Epilogue
"Surprise!"
Twilight grinned fondly as Pinkie sprang from unsubtle ambush the moment the tree door swung open. Even without her new senses telling her who was inside, she would have expected it from the pink pony.
"Welcome home!"
That came from five throats, and the mad stampede of her friends faltered only due to the sight of Luna stepping in behind her. The alicorn smiled and waved a hoof at them. "Don't mind me. I know you haven't seen your friend for a while."
The greetings were more restrained, but no less heartfelt. Twilight exchanged hugs and greetings, feeling an even deeper respect for her friends from the perspective her new godhood granted her. She could see deeper than was really comfortable, and how hard they worked to perform their everyday miracles was humbling even - or especially - to a goddess.
Eventually Rarity bobbed an abbreviated bow to Luna. "We didn't expect to see you here, Princess. May I ask what brings you by?"
Luna gave the group a winning smile. "I'm moving in."
There was a half-second of stunned silence before Pinkie Pie began bouncing happily. "Oooh we can have a welcoming party and for royalty! What should a royal party be like? Lots of crowns, that's what, and Gummy would look great in a crown. I wonder where I can get bulk crowns."
"Pinkie Pie," Twilight said with amused exasperation. "Shh." She let a flicker of power into her voice, and the earth pony looked surprised as her volume was abruptly squelched. Twilight looked around at her friends. "I - or rather, we - have a couple of announcements for you."
"The first," Luna said, drawing their attention, "is that Twilight and I -" The alicorn balked from finishing the sentence under the combined gaze of five relative strangers, and the unicorn took up the thread of conversation.
"We're together. Fillyfriends. Whatever you want to call it. That's why she's moving in." The silence was even more thunderous this time, and Luna spoke into it quietly.
"It's not a secret, but I'd prefer it not be gossip, either." The alicorn looked around at them. "A lot happened on that trip, so this isn't as arbitrary as it may seem. Twilight?"
They'd discussed the best way to reveal the unicorn's new status. Twilight had no doubt her friends would believe her, but sudden divinity was a difficult pill to swallow, even for them. They had finally decided on the direct approach. The unicorn freed the power and presence within her, and light blazed forth into the room.
It wasn't silence now. There was a faint singing, humming noise that accompanied the coruscating brilliance radiating from the unicorn. Spike, knowing what to expect, had donned dark glasses. Twilight couldn't begrudge him that; he was, after all, sitting on her back and closest to the conflagration. She let it blaze for a few seconds, and then pulled her godhead back into place.
"I'm not just a unicorn anymore," she told them. "Like Luna said... a lot happened. I'm, um, technically a goddess now." She gave them her best smile, though she saw poor Fluttershy was already terrified. The yellow pegasus clung close to Rainbow Dash, and Twilight's eyes narrowed in sudden suspicion. The auras of those two were mingled, and Twilight wondered how many secrets were plain under the eyes of a god.
But it wasn't her business, so Twilight ignored that particular revelation as Applejack spoke up. "So, uh, does this mean we're supposed to bow now or something?"
"No!" The unicorn shook her head. "No, I still want to be your friend Twilight Sparkle. I know that things are different now, that this isn't just a talent or a skill. You liked me for who I am, but who I am is not quite the same." She looked around at the other five ponies.
"Not even Celestia is sure exactly what I am now. Things might be... somewhat strange from now on. I only hope that you can remain my friends, no matter how I've changed."
The silence stretched on. Twilight shared a glance with Luna, knowing that it was this sort of reaction that had isolated the alicorn in the first place, and the other goddess didn't have the benefit of already having fast friends.
The voice that finally broke the rising tension was soft and uncertain, but all the more significant because of that hesitancy. "You've always been a good friend to us, Twilight, no matter what we were like or what we did," Fluttershy said. "And I don't see why it should be any different now. Um... right?" She trailed off, looking at the others.
"Right!" Rainbow Dash agreed firmly from her place next to Fluttershy. "There's no way I'm going to let a little thing like this change our friendship!"
Rarity shook herself, emerging from an open-mouthed reverie with a determined look on her face. "Absolutely, Rainbow Dash. Why, this just means we have another pony in our little circle." She ducked her head to Luna again.
"I don't know much about gods or royalty or any of that," Applejack added. "But I've never done wrong by you in the past, and I don't think I will now, either."
Twilight looked at Pinkie Pie, not entirely certain what to expect from her oddball friend, but she wasn't disappointed as the pink pony bounced and beamed hugely. "Wow! Can you do that 'shh' thing again? That was awesome! I was all talking like this!"
Twilight let out a relieved breath as her friends crowded in around her and Luna, her heart light within her. "You are all the best friends any pony could ask for," she told them. "And now..." She waved a hoof at the cake, balloons, and other accouterments that had been forgotten after Luna had stepped through the door. "I think we have a party to get to."
•••
"Twilight! Luna! Message from Princess Celestia!" The two ponies looked up from where they were collaborating over a mass of papers, to be bound eventually into manuscript form. Twilight had gotten the accounts from Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash and had hopes of putting together the text at the same time she was detailing her own adventure.
Spike waved the bound parchment at them as he finished climbing the stairs. It was unusual for the mail to be addressed to both of them; Twilight's role as student - now in both magic and divine - and Luna's role as princess did not often coincide, so it had to be a personal message. "Thank you, Spike," the unicorn said. "Let's hear it!"
She could have read it directly without ever taking it from Spike's claws, of course, but she'd found that she vastly preferred this way. Though she enjoyed being the goddess, she had to leave room for the pony.
"Of course." Spike unrolled the parchment and cleared his throat. "Dear Luna and Twilight," he said, emphasizing the missing titles. "I would like to come by this evening to discuss a personal matter with you. This isn't an official visit - or official request - by any means. At your convenience. Signed, Celestia."
"Do you know what this is about?" Twilight asked Luna, and the other mare shook her head.
"She didn't say anything to me," Luna said thoughtfully. "It must have just come up. I can't imagine what it could be."
"All right. Spike, a reply."
"Yes'm!" The dragon held up readied quill and parchment.
"Dear... Celestia." Twilight felt extremely strange omitting the title, but if the Princess had decided to be casual, it seemed that she should reply in kind. "Of course you can come by, any time you like. We'll be waiting." She looked over at Luna. "Anything to add?"
"If only there were a polite way to say 'don't keep us in suspense' to her," Luna said dryly. "I think she delights in this sort of thing. No, that sounds fine. Signed, Luna and Twilight."
"Luna and Twilight," Spike repeated, the scratch-scratch of the quill sounding before he rolled up the parchment and sent it on its way.
They only had to wait a scant hour before a flash of light, visible to all Twilight's senses, announced the arrival of the sun goddess. "Celestia!" There was no question of formality in private. The two ponies went to greet the new arrival, exchanging embraces.
"So, what's this all about, 'Tia?" Luna asked finally, sitting back and cocking her head at her sister.
"I want to beg a favor," Celestia said, looking from one to the other.
"Well, of course," Twilight laughed. "Anything you want. What is it?"
The alicorn didn't answer immediately. She turned to gaze out the window at the setting sun, looking pensive. "I am tired," she said at last. "I have spent the last thousand years raising sun and moon and administering to matters of state because there was no pony else to do it. I do not complain; it was my duty." The last word was said in sharp, ringing tones, as of struck steel.
"But now I can entrust the running of Equestria to you." She nodded to Luna. "And while Luna may not be able to raise the sun, you can." The alicorn looked at Twilight. "I want to take a vacation," she concluded. "But I cannot simply drop those responsibilities onto you, especially if you aren't ready for it."
Twilight was astounded. It was difficult to imagine Celestia being susceptible to such a mundane affliction as being tired. But she had no quibble with the alicorn's desire to take a break; she couldn't remember a day when the princess hadn't been busy morning to night, even and especially with the time she'd taken just for Twilight.
"Of course, 'Tia," Luna said, her voice gentle as it was only with Twilight and her sister. "I'd be glad to."
"Yes." Twilight nodded in agreement. "I'm sure between the two of us we can keep Equestria going for a week or so."
"Besides," Luna added, "if there's any protocol I've forgotten, I'm sure Twilight has read about it somewhere." She gave the unicorn a fond smile, and Twilight giggled.
"And perhaps it is not such a bad idea for the court to see the Princess and Princess-Consort working together," Celestia mused aloud, drawing a shared, embarrassed look from the other two ponies.
"So, when were you planning on the vacation?" Luna asked.
"It will take at least a week for the machinery to work its way through," Celestia told them. "In addition to whatever time you need to arrange yourself."
"A week should be fine," Twilight answered for both of them. She thought that would be enough time to square away things with her friends - though she suspected some, if not all of them would seize the excuse for an extended outing to Canterlot themselves.
"You already have it set up, don't you?" Luna asked, half amused, and Celestia grinned like a foal caught with her hoof in the cookie jar.
"So, where exactly are you planning to go for vacation?" Twilight was glad to see Celestia back in a less serious mood. "I mean, it's got to be special, right?"
The goddess smiled mysteriously. "Oh, I'm sure I'll think of something."
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Glad to see this pop up here on FiMFiction! I've been meaning to give it a read. I'll add it to my Tracking list as a reminder. :) Love your work.
Oh. My. Gosh. It's on Fimfiction.
It's like the second New Year this year, mixed with Christmas... only better!
[Favourited, 5/5, watch, tracking]
Holy shitting dick nipples, who woulda thought this fic would make it here! Bout time. A good ol romp through the surreal, the sublime, and the abjectly horrible, and with a blooming romance to boot. Really, I can't rate this anything other than five stars.
Woot, loved reading it on EqD, gonna have to re-read it here at some point.
My stars, take them all
I read this on Equestria Daily, and loved it. It's one of my favourite fics.
Five stars!
Got to say, not been reading fan fiction much, just the last few days trying to catch up with all of the great stuff, but this is by far my favorite story so far, great work!
Sweet mother of God Apotheosis is on fimfiction! This is one of my favourite adventure fics ever written. I loved every second of it and I can't wait to read it again! Keep up the fantastic work!
I loved this story when I first read it and I love it now. It doesn't get the attention it deserves. I hope to see more from you at some point in the future, because it's a pleasure to read.
Hmm.
Saw this was on here, was surprised. Didn't expect this, but it's still good regardless!
I already read this a while back so let me just count up your stars, there five stars.
Glad to see this one on here, will you ever write up a sequel?
Read this on eqd, awesome fic o/
I just finished reading the whole thing!
Epic.
twiluna ship?
Good to see this fic make it onto FiM Fiction.
one of my old favs!
I loved this story. Good to see people putting there art here for more people to enjoy. :)
Apothesis is on Fimfiction? Yes, please!
Two famous stories posted on FIMFiction on the same day?
The buck?
I doubt Apotheosis is famous...
Anyhow, I kinda-sorta want to make a sequel but 1) I don't have the time at the moment and 2) All I can think of for it is how messed up Luna and Tia are emotionally, which is considerably heavier than what is implied by the epilogue.
Hmm, read this a while ago and had a kind of issue. The ending seemed to be very much of a dues ex machinma. Celestia shows up and says "lol, kidding. I was behind it all the time!" and everyone just instantly forgives her. They don't get angry, or hell even mildly irked.
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The real fallout would appear in the sequel, yes, if I ever get around to writing it.
The fact that there isn't serious issue in Apotheosis is A) I didn't really have room for it and B) They're both riding a weird dual emotional/divinity high. That sort of manipulation is pretty poisonous for a relationship overall though and at the very least Luna and Tia need an emotional confrontation and catharsis. On the other hand, I don't know if Twilight is capable of thinking ill about Celestia.
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Sounds to me like she'd play an excellent role of an anguished mediator then! Torn between her girlfriend and adored mentor :).
Either way I'll jump at a chance to read it should you ever write it.
Also: You're horrible for teaching me new words :P. I mean, "liminality", "quiescent" and "theopneusty". It's certainly words I hadn't come across before this fic. Well, quiescent sounds familiar, but the others are new.
5 stars
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You're making me want to beg annoyingly for a sequel more with every mention. The thought of real consequences to the end of this story is really appealing.
I can imagine Twilight would be torn between her love of Celestia and her feelings of protectiveness toward Luna. Though honestly, I can see her having every right to be very irritated by her mentor. Knowing Twilight though, not even she knows the extent of her feelings until it all explodes at once. With her newfound power, it probably won't be a quiet and private affair, either.
Luna... I imagine she's a wreck at the moment. I mean, she's definitely stepping in the right direction, but the mare has issues. I wanna give her a hug for most of this work. I think living and being accepted in Ponyville would go a long way, though.
That was wonderful, but I hate you now Daetrin. I sat in one spot for like 6 straight hours reading (I'm a slow reader) and now I don't want to move.
Lol, JK, anyway, it was really good, and I'd love to see a sequel if you ever wrote one. It had me interested throughout the entire story, and that is definitely something to be proud of. 5 stars, nice work. Please write a sequel, because I'd love to read it.
too me the luna and twilight coming to terms with their relationship seems rushed, and i can undertsand how there was buildup and how life or death situations tend to accelerate relationships. But i still think it's somewhat of an akward transition from luna more or less fearing twilight to becoming her girlfriend...
otherwise, really solid story, dont like the ominous celestia comment at the end, when celestia smiles like that, some poor fool was trolled. And i think you could have an interesting sequel going for you if you ever decide to milk this ratings cow series for all its worth, i know i wouldn't complain!
o__o If a sequel ever happens....Twi needs wings.
Already read it all from EqD. You already get 5 stars from me. Epic Twiluna story is EPIC.
This is the first Twiluna I've read, and now I'm addicted to Twilunas! Awesome fic too.
Wow, I can't believe I forgot to mention that this was a sequel to Off The Edge Of The Map. I guess I didn't think about the fact that didn't translate into the new formatting.
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Luna's in a bad place.
Title was a bit of a spoiler, but it was great!
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Well, it's not necessarily that canon, but it seems so evident that something terrible happened there, and it's more or less stated that there was a conflict between two gods, and that's where they lived, so it seemed a natural conclusion to draw.
I read this before when it showed up on EqD, it was quite an enjoyable read! n.n
The first two chapter titles sound familiar... hmm... are those from a poem maybe?
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All of the chapter titles are lines from Yeats' The Second Coming. I thought it appropriate.
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>That sort of manipulation is pretty poisonous for a relationship overall though and at the very least Luna and Tia need an emotional confrontation and catharsis.
Given that Luna basically got everything she ever wanted out of this, I find it easy to accept she would appreciate the ends even if she didn't like the means.
>On the other hand, I don't know if Twilight is capable of thinking ill about Celestia.
Perhaps not, but it's still got to make for an interesting shift in the power dynamic. Celestia has probably been demoted to Twilight's second favourite princess... and at the very least Celestia is no longer 100% irreplacable.
In fact, since Twilight isn't fixed to either the sun or the moon, it means she could fill in for either of the sisters.
This means there are now three pony gods, and any two of them can handle Equestria. That's got to be a big change for the Celestia/Luna relationship, although I'd imagine it wouldn't really be felt until Twilight was a lot older.
Even in the short term, It would make a Nightmare Moon scenario less likely by virtue of having someone else to talk to... and any kind of war/major disaster/etc would probably be more likely to see a little direct 'divine intervention'.
Would love to see a sequel to this Daetrin, but take all the time you need
so glad to see this here, its probably my favorite story, fanfic or published, cant wait for more of your work
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But one of the gods is a unicorn, not an alicorn, and that is going to wreak political havoc. While, I suppose, not as great an upset as Duties, it's a less balanced one.
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Well, there are a couple things that go along with this. Is Twilight's new status going to be kept fairly quiet, or shouted across the lands? Just because she's a goddess doesn't mean she has any political clout at all. Or any desire for politics, for that matter.
Also, the ponies who point and say "That proves unicorns are better." aren't going to have nearly as much credit if Twilight publically denounces them at every turn.
Thoroughly enjoyable.
I LIKE THIS STORY BECAUSE OF REASONS.
I really do love it. I liked 'Off The Edge of The Map' so much, and this was just as great. Absolutely wonderful! I could imagine Twi getting tired of being a diving being and being able to see auras and such, though. I hope there's more, or maybe a sequel? :3
And when Celestia talked about her vacation, I instantly thought she'd visit the old palace of her childhood.
Epic. I don't want to wait to read Twilight raising the sun! OooOOoOOoOh the reactions of the other ponies.
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Technically, being the apprentice/protege of the goddess of ponies probably gave her some sort of official political ranking anyway. She is technically more important than any individual nobleborn.
In any case, -puts on J. Jonah Jameson outfit- I NEED SEQUELS. SEQUELS OF PONIES.
Apotheosis is my crack, it is the best TwiLuna out there, and a shout out to the ages of fanfiction when TwiLuna was more common and at its best. Need more...
As for the quick resolution of their relationship's beginning, I don't feel it was rushed as part of the story, so much as it was just rushed in-continuity. It didn't need six chapters when it's obviously being kind of forced upon them during the point their feelings would still be developing and too awkward to discuss openly. It was very understandable. Besides, it was only quick to -get them together-, they still have to work out how they go about their daily lives and handle their new responsibilities.
Also, I believe Twilight can easily make herself an alicorn at this point. The level of godhood here isn't so much "really powerful and immortal" as it is in reference to a true Fantasy-level godhood. Luna can split dimensional boundaries between the physical and the abstract, for goodness sake.
But yes, please. Continue this. Continue it hard. And before any other pairings in this continuity, like Rarijack or Pie-Pie or something. If we're being pushy, blame yourself for being such a good writer and leaving us wanting so much more. Best compliment I can give, honestly, considering all I do all day and every day is read ponyfics.
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I'm glad that you liked it :) And yes, my idea of godhood is probably different than most people's. They are transcendentally powerful, but also extremely limited. None of them could do what Pinkie does, for example, and while Twilight can raise the sun and moon, she can't do it in the same way that Celestia and Luna do. If there's no spell that can fundamentally alter one's core nature (and I believe there is not), Twilight couldn't become an alicorn of her own accord - nor could she empower or immortalize or whatever anyone else. Of course, one of the flags that I'm waving is that god =/= alicorn. You have the dragon brothers (who are each half a god) and the ouroboros, the island god from OTEOTM, the Everfree Forest God, and now Twilight. All those gods work differently.
And yes, any continuation I do will be focused on Tia, Luna, and Twi (...though in some ways I hate neglecting the rest of the Mane cast, I'll probably have a smattering of them in there...). I've been pushing around ideas for it and it's tentatively titled "Main Sequence," but as I've said before, time restraints will probably prevent it from happening any time soon.