//------------------------------// // Apotheosis // Story: The Pantheon of Harmony // by FredMSloniker //------------------------------// The chamber was a simple one, with a vaulted ceiling and stained-glass windows on each of its six marble walls, each one depicting a different bearer of the Elements of Harmony. The floor was covered with a luxurious red carpet, a golden six-pointed star marked in its center. It was reminiscent of any number of rooms in the royal palace, save for one slight detail: there were no doors. This didn't stop the assembled ponies from entering. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna came first, and behind them six ponies walked, looking about curiously. Each of them now wore her Element of Harmony, but that was only the most obvious change that had come over them since they left the little hill on which they had entered Elysium. They had spent days wandering its fields, or maybe longer; the passage of time was slippery there, with no need to eat or drink or sleep (though all three activities were available to those who chose to indulge). At first, they had traveled individually, seeking out those they had left behind, but as time passed they had begun to group together once more, talking to friends and family they had in common, sharing not only their experiences in Elysium but tales of years gone by, the highlights of life that one or another of them had missed. They had known each meeting would be a farewell, but they were surprised to discover just how true that was. Each pony who entered Elysium did so with a number of ties to the world of the living, friends and family who remembered them. One by one, those ties were broken as the ponies involved entered Elysium as well, and for a few ponies, one of the Element-bearers had been the last tie left. Applejack had been the first to learn what happened next. "You're going to what?" Great-grandma Honeycrisp smiled indulgently at her. "Oh my, did you think everypony just sat around these fields forever? That's no life for an Apple, dear. I've had enough rest now, and I'm ready for a new start." "But..." Applejack said, slowly absorbing the true impact of what she had just learned. Now that Honeycrisp had met Applejack, the last of her relations to visit (though not the last to die, thanks to Celestia's meddling in the timing of the farmer's arrival in Elysium), she was going to leave those fields, to be born anew somewhere in Equestria. That wasn't the true shocker, as Applejack had only vague memories of her great-grandma, who died when she was still a foal. "But that means... by the time I can come back, all my friends will be—" Honeycrisp's eyes widened, and her smile faded. "Oh... I hadn't even thought of that." She reached out, put a hoof gently on Applejack's shoulder. "Don't you fret none, dear. You've got ties too, don't forget that. I'm sure they'll stick around at least long enough to hear how your new job is going. Just don't take too long, all right? I'm sure they'll be itching to have a fresh start by the time you get back." Applejack nodded, but she fretted nonetheless. She wasn't sure if she would still have ties once she became a god, and even if she did... did that mean Apple Bloom would spend years, decades, centuries waiting for Applejack's return? Waiting while all her own friends arrived, spent time with her, and then moved on? Applejack wasn't sure that was fair to her, or to any of Applejack's friends. She'd come to terms with the news as best she could, shared Honeycrisp's comfort with the other five. There was a melancholy in her heart, but also an excitement; she'd had the chance for closure, after all, a chance she had only vaguely hoped to have, and now she was setting out with her friends on the biggest adventure they'd ever have, could ever hope to have. The others felt the same way, she could see, buzzing with nervous energy. All but one. Twilight Sparkle had been somber ever since she'd been reunited with the group, unwilling to talk about what had happened when Princess Celestia had taken her to speak with Spike. Applejack wondered what Spike's reaction had been. She'd found a moment to pull Fluttershy aside and ask her what became of Spike after Twilight's death, discovering that Spike, bless his heart, had stood by Twilight until the very end, then left Ponyville for parts unknown. He was still young as dragons went, having grown no bigger than a pony himself, and Applejack found herself fretting that he'd done something rash—though it couldn't have been too rash, for Spike still numbered among the living the scant years later that Fluttershy had finally passed on. "Each of you, take your places around the star, and we'll begin," Princess Celestia said, snapping Applejack out of her thoughts. The six ponies glanced at each other, then moved into a circle, matching the stained-glass windows by silent agreement. Celestia stood behind Twilight, while Luna stood opposite her, behind Rarity. "If you have any second thoughts or anything you want to say, now's the time," Luna said. None of them did. "Very well," Celestia said. "Call forth the power of the Elements of Harmony and turn them on yourselves. We will guide you." Twilight Sparkle looked at her friends, forced a smile. "This is it, girls. One last duty. For..." She hesitated, realized she'd been about to say 'for Equestria'. "For lands anew," she finished. One by one, the ponies activated their Elements, the light of their power shining, building in the air. Twilight was the last, the focus for the rest; she closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again, revealing the blazing light shining within. Then she let it loose— The Elements of Harmony dissolved away, gold and gems blowing away like sand, leaving only the central stones to hover in the air. They melted into a fine powder, which began to whirl around the ponies, surrounding each in the characteristic color of her Element. Celestia and Luna flared as well, Celestia's light the blazing of the sun, Luna's the sparkling of uncounted stars and the gentle warmth of the moon. They focused their energy on the six in the circle, and the light in the chamber became so bright that any mortal eyes, any mortals, would have been seared away. Twilight felt only the briefest moment of pain, and then she was gone. Slowly, Twilight Sparkle opened her eyes. She was still in the chamber, that much she could see, and she could see Princess Luna across from her; in the center of the room, the stones of the Elements of Harmony sat arranged in a circle, their glow dimmed but still present. She couldn't see what had happened to her friends, though. Then she opened her other eyes. Before her, five presences glowed, each instantly identifiable as one of her friends despite their greatly changed form. A tender pink radiance looked about the room timidly; that would be Fluttershy. An amethyst shimmering, reflecting every facet of the room to best effect, could only be Rarity. Rainbow Dash, energetic as always, blazed ruby red, while Applejack's heart cast a warm orange light over the chamber. And the swirling, chaotic blue? Just looking at her made Twilight want to giggle. "Ooo!" Pinkie Pie said, and Twilight realized she was hearing her with other ears, the chamber remaining silent to her mortal senses. "What happened to us? What happened to you?" Twilight glanced at the Elements of Harmony and realized they had changed as well—or, rather, Twilight was now capable of perceiving their true form. They pulsed with incredible power, and yet they lay dormant... like the delicate workings of a watch, yet capable of moving with a strength that could crush a dragon in their gears. This was a thing that lived, a dichotomy that caught her attention and held it for a moment. She looked up at Princess Luna and gasped softly. She was beautiful and terrible, striped with regret and splashed with thankfulness, and if Twilight had seen her true form in life she would have wept and screamed and thrown herself at Luna's feet, begged her to accept her undying love and devotion. Then, reluctantly yet inevitably, she turned and looked at Celestia—and realized the sight of her most beloved mentor and teacher in her full radiance would have annihilated her utterly, left only a hollow shell obedient to the princess's slightest whim. "Ooo, something else is happening!" Pinkie said, and Twilight felt it, a surge of new power entering her, her mind, her very self expanding as it absorbed the fullness of her new existence. For a moment, she was but a leaf on the wind, her thoughts whirling through the maelstrom of becoming other. Then she spoke. "I know... everything," she murmured. Then, with a laugh, she said, "I know everything! Everything about everything! Every book that's ever been written! History and magic and philosophy and literature and... and I know what's right and what's wrong! I know—" Suddenly, she stopped, staring at Celestia... who bowed her head and knelt before her. "Forgive me, Twilight Sparkle," Celestia said, eyes downcast. "Sometimes, to achieve a right, one must do a wrong." Twilight stood and stared for a long moment, then felt a presence engulf her—Fluttershy, come with comfort and unconditional love. She turned from Celestia, looked at the others present. "Whoa," Rainbow Dash declared. "I can see these, like, lines connecting all of us. Hey, Twilight, try some of this!" Twilight felt another surge of power, Rainbow Dash's loyalty becoming manifest in a tangible way, and she leaned on that strength for a moment. Pinkie Pie started to laugh, and just kept laughing, her essence doing the equivalent of rolling around on the floor. Rarity and Applejack said nothing, but they appeared to be absorbing their new-found abilities as well. "Hey, princess!" Rainbow Dash said, looking Celestia's way. "How come we're all invisible glowy... things?" "You need not stand on ceremony, Rainbow Dash," Celestia replied. "Indeed, you earned the right to call me Celestia well before this day. As for your forms, your mortal selves were burned away in the fire of your apotheosis—" "My what?" Dash responded. Twilight made the slightest of gestures. "Whoa. I know what that means now." "You can choose what you want to look like," Luna added. "It's up to you." "Seriously?" Dash replied. "Huh. So how do I do that anyway—wait, hang on." There was a flash of light, and Twilight could now see Rainbow Dash as mortals would, unchanged from her prior appearance. "Well, that was easy." Applejack appeared as well. "Darlings, we have certain responsibilities now, and those come with an image to keep up," Rarity said. In another flash of light, she appeared—but she was taller, more elegant, her mane rippling in an unseen breeze, her coat shimmering like a pearl. She greatly resembled Princess Luna now, except for the lack of wings. Twilight focused as well, appearing in the chamber—and ruefully reflected that the revelation she had realized hadn't reduced her respect for her recent ruler. Her form was near-identical to that of Princess Celestia, including the wings, different in only her own coloration and cutie mark. She'd even recreated the tiara of the Element of Magic, though in its center was not that magenta stone but a crystalline version of the six-pointed star on her flank. Fluttershy flickered into existence, matching Rarity's height and general build, but she was slenderer, more delicate, her wings broad and beautiful, her fetlocks unshorn. Her hair was wilder than its former gentle waviness, rolling like the sea. Rainbow Dash, not to be outdone, changed her form to match, though where Fluttershy was delicate and Rarity elegant, she opted for lean muscle, a body optimized for speed and power, her mane almost razor sharp. Applejack let out a little snort, yet changed her form to suit. Her new body was strong and stocky, bigger even than Big Macintosh's yet somehow retaining a feminine touch. The strength of the earth seemed to fill her, and yet she was far from unapproachable, as the simple hat she continued to wear would attest. And Pinkie Pie— "Hee hee hee hee haah! Ahh ha ha ha! Hihihihihihiheeee!" —couldn't seem to settle on a design. One moment, she was a pony made entirely out of party balloons; the next, she was some sort of creature that looked like a pony but stood on her hind legs, forehooves replaced with soft, flexible fingers; the next, she was some bizarre amalgamation of body parts that reminded Twilight uncomfortably of Discord, and the moment after that— "Pinkie!" Twilight shouted. "If any ponies see you looking like that, they'll go insane!" "Awww," Pinkie Pie replied, then folded herself back into more-or-less Euclidean space, following Applejack's general model but opting for a plumper, cuddlier design, reminding Twilight of a plush toy. "It appears you are all ready for the task ahead," Princess Celestia spoke. "But before you go, a final gift to you." A book appeared before her, the same book she'd held before, and hovered over to Twilight, who made it vanish with a flash of her horn. "That book contains all of the knowledge my sister and I have gained of godhood in our own long lives. I hope that it may be of help to all of you in your own adventure." Princess Luna stood proud. "I have a gift for you as well, though not one you can take with you. I shall place a new constellation in the sky, a star for each of you, so that Equestria will never forget your names." Her brief formality faded, a wistful smile forming on her face. "It's my way of saying you're always welcome back." The six smiled and nodded to Luna. "I wish you all the best, little gods," Celestia said, making a slight gesture; a door invisible to mortal eyes opened, only darkness visible beyond it. "Through that door is your new world. Treasure it as we have come to treasure Equestria." Twilight took a slow, deep breath, even though technically she didn't need to breathe anymore, and turned to her friends—her sisters now, in a way. Princesses? Fellow gods? They'd have time to decide what they should be called, she hoped. "Everypony ready?" Five heads nodded. "All right. Follow me." With that, the six walked through the door, leaving Equestria behind.