//------------------------------// // 21. Making Alicorns Is Easy! // Story: Divine Indifference // by Orthoros //------------------------------// Atlas languidly stretched himself out, slowly preparing himself to get out of bed. It had been a good month since his return to the magical land of ponies and he’d been working hard to lay the foundations of his new goal. Hyas had proven to be an excellent teacher, but the sheer amount of new knowledge that was pounded into Atlas was a wee bit too much for him. In order to not forget anything, the first thing Atlas did once he came back was jump out of bed and furiously write everything down, much to the confusion of the two sisters. They tried to ask what had happened, but didn’t receive a straight answer as Atlas was too focused on preserving his new knowledge. As a side effect from his lessons, Atlas had to learn that the runes he had created from scratch, while working as intended, were over complicated and unnecessary, because there were other runes who could achieve the same result with less effort. It was too late for the runes he had inscribed on his own bones, but for future endeavours, this information would prove to be invaluable. All of this took him around two days, but immediately after, Atlas decided it was high time to go ahead and jump start a certain chain of events. In order to disconnect his prison, he’d need a lot of time, as well as peace and quiet. And as much as it hurt him to even think of this, he wouldn’t be able to do so while Discord was still around. Without telling the sisters of his plans just yet, Atlas started concocting a plan, which almost crashed right from the get go. According to his known timeline, Celestia and Luna were both alicorns when they confronted Discord. Not only were the sisters just regular unicorns, the Elements of Harmony were a complete no-show. He hadn’t even heard a rumor about magical artifacts that could tap into and spread Harmony. Deciding that he’d need to tackle these problems one at a time, Atlas started working on the problem that he could rectify. While purely theoretical, Atlas had an idea about how Alicorns were made. Thanks to the show actually showing Twilight becoming an Alicorn, Atlas was able to form a theory back on Earth. Whether or not he was right remained to be seen, but for now, this was the only course of action that was available to him. “So, Celestia, Luna,” Atlas nodded towards the two respectively. “We have something we need to talk about.” “What is it?” Celestia asked quizzically, tilting her head slightly. “Yes, this formal setting is quite unlike you,” Luna added. Atlas had gathered his extended family in their living room, with the sisters sitting on their couch while Atlas took a seat on a chair across from them. All three of them usually went about their own little hobbies and projects in the afternoon, but this time Atlas stopped them for an impromptu family meeting. “Contrary to my usual ramblings, this time I’d like to discuss something rather serious,” Atlas said. “You’re both grown mares now, I believe it is high time we talked about it.” Celestia and Luna shot each other a confused look, especially since Luna was technically more a teenager than an adult, but they still gave their full attention to Atlas. “I’m sure the two of you don’t like Discord, right?” Atlas tentatively asked. Celestia's mood immediately soured, a frown appearing on her face, while Luna just shrugged. It would appear that Celestia, in her inability to lay all the blame on her sister, decided to blame Discord for her misfortune at some point. As such, whenever he was brought up in any way she’d react poorly and attempt to change the subject. “That would be putting it lightly,” Celestia grumbled. “I suppose this isn’t how things are supposed to be,” Luna said while looking outside. “Not like I’ve ever known anything else.” “Well, I, for one, think that Discord's reign of chaos has gone on for long enough and it is high time somepony did something about it,” Atlas explained. “Ponies are creatures of Harmony and living in such a chaotic environment will hurt them over time. More than just the instant effects anypony can observe, I mean.” “Alright,” Luna said. “But what does that have to do with us?” “As far as we know, Discord is something akin to a living god,” Celestia said. “How would anypony even go about defeating something like that?” “I have a few ideas,” Atlas said. “But I’d say by now it’s obvious that nopony is even trying, and until we find a surefire way of defeating him, we’ll just have to try a few things here and there, experimenting, so to speak.” Atlas didn’t like talking this way about his own son, but he had been preparing for this moment. Even if it pained him inside, this was what they had discussed all these years ago. Discord trusted Atlas to call the curtains on his act at some point, sooner rather than later, Atlas imagined. “Somepony will have to step up to the task eventually, and if nopony else will, I can’t just sit idly by and do nothing,” Atlas said. “Ponykind is but a shadow of their former self, living their lives in misery from day to day. It’s all made worse by the fact that the tribes finally united and were on a good path towards a bright future, which has been taken away from them. I think they deserve a second chance at it, but as long as Discord is around it won’t be possible.” “And I’m inclined to agree,” Celestia said. “But again, how do you expect us to do anything against an all-powerful being?” “There is no such thing as an all-powerful being, Celestia,” Atlas corrected. “Everything has a weakness, no exceptions. Discord for example is a being of pure chaos, so what do you think his weakness should be?” “Harmony…” Luna muttered. “Exactly!” Atlas said, pointing at her. “Harmony is his weakness.” Luna shot Atlas a smile, while Celestia adopted a thoughtful expression. “But even if we know that, how is this knowledge supposed to help us?” Celestia asked. “Last I checked you couldn’t beat someone over the head with a Harmony stick.” “Good question,” Atlas answered. “But I’m afraid you’re thinking a bit too literally about this. While it may be true that you can’t physically take a piece of harmony and use it as a weapon, it will still be able to help us. Seeing as Discord is making everything as chaotic as possible, it is most likely safe to assume that he gets stronger the more chaos there is in the world. So by forcefully restoring Harmony, we more than likely could weaken him enough to defeat him.” “I see…” Celestia said, thinking about the proposed plan. “That… makes a surprising amount of sense…” Luna said. “You act like most of what I say is nonsense,” Atlas replied with mock-hurt in his voice. “You do sometimes start babbling about some weird things, father,” Luna quipped back. “Even so, how could we possibly restore Harmony? Wouldn’t somepony already have done something if it was that easy?” “I wouldn’t exactly call it easy,” Atlas said. “But it’s definitely possible. Just take a look around,” he added, prompting the sisters to take in their surroundings. It took a moment, but two pairs of eyes grew wide with realization. Since it was the norm for them, it would seem like they didn’t pay too much attention to the fact that their home was ninety-nine percent chaos free. Of course this was all thanks to Discord being nice and leaving the cave alone, but he needed a proof of concept to get the sisters on board. “I believe now would be a good time to explain with a bit more detail why there is no chaos in our home,” Celestia said. “More than just: ‘It’s because of the wards I set up’, if you would,” She added with a pointed look. “Well, it’s quite simple, actually. It’s all thanks to the wards I’ve set up,” Atlas said with a smile, much to Celestia's chagrin. “You see, nopony knows this cave is here, because the wards hide it so well. Not even Discord can see through them, apparently, which just further proves that he isn’t as all-powerful as he seems.” “So there’s no chaos here because the wards are powerful enough to make Discord think this is just a regular mountain?” Luna asked. “But how does that help in overpowering him?” “Technically, it doesn't,” Atlas replied. “It just proves that it’s possible. Now, there is one, or rather, two things that are very tangible and under Discord’s control that we could take away from him, restoring Harmony and giving ponies all across the nation hope in the process.” “Which are?” Luna seemed intrigued now. “The sun and the moon!” Atlas revealed with a smile. “The sun and the moon?” Celestia deadpanned. “The sun and the moon,” Atlas confirmed. “Pardon me if I’m a bit sceptical here, but that seems a tad bit impossible…” Celestia rebuked. “I thought you said it took a group of expert level unicorns to just move one of the celestial bodies, how do you expect to pull this off with just three ponies? Two of which have no experience with these spells whatsoever.” “The reason the spell takes a group of unicorns is because it is very mana expensive. Technically, if you had a skilled unicorn with a positively huge mana pool, it could be cast by a single pony,” Atlas said. “Luckily for us, we have access to an insane amount of mana right here at home,” he added with a smile. “The mana batteries!” Luna exclaimed euphorically. “They should be able to supply more than enough mana!” “Exactly!” Atlas said, pointing a hoof at his favourite daughter. “If we split the task between us three we should definitely be able to wrestle control of the stars from Discord. The effects of our little rebellion would be seen all over Equestria and fill the ponies everywhere with hope!” Atlas had said his piece and was now waiting for the reactions of the sisters. At this point he was fairly confident that they would be on board, but you could never know. Judging by the bright smile on her face, Luna was most definitely ready to pull this off. “I’m in!” Luna exclaimed almost immediately. “Also, I call dibs on the moon!” “I would have thought as much,” Atlas chuckled, redirecting his eyes towards Celestia. “What about you? Are you in?” “I suppose this would be a good thing,” Celestia said slowly. “We can’t just hide away in these caves forever.” “Alright!” Atlas did a fistpump. “Then I’ll have you two study the spell for raising and lowering the sun and moon. Since Luna already called dibs on the moon, you’ll have to make do with the sun, Celestia.” Celestia did a double-take at Atlas statement. “The sun? But I thought you’d take over the duty for it?” “Silly Celestia,” Atlas waved her question away. “I’ll be responsible for the proper flow of mana from the batteries for you two, as well as being the catalyst needed for the spell. Besides, you got a sun on your butt, there’s no one better to do it.” “I… but…” Celestia craned her neck to look at her cutie mark, contemplating it for a few seconds. “Alright, I’ll do it.” “Awesome! Here, I already prepared some neat little papers for you to read and study, if you have any questions, come ask,” Atlas levitated a small stack of papers to each of the sisters. “Showtime is in two weeks, make it count!” Atlas stood on the balcony, looking at Vanhoover in the distance. The moon had been hanging high up in the sky for the past fifteen minutes, illuminating the chaotic city below. A small smile spread on his face before he turned around and continued with the last few checks on the rig the mana batteries were currently hooked up to. Using some of the metal he had left over from previous experiments he’d fashioned a crude setup that connected all six batteries with each other. Celestia and Luna had earnestly done their part during the past two weeks until Atlas had deemed them up to the task. They were both currently doing some last minute preparations, going through the motions of the spell before the real deal. “I’m ready, father,” Luna said as she slowly stepped out onto the balcony. “Celestia will be here soon as well.” “Very good,” Atlas said, giving his rigging a last pat of approval. “Are you excited?” “Very,” Luna replied, gazing up at the moon hanging in the sky. “As you should be, we’re about to write history,” Atlas said merrily. “If it helps, I’m actually a bit nervous as well…” “You? Nervous?” The calm voice of Celestia wafted out of the living room. “Now there’s something you don’t hear everyday.” “Well, excuuuse me, princess,” Atlas said sarcastically. “But even I am capable of rudimentary emotions.” “Of course,” Celestia winked at Atlas as she took her place to his left. “I’d doubt we’d be here today if you couldn’t.” Atlas rolled his eyes as he looked to his right, finding Luna already in place as well, nodding at him to signal that she was ready. Of course Atlas hadn’t lied, there was no doubt of his nervousness, albeit for a different reason than it was for the sisters. After all, this would be the first strike against the great calamity that befell their world. The first strike that would ultimately lead to the downfall of his son. “Are you both ready?” “As I’ll ever be!” “Yes!” “Then, let us begin,” Atlas said with a fake smile. Just as they had discussed over and over again, Atlas was the first to start casting. One after the other he established a connection with each mana battery behind him, a steady hum slowly grew louder behind him as each battery activated. Similar sounds from both of his sides told him that Celestia and Luna had started to weave their spells as well in preparation for what was to come. Celestia and Luna would have to do the heavy lifting while Atlas made sure they had the mana to do it. As if to challenge them, the sun slowly rose and joined the moon in the sky while they prepared. The two celestial bodies seemed to dance with each other circling each other and creating quite the bizarre display. As soon as Atlas had established a stable connection with the batteries, he started funneling the stored mana within towards Celestia and Luna respectively, who both accepted the extra power graciously. With this, Atlas’ part was done, and all he had left to do was to ensure that the stream maintained a steady supply of mana to the sisters. Through the connection he could feel the two sisters continuing to weave their spells and he kept a close eye on the process, just so he could intervene in case one of them made a mistake. Luna was done first, closely followed by Celestia. “Be prepared, don’t get overwhelmed,” Atlas reminded the sisters. “It’s quite an experience.” None of the sisters answered since they were concentrating on their spells, yet he could feel their affirmation through the connection they shared. “Alright, let’s go then!” As soon as he gave the command, the sisters simultaneously released their spell. Just like the first time Atlas was present during this spell, the connection to the astral body almost overwhelmed him. What made it even worse, since he was connected to both Celestia and Luna, he could feel the presence of both the sun and the moon at once. The world around the three ponies seemed to wash away as each of them was submerged in a world of pure mana, the celestial bodies imposingly looming over them. Atlas tried communicating that they were to reset the world to an early morning, sending the moon over the far horizon and letting the sun rise on the opposite side, but he couldn’t find his voice. Yet, the sisters could perfectly feel his intent and complied shortly after. He could feel the emotions they were feeling as if they were his own, feeling more connected to them than they ever were before. Celestia was almost buckling under the sensations that pelted her mind but soldiered on through it, while Luna more or less turned herself off and was flying on autopilot, lest the pressure become too much. Atlas helped them out as much as he could, but contrary to his first experience the sun and moon didn’t want to budge from their spot in the sky. He increased the mana output and joined into the effort with a support spell until, finally, they started to slowly move to their will. It took a great amount of effort, but eventually the moon disappeared over the horizon and the sun locked into place on the opposite side. With one final push on Celestia's part, the sun began its ascent on a regular morning. Mentally sighing with relief, Atlas gave the command to release the spells, yet he knew, this was only supposed to be the beginning. Almost immediately after his mental command, he could feel the spells on either side of him come to a screeching halt, the pressure of the two celestial bodies disappearing from their minds. Slowly, Atlas opened his eyes, to find himself standing in a vast and empty space. A smile spread on his face as he looked around the seemingly turquoise colored space that was filled with dancing motes of different colored mana, reminding him of fireflies. “Where are we?” A gasp could be heard from Atlas left. “It’s… beautiful…” Luna said on his right. “Did we succeed?” Celestia asked, looking around in confusion. “I do believe we did,” Atlas replied. “In more ways than one,” he added with a smirk, slowly trotting a few steps ahead on a seemingly invisible floor before turning around to face the sisters. “Did.. you get bigger?” Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow, causing Atlas to look down at himself. “Looks like it,” Atlas simply shrugged. It wouldn’t surprise him at all if this realm had a similar effect on him like Hades’ underworld had, just, instead of making him human, it just made him bigger to better reflect his true being. “What is this place?” Luna asked in wonderment. “What happened?” “I’m not one-hundred percent sure either,” Atlas said. “But I’d wager we could call this the realm of magic or some other sappy crap.” “Realm of magic?” Celestia asked puzzled. “What are we doing here, how did we get here?” “Well, dear Celestia, if my theory is correct, and at this point I’m pretty sure it is, it’s actually just you two that are supposed to be here and I’m just along for the ride,” Atlas explained. “Most likely since I was connected to you in a rather intimate way.” “You thought this would happen?” Luna asked, trying to catch a mote of mana as it passed her by. “I hoped it would,” Atlas corrected. “Because if it hadn’t I would have had to go through a whole lot of trouble to make it happen in another way.” “Can we, just for once, get a less cryptic answer?” Celestia asked slightly miffed. “This place is kinda freaking me out.” “Alright, alright,” Atlas relented. “Let’s see, how am I supposed to do this… hmm…” He turned around, looking for anything that was even more out of the ordinary than it already was. Just then, he remembered what he had written in his notes about the show. “Well, just follow me for a start, I guess.” Atlas started walking in a seemingly random direction, causing the sisters to share a sceptical look with each other before they started trotting a few paces behind their father. The latter seemed to enjoy the scenery, content with looking around, even though everywhere looked pretty much the same, confusing the sisters even more. “You see, there is something called an alicorn, which is supposed to exist on this planet,” Atlas started to explain while walking. “Ponies bearing the gifts of all three races. Meaning they have a unicorn horn, pegasus wings and earth pony sturdiness, as well as their connection to life. They’re blessed with powerful bodies and very long lifespans.” “That sounds a bit far out there,” Celestia said. “None of your books even mentioned such a thing, and you have a lot of books.” “Well, let’s just say I know a lot more things than any old book can tell you,” Atlas turned his head towards Luna to shoot a wink in her direction, which caused her to smile widely. “Trust me, they’re an actual thing.” “Alright, assuming I believe you, what does that have to do with our current situation?” Celestia poked for answers. “Why, you two are about to turn into these alicorns,” Atlas said merrily. “Congratulations by the way.” “We’re what?” Celestia asked shocked. “Really? That’s so cool!” Luna squeed. “I’m sorry about not telling this to sooner, but yes, you two will most likely transform into alicorns when we’re through with whatever we’re supposed to do in here,” Atlas said. “It’ll ultimately prove to be the catalyst that’ll help us defeat Discord.” “You mean you planned for this?” Celestia said meekly. “I guess you could say that, yes,” Atlas admitted. “I’m sorry for not telling you, really, I hope you can forgive me for this.” “Oh, it’s alright,” Luna said from his right. “Somepony will have to defeat Discord anyway, and this way, you won’t have to be so alone in the future.” Celestia shot Luna a confused look as she was trying to process what was happening, unable to understand why Luna was able to stay so calm. “You’re just okay with this?” Celestia asked her sister. “No qualms with these events whatsoever?” “Pretty much,” Luna shrugged. “It would have been nice to be able to mentally prepare myself for this, but eh… whatever.” Celestia shook her head in the face of her sisters uncaring nature. Atlas just told them that they were about to transform into some powerful being that was never seen before on this earth, would it hurt her to be a little shocked about this? She was muttering to herself, trying to make a bit more sense of what was happening when Atlas interrupted her thoughts. “Ah, now this looks promising,” Atlas exclaimed. “I do believe we have arrived.” Celestia raised her head, trying to see what Atlas meant. A few meters in front of them were Celestia’s and Luna’s cutie marks, gently floating over what appeared to be a rainbow collection of mana-motes. Atlas plopped down where he stood, allowing the sisters to catch up to him, both of which curiously eyed their respective cutie marks. “Why are our cutie marks floating over there,” Celestia asked, suddenly intrigued. “A good question, dear sister.” “It does fit rather well with my theory,” Atlas replied. “You see, I do believe cutie marks have a bit more meaning to them than just representing a ponies special talent. I’d wager it represents the destiny of a pony, as well as the ultimate challenge to defeat.” “What?” Celestia deadpanned. “Look, the way I see it, every single pony that lives has the potential to become an alicorn, and the requirement for unlocking this power is hidden away in their cutie mark,” Atlas explained. “The cutie mark represents a destiny, the ultimate manifestation of the talent, and should a pony actually reach the goal at the end of the journey imposed on them, they’re judged worthy by whatever judges are judging this. In the case of you two, your destiny is the sun and the moon respectively. “By becoming an alicorn, you become the very avatar of what you represent, gaining control over it to a certain extent, as well as a special connection. This means you two are about to become the alicorn of the sun, and the alicorn of the moon, completely ripping Discords control over the two away from him.” “That’s… that’s a lot to take in at once,” Celestia said, sitting down next to Atlas. “Just roll with it,” Luna said from Atlas other side. “I’m sure it’ll be awesome!” Saying that, Luna trotted up to her cutie mark, eying it from up close. “Hmmm… boop!” Luna touched the floating moon with her hoof after some contemplation. Immediately the motes of mana started to stir, rising up from below and swirling around Luna until she was completely obscured behind a rainbow wall. “See you on the other side!” Luna called before a bright flash let her vanish completely from view, leaving nothing behind. “She always has been the more adventurous of you two,” Atlas remarked with a placid smile on his face. “Yes, yes she has,” Celestia answered. Silence spread over the two as they each immersed themselves within their own thoughts. Atlas was more than willing to give Celestia all the time she needed, after all he had just sprung a life changing decision on her. He knew how it felt to have something like this shoved into your face from first-hand experience, so he could understand if she’d come to dislike him for it. “Are you afraid?” Atlas eventually asked carefully. “It’s just… so sudden…” Celestia slowly replied. “Things are about to change, aren't they?” “There will definitely be some big changes in the near future,” Atlas said. “This is just the beginning.” “I kind of hoped we could stay a happy, normal family for a while longer… you know?” “Oh Celestia, we’ll never stop being a family, no matter what happens. Once Discord has been defeated, everything will return to the way it should be and we’ll finally be able to live out of hiding,” Atlas scooted a little closer to Celestia. “You’ve already been cooped up in my cave for far too long, not even going outside with me and Luna. I know you’re probably afraid of what is out there, even if you’d never admit it, but it’s time to step outside and start living your life.” “I don’t know if I can do it…” “Ponies are weak, Celestia,” Atlas sighed. “Sure there are some very capable and strong individuals out there, but once they’re faced with seemingly insurmountable odds they revert to their nature of being prey. They need ponies like you and Luna, like me, who live outside of the norm. They need someone to guide them, especially after this whole business has concluded.” “And you truly believe we are fit for this role?” Celestia looked into Atlas eyes, uncertainty reflected on her face. “I believe there’s nopony better,” Atlas chuckled. “You don’t give yourself enough credit. It’s time to step out of your shell, go outside and finally start living the life that you deserve.” Celestia turned to look at the cutie mark floating in front of them, a look of conflict on her face. “I’ll be with you all the way,” Atlas said. “You won’t have to do this alone. Your sister and me will support you through the whole thing, you know?” “Didn’t you say that alicorns have a very long lifespan?” Celestia asked. “How could you possibly be there for everything?” “That won’t be much of a problem, I’m pretty long-lived myself after all,” Atlas chuckled. “I do believe that after we’ve returned you deserve some answers, Luna as well,” he added after seeing the unbelieving face of his daughter. “Just trust me.” Atlas showed Celestia a warm smile. He fully intended to hold up his part of the promise, accompanying the two sisters through the good and the bad, for however long he had to. Immortals needed some sort of anchor, a companion that was there with them for the long ride and if they could all be there for each other there shouldn’t be a problem they couldn’t solve. Maybe at some point, they could even welcome Discord into the fold, in the far future. “Alright…” Celestia said while standing up. “I trust you.” Celestia took a few deep breaths to calm herself down before slowly approaching the floating sun in front of her. She looked back one final time, seeing Atlas patiently smiling at her from behind, reassuring her. After one final deep breath, she reached out with her right hoof and touched her cutie mark. Just like with Luna, the mana-motes around her started to go crazy, enveloping her in a wall of pure mana. Within seconds she was obscured from Atlas sight before yet another flash of light made her disappear. Atlas sighed, taking another look around the strange realm he had found himself in. The emptiness seemed to stretch on forever on all sides, causing him to question just what this place was. He was just contemplating on how he’d be able to return, without having to turn into an alicorn as well, when a giant shadow fell over him from behind. Confused, Atlas spun around to take a look behind him, ready to smack whatever was there, should it be hostile. It didn’t take long before his stance relaxed and the smile returned to his face. He had to crane his neck to look the giant being looming behind him into the face, but he didn’t feel intimidated at all. “So you’re here too, huh?” Atlas chuckled. “Could have guessed as much… You wouldn’t happen to know a way for me to get out of here… right?”