//------------------------------// // Godhood // Story: The Monster We Made // by Corah Il Cappo //------------------------------// I recall reading a phrase in one of Celestia's dusty old tomes. "If the gods are for us, then who can be against us?" Well, based on the simple law of inversion, then the inverse of the phrase must also be true. "If the gods are against us, then who can be for us?" Everypony is special. We all have some sort of talent that sets us apart from others. Some are skilled at music, or gardening, or shoemaking...just about anything can become a ponies special talent. Yet, every once in a while, a pony comes along who shows real promise with their talent. A talent like magic. I was the first to be blessed with such a talent since Starswirl the Bearded. His skill had long been held as legendary, record setting. Then I came along and shattered those records. I was good. Nay, I was better than good. I was godlike. I say god "like" because I still lacked the official title of a goddess. My skill and power however, was already equal to that of an Alicorn. Perhaps I had even surpassed it by this point. I had power, but I was still nothing. I was still a student to Celestia, whom I fawned over constantly. I longed to understand her magic, to learn from her. So, in return for my lessons, I served at her beck and call. When she was kidnapped by Nightmare Moon, it was I who lead the effort to rescue her. When Discord was awakened, she tasked me with finding the stolen elements and defeating him. When the Changeling Queen reared her ugly head and tried to seize the power in Canterlot, I witnessed the god I had so lovingly served do battle with her nemesis. She was thrown down in less than a minute. The paradigm I had so long upheld, and strove to become, lay before me shattered on the floor. She had seemed so strong, and yet, I had witnessed her fall. It shocked me to the core. What shocked me even further, is that she played no part in defeating the Changeling Queen. That honor went to myself, my friends, and the bride and groom. I had long been staring at Celestia as the ultimate being. A perfect goddess, who I would study under and one day succeed. I had placed her upon a marble pedestal, and even now I could see cracks forming in the stone. Then came the reappearance of the Crystal Empire. As expected, my teacher did not accompany us. In fact, she didn't do so much as lift a hoof to help us. We conquered Sombra by ourselves. Upon return however, I was given the offer of a lifetime. I was given the offer to become a goddess. All my life I had dreamed of such an offer. To join the likes of Celestia, Luna, and Cadence in the great pantheon of Equestria. I was to not only become immortal, but I would finally unlock my true potential. My whole life, I had been promised that one day I would reach the top. That I would one day be the best magician Equestria had ever seen. My day had come. I took up their offer in a heartbeat. I felt as though a pressure had been lifted from me. It was as if my whole life, I had been kept inside a locked box. Everything about me had been contained. My mind. My knowledge. My magic. Now the walls that had once boxed me in were torn down. My mind? Opened. My knowledge? Expanded. My magic? Unlimited. I felt stronger... I felt like a goddess. I thought this would be the beginning of a new golden age for myself. I thought that now, my long years of training beneath the wings of Celestia had paid off. I thought that I would now be free, as Luna and Celestia were. I thought that now I would be a ruler, as they were. I had never been more wrong. I may have been imbued with the wings and powers of an almighty goddess, but now I served the role of a slave. Every pony all Equestia over seemed to require my assistance. Whether it was a friend who had betrayed them, a magic spell that simply refused to be cast, or an argument over who owned a certain plush pony doll, it was I who had to answer the call. The domain of Celestia and Luna was the heavens. The domain of Cadence was love. My domain was "magic". While the other three goddesses spent their days in the comfort and luxury of Canterlot, I toiled day in and day out among the masses. I flew from Canterlot to Appleoosa to Ponyville solving the problems of the populace. It seemed that every pony required assistance from their new goddess of magic. It had begun to drive me mad. Dealing with the issues of my best friends had been difficult enough. Now I was expected to solve the problems of every pony everywhere. I was being spread far to thin. My entire existence was to fly about like a mad pony fixing every problem, big or small. I was not the goddess of magic. I was merely a slave to its whims. I requested to Celestia that I be given a kingdom of my own. I would have my own subjects, my own towns, and a border on my influence. I would be restrained from having to skitter over all Equestria, solving every single problem that ponykind could throw at me. I finally had a limit. I would only be spread as far as the walls of my kingdom. It was refreshing to think that I would finally be able to relax. I was granted the kingdom that I deserved, but it all felt wrong. During my days of wandering Equestria solving problems, I had felt a something I had never felt before. I felt power. I felt a sense of dominion over those ponies. I had been a goddess to every pony in Equestria. Now, I was nothing more than a princess in a tiny kingdom. I realized that I had placed myself back into the same box that I had escaped from with godhood. I resolved that I would no longer be contained. For too long I had been the student of Celestia. I had served her faithfully, although I had witnessed her defeat. I knew just how impotent she truly was. With my promotion to godhood, I had been made her equal... nay, I had been made her superior. I resolved that I would never again be contained. I was a goddess. I deserved far better. I returned to Canterlot's palace for the first time in years to take part in a trial. A pony I had once known, the "Great and Powerful" Trixie, had returned to Ponyville and retrieved the Alicorn Amulet. She hadn't caused any trouble with it yet, but the artifact was considered contraband, and thus her mere possession of it was a crime. She had been brought before the Royal Court to face justice. It was justice that I advocated. After all, I was the element of magic. Shouldn't I be the one to decide what magic the mortals could use? I believed the amulet should be turned over to me for safekeeping in my kingdom. The others refused. They all proposed different solutions, but I turned them all down. This was a matter for me to decide, not them. Did I interfere with the sun, the moon, or love? So why did they interfere with magic? The meeting was adjourned, and Celestia took me aside. She spoke to me as though I was still a filly. I would not be contained any longer. In a fit of rage, I unleashed the full force of my magic. Every window in the hallway shattered beneath the power I exuded. I caught every single shard, and sent them hurtling into my teacher. Seconds later, I stood over her corpse. It was... Exhilarating. I'd never used magic in such a way before, nor with such force. I felt powerful once more. Cadence attempted to avenge her fallen aunt. I broke her forelegs and made her kneel before me. Then, I beheaded her with the same glass I had used to slay Celestia. I had felled two gods. I had unleashed my true potential at last. Luna tried to resist me as well. However, she fared far better than her sister. She managed to escape with her life. She fled the palace, and fled Canterlot. I chose not to pursue her. Her intentions were as clear as day. Luna was no coward. She was hardly a match for me on her own, and she knew it. Her only logical course of action was to find a way to match my power. I knew then what she planned to do. She intended to rally the other Elements of Harmony against me. It was a clever idea, but one that was doomed from the start. The other element bearers were rallied, and converged upon Canterlot to face off with me. They managed to activate the elements, summon the rainbow of light, and unleash Harmony upon me. And yet, for all their power, they were still inferior to me. I broke their assault with a single spoken word. "Enough!" The rainbow they had intended to kill me with was twisted back towards them. As the element of magic, I was in control of it after all. I hurled it back at my former friends, and willed it to explode. In the battle of wills, mine pitted against the might of Harmony, mine triumphed. The collective might of all five elements burst out in fire and smoke. The six who faced me were thrown back. I assumed this was the end. I was wrong. They had lived. This was an error I could easily remedy. Applejack and Fluttershy lay together on the stone floor. With a simple heating spell, the same kind I had used to boil water in the past, I incinerated them. Rainbow Dash managed a sonic rainboom in close quarters. A truly impressive feat, even for a pegasus as skilled as her. I merely slapped her off course. She hit the wall and split her skull. Luna closed in on me, intent to kill. I broke her legs, then ground the bones until they were no more than gravel. Then, my slap came back around, as I hit her with the back of my hoof. Rarity made a ludicrous charge at me with a chunk of metal. Her efforts were laughable at best. I teleported the distance between us, and rammed her impromptu sword through her heart. Pinkie Pie put up the longest resistance, and laughed the whole way. While infuriating, she was not above death. She fell beneath a torrent of hoofbeats that reduced her to a bloody pulp. As the last of my former friends fell into death, I breathed a sigh of relief. The throne room became quiet and peaceful again. I was at last alone to reflect upon my actions. I knew I should feel remorse. I had slain my teacher, her sister, my sister in law, and all five of my closest friends. What did I have left to live for? Magic. I strode out upon the balcony that Celestia had once stood upon as she raised the sun. Igniting my horn, I cast my spell. The sun rose over the horizon. With a second spell, I smote it with the moon in a lunar eclipse. Ponykind now had only one god. A great, monstrous goddess who had slain all others in a quest for power. But I was the goddess they had asked for. I was the monster they made.