[Twilight's P.O.V. Continued]

Frustration boiled inside me as I tried once more to lift Chris with my magic, only for the same sparkly fizzle to greet me. What was going on? Why couldn't I lift him? My magic was strong enough to move entire objects, even teleport things across Equestria. Why couldn’t I lift a human? I bit my lip and tried to calm myself, my eyes darting around the yard. The house was too far away for me to carry him with just my hooves, and I was still in a state of shock after what just happened with Zeus.

I breathed deeply, my horn glowing again, and this time I tried to focus more. “Come on, Twilight,” I muttered to myself, gritting my teeth. “You’ve lifted heavier things before.” I closed my eyes and focused on the weight of Chris’s body, hoping that this time, it would work.

A small flicker of magic surged from my horn, but again, it fizzled and sputtered. My eyes snapped open, panic creeping into my chest. Something wasn’t right. I had to do something—anything.

Suddenly, an idea sparked in my mind. I had read about this—magical burnout. When magic users overexerted themselves, or when an insanely intense arcane burst occurs, their ability to use magic could become temporarily weakened, sometimes to the point where they couldn’t lift a feather. I thought back to the intense surge of mana I’d felt when Chris summoned Zeus. The magic in that moment had been so powerful, so overwhelming, that it had probably drained me completely.

Thinking long and hard, it hit me like a brick—there was no way I could move him on my own.

I took another step back and bit my lip, trying to think of another solution. I couldn’t let him just stay here. He was still breathing, but I still had no idea what the consequences of that ritual would be. If he had merged with a god, there could be lasting, potentially fatal, effects thereafter. I had to find a way to get him some help. Maybe there was some sort of—wait.

I froze. My ears perked up.

I hadn’t seen it before, but in the corner of my vision, I caught a glimpse of something glimmering on the ground.

'Chris’s phone!' I thought, a little more hopeful.

It was lying in the grass, probably having fallen out of his pocket when the storm erupted. Maybe it could help. I staggered over to it, feeling a little more hopeful. Grabbing it with my hooves, I flicked the screen on, trying to find something that could help. I didn't know if any of this technology would work with my hooves, but I had to try. Luckily, after a few clumsy attempts, I managed to unlock it. "Okay... now what?" I muttered, scrolling through the screen as fast as I could. I was no tech expert, but I remembered the contacts app. Maybe someone on here could help.

Before I could scroll through the list, I heard a faint groan from Chris. My heart leapt. “Chris!” I galloped back to him, my eyes wide. “Chris, are you alright?!” I asked, trying to sound as calm as possible, though I don't think it was convincing.

He shifted slightly, his face grimacing. Slowly, his eyes opened, and he blinked up at me, confusion overtaking his expression.

“Twilight?” he rasped, his voice sounding strained. “What happened...?”

I sighed in relief, but it was short-lived. “You...merged with Zeus,” I explained quickly, trying not to overwhelm him. “I tried to lift you, but...” I trailed off, my voice faltering.

His eyes narrowed as he attempted to sit up. “Merged with Zeus...?” he mumbled, shaking his head as though trying to process what had just happened.

“Yeah,” I said, my voice thick with worry. “You, uh, summoned him, and then you... I don’t know, but it was like he became part of you.”

A long silence fell between us. Chris didn’t seem to know what to make of it. I didn’t either. The world seemed to have turned upside down in just a few moments. My head spun as I wondered how things had gotten this out of control so quickly.

“Well, this is... new,” Chris finally said, looking to his hands which sparked with golden lightning. “Guess I should’ve been more careful with that storm magic...” He said, groaning.

I couldn't help but let out a small laugh at his attempt to make light of the situation. Still, I couldn’t ignore the serious undertones of what had just happened. Whatever had occurred, something about it didn’t sit right.

“You need rest,” I said firmly, though I wasn’t sure I had the authority to say so. “You need to be careful. The magic—Zeus—it could have done more damage than we realize.”

Chris nodded, though his face looked pale, and I could tell he was still weak.

“Well, I’m not going anywhere, at least not for now,” he muttered, his confidence faltering. “Let’s just...figure out how to get me back to normal, huh?”

The tone was light, but I could hear the underlying worry in his voice. I couldn’t blame him. Honestly, If I had fully merged with a god, I’d be freaking out too.

I sighed, looking around the yard once more. 'There has to be something we could do.' I thought as I pace back and forth. 'So...I can't use my magic due to the burnout...' I strain my mind, trying to think of anything I could do to help. I looked at him, a small smile donned my lips. "Let's just start with step on...literally...it's cold out here." I jokingly deadpanned, getting a small laugh out of him.

He looked at me with a smile in his face. "Alright, I will admit...as weak as I'm feeling, I could probably do with the heater in the house!" He said as he chuckled once through his nose. I smiled back, gesturing to the house with my head. "Me, too! Honestly, I think we both need some rest after...all of that!" I said, letting a small giggle out at the end.

After awhile I managed to finally get him up, letting him use my back as leverage to push himself up. "One step at a time" He said in a low, tired voice.

[Chris' P.O.V] ~ A few hours later

After waking up two or three hours after the "incident", I almost forgot what happened. The reason being is that I felt...stronger, lighter, and I felt GREAT! Too great. Something wasn't right...It felt off, almost as if—"Oh, shit..." I say aloud, my eyes wide. For some reason I was compelled to look at my arm...and right where Zeus' mark had been...was now a golden snake with a spike cracked in two...this "tattoo" that marked us tethered was now a "tattoo" that marked us merged! I slumped back down on my bed, my thoughts raging in my mind. After a few minutes of raging thoughts; a single, terrifying thought crashed through the rest. A thought that, not only made sense, I'd have to deal with until this is fixed. But before I could relay that thought to myself fast enough to react...I heard...him.

{Well, well, well...Looks like you're not yet rid of me...mortal.} Said the all too smug, over-confident, annoying voice of the King of Gods.

I let out an exasperated groan. "Fuck me, dude, do you EVER go away?!" I whisper loudly, trying not to alarm the possibly still sleeping Twilight downstairs.

{Haha ha! Two things you must remember mortal! One; I am not "dude" to you, I am God King Zeus, or just Zeus if you must! Two; No! Hahahaha ha!} He said in his booming, "god voice" trying to be imposing. It didn't work, it just annoyed me further.

I smirked after a bit of self-thought. "Heh...well dude, you're in my body, in my head!" I said quitely, rising annoyance and anger swelling within me. "If you think you're in control here, you're poorly mistaken, you overzealous, rape-y, piece of shit of an "all-powerful" being who doesn't even own a fucking body!" I almost yelled the last part. As I finished my sentence, a spark of lightning fired out from my body producing a loud CRACK.

I blink a few times, eyes wide. "Uhh...Zeus...the FUCK?!" I said loudly, looking around the room. I immediately notice a burn mark on the wall by the door where the spark whipped the wall.

{You have much to learn...demi-god.} He said dramatically.

My breath caught in my throat. "Demi..." Before I could even finish that sentence, a heard galloping coming up the stairs followed by my door being yeeted open at full force by a stressed out alicorn.

"Chris! You okay?!" Twi said, worry laced through her entire being. She was breathing heavily due to me, presumably anyway, waking her up from the loud ass crack the spark made just a few seconds ago.

[Twilight's P.O.V]

He looked at me with a shocked expression. "Uhh, Yeah Twi...I'm fine!" He said, feigning a smile and rubbing the back of his head. "I just thought I would see if I had any of his powers...didn't really know if the request took or not." He said, trying to be as ignorant to the situation as possible.

"Chris...do not lie to me!" I say, eyeing him with annoyance. "I heard you talking to yourself...or should I say to Zeus!" I say accusingly. "Why would you try to hide that?!" I said loudly, almost yelling. "You hate the guy!" I stomped my hoof in emphasis.

"He called me something I NEVER would have imagined I would...or even could become!" He retorted, raising his hand and pointing to a strange mark on his arm. "He called me Demi-god! You know what that means? What this mark means?" He said, exhaustion from the situation bleeding into his tone.

I shook my head. "No, I've never even seen that kind of mark before." I respond, leaning in to look at it better. Seeing it closer, it resembled the same mark that Zeus had on his arm.

He stood up from his bed and went to his closet. "I can't stand looking at it, I'm changing shirts!" He huffed, grabbing a dark green long sleeve shirt from the closet. Taking off his shirt and tossing it aside, he groaned and shook his head. "This is fucking stupid! I can't believe that I'm stuck with this piece of horse shit—uh, no offence Twi..." He said dejectedly, walking back to his bed and slumping back down on it. He hung his head and stared at the floor, a low sigh coming from his nose.

I looked to him with a look of concerned understanding. "Look, Chris..." I started. He put his hand up, stopping me. As he did, he shook his head, a dark expression lay on his face.

"Don't try to cheer me up Twi, I just can't do it right now." He almost whispered, yet his words echoed on the walls and there was a low rumble of thunder in the background. Feeling the tension rise, I decided to leave him to his devices while keeping an ear out for anything that could pose problematic while I'm not in the room. As I turn to trot out, however, I hear him speak a little louder. "Thanks, though Twi...I really do appreciate the sentiment..." He trailed somberly. I just nodded and walked out of the room and closed the door behind me.

[Chris' P.O.V]

After Twilight left, I sighed. "Okay...what do you mean I'm a demi-god?" I question the god through my teeth.

Author's Note

aaaaaaand...CLIFFHANGEEEER!

Hooe you enjoyed the second chapter! 3rd should be soon!