Chapters Kratos rolled left, the Cyclops Berserkers' club smashing the ground where he once stood leaving a creator in his wake. Kratos had dealt with Cyclopes before, but this was by far the biggest, the armour was tougher, and the Cyclops was a lot faster than usual, none the less this Cyclops stood in the way of his revenge, it had to die. The Cyclops came charging, Kratos stood firm gripping the Blades of Athena, as he looked straight at the monster waiting for the right time. Suddenly Kratos sent a blade towards the beasts’ right knee as he stepped left to avoid the charge. The blade struck and sent blood spraying across the field. The grass turning red, as the soil drank the monsters blood. Kratos seeing a window of opportunity sent another blade against the monsters back. More blood, but Kratos was used to this, he lunged at the beasts club arm, thrusting both blades deep into the flesh. The beast roared as it stumbled, it tried to grab Kratos with its other arm, but it was too slow as Kratos ripped a Blade out of the arm and skewered the beasts’ hand. Quickly Kratos climbed onto the beasts shoulders and forced the blades into the thick muscly neck. Quickly dismounting the beast, Kratos evaded a last ditch attack from the Cyclops, the blades were still in the Cyclops, but when Kratos landed, he ripped them out bringing forth a sea of blood from the Cyclops neck. Kratos, now soaked in blood, stood alone in the forest clearing as the Cyclops fell before him with a thud. The smell of the forest was now one of blood.
The wind picked up strength; the trees’ whispers were turning to shouts. Flapping could be heard, but the origin could not be seen. A slight grin came across Kratos' face; this was his life now, one monster after another fell before him. The flapping grew louder and flame rushed over head, followed by a screech. A Manticore. He had fought similar at Delphi, but never in a forest, for the beasts lived high in the mountains. He relished the challenge. The Manticore came into sight, wings flapping, and scorpion tail posed for attack. The head was almost lion like, but faintly resembled a dragon. The jaws of the creature opened and Kratos prepared to fight. He could see the flames form within the jaws, ready to explode out. However, a bright light appeared behind the Manticore, the Sun was setting, but this was no Sun. The flying beast roared as it was consumed, Kratos soon followed
Fluttershy was visiting her critter friends, feeding the chickens and checking up on each critter family. She had been interested in one squirrel in particular, as he had been attacked on the edge of the Everfree forest. Princess Celestia had warned Ponyville to stay well clear of the old forest, she could not tell the ponies why but strange happenings were occurring and Timberwolf attacks were increasing. Fluttershy had found this squirrel just before the Everfree forest boundary, it had been attacked. She was not sure what had attacked it or why anything would attack such a cute little animal.
There was flash. Brighter than Princess Celestias’ Sun, it came from within the forest. Fluttershy could only look away, until she heard the roar of an injured animal. Her kindness towards animals was stronger than her fear of the forest. It was her duty to help all animals, so she headed towards the scream.
As she approached the area where the roar was thought to have come from, she could smell burning. She slowed her
pace down; her only thought was the injured animal. Then she saw it, a Manticore, but this one was different to the ones she met before. This one was almost all black, and at least three times the size of other Manticores in the area. The beast was cocooned in its wings. Fluttershy thought about running, more than once, but this creature looked injured and she wanted to help. She crept forward; the Manticore did not notice her at first. “Hello” she whispered “I am here to help” her voice was barely audible, but the twig that snapped as she walked got the Manticores’ attention.
It stared at her, not moving at first then slowly unfurling its huge wings revealing its’ large lion-like torso. Fluttershy was shocked; this was no creature from Equestria. Its’ mane was not like the local Manticores this mane was jet black and spiked, the mane extended down the beasts back where it meet large scales. The scales were almost like an amour on this great beast, they were thick and black but with a tint of green. The scales gave way to a large scorpion tail, almost the length of the beast itself, the tail curled up with the stinger pointing straight at Fluttershy. The Manticore started towards her before letting out a crackling roar upwards, flames shot upwards towards the sky; finally it closed its’ jaws and looked at the pastel yellow pony. The mouth of the beast unhinged, and Fluttershy could see right down its throat, where she saw flames were gathering. She was frozen; the flames grew larger in the beasts’ belly. She could only cower behind her pink mane, and tears were starting to form. There was another roar, not from the Manticore but from something else. A pony?
Fluttershy heard a mighty thud, and felt the heat of the flames, but they were away from her. She moved her mane from over her eyes, and saw a bald white Pony to her left, with metal attached to its fore legs, in front of the Manticore. The Manticore swiped at the Pony but only hit the air, the Pony attacked it with the curved metal attached to its legs, and the metal was attached by chains, they were like some sort of blades. She watched in awe as this Pony pulled the giant beast down to Earth, with the blade like weapons. The white Pony had got hold of one of the Manticores wings, the Manticore let out a burst of flame which turned to a roar as this mysterious Pony ripped its left wing off and flung it aside. The muscles of this white Pony were bulging; he was easily stronger than Big Macintosh. Earth ponies were the strongest of the three kinds, but this Pony was incredible.
The Manticore was circling round the Pony, but he didn’t seem to mind. His skirt blew in the wind, and his face was one of anger. Fluttershy could only watch, she was frozen in terror as this Pony was risking his life fighting this new creature. The Manticore lunged for an attack, keeping the wounded wing away from its attacker; The Pony jumped back, then lunged forward with its own attack and slashed the face of the beast. The Pony quickly jabbed a blade into the side of the beast and jumped on top, once up it reared up and let out its’ own roar, before lunging the blades into the Manticores back. The Manticore again, let out a roar of flames. The beasts’ tail was now attacking the Pony who was still stabbing the beasts’ neck. The scorpion tail lurched towards him; he moved just in time, but the tail still scrathed his waist. He kept stabbing at the beast; blood was running into the beasts’ mane, however, the beast sent its tail for another attack. This time the Pony evaded it completely and caught the tail with the chains that were wrapped tight around its fore legs. The Pony quickly ripped off the end of the tail using a hoof and his other blade before sliding off the Pony and ramming the stinger into the beasts’ soft underbelly. The Pony was drenched in the black blood of the beast, and looked towards Fluttershy as the beast fell to the ground, blood still squirting out the hole in its belly. The pony moved towards Fluttershy, She let out a small whimper of fear and turned her head to not look. She heard a grunt then a dull bang, like a branch had fallen, but when she looked round all she saw was the bald white pony collapsed on the floor. She was going to help him, even though she had just witnessed him turn an area in a forest into a scorched blood bath.
Kratos awoke to the sound of giggling, it was familiar but he struggled to remember how. He looked around, it was all familiar, the grass, the trees, even the smells, but how was he here? This was a place before the war, before the Gods betrayed him, a place of peace. The giggling returned and suddenly he remembered “Caliape? “ He shouted “Is that you?”
He looked round, but he had the same problem as before. He thought that was a dream, but is this the dream? What happened? He had changed form, his hands were hoofs, he was a horse now, a white stallion with no mane, the red tattoo was still there as red fur, a solid black tail, and the Blades of Athena were wrapped around his forelegs. This was something new, but was not Zeus, this was a greater power. The giggling interrupted his thought. He crawled, or rather trotted, to where the giggling was coming from. He entered a clearing, the moon was full and bright it illuminated the whole area almost as much as the Sun would. In the center of the circle was a black Pony, bigger than the yellow one he saw or dreamed earlier, with a long dark blue mane that glittered in the moonlight. A small child ran from behind the Pony “Caliope?” asked Kratos.
“Daddy” the child giggled
“I thought this would be the best way to meet you” Said the Black Pony, as she turned to face Kratos.
“What? What is this place? Who are you? ANSWER ME!” replied Kratos.
“This is your dream. My name is Princess Luna. I am one of the Rulers of the land of Equestria. Celestia and I called you here, we have a problem, and you are our best hope.” Lunas’ voice was calm and quiet.
“What problem? What is this land ‘Equestria’? And why am I NOW A HORSE?” Kratos was getting angry as Luna was hiding information. He tried to put a hoof around Caliope who was pulling his tail.
“Zeus has declared that he should be King of all Gods, not just Olympus. He sent his minions forth when we refused to bow to him. You are a Pony now. It’s the form of the beings in this Universe. I am an Alicorn, I have traits of Earth Pony, Unicorn and Pegasus, as does Zeus when he is in our Domain, and I assume it is the same with the other Deities from your world. We need you to clear Equestria of the Monsters that Zeus has unleashed” Luna Replied, she sounded troubled Kratos noted.
“As long as it does not interfere with my vengeance, where do I start?” pressed Kratos, noticing that Caliope had stopped pulling his tail.
“It will be explained more when you wake, but first you must rest. Remember this is a peaceful world Kratos.” Said Luna, turning to leave Kratos “I will let Caliope stay tonight, but remember this is a dream. Oh, and the visions should not occur while you are here.”
Kratos lay down in the grass and hugged his Daughter as she ran her hands along his now red and white coat. “Thank you” he whispered.
Kratos did not know where he was but he was not alone. There were others nearby, he could hear them talking.
“What do you mean he cut off its tail?”
“Why did you bring him back? Look at him, he’s something else”
“Are you sure you’re ok, Sugar cube?”
“I think he’s cute, did you see his coat IT’S AWESOME”
Kratos got up and looked around, he was still getting used the being on four legs. He felt the blades of Athena still attached, he could slaughter his way out. He noticed a window on the far side of the room, so he decided to have a look outside. He saw nothing that gave him concern, there was smoke coming from the forest close by, but there was no one around. He could escape. He suddenly remembered his dream with the Black Pony, what did she mean.
A door creaked open behind him, and a yellow pony with a pink mane peeked in.
“Uh, um sorry didn’t mean to disturb you” It said.
Kratos just stared blankly at the Pony
“It’s just there’s breakfast in the kitchen, if you are hungry. You don’t need to eat if you don’t want to.” She replied.
“Where am I? What happened?” Kratos demanded.
“This is, uh, my cottage. You collapsed in the forest yesterday, after you, eh, um, killed that creature.” She replied. “What is, uh, your name?”
“But how did I get here?” He asked, his voice becoming calmer.
“Is everything OK, Fluttershy?” A voice said behind the door.
The door burst open and a rainbow of ponies came through, including a Rainbow one in itself. There was a lavender Unicorn, a white Unicorn with a purple mane, an orange Pony, a pink Pony, that looked really cheerful, and the cyan Pegasus with the rainbow mane and tail.
“What’s your deal here?” the Rainbow asked, almost angrily.
“Yeah, why did you kill the Manticore?” The Purple Unicorn asked.
Kratos just stared at the ponies, this was new to him but he kept thinking about what the black Alicorn said in his dream.
“How do I kill Zues in this form?” He demanded.
“Oh silly, Zeus isn’t here. He is from another universe. Why do you want to kill him anyway?” the Pink one said happily, she annoyed Kratos, she was just too happy.
“Pinkie, do you even know what you said? Let’s start again, shall we? I’m Twilight. That was Pinkie Pie, she is always like that. The Yellow Pegasus that dragged you from the Everfree forest is Fluttershy. This is Apple Jack” walking beside the orange pony with a hat. “That’s Rarity over there; don’t mind her she just doesn’t want blood on her. And this Pegasus is Rainbow Dash, what is your name?”
Kratos stared “Kratos. My name is Kratos”.
“Nice to meet ya, Kratos. And just why are you in Ponyville?” Apple Jack enquired.
“I was brought here, by an Alicorn. Luna, she said this would be explained” Said Kratos, still judging the ponies that stood before him.
“Why would she do that?” Twilight blurted out.
“It’s easy guys” the pink Pony said gleefully “Luna wants something ended. See that’s what his special talent is, look at his cutie mark.”
“That’s just a horseshoe Pinkie” said rainbow dash, squinting at the strange symbol on Kratos’ flank.
“No its not, It’s omega, it means the end from where he is from.” Pinkie explained.
There was a knock on a door outside of the room, Fluttershy crept away to answer it. The ponies continues to stare at Kratos, this was not something that happened regularly in Ponyville. New ponies were always noted, and greeted yet this huge pony went unnoticed. The ponies all turned towards the door when they heard a voice talking to Fluttershy approaching, Kratos saw through the open door a big white pony, bigger than him, and twice the size of the ponies that surrounded.
“Princess” they said as it entered, the ponies lying down. Their version of kneeling Kratos assumed.
“I’m glad nothing is broken” The princess said looking at Kratos “I did not mean to bring you to Ponyville.”
“And who are you?” Kratos asked angrily.
“I am Princess Celestia, I apologise about this but Luna said she spoke to you in your dream?” the Alicorn said, Kratos could not help but notice the huge horn on her head.
“Yes and she mentioned Zeus, where is he?” Kratos pushed.
“Zeus will come in time; he has declared war on this land. We need you to stop him. He has not shown himself since I sent him back, however I sense some other Gods are here. I need you to find them.” Princess Celestia said slightly worried.
“Then will I get my revenge?” Asked Kratos
“I will not stop you.” Celestia said calmly.
“Where do I start?” Kratos questioned eager to begin his journey.
“With these.” The Princess said, pointing at the blades of Athena wrapped around the fore legs of Kratos. “They will not do you well here, I do not encourage killing, but I will send these six with you to make sure it’s kept to a minimum.”
Princess Celestias’ horn began to glow, Kratos felt the magic around the blades, but he could not stop it. The blades of Athena vanished with a ‘pop’ and in their place two new blades appeared. They were golden in colour with jet black veins spreading out from the handles. The blades attached to Kratos’ fore legs pointing down. He reared up and the Blades slid down his legs and onto his hoofs, before sliding back in. He liked these blades.
“These are the Blades of Creation, they were designed by Star Swirl the Bearded many moons ago. He foretold of you, and he thought that when this day came you would be our best hope. They should help with the magic in this realm.”
“Where do I go first?” Kratos asked.
“You will go to the Everfree forest, to the abandoned castle. I am getting bad signals from there. Something with great power is there.” Celestia warned Kratos.
“It will be no match for me” Kratos grunted.
“I hope not. The Ponies will help you.” Celestia told him, urging the Ponies to get ready.
“I need no help, Celestia” Kratos spat.
“They will serve a purpose Kratos, it is you who needs help. This is a new world to you and these six have saved Equestria before.” Celestia returned before turning away. “I trust you will be going soon. Twilight will keep me updated”
She left through the door, Kratos grunted and walked out of the room as well, the ponies followed.
The Ponies met on the edge of the Everfree forest later that day, each with their own saddle bag. Kratos was eager to get going but three young fillies had appeared with AppleJack, they wanted to meet the new Pony.
“We do not have time for this!” Said Kratos, as the fillies stared at his ‘cutie mark’.
“It’s awesome!” The small Orange Pegasus shouted.
“I want my one to be as cool as his.” The Yellow one said sadly.
“How did you get it, Mister?” The white unicorn asked.
Kratos could tell that the yellow pony was related to Applejack, and the unicorn to Rarity.
“Come on now girls, leave him alone. We have got to get going” Applejack said.
“awwww, but Applejack?” The yellow Pony replied, her eyes going sad.
“Now, Girls Applejack is right. We have a royal duty to perform.” Rarity said sternly, flicking her mane.
Kratos laughed “Royal duty? I am doing what the Fates have made me do. Not what Celestia wants me to.”
“That’s Princess Celestia to you!” Twilight shouted out angrily.
“Whatever. Now let’s go.” Kratos fired back.
“Go back to the farm Apple Bloom.” Applejack said to the fillies.
“awwww.” The three said in sync, before lowering their heads and walking away.
“Do we have to go? I mean I, um, could stay here and watch for any oh um monsters?” Fluttershy whispered, cowering behind her mane.
“aww stop being such a baby Fluttershy.” Rainbow Dash said, taking flight.
“There’s Spike so let’s go,” Twilight said pointing with her hoof to a purple dragon, with green spikes coming towards them.
“Great, another body to slow us down.” Kratos spoke to himself in disgust “Let’s go!”
The ponies stepped into Everfree forest, led by Kratos, they did not know what they were going to face. The only happy one was Pinkie but even she kept whispering something to herself. The further they walked the less light penetrated the surrounding trees. Trees towered above the path, for the majority of the time, each one seeming to whisper to each other in the wind. The group walked past the smoldering wasteland that Kratos created the day before.
“You did this?” Rainbow Dash asked shocked at the destruction.
Kratos only smiled. Fluttershy whimpered when she saw the remains of the Manticore again. The other ponies got a glimpse of just why Princess Celestia called upon Kratos to fight these other beings but was this too extreme? Fluttershy had stopped a rampaging Manticore before, although this Manticore looked different. The Ponies trotted in silence, led by twilight now, Kratos and Pinkie followed close behind. Pinkie had kept looking at Kratos, analyzing his every move.
“What is it?” Kratos spat.
“You’re missing something.” Pinkie replied smiling as always.
“What?” Kratos said, turning his head to look at the cheerful pink pony.
“Ohhhh I don’t know. I just thought the God of War would have more weapons or equipment at least.” Pinkie chirped.
“I don’t need weapons to get my vengeance” Kratos grunted.
“Okay dokey loki” Pinkie said joyfully before bounding forward.
The Ponies eventually reached a swamp. The area was surrounded by trees, most of which had vines dangling down. Kratos mistook a snake on more than one occasion, only Fluttershy stopped the snakes from being sliced in half with a whimper and a ‘please’.
“Welcome to froggybottom Bogg, Kratos. I think we should settle here for dinner” said Twilight.
“I agree I’m starving” Rainbow dash said landing beside twilight.
Rarity laid down a red and white blanket neatly, as the others prepared plates and food. Pinkie let off a few balloons. There were cupcakes, carrot and daisy sandwiches, pea soup, hay and oat cakes and much more. Kratos saw no meat.
“Where is the meat?” he asked.
“What’s meat?” Rainbow Dash replied, tucking into a cupcake.
“mhmmm ns wwnsn,” mumbled Pinkie
“Swallow Pinkie Darling,” Said Rarity analyzing her sandwich.
“Meat is what he used to eat. We don’t eat meat in this world. We are ponies and herbivores; we wouldn’t imagine eating another living thing.” Pinkie explained.
“Then I will hunt” Explained Kratos, turning away from the picnic.
None of the ponies tried to stop him, they just watched as he vanished into the forest before turning back towards the picnic. The sun was on its way down, but still visible through the trees casting long shadows along the ground. The girls and Spike got stuck into the food, Twilight wanted to get to the castle before nightfall.
Mainwhile, Kratos had reached a river after a five minute walk through the trees. He heard the roar of the waterfall upstream, and some small splashes of what he hoped were fish. They were; he just had to catch them now. The blades of Creation were not good for catching fish; several times he got a blade in a fish, only for the fish’s momentum to get it sliced in half. Kratos changed to just using his hooves, which eventually worked after many attempts. Now all he had to do was cook it, the Blades made light work of gutting it. He tried using nearby twigs and branches but to no avail. He decided that maybe Twilight could use fire magic. He headed back with his catch.
Back at the picnic, the Ponies were having fun. Almost all of the food was gone, and Pinkie was staring at her reflection in the muddy water. Her body started twitching. The Ponies stopped to look, and then panic as Pinkie continued to twitch. Fluttershy was the first to notice something move in the water, but her shout was inaudible over the panic.
“Look, there’s something moving in the water.” Rainbow Dash shouted.
Again Fluttershy spoke but little sound came out.
“There’s another three things over there” Twilight mentioned.
Four large heads of a Hydra appeared out of the water, moving closer to the ponies. One let out a large cry, as the long necks kept rising out the water. Soon the heads towered above the surrounding trees, as a body and four legs of the Hydra climbed out of the water.
“Everypony run!” Commanded AppleJack, but Fluttershy was frozen in fear, as the beast drew closer.
The Hydra launched a head at Fluttershy, the other ponies were too far away to intervene. The beasts’ head was
inches away from Fluttershy when a fish struck it knocking it to the side. Rainbow Dash flew down to save Fluttershy, while Kratos ran for the Hydra. The three heads that were up headed towards Kratos, Kratos continued at the beast, jumping just before the first head reached him. He ran down the neck of the head, and brought out his blades. He fired both blades into the underside of the neck, and jumped onto the ground, avoiding another head. Once he landed he pulled the blades back, tearing through the muscles in the neck of the Hydra. Blood spurted in all directions, as the head fell to the ground, still attached by a piece of skin. Kratos quickly moved towards the belly of the beast, dodging and ducking whenever a head was sent his way. As he approached the torso, a head caught his back legs, knocking him off balance. The hydra let out a roar. Kratos quickly regained balance, noticing that Rainbow Dash had got the attention of the heads by flying close-by. Kratos quickly got under the Hydras belly, where he stuck a blade into the soft flesh near the necks, and ran towards the tail, opening the Beast up the length of its torso. The Hydra fell, with a quick moan then a thud. Kratos, now more red than white, smiled.
“Oh my!” Rarity whimpered, as the ponies gathered at the picnic blankett.
“Why did you kill it? It was scared!” exclaimed Twilight.
Kratos only laughed as the body the Hydra turned black and sunk into the ground, only a puff of smoke remained.
“What just happened? Is it coming back?” Asked Spike frightened.
“It was a Spawn of hades, created to kill me. It was a soul.” Answered Kratos
“But what about the Manticore? That was still there when we all walked past?” Said AppleJack slightly puzzled.
“Ohh, that’s simple.” Said Pinkie, as she smiled “The Hydra was a spawn of this world, sent by Hades, from the Underworld of this world. The Manticore, however, was not from this world originally, so it had no place to go when Kratos diced it up.”
The ponies looked surprised at what Pinkie Pie just said, but they could not disagree.
“Let’s keep moving” Kratos sneered, without a second thought to what just unfolded.
Fluttershy was still in the same position, staring at the gutted fish Kratos had thrown at the Hydra earlier. It took Rainbow Dash and AppleJack to get Fluttershy out of the state she was in. The Ponies began marching towards the abandoned castle again. Pinkie walked with Kratos up top.
“I saved you a cupcake” smiled Pinkie “I brought fourteen, two each, but I ate your other one while you were slaying the Hydra.”
Kratos didn’t speak, but he accepted the cupcake. After staring at the colourful “food” that was in his hoof, he finally took a bite, then another, then it was gone. He had never eaten a cupcake before, but he wanted another. Somehow Pinkie handed him another, Kratos ate it quickly.
As Luna was raising the moon, the Ponies came to the castle, with just one small problem; the old wooden bridge across was infested with grunts. Un-dead grunts, pony-fied. Kratos couldn't help but give a slight smile as he noticed how easy this was going to be. Kratos even thought about getting the other ponies in the action.
“You! Blue Pegasus! How strong are you?” Demanded Kratos.
“It’s Rainbow Dash, and I’m a Pegasus!” Rainbow replied, taking flight.
“How strong?” Shouted Kratos, bring back the days of his old Spartan Army.
“The strongest, and fastest!” boasted Dash.
“That’ll be right.” Apple Jack muttered.
“Good.” Said Kratos, pointing at the pony grunts on the bridge “Take them out”
“What?” Said Rainbow shocked.
“It’s fine, they are dead, weak and useless” assured Pinkie.
“I’ll help then; don’t want Rainbow having all the fun. If it’s what Princess Celestia wants.” AppleJack chirped.
“Just hit them, and they will sink back into the underworld.” Said Kratos, as he began his charge towards the bridge.
Rainbow Dash and AppleJack took off at breakneck speed, over taking Kratos. Rainbow Dash flew into the grunt crowd first scattering them like skittles. AppleJack was hot on her rainbow tail. Rainbow had to fly up as she lost momentum, AppleJack took the lead. She quickly stopped and turned as the grunts piled in twos towards her, Applejack bucked with her back legs at the last possible moment her legs broke the bones when the planted and sent the grunts back. Kratos had caught up and leaped over AppleJack, blades out. He had done similar thousands of times, and was getting used to hooves, charging the first grunt to challenge him and using it as shield, knocking more off the bridge. Kratos got to the other side and tossed his shield at another group of grunts. Rainbow and Applejack helped Kratos finish the last of the grunts, as the others crossed the bridge. Spike even caught a grunt on the head with a rock, to be greeted with a disapproving Twilight.
With the grunts disposed of, the Castles doors opened.
Stranger In a Strange Land
The ponies followed Kratos, through the large ancient wooden doors, inside the old abandoned castle, Rarity and AppleJack helping push Fluttershy in. They wanted to leave her outside, but Kratos wouldn’t allow it. The Ponies found themselves in a large room, most of the columns were damaged and some collapsed. There were several doors on the walls; however it was the large decorated doors at the far side that opened. Out of the doors came two figures; a Pony and large Minotaur.
“Trixie” shouted Twilight, bowing her head to use the magic.
“I am surprised you made it this far. Zeus said you would be trouble, so he gave me this the Amulet of Zeus, and got Ironwill to aid in taking over Ponyville.” Chuckled Trixie.
“But why?” asked Twilight, lifting her head.
“Power, Twilight. I am now the greatest unicorn ever! NOW DIE!” Replied Trixie as she fired her magic at two Pony statues. Trixie and Ironwill left the way they came in, the doors locked behind them.
The statues were now filled with the magic Trixie gave them, they began to move, picking up their swords that they had stood with over the years, and moving towards the ponies. Rainbow was ready to fight again; she wasn’t harming anypony so she saw as a way to prove her worth. Kratos moved first however, he did not care for the other ponies only that he succeeds. He reached the first Talos and sent a blade its’ way. The blade hardly chipped the stone, the noise echoed throughout the hall, but Kratos kept going, dodging the swinging sword he sent both blades.
Rainbow had the other Talos’ attention, but kept her distance as AJ bucked it, doing more damage to herself than the living stone. Twilight even tried her magic but the magic Trixie used stopped Twilights from working. Kratos had got round the back of his Talos, still launching blade after blade at it, Dodging and rolling and hitting. He began to get into a routine and cracks were showing on the Talos. The Talos swung vertically, but Kratos hopped back and ran up the sword and got a blade into a crack in the Talos’ shoulder, forcing it to lose its sword fore leg.
“Press Circle” Screamed Pinkie.
Kratos had no idea what she meant, but he grabbed the sword and swung it towards the Talos.
“X” Cried Pinkie, Kratos ignored it but the Talos grabbed the sword.
“Triangle” Pinkie again shouted, Kratos sent a Blade of Creation towards the Talos’ head.
“Triangle again” Pinkie still saying shapes, but Kratos got the sword free and took of the Talos’ other fore leg.
“Mash Circle” Pinkie blurted, Kratos took the blade and shoved it into the Talos’ chest, with less resistance than he expected. The sword hilt hit the stone chest of the Talos’ and the Talos stopped glowing and crumbled to dust with hardly a sound, the sword disintegrated as well.
Kratos looked for the other statue, to find Rainbow Dash was not doing much to damage it but more flying away, however she did land a column on its’ head, which stunned it. Kratos ran towards it and tackled it against a wall; the wall shook with a thud but stayed up. The Talos wobbled as it got up and Kratos took of its sword leg just like the he did with the other Talos.
“Press Circle” Pinkie Screamed again, and Kratos finished the Talos just as he had the other.
The ponies regrouped in the middle, after having looked around Applejack noticed a door on the wall was now opened so the ponies headed over.
“This place could really do with some colour.” Rairity sneered, looking at the décor “and a good dust.”
Kratos didn’t know the ponies that well, but Raritys’ constant complaining was rather irritating. He was enjoying the company of Pinkie though; she was different to the others, like she had been a friend since the beginning. Now wasn’t the time though the Ponies entered the room, and pinkie was shocked by what was inside.
“S-S-SPIKE ROOM!” Pinkie screeched.
“My room?” the purple dragon asked excitedly.
“No silly, it is a room where spikes come up from the floor and impale you, instant death. We just need to cross it.” Pinkie replied.
Fluttershy tried to run, only to be held back by Twilight. The room was square in shape, with no windows; holes were marked across the entire floor, a vast amount of blood stains were on the floor as well as the walls. Pinkie might just have been right. When all the ponies had got Fluttershy in to the room the door slammed shut behind them, the bang echoed. A wooden lever rose from the middle of the floor, Kratos walked to towards it and surveyed it. It was clear what was going to happen but it had to be done.
“Spike Time” Pinkie chirped, bouncing around the room.
“Look” Spike said pointing to the corner behind the door “There are no holes, it will be safe.”
“Good spot Spike” Twilight praised. “Everypony, over there.”
Only Twilight and Rarity got into the area, Spike climbed up onto Twilight for a vantage point and Fluttershy flew above. The floor in this small area was dark red with blood stains, but nopony knew why. The other ponies stood around Kratos, except Rainbow who was flying above.
“Ok every pony” Commanded Pinkie “This is a spike room, the holes in the floor are where the spikes will appear. Stay clear. They may give a warning before the pop up, so be on your toes, Rainbow, Fluttershy you can fly so you should be safest. Kratos, if you may.”
Kratos looked at Pinkie slightly bemused, but pulled the lever none the less. With a loud crack, gears could be heard moving in the walls and below. Suddenly bars, not spikes shot out of the holes surrounding the empty area trapping the ponies and spike inside. Suddenly Fluttershy felt a small prick on her back; she turned looked up to find spikes coming from the roof. She let out a feeble scream, but Twilight heard and saw the spikes as well, moving ever closer. She tried teleporting out, only to be teleported back inside by some sort of force, similar to that of when she found the Crystal Heart. However this was not the only thing happening, spikes were covering half the room at any one time, the spikes came in squares of three at a time; there were six squares in total. In addition to the spikes were two harpies, These were not the harpies Kratos was used to; these were more like grey pegasi, except with no fore legs, chicken type back legs and a beak. This was not a normal fight, the three ponies and Spike were in danger and the spikes on around the floor were changing faster than even Pinkie expected, but there was a warning.
Without hesitation Kratos swung both blades into a harpie, and brought it down, with a quick slash its’ head rolled across the room and got caught by a spike. Kratos quickly rolled left avoiding spikes himself, while Pinkie was bouncing about, even balancing on the spikes, and Rainbow was looking after AppleJack, still slightly limping after kicking the Living Statue, by picking her up if spikes were threatening to impale her. Another Harpie appeared from the ground in a ball of dark mist, both harpies headed towards Kratos, aware of the spikes on the floor he sent the blades towards the highest flying one, and pulled himself up, narrowly missing Rainbow. As he hung from the Harpie, now flapping its wings frantically, he noticed Pinkie had the attention of the other, Kratos directed the harpie he was dangling from to a spike-free area and tore it in half, getting drenched in black blood as he landed. The harpie that followed Pinkie had took flight, ready to dive bomb, Pinkie kept hopping and even started hopping from spike to spike. The harpie locked on and went straight towards Pinkie, who didn’t seem to notice just bounced from a spike just as the harpie landed, impaling itself on the spike, blood squirted as the harpie screeched. One last harpie appeared.
The ponies in the corner were struggling; the spikes from the ceiling were feet above their heads, Fluttershy and Rarity fainted at what they felt was their inevitable doom. Twilight was lying on the floor uttering words, with her friends’ bodies in a pile beside her, with spike sitting on top. Kratos focused on the last harpie, which was screeching towards Rainbow. Rainbow didn’t notice and got a chicken foot the torso, not a deep cut but blood did hit the floor, she didn’t have time to flinch, AppleJack was stranded in what was about to be a spike area. She flew down and grabbed AJ just in time, AppleJack smiled and was about to repay the favour. Rainbow flew towards the harpie, holding AppleJacks’ flank towards the creature, as soon as the Harpie was in range, the Earth Pony let out a kick catching the harpie. It wasn’t a strong connection and only stunned the creature for a second.
Rainbow Dash dropped her passanger beside Kratos, who was finding it entertaining to watch, before heading towards the Harpie herself. She flew straight into the creature with her head at first, and then came round for a second hit stopping in the air, and turning her body to get a kick into the beast. Twilight let out a scream the got Kratos’ attention. He noticed that the spikes were dangerously close to the ponies, with a quick smile he sent blades towards the harpie, missing. Rainbow had knocked the creature out the way, before narrowly missing the blades herself; she quickly got above the beast and pushed it towards the ground, where Kratos was. Kratos quickly removed the creatures’ organs with a quick slash. As the blood from the harpie was in the air the all the spikes in the room retreated, with a metallic clank. Twilight praised Celestia and lifted Fluttershy off Rairity, before walking to the other Ponies.
The ponies that were still awake gathered beside the lever, Kratos was covered in blood from the harpies; the others had a few spots on their coats. Rainbow Dash looked at her cut, it had stopped bleeding and wasn’t deep.
“What happened to they two?” asked AppleJack, pointing to the yellow and white Ponies in the corner.
“They fainted when the spikes got close.” Replied twilight “I don’t blame them though, it was a close one.”
“We don’t have time for this!” grunted Kratos.
“Oh don’t worry about it” Pinkie Pie chirped, happy as ever “It’s a boss next, I don’t know how I know, I just have senses. We will need to come back through here after anyway.”
“Fine.” Kratos replied, slightly less spiteful “I will go through the door, and will return with whatever I need from in there. You lot, stay here and tend to the injured.”
“I’m coming with you!” insisted Rainbow, beginning to get a taste for this fighting.
“No! I’m better alone.” Kratos said, eyes frowning.
“You won’t make her change her mind” Twilight said, staring at Kratos. “I will stay and update Celestia on what is happening.”
“Fine. Let’s go” Kratos said, turning from the crowd with Rainbow trotting beside him.
As Twilight watched Rainbow vanished through a door at the far end of the room with a pony that they had only met this morning, she turned to Spike.
“Spike, take a letter.” She said, walking over to her friends in the corner.
Spike pulled a parchment and a quill from the saddlebag of Twilight.
“Dear Princess Celestia. We made it to the castle, with hardly a problem. There are creatures here though, ones that do not seem to belong, and others that you would not think are creatures. Kratos has kept us safe, saving Fluttershy from a hydra and the rest of us from many other creatures. I do not know if he knows what he is killing or if he kills everything, but he does not seem affected by it. We have found out that Trixie and Ironwill are resident here in the castle, there have been some traps set for us, but we have overcome them. Trixie has unimaginable powers, and has brought statues to life, she mentioned an Amulet of Zeus. I will keep you updated as we proceed; Kratos has gone with Rainbow to a “boss” as Pinkie Pie called it. Your Faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Twi…light Spar…kle.” repeated Spike, as he pressed the quill on the parchment for the last period.
“Send that please, Spike” Twilight said.
With a deep breath, Spike blew fire at the parchment and watched it turn to smoke as it sent to the Princess.
After a long walk down a dimly lit corridor, the only light being torches on the wall, Kratos and Rainbow reached another door, they continued through into a large circular chamber. The chamber was again barely lit, with only a few torches around the outside. There were four columns in a square holding up a high roof that no longer existed. At the far side stood three figures, Kratos knew two were Trixie and Ironwill, but the other one had the same outline as a small Celestia. The three walked in between two columns towards the ponies, Trixie and Ironwill at each side of the Golden Alicorn. It did not take Kratos long to realize who the Alicorn was.
“You!” Kratos seethed.
“Yes me. You think you were the only one to come here? Couldn’t let you have all the fun could we?” The Alicorn Jested, his red mane fluttered in the wind.
Kratos stared, his eyes void of all emotions except hate.
“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue? Or should that be Pony? Heh. I see you have a little friend as well? Didn’t know you could make friends, after the slaughter.” The Alicorn took flight, but moved no closer to Kratos.
“You will not stop me, Hermes!” Kratos spat; as he reared bring out the Blades of Creation.
“I won’t need too; I have people who will though. Father gave this one unlimited magic.” Hermes mocked.
“Magic did not help Ares, nor shall it aide you!” Kratos fumed.
“Well let’s see shall we?” Hermes mocked, flying towards a window in decaying walls “Trixie, Ironwill. Bring me his head!”
“Follow him” Kratos said to Rainbow who took flight instantly.
Kratos was left with the Minotaur and the unicorn. He knew where she got her power, but it was a question of getting that power from her. Trixie made the first attack, sending a bolt of blueish energy towards Kratos, who blocked it using the Blades. The blades drank the energy with ‘ching’, but did not return the bolt as he wished. Ironwill made a run for Kratos, bending over to try and impale the white pony with his horns. Kratos was used to this type of Minotaur attack and reared up and grabbed the horns. The force pushed him back several meters, but he stopped the slide and twisted Ironwill over who landed with a thud. Ironwill did not stay down for long and made a grab for Kratos, who narrowly rolled out the way, but got hit by a bolt of Trixies’ magic instead. The magic hit hard, and sent Kratos into a column which shook violently at the impact, creating more cracks, Kratos recovered to block another bolt. Kratos ran towards the Unicorn now sending a Blade there first, only for Trixie to block it with magic and then taunt him with a yawn.
Kratos got angry at that remark, and went for Ironwill, zig zagging his run to try and avoid Trixies’ magic. Ironwill swung a hand towards Kratos, which Kratos ducked under, using his momentum to slide under Ironwills’ legs. From behind Kratos imbedded his two blades in both sides of the Minatours back, before jumping and the bucking, sending Ironwill towards Trixie. Trixie used magic to catch Ironwill and put him on the ground, he was missing a few chunks out his back, but he was still up for a fight. He ran away from Kratos and lurked in the shadows. Kratos saw this as the Minotaur was defeated and was going to die, so he turned towards Trixie. Trixie let out a laugh, before directed more bolts at Kratos, the Blades of Creation absorbing each one. Quickly, Kratos galloped towards the unicorn, not being able to use the blades he had to swerve out the way of whatever Trixie sent his way. When he got close Trixie teleported to the other side of the room and sent a bolt of magic towards a column near Kratos, the instant the magic struck, the column crumbled. Kratos began to run, pieces of column were falling and crashing around him, then the whole column came down.
From the dust Kratos emerged still galloping, Trixie tried to teleport again, only to be hit by the charging Kratos. She hit the wall with such force, some torches fell off the wall making the room darker. Kratos trotted up to the injured Pony and brought out his blades. A noise to his left caught his attention, and he spun to face a charging Ironwill. Kratos just managed to position himself between the horns of the Minotaur; but still taking a large hit. Kratos tried stabbing Ironwill in the shoulder and wherever else he could get the blade to reach, but the momentum of Ironwill sent him crashing into a column. The column crumbled, as Kratos slid down, Ironwill ran off again.
Trixie had recovered and sent magic Kratos’ way, before turning and firing magic into the darkness, before more at Kratos. The bolts that had been sent into the darkness returned towards Kratos, Ironwill had the Golden Fleece. That would be of use. Kratos blocked the bolts coming his way, and ran for Ironwill, determined to get the Golden Fleece. He reached the Minotaur and got a good connection with his blades on Ironwills’ legs, forcing the beast to kneel. As he knelt Kratos sent another towards the arm of the Golden Fleece, and sliced it slightly. Trixie was making her way to the centre of the room, she fired another bolt towards Kratos, but the Spartan pony evaded it allowing it to strike Ironwill instead. The bolt took Ironwill into the wall, leaving him stunned. Kratos saw his opportunity and took it. Slicing off the arm first, and then slicing from the neck down, spilling Ironwills’ organs onto the floor in a pool of blood. Kratos ripped the Golden Fleece off the detached Minotaur arm, and put it on his right foreleg, the Fleece adjusted to size.
With Kratos now having a means of returning the magic Trixie used, he taunted her with the arm of her friend. Trixie didn’t seem too bothered and sent a usual bolt towards Kratos, only for him to parry it back towards her. It struck her, sending her back, but she teleported before she hit the wall. She appeared behind Kratos and picked him up using magic, Kratos tried to send a blade towards her, but he was in an invisible bubble.
“This was fun wasn’t it?” Trixie laughed “Nopony can beat the Great and powerful Trixie” Her laughter echoing around the room.
Trixie took Kratos up to the top of the room, where the roof was supposed to be, and smiled. She popped the bubble and Kratos began his descent. There was a rainbow blur outside in the darkness. Kratos was hit by something blunt. With a grunt, Kratos was hanging from the cyan Pegasus he had sent after Hermes. With Kratos back on the ground, unscathed and with an ally, Trixie was not to keen anymore. Kratos made straight for Trixie parrying everything that was sent his way. Rainbow flew up to the top of the room and flew round in circles. Kratos neared Trixie and sent a blade towards her, rolling right as he did. The blade connected and sunk into Trixies flesh. Kratos pulled Trixie close and impaled her on the other blade, before bucking her skywards. Rainbow stopped flying in circles and flew towards the airborne Trixie still with a blade of Creation in her. A kick from the Pegasus sent her towards a column. The impact of Trixie smashing into the column caused it to crumble about half way up. As the dust settled Trixie found herself surrounded by her attackers. Kratos pulled out a blade and positioned it on her neck.
“Woah. What do you think you are doing?” Dash asked shocked.
“Getting an advantage” Kratos replied, calm as ever.
“You can’t just decapitate Ponies!” Rainbows voice was getting angry, but Kratos just laughed and followed through with his plan.
“There was no need for that!” Rainbow shouted “And where’s Ironwill?”
Kratos did not reply, only picked up the amulet of Zeus, and then Trixies’ head. Rainbow Dash shot off back to the other ponies, Kratos followed, with the mane of the great and powerful Trixie in his mouth.
“GUYS!” Rainbow called, as she burst into the spike room.
“What’s up, Dashie?” Pinkie chirped.
“It’s Kratos, he’s crazy” Rainbow shuddered as she spoke, remembering what she just witnessed.
“What do you mean darling?” Rarity asked; now awake, though Fluttershy was still quietly snoring in the corner.
“Well we met Trixie and Ironwill, and then…” Dash was interrupted by Kratos entering the room, and spitting Trixies head towards the ponies.
The ponies just stared, jaws wide open as Trixies’ head rolled towards them, blood still dripping from the neck.
“We must find Hermes.” Kratos growled. “What happened?”
“Wait! Why did you decapitate Trixie?” Twilight asked, slightly puzzled, but more angrily.
“Her head will be of use” Kratos replied, in his usual voice.
Fluttershy had woken up, and began to walk towards the group in the center to see what the fuss was about. She let out a quiet scream and fainted again.
Pinkie was examining the head.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” She asked but to no one in particular.
“What are you thinking Pinkie?” Twilight asked, almost sarcastically.
“Watch” Pinkie proceeded to put a hoof in to the skull via the neck.
“Wow! Pinkie ah think you should stop” AppleJack instructed.
Pinkie took no notice and pushed her hoof as deep as it could go.
“Watch this” Pinkie shouted gleefully.
Raising the hoof with head up and pointing at Kratos, she jutted her hoof forward. The horn on the decapitated head began to glow, and suddenly a bolt, similar to the one Trixie was firing at Kratos, flew out. Kratos quickly deflected the bolt towards a wall.
“See, Trixie is now a weapon. This will be of use later, and I’m calling Dibs.” Pinkie cheered, as her plan had worked.
The ponies stared in disbelief at what Pinkie had just done.
“This will help you” Kratos threw the Amulet of Zeus towards Twilight.
“Thanks, but we need to inform the princess about what happened. Spike, take a quick letter about Trixie, and then send the amulet as well.” Twilight replied fuming. Spike did as he was told without a single comment.
“What happened to Hermes?” Kratos pressed, turning to Rainbow.
“He was fast; I kept up but just couldn’t catch him. He was taunting me, using magic. He fired a magic energy thing at me, I used my awesome skills to evade but it slowed me down. He laughed and said something about having to destroy you himself, then flew into the north tower.” Rainbow answered, more out of fear, than respect after the scenes.
“Then let’s go” Kratos ordered.
“We can’t just leave Fluttershy here ‘erself now, can we?” AppleJack said, Kratos sensing that his companions were not happy about the whole beheading.
Kratos was getting impatient; he walked over to the yellow and pink pony on the floor and lifted her on to his back, the other ponies didn’t protest much.
“You’re going to get blood all over her beautiful coat.” Rarity whined.
Kratos only stared back, and proceeded to head back to the room where they first met Trixie, his hoof steps echoing as he walked. The other Ponies hesitated before following, all having second thoughts about this adventure, except Pinkie but she seemed to know more than everyone else.
When the Ponies, entered back into the large entrance hall, they found Fluttershy awake beside Kratos.
“Oh darling, it’s so good you’re awake,” Rarity said, hugging Fluttershy.
“Pink, use the head on the big doors” Kratos commanded.
“Hold it, Pinkie,” Twilight replied, putting a hoof in Pinkie Pies’ path.
“We must find Hermes!” Kratos spat, hatred filling his eyes.
“No, first you must answer some question.” Said Twilight calmly, as if speaking to a child.
Kratos only glared back.
“First one, who are you really?” Twilight asked. Rarity and Fluttershy had moved behind her with the other Ponies.
“The Ghost of Sparta” Kratos seethed, knowing he can’t kill these Ponies because then the two Deity’s helping him would change sides. He thought it better to get it over with.
“What was the Alicorn talking about when he said ‘after the slaughter’? What slaughter?” Rainbow butted in, before Twilight could answer.
“We do not have time for games. Maybe your Princess will tell you, but I have a God to kill.” Kratos fumed.
Twilight knew better than to push this Pony, she thought for a second “OK Kratos, after this is over, can we get answers?”
Kratos only nodded, before staring at Pinkie. Pinkie bounded up to the doors and hit them with a bolt from Trixies’ head. The doors swung open with a loud creak, and the Ponies entered. It was a long corridor, the roof was missing in places and a door to the immediate right was slightly ajar. The walls of the corridor were covered with shields of different designs, with windows in between. The Ponies headed straight down the corridor led by Kratos.
At the end, there was a wooden door. Kratos did not enter first, but instead listened. He heard a voice, Hermes, and what sounded like praying. Kratos entered the door, to find Hermes lying in the middle of a well-lit chamber, but no clear source of where the light was coming from. It was clear to Kratos that Hermes was informing Zeus but Rainbow Dash interrupted him.
“Hey meanie!” she called.
“Well, well, well. It was about time you arrived,” Hermes said standing up. The room grew dark as he spoke.
“Time to settle this, Hermes” Kratos launched.
“Why the hurry? Haven’t you had enough blood to satisfy yourself?” Hermes asked, extending his wings. “Trust Ponies to try and use a failure of a God to help them”
“Then let’s see how a God fairs against this ‘failure’” Kratos spoke as though he was speaking to a friend.
“You always were a fool, Kratos.” The Alicorn laughed, taking flight.
Kratos galloped towards the golden Deity, preparing for attack. Hermes was at the top of the room, his horn scraping the stone-work. Kratos got with-in attack range and leaped, sending both blades. Hermes only watched, before teleporting at the last moment. Hermes appeared in front of the Ponies.
“Let’s see, who first?” He mocked, extending his wings “You! You were a brat”
He sent a bolt of energy from his horn at Rainbow Dash, it made a solid contact and sent her into the wall. The whole room seemed to shake with the impact. Dashies’ body hit the floor with a thump.
“And just what was that for?” AppleJack asked shocked.
Hermes didn’t have time to answer, he teleported again. A blade shot through the space where Hermes was, and struck the wooden door, narrowly missing Twilights tail. Kratos was knocked towards the ponies by the Alicorn who had appeared from behind, and bucked him.
“Useless,” Hermes mocked.
Pinkie Pie brought out Trixies’ head and fired several bolts at Hermes, only to miss with every attempt.
“He’s too quick” Twilight noted.
“Do you have a spell that might help us?” AppleJack asked urgently.
“None that I can think of.” replied Twilight, stroking her chin with her hoof.
Kratos was still attempting to hit Hermes, but was only managing to hit thin air. Hermes was indeed too quick. He was a fast flier, but he was big, however he could also teleport and use magic. The ponies were at a disadvantage. Rainbow Dash groaned as she regained consciousness, only to see another ball of energy come her way. She flinched, only to her a thud and then a ‘ching’. When she opened her eyes she witnessed Kratos deflect several other bolts in front of her before charging off. She regrouped with the other Ponies to try and hatch a plan.
Kratos was still swinging his Blades wildly, trying to guess where Hermes would appear, Pinkie was firing bolts but she was not very good at aiming. Hermes again, got an attack against Kratos in, appearing from the side, but flying at a high speed. Kratos tried to get a blade into Hermes as he was being hit, but succeeded only to ruffle a few wing feathers. Hermes rammed Kratos into the wall at the far side form the six Ponies. They saw an opportunity to attack, while Hermes was hoof boxing Kratos, who he had pinned against the wall. Rainbow Dash began to fly around the large chamber, and Pinkie fired bolts from the head of Trixie as fast as ponyly possible. Hermes sensed the bolts and turned to deflect them, only to get side winded by a fast flying Rainbow Dash. Hermes squealed with pain, as he was pushed against a wall where AppleJack was ready to buck him. Hermes, however, teleported away letting his supposed attacker hit nothing but air. AppleJack let out a moan.
Twilight was carefully thinking up a spell, Fluttershy and Rarity were cowering behind her not liking the fighting. Hermes was now aware that there were four attackers, yet he knew that only Kratos would kill him. He sent bolts in all four attackers’ directions, only managing to hit the walls. Twilights spell had worked, and rope had appeared.
“AppleJack, make it count.” She called, throwing the rope over to her friend.
Hermes took no notice, and was again avoiding Pinkies’ missiles and Dashs’ flybys. Kratos got a blade or two in, thanks to the distractions, drawing blood each time, but not weakening the Deity. Hermes had just sent Rainbow flying into a wall, when AppleJack trapped him with her newly made lasso. Hermes laughed and tried to teleport out only for AppleJack and the rope to change position as well. Kratos saw this, and ran towards the cowpony. He took the rope and teleported with Hermes. Kratos was now hanging from the rope, but climbing his way up. Rainbow and Pinkie had stopped attacking, Hermes was teleporting frantically and they didn’t want risk hitting a friend or Kratos.
Kratos was slowly making his way to Hermes, always holding onto the rope.
“Let me go!” Hermes squirmed, knowing what was going to happen if Kratos caught him.
Kratos kept climbing and eventually, was face to face with God. Kratos kept one hoof on the rope and brought out the Blade of Creation on the other. Hermes’ was teleporting so frantically now, that the ponies watching could hardly see him. He let out a loud scream as Kratos drew the blade to the base of his horn. Kratos slowly moved the blade under the skin, Hermes crying out in pain. Soon the large horn drooped to the floor with a clink, and a thud as both Ponies fell to earth.
“You deserve to die. You killed innocents. You were no God of War” Hermes said, trying to get the other Ponies to know Kratos’ true being and hopefully turn on him. “Even your fa…”
He was interrupted by a hoof of Kratos, knocking him to the floor. Kratos but a back leg on Hermes spine, near his rear legs.
“Where is Zeus?” Kratos demanded, getting the Blades ready.
“Coming to kill you,” Hermes spat, as writhed in agony.
“Let him come!” Kratos shouted, bring the blades down beside Hermes spine, one on each side, right in to the handle. Hermes only squealed and squirmed as Kratos dragged the blades back, until eventually ripping them out. Hermes was still shaking, his Golden coat stained red in his own blood. Kratos brought a blade down on the joining of Hermes’ torso to his wings. Hermes tried to scream, but only spat out blood. The other Ponies watched in disbelief at what Kratos was doing, though none wanted to stop him. Kratos threw the wings to the side, and put a blade where Hermes’ horn once was. The God was dead. Its’ body vanished, not like the Hydras’ or Grunts’ but, into nothing; all that remained were the wings.
Kratos walked over to the wings and lay them on his back.
“Can we get answers, please?” asked Twilight, still in shock at how casual Kratos seems.
“Yeah, how do you just kill a God like it’s nothing?” Rainbow quizzed.
“I am the God of War” Kratos replied, almost proudly yet disgusted.
“So, why are you killing other Gods? Or why do they want you dead?” AppleJack said puzzled.
“They failed to keep a promise, so I seek my revenge” Replied Kratos, his voice still firm.
“Like a Pinkie promise? Cos I can totally see you being angry at that but killing them is a teeny weeny totty bit far,” Pinkie Pie said, bouncing towards him.
“There’s more, but that’s for another time.” Kratos replied “Now, let’s find out where Zeus is so I can end this.”
The Ponies did not ask anything after that, and followed Kratos back down the corridor to go home.
It was a long, silent walk home for the Ponies, the moon was on its’ way down and soon Celestias’ Sun would rise. Not many words were spoken; they were tired, and had witnessed some horrible things at the hands of their companion. The only problem the ponies encountered was when Fluttershy met a cute little yellow Parasprite that she wanted to keep, but the others refused to let her bring it back to Ponyville. It was Dawn when the Ponies got back to Ponyville; Kratos had never seen Ponyville before only Fluttershys’ cottage on the edge of town. He looked at the straw thatched houses, and wondered how ponies could build such designs.
The Ponies reached Twilights Library, and went in for a sleep only to be met by the Princesses.
“Hello,” Said Celestia, looking worried. Luna was almost hiding behind her “We have a problem, please come closer.”
The Ponies, except Kratos, all looked worried and slowly edged towards the Princesses in the middle of the room. Kratos stayed standing at the door, staring at the Alicorns, his expression never changing.
“What’s wrong?” questioned Twilight, fearing the worst.
“It’s Princess Cadence.” Celestia said solemnly bowing her head in sadness; Luna put a wing over her big Sister to comfort her “She has been taken.”
“What exactly do you mean by ‘taken’?” AppleJack enquired, perking up at the word.
“We have had word from Shining Armor, The Crystal Empire was attacked and the Princess was gone.” Luna spoke this time, her voice stern, but filled with grief.
“I thought you said she was taken?” Rainbow Dash pushed, searching for answers.
“That’s the thing, Shining Armor mentioned ‘arms from the ground, rising from a black mist’ in his letter; it was a sentry that saw the hands disappear into the ground, where Cadence was supposed to be. There has been no sighting of her since,” Celestia told the Ponies, walking towards Twilight who seemed to be taking the news harder than the others.
“We can find her. We can help.” Twilight pushed, her eyes watering up, determined to help.
“Why are you smiling Kratos?” Luna asked, looking to the Pony at the door, his stare was still there though his face appeared to be grinning.
“Hades,” Kratos replied, his voice as strong as always.
“How… How do you know?” Celestia pressed “He isn’t in this world!”
“Hermes was in this world. There will be more,” Kratos said, throwing the Golden Wings he took from Hermes onto the wooden floor with a soft thud.
“How can this be? I can’t sense them, Athena mentioned nothing of this.” Said the white Princess, shocked by the news
“What else happened in the Castle?”
The ponies looked at each other, before Pinkie pulled the head of Trixie out her bag.
“Ahhh, so you weren’t exaggerating Twilight.” Celestia fumed, turning her stare to Kratos “How could you do that, she
was under Zeus’ illusion due to the Amulet.”
“Where is Athena?” Kratos shouted, wanting answers.
“She is in Raritys’ boutique; it’s the big white building. Go now, I will meet you there soon Kratos. First I will hear about everything you did from your companions.” Celestias’ voice was now one of anger rather than sadness, though she did not wish to argue.
Kratos left the library, leaving the Princesses with the Ponies. The Library remained quiet, each pony processing and coming to grips with the news they had been told.
“I’m sorry girls.” Princess Celestia sighed “I did not know who he was, what he had done or anything about him. It was anger that brought him here. Ever since Zeus wanted to control us, he has threatened war, Luna overheard another God from his world mention Kratos, and we thought he would help. We didn’t know why he was feared amongst the Gods, however, two of them came to us earlier this night. They are our friends, they do not want war or death only peace, and told us about Kratos’ history in his world, it is one of power and regret. He is dangerous, and I am sorry for making you go with him, if I had known before I would never have sent you with him.”
The library fell silent once more, the Princess’ words fading into the wall.
“But what about Princess Cadence?” Twilight asked, tears now forming.
“I fear Kratos was right, one of his Gods took her. Athena, one of our God friends, must know where, however things are different in their world. Our only hope is Kratos, and Athena is telling him that as we speak.” Princess Celestia explained, her voice filled with regret.
“Can we trust him?” Rarity enquired, she was hugging AppleJack fighting back tears.
“Yeah” said Rainbow Dash, trying to hide her sadness “You saw the way he fought, he killed a god, and he might be the only way to get Princess Cadence back.”
“That is true, yet he knows no limits. Look what he done to Trixie, and only because she was in his way, I know you girls would have changed her back to good. I fear if we sent him alone, he would not care for Cadence and her wellbeing, only about getting his vengeance.” Celestia replied.
“What was his history?” Pinkie Pie asked, her hair had become straight, her face only expressed sadness.
“You don’t know Pinkie? You know a lot earlier?” said Applejack, puzzled.
“I know of his world, it’s just me. Yet I know nothing of him, when I look into his eyes, it is sadness and guilt that stares back.” Pinkie sulked.
“It is not for us to tell you girls. It is his history and one only he should tell.” Luna spoke with sorrow in her voice.
“Luna is right.” Celestia agreed.
“But how will we save Princess Cadence?” Twilight asked, wiping tears from her cheeks.
“Athena has a plan, one that could fail. However, if it works then I will know roughly where the Princess is” Celestia said, hopeful that the news would cheer up the ponies.
“But if Kratos is there first, how will we get there before he finds Princess Cadence?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I fear you will not be going. I will not risk you ponies again” Celestia said forcefully, yet sadly.
“B… but we want to help?” Fluttershy was the speaker, which shocked everypony, considering she fainted twice in the castle.
“I fear where we suspect Cadence to be, is not a place for young Ponies. It will be filled with traps, and unimaginable scenes.” Celestia explained.
“We cannot trust Kratos to help.” Twilight objected.
“I will not send you all!” Clestias voice became firm.
“Then what about Rainbow Dash and I? Dash helped Kratos in the castle, and I can help with Princess Cadence.” Twilight offered, thinking she knew the dangers.
“We will see, but first you Ponies should get rest.” Celestia began “I will wake you, if there is any further news.”
It took Kratos a while to find the Boutique, which he felt looked more like a brothel, but Athena was waiting for him, and she had questions to answer. Kratos entered, almost knocking the door down, to be met by the two golden Alicorns that had been waiting. Athena had a transparent green mane, while Aphrodites’ was pink. A sweet stench of perfume was strong inside the building, enforcing Kratos’ initial thought of the building.
“Where is Zeus?” Kratos Demanded.
“He will come in time, Kratos,” Athena said, inspecting the pony that stood before her “You were brought here to stop Zeus, although they were rash, they did not know what they were doing. Your arrival angered Zeus, and so he moved quickly, Hades has almost finished building his Underworld as we speak, and that is where you must go Kratos. I did not tell them that Hades was here, they would of acted and put themselves at risk.”
“You want me to be a slave?! You will not deny me my vengeance, Athena” Kratos seethed.
“Nor will I Kratos. However we have caused pain and destruction in this world. You need to set things right, first by saving the Princess from Hades. There is only one guaranteed way to send you there in this world.” Athena informed.
“You would have me dead?” Kratos’ voice was unchanged, his muscles tense.
“Yes. If I kill you, Hades will take your body, but he will keep you alive for torture. You can then face Hades yourself.”
Athena said.
“And my return from the Underworld?” Kratos was seemingly calm considering his task.
“This world has a Pit of Tartarus, however there is no entrance to the Underworld, we have checked. Though Princess Celestia has said it was previously used to bring the dead back in Ancient times. We have faith you will come back via her magic Kratos. You will not go alone.” Athenas’ voice never changed tone.
“You would have me look after those Ponies in the Underworld?” Kratos objected.
“No, they would look after you Kratos. Look around, what do you see? What do you hear? This world is not one of violence, Celestia did not believe you decapitated a pony; we had to tell her what you were. The ponies are going to be keeping you to killing nothing but what needs to be killed.” Athena ordered.
“I will not show mercy to the Gods, Athena,” Kratos’ voice was one of anger and guilt.
“Hades must be stopped Kratos, it is the ponies that must not be hurt.” Athena corrected.
“I will not be held responsible for the Ponies” Kratos argued.
“They can look after themselves, Kratos. I will go inform Princess Celestia of the plan.” Athena stated, heading towards the door “Aphrodite will deal with you, I shall return at Dawn.”
It did not take Kratos long to understand what Aphrodite in store for him, as she opened a door and entered. Kratos followed.
As dawn broke, and the light shone through the many windows of the Boutique, Celestia stood in the middle of the main hall. Kratos emerged from a door at the far end, he had been cleaned, his coat was clean, and the red ‘tattoo’ was vibrant amongst his ash white coat. Kratos walked towards the Princess.
“Thank you, Kratos” said Celestia, her mane sparkling as the light struck it “I apologize for the inconvenience.”
“Where is Athena?” Kratos demanded, his blades glinting and he walked past windows.
“She will be here shortly; she is bringing the ponies with her. They will help you Kratos, they are not as weak as you think.” Celestia informed.
Kratos did not reply, just paced around the room, knowing the task that lay ahead. He was not nervous or afraid, he was impatient. Hades had always blamed him for Persephones’ death, which was although true, was done in the name of the Gods. Hades, however, refused to believe that the Gods wanted Persephone dead and claimed it a lie by Kratos. It was not long until Athena appeared.
The ponies entered first, led by Twilight, with Spike on her back, and Rainbow Dash with their saddle bags full. The other ponies followed with Athena and Luna at the end, Kratos noticed Athena had a sword on her back. There was a moment of silence as the ponies formed around Kratos, Athena stepped forward, the sword was the Blade of Olympus, Kratos knew what was to come.
Athena used magic to control the sword, hooves not being ideal for swords, and brought it in front of Kratos. Kratos reared up, and felt the blade brush his ribs and exit through his back. Athena did her best to miss any vital organs. She withdrew the Blade of Olympus, and returned to her back, blood running down to the tip and dripping. Kratos lay there, bleeding, eyes open and, finally closing them.
The Ponies stepped back as mist appeared, similar to the mist that the hydra sunk into and five large green grey arms from the floor. The arms were bony; the fingers were slim and long. Each one wrapped its’ fingers around Kratos’ body and pulled him down. Rarity stood opened mouth at what was taking place in front of her, Fluttershy was hiding behind her pink mane, but the other ponies watched with interest. With Kratos’ body gone from sight, the mist disintegrated, and only a small puddle of blood remained. The silence was intense, nopony could understand what they just witnessed, though in the search for an answer, it appeared Athena had disappeared.
“Ready girls?” asked Celestia, her voice soft, turning to Twilight and Rainbow Dash. “Please be careful.”
Before the ponies could answer, Celestias’ horn was glowing gold. A golden bubble enveloped the ponies, lifting them off the ground, and then with a pop they were gone. Celestia bowed her head, exhausted from the spell; Luna moved to comfort her Sister.
Kratos awoke, his chest in agony, his wound was gone, though a scar was in its place.
“You must hurry, Kratos” Athenas’ voice was soft, though the source could not be found.
Kratos quickly composed himself, Twilight and Rainbow Dash arrived suddenly, appearing in front of Kratos. They were afraid; this was not what they were expecting. The walls of the cave they appeared in were charred, a river rushed close by, the ground was littered with bones, the stench was foul yet it was the screams that the ponies found most off putting. The screams of thousands of ponies echoed throughout the area. Kratos did not seem to mind, he walked forward; the ground crunched with each step, and exited the cave. Twilight hesitated at first but soon found herself outside of the cave, Rainbow by her side. They were high on what seemed like a canyon, the ledge they stood on was narrow, and the cliff to her right led straight down to the river, a river that ran red like blood. The ponies gulped, and went to catch up with Kratos.
“Where are we?” called Rainbow, still examining the surroundings.
“The Underworld” Kratos replied, unfazed.
“The Underworld? This isn’t in any of my books.” Twilight sounded puzzled.
“This is where souls go. It is ruled by Hades.” Kratos was growing impatient.
“So all souls get tortured? And what of Princess Cadence? Is she dead?” Twilight was now worried, watching her step was no longer her priority.
“No, there is Elysium for those who are innocent. No, Hades will have taken her, if what Celestia says is true.” Kratos informed his companions.
They ponies sighed in relief, but didn’t dare ask more questions, they just followed. The path never widened, as it snaked round the canyon, the walls were always charred; the remnants of flames were engraved upon them. The screams were always there, though the river had meandered earlier. Kratos continued walking.
Kratos soon stopped on the path. The path gave way, and below was black; the cliff descended forever. Kratos looked around; he could see nothing but scorched canyon walls. Looking at the wall beside him, he deemed it climbable, and started his ascension. Rainbow flew up beside Kratos, Twilight in her hooves. The top of the wall face was far above them, but Kratos made climbing look easy, using his blades.
Finally, the ponies made it to the top, the view was much different. The canyon stretched for miles, flames could be seen all around, and the Palace of Hades was in the distance. It almost blended in with the charred wall it was built onto; however, the large stone Alicorn sitting on a throne was in contrast with the surroundings. The Alicorns’ hind legs were spread, and between them, on the throne, was an arch. The fore legs were on the rests of the throne, it looked almost human, but the weirdest detail of all was the spikes protruding from its body. It was a long walk to the Palace; though the screams became quiet and distant as they approached.
The ponies arrived at the large iron and oak gates of the palace; the courtyard was littered with stone statues of all kinds of creatures and ponies. Two large Cerberus statues were placed either side of the door, both in different poses; one was ready to attack the three heads reared up, jaws open, the other looked as though it was walking, one paw off the ground, the heads looking around. Fires were burning from the mouths of the Cerberus statues, illuminating some of the courtyard, casting long shadows. The ponies studied the gates looking for a way through, Rainbow Dash tried kicking them and Twilight tried magic, both failed, the gates were impenetrable.
“What was that?” Rainbow shouted, turning round to face the courtyard.
“What was what?” Twilight asked, straining to find something amongst the statues.
“There!” Dash screamed, pointing towards a dark corner where the statues seemed to huddle together.
“What did you see?” Kratos demanded, preparing for the worst, readying his blades.
“A tail, like a dragons’. It was ….” Rainbow was knocked to the ground by Kratos before she could finish, landing in front of Twilight.
By the time Dash got to her feet, Kratos was facing a giant snake, except its’ top half was more pony, it had forelegs but had claws instead of a hoof. Its’ head was of Earth pony species; however its mane was alive. The hair was thick and green; it appeared to move, though that could be the flickering of the flames. Kratos looked like a filly, compared the large Gorgon he faced, it was twice the height and width of Kratos, and still had its tail trailing behind.
Kratos never looked the creature in the face, keeping his head lowered; Twilight and Rainbow found statues to hide behind, they had never seen anything as fearsome as what Kratos was facing. The beast hissed; its hair pointed to face Kratos, each hair being a separate snake, each one eager to get a piece of the pony that stood before them. The gorgon attacked first, whipping its large tail around, smashing several statues as it moved. Kratos rolled back, but got caught by the tip, knocking him back. It did not draw blood. He had to compose himself quickly as the tail slammed down from above, Kratos just getting away in time, though the shockwaves shattered the statues Rainbow and Twilight were cowering behind. Twilight quickly teleported to behind the attacking Cerberus statue, while Rainbow took off vertically leaving a cloud of dust in her wake. The gorgon paid them no mind.
The gorgon continued its attacks towards Kratos, using its claws for when Kratos got too close and tail for meduim ranged attacks. Kratos, never looking the beast in the face, kept rolling and dodging; sending the Blades of Creation towards his enemy at every opportunity. The dusty ground was littered with scales and blood. Still the beast lunged at Kratos, its’ attacks becoming more frequent, and erratic. It sent a claw towards the Ghost of Sparta, who easily dodged and countered with his own attack, a simple blade towards the chest. Blood sprayed across the ground as the blade struck. The gorgon and its mane hissed furiously, rearing up in pain. Kratos went for the kill, forcing his right blade into the beasts’ belly, slashing with the left. The beast, whipped its tail round, missing its target, but Kratos removed his blade and rolled back. A claw of the creature struck where he was, before the tail came from above to strike at his new position. The Ghost of Sparta anticipated the attack and stood firm. The tail rushing towards him, Kratos jumped. Both blades were inserted into the tail, and as the tail landed on the ground the blades were pushed in deeper, severing the end of the tail. Blood began to leak out from both parts of the tail.
The Gorgon hissed, and frantically slithered towards whence it came, trailing blood as it crawled. Kratos chased it. Both blades were soon embedded in the Gorgons tail, Kratos using them to pull the beast back towards him. The Gorgon panicked and smashed statues as it tried to free itself. Kratos kept pulling; removing the blades and implanting them further them up the tail when he needed to. The beast tried attacking but, Kratos simply ducked, or swayed out the way. Soon, Kratos ran out of tail and was face to face with the snakes in the Gorgons mane, with a quick slash most fell to the floor; wiggling as blood sprayed onto them. Kratos soon stood on the beasts back, one blade in its shoulder, the other in his hand pressed against its’ neck. The beast hissed and screeched, as the blade began to cut through the skin, it writhed in a futile attempt to get free, but Kratos removed the head with ease. The headless body fell with a lifeless thump, the blood pouring onto the floor. Kratos tossed the head aside.
As Kratos dismounted the Gorgon, Rainbow Dash landed beside him, and Twilight emerged from the shadows. The area was covered with rubble from the statues, scales and a large volume of blood that gave off a very strong metallic smell. The large oak doors creaked open, gears could be heard rotating and vibrations could be felt from the ground.
“That was awesome! But what was that thing?” Rainbow stated, looking at the corpse.
“It was a Gorgon. I’ve read about them in my books they turn anyone who makes eye contact to stone.” Twilight answered, surprising Kratos with her knowledge.
“So… all these statues were people?” Rainbow asked shocked, assessing the damage.
“Yes,” Said Kratos abruptly, walking towards the large doors.
“Wait what do we do now? We can’t just walk in there, if this was out here.” Twilights’ voice was now one of fear.
“If you want your Princess, then we go in. Hades awaits,” Kratos spoke as though he was addressing a child, though he continued walking.
The unicorn and Pegasus looked at each other before following, carefully avoiding the puddles of blood that had formed.
Lightening scattered throughout out the throne room, each bolt reaching out from an orb in the centre. Princess Celestia and Luna were forced to use magic to protect themselves, as the bolts grew frequent and stronger, each one scorching the walls where it connected. Soon the ball of energy dissipated and in its place stood a Large Alicorn, its’ coat was pure white almost made Celestias' look grey, with a long flowing yellow, electrifying mane, a lightning bolt with a throne sat on the flank. Celestia walked towards the Alicorn, knowing full well of the powers it had. One wrong word could be fatal, and not only for Celestia, the whole of Equestria hung on this encounter.
“Zeus, you are not welcome here. What has brought this unexpected visit?” Celestia asked, keeping her distance, but looking in the eyes of the Diety before her.
“Where is Kratos?” Zeus demanded, his voice echoed throughout the room.
“He is in the underworld, retrieving Princess Cadence” Celestias voice was stern.
“It is too late for her now, with Hermes and Helios dead I believe I underestimated you Ponies.” Zeus replied, as he began to walk to the throne, the Princesses moving out his way.
“Kratos killed Hermes, and we do not know of Helios, there has been no mention of him.” Luna spoke; her words soft, yet Zeus picked up on the fear.
“I know what Kratos did. Hermes was always a fool, but my son none-the-less. Helios’ death was not at the hands of Kratos, but of your magic, Celestia.” Zeus had turned from facing the throne back to the Alicorns, his face was wrought with anger.
“I have not met Helios. You are the only God that I have spoken too.” Celestia insisted, trying to defend herself.
“I know Athena has been here, she always had a soft spot for Kratos. Helios came to take your sun, yet your Sun is still in the sky, and Helios is dead. Tell me then, how can the rider of the Sun Chariot in our world, not control yours?” Zeus’ mane began to flicker with electricity as he grew anger.
“Our Sun is not a chariot Zeus. It is a ball of fire, burning at immense temperatures and at a very far distance from this world. If Helios got close to it, he would burn, and even if he didn't he would be trapped in its’ centre.” Celestia informed, well aware of Zeus’ rage. Lightening snapped outside and thunder roared.
“You will pay for your insolence. Hercules and his army are close.” Zeus fumed, his mane bright with the electricity running through, as he walked to the spot he appeared, and faded into light. The Princesses stood in silence before nodding to each other, each one understanding what had to be done. Luna ran off to inform Shining Armour of the approaching army, as Celestia returned to Ponyville to wait for Kratos’ return.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kratos walked slowly, the room they had entered into was not one even he expected. It was long corridor; blood stained the floor like a carpet. Ponies were chained to the walls, some screaming, others quietly crying given up on being saved, not all were alive but all had wounds. Twilight and Rainbow walked together, studying the chained ponies, wondering if they could help.
“Can we help them?” Twilight asked nervously.
“No.” Kratos’ answer was quick and forceful. The ponies walked in silence after that, the only noises came from the tortured ponies moaning and rattling the chains with the remnants of energy they had.
The door at the end of the corridor was old and wooden; it creaked as Kratos opened it. The room the corridor lead into was large and dimly lit, two staircases at each side led up to a raised floor. The walls were bare, and the only decorations were the rusty metal railing and barrier of the stairs and elevated floor. Kratos cautiously walked forward, urging the ponies behind him to follow. A voice echoed throughout the room.
“Are you here to kill another Princess Kratos? My poor Persephone! Now I have a Pony Princess! HAHAHAHA”
“Show yourself Hades!” Kratos shouted at the air in front of him. There was no reply, the silence became deafening. Purple mist slowly began to rise in front of Kratos, who took a step back and brought his blades out ready for combat. Ponies rose from the mist; they looked like they had been rotting away before rising. The armour they wore was tattered and they wielded two curved blades.
It did not take long for the wraith ponies to move, creating other versions of themselves. Kratos took another step back, surprised as Twilight walked in-between him and the wraiths. Her horn began to glow as the wraiths began to move closer, and with a shot of purple magic one of the false Wraiths vanished. Twilight used her magic on all the wraiths, leaving the original two. Kratos slammed his two blades onto the top of one of the wraiths, sending it bouncing into the air where he grabbed it and, in a twisting motion, slammed it back into the ground. Rainbow dash took flight, and smashed the wraith into the wall. The other wraith descended into the ground, its blades spinning like a saw along the floor. Twilight had to dodge the blades, but Kratos prevented the wraith from attacking Twilight again by using his blades to rip the wraith from the ground. The wraith would have hit the high ceiling, if Rainbow hadn't bucked it back towards Kratos. The Ghost of Sparta launched an attack at an incredible speed, swinging the blades with such force and accuracy, juggling the wraith before finishing the attack by embedding both beds deep inside the wraith and smashing it into the wall where it turned to mist and vanished.
Kratos turned to the other wraith, just in time to see it create more wraiths again. Kratos looked at Twilight, who gave a smile, before using the same magic as before. The magic worked at first; however a false wraith appeared behind and slashed twilights’ side. The cut was not deep, but separated her cutie mark, blood trickled down her leg as she lost her concentration. The false wraith began its next attack, bringing both blades up. The blades came down, aiming for Twilights back; Twilight had lost all focus on her surroundings. The false wraith would have sliced Twilight into three, if Kratos hadn’t taken the arms of the creature with one clean swipe. The false wraith turned to mist and Kratos turned his attention onto the two Wraiths that floated in front of him, Rainbow was flying around, attacking every so often. As the wraiths approached, Kratos tried to tell which the real one was, and which was false. Kratos had to wait until they attacked to figure it out. The real one was faster and more accurate.
With this knowledge Kratos launched the false in the air, for Rainbow to attack, dodging an attack from the real one. Rainbow made short work of the false wraith, hitting it against a wall, and then slamming it against the floor made it vanish. She went to check on Twilight and her flesh wound. Kratos was juggling the real wraith with his blades. The wraith surprised Kratos, just as he was about to finish it, it vanished in cloud of mist. Kratos knew this wasn’t the usual wraith death. The wraith appeared behind Kratos, Kratos heard it and spun, but not quick enough. The wraith caught his left shoulder as he turned, Kratos stepped back as the blood began to flow. Kratos quickly finished the wraith off, ignoring the pain. Forcing both blades into the wraiths chest, Kratos slammed it into the wall several times, before ripping the blades out, bringing forth the shattered rib cage of the Wraith.
Twilights cut continued to bleed, the blood congealing on her coat. Rainbow Dash looked alarmed by the amount of blood, but Kratos could not care less about his gash. He had suffered much worse and lived. The pain almost acted as fuel to his strength. Twilight, however, did not like pain. She had brought bandages and plasters with her in her saddle bag. She applied a Bandage around her torso, covering the cut, using her magic. Rainbow had to help her move at first, but she limped up the stairs herself. Kratos was waiting for his companions on the floor above, studying a large door. Kratos almost looked afraid of the door. It was similar to the one at the entrance; solid oak with cast Iron bars the width. Some of the bars looked worn and rusty, others looked almost new in comparison. The oak was splintered and stretched. Something wanted out. Twilight was worried now, she was twitching at the slightest sounds, the courage she once had was gone; drained from the wound. Rainbow was still eager to explore, the fighting had got her adrenaline flowing. She could fight anything. Rainbow opened the door, needing some help from Kratos as the hinges creaked.
The room was dark, no lights were seen. Dash was nudged by Twilight who tried to use magic to illuminate the room, but either her magic wasn’t strong enough or the darkness was stronger than the light. The oak door swung shut, slamming behind the ponies, making Twilight jump. Kratos made his way forward, using the little light Twilight provided. Something was not right, something was breathing. Kratos stepped in front of Twilight and Rainbow Dash, expecting whatever was lurking to charge. Nothing came. Kratos continued to expect an attack, the silence was heavy, only light breathing could be heard.
A metallic clang was heard from deep within the shadows. Sparks appeared in the shadows, followed by the scratching of metal on stone. Then came the charge. Torches that lined the room exploded with light. The ponies were blinded by the sudden illumination. Kratos bucked, kicking his companions aside, before bracing himself. Something large hit him, he felt fur, horns and metal. Kratos’ eyes were still adjusting, as the creature pushed him up against the wall. The impact dazed Kratos, the creature brought up its weapon. Kratos would have been crushed to a pulp if Rainbow hadn’t flown into him and knocked him away. Kratos got to his feet; his eyes had adjusted, his body ached.
The room was large and circular, with 12 square pillars in a circle close to the walls. In the centre was the beast, studying the intruders. It had Ironwills shape, yet was easily twice as big. It was covered in armour, from hoof to neck. The helm it wore protected its face, but left the horns and the top of the head uncovered. Each hand was covered with the golden lion carved weapons of Hercules: The Nemean Cestus . A rusty sword lay shattered where Kratos was standing.
Kratos was surprised at how silent the Minotaur moved with all its armour; but knew the power of the weapons. Kratos studied his opponent; Rainbow had flown over to Twilight, still struggling with her injury. The Minotaur stared at Kratos, who returned the favour. Each warrior was waiting for the other to attack. The Minotaurs' head shot forward, letting out a grunt. In one quick move it turned and smashed Rainbow, who let out a scream, into a pillar. Kratos moved swiftly, he tried to embed his blades in the armour around the Minotaurs’ wrist, only for them to bounce back without leaving a scratch. Rainbow was dazed, but she was used to hitting walls at speed.
Kratos attempted to take advantage of the Minotaurs’ loss of concentration, sending his blades towards a visible gap in the armour. One struck, blood spat across the room. The Minotaur hardly flinched as his blood stained his silver armour. It brought one of the Nemean Cestus down towards Kratos, who narrowly dodged it. The impact left a creator in the floor, the stone crumpled, knocking Kratos of balance. The Minotaur brought the same arm up and caught Kratos in the chest, sending him into a pillar. The pillar collapsed: Twilights magic making it fall away from Kratos. Rainbow tried to kick the Minotaur again, but failed to get close. She was like a fly to the beast; an annoyance rather than a threat.
Kratos regained his senses, still numb after the blow he took. Seeing Rainbow distract the Minotaur, though knowing the Beast was more interested than him, Kratos snuck behind a close by pillar. Kratos bucked the pillar cracking at the base; Twilight noticed his plan and helped it collapse onto the Minotaur: stunning the beast. Kratos moved swiftly to remove the beasts helm before it recovered, once the helm was off he slid down the back, removing the armour, just as the beast tried to shake him off. With the Beasts defence down, Rainbows kicks began to do some damage: helping Kratos gain some time.
Kratos made a move towards the beast, avoiding a punch that connected with Dash instead sending her into the roof, embedding a blade into the creatures’ chest. Kratos began slashing the beast with his other blade, eventually having to let go as the beast sent a fist his way. The Minotaurs’ body was shredded: the blood carpeted the floor. Kratos snuck behind another pillar, and began to prepare a buck. Just as Kratos was about to strike the pillar, the creatures’ fist burst through, sending stone everywhere. Kratos fell with the force. The Minotaur brought its head down towards Kratos, trying to impale the Ghost of Sparta with its horns. Its succeeded only to scratch Kratos’ back and side. Kratos hardly felt the pain, only the trickle of blood that discoloured his coat, and sent an attack back at the Minotaur, whose horn was stuck in the stone. The blades drew more blood, but the beast howled in anger and threw a Nemean Cestus at Kratos: forcing him to retreat. The Minotaur got its’ horn out, but Kratos had put a hoof in the Nemean Cestus that was thrown: It adjusted to size.
Kratos charged the beast, the Golden lion head denting the stone as he galloped. Kratos leapt over an attack from the beast, before launching his hoof with the Nemean Cestus into the Minotaurs’ chest. There was a load ‘crack’ the creature was sent back into the walls of the room. Kratos did not allow the Minotaur a chance to get out of the wall; he quickly embedded his blades in the creatures’ chest, and threw him into the centre of the room. The beast struggled to try and stand, but Kratos was on top of its’ back: equipped with the Nemean Cestus. Kratos brought the lion head down on the back of the Minotaurs head, forcing it into the stone. He did not stop hitting the creatures head, sending pieces of bone and brain across the room. He only stopped when Twiight called out, and even then he hit the beast several more times. He dismounted and took the other Nemean Cestus off the beasts arm and regrouped with Twilight and Rainbow. They were still getting used to Kratos’ way of doing things: they would try and negotiate first; Kratos just killed everything.
Twilight could tell that each scar on Kratos’ body told its’ own story; who the enemy was, and how Kratos’ rage killed them. There was no point in asking Kratos, it would waste time and beside Kratos had a whole history unknown to the ponies: one of guilt and regret. They found a lever beside a small door, and left the room: leaving the Minotaur to decay. Princess Cadence needs their helps; if it wasn’t already too late. It was another trot down a dimly lit stone corridor, in silence. Kratos lead the way, trotting with purpose as though he knew something that the ponies didn't. Twilight and Rainbow knew that Kratos had information he wasn't telling them but they were afraid to ask. They came to a wooden door at the end that Kratos burst open. They were greeted by surprise as they saw the next room. A large chandelier illuminated the room: it was narrow but looked nothing like the other rooms and corridors. Stairs were at the far side; covered in a red velvet carpet.
Kratos again led the way. Half way up the stairs a flute could be heard; coming from the darkness at the top. Kratos stopped; his face had an expression the other ponies recognized from when they first met. Was it surprise or fear? Rainbow wanted to ask but Twilight stopped her. Kratos burst into a gallop up the stairs. Rainbow Dash started off to catch him, but slowing down so that Twilight could keep up.
“Caliope!” Kratos’ voice could be heard far in the distance. Twilight galloped as fast as she could with her injury. By the time Rainbow and Twilight had reached the top of the stairs, there were bodies littered around the room. Not just grunts, but ponies that looked just like Twilight and Rainbow. A Cyclops corpse lay against a wall: its eye at its feet. Rainbow and Twilight shared a look. Was this Kratos? Who is 'Caliope'? What about Cadence? The ponies took off again, going through the only door they saw, Rainbow had picked up Twilight to go faster. They could hear Kratos grunting up ahead, as well as metal clanging and bones snapping. Blood dotted the floor as they got closer to the noise, almost like a carpet at some points.
They found Kratos, and he was crazy. Something had snapped. Was it the flute? It could be heard just like in the other room. Kratos was slaughtering everything; even mares that seemed to be cowering, if they got in his way. Kratos ripped the eye out of a Cyclops and leapt on to the back of a Minotaur, decapitating it. He threw the head in his companions’ direction. Nothing was going to stop him. With the last of the enemies gone, Kratos took off up more stairs towards the music. Rainbow and Twilight followed, catching up.
“What’s up, Kratos? Who is 'Caliope'?” Rainbow asked, ducking through a doorway. Kratos gave no answer but galloped with determination. The top of the stairs revealed two doors: One to the left, one to the right. Kratos stopped and turned to the ponies. “Your Princess is in there,” He said pointing to the door on the left. “Get her and find me. Don’t let her eat anything.” Without any hesitation Kratos went through the door on the right and disappeared from sight, though his hoof steps could be heard echoing.
Twilight and Rainbow went through the other door on their left, cautiously. It led to more stairs. They trotted up and up;, the stairs were winding and seemed to go on forever. Eventually the top could be seen, and sobbing could be heard. The ponies trot quickly became a gallop and they reached the top: what they saw was a surprise. It was a bedroom. A bowl of fruit sat on a wooden table, a large bed with silk covers lay against the far wall; there was even a wardrobe and a mirror. There was someone in the bed; Twilight went to check who it was. She pulled back the covers with magic and fell backwards in shock. It was Persephone: in human form. Well it was the skeleton of Persephone, dressed in a gown. Her skull watching Twilight. The sobbing could still be heard, but it felt as though it was coming from the corpse. Rainbow pulled the covers up over the rotten corpse of the old Queen of the Underworld, and helped Twilight to her feet.
They searched for the noise, and found a coffin under the bed. Twilight used magic to drag it out and open it. Sure enough there was Princess Cadence, unharmed. Her coat was grey with dust, and a few cuts to her legs, but nothing substantial. She was skinny though, her rib cage could be seen. She looked like a completely different pony. Twilight hugged her, shedding a tear, not caring about their usual greeting: there would be time later. Cadence climbed from the coffin, she struggled to stand and fell more than once. Eventually though with the help of the ponies, and she saw the fruit. She started off towards them, before trying to use magic, but she was too exhausted and struggled to lift an apple from the bowl: dropping it on the floor.
“Kratos said we shouldn’t let her eat anything,” Rainbow grunted trying to keep Cadence on her feet.
“I know, but look at her. She is starving. We don’t even know why we shouldn't let her eat.” Twilight replied, pondering the what Kratos had said. Princess Cadence fell to the cold floor. Tears formed from Twilights eyes. “We can’t let her starve Rainbow.” She sobbed.
“Fine,” Rainbow said gloomily flying over to the bowl “Here’s a pomegranate. I don’t think we should give her too much.” Cadence looked up as Rainbow Dash placed the fruit in front of her. She muttered something, before taking a bite. It was the juiciest pomegranate she had ever tasted. The juice ran done her chin and formed a puddle on the floor. The moment she finished she no longer felt hungry, she felt weird. Her head became dizzy, as information surged into it. Her body floated off the ground in a purple aurora, she tried to scream but no sound came out: only the purple aurora.
Twilight and Rainbow tried to grab her in a blind panic; only to get burned when they touched the light. A loud, laugh came from the walls, it lasted what seemed for ages. When it stopped, so did the aurora that surrounded Cadence. Princess Cadence stood up, she felt strong now. Whatever happened did not hurt her: she felt the best she had ever felt. Twilight and Rainbow Dash hugged her, glad she was alive. They made their way back down the stairs in search of Kratos: informing the Princess of his deeds in Equestria.
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The drive in Kratos was powerful, he was three things in his previous life; a father, a husband and a warrior. The sound of Caliopes’ flute flooded his head with memories. He could only rush to the sound; though he knew it was most likely a trick by Hades. He had seen Caliope once before, after the incident, but that was in Elysium. He had to push her away, to save the her and the world: though she did not know that. Kratos continued up the stairs. He reached a landing with grunts on it, but they didn't last long. He used the Nemean Cestus and knocked them into each other, shattering them on impact. More stairs lay ahead.Up and up he went; never tiring, never looking back.
The stairs finally gave way to a throne room, Hades stood tall in the centre. He was wearing his battle helm; it covered his whole face to his neck. Three slits that rose from the bottom to three quarters up allowed him to see and breathe easily, with horns rising from head. His tail was a purple aurora, as was his mane; his coat was as black as the charred walls. His hooks, the ones he used to rip the souls from Titans, were attached to his fore legs, similar to Kratos’ blades of Creation. Caliope was standing, in human form, beside the throne playing her flute, oblivious to what surrounded her. The Alicorn and the pony stared each down. Only the music from Caliope was heard.
“I see your new friends have found my princess,” Hades said interrupting the silence, before laughing.
“They will not fall for your tricks Hades!” Kratos replied, his voice as angry as ever.
“We will see won’t we,” the Deity insisted, walking to his seat. He placed a hoof on Caliopes’ head, who continued to play. Kratos readied his blades. He watched Hades as he prepared for a fight. A purple aurora over took him, as spikes pierced through his skin Kratos knew that for each spike, Hades had the power of a soul. When the mist dissipated Hades stood and let a loud lengthy laugh: one of great mockery. “It would appear there is a new Queen of the Underworld,” Hades informed Kratos, smiling. Kratos did not react.Hades, upset by Kratos, swung a hoof at Caliope turning her to mist and sending her back to Elysium.
“CALIOPE!” Kratos called, before turning to Hades; growling.
Kratos let the rage flow through him and charged the Alicorn down, sending his blades as often as he could. Hades deflected them without too much bother, before parrying and knocking Kratos back. Kratos slid along the floor on his hooves, once he stopped he charged again. Hades laughed. Kratos feigned his attacks, getting to the side of Hades. A quick equip of the Neamean Cestus, Kratos punched a spike the protruded from Hades. The spike left the torso, and flew to the other side of the room, a screaming soul followed. Hades grunted, and swung his blades as he turned. Kratos managed to avoid the hooks, but not the hoof Hades sent after. Kratos kept the Nemean Cestus on, determined to remove as many spikes as possible before killing Hades.
The Ponies studied each other, hesitant to move first. Hades moved, but not towards Kratos, he removed two of his spikes and threw them on the ground. The spikes vibrated violently, turning blue, and then the souls of ponies appeared. Two stallion pegasi each holding a spear under a wing. They immediately charged Kratos, forcing him to roll to the side. He left a blade in his place and cut a soul, turning it to mist. The other turned and charged again, Kratos rolled again. The blade missed this time. Hades, however, slashed him with the spikes: two gashes along Kratos’ side began bleeding. The hooks were firmly attached to Kratos, and Hades began to rip out his soul.
Kratos grunted and struggled as his soul began to leave. He swung his hooves in an attempt to escape, but hit nothing. He grabbed the chains that connected to the hooks, pulling his body onto his soul. Re-equipping the blades of Creation, Kratos swung at Hades. Rotted flesh was parted from Hades body, and the hooks were removed from Kratos. Kratos quickly dissipated the pegasi soul, and turned to Hades. The God of the Underworld, ripped out three more spikes, creating three Unicorn souls. They separated, running in different directions, before turning and using magic to fire energy at Kratos. Kratos blocked the initial bolts, before using the Golden Fleece to reflect the bolts at Hades. The bolts hit, but did not seem to do much damage. Kratos grunted and dodged the next round of energy bolts, running towards the closest unicorn soul. A quick hoof punch to the face of the soul just before it fired sent the bolt towards another soul, striking it and making it disappear. Kratos shoved a blade in the souls’ chest, before turning, and parrying a bolt back towards the last soul. It struck, and the soul vanished.
Kratos turned to find Hades, only for the Alicorn to be gone. Kratos turned, and searched for the God, but there was no-where he could hide. Kratos felt a blow to his chest as Hades appeared beside him, before being bucked into the far wall. By the time Kratos recovered, Hades was gone again. Kratos swung the blades wildly, knowing that hades was near. He quickly equipped the Nemean Cestus again, but felt two hooves on his chest, followed by a stone wall. As he tried to stand, Hades sunk the claws in him again. He felt his soul being pulled out again, seeing the faint blue outline. He tried to pull it back, but he was struggling. He decided to charge Hades. Hades tried to remove the spikes from Kratos but it was too late
Kratos smacked him back into a wall, before approaching the stunned God. There was no mercy in Kratos. The Nemean Cestus struck Hades head constantly, the helm dented before breaking off into shards. Hades face was ruined. The jaw broke through the skin, his eye sockets were sunk into his face, rotten flesh hung from the fore head. The shards from Hades’ helm formed five Spartan warrior ponies. Each one equipped with sword and shield, the pressed on Kratos; forcing him off Hades’ body. Hades’ laughed as the faces of each pony seemed to cause Kratos Deja-vu.
Kratos re-equipped his blades, the Nemean Cestus were too slow against trained fighters. The souls circled Kratos, each holding the spear steady, using the shields attachd to their fore legs to protect themselves. Kratos couldn't see an opening to attack so he waited patiently for a chance. When the Spartan souls had surrounded him, kratos knew his only option: he leapt. Blocking an attack from a soul, and replying with one his own, the soul vanished. Kratos turned to see the other souls had regrouped, and brought out the Nemean Cestus: he was aware Hades was lurking in the shadows. He smashed the ground with both hooves; the Nemean Cestus’ amplified the strength and rippled the stone floor towards the souls. Quickly, Kratos brought out his blades and sent them towards the souls, the blades struck just as the shockwave knocked the souls off balance. Two souls were hit, the other two managed to compose themselves quickly enough to block the blades. The souls charged, spears held firm and straight: Kratos waited. When the spear tips were within touching distance, Kratos struck them with his blades, snapping the spears. The souls struck with their shields however, sending Kratos back. The Spartan Ponies retreated and regrouped.
Kratos felt Hades’ presence near, so he ran towards the souls in the centre of the room, raising his blades and slamming them on top of their shields, sending them into the air. Kratos dispersed of them quickly and turned to find Hades. Hades’ was hiding in the shadows; though without his helm missing he couldn’t move far without becoming noticeable. Kratos waited, listening. A loose stone rolled across the floor, scratching as it moved. Kratos didn't need another hint he knew where Hades’ was: and Hades’ knew that.
Kratos rolled to his side quickly, avoiding Hades’ claws. He sent the Blades Of Creation towards Hades, striking him on the chest. Kratos followed the blades, slammed Hades into a wall. Using the blades, Kratos pinned Hades’ by the hooves, leaving his legs free to dangle. Hades’ claws ripped off easily enough, though some rotted flesh stuck to them. Kratos sunk the claws into Hades’ chest, pulling out his soul. Hades’ struggled, though he was weakened by the fight: Kratos’ thirst for vengeance fuelled his strength. Hades’ managed to get an arm free, but it was too late. Kratos absorbed the soul of the God, watching as he Alicorns’ body fell limp. He turned in exhaustion to find three wide eyed ponies staring. Nopony spoke, just stared at each other.
This wasn’t the first time Rainbow had seen kratos kill a God, but she was as shocked as the others. The silence was interrupted as three apparitions appeared around Cadence, forcing Rainbow and Twilight away. The apparitions formed as ponies, towering over Cadence. Each one wore a crown and armour, as well as an elegant beard. They knelt. Princess Cadence shook in fear, but a single voice boomed throughout the Underworld. "Hades’ is dead, and so begins the reign of Queen Cadence." The words lingered for a while, but as they vanished so did the ghosts.
“What were they?” asked Twilight, who ran to check on Cadence.
“They were the Judges of The Underworld,” Kratos replied, trotting over to the ponies. “They Judge the souls in the Underworld. I told you to make sure she didn't eat!”
“We are sorry. She was so hungry, we couldn't let her starve. We were tricked.” Rainbow said, hanging her head in shame.
"What will happen to me?” Cadence enquired. The words Queen Cadence echoing in her head. “You rule the Underworld. You are trapped to forever rule.” Kratos said his voice was rather angry. He headed downstairs, forcing the others to follow.
“What? Why? All I did was eat one pomegranate,” Cadence forced out, as she followed the mysterious white and red pony. This whole scene was confusing her. Why was she even taken in the first place?
“Hades claimed you as his. He did the same with Persephone in my world. When I killed her, when she tried to destroy the world, he demanded vengeance. With Zues’ attack on this world, Hades’ took you to be his new Queen.” Kratos responded, retracing his steps.
“You mean you’re really not from this world? I thought you girls were exaggerating.” Cadence said fearfully, thinking as she spoke. “That would explain the two legged corpse I saw when I was brought here.”.
Kratos turned to face Cadence, her pink coat shone bright despite the lack of light. “Do you know where the Pits of Tartarus are? I assume you know this place well, know that you are the Queen.”
Cadence thought for moment, “That’s weird I do. Follow me. You will have questions to answer on the way, the girls ”have told me about your time here," She said, brushing past Kratos. Kratos gave a sigh and followed.
The walk through the Underworld was long, the sights were memorable; from Charon rowing souls up the river Styx to a large stone pony looking as if it was holding up the rock that lay on its’ shoulders. Kratos kept as silent as possible though the other ponies kept asking questions about what they saw, and Cadence asking about her new role. Queen Cadence never got lost on the journey; or didn't make it seem like she did. She happily just spoke to Twilight and Rainbow Dash about what had all happened and checking with Kratos.
The ponies soon came upon a large opening, light shone in from Onyx crystals that shimmered along the far side of the wall. A Cerberus dog watched the ponies from the darkness, but sensing Cadence it kept its’ distance. Kratos kept an eye on it as they trotted across the cavern, but it remained lying down. The Onyx crystal revealed the shadows of ponies on the other side, one unmistakably being Princess Celestia. Kratos equipped the Nemean Cestus and started working at the crystal, each contact sending a ‘chime’ echoing in the cavern. Several hits later and the crystal exploded, revealing four tired yet excited ponies and one serious looking Alicorn.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash rushed out of the shadows and into light. Kratos stopped Cadence from stepping out, which provoked a reaction from the four ponies who didn't enter the Underworld. “It’s OK girls. I can’t leave this place. I done it to myself, It,s not his fault. This is my home now.” Cadence began to weep. She would live forever in hell.
Princess Celestias’ face lost all expression, shocked at the news and at the worst of times. She went to hug Cadence, followed by the mane six. Kratos stood to the side, only Pinkie gave him attention and that was a cupcake.
“I am sorry Cadence, but we have a war on our hooves. We need to get to Shining Armour quickly; he is training the guards and volunteers. Zues’ army is approaching. We will visit soon.” Celestia spoke solemnly, letting go of Cadence. The rest of the ponies held their heads low and said their good byes. Princess Celestia turned to Kratos, and beckoned him to follow. He did.
Celestia informed him of Zues’ plans, and the war, and pleaded that he helps train and lead the army. His Spartan warrior upbringing, his knowledge and experience of being a general to the greatest fighters in the world: all helped him make his decision. They would be in Canterlot tomorrow. Leaving Cadence in the shadows of Tartarus the ponies left, vowing they would return and see her.
The God Of War would lead the ponies.
A trumpet blast tore through the castle. It was morning already: or supposed to be. The Castle barracks filled with a choir of groans, everypony wanted that precious five minutes more sleep. Swift Edge tossed his blankets back, the cold air bit at his exposed body. He groaned too as he stretched and stood up, the others in his dorm were still struggling to escape the claws of sleep and the warmth of their beds. Swift Edge walked to the blinds, stretching his tired legs; and let in a flood of light. The other guards tossed as the morning light scattered the darkness. He looked outside to see how early it was; bright sashes of orange on the horizon cut through the clouds, while higher up, the sky was stained pink and purple with gilt-edged clouds overlying the colours. With his dorm awake and complaining, Swift Edge made his way to the Shield Hall for breakfast.
Swift Edge entered the large feast hall, the white walls glowed orange as the Celestias’ sun broke through the large stain glass windows. The North wall, had no windows, but was decorated from floor to rafter with shields, which gave the hall its' name. Each shield bore a different image, but all were in immaculate condition: there hadn't been a war in over a thousand years to damage them. The shields were gathered from around Equestria, each one coming from a different town and having its’ own story. To fill space, shields from Princess Lunas’ rebellion also hung: Princess Celestia said they should as they were part of history, much to Princess Lunas’ disapproval. Shining Armour and several other high-ranking guards were sat at the elevated long oaken bench under the shields, he had not slept since Princess Cadence went missing yet he stuck to his duties. Swift Edge found his friends, Gauntlet Dasher and Claymore, at the last of the three long wooden tables and sat down: acknowledging them but saying nothing, it was too early.
As more guards entered the hall, the sweet aroma of breakfast filled the air. The guards formed a queue at a large black cauldron in the south west corner near to the windows, and grabbed a bowl as they waited for the porridge to be ready. Swift Edge got his bowlful, muttered a sleepy thanks to the chef and returned to his seat, Gauntlet and Claymore followed. The ponies ate in silence; they had a long day ahead of them with new recruits coming in needing to be trained. The ponies had an idea of what was going on, but not the whole story, all they knew was that there was a threat to Equestria. The porridge was watery, and very bland. Swift Edge groaned when he finished it, the porridge used to fill him but now they hardly made a dent in his hunger. With Gauntlet and Claymore finishing their bowls too the ponies left for the training yard to wait for the new recruits; there was no point in staying near the food.
The guards put on their armour as they waited, the armour changing Swift Edges’ blue coat to white with the magic infused in it. The magic was a byproduct from the war of the Lunar Republic when several mistaken identity accidents occurred, Celestia decided that her guards should all be the same colour to prevent more. Claymore, being a Pegasus, was now also white instead of red while Gauntlet Dasher stayed grey since he was a Unicorn. The three Guards collected their spears and waited for the recruits beside the large gates near the sword training. There was a group of recruits being trained by the Sword Master, Fury Blade. Fury had been in the military ranks since he was 16, he was now 56, and was the best at using a sword; though even he had not been in a war. The last Equestrian war was the Luna Rebellion, the military were mainly for show, until recently, and now even the Wonderbolts were summoned to answer the call.
Half of the recruits Fury Blade was training seemed nervous about wielding a sword: it was different to what they used to. The motions of swinging and stabbing were more of a dance than the reckless staggering they were doing. The recruits were swinging at wooden ponies, learning the art of swinging and moving, perfecting their technique: and it needed perfecting. The swords, that attached to the foreleg above the hoof, were solid steel though they were old or for decoration. New swords were getting produced, but the blacksmiths were slow though the products were fantastically weighted and balanced. The other recruits were using shields, the most important part of warfare apparently. They were using them with wooden swords trying to strike their sparring partners. Several of the ponies seemed to have a good understanding, while most either stayed behind their shields or swung their swords wildly opening up to attack. Shields were easy to use since they strapped onto the fore leg, and were lightweight, but using them with swords and spears was a different skill all together. The thought that scared Swift Edge the most was that the recruits were nearing the skills of the guards; the guards were trained in weapons but only to a suitable level for being a guard. Most guards forgot how to use the sword with them holding spears for the majority of the time.
The large gates opened, several guards walked in each with a cart filled with pigs: but no recruits. Swift Edge sighed as the gates closed, the waiting was tiring, he watched the cart disappear across the courtyard. With nothing to do but wait, the morning began to drag in, Gauntlet Dasher and Claymore playing eye-spy slowly began to be the most irritating noise Swift had heard; though it took the edge off the waiting. As the game began to die, a guard on top of the gates called down to let them know that possible recruits were on the road. Claymore, Gauntlet and Swift perked up, bracing themselves for training the newbies to be guards.
The gates opened revealing a dozen timorous, and two seemingly confident, ponies: they staggered into the castle grounds mesmerized by the beauty of the castle. Swift approached them with his spear held high, Claymore and Gauntlet continued to stand at ease. “You took your time arriving. I am Swift Edge, the two behind me are Claymore and Gauntlet, don’t worry you will get used to knowing who people are with their armor on. It’s almost lunch, we will show you to your room and get your armor then we will eat. Shining Armor may speak to you, so be presentable. Any Questions?” Swift said commandingly.
“Yeah, why have we been recruited? The guards that got us just said it was a threat, but what kind of threat are we facing?” One of the recruits asked, swishing his navy mane out of his face. The rest of the recruits seemed to agree with the questions, but stayed behind the enquirer.
Swift Edge sighed and turned, motioning that the recruits should follow. Claymore and Gauntlet turned and walked with Swift Edge, the recruits taking in the scenery of the castle. “The truth is we do not know what threat the Princesses know of, but it is clearly a big one. The castle guards have been doubled, if not trebled. Princess Celestia has not been seen in days due to Royal Duties, and Princess Luna is with her Shadow Guards, possibly training them for the same reason we are training. Shining Armor is the only one who isn't a Princess who knows what is going on, yet, as I am sure you have heard, Princess Cadence is missing so his head is not fully focused. That is all we know. You lot, we have been told to train to be guards and that’s it, so that’s what we are gonna do.” Swifts voice echoed throughout the castle corridors. Crystal Empire Guards acknowledged him as they passed in the corridor with their own recruits. Swift opened a door at the far end of the corridor, “This is your room, everypony dump your stuff, you can sort out bunks later, but we are hungry so let’s eat.” Claymore, Gauntlet and Swift turned and left for the Shield Hall, the recruits hot on their hooves.
As the guard ponies emerged back out into the training ground, clouds were beginning to cover the sky. The dark grey clouds bunched up, as though plotting where the most inconvenient place to rain was. The Old Hall was occupied, yet the doors shut, smoke rose from the old stone chimney. There was a new scent in the air, it was different. It smelt of food, yet something forbidden or dangerous. Swifts mind began to wonder what it was, until a recruit interrupted, “What is that smell? Is it from the food here? It smells delicious.”
“It is a new smell and coming from the Old Hall, the Old Hall is usually abandoned there is no need for it now the Shield Hall is used for Dining. I have no idea what is happening inside, and it would be best to leave it. Princess Luna may be working in there.” Claymore replied, but it only brought up more questions and not just from the recruits. The recruits mumbled away to each as they followed the three guards, the guards began talking away.
“What do you think is happening in there?” Claymore asked, inhaling the scent again.
“I’m not sure there was the cart this morning with the animals on it, though what use would they be. Witchcraft maybe?” Swift remarked, chuckling at the thought of witches in the Old Hall.
“HA! That hasn’t been allowed for ages, maybe it’s just magic practice with the magic after burn smelling delicious,” Gauntlet said, “I know if I knew that magic I would use it repeatedly.”
“Well it’s making me hungry, so let’s hurry it up?” Swift demanded, watching other ponies enter the Shield Hall. One in particular seemed in a hurry, though maybe he was starving.
The recruits stared in awe at the interior of the Shield Hall, each one pointing out there favorite shield on the wall. Swift and the other guards led them to the food, collecting a plate and waiting in line. It wasn’t porridge which made Swift happy, though peas were not much better. When the ponies had their plate filled with peas, daisies and an apple, Swift led them to a table with enough space for them all and sat down. The conversation was slow at first, with the ponies more focused on eating, the recruits seemingly really hungry.
Lunch was interrupted as Shining Armor entered, from the door behind the head table. Claymore, Gauntlet and Swift stood up, urging the ponies to stand as the captain of the guard entered. Swift noticed Shining Armors hoof as he waved them to sit, he was wearing two swords: his uniform sword and the battle sword. The battle sword, Swift believed was Serenity. A sword created before the Lunar Rebellion, infused with magic and, according to legend, forged in the Sun. The hilt around his hoof glowed an eerie red with the rubies, the blade was still sheathed up his leg. The sword was certainly strange, and made Swift Edge feel uneasy, “Why do you think he has Serenity on?”
The other ponies stared, trying to get a look at the supposed legendary sword. “You sure that is Serenity? There would be no reason for him to wear it.” Claymore remarked, straining his head to see.
“What is Serenity?” The cyan recruit with the navy mane next to Gauntlet asked, with a puzzled as he chewed.
“Serenity is a sword, given to the Captain of the Guard, but it should only be worn in times of war. Gauntlet informed, before thinking and chuckling “So with him wearing it now, we are probably at war.”
“Gauntlet you are scaring the recruits, there isn’t a war. Maybe Princess Luna requested him to wear it! Just shut up and eat” Swift jested, knowing Gauntlet meant well.
After that the ponies remained silent, lost in thought about why Serenity, if it was Serenity, was being worn. The ponies had almost finished lunch when several trumpet blasts trembled throughout the room, as if by one every guard in the room, including Shining Armor, rose to stand at attention. The recruits reluctantly copied them, though they knew someone important was coming. A quizzical look appeared on the guards as it was Shining Armours' sister and her friends that entered. They were important, saving Equestria several times, but they had never been introduced in such a manner. Shining Armor smiled, but didn’t move. After a slight delay Princess Celestia followed as anticipated; head held high as always.
As the ponies and Princess approached the head table and Shining Armor, another pony entered: an earth stallion. Swift shared a confusing glance with Claymore and Gauntlet, noticing that the recruits also had a look of confusion. His white coat seemed more ash-grey, with a red stripe that started above his muzzle, over his maneless head, down towards his flank where it turned under his belly and reappeared on his left fore leg. His torso was littered with scars, and a ragged skirt was attached to his waist hiding his cutie mark. His eyes a dark grey with a scar across his right eye: he was a sight to make any pony afraid. Gauntlet gave Swift a nod towards the new ponies’ hooves, where chains were wrapped around both fore legs, seemingly linked to Golden blades with the tips just above his hooves, he wore a golden vambrace on his right fore leg . His hoof steps echoed with anger, his face focused.
Princess Celestia gave a nod and a wave, allowing the guard ponies and recruits to return to food, and Shining Armor to approach his sister. Swift sat down, but his attention was on what was happening at the head table: Shining Armor gave his sister a hug and a huge smile, though she seemed to reply with wide eyes and a frown. The reaction provoked the Captain of the guard to question, but was met by Princess Celestia who whispered in his ear before Shining Armor, his sister and her friends left the room via the door behind the Head Table, leaving the Princess and the marked pony behind.
Princess Celestia addressed the gaurds, the majority of her battalion were in the hall. “Gentlecolts, I thank you for your loyalty, and as for the recruits and new ponies I thank you for heeding the call. When Equestria called you answered. Now I appreciate that there has been a lack of information regarding this threat, but all I can say is war has been declared on us.” A sudden mutter erupted throughout the hall, the Princess let it go before holding her hoof up for silence. “Fear not. This pony I have brought is Kratos, he comes from a distance place where war is regular and he has fought many battles as the general of his army. He will guide us, he will bond us and he will lead us. I know Shining Armor is the Captain, but his knowledge of battle is equal to everyone in this room, he will still be Captain, though he will train with you. Kratos, anything to add?”
Every pony in the room turned to the foreign army general who stared back his face seemingly wrought with anger, every muscle bulging. There was a long silence as the new pony judged everypony in the room. “This is war, not everypony in this hall will return home. You can leave now, after food training begins. If you leave, know that should the army fail to defend the land your last thoughts will be how you betrayed your country, every death your fault. This is war. I do not care if you fight for money, memories or passion. They are all the same, we need warriors and not a single one of you look ready. Training begins once I have eaten. All I require from you is loyalty.” His voice was deep, the hint of anger and fury echoed throughout the room. Nopony moved, Swift Edge looked at his friends and recruits fear imprinted on their face yet there was also determination. Princess Celestia lead Kratos out the Shield Hall the same way they left, the room remained silent apart from the hoof steps.
After what felt like eternity noise steadily arrived back in the hall, everypony muttering and about what had been said. Swift didn’t speak, his mind was racing. He could leave and live, but what if the army lost? Would he be able to handle the guilt? He was doomed either way he thought. His friends seemed more confident about the matter though. “It won’t be an army. It will be like buffulo or something, noone will die and noone will kill. It’s just a trick to get more guards,” Claymore spoke confidently returning to his half eaten lunch.
“You want to go argue with him? He looks like he has been attacked more times than you have eaten, Claymore,” Swift retorted, playing with the remnants of his food; the thought of war made him lose his appetite. The table grew quiet again the mumblings of other ponies complaining or saying that this was there chance for fame could be heard, Swift only smiled that his recruits weren't that stupid. Death scared him, the thought of nothingness made his stomach churn. It wasn't often he thought of it, but every now and again the thought that he was not immortal like the Princesses crept in.
Shining Armor re-entered the hall and sat down next to his, now, equals but his face was blank. His eyes seemed watery, as though he had shed a tear or ten. His sister didn't return nor her friends, what did they tell him? Was it to do with the war and this new pony? Shining Armor never let his emotions affect his work, though he was happy when Princess Cadence said yes to his proposal: that day, Swift recalled, was a good day. The thought cheered him up though his hunger never returned.
As lunch drew to an end, and the hall was bustling with conversation Shining Armor motioned for silence. It did not take long till the hall fell silent once more; everypony stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to their captain. “Training begins now if you could all go into the training yard.” His voice was slightly higher than usual “Kratos is in charge, I have been told stories of his time in Equestria, and he will lead us well. His past is shrouded, but he knows what he wants, I command you all to be loyal to him. Trust the Princess’ judgement, she has never failed us before.” As the walls absorbed his words, the hall quickly began moving, muttering and moaning, towards the door. Swift Edge walked with Claymore and Gauntlet with the recruits behind.
The court yard had been decorated with hundreds of wooden posts sticking from the ground, each one about a pony and a half tall. Swords and spears littered the walls, their steel glinting in the sun. The Old Hall in the distance had occupants, Princess Celestias’ silhouette was unmistakable, and the other was most likely the new pony. The doors of the hall opened and the Princess and her new General emerged, their faces stern and focused: behind them came a ponies pulling several carts of pigs. The guards and recruits soon felt nervous and afraid, Shining Armor joined the ranks, Swift noticed that he had removed Serenity. The guards watched the pigs get tied to the top of the wooden posts, the squealing sounding painful, yet the Princess and Kratos did not flinch. The Princess stopped walking, though Kratos continued to his new army, silently assessing them looking at what could be there strengths and weaknesses as he circled them. “Get a weapon,” he demanded, walking back to the Princess.
The guards moved quickly, jostling for a weapon as though there wouldn’t be enough to go around. They were about two hundred strong, with more to arrive, including the guards that were sent to get recruits, yet they were afraid of this one pony. Swift Edge began to think about the war again. With the guards armed, they refaced Kratos and the Princess, wondering what would come next. “Get into groups, and pick a pig” Kratos commanded almost smiling, the Princess unwavering by his side.
Claymore, Gauntlet and Swift Edge went together, before realizing that there were about a hundred pigs so they grabbed three recruits, just to be safe. Finding the closest available screaming pig, the ponies went and stood, awaiting the next orders. Kratos grew a sly smile before unleashing his words “Kill it!”. Nopony moved.
The ponies stopped; there was no reason for this pig to die. They all looked at Kratos before Fury Blade grabbed their attention by stepping forward. “Why should we kill a pig, because you say so? All life is precious!” he asked, anger enriched his words.
“You need to learn to kill in Battle. You kill, or get killed. If you can’t kill a pig, how will you take another ponies life?” Kratos’ words were filled with fury, yet Fury did not back down.
“It’s a pig! We won’t need to kill anything, you just want to be the boss…” he was cut off by Shining Armor puuting a hoof in his face, but Kratos ventured towards him: eyes ablaze.
The sound of metal upon stone echoed throughout the training yard as Kratos swung a hoof towards Fury. The ponies were all focused on Kratos the chains around his legs had expanded out from his hoof, towards Fury. Swift followed the chain before throwing up in his mouth when he reached the end and found a Golden blade embedded in the underside of Furys’ jaw: the tip poking out from between his eyes. Kratos looked around to make sure every pony was watching, before ripping the blade back towards him, scattering the old Sword masters’ bone and blood on the ground. Fury Blades’ destroyed body fell forward lifelessly, the blood turning the stone red. Everypony was silent; the sound of the pigs seemed to even die down in the aftermath of what just happened. Kratos made his way back to the Princess who gave him a frown, but accepted his way of teaching.
“Anypony else not able to kill a pig?” Kratos asked, looking around as he drove fear into everypony. Noone, replied. “Good, start killing. Master your technique.Get used to blood.” He said, and the Training yard soon became alive with ponies swinging blades and spears. The squealing of the pigs grew fiercely, before finally stopping.
Swift Edge thought it was best not to stop with the pig being dead as, as much as he hated it, he saw what the new general was trying to teach. “Keep going lads” he said, taking a breather and realizing how badly the pig was cut “If we need to kill to stay alive, may as well get used to cutting flesh.” Claymore seemed to be excited about stabbing the pig, he took a while to get into it but now he was twirling and making noises as his sword tore through the pigs. Gauntlet was less enthusiastic, stabbing it rather than slashing and seeming squeamish as his spear drew blood. The recruits were similar to Swift Edge, reluctant at first but not wanting to end up like Fury Blade so started and found it not as bad as thought. Swift almost felt good when he sliced with his sword and tore the pigs stomach releasing its entrails onto the already crimson floor.
The butchering of the pigs continued for hours, before Kratos stopped it. Princess Celestia had left the court yard for the comforts of her castle when the sun set. The guards had regrouped in front of Kratos again, Fury Blades’ body had been moved, but the blood was smeared along the stone like a serpent. The guards were considerably drenched in pigs’ blood, yet Kratos didn’t care and continued with the training.
The sun began setting, and dinner was called. The apples and flowers, hardly being touched by the guards and Swift couldn't blame them. Nopony said a word, and very quickly Kratos demanded more training. The guards, left their seats and once more found themselves in the blood drtenched training yard being stared down by the new General. The next training session was with shields, although this time it was in pairs. Fortunately, there was an even number of guards now Fury was gone.
Kratos gave a speech of how important shields were, not just for protecting yourself but also for the pony beside you to the left. Swift Edge understood what Kratos was saying, if you can provide protection while they attack you will stay alive much longer. Swift was paired with Claymore; Gauntlet went with the cyan recruit the others seemed to look up to. It didn’t make a difference what pony was with what pony because in the eyes of their new general they were all rookies. The training was a simple block with the shield then attack, Swift Edge was getting the hang of it: knowing when to lower the shield to maximize the time to attack was vital. Claymore seemed to struggle, his shield was solid but he came out of defense rashly swinging quickly but his strikes were off target. Kratos saw this as he passed to check and took Swift Edges equipment, Swift feared for Claymores life.
“Hit me” Kratos roared, getting the attention of everypony in the yard. Even Princess Lunas’ Shadowbolts appeared as silhouettes amogst the silver clouds of the young night. Claymore gulped and went for the attack.
The clang of the wooden sword on the steel shield seemed to echo for a life time, but Kratos didn’t move he kept his distance watching Claymores movements. Claymore went again for the attack, and then again: each time Kratos simply parried his blade away with his shield. Claymore seemed tired; Swift Edge wanted to help him but could only watch. As Claymore stepped forward to attack again, so too did Kratos. Keeping his shield in front of him, Kratos blocked Claymores sword before bashing the shield against his body then bringing the sword up to attack. The crack was deafening. The scream: unbearable.
“Clean him up,” Kratos commanded growling at the pony on the floor holding his head. “A true warrior never lies on his back. All of you remember that”. Swift Edge and Gauntlet moved in to check their friend, he had stopped screaming, his eyes were in his head. Kratos had walked off, presumably for rest, so the guards too disbanded for the night. Gauntlet helped get Claymore onto Swifts back and they walked to the castles doctor in silence.
The medics weren’t in at the time of arrival, though Swift and Gauntlet Dash placed Claymore onto an empty bed, there was no blood but when Swift and Gauntlet removed his armour there was a huge black and purple bruise on his side. Swift checked his pulse, before leaving a note for the medic.
“Are you sure he will be OK?” asked Gauntlet, as he turned to leave the small medical room.
“He will be. It’s us I’m worried about, this new general knows what he is talking about, but is a bit brutal,” Swift replied, pointing out bruises and cuts he got earlier.
“Pony up, war will be much worse. This pony knows what he is doing, and is doing what he can to prepare us.” Gauntlet defended Kratos, as the two guards walked back to their rooms.
The days that followed were similar, to Swift they had blurred into one. The early rises, the small breaks, the arrival of more and more timid recruits, the killing of animals all became familiar. Claymore was out for two days, but even when he joined back, Swift forgot he had been injured; his strikes were more accurate and deliberate. Shining Armor was certainly one of the better of the guards though even he was not protected from Kratos’ fury. Princess Celestia, and at times Princess Luna, came to check up on them but did not stop training only watched and spoke to Kratos.
The Ponies found out that they were leaving the confines of the castle walls within the next few days, then the training intensified. Swift Edge stood and looked about the courtyard and contemplated his life, will he ever see the castle again or his family?
The day of leaving came, and everypony was in the court yard watching the sunrise, Princess Lunas' Shadow troops had left in the night to make camp and scout ahead. As Kratos called the guards to march, Swift Edge, Claymore and Gauntlet Dash grabbed their stuff and marched, looking at the castles' large and beautiful features one last time. Marching as a nation Swift knew he was leaving his problems behind. The ponies marched out towards the South, and the guards were pleased to be out in the open air, away from their troubles.
A dark cloud could be seen in the distance of the direction of the march, Swift Edge could imagine the fear that was to come: would death be quick or lonely in a foreign field? There was no going back.
Princess Celestia sat on her throne, lost in thought, as she stroked the newest sword her blacksmiths made. The long broad golden blade seemed alive in the morning sun which radiated through the windows; the rainbow of jewels in the solid silver hilt faintly cast their colours onto the white walls of the throne room. As she ran her hoof gently down the edge, the throne room doors opened, breaking her concentration. Princess Luna and Twilight entered, with no guards left in the castle the Throne room seemed bare. Princess Celestia placed the sword down beside the throne carefully, and got up to greet her sister and prodigy. “Good Morning” she said with a smile, as she approached.
“Good Morning, Sister. Are we ready to leave?” Princess Luna asked.
“Not yet sister, I’m afraid there is one more thing to do before I can leave. Though it is unsafe for Twilight and her friends to stay, we need them to look after the blade for Kratos.” Princess Celestia replied, directing Twilights eyes to the beautiful blade beside the throne.
“Is that wise? What if she Zeus finds her?” Luna questioned, her voice sounding worried. She had been afraid of Zeus and his unnatural power, though she hid it well she could not help but worry about him.
“I thought of that scenario, Luna. I am thinking of asking you to go with them, once you reach the camp Zeus won’t cause you any problem near Kratos.” Celestia informed her sister, as she motioned they walk towards the sword. “I will follow once I am done here. The camp should not be far, and I can send Philomena with a message informing the guards of your arrival.”
“Very well, sister, we shall leave as soon as we are ready.” Luna said, turning to Twilight who nodded as though she knew what Princess Luna was about to say, “Go get the others Twilight, take the sword and find a way to carry it, we will be travelling for a while.”
Twilight used her magic to pick up the sword, it was longer than her body, and she carefully turned to leave the Throne room, “I’ll bring the others as soon as I can” She said excitedly.
“No Twilight, Princess Luna will collect you all from your room. Now hurry.” Princess Celestia commanded, receiving a nod from Twilight. Once Twilight had left the room, the Princess closed the door and turned to her sister. “Zeus is coming, I can feel it.”
“Why is he coming this time, do you know?” Luna quizzed, sitting on the throne in panic.
“Most likely it will be more empty threats, but just be wary as always sister he will be here soon I believe” Celestia informed, comforting her younger sister.
“How do you know?” Luna quizzed, returning Princess Celestias’ hug.
“I can feel his magic; the air in Equestria is very slightly warmer when he is here.” Celestia replied.
As if on cue, a shimmer of lightning appeared in the room. The princess’ were used to Zeus’ dramatic lightning entrances, yet they were still frightening. Once the Throne was scorched, again, the princess’ withdrew their shield and addressed the other worldly God.
“What is it now Zeus?” Princess Celestia spat, stepping in front of her sister to protect.
“Oh Celestia, I have come to your aid, not to fight.” Zeus announced as he recovered from teleporting. “What will become of Equestria when this war is over, regardless of the winner?”
“What are you getting at?” Princess Celestia demanded, keeping her distance.
“Well let’s say I win, there is no one to guard and protect Canterlot about so my army will have no problem taking control. Now if Kratos and your army wins, then on their return you will have stallions that have killed, and returning to a normal life will be difficult if they are blood thirsty.” Zues said, his voice echoing throughout.
“Get to the point Zeus!” Princess Celestia fumed, making sure she was between Zeus and Luna.
“Fine. We moulded Kratos to be the perfect warrior; he fights without fear or mercy. If you continue to have him lead your army, you will always lose this war.” Zeus explained, as he walked around Celestia; never breaking eye contact.
“Sounds like you are getting scared” Celestia teased.
“You disobey me?!” Zeus’ anger grew, lightening zapped around his body. Without hesitation he bowed his head utilizing his horn to focus the lightening towards Princess Luna. Luna tried to raise a shield, but it was too late.
“LUNA!” Celestia screamed, as she knelt beside her sisters smoking body. Luna did not respond. Celestias’ fear became true as purple mist formed around the Princesses, as rotten hooves ascended from the floor. The hooves wrapped around Lunas’ limp body as Celestia held on, but the Princess could not hold on as Lunas’ body was dragged into the floor.
“I had lost track of Hades in this world, glad he has another princess to add to his collection. Equestrias age of innocence is fading!” Zeus taunted, before leaving the same way he entered.
Celestia didn’t have time to think and ran to get Twilight and the others.
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The trek to the campsite was slow, the weather was cloudy and a cold wind blew. The ponies and the Princess walked in silence, their thoughts no doubt on the lost princess. Princess Celestia hoped her sister was with Princess Cadence but had no idea what it was like in the underworld or even if Luna was alive. She pondered on going to receive her sister.
As the sun was setting Pinkie jumped with joy as she spotted the silhouettes of guards on top of a hill in the distance. Rainbow Dash shot off to meet them, while the rest of the group continued walking towards the sentries. Rainbow Dash returned with a guard who was also a Pegasus, while the other waited.
“Your Highness” He said, as he bowed “I am Claymore, and the other guard is Swift Edge. We have been sent by Shining Armor to receive you.”
“Rise, sir.” The Princess replied, beckoning the guard to rise. “How far is the camp?”
The guard turned and began trotting towards camp with the Princess “It’s about an hour’s trot; Shining Armor has been worried about you all. Kratos however has been angered by the slow pace of the march, though hasn’t killed anypony which is always good.”
“That is indeed good news, though I won’t be at camp tonight. Now that we have found you and Swift Edge, I will be leaving to find my sister.” Princess Celestia spoke softly before turning to Twilight and her friends “Twilight please go with the guards, they will protect you till you get to camp. When you get there, keep the sword hidden.”
Twilight didn’t have time to reply as Princess Celestia teleported out of sight. “I guess we should keep going, best to get to camp before night fall.” She told Claymore, just as they headed out towards Swift Edge in the distance.
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Princess Celestia appeared in front of the cave where she met Kratos, Twilight and Rainbow Dash after their trip to the underworld. As she entered, she noticed the Cerberus seemed to be a lot more peaceful and happier, though it didn’t pay Celestia any attention. As Celestia approached the crystal wall that Kratos broke down earlier, she noticed it had started to regrow and it was growing quickly. Celestia flew to the top of the crystal wall and slipped down into the underworld without a second thought.
As she landed she noticed it wasn’t as dreary and dull as she thought she it would be. The ground was dry and dusty, and the shadow of flickering flames could be seen on the large darkend cliffs that towered in front of Celestia. As she stepped onto a narrow strip of ground that stretched between the Gates of Tartaturus and what appeared to be a courtyard, she could not help but look down into the eternal pits of flame. She shuddered at the thought of falling, even with her wings.
Once Celestia reached the courtyard, she couldn’t help but notice the stone ponies that were so perfectly carved that she took her time to study them. As she moved through the courtyard she couldn’t help notice the occasional bone and skull. It was certainly a creepy place. Celestia noticed a large stone carving of a pony with spikes protruding from its’ body, and decided that was where Cadence was, and made her way towards it. The thing Celestia noted most was how quiet the Underworld was. It was nothing like Twilight described it, there were no screams to be heard.
The way to the palace was long, but Celestia was determined to find the other Princess’. Eventually she made it to the large iron and oak doors of the palace. As she approached, they creaked open. Princess Celestia entered the castle and noticed that it was bright and colorful, the underworld kept surprising her. She heard hoof steps down the corridor, before a loud ‘Hello’ echoed throughout in a familiar voice.
Princess Celestia sprinted forward to meet her greeter, and as the corridor lead to a large open room, there in the middle stood what the Princess was looking for. “Luna, you’re alive!” Princess Celestia shouted in delight. Luna looked exactly like she did in the throne room, the lightning not marking her.
“Of course we are sister. Cadence has done a beautiful job down here.” Luna replied before giving her sister a hug. As Cadence watched the sisters hug she noticed Celestia beckon to her to join the reunion hug.
The three Princess’ hug eventually came to an end. Celestia spoke first, “How have you been Cadence? I am sorry I have not visited earlier, but I did not think I would be able to enter.”
“I’ve actually been well down here; everypony is nice if you show them love and respect. I admit cleaning the place up has been difficult but I think it went well. How is Shining Armor?” Cadence replied with a smile, though the mention of her husband brought a tear.
“Shining Armor is doing well, he misses you though. I believe it is your memory that keeps him going. When this war is over I will bring him down.” Celestia said, giving Cadence a reassuring touch.
“I will hold you to that” Cadence joked, the princess’ shared a laugh.
“I thank you for looking after Luna, I thought she was dead. We must get back to the soldiers though.” Celestia responded ; not wanting to leave so soon but knowing her job was with the living.
“I know, let us walk to the Gates. We shall chat on the way.” Cadence advised, leading the way out of her palace.
“Sounds delightful” Luna approved, walking with Celestia behind Cadence.
As the ponies walked, Cadence told them of her powers and how she can locate ponies such as Luna and save them before their body becomes ruined. Though she could do this, it was not her job to revive everypony that died and she did not want to. Life is a journey and one that must always end for mortals, was her reason for not sending ponies back. Celestia mentioned the possibility of sending some guards back should the worst happen to which Cadence agreed, but only if they are worthy. They would return at the end of the day.
Celestia and Luna said their goodbyes to Cadence at the Crystal Gates where Celestia entered. Cadence opened the gates, and watched her fellow Princesses leave. "We shall return soon Cadence. Thank you" Celestia said, entering into the orange shimmer of dawn.
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It was almost Noon as the sisters approached the white, scabby tents greeted them; the stench of hundreds of muddy sweaty ponies soon hit them. It wasn’t until they entered the camp they noticed the lack of guards, plates and swords looked like they had been left in a hurry. A sudden eruption of noise rose from the back of the camp, the sisters ran to check on the situation.
“I’ll send you to Hades’ new whore!” Came a shout as the sisters approached the center of camp, Celestia knew it was Kratos. The Princess’ sped up to see what Kratos was doing.
As they followed the noise and shouting, the tents gave way to a crowd of guards who didn’t notice the Princess’ as they were too focused with Kratos. Soon, Celestia and Luna made their way through the crowd, guards making way when they realized the Princesses had returned. As the last of the guards moved, Celestia saw the Ghost of Sparta with his hoof on pinning Shining Armor by the neck to a table, one of his curved blades pressed against the captains’ chest.
“Kratos!” Celestia screamed “Stop!”
Kratos paid the Princess no attention and continued to stare into Shining Armors wide panicking eyes. Celestia knew she had to step in. She concentrated and focused on Kratos before trapping him in a magic bubble to pry him away from Shining Armor. As Kratos was lifted, Shining Armor fell to the ground gasping for air; Kratos, however, tried to stab and punch his way out of Celestias’ magic.
“What are you doing Kratos?” Celestia asked, lowering the angry Kratos to eye level.
Kratos gave no answer, rather just stared back. Celestia could see rage in the grey eyes of the Ghost of Sparta, but also found pain, despair and sadness deep within. The princess almost felt sad for Kratos, but kept the magic up and turned to Shining Armor whom Princess Luna was helping to his feet.
“Captain, can you explain this outburst?” Princess Luna asked, letting him go when he was stable on his feet.
“I can try. He sent Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy off to scout with other Pegasus guards, then he sent the other rest, including Twilight, to go get food in the forests when we don’t know where the enemy is. So I confronted him on the importance of family and well I think I’m lucky you arrived when you did.”
“Ah well that explains that. I don’t think we should talk about Kratos’ past anymore.” Princess Luna said, nodding towards Celestia.
“Kratos, please calm down. Zues is powerful; you know that; we cannot win this war if we kill our own troops. Shining Armor does not know your past and made a misjudgment, either live and let live or forget and forgive but do not hold a grudge. There isn’t a God who can save you from your rage if you don’t save yourself.” Celestia said, releasing Kratos from his bubble prison. Krato simply walked away knocking guards to the ground as he walked through the crowds.
“Are you OK, Captain? You should have known not to have questioned him.” Celestia questioned, checking Shining Armor for wounds.
“It’s Twilight I’m worried about, Princess. “ Shining Armor replied, straightening his armor.
“She will be fine. She has proven herself in these last few days; she has been with Kratos and has seen things you can only imagine in your wildest dreams. She isn’t the young filly she once was.” Celestia reassured, “Where is her tent?”
Shining Armor responded with only a smile and some liquid pride in his eyes before pointing to a small grey tent nearby. Celestia and Luna entered the tent. They found Twilights’ saddle bag tucked under a make-shift bed, the Blade hidden underneath. Celestia brought the blade out; the light that shone through the holes in the tent seemed to be attracted the jewels in the handle, the golden blade shimmered even in little light. The Princess’ left the tent and went to their own, which had been put up earlier at the top end of camp, to await the return of the Elements or Kratos.
As the sun was setting behind the hills, the sky blazed deep red; Celestia watched waiting for Twilights’ return. As the sun finally disappeared, leaving its orange glow to compete with the oncoming night, the figures of ponies emerged from over the hills, several of them flying which led Celestia to believe it was the scouts rather than the hunters, though it was getting late to hunt.
As the ponies approached, Celestia recognized Rainbows mane and though glad to see her and Fluttershy return, the Princess still sighed as her student was still out in the unknown wild. Celestia started trotting out to greet them, when she felt another pony behind her. She turned to see Kratos, marching towards the scouts he sent out earlier. Kratos acknowledged Celestia, but showed no remorse for earlier, but she knew he was a general and wanted Zeus gone quickly.
“What do you think they found?” Celestia asked, trying to make conversation as they walked. Kratos didn’t reply, only looked at the scouts with burning rage.
The scouts approached the Princess, looking rather gloom but Celestia assumed that was due to them being on the move all day. Rainbow Dash was comforted Fluttershy as they landed close to Celestia, it was obvious something went wrong. Kratos was unfazed by the scruffy manes and coats and cuts, of not just the guards but also Rainbow and Fluttershy.
“What happened? Did you see anything?” Kratos asked the guards as he approached them but also kept his eye on the two mares and the Princess.
“We met Griffons. In the forest south west from camp. Only three. Possible other scouts. They saw us and attacked. We fought back and killed them. They must be close to that forest.” One said, removing his helmet and letting his blue mane flow. The other guards removed their helms after him, all keeping focus on Kratos.
Kratos thought for a moment, before walking to Celestia. He acknowledged the two mares he stormed the ruins in the Everfree with. “With the information found, we move tomorrow, attack the day after.” He said, his voice driving fear into Fluttershy and Rainbow leaving them shivering. Kratos turned towards camp and left.
“War?” Fluttershy mumbled, her eyes tearing up. She looked to Rainbow for comfort, but her friend felt just the same. Equestria had seen one war in a thousand years, and here were two mares at the front of it when days ago they were just average ponies in Ponyville.
“I am afraid so my little ponies. You do not need to be a part of it; you have done more than I could ever have asked you too. I will not stop you helping, we need all the help we can get and you are the bearers of Elements. Please come back to my tent, out of the cold night air.” Celestia replied, wrapping her wings round the two ponies to give them comfort. The Pegasi guards walked in front, chatting to themselves about the day they had had.
Princess Celestia and the ponies arrived at the Royal tent, the Mane six had a small white tent close-by by order of Celestia. As they entered they noticed Twilight and the others sittting with Kratos and Luna, Rarity was lying down a bandage on her fore right hoof. Celestia led the way in, realizing no words were being spoken, just solomn looking faces: except Kratos' whose was angry as usual.
“I’m glad you girls are safe” Celestia spoke, sitting between Kratos and Luna. “Did you find anything interesting?”
There was no reply. Only Rarity stirred due to her hoof, the bandage slowly turning a faint red. Minutes passed. Only thoughts were spoken, the silence interrupted only by the wind. Eventually Kratos rose, looking at both Princess he beckoned them too follow. Kratos led them to his tent, he shared with Shining Armor and that was where tactics were discussed. Kratos went to an oaken table with a map of Equestria unfolded and pinned down by knives. When the Princess were stood around the table Kratos pointed out the estimated location of the enemy.
“This forest will be our best attack; we move and get ready tomorrow. Strike early the day after.” Kratos informed, pointing out the routes through the forest he knew was best for staying hidden, according to the map. “I will lead the first attack, going through taking out what we can. We get pegasi in the air for support, stop messages of our attack getting out.”
The princess’ studied the map, thinking of anything to say. Luna broke the silence. “OK, we agree. You were brought to command. We have faith in you”
“What happened with Twilight and her friends? Why were they so silent?” Celestia asked, agreeing with Luna but not wanting to hold back what she was thinking.
Kratos stared at her with his usual rage filled stare. “Twilight and the 'hunters' were not going for food, they were also scouting. They found Hercules’ camp, close to where the pegasi found the griffons.”
“You sent them scouting! They are only fillies! What happened to Rarity?” Celestia asked, astounded that Kratos would send mares to scout.
“They offered. She fell apparently, nothing to worry about. We need to get ready.” Kratos seethed, before turning and leaving his tent for the cold night air. Celestia and Luna stared at each other before leaving for their tent again, in the search for rest.
With the wind howling outside and the attack planned tomorrow sleep did not come to Celestia easily, she found herself wiping the sweat from her brow several times; but it wasn’t the fear she would rather the attack happened now. When she closed her eyes she visualized, much to her dismay, the horrors that were to come, the forest becoming a burial ground for potentially hundreds of her guards and friends.
When Celestia finally fell asleep, thanks to the rain pounding on the tent, she found herself leading an attack on an unknown village. She found herself killing ponies by instinct, she hated it and yet it felt right. Flames devoured cottages and homes around her, the light illuminating thw village. She found a rhythm killing everypony with-in reach, her blades slicing through the victims with ease. She found herself out of breath, her coat stained red and her hooves on the bodies that had fallen. A temple at the end of the village seemed hidden from Celestia, though it was right in front of her; it felt forbidden. A great evil lurked in the temple.
Celestia paused at the doors, noticing the symbol painted the mahogany doors was Kratos' cutie mark. Lighting a torch and throwing it onto the thatched roof, Celestia prepared herself for what lay inside. As the roof caught fire, Celestias new bloodlust caused her to burst through the doors, killing the ponies that were cowering in the temple. Celestia continued, slashing and hacking, unable to resist; she killed them all. When the last had fallen, and the flames from the torch began to crawl down the walls, her senses returned. As she looked down at the last ponies she killed, her legs gave way, and she woke up panting and sweating. It was time to raise the Sun.
The morning of the attack had arrived, the sun sat low in the crisp, empty blue sky as mist clung to the ground. Kratos found the Princesses in their tent, studying maps on a small make shift desk, and their manes were not suitable for a Princess, clearly they didn’t sleep much. Kratos stood in the entrance of the tent, casting a long shadow over the two Princesses and the maps.
“We were wondering when you would show,” Celestia spoke roughly, keeping her eyes fixed on the map “We are still waiting for your input on this attack plan of yours.”
“I know my plan Celestia, I leave at night!” Kratos spoke confidently.
“Wait tonight? We have told the troops it was this morning, what is this plan?” Luna turned from the maps to face the Demi-God.
“I go alone, use the small river to hide any noise,” Kratos seethed, staring at the Princess of the Night.
“Alone? Against an unknown number of foes? What chance will you stand?” Celestia questioned, joining her sister in facing Kratos.
“Your soldiers are not ready for war. I have killed hoards of beasts, I have killed Gods and one small army will not stop me from getting my vengence!” Kratos seethed, before turning and heading out, the chains of the blades rattled as he went. The Princesses stared at each other, amazed at Kratos' determination, before returning to their maps.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Swift Edge was enjoying this morning a lot more than he thought, with the recent moving and running around getting prepared to make an attack, the peace was an unexpected delight. He had woke early with the rest of the guards expecting to be lining up against enemies, his fate unknown, yet here he was sitting in his tent with nothing to do. Claymore and Gauntlet were out practising attacking straw dummies, should the expected fight go ahead, Swift never saw the point dummies can't retaliate.
The waiting become annoying, Swift decided to get out of the cramped tent and go a walk. His eyes took a while to adjust to the noon sun, but he noticed the camp was deserted, nopony was wondering about, were they all training? Should he be training? He decided that if he was needed his friends would have collected him by now. The forest seemed appealing for a quick trot, even though Princess Celestia had made it forbidden to enter, Swift noticed the Yellow friend of Twilights enter now and again. 'If she can do it then so can I' he thought as he entered past the first line of trees.
The forest, at this point, wasn't dense the trees were tall and slim though there was certainly a lot of foliage. Swift trotted through the trees, the ground changed a lot from being firm to soft and muddy; the way the sunlight burst through the leaves and branches made him smile,he could hear birds chirping away, a bear roaring, the gentle slosh of a nearby stream, sounds he had forgotten in the city. The forest seemed to free him and all his burdens were gone, he was guilt free for the first time in a very long time.
Then it all flooded back to him, the apparent war, this beautiful, wonderful place could easily be his burial ground, a tree his unmarked grave. He decided to head back, he was beginning to think about the war again, it brought him to this beautiful place then showered it in blood. He began to panic. He tried listening to the birds, to the slow rustle of leaves, to the river. He couldn't hear the river anymore, he swore he was close-by he heard it only seconds ago. His mind began to race as he thought he was now lost. Where did the river go? Was Somepony playing tricks? Was this Kratos? He felt an ice cold slither up his leg and tried to run, but whatever it was grabbed him and held tight. Swift Edge screamed in fright as he was dragged across the ground. He tried to pull himself up and away, only for a second tentacle-like arm to attach itself to his other hind leg.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sky was turning to night, only a strip of red remained in the sight as if standing fast against the oncoming darkness. Princess Luna's moon was not raised, Kratos had told her not too as it would give too much light off, though the stars remained as if to watch Kratos. Kratos stood up on his rear legs at the edge of the forest, his rags blowing on the wind, staring as if he could see right through it, and slid out his blades. Princess Celestial approached him, and stood behind the fierce warrior, both remained silence staring into the darkness.
"Are you sure about this, Kratos?" Celestial spoke softly, breaking the silence "We are one pony down, I do not think he betrayed us but where he has gone I cannot say."
Kratos retracted the blades and returned to a normal standing position, "I will not fail Celestia!" He seethed, before turning to face the princess. Seconds past before Kratos took off galloping into the starlit forest.
Kratos slowed his gallop to a trot, the ground of the forest was undulating with roots, night critters could be heard in the distance as well as the river Kratos planned on using to help with his attack. As Kratos approached the river, he heard a voice behind him followed by a giggle. He turned to face the culprit, and grunted, Pinkie Pie emerged from behind a tree, before Rainbow Dash floated gently down from a gap in the foliage. Kratos only stared at their slightly disappointed faces, thinking on why they were here.
"Why did Celestial send you here?" Kratos demanded, the starlight struggling to break the dense foliage leaving his face darkened and mysterious.
"We aren't here to help you silly!" Pinkie giggled, " We are here to search for Swift Edge, the missing pony," her voice becoming serious.
"He's gone" Kratos replied same anger filled voice as usual.
"What do you mean 'gone'?" Asked Rainbow, landing beside Pinkie with a confused look.
"Listen!" Kratos commanded, equipping his blades.
"Ehhh I don't hear anything" Rainbow pointed out.
"That can't be right! What happened to the river? Rivers can't move can they? Well..." Pinkie began, scratching her head with her hoof, stopping only when she realised that was what Kratos was pointing out.
Kratos spun swiftly, launching a blade into the darkness. Pinkie yelled as a watery tentacle wrapped around her rear leg. Rainbow managed to avoid some by flying, but one caught her. Kratos swiftly cut several heading for him, before freeing Rainbow who, in turn, grabbed Pinkie. Rainbow released the now free Pinkie a safe distance from Kratos, who was cutting and slicing in the darkness.
"Poseidon!" Kratos called into the darkness, his voice filled with fury. The jungle seemed to shiver with his voice, before calming down, Rainbow and Pinkie watched from a distance.
Ice blue eyes appeared, shining through the darkness, staring at the Ghost of Sparta; their light illuminating enough of the surroundings for Kratos to figure that this was not the God of the Ocean. The shadows created by the glow showed no sign of a horn, allowing Kratos to assume this was no Alicorn. Kratos began to approach, blades at the ready.
The stranger made no move, only focused the icy eyes towards the approaching Kratos. As Kratos drew near, the Pony made a gurgling sound, almost a scream, that took Pinkie and Rainbow by surprise, but they too approached silently. Kratos stopped several metres short of the Pony and, in the light of stars, recognised him to be from Princess Celestias' army. In a quick motion the neck of the Pony snapped to focus on the two ponies approaching from his left. His mouth opened and gargled words tumbled out, almost sounding forced. A rush of water sounded as two Scylla Broods formed beside the pony; they had the body similar to a spider, yet only four legs, the mouths were large with huge claw like fangs at the top and smaller normal fangs at the bottom. They wasted no time in scurrying towards Pinkie and Rainbow, using the shadows to fade in and out of sight.
Kratos moved quickly aiming for the pony that he trained, and meeting its' body with the Nemean Cestus sending it crashing into a nearby tree. The pony quickly stood, and summoned two more Scylla Broods, this time for Kratos. The Broods again wasted no time in rushing Kratos, as they approached their larger fangs clicked together as their mouths opened wide. Kratos stood firm and as the first jumped to attack and bite, he shoved a Blade of Creation through its mouth, the body sliding up Kratos' leg before sloshing into water. The other Brood remained on the ground hiding in the shadows, Kratos had lost sight of it.
Pinkie Pie giggled as the Broods approached her and Rainbow, Rainbow seemed a bit more worried. The Broods charged with their mouths open, clamping and clawing, as they got too close for comfort Rainbow swooped in and picked up the giggling Pinkie. Rainbow released Pinkie close to Kratos and heard the Broods coming again. She noticed Kratos watching the shadows, then leaping on a Brood before ripping it apart. Rainbow decided that these creatures were weak, even with Kratos' strength, and as the two original Broods leapt to attack she flew in with a rear hoof and kicked one against a tree, narrowly missing the other one. Pinkie turned and stopped giggling as she saw the mouth of the creature prepare to bite, and then simply side-stepped out of the way, alerting Kratos as she moved. Kratos swung round with a blade showing and sliced the creature in two, getting splashed by water for his effort.
"They were fun" Pinkie said, before giggling again.
Kratos replied with a low growl, as Rainbow smiled getting used to fighting. The Pony with the ice cold stare, continued to watch the three ponies. Kratos swiftly launched himself at the pony, blades drawn, and was meet with no resistance. The blades pierced the body of the pony with ease this time, one entering just below the neck and the other above the hind legs. The ice blue eyes began to fade as Kratos pulled his blades out, as well as a large volume of water gushed forth from the ponys' mouth. Pinkie and Rainbow trotted gently up behind Kratos and watched as the water flowed from the pony, draining it of life.
"Can't you do anything?" Rainbow asked. Kratos didn't reply, but turned to walk away. "He was fighting with us! We can't just let him die" Rainbow Dash continued.
"He was already dead" Kratos informed her, in his usual dark tone. He stood to face the darkness in the direction of the camp he was going to attack. "Leave now, take his body if you must" he finished.
"We can't leave you, what if you turn into whatever he became?" Rainbow asked, not wanting to go.
"I won't" Kratos simply replied, showing a slight smirk. Pinkie and Rainbow realised that there would be no negotiating with the Ghost of Sparta and began to get the body ready to move.
Kratos moved silently through the forest, well aware that the commotion caused from the soldier would have alerted the enemy camp, though Kratos still moved closer. He saw a small fire at the edge of the forest, two shapes surrounding it, he waited to observe any movements, and to trick them into thinking that the noises in the forest were of him losing.
As dawn broke, and the two figures began to move, Kratos made his move. Charging the two unsuspecting Griffins, Kratos launched his blades at them. The blades hit with deadly accuracy, lodging themselves deep in the necks of each Griffin, keeping them silent, the only sounds made were the sounds of the limp bodies collapsing onto the grass and the chains from the blades.
Kratos left the bodies, and went looking for some more Griffins, or better. He heard voices from inside a grey, scabby tent and didn't give entering a second thought; with blades drawn he made short work of the three Griffins he found. He moved quickly and fluently to the next tent, listening for voices. He spotted one just leaving a another tent, he made his move, but the Griffin saw him and let out a short, loud scream. Kratos had embedded the Blades of Creation in the Griffins skull.
The camp sprang to life, the panicking of enemies, the clanking of steel, and (to Kratos' slight amusement) the roar of a Cyclops. Kratos galloped towards the closet sounds, and attacked the unprepared griffins. By the time Kratos had left the tent he found himself surrounded by the Griffins, both in the air and on the ground. He couldn't help but smirk at how little they looked like warriors. Then the Cyclops showed up, looking like a gigantic Earth Pony, at least 3 times bigger than Celestia, muscles bulging, the giant eye in the middle of its deformed and damaged face. Then there was the the dirty pale skin, and the horrible oder that came from the beast. Kratos' smirk disappeared a little, he had faced many Cyclopes before and know of their sheer power. The Griffins backed away as the Cyclops destroyed several tents as it approached, by the time it reached Kratos all the Griffins had took flight.
Kratos stared the beast down, but had to roll quickly to avoid a hoof from the Cyclops, which left a large crater as it grounded. Kratos sent a blade towards the hoof he had just avoided, but it hardly scratched the tough skin. Kratos charged the beast, sidestepping another clumsy, yet powerful hoof and managed to sink both blades into the right rear leg of the beast. He used the chains to swing up on to the back of the Cyclops, pulling out the blades as he landed and sticking them back in the beast for stability. The Cyclops roared, and two Griffins moved in to help the beast.
Kratos stabbed the several times, drawing thick green blood. A Griffin, tried to stab him with a spear, but kratos dropped from the Cyclops and rolled on the ground. As the Griffins closed in, Kratos jumped placing a blade perfectly in a Griffins skull before landing on another. The Griffin could not fly with the extra weight and fell to the the earth, Kratos quickly ended its' life before returning his attention to the agitated beast. He managed to avoid a crushing hoof, but the earth-shaking impact stunned him a little, giving a Griffin time to get close. The Griffin managed to claw Kratos hind quarters, taking a piece of Kratos' rags, before he bucked and crushed its' skull. Kratos again charged the beast, this time jumping onto the slamming leg. Using the Blades he climbed to the neck of the beast, and then on to the head, green blood littered the ground as the beast panicked. Kratos leapt off of the beasts head, keeping a blade sunk into the skull using it as an anchor for the chain, allowing him to swing and stab the eye with the other blade. The beast reared in agony, letting out a large roar. Kratos kept stabbing the eye, letting chunks of it fall to the earth, the beast reared one last time, and fell on its back.
Kratos rode the Cyclops down to the blood saturated ground, turning as he landed to face the dozen Griffins that watched him take down a Cyclops. The Griffins glanced at each other before some charged, the ones that didn't took flight. Kratos stood his ground, the Griffins charging un-orginised, spears up. Kratos deflected the first spear past with ease, cut the tip off the next one, side-stepped the next but left his blade to slice right down the Griffins torso. The next two Griffins came together flying low, allowing Kratos to jump over them with ease, sending his blades down into their backs. When Kratos landed he simply swung the chains over his head and the griffins crashed in front of him in a bloody, feathery mess.
The Griffins that fled returned with cross-bows, keeping their distance they fired the arrows. Kratos simply lifted the Golden Fleece and deflected them harmlessly aside. Kratos collected a spear from behind him and launched it towards a Griffin, it pierced right through its' helmet and sent the body crashing down. The commotion had given the other five Griffins time to reload and fire, three hitting Kratos in his rear legs. Kratos cut the ropes off, but was impaled by another three, he lashed out but missed his mark. The two Griffins that remained on the ground charged again, Kratos prepared to defend but another volley of arrows struck, his rear legs collapsed, allowing the Griffins to close in.
Kratos was down, arrows littered his rear quarter two Griffins on the ground placed their spears next to his head. Kratos tried to stand, but another arrow put an end to that effort.
"Lord Zeus will be proud" explained a Griffin, Kratos assumed it was a female. She clawed down the left side of his head, leaving three trails of blood to trickle down.
"It's not over!" Kratos spat, unflinching at the newly inflicted pain.
"It looks over" the Griffin replied, before letting out a loud laugh.
A bush rustled and drew the Griffins attention, before ponies jumped out, swords swinging, led by Shining Armor. Kratos laughed. The ponies quickly took the Griffins hostage without much damage or hassle, before the Princesses and the mane six appeared. Celestia looked at Kratos and gave a slight smirk, which just angered Kratos. With the Griffins taken hostage, Fluttershy and Rarity helped Kratos, though it took some Twilight magic to allow him to stand, however the arrow heads remained inside for now. Kratos quickly trotted over to the Griffin that scratched him, and pushed Rainbow Dash aside.
"Where is Zeus?!" Kratos demanded.
The Griffin only spat at the blood on the ground and grinned.
"Tell him Gilda! Please!" Rainbow begged, but it didn't stop Kratos putting a hoof across the Griffins face and sending her to the ground. "Gilda!" Rainbow cried "just tell him!"
"No Dash, I won't" Gilda replied, smiling.
Kratos didn't need a second opinion he swiftly moved to behind Gilda, and grabbed her wings, in a quick tear they came off. Kratos flung the wings on the ground and heard Rainbow Dash crying. Gilda screamed and spluttered. Kratos laughed and made sure every pony and Griffin was watching, before putting a swift hoof through Gildas' chest. He left the spluttering Griffin gasping for air with some entrails hanging out. Rainbow was staring through tear filled eyes as Gilda passed from this world. Kratos asked the other Griffins collectively the same question, but they too remained silent. Kratos ordered their death, the ponies panicked then realised how afraid they were of Kratos before doing the job quickly.
"We could of used them as hostages" Princess Celestial said, as she walked back through the forest with Kratos.
"They were dead as soon as they joined Zeus" Kratos replied, in his usual angry tone. Nopony argued with him, especially after what he just did.
The walk back was silent, only Rainbow Dash could be heard weeping over her lost friend, but her friends were comforting her as best they could. Kratos walked ahead, his wounds healing faster than normal, but his coat remained smeared in blood, and not just his. The Princesses dropped back to walk with the mane six, making sure they were all still coping with what they had witnessed. The walk seemed to take a lot longer than the one going, the ground was solid and tree roots tripped more than most ponies, who were still shaken by Kratos' anger and vengeance. Kratos noticed a small, muddy mound to his left, under a large rock which had been carved with the words
'Here lies a soldier,
Who fought and died for all he loved the best,
Friends, Family, Strangers,
He gave his life for the rest.
Swift Edge'
Kratos gave the rock a stare, but the army behind him bowed their heads in respect at the first one to pass from the realm of the living. The tension was soon relieved as the army reached the opening of the forest and the now familiar scabby tents that was their home. The army disbanded almost immediately, Kratos and the Princesses went straight to the main tent.
Maps littered the floor, and Kratos noticed a gleam from under some rags but gave it no second thought, not when he was no closer to Zeus. The Princesses removed what armour they had and placed it magically aside before turning on Kratos, "What was that?" Princess Celestial asked "You almost got yourself killed!"
"I didn't need your help" Kratos grunted.
"That's not what it looked like" Princess Luna chipped in cheekily.
"They were afraid" Kratos replied, anger raged in his words.
"And they were about to kill you" Celestia added.
"They would have taken me to Zeus!" Kratos spat, edging closer to the Princesses.
"You are no use in chains Kratos, you are our only hope!" Celestial spat back, before quietly adding "We would be lost without you."
Kratos did not reply, he felt Celestias plight though he did not ease up. He turned and left the tent without a word.
"What are we going to do with him, Sister?" Luna asked sadly.
"He will come through in the end Luna. Have faith." Celestia replied, comforting her sister.
"But what if he..." Luna was interrupted by a bright flash followed by a loud noise outside.
"ZEUS!" Celestia cried out, before galloping out of the tent. There was nothing, but a singed circle in the grass. Luna gasped when she saw it, and gripped her sister tight.
"We must get him back!" Princess Celestia said softly to her sister.
Kratos struggled to his feet, his legs weak, his arms ached and the Blades of Creation dangled uselessly from them on decaying chains. His head pounded, his stomach churned. When he found his balance and straightened up, he recognised his surroundings, the twelve bright white pillars, three on each quarter of the round arena,in which Kratos stood, each set holding a marble beam. The laces of gold throughout the pillars reflected the dark, heavy clouds above, only a little sun penetrated the cloud in deep red and orange streaks. Kratos stumbled to the middle of the Rotunda of Olympus, dragging his blades along the ground they were no use to him in this universe, their power had dissipated. Kratos stood panting, but still his eyes burned with vengeance and now was his chance.
Zeus landed on a marble beam disguised as an eagle, staring at Kratos, before launching himself down towards his son morphing into his Godly form as he landed. He held the weapon of the Gods, the Blade of Olympus, it pulsed a vibrant blue which stood out against the gold handle and the darkness of the environment. As he approached Kratos, he raised his weapon ready to kill the source of his fear and anger. Kratos, however, swung the Blades of Creation in Zeus' direction as he spun to face the King of the Gods. Zeus quickly changed his swing and sliced through the chains of the Blades of Creation sending the blades hurtling off the side of the Rotunda to fall down the mountain.
"When will you learn that your resistance is futile?" Zues asked, the sky flickered with lightening illuminating the God and Mortal.
"I will get my revenge Zues!" Kratos seethed, launching himself at Zeus.
Zeus brought his blade across his front, forcing Kratos to alter his charge, before getting ready to strike again. Kratos continued to approach Zeus and avoided another swipe of the blade, tackling the God and sending the blade skidding across the arena. Kratos managed to hit Zeus with two devastating punches before being knocked off. Zeus scampered to his feet, and put himself between Kratos and the Blade of Olympus.
"You were born to die, Kratos" Zeus explained, wiping blood from a cut above his eye, while his usually bright white beard held streaks of blood.
"Not by your hand!" Kratos replied, studying the God.
"We will see about that!" Zeus said calmly, with a little smirk, welcoming the challenge.
Kratos did not reply, he attacked again. Zeus laughed, holding his hand to the sky he formed his famous weapon, the Lightning Bolt. He threw several in Kratos' direction who managed to avoid them by rolling or sidestepping but still Zeus fired them continuously. Kratos made his way around Zeus and grabbed the Blade of Olympus as he rolled to avoid a Bolt. Kratos promptly used the blade to deflect the lightning and attack Zeus. Charging, Kratos had to deflect more bolts doing so with relative ease. As he approached his father, he raised the Blade before slashing down with Godly power. Zeus managed to quickly sidestep out the way, embracing the speed of Lightning, before punching Kratos and sending him into a pillar.
Kratos recovered and climbed back to his feet, the pillar lay shattered behind him, and collected the Blade of Olympus again. Zeus stood smiling, before launching himself towards Kratos. The two warriors met, a fury of blows were dealt and Kratos lost hold of the Blade before managing to knock Zeus down. Kratos stood over his fathers body.
"My vengeance ends now!" Kratos said, the anger filling his words as he stared at Zeus bloodied on the ground. Zeus only smiled in reply.
Kratos grabbed Zeus and threw him towards a relatively undamaged pillar at the end of a set, sending a cloud of dust into the air. Kratos quickly reached the God and grabbed his hair before using the stump of the pillar to slam Zeus' face against it. After several blows, Kratos released Zeus who collapsed on the floor, his face severely bleeding; only white speckles remained in his once glorious beard. Kratos approached him, and saw the Blade of Olympus a few feet away and quickly decided to retrieve the weapon, Zues did not make a sound other than rough breathes.
As Kratos stood above Zues, the Blade of Olympus sparking with energy in his hands, Zues' eyes narrowed, his hand became a fist and he let out a cry that was matched by a deafening roar of thunder and flash of light. As Kratos' eyes readjusted to the dim light of the world, Zeus was gone, only specks of blood remained on the ground. The Blade of Olympus was also missing from Kratos' hand.
Kratos fell to his knees in a surge of pain, arching his back as the Blade of Olympus protruded through the Ghost of Sparta's stomach. Kratos looked down, his arms outstretched, to see the vibrant blue of the Blade of Olympus being contrasted by the dark red of his blood. He felt a foot on his right shoulder blade and, as quickly as it entered, the blade was pulled out. Kratos muttered a few inaudible words as he fell, the warmth of the blood soaked ground faded, as the redness in the sky turned to black.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The morning had dawned clear and cold, with a crispness that hinted worse was to come. Princess Celestia had struggled coming to terms that her plan was in ruin, and her nightmares continued, with Zeus stealing Kratos from the camp. She could only wish upon the stars that Kratos was alive. Princess Luna had tried helping, but in turn realised how little hope there was in winning this war. The Princesses feared for their ponies. Their lifeboat had sailed away. They stayed in their tent for long periods, Shining Armour led the guards and volunteers though they never left the area. There had been no attacks from either side since Kratos and Zeus left Equestria, but one was certainly lingering in the air.
"We need to do something Sister." Luna said, repeating her words from their earlier discussion, hoping now Celestia had a plan.
"What can we do? We are under attack from creatures, monsters and Gods! We had a solution, but even that has been torn from us." Celestia replied, the stress was creeping on her.
"Well we brought him here once, can't we do it again?" Lunas' voice perked up thinking she had an answer.
"I have tried, but I cannot locate him. His world is so much more different than when we found him. It is chaos." Celestia spoke softly, trying not to shoot down Lunas' idea too much.
"Then why don't we just go find him? Surely we could find a rough location? Zeus must have found a weak spot between worlds if he can keep jumping between them!" Luna asked, getting more serious as she refined her ideas.
"It could be worth a shot, but we should make sure the camp is safe before we go, and I don't think it is best to send Twilight and her friends to a strange new world." Celestia thought aloud. "Which leaves one of us going, probably best if I go in case Zeus is waiting for us. I couldn't live with myself if I sent you to die Sister"
"We need him back, but is it worth the risk?" Luna started "Without him we have no hope, but without you we have nothing."
A familiar voice was heard at the entrance of the tent, the sisters turned to face the gleeful Pinkie brandishing a broad sword, "Hope is what gives us strength. It is why we are here. It is what we fight with when all else is lost. We were once filled with fear, but with Kratos on our side it was Zeus who was filled with fear. Our fear was replaced by hope." Pinkie finished before bouncing away, returning to whatever she was doing.
The two Princesses stood in silence trying to comprehend what was just said. Pinkie Pie was right Kratos, though being a terrifying angry pony, he gave them hope. He gave them the will to fight, whether it was through hope or shear terror was a different matter. He made the Princesses army strong and with one only pony lost the statistics were looking good. Celestia sighed deeply and put a leg around her sister, "I must go immediately, the longer we delay the more damage could be done."
"What do we do I'm your absence sister? Do we hide or fight?" Luna asked, realising the challenge in front of her. She was lost, her mind began panicking. One wrong decision and lives could be lost because of her.
"Stay here, double the guard and scouts. Any slight chance they are coming, leave some guards and head back to towards the castle. Make camp in a place with good cover, and I will return." Celestia smiled at her Sister, it didn't feel long since they were little fillies gallivanting in the fields.
"I will try, hurry back." Luna spoke softly, her Canterlot voice was miles away from the silence words she spoke. Fear was creeping in.
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The sky was heavy, the deep dark clouds towered like a dull fortress, fighting against the light. Tornadoes and hurricanes ripped across the horizon, and lightening flooded the air with electric blue light followed by a deafening crack of thunder. It was not Celestias first time in this world, but this was not how she remembered it. The Gods of this world had forsaken it.
Celestia never did like being a homo sapien it didn't feel natural to walk on two legs instead of four, the temptation to walk on four was always there. She did not know where she was, or where Kratos was, if he was I'm this world. She stood on a cliff, to her right a large statue thst seemed familiar from an odd dream, behind her stood a stone arch, decorated in gold with two homo sapien warriors holding large shields carved into each column. In the middle of the arch was an elaborately decorated symbol, similar to the cutie mark Kratos had. Celestia examined it and ran her new fingers down a crack in the middle of the arch, the stone felt warm. The stone seemed to flex with her touch, and as she applied more force, the stone swung open revealing Olympus.
Everything shone like gold, from the floor to the statues, the seats to the throne that sat high above the room on top of a mountain of steps. The world outside may have been forsaken, but this place was immaculate. Celestia made her way into the room cautiously, checking for movement and sound. The ground was warm against her bare feet, a pleasant surprise from the cold stone she was on before. As she approached the foot of the stairs, she heard footsteps coming from another room. She had no time to hide, and prepared for the worst, she looked for a weapon but found none. The footsteps drew closer.
Celestia stood, naked and afraid, in the room as the footsteps grew louder: then her heart leapt. It was Athena. She didn't seem at all surprised to see Celestia standing there and even brought a sheet for Celestia to wear. Celestia took her time to regain control before giving Athena a hug. The two deities smiled at each other, before Athena led Celestia a way from the room.
"It's good to see you again Celestia, for this world has been lost, however I am afraid you have arrived too late." Athena said, her voice being soft yet commanding, as she led Celestia through a maze of golden corridors and elaborate staircases.
"What do you mean?" Celestia asked, beginning to sense this journey was in vain.
"Zeus has left this world, he is set on taking yours." Athena explained as they turned a corner which led back onto stone, in the distance was a crumbled and destroyed Rotunda. "Kratos has been killed by the hands of his father."
Celestia stood in silence thinking on what to do, how to proceed. Was it just a matter of time until her world is lost to Zeus and all she holds dear? Minutes passed before she spoke "Is there another way?" She asked, pleading with some form of greater power than her that there was, her legs were trembling with the weight of this new pressure.
Athena motioned Celestia to follow as they headed towards a small stone building close to the Rotunda. "There may be a way, Celestia. It is more fate than anything, if Kratos is strong he will return." She explained as she opened the door to the building. In the centre lay a fantastically carved golden alter, the design showed each God of this world as well as the many beasts and monuments built for the Gods. On top of the alter lay Celestias' hope with a gaping hole in his chest and in a puddle of blood, Kratos. Some blood running down the alter, weaving through the carvings, and slowly dripping to the floor.
This was Celestias' first time seeing Kratos in his normal form, and she saw the power that he held. He looked like he would tower over Celestia, his build, his tattoo intricately painted on his body and the unmistakable ash coloured skin forced fear into Celestia. Its was clear why so many people, including Gods, feared him. "What's the plan?" Celestia enquired, running her fingers above the crevasse in Ghost of Spartas' chest.
"With Hades dead, only Princess Cadence is linked to the Underworld" Athena started, pausing to notice confusion on Celestias' face. "The Underworld is where the souls of those who died go, once there they are judged and their fate is decided. However, Kratos died in this world and so we can assume his soul is looking for Hades, it's his only way to get vengeance. You should take his body to Cadance; she may be able to force his soul into your world, then Kratos will need to find his body"
Celestia nodded, still looking lost with the plan. "So we need Kratos to have the strength and will to live?" She said, rather confidently.
"Yes, I am sure his thirst for vengeance will see him back to you" Athena replied with a smile.
"Thank you, Athena. Once this is all over it would be an honour to rule with you." Celestia hinted graciously with a smile.
"I would like that, Celestia, but this world needs order first. I can not abandon its people." Athena replied, solemnly. The two Gods stood in silence, before Celestia hugged Athena and gave her thanks.
Celestia looked at the muscle heavy Kratos and wondered about carrying him home, going back to Equestria shouldn't be a problem.
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Princess Luna appeared to bathe in the moonlight, night was her specialty. Shining Armor stood in the gap between tents, as Luna basked in the centre, the sky was a gentle navy blanket. It was hard to see why so many ponies were afraid of the night, with sky and moon contrasting so beautifully. Shining cleared his throat to gain the Princess' attention.
"Princess Luna, I'm afraid we two teams of scouts have failed to return." Shining explained, keeping his distance from the Princess of the night.
"What? Where did they scout? I shall get my night scouts to search for them!" Luna asked panicking, the beauty that once surrounded her was gone.
"East, towards Horse Shoe Bay" Shining replied, his voice commanding yet filled with fear.
"We should get back to the castle, Celestia will return soon. I will send my elite soldiers out, we don't want to lose anymore ponies!" Princess Luna said panicking, looking around twitching as the wind whistled through the tress. Shining sensed she was not comfortable in this situation, and wondered why.
"What are your orders Princess?" Shining asked, trotting closer to help comfort her.
Luna paused and thought deeply, she knew Zeus would be cunning "We are heading to the castle, the missing scouts may be a sign that Zeus has succeeded in his plan and is moving to attack. The castle will be easy to defend as well, and we can keep a lookout for any advancing armies."
Shining Armor left quickly, leaving the Princess alone again. The wind began to pick up and the whispering trees changed roaring beasts with every breath. Luna headed towards her tent to begin packing up, wondering how Celestia was getting on in Zeus' world. As she approached her tent, a boom of thunder made the ground tremble. Luna quickly turned and galloped towards the Soldiers.
The thunder again made the ground growl, further alarming the Princess as no lightning flickered through the night sky. As she reached Shining, who was fully armoured, she noticed it was no thunder but trees being felled. She stood, awaiting what ever was coming, her army behind shaking, Shining Armor the only one with sword drawn. Soon, Luna realised it wasn't just the trees felling that sent tremors through the ground, there was something gigantic coming.
Suddenly, a huge pony burst through the front of the trees, sending trees crushing tents, several griffins followed keeping their distance. The giant stopped short of Luna; every muscle bulged with power, it wore similar attire to Kratos, and a sheath with sword that did not belong in Equestria. Luna stared, she could not tell where this beast in front of her was looking but his stare was fierce. A griffin flew up and unsheathed the sword with its talons and launched at Luna's front hooves forcing her to step back. The sword landed blade down, the handle wobbled with the force, and the Princess noticed the smeared blood trickling down the blade.
"What is the meaning of this?" Luna demanded, trying to sound assertive.
The giant looked down. "It is what remains of my brother and your hope!" The voice boomed.
Luna stared at the sword, her reflection appearing between the trails of blood. The giant let out a long laugh, before turning and leaving back through the trees. The griffin that threw the sword flew down, and screeched at Luna as it retrieved the weapon. The princess could only watch as the enemies disappeared into the night of the forest.
"Shining! Round every pony up! We are going back to the castle, Celestia will understand!" Luna ordered, a hint of her nightmare self in her voice, before galloping for her tank. Shining did as commanded.
