Young Gods

Chapters

Fate and Memories
Worlds and Beliefs
Thought and Origins
Same Old Fight, Brand New Beginning
Rebirth and Inheritance
Names and Introductions
Salutations and Scheming
A Meeting of Gods
Madness Approaching
Silent Encroachment
Homecoming
First Strike
Persuasion and Parents

Fate and Memories

Young Gods

Ch. 1: Fate and Memories

The woman and her husband were crying. They were so happy. They had been trying for years to get have a child, and now the woman held her newborn son.
"What do you think we should name him?"
"I thought we already decided that we would name him after your grandfather."
"Oh, you're right." the woman said, "Hello Mat, you are such a lucky baby, not many children are born on February 29th, I bet nobody will have the same birthday as you."
The baby, Mat, looked at his mother, then smiled.

As unlikely as is seems, the woman was wrong. At the exact she was telling her newborn that, so were three other mothers.

+++++++++ 16 years in a few short seconds +++++++++

Mat grew up as a happy child. He was a good boy, he did his homework and chores, and never got into trouble. He enjoyed juggling, and was able to do so by the age of three. He enjoyed playing with dice, and made several dice games. He was a very popular boy, but his parents were worried about him. He never had any friends over, nor went to any other friends houses, he didn't go to school dances, and always seemed a bit distant.

Mat awoke with a start. It was the first period of a new school year. Mat glanced around and noticed that there were several new kids standing at the front of the class. The teacher cleared his throat and introduced the new kids.

First there was John. He was what most people would call a nerd, if not for the air of sophistication around him.

Next their was Diane. Some people might have called her cold, but Mat could tell that she was just a quiet person, but not shy, just quiet.

Lastly there was Aurora. She was a happy girl and seemed to be taking everything around her in. Mat could almost see her memorizing the face of everyone in the class.

There was one more surprise for Mat when the teacher cleared his throat and said, "Just like our Mat, all of thee new students were born on February 29th."

Mat suddenly felt great, he smiled as John, Diane, and Aurora took their seats. And he smiled even wider as memories flooded his mind.

Twilight Sparkle was dreaming. It was a very strange dream, but not one she hadn't had before.

She looked all around her, and saw only darkness, with a bit of concentration she changed her perspective, she was now looking as herself, or as what she thought was herself in this strange place. A pulsing ball of violet light, like a small purple sun. Her thoughts drifted through the peaceful void she had found herself in for the past few weeks every time she fell asleep.

Then suddenly she wasn't alone. There were four other balls of light, all far larger then Twilight's own. One was a dark blue, almost black, and Twilight felt as if she should be scared, but wasn't. Right beside is was another one, this one being pure white and so radiant, that Twilight could only think of it as a second sun. Beside these two there was a steadily glowing golden orb, and a rapidly pulsing orb whose color was constantly changing.

The four strange lights were circling each other, then suddenly they rushed together, and Twilight felt a wave of elation burst out of them. If Twilight had vocal chords, she no doubt would have shrieked in surprise. Slowly the four lights turned their attention to her. Twilight didn't know how she knew, but she could almost feel them looking at her. The lights seemed to converse for a bit, before coming to an agreement. The lights all rushed at Twilight, before enveloping her. Twilight fell into a dreamless sleep for the rest of the night.

Mat awoke with a start, with a giant creature looming over him. It had no eyes, but a multitude of slobbering mouths filled with sharp teeth. Mat shouted out and pointed his palm at the monster. Seven small objects ripped through the creature, which faded away. Calling the objects back, Mat realized that their time here was up, Mat opened the window, and dropped down, into the dead of night.

Mat was running down the road, when he heard a shout, he turned and saw John running towards him, with a golden medallion hanging around his neck.
"It's about time you woke up."
"You're just lucky that I did."
Both boys chuckled at the jokes they had made.
"Well, I guess that we should start loo..."
"Too late," interrupted a female voice, "we're already here."
Mat and John looked up to see Diane and Aurora walking towards them. Diane was holding a long black staff with a wicked silver blade at one end. Aurora was wearing a golden circlet with a emerald encrusted in the center of it.
"They caught up to us."
"They're getting faster."
"Not really, this species has a much longer life span then the last one"
"I suppose you're right, but still tonight was a close one."
"I know we should depart immediately."
All four nodded, and then were gone.

All of them became aware of there surroundings. It was dark, and each of them was a ball of light. They all waited a moment to see if they had been followed, and after a moment rushed together.
It has been such a long time since we have been here.
Not really, only 16 years.
But is was 16 years without any on you!
It's alright sister, we are all together now
Where should we go next?
A world with magic, it has been such a long time since we were in one of those.
That might be a bit difficult, there are an infinite number of worlds out there, and we don't have much time here.

All of them were suddenly aware of a smaller presence observing them. They all threw their awareness towards it.

What is it? What is it?
An enemy or a friend?

The golden orb reached out its conciseness and viewed the strange things memories.

Well is it one like us?
Well hurry up and tell us!
It is not one of us, but it holds very powerful magic, and it's world seems very ... pleasant
Well, what are we waiting for let's go!
If we follow this one back we will become incarnations, and we will be tied to her, understand?
Sounds fine.
Let's go!
I go where she goes.
Then it is settled.

All four beings rushed towards the small violet light and rode the trails of Twilight Sparkle's conciseness back into her world.

Author's Note

How was that for a start?

Any ideas, critiques, or opinions?

Also if any of you are wondering why I didn't put this in the human category, then you really didn't read the description.

Also if any of you want spoilers, no. I'm just going to be making this up as I go along, with a few fixed points. So if I read anything in the comments that sounds like a good idea to me, it may end up in here, credit given where credit is due.

Worlds and Beliefs

Young Gods

Ch. 2: Worlds and Beliefs

Author's notes:
Here is a basic guideline of how I'm going to have speech and thoughts.

"When talking out loud the format will be like this"
'When characters are thinking to themselves single quotes will be used'
When dreaming the majority of things will be italicized and non-immortal characters will be referenced to when they speak.

So far the gods/ goddesses speak like this when in dreams

Mat
John
Diane
Aurora

Also POV changes will occur through the story, but they should be fairly obvious and easy to follow.

In addition I will be asking/polling on how to advance the plot at certain times, this is because I have about eight different story lines going on in my head right now for this and I want to narrow it down a bit.

Now on with the story!

It was late in the day when Twilight woke up. The sun was already high in the sky. 'Sweet Celestia,' Twilight thought, 'I haven't slept this long in ... ever!' Twilight shook herself then froze, hearing a flurry of quiet whispers.
"Hello, is anypony there?"
Twilight listened for a moment before chuckling to herself, 'Of course nopony is here, Spike would have definitely woken me up if there was.' Twilight trotted down the stairs, almost hoping that Spike was still sleeping so he wouldn't know how late she had slept.

Coming down the stairs Twilight sighed, her hope in vain. Spike was in the kitchen making some food.
"Good morning Spike." Twilight yawned.
"Morning?" Spike chuckled, "It's almost noon Twi, did you stay up all night reading?"
"No, I just slept in, I guess."
Spike rolled his eyes, "Riiiight, well here's some lunch, Miss Sleepyhead." Spike passed Twilight a bowl of daisy salad.
"Thanks Spike." Twilight said, then thinking to herself 'I just wish I had gotten up earlier, I had so much planned for today.'
Twilight felt a strange sensation, like something was squeezing her. She looked up, Spike was gone and so was her salad. Twilight looked around, and what caught her eye was the window. Slowly she got up and headed over to it before peering out. It was barely past dawn, the sun not even completely raised yet. Twilight rubbed her eyes. 'Am I dreaming? Or was I dreaming before and sleepwalking? Or did I just ... go back in time?' Twilight quickly scratched that last thought off her list, time travel is impossible, everypony knows that. 'Since I'm pretty sure I'm awake now..', a quick nip on her foreleg confirmed this, 'ow ... I guess I was sleepwalking.' Twilight quietly headed back upstairs, and started reading A General History Of Equestria to pass the time, until her friends would be waking up, and to take her mind of the very strange event which had just occurred.

In the dark void there were four balls of light, then they were gone.

Alright, now we can talk.
Would you care to explain what that was all about?
Well, the last time we conversed She heard us, so I was placing a...
That is not what she meant and you know it! She was referring to the overabundant display of your power!
I don't know what you are referring to, it was what She wanted so I simply gave it to Her.
That was an idle thought, a passing regret, and no more!
Well I thought that it was a very nice thing to do.
We aren't saying that it wasn't nice, we're saying it wasn't necessary! I have no objection to aiding Her, but we must remain inconspicuous! If She gets suspicious, and thinks we're an enemy...

All four lights flickered at the thought at being trapped in an unfriendly mind.

Well we don't have to worry, I'm sure everything will go fine.
And if it doesn't, we'll protect each other, we always do.
I don't mean to interrupt this very touching moment, but now that we have gotten over the inane excuses from Mr. Show-off, over here...
Hey!
... I think we would all like to know who in the void, abyss, and the neverwas is this "Celestia", care to explain?
Well ... you see ... we might ... just might ... not be the only gods in this world.

If godly beings of pure concentrated energy could smack themselves in the face this would be the perfect example.

I don't suppose you could of mentioned this earlier?
Well, yes ...
I don't suppose there is anything else you "forgot" to tell us? Any other gods or goddesses, maybe a world eater or two, hmm?
Ha, ha, very funny. Only one other goddess, Princess Luna, Celestia's younger sister. There is also a god but he is ... preoccupied at the moment
What does that mean?
He's a statue
Oh ...
Well, what are their domains?
Celestia moves the Sun and controls the day, Luna holds sway over the Moon, stars and the night.
And the statue?
Discord, powers over chaos.
He might be fun to have a go at...
Calm down, we're not going to be fighting for a while, we don't even have physical bodies!
That decision will have to come at a later time, we probably won't even see Celestia, Luna, or this Discord, I mean what are the chances?
...
...
...
Please, please tell me that I didn't just say that.
You did, which makes this next bit of news slightly less surprising.
What now?

The void tinged purple from the irritation coming from the darkest light.

Ahem ... well ... um ... you see...
It's alright, what is it?
So ... there could be a ... chance ... a very small chance ... of a possibility ... that maybe ... just maybe...

GET ON WITH IT!

That our current vessel, Twilight Sparkle, is the protege of Celestia.

There was another wonderful demonstration of nigh-omnipotent beings smacking themselves in the face.

I don't know if I should blame you for not telling us sooner, or you for bringing Her to us in the first place.
I didn't bring Her to us, it was a coincidence!
...
...
...
Now that I think about it, that sounded really dumb coming from me. But in all honesty I didn't cause it to happen.
Well the explanation is simple.
Really?
Of course, if She really is close to Celestia, then She would simply gain some divine energy just from being near her, which would explain how She got into the Voidscape to begin with, and when we appeared She was drawn to us, like a star pulling in a meteor, and it would also explain how She is able to house us, if She was just a normal mortal, She would have probably been disintegrated, killed, or at the very least had Her mind obliterated by our combined energies when we entered this world.
It's really creepy when you two do that, you know.
Well I think they got most of it right except for the last part, I think that this would be the easiest way to explain it...

A pulse of memories surged out of the golden light, and distorted the other lights before being absorbed. There were a few moments of silence while the three gods were digesting the newly gained memories and experiences.

So, the Elements of Harmony.
Sounds very nice.
So, some kind of demigod-making set of magical items?
That would be my guess, yes.
Well this will make things a bit more difficult
Yes, I agree, but we all knew that this would only be a limited revive. She wouldn't have been able to hold us for very long, and being a demigoddess only shortens the time we have here.
I guess that means that it is time for us to gain bodies for ourselves.
Well at least this is a magical world, so we won't lose all of our memories and powers.
That's why I like them so much, there always so much fun!
This is going to take some time, so we should begin immediately.

The lights glowed brighter and brighter, before fading away, leaving only darkness once again.

Author's Note

How was that?
I hope you are all enjoying the story so far, and that I didn't disappoint.
In case you didn't get what was going on between the gods, they were basically bickering, while they got a crash course in Equestrian History 101.

If any of you are confused about any events that have happened this chapter just say it in the comments, and I will be happy to explain.

And as always comments, critique, and thoughts are all welcomed.

Thought and Origins

Young Gods

Ch. 3: Thought and Origins

Key:
Mat
John
Diane
Aurora
All of the above

Thought
Void
Vice

This chapter might be a bit dark.

Also just letting you know that I wrote most of this on a tablet, so there will probably be some spelling mistakes, and format mistakes. Let me know if you see any.

The four lights, seeking balance, flowed around each other.

It has been such a long time since we tried this last.
We just need to concentrate, and remember what we were taught.
We need to remember the feeling, the experience of when we first were.
Remember and Repeat the mantra.

Focus
Remember
Accept
Believe

The four gods focused, and fell back into a memory from the beginning, their beginning.

The Being was tired, it had been living in Utopia since it had came to be, it was powerful, but that was pointless when one was alone. The Being felt an urge, an unstable need, The Being gave in. It Created.

Grinning in triumph another Being felt the act of Creation.
I knew it, that one would never be able stay quite forever. The first move has been made, and now our battle begins.

The Being melded with it's lover. It had never know she was there, just she had never known of him. To him she was peace and freedom, to her he was hope and passion. Together they Created, joining as one making and four new lives, before she returned to her domain.
The Being was happy, he was now a he, no longer an it, and he was no longer lonely. The four new lives looked up to the being, and said the one thing which would make the coming horror worth it.
Father

It had been many years since the act of Creation and the new lives had grown. One day they asked,
Father, do we have names?
The Being replied yes, but he did not know them, as names were sacred, and one had to find their name for themselves. The new lives paused, then asked,
Father, do you have a name?
My children, my name was revealed to me when I Created you, so I shall tell you, I am Thought.

Focus
Remember
Accept
Believe

In the paradise of Utopia the Children of Thought learned. They learned from experience, and from observing, but they enjoyed learning the most when they were taught by Thought.
The lessons from Thought were always important, and Thought was patient and answered every question that was asked.
The Children of Thought wondered what all living things did, how did I come to be?
Thought explained that they were gods creatures of the mind that come from the mind, that they were made of beliefs, dreams, hopes, wonders, and necessity. Thought explained that he himself came from the belief in sentience and the mind.
Thought explained how the four gods were made of the four constants in all of the worlds, and that they would be able to draw power from them.
Thought then felt a disturbance and decided then that he would tell his children about the coming battle, and their role in it.
Thought began to explain, about how the mind was powerful, but delicate, and that the amazing things that were created were balanced by the primal terrors which lurk deep in the psyche. Thought told them of his opposite and brother, who could only destroy, but longed to Create.
Thought told the gods of Vice, the name his brother had taken after he had first tried to kill Thought. Thought explained how Vice reached deep into the mind and began to pull out the monsters contained within to serve him. Thought called these the Monsters of the Mind.
There were the Fears, weak creatures, but so numerous that millions could die, and billions would be their to take their place.
Then there are the Pains and Memories, which consume each other along with Fears to become stronger, twisting the mind and growing from the chaos.
The Phobias came next. Fears that have been worshiped, or accepted by many, gaining powers far greater then all Fears combined.
The generals of Vice's army were the Sins and the Guilts. Powerful creatures and nearly impossible to destroy. These creatures could force their will over trillions of Fears, Pains, and Memories, molding them all into a single destructive force. The only weakness they held was that they could only act in a limited way, having no other ideas and plans, aside from those they were born with.
The final monster that Vice called forth were the Mad. Whole minds which had lost their belief in Thought. Far stronger then any of the others, the Mad were nearly impossible to control, but fortunately they were few and far between.
Father, why are you telling us this?"
Vice is coming, he learned of this place when I Created you, and has been gathering his forces. You will have to leave, you will flee, hide, and remain safe.
When will we leave, Father?
Thought shuddered as a rift was opened into Utopia,
You must go now, Vice has arrived.
But Father, we don't know how!
Do not worry, I will help you.
The four gods turned around to see a large figure, darker than anything.
This is your mother. She will keep you safe. Now listen, you must not come back here, not for a long time, not until you can Create, not just make. Now goodbye my children. I will keep Vice trapped here, but the Monsters of the Mind will soon follow you. As long as you survive, I will preserver.
The dark figure swept over her children and the last sight they saw, before fading, was their father grappling with a corrupted reflection of himself, while Utopia was swarmed by uncountable horrors.

Focus
Remember
Accept
Believe

In the darkness the gods searched, they reached out to each other, but were unable to touch. Waves of sorrow rolled off them, and pulses of compassion were sent in return.
My children, my precious children, do not despair.
But Mother, where are we? Why can we not find each other?
You are in my domain, I am Void. The cost of coming here was your physical shell. You will be safe here and I will teach you.
Hours, seconds, years, days passed and the gods learned. When the gods could no longer stay, their mother taught them a final lesson.
"Listen careful, my children, for this is how to make yourself a body, a vessel to exist in other worlds..."

Author's Note

Whoops, I lied. Their powers were not explained in this chapter, but will be soon.
I hope you all enjoyed this, and sorry for the lengthy explanations. I know allot of you wanted some back story, so ta-da!

If any of you have questions, don't hesitate to ask.

And as always comments, critique, and thoughts are all welcomed.

Same Old Fight, Brand New Beginning

Young Gods

Ch. 4: Same Old Fight, Brand New Beginning

Key:
Mat
John
Diane
Aurora
All of the above

Here you all go, the next chapter. And not just that, it's a loooooooong chapter, considering a fair number of you asked for it.

Hope you enjoy!

'Today's going to be a good day.' Twilight thought, and so far she was right. Asides from the strange sleepwalking episode, which she had promptly forgot about while reading A General History Of Equestria, the day was going absolutely perfect. After Twilight had finished reading, she headed downstairs to make herself some breakfast. After eating, Twilight had headed over to Sugar Cube Corner to talk to Pinkie Pie about the congratulations-Fluttershy-for-helping-your-ten-thousandth-animal party, she had been planning. After a few hours of organizing the party, and eating (Pinkie called it "testing") cupcakes, Twilight headed back to the Library. On the way she bumped into Rarity, who asked if Twilight could let her borrow Spike tomorrow, so she could go gem hunting. After telling Rarity she would think about it, Twilight continued back home,simply overjoyed, and not about Spike.
She was excited because of a letter she had gotten from Princess Celestia a few days ago:

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

My sister Luna will be heading to the old castle, in the Everfree Forest, in a few days. She will be looking for anything which may still remain there and possible be useful. I was hoping that you could accompany Luna, as I believe that you would enjoy exploring the castle, and it would make Luna happy as well. Who knows, you might find an old tome, or lost artifact there.

Your teacher,
Princess Celestia.

Of course Twilight had accepted, it wasn't every day that you got to explore one of the most famous ruins around. She was simply giddy with the thought of discovering some long lost history, or relic. Well, there was no time to waste, Princess Luna had informed her that they would meet on the edges of the Everfree, then head in.
'Today is going...'

'... to be a good day.' Luna thought, as she lighted down in the ancient courtyard. She could almost picture it, the way it used to look. 'Great majestic halls, grand statues, and...'
Luna shook her head, reminding herself that this wasn't her home anymore, time and the forest had seen to that. But still she had to come back here, she knew that her sister had planned to get her out, instead of just moping about all night, Luna also knew that Celestia had set up the excursion with Twilight Sparkle, to help her become more friendly. 'It will be nice, when I can make friends without Celestia's help.'
Friends? Why would you need those.
"WHO HAST SPOKEN, WE DEMAND THAT THEE SHOW THYSELF"
Oh, Luna ... don't you remember me, we spent so much time together.
Luna shook slightly as she remembered that voice, that cold, vicious voice. The voice that had convinced her to attack Celestia all those years ago.
"You aren't here, you aren't real," Luna whimpered.
Of course I am, the ponies still fear you, they sill hate you, why not come back to me, everything was so much easier then.
The voice seamed so sincere, so compassionate, Luna took a step forward, then stopped.
"N-no, I'm n-not going to go back to you. Ever."
The voice turned cold, So be it.
A dark cloud leaped at Luna, engulfing her. Luna struggled, and got out. Turning around she launched herself into the air, only to fall back down, a glance revealed that her wings were much smaller now, unable to hold herself aloft. So she ran, and everything seemed so much larger, more imposing, more sinister. Luna continued running, driven by a fear she had never felt before. She just had to make it out of the forest, then everything would be fine.

"Now are ya sure, that ya don't need us ta come with you?" Asked Applejack for the tenth time.
"I'm sure, Applejack. I am perfectly capable of looking after myself, and besides Princess Luna will be there, so we'll be completely safe." Twilight was touched by her friends' concern. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash had all shown up to wish their friend good luck, and asked if she wanted them to come. Twilight knew that none of them really wanted to go but still, it was nice that they were showing an interest.
"Well, if you need to, just call for help, and I'll be there in ten seconds fla - oof." Said Rainbow dash, as a small filly ran out of the Everyfree, and right into her.
"What the hay!? Who do you think yo..."
Dash trialled off as she saw that what she had first assumed to be a Unicorn filly, in fact had wings, and a cutie mark, a crescent moon cutie mark.
"Princess Luna? What happened?"
A familiar voice drifted out of the forest.
"Hmph, nothing to worry about why do you ask?"
The mane 6 looked on in shock, as a familiar form stepped out of the forest.
"B-but how? We defeated you..."
"Did you now? Well it seems you didn't do as good of a job as you thought you did." Nightmare Moon threw back her head laughing.
"This is perfect, all the bearers, but none of the Elements."
Nightmare Moon sent a blast of magic that sent them all flying back. Nightmare Moon walked towards the now prone Luna. Twilight, having been able to shield herself at the last second, flung herself in front of the Princess.
"Don't come any closer."
"Oh my, how terrifying, what are you going to do, make me grow a mustache? With out the elements of harmony you can do nothing to stop me."

Well this isn't good.
We have to help.
This is an incredibly delicate situation and we ca...
No, she's right, if Twilight dies we will cease to exist, that's the price for hiding in her head I guess.
It's alright, I'll cover things here, and you three go and help out.
Keeping complete control over this process by yourself? It's practically impossible.
Well that does make him the best candidate.
Alright, we'll go, just try to keep everything under control.
Got it, now hurry up.

"What could you possibly hope to do to defeat me, Nightmare Moon, when I have the powers of a go..."
"Fear." said the voice of a stallion. Nightmare Moon glanced around.
"No, with that much power it probably a Phobia."
"But, it seems that it has been able to absorb a Guilt, how interesting."
Nightmare Moon looked back at Twilight as she realized that the voices were coming from the lavender unicorn.
"What did you say?"
Nightmare Moon was startled as she saw Twilight's eyes, because they weren't hers. Instead they were filled with a dark purple, almost black. Then they changed, radiating a golden light.
"Well I suppose that we are going to have to get rid of you. With one thousand years of fear, hate, and memories to feed you, you are quite bloated."
All present were shocked, for several reasons. First Twilight had a stallions voice, second her eyes changing different colors, third she had just insulted one of the greatest threats Equestria had ever faced.
"W-what are you?"
"Twi? What's going on?"
Twilight smiled, then she was gone. Nightmare Moon cried out as a large silver blade sliced through her. She fell to the ground, and vines grew up around her, holding her in place. Nightmare Moon looked up in terror as Twilight approached with a great blade floating beside her.
"When you see Vice, tell him the Children of Thought say hello."
Nightmare Moon shrieked as the blade rended her to wisps, which faded away in the breeze.
Twilight's friends slowly approached her. The blade faded away, and Twilight turned back to her friends, her eyes back to normal.
"Wha..." was all she was able to get out before she collapsed to the ground, her friends rushing to help her.

Well that went well.
It's been a long time since we had a decent fight.
That fight wasn't decent, it was pathetic.
Now I know you all are enjoying this, but I could use a bit of help here.
The strain pulsing out from the rapidly shifting light caused some small waves of embarrassment from the three others.
Sorry. We'll help now.
So whats the bad news?
Well, I managed to prevent any huge things, but there is one small problem
Which would be what?
Well, we're going to be split in our new bodies.
How split?
Two perfect halves.
Well that's not that ba...
One half will contain all our memories and our current personalities will be the dominant ones. The other half will hold all our powers, and have brand new personalities, befitting their appearance.
So, were going to play "dream teacher" with a bunch of toddlers?
Not completely, if any of us are in serious trouble we'll be able to temporary take over, but not permanently.
Ugh, how long until we meld together again?
That is an excellent question.
Well we might as well make the best of it, you all realize that we are going to teach them right?
And?
Ahhh, I see where this is going, this could be rather enjoyable actually.
Well I hate to interrupt, but we have a scheduled to keep. So let's get back to work.

Twilight woke up in the Ponyville Hospital. 'What happened, there was Nightmare Moon and... Nightmare Moon!' Twilight opened her eyes and glanced to the window, relief flooding through her as she saw the sun shining in. She turned her head to see a very large, pink face.
"She's awake!"
Twilight looked around and saw that all of her friends were there.
"Twi, don't go scaring us like that!"
"Yeah, but that was sooo awesome, how did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Ya mean, ya don't remember?"
"Only that Nightmare Moon was there, then ... nothing."
"Well you beat that meanie good! Though it was a bit freaky with the giant blade thingy, and the crazy glowing eyes, oh, oh, tell me how you did those strange voices, I didn't know you could talk that deep!"
"Calm down Pinkie, what blade, glowing eyes, and voices?"
"Well after Nightmare Moon had sent us flying with that horrid attack, you stood between her and Luna..."
"Luna! How is she, is everything alright?
"Yes, yes, Luna is fine, in fact she left a few hours ago to speak with Princess Celestia. Now where was I ..."
"Ah got this part Rarity. Well you were standin' up to Nightmare Moon when suddenly you started talking in these weird voices. You sounded like a stallion, and when you spoke like that yer eyes would glow gold. There were also two other voices, these ones were mares. One made yer eyes glow really dark, the other had yer eyes glowing a pale green."
"Then you were so awesome. You started dissing Nightmare Moon, and she was all like "Ahhh" and then you were all like "Attack!" then you had this giant blade! Then you went poof, and vanished, then appeared next to Nightmare Moon, then you ripped her apart with the blade, it was sooo cool!"
"You also said something about the "Children of Thought and Vice" any idea of what that was all about?"
'Sorry girls, not a clue."
"Well, we can worry about that later, right now we have to prepare for a Yay-Twilight-Beat-Nightmare-Moon-Again-And-Is-Completely-Fine party!!"
With that the over-exuberant pink pony hopped out of the room.
"We'll let you rest up for the party, alright?"
"Thanks," Twilight yawned, before falling back asleep.

'Pinkie had really outdone herself.' Twilight thought. It was the day after she had gotten out of the Hospital, and last night's party had been huge! Twilight still couldn't believe that Pinkie had made a life-sized cake of them all. Twilight stretched, and got out of bed. A moment later Spike came barreling into the room.
"Uh, Twi, we have a problem."
"What's wrong, Spike?"
"Well, you should see for yourself."
Twilight let herself be led downstairs by Spike. What she saw made her jaw drop. There in the middle of the library were four castles made of books, but that wasn't what shocked Twilight. Running around in-between the castles were hundreds of tiny ponies. Grabbing one with her telekinesis, she looked at it. It was an exact likeness of a guard stallion, made of clay. It had stopped moving when she picked it up. When she put it down it ran off to join the battle. That was what Twilight was seeing, a miniature war in her library. Looking closely she could see that the different teams were doing different things.
Every time one of the clay ponies died it would get up and all the clay would fall off, revealing a eerie skeleton made of stone. These skeletons would gather with one of the armies before returning to battle.
And every so often when one of the clay ponies died there would be a glow around it then it would rise up again, completely fine.
The two other sides were very strange. One had a very small army which would appear around the battlefield and ambush the other armies before disappearing once again. And the last army would just run any which way, attacking far larger groups and somehow winning with very little damage.
Twilight looked at this display of powerful magics for what seemed like an eternity. Then she cautiously took a step into the battleground. At once all the clay ponies stopped and turned to her, Twilight regretted her decision almost immediately. Then they all bowed. The book castle fell apart, revealing four very young ponies. Two female, one a unicorn, the other a pegasus, and two males, both earth-ponies.
The pegasus was a very dark purple, almost a cross between Luna's coat and Twilight's. Her mane and tail were both completely black. On her flank Twilight could see a cutie mark.
'Wait, a cutie mark? Clearly they are all far to young to have cutie marks.'
Looking closer, Twilight saw the pegasus's cutie mark, and shuddered. It was a sideways skull superimposed over a silver blade.
The unicorn was a bright white, with a pale green mane. Her cutie mark was a blooming flower wrapped around a golden tiara.
The first of the two males had a golden coat, as in it was literally metallic, with a slightly duller mane. His cutie mark was very interesting. It was an hourglass partially burred in sand. Around it were Romane numerals from one to twelve.
The last colt had a light brown coat, with a dark orange mane. His cutie mark puzzled Twilight, it was a group of six cubes with dots on them, connected at the corners making a ring.
Twilight cleared her throat, then said, very gently, "Hello there, do you know where your parents are?"
The four young ponies looked around puzzled then all pointed at Twilight and shouted,
"MOMMY!"

Author's Note

Well, this will be interesting. Bet none of you saw that coming!
But in all seriousness, what do you think? Good idea? Bad idea?
I only have one thing to say, Twi's got her hooves full.

And as always please give me criticisms, comments, thoughts, etc. about Young Gods.

Rebirth and Inheritance

Young Gods

Ch. 5: Rebirth and Inheritance

Key:
Mat
John
Diane
Aurora
All of the above

Also with the introduction of the new god babies the thoughts will be differentiated by bolding the elders.

I really don't know what to put here... except a warning of a severely damaged wall.

Alright! Next chapter.

I think they might have broke her...

Twilight stared at the four children around her, her mind going into overdrive. 'They called me mommy. Do they think I'm their mother? Where would they get that idea from? If I'm the mother, then whose the father?' Twilight blushed, and pulled her mind away from that particular train of thought.
Twilight's continued ponderings were interrupted when a certain pink pony hopped into the library.
"Hey Twilight hows it going? I just came by to see if you needed any help cleaning up the party, but you have everything tidied up and..." Pinkie Pie let out a HUGE gasp, "Twilight where did you find them, they're so adorable, whose are they, I've never seen them in Ponyville before so they must be new, where are their parents? Are you babysitting them? Can I help? Can I? Can I? Can I? Can I? Can I? Can I?"
"PINKIE!" Twilight shouted, the pink party pony's prattling clearing her mind a bit.
"Oh don't be such a shouty-pouty, Twilight. Hey there, where are you parents?" Pinkie asked the little ones, who were watching her with a combination of confusion and interest.
"Mommy." once again gesturing to Twilight.
"Oh Twilight, I didn't know you had kids! Why didn't you tell us? How long have you had them? Whose the father? How old are they? What are their names?"
"I don't know..."
"But Twilight look at them, their your own children, how can you not know their names? Hey there can you tell me you names?"
The little ponies looked at Pinkie with some confusion. "Na-me?"
Pinkie let out another huge gasp, "Twilight!" she said sounding scandalized, "you haven't even named them yet? And you said I wasn't responsible enough to babysit."
"PINKIE!!!" Twilight shouted again, now having completely straitened out her thoughts. "I don't know where they came from, I had NEVER seen them before five minutes ago!"
"Pinkie Promise?"
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Twilight remembered to close her eye before poking it with her hoof.
"Okie dokie lokie, hmmmm, we're going to have to give them names!"
"Um, Pinkie, are you sure?"
"Of course! Didn't you hear them they have no names, and we can't keep on calling them them forever, the readers would get tired of it very quickly." The last part was aimed at an unseen audience.
"What was that, Pinkie?"
"Nothing."
"OK then... what do you think we should name them?"
"Hmmmmmmmmmmm... I GOT IT! We should ask the rest of the girls to help!" And with that Pinkie bounced out the door, hauling a very startled Twilight along with her, with four tiny ponies racing to keep up.

So... would you care to explain that one, Mat?
Well it's all very simple.
Oh is it, yes I can see it now, you just wake up and have virtually no knowledge about anything, and decide that the first stranger to walk into the room is your mother.
The sarcasm was almost palatable.
It's all very simple to explain, they think Twilight is their mother because ... Twilight is their mother.
What?
Why did you do that?!
I was under allot of pressure at the time, so I had to ... improvise.
...
...
...
I'll take that as a "Good job, please continue." Well the bodies weren't forming fast enough, so I had to use a genetic base to speed up the process.
That doesn't fully explain it, you can't make a unique life using the same genetic coding, you need to have a second set to make a body properly.
Excellent point Aurora, I was just getting around to that. Well you see, there were quite a few other sets to choose from... so I just ... borrowed ... yeah borrowed ... some DNA from the others around us.
That's quite clever actually, how did you do it?
Well you see first I had to isola...
WHO DID YOU MAKE US FROM!
Well Diane, you used the largest amout of energy, and your body was sorely lacking, so I grabbed hold of the nearest, large source of power to complete it.
Don't tell me...
OK I won't. Oh wait sarcasm, right. Yeah you probably guessed right, it was Luna. As for you, Aurora, I used the one most attuned to nature, Fluttershy.
yay
Who did you use for me?
Isn't it obvious, James? It was PINKIE PIE!
When you don't have a face it is incredibly hard to deadpan, but James did a remarkable job.
Alright, bad time for jokes, it was Applejack.
Well, what about you?
That's for me to know, and for you to figure out.

Celestia was worried, it had been two days since the incident, and she still wasn't saying what had happened. 'Luna, why won't you open up to me? You haven't come out of you room since you got back.' Celestia was desperate for her sister to get better, and she was also desperate to find out what had happened. 'That's it, I'm going to find out what went wrong, and I won't rest until I do!' With that thought Celestia teleported to her sister's door.
"Luna, it's me, Tia, please let me in." There was no answer. "Luna, I'm coming in, alright?" Again silence. Celestia slowly opened the door, slipped in, and shut it again. Celestia looked around and saw Luna curled up under her covers. She walked over and laid down beside her.
"Tia? Is that you?" Luna poked her head out of the covers, and Celestia was shocked to see her eyes were red and puffy, she'd been crying.
"Luna, what happened? Nopony knows, please you can tell me."
"I-I was so scared Tia. I had never been that scared before, not even when Discord turned. It knew me Tia, knew everything about me, I couldn't stop it, I could only run."
"What was it Luna?"
"I-It was her, Nightmare Moon." The last part came out no more than a whisper. Celestia was shocked, she didn't understand, had her sister became that thing once again?
"But it wasn't me, it was her, but she wasn't in me. She had a body, my body, but it was her own." Luna started to cry again after this, and Celestia comforted her as best she could. When Luna finished she continued her story.
"I ran out of the Everfree, to get to the Elements, they were the only ones who could beat it. They were all there, right at the edge, but there wasn't enough time, she was too close, and the Bearers didn't have the Elements with them. She started to attack, we couldn't do anything." Celestia listened to her sister's tone, it was worse then fear, it was complete despair.
"Luna, you don't have to continue if you don't want to." Even though Celestia said this, she was still curious as to haw they had gotten out of this apparently impossible situation.
"It's OK, Tia. I need to get this out." Luna took in a deep breath before continuing, "Everypony except Twilight was down, and she was barely able to stand up. Nightmare Moon started to taunt her, then it happened."
"Luna, what was it?"
"I'm not really sure, it was like there was another thing within Twilight, that possessed her. What ever it was started to talk to itself, it had different voices, and it was talking about Nightmare Moon. I don't understand what it was saying, but when it attacked... I had never seen anything like it. It had to have used magic, but I couldn't sense any from Twilight, none at all. It moved, teleported, but far faster, and it decimated Nightmare Moon in less than a second. It was just after that, when I passed out." Celestia smiled gently at her sister, and whispered,
"Thank you for telling me."
"Thank you for listening."

Nightmare Moon swirled around, confused. Where was it? What was happening? Suddenly it saw something that sent awe running thought it's entire being. Two giant creatures locked together in a desperate struggle, neither yielding, each equal to the other.
Nightmare felt itself being pulled towards the more demonic of the two.

Who are you?
"N-n-nightmare M-moon"
Do you know who I am?
One of the most powerful beings in all of Equestria feared by millions had no hesitation when it spoke.
"Master"
You have served me well, and shall be ... rewarded.

The giant figure started to inhale, sucking Nightmare Moon into it's being. But it was not consumed, inside the most powerful force of destruction in all of existence, it was safe, it was an observer.

You shall get to see this battle to the end, for informing me of where my targets are.

Maniacal laughter filled the air as an infinite number of horrors from the deepest crevices of the mind slowly began to turn towards their new goal, a single, small reality, which held the beings they had been made to destroy.

What a wonderful time for a hunt.

Author's Note

Oh, no! What ever shall happen?
Well if you knew that than you wouldn't be reading this story.

Also any of you have suggestions for baby names?
I've got a few, but I'd like some more ideas, credit will be given where credit is due.

And, as always, I appreciate your:
Comments, Criticism, and Thoughts, as long as you aren't trolling me.

P.S. Have fun guessing who Mat used to make his counterpart's body.

P.P.S. Quickly pass me some bricks, I have to repair the huge hole Pinkie left in the fourth wall before the next chapter!

Names and Introductions

Young Gods

Ch. 6: Names and Introductions

Key:
Mat
John
Diane
Aurora
All of the above

Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie were resting under some trees on Sweet Apple Acres. They were also having a unique discussion.
"So Twilight, now that we're all together, will you explain what's going on? You're cutting into my nap-time." Rainbow Dash said.
"Yeah, what's with all the little 'uns?"
Pinkie took in a huge breath, and Twilight promptly shoved a hoof in her mouth.
"I think I should be the one to explain, Pinkie."
Pinkie nodded vigorously and Twilight removed her hoof.
"Okie dokie lokie."
Twilight paused for a moment, organizing her thoughts.
"Well, Spike woke me up this morning, saying there was a problem. So I headed down to see what was going on, and the library was a battlefield, literally. These four were having a miniature war, using some really powerful animation magic."
"But only one of them is a unicorn."
"I'm not sure how it was happening entirely, but each of them was definitely using magic. After I interrupted the battle...game? I guess that's what it was, after I interrupted it they all stopped and ran over to me. I have know idea where they came from, or who they are."
"Well why didn't you ask them?"
"I did, Rarity, but they don't seem to have names, or if they do they can't remember them."
"And that's terrible, which is why I decided that we should gather all you up and give them names, because we can't call them 'you', 'them', and 'the little ponies' forever. And then after we name them we can have a NAME-DAY PARTY!"
"Pinkie, ah think you might be a bit ahead of yerself there. I there anything else, Twi?
"MOMMY!" the four babies shouted.
"Oh, that's right, they all think that I'm there mother."
"Well this is quite strange, if I do say so. Twilight, have you thought about asking around Ponyville, or perhaps sending a letter to the Princess? It would be nice to find out where they came from, and if what you say is true, and they can all use magic, wouldn't that be something the Princess would be interested in, or know something about it?"
"Well I would have, except somepony," Twilight glared at Pinkie, " has been dragging me around town all morning!"
"Don't be such a mopy-dopy Twilight. You can send the Princess a letter, right after we've named th..."
Pinkie was cut short when all of the leaves in the tree they were under suddenly fell on them.
"What in tarnation?" said Applejack, spitting out a mouthful of dead leaves, with more leaves falling every few seconds. All of the little ones were giggling, as the pegasus would tap the tree, withering all the leaves, then the unicorn would poke it and all the leaves would grow back.
"Wha...?" said all present, minus Twilight.
"Ugh...can you please stop that?"
"Twilight, I think we might want to hurry up on the naming business before they start doing anything else."

Finally! I thought they would never give them names.
Don't be so impatient, we really can't start teaching them anything until they are named anyways.
I just hope they come up with some decent names.

"How about Sun Dial? Or how about Time Turner?"
"We could call her Grave stone, but that sounds so ghastly, maybe something like Dusk Ghost, hmm..."
"Ohh, his cutie mark is dice, just like in some of my board games! Lets try Six Sides, no that's silly. Oh, I got it! Odd Chance!"
"I-I-I have an idea for her...we could call her Early Spring...if that's alright with you...eep."

I have no words to describe this.
Yeah...I really hope we don't get any of those choices.
Well I don't think mine is that bad.
Lucky you, the rest of us are kinda getting the short end of the stick with these names.
Just wait a bit longer, I'm sure they'll come up with some great names soon.

About thirty minutes and two-hundred names later

"Alright," Twilight said with a huff, "We FINALLY figured out what we're going to call them. One of you come up here."
The golden coated young colt got up and walked over to Twilight
"Your name is going to be Golden Sands, do you like it?"
Golden Sands made a giant smile and gave Twilight a hug.
"I guess that's a yes. Alright who wants to come up next."
After some deliberation, the dark purple pegasus clambered over to the group.
"Alright, how does Midnight Specter sound to you?"
After a moments thought Midnight Specter nodded and nuzzled Twilight, before going over to join Golding Sands, where he was sitting.
'OK, only two more names left.' Twilight thought before saying, "Who's going to be next?"
The unicorn looked at the other nameless pony, who nodded, before she ambled over to Twilight.
"How do you feel about, Blooming Orchid?"
Blooming Orchid gave a "squee" and gave Twilight a hug, before hurrying over to Golden Sands and Midnight Specter.
Twilight looked back to see the last unnamed pony waiting expectantly in front of her. Twilight cleared her throat before continuing.
"What do you think about...Lucky Roll?"
After a moment, Lucky Roll shrugged and nodded his head, then ambled over to the rest of his family.
Twilight let out a deep breath, and turned to look at her friends.
"Well, that took a while. Now, Pinkie, will you let me write a letter to Princess Celestia?"
"Okie, dokie, lokie."
Twilight headed off towards the library to find Spike, with Golden Sands, Midnight Specter, Blooming Orchid, and Lucky Roll following close behind.
"They're just like ducklings." Fluttershy said.

"TWILIGT, TWILIGHT!"
Twilight heard her name being called as she approached the library. She turned around to see Spike running to her, panting heavily.
"Twilight, " gasped Spike, taking large amounts of air, "I've been looking all over for you."
"Why Spike? Did something happen?"
"Well a while after you...left...I got a letter from the Princesses, saying that they're both going to be coming to see if you recovered from the 'incident' yet, and if you can answer their questions."
"This is perfect, now I don't need to send a letter to Celestia, I can just ask her when she gets here. That would be...when, Spike?"
"In about twenty minutes."
"Tw-twenty minutes?"
With this Twilight dashed to the library and peered inside, the remains of the mini-war still scattered about. She desperately began to clean and tidy the library to get it into a better condition, while being watched by four amused newly named ponies, and one exasperated dragon. After about ten minutes of Twilight's antics Golden Sands, Midnight Specter, Blooming Orchid, and Lucky Roll decided to take a nap. It had been a very exciting day, and they had expended allot of their energy playing. They all found a relatively out of the way corner of the library and curled up together and went to sleep.

Well it's about time!
The four ponies looked around. They were in a strange place, it looked like the library, but there were no books, or anypony else, for that matter. Looking the the windows all that could be seen was darkness.
W-whose there?
We are.
And who are you?
I suppose you could say that we are...your family, we are your brothers and sisters.
The ponies felt a rush of reassurance, somehow knowing that these, whatever they were, were telling the truth.
Well then, where are we, who are you, and why are we here?
You are in your minds, and converged dreamscape created by the combination of our psyches, and we already told you we are your kin.
She meant what are your names.
Well, you can call us Mat, Diane, John, and Aurora. You are here so that we may teach you.
Teach us what?
About your power, how to control it, what you can do.

With this the library split into four, isolating each of the ponies with a strangely familiar glowing presence.

Golden Sands, you are like me, a God of Time. You can control the speed at which things happen, the personal time flow around each individual, and even stop time in it's entirety. Eventually you will be able to view all that has happened, and all that could happen.

Blooming Orchid, my sister, you are a Goddess of Life. You can cause plants to bloom in barren earth, you can shape and move them to your will, you can heal wounds, fix bones, cleanse minds, cure disease, and eventually revive the recently deceased.

Midnight Specter, during your life you may be feared, hated, even attacked. I understand this and will offer what comfort I may, for you are a Goddess of Death. You can inflict injury, cause famine, plague, and war. You can give rest to the troubled, and and an end to the wicked. You can speak to spirits, and visit the realms of the dead. You have stewardship over all the bodies of the dead, and they will serve you. Finally you will be able to resurrect the dead, but only just.

Lucky Roll, my dear brother, my closest kin, you are very powerful, but your power is unwieldy. This is because you are a God of Entropy, better known as natural chaos, or even simply luck, but far greater. You can tip the balance of fortune, affect chance and causality, overrule the decreed fate of another, even a fate decreed by another god. Your power is rooted in balance and unbalance, give and take, order and chaos, yin and yang. You could survive falling down a flight of three hundred stairs, and walk away with no injuries, then in a few minutes trip over a pebble and break your leg. Your power is unpredictable at first, but with practice you will be able to feel you way through it's patterns, and completely control it.

The library rushed back together and for a moment there was silence, while the four digested this new, yet ancient, knowlage.

Whoa

"Whoa" indeed, that was your first lesson. Now I believe that you should rest, you will be having a very important meeting soon.

Author's Note

Sorry for the late update, I was taken by a sudden combination of homework, a cold, and lethargy, resulting in writer's block, but it's all good now.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

Please criticize, comment, and correct.

That is all, good night.

or day, or afternoon, depending on when you read this.

Salutations and Scheming

Young Gods

Ch. 7: Salutations and Scheming

Author's notes:

Key:
Elder: Younger: Domain:
Mat Lucky Roll Luck
John Golden Sands Time
Diane Midnight Specter Death
Aurora Blooming Orchid Life
All All

Twilight was laying of her couch panting. She had been rushing to get the library cleaned up for the princesses, and she was exhausted. Suddenly she bolted up glancing all around, before letting out a breath of relief. The four foal were still there. They were curled up, out of the way, sleeping.

'They're so cute,' Twilight shook her head, 'Focus Twilight, you have to remember everything that has happened. Once the Princesses get here everything will be sorted out.'

Twilight gave the Library one last look, seeing if everything was in place. Satisfied she headed out the front door to wait for the Princesses. Twilight glanced up at the sky.

'The Princesses should be here any minute now. I should be ably the see their chariots by now. I wonder if something happened. The Princesses wouldn't be late for something this important, they jus...'

Twilight's thoughts were cut off as a large flash of light came from the library. After rushing back inside, she froze. Standing in the library were the two rulers of Equestria, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

"P-p-princesses, I-i, didn't expect you to, um, er" Twilight spluttered, before trailing off into mumbles.

"Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student, it is wonderful to see you again."

"WE CONCUR, TIS MOST GLORIOUS TO SEE THEE ONCE AGAIN. BUT WE MUST KNOW, HOW FAIR THEE, AFTER YOUR MOST RECENT HOSPITALIZATION?"

Twilight was knocked out of the library by the force of Luna's voice. Celestia gently chided her sister.

"Oh, um, sorry." Luna mumbled.

Twilight staggered back into the library, "No, it's fine. I am doing much better, thank you for asking."

"Pleasantries aside Twilight, I have heard about the 'incident' from Luna, but I was wondering if you could perhaps tell us things from your perspective, it may clear up some things."

Twilight quickly launched into an explanation of what had happened. When she finished both Princesses were more confused then before they had started.

"Twilight, are you sure you don't remember anything else?"

"No, Princess, that's everything I can remember. Do you think that there might be something preventing me from remembering?"

""Actually, we believe that that could be a distinct possibility. Twilight Sparkle, would thou grant us permission to preform a memory spell, in order to determine if there is any magical causes for thy lack of memory?"

Twilight thought for a moment before responding, "W-well, I suppose so..."

"Most excellent! Now sister would care to lead this spell?"

Celestia stepped forward, horn slightly glowing. "Everything will be fine, Twilight, " Celestia said gently, "Just relax, and open your mind."

Celestia lowered her horn to touch Twilight's, when a sudden explosion sent the Princess of the Sun flying end over end, before crashing into the wall.

"SISTER!" Luna shouted, rushing to Celestia's side. Celestia sat up, blinking groggily.

" 'M fine," she shook her head, getting rid of the ringing in her ears, "I'm fine Luna, is Twilight alright?"

The pair of Princesses looked up the where the purple unicorn was. Sitting around her crying were four foals. Twilight was murmuring to them.

"Shhh, Shhh, its ok, its alright. Everything's fine. I'm all right. OK? Will you stop crying now?"

The four foals sniffled, before nodding.

"Alright, now I want you to go and apologize to the Princesses."

The four foals tottered up to the stunned Luna, and still slightly punch-drunk Celestia, and mumbled something.

"I can't here you." Twilight said.

The four mumbled again.

"A bit louder."

"We sobby!" The foals cried, before breaking out in to tears again.

"Erm, Twilight? Might you inform us as to what just happened?"

Well, that could have gone better.

You don't say?

Well it wasn't that bad.

They flung the Solar goddess into a WALL! How much worse could it get?

Powerful little buggers, aren't they.

Don't compliment them!

Why? It's not like they can hear us.

It's a matter of principal!

Well, I still think that the meeting went well. At least the Sun and Moon aren't trying to kill them.

Though getting thrown into the dungeons for a few centuries isn't out of the question.

Oh, don't be such a pessimist...

Realist

Pessimist. I'm sure that Celestia and Luna will understand and forgive them.

Celestia and Luna sat down, mouths agape, as Twilight finished her story. Lucky Roll, Blooming Orchid, and Golden Sands sat next to Twilight. Midnight Specter was next to Luna, and was mimicking her.

"So, you mean to say that these four, " Luna gestured to the four foals, as did Midnight, "all mysteriously appeared, and you have no idea of where they came from?"

Luna raised a hoof to her chin, "And they all have very powerful magic, and think that you're their mother? Very strange, very strange." Luna tapped her chin thoughtfully, "I wonder, hmm... Celestia, what is it?" Luna turned to her sister, who burst out laughing, along with three of the foals.

Luna glanced down beside her, Midnight did the same before quickly looking back at Luna with a sheepish grin.

"This is no time for such foolery! We have much to figure out."

Celestia burst out laughing again and Luna shot a glare at the filly beside her, who had a look of complete innocence on her face.

"So, I'm guessing that you have never seen anything like this?"

"I'm sorry Twilight," Celestia said, stifling her giggles, "but no, I have never seen or heard of anything like this. If we want any answers we'll have to find these four's parents."

"We may have an idea for that. We believe that a location spell, in combination with a paternity spell, may be able to direct us to their parents."

"That's an excellent idea Princess. I'll get started right away." With that Twilight ran off to gather the needed materials, leaving the Princesses alone with the four foals.

"Luna, is she gone?"

"Yes sister. I've also placed a silence spell around this room."

'Twilight, I hope you forgive me for this,' Celestia thought, 'but I don't trust these four at all.'

Celestia glared at the foals, "Now, who are you? What are you doing here? What do you plan on doing with Twilight? ANSWER ME!"

The four foals looked terrified, but eventually Lucky Roll took a small step forward. The other three huddled together, and motioned for him to come back, but he shook his head and slowly trotted up to Celestia. Lucky looked up at Celestia, with a very solemn look on his face, and motioned her to lean in. Celestia slowly lowered her head until she was level with Lucky.

Lucky took a deep breath and then quickly poked Celestia on the muzzle and shouted, "BOOP!" before erupting into laughter, and running back to join the others.

Golden Sands and Blooming Orchid joined in with the laughter, while Midnight Specter covered her face with a hoof.

Celestia fell backwards, startled. She narrowed her eyes,

"If that's how you want to play..." Celestia's horn glowed brighter than the sun, "I COMMAND YOU TO REVEAL YOUR SECRETS!"

A beam of light shot out and struck the foals, causing them to glow. The glow brightened until the entire room was completely white. When the light faded Celestia and Luna looked on, slack-jawed, at the four foals rolling on the floor giggling.

"Again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again."

Celestia slumped as the toll of her spell finally hit her.

"Luna."

"Yes sister?

"This may be harder than we thought."

Realist, as I said.

Fine, you win this round.

You just had to boop her nose, didn't you?

It wasn't me! Well technically it was, but it wasn't my fault.

Where have I heard that before?

Wasn't the first time with the volcano and the flying sharks?

I don't know, I thought the first time was the thing with the plesiosaur.

I think that were getting a bit off track here. Also both of you are wrong, the first time was ...

In the name of Thought and Sanity, can we please get back on track?

Right, sorry about that.

So what are the plans for Celestia and Luna?

Kill them.

No. Next!

Maybe if we ask them really nicely...

I don't think that will work, but we'll keep that as our backup plan. Alright John, what do you have for us?

Well, I suppose we could try to enter their minds, or entice them to enter the Voidscape so we can converse with them.

Good, good. Now, how do we do that?

Author's Note

Hello all you who are reading this, I'm sorry for the lack of updates recently, but my schedule is a bit hectic right now.
I'm still going to try to get a new chapter out every week or two, so no worries there.

As always let me know if you see any mistakes, or if you have any criticism to give.

Oh, and if any of you know where I could get some fitting cover art for this story, it would be greatly appreciated.

Th-th-th-that's all folks.

A Meeting of Gods

Young Gods

Ch. 9: A Meeting of Gods

Author's notes:

I'm really sorry that it took so long for this chapter to come out, and I'm also really sorry that I won't be updating as much as I originally planned to. I hope you all forgive me for this, and still continue to read my story.

Key:
Elder: Younger: Domain:
Mat Lucky Roll Luck
John Golden Sands Time
Diane Midnight Specter Death
Aurora Blooming Orchid Life
All All

Fluttershy was wandering around Ponyville, slowly making her way back home. She barely noticed what shy was doing, as she was completely lost in thought.
'Oh my, oh my ... this is so sudden. What should I do? What can I do? How can I have a child? I'm so confused... What am I going to do?'
This train of thought ran on for several minutes as Fluttershy continued wandering.
'Oh my, what will Angel think? Where will Orchid stay? Will the other animals like her? Oh, I really hope Orchid will get along with them... Oh, what should I do? Where will she sleep? I can't afford to expand my house! What if we need to move, but then it would take so long to get all the animals to settle down again...'
As Fluttershy neared her house she was still very worried. Angel noticed this and decided not to bother her. Angle grabbed Fluttershy's hoof and lead her to her bed. Angel shook his head.
' She just needs some time to rest, I'm sure she'll get better soon.'
Angel looked at Fluttershy again, sighed, and settled down next to her, giving her some comfort, while she tried to comprehend this huge change in her life.

Applejack was confused, she had left the library only a few seconds after Pinkie, yet she was nowhere to be seen. Applejack rolled her eyes, it had been an exercise in futility anyway.
'Ah really don't like lyin' to mah friend, or to the Princesses, but I needed to get outta there, too much crazy magic stuff. Even without Big Mac's fancy mathematics I can tell that one mare plus one mare does not equal a foal! Dang, how am Ah gonna explain this to Granny, Big Mac, and Applebloom? Ah can't just say that Twilight and Ah accedentally magic'd up a baby!'
Applejack paused at this thought and chuckled.
'Though it might just be worth it to see the look on Big Mac's face.'
Applejack continued her thoughts, until she was interrupted by a rainbow-maned pegasus slamming into her.
"Heh heh, sorry AJ, I was practicing some of my new tricks and I sort of missed."
"No problem Dash, just as much mah fault. Ah wasn't paying attention, got a lot on mah mind..."
"If its big enough to distract you from my incredible awesomeness then it must be pretty important. C'mon spill."
Applejack looked away and her mouth scrunched up.
"Well..."
"It's because she's worried about her new foal, Silly."
"PINKIE!" shouted Applejack.
"FOAL!?" shouted Rainbow Dash, "Who with? Er, I mean ... congratulations? Who's the lucky stallion?"
"Well that's sorta hard to explain..."
"Why is it hard? You heard the Princesses just like I did! It was Twilight!"
"TWILIGHT!?" shouted Rainbow Dash, "How does that even work?"
"Pinkie didn't mean it like that, Dash."
"You're right Apples! Maybe you're the stallion! And that would make me a stallion too. Oh, I've never been a stallion before!"
"AJ, can you help me out here?"
"Maybe..."
"Can you tell me what exactly Pinkie is trying to tell me? Because I may just be misundestanding things, but from what she said, it sounds like Pinkie also has a foal with Twilight."
Rainbow Dash's voice had become very soft, and very scary. Applejack gulped nervously.
'Ah'm gonna have t'be very careful with what Ah say next.'
"Fluttershy has one too!" Pinkie joyously shouted.
"Ah dangit.'

Celestia was floating in a dark space, shy was concerned, she couldn't sense anything, and her body seemed almost incorporeal. Was she dead? Celestia suppressed the surge of dread she felt. If she was dead who would raise the sun for her little ponies? Would they all waste away from starvation and the cold?
Celestia continued drifting, concentrating on her magic. It was still there, and so was her connection to the sun.
Celestia was relieved, she wasn't dead, and the sun was still moving.
I found her!
Great! Now we just nee to find Luna and we'll be all set. This would have been so much easier though, if Mat hadn't messed up the transition.
Hey! You try to pull two deities out of there realm, then we'll talk.
Just hurry up and find her already.
Celestia was very disoriented.
"What's going on?"
Sleep, all will be explained soon.
Celestia's conscientiousness started to fade, until she was no longer aware of anything.

Celestia awoke in the Ponyville Library. 'That was quite strange. I wonder what happened?'
Are you awake now?
Celestia jumped at the voice.
"Whose there? Identify yourself!"
"Celestia, what happened? Where are we?"
"Luna! I'm not sure... but something isn't right."
Celestia walked over to the Library's front door, and slowly opened it. Outside there was nothing, no sky, no ground, no ponies. Nothing.
Celestia turned and walked back to her sister.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"
Celestia and Luna both turned towards the voice to see a familiar figure standing behind them.
"Discord, is this YOUR doing?" Celestia and Luna shouted, just as Discord said,
"Well, why have you two brought me here?"
There was a brief silence, and the three gods all had similar stunned expressions on their faces. Eventually Discord broke the silence.
"Soooo, I guess this isn't some sort of way to antagonize me?"
That is quite correct.
Though it could easily be.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
Well, we all should be present before starting this conversation.
A door opened up and in walked , Blooming Orchid, Golden Sands, Lucky Roll, and Midnight Specter. They were carrying Twilight, who was sleeping. Across the room another door opened and four glowing figures entered. Celestia looked closely at these beings, but was greatly confused by what she saw.
They were bipedal, with claw-like appendages on the ends of their arms.
Then they had eight legs, and blade like arms.
Then they were giant beings, made of metal, diamonds, and stone.
Then they were alicorns, as regal as the Princesses. Perhaps even more so.
The longer Celestia looked, the more she saw. Eventually she had to tear her eyes away from the creatures, unable to stand the constant and rapid shifting.
You are probably wondering why we've gathered you here. Well the truth is, that Equestria is in grave danger and... Mat? Why is Twilight here?
There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for that.
Well what is it?
I'm still figuring that out, but I'll get back to you on it.
BY THOUGHT AND VOID MAT! THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A MEETING OF DEITIES! WE CAN"T JUST BRING IN A MORTAL!
I don't see what the big deal is, she is a demigod, and as their Mother, she does have the right.
...fine. As I was saying, Equestria is in danger-
"Why are you telling me this? I'm the 'bad guy,' you know."
Discord, I can guarantee, that even you would not like what would happen.
"We demand to know who you are."
Basically we're gods. Each of us hold dominion over one of the four constants of existence. Time,
Life,
Death,
and Luck.
"So who are these?" Celestia gestured at the four young ponies siting around the unconscious Twilight.
They are us, or a version of us. We entered this realm through Twilight's mind, while she was drifting in the Voidscape. As we are gods, we wouldn't have been able to reside within her forever, as her form would eventually burn up.
In order to keep Twilight alive, we began to reincarnate ourselves, as denizens of this world. We began to create bodies for us to inhabit. In order to do this we needed two bodies to create them from.
As we were already inhabiting Twilight, we had to use her as half of the bodies. If we had had more time, we could have finished them properly. Unfortunately we were interrupted.
"We must inquire, what interrupted you? Had it anything to do with our encounter with ... that thing?"
If by thing, you mean the Phobia, then you are correct. Because of the mess you got yourself into, these three had to take over Twilight's body to help. That left me handling the creation of four new bodies. Since I didn't have much to work with, I just grabbed the body of whoever was around to complete them. But, of course, there were some complications. Instead of us four getting new bodies, we split, making four new minds, who share our existence.
"So that's where those four came from..."
Correct. Once the bodies finished gestating, they came into being.
"We implore thou, to halt in your story. Could thou explain what thou meant by 'a Phobia'?"
A Phobia is one of the stronger Monsters of the Mind. They feed on fears and grow stronger with suffering. It seems you created one, or were taken by one. It fed on your anger, until it could control you, then it used you to cause pain to others, and fed on that to increase its power.
"Doth thou mean to imply that there are more of these kinds of monstrosities?"
Many, many more.
"Where did they come from? What are they? Will they try to harm my little ponies?"
Your final question, Celestia, is the easiest to answer. Yes. The others will require us to go far, far back. Back to our creation, and then farther still. We are the Children of Thought and Void, two of the most powerful gods in existence. Thought's domain is all pure things of the mind, such as hopes, dreams, creativity, and inspiration. Void's domain encompasses potential. Basically what could've been, what isn't, and what will never be. She also holds sway over Null, and the Abyss.
We were made out of the need to Create that Thought has. But in doing so Thought revealed himself to his brother, Vice. As Thought holds sway over the purities of the mind, Vice controls the corruption of the mind. Because of this Vice doesn't have the ability to create that Thought does. Vice can only destroy, or twist something that already exists. Vice had desperately wanted to be able to Create, so Vice decided to try to kill Thought and absorb his being.
At this time Thought fled, unable to harm his kin. Thought hid for such a long time, until we were Created. Thought poured some of his essence into each of us, so that as long as we survive, he cannot be defeated. Even now Thought and Vice are struggling against each other in an eternal stalemate. As long as we survive this balance will continue, should we die, Vice would conquer all.
If Vice were to succeed, than every mind that exists would be his for the taking. Every thought, hope, and fear being devoured to strengthen him. When he is finished, there will be no thought anywhere, only countless bodies, mindlessly carrying out Vice's will. Any free minds would be shattered and broken for Vice's amusement. There would be no dreams, no hope, no creativity. There would be no life, only existence. No passion, no joy, no fun, and no laughter.
"Dayum." said Discord, after taking a long of chocolate milk.
Now we are stuck here, unable to flee, and Vice knows of our location. No doubt, even now, Vice's armies are converging on this dimension.
"So, if we don't help you, we lose everything."
Yes, that is correct. Celestia, Luna, we ask you to help teach the Young Ones how to use their power. We can only help them so much, as we are now. You must help them gain control over their abilities, and protect them from the monsters that will come for them.
Discord. You just keep being a statue.
Discord opened his mouth, probably to say something rude, before he vanished.
Well it seems our time is up. Celestia? Luna?
"Of course we will help. We would do anything to protect our little ponies."
Thank you.
The library started to fall apart, and everything inside slowly faded away.

A mad giggling could be heard from the Everyfree forest. Every so often the insane laughter wold stop, and give way to dark mutterings.
"Yess...yesssss. There they are, I'm gonna catch'em. Mmyesss. Catch'em all up.... And rend the flesh from the bones, and drink the marrow. Yesssssssss."
The laughter could freeze the soul.

Author's Note

Hello. Again sorry about the late update, but my scheduled is not the most free right now. I'm glad tat I got this up, and hope you all enjoy it.

As always please let me know if you spot any errors. Also any comments on the story would be appreciated, I really do want to know what you all think.

~Eathlome

Madness Approaching

Young Gods

Ch. 10: Madness Approaching

Author's notes:

Hey all, I'm going to be going to the Bahamas next week, so I won't be working on the story then. But I made sure to get this done and up, cause I'm such a nice guy.

Key:
Elder: Younger: Domain:
Mat Lucky Roll Luck
John Golden Sands Time
Diane Midnight Specter Death
Aurora Blooming Orchid Life
All All

So ... now what?
Now? Now we prepare.
You felt it then?
Of course I did.
But how did it get here so quickly? Even if Vice was directed to this world, it would take a fair amount of time to rally his forces.
Heh.
What's so funny?
You, confused about time.
Surely we have more important tings to worry about?
Yes, I do hope that their training begins soon.
I wonder if the Princesses will tell Twilight about what happened.
We'll find out soon enough.

Twilight shuddered as she shook her head. She could have sworn that something very strange had just happened. Looking up to the Princesses, Twilight noted the looks they wore. Celestia seemed ... worried, but at the same time relieved. Luna simply looked pensive. The foals were rolling around playfully.
"Um, Princess? Did something just happen?"
Celestia took a moment to respond to Twilight's question. She started to nod, but then quickly shook her head.
"No Twilight, but I believe that we have come to a decision. Isn't that right sister."
"Hmmmm? Oh, yes. Of course."
Twilight glanced at her mentor, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't Twilight couldn't help but ask,
"What have you decided?"
"We believe that these four should be taught how to control their power. We will assist, but the majority of the teaching will be done by you."
"M-me? But I'm only a student myself. I couldn't possibly teach them. I don't even know how their magic works! Let alone how to help them control it. What if I fail? What if they don't listen? What if they lose control while I'm teaching and destroy Ponyville!"
Twilight started hyperventilating as scenes of terror floated through her mind. Celestia sighed, she had hoped that Twilight had gotten over this.
"Twilight, calm down. I'm sure you will make a fine teacher, and you must remember, these four will hardly make any trouble for you. You are their mother, after all."
Twilight blushed slightly at this, and shifted with embarrassment.
"I guess I had forgotten that. But what if I can't teach them?"
"Well Twilight, we and our sister will gladly participate in the instruction of these young dei -"
Luna's eyes suddenly went very large, and she cut off what she had been about to say.
"These 'young what'?"
"Ponies. We were going to say 'these young ponies'."
Twilight severely doubted this, but chose not to say anything when Celestia gave a gentle shake and mouthed 'no'. Celestia then smiled at Twilight.
"My faithful student, I am sure you will do a wonderful job of teaching, and raising these four. I am sure that they will do great things in their lives. I will leave you to begin. Goodbye Twilight."
Celestia knelt down and hugged Twilight before standing back up and teleporting herself back to Canterlot. Luna looked solemnly at Twilight.
"Twilight, something is coming. Something big, something terrible, and the only ones who can stop it may be those four. Teach them well, for they my be our only hope."
Before Twilight could ask what Luna was talking about, the Lunar Princess teleported away. Twilight sighed and shook her head, before looking to the foals who were now regarding her intently. Twilight quickly put on a happy face.
"So, who wants to learn magic?"

A/N
I know I don't put normally put author's notes in the middle of my stories, but I thought it best to say that there is a fair amount of insanity and dark themes coming up. Just a warning.

"Yes, yes, I know. I KNOW! They are so close, yet so faaaaaaaaaaaar. Heheheheheheh. Where, oh where have my little dogs gone? Oh where, oh where will they die?"
A shrill laugh came from the mishappened figure as it shambled towards civilization. I could feel it. So full of thought and sentience. Memories and love and hope and mixed together, drawing it ever closer to its prey.
"Oh yes, we'll soon find them, and everything will go away."
"The pounding will stop."
"Yessssss. The pounding, pounding, pounding, POUNDING, POUNDING, POUNDING!"
The creature burst into a fit of mad giggles and continued to saunter towards it's goal. While doing so it started to mutter, mutter, mutter.
"The blood, yes the blood its everywhere. And the bodies, and the fire and smoke. There's just no end. Noooo end. Noooo end. Ending everything, everything I saw, saw while I ran, saw while I walked. I walked through the fields of red grass, where the only fruit that trees bore were freshly filled gibbets. The rain that fell only made the fallen fruit slowly sink, never cleaning away the fears held in their eyes. Their eyes, their eyes, I will pluck out their eyes. Yes if I pluck out their eyes than I won't have to see what I've seen with mine."
The creature then let out an unearthly shriek and began to claw at it's face. Then just as soon as it started, it stopped. Suddenly it began to sing.
The creature danced along the path through the forest, and every so often shoot out it's hand to grab at the air, cackling maniacally. Soon it was at the edge of the forest and, almost regretfully, stepped out from under the trees, and began it's stealthy approach upon the nearby village. Saliva dripped from it's lips and landed on the ground, smoking and burning away at the grass and dirt.
"Soon."

Twilight groaned, no matter what she tried she just couldn't figure out how to get her ... children ... to actively use magic.
'Children. That's going to take some getting used to.' Twilight shook her head, then looked at her foals.
'How can I get them to practice their magic? All they really want to do is play. Midnight is content with just flying around or else reading. Golden Sands and Lucky are happy to just roughhouse and race. Orchid is the only unicorn in this group, but she isn't even interested in her innate magic.'

Is she really that dense?
Oh, don't be so mean. She's trying her hardest.
She tried to "catch their interest" with flash cards!
Well that might not have been the best idea.
You know what? We don't really have time to let her figure out how to teach them. I'm just going to tell her.

TEACH THEM USING GAMES YOU FOOL!

Twilight suddenly had a brilliant idea,
'If all they want to do is play ... then I could get them to play games using their magic.'
The library suddenly shook, as a rainbow blur slammed through the door.
"TWILIGHT! WHAT THE HAY IS GOING ON?"
"Er, can you be a bit more specific? And stop yelling."
"What's this I hear about you having children? And not just that, but with Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Applejack?"
"Oh ... well .. I'm ..."
"Don't forget about Princess Luna," shouted Pinkie as she sprang out from a pile of books that Golden had been building, causing Lucky to fall over and start laughing, "She has one too."
Rainbow's eye started to twitch.
"Rainbow? I think that you need to calm down."
"Calm down?! I'm completely calm! Why would I need to calm down?! It's not like my FRIEND has been having AFFAIRS with my other friends behind my back!"
"Rainbow Dash, just CHILL."
Twilight heard a loud thud and Rainbow Dash was frozen in a block of ice.
"Oooh, nice one Lucky. When Twi said chill, you froze RD."
Twilight sighed, this would take a while to explain.
"Pinkie? Can you get Applejack and Fluttershy?"
"Okie, dokie, lokie."
Pinkie dived back into the pile of books. Twilight shook her head, and then looked at the foals.
"Please don't use your magic so irresponsibly, you could really hurt somepony."
With Lucky looking properly abashed, Twilight set out to find a spell which would thaw Rainbow Dash. While searching through her books, she tried to figure out what exactly to tell her.

Author's Note

Da Da Da Daaaaaaa

Here it is, the next chapter of Young Gods. Sorry it's not as long as the last few and that it took so long to come out, but in the words of Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette:

'Put down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff's worth, without pity, and destroy most of it.'

Please comment and tell me if you see any grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, or poorly worded parts.

Also tell me what you think of the story so far.

~Eathlome

Silent Encroachment

Young Gods

Ch. 11: Silent Encroachment

Author's notes:

It's not dead!
Well, I'm back. Actually I've been back for a while, but I sort of lost where I was going to have this story go...
I figure that I should actually sit down and write something out, then fix it if I don't like it, instead of trying to remember the ideas I had over a month ago.

Key:
Elder: Younger: Domain:
Mat Lucky Roll Luck
John Golden Sands Time
Diane Midnight Specter Death
Aurora Blooming Orchid Life
All All

"S-s-s-so y-y-y-you, Ah-Ah-AH-CHOO! Sniff You habe doe idea where dey cabe frob?"
I had taken several minutes for Twilight to thaw out Rainbow Dash, and she was slightly worse for ware. Twilight had explained everything she knew about the foals to Rainbow Dash, while thawing her.
"That's what I said. I'm not even sure what to make of them. As you have... experienced first-hoof, they have some strange kind of magic. I've never seen anything like it!"
"Well, why dob you just geb rid ob dem- Achoo!"
Twilight shook her head.
"We've already been over this. It's been proven that they are - somehow - my children. The Princesses also want me to continue looking after them."
"Albite, bud keep dem away frob be. Gob it?"
Twilight rolled her eyes.
"OK then, Dash."
Just then Pinkie hopped through the door, shortly followed by Applejack and Fluttershy.
“Hi Twi!” Pinkie giggled, “I just made a rhyme! Here we are! Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie! Hey, I just made another rhyme! If I keep this up, I’ll give Zecora a run for her money!”
“Landsakes! What happened to ya, Dash?” Applejack said, lookeing at the shivering pegasus.
“Oh my, oh my... Are you ok?” Fluttershy was quickly beside her friend. “Oh, we’ll need some blankets, and warm water. We don’t want you to catch a cold, or hypothermia. You just wait right here, and don’t move.”
As Fluttershy went off to find some blankets for Dash, the four foals were having a deep discussion. After a moments deliberation Blooming Orchid started to slowly sneak towards Rainbow Dash, whose eyes went wide after she noticed the silent encroachment. As she scrambled to her hooves the four let out an adorable war-cry and leaped towards the fleeing Rainbow Dash.
“Dwibite! Dwibite! Helb! Geb dem – Achoo! – off!”
Twilight turned to face Rainbow Dash, and tried, unsuccessfully, to hold in a snicker. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were far less subtle, and were soon guffawing at the sight they beheld.
On the floor was Rainbow Dash, with Lucky Roll and Golden Sands laying across her back, pinning down her wings. On her back, right behind her head, at Midnight Specter, and Blooming Orchid stood in front of her, looking very proud. Dash was struggling, but having no success in escaping.
“Geb off! Geb off!”
Blooming Orchid placed a hoof on Dashes forehead, and closed her eyes. She started glowing, and with a sudden surge, Dash shot up, knocking the foals away.
“I warned you...,” she snarled, then trailed off. She took a small breath in through her nose, then a deeper one. “Hey! I’m not stuffed up anymore! I feel like I took a power nap.”
Twilight stared, slack jawed.
“That’s impossible! There’s no magic that can simply make a stuffy nose vanish! I should know, I spent hours searching through the Canterlot library, when I got a cold. How could you have possibly done that?”
Blooming Orchid chose to ignore Twilight’s confusion for the moment, and regrouped with her siblings, who then shared a four-pony high-hoof, which reminded all the mares there of the CMC.
“Maybe you aren’t so bad,” Dash reluctantly admitted, “But don’t even think about freezing me again!” she added, seeing the mischievous glint on Lucky’s eyes.
Lucky nodded solemnly, and Twilight let out a groan.
“How am I possibly supposed to take care of them, when they can easily obliterate physics, basic universal laws, and common knowledge?”
“Er, Twi...” Applejack nervously scratched the back of her head, “Ah, need t’ tal t’ ya ‘bout that.”
“About what?” Twilight asked, slightly confused.
“Well,” Applejack explained, “it’s like this...”

Flashback Time!

Big Macintosh was trying very hard not to laugh at his sister’s predicament. If not for the fact that he was a naturally quiet pony, he probably would’ve been rolling on the ground by now. He didn’t really understand how two mares could have a foal, and had in fact demanded to know what stallion his sister was with when she told him, but after a confusing explanation Big Macintosh sort of got the gist of it. He understood far better that Granny Smith, at least.
The old Apple matriarch was set in her ways, and completely ignored all of Applejack’s story, except for the ‘Ah have a foal’ part.
Granny Smith’s reaction was immediate. She launched into a rant about foals, dignity, and proper marriage. After browbeating Applejack with her enraged lecture, Granny Smith abruptly switched gears.
“So, where is the colt?”
Applejack was caught off guard by the change in pace.
“Uh, he’s over at Twilight’s.”
“Well why isn’t he here! Even if ya can’t find his father, that don’t mean that he ain’t an Apple. And Apples stay with Apples, darn it!”

Back to the Present

Twilight stared at Applejack, her jaw slack.
“B-but the Princesses...”
Applejack gave her a flat look.
“Twi, Ah’m not sure that even th’ Princesses could get Granny Smith ta change her mind. Anyways,” Applejack chuckled, “Applebloom wants to meet her new nephew.”
Twilight mulled this over for a moment.
“Well, I suppose,” she mumbled, “this might be easier if I’m not looking after them all the time... and it would make sense for them to stay with their other parent... not just having me look after them...”
Twilight started walking away, still mumbling. She quickly grabbed some parchment and a quill, and began working on a schedule for each of the foals, calculating the amount of time they would each spend with their parents. Applejack just stood there awkwardly, Twilight having left with out really giving her an answer.
Fluttershy reentered the room, with several blankets draped over her back, and carying a bowl of soup. She looked at Dash, who was playing with the foals, and walked up to her. After gently putting down the soup she looked at Dash.
“Oh, um... you really... should be resting... if that’s alright with you...”
Dash let out a laugh.
“No need Shy, I’m completely fine. This gal,” Dash motioned to Blooming Orchid, “fixed me right up, I’m as good as new!”
Fluttershy gave a small grin.
“Oh... that’s good.”
Orchid trotted over to Fluttershy, and gave her a nuzzle. Flutershy blushed and hid behind her mane. Orchid copied her, until she was called back to playing by Lucky. Twilight ran up to her, and shoved a piece of paper in her face.
“Fluttershy! Does this look like a good schedule?”
“Um, oh my... a schedule for what, if you don’t mind me asking.”
“Well, it’s for Blooming Orchid. I know that Princess Celestia said that I should be the one to raise them, but I don’t think that I could do it by myself, Pinkie pie and Applejack have already agreed to look after Lucky Roll and Golden Sands, respectively.”
Twilight gestured over to where Pinkie was bouncing amoungst the foals, wearing a paper hat, and then to Applejack, who was looking confused at a sheet of paper, muttering something about “Big Mac explainin’ this with his fancy mathematics.”
Fluttershy gave an adorable shrug, and mumbled “I guess...” before taking the paper. After a quick look, she gave a small gasp.
“Oh my... Twilight, this says that Blooming Orchid will... um... be sleeping over at my place... tonight.”
Twilight looked at Fluttershy.
“I hope that’s alright I don’t exactly have enough room for all of them here, and Applejack and Pinkie have already said that they could take their’s. I hope it’s not a problem.”
“Er... No... no problem.” Fluttershy mumbled. She had explained as best she could to Angel, but the bunny had still seemed quite dubious. Fluttershy had also cleared out one of her cottage’s spare rooms, and set up a quaint room. But she hadn’t actually expected to have Blooming Orchid actually stay with her for a while.
“That’s great,” Twilight gave Fluttershy a grin, “Now I just have to give this to Princess Luna and...”
Twilight trailed off, as she realized that her last schedule was missing, after a frantic search she found it. Midnight Specter had taken it and was looking it over, occasionally tapping her hoof against her chin in thought, ignoring the rambunctious play around her. Twilight gave a shrug.
“Well, I guess that takes care of that. SPIKE.”
Twilight called for her number one assistant, and little brother. After he had untangled himself from the four foals, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie, he ran over to Twilight, and began to take down notes. Twilight quickly dictated several lists, including a shopping list, a to-do list, and a check list (to make sure that everything on the first two lists got done).
‘There.’ Twilight thought, ‘Once I’ve finished these, I’ll be completely ready.’

“I seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee it. I see everything!” A high pitched giggle escaped from the shambling creatures maw.
“I can see them. Right in front of us, but sooooooooooooooooooooooo, sooooooooooooooooo far. Hehehehehehe.”
“That’s right. Right in front of us, I never would have seen them. You have such good eyes. Nice eyes. Pretty eyes. I could just pluck them out.”
The creature suddenly shot up a deformed claw and wrenched out an eye, holding it so that it was looking towards itself.
“Oh, don’t you just look silly. If I do this to them, they could see us too!”
The misshapen form burst out laughing once again, and dropped the eye, which soon turned to ash. It licked ‘s lips, acidic spittle falling to the ground.
“So hungry. Tasty food, wonderful food, singing food, screaming food, screaming songs, sing your screams. Scream in pain. Pain and loss. Lost the game. The game of death. The death of hope... hope... HOPE!” The creature growled, before letting out a feral roar and gouging at it’s chest, leaving scores of oozing lacerations covering it’s body. It stopped suddenly, and shot forward, into the shadows of the nearest buildings, it’s form shifting into a dark fluid shape, blending in with the shadows of the alleyways.
“Hunger,” the creature mumbled, “Always hunger. The ever lasting hunger, consuming everything. Never stopping, never haltering, never fading.”
The semi-liquid monstrosity took in a rasping breath.

“Too far. Too far for food. Those. Those food. Delicious memories. Delicious thoughts. Delicious flesh. Dripping flesh. Dripping blood. Bloody bones. Cracked bones. Broken bones. Broken marrow. Tasty marrow.”
The creature looked at his chosen prey, two of the ones who had thought. A large one and a small. If the creature had still been in control of its mind it might have recognized one as a pegasus, and the smaller one as a unicorn. The pegasus was grey and had several bubbled adorning her flank, the smaller one was light purple. Stalking his future food, the creature followed the pair, up to a small house. There were no others around, the creature shifted back to its previous form, and prepared to pounce upon the unsuspecting pair. Right before it lunged, the smaller one spoke up.
“Mama, when’s Daddy coming home?”
The creature flinched, as memories long gone flashed through it’s mind.

He looked at the screen, showing his wife, and grinned. It had been months since the last time they spoke.
“How are you doing?”
His wife grinned back at him.
“We’re doing fine. ☼♠•◘○♦◙ won the talent competition at school. She did the juggling trick that you showed her. She’s been working so hard on it.”
He laughed, “I’m glad that she’s enjoying it.”
A small, sleepy voice came from somewhere on his wife’s end.
“Mama? Is that daddy?”
“Yes ☼♠•◘○♦◙, it’s daddy.”
“Mama, when’s Daddy coming home?”

The creature shook its head, trying to force away the memories. But it still couldn’t stop itself from mouthing the words along with the pegasus, even having the same expression, of hidden pain, across its face.
“He’ll be home soon.”
The creature growled, and flung itself away from its prey. It had to escape the memories. The creature ran towards the forest, intent on finding a creature to give the pain it felt. To bury the resurfaced sentience and sanity. The creature let out an anguished howl.

Homecoming

Young Gods

Ch. 12: Homecoming

Author's notes:

So, for those of you who didn't know, I had a little vote on my blog, to see which story I would be focusing on the most. This is the story that won, with an impressive... 4 votes?
Yeah, while I'm a bit disappointed that more people didn't vote, I'm true to my word, and have begun to work primarily on Young Gods. I'll still be doing my other stories, just not as much.

Key:
Elder: Younger: Domain:
Mat Lucky Roll Luck
John Golden Sands Time
Diane Midnight Specter Death
Aurora Blooming Orchid Life
All All

Twilight paced around the library, trying to remember if she had forgotten anything. She had emptied a room, and had began to turn it into a bedroom for the four foals. She had also sent Spike out with a big bag of bits and a long list of things to buy. She only had one spare bed, so she needed a few more. Twilight had also picked out a few items she had seen in some of the parenting books she had read. As her eyes passed over the list she had put together, Twilight's mind began to wander. She soon found herself thinking about what Princess Luna had almost said, and what Celestia hadn't wanted her to know.
'What did she say? "These young de?" De... de... What starts with de?'
Twilight continued to ponder this, while going through the motions of checking her list once again. As thoughts swirled around her head, Twilight kept on coming back to one word.
'Demons? No... that just doesn't make sense, They can't be demons, the Princesses would've... No, they can't be, but I can't think of anything else.'
As Twilight strained, attempting to think of what Luna could have been trying to say, a very small seed of worry began to grow..

Fluttershy was walking through Ponyville, heading back towards her cottage. She was accompanied by Blooming Orchid, who was matching her gentle pace. Both of them were very quiet, neither of them had said a word since they had left the library. Every so often, they would glance at each other, then quickly look away. This sort of behavior was common place for Fluttershy, but from what she had seen of Blooming Orchid, it didn't really fit the filly's personality. She couldn't help but wondering if Blooming Orchid was trying to emulate her, or if she just thought they were playing a game.
After a while, Fluttershy's thoughts drifted away from what was going through the mind of the filly beside her, and towards what thoughts would be going through her mind. More specifically:
'Oh my, I hope she doesn't mind all the little animals, though I don't think she will, they are all just so cute. But what if she doesn't like her bed. What if it's too hard, or if it's too soft? What about the pillows? And would she want the blanket, or would that be too foalish. Oh my... What about the room? Would it be to big or maybe it was too small...What if it was too bright? Or not bright enough!'
Fluttershy continued to walk towards her cottage, while pondering about everything that could possibly be wrong. The filly beside her was ignorant to Fluttershy's distress, and was, in fact, quite happy just to be outside.

Applejack was strolling towards Sweet Apple Acres, followed by Golden Sands. She had been telling him about the Apple families History, and he seemed to be soaking it up like a sponge. Applejack was quite happy about that, because every Apple had to learn the family history. Even Applejack, who had struggled through it, now had every single detail of each story firmly ingrained in her head. It had been pretty bad when Applebloom didn't know about the founding of Ponyville, but after a few weeks of lessons from Granny Smith, she had learned a great deal.
Applejack shook her head, and returned her thoughts to Golden Sands. He really didn't act like other foals, he was more toned down and much quieter. Now Applejack understood that all ponies needed some space, but it seemed a bit unnatural, no foal should be this quiet. Golden Sands hadn't said a word since they had began their walk. To be honest, and Applejack prided herself on her honesty, for obvious reasons, it was kind of unnerving.
Applejack stopped and turned to face Golden Sands. He stopped, cocked his head, and gave her a small grin. Applejack let out a snort of amusement.
"All right, let's get ya to Sweet Apple Acres. Granny wants to meet ya, and Ah think that Applebloom'll be pretty excited too."

Hop, hop, hop, hop, hop, hop, hop
Pinkie Pie and Lucky Roll were hopping around Ponyville, each of the sporting a huge grin. As Pinkie hopped up, Lucky landed, and as Pinkie landed, Lucky hopped up.
Hop, hop, hop, hop, hop, hop, hop
The residents of Ponyville looked on at the spectacle. Some with interest, some with curiosity, but most with horror. The thought of two Pinkie-esque ponies was more than enough to terrify the more weak hearted residents of the town and, in fact, several of them had fainted. The pair of hyperactive ponies continued bounding about the town, with Pinkie pointing out every pony and building they passed, and gave a short description of them.
"That over there is Quills and Sofas, they only sell two things. Can you guess what they are? Sofas and Quills! Davenport's the owner, he's always running out of quills, though he's been out of stock much more since Twilight came here!"
Hop, hop, hop, hop, hop, hop, hop
The duo hopped into the store and began bouncing on one of the sofas on display. A very irate looking earth pony walked up to them, a harsh demand forming on his lips. Pinkie did a flip at the apex of her bounce and landed right beside Davenport, shoving a bag full of bits towards him.
"We'll take it!"
Davenport blinked a few times, before slowly reaching up and taking the bits from Pinkie.
"You mean it? You actually want to buy a sofa?"
"Yeppers!"
Davenport shook his head.
"Um... just take the sofa with you when you leave... nopony ever buys a sofa..."
Davenport wandered away, into the back rooms of the store.
Pinkie looked at the sofa, and raised a hoof to her chin.
"Hmm, now how are we going to get it to the Sugar Cube Corner?"
Lucky completed his jump with a double back flip, and landed beside the sofa. He gave the sofa a powerful buck that sent it flying through a hole that had mysteriously opened. The hole closed once the sofa had passed through, and Lucky gave Pinkie a grin.
"Great job Mat!" Pinkie let out a small giggle at the confused look of Lucky's face, "Whoops! I meant Lucky. Good job Lucky."
Lucky returned the smile, and the two resumed their hopping as they exited the shop.

...
...
...
How did she do that!?
Hmm? Oh, yeah... You really don't want to know. Just let it be.
B-but...
Just... let it be.

"Oh Lucky, we are just going to have soooooo much fun. I'll have to introduce to the Cakes. Oh! And the rest of my family! My mom, and dad, and my sisters! I know! We can introduce you to them with a PARTY! Wait. I'm. Just. About. To. Be. Brilliant! We can have a party introducing you to everypony! Ooh! Even better, we can have a party to introduce you and you're bro and sisters to everypony!"
Lucky had a giant grin, matching the one Pinkie wore. The remaining ponies who had heard Pinkie's declaration wore a horrified expression, and rushed to prepare for the oncoming storm. There would soon be a party of apocalyptic proportions.

Midnight Specter glanced at the paper she held in her hoof. Although it wasn't time for her to go see her mother yet, she had already left the confines of the library. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy her mommy's company, but Midnight knew that she was very busy, and without her brothers and sister around, there wasn't much to do. She glanced around, and after a quick check making sure that there was nopony around, she shoved her hoof forward, then quickly slashed down, opening a small dark space floating in the air. Midnight placed the schedule inside the hole, and closed it back up. After one last glance around, she started to flap her wings, and slowly lifted off the ground. Midnight pictured where she was headed to in her mind. A castle, she could see it, she knew it in its entirety, but she couldn't remember from where. This would confuse or disturb most ponies, but Midnight shrugged it off, and started flying towards her destination. The speed she flew at would have baffled any pegasus in Equestria, as would her complete disregarded for any obstacles. She flew straight to her destination, going through anything in her way, as she emulated her namesake.

The creature took in a deep breath. It had been so long since it had last been like this. Far too long, yet not long enough. It slowly released the breath. The clarity it felt, was not something it was accustomed to. A far cry from the entropy which usually ran rampant in its mind. But the unique strength that was granted by would be useful.
The creature let it's conscientiousness flow out, and mingle with the world around it. There they were, so small, yet so bright. They were far stronger than they should be, and surrounded by others, nearly as strong as they. It couldn't confront them, not like this, it hadn't the strength. Stealth would be the winning factor here. If it could strike, without notice, then the battle would be halfway over. But not directly, a direct strike would prove fatal. It needed a medium to work through, a pawn to move. A tool to strike at the most powerful, the least suspecting. The Mistress of Death must be eliminated first.
Stretching out its mind further and further, it found what it was looking for, weak minds, impressionable minds, angry minds.

Dawning Glow stood at the podium, in front of the small crowd.
"The Princess is wise and powerful, she is also full of love and compassion."
The crowd roared, and the bale yellow unicorn allowed himself a small grin.
"She is truly the most caring and beautiful in all of Equestria! Her caring heart knows no limits, she is merciful and benevolent. Truly she is the one true ruler of Equestria!"
The crowd responded with another cheer.
"But even the most perfect are not infallible. Her love and acceptance has blinded her to the threat that looms beside her! But we know the truth!"
Dawning Glow leaned forward, letting his voice wash across the congregation.
"It is said that The Elements of Harmony have cleansed the Dark One, but there is no proof, no evidence to support this claim! And even if it were true, what is stopping history from repeating itself once again?"
There were a few murmurs from the ponies.
"NOTHING! There is nothing to prevent another rise of Nightmare Moon! We must act now, we must strike first! We must-"
Dawning's oration was cut off short, as his body underwent a violent shudder. Several other members of the crowd were afflicted as well, with more and more succumbing to the twitches and convulsions. At once the movements ceased, and the ponies returned to where they had been, their eyes now glazed over, and partially closed. Dawning Glow returned to the podium, and peered out over the crowd, the same glassy eyes looking back at him.
"...kill her."
The words came out as little more than a whisper.
"We must kill the dark goddess. TONIGHT!"
All the ponies in attendance accepted this without question. It had been exactly what they had been thinking, after all.

The creature felt it's mind meld back into it's physical confines. The plan was in motion, there was nothing which could stop it now. It remembered something, which it had heard, long ago.
'There's nothing left to do now but pray.'
But pray to who, or pray to what?
The gibbering madness slowly resurfaced, and left the creature howling with laughter, as it slowly peeled the skin of it's body.

Well, what did you all think of that?
I had actually planned on having this chapter about twice as long, but since it took so long to write and correct, I've just decided to split it into two separate chapters.

Alright, as always let me know any mistakes you find, or any criticism you care to make. Comments are also nice too.

~Eathlome

First Strike

Young Gods

Ch. 13: First Strike

Key:
Elder: Younger: Domain:
Mat Lucky Roll Luck
John Golden Sands Time
Diane Midnight Specter Death
Aurora Blooming Orchid Life
All All

Pinkie was bouncing around, filled with energy. She and Lucky had just cleared out nearly every party supplier in Ponyville. They had been to Party Planer's Party Plans, Good Time's Celebration Center, and even Social Spree's Warehouse and Emporium of Parties, Events, and Festivities. The large train of party supplies Pinkie was pulling behind her had caused the pair to get looks ranging from confusion, to terror, to compliance. While Pinkie has hopping up to the front door of Sugar Cube Corner, she suddenly thought of something, and abruptly stopped.

"Lucky! I haven't introduced you to the Cakes yet! Oh this will be so exciting! You'll meet them, and they'll meet you, and I'll be like 'This is my son!', and then Mr. Cake will be all 'Oh, good for you Pinkie!', and Mrs. Cake will be like 'So who's the father?', and then I'll say that there is no father! And then they'll be sad because they'll think that he ran away or something, but then Mrs. Cake will remember that she never saw me carrying, and then she'll think that you were actually adopted, and then I'll just giggle, and agree 'cause it would be to hard to explain what really happened and they really should have just read the first twelve chapters, and now let's go!"

Pinkie bounded through the door, and waved frantically at the Cakes, who were, as befits their name, baking cakes. The Cakes both stopped what they were doing to give Pinkie a quick wave in return. They returned to their work, but quickly looked back at the young colt who was sticking closely to Pinkie's side.

"Hi Mr. Cake, Hi Mrs. Cake!"

The Cakes smiled at their extravagant employees energy, and returned the greeting.

"Hello Pinkie, who's this you have with you?"

"This is Lucky Roll, he's my son!" Pinkie said with a wide grin.

The Cake's reactions were instantaneous.

"Oh, Pinkie, that's wonderful!" Mrs. Cake said with a grin almost as wide as Pinkie's.

"That's just great, congratulations." Mr. Cake said, following up on his wife's statement.

"So, do tell Pinkie, who's the lucky stallion?"

Pinkie turned and gave Lucky a subtle wink, as he raised his hoof to his mouth and turned his giggle into a very convincing cough. Pinkie took a deep breath, and gave a smile.

"Well..."

---{A Short Conversation Later}---

"Ah, so he's adopted then." Mrs. Cake said, trying to make at least some sense of Pinkie's antics.

"Sure, let's go with that."

"Well that makes much more sense," Mr. Cake said with a nod, "Babies don't just pop up out of nowhere. Why don't you introduce him to pound and Pumpkin, I'm sure they'd love a new playmate, even if he is a bit older than them."

"Okie, Dokie, Loki. C'mon Lucky!"

---{10 Minutes Later}---

"Lucky? I think that's enough playing for now."

Lucky nodded, and he, along with Pumpkin, walked to the wall, down it back to the floor, and then over to Pinkie. Pound chose to flutter down instead. Pinkie had a slightly crooked grin on her face, and she glanced nervously at Mr. and Mrs Cake. They both had a slightly exasperated look on their face.

"Pumpkin! I thought we told you that you shouldn't use your magic to walk on the ceiling!"

Pumpkin and Pound were both gaping, while Lucky gave a little snicker.

"Well, I'm sure that she just forgot because she was sooooo excited to have a new friend. Well, I hate to run, but Lucky and I are reeeaaaaallly busy! Let's go!"

With that Pinkie grabbed Lucky Roll and Ran out of the Sugar Cube Corner. The Cakes just shrugged, it was just Pinkie being Pinkie.

"But Ah wanna see him NAO!"

Granny Smith chuckled at her granddaughter's pout. The two had been sitting on the porch waiting for Applejack to return home. Applebloom had been very curious as to what had gotten everypony into such a frenzy, so Granny Smith took her out to the front and told her. She had been so excited and had began to ask all sorts of questions about her new nephew. The elderly Apple had answered as many of the questions as she could, but she couldn't even begin to sate Applebloom's inquisitiveness.

'Ah think that AJ can answer these ones.' Granny Smith thought to herself, 'That should be enough to get back at her.' The Apple Matriarch didn't really care that her granddaughter was with another mare, she had long ago accepted such things, but that she hadn't been told about the relationship, hadn't been told that they had been together long enough to have a foal, that was inexcusable. So Granny Smith had put on her 'angry old pony act' and played around with Applejack. The old mare knew that she would have to reveal what she was doing eventually, but for the moment...

"There they are!"

Granny Smith chuckled again at Applebloom's excitment, but that joviality died as she saw her great-grandson. She knew that AJ had said he was golden, but she didn't think that she had actually meant that he looked like gold. 'He look's just like...' Granny smith shook her head. 'T'aint possible, there's no way it could be...' As the colt approached she grew less and less certain. 'It just ain't right. It's gotta be a coincidence. There's no way...' The old mare had a brief flash of memory: Glinting yellow eyes, a deep timbre growl, the slash of wooden claws, and a joyous titter. Granny Smith returned her thoughts to the present as Applejack approached her.

"An this is yer great-granny, Granny Smith. Actually, ya can call 'er Great-Granny Smith." Applejack chuckled heartily, and the colt by her side have a small laugh. The exact same laugh. Aj's laugh turned into a nervous cough.

"Granny, are y'all ok?"

Granny smith took in a deep breath, and put a grin on her face.

"O' course Ah ain't! With you taking so long ta get here, it's been up ta me an Big Macintosh ta set everything up for dinner! An ya still weren't here even when everythin' was ready! Shame on you, makin' an old mare wait ta eat. Now get in both 'f ya, we can talk while we chow."

"Alright Granny." AJ turned to her son, "Ya hear 'er, let's go Golden."

The young colt stuck closely to AJ as they made their way inside. Granny Smith watched them go in, then turned to Applebloom, who was sitting dejectedly on the porch.

"What's wrong, Bloom?"

Applebloom's bottom lip quivered, and her eyes held unshed tears.

"He's already got a cutie mark!"

Granny Smith gave a slight grin and consoled her granddaughter, before ushering her in. Her thoughts then drifted back to Golden Sands.

'They look so similar... Could they be the same..?' Granny smith shook her head. 'No' she thought adamantly, 'It's just a coincidence.'

Focusing back on dinner the elderly mare headed inside, and to the dinning room where the rest of the family had gathered.

Midnight Specter looked up and down the abandoned corridor she found herself in. She had been flying far faster than she realized, and instead of stopping in front of the castle, she ended up somewhere inside. Midnight glanced around, looking for somepony to give her directions, but there weren't any around.

'Wonder where eveypony is...'

She started to flap her winds, gently hovering into the air, and thought. Midnight remembered being lost before, though she wasn't sure how, and she also remembered that to get out of a maze you just had to follow one of the sides. So she drifted to the right side of the hallway and began to trace her hoof along the wall as she flew throughout the castle. Even if this didn't work, she might be able to find another pony this way.

After several minuted of searching Midnight heard the sound of many hoofbeats on the castle's soft carpet. Suddenly a group of dark grey ponies wearing indigo armor burst around a nearby corner. Midnight stopped and stared at the new arrivals, and they flared out their bat-like wings in surprise. After a moment of silence one of the bat-ponies pointed a hoof at Midnight.

"Halt! In the name of the Lunar guard!"

Midnight titled her head to the side in confusion, and continued to hover in place. In the awkward silence that followed several of the lead guard's companions stifled their snickers. After silencing his comrades with a glare, the lead guard turned back to Midnight.

"Now... young filly... what are you doing here?"

"...mother."

The guard looked suspiciously at Midnight. "Why would your mother be here? This area is restricted except for royalty and their respected guards. Who is she?"

"...mother."

The guards gave a laugh, except for the head guard who just shook his head with a sigh.

"I am Sergeant Onyx Heart, of the Lunar Guard. Can you tell me your name?"

"...Midnight."

Onyx gave the members of his squad a grin of triumph, and turned back to Midnight.

"Now Midnight, can you tell us your mother's name?"

"..." Midnight paused for a bit, before giving her answer, "...mother."

Sgt. Heart's eye gave a slight twitch as the rest of his squadmates tried, and failed, to hold in their laughter. After giving himself a moment to calm down and compose himself, Onyx cleared his throat and looked Midnight in the eye.

"Ok then, Midnight. How about you describe your mother, what does she look like?"

Midnight thought about this for several minutes, opening her mouth to speak, then quickly closing it several times. Eventually, she decided on what she was going to say.

"...pony."

Onyx slowly and repeatedly slammed his head into the nearest wall. The rest of his squad were getting a bit nervous, and tried to comfort him. After a moment of consolation, Sgt. Heart took a deep breath, and looked back at Midnight.

"Since you are in a restricted area, and you refuse to properly answer our questions, I'm afraid that we are going to have to detain you, until such a time that your parents step forward to claim you, or they are located and brought here. Do not attempt to run or we will have to use force."

Onyx looked at Midnight, who's body was now shaking, and he winced internally.

'I didn't mean to make her cry.'

But as he stepped forward, Midnight burst out with the laughter she had been trying to contain. She looked at the guards with a superior smirk on her face, and flared her wings. The guard squad was surprised by the filly's hostile actions, but quickly took an offensive stance. Midnight suddenly lunged, using her wings to power herself forward. Onyx Heart reared up, hoping to scare the foal off her course. Midnight picked up speed, and faster than the eye could see, appeared on the other side of the guard squad.

"..tag."

As the guards turned to Midnight, they noticed a single hoof sized dent in each of their sets of armor. They all stared blankly at Midnight as she began to fly away. A moment later they regained their senses.

"Get her!"

Luna looked down from her nightly canvas. It was a time she enjoyed, it was peaceful and quiet, and she could take a moment to reflect and contemplate. Normally this was a tranquil period for her, but tonight Luna was caught up in a whirl of thoughts.

'How will I handle this? How can I handle this? In this world there has never been any others aside from myself, my sister, and Discord. But now these four, these beings of great power, on which all of creation rests. They have gone through far worse than any here could possibly understand, and they will continue to suffer long after they have left us. We are told that we must train and raise them, but we have no idea were to begin. I never imagined having a daughter, it should be impossible, but now she is here, and no matter how she came to be, she is mine. Heh, my daughter, who already far exceeds me in strength, who will eventually be far greater than me, Tia, and Discord combined. What should I do?'

Unfortunately Luna was unable to answer her question, and her time of respite was at an end. She now had to preform her royal duties, and open the Night Court. Luna teleported down to the throne room, which served as the court room while the actual one was being finished. She glanced up at the scribe to her left.

"Prithee, what matters of contention shall We be addressing this evening?"

The scribe gave Luna a slight bow, then looked over her notes.

"Ah, Your Majesty, it seems that tonight's entire court session has been booked by one Dawning Glow."

The Princess raised an eyebrow at that, but put her confusion aside.

"Send him in."

Fluttershy wore a nervous grin as she walked up to the front door of her cottage, her filly trotting just at her side.

"Well... here we are." Fluttershy glanced down to her side, and let out a squeak seeing that Orchid was no longer beside her. 'Oh no! She didn't like it and now she's ran away!' She nearly burst into tears as the thought flitted through her mind. She perked up at the sound of a joyous giggle, coming from behind her cottage. She rushed around to see Orchid laughing and bouncing among her many animal friends.

Fluttershy gave a sigh of relief as she watcher her daughter frolic and play. After a moment she quietly cleared her throat and gave a call. Blooming Orchid looked up, with a big grin on her face, and began to bound over to her mom. She stopped when she noticed that all the animals she had been playing with had followed her. She made a gentle shooing motion and continued. A moment later she turned around again and confronted the animals which were still following her. Orchid gestured emphatically, and the animals slowly returned to what they had been doing before she had arrived.

'Well it looks like shes getting along fine with most of them... I just hope she can get along with Angle.'
Fluttershy put her wing around her daughter and steered her to the front door. Once they had gotten inside they were confronted by an irate looking white bunny. The bunny was impatiently tapping its foot on the ground as it glared at Fluttershy.

"Oh, hello Angel." Fluttershy half-whispered, "I'd like you to meet my... daughter."

Angel's eyes grew huge, and he froze in place, his foot mid tap. Blooming Orchid crept out from under her mom's wing and trotted over to the bunny. After a moments inspection, Orchid slowly raised a hoof and poked Angel in the tummy. Angel jumped back, eliciting a giggle from the filly. Fluttershy held her breath as the two slowly began to circle and examine each other. After several nerve-wracking minutes Angel held out a paw and Orchid held out a hoof. They gave a tentative shake, before Orchid rushed in and scooped Angel into a hug. Fluttershy gave a small smile, before letting out a squeak, as she too was pulled into the hug.

D'awwwwwww.

Aren't you just adorable.

Quit teasing her.

After the three had untangled themselves, Fluttershy began to show Blooming Orchid around her cottage. After a quick tour, Fluttershy showed Orchid her room. I wasn't very big, and filled mostly by the small bed. There was also a cabinet off to the side, and a round window looking out over the backyard. Orchid gave a squee of excitement and bound onto the bod, and snuggled with the covers. After a few moments Orchid was upside down and completely tangled in the sheets. Fluttershy gave a quiet laugh, and went to help her daughter untangle herself.

After Orchid had been freed, and the bed remade. They returned to the kitchen and Fluttershy started to make a salad for dinner. Orchid helped by levitating whatever Fluttershy was reaching for, and in barely anytime at all, they were sitting down for a nice dinner.

Twilight sat on her bed, a series of thick tomes piled around her. The one she was currently reading was the Encyclopaedia Equestria, Volume III, D-E, she had flipped through the pages untill she reached the section she was looking for, DE.

'Altight, now if I just look through all the DE words I definitely find what Princess Luna had meant to say.'

Twilight settled in, and began to read aloud.

"Deaccession: A work of art that... no, Deacon: an appointed member of a chur... no that's not right. How about... Deaerator: A tool which removes gases from a liquid, that's definitely not right. Hmm, what's next?"

Spike groaned, and stuffed his ears with some of the celery that he had been going to put into tonight's dinner. It might be uncomfortable, and have ruined the stalks, but at least it would help the young dragon keep his sanity, among the nattering of the lavender unicorn.

Midnight danced around the guards as they lunged at her. Several other squads had taken notice and had joined in the chase. There were now more than forty guards trying to capture the tiny embodiment of death. Then Midnight felt a small twinge inside her.

'Not good... is bad... help mother.'

Midnight flew furiously, homing in on her mother's location, with more than half the Lunar Guard in tow.

Author's Note

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, I'm back. Really sorry I took so long to get to this, but stuff happened. Anyways, that was a long chapter! Consider it an apology for not updating as frequently as I could. And as always let me know if you find any mistakes (grammar, spelling, or otherwise), and feel free to comment and criticize.

Oh, and have a happy new year!

~Eathlome

Persuasion and Parents

Young Gods

Ch. 8: Persuasion and Parents

Author's notes:

Happy Birthday To Me
Who doesn't love a birthday update?

So here it is, the next chapter.

Key:
Elder: Younger: Domain:
Mat Lucky Roll Luck
John Golden Sands Time
Diane Midnight Specter Death
Aurora Blooming Orchid Life
All All

THIS IS TERRIBLE!
If by terrible you mean hilarious, than I completely agree!
Even I have to admit that this does make for some good entertainment.
Well Diane, if you approve of something it must be worth its weight in ... What elements are precious in this reality?
HARMONY!
...what?
Ignore him, Mat was just trying to be funny.
Alright, lets see... there are large deposits of gold and silver, but elements like iron and lead are allot less common. Huge numbers of gems, diamonds, etc. Actually the rarest thing in the ground is Osmium.
I forgot you worked with Pluto for about fifteen-hundred years. Using the tricks he taught you?
Yes.
I miss Pluto, he was such a nice guy. He was one of the first to accept us. Shame he faded, at least he hasn't died.
I really don't mean to interrupt your completely relevant conversation, but we're dealing with a crisis!
Oh, just calm down. Everything will be fine, once Twilight gets back Celestia will calm down, and hopefully Luna will stop laughing.

"LUNA, STOP LAUGHING AND HELP ME!"
Luna was rolling on the ground laughing at the foals antics. Celestia's once gently flowing mane was whipping around, as if caught in a gale. Her coat had been turned bright green, and had pink polka-dots.
The perpetrators of these acts were holed up in a large fortress made of books. Every time Celestia tried to get near, the foals would launch a volley of pies at her.
'Where are they even getting all of this stuff,' Celestia thought as she dodged yet another pastry, 'It's not any magic I've ever seen before, how could thi-' Celestia's thoughts were cut off as a pie hit her squarely in the face, covering her in banana filling, and knocking her over.
A small cheer could be heard from the fortress, and the four foals charged out. Luna stifled her giggles, concerned with the possibility of the foals actually harming her sister, however she burst out laughing as the four stood over an irritated Celestia, making heroic poses. There was a soft snick as the doorknob was turned. Celestia and Luna looked at the door in alarm and horror. Suddenly Luna felt a strange sensation.
Then she was sitting up with Celestia, whose mane and coat were back to normal. In fact, as Luna looked around she could see nothing of the ferocious battle, if that's what you could call it, that had just taken place. Again a soft snick was heard and Twilight opened the door and walked in, a large number of items floating behind her.
"So how has everything been while I was out? They didn't cause you too much trouble, did they Princess?"

That did not count as a life threatening emergency!
I'm pretty sure it did. Twilight would probably kill them if she saw what they did to Celestia.
Literally or Figuratively?
Probably both.

"Um..er..ungh," Celestia mumbled, still disoriented from the ... whatever had just happened. Eventually Celestia straightened out her thoughts, "No Twilight, the were no trouble at all."
"That's excellent! I got all the things for the spell, and I was actually thinking that it might be possible to combine these two spells with a teleportation spell, and be able to bring whoever the parents are to us!" Twilight smiled, almost certain that she had surprised and impressed her mentor.
'Well Twilight, that certainly could work, however it would take time to set up, and would probably require both Celestia and us, in order to make sure it works."
"Oh, don't worry about the preparations Princess Luna, I've already set everything up and made all the necessary calculations. I hope your alright with this, I mean, I know that both of you are busy, and that you don't use your magic for just anything, and this really might not be so important and," Twilight continued rambling on a bit, then stopped, panting for breath.
"It's alright Twilight, it wasn't presumptuous of you to prepare this spell. In fact I'm very impressed, this is another reason that I'm proud to have you as my protege."
"Oh, thank you Princess. It's right over here." Twilight led the Princesses and the four foals to a cleared area. On the ground was a large white circle drawn on the ground, with several arcane markings placed within it. "When the spell is cast the magic will flow through Midnight Specter, Golden Sands, Blooming Orchid, and Lucky Roll. The tracking spell will then locate the parents, and place a marker on them. Then the teleportation spell will activate and bring them into this circle." Twilight turned to face the two Princesses, "Are you ready to get started?"
Celestia looked a bit nervous.
"Twilight, would you also like to partake in this spell with us, you have a very large amount of magic at your disposal and I'm sure that it would take some of the strain off of us."
'Sister what are saying, we have more than enough strength to preform this spell,' Luna thought at her sister.
'That isn't what I'm asking her help for. I don't think that they will allow us if Twilight isn't involved.'
Luna paused for a moment, then conceded to her elder sister.
Twilight lined up the foals and then she, Luna, and Celestia took their places several feet from the circle. The two alicorns and unicorn pointed their horns and concentrated.

Heh, that's another round for me.
Mat, John, Diane, and Aurora were sitting around a table Mat had made. They were playing a strange game which involved dice and cards.
You know what, I think that you're changing the rules on us. Just because you made this game doesn't mean you can do that.
Are you implying that I would cheat? I'm shocked that you would even consider such a thing. Hurt, wounded even. Why I might go as far as to say-
SHUT UP!
Anyways John, he's isn't cheating. I won four rounds ago, and Diane won the one before that.
Well I still...oh dear.
Oh! Have they started dong stuff?
Can't you feel that magical energy? Of course they are!
So? What are they doing?
Oh my. They are attempting to find the parents of ... us ... them ... they ... what are we calling them again?
I think we decided on calling them our mini-mes.
No one agreed to that. I don't think we decided on what we should call them. Since their names are so long, it would be kind of awkward to just call them like that.
Why don't we just call them what they are?
Huh?
We could call them the Young Gods.
But WE'RE the Young Gods. We can't just give them our title.
Why not? If I'm not an Adult God, or Senior God by now when will I? I mean, we can't be called the Young Gods forever. We've outlasted billions of realities...
The destruction of most being your fault.
...thank you for that. And each if us is older than ninety-nine percent of the gods out there.
I see you points, we'll just have a vote. All in favor of calling the others the Young Gods and refer to us as the Elders, say aye.
Aye
But one more thing. Can we just call them that when talking amongst ourselves? We don't want them to get swelled heads. We can just call them Little Ones, when were talking to them.
Fine
Sure
Whatever
Now that that incredibly important bit of business is finished, can we get back to the 'situation' we have?

The glare of magic filled the room. There were several sharp cracks, and small pops. When the light dissipated Celestia was left standing alone. Quickly glancing at the circle, what she saw, or better yet, who she saw shocked her. Laying in a tangled pile were Princess Luna, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie.
"Ugh, what happened? Did I pass out? Did the spell work?"
"Sister what has happened? Did the ritual fail?"
"What in tarnation? One moment Ah'm helpin' Big Mac with apple bucking. Th' next Ah'm in a pony pile up!"
"Oh...um...what happened? That is if no one minds saying...eeep."
"OH WOW. First I was baking and the cupcakes were just about to go into the oven then WHOOSH!! I'm over here, and hello Applejack, hello Fluttershy, hello Twilight, hello Princess Luna." Pinkie giggled, "How did you end up in this mess with us? Was Twilight doing some fancy spell? Ooh, Princess Celestia you're here too! Do you know what happened, because I sure don't, and other ponies seem to think that when strange things happen, I know whats going on, but this time I don't. Sooooooo, what's going on?"
Celestia was doing an excellent job of concealing her mirth. The same could not be said for the foals around her, who were giggling uncontrollably. By this time Twilight had managed to extract herself from the tangle.
"Well, the Princesses and I were trying a spell that would bring Golden Sands, Blooming Orchid, Lucky Roll, and Midnight Specter's parents to us. But I guess that it didn't work..."
Suddenly something in Celestia's mind clicked. "Actually Twilight, maybe it did work."
"SISTER," Luna replied in a shocked voice, "are you implying that we would...well...you know..." Luna trailed off, mumbling incoherently.
"Well, Ah'm not normally one to argue with you, Princess. But Ah'm pretty sure that Ah would know if Ah had a foal."
"Oh my, oh my. I certainty haven't...oh no no no. Definitely not...there must be some mistake..."
"Princess, are you sure? I could've messed up with the spell formula, or not contributed enough power, or not concentrated on it completely. Besides there are only five of us here, the numbers just don't add up!"
"Twilight, while I'm ... reluctant to admit it, maybe they were telling the truth."
"Pardon?"
"Well if the foals speak the truth, and you are their mother... Well there are four others to match up with. One for each foal."
"Princess, are ya tryin' ta say we magicked up a bunch o' foals outa nothin'?"
"Yeah Princess, I know what I learned from Granny Pie about the birds and the bees, and I'm pretty sure that this isn't how it works."
"Well the simplest solution to this is to test us all with some basic paternity spells. That is if you don't mind...eep."
"Well Ah'm willin' just ta get this farce over with."
"We suppose if that is the simplest way, then we will participate."
"Well okie dokie lokie,"
"I guess. Princess will you cast the spell?"

"Well Twilight, it appears that you are their mother." The four foals nodded sagely, while Twilight nearly collapsed from the mental strain of trying to figure out how this happened.
"Applejack, I would like to introduce you to the newest member of the Apple family, Golden Sands." Applejack looked down at the foal who was standing beside her, and shook her head, confused. 'Big Mac could probly explain all this, with those fancy mathematics of his.'
"Pinkie Pie, I would like you to meet...Pinkie what are you wearing?" Everypony present looked at Pinkie, who had donned a black helmet and mask.
"KOH, CHUH, KOH, CHUH, Luck," Pinkie said in a far deeper voice than normal, "I am your mother." With that Pinkie threw away the helmet and picked Lucky Roll up and a big hug. Lucky then proceeded to dive into Pinkie's mane, diapering. A few moments later his head popped out of Celestia's mane and he blew a loud raspberry right next to her ear, before sinking back in, and then walking through the door. Everypony just decided it would be far better to accept what had just happened, than to try to make sense of it, at the risk of their own sanity.
"Ahem, Fluttershy I hope that you take care of foals as well as you take care of animals, because Blooming Orchid will probably be staying with you."
Blooming Orchid walked up and nuzzled Fluttershy, who returned it, while hiding in her mane.
"And Sister, it seems we have another Princess, whose name is most suiting. Midnight Specter. So Luna who's the lucky Stallion?" Celestia asked humorously. Midnight rolled her eyes and gestured emphatically at Twilight, which resulted in stuttering and blushing from Twilight and the two Princesses, and laughter from the three other foals and Pinkie Pie.
"Well now that everything's sorted out, I have to go plan a super-duper birthday/congratulations-on becoming-mothers/new-princess/welcome-to-Ponyville/congratulations-on-getting-your-names PARTY!" Pinkie hurried out the door to prepare a party of possibly apocalyptical proportions.
"Ah better make sure she doesn't go overboard, HEY SUGAR CUBE, WAIT UP."
"Oh, well I really have to go and check on my animals. I was in the middle of feeding them, and I'm sure they're worried very much about me. Could you keep an eye on Blooming Orchid for me Twilight? That is if you're alright with it..."
"Sure Fluttershy, no problem."

Never gonna get a better opportunity than this.
I agree.
Yes this does seem ideal.
I guess this is it than?
NOW

Twilight turned around as the last of her friends left the library. Her eyes went wide at what she say. The four foal's eyes were all radiating. Luna and Celestia turned to face them as well. They spoke as one and Luna recognized three of the voices.
"NOW"
Golden Sands slammed his front hooves into the ground and time slowed to a crawl, Celestia and Luna felt as if they were trying to move through honey. Blooming Orchid's horn lit up and Luna, Celestia and Twilight all started glowing.
Midnight Specter's eyes flashed and a great silver blade appeared, one which Luna remembered quite well. Midnight slashed through the immobile figures.
Translucent imitations floated above their bodies, looking around, confused. Lucky Roll slammed his hooves into the ground. Small cracks formed on the floor. He slammed again and the cracks spread to the walls. Then everything shattered, and fell down into darkness.

Author's Note

Hope you liked it.

Please give me feedback, it makes this story better.

So long, until next time.