Judgement

It was time to choose. All three deities were done with their adorning and arrived at the pine forest’s glade. The first contestant took a step forward and proudly exclaimed:

    -         I am the Queen of the Sky, Goddess of the Sun. There is nobody more magnificent than me!

The young shepherd inspected her closely and pondered:

She is magnificent without a doubt, as well as grand, graceful and royal. I feel quite uneasy with her presence, though. She is beautiful, but distant and foreign like her Sun.

The second contender came out and announced:

    -         I am the embodiment of knowledge and wisdom. There is no fact hidden from me or a book unread by me. Not only am I extremely intelligent, but my inner beauty is clearly visible from the outside.

The herdsman examined her carefully:

She’s quite a sight, radiating with wisdom, glamour and confidence. She looks like a glistening, gold treasure chest with some ancient knowledge hidden inside.

But then, he noticed a very sharp spear held by the shining deity and was startled by the sight of this intimidating weapon.

It look like this chest contains a deadly trap as well. He winced a bit.

It was time for the last participant. She came into view and made her proclamation with a sweet-sounding voice:

    -         I am the Goddess of Love. I spread it among all living things, both big and small. How could the manifestation of love itself be anything but the most beautiful thing in the world?

The young shepherd scrutinized her:

She is light and graceful, like sea foam or a rare, exotic bird. And just like these things, she appears to be a temporary treat, ready to fly away at the merest movement or dissipate on its own within seconds. Like a sea or an ocean, she can be both calm and furious, kind and merciless. It looks like this entity can bring excitement or despair, freedom or slavery.

The reluctant judge slightly winced again. The Goddess of Love took a step back. Now all three contestants were standing next to each other, trying different poses to enhance their appearance. It was time to make a decision.

What to do, what to do…

Background by

Cadance’s cutie mark by

Caduceus by Dawn from DragoArt

MLP (c) by Hasbro

As you can probably guess, this is a scene interpretation of the “Judgement of Paris” from Greek mythology. For people not familiar with the story, the short version goes like this: During a banquet, a golden apple with the words “for the most beautiful” was thrown into the party. Three goddesses – Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, claimed the apple. Zeus send Hermes, the messenger of the gods, to call upon a young man named Paris. He was appointed to judge which of the three goddesses was worthy of the golden apple.

I was thinking for quite a long time to decide which pony would be the most suitable for which role. Twilight Sparkle as Athena was the obvious choice, especially after the “Scare Master” episode. Athena is often depicted with a suit of armour and a spear. An owl is her sacred bird and a symbol of wisdom.

Cadance seemed like the best candidate for Aphrodite, the goddess of love. She is frequently depicted nude, with the Erotes (Cupids) by her side.

I wasn’t very fond of the idea of Princess Celestia as Hera. Hera was known for her vain, jealous and vengeful nature and Celestia is nothing like that. However, this picture involves something like role-playing, so the ponies’ characters don’t have to be show-accurate. Besides, they both can be considered the highest goddess or the Queen of the Sky. Hera’s sacred bird is a peacock, and Philomena bears some resemblance to it. Celestia’s dress is pretty much taken from “Make New Friends But Keep Discord”.

The Paris’ role was the hardest one. I finally decided on Shining Armor, as he, like Paris, quite unexpectedly became a prince.

Rainbow Dash can be easily seen playing the role of Hermes, for obvious reasons.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this picture.