Oh no, they're Goddesses now!

by James Pwyll

A New Life

"So...any idea why Celestia called us here?" Rainbow asked.

"Oooooooh! Maybe she's calling us for a big and super-spectacular celebration over how great it is to be Goddesses!" Pinkie suggested.

Fluttershy giggled. "Maybe she's finally decided to go with my suggestion to have all the animals of the world speak, so we can talk to them as much as we talk to each other?"

Applejack chuckled to that suggestion. "That'd be mighty fine, Fluttershy...except fer the farmers. Ah reckon it'd be pretty awkward when it came time ta take their little piggies ta market, ya hear?"

Seeing Fluttershy rather down from that, Rarity gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder, before then turning to Sunset. "I say, Sunset, I don't suppose you know why we're here, do you?"

Sunset gave a quick shrug. "Sorry, but if there's one thing my mother loves, it's being cryptic and mysterious. And no, not even I'm safe from that." She pondered that, smirking slightly. "Not that I'm complaining. Makes life interesting."

Twilight smiled sweetly to her, having a little giggle of her own. "Well, whatever it is, it must be important. I can't even remember the last time so many of us were called together like this!" She gestured to the gathering, and it truly was a sight. It wasn't just the seven of them, but virtually the entire pantheon. Tempest, Spike, the three girls, Pinkie's sisters, Big Mac, and a great many others. Any deity a mortal could think of was right here, chatting to one another or, in the case of the four youngsters, playing a quick round of rock-paper-scissors to pass the time. Twilight, adjusting her glasses, looked again to Sunset. "Do you think we should be worried?"

Sunset sighed, then looked upwards, smiling slightly. "Well...we're about to find out." Hearing that, all eyes followed her gaze, and sure enough, they all saw a great heavenly light descending down from above. Before long, Celestia was here, and beside her stood not only Luna, but Cadance as well, who was gently carrying Flurry in her arms. With the three chief Goddesses all arrived, the other Gods and Goddesses gave bows, with Twilight sneaking in a happy wave to Flurry, who eagerly returned it, much to Cadance's slight amusement. Sunset, meanwhile, simply looked to the woman she loved so much, and smiled. "Mother."

Celestia smiled back. "Sunset." The Goddess of the sun gestured to the rest, and they all rose once more. A silence followed, with Celestia looking to the faces of each and every one of them, before finally speaking. "I'm sure many of you are wondering why I've gathered you all here today, and I assure you, the matter of which I intend to speak is one of uttermost importance." Words like that caused the expected amount of hushed chatter, but a raised hand from Celestia silenced them. "We deities have many duties and responsibilities in this world, but greatest among them is the guardianship of mortalkind. Those who live, love and die upon the Earth. It is they we guide, they we protect, and they who devote themselves to us."

There was a general murmur of agreement, with Tempest speaking up soon afterwards. "When they're not disrespecting us, of course."

Celestia smirked to her briefly, but then that smile vanished, replaced with a far more serious one. Sunset knew that look well, and immediately started to worry about where this meeting was going. Celestia herself again looked to them all before addressing them. "However...it cannot have escaped anyone's notice that there have been many a time when we Gods and Goddesses have been...let's say less than benevolent to the humans. And while there are many cases of this being done without maliciousness, the fact of the matter is that the number of times we have caused issues for them has been on the rise."

Though several of them looked like they would be loathe to admit to that, there was also no denying it, given the uncomfortable looks many of them now had. Knowing she had their attention, Celestia continued. "I have given this matter much thought, and I have come to realise that we lack...perspective. So many of us are here in the Heavens, looking down on them as though they were ants beneath our feet. How many of us know their struggles? Their hopes and desires? How many of us truly understand mortals? Or what it is for them to be mortal?"

Another silence, and though some looked like they wished to dispute that claim, a few moments of thinking caused them to shut their mouths fairly quickly. Sunset, casting Twilight a quick glance, eventually turned to Celestia, taking a step forward. "Mother. We all agree with you. I know not all of us treat humans badly, but there's definitely a divide between us and them. Whatever you think we need to do to change that, I'm with you."

Celestia smiled to her daughter's support, and doubly so when she started seeing nods of agreement from several other nearby deities. Knowing she now had support for her position, she cleared her throat. "In that case, let it be known that it is my decree that, for a time, one of us is to live not above the mortals as their God...but among the mortals!"

At first, few understood what she'd meant by that. But there eventually came a time when understanding dawned, and all the pantheon knew now exactly where she was going with this. "You mean...live down there?" Spike asked.

"Yes," Celestia answered.

"With the humans?" Rainbow added.

"Yes."

"As a mortal?" Rarity enquired.

"Yes." Celestia looked around, and she had already guessed that this would be a controversial thing for her to declare to her people. Her prediction proved true, as those who were not stunned into silence were whispering to one another. As before, the Lady of the Sun raised her hand, bringing an overall quiet to the group. "I realise that this is a massive surprise. But it is one I think is necessary, if we are to truly claim that we have the interests of the mortals in mind. We cannot rule them if we do not understand what it is to be like them. What right have we to guide humanity if we do not know the perspective of those being guided? How do our decisions affect them? What it is like to have a life we know will not last forever?"

The looks on their faces gave clear sign that many were thinking the same questions. But before Celestia had a chance to speak again, Twilight stepped forward. "So...who's going down there?"

And that really was the big question in all of this, wasn't it? Who, among the great beings of this world, would become like those they sought to watch over? And though Celestia was usually a paragon of certainty and confidence when it came to her choices, Sunset could tell that this was a particular decision that even she struggled with. But the anticipation of waiting for who she'd pick was starting to become increasingly uncomfortable, and so, after sighing deeply, Sunset stepped forward. Twilight saw her, knowing what she was about to do, and looked sad because of it, even reaching out to try and stop her. But Sunset was already speaking. "Mother...I..."

"Hey there, everybody!" All turned to the new voice, and they saw that it was none other than Zephyr Breeze, coming in from behind, as well as earning a few annoyed looks from his fellow deities. "Sorry I'm late and all! But there was this fine little lady down below that I just had to introduce myself to! You should have seen her, she was a real nine!" He paused, thinking on that. "Well...maybe eight and a half." Naturally, he failed to notice his older sister give herself a facepalm over this absurd introduction he was giving, but carried on speaking anyway, clapping his hands together as he did so. "So...what are we all here for?"

Celestia blinked slowly to this arrival, then looked back to Sunset. To Sunset's shock, her mother now gave her a quick wink while nobody else was looking, then turned her attention to Zephyr. "My thanks, Zephyr. I truly appreciate your volunteering for this."

Zephyr folded his arms, chuckling and just generally looking smug. "Heh, no problem." Then he paused, his face starting to slowly twist into one of confusion. "Um...volunteer for what?" He watched, seeing Celestia raise one hand and, with a single snap, a hole in the clouds appeared beneath him. For just the briefest of moments, he looked down to it, and then, when he saw the embarrassed look on Fluttershy's face, he gulped. "...Uh-oh." He fell, falling straight down to Earth, screaming all the way. The other Gods and Goddesses gathered around the hole, seeing him go down, until he was too far away to see.

Celestia, satisfied, dusted off her hands. "Well then, I suppose that's sorted out then!"

As for Zephyr, his fall did not end gracefully, as the ground now had a brand new crater, with dust clouds scattered up everywhere. The God of the Wind, understandably groggy from the experience, groaned as he brushed off dirt and bits of debris off himself. "Uuuuuuuuuugh! That was not okay!" Then, standing to his feet, he looked back to the sky, putting his hands on his hips. "Well, guess it'll be a good story, right?" He jumped up, fully expecting to just fly up like normal. Instead, he fell back down to the ground, causing more than the usual amount of confusion. "Er...what?" He jumped again, and again, and again, but nothing happened. He tired snapping his fingers, but his powers, which he fully expected to show themselves in some way, did nothing. After a time, his eyes widened, and he understood at last what had happened. "Ooooooh...oh no."

"Lord Zephyr?" a second voice called to him.

Zephyr turned, seeing a particularly-shocked mortal with blue hair standing at the end of the crater and looking down to him. "Wait...aren't you Twilight's follower? Flashy something?"

Flash sighed. "I'm Flash Sentry, Sir. Are you okay?"

Zephyr, not wanting his current status known, simply snorted. "Pfft! What? Me? Nah! I'm fine! Totally fine! You're talking to a God after all, kid!"

Then, without warning, there was a blinding flash of light right next to Zephyr, and from it came, of all people, Fluttershy. Flash gave a respectful bow to the Nature Goddess, but Zephyr, by contrast, looked utterly uncertain as to why she was here. It soon became clear when, all of a sudden, Fluttershy gave him a plate with a tasty-looking sandwich on it. "I know I'm not supposed to help, but I wanted to give you this. Should help with your first day as a mortal." Zephyr opened his mouth to speak, only to fail to do so in time, as Fluttershy gave him a happy wave. "I'll see you when you come home, okay?"

And with that, she was gone in a second burst of divine power, leaving a very unhappy Zephyr behind her. Then, the former God remembered that he had not been alone when she came down to him, and so slowly turned to look at Flash again. The other human looked from him, to the spot where Fluttershy had been, and it was obvious to all that he'd heard that tiny detail about Zephyr being mortal right now, and so, after chuckling nervously, the latter finally spoke. "So...buddy...care to let an ex-God crash at your place?" He looked down to the plate, then offered it to him. "I'll let you take a bite, if it helps?"

Flash, understanding fully now what had just transpired in front of him, sighed deeply. "Uuuuuuuuuuugh...sure."

Comments

[LEGION55]

Good to see it's back.....ps yes he's the perfect one for the job since he's so much like Apollo.

[redandready45]

Well, Zephyr will certainly have...interesting times.

[DavisSentoV5]

Thanks Celestia for he is a God no more! Good thing to he was a pain in the ass,I do not like him at all!

[ShadowLDrago]

9918049

I'd have gone with Narcissus.

[Poet Knight]

9918273
I thought she did...

[Comickook]

VERY glad to see this series back up and running. :-D LOVED the work that went into the characterizations, exchanges and future chapter set-up in all the right places. Yeah, I can definitely see where Celestia would be inspired to go for the "one of the gods living among the mortals AS a mortal" bit. And, yeah, glad to see Zephyr get volunteered (not that he is going to survive for long without his god powers - even WITH Flash's help). All I can say is Twi and Sunset had darn well BETTER invite Flash to join in on a threesome for this, because that is the ONLY reward that would be worth putting up with Zephyr for longer than a few hours.

[Venerable Ro]

9918049

Except Apollo at least had a wide range of very real skills.

[Jagafeh]

Celestia blinked slowly to this arrival, then looked back to Sunset. To Sunset's shock, her mother now gave her a quick wink while nobody else was looking, then turned her attention to Zephyr. "My thanks, Zephyr. I truly appreciate your volunteering for this."

And so the gods truly learnt nothing from humanity. The End.

[FanOfMostEverything]

At this rate, Flash is going to become the God of Endurance and Hardship. Goodness knows he's been through enough to qualify.

[Neece]

9918522
Nah, first he'll become immortal due to Twiggles' shenanigans, spend a couple centuries continuing his plight and only then the promotion will come.

Either that or a couple of years hosting Zephyr

[LEGION55]

9918273
Lets call him a combination of the two.

[ShadowLDrago]

9918775

Works for me.

[Twilight_Shimmer]

I wish to nominate Flash Sentry to be the new Wind God in place of Zypher Breeze.

[Comickook]

9918700
Or a combination of all of the above. :-D

9919064
That WOULD be a REALLY good additional reward. Plus, the upgrade would be good for handling lovings from TWO goddesses.

[TheDriderPony]

I was so sure she was going to send everyone (with sealed memories) and then the canon show would play out.

[Omega C]

9919426
Then when return to their godhood A prank war would be waged

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

Poor Flash. He has all the luck - and none of it good. XD

[Frost E Bear]

Zephyr is now Susano.

[Ri2]

And so, the continuing torment of Flash Sentry continues.

But yeah, how are they supposed to learn about mortality from a single god? Especially THAT one?