Godly

Godly
Chapter 16: Making it rain

I continue to grin as we approach Zebrica, the sandy beach with a few more empty boats coming into view with my sharper sight. Beyond the sand is short yellowish grass and dried out bushes along with a few thin, pale, and tall trees. Further inland I can see a small village but can't make out any details. To the left a few miles away is a large rainforest that seems to be doing better than the plants of the plains.

It takes us an hour before we hit land and I jump off onto the sand, I feel the grains through my toes as I wiggle them and grin. It's been a long time since I went to a beach and I think I'll have to bring anyone that wants to from the Hive here someday for a day out.

"How far is it to your City from here?" I ask Banawey.

He disembarks from the boat while the others pull it in and anchor it down on the beach.

"Five day's travel from here. But first we shall pass two villages along the way to restock ourselves while you provide the rain you promised," he replies.

"Alright, so shall we head out?" I ask and change into Chiron. With a horse like body, I should be able to travel for a long while without tiring too soon.

"Yes, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can help my people," he replies as the warriors are carrying packs and crude spears.

Banawey starts walking west towards the village along with Onaka and the warriors. I follow behind them and just take in the scenery.

They weren't joking about the drought, the heat is almost unbearable and the air feels dry. There's no pools or even ponds of water anywhere.

The journey is made in silence and in just a few hours we reach the village. The zebras here all look thirsty and look at us tiredly. I look at the crops just outside the village and most of it looks dried up and or dead. There's a river bed near it that's barely got some water trickling along the bottom, nowhere near enough for the village and crops to live on.

As Banawey talks with whom I assume is the village elder, I spot a zebra who collapses in the centre of the village.

I make my way over to her and change into He Bo, getting gasps and whispers from the other nearby zebras who also look worried for the downed mare. I wince as the harsh sunlight is making my watery body parts start to heat up and slowly evaporate.

Leaning down I gently lift the mare's head up and hold my right hand to her mouth. "Open your mouth and drink," I tell her making her frown in confusion.

I make a few drops of water drip from my finger tips, which hit her muzzle and make her eyes widen as she eagerly opens her mouth. Her lips are cracked and there's barely any saliva in her mouth.

I turn the drips into a small flow of water which she drinks ravenously. After a few seconds, I stop and then gently drip water over her head and neck. She hums in relief and smiles at me.

"Thank you..." she tells me in a hoarse tone. I carefully pick her up in my arms, avoiding all the spikes on them, which makes her yelp in surprise.

"You are very welcome, where do you live? I'll carry you there so you can rest," I ask her and she points to the south at a mud or clay brick hut with long leaves that seem to be pasted down to the roof.

I glide over the dusty ground leaving a wet trail behind me as I make my way to her hut. Zebras are following us and speaking to each other in awe at what they just witnessed.

Reaching the hut which looks like it has one room and big enough to fit five zebras comfortably. I set her down and get another thank you from her as she heads inside with the help of an older mare who also thanks me.

The village elder walks up to me and looks me over before speaking. "I am Elder Jintawa. High Shaman Banawey tells me you will be helping us with our water problem?" he asks me with a hopeful expression.

"My name is Carl, and I am. I will make it rain and then make a lake for you to continue to draw water from until this drought subsides," I reply and lean down to his height.

"Then please begin right away, our crops won't last much longer," he begs and bows to me.

I place my right hand on his shoulder making him look up at me. "No need to bow, sir. I'm glad I can help," I tell him and stand back up. I change into Chaac and look over all the gathered zebras. "You might want to bring out jugs, bowls, pots, or buckets to collect as much rain water as you can," I tell him and get ready to make it rain.

"Of course," the elder replies. "Gather as many containers as you can find!" he yells over the increasingly energetic zebras who rush off to find what they can.

After a few minutes, containers of all sorts are laid out in the open and I begin. Raising my axe above my head, I gather my mana and after a few seconds, dark grey rain sodden clouds form above me and start to spread out over the village and the surrounding fields.

After a minute more, the first drops of rain begin to fall and the foals of the village start laughing and jump around in the rain as it comes down faster. Every zebra is now enjoying the refreshing rain and drinking from the containers now and then.

The elder just stands there, eyes closed and a smile on his face as the rain falls on him. "It has been so long since I have felt this again," he says.

I smile as I watch the foals chasing each other in the rain, giggling and happy as they play.

The elder turns to me with a happy wrinkled expression. "You have my gratitude stranger, if there is anyway we can repay you, please don't hesitate to ask," he tells me with another bow.

I chuckle and shake my head. "I have already worked out a deal with Banawey. Your thanks is more than enough," I reply and change into Geb. "Now then, I'll begin on the lake, so where do you want it? And this may take me some time to finish," I tell him slowly.

"Near the crop fields just beyond the river, we can use the bridge over it to collect the water," he replies with a smile.

With that sorted, I stomp my way around the crop fields with a bunch of foals following behind me giggling and commenting about my body.

I stop at the basic looking log bridge tied together with plant fibre rope or vines and I don't know if it'll be able to hold my weight. So I do a quick change to Ratatoskr and before I could cross, I'm swarmed by a few squealing fillies who pile on top of me and hug me.

I just stare with a deadpan expression into the chest of the filly latched onto my face with two more on my sides and the other on my back. It takes the adults a few minutes to pry the fillies off me with pouts on their muzzles, and I thank them as I continue over the log bridge and change back into Geb.

With a roll of my neck while shaking my floating hands and fingers, I place my hands on the ground and start compacting dirt and the stone underneath the surface into a large one mile wide and fifty feet deep bowl shape.

The process takes me a few minutes and once done I take a short break and just sit by the bowl's edge while basking in the rain, feeling it roll down my stone body and even pooling in the miniature lake on my back just behind my head.

A thought comes to mind as to why this drought is happening. It couldn't be the sun otherwise other areas would be feeling it, but I can change to Ra and see if it is.

I'm brought out of my thoughts as a young and high pitched voice speaks to me. "What are you?" one of the foals asks me as they all sit around me, each with wide eyes and curious expressions.

"I am a God," I reply and change into Ratatoskr again. In this form, I'm just slightly bigger than them.

The fillies squeal again and I'm tackled onto my back as I'm glomped yet again. This time I let them hug me and stroke the fur on my head and chest. After a few minutes, they finally get off and I sit up, but they won't stop stroking my now wet and dirty fur.

They keep asking me questions of where I come from, who I am, and what else can I do. They especially liked it when I changed to Terra and made a bunch of flowers and healthy grass grow around them where they all started playing in it or eating it.

Once I feel refreshed and ready, I change to He Bo and with the cloud cover blocking the sun and the rain reducing the heat, I feel better and no longer evaporating. I begin to pour water from my hands into the bowl where the foals and adults have gathered around watching in awe as I fill the lake up slowly, making sure to keep a eye out for my mana amount so I don't run out again.

After an hour of filling, I take another break where the elder of the village invites me to a meal in honour of my actions. My stomach rumbles in hunger and I agree before changing back into Ratatoskr and follow him back into the village. The foals again follow along but are pulled away by their parents. They 'aww' in sadness but comply.

We enter a larger hut with two more rooms, one on each side with cloth curtains for doors. In the centre of the main room is a fire pit with rock or clay slabs around it acting as little tables with either cloth or silk cushions next to them.

Jintawa, Onaka, and Banawey all sit on a cushion and the village elder gestures to an empty one. I sit down on it and look to Jintawa while some mares are preparing food on a stone counter behind me.

"Thank you again for helping us in our time of need, it's so good to see the little ones happy again," he tells me with a sigh as the pitter patter of the rain hits the leafy roofing of the hut.

"As I said before, I'm glad I can help. I'm actually here to establish friendly relations between the zebras and the changelings," I tell him making him go wide eyed.

"The changelings?" he asks surprised.

"That's right. I've been living with them for about six months now, and I've been helping them recover after what Celestia did to them," I tell him with a frown at Celestia's name.

I tell him the story of how I arrived, saved the Crystal Empire, Celestia's attempt to either imprison or kill me, my quick travel to the badlands where the changelings found me, how I've been helping them, and of Celestia's attack on our growing city not too long ago.

Through the whole thing he and the other villagers listening are shocked at Celestia's attack on us, but stunned silent at the part I sent her back to Equestria wounded.

"So for now, she and Equestria are banned from entering our lands without permission," I finish telling them as the zebra mares place the food on the little stone tables in front of us.

"I apologise, but it is hard to believe one so kind and caring would do such a thing," Jintawa says in disbelief. "She was the one who found changelings killing ponies," he then says with a frown.

I think I'll refrain from telling him what Luna told me about what Celestia really thinks of the other races, as much as I would love to see Celestia get the hate she has for other races given back to her, I won't put the ponies who've done nothing to deserve that hate in the crossfire.

"Perhaps, or maybe it was an excuse to exile the changelings, A changeling Queen named Chrysalis told me the accused changeling wasn't even given a chance to explain herself before Celestia struck her down and began chasing off the rest. She even started the rumours that changelings will turn you into husks if they feed from you," I reply look at my food.

Boiled vegetables, some dried grass, a few dried berries. Not much here but considering the condition of their crops, I'm not surprised. A thought then comes to me, I can just make a portal back to the Hive and have some of my crops brought here.

"Jintawa, would it be alright if I bring my mate here to join us? Along with some, no offence, fresher food?" I ask him with a smile.

"Your mate?" he asks wide eyed.

Banawey speaks up before I could. "He has taken a changeling queen as his mate, Jintawa. I have met her and two other queens at the Crystal Empire. They were nothing like the stories or the Equestrian Princess depicted them as. One even looked like she could be afraid of her own shadow," he tells him.

The elder looks down in thought and then looks back to me. "Very well. You have helped us and so I will trust you," he replies making me smile wider.

I change to Janus and open a portal behind me to the keep where I see one of the armoured guards with one of the large tower shields leaning against him by the entrance.

"Carl!" he says and bows slightly before looking back at me. He then goes wide eyes seeing the zebras behind me.

"Hello, Tank. Where is Chrysalis?" I ask him making him close his eyes.

After a few seconds he opens them again. "She's in the bath house with the other Queens," he tells me.

"I see, let her know I need to see her in our room as soon as possible," I tell him, getting a nod in return.

I close the portal and open a new one in my room and just wait. I even spot my letter I sent to Chrysalis on her vanity desk.

"You can make a portal that far away?" Jintawa asks in awe.

"As long as I've been to that place then yes. I can't open a portal if I don't know what the place looks like or its position on or in the world," I reply and I hear my room's door burst open and before I could react, Chrysalis barrels through the portal and knocks me onto the floor while peppering my metallic face with kisses. The surprise was enough for me to lose focus and the portal closes.

"I missed you so much," she says and hugs me tightly despite it being uncomfortable. Without thinking I change to Khepri and my size forces the mares out of the way as I hug my queen to my chest.

"And I missed you as well," I reply and return her kiss.

After a few seconds she flutters off me and I change back to Janus and reopen the portal.

"Chrissi, can you ask the garden caretakers to bring some food over? Enough for ten ponies at least, and a keg of wine as well," I ask her and her eyes close. After a few minutes, changelings arrive at the portal carrying freshly picked veggies and fruit, along with a large keg of Bacchus' wine.

Chrysalis levitates it all through and places it on the stone counter with the keg next to it.

"Thank you very much, Let Dragana and Shyla know to keep the place safe and running until we return," I say to the changelings who happily smile and head off to deliver my message and do other things.

I close the portal and change back to Ratatoskr before looking at the zebra mares who prepared the food.

"I'm sorry for asking, but could you prepare another meal with the new ingredients?" I ask them politely. That and I crushed the meal made for me when Chrysalis tackled me.

They both nod with a smile and begin preparing another meal.

Jintawa is eyeing Chrysalis warily as she sits beside me, until she decides to pick me up with her magic and place me between her forelegs and then hugs me to her barrel.

I can't help but smile and lean back into the soft shell of her belly, I missed her so much the last few days. Her presence alone is enough to ease my stress and worries and her scent just helps me relax as she holds me.

"So, how's the Hive doing?" I ask her getting a sigh from her.

"Remember those scouts we detained and released?" she asks me and I nod in reply. "The leader returned two days ago, without his armour along with his mate and two foals, carrying nothing but a pair of crystal wing blades for protection, camping equipment, and food and water. The border scouts tried to turn them back, but he begged we let them through," she says and frowns. "We Queens met with them and it turns out he and his mate have lost faith in Celestia and after almost dying during the battle from one of your blasts that gave him some burn scars, he made a decision. He said he signed up to protect Equestria and the Princesses from invaders, not to become an invader himself. So he resigned and before his superiors could punish him, he fled with his family and his first thought was the Hive," she tells me. "He also has told us that Celestia seems to be different, she's not talking to Luna, she's distant, spacing out, even lashing out at anyone who doesn't leave her alone. Luna even sent a message saying Celestia isn't okay and is acting completely out of character which is frightening her,"

I just stare at her wide eyed. He was in that battle? And I nearly killed him... yet he wanted to take refuge in Khepria to get away from Celestia who sounds like she's very depressed or going bat shit crazy?

I frown and think. Celestia sounds like she's going to snap and might even hurt her own people in her rage... "Send some scouts to keep an eye on Celestia, if she goes mad or down right evil, we'll need to help Luna evacuate the ponies to somewhere safe, perhaps guide them to the Crystal Empire or at least in the empty segments of Khepria," I reply and sigh.

I don't like the feeling I'm getting bout this.