Arceus was in his pocket dimension again, it was locked again, only this time, it was locked from the inside.
What Arceus was doing... allowing it to connect to the material plane wouldn’t end well.
“I’ve put this off long enough,” he said to himself.
It was actually his last meeting with Seth, and Seth’s consequent reveal of his relationship with the Apple Fritter, that had led him to his current course of actions.
“I should probably tell Celestia what I plan to do,” he told himself. “... but I’m a God. I don’t need her permission in matters of eternity.”
Arceus took a deep breath, he needed to concentrate, if he messed up what he was about to do... he would be responsible for something worse than anything any being on Equus or Earth had ever done before.
“It’s time.” Arceus’ plates began to orbit around him and he reached through the veil of the mortal world... and the one beyond.
He ascended and slowed as he saw the entrance to what the humans referred to as ‘Heaven’ but he had originally named. ‘The Great Hall of the Beyond’ and did his best to ignore the doorway that led to a place he had no name for but the humans called ‘Hell’.
Taking a deep breath, Arceus pushed past them, what he was looking for, and he knew it was there, was something he wasn’t meant to find, it wouldn’t be hidden in plain sight.
Fortunately, he had something of a compass.
Arceus smiled as the Spooky Plate, halting in its orbit, shuddered slightly and pointed off into the distance.
“Spiritual energy... perfect.” Arceus rushed forward, following the force that tugged at his plate.
As his destination finally came into view, Arceus smiled. “There you are,” he greeted as he approached the Equus afterlife.
Arceus knew that a place like this had to exist, most worlds had some kind of afterlife, but the problem was that it was not connected to the one he had made.
This was a problem for obvious reasons.
Arceus took a deep breath as he forced his way inside, for a moment, he couldn’t see a thing.
Once his vision finally cleared, he found himself standing on a grassy field, surrounded by flowers of all different types. “I swear, if this is one of those hallucinogenic heavens...”
He lifted off the ground and flew over the landscape.
As he did, he spied several ponies, and a few other beings, below him. “Now to find the god, or goddess, who made this place... just look for the Alicorn I suppose.”
Arceus spent the next... well, time didn’t always make sense in these kind of places, but he spent quite a while searching for whatever deity ran this place.
Eventually, and when it was obvious he was making no progress, he decided to try something else.
Spying an Earth Pony Mare resting beneath a shady oak tree, Arceus landed and lied down opposite of her.
She was a simple Mare, a green coat with a lighter green mane, her eyes were closed and Arceus couldn’t see her mark from where he was laying.
“I don’t suppose you could direct me towards your god could you?” He asked her, half rhetorically.
“Why would I need too?” she asked, eyes still closed.
Arceus chuckled. “Well... for one thing I feel it’s about time we talked, one god to another. I recently moved to Equus with my... extended family, you see.”
“Ah,” the mare said with a small shake of her head, eyes still closed. “Good luck with that.” She let out a yawn and curled up a little more, moving her head closer to a sunny spot coming down from through the tree branches. “I’m sure you’ll know them when you find them.”
Arceus sighed. “Yes, I assume so... though truth be told I’m having a bit of trouble navigating this place,” he shook his head. “Not my afterlife... doesn’t want me... or maybe it’s leading me somewhere... I can never tell with places like this.”
“I wouldn’t know,” the mare replied with another yawn. “Maybe you should keep looking somewhere else.”
Arceus sighed and shook his head before standing up. “You are very... apathetic... or possibly just tired,” he shrugged. “Either way, I doubt any answers lie here.”
The Alpha Pokemon turned to walk off, wondering if he could summon the god somehow. “Course, they might not like that... I know I wouldn’t... wonder what the chances are they’re avoiding me.”
Arceus wandered around, this time on hoof, for several hours, fording rivers and crossing valleys... and oddly not encountering anyone else, until he found himself once again standing under the branches of a shady Oak tree, next to the same mare from before.
“... what in the world?” He looked back the way he came. “No way this plane of existence is that small.”
The mare was apparently asleep.
“... why would someone need to sleep in the afterlife?” Arceus wondered as he sat down again. “Then again... Snorlax.” He chuckled softly and looked at the mare. As before, she was unremarkable in every way. Just your average Earth Pony. “I wonder what your story is... was... probably an unremarkable life, possibly a few years before anything of any importance happened in Equestria... an ordinary family life, perhaps a normal, loving husband and normal children... why am I using so many neutral adjectives?”
“Probably the same reason you’re talking in my head and outloud,” the mare replied archly as she stretched a little.
Arceus’ eyes narrowed. “You know, given how normal I automatically assumed you were, I’m beginning to think you aren’t a normal mare.”
“Incredible,” the mare said, letting out a yawn as she stretched. “Thoughts, I didn’t think I’d hear those today.”
Arceus stared at the mare blankly for a moment. “By eternity... you’re a Goddess, aren’t you?”
“Do you always strode brazenly into others domains without consulting them first, or is that just my privilege?” she asked with a yawn.”You’ve done it twice now.”
“Ah yes.... I meant to apologize for that... didn’t even notice this place when I came in... sort of assumed Equus was a natural occurrence.”
“I’d ask if you were young and foolish,” the mare said blandly as she kicked the oak tree once and an apple fell from it which she began to munch on. “But I think you answer that well enough yourself.”
Arceus was about to protest, but stopped himself. He’d had... limited dealing with other gods in his life, and besides that... she was right. “Yes, I’ve been made well aware of the foolishness of my actions... several times by multiple beings... and after all this time I still can’t say I don’t deserve it.” He stood up and looked down at the mare. “But I did what I did for my children, ALL my children, and I stand by my decision.”
“If it was for all of your children then you wouldn’t have left your world to die,” the mare replied blandly, still eating the apple. “And you wouldn’t have given up responsibility for the humans.”
Arceus froze. Surprisingly, this was the first time anyone had accused him of that... he wondered if Celestia understood just what would happen to Earth, without the Legendaries keeping balance over nature.
“Less of a god and more of an apathetic parent who didn’t watch their children well enough when they were young and is now surprised that they’re not perfect adults,” the mare continued dryly, still eating her apple.
Arceus scoffed, having taken one too many shots without returning fire. “They turned their backs on ME, and forgot all I tried to teach them,” he glared at the mare. “And at least my children know I exist, I found no mention of you on Equus, and more ponies think the Royal sisters and Discord are gods than anything else.”
“How very strange,” the mare said with a small frown as she tapped her chin. “It’s almost as if my world works without me having to do much more then subtly nudge ponies in the right direction... so... very... strange. I wonder what sort of madmare could have conceived that.” She tapped her chin again. “Hmm... it’s almost as if I can trust my children.”
Arceus didn’t know what to say. He could take shots and criticism from mortals, but this... the Alpha Pokemon sighed and lied down again. “... you’re absolutely right,” he admitted with a sigh. “I was more of a hooves on God in my day, even when they didn’t need me, I was around... then that blasted city broke all the rules I’d set and... they didn’t much like the repercussions.”
“Strange how that works out,” the mare agreed, tapping the tree again and an apple fell out of it, bouncing off of Arceus’ head and into her hoof where she took a bite of it.
“It’s an unfortunate truth, I’ve found, that eventually, mortals come to fear that which they can’t truly understand... it has been the downfall of many gods and goddess... they stop praying and they fade to oblivion, they lock them away and forget about them... ones like you always come out unscathed though... most of the time anyway.”
“Most of the time,” she agreed. “And I wouldn’t bet on what you said being true, very few ponies come anywhere close to understanding Celestia and they seem to love her all the more for it,” she pointed out, taking another bite of her apple.
Arceus sighed again, though not of exasperation this time, more of... contentment. “Ah Celestia, she is a curious one, not god, not mortal... yet somehow the best of both...” he glanced at the mare. “How much of a nudge did that take?”
“Less then you’d think,” she said with a shrug. “Then again, a slight nudge for me might look like nothing at all to you, child.”
The hairs on Arceus’ back prickled and his mane stopped flowing. “Child,” he repeated dryly.
“Yes, child,” the mare said simply, continuing to eat her apple.
“I... am not a child,” Arceus said, trying to control himself. “I am older than several universes.”
“And yet you have the maturity of one who is less than a hundred,” the mare replied.
Arceus focused some energy into his plates, trying to stop himself from doing anything foolhardy. “Do not push me,” he warned, his eyes glowing gold. “You would not like the outcome.”
“Mhm,” she said with an unconcerned noise. “Proving my point with every passing second just like I imagined you would, child.”
Arceus took a deep breath and stopped channeling his energy into his plates, allowing it to pool inside of him and forming a golden corona around his body. Standing up, he turned towards the mare. “I. Am not. A. CHILD.” He accentuated the last word with a Hyper Voice shout.
“Sit down child,” the mare said as the Hyper Voice passed right over her and Arceus found himself sitting down obediently beside her.
“How did you...” Arceus began. “No one can control me.”
The mare let out a long sigh. “I never gave you permission to enter my realm, child,” she said with a sideways glance at him. “As such, you are an invader and I may do what I’d like with you.”
Arceus eyes widened and he felt something settling in his chest, something he hadn’t felt for millennia. Arceus was afraid.
“I’m curious, child,” the mare said with a small frown as she glanced up at him. “What possessed you to come here without a plan of any kind, or even the courtesy of calling ahead, or even knocking at the door?”
Arceus gulped, he suddenly understood why mortals could find him terrifying. “I... watched my children suffer for five thousand years, unable to act, often unable to reassure them that they would be alright, I could not nudge the humans, nor the Pokemon, and my Legendaries were afraid... for so long, they were afraid... it drove me near mad, watching them... perhaps I didn’t avoid insanity as well as I thought.”
“Or you’re just not very intelligent, child,” the mare said with a small frown as a water glass appeared in her hoof and she took a sip. “Or perhaps you didn’t use your time very wisely. That still doesn’t answer my question.”
“I... did not think,” Arceus hung his head in shame. “I thought only of my children, I did not bother to truly consult my family... I simply wished to leave behind the world that had... the world that I had ruined.”
“Hmm, progress, wonders never cease,” the mare said before frowning faintly. “You could have at the very least knocked you know. It was rather rude of you to suddenly dump several billion new beings upon my planet, killing several thousand of them in the process.”
“... I have never been good in social situations,” he admitted. “The first time I met someone else, it ended with her shooting arrows at me... after that... never really bothered with other gods, I had my family and that’s what mattered...”
“I will admit, your family is rather nice,” the mare conceded. “Mew has been here several times, mostly apologizing on your behalf, I like her.”
Arceus chuckled. “Of course she would do that... my little kitten,” Arceus sighed and looked at the mare. “For whatever it’s worth, I am sorry for how I acted, I realize now I could have solved the problem by asking first... alternatively I could’ve stayed on Earth and dealt with them like any good parent.”
“Indeed, I’ve heard of another God who did just that,” she agreed with a nod. “Sent bolts of lightning down through every evil doer in his entire country. Surprisingly effective way of doing things, though, a bit too flashy for my tastes.”
“Might have worked for me... I did vaporize a city once so ‘flashy’ is right up my alley,”
“Well, sadly for you, you’ll never get that chance,” the mare said. “You left your world to crumble and I don’t trust you nearly enough to give you that kind of power. Perhaps you’ve noticed that you’re not recharging quite as fast as you should be?”
“I thought I was unaccustomed to this worlds energy... that’s been you?” He asked in alarm.
“Why yes,” she replied with a smile. “I couldn’t have you dooming my planet as well could I?”
Arceus huffed. “I would not doom this planet... if things hadn’t worked out I’d simply have moved.”
“Mhm,” the mare said, clearly far from convinced. “At any rate, it’s good that you’ve stopped by, rude as you may have been in the process.”
“Yes...” Arceus thought for a moment, then recalled why he had come. “Right... do you know why I came here?”
“No, I wasn’t keeping that close of an eye on you before you kicked my door down and started strolling around like you owned the plane,” the mare said blandly.
Arceus cleared his throat and began. “Well... you see... as unlikely as it sounds, I have made... friends, with some of the mortals I brought with, especially a young human-turned-Luxray named Seth,” Arceus paused for a moment, wondering how to continue this. “He is... well, he and another Pokemon are, in a relationship with one of your ponies.”
The mare sighed. “I’ll get started on the proper nudging,” she said with a frown. “As for why I’m glad you’re here, I believe an event will be happening soon and I’d rather like it stopped. There are too many new variables thanks to you being here for it to go well.”
“And what might that be?” Arceus asked.
“A demon is going to rise soon, I’d like it stopped,” the mare replied with a small smile. “I’d planned to have Twilight and her friends fend it off, but that’s no longer an option really.”
Arceus smiled, he hadn’t had a proper battle since his last match with Rayquaza before he was imprisoned. A fight with a demon would give him something to let loose on. “I’ll see to it that this creature is stopped,” Arceus promised. “Does this demon have a name?”
“Tirek,” the mare answered before giving him a thin smile. “If you can end its existence without overly much collateral damage I may even allow you more of your powers.”
Arceus eyes flashed gold. “Consider it done.”
“Excellent,” the mare said. “Stand up and return the way you came, we have little more to say to one another right now, child.”
Arceus stood up and, after a moment, headed back to the same spot he had entered from, before warping back into the material plane.