//------------------------------// // Promise // Story: Truly Divine // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// The floors were still a polished silver, despite having no visitors for over two thousand years. The torches hung from the walls burned with a radiant light, a light that only served to illuminate one pony's path. And the empty halls served as a brutal reminder that the heavens were just as empty as the temple, but yet Celestia found herself within the temple once more. 'The Temple of Faust. How long has it been?' Celestia asked herself as she gazed at the images of the alicorn goddess on the walls, images of the goddess speaking with Celestia's grandparents, then of her father and mother. And the most recent images, by a few thousand years, was of the goddess speaking to a young Celestia and Luna. That was a day Celestia would never forget. Celestia drew her attention away from the memories as she entered into the main chamber, where once upon a time hundreds of ponies would come to offer prayer and praise to Faust, but it had been so long since any had offered a prayer to Faust. Barely any in the world remembered that she had existed. But Celestia would never forget. She couldn't allow herself to. "Hello, my goddess," Celestia whispered as she approached a massive statue of the alicorn that stood in the center of the main temple chamber. The statue of the goddess made her seem larger than life and imposing, but all a pony had to do was look into the eyes of the statue to see the compassion and hints of deviousness in her eyes. Celestia could recall seeing those same emotions in the eyes of the goddess all those years ago. "It has been so long since I've come to talk to you. There has been a lot going on in Equestria," Celestia said to the statue as she sat down, hanging her head slightly as she closed her eyes. "Evil has constantly been running rampant in Equestria. For the thousands of years I have been in rule, it seems that evil refuses to rest. Of course, it began stirring when you vanished, but until mother and father passed we managed to keep it at bay." "For a while though, we thought we had a solution. Twilight Sparkle, I talked about her the last time I was here, has obtained the Element's of Harmony and, along with five others, have been able to fight against the forces of evil. For a time, at least," Celestia sighed as she recalled the first day the titans showed up. "But once more, evil adapted to our powers. A new evil, the titans, rained death and destruction upon our lands. We did our best to fight them off, but..." Celestia lifted her eyes to the statue once more and looked into the eyes of the statue, noticing that the eyes seemed to be filled with interest now. She knew that her eyes were playing tricks on her, but she forced herself to smirk as she lowered her head once more. "Right, you want to know about him. You want to know about Thor," Celestia said. The moment she spoke the gods name, thunder rumbled over the temple. Celestia glanced at the roof for a second before she returned to her humble position. "The god of thunder and the new god of Equestria." "I'm not sure on him. I don't know where his loyalties lie. Yes, he saved us and truly seems to be on our side, but gods are fickle beings. And I know we couldn't win if he turned his power upon us," Celestia tried to explain, but there was pain in her voice. "I truly did not wish to give him your position. But I did it for my nation, to keep them safe!" The eyes of the statue seemed to harden for a moment, making Celestia tense up with hesitation. "But I also did it in hopes...that the insult would cause you to return. That you would return to take your place as the rightful ruler of Equestria. That Thor's coronation would draw you out. Well...it drew out four other gods. But not you." For a long time Celestia hung her head in silence, waiting for some kind of sign that the goddess would respond. That they hadn't been abandoned by the one that they had believed in for so long. That there was another reason for her disappearance. But after nearly an hour, Celestia let out a sigh of sadness before raising her head once more. "Faust...if you are listening, if you are out there, we are in desperate need of your guidance," Celestia whispered in a quiet prayer. "Constant attacks from evil on my land and yet constantly I am powerless to stop it. And when we finally get some relief from the darkness, it is from a god that I do not know I can trust. What do I do? What can any of us do?" Celestia waited for a long time, waiting for a sign of some sorts, anything to tell her that her prayers had been answered. The statue never moved and no other sound could be heard, until Celestia heard the sound of heavy boots walking across the floor. Celestia opened her eyes and turned around to see the god of thunder standing at the entrance to the main room, an interested, but also respectful, look upon his face. "Lord Thor! What do I owe this honor?!" Celestia said in a panicked tone as she tried to get to her hooves, but Thor held out a hand to stop her. He walked over besides Celestia and gazed up at the statue, staring at it for a few moments before looking down at the worried eyes of Celestia. "I am here to speak with you, princess of the sun," Thor said to Celestia. Thor then crossed his legs and sat down across from the princess of the sun, placing Mjolnir on the ground next to him. Celestia swallowed hard before she moved herself so that she was facing Thor. "I have heard recently that you have concerns about me being the god of Equestria." "W-where did you hear that, Lord Thor?" Celestia asked in a quiet voice. "I heard your prayer just now," Thor said with a smile, one that made Celestia's eyes shrink. "So speak, Princess Celestia. Why does thou not trust the words of the god of thunder? What has Thor done that would turn your thoughts against Thor and try a desperate plan to return your lost god to the throne? Speak." "It...it's that..." "Speak." "You are a god," Celestia spat out in a scared tone, one that made the room all the more silent. Thor did not reply as he waited for her to continue, though it took Celestia a few moments to realize that she hadn't been struck down for her words. "A-and gods...are fickle beings. You've met Discord. One moment he's working with us, fighting by our side. And then the next he's raining syrup upon a city and laughing at the ponies that he's turned to waffles." "I am hardly-" "And then there are the other four gods. Just you being there was enough to get the god of the changelings to try and strike me down," Celestia continued on, her fear fading as it was replaced with rage. "For all of the years I have ruled, I have never met a god that I could trust. Faust was the only one that kept her word and she vanished. So I was stuck trying to lead a godless nation, living in constant fear that one of the gods of another nation would strike us down out of boredom." Thor did not respond to her words. "How am I to know that your words are real? How am I to know that you are really here to help us and don't have an ultimatum that ends with us being enslaved or worse?" Celestia spat at Thor, so consumed with her emotions that she had forgotten the being she was speaking to. "Yes, I set you up as god of our world so that Faust might return. I did it because I don't trust you. But how can I? Every being I've come across with your kind of power has tried to either rule us or destroy us. How are you any different?" Thor didn't say anything for a while after Celestia had spoken, allowing the princess to regain control of herself. Once she had done so, her eyes went wide as she realized what she had said and she bowed down while trying to stammer out an apology for her words. "I-I am sorry for being so harsh, Lord Thor...I understand if you would have issues trusting me-" "Celestia, princess of the sun...you are not wrong." Celestia's eyes snapped open and she whipped her head up so fast she nearly popped something in her neck. "From what you have seen and been subjected to, you have no reason to trust the gods. Even me, the god of thunder, still needs to prove to you that I am not your foe. You feel betrayed by the goddess that you trusted so deeply. Thou are not the first." "W-what do you mean?" "Gor," Thor said in a voice filled with wrath, a wrath that made Celestia shake with fear. "The god butcher. He unleashed a war upon the stars for a countless number, butchering any god that he came across. At first I thought he was simply a madman, but over time I learned his reasons. The gods had abandoned him. The gods had been concerned with only themselves. He watched, on so many different worlds, that the gods simply did not care about the mortals. So he swore to make them pay. And pay we did." "He...butchered gods?" "So many of them. I lost track of how many fell to him. Perhaps Faust was one of them. I know not. But what I do know is that for all of his rage and insanity...he was not wrong," Thor admitted with a heavy sigh. "So many gods are only concerned with themselves. They see mortals as playthings. I saw them as sources of entertainment, in my youth. So many mortals put their faith, their trust, into us and we only aid them when it benefits us. Perhaps he had every right to exact his revenge upon those that failed him. He went to far, as all villains do, but he was not entirely wrong. Sometimes...I wonder if he was right?" "You mean you think he was right in butchering the gods?" Celestia asked with horror. "Nay. I mean, perhaps he was right in saying the realms would be better off without gods. That perhaps the worlds would be a better place without the arrogance and foolishness of those that believe themselves untouchable," Thor said with a tired sigh, one that Celestia had never expected to hear from Thor. Thor then lifted Mjolnir once more, staring at the inscription on the back of the hammer before he flipped it over in his hand and offered the handle to Celestia. "W-what are you doing?" she asked. "But that is why I fight so hard, Celestia," Thor said to Celestia as he extended the handle closer to her. "To prove that not all gods out there are selfish and deaf. That there is at least one god out there that will answer your prayers. That Gor was wrong. There are gods that care. I can not change the nature of the other gods. But I can change who I am. The people of Earth showed me that even a god can be a better person. That I could be a better person. The mortals saved me. It is only right that I save them. As for whether or not I trust you..." He motioned for Celestia to take the hammer once more and, with some hesitation, Celestia extended her hoof towards it. She grabbed hold of the handle, feeling the power of lightning course through her the moment she did so. Thor let go of the head of the hammer and allowed Celestia to fully hold it. She pulled the hammer closer and placed her other hoof under the head, looking down at Mjolnir with wide eyes. She could feel the raw lightning coming from the hammer, as if all of the world and its power was hers to command. She could also feel the strength and power within the hammer, a strength that could overcome any foe. But she also sensed the danger. The weapons she wielded was not one to stop foes. It was one to put an end to them. A terrible weight to wield. She shifted its weight a few times, amazed at how well balanced it was, before she saw words written on the back of the hammer. 'Whosoever holds this hammer, if they be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.' "What does that mean?" Celestia asked as she turned the hammer over and offered the handle back to Thor, who took it with a smile on his face. "It is a promise, Celestia. My promise to you," Thor said as he placed Mjolnir down beside him. "It is a promise that I will defend your home and your people. That I will hear the prayers of the ponies and help those that are truly in need of my aid. That I will be a god worthy of both you and the goddess that came before." Celestia felt a small sense of warmth in her heart, as she was able to hear the sincerity and truth in Thor's words. Then Thor took up his hammer once more and once again looked at the back of Mjolnir. "I...appreciate the words, Lord Thor. I really do." "Thor will suffice, Celestia," Thor replied before his face darkened. "But it is also a darker promise. For as hard as I try, the dark nature of a god still resides within me. And if a day should come, a day when I forget who I am and give into the cruelty of the gods, I ask thee take my hammer from me and smite me with it. For if you can, it is proof of how I have failed thee." Celestia didn't like the tone in Thor's voice as he said that and the way he gazed at his hammer told her there was more that he hadn't said, but after a moment he looked up at her with his normal smile upon his face, one with all of the confidence and strength of a god. "We have spent enough time speaking of pain and death. Let us return to this land of magic, where I constantly receive prayers for my autograph," Thor said with a laugh, rising to his feet before holding out a hand to Celestia. Celestia took it with a smile, being pulled to her hooves a moment later. "I will join you momentarily. Please allow me a moment." Celestia nodded and left the chamber, leaving Thor alone with the statue of the goddess. Thor glanced down at Mjolnir once more before he turned and looked up at the statue of Faust, whose eyes seemed to be burning into him. Thor smiled in reply and tipped his helmet to her. "She is who you chose, is she not?" Thor asked, getting no answer in reply. He smiled and turned away, heading towards the exit before he stopped and looked back at her statue. "You chose well."