"He's Veretus, an annoyance"
"He's Godking Veretus, visiting king."
Both luna and Celestia answered the confused mare before glaring at each other.
"Sister, he is not an annoyance. He has been nothing but a help to me since he arrived."
"Luna, how could he have helped you? He rules an entire universe-"
"He still used to be a mortal ruler sister, so-"
It was at this point Veretus stopped listening to the two diarchs bicker. The reason was that the Alicorn of Love had walked around the two and was now looking at him, his plateful of flowers barely touched.
"Soooo... You and the princesses?" She nodded twice in the direction of the bickering mares. He assumed it was some sort of insinuation.
"No. While I admit that while both mares are near-immortal, and Luna has experienced what it is like to fall. Neither evokes your particular insinuation." He tried eating the daisies on his plate once more before grimacing. The flowers were really too salty.
"Please, I can practically tell that you love both of them. And while I appreciate that I'm pretty enough to invoke that feeling as well, I did just announce I'm engaged..." Veretus was confused at her words. He had not truly loved someone in that capacity since his previous incarnation.
"As the Alicorn of love, you do know there are different types of love, correct?"
"Of course, but I can clearly feel that... Your love doesn't feel like any of them! How?" She switched from calm to panicked in a heartbeat, beginning to repeat at least seventeen different types of love before shaking her head and restarting.
"You most likely would not know this feeling. It is a feeling of love for those being that are both greater and weaker than you. Like a parent seeing their subjects and hoping for the best. It is a love of all mortal kind, their flaws, their strengths, triumphs, and failures. I love everything about your kind. Which is why it hurts when I must punish evil mortals."
"That's not how love works, and the explanation barely makes any sense! You can't love everypony no matter what they do. A random stranger? How about someone trying to hurt you?" She shook her head. He just leveled his gaze at her before she looked away uncertain.
"You do not understand because you are still mortal and filled with an uncertain future. Alicorns are long-lived, yes, but I can see your tether even now, and it is not inexhaustible." He spoke calmly, like lecturing a child. Although to him, he supposed she was.
"But... You keep mentioning mortals, surely you aren't crazy enough to believe you'll never... Die..."
Her words died off as if the word was too horrible to imagine. Veretus snorted in amusement.
"I am The Godking. It is in the title. I will perish when the universe itself collapses or my divinity destroyed. A mortal creature trying to kill me? I will kill it with love in my heart, but it will pain me for extinguishing such potential. You do not know it filly, but I have already died for my love once."
"That can't be! Love makes you stronger! Not weaker!" She yelled out, making the two diarchs jump and making them pay attention to their conversation.
"Of course it makes you stronger, but it is also the most painful emotion. Nothing compares, not even the inky blackness of oblivion..."
The mare was about to argue back but closed her mouth upon seeing the Godking's eyes. She merely sat down at the table next to him before grabbing the daisies that Veretus had pushed away and drowned her confusion in food.
The two other Alicorns walked over to the table, their argument forgotten.
"Quite fitting that you'd break her." Praise be to Celestia for that remark.
As much as Veretus understood her reluctance to trust him, he disliked that he was the wedge between the two sisters.
"Celestia, I am sure that Veretus did not intend for this!" Luna exclaimed quietly. Veretus was sure the brooding pink Alicorn could still hear her since Luna had spoken from the opposite side of him.
"I did indeed mean it luna." Veretus interrupted the two mares before they could devolve into an argument once more.
"B-but, why?" Luna asked softly, her ears drooping.
"Because it was her own doing. She asked a question that she could not comprehend the answer to. She will eventually either see that I am right," Celestia opened her mouth to probably imply that he was wrong, "or find her own truth. I do not care which one she chooses, but I do hope that she finds her own." Celestia's glare died down at those words.
"And why is that?" She asked.
"Because my truth is self-destructive. I would and have given everything for my love Celestia... For it, I killed my brother... I had watched my son die for it. And my love was the reason I fell." He got up at the end of his speech, for that's what it was because he never raised his voice, never changed to a harsh tone. He then said goodnight to Luna before walking out.
It was not that he was angry at either of the three mares, but it was nearing the time Luna would sleep, and he doubted Celestia would like to go on a walk with him of all gods. He was quite tired of having only seen three rooms in this castle.
Considering he had no idea where he was going, and no servant in this castle would seem to make themselves known towards him. Oh, he knew where they were, they always hid around corners upon seeing him. He wouldn't bother them if they were not brave enough to even stick around in his presence, he wasn't in a hurry, after all, he had the entire day to wander freely before Luna woke once again.
The hallways split off and curved until he was inside of a garden. The flora was much unlike his own reality's. while the trees and shrubs were the same as the pre-godsfall plants, the flowers were different, less adapted to survive being eaten or trampled. In fact, the flowers, an eclectic mix of greens, blues, yellows, and reds almost reached out towards him, as if asking to be admired. And he would, if it wasn't for the white unicorn stallion in front of him, his eyes glaring into Veretus's with some form of misguided hatred borne of love. His cutie mark was a purple heater shield with a magenta six-pointed star in the middle of it.
"In what should be the second happiest day of her life, my fiance is drowning her sorrows in food. Tell me, in the fewest possible words, why I shouldn't kick your flank back to whatever type of place you come from?" The stallion threatened him after their silence extended on for a few minutes.
"Aside from that you do not possess the aptitude to do so mortal? The very reason you are here." Veretus spoke, he could see some other ponies leaving the garden worriedly, many of the plants had also slightly drooped from the pressure in the air. This was one of the aforementioned reasons he loved mortal kind. The Godking was giving off enough pressure to make an immortal submit and apologize for his transgressions, and this stallion was ignoring it, ignoring his instincts that he was weaker than Veretus in every way. All this, most likely because this was the soon-to-be groom of the Alicorn of Love.
"the reason I'm here, is because somepony, which is you, has nearly convinced her that loving another pony is painful! Why? Why would you do that?" The stallion spoke with gritted teeth, his horn was aglow with a purple aura, but no specific spell had yet to be cast.
"Because she is marrying you." Veretus was tired of this, not at this conversation, not at this pony, but at this pony's denseness. "You will live a much shorter life that her, she will watch you grow old, deteriorate, and die. She will still be alive when your bones are naught but dust. And instead of reaffirming your love, convincing her that she is strong enough to love, than to never have loved at all, you are here, ready to fight a being that could swat you aside as an afterthought." Of course, most of that was lies, although now it was the truth. Veretus had no idea the Alicorn was marrying a much shorter-lived mortal, she had merely asked about his unhealthy obsession, and Veretus had no illusion that his self-destructive love was unhealthy, or bordering obsessive. Now though, he saw that she needed this lesson. In a mere seventy years, assuming no magic was wrought to extend his life, this pony would wither away and die, and the Alicorn would slowly watch it happen.
The stallion looked ashamed, before perking back up with steel in his eyes, it was the same steel he saw in each soldier's eyes when he gathered them in front of his Worldgate, ready to assault the Dragon Queen's forces. The stallion was now determined to make a difference. He ran past Veretus back towards the castle but stopped a short distance away before craning his neck behind him, addressing Veretus.
"I realize now you did this with no malicious intent... but I still can't decide if I should thank you, or hate you."
"Do neither, and make haste to your spouse stallion."
"Shining Armor, my name's Shining Armor." the stallion nodded before continuing to run off, disappearing from Veretus's visual sight within moments. The plants were once more welcoming and inviting instead of scared and fearful.
He sighed and looked up at the sun. It was still only noon...