahead, she could see a bright red glow, which was soon revealed to be, of all things, a group of fire-breathing snakes. Several on either side of them. Smiling, Luna gave a quick wave to the first of them. "Morning, Tony."

The snake in question ceased its fire-breathing to wave back to her with the tip of his tail. "And to you, Lulu."

Luna grimaced slightly. "Oh, Celestia just had to tell people my nickname, didn't she?" But she had no time to dwell on that, as their boat soon came upon a massive gate, far larger than the one they'd entered through before, and atop its vast walls were yet further snakes, though ones that would dwarf those they'd encountered already. Luna, however, was unconcerned, stepping forward and giving a slight bow of her head. "A pleasant night to you all. May we pass?"

The snakes glanced to one another before bowing simultaneously to the Lady of the Night. "You may, missssssssstresssssss."

Luna held back a snicker. "And there's the drawn out S's. Knew they were coming eventually." But she remembered her courtesies, giving a second thankful bow to the gate's protectors. Like every other opening she'd been through tonight, there was a loud creak as it allowed her entry, and as the boat passed on through she quickly noticed the many people on the other side. They were all regally dressed, clearly people of power, and as they lined the path, they were concerned not with Luna but with talking to one another. But then, this suited Luna just fine, as she kept her gaze forward, hoping that she wouldn't have to converse with any of therm.

Alas, this was not to be, as one of them cheerily waved to her. "Yoohoo!"

Luna grimaced, then forced a smile as she looked to the caller. "King Jacob. Always a pleasure."

The deceased monarch grinned widely. "Did I ever tell you the time my kingdom rivalled and outgrew every other nation around it?"

Luna nodded. "Yes...yes you did...a thousand times now, if I recall."

Jacob began to speak again, only to be kept from doing so by another fallen King, who clamped his mouth shut before giving a knowing nod to the visiting Goddess. "Safe journeys, my lady. We'll keep him quiet."

Luna gave a smile, and a genuine one this time. "Thanks to thee, Michael." She travelled onwards, casting an annoyed glance back to her still-slumbering sibling, before again focusing on what was ahead. Another gate came along, and like all before it the thing opened for her, letting them both pass into the next stage of their journey. Here, things became somewhat bleaker, as she was now in none other than the underworld itself, along its grey and murky river to be exact. She could hear the wails of those mortal souls who were only just arriving and realising their situation, but instead of focusing on that Luna instead looked ahead to those more familiar to her. "Lord Sombra. Lady Radiant."

The rulers of the Underworld looked to her, smiling. "Ah, Luna. Another night like all the others?" Radiant asked.

Luna sighed. "Indeed. Hopefully this trip won't be quite as taxing for me as the last time."

Sombra chuckled. "Luna, friend, we both know you're not that lucky."

As before, Luna grimaced. "Thank you, Sombra. Your cheerful optimism is always welcome in these dark days."

The Lord gave a bow. "Just doing my job."

Luna, who could still hear the godly couple snickering behind her, kept her eyes on the gateway ahead, and as she and he boat entered it she looked down and past the boat itself to what should have been the river. However, in this latest stage there was no water to speak of, and instead she looked at the scales of, of all things, another snake. Though this was one far larger and more imposing than anything the mortal world had to offer. Luna, being a Goddess, naturally had no issue with this gargantuan reptile that now served as their highway, and took a moment to sit upon the boat's edge as she slowly hummed to herself to pass the time. Time passed and she watched as place after place after place went by. A lake where a giant falcon plummeted especially bad souls into it, a domain where yet another giant snake came along to try and swallow them, only to be battered away effortlessly by Luna, it was quite a ride.

"Baa!" The sound of the creatures nearby stirred Luna from her complacency, and she glanced sideways to see a small group of rams walking alongside their boat as it moved.

She smiled to them, even reaching out to pet one, before sighing to herself. "Never anything dull or ordinary for us divines, eh?" But her smile vanished as she began to enter a particularly quiet domain. Her eyes drifted upwards, and she saw the stern gaze of a number of people lining high places above her. They never spoke or even moved, they just watched her, alongside the imposing figure of a giant lion that stood beside them. Nobody said a word, and Luna contented herself with simply passing along without incident. Thankfully, this happened fairly swiftly, and she found herself and the boat in their next location. And, much to Luna's delight, the next place, while also possessing people to look to them, actually waved and cheered and greeted her far more positively, to which she regained her earlier smile. "Now this is far more pleasant," she said to herself.

Sadly, she was soon to be shaken out of her contentment by the sudden and loud riffing of a guitar, which was soon followed by a great many other guitars. It was quite a noise, and even the Goddess of the Moon had to cover her ears over it. She looked around, seeing several massive women breathing fire, who looked down ominously to the unfortunate souls who had found themselves in this place. Even though these giantesses did indeed see Luna a couple of times, they ignored her, preferring instead to make things as wretched as possible for the mortals down here. Luna, though clearly disturbed by being here, and who could blame her, got back to her focus to look ahead and watch out for danger.

However, it was lucky for her that this was where her and Celestia's journey now came to a head. For after passing through a long period of darkness, there was a literal light at the end of the tunnel, and before long both Goddesses and their boat were once more in the domain of the living. The vessel carried on down gentle and serene waters for a time, until it finally slowed to a halt, giving Luna a chance to sigh with relief now that the whole ordeal was over. But then her sense of grumpiness returned to her as she walked over to where Celestia had been sleeping this whole time, before poking her in the cheek. "Okay, time to get up."

And get up she did, opening one eye followed by the other. Letting out a long yawn, the high Goddess sat upright, glanced around to the calm surroundings she now had, before smiling to her younger sister. "What did I tell you? Sleeping on a journey through the under-realms really does wonders for backache."

Luna shook her head, turning around to walk away. "Next time, just get a chiropractor like the rest of us."

"Yohoho and a bottle of rum!"

"Frank! For the last time! I'm sick of that shanty! And besides, we don't have any rum!"

"Why don't we have any rum?!"

"Because it's all gone!"

"Why is the rum always gone?!"

"Will you two zip it already?!" All eyes turned to the owner of the final voice. A towering and imposing-looking woman, whose sword gleamed in the light of the high noon. All the other sailors aboard the vessel immediately kept silent, showing their Captain her due deference. As the waves lashed against the bow of her ship, the woman simply smiled, as though the feel of them sailing through these violent waters was the most enjoyable thing in the world to her. But all good things must come to an end eventually, and as she turned she looked to an especially diminutive member of her crew. "Finick. How fares our plunder? I assume we got a good haul this time?"

Her crew-member, a much shorter man, adjusted his glasses before looking to the ledger in his hands. "Well, it wasn't the biggest port we'd raided, but we did manage to get several crates worth of food and fabric. Enough to keep us fed and our sails in good order for some weeks."

The Captain smirked. "Not too shabby if ah do say so mahself." Then her smirk faded, replaced instead with a look of annoyance. "Although, we might have managed ta get some decent gold or silver if somebody hadn't decided to try and go for the kid back there!"

After casting nervous glances at one another, one of the other crew stepped forward. "Well, he didn't run like the others, so, figured he'd go for a good price at the shadier markets? Or a least make a decent cabin boy?"

The Captain rolled her eyes. "First of all, we don't take people as booty, you flounder! Draws too much unwanted attention. And besides..." She arched an eyebrow as she looked past the group behind her. "He's a bit on the scrawny side to be good at any work we'd want him to do."

Her underling cleared his throat, though in a clearly-nervous manner. "Well...maybe we could motivate him? You know, let him know it'd be good to just go along with what we want?" After a long silence, he continued. "I mean threaten him, you know?"

The Captain gave herself a facepalm. "Yes, yes, we got ye the first time." A moment went by and she eventually let out a sigh. "Alright you lot,. Get back to work. Ah'll look the kid over mahself." Such was the effect of her authority that she got an immediate response of salutes before a flurry of activity, as every hand on deck got back to what they'd been doing before this conversation had started. As for the Captain, she made good on her word, striding forward and heading for the back of her ship. Sure enough, there he was, a youngish-looking lad with slightly unkempt green hair, looking far less concerned with this situation than anyone else would be, much to the Captain's amusement. "So, ah'm bettin' ya weren't much of a thinkin' boy, jus' standin' there while we took ya?"

The boy in question, sitting cross-legged on the edge of the ship, had his arms tied to the side of his body with expertly-knotted rope. And yet, despite his clearly perilous circumstances, he looked bored more than anything else, which was reflected in his tone when he finally spoke. "Oh, I think plenty. For instance, I'm thinking it's not going to look good for you and your crew to be pirating like this."

The Captain chuckled. "We've been doin' this fer some time, my lad. Ah promise ya, ain't nobody on these ere high seas who can contend with the likes o' Captain Celaeno an' her merry band!"

The boy arched an eyebrow. "Oh, I'm sure you've made a name for yourself and all, but I wasn't talking about law-enforcement..." He glanced to the side. "Assuming people actually start making some of course," he grumbled. Then he looked upwards, to the cloudy skies above them. "I was thinking...higher powers."

But Celaeno waved him off. "Oh, I assure ya, not even the gods are gonna bother us. I mean they've got big monsters an' world-shapin' stuff ta deal with most days. Ya think they'll take time out o' their day ta jus' do somethin' bout little old us?"

Here, the boy smirked. "Oh, you'd be surprised just how much micromanaging they'd be willing to do...when circumstances present themselves."

Celaeno eyed him carefully. "What, ye some kind o' priest in-training or somethin'?"

The boy considered that. "Well, you got the 'in-training' part down right at least."

Celaeno was getting irked with his attitude now, and so drew her sword, putting its point right up against his throat. Though again, she found herself irritated when this action did nothing to actually intimidate him. "What's yer name, lad?"

The boy shrugged. "Oh, you can call me Spike."

To that, Celaeno gave a guffaw. "Really? Like that mini-God? Wow, yer parents must have been really devout."

Again, Spike mused on that. "Hmmm...yes, you could say that. But enough about me. Let's talk about you."

Celaeno resumed her earlier smirk. "Ah, mah favorite topic."

An eye-roll from Spike before he started talking again. "Okay, here it goes. I'm going to give you a chance to let me go."

A pause, and then Celaeno snickered. "Er...pardon?"

Spike shrugged again. "You heard me. Untie me, let me go, return the things you took from that town, vow never to go pirating again, and that'll be the end of it. We can all walk away and never hear of each other again, and everyone can go on with the rest of their lives." His expression grew darker. "But if you don't, if you insist on keeping me, and in continuing your life of crime and violence...there will be dire consequences, for both you and your crew." Taking a deep breath, he sighed. "So...what'll it be?"

Celaeno, looking around like she was expecting someone to jump out and yell "gotcha", soon looked like she was more amused than at any other time of her life. "Oh wow, yer a funny one, ah'll grant ye that. But here's mah counter-offer." She again placed the tip of her sword against Spike's throat. "We'll keep our plunder, we'll keep our life o' piratin', an' most importantly, we'll keep the mouthy one who decided it was a good idea ta threaten the woman who has a sword on him." Her grin grew wicked. "But don't be sad, kiddo. As it happens yer a right pretty one. So maybe ah'll jus' keep ya fer mahself. Won't that be fun?"

Spike unleashed the longest sigh yet, and after shaking his head he looked up to the sky. "Well, let it never be said that I didn't give them a chance." Before Celeano could say anything in response to that, she was stunned to find that the boy's ropes had suddenly transformed into flimsy-looking vines, which he effortless snapped himself out of before jumping up to stand on his own two feet. Naturally, the Captain would want to try and defend herself against what he had planned, but she was soon distracted by the sudden screams of her crew. She whipped around, her eyes widening with horror when she saw that, of all things, her mast and oars and somehow transformed themselves into massive and murderous-looking snakes, which now coiled around all of her sailors and squeezed them tightly. Celaeno too had a barrage of the deadly reptiles some for her, but she dodged and waved past them all, heading away from Spike as she did so.

"What in the name of...?!" Her confusion was grown further when, all of a sudden, she found herself clasping her hands over her ears to keep herself from being deafened by an unexpected arrival of massively loud flute noises. Where this cacophony was coming from she had no idea, but she and everyone else here was being driven nuts by the sound of it, especially those that couldn't cover their ears thanks to the aforementioned snakes. Celaeno's eyes darted all over, and it was right around here when she discovered that the wooden planks of her ship were all creaking and cracking, with rapidly-growing vines of ivy creeping in between them and from every direction. Some of her crew, having wormed their way out of their snakey bindings, elected to scream wildly before throwing themselves overboard. Celaeno, seeing which way the wind was blowing, figuratively of course, decided that she had little choice but to do the same. Better the dangerous waves than whatever madness was going on here of course. But as she reached the edge of her now-transforming vessel, she cast one final glance at Spike, who was casually leaning against the edge of the boat himself, smirking to her and giving her a quick goodbye salute. "Kid...yer trouble," she finally said.

Spike watched as his would-be captor leapt from the ship, and he sauntered over, with all the vines, snakes and music around him subsiding as he did so. Leaning over, he watched as the sailors and Celaeno tried desperately to swim against the raging current, though their chances of doing so were slim. Seeing that, the young God shook his head with disappointment. "Well, maybe I'll let them come back as dolphins. It's the least I could do." Then he paused. "Well...unless Adagio's kids eat them afterwards."

Before anyone asks, yes, I am indeed terrible at capturing the personality of Captain Celaeno. I just needed a pirate for this scenario and she's the franchises most famous one, so...yeah, sorry Captain

"I swear, those mortals down there are getting more and more disrespectful by the day! Attendances at the festivals have been plummeting, the number of prayers I've had to answer have been totally lacking in any kind of proper etiquette, and don't even get me started on how many youths try to use our statues as just 'places to hang out'. Ugh! What a world!" Rarity was, as her tone probably gave away, rather upset right now, and not even sipping on her usual-calming tea was enough to get her out of it. Sitting there, at the edge of her cloud, looking down to the mortal world, the Goddess really was quite miffed, so it was something of a relief for her when, to her slight surprise, Fluttershy walked alongside her to sit and give her some company. She smiled, though it faded again as she looked to the Earth. "Don't you ever feel disappointed in them, Fluttershy? It really does feel like they just don't love us like they're supposed to."

Fluttershy smiled to her, reaching out and patting her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Rarity. These things come and go. I remember my Mother telling me about how she used to feel unappreciated in her time too. But then centuries passed and people eventually started respecting her again."

Rarity grimaced. "I don't want to have to wait centuries, Fluttershy! I want them to respect us now!" She set her cup aside, standing tall and pointing down to the mortal world in fury. "You know what? I should go down there right now and give those mortals a piece of my mind! Why, just the other day I saw one of them use one of our statues as a place to tie up one end of their clothes' lines! Can you believe it?!"

Fluttershy, still sitting, gestured to that same world. "We can't just go around causing problems for the mortals, Rarity. You heard Lady Celestia. There's been too much of our kind going down there and messing things up for people."

Rarity looked insulted by her words. "But...but...what about Spikey-Wikey?! Didn't he take down an entire ship of people only last week?!"

Fluttershy arched an eyebrow. "Rarity...they were pirates...who had just raided a whole town...and were planning on selling Spike. I'd say he was well within his rights to give them a strict talking to."

This time it was Rarity's turn to look incredulous. "A strict talking to? Is that what we're calling that kind of punishment now?"

Looking away, Fluttershy started twirling some of her long pink hair in one finger. "The point is that we can't just go down there and cause havoc because we're a little annoyed by them. And I'd say smiting because of a casual use of statues is going overboard, don't you?"

Folding her arms, Rarity let out a huff. "Hmph! I should've turned that woman into a spider while I had the chance!" Then she sighed, looking at least a little bit better. "I suppose...it would be rather excessive for me to just act vengeful right now." Then, after pausing for a good long while, the Goddess started to ponder her situation, tapping the end of her chin. "Fluttershy...the word is that we Goddesses aren't allowed to actively go against mortals, yes?"

Fluttershy glanced to her, her eyebrow still kept up high, just in case. "...Yes?"

Nodding slowly, a small smile formed on Rarity's lips. "Did Celestia ever say anything about us getting someone else to go against them?"

Fluttershy, upon hearing that, took a deep breath before sighing. "This is going to end badly, isn't it?"

Rarity looked to her. "No, it's perfect! We get some other person to convince mortals to respect us more, and we get to avoid accusations of having broken the rules!"

As before, Fluttershy looked unconvinced. "Sounds like a distinction without a difference."

Rarity waved her off. "Oh please, like I'd be the first person to get what I want on a technicality." Then she started to think again. "Now then...I can't ask other Gods to do this, because that would be breaking the rules again, and I can't ask anyone among the mortals to do it because, well, they're the ones we're trying to change. I could maybe ask one of the magical beasts, but they're not exactly in my pocket right now." After a while, she let out a sigh of her own. "Well, looks like there's no choice. I'll have to make one myself."

Fluttershy stared at her. "You're...going to make a beast?"

Standing tall, Rarity placed her hands upon her hips and nodded firmly. "It's the only option I've got! Now then..." She grimaced as one hand reached up top her own face. "If I remember the old lessons, this is going to take...some drastic measures."

Fluttershy winced as she saw what her friend was about to do, and with a loud "pop" she watched as Rarity pulled out her own right eye. As she looked to her fellow Goddess hold her now-dismembered body part in her own hand, Fluttershy couldn't help but feel queasy. "And people wonder why we divines seem so odd to mortals sometimes."

Then Rarity, with a snap of her free hand, immediately conjured a brand new eye in her empty socket, replacing the one she'd taken out. After blinking a couple of times to make sure it was in there properly, she looked down to Fluttershy, who looked back to her with confusion, prompting a shrug on Rarity's part. "What? You didn't think I was going to go without both of my beautiful eyes for the rest of my life, did you?" After seeing Fluttershy give a disapproving shake of her head, Rarity looked to her other eye, in her hand. "Okay, let's see if I can do this." Placing her other hand upon it, she began to channel her divine energies into it. Concentrating hard, she watched as the eye began to glow, floating out of her hand and some distance in front of her. "It's...it's working!"

Fluttershy sighed again. "Yes...that's what I'm afraid of."

The glow on the eye grew brighter and brighter, and within moments there was a massive flash, prompting both Goddesses to shield their eyes. When the light faded, and they looked on at where the eye had been, they instead saw a very memorable sight. At first glance, the figure before them had the shape of a human, a woman specifically, clad in garb similar to the two of them. But upon closer inspection, it was clear that her features were closer to that of a cat than a human. A tail, pointed ears, claws, and most importantly, a pair of piercing green eyes, which narrowed with fury. "I am Opalescence! Brought forth to the world to enact punishment upon those who would dare show disrespect to my creator and her ilk!"

Blinking in disbelief a couple of times, Rarity soon clapped her hands together merrily. "Oh, how delightful! Now then, go on down there and tell the humans as clearly as you can that they need to start showing us our due deference."

Opalescence's claws grew sharper, and she grinned wickedly. "With...pleasure."

The two Goddesses watched as she darted downwards, straight for the mortal world, and after seeing her go, Rarity took on a satisfied smile. "Well then, I'd say it won't be long now before those silly mortals start behaving properly."

Fluttershy looked to her with her incredulity growing by the moment. "Rarity...you don't see anything potentially, um, dangerous about what you just unleashed down there, do you?"

Like before, Rarity waved her off. "Oh pish, darling. There's nothing at all controversial about my choice here. As soon as the mortals see how serious we are about their recent poor attitudes, I'm sure they'll turn things around immediately." Then, to the shock of both of them, they began to hear a number of screams from down below, causing them both to look down to the mortal realm yet again. "What's going on down there?!" Rarity demanded to know.

Fluttershy, looking down herself, gulped. "If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say it's the mortals realising how 'serious' you're being?"

Slowly, and after watching more of what was going on down there, Rarity's eyes widened. "...I've made a huge mistake, haven't I?"

A firm nod from Fluttershy. "Oh yeah."

With a quick snap of her fingers, Rarity magically called Opalescence back to her, and naturally the latter looked a little irritated at being back here so quickly. "...What?" She asked with an annoyed tone.

Sighing, Rarity put on her most calm and reasoned voice. "Opal, dearest...I think you might be going a touch too far."

Folding her arms, Opalescence arched an eyebrow. "What? You wanted respect, so I made it clear that bad thing were gonna happen to them if they didn't give you that."

Rarity nodded. "Yes, yes, you did do that...but I couldn't help but notice that your methods included setting fire to one of their houses, and then grabbing onto a random mortal as they ran to escape before lifting him up in preparation to eat him!"

Opalescence frowned. "Yeah...and you brought me here before I could do that." She grumbled afterwards. "And I was hungry too."

Seeing this, Rarity slowly looked to Fluttershy. "Okay...you can say it."

Folding her own arms, Fluttershy took on a look of satisfaction. "You dun goofed."

Rarity groaned. "Yep, there it is." Rubbing her temples, she sighed again. "You know what, this was a bad call. I need to fix this."

Seeing her raise her fingers a second time, Opalescence started to look worried. "Wait, what?"

Then the snap came, and after a bright flash of light, the once-imposing feline lady was now nothing more than a small and fluffy white cat, with no unusual traits whatsoever, save for the look of perpetual irritation she now had. Rarity, picking her up, smiled to her. "Oh, don't you worry, Opal. Rarity's going to take good care of you."

Opal hissed, prompting a sceptical look on Fluttershy's part. "I think you'll need to keep an eye on her, just in case."

Rarity nodded. "Oh, certainly. I just hope Lady Celestia doesn't find out about this."

"Do you honestly believe there was a chance I wouldn't?" a familiar voice said to the two of them from behind.

If possible, Rarity's face turned even whiter, and after gulping with nervousness, she let her shoulders slump. "Well...let it never be said she's got a slow response time."

It went without saying, but heights were something that Gods and Goddesses had to deal with on a pretty regular basis. It often created a sense of detachment from the world below, a division between the realm of mortals and those immortals charged with safeguarding it. But at other times, it simply gave a sense of wonder, to look down at that vast and seemingly-endless place and know that, at any given moment, there was some wonderful story unfolding. Twilight often thought of this, sitting on the edge of her cloud in a long silence, her eyes drifting over all that she surveyed. Occasionally she'd spot a mortal or two, even from this distance, and smile as she watched them go about their lives. Sometimes it was a grand and epic adventure, and other times it would simply be a case of them living out their daily routine. All brought her joy to see, doubly so when she considered that a day of peace usually meant a day of safety for those she cared so much for. A deep exhale escaped her as she leaned back slightly, letting the gentle breeze flow over her face. "Wonderful."

"It is, isn't it?" a second voice said to her.

Twilight didn't even turn to look, yet smiled all the same, and before long Sunset was getting herself comfortable right beside her. She was carrying a couple of small clay cups, one for herself and one to offer, which Twilight graciously accepted. Taking a quick sniff of the aromatic liquid within, her smile grew. "Ambrosia?"

Sunset smirked, raising her glass. "Only the best." They clinked their cups together, taking a quick sip of it simultaneously, before again turning their attention to the Earth. "So, anything interesting on the grapevine?"

Twilight giggled. "Well, you didn't hear it from me, but it appears our dear old Flash is planning on asking a rather important question to that nice Muffins girl."

A warm smile came to Sunset. "I'm happy to hear it. Though two have been through a lot. Good to know they can have a happy day together."

Twilight looked to her slyly. "Thanks in no small part to your mother, I'm guessing?"

Sunset chuckled. "Oh, I've no doubt. Mother always knows how to have a subtle hand in these things." Looking down, Sunset again raised her cup. "Well, here's to the happy couple."

Twilight followed suit. "May their days be long and prosperous."

"I'll drink to that," a boisterous voice from behind called.

Both of the Goddesses turned to see that it was their other five friends, prompting wide smiles for both of them. Before long all of them were seated together, all sharing in the heavenly drink that they so adored, looking out at the world they had done so much for. "Hey, guess what? Zephyr's actually acting pretty decently these days," Rainbow commented, followed by a quick laugh on her part. "Took him long enough."

Fluttershy sighed. "Well, when one has Celestia of all people keeping an eye on you, you tend to start being careful." She paused, then blushed as she looked to Sunset. "Oh, no offence."

Sunset smirked right back to her. "Hey, none taken."

Rarity, sweeping aside some of her hair, looked to the Goddess of nature with some concern. "Well, let us hope for his sake he does not lapse back into his old ways. I hear Celestia has more than a few colorful punishments for those who stray too much."

Fluttershy, after considering that, actually cracked a smile. "If that does happen, I hope she goes for the one where he's stuck waist-deep in cold water. That'll at least help with his more...obvious issues."

Pinkie looked to her with amusement. "Dang, Fluttershy, when did you get so savage?"

Fluttershy shrugged to that. "Goddess of nature, Pinkie. Savagery comes with the territory."

They all shared a laugh at that, and when it was over, Applejack, after adjusting her hat slightly, looked over to a particular spot on the world beneath them. A vast forest land, which seemed to cause her to smirk slightly. "Ah heard a might interestin' story from little Bloom earlier. Turns out young Spike tried his hand at wardin' off mortals goin' ta the sacred forest."

Twilight, hearing of the young God's antics, looked to her with curiosity. "Oh? You mean where mortals who enter have to pay the toll with a trinket or give up their...um...purity?"

Applejack snickered. "Eyup, that's the one."

This time it was Twilight's turn to smirk. "A bit early for him to take on that role, isn't it? Dare I ask how it went?"

Applejack sighed. "Not as well as he'd have hoped, ah bet. He did the usual thing, warding the girl off, but it kinda turns out she entered that forest without any offerin's whatsoever. Seemed kinda eager ta meet him in fact."

A blush came to Twilight after hearing that. "Oh...oh!"

Applejack nodded. "Eyyyyyyyup. One o' those days."

Rainbow arched an eyebrow. "Wow, boy's got game. But, then again, he does have those three girls chasing after him too." A simultaneous look of worry and curiosity came to her. Er, did those three get involved?"

Applejack resumed her smile. "Oh yeah. They zipped on down before the mortal could try anythin' else. Shooed her off with a broom an' everythin'."

As before, they all laughed together, Sunset shaking her head to the whole scenario. "I swear, that boy's growing into quite the heart-breaker. Still, nobody got hurt, and that's the important thing."

Pinkie giggled. "Bet that Timber guy wished he could say that about himself. He has not had a lucky year."

Fluttershy smiled to her. "Actually, I hear he's actually doing a lot better now."

Pinkie turned to her with interest. "Oh yeah?"

Fluttershy nodded before answering. "He's taken up with a new preacher. Met the man once. Nice fellow. Hope things go well for him."

Rainbow snorted. "Knowing him, any time away from us lot will be a relief for him. I mean, did you hear how things went with him when Sonata set her eyes on him?!"

Rarity let out a quick huff. "Quite. Attractive he may be, but a lady simply does not go around acting that way, regardless of how insatiable her libido might be." She frowned shortly afterwards. "That kind of behaviour is far more suited to certain lightning Gods."

Pinkie, in stark contrast to her usual attitude, joined her in her frown. "Oh no, is that guy from the other pantheon visiting again soon?"

Rarity sighed. "Alas yes. Here's hoping he's a touch more gentlemanly with Celestia next time he arrives...though I wouldn't hold my breath."

Twilight, in spite of how uncomfortable those last few moments of the conversation had been, couldn't help but smile to everything. The sun was shining brightly on them all right now, and all her friends were here, smiling, laughing and just generally having a good time of it. It was something Sunset too had noticed, and as she looked to her spectacled lover, she took a moment to put one arm around her, holding her close. "So, whatcha thinking about?"

Twilight, adjusting her glasses slightly, let out a contented sigh before answering. "Oh...us, our friends, this world, our role in it. That sort of thing."

Sunset smirked. "Ah, just little things then."

Twilight rolled her eyes, then looked back to her with more affection. "It's one of those things we tend not to think about too much...but in quiet times like this, it really does dawn on you...we live forever, Sunset. We live forever, and we're charged with safeguarding a whole world, a whole people. It's, well, not to put it mildly, but it's kind of a big job."

Sunset nodded, maintaining her smile to her. "Until you retire of course."

Twilight giggled. "Well, that won't be for centuries yet. Possibly even millennia. There's still plenty to do until then. And besides..." She looked to Sunset with love in her eyes. "When we do retire, that'll just mean we have all of eternity together. All that time to do whatever we want."

Sunset's smirk returned. "I like the sound of that."

They drew n closer, but before their lips could actually make contact, they were interrupted when, all of a sudden, Pinkie tapped Sunset on the shoulder, drawing their attention to her. "Ah, ah, ah, lovebirds. There's still the matter of fun to be had."

Slowly, Sunset arched an eyebrow. "Kinda what we were about to have, Pinkie," she remarked with no small measure of annoyance.

Rainbow, who had also been watching, chuckled. "Pinkie's not wrong. This job might be a big responsibility, but there's no reason we can't enjoy it. I hear even Celestia enjoyed a good prank every once in a while. So hey, none of this serious talk about roles over humanity and all that junk. Let's just kick back and enjoy this sweet thing we've got going...within reason of course. No need to go overboard."

Applejack took her hat off, using it to blow some cool air onto her face. "Hehe, she ain't wrong. We're Goddesses, friends. Might as well enjoy it."

Twilight and Sunset paused, then looked lovingly to each other once more. "Well then..." Twilight started, raising her still-half-full cup of ambrosia. "Here's to an eternity of fun."

Sunset matched her look, raising her cup and, without a word, finally moving forward and kissing her beloved, after which she gave a small nod. "And the ones we have fun with."

Coming up with endings is far from easy for me, but I like to think that, when dealing with a story of deities, this kind of conclusion will suffice for those who have stayed with it. And speaking of whom, I hope you've all enjoyed this weird anthology, and thank you for waiting as long as you have for me to finally bring it to some sort of close