To the surprise of Thor, he found that neither Celestia or Luna occupied the castle when he returned to it. As he landed just beyond the castles gates, he felt the presence of neither princess. A frown crossed the god of thunders face as he realized that they were either out dealing with something related with the alter or something related with him. Neither thought lifted Thor's mood.
Ignoring the guards as he passed them, and ignoring the looks of concern they gave him, Thor figured that none of the ponies had yet to hear about the news of Shelor falling to Thor in battle. Thor closed his eyes and tried to hear if there were any prayers asking him about the battle, but when he heard none he confirmed his thoughts.
'That means that I have a small amount of time before I must deal with the consequences of my actions. Perhaps I shall check in on young Summer and Autumn,' Thor thought to himself as he pushed open the doors to the castle.
The castle was quiet, aside from the maids and butlers going about their business and cleaning up the place, and Thor took solace in the quiet. His body still ached slightly from his battle with Shelor and Discord's words about the fear the ponies would feel towards him still echoed in Thor's mind. He felt his fingers tighten around Mjolnir for comfort, wishing that his friend would give him advice like it once did.
'Nay, what's done is done. I wish it did not have to come to battle, but Shelor made his intentions clear. Sadly, I can not blame him entirely for his actions. He answered the wish of his people. He did what I chastised other gods for failing to do. Being a god that listens. Perhaps I was too headstrong. Perhaps I should have tried to talk things out more,' Thor pondered, but he locked his thoughts away as he reached the room where Autumn slept. When he heard Summer tell him to enter, he did so silently.
"How has she been?" Thor asked in a whisper, but even when Thor whispered the rumbling of thunder could still be heard.
"She's been sleeping peacefully, thank god," Summer said with a smirk at Thor, who smiled at her joke. Then Summer's face fell slightly and she looked at the little filly sleeping calmly beneath the covers. "I am worried, Thor. I am worried about what the future will hold for me and my daughter."
"There is no need to hide your true thoughts with me. I will listen to what ye have to say," Thor promised Summer.
"I am fearful that the gods wrath will continue. Not against you, but against us," Summer said in a fearful whisper. "You have made it clear when you killed Toraxo that no god can match you. But gods don't forgive. And since they cannot best you, I am afraid they will come for us. The ones favored by the god of Equestria."
"Summer, mother of Autumn, I swore that I would protect you from any threat, including that of the gods. And Thor has kept his word, has he not?" Thor asked Summer, but his words did not comfort the mare.
"But you will not be here forever. You have your own world, your own people to go back to. Eventually, we will not have the aid of the god of thunder," Summer replied and Thor knew her words rang true. "But...perhaps there is another way. Perhaps you can speak with the other gods, ask them to let go of the rage they may feel for you. Perhaps they will listen, as it is you."
"That...may be more difficult now then you believe," Thor said with slight hesitation, getting Summer to turn her full attention to the god. "I have just returned from a battle with Shelor, where I was forced to beat him into a state where he could no longer battle with me. I fear that after that, talking with the gods will not work."
"You...you struck down another god of Equis?" Summer asked with terror in her voice.
"Nay, I simply defeated him. Shelor still lives, but it will be a time before he can be a threat to any once again," Thor said with a nod, but Summer was no longer looking at him and instead was looking at her sleeping daughter. "Ye need not fear from Shelor. His battle was with me, not with you or your daughter. I can promise you that."
"Thor...may I speak freely?" Summer asked, waiting until Thor nodded before she began speaking. "You've fought two gods of this world in just as many days and you've, if what you've told me about Shelor is correct, defeated them both soundly. The rest of the world is not going to respond well to that."
"Shelor is the one who was asked to do battle with me. His own people, the dragons, wished for him to battle with me. They are the ones to blame, not I," Thor replied.
"Maybe, but the world won't take it that way," Summer replied with a shake of her head before her ears perked up, yet Thor already knew what she had heard. With a hefty sigh the god of thunder turned his head towards the doors to the room, which opened and revealed the two princesses of Canterlot, with neither of them wearing an expression of joy on their faces. "You should go talk with them. Thank you for being concerned with us, Thor. It's nice to know that a god cares."
Thor nodded to Summer before he walked towards the door, noticing the way the two princesses walked away from Thor as he got closer to them. He closed the door behind him before turning his full attention to Celestia and Luna, trying to read their faces.
Luna's face was filled with fear and concern and from the way she gazed at Thor he could tell that she seemed to be waiting for him to strike her down. It was a look he was more familiar with seeing in his youth, when he did strike down those that got on his nerves.
Celestia was more composed, but Thor had been around anger long enough to tell when someone was hiding their true emotions. Beneath her calm demeanor Thor could sense anger bubbling like lava and it was only Celestia's respect for him that Thor assumed she hadn't blown up at him. That or her fear.
"Thor, we have just received word of a battle...a collision of forces over the mountains far from here between Shelor, lord of the dragons, and you. And according to what we heard, you decimated Shelor in a storm of lightning the likes of which shook this very planet to its core," Celestia informed Thor in a calm voice, despite her body shaking slightly. "Now why I have no reason to doubt the validity of these words, I promised myself that I would wait to hear your words before I made up my mind on the matter. Please...tell me why you battled another god so soon after the death of Toraxo."
"I was not the one that started the battle, Celestia. Shelor was prayed to by the people of his nation and they prayed to him to defeat me. To stop me before I could destroy them and everything they held dear. And as he is a god of honor, he battled with me in the sky above this land. He did not win," Thor said with certainty. "He started this battle. I finished it. He still draws breath, if that is your concern."
"While I am grateful for that news, that was not my biggest concern. Thor, in the past couple of days you have bested two gods in this world! Your actions are not only causing ripples among the divine, but also among the mortals that live down below. Thor, the ponies, dragons and other beings of this world are terrified of you! And when they get wind of your besting of Shelor..."
"What would you have had me done, Celestia?" Thor asked as he turned towards Celestia, a lightning in his eyes that told both princesses that he was angry. Luna, despite being terrified of him, moved herself between her sister and Thor to protect her sister. The action lessened Thor's rage, but he still glared at Celestia while demanding an answer. "What would you have me do? Stand down and surrender? Allow him to slay me, so that your land is without a god once more?"
"No, you didn't have to do any of that, but...Thor, there had to be another way. You are the god of thunder! You are stronger than any other deity in this land! Surely you could have dealt with Shelor in a way that did not leave his broken and burned body stretched out across a mountain range! But you chose to crush him, to strike him out of the sky. There had to be a different way...maybe you could have spoke with him. Bowed your head and asked for him to let go of his rage. Maybe...talking would have worked."
Thor lowered his head and thought about Celestia's words for a moment, before he lifted it once more to reveal eyes filled with even more lightning within his eyes than before. Luna's eyes went wide as the air in the room began to electrified and small burst of lightning cracked around the ceiling.
"Aye, Celestia. I am the god of thunder. And does thou know what thunder does? Thunder roars, it shakes the land and is a warning to all those that challenge the lightning. Thunder does not cower, it does not talk and it does not bow its head. Thunder is a force that does not lose. And neither do I. Ye would do well to remember that," Thor said with that same thunder in his voice as he pointed Mjolnir towards Celestia once again.
Luna let out a gasp of horror as she backed away from the hammer, but instead of cowering Celestia simply narrowed her eyes before she placed a hoof atop Mjolnir. Luna's eyes went wide as Celestia's mane started to stand on end from the electricity, before Celestia pushed the hammer down towards the ground.
"You did not answer my question, Thor. You blustered and raged and made a terrifying noise, much like thunder, but thunder does not harm those that hear it. And neither do you," Celestia told Thor to his face, glaring right into his lightning filled eyes. "And while you have blustered, you did not answer my question. Why did you not try to talk things out with Shelor? Why did you choose to battle with him, when there was no need to?"
For a long moment Thor and Celestia stared at each other, neither of the giving an inch. Celestia's mane continued to rise as she kept her hoof on Mjolnir and thus small currents of electricity coursed through her, but her face remained stone cold as she glared at the god of thunder. Only Luna could tell that Celestia was actually terrified at the moment, but if Thor knew he didn't mention it.
"Because I am Thor, Celestia," Thor replied in a quiet voice, one that was holding back the power and thunder that could decimate the galaxy. "And Thor does not bow his head. He does not bend his knee. He does not stand aside. Thor fights, he battles and he wins. Aside from my father, Odin, and my mother, Freya, I have never bowed to any. Be them god or mortal. And I will not bow to gods that believe they are able to defeat me. That they can do as they wish at my expense. I am Thor. And I defeat all that challenge me."
"Even if the consequences of you winning would be disastrous for the mortals that you protect?" Celestia asked Thor, who did not answer. "Answer me this, Thor. What if your actions against Shelor cause the dragons to go to war with the ponies of this land? We are still weak from our war with the titans. We cannot beat them, not as weak as we are now. Would it have been worth dooming thousands to death just so you could keep your pride as a warrior?"
"If the dragons were to wage war, I would be there to prevent them from doing so," Thor said.
"That is not what I'm asking. What I am asking is would it have been worth it. To doom all those lives, just because you didn't want to lose?" Celestia asked once more in a stronger tone. Thor narrowed his eyes at her before he turned and headed towards the exit to the room. "Thor, the only reason I ask you these question is because I respect you. You are the only god aside from Faust that I have ever met that is both kind and caring. But there is a darkness to you, one that I fear may one day bring destruction down upon us."
"My promise still holds true, Celestia. I will protect you and your nation no matter what tries to bring harm to it. And Thor keeps his promises," Thor said to Celestia, who shook her head once more.
"True as that may be, you still hold that darkness. And that darkness is your pride. Your refusal to...back down. Thor, there comes a time when defeating your foe can be far more disastrous than simply refusing to fight."
"Not when you are a god, Celestia. A god never backs down."
"But a ruler that is looking out for there nation does. And you are the god of our nation. Your true concern should be keeping us safe, not striking down any that challenge you."
"Do not speak to me about royal duties. I am prince of Asgard. There will come a day when I will be king of Asgard, though I pray that day is far from now," Thor spat back at Celestia, yet his rage from earlier was gone.
"Then it is all the better that you learn now that sometimes a ruler has to put aside their own pride for the betterment of their nation. For those that look to them. That sometimes one must compromise," Celestia said to Thor, hoping that her words were getting through to him. But as Thor stared back at her, she had the feeling that he was not heeding her words.
"Your words hold wisdom within them, princess of the sun. But I am Thor. I will not be defeated. I will not break my promises. And I will protect all that call me their defender. I do not compromise. I do not need to. Continue your search for the alter. I shall continue to deal with the threats that plague this land."
Thor exited through the doors as he said this, slamming them behind him and dispelling the lightning in the air. Celestia watched him go with a shake of her head, glancing at Luna as her sister joined her side. "Do not fret sister, you did your best. But gods, even ones as kind as Thor, are still gods. And it is impossible to change the mind of a god."
"Perhaps, sister. But I pray that Thor heeds my words before either he or some other does something that causes even more pain and destruction. But if these prayers go to Thor, then I fear they will not be answered."
Thor did nothing wrong and he still gets shit for it
Well Celestia, if you were in Thor's shoes, you wouldn't have backed down either in front of Shelor. Think of the repercussions of losing as well Celestia. If Thor backs down and lets himself lose, he will be seen as weak and so will Equestria. That would make the other Gods and the other Nations bolder.
I don't know about you, but I'd rather have potential enemies be afraid of me.
Thor warned Shelor before they started fighting. And then when they fought, Thor demanded he stop. He didn't.
Admittedly it wasn't much in the way of trying to convince him, but Shelor made it clear the fight was gonna happen and keep happening.
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Aw man Thor should have said that. He was in a no-win situation. Celestia should have known Shelor would not back down. Give the guy a break.
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There seems to be a consensus that Celestia is being a hypocritical bitch here. This pleases me. I nearly launched my phone into orbit with how 'Holier than thou' she was acting when we all know fine and well that if she had Thor's power and was the one to confront Shelor the outcome would have been the same.
Thor had no other option, if he backed down in any way the other Gods would view it as a sign of weakness, a sign that he did not believe he could win in battle against Shelor. That would lead to them returning to their previous antagonistic ways, and likely taking revenge on Equestria because they would feel confident that they could do so without consequence.
Thor isn't having much of a choice here ! Toraxo practically begged to die with the shit he tried to pull,
thor gave shellor an warning and an out he chose to keep going, but maybe letting shelor go wasn't a very good move. the equestrian gods seem all full of themselves,so now shelor has a wounded pride
and followers that will probably start to doubt/leave him since he was defeated
and like he himself said gods...do not forgive...we never have and never will.
i have to say celestia isn't all wrong in this since what does not bend tends to break...
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there is an old quote from I think Nero "Let them hate, as long as they fear"
Yeah, not to sound like a parrot but Thor did nothing wrong in this instance. He gave Shelor the opportunity to back down, to talk and the dragon god refused to accept it. Shelor came to kill Thor and wasn't going to stop until he did. Also, while Thor is prideful, he has learned by now that his pride is not worth keeping in certain instances (the best examples I can remember are when his worshipers on Earth were being attacked and he almost went World War on everybody involved until he was talked down by Captain America and the incident when he bended knee and took a bunch of slapping from the Builders(?) during the Infinity event just so they could get an opening to take one out).
Complain, that's the only thing Celestia is good for. Thor didn't do anything wrong.
To be fair to Celestia, she doesn't know how scheming the other gods are, and doesn't know all the details of the situation. Not was she there to witness Shelor's declaration.
However as much as I wish Celestia was right, these are gods we're talking about. Walking piles of ego in a constant dick-measuring contest of Can You Top This? Gods, with one possible exception (and even then the the Old Testament makes that questionable), do not give any kind of a resounding fuck about mortals. Only being praised by them. Even Thor, despite his kindness, is a warrior god craving glory.
No, when gods are involved, battle is inevitable. Talking only works for mortals who have something to lose.
Also, Thor actually did talk to him, try to get him to back down. Thor just never mentioned that.
I feel like the main problem here is how the author is writing the characters. Making them slightly more stupid. Thor is omitting massive details whenever he talks to Celestia. Celestia in turn keeps berating Thor saying hes making stupid decisions that will affect Equestria.
There's a severe lack of communication and imho it's the author's fault.
Sorry, but that's just my thoughts.
@all
god i pray that none of you ever will become diplomats, and considering i'm an atheist, that actually means something.
but honestly, i'm aghast at the sheer level of ignorance, self righteousness and short sightedness going on in this comment sections.
seriously, am i'm the only one who somewhat agrees with celestia? to make it clear, i don't think she is completely right, but she certainly does have a point.
there are ways to show strength that don't soly resolve around bashing in your enemies head until they can't disagree with you any more, or to put it in the mantra of the amazones:
"don't kill if you can wound, don't wound if you can subdue, don't subdue if you can pacify, and don't raise your hand at all until you've first extended it"
the whole "he had no chance but to strike him down" angle would have only been a valid complain if they both were roughly the same strength and thor was fighting for his life, which clearly wasn't he case.
just to give you one alternate way how he could have dealt with the situation of the top of my head: with how much stronger thor was than shelor, he could have easily just tanked shelor attack for a while and then, when it would have been clear sheldor would have no chance beating him, thor could knock him around for a bit before knocking him to the ground, before demanding him to leave. that way he could have shown that he's not weak, by proving that he's willing to fight if necessary, without actually aggravating another nation by striking down their god.
and all it would take to figure that out would be to actually think about your action and their consequences for a second, but that's the thing, thor didn't. thor didn't even try to find another way that would have been more benevolent to the beings he claims to protect. instead he immediately wen't for bloodshed and left shelor a broken mess, while at the same time dashing any hopes of peaceful reconciliations with the dragons. and that's the problem we are currently facing; thor is far to short sighted and not aware of what his actions will do in the long run. brute strength can only help you so much and sooner or later someone will suffer for his ignorance ... and unfortunately it probably won't be him.
8226041 Have you read this author's other fics? This is typical Onomonopia all the way...
Celestia just refuses to listens.... when will she get it through her head that it is not Thor's fault that the other gods are assholes who think that he should bow and coward before them?.....
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I mean, if you don't enjoy them, why are you here?
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What ridiculous nonsense. Shelor made it clear when he continued to fight after taking hits from Thor that he wasn't going to stop until either himself or Thor were dead, even going so far as to ask Thor to finish him off when he was defeated. The only reason Shelor is still alive is because of Thor's mercy, and I still think that choice has a massive chance of coming around and biting him in the ass. I really don't see any indication that Thor risking himself by allowing Shelor to attack him in the vain hope of demoralising him enough to get him to return to his domain of his own free will had any chance of success. In fact, that is exactly what Thor did at the beginning by not going all out until Shelor managed to land a hit. As you can see from the outcome of the story that strategy had no effect. If you were an arrogant god with every single one of your subjects begging you to kill someone, would you really back down just because your enemy stood still and let you attack? I really don't think so.
Also it was mentioned that Thor was sore after his fight with Shelor, this suggests that it was a bit draining for him and gives even more evidence that your tanking strategy is idiotic. Thor has to be fit, healthy and able to defend an entire nation surrounded by borderline hostile nations for the foreseeable future. Any unnecessary risk to him is an unnecessary risk to all of Equestria.
I find it rather odd that your suggested solution is almost exactly what happened and failed in the story.
Not that I mind these chapters that ruminate on the consequences of previous chapters, but they're starting to get a little redundant... and to a degree, contradictory.
I can appreciate that Celestia doesn't like Thor making her job harder, but I had thought that the two had more of an understanding of one another by now. Thor doesn't lash out without, at least what he considers, just cause. I can't help but agree with his logic that the threat of the dragons (maybe) attacking Equestria is insignificant next to Thor being killed or exiled by another god and leaving the ponies defenseless again.
And if they think all gods are stubborn, why exactly do they think Shelor would be satisfied with anything less than that?
Wow.
Yeah, Thor is actually in the wrong here. The way this chapter was written makes it damn clear that THOR'S STUBBORN, HEADSTRONG, AND PRIDEFUL nature are causing problems.
Thor has been wrong since day one. He should have been bowing his head and, within reason, submitting to the whims of the Equestrian gods instead of puffing up his chest and declaring that he was the baddest mofo in the realm and you'd better not cross him. While fun to read about for a little while, it culminates into this. Can you imagine if world leaders behaved like Thor? It wouldn't matter how nice Obama was if he met the other world leaders, shit on their way of life to all of their faces while wearing a shit eating grin and saying "come at me bro."
Toraxo went too far. Thor did what he had to. But with Shelor, you know what he shold have done? He should have had Discord warp them to his dimension. He should have flown into space or to the moon. She should have vacated the situation the moment it was clear that Shelor would not be talked down, but Thor would do that and it is a CHARACTOR FLAW.
They need Discord or whoever to go and fetch his girlfriend.
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I agree and disagree. Not saying your wrong because lets face it Thor is pulling some major mistakes out his cape. But I like the Prideful, pigheaded, stubborn Thor because It is much closer to his personification in mythology. To me there are two types of Thor: Marvel and Mythos. Marvel Thor learned his lesson and is very considerate and while somewhat powerful is not outlandishly powerful (many instances in Avengers of him meeting an equal in combat and losing) and is very humble(if not just nice in general). Mythos Thor is much different and was Born and Raised to do one thing, be the ultimate warrior. Unrivaled strength, incredible speed, outlandish power, an ungodly weapon that can defeat the mightiest beasts with a single blow, and the mindset of a warrior raised from birth to be the best and never submit. He is not nice and doesn't bargain or fool around because it is not in his nature. If you want his favor then you prove yourself and earn his respect or you shut up and submit to what he wants.
Thor has a sense of entitlement that has been nurtured since birth and only recently has he been trying to curb it. So this story is an odd combination of the two types of Thor and I have to say that I really like it because it is showcasing all of Thor's flaws while showing he is trying to put in effort to be a better person despite it not being natural to his personality, the one he had since birth and is only recently trying to correct after centuries of being "told" it was okay since he is a god.
Now you are correct that Thor has been making many mistakes since coming to Equis but many things he "should" be doing are currently not in his nature. Also consider enjoying the character flaws you find because a character without flaws is a very boring read and is pretty much a Mary Sue/Gary Stu.
yay he didn't die!
oh my gawd. I have a bad feeling that Thor's going to turn evil
Ok but he actually did try to talk Shelor down several times before and during the fight so uhhh what
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Funny thing here is that right now Their is a ghost. Yeah, Even odinforce Thor couldn't survive a reality destroying blast. Thor at base as he is would be totally incinerated by shelor. The author is trying to make a superman out of Thor, when this is thor, not superman.